Disclaimers: DNAngel does not belong to me and… yeah.
--- The Night Never Ends ---
--- Chapter Four: Assignment ---
"Okay, spill it," was the first thing that came out of Dark's mouth as soon as the door swung shut behind them, "What the hell are you going to make us do now?"
"Dark, you have to learn to shut up once in a while," muttered Krad in annoyance as he resisted the wonderful urge to hit his forehead with the back of his hand. Of course, there were a lot of solid objects around that could be useful, but since that would mean a lot of pain or braining his boyfriend as hard as possible…
Satoshi was pointedly ignoring the two of them and just stared at his employer expectantly, "How serious is it then?"
"Huh?" Dark blinked, not getting it.
Having not said a word since Dark opened his mouth, Argentine looked rather bored for someone who had demanded their presence as soon as possible, and it was little wonder that the purple-haired teen was so pissed off in the first place. Inspecting his fingernails to pass the time – as he hated reading so many of the same problems day in and day out – the brunette eventually glanced up at them and inclined his head slowly.
"We have to wait for one more person and then I'll explain," he said simply, turning back to stare at his hands blankly, "because I am in no mood to have to go and explain myself more than once. Mousy over there is thick enough without demanding details."
"Oi!" Stepping forwards, Dark was about to yell something – probably profound – but the blonde behind him pulled him back promptly and placed a hand over his mouth so that everything that came out was nothing more than a muffled… sound of sorts.
On the whole, none of the four present could really care less as to why there were just standing there and all, waiting to be told about something they didn't know about; but it was the mere fact that there were no seats that was bugging the hell out of them. They had been out since sometime in the middle of the day, went off and had to exorcise some demon-spirit-ghost thing and now they couldn't even get the time to just sit there and argue. Or do something that didn't involve a lot of arguing and fighting and the like; which they did every other breathing second.
They could sit on the floor, if they wanted to, but the threat of being squashed by the many stacks of papers was too great; even standing it was rather ridiculous. But it might have had something to do with the fact that Daisuke was the shortest and it was, like, five centimeters taller than him. He shifted away from the pile slowly.
Another five seconds passed before Argentine decided to break the silence. Or had it had something due to the fact that he was receiving glares from all those present in the room (well, Daisuke was frowning, which was the closest thing to glaring… but still). Looking up at them, he stifled a bored yawn. Sitting around in an office all day really was a drag.
"So what was it causing all the problems in the district anyway?" he asked.
Shooting Dark a warning glare to keep him quiet, Krad stepped up, "The problem seemed to be the cause of a restless and somewhat vengeful spirit that inhabited physical bodies and caused many problems. Infesting the mind with mind waves, only certain spells could be used to extract it and then it was dealt with."
Argentine raised an eyebrow, "Vengeful?"
The blonde nodded and his boyfriend chirped up helpfully; "Neil was always a bit of an asshole when he was alive, so it was only natural to be an asshole when he died and couldn't pass through to the other side."
"Aah… so when were you planning to tell me about this?"
"When we got back? I dunno," Dark turned to face Krad, "Were we ever going to tell him about how that guy died in the first place?"
"He's been wandering around the place for a good few years, though," muttered Krad, shrugging, "I didn't think it would be all that necessary in the end, when you think about it." Glancing up, he caught Argentine's eye, who was scowling at this, and then smirked, "That was the only case in which you failed in completing, wasn't it?"
The brunette pointedly ignored that particular comment and shuffled a couple of papers without much thought; "Neil used to be one of the employers in this area," he explained to Daisuke and Satoshi, who were both evidently lost, "Thick-headed, irrational, he was the sort that liked to get into a lot of trouble without even doing all that much."
"Reminds me of a certain someone," Satoshi commented calmly, and Dark shot him a glare.
"Of course, he decided to take an assignment that was too much for him, got killed, and was never heard of again, that is," he shook his head, "he 'mysteriously disappeared'. The public would have never forgiven us if they heard that one of them died in an attempt."
