DISCLAIMERS: I don't own DNAngel, or anything else. Understood? I'm sure you do... and, no, I don't own my brain either. It owns me.

WARNINGS: Uh... evil to such well-loved characters.

--- Darkened Heart ---

--- 6 ---

"Niwa-san, shouldn't you be asleep?"

Daisuke shook his head, not even trying to look up as Elena entered his room. She gave him a sympathetic glance as she did so and took a seat close by his bed. She fiddled with a piece of cloth in between her hands, looking for inspiration, as she tried to reason with the obviously depressed redhead.

"I know that you're worried about your cousin," she started softly. "But I don't think that it's right of you to try and hurt yourself this way."

"Hurt myself?" Daisuke gave her an ironic look for the first time, almost like he was wondering if she was trying to make fun of him, or make him feel better.

"I mean it emotionally, and mentally," she explained simply, flicking back her hair gracefully, "If you don't let your body rest, though, it will also end up to be physical as well. You can't do anything to help Dark-san at the moment, so please rest."

"But I have to see him!"

"Soon, Niwa-san. You will see him soon."

She left, closing the door behind her as usual, and the redhead flopped back on his bed, unable to get the images of Dark lying there out of his head. There had been blood everywhere, and he was so still…

(You shouldn't be so negative,) the voice in his head pointed out, (It won't do you any good, so why bother?)

(I'm just really worried... that's all,) he replied, having gotten used to the idea of him talking to himself, since there was a low chance of anyone being around, (Dark's the last link to my life, before it was ruined, and if he doesn't make it…)

(Forever the optimistic one, aren't you?) it mocked, although not in an insulting way. (Maybe once you rest, you won't be this way. And you heard her, everything will be fine. All we can do now is wait.)

(… Guess you're right.)

Daisuke laid back, the silence that surrounded him almost suffocating his lungs. He wanted to go outside, but knew that it would be impossible – as well as risky – to go outside after seeing a battle with a creature that wasn't supposed to be there. After a night of action, filled with the concept of magic, he really didn't know how much more he could take.

But somehow, even after all the explanations he had been given and what he had only seen hours ago, it didn't scare him, or even waver on his thoughts.

He didn't really understand, but Daisuke had a nagging feeling that he already knew about everything, if not more. And that in itself should have been disturbing.

And yet it wasn't.

The redhead shrugged the feeling off and closed his eyes, not wanting to find out more than he wanted, and reminisced on his friends and the good times they had had.

---

"What's his condition?" asked Kain, as he entered a dimly lit room that had been painted completely white. He shoved both hands in his pockets and flinched slightly when Celes turned to give him an even look of disapproval.

"He will be stable soon," she whispered, "But it will take some time for him to be completely sufficient to stand or even talk. That is, if I do not get anymore interruptions."

"Right…" he nodded, pretending that he understood, before taking a few steps out the way he came and practically ran off down the corridors. He only stopped when he was out of breath, and then trudged towards the meeting room, knowing that both Akane and Satoshi would be there to discuss the groups next move. Most likely with the Hit Squad as well, he reminded himself as he opened the door.

The talking hum that had filled the room stopped abruptly at the disturbance, but once he shoved his head in, they relaxed. Farea gave Kain the thumbs-up as he closed the door again.

"So, what was the answer she gave you?" he asked. He shrugged in reply and sat down on the floor, too lazy to pull up a chair to sit on.

"Something distant, as usual," he muttered in annoyance. "And then the usual 'as long as no one interrupts me' line. She's becoming a bit, what would you call it, bossy, if you know what I mean. It's weird."

"You mean more bossy than usual?" Clef asked, sniggering slightly now that they didn't have to do anything. "That's Celes for you. I'm just finding her an amusing person to annoy, and believe me, it's a lot more fun than trying to annoy some of the others, like Ryu. Man, he can hit pretty hard when he wants to."

"And so can I, if you even think about doing something that stupid again," Zeike said, arms crossed and eyes closed. "The kind of things you do, in or out of base, are beyond appalling and bound to get you in trouble one day."

