Author's Note: Whoo! Second chapter! Took me long enough, eh? Well... there's an okay explanation for all of it. Sort of. Y'see, like I said in Something Wicked, my mother decided it would be good for to enter Tokyopop's Rising Stars of Manga contest. I mailed my entry in on Valentine's day, one day before the postmark deadline. Please wish me luck, everyone! And enjoy the chapter. Nine whole reviews for the first chapter of the first fanfiction I've ever written in this section. I think that's a pretty good start.
Disclaimer: Amethyst Bubble does not own DNAngel.
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The Angel Cards
Chapter Two- Capture Two
By Amethyst Bubble
-
"So, we've got two books with thirty two cards each," Daisuke took a bite of his toast, chewing carefully.
"And I'm in charge of The Fallen," Dark gulped down half of the orange juice in his glass. "Dai's in charge of The Keeper," He said, setting his glass down.
Risa nibbled on her own jam covered toast, nodding, "That's about right." She said, licking the excess jam off her lips. "And when you both capture all the cards from your respective sets, then Daisuke becomes master of The Keeper and you, Dark, become master of The Fallen."
"So, how frequently do the cards show up?" Daisuke asked, eyeing Risa as she continued to devour her toast.
She shrugged, "They aren't on a schedule or anything like that. They kind of... show up when they feel like it." She smiled nervously, brushing a few locks of her hair behind her ear.
Dark rolled his eyes, "Well, that's just peachy..." He snorted. Magic cards that showed up whenever they wanted and expected him to go chasing after him? He did not like the sound of that at all.
"Will they continue to show up one at a time, or will of a bunch of them try to swarm us?" Daisuke queried.
Risa shook her head, "A lot of the Keeper cards have Fallen counterparts they will show up with, but other then that..." She trailed off, munching on her toast. "I wouldn't worry about it."
"Okay," Daisuke grabbed his schoolbag from where it hung on the back of his chair. "When we get home from school we'll talk about this some more, okay Risa?" He smiled at her, "Don't let my mother give you too hard a time!" He headed towards the hall, slipping on his shoes and coat. It was really too bad that most of the snow had melted over night; he wouldn't have minded a snow day to mull over the cards a bit more. He fingered the pocket of his school uniform, making sure Fairy's Flight was safe with him.
Dark was a few steps behind him, grumbling about snow and school, the two evil 's' words in Dark's vocabulary.
"Dai, sweetie! Dark!" Emiko's voice called. In a moment, the woman appeared in the hall, carrying one huge lunch with the Niwa family pet, With, dragging another one.
"Mom?" Daisuke's ruby eyes widened as he beheld the size of the lunches Emiko had packed. "Isn't that a lot of food?" He asked as she handed it to him. He nearly stumbled under the added weight.
"Now that you're the candidates for The Keeper and The Fallen, you'll have to keep your energy up!" She exclaimed cheerily as Dark took the second lunch from With. "Make sure to eat it all!"
"Hell yes!" Dark exclaimed, eyes lighting up at all the food.
"Bye bye!" Emiko called as the two left for school. Turning to The Keeper's guardian who stood in the hallway, Emiko's grin widened, "Risa, would you mind helping me with a little surprise for the boys?"
At the look on the woman's face, The Keeper guardian involuntarily gulped.
-
"Good morning, Takeshi!" Daisuke greeted as he entered his classroom. In a moment, his friend had him in a headlock.
"Hey, Daisuke!" Takeshi grinned widely, "Did you see the news yesterday? With the flying dog? Man, I wish I had been there with my camera!"
As Masahiro finally dragged Takeshi off the poor red-head, Daisuke rubbed his neck and replied, "Oh...yeah, that was something..." Again, he fingered the pocket that contained Fairy's Flight.
Across the classroom, blue eyes observed the entire scene, noting everything that happened. Difference in posture at the mention of the dog incident yesterday, he thought, apparent nervousness. Probably carrying the card with him, he just touched his pocket as if making sure that something was still there. Satoshi Hiwatari almost smiled; Daisuke was so very easy to read.
Daisuke blinked as he caught Satoshi looking at him, "Oh...Good morning, Hiwatari!" He called, giving his blue-haired classmate a smile.
Satoshi nodded, "The same to you, Niwa." He returned the smile with a smirk of his own. "How was your weekend?" He asked. He wondered if Daisuke was sharp enough to catch on to him and his scheme; he wasn't trying to conceal it very well. Then again, the red-head always did seem a bit spacey...
"Oh, it was okay," Daisuke laughed nervously at the memory of yesterday, taking a seat at his desk.
