Thanks for the reviews! I know, this is really late. Please forgive me. Anyways, here is:

Roses and Thorns

Chapter Two: Help?

On the way to school the next morning:

/Daisuke! Please/

"No! You cannot take over!"

/This is for a good cause! We must wipe their memories or else/

"Oh, and what are you going to do before and after? Again, NO!" Daisuke groaned as Dark started ranting again. The sound of running feet temporarily distracted them both.

Riku grabbed Dai's right arm and Risa took over his left arm. They glared at each other through him. Daisuke sighed.

/This is our chance! Hurry, Dai/

"No!" Risa and Riku both stared at him, then blushed. They loosened their holds. Unwittingly, Daisuke had shouted out loud. Nearby, a disguised Satoshi peered at them through thick sunglasses. He had wanted to apologized for Krad's bad behaviour and spend some time alone with Daisuke, but it seemed like he will have to rescue him first. Satoshi strode toward the trio.

"Excuse me, can I talk with you, Mr Niwa?" He tried to make his voice as unSatoshi-like as possible; Risa and Riku shouldn't know who he is, since he had quit school several months ago.

Daisuke smiled brightly, relieved to get away from the twins. "Sure!" Inside his head, Dark loudly moaned. /No, no, you idiot! That's Hikari, can't you tell? And Risa and Riku and...HEY! LISTEN UP! (expletive)! Daisuke, you little (expletive) brat/

He was still ignored by Daisuke.

Satoshi and Daisuke left the twins and headed up to the roof of a flat-topped building where only a few people hung out. Satoshi stopped at the railing and leaned over. Worriedly, Daisuke told him,"You might fall."

"And if I fall, either you, Dark, or Krad will save me."

Only Daisuke agreed. The two alter egos grimaced and made faces at their tamers. Or at least Dark did.

Satoshi took a deep breath. He had stayed up late preparing a grand speech about how he couldn't control Krad, and how sorry he was Daisuke was almost killed, but instead, something below caught his eye.

"Look, Daisuke." He pointed at a group of girls. Daisuke peered over the railing. They were his classmates, but all seemed to be centered around one girl. She had silver hair, and from even that far away, Daisuke could tell she was very pretty. No, she was beautiful. No, she was even more than that, she was gorgeous, dazzling, stunning, with her long hair rippling down her slender shoulders and...

"AHHHHH!" Daisuke was leaning so far out, he lost his balance and pitched over the railing. Oh, no, I can't save myself, Satoshi is there, and besides, everyone is staring at me...hey, maybe Satoshi will save me again, like he did all those other times...

But Satoshi had grabbed for Daisuke's leg, but Krad had chosen that precious second to start yelling really loudly. There was nothing for him to do but to stand there and watch his...friend?...fall.

Down below:

The girl had appeared from nowhere, and started tagging along witha bunch ofgirls. At first she had seemed plain, then unusual, then interesting, then suddenly very very popular. Nearly all the conversations had her in the middle of it, and the girls found themselves waiting on her hand and foot, fawning over her and coming very close to kissing the ground she stepped on. They felt that there was something wrong, but the stranger was just so amazing...

Then Daisuke had started falling, and everyone had started screaming. But the girl stepped calmly under the falling boy, and lifted her hands to the sky. Everyone winced as the red-haired boy fell onto the pale and slim girl. Someone called 911.

"A boy just fell from a seven story building...oh my gosh! A girl was down there and he landed on her! Hurry, it's very close to the middle school...OH MY GOSH THEY ARE ALIVE!"

At that, the person and the operator both dropped their phones.

On the sidewalk:

Daisuke blinked. He felt as if he had just landed in a pile of soft goose-down pillows. Am I dead? he wondered.

/No..I don't think we are. Or else, I would be back in my own world, waiting for another more suitable Niwa to come along. Unlike you, such a klutz to fall off a building./

Daisuke grinned. Dark was as... Dark-like as he ever was. Somehow that was oddly comforting. He put a hand down to feel below him and felt something soft.

"Excuse me?" A cool voice floated upward. Daisuke glanced down, then jerked his hand up when he realized what he was doing. His face burned.

"Er...erm..."

"And, will you please get off of me?"

"Uh, sure." Daisuke carefully stood up, then turned back to the girl he had landed on. He gallantly held out his hand to help her up, but she gazed disgustedly at it, then gracefully got up herself. An ambulance came screaming around the corner, and halted right in front of them. A doctor jumped out and rushed toward them.

"Are you hurt? Any bruises? Any soreness, concussions, broken bones? Are you feeling..."

As Daisuke answered question after question after question, he realized that he had just fallen off a very tall building and almost squashed someone, yet emerged unscathed. He gulped and turned to Dark.

"Dark, did you do something?"

/Nope./

"What...?" Daisuke was close to panicking. The docter looked at Daisuke oddly and asked him again if he was ok. Daisuke nodded, then turned back to Dark.

"WHAT HAPPENED?"

/That girl.../

Then, Dark started meditating about something and refused to reply.

Then, the reporters came and made him do all these stupid poses for the camera.

Then, his mom came and started fussing---in public!---all over him. The reporters had a great time taking pictures of her hugging him and patting his head.

THEN, Risa and Riku came and introduced themselves to the reporters as his "girlfriends."

Daisuke got all the attention, while the strange girl managed to slip away unnoticed. Lucky, Daisuke thought.

Altogether, it was a terrible morning.