Galatea
Thirteenth Movement: Compensatory Proceedings
"Behind every argument is someone's ignorance."
Louis D. Brandeis
Satoshi awoke the next morning feeling more refreshed than he had in ages, despite the fact that he hadn't gotten as much sleep as usual the night before thanks to his little excursion in Krad's body. He idly suspected that some energy had been left over in his own body, leaving him feeling relaxed and more alive than ever when he should have been dog tired.
He hopped on the trolley just as it was leaving the station, and sat back and enjoyed the ride instead of going over the day's schedule in his head—quite unusual for the Hikari boy. Was it just him, or did it seem that some of Krad's own habits were beginning to seep over into his personality? He felt more relaxed, self-assured, not worried about the day's happenings, and confident that he could handle any problems that dared to rear their ugly heads.
Unbeknownst to him, his curse was sitting back and watching this whole thought process in silent glee, glad that for once he could do something his host actually thanked him for, even if it was grudgingly given thanks. And to have the boy still thinking about the night before was enough to send Krad shooting over the moon in elation—not that his Satoshi-sama needed to know he was feeling this way. If he caught wind of Krad's own happiness at realizing Satoshi was still thinking about Kosuke's ring, the boy was sure to clamp down on those thoughts right away and swear to never think them again.
Instead, they carried on in silence: Satoshi thinking to himself in ignorant bliss, Krad eavesdropping on those thoughts.
This pleasant atmosphere of early-morning calm, though, was soon to be shattered, as Niwa Daisuke had something he absolutely had to talk about, and wasn't about to be diverted.
Satoshi had only just entered the room, a full ten minutes or so before the first bell was to ring, when he was confronted winding his way through the rows of desks. "Hiwatari-kun?" came Daisuke's tentative voice from one row over, and Satoshi idly turned his head, being sure not to hit other desks as he set his messenger bag down on top of it.
"Something you need, Niwa?" His tone, Daisuke was glad to see, was back to normal—there was no bitter tinge, or cold air running through it, as had been lately. It seemed Satoshi was just Satoshi right now, not worrying about Krad or Dark or anything to do with Daisuke or his family.
The redhead was so caught up in the boy's tone, though, he almost slipped back into his normal banter, forgetting momentarily why he'd approached his friend. He caught himself, though, before his face relaxed into that friendly smile familiar to him, and hardened his features. Dropping his voice slightly, he urged, "I…I need to ask you something…about—about…Krad."
Satoshi now straightened up, face not as relaxed as before. He sized the redhead up running calculating eyes up and down the lanky form, as if by doing so he could discern his motives. "…What about him?"
Red eyes darting left and right to be sure there were no eavesdroppers or idle listeners near them, he pushed nearer, "I…I saw him…last night." He paused. "And—Dark and I agree, he wasn't normal."
Breath almost catching in his throat, scene after scene from the night before flashed like an old film reel inside the Hikari boy's mind, replaying at hyperspeed, "Where…how would you know? What're you talking about?"
Daisuke sighed, somewhat relieved Satoshi at least wasn't biting his head off in refute, "We…we went to the Central Art Museum, to check out the new security system they have." As an afterthought, he added, "Mom made me go."
"And? What does that have to do with Krad?"
"We were leaving, sneaking out a window in the back near the courtyard, and—and a statue just blew up! Right in front of us! Didn't fall—it exploded. And I looked all around to find out what happened, and…and up in the sky…I saw him…" He slowed, gauging Satoshi's reaction, "…He was laughing…"
At first, Daisuke thought the expression plastered on his rival's face was from shock at hearing the news, and felt certain that the excursion hadn't been permitted by Satoshi—but it was, in fact, from shock that he'd been seen. And worse, seen by Niwa. As if he needed to give that boy another reason to start a fight.
"…Hiwatari-kun?" the redhead pressed, worry growing in his eyes, "Do you…know what was going on?" When Satoshi didn't answer, he continued with a smile, "Neither Dark nor I knew what to make of it—seeing Krad vandalizing museum property isn't exactly something we'd expect to see, you know? But I just wanted to make sure you knew what he was doing."
The blue head snapped up to attention, gaze fixed intently on Niwa Daisuke, "…What?"
Daisuke blinked, "I just said I wanted to tell you about it, to make sure you knew what he was up to, since I guess you couldn't stop him."
Inside his gut, Satoshi felt something lurch, and realized that for some reason, he was very very angry at the Niwa boy right now. As if it was his place to tell him what was and was not proper for his own curse to be doing! He was the one Satoshi chased after, the host of the one Krad chased after. And he was here, in effect "tattling" on the blonde, because he assumed that of course the Hikari boy would have never let his curse out on his own. Of course Krad had to have been up to something—something bad, no doubt, because Krad was Krad.
He wasn't a thief with a supposed heart of gold, like the Niwas' Dark. He was the golden demon few knew and all feared—he was the "bad" curse.
It felt like a slap on the wrists—that since Satoshi seemed to be having trouble keeping tabs on his own curse, Daisuke felt it was his duty to do it. "To make sure you knew about it," was what he'd said, with that stupid smile of his, and laced in it was the urging, "You should do something about this."
No one told Hiwatari Satoshi what to do—least of all a Niwa.
Daisuke, confident he'd said all he could, and that Satoshi had just not known about Krad's late night wanderings the previous evening, turned away and headed up towards his seat in the front of the room, when a hand reached forward and grabbed his shirt from behind. "…Hiwatari-kun?"
