Lenora- . I read it to you you twit!
Katbell- scowls at Leiko Now Leiko dear! You have to stop strangling the reviewers,
Reviewers- .
Animegoil- Yeah, the descriptions weren't coming to me this time! . I got depressed so I lost my emotions and couldn't write! Hopefully this chap is a little more smooth though,
KageKitsune16- lol, I thought Emiko needed a little excerpt. She's such a good character to mess with and no one ever gives her any depth.
Fireandflames- lol, maybe, maybe. I've had a tad of writers block but hopefully this chappy will make up for it a little.
Kloudy Reignfall- TT.TT I tried not to make it short but I had such writers block! I know I know, it was only a small fix. I'm glad you like Leiko and Drem, I've been working hard to make them kind of the Takeshi and twin type filler characters that you can use without pissing off the readers. I hope I can manage to make this next chappy a little longer- PS Emiko says arigato -
Neko-nya- Mewi, it's okay. Yeah, everyone liked that image of Krad being…well…human…or at least as human as Krad can get.
babymar-mar- lol! I just thought Daisuke would toss it in for comedy sakes,
Mutou Yasu- Thankies! Yeah, I figured I didn't want to rush the antagonist, Daere is a strategist- and he's scary…o.O
Berettaboy- Thankies!
Berettaboy-Lol, thankies again!
LuceScuro- o.0 The poor table! Thankies!
Baka-Chibbi- lol! Too true, too true. And fluffy Krad is definitely a plus! -
Golden-flame4- Yes yes! More Dark and Krad for all!
Ichigo12- lol, Thank you! I'm really flattered, unfortunately I do have to revive Daere, otherwise none of our pretty bishounen can angst,
Hikari Fubuki- …o.O Wow. That is a big review!
Satoshi- That's because you put addictive chemicals in your stories --
Kitsune- . nuh uh!
Cappuccino- Sugary sweetness for all!
Daisuke- Happy holidays!
Silvertears- Me so happy you read! (glomps reader)
Dark- (sporting camera shaped bruise) She ruined my beautiful face.
Krad- Actually, that might be an improvement,
Kitsu- I would have updated sooner but I had to fill out my college aps- and pass high school, etc. You know, the usual, more now though!
MORE REVIEW RESPONSES AT THE END!
Ch17- Breaking the Silence
Emiko walked alongside the girl glancing at her occasionally to take a look at her expression of feigned disinterest. It had been clarified that Leiko had been created mostly of her son's emotions, but Emiko had a strong suspicion Satoshi had taken part in it too.
That would explain the constant sheen of pain in the girl's eyes. "You can talk to me, I'll listen."
Leiko looked at her in clear shock before lowering her head. "You're too kind Niwa-sama. But I've caused you enough trouble. I put your son in danger, I put you in danger, hell, your whole family. And even now I take advantage of your house. When this is over, I will repay you."
Leiko's eyes widened in shock as Emiko burst out laughing. "My- my dear girl!" she said between laughs and trying to regain her breath. "If that was what I thought of you I assure you you'd be out on the streets- if not worse!"
Leiko looked at Emiko in surprise before smiling dryly. "I suppose that's true. But it's still hard, I know I'm both of them…But at the same time I'm neither. It confuses me."
"…You know, you're not alone anymore."
Leiko paused in her steps. "I will be though…Afterwards. I can't allow myself to burden you anymore. Who knows what manifestations could come of me-"
"You're not going to be abandoned again. Eriko, Cadell, Leiko. There's no way. We care about you…Drem cares about you," said Emiko sternly.
Leiko laughed bitterly. "Oh, but I don't see how! He knows how tainted I am!"
Emiko looked at her in disbelief. "Tainted? How can you think yourself tainted? You were barely born twenty four hours ago."