The redhead blinked, before turning to face the purple-haired teen, "Details?"
"Later, but first…" he turned, as did the others, as the door finally swung open to reveal the last person in whom they had been forced to wait for. Risa looked ruffled and annoyed at the same time, and frowned pointedly at Argentine.
"Risa-chan?" Daisuke looked honestly baffled, and Satoshi scowled, turning his attention to his employer as well. "What are you doing here…?"
"I could ask that very same question!" replied the annoyed brunette, "But I think the question should be directed to Argentine-san right this instant!" She was fuming, it was clear to see, but it really wasn't all that dangerous-looking… although Satoshi, Krad and Dark didn't look all that happy either… ooh yeah, you didn't want to be enemies against these people.
Standing up, Argentine allowed a slight smirk to grace his features as he picked up a folder that was stuffed with documents, "I was personally asked to tell you to come here, so I did so." He said smoothly, walking over to the four, now five, "Although I cannot see the reason of taking someone who cannot even defend herself in such a dangerous mission…"
"What's the mission?" Krad cut in sharply.
"It's simple, really, when you think about it," he drawled, handing the folder over to the blonde, "You five have been assigned to go to the village of Rutile in investigation and interrogation for evidence as to the death of all those villagers many years back."
"Rutile…" repeated Daisuke slowly, eyes wide, "But, wasn't that--"
"Yes, the town that was said to be cursed," Argentine nodded briefly as he continued filling them in on the details, "Simply enough, you are merely sent there to collect information and to find anything that may help us to understand the desperation of the town, but not anything else. It is a dangerous place that no one dares to step into, but it seems that the illness that once hit them has slowly begun a spread into other towns. There seems to be a highly baffling mystery in its own part, and you are going to unravel it slowly, but surely. Reporting back will be in regular intervals."
"What, we can't just stay there until we complete it?" demanded Dark, looking highly offended, "Who do you take us for?"
"It's a dangerous place; better to be safe than sorry."
The purple-haired, agitated teen looked ready to begin another long argument, but had to be shut up by Krad once more. Risa was frowning at this; "But why am I being sent there. It's a cursed town and… you know…!" she spluttered angrily.
"I was not the one who wished for you to be assigned," Argentine said shortly, "In the end, I would have rather avoided sending anyone to investigate that town's… particular history."
"So then, why…"
"A shadow elemental named Akane decided to pay me a visit just an hour back with the little details of my desk position. She seems to be willing to take you along for the ride, though I have no idea as to why."
Krad blinked slowly at this, "A shadow elemental… huh…"
Nodding, the male brunette returned to his desk and sat down. "You have twenty-four hours to prepare for the journey and will meet this elemental at gates of the town, in which the rest will have to be done in your own hands and time. I'm sure to say that you accept?"
The four boys exchanged glances in a split second before nodding once to affirm their position, but it was clear from the start that Risa would be in indecision.
"I still don't see as to why I have to be there." She grumbled, "It's going to be dangerous, isn't it? I know it is!"
Stifling a cough – as it would seem – Argentine met her eyes coolly, "You're going to be with trained fighters. I'm sure that you will be fine, Harada."
The brunette huffed at this, but said nothing more, which was good enough as to her agreement, and he dismissed them vaguely before returning to stare blankly at one of the many walls and papers before him. They weren't the only ones baffled as to why they were being sent there; he was just as confused as they were, if not more so. The remaining factor in this entire situation was why was he allowing them to go? He had heard rumors and tales of the town itself, in which no one dared to enter, or even approach it, at all, so why now? Was it some sort of sick, twisted joke in the end? Or was it as serious as he had ended up making it out to be?
The girl, Harada Risa, why was she being sent there in the first place? Just leaving the village itself was a cautionary action because of the wild creatures that roamed beyond it, so why was she needed in the first place? As far as he knew, she wasn't any more special than, let's say, his secretary, in whom he didn't even know their name.