"But not yet--" started the other boy in a sing-song voice.

"Kids these days," muttered Farea, looking annoyed slightly, although the impression was ruined as he grinned. "And how old is little Clef now?"

Clef spun around, looking as furious as he could, "What did you say--?!"

"So there's nothing stable about Dark yet?" Akane as Kain, as she and Satoshi continued to study a large piece of paper in front of them. "I know it's only been less than a few hours, but there should have been a change…"

"She wouldn't classify his state, really," he replied, "The closest I could get to was 'soon', and I don't think that helps much."

"But she's one of the best healers," Satoshi murmured, engrossed with whatever was on the paper. "It wouldn't be impossible to help him, and it wasn't like he was in any major condition that he could never recover from."

"Maybe she's hiding something from us," suggested Kain, as the Hit Squad began to argue among themselves. "It could be anything, you know."

"Celes?" Akane looked skeptical. "No way."

"Are you saying that I'm still just a kid?!"

"Are you saying that I said that? You just said it then."

"Hey! That's not funny, Far!"

"You've known Celes for longer than the rest of us," Kain tilted his head upwards at the ceiling, "So are you really sure that she wouldn't hide anything from you?"

"I'm not saying that," huffed Akane indignantly, "But she doesn't like being around a large number of people all the time, if you know what I mean. I don't know the causes exactly, but if you're suggesting that she might betray us--"

"You're thirteen! Get over it! The youngest of the Hit Squad, you should be proud of yourself, runt."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that! Dammit, Far, I'm gonna get you one day!"

"I'd like to see you try."

"I'm not saying betrayal," he argued earnestly, "But if she really does know something that we should know, and hiding it from us…"

"But--"

"It's a possibility," Satoshi suddenly murmured, eyes still locked on the paper. Akane raised her eyebrows at him for a moment before speaking.

"Care to explain, then?"

"I'll show you one day, I tell you! I will!"

"Big talk, Clef, like to see you actually do it," Farea sniggered.

"I'll--"

"WILL THE TWO OF YOU JUST SHUT YOUR TRAPS ALREADY?!" unable to take it, Zeike snapped and ended up hitting both boys around the head. Hard. "Why can't the two of you just damn friggen' get along together for once?!" The two boys pouted and rubbed their heads as they complained to the leader of the Squad.

Satoshi turned away from the parchment and gave the Hit Squad an even leveled glare and they fell silent. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and sat back, Akane paying more attention to the ceiling than the people around her.

"Celes, we know very little about her," the blue-haired boy began simply. "Her past, before joining up with even you, Takada, is one that she never talks about, right?"

"Yeah, true," she nodded stiffly, mentally guessing where the topic of discussion was trailing off to. "I've only known her for five years and she really hates her past, by the sounds of it. Always avoids the topic."

"Not to mention she hates our plans of actually fighting against the Darkness that threatens to swallow us all," Kain added.

"She may know something about that, or she just wants to annoy us all," continued Satoshi, as if no on had interrupted, "the line between dimensions and worlds, as such, is a complicated situation for any of us to comprehend, and her healing magic is more advanced than most."

"So you're implying that she might know something about that and doesn't want to tell us about it," concluded Akane, "But she knows who and what we're fighting against, so why keep us in the shadows, where we might get attacked suddenly."

"The monster attack wasn't an accident either," muttered Zeike. Satoshi turned back to his paper and Kain sat up a little straighter, looking annoyed.

"Why doesn't anyone speak straight anymore?" he said, frowning. "Would you be so kind as to explain what the hell you're saying." The boy merely smirked at the temper and nodded towards the other two of his Squad and they stepped up smartly to attention, despite their throbbing heads. Clef and Farea took it in turns to talk.

"Elena stated upon our meeting her that the line wasn't broken and everything was functioning properly."

"This was because if it had been broken, there would have been a larger number of monsters and magic flowing through it."

"And the fact that the monster had an insanely large amount of magic capacity--"

"—clearly someone is tampering with the lines of our connection."

