Let me begin by saying that laziness has taken over me and I cannot escape it, no matter how hard I try. This chapter could have been up AGES ago, but no, I was too damn lazy to fix it up with the help of notes and beta-readers and all that. Why? Lazy was all, I think. That and the fact that I was working on a Christmas fic for the first three or more weeks when holidays started. Read it or not, I don't really care.

I am deeply sorry for making you all wait, and I don't think this is the best of chapters and all, but since you probably have been waiting for this, I will now present you to this half-baked chapter.

I will be hanging myself for this though… XP

--- Thanking Beta Readers Section: Once more the laziness comes to play. But at least I managed to remember to send this to one beta-reader. All hands to Staryday! -claps- You were probably wondering what happened to this after you sent it back, but it's here, with a few added parts at the end. And to my other beta-readers, Sachi-Ami and Rekkabooziegirl, I'm sorry for not sending this to you, but… yeah, it's all my fault. Once holidays started, I had a lot to do (-snorts- yeah right) but since I can only go on the internet once a week, that's the main reason to why I never sent it to you, or even talked to you… Sorry! -bows- I promise to send you the next chapter though (I'll try and remember to send it all beta-readers rather than forget) if I ever get around to doing it…

Disclaimers: I don't own this, nor can I control where this story will go. The darkness is taking over… oh yeah; I own the newer introduced characters, obviously. Yes, Akane and that weirdo that just appeared. All will be revealed later…

Summary for Chap V: Do we need this? A new student and strange visions.

Other:

() Daisuke

(()) Dark

:: Satoshi

:::: Krad

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Chapter V: Who...

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Their roll call teacher entered the classroom and silence blanketed the entire area instantly. All the students that had been standing around shuffled towards their own desks, leaving the new student on his own.

The teacher was a fairly large man, with thick rimmed glasses and a scowl constantly on his face, and he gave the boy who was still standing at the front a sharp glare of disapproval.

"You must be the new student," he barked in a gruff voice.

At this, the boy turned his gaze at the teacher calmly, regarding him for a moment before replying with a slight accent.

"Oui, Monsieur," he said, acting as if he was talking to a little child. "I'm the new student, non?"

A ripple of nervous laughter spread across the classroom. No normal student was ever rude to any of his or her teachers, especially this particular one. Dark had once wanted to take control over Daisuke's body so that he could "tell the old geezer what he thought of him" but the redhead refused. For his other half to do such a thing, it would be Daisuke who would have to be the one to face the consequences.

"That's nice," responded the teacher, a vein twitching in his temple because of the tone of voice the boy had held when he replied. "Your name?"

"Luke Jacques."

"Fine then, MR. Jacques," he pointed sharply at a spare desk close by, "You may take that seat for now, until we can arrange it properly."

"Oui, Monsieur," Luke bowed in mock respect before sauntering over to his desk and seating himself. He inclined his head slightly and crossed his arms across his chest, seemingly bored, and the teacher looked ready to kill.

Students began to talk in hushed tones at the lack of respect, but their teacher – seeing that they were preoccupied with certain matters that didn't concern school – hit the front desk with an audible 'thud', which silenced the entire room immediately.

"Now," he thundered, "Shall we begin?"

As he began to call the roll, Daisuke couldn't help but feel uncertain about the new student, and Dark wasn't one to disagree.

((He's weird.))

(…)

((And I think he's up to something.))

(I thought you were supposed to be asleep by now.)

((Well, I am.))

(Then why are you talking to me?)

((… I'm dreaming and talking in my sleep?))

(Right…)

"Niwa," called the teacher and Takeshi poked him with his pencil.

"Here," he replied, while giving his best friend an annoyed glance, who merely smiled innocently in reply.

The roll went without a hitch and all the while Daisuke found himself staring out the window, unable to think straight; with Akane muttering something strange and a new student, as well as the fact that Dark was hiding something, the redhead was merely getting a headache thinking about it.

"Now, when I call you, please come up for your timetables for this semester," the teacher rumbled, jerking the redhead out of his stupor. "We will be doing this in an orderly manner and no talking!"