He really is easy to read, Satoshi thought to himself. It was really kind of cute. Satoshi turned away from Daisuke, opening his notebook and writing down his observations. Across the room, Daisuke had struck up a new conversation with Takeshi. Satoshi listened closely, occasionally throwing glances Daisuke's way, writing down anything that he found interesting. When the bell signaling the start of class rung, he had compiled almost a complete file on Niwa Daisuke, from his height down to his speaking habits.
And Krad had said he was obsessed...
-
Dark tapped his foot against the ground in an annoyed manner. When he got bored with that, he switched to drumming on the desk with his fingertips. He was in the middle of a particularly nice melody when the teacher stopped rustling around with the papers on her desk and straightened up, clearing her throat.
"Class," she addressed in a clear voice. "I have an announcement to make."
"Fantastic," Dark growled lowly to himself.
"We have a new student transferring to our class!" The teacher smiled, opening the door. "I hope everyone will make him feel welcome!" Dark almost gagged at her fake cheeriness.
For a moment, the purple haired teen thought that she had gotten mixed up again, because he'd never seen a guy with hair that long. But no, after a minute he realized that this student was definitely male. Too bad.
"Please introduce yourself," The teacher instructed.
"I'm Hikari Krad," The new student said shortly, looking bored. Dark knew how that felt.
"Well, Mr. Hikari," the teacher surveyed the classroom. "Why don't you take that seat next to Mr. Mousy?"
Dark's head shot up. Damn, why did he get stuck with the new student? He swore that this teacher had it out for him. Must've been revenge for sleeping in class last week. Of course, that wasn't his fault. If the lecture had been more interesting, he was sure he could have stayed awake for at least half of it. Well, maybe a quarter.
"Mr. Mousy, stand up!" The teacher ordered. Dark grudgingly obeyed. "He'll be showing you around the school, Mr. Hikari."
Krad's golden eyes scanned the room until they landed on Dark. He smirked, "My pleasure, I'm sure." He said, walking up to Dark. A few of the more excitable girls in the class swooned, giggling hysterically. Dark scowled, narrowing his eyes. This guy had some nerve.
They both took their seats and the teacher went on with her duties, telling them to open their books to page so and so. Dark couldn't be bothered to pay much attention. Even if he wasn't being stared at by the creepy new transfer student, he wouldn't have listened.
Finally getting fed up, he sent a fiery glare Krad's way, "Do you need something?" He asked in a low whisper. Well, it was more like a hiss really, but that was beside the point.
"Nothing," Krad replied airily. "I would like to talk to you after class, though. There are things I'd like to discuss with the competition."
"Competition?" Dark replied, furrowing his eyebrows. "For what?" He hadn't stolen this guy's girlfriend or something, had he?
"For the position of master of The Fallen, of course." Krad replied in a tone that said the discussion was most definitely over and done. He turned his attention back to the blackboard and teacher and did not look back at Dark again.
Dark spent the rest of the class in shock. The only thought running through his head was that someone was out to get him. Oh, and that if Risa knew that other people knew about the cards, he was going to strangle her, regardless of her cuteness.
-
"So, how the hell do you know about The Fallen?" Dark asked Krad, after being dragged up to the rooftop by the blond. He was annoyed, confused, angry, confused, pissed off, but most of all, confused.
Krad rolled his eyes, "Haven't you figured it out yet? I told you who I was."
"Yeah," Dark snapped. "Your name is Krad and you know about The Fallen. There's a whole lot of information there," He said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"A little bit slow, aren't we?" Krad snapped back, "I told you, I'm the other candidate for the position of master of The Fallen book and cards." He explained slowly and carefully, as if he were speaking to a very small and not too bright child. Which was what Krad currently thought Dark was.
"But I'm The Fallen candidate!" Dark replied, placing his hands on his hips. He had opened that stupid book and he was going to catch all those damned cards. Him, not this jerk.
"Yes," Krad told him through gritted teeth. "And I'm your competition for the position of master of The Fallen. I'm the other candidate!" He hissed. This was just too frustrating. It couldn't be good for his stress levels, which were probably all ready unhealthily high.
"You're trying to capture the cards too?" Dark asked, scowling.
Krad nodded, "Very good!" He clapped his hands together in a patronizing way. "You get a gold star."
"Oh, shut up!" Dark exclaimed. This guy was really, really getting on his nerves. He wondered if he could knock him out; he figured he probably could.
Reaching over and closing his hand around Dark's wrist, Krad yanked the other teen towards him. As Dark fell against him, Krad somehow managed to fish The Black Wings out of the other's pocket.
When Dark had regained his footing, he pushed Krad back, stumbling away, "What the hell was that!" He spat, anger rising to dangerous levels. Angry Dark was not a fun thing to be around.