But although there were these particular doubts in the end, he had to admit – if not reluctantly so – that there seemed to be a ringing urgency and truth in the words he had heard, and it looked like the rest would be up to them.
Well, might as well hope that they don't end up dying like Neil did; damn fool.
---
As per usual, the village was oblivious to the dangers outside and had little to no care to another's problems. So, as it was, the people who were deep in thought in the first place were promptly ignored, and the five had been walking back to the Niwa household without many words being said at all. They were all in some thought or another, although it was all a bit too confusing as to what and why it was happening, but not much else could be said about it.
Eventually, they arrived back at the small homely-yet-shabby dwelling and entered. As they expected, it was completely deserted, as all labor tended to be done outside, what with their fields and ploughs and whatever else they used.
Flopping onto a chair, Dark glared at the ceiling, "Okay, first thing; did anyone get a word of what Argentine was trying to say back there, 'cause I'm completely and utterly lost now. Not to mention certain people were questioning my intelligence." He glared pointedly at Satoshi, "Or something similar to that."
Taking a seat next to his boyfriend, Krad just ignored him and placed the thick folder on the table, opening it slowly, "He gives us twenty-four hours and no reading time? Who does he think we are now?"
"Superman?" suggested Daisuke.
"I'm inclined to believe that," muttered Satoshi, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"But how long has that guy been out of date now?" asked Risa, taking a seat as well.
"…" Krad shook his head, "You kids can be so insane."
The redhead, who was heading towards the kitchen, turned his head just slightly and smiled in an off-hand manner, "Well, we are younger than you and all. Might as well live it through before we're considered too old to be acting in such a manner."
"Whatever."
Eyes scanning briefly over the files and documents, Krad's impassive scowl deepened and Satoshi walked over to read over the blonde's shoulder and frowned. Dark was in no mood to be trying to read, and Risa wasn't all that happy about being forced to do something that she had never asked to be involved in.
Returning to the room, Daisuke thought for a moment that someone was going to die, for equally good measure, and glanced confusing over to Dark and Risa; who shrugged in reply, not really being kept up to date. Setting the tray he had made down on the table, the redhead pulled his boyfriend into a seat and then waved a hand in front of his face, "Satoshi-kun? You still with us?"
"Somehow, I doubt it," Risa commented, crossing her arms and scowling at the blue-haired boy, "but then again, he always looks the same; like a statue."
"Risa-chan…" he waved a warning finger in her direction, and she smiled innocently. Satoshi seemed to have snapped out of his stupor though, and merely glanced at them with a questioning look stamped on his face.
Daisuke inclined his head, "You decided to zone out on us again." He informed him simply.
"… Sorry about that. But it looks like the situation is a lot more serious than we expected."
"Really?" he was about to go off and find himself a seat, but the blue-haired boy pulled him into his lap before he could move. With a shrug, he just glanced over to Krad, who was still scowling very, very deeply; indicating that he was in no mood to really be asked any questions, but it just couldn't be helped. "Krad?"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Hey," Dark snapped his fingers in front of the blonde's face, who blinked and gave him a sharp glare, "Unlike you and Creep over there, the rest of us have no idea what's going on--"
"Except that the town of Rutile is concerned," finished Daisuke, "But… wasn't that…?"
"The town that had all the residents killed from both an unknown illness and some sick, twisted joke of blood-hungry maniacs," nodded Satoshi.
"But apparently there's more," Krad finally looked up from the files and poked Dark for interfering, "seems that all these deaths are connected – like we didn't know already – and the neighboring towns, as Argentine informed us, seem to be getting hit by an illness that cannot be cured. I'm inclined to say that they're just superstitious, but here," he waved a hand at the folder, "it says that some of the higher powers are thinking of burning the entire village down."
"And what's so bad about that?" Dark couldn't help but ask.
