Yup, took me forever, although I'm going to blame it on… exams! Stuff! Assignments! And anything else in-between… so yeah. That's about it. And anything else I want to say… I've forgotten.

--- Thanking Beta Readers Section: Special thanks to Staryday, seeing as she was the only person I managed to get a hold of. Rekkabooziegirl had an error on the computer and SachiAmi… I can get a hold of. ;.; I'm buggered… So ignore all stupid grammatical errors and stuff.

Disclaimers: I own it not. Aside from Luke and Akane… and the mention of anything that has nothing with DNAngel.

Summary for Chap VII: Krad comes into the picture and hits a nerve; that is, a nerve concerning the past…

Other:

() Daisuke

(()) Dark

: Satoshi

: Krad

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Chapter VII: All a Part of Life

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As the shouts of the indignant guards faded away into the night sky, Dark couldn't help but grin at the trouble he had caused. Sure, he'd been doing this for a couple of months now, but it was the only thing worthwhile doing lately; minus the fact that now his host was being haunted by strange, eerie dreams.

But with the stealing coming off on top with nothing irregular, Dark felt like everything was back to normal: even if it was going to be short-lived. Daisuke was grumbling in the back of his mind, but the purple-haired kaitou ignored it as he debated on if he should just return to the Niwa household or flirt with people; Risa in particular. He knew how much his host hated the latter option, but that made it even more enjoyable and entertaining to see how worked-up the little redhead could get.

The debate was brief, though, when a white feather streaked past his shoulder and buried itself on a tiled roof close by. Even if it hadn't been resonating with a strong aura of magic, Dark would have known who it was the moment it fell.

Why else would white feathers be thrown around as darts in the middle of the night?

Slowly, he turned with his trademark smirk, and greeted the person behind him.

"Well, who would have thought you'd decide to come out on such a pleasant night," he commented, tone light and airy, "Krad."

The blonde didn't seem impressed with the display and prepared another spell, "Don't give me that heart-to-heart crap this time, Dark. You won't get out of this alive."

The purple-haired thief braced for the attack, knowing that he really couldn't go in for the kill, seeing who Krad's host was. The fact that Satoshi was involved – and considered a friend by Daisuke, nevertheless – the redhead would never allow a situation as that to happen to him; even if the blonde was on the verge of killing him. Indeed, at that very moment said redhead was fidgeting nervously and was getting ready to voice his thoughts.

((Don't start,)) Dark muttered, before his host could open his mouth, ((And I'm not going to kill anyone unless it's totally necessary.))

(…)

Returning to the current problem, Dark swerved out of the way before Krad's magic attack hit him and then gave the Hikari curse a glare. "I should have known that you'd have no consideration whatsoever."

"Well then, maybe you should just answer some of the questions we're all asking you," the blonde replied smoothly, his pure white wings barely moving as he remained hovering. "You always did like hiding very… important pieces of information when you thought it was the right thing to do. Even your hosts were unaware of the situation, hm?" He watched Dark's reaction carefully, before continuing. "Yes… I do believe that that was the cause to the first death of someone very important to you… what was her name again?"

"Shut up!" It seemed that Krad had hit a very sensitive topic and Dark lunged, slamming a fist into the side of the blonde's face.

Easing back out of reach, Krad placed a hand lightly over the bruise, not looking shocked or in pain. Rather, he seemed amused. "So you still have an attachment to that girl? I suppose I can't blame you. You were right there, and you watched her die…"

This time, Dark didn't even think and summoned his own branch of magic, sending a high-powered stream of energy right into the blonde's chest and knocking him back. Coughing at the impact, Krad's eyes narrowed dangerously and he counter-attacked. During this time, both hosts were calling for them to stop.

((Dark! You have to stop this!))

:Why the hell are you trying to provoke fights all the time? I swear, if you really do end up killing Dark and Niwa…:

They were promptly ignored by their alter ego's, who continued the fight without too much notice of the dangers they presented to the houses around them and the people below them.

---

Hm… the plan was going a lot more successful than he gave it credit. Swirling one hand in the water close by, he watched without too much emotional change as the two winged-beings fought both far-and-close-range, creating more chaos than what one would have thought.

But how had the blonde managed to provoke the thief so easily? The person mused to himself, as he raised his hand. The droplets of water held for but a moment before falling once more, and he managed a slow smirk in the shadows.

So, this was how it was going to be. Some people were so easily manipulated. And they weren't even people, now that he thought about it. Beings in beings: certain curses on their part. How… very interesting…

It was obvious that in the end there would be a lot of pain, but no one would die with this little… outburst. Oh well, he was looking forward to it.