Krad was looking over The Fallen card he had snatched. "You didn't seal it right," He commented airily. He flashed the card in front of Dark and the other teen barely recognized it. Instead of the purple and black hues that had tinted the card before, the card was now colored white and gold. The black wings on the front of the card had changed to white ones and the title had changed to fit the picture. The words "The White Wings" now adorned the front of the card.
"What did you do?" Dark gasped, staring at the card in disbelief.
Krad leaned against the roof's railing, "Nothing. The cards change to suit their captors. If you had sealed it right, it wouldn't have reacted to my touch." He flung the card back at Dark.
Dark snatched it out of the air angrily, watching as the white and gold colors melted back into black and purple, the wings becoming black again. In the moment after it had touched Dark's fingertips, the card had changed back into The Black Wings card Dark had caught just yesterday.
"What do you mean, I didn't seal it right?" Dark asked, scowling up at Krad. "The guardian of The Keeper showed me how to seal it! She should know, shouldn't she?" This guy had some nerve, thinking he knew more then the guardian of the cards themselves. How could he know more then Risa? She was in charge of the cards!
"I meant what I said," Krad drawled, gazing at Dark through half-lidded golden eyes. "You didn't seal it right. Maybe the guardian forgot after spending so much time sealed in the book," He shrugged.
Dark seethed; he was going to strangle Risa later, really he was. Right after he killed this guy, of course.
Krad glanced at him, "Do you want me to show you how to seal it correctly?" He asked.
"Not really," Dark growled.
"Come now," Krad smirked. "I'm trying to be nice. If you don't seal it right, it'll be easier for me to snatch it from you and seal it myself. I'm offering you a head start."
Dark was tempted to say that he didn't need one, but he really didn't like the idea of losing The Black Wings. Especially not to this jerk. "...Fine!" He shouted. "What do I do?"
Krad's smirk widened, "Give me your hand." He ordered, outstretching his own, palm up.
Hesitantly, as if sensing foul play, Dark laid his hand in Krad's. Krad flipped Dark's hand palm up, drawing a small dagger out of his pocket and slashing it across Dark's palm in a vertical cut that extended from the base of the violet haired boy's fingers to his wrist.
Dark yelped, "What the hell are you trying to do?" He tried to pull his hand out of Krad's grip, but the blond held on tightly, long fingers curling around his wrist.
Krad didn't answer. Switching Dark's bleeding hand into the hand holding the dagger, he used his now free hand to snatch The Black Wings out of Dark's other hand. The blond pressed Dark's palm against the card so the blood dripped onto the surface of the card. Dark winced in pain, closing one burgundy colored eye.
Krad released Dark's hand and showed him the card. Even though it was in Krad's hand, the colors stayed the same. "See? Now it recognizes only you as its master." He thrust the card back into Dark's hand, raising the dagger and licking the blood off of the blade, "For now, anyway." He walked off towards the stairway without a second glance at Dark.
Clutching his bleeding hand, Dark growled low in his throat, "Screw you, sadist!" He shouted after Krad, "Ooh, I'm going to kill him!"
-
On his way back to school, Dark explained all that had happened to Daisuke.
The red-head bit his lip, "I don't know, Dark... I'm sure this new classmate of yours isn't as, well..."
"Evil!" Dark put in quickly, scowling.
"I'm sure he isn't as, erm, evil..." Daisuke sent his cousin an odd look, "as you make him sound."
Dark thrust his hand, now tied up with a handkerchief, into Daisuke's face, "He frickin' sliced my palm open with a knife!"
Daisuke shoved Dark's hand away, making a face, "Yes, but he also showed you how to seal the cards correctly. I think he may have been trying to be nice. Maybe he's just not good with people?"
"Sadistic bastards don't tend to be..." Dark growled.
Daisuke sighed, "Why don't you try and be his friend, Dark? I'm sure he's lonely. After all, he just transferred to our school..."
"To TORTURE me!" Dark yelled.
Daisuke shook his head, deciding to change the subject quickly. "Since there's another candidate for The Fallen, do you figure that I'm going to have competition for The Keeper?" He asked, tilting his head to one side.
Dark shrugged. "Maybe you'll get lucky and get a pretty girl for competition. Instead of me, getting stuck with the sadist..."
"Aw, cheer up, Dark!" Daisuke smiled at his cousin, "At least The Black Wings is sealed correctly now." He stopped in front of his house, fishing the key out of his pocket.
"Yeah, yeah..." Dark mumbled as Daisuke unlocked the door. All he wanted to do was lie down for a very long while.
"Hey, mom, we're home!" Daisuke called as they walked inside.
"Risa!" Dark shouted, "I've got something to speak," Yell, he mentally corrected, "to you about!"
Daisuke paused, "That's funny... the lights are all out. Maybe mom and grandpa went out with Risa? But the car is in the driveway... Maybe they went for a walk? Do you think they did, Dark?" He glanced over at his cousin.
