Disclaimers: DNAngel does not belong to me and… yeah.
--- The Night Never Ends ---
--- Chapter Two: Meet ---
Being dragged down the street hadn't exactly been on the redhead's 'things to do' list, but he couldn't do anything as the brunette kept a firm hold of his wrist the whole way. They had crossed through the town itself and had entered the open plains where the farming was maintained, and most of the people waved at the three teens as they passed by the single, unpaved road that led back to the separate farmlands and the like.
This was where Daisuke's family was situated; living life simply in the farmhouse and blowing up random parts of their home while they were at it. Well, that had been the case for a while until the redhead had finally learnt how to maintain his magic capabilities. On the whole, it looked like a shack with added rooms and the like, and their neighbors – many who didn't seem to have children at the point and time – had fawned over Daisuke the moment he was born and incinerating walls by accident. Once he had learnt to control that, however, everyone seemed to love him more, but the fact remained that he was an only child, and that made life boring for him.
Moving towards more recent years, he had decided to take the long trek into the village/town and since then, continued to go there when he was free from work. He had made a number of friends – Satoshi turning out to be the closest, obviously – who found his lower status in life either funny or not even worth the time to waste precious brain cells.
Turning his head, the redhead couldn't help but smile slightly at Satoshi, who was frowning and trying to wrench his arm free. How they became friends had been the most bizarre of situations, and at first, the blue-haired boy hadn't even wanted to talk to him. Just leave it to Dark to pull a number of life-threatening pranks and it was settled for like that he would need to be under Daisuke's protection if he didn't want to die.
It had been reluctant, admittedly, and very awkward, but the Niwa had never been one to just sit there and accept that the boy standing next to him seemed to have a pole shoved up his ass (as Dark so affectionately put it) and never talked to anyone; nor left the house, or did anything remotely interesting. Spending more time with him had proved that there was more to Satoshi than it first seemed, yet the constant stream of squealing, giggling girls that used to stalk them all the time had been very unsettling. That turned out to be the aristocratic boy's worst fear of coming outside, but the redhead soon found a way to deal with it.
"Could you let go already?"
Jerked out of his reminiscing, Daisuke focused back on the blue-haired boy, who was frowning pointedly at Risa, who just laughed lightly and continued to drag them to who really knew where. It wasn't like they had never seen the farmlands – Niwa living there and Hiwatari visiting once in a while to get away from the crowds – and aside from the odd cow, pasture, sheep or field, it didn't look like anything in particular had changed.
"Oh, cheer up once in a while, Satoshi," she told him, not looking back. Her simple woolen-fabric dress swirled around as she speeded up considerably, which was actually quite surprising that she hadn't tripped yet, and it's dark brown tone pretty much erased the dust that was hanging onto the frayed edges of it. "It doesn't hurt to laugh and smile once in a while."
Satoshi replied in a low voice, teeth gritted, "And it wouldn't hurt if you weren't cutting the circulation off of my wrist. I need to use that hand, you know."
"Well, not far now," trilled Risa, ignoring him.
Rolling his eyes, Satoshi gave Daisuke a blank look that read 'save me' or 'will she always be this hyperactive?' and the redhead couldn't help but grin. Risa: the brown haired, fourteen-year-old girl with a personality that changed so rapidly that it was scary sometimes. A kind and considerate person who listened to other's problems, yet complained about her own problems almost all the time. It was odd, but she was a nice enough person most of the time. At others, well, that was something that no stranger wanted to witness within their life.
She was a very strange case, honestly. The Harada family had been a high ranking social ladder type of people, but – for one reason or another – they had all fallen ill to one disease or another, and Risa had been the only one recorded to have survived. This had been many years ago, and she seemed to have gotten over it, but no one ever did find out what had happened to her twin sister…
Having been adopted into the Niwa family, she got along with them quite well and seemed to have gotten used to the simple life that they led. But that didn't stop her from being scarily cheerful and hyperactive at times, thanks to Daisuke's mother, so she could be quite trying on the nerves from time to time.
Reaching the Niwa household, Risa finally let go of the two boys, who backed of slowly, rubbing their wrists in the process. Pushing the door open, she beckoned them to come in, all the while bouncing on the soles of her feet. When they didn't move straight away, she pouted and pulled them in, ignoring their protests to such ill treatment on her part.
