AFTER THE END

Chapter Three: And They Called It Trust…

Satoshi moaned in his sleep, and Emiko watched with sympathetic eyes as he struggled to move without much avail. After a moment Daiki finally came in, carrying the ointment she'd been waiting for. It was almost 10:00, and they were going to change their guest's bandages once more before going to bed themselves – as well as put some more ointment on the wounds. His shoulders seemed to really be bothering him.

With her father's help, Emiko was able to gently roll the boy onto his stomach, and once he was lying down comfortably, she used the knife to cut through the bandages that were wrapped around his upper torso. "Can you hand me that towel?" she asked, and Daiki handed her a hot, damp towel. She carefully set about her work.

Satoshi felt pressure on his back and his eyes fluttered open slightly. What was happening? His vision was hazy, and his head felt foggy and drowsy, but he forced his eyes to open the rest of the way and turn his head a bit to see. It was… Daisuke's mother?

Satoshi moved his arms slowly, hoping to push himself up, but strong hands wrapped gently around his wrists and kept them still. On most occasions, that would have instantly instigated a desperate plight to escape, but Satoshi was just too… exhausted. Presently he became aware of a woman's voice.

"Don't worry, we're just changing the bandages. It might sting a bit, but it needs to be done." Emiko put down the towel, finished cleaning the wounds. Then she reached for a jar of green goop. He watched her with mild interest as she took some of it onto her hands, and then moved toward him.

Daiki felt Satoshi tense as Emiko brought her hands nearer to his back, and prepared to hold him still. As he had expected, the instant Emiko touched the medicinal cream to his back the young boy began to thrash and wreathe, struggling to get away from what he knew must be a searing pain, although he didn't cry out – only whimpered softly.

"Don't worry," Satoshi heard the man's voice, deep and calm. It seemed to calm his own nerves just slightly, although it did nothing for the pain in his back. 'I hate you!' he thought bitterly as the burning sensation finally began to ebb away. She was wrapping bandages around his shoulders and torso now.

He didn't like that woman – her and her burning medicine. He didn't like her father much either. Emiko finished the bandages and Daiki released Satoshi's wrists, leaving him on the bed breathing heavily from the ordeal he'd just been through. Emiko looked at him sympathetically, but he turned away, not wanting to see her eyes. By turning his head the other way – facing Daiki instead – he saw that the old man was already turning the lid to a second jar, this one containing a transparent blue substance.

As he took off the lid a strong fragrance filled the room; spicy and minty. Satoshi inhaled deeply the scent. He liked it. Seeing the boy relax again, Daiki said softly, "this is a herbal remedy passed down through generations." Emiko decided to leave the last bit to her father and so she began to tidy up the supplies, while Daiki took some of the gel into his hands and rubbed it onto Satoshi's shoulders (a/n: the bandaged went around his torso so that his actual shoulder's weren't covered).

This substance burned too – but it was a different kind of burning. It was relaxing and soothing, not painful. And the smell was even stronger as Daiki massaged it into his aching muscles. Satoshi felt it rushing through his system, and a strong desire to sleep overcame his body. He felt his eyes closing, despite any efforts to stay awake. That smell… it was addictive… Very soon he was lost in the spicy fragrance of the herbs, and to the peaceful darkness they brought.

---

Kosuke stood in the basement among the many books, hovering over a low table and reading through some stats. He could hear Emiko and Daisuke above them, coming down the stairs. He'd been avoiding this for a long time, but he had finally decided to tell them at least some of what he knew. They had the right to know.

Daiki was sitting on a chair, watching Kosuke. "Are you sure about this?" he asked quietly. The old man had been the only one Kosuke had told this information to, because he knew that he was good at keeping secrets.

"I'm sure," replied Kosuke, heaving a sigh and sitting down in another chair. "It's about time they find out what really happened. Emiko has already been…" here he trailed off, for his wife and son had just stepped into the library. Daisuke was wearing his pajama's, since he had been in bed already when his mother had come in after changing Satoshi's bandages to fetch him.