"Whatever," Dark sighed, closing his eyes and taking a step forward...
... Only to fall through a gaping hole in the floor.
Dark managed to grab the edge of the floor on his way down, "Daisuke! Help!"
Daisuke nodded, wide-eyed, kneeling down and pulling his cousin back to safety. Looking ahead, he saw that the floor from where he stood to clear across the room was no longer there; only a gaping hole in its place. "...What happened?" He asked, gripping Dark's shoulder tightly. "Why is there a huge hole in the floor?"
"I don't know," Dark said, grabbing onto Daisuke's arm to make sure the red-head didn't slip and fall.
Daisuke looked up, something across the room catching his eye. "That's a blackboard over there, isn't there?" Ruby eyes squinted as Daisuke tried to make out what was written on the board across the room. After a moment, he sighed, "It's no good. I can't read it."
"There's not even a ledge or anything!" Dark exclaimed, "How are we supposed to get across?"
"... We're supposed to use the cards." Daisuke announced after a moment's contemplation. Fishing his house key out of his pocket, Daisuke turned to Dark and asked, "You just have to drip some of your blood on it, right?" He wanted to have the card sealed properly before he used it, just in case.
"Huh? Oh, yeah... Dai, what're you doing?"
Daisuke struck the sharp edge of the key hard against his hand, wincing as it broke the skin. Reaching into his pocket and pulling out Fairy's Flight, he pressed the card against the small wound.
"Ouch," Dark muttered, remembering his own experience from earlier.
"It's not so bad," Daisuke smiled warmly as he concentrated on the card. In a moment, it had dissolved into thin air, the only remainder of it being the almost transparent silvery wings that hung by Daisuke's shoes (1).
Dark copied his cousin and before long, the large feathered wings adorned his back again. Pushing himself off the ground, he shakily flew over to the other side. When his feet touched down, he let out a long sigh. He really needed to work on this flying stuff. Especially steering. Turning around, he called to the red-head, "C'mon, Daisuke! I won't go on without you, I swear!"
Daisuke nodded slowly, shutting his eyes tightly and stepping off the edge. To his delight, he found that he was not falling, but rather, floating in mid-air above the gaping hole. He was walking on air, literarily. Taking a deep breath, Daisuke ran for the other side, collapsing to his knees when he got across.
"That was scary!" He exclaimed, breathing heavily.
Dark nodded, extending a hand. Daisuke gratefully took it and they walked to the far side of the room, until they stood before the blackboard.
"Congratulations, Daisuke! You too, Dark!" Daisuke read aloud. "If you're reading this, you've obviously made it across! Great work, you two! Now keep it up, there's just a tiny bit more before you're home free! Love, mom and Risa." There was a little heart symbol next to the signature.
"They're trying to kill us!" Dark exclaimed. Seriously, how much danger was he going to be put in today? First the sadistic new kid who knew about the cards, now his aunt tried to kill him in some insane training exercise. This was obviously not his day.
Daisuke couldn't help but nod. He couldn't believe his mother would do this. He supposed she was only doing it for their own good, but honestly! What if he or Dark had fallen? They could have gotten hurt. "Oh, mom..." Daisuke sighed. "You've been watching too many shows with ninjas and spies again, haven't you?" He wailed aloud.
"Hey, there's a door behind here," Dark interrupted his cousin, pushing the blackboard aside. Indeed, there was a door behind it.
Daisuke raised an eyebrow, "...Didn't this used to be our hall closet?" He asked, casting a quizzical look at Dark.
Dark nodded, "Used to."
Taking a careful step and feeling the floor beneath him with his foot, Daisuke entered the former-closet. "I wonder how mom did all this... "Construction companies probably charged a good amount of money for this kind of work, and his mother had done it in an afternoon. Maybe there was magic afoot? Risa's name had been on the blackboard. He supposed she must have helped.
"Dai, watch out!" Dark grabbed the back of his cousin's shirt, tugging him backwards.
Choking as the cloth cut into his neck, Daisuke yelped, "Dark! What are you doing?"
Dark pointed ahead at what Daisuke was about to walk into. "It's pretty dark in there, but if you squint, you can see...Look at all those lasers."
"Lasers?" Daisuke shrieked, peering ahead. Dark red lasers crisscrossed in the narrow passageway. The highest one was about as tall as Dark. There was no way that either of them could jump over by themselves and the slits between the lasers were much too thin for them to slip through. Even a limbo champion couldn't manage it.
Spreading the wings that he had wisely decided not to return to card form, Dark flew up above the lasers, landing on the other side of them. Luckily, the ceiling seemed quite a bit higher then it had been when it still their hall closet. "Daisuke, come on!" He called, motioning for his younger cousin.
