Disclaimers: If only… (shakes head)

Warnings: Uh… ceaseless ramblings that go nowhere… and Daichi freaks out when she finds out what Satoshi is…

Other: … Don't ask.

000

"Thirteen years, thirteen stars. Foul separate souls destined from the start. One dreaded prophecy; waiting to come true…"

Fragment Four: Aftereffects

In Krad's room, there was silence. And not just plain silence; more of an unbearable silence that neither one could take, until Krad got sick of it and threw one of her many pillows at Dark's face, who had been sitting on the floor.

"Can't you think of anything to say!" she demanded in annoyance, "I thought you came to do something more useful than just sit there like a moron! I thought you'd have something interesting to say. Guess I was wrong." She crossed her arms as Dark groaned in pain and rubbed his face.

"Is it just me or are your pillows as hard as bricks!" he yelled back, tossing it over and she caught it indifferently, "For a girl, you're a bit over the top, aren't you? Even I'm not that violent!"

The blonde bristled at this and you could almost see the smoke coming out of her ears, "You're gonna pay for that, you stupid prince!" She jumped over in his direction and before they knew it, they were wrestling/grappling on the floor. Thankfully it didn't last for long, seeing that Dark did have the upper hand.

He grinned, "Yep. I thought so. You're still a girl."

Krad glared at him, "Shut it!" How annoying; why did she have to be physically weaker than him! It was so unfair.

Laughing, Dark helped her up, "Well, at least you're still the same Krad I knew. I was a bit worried about you changing into one of those scary women that walk around like the world is below them."

She raised one slender eyebrow at this, "I don't know if I should punch you for that."

"Then don't," during the small fighting session, Krad had managed to get a few punches in and they really did hurt. "I want to make sure that my head is still in tact."

The blonde shrugged at this and looked around her room, trying to find something interesting to say. Needless to say, during the last thirteen years nothing had happened and that wasn't a good thing. Maybe it was because of who she was and the fact that she was indeed a girl, so that said a bit. Tch, she bit her tongue slightly to distract herself.

Finally, when Dark was certain that his head wasn't going to fall off anytime soon, he began to talk about his life around and about how boring it really was, but hey, it was better than saying nothing.

They weren't entirely afraid of what either family would say about disobeying their rules and all, seeing as it was done and that was final, but it was their fault in the first place for this mess. Whatever the mess was.

The two had been too young to remember.

But whenever they tried to put their minds to it, all they really could remember was a sort of dark tent with lots of purple and silver velvet… and some other strange things you could find at some of those more… er… shops that sold things that people just didn't buy anymore.

It was confusing to think about.

And by the look on Dark's face, it wasn't good for him to think.

"So what have you been doing with your life?" Dark finally asked once he had finished the recount of his – incredibly lifeless and boring – life, "It can't have been any better than mine."

"I'll say," Krad replied, rolling her eyes as she gave her room a sweeping glare, "All my life they've told me that I should learn the rules and all that junk and that one day I'll be queen, blah blah blah, and so forth." She twirled a strand of hair through her fingers, "They're even against me wearing this, of all things. And everyone wears them these days, anyway. So how can you complain about that! I don't understand it, and I'm pretty sure that everyone's forgotten it's my birthday today."

She groaned and flopped back onto her bed, "It's so pointless now," she mumbled, "And then they'll probably come up to me one day and tell me that I have to marry some guy I've never met, and then I'll hate his guts and then they'll remind me of my social status and it's not in my place to argue and complain, and…" She rambled on for a little longer.

Dark nodded sympathetically and looked out the window, allowing her rambling to wash over him; it wasn't like she expected him to answer, but she needed someway to vent her feelings. She was just so fed up with the whole deal and this was the best way to get rid of it.

Or go and throw something out the window. And hope that someone got hurt in the process.

The amethyst-eyed teen couldn't help but notice how far apart the two kingdoms really were and how… well, different they were from each other. Complete opposites, he supposed, but that was how it was all balanced out. Night formed into day and vice versa, and that was what the two heirs were brought up to do. Keep the balance; follow the rules; don't follow your heart.