The blonde rolled his eyes, "Don't you get it? If they were murdered or killed in an unjust cause, there's bound to be spirits roaming the town. If we destroy it, they'll probably wander around forever and cause death to the living. Don't you remember those lessons we took?"
"What lessons?"
"… My god, you're a moron."
"So why are we being forced to go?" Risa fidgeted in her seat, "Especially with me around! It's dangerous out there and we all know that I can't even defend myself most of the time!"
Daisuke turned his head slightly to face her, "But remember when Saehara tried to hit on you and then you--"
"That was a completely different matter in itself!"
Smirking, Satoshi just shook his head at the memory, before turning back to the matter at hand. "But it doesn't seem right, either way. Whether or not they need to be finally put to rest or not, why are we being the ones sent to do this? Not to mention the little fact with Argentine telling us to come back to make reports. How far is this town from here?"
"No one really knows," Krad sighed in frustration, still reading the files at odd intervals, "But it's probably a far way off. We'll need to hire horses, utensils for camp, rations, you know, the usual." He jabbed a finger in Dark's direction, "Go grab a pencil and write down what we need. You might as well do something useful."
"Whaa--! You mean we're seriously going to go!" the brunette half-shrieked in shock, looking ready to faint.
"We already agreed on it, so we might as well," snapping the folder shut, a grim smile fluttered across his features, "And besides, it'll be interesting to see who and what we encounter there. Better than having Dark in the way."
The purple-haired teen jerked up indignantly, "I heard that!"
"We're in the same room, dumbass; of course you're going to hear it."
"Hey!"
"Come on, we better get packing or something," Daisuke decided out loud before leaving the room with Satoshi and Risa behind him, "Otherwise…" He froze, "What am I going to tell my parents?"
"Oh yeah!" the brunette behind him gasped, "But they won't like it, will they?" Hope radiated from her voice, but at the same time it was full of apprehension; what if they were allowed to go? Then what? She really didn't want to get involved.
The redhead mumbled something under his breath and then shrugged, "Knowing Argentine-san, he would probably convince them that this was okay… I mean, he managed to make them think it was okay for me to be running around and dealing with the troubles in town, so I don't see why…"
"It's crazy, that's why!"
"Risa, you're giving me a headache," muttered Satoshi, "so stop shouting, please."
"But I don't want to! I can't believe I'm going on a really dangerous mission without any consent and I can't even fight and I don't see the point in all this and… and--" a hand covered her mouth and Dark flapped a piece of paper in the boy's direction.
"Would you mind going out and buying this stuff? I need to deal with Krad and Risa-chan, you need to sort out what we've already got," he dumped a small bag in Daisuke's hand, "That's for the stuff; good old Krad; his family's so rich they don't know when it disappears."
The younger boy blinked, "You were stealing from them again?"
"Not stealing, it's Krad's, really. Now just move it already." Pushing the two boys out of the house, the door slammed shut and was instantly filled with arguing: mostly Dark-Risa centric. Once in a while Krad would butt in, but there wasn't much of a chance for him and Daisuke just stared at his home like it was a mad house.
Satoshi tugged him by the sleeve of his shirt to bring him back to reality, "We might as well get this part over and done with. Come on."
"Okay…"
Walking all the way back to town was vaguely tiring, but after doing it for so many years in their short lifetime, there wasn't much else to worry about. Ignoring the people that were walking past them – and they to them – they found themselves done in about an hour, and stuck with a whole stack of really annoying and bulky packages. Satoshi couldn't help but frown at this.
"We should have dragged Dark along; leaving us with all this junk…" he muttered, making sure that he didn't trip over his feet in the process.
"Aw, we just have to walk all the way back home now," laughed Daisuke, seemingly enjoying the fact that his boyfriend was in a lot of pain; or plain annoyance, whatever fit him best. Balancing his own packages, the redhead bounced on ahead, "But what are your parents going to say when they hear about the assignment?"