Daisuke shook his head, "I'm not sure if I can, Dark. I just stepped off the edge the last time. I'm not sure if the card will let me fly vertically."
Dark frowned, "Don't be an idiot, Dai! The box could fly vertically, so obviously you can too! Try and jump!" He commanded, placing his hands on his hips.
The red-head nodded hesitantly. Jumping up, he found himself hovering with his feet just and inch above the lasers. With one hand on the wall to steady himself, Daisuke slowly made it across and landed next to Dark.
"I think I'm getting the hang of it," He grinned shakily once his feet were back on the ground.
Dark gave him the thumbs up. "Good job, kiddo."
From there on, they crossed a stretch of floor covered in nails, ran from various robotic toys and finally made it to a door with a neon sign above it that said 'Welcome home'. Daisuke tried the knob; it was locked.
Dark rolled his eyes, "She thinks a locked door is going to stop us? This is the easiest yet!" He pulled his trusty hairpin out of his pocket and picked the lock. The door swung open, and Dark was immediately tackled by Emiko.
"Great job!" She squealed, letting go of her nephew and moving on to her son. "Oh, Daisuke, I'm so proud of you! Using the Fairy's Flight card for the first time!"
"Erm, thanks, mom..." Daisuke tried very hard to smile. It was a little hard, seeing as his loving mother had just compiled a very dangerous obstacle course for him and his cousin to get across. Still, she seemed happy, and he doubted that she would have put anything dangerous enough to actually kill them in the obstacle course. Well, the hole in the floor might, depending on how deep it actually was, and then there were the nails...
Risa clapped her hands from where she stood, slightly behind Emiko. "You two used the cards so well!"
"...You saw?" Dark raised an eyebrow.
"Surveillance cameras!" Emiko waved a hand airily, as every house had cameras planted in their hallway turned insane obstacle course.
Dark shook his head, he wasn't even going to try and process this information. Turning to Risa, he scowled, "I have to talk to you."
"Not now," She frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "You two have to go get changed and then we have to go! Another card has been spotted!"
Both boys groaned. Honestly, weren't they ever going to get a break? Two days of card capturing and they were already exhausted.
-
As dusk fell, the two teens and the guardian walked along a deserted alleyway, making sure that they would not be seen. Dark explained what had happened with Krad and The Black Wings, while Daisuke made sure that Dark's story did not get out of hand, assuring Risa that Krad was probably not Satan himself. Risa had seemed apologetic when she told both of the boys that she had honestly forgotten about the blood sealing method after all that time spent in the book and that she was very sorry. Dark grumbled to himself about conspiracies and Daisuke laughed nervously, ready to play the part of the peacekeeper.
"You know, you never did tell us what card we're supposed to be looking for..." Daisuke looked over at Risa, who immediately tried to look innocent.
"I didn't?" She blinked sweetly. "Oh, well...it's the Explosion card..." She said the last part very, very quietly.
"There's an Explosion card!" Dark shouted. Oh, this was not good. And he'd thought that the attack of the living cardboard box had been bad...
Risa nodded meekly, "Now you see why I didn't tell you." She tried to keep her smile in place, but it was rather hard when you had two incredulous card captors glaring at you. Well, this certainly was going to be an evening to remember. If the captors didn't skin her alive, of course. Or if she didn't get blown up by a card.
"Please tell me that the Explosion card isn't what it sounds like..." Daisuke asked, looking at her desperately.
Risa grinned nervously, knitting her fingers together. "Well, yeah, it is what it sounds like..." She mumbled quietly, shrinking back a tiny bit.
"Has it caused any damage?" Daisuke asked, his voice and eyes tinted with worry. Dark rolled his eyes. Classic Daisuke, he thought, thinking about others before thinking about the fact that they were being sent to capture a card that could blow things up.
Risa shook her head, "Not really... It was on the news shortly after you left. A pile of cars blew up unexplainably in an abandoned lot. There were some people there for a while... But they left a while ago, according to your grandfather..."
"Do you think it's still in the lot?" Daisuke asked, noting that the part of town they were headed to was definitely not the nice part. There were quite a few of abandoned lots around this area. Not to mention thugs... Apparently, Dark was thinking the same thing as he looked around suspiciously, staying close to Daisuke and Risa as if to guard them.
Risa nodded. "I know where it is... Ms. Emiko gave me directions..." She said, turning a corner sharply, making the two boys hurriedly scurry after her.
She stopped as abruptly as she had turned, coming to a halt in front of a lot surrounded by a chain link fence with a crookedly hung sign that said 'No Trespassers' in faded letters. Dark rolled his eyes, rolling up the sleeves of his black shirt. Cursing the boots Emiko had demanded he wear, Dark began to scale the fence. When he reached the top, he jumped, landing gracefully on his feet. He opened the fence from the inside, the doors swinging wide open. Dark stepped back to allow Daisuke and Risa entry.