Zeike nodded, a hand passing through his dark green hair as they finished and flopped back into their seats. "The whole situation seemed wrong from the very beginning. Especially with the fact that only one person was attacked, and it's Daisuke Niwa's cousin. Doesn't that point to something, Akane?"

"Ah… of course," she nodded, legs crossed and head inclined. "That would explain a number of things, but we don't know that much about the gates or dimensions, let alone the lines in our own world."

"He's coming soon, so don't bother about it too much," Satoshi said in a distant voice, "Once we speak to him, we'll know how to plan out next move."

"Who?" all the other boys present stared at him with a questioning look of bafflement. Akane on the other hand merely blinked.

"You mean that he's actually coming?" she asked him, and he nodded, rolling up the paper and tucking it away.

"We have to talk, though," he told her, "The meeting's over, so just return to your tasks unless another warning is emitted."

The Squad were the first to leave, and Kain pouted slightly, his hair everywhere. "Why am I constantly missing out in our meetings? You two seemed to be the only joint leaders in this thing. I thought we were a threesome."

Akane stared at him blankly, "You hold as much hold in this group as the rest of us," she said bluntly, "so you have nothing to complain about. Really, Kain, I thought you knew that by now. And what we discuss… you'll know soon enough."

He looked hurt, but didn't say anything as he left the room, closing it. Satoshi shook his head at her and she sighed, sitting back. Minutes ticked by as silence began to fill on them and it was only when a chair scraped across the stone floor that Satoshi began to speak.

"Is it really okay for him to come?" he asked. "I really haven't told you much about his past, have I? But I can warn you that he can be very dangerous if you get on his nerves."

"We never really speak too much about our pasts," replied Akane, "We've all suffered one way or another, and besides, if your relative can really help us with this battle, I really don't see what's wrong with it; even if he does have a bad temper."

"You have nothing against Krad?"

"Not that I know of."

---

"Niwa-kun!" called one of the Harada twins. Daisuke turned and watched as she ran up to him: the one with long hair. He pondered for a moment, trying to remember her name. "It's Risa!" she said, seeing his face. "Just call me Risa, 'kay?"

The small redhead smiled weakly and nodded, "Risa… san?"

"Close enough," she smiled and took a hold of his wrist, "Come on! Don't you want to meet the rest of your classmates? Don't think that just 'cause I'm a girl, I don't know some of the cooler guys in our year!"

"Uhm…"

"Oi, Harada! What d'you think you're doing to Daisuke?!" bellowed Takeshi, materialising out of nowhere and grabbing Daisuke's other wrist. "Trying to drag him into one of your little girly projects, I expect?!"

"Saehara!" the young brunette pouted, stamping the ground with her foot. "How could you tell Niwa-kun such awful, awful things?!"

"Uhm…" Daisuke attentively tried to free his wrists from both holds, but was unable to.

"You're the girliest on in this whole building and you know it!"

"Hey! That's a mean thing to tell a lady!"

"Who's a lady?!"

"Are you saying that I'm not?!"

"What are you two arguing this time?" Riku couldn't help but grin at the position the three were in: both Risa and Takeshi were arguing, oblivious to the fact that Daisuke was the only barrier between the two from getting into a fight. "And I think you should let Niwa-kun go. If you don't, then his arms might fall off."

"But Riku--!"

"Harada, tell her off already!"

"Uhm…"

Riku gave an exasperated sigh as she pulled the nervous redhead away from the other two. "I don't mind you arguing, but stop dragging innocent bystanders into it!"

It wasn't long before the young brunette and Takeshi began to argue again and Daisuke fidgeted nervously, not knowing what to do. The older twin shook her head and led the redhead away from the scene of chaos.

"Don't mind them too much," she reassured him. "They love to argue with each other all the time. They'd make a great couple, don't you think?" she laughed at the thought and they both sat down. An awkward silence fell between them as a breeze picked up.