The last part Dark had told himself. Because he, too, would be forced into one of those arranged marriages, and he wasn't looking forward to that either. If the worse came to worse, he was out of here and into the real world.

He remembered once when he'd asked – rather innocently – as to why his parents didn't… produce anymore kids after himself, and they sent him to his room, which wasn't fair at all. He'd only been seven at the time.

So what was in the balance? Why hadn't his own parents allowed him to speak to Krad with no privacy? There had to be some other motive behind it.

Did they want to make him miserable? A possibility at the most, but what was the point of making him depressed/rebellious and all? There was no good side to that factor. Or were they afraid that one day he would fall in love with other side of things?

He snuck a glance at the blonde, who was still rambling, waving her arms in exasperation. Dark knew that she was beautiful, and her own independency probably hadn't changed a bit, but did he love her in that way? He didn't know, and he wouldn't be able to tell for a long time. I mean, he had only known her for three or so years when they were still children, and then for thirteen years they didn't even talk unless someone was listening in on them. So no one could tell.

Besides, who cared about who he married in the end? Sure, he was supposed to have responsibilities and all that other stuff, but he was still an adolescent and how could you count that against him? Again, he got caught up in his own thoughts.

Having stopped rambling some time ago, Krad noticed the look on his face and concluded with relish; :He's thinking too much again.: Really. He needed to stop doing that or his brain would fall off someday.

She stretched lightly, doing her own thinking; she wasn't stupid enough to miss the glance Dark had thrown at her before during her ramble. What had he been thinking then? That she looked too much like a girl now? That she wasn't fun to hang around but there was no other alternative? Actually, that would make a lot of sense, but she definitely wasn't happy about it.

Both their lives were pretty much the same, with the heavy hand of their parents knocking them into the earth pretty hard and there wasn't even the slight chance of being allowed to do what they wanted.

But Dark had also disobeyed the rules and came to the Sun Kingdom without permission or notice.

What was going to happen to him now?

The blonde inclined her head, "Oi, Dark."

He jerked up, saved from his thoughts, "Yeah?"

"Do you know how bad it is to break rules like these? I mean, seriously."

"Er…" he frowned and scratched the back of his head, "I don't know, actually. I'll probably get told off or something."

Krad gave him a long look, "… Right…"

Noticing the reluctance in her agreement, Dark bounced forward, "What? What's gonna happen?" he demanded.

If Krad was about to say something, it was blocked out by a loud screech outside the room, the heavy beating of wings, and an earthquake that shook the entire palace.

000

Dabbing a water-soaked cloth over the pale boy's forehead, Daichi couldn't help but notice how… well, mature he looked. Daisuke had vanished somewhere for the time being, but she was sure he'd be back real soon. The boy had cerulean-shaded hair and incredibly pale skin… what was wrong with this guy! Ugh… Daisuke would know, she told herself, and she was going to get answers as soon as possible.

Rubbing her own forehead with a free hand, she grimaced and tried to get what was going on through her head. Okay, sure, she'd summoned a monster and had had to send it back; yes, she'd done that. The next thing that happens is that her brother gets squashed by this guy and now…

She sighed; now they were back home.

Literally, it wasn't their home, but since they were still blood relatives, there wasn't much more that could be said. Both Emiko and Kosuke Niwa had died soon after the twin's birth and… well, it went downhill from their.

The sound of the door swinging open was what brought her back to reality and Daichi watched as her brother closed the door behind him, gnawing his lip.

"So," she prompted, "are we actually going to tell Aunt Aya then? I mean, we are in their house…"

Daisuke muttered something under his breath and scratched the back of his head, "I really don't think we should. I mean, er…"

Daichi frowned, "What is it? Who is he?" She then decided to ask something more logical, "I'm not stupid. Summoning only works on creatures and… well, the non-mortals. Who, or what, is he?"