This little game that he had planned would be just the thing.

He was willing to wait.

Getting up in one fluid movement, the person shook his hand free from the remaining droplets and walked off, followed by a mist that trailed behind him.

---

Dark wavered for a moment, gritting his teeth to numb the pain that shot through his whole body from the fight. Krad didn't look any better off, but the amused smirk was really beginning to get to the thief's nerves. Rubbing his forehead, he was then reminded on how much magic he'd used and the troubles it would pose for Daisuke.

((Why won't he just die already?)) He grumbled as he dodged another attack.

(Dark! Don't think like that!) The redhead reprimanded him. Seeing that Dark would never listen anyway, he hadn't tried too hard to stop him at first, but if he was actually thinking about killing Krad… (We should just leave already!)

((I'm not going to let this go!))

Daisuke frowned at this, as Dark went back into an offensive stance. What had hit his alter ego so hard that he was so intent on killing? Whoever Krad had been talking about must have been very important to Dark, but… who was she?

At the most, he could always regain control and get away from all of this, but only if things got out of hand, and only then.

Meanwhile, the blonde was getting into his own verbal argument with his host, and that wasn't going too well either. Satoshi wasn't one to mince his words, and that is itself was never good, and Krad had to constantly tell him to shut up, to no prevail.

Dark's reaction to the situation, however, was actually quite understandable to him, but why he was still attached to that girl, he didn't know. He couldn't even remember her name; to him, she was just some other mortal.

The thief had always thought otherwise, and that was why it was the perfect bait to lure him with. He was a fool, really, getting attached to a mortal who would only die in the end of it. So there was no point to the matter and Dark had just been too… well, emotional seemed to be the only word that could be used.

Krad blocked another attack. This could be a very long fight, now that he thought of it.

---

A small breeze brushed by Akane as she made her way back home, if you could call it that. But she didn't seem too worried with the situation; there was too much on her mind already.

She couldn't help but feel sorry for Daisuke too. He didn't even have an inkling of what was going on and that had to be the worst case possible. What were you supposed to do? How could you prepare for something when you didn't even know what you were preparing for? It was just too much to comprehend in what little time there was left.

Then again, she didn't even know how long it would be before the answers came out. Despite her abilities, she couldn't see the future, and besides, it was always inconsistent and never solid in its form. And it didn't take a fool to notice that, whatever it was, was dangerous.

Hopping to one side as a late couple walked past her, hand in hand, Akane sighed a little and brushed her hair out of the way.

It was going to be a long night, wasn't it? The question made her face the facts and she reached for the pendant tucked under her shirt. It glimmered in the moonlight and she couldn't help but sigh again.

---

The clock chimed in the Niwa house and the vibrations resounded down the hallways. It would have been amazingly silent in there, if it hadn't been for the television in the main room, which was switched on for the report of Dark's next target.

Emiko was by the window, waiting for Dark, as the reports said that he had managed to get away yet again, and there was no other sign of him. Although she looked far from it, Daisuke's mother was actually quite worried about her son, especially with that one night when he'd had that nightmare. It had been so long since she'd seen him in such a state.

In the end, all she really could do was wonder what had happened. No one really knew.

Entering the room, Towa noticed how distracted the lady of the house was. "Ma'am…"

"Towa-chan," Emiko started, turned her head slightly to acknowledge the maid and artwork, "Is something the matter?"

"… Are you worried about Dark and Daisuke?" The Symbol of Eternity asked, inclining her head. Her usual cheerfulness was non-existent and was replaced with the same worry and fear that Emiko felt herself.

"I suppose," she replied softly, her gaze back outside. "It just feels a bit… off, for some reason. I can't explain it."

Towa joined her by the window. "The magic that surrounds all of us is wavering," she informed the Niwa. "There is an unbalanced force that threatens to hurt us all, ma'am. We should be careful."

---

Staggering home was the last thing that Dark wanted to do. But because he had used a lot of magic at one time, Daisuke was going to have to pay the consequences for it; and that was enough to make the purple-haired thief go home in his own body. It wasn't like they had much of a choice in the first place, Daisuke had pointed out before falling silent again.

Damn blonde. Who did he think he was, anyway? Never, ever in his life had he ever understood the connection between Dark's link with mortals; the human race, as they knew it. Krad just thought what he was saying was right and that no one else had a say in it.