There was a pause, and he shivered as he felt the cold Hikari ice forming once more in the boy's blue eyes. "…It was me," was the solemn statement.
Confusion washed over the redhead, "…What?"
"It wasn't Krad you saw last night. It was me." He released Daisuke's shirt and pulled his hand back, turning his eyes to his bag on his desk and almost smirking now, "Me, in Krad's body—I was the one who blew up that statue at the museum."
"Y—you…but…but how!" He struggled here to keep his voice low, hissing, "How could that have been you! In—in Krad's body!"
"That may be a question you'd like to ask your father." Daisuke obviously didn't get the connection, "I used a ring that had the power to let my mind stay in control even when I transformed—it let me use Krad's body, for one night. So I did. Last night, the one you saw was me. That explain things a bit better? Or should I still check into it and make sure Krad wasn't doing anything bad?"
"Wh—why?" was Daisuke's only question when he finally found his voice again, "Why would you want to…be in his body!"
Satoshi narrowed his eyes, at this point quite angry with the Niwa boy, "Because I felt like it—accessing those powers, the rush of being immortal, if only for a moment, the—the energy flooding my senses, and…and he wanted it too…" He relaxed his harsh berating. "It was…fun. I liked it…and I liked that he trusted me with his own body."
It took all Daisuke's strength in controlling his anger not to whip out his fist and slam Satoshi to the ground. Again. "I can't believe it…" he hissed softly, anger bubbling just below the surface.
"I don't care if you believe me or not—it's none of your business anyway, Niwa."
More and more students were beginning to file in, only a minute or so left before class would officially start, and they would have to break up, with Daisuke returning to his seat. And he wasn't about to leave this unfinished for the few hours until he could speak to the boy again at lunch.
"It is so my business! When one of my best friends starts—"
"Since when have I been one of your 'best friends'? Please don't think about leveling me with Saehara."
"—When one of my best friends starts letting his curse get under his skin!"
Not letting Niwa get to him, the Hikari boy idly returned, "You say curse as if it's a bad thing."
"You don't think so?" Daisuke laughed harshly, incredulity staining his voice.
Turning his eyes away, he muttered, "…A curse is something you don't deserve…" Pausing, he gathered himself and continued, "And would you place your precious Dark in the same category as Krad? They're both simple parasites, you know."
"Dark isn't a parasite," he growled, eyes flashing.
"He is," Satoshi pressed, "They both are—they cannot live without us, without their host bodies, and they cannot function on their own. They draw their own life energy from ours, inadvertently shortening our time to live, and deprive us of the chance to live our own lives, to grow up, fall in love normally. They offer little—if anything—in return, because that's simply how they were created: to feed on us, to need us, to cherish us, to give nothing back. And so we are bound to hate them for it."
"…I don't hate Dark though." A girl brushed past them, and people were hurrying to their seats now.
"I know that…but that doesn't discount the fact that he is a parasite. One who needs to be disposed of."
"Oh? And what about Krad? You want him gone too, right?"
Pause.
"…Right?"
Daisuke had meant it to be a rhetorical question. There should have been no hesitation; it was one he'd asked before. Satoshi refused to meet his eyes, even when he dipped his head down to gauge the reaction. "…Hiwatari-kun?"
"Class is about to start, Niwa. You should go to your seat." The girl who sat beside Satoshi took her seat, and Daisuke frowned at not being able to use Dark's and Krad's names so freely in the moment he had left to speak, edging towards the front of the room.
"We're not done talking, you know." The remainder of their little chat apparently would have to wait until the cleaning period.
"I know…" the Hikari boy sighed loudly, "It seems you never know when to shut up."
The morning passed with Satoshi in a much darker, sulkier mood now than when he'd arrived—it seemed whatever emotions had seeped into him from using the ring before had dissipated by now, and all he was left with were Niwa's words and emotions filling his head.
Why couldn't he just leave Satoshi alone? He'd already embarrassed himself enough, what with the confession, and then breaking down at the funeral, and being caught cavorting in Krad's body the night before—Niwa had to think he was the most capricious human on the face of the planet.
'You shouldn't pay so much attention to that boy; that's what he wants, anyway.'
Satoshi started, eyes darting inadvertently over to the redhead, who was listening attentively to the history professor's lecture. 'And what's that supposed to mean…?'
'Simply what I said: He doesn't want you, but he doesn't want anyone else to have you either. Base human emotions, that one wants most what one cannot have.'
The boy had to suppress a harsh bark of laughter, 'Since when did you become so knowledgeable on the human psyche?'
'Satoshi-sama, I'm a part of your psyche; one would hope I'd be somewhat knowledgeable on it. Lest I wander where I'm not supposed to.' He paused, and couldn't resist asking, 'And what was with that hesitation earlier? When that boy asked if you wanted me gone?'
Red erupted over his features, spilling over his cheeks and out to his ears, tingeing them. "Th—that's—!" He slapped two hands over his mouth, earning a glare from his teacher, and an equally harsh one from Daisuke, who probably had a good idea what the outburst had been for. 'That was…it was just because I was thinking.'
'…About?'
'…About…about when I asked you to stay with me, so that my astral threads would heal.' A deep silence filled his mind, 'I didn't want to explain it, but then it would have been a lie if I'd told Niwa I wanted you gone too.' He turned his focus back to the teacher and jotted down a few notes for show, 'So don't misunderstand, alright?'
