Disclaimers: FFVII and DNAngel are legal properties to the owners and companies, so I'm filching off them.
000
Chapter Six:
As the pinball machine/mechanism-that-was-an-elevator shuddered to a halt at the main floor of the bar, Daisuke stepped off. It was completely deserted and the homely feel that he had received upon entrance seemed to have withered away, leaving a cold mist in its wake. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Dark was singing away, most of the lyrics focused on insulting Argentine, but the redhead was too occupied with his own thoughts to really tell his other half off. Anyway, what Dark was singing was true, to an extent.
He was truly glad upon seeing Risa again, that was true, as they had been childhood friends and all, but just thinking about all that, and what position he was in now kind of put him off. Not to mention the whole thing about him being a Phantom Thief and all, but whatever; there was no point lingering on past events that would just have him wallowing in confusion once again anyway.
Being in SOLDIER and working for Shinra… that had been his dream. And he had managed it over years of hard training. And then… well, it had kinda gone downhill since then. But maybe it had something to do with the fact that Dark had been a part of him; and Phantom Thieves weren't all that interested in shooting things and that sort of stuff. Stealing was his specialty, but apparently he had ended up reappearing in the worst era possible. Daisuke could still remember their first conversation…
"What! I've got a WHAT in me?.!"
"A genetic condition, Dai-chan! Oh, father, didn't we ever tell Daisuke about it?"
"No… you said something about waiting…"
"Oh dear, so I did! But no matter. You see, Daisuke, you have the identity of the great Kaitou Dark and all that and it's the Niwa family destiny!"
"… I'm going to my room…"
Clump, clump, clump.
"And you're feeling of romance is what triggers Dark off!" called his mother from the foot of the staircase. "So be careful when you're around Risa-chan, you hear me?"
"…!"
Daisuke collapsed on his bed and stared at the ceiling, (This is all your fault, you know.)
((How so?)) Dark shot back, who, if he'd had his own body, would have scowled by now.
(For existing.)
((Hey, I never asked to be placed in a little redheaded shrimp like you.))
(Say what!)
((I'm not going to repeat myself. What the hell… what kind of room are you living in? What freaking era is this?))
(Would it matter?) Daisuke rolled his eyes and told the thief-spirit-whatever it was. Dark, at this point, was swearing loudly. Something about being trapped in a god-forsaken village with no art, etc. etc. It seemed that the redhead was going to be hosting him for a long time…
Smiling slightly at the thief's reaction, the redhead couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for him now, being stuck without much to do as there wasn't anything he could steal and all that, but there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing anyone could do about it. And as Daisuke had pointed out; when he died and he had heirs, then Dark would eventually come to a time where traveling around to steal artwork was easy…er. Whatever.
He had mentally blocked out Dark's singing (due to a massive produce of profanity) and had made his way towards the swinging doors that marked both entrance and exit. Pushing it just slightly, the suddenly clanking sound to gears working themselves into a frenzy made Daisuke turn around.
((Run for it,)) offered Dark, pausing for a split second in his song to advise this to the boy. But Daisuke, being who he was, didn't and watched as Risa pulled herself up in the last few meters of the moving elevator and ran over to where he was standing; half in and out of the bar.
"Daisuke! You can't just leave now!"
Great, now she was going to attempt to convince him to stay; when it was so clear that certain people didn't want him around, "Why not? I mean, I'm a mercenary so now that I've finished the job, I should just leave."
((You're being mean to Risa-chan, did you notice?))
(Yeah, but as much as I don't want to hurt her feelings, I just can't stay here,) he shot back meaningfully, glancing at the brunette warily, (It's clear that Argentine doesn't care and hates our guts, so it's best to leave before we leave behind a pile of corpse.)
((That's not actually a bad idea, you know.))
(Shut up; I'm not going to do that.)
((More's the pity.))
Risa merely frowned at this, placing both hands on her hips and glaring at him pointedly, "Don't give me that, mister! I say you can't leave and for a good reason, too!"
"What reason's that?" he couldn't help but ask, knowing that, as a child, she had the tendency to find excuses out of things or to do something.