"So… Niwa-kun," started Riku after a moment of thought, "Do you like this school? There's a load of really nice people around, and I can tell that you'll have many friends."

"Really?" Daisuke asked, blinking at her.

"Yeah," she smiled slightly, "I can see it in your eyes, I think. I know this is kind of sappy for me to say, but your eyes hold this kind of message. Like… you'll listen to a person when they're worried and when you make friends, it'll be for forever and you'll never betray them or anything." She blushed as the words left her mouth and ducked her head. "I'm sorry!"

"No, it's okay," the redhead smiled and patted her lightly on the shoulder, "I think… I know what you mean. And you're the same, Harada-san, I can see it too."

"Eh? Really?"

"Yeah," he replied, nodding. "You can make some really close friends and you already have, haven't you?"

"Guess… you're right," she looked up and held out a hand. "Friends?"

"Friends." He took her hand.

---

When Daisuke came back to his senses, Riku's words still rang in his ears. They had become friends, naturally, but it had been years before either one of them had admitted to liking the other stronger than just that bond. But now that he was being chased, he couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen to her, and all the others he had come to trust.

He pulled the covers of the blanket over his head, drowning out the deep sorrow that tried to drag him away from life and remembered about Dark. Bolting up, he looked around the room, wondering if he was allowed to wander where he wanted: in many ways, the base seemed to be like a strict school with one too many rules that had to be followed.

As he got out of bed, wondering what he was going to do next, the door opened and Satoshi entered, looking as calm and composed as ever.

"Awake now?" he asked, and the redhead nodded in reply. "Elena told us about you being worried about Dark, so I'm supposed to take you there."

"Do I have to be accompanied?" Daisuke raised an eyebrow, the innocent question filled with annoyance, which the other boy understood.

"No, you really don't have to," he said simply, "But since you don't know the way, it would be the right thing to do. I believe that you already remember the way out of his base, then?"

Surprised, the redhead nodded, "Why?"

"Your cousin, the one known as Dark Mousy, is a well-known thief," Satoshi explained as they left the room, "A Phantom Thief, as I'm sure you know of: surprising that he was able to slip past all security in broad daylight as well, as a matter of fact. You would have faced the same training and drills, Niwa."

"How… how do you know about the Phantom Thief part?" stuttered Daisuke, suddenly looking nervous, "No one knew about it… except for really close family members. And Dark's parents were killed when they thought they had magic potential…" his voice wavered and then trailed off into the corridor, passing by Leah and Elena, who were deep in conversation.

"I was part of the police force assigned to catch him," the blue-haired boy shrugged, "Even though we never caught him, I found out the connection."

"When?"

"Only last night. Not that it makes much more of a difference now. Seeing that he is one being chased, there's no point handing him over to the police. Anyone who gets sentenced to death by those sadistic bastards are bound to be worse then one thief who steals works of art that possess magic in them."

"But is Dark really okay now?" pressed the redhead. "When I saw him being attacked by that monster outside… why was it there in the first place?"

"We still don't know yet," admitted Satoshi, opening a door and entering it, "Zeike, the one with green hair, believes that it might have been done on purpose, but we need further investigation on the entire matter. And your cousin is fine. He hasn't woken up, though, but Takada will see to that part of the operation."

"… You sound like you're cutting him up."

"Celes is the Healer, but Takada holds the most magic potential. She told you about her possession of the power of Time?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't very clear."

"She'll explain it to you one day. She needs to explain it to all of us."

"What?"

"There are more things about her that we don't know than the whole group put together, and we all hold our own secrets. She's the one who speaks less off her past than anyone else."

---

Celes looked up as Akane opened the door and entered the room where Dark lay on a bed, light filling the room. The Priestess raised an eyebrow in question but made no attempt to tell the younger girl to get out. Out of all the group members, Akane and Satoshi were the only two ever to break out of the rules that had been set for the safety of the group: even Kain wasn't as reckless as the two put together.