Leiko frowned. "When I think of what happened to m- Eriko, I can't help but feel it happened to me as well, same with Cadell's memories. I…Eriko was…raped…The first, by boys behind a classroom…I never knew who'd pulled them off. But now it's so clear. It was Drem. He saw me in that state," said Leiko, now quite pale. "And now…When Daere captured me…I don't know whether it was a dream or not. But it might have happened again. I thought hiding my body would stop it, but it didn't."
"Oh Leiko," said Emiko pulling the shorter girl to her in a motherly hug. "You're not tainted. It's those who hurt you that are tainted. Drem knows that just as well as the rest of us," said Emiko.
After a while, Leiko hugged back, tears running down her face uncontrollably as she tried to bite back sobs that had been long restrained behind beaten and neglected black eyes.
XxXxX
Daisuke was, very naturally worried about his mother. But when he heard she was escorted by Leiko, he was slightly comforted. Though only slightly. As much as he trusted Leiko- and he did trust her a great deal, in his blood he knew it was okay- she came across as slightly fragile to him despite her spirited fascade.
"I'm fairly certain your mother will be fine," said Krad.
Daisuke couldn't help but wince, he hadn't even known the blonde was behind him. "Hello Krad-sama," he murmured, nerves shot.
"If I were Daere, I wouldn't go after her first anyways. He's probably licking his wounds right now, and thinking of how to get at you."
Daisuke looked into Krad's calm blue eyes, finding strange comfort there. "Why me?" he murmured.
Krad tilted Daisuke's face towards him looking at the mark where Daere had slapped him. "Because you, you're the Niwa. You're special, and pure. He can't resist trying to destroy you to satiate the darkness in his heart. We should put an icepack on this."
"Krad?"
"Yeah,"
"Do you love Dark?"
"…More than I'd like to admit Niwa." said Krad staring off as he released Niwa. It was strange, but before he'd been jealous of the Niwa for Daisuke's attention, now it was almost as if he was Dark's little brother, thus, his own.
"It must have been hard for you, being without him for so long, maddening," murmured Daisuke.
Krad froze. "How? How can you forgive me after all I've done to you? How can you forgive me when the fear of me is still fresh in your eyes?" he asked bitterly.
He was surprised to find Daisuke's hand on his shoulder, the younger boy looking up into his eyes with a sincere smile. "Me and Dark were very much part of each other, and I never hated you. Hard as it is to believe, I knew that the eternal fight between you and Dark was more complicated than I could ever hope to understand."
"…Thank you Niwa. I really needed to hear that."
XxXxX
Dark wasn't sure how to react to being shoved on the sofa by his blonde angel, but after being generously kissed he decided to allow it. Before Krad could initiate another kiss he found their positions reversed with Dark on top with an loving look on his face.
He wanted to kiss Dark again, but Dark had him inescapably pinned. "What brings on this sudden show of emotion- not that I don't like it, it's just unexpected," said Dark grinning.
"Damnit Dark! Get off of me!" snapped Krad.
"Why? So you can take advantage of me?" said Dark with a smirk. "Not happening."
Krad glared at Dark. "Me? Take advantage of you? Not in your wildest fantasies Dark Mousy."
"Mmm, I'd say I was taking advantage of you if it hadn't been you that jumped me," said Dark, lowering his mouth for a slow sweet kiss. He laid his head on Krad's shoulder. "I love you," he murmured.
Krad had his hands tangled in Dark's black shirt and his face nuzzled in his hair. Dark pulled up, a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay Krad?"
"I'm fine!" said Krad, his voice muffled due to the fact that he was hiding his face in Dark's shirt.
"I might believe that, if you'd show me your face," said Dark frowning.
Krad slowly removed himself from the confines of Dark's shirt to stare at him with wide blue eyes. It wasn't that he was genuinely surprised, it was just that he was amazed. Dark was beautiful in ways he didn't think he'd ever be able to understand. A beautiful soul carved from cold stone.
And he was in love with a jaded creature that was only created for the soul purpose of his destruction.
"Why do you love me Dark?" asked Krad lowering his head until his bangs covered his eyes. "I don't understand."