Still sleepy from last night, Daisuke unconsciously rubbed his eyes to dispel the effects from lack of sleep. He stopped when he felt his spine prickle unpleasantly. Turning slightly in his seat, he expected to find the source to the feeling, but couldn't find any. He bit his lip at this, before turning back to the front of the classroom, where the teacher was currently explaining about where certain rooms were and who some of the newer teachers were.

Most of the time – especially when Satoshi was watching him – he could identify the feeling, but a new feeling of unsettling fear seemed to have descended upon him and it was obvious that – with the inclusion of unsettling dreams, the mist, Dark's strange reactions and Akane's words – something wasn't right.

"Niwa."

"Yes, sir."

Once Daisuke was back in his seat, holding his timetable, he contemplated on his general knowledge; the strange scenarios that he'd found himself in the last few days, they seemed to be connected with the next mishap in one way or another. While he thought it over, he found it almost impossible, that the large chain of events had begun with a single nightmare that he had one night, for some abnormal reason.

"Now don't get into any mischief before your teacher comes!" Barked the teacher sharply, nearly making everyone in the room jump at the sudden disturbance. Somewhere in the background Luke yawned and muttered something that only the students around him could hear. Some raised eyebrows while others stifled smiles, but it was clear that their teacher was doing his best to ignore it.

It was only then that the redhead decided to read his timetable. The rest of the class faded off into low murmuring of random discussions as they waited for their first teacher to show up. Unconsciously wanting to find a place by himself where he wouldn't be disturbed by anyone, he got up and made a beeline towards the door.

"Yo! Daisuke!"

Daisuke's concentration was broken as Takeshi came up to him from behind, slinging one arm across his shoulder and stopping him; which was better than him being caught in a headlock.

"What?" He asked instantly, while his best friend read his timetable for a moment.

"Looks like we have all our classes together again!" Takeshi proclaimed happily. "So that means I can copy your homework again as well!"

"Wha--? Can't you do it yourself?" Daisuke pouted. "Why do I have to do all the work, as well as the fact it was obvious that we would be having the same classes together…"

"That's 'cause I'm a reporter!" Came the answer as Takeshi cut him short and waved a hand airily. "And I have a lot of work to do when Dark's around, so I don't have time to do homework!"

The redhead couldn't help but think; (And I do it, even if I have a job that night… as Dark…)

"But it isn't like Dark comes every single night!" he protested. "So you still have time to do the work!"

"Are you two going to argue all day?" Akane watched them with raised eyebrows from her desk. "You're disturbing the peace in here with your caterwauling."

Daisuke turned his head slightly and noticed that the entire class was watching them with slight amusement while others shook their heads at the scene of chaos. He felt his face redden slightly, not one used to having attention drawn to him. Takeshi left him for a moment to talk to Akane – who replied shortly that she didn't want to hear anything about Dark – and then returned to his seat without another word, although he was grinning.

"Ah… thanks…" the redhead muttered nervously, well aware that Satoshi was watching him with the usual piercing gaze from the other side of the classroom. The class fell back into conversation as the blue-haired boy finally got out of his seat to join the nervous Daisuke and Akane, who looked somewhat concerned.

"You didn't look too well," Satoshi said softly, his face neutral, "And I wanted to ask a few questions about last night."

"I wasn't there either," Akane added. "So really… you and Dark are the only ones who actually know about what happened, Niwa-kun."

"Ah… last night?" Daisuke repeated weakly, as the memories flooded back on him. "Well, about that…"

"I think we should talk later," Satoshi cut in, "We won't get any privacy here."

"You're right."

Both Satoshi and Daisuke went back to their seats, leaving Akane on her own once more. Alone again, Daisuke lay his head on his desk as he tried to get his mind to function properly.

(Why does this always happen to me?) He asked himself.

"Hey, redhead," a voice said above him, with a slight detection of an accent mixed with it.

"Eh?"

Besides the fact that no one was that disrespectful to him – save Takeshi, who was always disrespectful and of course his alter-ego had a fun time always picking on him – Daisuke was caught by surprise and looked up blankly to face the speaker. As soon as he saw who it was, the redhead nearly fell off his seat in surprise and could only gape at the new student.