"You don't remember?" she seemed surprised, and he could only shrug at this, "Well, this was when we were nine…"
000
It was all dark out in the town of Nibelhiem. Everyone, all the residents, were asleep, although the lights in the inn glowed in a welcoming gesture; promising traveler's a good night's rest and the like. In the center of the small, shabby, yet homely town, sat a well, rather large, as the fan attached on top of it creaked slightly. It was tall, an attempt to keep little children from straying into the well and breaking their necks, but the platforms were easy to climb onto if they really put their mind to it. But that wasn't the point at the moment.
A nine-year-old Risa came over to it, her light-blue summer-dress ruffling in the light breeze. It was a clear night, the sky filled with stars and a crescent moon. She stared at it in awe for a moment, but then gathered herself together and remembered that she had somewhere to go. Both her parents were asleep, as was her sister, and if any of them woke up and noticed her gone, she would be in a lot of trouble.
Clambering onto the large, wooden platform, she sat down, staring at the crinkles in her dress. She didn't have to wait long before a slightly high-pitched voice hailed her.
"Risa-chaaan!"
"Daisuke!" she shouted back happily as the redhead jumped up onto the platform without much trouble. Risa happily swung her legs around, not the least disturbed with the drop below; which was a lot to small children. "Daisuke, why did you ask me to meet you here?"
The bouncy boy moved around restlessly, as if trying to find the right words to explain it to her. Risa turned her head curiously, following the mop of red hair. Suddenly, Daisuke heaved himself up on the edge of the well opposite to where she was sitting and grinned.
"I'm going to be going to Midgar one day!" he proclaimed excitedly.
"Eh? Really?"
"Yeah! And I'm going to be joining SOLDIER and get into first class; like the great Aku!"
"Huh--! Really? That's so cool!" Risa scrambled up for a moment, "He's the best Shinra have! Are you really going to be able to do that, Daisuke?" Her eyes showed doubt and she turned away, sitting back down and allowed her legs to swing once more.
"Yeah! I'll be fine!"
"Well, then," she turned, smiling again, "I'll look out on the papers for your name! How about that!"
Daisuke seemed to brim with happiness at this.
"And can you make me a promise?"
"Yeah?"
"When you do get into SOLDIER… if I ever get into trouble… my hero will save me, okay?" a glance over her shoulder, waiting for his reaction.
The redhead replied without any sign of hesitation, "Okay! I promise!"
"Really?"
"Really."
"That's so cool…"
000
"And then five years later you left for Midgar, got into SOLDIER, and now you have to keep your promise!" she finished calmly, pointing a finger at him, "There's no way out of it, Daisuke Niwa!"
(She remembered that!)
((Apparently so.))
"But I was a little kid at the time," he reasoned, while he continued his mental conversation with Dark, (I don't get her sometimes. I mean, sure I had a crush on her, but why does she remember such odd… things?)
((It's in her nature, Dai-chan; you can't get it out of her head and just hope she doesn't remember certain, rather embarrassing, things about you when you were still a kid.))
(You know, I think it's better if you don't mention it…)
"It was still a promise and you said it yourself," it was clear that Risa was not giving up anytime soon, "If you ever get into SOLDIER, you would protect me when I'm in danger and I'm keeping you on that promise whether you like it or not."
Dark grumbled something incoherent.
Daisuke sighed. It was clear that if he didn't stay, he was probably going to be chased all around the world by the brunette, and all that energy wasted…
"Fine, I'll stay then."
He could almost see his other half rolling his eyes at this. Well, he couldn't blame the thief and all.
Risa beamed at this, but their attention swung back to the elevator-that-was-actually-a-pinball-machine and Argentine appeared, still scowling and all, but there. He walked a couple of paces into the room and then threw something over to the redhead, who caught it. He stared blankly at the leather bag in his hand. (Uh… wha?)
"You're payment," Argentine snapped, as if being able to read his mind, "1500 gil."
Daisuke nodded vaguely at this before tucking it away, and Risa was speaking, "Does this mean you'll allow him to go on the next mission?" she must have been frowning pointedly in his direction and the other muttered, not too willingly; "If he wants."
((Are you?))
(Well, Risa just said it herself that she wasn't about to leave me alone so…) "Alright, I'll do it for 4000 gil."
((How much are you planning to steal of him this time?))
Daisuke glanced up and saw that Argentine wasn't exactly happy at this proposition.
