Hello, and welcome to chapter…six already! I've had it written for a while, but didn't get around to typing it up. (College classes are my bane in life.) I've also updated my FF8 fanfic for those of you who might be paying attention to it.

Dark: They're not.

Whisper: Says you.

Dark: So, any kissing in this chapter?

Whisper: Well, yes….

Dark: Who? Who? Who?

Whisper: I don't talk to owls.

Krad: I don't see why you talk to the felon in the first place.

Whisper: You guys be quiet! Krad! Do the disclaimer already!

Krad: She doesn't own the characters in this story, she doesn't all right, take my word one it. Or else. :evil grin:

Whisper: >. Ok, the look on your face is seriously scaring me… anyway! On to the story.

Oo.oO
Price of Angels
ooo
Incomplete Souls
Oo.oO

"Did you miss me, Dai-chan?"

Daisuke couldn't move, he was literally frozen, and had he found the strength in that moment to stir he would have been torn as to whether he wanted to scream, laugh or bawl his lungs out. In short, he was infinitely confused. He felt his chest constrict, and it wasn't due to the physical strength of the arms around him.

"D-Dark?" He could barely make his voice heard, as his lungs had seemed to stop working, only partly due to the fact that the arms around his midsection had tightened ever-so-slightly. His arms were not pressed to his sides, but they might as well have been. It seemed like the very air itself had conspired against him and had become a weight to hold him in place.

One hand disappeared from his waist, only to reappear, tracing the outline of his ear and sending strange shivers down his spine. But he still didn't have his answer.

"Dark is that you?" It had better be. He pushed away turning to face his overly-friendly guest, "Stop playing around!"

But when he met those eyes, those expressive eyes, like chips of amethyst, full of unreadable emotions, he could not be angry.

There was a strange, soft smile on the Phantom Thief's face as he regarded Daisuke. It was almost frightening all the different emotions swirling in his eyes, but it was a warm, affectionate look that rested on the redhead. And he was uncharacteristically silent, simply drinking in the sight of his other half like one who had been stranded in the desert for far too long.

"You've grown up, Daisuke." He observed, seeing the changes with a mixture of pleasure and regret. Pleasure at the man his once alter-ego was becoming and regret that he had not been there to watch him grow, struggle, and change.

Not as if he'd had much of a choice.

Because had it been left up to him he would never have left the boy who stood before him now, looking at the thief with a mixture of fear and wonder.

Naturally Daisuke was afraid. As far as he was concerned, Dark had never had his own, separate form. Not in this world anyway. The poor little redhead was probably contemplating his own sanity at this point.

So why had Daisuke taken him in?

Where had he found him?

Well someone up there must have decided to have pity on one lost Phantom Thief.

He extended his hand towards Daisuke, a gesture of longing, "Dai-chan…it's me. I'm here, really here this time."

He was hesitant, plagued by uncertainty, wondering if perhaps he was an unwanted intrusion into Dai's world and (heaven forbid) his love life.

What was Riku going to think about this anyway?

She had never particularly liked him, no matter what he did. And God help him if she ever discovered his feelings for his ex-alter-ego went beyond those of friendship. Pervert would be the least of the insults she threw his way.

The fact that Daisuke might now want him here was a very real fear in Dark's mind at the moment. He averted his gaze to the floor, suddenly feeling the need to apologize for any real or imagined sins. "I-I'm sorry, Dai-chan, should I…" he almost couldn't say it around the raw emotions coiling themselves into a ball in the pit of his stomach, "Should I not have come back?"

All that pain he had gone through, pain that his body was feeling even now could not possibly wound him as rejection would. That would signal the end of all his hopes. Daisuke was, on so many levels, his life.

"Please. Please. Please, Daisuke." He pleaded silently.

He was still staring at the carpet when suddenly, he was infolded in a fierce, almost desperate embrace. The younger boy burying his face in the black fabric and whispering harshly, "Don't talk like that! Don't you dare!"

His hands tightened on Dark's coat, his voice was choked as he pulled himself close to the person who had occupied his thoughts almost constantly for the past two years. He inhaled deeply, savoring it all, dirt, sweat and the metallic sent of blood, and just Dark, as if it was sacred incense.

The thief wrapped an arm about Daisuke's waist, and buried the other in his thick red hair, murmuring his other half's name gratefully, over and over in an almost worshipful mantra.

The ache that had consumed their heart and souls during their separation seemed to quell in that moment. Nothing else mattered except one another, a fleeting beauty that was so tangible to each of the two.

They were indeed, somehow, still halves of a whole, and Daisuke voiced this quietly, "You took a piece of my soul with you when you went, you big dummy."

The insult was given fondly, making light of the relief the two were feeling at their reunion. He met Dark's eyes, still having to tilt his head upwards ever so slightly in order to match gazes.