"Yeah, I was talking to you," Luke seemed unimpressed with the lack of Daisuke's response and crossed his arms. "So you're Niwa?"

"Yes," the redhead forced himself to remain calm, glad that Dark wasn't awake. "Is something wrong?"

"Ne vraiment pas, non," he replied, "But I must say, you intrigue me."

"Um…" Taken by surprise by the statement, Daisuke could only blink stupidly. ('Intrigue'… but why? And what was he saying before? Aah!)

"I must say that I'm pleased to meet you," Luke bowed respectfully, and something in Daisuke's mind clicked as he tried to give a plausible answer.

"Me too… uhm…"

To his relief the door slid open and a teacher entered. He coughed politely and all the students fell silent without question or argument, and the Teacher shuffled over to the front desk and set his papers down. An old man with a tuft of gray hair protruding from the center of his head and thin spectacles nodded slowly at the twenty-or-so students before him.

"Good morning, class, I'm sure you remember me," he started in a thin, creaky voice. "Did you all have a pleasant holiday?"

"Good morning Mr. Kusao," the class droned in return, not bothering to answer his question. It was clear that he forgot that he had even asked them, as he shuffled through a number of papers, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and nodded.

"Good, good," he mumbled, "Now, this year we will be covering--"

He began to talk about the 'fantastic' history that Japan held, and the wars that they got involved in and the types of 'fascinating' facts that they would be learning. The majority of students present merely ignored his ramblings and talked among themselves and what they'd done during their holidays until he finished.

"-- So are we all exited?" he finished, and the class agreed in unison, many confused with what he was going on about. "So, shall we begin this morning with--"

(Why can't I just go home already…) the redhead thought in his mind as the old man continued to ramble on. He stopped as, once more, the unpleasant sensation of prickling entered his spinal area, and he shivered unconsciously.

"-- Now don't forget that you have to --" continued the teacher.

(Who's there?) Daisuke forced himself to ignore the feeling and was relieved when the prickling began to subside. (What's wrong with me?)

The voice droned over the class – that was beginning to drift off into their own private worlds – and Daisuke also failed to keep his train of thoughts on what the teacher was trying to say. It was always the same on the first day of school; welcome, have a great time being here, hope you had a nice break from school, only to come back for more, let's all be good friends… the list could go on forever, if the redhead allowed it, but Dark had always had his time to annoy the host to no end and it somehow made the assemblies they had more bearable. Then again, with another being in one's head, what more could they ask for when they needed to talk to someone?

Daisuke's conscious slipped further into a sort of sleepy stupor as he tried to keep his head up to pay attention to what the teacher was saying. The attempt failed miserably and he gave into sleep, which was about the only option he had left.

---

Something about the new student tugged a nerve in the back of Satoshi's mind. He didn't know what it was exactly, but the feeling wasn't good – not anymore than him knowing that Krad lived in him – and he could only glare at the new boy, not wanting to make any sort of contact with him.

When he had heard him enter, an instant wave of unsettling disorder seemed to have descended upon the blue-haired boy and seemed to fill the entire room, and the news about it was less than happy thoughts.

::You know something's wrong.::

:What are you doing awake at this time of day?: Demanded Satoshi, somewhat surprised that Krad was actually awake.

::I only woke up because of the disturbance of the peace from the outside world as you already know, Satoshi-sama,:: was the lazy reply he received.

:You felt the disturbance as well?:

::Of course.::

:…: Satoshi tapped a pen he was holding against the flat surface of the desk and watched the other, silver-haired boy from the corner of his eye. There was something definitely strange about him, especially the way he had confronted Daisuke before the teacher had entered. The blue-haired boy was bound to find a reason to him moving to the school.

Something about the entire situation didn't feel right and – if Akane's words were correct – why would someone as smart as Luke need to go to a school like Azumano Junior High; Daisuke hadn't been the only one to hear what she had had to say about him.

He directed his gaze away from the other boy and turned to see what Daisuke was doing, since the smaller redhead was two or three rows in front of him. The redhead had an elbow against the desk and was clearly in no mood, or position, to be paying attention to what the teacher had to say. Not that it was much, but it was clearly showing that he had a low attention span. What was left of the sun streamed into the room and created odd patterns against walls, tables and over students, many already giving up on listening to the old man. The redhead was clearly worried, if not scared out of his mind.