"Them? I doubt they'll notice that I'm gone," the blue-haired boy snorted disdainfully, looking over his own load, "And what difference does it make in the end? The only advantage to this is that I won't have to deal with those obsessed girls that keep stalking us," he jerked his head back a bit and Daisuke caught sight of the fangirls instantly.
He sighed, "I kinda feel sorry for you, having to deal with them day in and day out. But… don't you wonder why we were assigned to do this?"
The seriousness in his tone of voice made Satoshi blink, confused, "Daisuke?"
"Don't you wonder if we're really doing the right thing in the end? That this is really going to fix things? What happens if it gets worse and more people are hurt?"
"What are you talking about?" depositing the packages, Satoshi grabbed at the redhead's shoulder and turned him around.
"I… I just don't want to see anyone else get hurt, is all," was the mumbled reply he received, yet he would not meet the blue-haired boy's gaze, "And this really is going to be dangerous… I can tell…"
"… Daisuke…"
"Eheh… never mind me, I was just rambling," laughing in a distracted manner, Daisuke pulled away, "Come on, we better get back otherwise we're going to get told off and--" he gave a squeak as he was jerked back by Satoshi. "Sa-satoshi-kun…?"
"Tell me what's wrong," the blue-haired boy whispered, arms wrapped around the redhead's waist to keep him from running off, "I know it's serious."
"…"
---
"Ew… gross!" Risa commented, hitting Dark over the head with a broom handle that she happened to be holding at that particular time, "Can't you guys just get a room or something! What happens if Emiko-san walked in and everything!"
"We'd tell her to leave, what else?"
"You know, Risa, what you said before just sounded so wrong," was all Krad could say as he pushed Dark off of him.
As it was, the two old boys had gone into a sort of commando-fighting-guerilla force that involved a lot on running around and swearing, and in which Dark eventually managed to tackle Krad on the floor. In which case started another argument, and the purple-haired teen using some… rather colourful language. How these two were really a couple, Risa could just never work out. She had never seen them do anything even remotely romantic, but they did seem to hang out a lot, and it was clear that Dark always seemed to be thinking… about stuff. She shuddered to complete that sentence.
"Anyway, I already washed all your clothes so get up and help me fix up lunch or dinner or something," she gave the teen another hit over the head, "Move it!"
"You know that I can't cook!" protested Dark.
"Like hell you can't," grumbled Krad, "Move your ass or I'm going to spend tonight at my own home and you'll be left in the dust."
"…" knowing better than to begin another protesting/verbal battle, Dark got up and followed after the brunette, who began to chide him for one reason or another. Like a mother, nevertheless. Krad smirked at the thought.
On the whole, they all had family, most not really caring about a thing they did, so it was kind of odd to be thinking in this way, but still. The blonde found it amusing, nevertheless. Of course, any other thoughts that had been running through his head was cut rudely short as Dark bounced right back and tackled him again; although this time it was in a more definite affection.
"What the hell are you doing?" he asked.
"Risa-chan wants you to help as well," replied the purple-haired teen, still hugging him and refusing to let go. "So I told her I'd go get you."
"Well then, get off."
"I don't want to."
Rolling his eyes, Krad crossed his arms and wondered how long it would take before his boyfriend finally got off him.
---
"Sometimes… in the dead of night I can hear them."
"Hear who?"
There is a whispering cold around them. Forever there; twirling and spiraling to the ends of the earth. Wailing and screaming, no one can hear them.
"I don't know who they are… but they keep coming back. I can't block them out; and it keeps getting louder."
"But then… why? Why can you hear them?"
They want to reach someone; anyone. They need to dull the pain. But it won't go, it'll never go. And they can never escape it, no matter what. They've tried, and yet, only their voices can reach beyond the winds that carry them.
"I don't know if I'm the only one. Maybe they're trying to tell someone something; I'm not sure anymore."
"…"
Sometimes you have to wonder. Sometimes you have to guess.
