7/9/05
Dsiclaimer: DNAngel is copyrighted by Yukiru Sugisaki!A/N: I'm uberly sorry for the long delay, but I've been really busy lately….;;;
Week one: fanime
Week two: FINALS Xx
Week three: gets dragged off to Death Valley NOOOooo! TT
Week four: summer school…trying to regrow the brain cells that fried in Death Valley
Week five: finally get a chance to work on chapter 4 - + summer school
Week six: out of town for the fourth of July + back for summer school

Somewhat important note about this chapter:

BTW, I kind of made a bit of a mistake…;;; the anime actually ends some time around Christmas, but I didn't realize this until recently watched the anime again… I was about to have this fic take place some time in the spring. Anyways, I've caught my mistake and I don't think I've written enough for me to mess up the fic too much by changing the setting to winter. So….this chapter will start…eh…maybe right after they get back from winter break. There's about a week missing in between the anime and this chapter, but there's really not too much I can do about it (unless I decide to rewrite the whole story…which I don't really want to do).

"Dasuki!" Dark yelled from downstairs. Daisuke could hear the six-year-old stomping up the stairs as he made his way into his tamer's room.

"Daisuki, Daisuki, Daisukiiiii!"

Daisuke groaned and buried his head under his pillow. For a little guy, Dark sure had a really loud voice… He could feel the bed shift a little as Dark clambered onto his bed and start bouncing excitedly.

"Dasukiiii! Wake up! It's snowiiiing!" The violet haired boy squealed, poking Daisuke repeatedly. When the teen didn't respond, Dark yanked his covers off, yelling, "Wakey wakey!" at the top of his lungs.

"Hey!" Daisuke yelped the instant the cold air hit him. He quickly sat up, yanked the blankets back from Dark, and quickly burrowed back into its blissful warmth. "I guess I was wrong about not having a white winter…" Daisuke mumbled from underneath the safety of his blanket.

"Kyuu…" With said, shivering as he burrowed into the covers and curled up against Daisuke's warm body. His big, red eyes peeked out from a little cave the folds of the blanket made.

Dark instantly calmed downed, momentarily forgetting about the snow to lie down on his belly, watching the rabbit-like creature groom his fur. He slowly reached out and poked the little creature on the nose, getting a soft, "Kyuu!" in response. A huge grin spread across his face as he started stroking the soft fur affectionately.

Daisuke sat up in his bed, wrapping the blanket tightly around his body. Large, crimson colored eyes watched the violet haired boy humming to himself, easily amused by the soft ball of fuzz curled up in the covers. He ran his hand through the long, violet bangs, marveling at the silkiness as his fingers slipped easily through each strand.

Dark's amethyst eyes peered upwards curiously, wondering what his tamer was smiling about. "Daisuki…when will Krad-chan get here…?

Daisuke quickly snapped out of his reverie, suddenly remembering that Satoshi had insisted on going home after dinner the night before. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the Niwa's hospitality or anything…it's just that Emiko's slightly overbearing personality was rather…intimidating. "Um…Maybe we should go over to Hiwatari-kun's place instead…?"

"Okay!" Dark replied enthusiastically, giving Daisuke a little peace sign before running off. A second later, he poked his head back into the room a said, "You might want to close the window…it's really cold in your room…" before leaving.

Daisuke groaned upon seeing the open window. It was only open a crack, but that was more than enough to let the icy air into his room. Reluctantly, he dragged himself out of the cozy warmth of his bed and slid the window shut, silently reprimanding himself for being so stupid as to leave it open in the winter. Even if it didn't snow, the air outside would have still been rather frigid. Daisuke hastily slipped on a pair of jeans and a plain, white shirt before pulling a thick, red sweater over it. With gave a loud, "Kyuu!" and hopped onto the redhead's shoulder as the two made their way downstairs.

"Ohayo, Dai-chan!" Emiko said cheerily, turning away from the stove momentarily so that she could greet the sleepy boy.

"Ohayo!" Daisuke replied, pulling a chair out and seating himself next to Dark. The little boy licked his fingers, sticky with the syrup from his pancakes, not paying much attention to Daisuke as the older boy wiped some more of the syrup from his cheek.

Daikii gave a short laugh as he watched Dark trying to lick the sugary stuff off his other hand as Daisuke scolded him for not using a napkin. He ruffled the silky, violet hair affectionately as he walked by them on his way to get more water for his tea.

Dark made a small sound a looked up at Daikii's retreating back, wondering why every single person insisted on doing that. The attention wasn't a bad thing, but he just found it odd that everyone seemed to enjoy touching his hair. He was about to fix his hair when he suddenly remembered that his hands were still sticky and promptly went back to licking them.