Dark sighed before lowering his lips to Krad's. "Because Krad, you think that you were made to destroy me. The only thing I know, is that you were made for me."
Krad slowly brought his lips up to Dark's completing the kiss, wrapping his arms around his lover. "Yes, I was," he murmured.
XxXxX
Satoshi blushed, well assured that he'd just entered on someone's personal moment he set off, very intent on creating his own personal moment with Daisuke while his mother was away, but he couldn't find him.
Soon enough he ended up outside, alone.
"Daisuke?" he murmured.
"Not quite," said a chillingly familiar voice.
"Daere," spat Satoshi spinning around on him.
"Mmm, Satoshi," said Daere brushing his hand through Satoshi's hair. Satoshi stiffened, even Dark would have had trouble getting that close to him without him being aware of it. "Looking for something?"
Satoshi glared coolly as he could manage "If you've touched Daisuke."
"Not since our kiss," said Daere with a smirk.
Satoshi was now looking at the situation. Daere had blocked his way to the house. He didn't know where Daisuke was, and he knew for a fact that Leiko was gone. Things weren't looking good.
"Mmm, Satoshi, you're not paying me any mind. Are you so enamored with Daisuke that your own life holds no value?"
Satoshi's eyes snapped back to Daere's. "What have you done with Daisuke?"
Daere smiled before leaning forward and held his palm out before Satoshi's face. By the time the bluenette noticed the red powder in his hand, Daere had already gently blown it into his face. "I've stolen his heart," said Daere, catching Satoshi before he hit the ground.
XxXxX
Satoshi groaned as he tried to lift his weary body to rise but only met the painful sensation of one who's slept in a bad position for far too long. He suspected at first that it was his low blood pressure, but that still didn't explain why he was in a strange bed without Daisuke.
"I see you're awake," said Daere gazing at his prey.
Daere put his dark hair behind his ear and smiled prettily as he approached Satoshi. Slowly.
Satoshi cursed the treachery of his disobeying body as Daere straddled him leaning down slowly so his dark hair tickled Satoshi's neck and his breath fluttered against his ear. It was enough to make tears gather at his eyes though he growled and clenched his eyes shut to conceal that.
He was being pinned by a boy around Daisuke's size who he was almost positive he could throttle in any other situation, but the fact was he was at this creature's mercy.
"Itai!" he yelped.
Daere had yanked his hair and was now glaring down at him irritably. "Look at me!" he commanded. "I know for a fact that I'm just as pretty as your little redheaded whore!"
"Don't talk about him like that!" hissed Satoshi.
"I wouldn't say you were in a position to order me around!" said Daere, tightening his hold on Satoshi's hair.
Satoshi winced slightly but glared up nonetheless through bespectacled eyes. "As dangerous as my situation may be, you only captured me because you're terrified of Daisuke, because he's everything you're not. And in the end, you're weak."
A resounding slap echoed throughout the dark room and Satoshi took a deep breath as the pain stung through his face. He glared up at Daere who was flushed in fury. "You'll regret that, when you watch me destroy everything that is the Niwa you love!"
XxXxX
Krad and Dark laid on the bed they'd migrated to, fingers intertwined. Krad curled up next to Dark's side and they lay in the white sheets, somehow reminded of grassy hills of yesterday. Dark wrapped his arm about Krad pulling him closer reveling in the warmth that only a lover could give.
"We should get up, what if someone walked in on us?" asked Krad breathily. From his lack of movement however, Dark knew Krad was no more likely to move than he was.
"I've certainly got nothing to be ashamed of. I've captured a Hiwatari artwork." said Dark, kissing Krad's fingertips.
Krad's lips twitched in a smile. "Then I've failed in my obligations."
"I don't know about that, your main motive has always been to capture me, hasn't it? That, and to be prettier than me, but the jury is still out on that."
"I should wake up,"
Dark looked at him with knitted brows. "Nani?"
"It seems that whenever I'm with you, I should wake up. Like this is all some dream too good for someone as tainted as myself."