"Is something wrong, Akane?" she asked softly, taking a step away from the limp form. "I am sure that I told Kain that I need all my concentration for this…"

"You did, of course," nodded the redhead calmly, "but it looks like it's taking longer for Dark to recover than any other serious injury that most of our suffers within a week."

"He does not hold any magic potential," replied the Priestess, "so it is harder to heal him."

"Isn't it the other way around, though?" Akane shot back, "When one has no magic potential, then it's much easier to heal them, but with too much, it's a basic spell and a few days to rest. I think I know that much, Celes."

Celes bowed, "My apologies. But what is it that you need?"

"I'm taking it from here," came the command, "I think Zeike hurt Far and Clef again, so why don't you check on them?"

"Very well."

Akane watched as Celes left the room, closing the door behind her. She frowned, well aware that the Priestess was indeed hiding something from them and wouldn't say it, even if it cost her her life. But the entire situation and current string of events seemed more suspicious than usual.

It was either betrayal, or the darkness and evil within the world was already beginning to make its move, or the knowledge of something that was vital to their safety, but didn't want to tell them.

Neither option was a nice one, and the young girl pushed it away, looking over to the still form of Daisuke's cousin. He skin was pale and the light pink scars across his face and arms weren't the most pleasant to look at. His eyes were closed and the mess of violet hair was strewn everywhere on the pillow.

Akane pulled a seat and sat down next to the bed, at the same time pulling out something tucked under her shirt. A small pendant like object was freed from the folds of her clothes and she allowed it to hover over Dark.

'The evil is always stirring… in all of us,' she thought, 'the pollen of death and despair is forever passed from person to person, unknown to us all. An evil that has tried to destroy us before… and failed miserably, by a number of people who no longer want to remember the past.' She looked down at Dark.

"Do you know what I mean? Do you remember that time? Black Wings…"

---

Daisuke watched as Satoshi knocked on a door before opening it. He blinked a couple of times, wondering why the whole 'base' and 'group' was as confusing as the winding corridors of where they lived and why everyone kept everything to themselves.

(If they hide so much, then how are they supposed to trust themselves, let alone each other?)

(It's all in the mistrust of others, yet the threatening of darkness and evil is enough to pull them together. And people are trying to kill them, remember.)

(But there's just so much that we need to find out… it may be the only way to get rid of this evil that threatens to surround the world.)

(Ah, they'll find out one day. Or we can tell them. Dark would agree.)

(Dark…)

"I hope we didn't disturb you," Satoshi said, not sounding the least apologetic as he saw Akane sitting on a stool close by Dark's bed. "Celes didn't look too happy when we passed by her. New expression you made her do, Takada. What did you tell her this time?"

Akane didn't turn but answered nevertheless, "She was taking her time in the healing process, and she said that he had no magic potential, which was clearly being emitted from his body since the time Raine and Ryu brought him here. She's been more… quiet of late as well. Maybe Kain was right about her…"

"So… will Dark be okay?" asked Daisuke timidly, as he allowed his feet to drag him in, not really wanting to see what condition his cousin was in. "I mean…"

"He's fine, just… not awake," she hesitated for a moment, "I think the monster drained most of his power when it was attacking him, so he couldn't fight back. He lost a lot of blood as well, so it wasn't the best of conditions to start off with. And there's this creature here." She turned to show them a small rabbit-like creature, which smiled up at them and made a noise that was close to 'kyu'. Upon seeing Daisuke, it leapt out of her hold and onto the other redhead, happily taking residence in his hair.

"With!" he exclaimed, pulling the creature away from his head and taking a look at it. "Are you okay?!"

"Kyu kyu kyu!"

"…" Satoshi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"I thought he belonged to the Niwa clan," Akane nodded and indicated them to take a seat, "Since he has none of those, well, what we call 'viral waves' that usually get emitted from monsters as such, and he was worried about Dark as well."

As they took seats close by the bed, With hopped back over onto Daisuke's head and the redhead did his best not to look at a basin close by that was filled with rags that were stained with blood. Akane had a necklace hovering over Dark's head and was muttering a few words. The pendant that hung from it glittered slowing, forming a dim light around it as she continued her chant.