"So, it's somewhere here?" Dark asked, eyeing the police tape that had covered part of the fence. That had made part of the climbing a bit slippery, of course, but it hadn't been all that hard. After all, Dark had experience in these manners. Experience that Daisuke would be pretty damn mad about if his younger cousin ever found out.
Risa nodded, looking around warily. She really wanted to make it out of here alive. She might have been a mythical being, and therefore not human, but she could still feel pain, which meant she didn't want to unexpectedly run into Explosion.
"Is Explosion going to need a host like Fairy's Flight?" Daisuke asked in a voice barely above a whisper, as if the card could hear them.
Risa shook her head, "I don't think so." She murmured just as quietly, "Explosion doesn't need a host, though it might take one anyway..." Moments after the words had left her lips, a loud bang echoed across the yard,
Daisuke yelped, spinning around. There, where an old car had been moments ago now was a smoldering pile of scrap metal.
Dark winced, "Yeesh..." He muttered. He really hoped they managed to make it through this alive.
Daisuke's ruby eyes were wide, "If it doesn't require a host, then we won't be able to see it, will we?" He asked shakily as he took a step backward, away from the smoking pile of rubble.
"How the hell are we supposed to capture something we can't see?" Dark demanded, spinning around to look at Risa.
She shook her head again, "I... I don't know..." Oooh, she did not want to end up like that poor Saturn (2), no, she did not.
"I suppose it's good there are other captors besides the two of you, then. Others with more experience in the matter." A voice with cool undertones said from somewhere up above. Three heads swiveled to look up at a pile of scrapped cars, on top of which stood two very familiar figures.
"Hiwatari!" Daisuke exclaimed, eyes going wide, "Hiwatari, you aren't... the other captor... are you?" He asked, suddenly tinged with a hint of fear. He'd never been all that close to Hiwatari Satoshi in the first place, but still... Would this tear what little bond they had apart?
Satoshi looked away; why had it suddenly become so hard to meet those ruby red eyes?
Krad snorted, "I'll make this easy for the both of you," He said, waving a hand at the younger boy next to him. "Satoshi here would be the other Keeper candidate."
Dark growled low in his throat, "We don't need you here! We can handle this all on our own!" He snapped, pointing an accusing finger in Krad's direction, "So clear off!"
Krad ignored Dark's words, tilting his head to the left as if thinking about something. Signaling to Satoshi with a nod, they both jumped down, landing smoothly on the ground. Moments after their feet had touched the ground, the pile of cars they had been standing burst into flames with a loud 'boom'. Krad jumped back with impressive skill as flaming metal fell on the spot he had been standing on moments ago.
Dark found himself entertaining the idea of Krad being smushed into a pancake by a flaming car door, but right in the middle of the part where Krad actually got smushed, he felt someone grab his arms and pull him backwards. Looking on either side of him, he saw Risa and Daisuke. "... What do you think you're doing?" He asked, raising both eyebrows.
"Risa said she thinks Explosion is going to hit where you were standing!" Daisuke said, clinging to Dark's arm tighter. He did not want a dead cousin.
Risa nodded, "You have to be more careful. I think it's going to try and strike the captors and eliminate them."
"Sounds real ni-" Dark's sentence was interrupted by another 'kaboom', as the ground he had been standing on moments before burst into flames.
"... The card is trying to kill us." The purple haired teen stated in a disbelieving tone. "First that bastard," A pointed glare at Krad, who raised one eyebrow, "then Emiko, and now the card. It's officially 'let's kill Dark' day."
"It's lovely to hear you complain," Krad cleared his throat. "But you're distracting me from my job."
Dark growled lowly. What he wouldn't give to rip this guy's throat out... Ah, revenge would be sweet. Shaking his head, he decided to concentrate on catching the damned card now and killing Krad later. Producing The Black Wings from the folds of his coat, he released it and stretched the feathered wings that materialized behind him. If he took to the sky, he shouldn't have any problems with Explosion. With a flap of his wings, Dark took flight, hovering above the junk yard.
Blue eyes narrowed as Satoshi studied Dark's winged figure. Something was different from last night. It only took him a moment to figure out what. "... You showed him how to seal it properly," Satoshi stated, staring wearily at Krad. "Whatever for?"
"I didn't want this game to be boring," Krad smirked, eyes scanning his surroundings as if trying to track down Explosion. He drew a slip of paper out of the pocket of his trench coat, fingertips tracing the blue ink on it lightly. "It wouldn't nearly as fun if I knew all the rules and the other player didn't." Golden eyes narrowed, cat-like, as Krad studied something in the distance. "Strange. It's going to aim for Keeper's candidate."