Indeed, Krad had misunderstood—and was naturally a bit deflated at the realization that this condition had been his host's incentive to withhold telling Niwa he wanted Krad out of his head. But then, what had he been expecting?
For some great confession to come spilling out over the boy's mental waves? To have him so moved by Krad's offer to let him use his body that he was enticed to accept his curse's feelings and return them? Had he really expected that, or was it simply wishful thinking? Of course that had been Satoshi's reasoning—ever the shrewd calculator, the boy rarely missed a detail, and would have counted that as a reason Krad should stay: so that he could regain the years deprived him by Dark's attack that one night more than a month beforehand.
Well great. Now he was depressed.
Satoshi rubbed his temples, feeling a gentle pulsing start inside his skull like a bass drum, 'What's your problem now? I can still feel you… Giving me a damn headache…'
Directly in front of his desk, image standing halfway inside the student right ahead of Satoshi, a tall golden form phased into view like a television picture. 'I'll try and suppress it, Satoshi-sama.'
"A—aah!" For the second time in five minutes, Satoshi clapped two hands over his own mouth, struggling not to fall over as he quickly pushed his chair backwards, scrambling back in it.
"Hiwatari-kun," the teacher spoke firmly drawing a few gazes to stare at him, "Is something the matter?" He shook his head sheepishly, "Then please stay quiet during lecture."
Nodding, he turned his gaze down, and so he completely missed the look of utter shock that crossed Niwa Daisuke's face, before he jerked his head back around forward, sweating profusely.
'You i—idiot! What are you doing!' Satoshi growled mentally, running trembling hands through his pale blue locks, still massaging his temples, 'Nearly gave me a heart attack!'
Face breaking into a knowing smile, Krad apologized lightly, 'Gomen, gomen, Satoshi-sama. But it's so boring sitting in there sometimes.'
'You've put up with it well enough up until now. What's so special about today?' Krad shrugged. 'And you nearly made Niwa keel over, too.'
'Then my job would have been done, wouldn't it?' Golden eyes turned to regard the redhead a few desks away, who was still trying his very best to concentrate on his schoolwork, and failing miserably under Krad's piercing stare.
A split second later, though, another form phased into view, astral as Krad's. 'Well well, someone's getting a bit tense, I see.'
'I told you you'd scared him.'
Krad shook his golden mane and clucked his tongue. 'So childish—it's not as if I could have hurt him anyway.'
'It's just comforting to have him there, I guess…' Satoshi remarked idly, staring at the phantom thief who was now fiercely guarding his own host from Krad's prying eyes. 'You should go say hi—it'll be the first time you two have spoken in a while without trying to kill each other.'
'No…' he remarked almost wistfully, 'We can't hear each other…'
'You can't?' This made Satoshi perk up, and he set his pencil down, blue eyes following Krad's form as he wandered up and down the aisles, appraising the students and flaunting the fact that Dark couldn't stop him.
'No…And think about it—the only reason you even hear what I say is because we are one. You hear me speak in your mind. Of course neither Dark nor the Wing Master could hear me, since I'm not a part of them.' He took the opportunity to wink at the phantom thief who obviously couldn't understand anything he'd just said, and had to settle for fuming silently while his host tried to get him to calm down.
'That reminds me…'
Krad paused looking over one girl's shoulder at her notes, 'What?'
Relaxing and leaning forward to support his chin in his palms, Satoshi queried idly, 'You always call Niwa that—"Wing Master"…Why?'
Slowly, a nostalgic smile found its way across the smooth features of the Hikari curse. 'It's…a long story actually. Funny, though, that a Niwa should be endowed with that honorific when we Hikaris deserve it more…'
'So it's not like you want to call him that?'
'Of course not—it's more…I can't help it. I've done it for so long. I cannot recall who did it first. But…it stems from the fact that Dark's wings…are not like my own.'
'You mean those servant wings of his? With or Wiz, or whatever he calls that stupid rabbit thing that hangs around him?'
Krad shook his head, 'Those aren't his real wings…You've yet to see those…And I pity the fool who makes him call them…' Satoshi cocked his head, a bit intrigued at something about Dark actually unsettling Krad, but he was quickly waved off. 'It's nothing—nothing!' To change the subject, he turned to regard the student whose desk he wasbeside now—a student who was sleeping behind a book, 'Are all your classmates this dedicated to their studies, or is this one just a special case?'
Satoshi's eyes fell away to the student, and he smiled, trying to hide it and failing miserably, 'Saehara Takeshi doesn't seem to hold his education in the highest regard. I'm sure he'd rather be out snooping details about Dark's next job.'
Blinking a few times, Krad stammered, 'Sa—Saehara?'
A nod, 'He's the inspector's son—and why are you so surprised? I've spoken to him before.'
Krad looked sheepish, then ran his eyes up and down the sleeping form a few more times, 'I…I suppose I never paid any attention to his name…' Tilting his head and leaning down until he was at face level with the reporter, he added, 'Like father, like son, eh? His father tries to catch Dark at night…while he tries to catch sleep in the day—'
"Hiwatari-kun, could you answer the question, please?"
The boy paled and blinked, head shooting up to address the teacher, and any remnants of a smile faded away quickly, "Ah—answer, ma'am?"