"…Tainted." murmured Dark. "I hear that word so often now a days. Like we were back to the old aristocracy of yesterday. Some would consider our love tainted."
"What? No! Love is never tainted!" protested Krad.
"It's all a matter of consideration. "What's tainted will be decided by you and me, because when I'm with you, nothing else matters, and to me Krad, you're the only thing in this world that's remained untainted. My ideal,"
"Ideals are often undeserved," murmured Krad bitterly.
"Perhaps," agreed Dark. "But a phantom thief is ideally evil. In the end, we don't have to be what's expected of us, and we can always be more than we expect of ourselves."
Krad looked at Dark before smiling and curling closer to him. Worries of morality and deserving could wait until later.
XxXxX
Daisuke frowned as he walked through the house looking for Satoshi. He was sure Satoshi wouldn't have left without telling someone and he couldn't find him. He knitted his brows. "Where is he?" he murmured in concern.
He walked outside and gazed about. "Satoshi? Satoshi!"
He walked about irritably until he stepped on something. He drew his foot back slowly looking at the rose he'd crushed beneath his heel. He picked it up. If he remembered correctly, now was not the proper season for roses.
A growl distracted him from his thoughts however. He looked up into the eyes of one of Daere's hellhounds and the beast growled at him with it's ears laid flat back against it's skull as it circled in an attempt to come between him and the house, it's fellow coming to join in on the stalk before the hunt.
Terror ran down his spine like ice. Not for himself, but because his fears were confirmed. Daere had figured out how to get to him. And now that creature had Satoshi.
"Leiko," he murmured.
XxXxX
Leiko's eyes widened and she turned towards the direction of the house. "Oh no." she murmured. "Oh no!"
"Leiko? What's going on?" asked Emiko grabbing her shoulders.
"I need to get there- I need to-" she looked at Emiko. She knew the woman couldn't keep up with her inhuman speed. But she couldn't leave the Niwa in the shopping center where she would be free game for Daere or one of his demonic dogs.
"Go." hissed Emiko. Her fingers dug into Leiko's shoulders.
"But-"
"Go!" shouted Emiko shoving Leiko away.
Leiko looked on with shocked eyes for but a moment. Then they calmed in understanding as she took off in a dead run, her lungs burning and she had to wonder when she'd ever be able to stop.
XxXxX
Fireandflames- Thanks! I'm so happy I'm eighteen, I went and got my ear pierced at the top- Now, more story for your reading pleasure!
Pakuakun- Well, what better reason to stop than to eat sushi?
Dragon Tears Wing- Lol, yes, Daisuke's rendition of Krad's schedule was one of my favorite part of that chappy. And that beautiful bluenette makes us all happy.
Koji ametsurugi- Thanks! I loved writing that scene since those two get so little play despite their being such good characters!
Lilangelicbunny- 0.o runs off to update
Sephykoi- follows your example and falls off the face of the earth
Rinoki Rio- 1 Thanks…Wait till you read the next chappy
2 Ah, I see you've read the next chappy! Ooh Fav list! Cool!
3 TREE! Wait…Yay! Fav list!
4 OH NO! The angst has formed a mind of it's own and is attacking the readers! 0.0
5 Yes…Woohoo suits it just fine!
6 Thanks, no one really commented on that,
7 I know, I felt like such a jerk for writing that- but everyone loved it!
8 Everyone loves that side story!
9 I know! TT.TT
10 Drem: So true! TT.TT
11 OH NO! panics and glues exploded reader back together I don't know…I like Wizu better.
Yrel- 0.o I actually wrote a scene called fun with psychos, lol- Oh no! SPARKLIES!
Beysie- grins yes Dark is a walking wet dream! I'm glad you like the story and the OC I made. Yes, Daere is a pain, but I'm thinking about drawing him in the three-hundredth review pic. I hope you continue to read and enjoy! I've never had one reader review so many of my stories! I'll attempt to update most of them, but with school the way it is I can't make it any promises.