The calm, cold expression Satoshi's eyes held flickered, "You mean... Niwa?"
"Is that a problem, Sato?"
Satoshi glared from behind his glasses, "It's none of your business, Krad!" He snapped, turning his back to the blond.
Krad shrugged nonchalantly, "All right, if you say so." He didn't really have the time to care about whatever inner conflict was bothering Satoshi. If he wanted to help the other Keeper candidate, then he'd have to act fast. Krad was busy trying to capture the card. Focusing on Daisuke, his grip on the slip of paper he held. As soon as Explosion struck, so would he.
"Be on your guard, Daisuke," Risa murmured. "Explosion could strike anywhere."
"Can't you sense it?" He asked, remembering that moments ago she had informed him it planned to attack Dark.
She paused, then shook her head, "It seems to be trying to hide it presence. I can still feel it, but I can't tell where it is." She bit her lip, "Dark had the right idea with the Black Wings. Can you use Fairy's Flight?"
Daisuke nodded, drawing the card out of his pocket. "I guess that would be the best choice of action..." He said, beginning to concentrate on the card. "I hope Hiwatari'll be all right." He glanced over at the blue haired boy to find Satoshi staring back at him.
"...Hiwatari?" Daisuke called, confused at the worried look on the other's face, "Is something wrong?" He stopped concentrating on Fairy's Flight, lowering the card.
"Daisuke," Risa hissed, tugging on his sleeve. "What are you doing? Summon Fairy's Flight!"
"I agree with the guardian," Satoshi spoke suddenly, apparently having overheard Risa. "Niwa, you should get yourself to safety."
"Oh," Daisuke faltered slightly, raising the card again. "The same for you, Hiwatari," He smiled at the other boy as the card began to glow, and then fade away. A strange, but not uncomfortable feeling coursed through his veins as the card began to disappear altogether, and that's when Explosion struck.
It was Risa who screamed first, the force of the blast knocking her over and sending her to the ground. Raising herself up on her knees, her horrified gaze fell on the billowing smoke that issued from the spot Daisuke had stood on moments before. "Daisuke?" She said quietly as she got shakily to her feet. The smoke had yet to clear. "Daisuke!" She repeated, hands clenching as her eyes widened.
The sound of feathers filled the air as Dark landed, running over and trying to bat away the smoke, shouting his cousin's name. Satoshi stood still as stone, staring blankly at where the red head had been. Krad's golden eyes were observing the ground where the smoke still issued from. There were still flames. Explosion had yet to leave.
Concentrating on the slip of paper between the fingers much like how one would concentrate on the card, Krad mumbled something under his breath. Card capturing was so much easier with elemental talismans. A cyclone of water swarmed around smoke and the flames, enveloping it.
Dark took a step back as the water cut him off from the smoke, and more importantly, Daisuke. Turning to Krad with blazing eyes, Dark shouted, "What did you do? What are you doing?"
"Simple," Krad replied with a light smirk. "I'm capturing this card."
"Great, so if Daisuke isn't all ready dead from being burned to crisp, you're going to drown him!"
"The other Keeper candidate is no concern of mine," Krad replied calmly.
The water cyclone began to slow down, and then gave out all together, falling to the ground with a crash and soaking everyone up to their ankles. Kneeling down, Krad scooped something out of the water that was quickly soaking into the ground. Holding up a white and gold card, he smirked, "Well, it looks like I've captured Explosion." He pulled a pen out of pocket, quickly signing the back of the card. Taking the same dagger he had used on Dark earlier that day, he drew a thin line down his palm and let the blood drip onto the card. He turned on his heel, preparing to walk away, "Come, Satoshi. Our work is done for today."
Satoshi stayed where he was, eyes still fixed on the spot where Daisuke had stood, "Niwa..." He murmured. Risa was gazing in the same direction as Satoshi, looking slightly teary, but not very sad.
Dark turned back to where he had last seen his cousin and gave a yelp of some sort. Krad turned around as well, looking none too amused by all this. This had better be good.
Daisuke stood, his ruby red eyes somewhat wide with shock, but a smile on his face. There were no burn marks anywhere on him, even though tendrils of smoke still issued from the scorched ground below his feet.
After a moment, he blinked, "Why's everyone looking at me like that?" He asked, raising a hand to scratch the back of his head.
"We thought you were dead, or horribly burned, or something!" Dark shouted, pointing an accusing finger at a now thoroughly puzzled Daisuke. "How dare you worry me like that!" Risa nodded in agreement with Dark, bouncing on the balls of her feet. The expression on her face was a mix of annoyance and relief.
"Niwa, Explosion hit you," Satoshi said, sounding puzzled. He felt strangely relieved, and half of him wondered why.