It was so stupid, so pointless. So… so inconsiderate. Admittedly, Dark still couldn't understand why his host placed so much trust in Satoshi and all, but he still had feelings. Feelings that would never leave him, even when he did leave Daisuke in the end.

But what would his host feel then?

Dark was aware of the uncertainty of the redhead and felt sorry that he left his host hanging like that all the time, but there was nothing he could say about it. When it would happen, it'd happen; and there was no stopping it.

His thoughts lingered back to the brief and rather bitter conversation he'd had with the blonde. The Hikari curse. His complete opposite. It was strange, he never thought this way, ever, but the mention of the one person he had ever truly loved… it was just so depressing.

(… Dark?)

((Yeah?))

(… It's… nothing.)

Daisuke was probably curious as to who Krad had been referring to as well, mused the Thief. Well, one couldn't blame him for his curiosity streak, but it didn't make it a good thing. And in the end, Dark thought it was better to leave the past as it was and not to stir up any trouble.

It seemed that they were too late.

The one dream seemed to have set off a sequence of events which would spiral into something worse than what one would expect. One that they never wanted to dream about.

One that Dark never wanted to see ever again.

When he entered the homely atmosphere of the Niwa house, Dark was only vaguely aware of the congratulations he received for the successful theft and trudged upstairs. They didn't know about his past, or about what Krad knew. In the end, it was better that way, but now…

Now it was beginning again. A cycle that he had wanted to avoid so badly was just rearing itself again, ready to attack.

And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Once in the bedroom, Dark withdrew into the back of his host's mind. Daisuke collapsed on his bed, too drained of energy to change into his pajamas. It was just so strange, but his vision was merely a hazy image before him and he closed his eyes gratefully.

---

Panting… desperate… fear…

Someone was running.

There was nowhere to run; nowhere to hide.

They had nowhere to go… and it was going to be too late.

An evil that had never been seen before towered over them, relishing the fact that its' prey had finally stopped running. It was shapeless, lifeless, and the only thought in its mind was to destroy all…

There were two people, one a boy; the other a girl. Both didn't look very old and were incredibly pale as they watched the evil tower over them menacingly.

The girl muttered something, but the boy couldn't hear. He was unsure of what she said, but when she took a couple of steps forward, he knew exactly what she was planning to do. He called out to her to stop, but she refused to listen.

Darkness… pure evil…

And then… there was nothing.

---

The sound of the alarm clock going off at seven thirty in the morning made Daisuke groan unconsciously and he reached out blindly to turn it off. It was just too early to be out of bed and he needed the sleep after last night; Dark must have used more magic than he thought.

After a moment of waving his hand around, the beeping sound finally ceased to exist when his hand hit a button. With a small sigh, the redhead curled up under the sheets of his bed and tried to fall back to sleep. The problem with that, though, was that it was a school day; and Emiko Niwa wasn't one to allow her son to be tardy.

Right on cue, his mother burst in with energy that screamed 'coffee overload' and she began to tug at Daisuke's blankets. "Dai-chan! Time to get up or you'll be late for school!"

The redhead grumbled something incoherent under his breath and weakly tried to save his blanket from the grasp of his mother, only to fail miserably. Emiko peered down at him and frowned at his lack of reaction.

"Why aren't you awake yet?" She demanded.

"… Okay, okay," Daisuke sighed and he sat up, his eyes barely open, "I'm up." He stifled a yawn and his mother smiled again, dumping his blanket in his lap and leaving the room.

Once he was on his own again, the redhead tried to get the feel of his legs and stood up. He swayed for a moment, but once he was stable, he rubbed his eyes and headed to the bathroom.

And he was going to be late, at the rate he was going.

---

Even after the initial publicity that Dark managed to gain after a forty years absence, there were still articles being printed about him; and there were still fangirls out there fawning over him.

Risa Harada was one such girl; she clutched the newspaper article close to her chest, as if afraid that someone would take it from her. Riku, her older twin, rolled her eyes at this but didn't comment.

Walking to school together wasn't done all the time for the Harada twins, but when it did happen, they never really said much. The reason to this was because they would bicker and argue and the reason to that was because, without fault, Risa mentioned Dark and how great he was and… the usual. And that was something that Riku couldn't handle.

"Hey… Riku?"

"Hm?" Grunted the shorthaired brunette, not paying that much attention.

"I was wondering what you thought about the new guy."

"Jacques… kun?" The name was foreign, so it was just that much more difficult to pronounce, but Risa nodded, willing Riku to continue. "Well… I don't know. He seems… distant. Vague."

"A bit like Hiwatari-kun?"