"Niwa-kun," she said after a while, "I know that you might find this crazy, but… I want you to finish the spell for me."

"What? How am I supposed to do that?!" spluttered Daisuke, and she smiled.

"I know you can do it, that's why. And if you Dark to recover faster, than it's necessary. Blood relations are better healers than even the best of healers."

"…" the redhead hesitated for a moment, but it wasn't long before he had come to a conclusion that was so obvious that it wasn't funny. He went over to Dark slowly, nervous, while Akane stepped back from her position.

"Are you sure it's okay to let him go?" muttered Satoshi from the corner of his mouth, eyes glued to the still lump on the bed. "We don't even know the strength of his own power, and it looks like it's still growing."

"I trust him, and I know you do as well," replied Akane, smiling, "But this is just healing, so I'm sure everything will be fine."

"You always say that." He couldn't help but shake his head slightly and looked down at his watch, "We don't have much time either."

"Don't worry."

Daisuke knew that the other two were watching him and the feeling of uneasiness in his stomach tightened considerably. Taking a couple of deep breaths, he made a mental calculation on Dark's current status.

(No internal injuries… external injuries already healed… stamina lost due to lack of blood… he's… still awake…) as the analysis came back to him, the redhead was suddenly unhinged due to the fact that he was able to sense it and almost wanted to run off to be sick. (How did I--?!)

(It's one of your abilities,) explained the voice patiently, (You never were the type of person to vessel dangerous magic. But even then it would be dangerous…)

(Are you saying that me knowing this is natural?)

(What else should I be saying besides wake up Dark?)

(Right, right…)

Once he regained his train of thoughts, Daisuke raised his hands and began to chant softly, creating a gentle aura around the palm of his hands. He didn't really know what he was getting himself into, but the voices in his head and the flame that forever flickered inside of him reassured his wavering conscience and he continued.

'I knew it…' thought Akane grimly, 'His power…'

"It surpasses that that we know of," finished Satoshi, reading her thoughts. "So if someone else was to mislead him… it won't happen."

"Really now?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I'll make sure of that."

"Heh."

They stopped their conversation as the spell Daisuke had been conjuring suddenly seemed to explode and engulf the entire room.

"Everything has to be done big, doesn't it?" Satoshi asked ironically.

"It's all part of the process."

---

Leah was talking to Ryu about the plans of the balance and the source of power when they were interrupted by an alarm close by. The noise in itself wasn't overwhelmingly loud, but the noise was enough for them to leave the conference room they had been using and meet up with Raine and Zeike, Farea and Clef tagging along.

"Who do you think it is?" asked Raine, as she took Ryu's hand for reassurance. "I mean, very few people know of our location, if it's someone who found a way and wants to hurt us--"

"Won't happen," Zeike muttered, cutting her short. "You see, the entire base is protected, with Elena's own power and that means that no one with magic at all can really enter without getting knocked out cold for the next few weeks. Whoever it is, they set the alarm off to a minimum standard of danger."

"Care to explain, oh brother?" Leah asked, bouncing around and toying with a whip she carried with her all the time.

"This person probably doesn't want to harm us."

"Either way, how they got in will have to be dealt with," Ryu said softly as they turned a corner and made their way towards the entrance. "Even those with magic can't really been drawn towards base unless they are aware of it."

"But Daisuke managed to get pretty close," Farea pointed out. "Does that mean anything?"

"He's a nut?" suggested Clef.

"No, kiddo, you're the nut here."

"What?!"

"Shut up…" Zeike's eyebrow twitched. "Or do I have to do something more drastic to get it into your thick skulls?"

"… Who is it?" asked Raine softly, as they reached the final corridor. The trapdoor was shut and a single tall figure stood in the shadows, as if hoping not to be seen. Ryu nodded in her direction, and, with a sigh, the girl raised her free hand.