But what really happened?
"I just get the feeling that something is going to happen… when we go there…"
"Daisuke…" there was a poke in the back of his mind, reminding him of the little aftermath of their battle with the spirit Neil. That uncomfortable feeling that something was going to happen; good or bad, he had no idea. Was that what the redhead was going through? Or was he just plain insane?
"Stupid, isn't it?" He was jerked out of his thoughts as Daisuke laughed once more and walked on ahead, "Anyway, we better go or we'll have to deal with Risa-chan as well."
"Stupid? I think not," commented Satoshi, but not loud enough for the other to hear. But deciding it was best to leave it at that, he merely picked up the packages he had left on the ground and hurried to catch up to him.
Of course, when they arrived home, they just ended up walking in on a most unpleasant scene that one would rather avoid talking about…
"Can't you two just get a room already?"
"Uhm…"
Satoshi stifled an annoyed sigh that had been threatening to escape him since after the battle; "And you call us immature."
"Anyway, I need to go and talk to grandpa about the horses, 'kay? Be right back," despite the awkwardness of the situation, Daisuke was smiling cheerfully and was right out of the house before anymore could be said. As Krad heaved himself up, the blue-haired boy crouched to gain his attention.
"Hey…"
"What?"
"Do you know anything about telepathy?"
---
And there we have another chapter finally done for readers. I dunno, this chapter… was… odd? I think. Or just over-dramatised or… okay, I'm not sure as in what I'm trying to say here, so let's just leave it at that. Won't be all that many chapters until they reach this place and… then it really begins XD
Clearing things up:
Yes, Argentine was being an ass at the start of this chapter because he felt like it. And yes, Risa is going with them although they don't know why. And yes, the name Rutile came out rather randomly because the town needed a name.
Have you noticed that Daisuke and Satoshi seem to be more into their relationship than Dark and Krad? Why? I actually don't know (scratches back of head). It wasn't intentional, but I guess it just has something to do with the fact that… uh… I dunno, Satoshi seems to be more of a romantic than anything else, when he isn't 'creepy'. (sweat drop) But I can assure you that Dark and Krad are a couple, and I'll try and make it more… uh… whatever, for them. They seem to be fighting a lot, though…
About Neil: yes, he is dead and now gone, but there may be more to it. As in his actualm cause for death blah blah blah. I was going to have the others explain it in this chapter, but… well, yeah. They were occupied with other activities, so later, probably. All we know is that he used to be an employer like Argentine and was rather rash. Dark and Krad have met him (ONCE) so yeah. That is, once when he was alive.
The feeling that Satoshi experienced in the last chapter was merely a gut feeling; Daisuke's is an actual reaction towards negative magical vibes.
Dark and Krad were arguing about something again (thus what Risa said first) and they were actually making out in the last part (what Satoshi said) and were out in the hall. So that's my romance for the two… I feel sorry for them…
What? They have horses? (blinks) Well, the town is really far away… so what did we expect?
Weapons will mostly consist of guns, but there will be blades and stuff (referring to Koudelka again… in case you were wondering.)
And I think that's about it. Any other questions, just ask. Oh, and sorry for all spelling/grammatical errors. No matter how hard I try, I can never find them myself… anyone wanna beta?
Reviewer replies:
Hakudoshi-chan: Yup, sure is XD I should update more… really, I would.
neko-nya: Well, at least when brids fly into windows, it's just a split-second thing. But really… that just sounds gross. Er… exorcism, I think that's how it's spelt (yay for spell check) The review button is very, very evil. That's all I can say…
windchaser90: Thanks. I'll do my best… although it may be a long while before it's done… but I'm trying.
KuroNoTenshi7: Thank you:D
Uh… where'd everyone go? (looks around) Anyway, yes, reviews are very much appreciated, especially for someone like me… I tend to feel unloved… and I'm being selfish, so! Hope you hang around for the next chapter! (has no idea when it'll be out)