"Risa-chan… you have to learn to stop hurting others when you're excited…" muttered the redhead, having nearly cannoned into the opposite side of the wall. Looking around the tiny box-shaped room, he frowned, "And it doesn't look any different…"
"…" Rubbing his face and glaring at the happy-go-lucky girl in front of him, Satoshi looked around as well. Simple living called for very few possessions and it definitely wasn't like his own home; yet it had the warm feeling of being welcomed into the place and just had that… family vibe to it. He couldn't put it in any other way. Maybe that was the reason he got along so well with Daisuke and the rest of the Niwa family, unlike the other of his exact social status; they didn't care about who was superior or inferior in the end, as long as they were happy. They were the type of people that didn't need a lot of possessions and did all the hard work themselves while accepting their lifestyle and enjoying it to the fullest.
As these thoughts processed through his head, a voice floated over to the three as Daisuke berated Risa for dragging them back home for no reason.
"How could you say that it doesn't look any different?"
"Da… rk…?" the redhead blinked and Risa's smile widened. The blue-haired boy raised a brow in question, but then again, there was no one else any of them knew that had that sort of voice… something close to constantly sounding sarcastic, mocking and insulting almost all the time. Forgetting about telling the brunette off, Daisuke rushed through the small main room and came face-to-face with the seventeen year old, who was smirking. "Dammit! You said that you'd be here in a week from now!"
"Well, I lied," came the smooth reply as Dark took a seat and began to brush the dirt off the cloak he was wearing. His dark violet mop of hair was as unruly as ever and the clear, amethyst eyes analysed the room they were in slowly, "And it doesn't look like this place has changed either, has it?"
"If I had known you were going to be here," commented Satoshi lightly as he entered the room with a giggling Risa, "I would have stayed at home."
"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that," slapping his forehead and sticking a tongue out at the blue-haired boy, the older teen turned to confront the redhead, who was now glaring at him for lying, "So when did you two get together again and how far have you gone in the relationship?"
"This is not the time to be asking that!" Daisuke grumbled, stalking over to poke Dark in the chest, "And I can't believe that you lied to be like that!"
"Trust me; you soon learn to never listen to anything he says," another voice commented lightly as a blonde entered and hit the violet-haired teen over the head with the barrel of a handgun he was holding onto. Dark frowned and stuck his tongue out at this, but didn't say anything, "He told ME that we were going to be back here in a month, so honestly…"
"And you believe me, didn't you, Krad!"
"And I shot a bullet up your--"
"Okay, that's quite enough information!" cut in Risa loudly, before the sentence could be finished by the blonde, who glared at the purple-haired teen sitting down. Dark, in response, glared back but they stopped arguing to return to the present. Shaking her head, the brunette took a seat on the other side of the room; as did the other two, while the blonde stood by the window and continued to glare daggers at Dark.
"So what have you been doing for these past two years anyway?" asked Daisuke as he noticed the tension between the two older teens increase with each passing second. Knowing the blonde, gun still in hand, he would have to shoot something. And knowing Dark well enough, he would be the main target in the end.
"Where to begin… where to begin…" mused Dark thoughtfully, looking up at the ceiling, as if hoping for a sudden rush in inspiration. "So much has happened over that little space of time, you know…" This got him another slap over the head and Krad crossed his arms.
"To put it simply: we left, we travelled, we came back," he snapped sharply, shooting Dark a warning look that read 'add anything else and I will personally make your life a living hell', "And THAT idiot there was stupid enough to cause trouble all the way."
"I thought so," muttered Satoshi under his breath, and the purple-haired teen frowned before turning around to set up an argument with the blonde.
"Hey, you were the one who was supposed to make sure that I didn't do anything stupid, weren't you? That means that it's as much as your fault as it was mine!" he proclaimed, "And since you're also the one who agreed to my plans, I don't see why you complain so much about it now--"
Krad rolled his eyes and looked around, ignoring what the other was saying, "Sometimes I wonder why I stay with you…"
"That's right," chirped Risa happily, "There are so many girls who are your type, Krad-kun. You could just dump Dark-kun and then it would be all over." She was merely stating this out of goodwill between the two boys, and the fact that they were even going out in the first place would have seemed so absurd that they expected to be proven otherwise. In truth, Dark was more of an older brother to her – like Daisuke – and Krad wasn't exactly what she stated as 'her type', so anything she said before and after never meant too much from her point of view. "I mean, you really are quite popular with the other ladies out there, Krad-kun, and I'm sure there's someone out there that you'll truly fall in love wi--"
Dark rushed over and clamped a hand firmly over her mouth, "Now, now, let's not give the high and almighty blonde some ideas in his head already."
"What would you do if I dumped you, anyway?" Krad asked, raising one eyebrow as he waited for the reaction to come.
"What! You can't do that!"
"Who says I can't? Neither one of my parents were too happy when they found out, remember," the blonde waved a finger in mock-severity, "And I'm sure that they would be much happier if their son was to become straight again."