"Do you promise not to… er… panic then?" guessing by the constant shifting of the feet, the redhead really didn't trust her to remain calm in the situation: even now she was getting worked up.

"… I suppose."

"He's a vampire."

"… WHAAAAAAAAT!"

Plugging his ears to avoid the noise, Daisuke was suddenly very thankful that the rest of the family were actually out so they couldn't hear her. All he needed now was the rest of them to pile in, demanding to know what was going on. And he wasn't looking forward to explaining.

With seemed to be suffering as well, and was hiding under the bed now.

"I can't believe it! This is insane! He's gonna kill us all!" Daichi shrieked, having paled in a matter of seconds when the information sank in. "They're so evil and they drink the blood of every moving thing and… I'M NOT STAYING IN THE SAME ROOM AS THAT THING!"

Daisuke shrugged and unplugged his ears to push his twin out of the room. "Okay. Just don't tell aunt, uncle or Hikaru. Actually, don't tell anyone."

"… Okay, whatever," she huffed, getting over her shrieking spree, "But I think we should get rid of him as soon as possible."

He shut the door as she grumbled under her breath and With popped out cautiously.

"Kyuu?"

Daisuke faintly, "It's okay now, With. She's gone for now." He then looked over the room that was actually their bedroom. At the present time, the curtains were pulled shut so it had a rather… musty-sort of look to it. There were twin beds, a wardrobe, a dresser, desks and chairs, a bookcase, and two doors: one that led out to the hallway; the other to a small bathroom. The vampire was currently lying on one of the two beds and Daisuke noticed that he was stirring.

Had Daichi's shrieking woken him up? Well, that wouldn't surprise him too much, seeing how her voice could literally break glass. That was the reason for them not having any glass in the windows anymore.

"Ugh…" the vampire tried to sit up, but couldn't.

Daisuke hesitated, "Uhm… are you okay?"

000

It was blissfully comfortable being in the middle of nowhere, mused Satoshi. Okay, he was not dead, just knocked out, but it was better than being threatened by his… er… family. They were so weird and scary. He grimaced at this thought.

So what had happened exactly? He'd been getting the telling-off by one of his sisters about something, and then there'd been the summoning symbol around him and then…

Nothing. Like a hole in his mind. And that took a lot to do for someone like him, so it had to be something big.

But he wasn't complaining about it. He was happy where he was… it was better than the life he knew…

A sudden shriek cut through the silence and he winced unconsciously, unable to take in the shrillness of the voice. Ugh, he couldn't open his eyes, but he wasn't trying that hard at the moment. But then…

"--that thing--"

… Mortals. No one else would call him that.

Satoshi corrected himself with that. His sisters and brothers called him that as well, telling him that unless he accepted their views, he wasn't a vampire at all. His parents weren't the most comfortable people to be around with, but at least they never mentioned his so-called abnormality.

Why were they so… misunderstanding? Foolish was one thing, stupid was another, so how come they just never understood…?

It just didn't make any sense.

The shrieking was gone, thankfully, and was replaced by a voice that was softer, more… well, friendly. Not scared, hateful or…

The vampire cracked an eye open. If he knew time, then it'd still be day, so that was not a good first thing to pay attention to. Hm… no sunlight filtered in… wherever they were.

"Ugh…" he tried to sit up, to get his surroundings, but it was so hard. His limbs weren't co-operating at all and he fell back.

"Uhm… are you okay?" it was that same friendly-sounding voice that asked him and he moved his head slightly, catching sight of the speaker.

Crimson hair that spiked up like crazy, amber-tinted eyes that didn't hold a trace of fear… what a strange guy, concluded Satoshi. His gaze seemed to unnerve the mortal, who looked at the floor and avoided any eye contact.

"I'm… fine…" the vampire said simply.

The redhead jerked up and perked into a smile, glad that they were finally getting some form of conversation going. "Well, that's a good thing. I should see if I can…"

"Wait."

The mortal turned, confusion stamped on his face as Satoshi struggled to get up, ignoring the throbbing pain that had formed in his head.

