Moonlight Disaster
You know, I feel ashamed of myself. I'm neglecting my first ever fanfic over my other ones with better, more experienced plots. Because when I wrote those, I already knew what things I should focus on, but this one was completely new to me. I felt bad about my short chapter, so I'll try make up for it now, ok?
Chapter 9: Reminiscence by Moonlight
Four shadowed figures sat huddled around a small, lit desk in a room filled with shelves of books. The tallest one with purple hair leaned back, hands clasped behind his head, and gave a very annoyed glare at the centre of all of their attention.
--Stupid books-- he thought viciously.
-…- Daisuke decided not to answer this, seeing as Dark was already pissed and would turn whatever his answer was into a target for his contained rage.
--Shut up Daisuke.--
The redhead sighed; he hadn't said anything and Dark was already reacting. Wrongly predicted movements, he supposed.
Meanwhile, Kosuke looked up from one of the thick fact-filled book he was reading and glanced in Dark's direction. He then glanced down at the unopened, also fat and fact-filled, book lying in front of him.
"Dark, the book you are not reading may be the one that contains our answer."
When all he got was a moan for an answer, he tried again.
"How about you let Daisuke read?"
Grumble.
Kosuke decided to use reverse psychology.
"Fine, don't read it and Kotatsu will steal your next artefact too."
Grouch.
Kosuke was obviously not very experienced in using reverse psychology. He finally gave up and went back to his own book, keen eyes used to reading such writing.
Dark weakly attempted to open the book and read it, but the sight of all the miniscule writing made him moan and shut it again, hands flying away from it as if it held an infectious disease. That was the fifth time that had happened that night.
Dark put his head between his hands and moaned to himself.
--I hate reading anything other than information about my art pieces!--
Well, almost to himself.
-Dark, does that mean you're giving up? - Daisuke asked incredulously. NEVER had he seen Dark like this.
--No! I just don't want read in this quiet little place!--
Daisuke slapped himself at Dark's reason.
-Then go up to my room with With!-
--He's still quiet!--
-Well, let me read!-
--But I haven't gone out and flirted or anything yet!--
Daisuke was getting really annoyed. Dark seemed to be making up excuses on purpose, but Dark was really doing this all absent-mindedly.
--I know! -- Dark suddenly exclaimed, and he grabbed the bulky book energetically. He opened it up to a page filled with smallish writing and held it before his face. Ignoring Kosuke's encouraging smile, he mentally talked to Daisuke.
--Now read. -- He ordered, making Daisuke fall off whatever imaginary seat he was sitting on. For a moment there, Daisuke had thought that Dark had actually changed his mind!
-But-but but! - He spluttered uselessly.
--You said you wanted to read! And in this way, I'm compromising! -- Dark inwardly grinned, something Daisuke could see all too well; it was an inward grin after all. It was flashing on the inside of Dark's mind like a movie screen. He cringed at the sight of that grin.
-…- Daisuke pouted but he gave in. It was useless against Dark.
For about an hour or so, all four of them read in silence, only the sound of Daisuke's voice shortly ordering 'turn' every once in the while broke it, and even then only Dark could hear it. Eventually, Dark fell asleep, so Daisuke took control, but his kindly nature remained in Dark's form so that when Dark woke up and demanded control, they wouldn't have to go through the uncomfortableness of changing bodies again.
However, in all the freaking tiny writing Daisuke read, none of it said anything about a dragon thief. He sighed, and picked up yet another book to read and finish. The adults all exchanged surprised glances at Dark's sudden reading spree (A/N: Remember, they didn't know Daisuke was in control.) but quickly turned back to their own respective books.
The title of the book was 'Mythical Beings'. Its leather cover was decorated with prancing unicorns, darting fairies, awe-striking phoenixes and many others. But what caught his attention the most were the identical dragons slithering against the side of the cover. Their beauty was incomparable with the others. Each and every scale was a different shade of green and red, and each delicate feature drawn carefully.
He opened the book, and was astonished by what was inside. Instead of paragraphs and paragraphs of boring information (Let's face it. Even the most intent reader would find that boring) there were large, old fashioned writing on each left page. On the right pages were beautifully depicted pictures done in what seemed to be watercolour paints.
He looked over to the writing and began to read.
Within each person lies a spirit. A spirit that is waiting to be awoken by the enchanting stories which lead to new worlds. This book shall guide that spirit along that treacherous path, and in the new world, you shall find the mythical creatures which are shunned by uncaring people. These stories are not foolish tales; they are of true creatures that I myself have witnessed. Read about the legendary creatures believed to be fictional, but in reality are true beings. The beings and each and every one of their Tamers.
At this point, Daisuke was really interested. Tamers? What did that book mean? After all, the only current Tamers he knew of were him and Hiwatari-kun. Maybe the creatures were wild beings, but some special people had managed to tame them? Like how Kotatsu-san seemed to be related to the dragons in a way…
Daisuke was about to read on when a large yawn hit him. Daiki looked up from his own book and frowned at Daisuke.