---

"Dark! Dark! C'mon, answer me Dark!" Daisuke begged. The light had finally subsided and the now desperate redhead was practically shaking him. Satoshi muttered a few words under his breath about a waste of time and Akane was frowning.

'The spell worked,' she thought, "So that means…"

"Dar--"

"You're too loud, Dai-chan. Give it a rest."

The reply caught Daisuke off guard and he fell, blinking stupidly while his cousin sat up, rubbing his head gingerly. "God, you're even louder than your mum when you're worried."

"How-when-you--" spluttered the redhead, pointing a hand at Dark while With 'kyu'-ed happily. "Dark! When did you just--"

"Not too long ago," the older teen gave him a lopsided grin before lying back down again, "I was 'bout to go back to sleep, but man, you're such a persistent kid when you want to be… looks like you managed to live as well, huh?"

"Yeah…" Daisuke managed to get up and sit on a stool, bending slightly out of relief, "I was just worried that I'd lost you… like everyone else…"

"Damn sadistic bastards," Dark spat out at the roof in disgust, "Why can't they just leave everyone alone? If anything, they should be the ones to die…" he sat up again, for the first time noticing his surroundings, "Where the hell am I?"

"Uhm… I don't know WHERE we are exactly… but I know we're safe here…" Daisuke blinked and gave Satoshi and Akane questioning looks. "Uh… little help?"

Satoshi pushed his glasses up, "To put it simply, you're underground, away from the 'world above'. Since you are being chased, it doesn't seem sensible to run around when people not only want to burn you on the stake but put you in jail at the same time, Phantom Thief Dark."

"Huh, who's the creep?" Dark sat up again to stare at the blue-haired boy, "And how did he know—oi! You're that creepy commander that's been trying to catch me all this time!"

Daisuke placed a hand on his cousin's shoulder to stop him from lunging out of bed, "Dark, it's okay. Hiwatari-kun and Akane-san helped you… and me."

"Oh…" he smirked, "What'cha gonna do after that, of great commander? Place me in jail? It wouldn't work anyway." He then turned to face Akane, "Nice to meet ya."

"…" Satoshi's eyebrow twitched before he chose to answer, "There would be no point to placing you in jail now. You've been sentenced to death for 'acts of helping witchcraft and other dangerous forms of inhuman activities' so why would I place you there?"

"Sharp one, huh," muttered the Thief.

"Well, he is a part of us as well, although no one knows it," Akane explained patiently, "I'll explain about this place soon. But--"

"—What happened to you first, Dark?" finished Daisuke.

"Kyu! Kyu!"

"Argh… better get it over and done with then," Dark propped himself up into a more comfortable sitting position before starting his own explanation. "Well, it was about a few hours after I'd gotten you outta that hell hole, Daisuke, and you know that I was distracting them so…"

---

"Oi! He's getting away!"

"That child of satan?!"

"Who did it?!"

Dark stuck his tongue out, face pulled into a ridiculous position. "You freaks know nothing about this, do you? He didn't hurt anyone!"

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Are you one of them as well?!"

"Get him!"

With a smirk, the dark-haired teen leapt of the window sill he'd been using as a support and landed lightly on the ground. With, who'd been sitting on his back, made an annoyed noise and he shrugged, listening to the sounds from the room with amusement.

"Just let 'em come out here," he muttered to himself confidently, "Give him some time before leaving ourselves." He pulled a card out of his pocket. "What do I have to steal tonight anyway?"

"Hey! It's that other one!"

"Get him!"

"What?! But the door's on the other side of the house, dammit!"

"I don't care! Smash the window, but don't let him get away!"

"Ah… that one? Large piece of canvas, but really nice picture, nevertheless," Dark told With, who wagged his tail in reply. "I'm counting on you, okay?"

"Kyu!"

"Ah! You're still here?! Think you're smart, do you?" a man help up what looked like a pitchfork, "Well, you won't be around for long!"

"… He's got some serious issues."

Dark shrugged before running off, only fast enough to keep a good distance from him and the people who were chasing him – clearly forgetting that Daisuke had also escaped. Rain began to fall slowly, pattering against the concrete as he led them away.