"Dark, don't lick your fingers!" Daisuke said, sighing in exasperation. "You're not going to get clean like that…"

"But With's always licking his paws after they get sticky from eating strawberries…!" Dark said, pouting.

"Then we give him a bath afterwards anyways," Daisuke replied, trying to wipe the last of the syrup off Dark's mouth. "Come on. Let's go wash your hands in the sink." He said, placing more emphasis on the end of the sentence as he noticed Dark trying to lick syrup off his shirt. He was about to leave the room when Kosuke walked in with a shopping bag, shivering as he tossed his coat down onto the sofa.

"Whoo…It's really cold outside," Kosuke commented, rubbing his hands together to try to warm them up. "I went out and did a little shopping for you…bought Dark and Krad some warmer clothes," He continued, hanging the bag to a grateful looking Daisuke. "Dark looks like he's going to freeze to death in that tank top of his. Isn't it kind of strange that, after being turned into little kids, both Dark and Krad are left wearing summer clothes?"

"Yeah," Daisuke said, peeking over the bag at Dark who stared quizzically back him. "Thanks, Dad!"

Kosuke smiled as he pulled a chair over and sat down at the breakfast table, looking somewhat surprised when his hand landed in something sticky. "No problem…" he murmured, suddenly noticing the syrupy mess around him.

(Quick A/N: I finished my kiriban for the first 50 review! http// www . deviantart. com/deviation/19901366/ take out the spaces… Sorry for putting this in the middle of the fic, but I wanted to make sure people actually saw it…;;;; Anyways, back to the story!)

"I-I-it's r-r-really c-cold in here…S-Satoshi-sama…" Krad complained, his teeth chattering like mad as he rubbed his arms, trying to stay warm. He was sorely tempted to spread his wings and to use them block out some of the cold. However, Satoshi had made it clear that he didn't like the sight of the white wings and would be angry to see them out again. The blond sighed, squatting on the floor, breathing into his hands as he desperately wished he had a coat or something of the sort. Krad was definitely surprised when the wish was granted. He blinked awkwardly at the blanket being thrust under his nose.

"Take it," Satoshi said, sounding slightly impatient. He waved the blanket in Krad's face, trying to get the little boy to take it. "I thought you said you were cold."

Gratefully, Krad accepted the blanket. "Arigato, Satoshi-sama!" he said as he snuggled against the warm material. The blue haired teen, however, did not pay him any heed and went back to trying to fix the thermostat. The 6-year-old was content just to settle down and watch his tamer work.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Satoshi was still trying to reattach two wires when the doorbell rang. Krad instantly slept to his feet, tripping over the blanket as he said, "I'll get it!" He fumbled with the locks for a moment before finally throwing the door open. A sudden blast of cold air greeted the boy, blowing his long hair in every direction as his breath caught in his throat. The wind instantly chilled him to the bones and his teeth started chattering again.

Daisuke didn't look too surprised to see Krad's arms covered with goose bumps and quickly let him in, closing the door as soon as Dark pranced in after him. "Hi Krad! Where's Hiwatari-kun?"

The blond raised one hand rather stiffly, as though his joints had frozen in the five seconds that the door was open, and pointed in the direction of the kitchen.

"Arigato, Krad-chan!" The redhead said, ruffling Krad's long hair as he handed the younger boy the shopping bag.

Dark looked utterly confused. Why must everyone play with the hair?

"Here you go" Daisuke said, helping Krad pull a white sweater over his head. "My dad bought you some stuff…hope you like them."

"Arigato, Niwa-kun!" Krad cried, promptly attaching himself to Daisuke's leg. He hugged the teen's leg tightly, refusing to let go.

Daisuke was startled to find Dark quickly latching himself to his other leg. "Um….guys? You can let go now… Actually, I'd prefer it if you let go because you're starting to cut off the blood flow in my legs…."

"Ah, Niwa-kun!" Satoshi said as he came out of the kitchen, surprised to see Daisuke already here…and even more surprised to see both 6-year-olds clinging to his legs. "…Why--?"

"Help me get them off… Krad's hugging me because I gave him the sweater and Dark's hugging me just because Krad's doing it, " Daisuke muttered, trying to shake Dark off without losing his balance. "My dad said he'd give us a ride to the mall, seeing as how it's really cold out and Dark and Krad don't have coats yet..."

"Oh…thanks." The blunette said, trying to pry the violet haired boy's fingers loose. Krad had already let go of Daisuke's leg to get a better view of Satoshi struggling with Dark.

"Let…go!" Satoshi said, grunting from exertion.

"Noooooo!" Dark yelled, wrapping his arms tightly around the redhead's leg.

"Why…must you always…be so…stubborn!"

"I. Like. Being. Stubborn!"

"Dark," Daisuke said, "I appreciate the fact that you like me a lot, but we really need to get going!"