"Oh, shut up," stalking over to his boyfriend, Dark grabbed him by the collar of the plain shirt the blonde was wearing and began to shake him hard. "Besides, I was the one who got you out of that place in the first place and you can't just abandon me like that. And I have no intention on going back to what my parents have been doing for a living and you know it!"
"In all honestly, being a peddler might be a better occupation for you than an art thief," Krad retorted sharply before he proceeded upon trying to loosen the grip on his shirt collar. The problem with that was that Dark seemed to have a death grip on it and absolutely refused to let go.
Daisuke rolled his eyes before exchanging knowing glances at both Risa and Satoshi, who nodded back in sad understanding. How their relationship had lasted for so long, they had no idea; and for all good reason.
The two were from completely different social classes, and, in reality, they shouldn't have even known each other; the hell with it, Krad would have probably only seen Satoshi a couple of times, but should have never come across either Daisuke or Dark. But that was the biggest problem with being the son of a feudal lord of the land, and it really had put the blonde off from taking over the 'family job'.
Them meeting had been strange; Dark knowing Daisuke, Daisuke getting to know Satoshi, who in turn got pissed off by Dark, and then Krad just trying to get out of the house once in a while meeting up with them and… well, it had been quite chaotic; but it had worked out in the end. Risa didn't hand out with them – having her own group of friends – but they seemed to get along really well from time to time, but it didn't make any sense as to why the blonde hadn't been locked up in his room yet for 'dallying' around with a peddler's son, which Dark was. But he had taken the life up as an art thief of sorts, causing more chaos than necessary, and they got along great. At least they did after the first time Krad was trying to shoot a bullet into Dark. It hadn't been a pleasant first meeting; that was for sure.
But now Dark and Krad were going out – much to the Hikari family's displeasure (only one short of disowning him) – for the past three years and they traveled around a lot, which was the reason as to why Daisuke had been asking in the first place. Even when they argued – and fought, and attempted to kill each other – they always made up in the end, and that in itself was very scary. A bit too scary for its own good, but they really did seem right for each other, so no one could complain.
"Dark-kun, you really should let Krad-kun go," Risa finally stepped in with a sigh, "Otherwise he's going to choke and die and then you won't have a boyfriend who actually understands why you have so many mental problems."
Letting go, the older teen frowned at the brunette, "Since when have I had a mental problem?" he asked curiously.
"Since the time your ego got just a little too big for you," Satoshi answered for him.
"Why you--"
Dark would have throttled the blue-haired aristocratic teen, but Daisuke, who had stepped out of the room for a minute, came back and pointed a warning finger in his direction, "Not in this house you won't, Dark." When the purple-haired teen tried to push past him, the redhead sighed and held up something he'd been holding with his other hand and Dark, recognizing it, backed away slowly; apprehensively.
"You STILL have that?" he grumbled.
Waving the scythe under the older teen's nose, the blade coming inches close to his nose, the Niwa nodded thoughtfully, "I LIVE here, you know. And I do work on the farm grounds once in a while, as we all do." Yet they all knew that the farming tool backed up as a weapon for the redhead, although he never was one for bloodshed.
"Thank god that he doesn't possess a gun, then," muttered Dark, more to himself as he continued to edge away until he was hiding behind Krad, "When did he become to violent and evil, anyway? Not like the happy, innocent, naïve kid I once knew!"
"Yeah, and you're still the same jerk," the blonde replied calmly, not caring that he was the only thing that was saving his boyfriend from having his head being decapitated, "And if I recall, you used to get him in trouble all the time. The fact that he has more backbone than you might mean something very important."
"Must we go into that argument again!"
"Yes, we do!"
As the bickering started all over again, the younger three left the room; unable to take it anymore. True, when they weren't arguing they got along all fine and dandy, but arguing like a married couple was just too much for them to take. Daisuke replaced the scythe in his room, in which Satoshi gave him a questioning look.
Risa answered the unsaid question, "We all found out long ago that Dark-kun has always been a little paranoid about sharp weapons that could be used at a distance, so when he gets too annoying or out of hand…"
"And I do use it for work at home," the redhead added helpfully. "When I'm not teaching myself or attempting a new spell. Some of the items you can't get unless you travel around, though, so that's not all that great."
"But you trade with them all the time," Satoshi pointed out, "That I know."
Daisuke nodded, "But some of these items are the sort that you can't trade. I mean, they're very rare to find by accident, so sometimes you have to find them yourself, or trade with other magicians. It's all very complicated once in a while."