"1500," he snapped back. "It's the same as last time anyway."
He shook his head firmly, "Sorry, but I've got priorities. 3000."
"No way!"
Risa went over to him, "Come on, you can pay that much," she hissed.
Argentine muttered back, "But it's for Misaki's schooling!", and then focused his attention back onto the redhead; "2000!"
Daisuke nodded, "Okay then, 2000 gil for this job." He tucked his hands into his pockets and blinked innocently back at the leader of the rebel group, who looked ready to explode in anger. If that was even possible.
But Argentine then just swung around, probably muttering curses under his breath, "Seeing as you'll be coming with us tomorrow, you might as well stay here the night."
"Yeah."
As he stomped off (still cursing, more than likely), Risa turned to smile at her childhood friend-now-ex-SOLDIER, "Come on, then, we better try and find you a place to sleep and all."
He blinked, (Where are we going to sleep in a place like this? It's not really… sleep-welcoming.)
((Ah well, they'll find somewhere,)) Dark replied, apparently rolling over in the crevices of his mind, ((this is when having a host is actually rewarding. I get free accommodation all the time.))
(That's nice to know.)
"Come on, Daisuke!"
Daisuke shot a mental glare at his alter-ego before following Risa back down into headquarters, where everyone else would either be waiting to hear Argentine out, or fearing for their lives.
000
Daisuke rolled over onto his side, the makeshift bedding he was lying on not the most comfortable of places to be attempting to sleep on. Not that he could really be complaining and all, as the rest of the group was also down here. Although he knew he would never admit it out loud, Argentine had made a point during their argument. Most of those recruited into Shinra's army had no idea about what the company did itself, and only did as they were told. They were mindless most of the time, taking relish in putting down the lower status people who were struggling to live.
During his time in SOLDIER, all he had been able to see was mindless words and instructions being passed out, carried out, and then, finally, completed. There was no reason for them doing this. Sure, there were times when they had to get rid of monster invasions or whatever, but when he'd been there… it was all just… pointless, really.
He couldn't really understand it, and probably never would. Dark had always told him that joining the army (if one could call it that) was a bad idea, but the redhead hadn't listened. But what else was he going to do if he hadn't joined SOLDIER? Would he still be home with his mother, helping them to live and stay together? Or would he have ended up with Risa, if he'd stayed a little longer, proving to her that he could be what she wanted. Actually, he didn't know what she wanted in a boyfriend.
Maybe that was the reason he soon fell out of his crush for her. Why he then left for a couple of weeks and found…
The redhead pushed this thought out of his head and stared at the ceiling for a moment. Reminiscing on the past of his few years in life wasn't exactly a good thing, but due to the fact that someone's snoring was actually keeping him up at the moment…
((Remembering the good old times again?))
(What? You're awake?)
A snort, ((Apparently, otherwise I wouldn't be talking to you.))
(Right, whatever,) Daisuke closed his eyes. (Hey, what would have happened if I'd never gone and joined SOLDIER?)
((Well, you wouldn't be able to fight, moped around forever because Risa rejected you, and yeah,)) Dark concluded simply.
(Thanks a lot for the comfort.)
((Remembering him again, huh?))
(That's… none of your business,) yet he couldn't stop the heat from running into his face. Dark sniggered.
((Of course it is; we're more or less the same person, right? Besides, you know how much I remember…))
(Yeah, you keep going on about him all the time. It's not good for my mental stability.)
((Maybe not yours, but if I ever forgot about Krad, I'd have to kill myself.))
(Uhm, isn't that what he tried to do to you when you first met?)
((So? It's an attraction neither one of us could resist.))
(I'm going to sleep.)
((I'm not leaving you alone until you admit you still miss him.))
(Of course I miss him. Now please… just leave me alone…)
The thief seemed to know that he'd hit a delicate nerve and fell silent as Daisuke opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling once more, and had no idea when he fell asleep that night.
"Satoshi…"
000
Bleh, had to make adjustments to the actual storyline so that it (hopefully) made sense. Wait, did I warn everyone that this is going to be slightly shonen-ai? Geh… whatever. I've told you now. Oh, and it's not hard to work out who took Sephiroth's role now, is it? XD (Aku belongs to neko-nya and I kidnapped him. Go figure.)
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