Dark frowned a little and asked, "What's wrong with me being on your leg?" He tightened his grip as the redhead tried to pull himself free.

"I can't walk!"

"Drag me!"

"Daaaaark!"

"Dark-chan" Krad interrupted, putting on a mock sad puppy face.

The violet haired boy stopped struggling just long enough to give the blond a lopsided grin. "Yeeeeeesh?"

A small frown marred Krad's delicate features as he asked softly, "…You don't want to be with me anymore…?"

Dark instantly let go of Daisuke's leg, quickly brushing his clothes off. "Of course I do, Krad-chan. What makes you think I don't?" He asked, quickly latching himself to Krad's arm instead. Daisuke and Satoshi looked dumbstruck, staring at the little blond. Krad smiled brightly and made Satoshi a little victory sign, ignoring the betrayed look on his counterpart's face.

"That's all it takes?" Satoshi asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Great. Now that we've got that settled…" Daisuke said, giving Krad a pair of gloves and wrapping a fuzzy scarf around his neck, "Let's go!"

Krad's eyes widened in confusion the instant they stepped outside into the cold. He backed up a little, the snow crunching under his feet as he glared suspiciously at the white stuff falling from the sky.

"Why is everything…so white?" Krad asked, looking around in awe at the sudden change in scenery.

Dark giggled. "Funny you should ask that…seeing as how you're the one always wearing white."

The blond ignored him and hid behind Satoshi's leg, fearful feline eyes peeking out at the alien scenery. The blunette quickly moved away, leaving Krad out in the open.

"Satoshi-sama!" Krad whimpered, stumbling after his tamer, "Don't leave me!" He gasped in fright as his foot suddenly slipped out from under him. Waving his arms wildly, he was barely able to keep his balance and prevent himself from landing in an undignified heap in the snow. "Dark-chaaaan!"

"Just get in the car…" Satoshi growled, narrowing his eyes as the blond quickly did what he was told, not wanting to anger the teen. The teen rolled his eyes before slamming the car door shut and getting on from the other side.

"Hey, Riku," Risa said, turning to face the auburn haired girl sitting next to her. "How does this look?" She held the shirt up against her body, watching her sister's face for some sign of approval.

Riku's eyes took a while to focus on the shirt her twin was holding up for her to see. "Hm…?" She said, looking somewhat dazed.

"Are you okay, Riku?" Risa said, looking worried. She quickly sat down and let one hand rest o her sister's. "You usually aren't this…absentminded."

The shorter haired girl shook her head and smiled faintly, "It's nothing."

Risa stared intently at her Riku, realizing that the other girl was hiding something from her. The dull sound of chatter and sounds of other activity in the mall faded into the background as Risa's eyes begged her sister to tell her what she was thinking about. She hated it when Riku kept her in the dark. It made her feel like she was losing the trust that the two sisters had once shared for each other in the past.

"Please tell me," Risa said as more of a demand than a request, gripping Riku's hand tightly. "It has something to with Daisuke doesn't it?"

Riku looked surprised that Risa had found out so quickly. Wordlessly she nodded.

"Aren't you happy that he loves you?" The younger twin asked, "Or is there something else going on that I don't know about? Like…maybe about how Daisuke is actually Dark?"

Riku's head snapped up suddenly as she stared at her little sister. "You knew?"

Risa laughed. "That's what you've been brooding about? I've known for a while actually…I thought you'd have figured it out already."

"I've…had some suspicions." Riku admitted, shrugging awkwardly. She'd spent all this time debating with herself whether or not she should tell Risa when, in reality, the younger girl had already found out a long time ago! She felt like such an idiot…

"Remember that time we were at the tower…and Dark was with Hiwatari-kun?" The younger girl asked, idly running her fingers through her long hair.

"How could I forget?" Riku said, grimacing at the memory.

"It was after watching Hiwatari-kun change that I realized the same thing probably happened with Dark-san and Niwa-kun." Risa continued, twirling a single stand of hair as she continued to talk, "I always thought it was funny how, as long as Niwa-kun was with us, Dark would always appear regardless of how far away we were from Azumano."

"Dark's usual territory, ne?" Riku said, making a face. "Honestly, Risa, I still don't know what it is you see in him…"

"Hey! If he's Niwa-kun, then by saying that, you're insulting Niwa-kun as well," Risa said, grinning wickedly, "You don't want to insult your boyfriend as well—Hey, isn't that Niwa-kun and Hiwatari-kun? What are they doing here?"

Riku looked surprised and turned around, noticing the two teens hovering awkwardly near the entrance of the mall. She quickly rose to her feet and ran over to the entrance to greet them.

A/n: Sorry, but I'm going to have to stop here…. :sad that I couldn't get as far as I wanted…: Sorry for the crappy chapter! TT