"Yes—the question I've asked three of your classmates already. Since I know at least you pay attention in lecture, I'd be interested in hearing your response." A pause, and Satoshi struggled for words, trying to ignore the phantom thief leering at him from across the room. "Well?"
"I—ah…" He took a deep breath, prepared to humble himself and beg to be excused for his inattention, when a voice whispered in his ear.
'She's been asking where Commodore Perry arrived…for the past five minutes. You're the fourth one. The Wing Master and two other girls have already been asked, and—'
'You were paying attention?'
'You weren't?'
Satoshi gave in for the moment to apologize to the teacher and answer, "At Uraga, ma'am," before he offered a grudging 'Thanks…' to his curse.
'I guess you're pretty useful at times…'
'Oh? Only at times?' the blonde teased, squatting down in his astral robes beside the boy's desk.
'Yes—every other time you're just annoying.'
Krad sighed mentally and smiled as their conversation drew to a close, settling now for watching his host from the sidelines as he paid more attention to the lecture.
When had it changed? Since the night before? When had the last time been that the two had actually held a normal conversation, even if only for a few minutes when Satoshi wanted to space out in class? There had been minimal talk of Dark or the Niwas—and even then his host had been the one to initiate that, and they'd even chatted about his classmates for a moment. Wasn't that what one normally did with someone they enjoyed being with? Just talked?
Surely Satoshi was changing his view of him, wasn't he? Krad certainly wanted to believe it—and whether it was true or not, whether or not Satoshi really did look at him differently now, or whether or not he still looked at the blonde and thought "hate"…Krad would believe what he wanted to.
It was less painful that way.
Then the bell rang, and everything fell apart, as Daisuke slowly stood from his seat, waited until most of his classmates had congregated in their little groups or wandered outside, and marched over to his rival.
Satoshi had just put away his notes in his bag and was preparing to join the other students in tidying up the room when he was rudely reminded of the fact that there was a Niwa who wished to speak with him. Now.
Casting a hasty glance around the room, Daisuke swiveled his red eyes and leaned forward into Satoshi's face, glaring daggers. "What was that?!"
Apparently cleaning would have to wait.
Setting his history book off to the side and crossing his arms nonchalantly, Satoshi leaned back and replied simply, "I could ask you the same thing." A scoff, "Really—your curse is too uptight at times, Niwa. Krad couldn't do anything to anyone in this form anyway."
"That's not what I was talking about," the redhead hissed, eyes narrowing, "You just—just let him project! Let him walk around this room like he owned it? Let him—"
"He wasn't doing anything."
"Yeah, and neither were you," Daisuke spat, "Which is what's got me mad."
Oh? The Niwa boy was explaining himself for once, was he? This was a change—usually he just got mad and expected Satoshi to know what his problem was: and of late, that problem had become Krad more and more frequently. "Please explain just how my not being able to stop him from projecting has angered you. You don't see me making any fuss about that thief."
"It wasn't that you couldn't stop him—it's that you didn't even try! Like you didn't care tha—"
"What if I didn't?" Daisuke fumbled for words, breath caught in his throat. "He wasn't hurting anyone or anything. What if I just didn't care that he manifested? What if I didn't want to make a scene here?"
The Niwa boy shook his head, "No…no, it wasn't a matter of you not caring because it wasn't a big deal…I saw you… You were having a nice little conversation with that bast—"
"Shut up."
"Oh?" Daisuke pulled back, "Have I hit something? Struck a nerve? Don't like the fact that you're being so—so friendly with that guy that others are starting to notice now? Don't feel like admitting that you're getting weaker to his advances?"
Satoshi pushed his chair back and stood up straight, hands fisted at his sides, "I said. Shut. Up."
"No—I won't. I won't until you wake up and see what you're becoming!" The Hikari boy covered his ears, but Daisuke just leaned in again, "You did that body melding or whatever with him last night—and said you liked it! And just now you let him wander around the room like you didn't care that he was flaunting his freedom, and were holding a conversation with him like he was—like he was a friend!"
He didn't know if he wanted Niwa to stop now or to keep pushing him—he could feel something pulsing in his veins, and realized distantly that it was adrenaline, and he was pumped for another fight. Yes…it had been so long since he had really fought. Daisuke never gave him the rush fighting Dark had, once-cat-like reflexes dulling in non-use. Just a swing, just a punch, just…just to see what Niwa would do if he hit him again.
"What's he saying now? What's he whispering inside your mind? 'Cause I know he's in there, undermining me, drawing you closer." Actually, Krad wasn't saying a word, having since retired to his little corner of Satoshi's consciousness and faded into the background.
"Niwa…" Satoshi fought to keep his tone steady, "I think it's time you went back to your seat." He paused, sat back down, and picked history book up again. "I'd like to finish my room-cleaning chores, thank you. I'm in something of a rush to get home today."
Daisuke pulled back and let his hands drop to his sides, staring down with a blank face.
Then he bitterly muttered something he really should have kept to himself: "You said you loved me…but I'm beginning to think you've found someone else now…"
That was it—the final straw. The redhead turned to walk back towards his desk, until he heard a chair scrape across the floor as it was quickly pushed back. On reflex, he turned his head to the side just in time to catch Satoshi rise from his seat and slam his fists on the desktop, calling the attentions of everyone still in the room.