---

"How long were they actually chasing you for?" Daisuke asked instantly, worry etched on his face, "You're not sick, are you?"

"I'm just fine," Dark shook the pity away with a wave of his hand. "But at least you got away safe, that was the only thing that mattered. What would I tell your parents that I let their own son die when he hadn't done anything wrong in the first place? After that, I just went to do my job. Oh yeah… you weren't there, were you, creepy boy?"

Satoshi's glasses flashed at the name calling, "What you were sent out to steal wasn't magically altered, so there was no need for me to be there."

"…" Dark frowned.

"That was the same night you found Niwa-kun as well," Akane pointed out as she fiddled with something in her hands. "So at least there was an upside to that."

"Anyway, the next few days went by fine, although there was no sign of Daisuke anywhere. At least it meant that he got away safely. Anyway, without Emiko to help with the notes, I kinda dispersed from stealing and I was pretty upset about the loss of the Niwa family, and the fact that I was by myself… until those creeps found me again and tried to flush me out with… some rather dangerous weapons, if I remember correctly.

"I left, pretty much, but that that huge whatchamacallit attacked me and the guys who'd been chasing me. Ugh, I don't think you would want to see what that monster did to the other guys, jerks as they were, and then everything went black for me."

"So the monster didn't consume you…" Satoshi said slowly, "How odd…"

"So here I am, and I won't be leaving anytime soon for sure!" laughed Dark with the usual air of confidence.

Questions still remained inside Daisuke's mind, and he was about to question his cousin further but was interrupted by the door opening. Raine and Ryu entered, both looking fairly annoyed or at least bemused as the looked over at the three sitting.

"Sa-to-shi…" started Raine in a sing-song voice, "Did you, by any chance forget to tell us that we were going to have a visitor?"

"…" Satoshi raised an eyebrow, not moving.

"He says that he has a meeting with you, but he could be playing with our minds," Ryu included grimly.

"Let him in," Akane said, waving a hand at them cheerfully, "Don't the rest of you have work to do at the moment?"

The Hit Squad and Leah, who had been hiding behind the posts of the door, gave up on spying and dispersed, muttering about how unfair it was that they had to leave. Raine and Ryu followed after them, but not without Ryu glaring at someone that they couldn't see for the time being.

"Who is it?" asked Daisuke, looking puzzled, "They didn't look too happy about the entire situation."

"Someone who can help us," replied Satoshi, as the person entered. Before anyone could open their mouth or before the person could even introduce himself, Dark beat them to it.

"Bloody hell! Krad…?!"

----

Whoo-hoo! It's a wonderful way to end the chapter. AND Krad still isn't there properly... obviously he'll be there in the next chap, if I ever get it done so. Ugh... Dark's explanation, well, that might be the full explanation, but really, there could be more. Wait, there WILL be more, hopefully. Just that Dark's hiding it. And it's good to keep him as much in characer as he can be. Honestly, who doesn't like the Great Phantom Thief Dark? And Krad, well, he'll be whoever he is. And Krad is related to Satoshi by... cousin, perhaps? Not direct blood relations, but close enough, I guess. And Kain doesn't get that much respect from the other two, does he? Oh well, pity him. Pity him. Hope everything makes sense, it was insanely long compared to my other chaps (only by four pages though), and, uh... yeah. Don't know when the next update will be.

--Reviewer Replies:

-Staryday: Well, as long as someone's reading this, I don't care how long it takes you to review. :) And yeah, as long as it doesn't get insanely boring, I really don't mind typing this. Unlike SiD... (-shakes fist- damn you!!) Well, Dark's up already, to say the least, and he won't be in that position again, hopefully, so yeah. Gotta love him. And Krad? Well, he'll be 'good' so to say, but with horrible temper (hahaha... he's gonna kill me) who cares? He'll be better, and he won't be trying to kill Daisuke or anything. And Dark knows him already. (haha...) Why? Well, you can guess. Thanks for the review! And the encouragement!