"Yeah." Riku then gave her sister a suspicious glare. "Why? What's the point of wondering? He's new here and that's it. Or…" another thought hit her like sledgehammer, "You've dumped that pervert Dark and you're aiming for him!" Not that she cared in particular; she hated Dark, but the new guy was still… he was still a mystery to the rest of them.

Risa bristled at this, "No way! I would never do that to Dark-san! How could you say that, Riku!"

At this, Riku couldn't help but roll her eyes. She really couldn't stand another argument so early in the morning. Opening her mouth to retaliate, she was stopped when Risa managed to crash into someone. How that happened, no one was really sure. But what they did know was that the longhaired twin fell back and would have fallen over completely if Riku hadn't stopped her.

"Je suis desolé. Are you alright?" Luke's face didn't seem to alter that much from a firmly plastered bored look, but his tone was that of concern. Or lack thereof. No one could really tell.

"I-I'm fine," Risa replied shakily, still a bit off her head as she tried to gather what had just happened. "It was my fault. Sorry about that."

The exchange student didn't say anything at this, and just looked the two girls over, analysing them. Riku stepped in, seeing that her sister was trying to recollect her thoughts.

"I'm Riku Harada and she's my sister, Risa," she introduced to him quickly. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Actually, it was far from that. The shorthaired girl couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved at his presence, and the fact that he was staring at them wasn't exactly helping.

"It's a pleasure," Luke expressed formally, bowing to the two. "Did I hear mention of one Dark?"

Risa seemed to recover upon the use of the Thief's name. "Dark-san? He's one of the greatest thieves ever!" She squealed in excitement. Riku recognised this as a sign of the younger girl to begin a long-winded conversation about the Thief, and she really didn't want to hang around for it.

She would have left, however, but Luke looked interested in the Thief, and his question – however casual it was – made her stop to listen as well.

"How long has he been around?"

It wasn't anything too strange, but the back of Riku's mind said otherwise. And then it clicked.

How did he know about Dark? He had only been to school for a day and, although Dark was a main topic for the girls, why would he care so much about it in the first place?

She frowned slightly at this, as her sister went into the details about Dark and Luke seemed to be hanging onto every little word. Eventually, Riku saw that no one was paying her any attention at all and continued to make her way to school without them. Yet, there had been something unnerving about how Luke seemed so attentive about such a perverted thief; something in his eyes just gleamed with an instensity that was so obvious it was scary.

Riku forcefully pushed the thoughts out of her head.

Besides, why did she care about how much the new guy knew about some perverted Thief?

---

((You're late, Daisuke.))

(Must you state the obvious!) Daisuke shot back in exasperation. He stumbled slightly at the loss of concentration and Dark's laughter rang through his head. (Do you have to be so loud!) It also seemed that he was a bit on the touchy side for the day.

Dark gave a sarcastic sigh of exasperation. ((Yes, all high and mighty Wing Master,)) he said before falling silent again.

It was still quite a way until he reached the school, the redhead noticed, and a glance of his watch told him that if he didn't pick up the pace soon, he was going to be late. And he hated people staring at him, especially when he walked into an already settled-down classroom.

Cursing his luck – which included Dark using too much magic and the fact that he was now falling behind in his homework – Daisuke continued the journey towards school.

---

Translation:

Je suis desolé – I am sorry.

Not much to say, it'll be a long time before another chapter pops up, holidays coming up and… yeah. I'm trying to work out what the hell I was thinking when this first popped up, I have no idea anymore… o.O

Reviewers Segment:

Shadow Guardian of the Gate: Thank you XD Messing up the mind just seems to worm its way into the story before I know it… kinda like a bad habit…

Meestyna: Glad you liked the chapter and sorry for the messed up French. I can't even remember what I was intentionally trying to say there, so… sorry? It's not all that important though… It's not your fault; I'm just bad at learning other languages.

Makurayami Ookami: Thanks for reviewing :D I'm assuming that it's not all that bad then?

Blackangel576:) Thanks, and as for the person following them… I'm not telling XD (yes, I love cliffhangers) Sorry for the slow updating, but this story… seems to be complex yet not… so I get confused. Glad you like it.

Windchaser90: This story… really isn't even halfway done o.O maybe it is but… I don't know. I tend not to plan far enough before so… Questions, questions, questions. (grins evilly) Suppose you have to wait and find out what's going to happen.

Can't make any promises with updates… so I advise on either watching this story or if you're a regular visitor of the DNAngel section, then it should be fine. (gasps) OMG, this story is like a year old and I'm only up to chapter 7! (sobs)