Ice Angels
Forgotten
There'll be scary ghost stories and
tales of the glories of Christmases
long, long ago.
"Where are you going again?" Daisuke stood in front of a warm stove with several pots and pans placed on top. One hand was stirring a bubbling concotion of brown while the other rested at his side. His head was turned to face the two boys sitting at the kitchen table. They were at Niwa's again. It was only a week before Christmas, and Satoshi and Krad seemed as cold as ever. They'd gone sled riding, ice skating, shopping, watched Christmas movies at home, but nothing seemed to melt the coldness that both Krad and Satoshi had held onto.Several days ago, Dark had hatched a plan he assured would work, and now the boys were leaving.
"Home, where we were born. The Hikari mansion," Satoshi replied, blowing gently on a spoonful of soup Daisuke had made. Krad was gently nibbing at a sugar cookie, with a newspaper in his other hand. If Daisuke didn't know better, he'd think that this was the Hikari's home. Of course, the ever noisy Dark jumping around the house confirmed the fact that this was his home.
"A mansion? You didn't tell me that!" Daisuke's face brightened as he stopped stirring, quickly placing a lid over the pot. He took his apron off and sat down across from the two brothers. His eyes glanced at the ever growing distance between them—their chairs were a good four feet apart.
"Yes," Satoshi mumbled, still not looking up from his soup, "We have some business to take care of..."
Dark suddenly stumbled into the kitchen, several pine needles in his hair. He brushed them out and whimpered when several poked and prodded his scalp.
"You guys are coming back before Christmas right?" Dark asked. He leaned over Krad, resting his head on the blonde's shoulder to see what he was reading. It was a common habit by now. Dark seemingly teasing and clinging to Krad with Krad ignoring him. It was an odd relationship, if you could even call it that, even an odd friendship, as that was what it was. Friendship, nothing more...Nothing. Dark was just a bit childish at times.
"Yes," Krad muttered as he closed the paper and stood.
"We should get going now though," he continued, "Because it'll take a few hours to get there." In the process of getting up his shoulder had slammed into Dark's jaw, and he was preoccupied with rubbing his chin as he watched Satoshi hand the bowl of empty soup to Daisuke.
"Do you have everything packed? Are you sure you're ready? Do you want more to eat?" The redhead hovered around the two Hikari's like a butterfly, nervously tugging and pulling at Satoshi's sleeve. Satoshi was a full two inches above Daisuke, and when the boy had finally asked his fifteenth question, the Hikari rested his hand on the crop of crimson beneath him.
"Don't worry about us. We'll be fine." For several moments the two stayed still before Satoshi ran a hand through the locks of red and walked off with Krad. Outside the Niwa home was a yellow taxi, ready and waiting. The horn sounded several times before the two boys turned to their friends, waved and walked out the door. It closed with a finality that didn't set well with Daisuke. He huddled close to the window, watching as the two crowded into the taxi and then drove off. He waved, his hand still in the air even after the taxi had turned a corner long ago. A large hand on his shoulder made him jump and turn to Dark who was giving a sly smile.
"Ah don't worry Dai-chan we'll see them in a few days...or sooner."
Daisuke blinked several times, looking up at Dark.
"What do you..." His eyes scanned the living room when he realized something, "Dark...Where's Wiz?"
IIiiII
If there was anytime that the small creature was uncomfortable, it would be now. Even the time Dark had burnt his tail by cooking, or when Daiki had accidently locked him out, or even when Emiko got the wrong kind of food, he was fine. But now. This was ridiculuous. Wiz shifted in the pile of clothes he was buried in, inside some suitcase. He whimpered whenever there was a bump, and the luggage went flying until it hit the top of the trunk and came crashing back down. Oh well. At least he was warm. Dark had given him precise instructions to find out where the Hikari mansion was, and lead the two Niwa boy's there right away. He hissed and growled, settling into the warm clothes. He didn't even have any strawberries.