"Dark. Maybe its time you went to bed. Daisuke will need to go to school tomorrow."
Daisuke nodded mutely, and picked up the book with him. Tired, Daisuke left the room and into the living room, where he slouched on the couch (rhyme!). He yawned loudly, all the time wondering about the contents of the book. Briefly, he thought about the night's events. They never did go to Shidori-san's house…
A shrill ringing interrupted his thoughts and he glowered at the telephone. Who in their right minds would be phoning at this time of night? Even more so, who in their right minds would be awake at this time of night? Except for him and his family, that is…
Finally dragging himself out of his thoughts due to the offending phone, he picked himself up and went over to it, reasoning that no-one else in his family would be able to hear the phone.
Yawning again, he picked up the phone and placed it to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Oh! I'm sorry! I must have called the wrong number! Bye!" piped a familiar voice at the other end as the line went dead.
Daisuke stared at the phone in his hand before replacing it gently. Was that Riku-san on the phone? Why had she thought it was the wrong number?
Suddenly the phone rang again, and Daisuke gave it a confused glance. Another late-nighter?
"Hello, may I speak to Daisuke Niwa-kun please?"
"Riku-san?"
Pause. "Uh, yes. Who's speaking?"
"This is Daisuke, Riku-san."
Pause. Long pause. "Sorry, must be lack of sleep I suppose. Or maybe it's the phone. Yes, that's it, the phone!" said the voice, suddenly cheerful at the last reason.
"Riku-san? What do you mean?"
"Well, I don't know Niwa-kun, if it is you."
"Huh?"
"You…sound different. You kind of sound like Dark…"
"!"
"Hello? HELLO?"
But Daisuke didn't answer. More like he couldn't answer because Dark had conveniently woke up, found out what was happening and took over, all at once.
With Daisuke throwing a tantrum and screaming at him to stop in his head, Dark picked up the phone and spoke into it, all the while grinning scarily.
"Hello?"
"Hello?"
Riku stared at the phone for a minute. Why had Niwa-kun sounded so, so…different? Nevertheless, she replied back to the strange voice.
"Niwa-kun?"
"Yes?"
"Did you lose your voice? I mean, it sounds different."
"Nah. It's just my weird phone, that's all."
"Ok." Riku said doubtfully. "Sorry it's so late that I'm calling. Did I wake you up?"
"No need to worry. We're all awake over here."
"Oh." Riku replied dumbly.
"Need something Riku? Why are you calling?"
Riku gasped and nearly dropped the phone. She and Dai-Niwa-kun were on first name terms?
She hurriedly spoke back into the phone in a frantic voice, losing her calm completely.
"I'm sorry! I forgot what I was going to say! SorryfordisturbingyouatsuchalatetimenowgoodbyeI'lltellyouinschooltomorrowokbye!"
Then she hung up. One minute later, she snapped out of her reverie and mentally scowled at herself for acting so stupid while talking to Niwa-kun. She considered calling him back, than decided against it as it was nearly midnight.
So in the end, she just went to sleep like any respective person would at that time.
Back at the Niwa house, Dark was holding the phone in his hand and staring at in confusion.
--Hey Daisuke…--
-Yeah?-
--Why did Riku just hang up?--
-Probably cause you/me sounded so weird and the fact that you just called her by the first name instead of Riku-san.-
Realisation dawned. --Oh…--
-Exactly. And now Riku-san probably thinks I am a weirdo.-
"Ah well!" Dark yawned. "Find anything good in any of those books?"
-Yeah. There's an interesting one in your hands.-
"Oh?" Dark examined the book which was still in his hand. He ran his long fingers over the 3D designs on the cover, and read the first page.
"Hmmmmm, interesting. But there seems to be some deep magic radiating from this book. My guess is that the spirits of the creatures are still alive in this book." He said to Daisuke. "Be careful when you read it."
Daisuke nodded, confused, while Dark went upstairs into his room. He leaned outside on the balcony and let the wind play with his hair a bit. He sighed. It was so peaceful and cool out here…and Kotatsu just had to keep popping up in his head to ruin it.
"Hey Dai."
-Yeah?-
"Wanna go for a bit of a flight?"
-But it's so late! And no one's out anyway! - Daisuke protested. In between his strange dream and everything else happening, he really needed his sleep.
"Don't worry!" Dark grinned somewhat sadly. "We'll just take a little air trip, ok? Plus, I need the wind to clear that girl out of my head."
- (Grumble) ok…-
"With! Let's go flying!"
"Kyuuuu!"
A rush of black feathers later, they were outside, soaring with the night breeze.
Dark watched the city below him bustle about busily, even at this time of night. The cool wind ruffled his hair and he sighed contently. There was a special feeling about flying that couldn't compare. Maybe it was the freedom, or just the feeling of the wind against his body. Or maybe, he thought, it was the feeling of being able to enjoy the peace of the night, to escape from the mayhem in his thieving life.