"So do you mind explaining all this to me?"

Oo.oO

"Krad."

Not so much a call as a statement, typical of the blue-haired teen, but the blond answered it like a summons, turning weary eyes back to the slender young man who was his other half, his expression speaking for him, asking what was wanted of him.

"Why?"

So simple a question, so many answers. Krad's motives for nearly every choice he had made in the past few years had been known only to blonde. Him and him only.

Of course he had regrets, so many that it was impossible to remember them all. But once he had been able to shrug them away, locked beneath a flawless veneer of contempt and hatred.

But he hadn't lied when he said he cared about Satoshi Hikari.

Then, it had been in a twisted, possessive sort of way, only a short two years ago, but during the duration of his captivity, his shield of callous indifference had shattered like to much glass, as well as the wall of remorselessness that he had built with vicious insults and random acts of cruelty.

The reality of what he had become had broken him more surely than any physical torture. When faced with himself, he had been terrified. How Dark had withstood the mind games and illusions of their tormenter he could only guess, but the thief also had less to regret apparently. None of his tamers had ever referred to the playful rogue as a monster.

Whereas the Niwa's prided themselves on raising generation after generation of Phantom Thieves with an ostentatious alter-ego, the Hikari's had done everything they could in attempts to stamp out what they viewed from the beginning as nothing more than a curse.

Krad had been like a curious child at the dawn of his existence, gentle and emotionally fragile, but the hatred and cruelty to which he was exposed soon left him jaded and bitter.

And he in return had caused his tamers to know what he had suffered in those early generations. So Satoshi had become jaded as well, viewing life almost detachedly, and often had no choice byt to sit back and watch as Krad did what he pleased.

The fruits of the Hikari's labors.

Why?

…

Why?

"I don't know."

And it was the honest truth.

Satoshi walked slowly, purposefully up to the wounded angel, his blue eyes studying the blond as if he'd never seen him before this night. His hand strayed to the bloodstained coat, brushing upwards, then down again, a whisper of fingertips against the back of Krad's hand caused the blond to flinch away as if expecting to be struck, though his expression did not change.

"You saved me." Krad closed his eyes, he had.

"Why?" Satoshi pressed.

Well, that was a little easier.

"Because I have to protect you."

The teen's eyes narrowed, his gaze rife with skepticism. "Why whatever for?" his tone was almost mocking, bitter. Only fair, after all.

The blond smirked, and it wasn't at all taunting, but more like he had pleased himself with some small private joke.

"Maybe because I care." He said almost wearily.

And then, on impulse, Krad leaned down and pressed his lips to those of his tamer's.

Oo.oO

Satoshi: O.o Well, I didn't see that coming.

Krad: Neither did I.

Whisper: :snicker: That kiss is dedicated to AikoDarkSoul.

Dark: UNFAIR! How come Krad gets a kiss before I do?

Whisper: Well I could have had you kiss Satoshi.

Dark: Ewwww….

Whisper: Thanks so much to the reviewers! I really appreciated it. I've got a quick note for each of you.

Wind Archer: I'm so glad you like. And yes, I do tend to add a suspense and angst element to my stories. Keep reading, Aya-san!

LupineLightning-IllusionDragon: There you go, all things revealed. Hah, yes, it's going to get VERY fluffy shortly.

Katherine Daystar: I think we're going to give Krad multiple band-aids in the next chapter. lol . Glad I've got the realism in there, I strive for that.

Hittocerebattosai: I try to update as fast as I possibly can, but real life hates me. 

Sapphire Artemis: "Master Satoshi" I LOOOOOOOVE how he says it. I so fangirl over that. And thanks so much for the in-depth review. Yeah, I know Riku was a bit OOC, but I hope the reasons justify it in this case. And I took your tip about the reviews. I'm not so much a fan of the violent K/S fics, but you have to admit…they're almost canon!

AikoDarkSoul: Ha, the kiss in this chappie was just for you!

FrequencyQueen: Thanks for that, it did worry me a bit.

KuroNoTenshi7: I love being a fav, thanks so much!

Koway Oceshia: Yum, candy! Ha, and yes, I think that having Satoshi take care of Krad is probably the plan there.

Hai-chan: Dark appreciates that. But I tend to draw things out, I'm just a wee bit of an angst-monger. But hey, happy endings are my thing, so don't worry, not too much longer and we'll see some real action.

FullmetalKenshin: Thank you! You make me very happy!

angeldaemonkaiye: Wow, thanks. I love a bit of angst and tension, makes good spice for every story, I think Dark and Daisuke are a bit ahead of the game as far as resolving things at the moment though. Krad is a bit pushy and Satoshi is probably ready to hit him over the head right now. So, we've got a ways to go.

Review now!