IIiiII
"Damn place doesn't look a bit different," hissed Krad. The two boys stood outside a large melancholy mansion, the soft snow settling on the roof and windows adding to the ghastly look it gave off. It made it silent, undisturbed, frightening. Behind them the taxi driver drove off quickly. He'd probably found out where he'd dropped these two boys off to--the haunted Hikari mansion. Satoshi shifted in his place, the suitcase in his hand suddenly very heavy. He grunted before finally he set it down. He never noticed the small click of the lock opening, or the blur of white escaping into the snow. When he gathered the luggage back into his arms, it shut tight.
"Well, come on.We'd better get inside before we freeze to death," Satoshi complained making his way forward. Krad followed, his eyes scanning the yard they'd just entered. Behind them, a rusting iron fence stood, screaming in the wind. It swayed in the wind before the gate closed, and the lock slid into place. He didn't seem to take notice, but let his eyes wander around the yard. Even the cherry blossoms he recalled sleeping under on cool days were dead. The branches sagged to the ground like a weeping willow. The rotting flowers littered the ground around the trunk like a pool of blood. Krad shivered and pulled his coat closer.
When he approached the mansion to find Satoshi had already found the hidden key, he noticed something else. The deathly golden cross above the door, with a large "H," across the wooden entrance. His eyes lingered on the dusty windows with curtains pulled closed before the soft clicking of a lock brought him back to his senses. Satoshi was up the stairs by the time Krad entered, letting his bags drop to the floor next to Satoshi's. He closed the door to let a deafening silence invade the place again. The floors were covered with layers of dust and the little light provided came from decaying chandelier above. His fingers ran over the pictures on the walls. The dust flew away revealing a picture of a smiling blonde, holding tightly onto a younger boy with blue hair. His eyes thinned, and he made his way up the stairs.
"Krad?"
The blonde nearly jumped at the sound of his names, with his heart pounding fiercly against his chest. His fingers grasped tightly onto the old wooden railing.
"What?"
"Hurry up and get in here!"
The blonde simply rolled his eyes, continuing the dizzying spiral up the steps until he came to the third floor—the attic. He stood at the edge of the stairs, staring down a long, deserted hallway that led to an open door. Inside, there were ruffling sounds, sounds of books being opened, and pages being torn. Krad coughed several times and rubbed his eyes. This dust was really bothering him.
"What've you found?" Krad asked nervously. He was at the door, looking down on Satoshi who was flipping through large volumes.
"If I find anything, it won't matter!" He threw the book he'd been skimming through across the floor to where it stopped at Krad's toes. He picked it up and opened the volume slowly so as not to damage it anymore. Blank. He was greeted with blank piece of paper. Suddenly, he felt his heart rising in his throat. His fingers played across the sheets, shifting from page to page. Nothing. Just pages of blank white paper. Even after he'd ran his hand over the paper in hopes it was just dust he found that there was something there. Blurred words, so worn away that they were impossible to read.
Satoshi was pulling another pile of books his way, looking through them desperately. Krad was at his side, pulling books from shelves and taking them down from piles. Nothing, nothing, nothing! There was nothing to solve their problem! Nothing to stop it from happening. They couldn't bear it. Not again. Krad held his head in his hands, moaning. His eyes wandered forward to a small box, hidden in a corner, and fixated onto it before he pulled himself towards the corner, Satoshi watching him curiously. He pulled the box close as if cradling it, and then gently blew on the lid. Dust flew everywhere, glinting in the small light from the candle Satoshi had lit. There was nothing on the front. Just a simple cardboard box. Behind him, Satoshi was leaning over Krad's shoulders eagerly.
It was barely a whisper, but, "Open it."
His fingers shook as the lid came off to find several gray piece of paper. Satoshi groaned once more and settled back on the floor, searching another book. For a moment, Krad's eyes stared down on the paper before he picked one up in his hand. His fingers wrapped around it gently, and he brought it to his mouth and blew gently, eyes closed. Satoshi stopped when he heard the box drop to the ground.
"S...Satoshi." It was the first time he called his name in years. He scrambled over, looking over Krad's shoulder once more. Splayed across the floor were photographs. Photographs of a redhead who smiled widely. Photographs of a boy with violet eyes whose hair glinted in the sunlight. Photographs of two boys with eyes of gold and blue who laughed gleefully. Photographs of the four—together...playing.