Understanding, finally, Satoshi nodded calmly. They piled outside silently, watching the large grounds of farmland around them. It was blissfully serene and quite peaceful-looking, which reflected off the fact that it took a lot of work and manual labor to get the fields and the like in place. Lumbering around, cows and sheep grazed far away, not doing much, while people worked back and forth, calling faintly to one another as they worked.
"So what's the mission that we have to go through this time?"
"Some other aristocratic family thinks that they're son is possessed," shrugged the blue-haired boy, "And the last people who attempted to do it ran away screaming, as my sources tell me. It's all a bit out of place, but we can get the details at office."
"Aah… I see…"
"Possessed? Probably just a fit," commented Risa lightly. "I mean, it's been going around, hasn't it? And I don't get why they can't just deal with it themselves…"
"Because they can't?" cut in Daisuke.
Smiling, the brunette clung onto his arm, "Aw… you're so considerate to others all the time, Dai-chan! That's why everyone loves you so much!"
The redhead raised an eyebrow, "Uh… huh…" he looked over to Satoshi helplessly at the girl's rather scary mood-swing, who sighed in return. "Risa-chan, you can let go now, you know…"
"I know," replied Risa happily, "But it's fun to cling onto you! I mean, I'm really, really, really glad that I live with you and your family and you're the best things in my life!" Hugging him around the neck, she suddenly let go and ran ahead on the dirt trail, "Well, I promised to meet some friends, so later, guys!" She waved to them briefly and sped off.
Blinking, the two boys exchanged confused looked and then slumped in confusion; the brunette could be so unexpected sometimes… and it was scary… The blue-haired boy cleared his throat lightly, "Well, should we get going?"
Daisuke nodded. They were just about to walk off and make their way back into town, but stopped and turned around as the door burst open behind them and Dark tumbled out, grumbling loudly with a number of obscurities mixed with the string of sentences.
Jerking up and brushing the dirt out of his hair, the purple-haired teen grinned at them winningly, "Was it just my ears or are you two off to kick some spirits where they need it the most?"
"What's it to you?" questioned Satoshi coldly, raising both eyebrows and crossing his arms. Daisuke offered the older teen a hand up, who accepted. Still grinning, Dark winked and turned to Krad, who had just stepped out.
"Well, we're coming to help, aren't we, Krad?"
"Don't see why not," the blonde said, looking around at them, "And it's not like the first time we've worked as a group. It's not anything big, though, is it?"
Well aware that they weren't going to back off anytime soon, the blue-haired boy shrugged again, annoyed, and turned away, soon joined by Daisuke; "We'll find out soon enough, now, won't we?"
---
And thus ends the second chapter. Er… no idea when the next one will be up though, and I think I rambled again.
A vaguely amusing note on this chapter: I was going through a short/brief grim reaper thing with the scythe thingy and I was actually considering about allowing Daisuke to use it as an actual weapon. I mean, I don't see why not, but… nah.
Yeah, they have guns in whatever time-period this is and… they know how to use it. The town/village/city/something has their usual lawbreakers, and you need a permit to own a gun and… yeah. What else? Er… aside from ramblings… er… yeah. Can't think of anything to say. Again, if there's anything unclear, just tell me.
Oh yeah, and as for the four's social status: Daisuke's part of the… what? Peasants/farmers, I think. Satoshi's an aristocratic child, Dark's the son of a peddler (thus his thieving job of sorts) and Krad's the… son of a LORD? How the hell did he get dragged into this? Well, I've got a vague reason behind it, so I might make that a mini-chapter if I can't fit it in the story XD
Reviewer replies:
Hakudoshi-chan: Thanks XD
nekogirltheanimefreak: Long-ness will be the death of me, I swear XO I mean, it can only go long and good for a certain amount of time. Glad you like the story so far XD
Kyuseisha no Hikari: Wow, I'm amazed you like it. I mean, I know it's not all that bad or anything, but… er… I like to degrade myself? Yup, Dark and Krad have their own bodies and I suppose I forgot to mention that it was AU (so sorry). And I think this chapter explains how they kinda know each other. Sorry about that, entirely my fault. And thanks, I'll keep working on it and stories really do have a life on their own.
Altantis Children: Well, the prologue actually talks of the town/village that the four will end up going to, seeing as that will be talked about in… er… chapter 4, I think? Not too sure. And I love magic as well; we have to set our own limits though. Thanks!
neko-nya: That really… does sound horrid… I don't think I want to think about how many relatives I have, or what would happen if they came over XD Yow, you're mom okay now? And the moth got away :D And it was simple to make them together already cause… this isn't really a romance thing… (same with Dark and Krad but… they've had years)
KuroNoTenshi7: Thanks :) It took me forever to get into such writing styles, though… I have to admit.