"That was uncalled for. Thief." Daisuke paled slightly at being addressed so—Hiwatari-kun had always made the distinction between himself and his curse, never calling him anything besides "Niwa" or "Niwa-kun". He eyed the boy warily now, ignoring the whispers of his classmates.
Satoshi pushed off to the side of the desk and advanced the few feet separating himself and his rival in an instant, hands clenched at his sides, ready. "I'm so sick and tired of you always butting in—and that was too far!"
Despite the gasp that went up around the room when he raised his fist in the air, most of the students had been expecting another fight—or at least, those who had seen the first one weren't too surprised.
Until something happened that shouldn't have.
Just as he was about to bring a blow down on the cheek of the already flinching Niwa, something clenched inside his chest, something very familiar, and he sank, gasping for breath, to his knees. "Wh—what!"
His pectoral muscles tensed up like drawn bowstrings, and he clutched frantically at the fabric over them as if he was struggling through a heart attack, almost toppling forward, until a worried Daisuke rushed to his side—their quarrel fading into the background.
"Hiwatari-kun! Hiwatari-kun!" He grabbed the shoulders frantically and began lightly shaking as the other boy leaned into him, almost pushing him to the ground with the force he was exerting. Other students now gathered close to try and offer the two aid. But by now, Satoshi couldn't be satisfied with human help.
Twin peaks pushed up the fabric covering his shoulder blades, mini mountains straining to break ground, until they did—but instead of breaking ground, they broke skin. Just as had happened the night before, two princely snow-white wings emerged, bent in half at first, and unfurled like a butterfly's from its cocoon, finally free of their astral bonds once more.
"Th—those…Hiwatari-kun!" Something flashed in his mind, though—a memory. He'd seen this happen before, when Harada-san and Saehara had followed up a target of Dark's and been caught by—"Don't let him! Don't let him out! Hiwatari-kun!" he cried frantically, though he felt, by now, that it was too late.
The pale blue head rose up to stare into quivering red eyes, utilizing every ounce of willpower he had to do so. His eyes widened but a moment, before the lids slid down like portcullises, and he had the chance to murmur only one thing:
"D—don't…it's not—not Krad…it's…me…"
And he was lost to unconsciousness, limp in Daisuke's arms.
"Oh…"
'…shit.'
Suddenly, he was very aware of how alone he was…and at the same time not alone. Satoshi had fainted after sprouting a pair of wings. In front of most of his class. This was not conducive to keeping things secret. Had he been in his right mind, and in some other situation away from this all, the boy might have been angry with his rival that he'd been left to clean up this "mess".
Instead, his thoughts were running a mile a minute, hardly letting his own curse get a word in edgewise.
Alright—alright, he had to calm down, that was first: Hiwatari-kun was lying here on the floor with white wings…this was going to be hard to explain, but…but surely not impossible, right?
'Daisuke—what the hell are you talking about? HUMANS DON'T SPROUT WINGS!' If he could have hit his host, he surely would have right now.
The room was dead silent for another few moments, before a quivering female voice broke the tension, "Wh—what…what's going on here?" He distantly registered the voice as Riku's, "Niwa-kun…Hiwatari-kun…"
Daisuke simply stared down at the unconscious boy in his arms, finally yielding to his curse's prodding, and eased Satoshi onto the floor, settling him stomach-down so as not to damage the wings which sheltered their user protectively in a great white tent.
Saehara stepped forward, with the obvious intent to help Daisuke move the Hikari boy and make him more comfortable, but the redhead snapped in an unusually sharp tone, "Don't touch him! Don't anyone touch him!"
The reporter jerked his hand back as if he'd touched a hot surface, frowning at his friend in confusion, "O—oi, Daisuke…what's—"
"Shut up. I can't hear." Daisuke stood up slowly and closed his eyes in concentration, paying close heed to his curse and trying to mute out the confused murmurs breaking out among his classmates.
'Daisuke…you know we can't leave this. Something has to be done.'
'I know!' His mental voice was tainted with the confusion and anxiety of his normal voice now, 'But I can't think of—he has wings, Dark! How am I supposed to fix that!'
The thief was doing his very best to calm down his host, but it seemed pretty futile, until he remarked, 'It can be fixed, Dai…just…not easily.'
Head shooting to attention as if he'd just undergone an epiphany of sorts, immediately every eye was on him again, and this time Risa prodded him, "Ne…Niwa-kun, wh—what's going on?" She paused when he didn't answer, "…You knew…about this?" It was a logical deduction to make—the redhead was the most calm of the group, and the least surprised, the natural leader.
He still didn't respond. 'What do you have in mind?'
'Hiwatari's outta commission, I assume, and we can't let this sit—it'll spread throughout the town, this guy'll be in big trouble, and eventually that'll get me in trouble as well.' It almost made Daisuke laugh, how his curse was able to still pull sarcasm in this situation.
'So?'
A mental sigh, '…Kioku Soushitsu… Erasing their memories…'
Red eyes snapped around the room, flying from face to face in panic, 'Y—you mean…erase this…from all of their memories!' A wave of agreement washed over him, and he suddenly felt very nauseous. 'There's…no other way?'
'Afraid not…You can't explain away wings ripping out of someone's back—or if you think you can, I'd like to see you try. This is the only choice left.'
'I know, I just…it feels wrong, to mess with someone's memories…'
'Are you saying that…because that's what he did that one time?'