Daisuke too was enjoying this flight. Even though Dark was in control, he too could feel the light wind blowing gently at him. Daisuke sighed comfortably. Everything was just so tranquil and serene…
Dark swooped low so that he landed at a cliff on the very beach they were on earlier. For a few moments, he just sat there, watching the velvety night sky that was dotted with millions of tiny twinkling stars. He felt relaxed here. He felt like the stars were his old companions, still sparkling brightly at him in all his lifetime. To think, 40 years ago, he was sitting here on this very cliff with Daiki, watching the same stars as he was now. His amethyst eyes moved from star to star, reminiscing on different moments of his past. The eyes were filled with a kind of ancient knowledge from 300 years of living, yet also emotions that showed that he was still, in a way, a human being.
Through eyes that didn't belong to him, Daisuke looked up at the moon. It was exactly as it was described. Hmmmmm, he forgot to show his mum the note he got from Shidori-san.
Eventually, Daisuke grew sleepy, tired from his hour of reading. He fell into a deep slumber, which Dark did not disturb. Instead, he stood up and spread his wings. He might as well get home. Giving a last glance at his starry friends, he took off, knowing that it might be another 40 years before he sat there again in the same way.
Dark decided to take a detour. He didn't mean to do anything 'perverted'; he just wanted to see the women who resembled his true love so much. It was Reminiscent Night, after all.
'Rika…'
He landed gently on the Harada's large balcony, where he stood for a minute. He remembered how Rika used to stand on the balcony every night, waiting to catch a glimpse of him. She would always be waiting with a black feather in her hand, trying to see him as he soared through the sky.
Dark looked down at the statue in the front yard. It was of a giant stone ball with wings; one spread out wide while the other bent a little to hide the expression of the bearer. He felt like his heart was in his mouth as he remembered the night he had to leave her, acting the same way as the statue. His wing reaching up to hide his falling tears…departing as Rika ran towards him…Indeed, that was the reason why Rika had the statue built there; to remind her of Dark on their last meeting.
Dark closed his eyes and leaned on the rail, head on his hands. Rika…Risa and Riku's grandma. It hurt him to see someone resemble his love so much, yet be so different to her in personality. It hurt him to know, that no matter how much he loved someone, or how much they loved him, he would always have to break their heart and leave them in the end. They would fall in love again, have children, grow old and die while he would be forever young. He would have to watch them and know that he could never be like them. That he would never be able to stay with the one he loved…
"Dark?" he distantly heard. Oh great, was he going delusional now? He thought he heard Rika's voice.
"What are you doing here?"
Dark's head shot up and he turned around. Nope, he wasn't hearing voices. Riku was standing behind him, looking confused. So confused that she wasn't yelling 'pervert' at him and trying to throw things at him.
Dark smiled slightly at the thought of Rika doing that to him. After all, they looked so similar. He grinned at Riku but his eyes betrayed his smile-they showed a longing. A longing for someone to be with him forever.
"Sorry to disturb you. I'll be going now." He replied as an answer and he flew off, lingering slightly above the statue. He looked back at the mansion; for a moment, he saw Rika standing on the balcony behind Riku, smiling and waving. Dark sighed and flew back home, no, to Daisuke's home. He would never have a place he could truly call home.
The wind around the statue almost seemed to be different that night. If one listened closely, they could almost hear the sound of a young woman crying; lamenting the leave of her beloved. It was almost as if Dark's sad presence had altered it.
Riku leaned on the railing as she looked out to the night. What a strange night. First, Niwa-kun appears on the beach to pick them up after Dark leaves; then he runs off as she tried to confront him. Then, on the phone and then now. Everything seemed to always end back up with Niwa-kun and Dark.
Riku yawned and went back to bed. She had seen a dark figure outside the balcony and went to investigate. She wondered briefly what Dark was doing there, especially at this time of night. He seemed kind of sad about something. One last thought remained in her head as she went to sleep; it was of Dark and Niwa-kun standing together grinning at her. They seemed to be saying something to her, something she couldn't make out. Then the image disappeared as she rolled over in her sleep.
So, how was it? The boringness of information books! I'm one of those 'intent readers' but information books, PU! The book part was lame, I know, but I was going to do something different, something with a cursed book by the Hikari's…but I couldn't stand to torture Dai-kun so I changed it. I'm not good at that thing.
And that bit about Dark grinning sadly…that was because he knew where he wanted to go and think back a bit. He (according to me) does this with each of his Tamer's just as a sort of tribute to time past, (Reminiscent Night in capitals, noticed? It's a special night to him) so that's why he was sad. Sad to think about other times in his life.
By the way, sorry if I don't update for awhile; its my first year of high school nearly starting, and I'm going to have to take some time to adjust to it. Homework and all. And I don't know anyone else going to that school! Wahhhhh! So very sorry if you'll have to wait a bit, ok?
Hope you like my attempt at angst Dark. I just felt like writing a bit about Dark's longevity and the pain that comes with it…I should turn it into a poem! XD anyways, hope you enjoyed and please
R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R