"Well Kosuke?" Emiko asked, moving to an empty chair, followed closely by Daisuke and With. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just have something that I need to tell you all, that's all," he replied, smiling reassuringly.

"Is it about Satoshi?" Emiko asked suddenly, and Kosuke nodded. Her face lit up; she had known he was keeping secrets for a while now, and it had been driving her insane not knowing what her husband was thinking.

"What about him?" Daisuke asked, confused by all of this. Once again he had been in the dark on this one.

"Well… first of all an explanation of why I brought Satoshi here, after the Dark and Krad incident," Kosuke began. "And also the reason I didn't tell you this sooner." When the others were all silent and had given him their full attention, Kosuke began to speak.

"To be quite honest, I met Satoshi many years ago, when he was still quite young. That was when he was still Satoshi Hikari. I, as you know, was traveling, studying the history of artworks and the secrets behind many of them," Kosuke explained. "Of course, I knew all about the legendary curse, and rivalry, between the Hikari and the Niwa families, so I had also decided before I left home to try and look into the Hikari line. I found only two living people still carrying that bloodline; a woman and her young son."

"Satoshi?" Emiko asked. Kosuke nodded.

"I met he and his mother at an art festival, shortly before she passed away. Satoshi was a very bright child, and seemed to be quite happy. Not the Satoshi I met many years later, who was cold and hardened. I can only imagine the things that brought about this change."

"How did his mother die?" asked Daisuke, speaking for the first time.

"No one knew for sure at the time. She was found dead in their home, the cause of death unknown. It was eventually written off as a heart failure. I looked into her death again not long ago, and found the real reason, but I'll get into that later."

"Poor Satoshi," said Daisuke, seeming to miss the second half of what his father had said. "So what happened after that?"

"From there, things are a little bit more speculation and less hard evidence, but I believe he was adopted quite soon after his mother's death. I met him once more, a year after she died. It's not surprising that he didn't recognize me; he was only 8 at the time. I noticed then the change that had started to come over him." Here Kosuke paused and frowned at the memory. "I remember thinking… there is nothing sadder than a broken soul."

Kosuke stood and walked to the window. "At any rate," he continued, "Satoshi was adopted by Mr. Hiwatari, as you know, who seemed to know quite a bit about the Hikari's art. I don't think – at first – he really intended to use Satoshi. Perhaps he was just an art admirer who saw his chance to have something to do with raising a Hikari child. Maybe he truly did care about art, and couldn't bear to see a Hikari sent through the usual methods of foster care and adoption. I don't know for sure. But in the end, I suppose, it's how things turned out that really matters. I suspect that Hiwatari drove Satoshi to capturing Dark."

"My suspicions were intensified when the Rutile incident came about. I knew then that something was wrong; Satoshi was being forced to use the Rutile by his father, despite the fact that it was both hurting him and weakening his control over Krad. At first I thought he may have wanted it, but very soon I found out as you did that the relationship between Satoshi and his 'other half' was far less than copasetic, and the relationship between father and son had turned into more the likes of servant and master."

There was silence among all of the Niwa's. "I was looking for a way… a way to get Satoshi away from Hiwatari. Or even to get Satoshi alone long enough to talk to him. I made a promise, you see; a promise to his mother. That's the reason I've got to make sure he's alright."

Daiki looked just as surprised as everyone else. A promise? He had heard all of this before, but never anything about a promise.

Although he had finally revealed the base for his knowledge of Satoshi's past, there was so much he had not spoken about, including the details of those two meetings. Perhaps some things were left unspoken of though. At least… for now.

- END

A/N:

Did you like it? Let me know. R&R is your friend… and mine too! The next chapter is already on its way. I'm trying to stay on top of this, so that it doesn't turn into one of those stories that get updated once every six months or so. Anyway, if you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know. I'm open to ideas!

- Mistress of Darkness -