There was a slight hesitation in the response. '…I just don't want you to become like Krad…'
A mental laugh reverberated through his skull, relaxing him slightly. 'Fat chance of that happening, kid.'
'Alright, so what do I do?' A deep pause settled on his mindscape. 'Dark?'
'Well, yeah…that's the tricky part…'
'What is?'
'…You're gonna have to transform into me.'
"WHAT!" Once again, every eye that had wandered to Satoshi's prone form or turned to their neighbor in wonder snapped back to Daisuke…now pondering if their classmate was alright in the head, since he seemed to be having a nice conversation with himself.
'You can't do magic! And we need my wings anyway—With doesn't respond to your touch; it has to be me!'
'I—I get that but—can't I just use one of Hiwatari-kun's feathers!'
'Of course not, idiot! A Niwa? Using a Hikari possession successfully?'
'Well, alright, I'll give you that, but—'
'—But what? They'll only know for a moment regardless. Once I modify their memories they'll forget any of this—you, me, and Hiwatari. It'll be back to normal…'
There was a long pause as Daisuke weighed his choices, or lack thereof. Dark made perfect sense, and there really was no other choice: he couldn't perform any Niwa magic as he was, and he couldn't use With anyway. He had to…had to.
"…I understand…" He turned slowly to face his classmates, who seemed to actually sense something and took a step back, giving him a bit of room. Of course, it could have been worry at seeing such a serious expression on the face of a boy who was usually one of the most cheerful students in the class.
He locked his gaze on a pair of worried brown eyes. "…I'm sorry…Riku-san."
The girl's eyes widened, and her sister huddled closer, "Wh—what're you saying that for?" No reply, and Daisuke stepped back, bringing his hands up to cover his face. "Niwa-kun!"
He wasn't listening anymore—at least not to outside voices. All he heard now was his curse guiding him and calming him, enveloping his senses in relaxing mental waves to soothe his agitation, 'Just let go…I'll take care of everything, Daisuke… Trust me, I will…'
'I know you will…But it doesn't make this any easier.'
'…I'm sorry, kid—I know you weren't ready for something like this.'
He shook his head, 'Not your fault—so no apologizing, alright?' Sighing low, he prepared himself mentally, making room for his curse to move to the forefront of his mind, and releasing control as gently as he could.
His mental bonds pulled away like rope ties setting him adrift as he pulled his own consciousness away from its usual post and let Dark take over. It certainly wasn't their normal method of exchange, for this was one that could only be used when he had the time to concentrate so deeply as now. Most any other time still required the infamous love stimulus.
"Na, Daisuke…Did you get taller?" Saehara had remarked one day not too long ago, attesting to the fact that he'd finally caught up, vertically, to Dark—though the thief was still more evenly muscled than the Niwa boy could ever hope to be any time soon. Because of this, he didn't grow up at all—but this was hardly noticed by onlookers compared to the other changes.
His short-cropped red locks turned a dusky violet hue, spilling down his neck in long flowing tendrils of royal purple, and staining his covered eyes a tint that most assuredly did not belong to any human member of the Niwa clan. His body and appendages filled out more, filling out the muscles which served a phantom thief well in dashing from the police or scaling tall museum walls.
The hands were no longer an effective method of hiding.
Dark—for it was now Dark, through and through—let his palms fall away and straightened up, staring at his audience with a rarely-seen expression on his face: solemnity. The always-good-natured phantom thief was in no mood to play around right now.
Of course, the students weren't about to keep quiet for any long amount of time. Riku was the first, breath stolen by the man's sudden appearance—more so, his appearance from the body of one of those closest to her. Her hands flew to her mouth in shock, eyes trembling in disbelief, and she suddenly comprehended why Daisuke had apologized.
Her sister actually seemed to be taking the event more calmly, clutching Riku close as she too struggled futilely to make some sense of it all. "…Ni…wa…kun…?" she tested, though her heart had already told her the words that came out of the mouth in that familiar rolling tenor.
"…I'm not Daisuke."
It seemed too much for Riku, who slipped into a dead faint, barely caught by Risa. The younger twin called out in fear and turned pleading eyes to the phantom thief as if begging him to help her, but he had much more important matters to attend to at the moment.
Instead, he stepped back and barked a harsh command into the silence, "With! Come!"
Not wasting a moment to obey his master, a fluffy form leapt out of seemingly nowhere and perched on Dark's left shoulder like some big-eared white fuzzy parrot, kyuu-ing softly to his master as he nuzzled the smooth cheek. In gratitude, the thief reached up to pet the creature's head, instead unlocking the seal encoded in the Niwa pet's DNA.
With seemed to explode into a shower of feathers and ripped through Daisuke's school shirt to latch onto Dark's shoulder blades, unfurling and rolling off the back like two great black shredded flags. He propped the appendages open like a parachute, nearly stretching the span of the room and being sure not to hit any of the students who looked on in shocked silence. Hey, who said he couldn't show off?
He reached with his right hand over the same left shoulder With had just been perched on a moment before, and flinched in pain as he plucked a single iridescent black feather near the point of attachment where the appendages latched onto his skin. Holding it high in the air over the children, they naturally all turned their heads upward to look at it now.
Then, a flash of light, and fifteen bodies simultaneously dropped to the ground in as deep a state of unconsciousness as Riku and Satoshi, miraculously missing hitting their heads on desks and each other as they slipped down.