Something that Satoshi would have to work out on his own; no doubt, not that he really cared. He was more used to working alone than with a partner of any sort, so it all worked out in the end.

---

He knew that he was walking, but where, he had no idea. The familiar tapping of feet against tiled floors filled his ears as he wandered aimlessly into the unknown, eyes only half-focused on what was before him. An odd, inner-peace, seemed to have settled over Daisuke as he walked, mind not thinking straight.

The entire scenery before him was serene and at a complete sense of peace that he hadn't felt for a long time. The colours of the spectrum glistened off a lake close by as he passed it, creating an almost perfect atmosphere.

That was what jerked his mind to think straight; why would a lake be placed where he was and where was he exactly?

The redhead jerked around on his right foot and the shimmering of the light onto the water danced off his wide, amber eyes. The tiled floors also glistened in the strange light, and he shivered as he looked around: everything was wrong; he wasn't supposed to be there.

"Dark?" He called desperately. His voice hung in the still air for a moment before fading off into an almost pitiful whine. Silence was the only answer he got and he bit his lip. "What…"

An invisible force hit him from behind and he fell against the cold floor. The sudden attack made Daisuke jump up, almost instantly, and search wildly for where the source was. The entire scene seemed to be still and peacefully serene as he looked, even more confused than before.

The he felt it: the cold, eerie feeling, that he had only felt a few times, but was enough to make his skin crawl.

He scrambled backwards across the stone cold tiles, trying to keep as composed as he could. His mind screamed for him to run away, but he couldn't tear his gaze away from what was in front of him. Lifeless tendrils of mist trailed across the walls and floor and shapeless images formed themselves around him. The feeling became almost overwhelming for the redhead and he curled up, dreading the worse.

"What… what's going on…?" he whispered.

"… ke…"

"Eh?"

"Dai… suke!"

"Dark?!"

"Daisuke!"

---

"Niwa-kun!" Yelled a voice in his ear.

Jerked out of wherever he had been, Daisuke gave a muffled yelp and fell to the floor, head connecting painfully with the smooth surface.

Saved.

But now his head was throbbing, and he was sure that that one vision – or whatever it was – wasn't going to be his last for a while. Not much of a reassurance, but he could feel Dark's presence and that was enough.

The redhead shivered slightly, not moving, as he thought over what he had seen.

It was close, whatever it was was very close to him and it scared him.

What was it?

"Niwa-kun?" Asked the voice that was now above him. Daisuke looked up from his position on the floor.

---

"Je testament être là… bientôt tu testament savoir.

"… Ou ne."

---

Well, there you have it. I'm surprised I managed to get it up at all. Wowowowowowow... now let's never speak of it again. And with the last part... well, I'm not telling you what it say, figure it out yourselves! Why? Well, it's not that vital, but it's a bit strange and I really need to work on my french...

Now, here's the deal. If I take way too long to do a fic, I won't blame you for either pestering me or giving up on me. It's in my nature to annoy others, so I hope you understand... kinda.

-- Thanking Reviewers Segment!

-neko-nya: Ahahahaha... soon. Soon meaning, what, two or so months? Man,I am so proud of myself! Hm... should consider pairings, but it depends on what happens for the next few days, I think. I'll think about it, though, and if I find it fitting... just maybe... XO

-Kakarots-Frying-Pan: Sorry for making you wait, I'm just a lazy lazy person who has to deal with many mental blocks and kicks just to try and do somehting. Hope this chapter isn't a disappointment for you, but I honestly think it was... thanks for the review though! :)

-Staryday: Right... hell it was and hell it is. Actually, it wasn't that bad. Uhm... had to add that last bit, but other than that, I hope it's fine. Now... what am I supposed to do now...

-kat himura: thanks for the review! Don't know if you're still around, but if you are, here's the update.

-Liliath: ha... guess we're the same then. I'll try and do a faster update, then, okay?

OKAY! THAT'S MY NEW YEARS RESOLUTION! Only five more minutes... HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!