Daisuke blinked, then smiled again, "Oh, I know." He said simply, examining his black gloves before stripping them off and tucking them into his pocket. They had smelled too much like smoke for his liking.
"What do you mean, you know!" Dark demanded, looking ready to strangle something.
"Well, it's pretty hard not to notice that you've been enveloped in smoke and flame," Daisuke said flatly, giving his cousin a 'what are you, an idiot?' look. Dark glared back, placing his hands on his hips.
"Daisuke," Risa spoke up suddenly, examining the air around the redhead. On closer inspection, it was slightly hazy, and one could almost make out the outline of something that vaguely resembled a gigantic wing. "Is that Shield?" She smiled vaguely as the hazy shape became more visible, though all but the pearly white edges and the ruby colored gem on the left side was mostly clear and see through.
"Oh, is that what this card is?" The redhead placed a hand on it, "... If it is a card, that is." He added as an afterthought.
For the first time in a few moments, Krad spoke up, "Shield is indeed a card, belonging to the Keeper deck."
Risa laughed, running her hand around Shield's edge, "Explosion has such a strong presence, I didn't even notice Shield!" She patted the card with a warm look in her brown eyes.
"I guess that means that Hiwatari and I should try to capture it, then?" Daisuke looked at Satoshi with questioning eyes. He honestly had hoped that he wouldn't have to fight the blue haired boy, but he guessed that if Satoshi was indeed the other Keeper candidate, then it was his duty. He couldn't just back away from it.
He was surprised to see a small smile on Satoshi's face, "It looks like you've all ready captured it, Niwa." With a wave, he turned and walked towards Krad who didn't bother to even give them a glance of acknowledgement before he started to walk off.
"Huh? What did he mean?" Daisuke turned his attention back to Shield just in time to see it transform back into a card, floating down to land by his feet. "But... I didn't even do anything to it..." He picked up the card, looking slightly puzzled.
"I guess it just wanted to come to you," Risa smiled, leaning over Daisuke's shoulder to look at the card. "Kind of convenient, isn't it?"
"That bastard got Explosion," Dark mumbled under his breath. Upon being glared at by Risa and Daisuke, he added, "Oh, and good for you, Dai, not letting the card go to that creepy kid." He shuddered slightly and Daisuke raised an eyebrow. He didn't think Satoshi was creepy... well, not very creepy, at least. Still, it wasn't very nice of his cousin to say that.
Turning back to the card, Daisuke looked fondly at it before taking a pen out of his pocket and quickly signing his name. He would seal it properly with blood when he got home. Making a move to put the card in his pocket, he yelped, bringing his hand back up to eye level.
"What happened?" Dark asked, idly walking towards the fence of the junkyard. They should get out of there, just in case anyone heard the noise caused by Explosion and called the cops.
"I cut my finger on the card..." Daisuke frowned; the edges hadn't looked that sharp. A drop of blood dripped down on the card and Daisuke was even more puzzled. Since when did paper cuts bleed like that? "Did Shield make me cut myself, so I could seal it properly?" He asked Risa.
She shrugged in reply, "Maybe. Shield's a bit of an odd ball." She winked, heading after Dark as he started to walk out of the junk yard.
"C'mon, Dai," Dark whined slightly, kicking the chain link fence open. "It's getting late," He gestured to the inky navy-black sky dotted with stars above them, "and I'm hungry." He grinned playfully.
Daisuke suppressed a laugh, following after his cousin and Risa. All the while, he fingered both Shield and Fairy's Flight in his pocket. Maybe, just maybe, this entire card capturing business would help him get closer to Hiwatari Satoshi. After all, today had been the first day he'd ever seen the blue haired genius smile. The closest he'd ever come before was the smirk Satoshi had given him that morning. That morning... it seemed like it had been a lot longer then just that. He smiled to himself as they started walking down a dark alley, Dark whining about being hungry, and something else about 'evil card-stealing blonds'. He wished that what little bond he and Satoshi shared would be strengthened by the cards.
He looked up just in time to see a shooting star streak across the sky and his smile widened. He had just inadvertently wished upon a falling star.
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Card Two- Captured
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1. Blatant mythology reference. Hermes, the Greek messenger god, wears winged sandals. It's a cool image, so I couldn't resist. X3
2. Do they have Saturns in Japan? o.o I have no idea what sort of cars they have there. I just picked the first name that came to mind. My aunt has a Saturn, I think...
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This is the chapter that WOULD NOT END. oo Seriously. It's the longest chapter I've ever written. Yaaay? Anyway, I hope you readers enjoyed it (I aim to please). And once again, I'm sorry for the wait. My goal is update much faster. Hopefully, I'll be able to live up to that goal, right?
Reviews are much appreciated!