The phantom thief sighed and let the feather, no longer needed, drift slowly to the floor at his feet, and turned back to bend down and address Satoshi's still-unconscious form.
"You know…the things I do for you and that host of mine…" He scooped up Satoshi's still-winged body and darted out the door, praying his spell had bought him enough privacy to get to the roof at least.
Dark had, as a good phantom thief should be able to, managed to escape the notice of any teachers or other students as he darted down the halls and up the stairs to the roof as directed by his host. He was cradling the Hikari boy close so as to keep the huge white wings from flapping about aimlessly, taking the stairs two at a time.
'There! At the end of the hall! There's a janitor's office with a bed—no one ever uses it anymore, but it should be unlocked!'
"Right," Dark huffed in reply, shifting the boy's body so it hung over one shoulder, and reached forward to sling the door open. The interior was deceptively spacious, not obvious at all from the outside. He'd been expecting a cramped little room, but this was at least as large as the school's nurse's office. Flicking on a dim overhead lamp, he stepped over to the mattress, pondering how best to position Satoshi on it.
As if in answer to his unasked question, Krad flickered into view, glaring daggers at the thief who was holding his Satoshi-sama in such an intimate manner. Dark blinked a few times as the blonde mimed setting the boy down, then broke into a leering grin.
"Yo, Krad," he greeted slyly. The Hikari curse just continued to glare, then his mouth began moving rapidly, unleashing a silent tirade that Dark, of course, couldn't even hear. "Tsk, tsk," he chided, jerking his head to refer to Satoshi, "I'm sure you wouldn't want this kid to hear you talking like that, now would you?"
The astral image flushed angrily, but Krad quickly reined himself in and began once again miming what he wanted the thief to do, cupping his arms in a cradle and motioning setting something down on the bed. Dark cocked a head in confusion, thoroughly enjoying riling up the blonde when there was nothing Krad could do about it.
"Aah, okay, I think I've got it." He moved a hand down and playfully squeezed Satoshi's backside, "First—you want me to cop a feel, right?" Golden eyes widened, face flushing a violent purple-red, and Dark would swear he could see a tiny vein pop out from the blonde's temple—this was just too easy. "And then…you want me to—what?" He waxed incredulous, "You want me to—drop him out the window! Krad, I'm surprised at you! I thought you liked this host!"
Daisuke had fainted dead away, and the Hikari curse was shaking in anger now with his mouth moving again as he launched into a new string of silent profanities that would have made even Dark himself blush. When Krad offered him a rude gesture with his hand and made a move as if to try and strangle him, even though they couldn't touch one another in this state, the kaitou finally gave in and brushed him off.
"Get a grip—he'll be fine." He now set the boy down on his stomach, letting the wings rest open on his back so he wouldn't crush them. Daring a glance up at the still seething Krad, he added as a reassurance, "Your host's not even my type. Creepy and anti-social apparently doesn't turn me on like it does you."
Krad ignored the remark this time and moved closer, squatting down until he was nearly at eye level with his sleeping host. He opened his mouth to try and rouse the boy, but Dark stopped him with a warning, "Don't—don't wake him yet. He's had a lot taken out of him with those wings of yours. If I were you I'd do something about those first. The longer they stay out in the physical plane, the more they're just gonna sap his energy. You know that."
Grimacing, though Krad hated to admit that his enemy was right on the mark, the blonde faded back to the astral plane to concentrate his efforts into relieving his Tamer of his feathery burden.
'…Hiwatari-kun's gonna be alright, isn't he?'
Dark looked up, then broke into a soft smile. That host of his was always worried about something. "He'll be fine. Just, the sooner he loses those wings, the better. It's not so big a deal for me or Krad to waltz around with our wings, since we've got such large Astral reserves. But if you or Hiwatari were to bear them for too long…well…" He nodded towards the body on the bed, "See for yourself. He'll just feel really tired and have one hell of a headache when he wakes, though. Shouldn't be anything more serious than that."
'Thank goodness,' Daisuke breathed. '…Can I come back now?'
Without another word, Dark smoothly ceded control to his host, glad to be able to get out of Daisuke's tight clothing and back into less constraining astral garb. The boy slid into a chair situated behind the janitor's desk and crossed his arms, prepared to wait however long he needed to in order to be sure that his friend was fine.
'Wait—we're not going now? I told you he'd be fine!'
"I know—I know. I just want to be sure! I mean, he might have some questions or something when he wakes up, and I don't want him to think he's been kidnapped when he wakes up in this kind of place." He cast a glance to his watch. "It's been almost a half an hour already—people should be waking back up now, won't they?"
'They'll just think it was a gas leak or something. Though they might wonder where you are.'
"But they—no one'll remember what happened right? Riku-san won't—she'll forget that…that you're me, right?"
Glad that his host couldn't see his face right then, Dark returned as cheerfully as possible, 'Of course they'll forget—have a little faith in me, won't you? If there's one thing I know how to do, it's keep secrets.'
It was another hour before anything worthy of notice happened, and Daisuke was sure that everyone had gone home by now. It was past noon already, and that meant the short school day was over. His stomach was starting to voice its protest at not having been filled recently, and he shifted uneasily, casting a worried glance at the still sleeping boy on the bed.
At least the wings had disappeared, shattering like glass into a million white feathers, and dissipating into astral dust before they even touched the ground. Whatever Krad had done had worked, and for that, Daisuke was glad.