"Do you even know what I am?" he hissed carefully. Okay, so he was a vampire, and a safer type and all, but that didn't mean that they shouldn't be afraid of him. Maybe he was just stupid.

"Well, since it was a summoning spell that got you here, you couldn't be human," the boy replied simply, watching carefully in case the blue-haired vampire decided to rip his throat out, "And unless you're a werewolf, what other options are there?"

Satoshi raised a brow; what strange logic the mortal had. "So you don't even care that I'm a vampire," he stated bluntly.

Redhead blinked and then gnawed his lip, "… Am I supposed to care? Besides, I think I'll leave all the panicking to Daichi."

"… Right…" how very, very strange. This person was definitely over the top and he was still smiling, "Where am I?"

"A village," was the simple answer, "I'm Daisuke Niwa, nice to meet you…"

Okay, nice to meet you… repeated the still-out-of-it vampire in his head. This person really needed to get his brain checked, "Satoshi Hiwatari."

"Hiwatari?" the mortal, Daisuke, repeated thoughtfully, "I think I've heard that some… where…" He stopped when the door was pushed open. Daichi poked her head in, noticed that Satoshi was awake and gave a muffled shriek and disappeared again, "… Uh… that was my twin sister… Daichi…" The redhead laughed nervously.

Although his face showed no emotion, Satoshi was incredibly confused and baffled, unable to piece together what had happened. Daisuke was looking over at the curtained windows and still laughing nervously, and then the vampire noticed that there was another… demon in the room. It took the form of a harmless white rabbit with large eyes and… okay, what was going to happen next?

"What are you?" Satoshi finally decided to ask, unable to take the pressure in his head with all the confusion.

"What? I'm hu--"

"You know what I mean," he snapped.

"Oh," Daisuke grinned apologetically, "My sister and I are daemon-tamers."

"… Oh."

There was a still silence for a moment and the redhead shifted unconsciously, nervously. More would have been said, but an earthquake rumbled around them and knocked everyone off their feet.

000

Far off in another village, Towa pulled the hood off her head and frowned, taking out a card that had a strange symbol on it.

"What is it that will befall the world?" she asked herself. "What are the dangers that the people will have to face? How will it that they will be able to take care of it? Or will it be too late?"

She scanned the card for a moment and then sighed, the wind ruffling her short hair in the open sky. Many of the residents were still inside, so they failed to notice the seer.

"It has already begun…"

000

… Dang, I haven't done anything useful this week. Feel so… brain dead… can't stand it… so yes, that's about it. Er… this chapter is… something like. Don't know what else to call it.

Reviews:

neko-nya: Fortune telling is fun, though! But if Towa was the bouncy, overly-cheerful type… oh my. o.O What happened to Daisuke's parents? Er… they're kinda… dead. (looks away)

animefreaktyan: Er… yeah, the reaction wasn't that major, was it? Eheh… (sweat drops) Daisuke already knew because he actually studies this stuff, but Daichi's lazy… and she's kinda paranoid now… As for Dark and Krad meeting Daisuke and Satoshi… it's bound to be entertaining for sure (evil laugh) but that's how the world turns. Thanks a lot for the review XD

kyo's little koneko: Yup, yup. It's still going… I think…

Hakudoshi-chan: Here's more. Surprisingly, I don't even know what the foretold doom IS. (gasps) What am I going to do! (I'm serious. Have to think that over.)

Bram: Why, thank you so much :) Yeah, making it sound right has to be the hardest part. Again, thanks for the compliment.

kittenoftime: Uh-huh, thanks! This story is going really slowly, though. When's the fighting going to start! And I still need to put Riku and Risa in it (they have roles in the tale, yay)! Ugh… confusing…

Blue-Angels-Wings: That would have been an interesting twist, actually. But… er… he has low blood pressure, which is stopping him from moving at the moment (where's the logic in that? He's a vampire! Er…) Here's the update anyway!

Er… writing, writing, and more writing. This is taking forever… Thanks for all the reviews and hope you'll be back for more! (hands out plushies)