Aftershocks – part III

By: Shunsoku

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

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"Hiwatari-kun!"

Satoshi turned to face the lightly panting red-head who had called his name. The other boy had bags under his eyes, much like his own, Satoshi suspected. Not to mention the fact that in a moment of forgetfulness, Satoshi had left his glasses back at his apartment and Daisuke obviously hadn't brushed his hair for at least a day.

They looked quite the pair.

"Yes?" he questioned tiredly.

"I---," Daisuke began and then faltered as he studied his companion's cool face. His eyes studied his shoes intently.

Satoshi understood what Niwa couldn't say, perhaps because the same thoughts had been running through his head. They had originally been friends just because of Krad and Dark, and now that they were gone, Niwa wasn't sure if Satoshi would want to be his friend any more. And try as they might to convince themselves, there was not and never would be anyone who would understand what it felt like to lose the other half of their souls.

Maybe it was time for new beginnings. After all, with their curses gone, they would have to move on with their lives sooner or later. And Daisuke and Satoshi both couldn't help thinking that by continuing to wallow in self-pity, they were only prolonging their agony.

Daisuke's eyes were uncharacteristically serious as he stuck his hand out, "I'm Niwa Daisuke."

Satoshi hesitated, and then shook the proffered hand, "Hikari Satoshi."

"Nice to meet you, Satoshi-kun." A smile.

"Yeah."

This wouldn't completely cure the ache of loss in both, but it would be enough for now.

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FIN

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This one's even shorter than the last one, but there really wasn't all that much left for me to say. This was never meant to be a romance. I am a diehard SatoDai fan (not to mention KradSato), but I just could not find it in my heart to force the two into a romantic relationship in lieu of the events. If you'd like to, you may think of this as being a step towards that romance, but I certainly will never write it.

Thank you ever so much to CelestialGlowEquivalence, Kukiko, hamgirl,Kyuseisha no Hikari, and everwhite for reviewing.