Well, he was glad that the wings were gone, not that it was Krad who'd made that happen. If he'd thought Dark could have done it himself, he would have propositioned his thief to do the deed. But the conversation he'd heard between the two curses earlier seemed to imply that this was something that had to be taken care of from the inside out—meaning Krad had to do it, if anyone.
After the wings disappeared, nothing else happened the whole afternoon save Dark occasionally prodding him asking if they could go home yet. The sun was making its trek towards the western horizon, and Daisuke had just begun pondering what his mother would be preparing for dinner that evening when Satoshi finally stirred, brows knitting in annoyance at being roused. Darting over to stand beside the bed, the Niwa boy leaned forward, staring worriedly at his friend. "Hiwatari-kun? Are you okay? Ne, Hiwatari-kun?"
Blue eyes flickered open slowly, fixing their gaze on Daisuke after noting the surroundings. "Ni…wa?"
Releasing a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding, the redhead broke into a large grin. "You're alright!"
'Of course he is; I told you he would be.' Daisuke simply rolled his eyes, and Satoshi didn't bother to question the action.
"What…what happened?" the Hikari boy questioned after a moment, pushing himself into an upright position and noting with some worry that his shoulders seemed unusually sore. "I…all I remember…is being in the classroom, and we fought… Something happened—my chest…hurt…" As if recalling the pain, he brought a hand up and grasped the fabric over his heart.
The grin faded from Daisuke's face, replaced by a grim countenance, and he lowered his eyes.
'You won't want to hear it, Satoshi-sama,' was his only response.
"That's for me to decide and you to shut up and let me hear," the boy ground out softly to his curse, not wanting to get into yet another bout of arguing with Daisuke. "Tell me what happened, Niwa. I don't care if I won't like it."
Nodding slowly, the redhead caved. "We…we did argue. And…I said that—well…what made you mad…and then something happened. I don't know why…but you just kind of…collapsed. You well to the floor and I thought that—that…he was trying to come out, but you said it wasn't him. That it was you. And then you—just…those wings came out—"
"Wha—in front of everyone!" Another solemn nod, and Satoshi's eyes widened in horror. "Then…they…know?"
"No," Daisuke assured him, and though the Hikari boy felt this should have relieved him, he was even more unsettled by the added, "I…Dark and I…fixed it…"
"…How?" he queried darkly, silently cursing. He was going to wind up in that thief's debt somehow—wasn't that a fine mess to be in?
Daisuke continued to avoid looking him in the eye. "Ki—kioku soushitsu…"
"You—let him use that!" Satoshi exploded, leaping from the bed and wincing as he pulled his shoulder muscles tighter than they seemed to want to stretch. "He could've—what if they'd—"
"It was the only way!" Daisuke snapped back unusually harshly, "You think I wanted to do that? To let him do something that your—that Krad did? And I even had to transform! You just grew wings—I had to go all the way! If Dark hadn't erased their memories, who knows how much trouble we'd be in? There'd probably be news crews all over my house by now, I'd have to move out of the country, and…" He slowed his tirade as he watched the Hikari boy's countenance fall, obvious guilt washing over him like a wave. "I…sorry…it wasn't that big a deal…"
"Yes it was," Satoshi countered, running a hand through his hair in a nervous habit, "Dammit…" He shot his gaze back up to stare at Daisuke, but it was evident the Niwa boy wasn't what he was focusing on. "You just helped me. Don't think this means anything to him, Dark. You know better than anyone else that he doesn't care about our secret getting out, so it's not like you did him any favors back there."
Daisuke frowned again, "Hey—he wasn't thinking of anything like that!"
"Oh get a clue, Niwa! He's Dark! Of course he was!"
"No he—Dark, do you hear this?" A pause, then a soft blush. "Oh…ne—never mind…I guess he would do that…"
Satoshi merely replied with a soft "hmph," then swung his legs over to the side of the bed, standing shakily.
"Wait—I don't think you should—"
"Thank you, Niwa."
Daisuke blinked, then returned softly, "You don't have to thank me for something like that… I mean, it helped me too—"
"Yes I do have to thank you. Because if I don't give you at least that, then I know I'll wind up in some situation in the future where Dark will be able to use that to his advantage and I'll regret it. A Hikari never leaves a debt unrepaid, so though I cannot think of some way at the moment, I'm sure I'll come up with something in the future. For now, please accept my words of gratitude."
It showed just how great an effect all his years at the Academy had had on Satoshi that throughout his entire speech of thanks, his voice didn't change one bit, staying soft and dull. It was simply duty to recite it, simply family duty. Simply Hikari duty.
"Forgive me for causing you such trouble Niwa." No smile. "My careless gallivanting has deepened our rift, and that truly was not my intention." Not even the batting of an eye. "Thank you, I am in your debt." Satoshi stood, rubbed his stiff shoulders again, and walked out the door, leaving Daisuke standing in silence.
"You can repay me…" the Niwa boy muttered to no one, "By coming to your senses…"
Author's Notes: Another week, another chapter. I apologize for what seemed like random jumping around between the end of one chapter and beginning ofthe next that happened a few chaptersback, but that's how it was supposed to be, not linear, with time passing between ends of chapters and beginnings of chapters. Sorry for the confusion! Next week: a treat for all of you who wanted more Kosuke/Satoshi interaction