Midnight's Curse
Author: Alrighty, apparently you liked the first taste of my work…well, here's the next chapter to tide you over for awhile! Disclaimers remain, and I still don't own Yuki, but I will get my hands on him someday…someday soon. It actually sucks, because my zodiac animal is a horse and it says that horses are not compatible with/should avoid rats. Damn. Ah, well. I don't own DNAngel, but the new character a.k.a. Midnight's Curse, and whatever she is, is ALL MINE. Not…in…a weird…lezzer way, just……kinda…yeah…Onward!
Stage 2: Emily the Unexpected
"It's a wolf." Daisuke announced as he came into the kitchen. Towa, who was holding a tray that had once held tea, bit her lip to keep from laughing at the statement. (1) "No one was around, so I hope someone finds the warning letter."
Dark, who had been asleep most of the walk, now perked up. 'If they don't find it, it's their own fault. The Phantom Thief waits for no one!' He announced.
Kicking off his shoes, Daisuke innocently replied, "Except that girl you like…what was her name again?" He pretended to think. "Let's see…"
The Phantom Thief folded his arms indignantly. 'Leave her outta this!' He retorted. 'Do I bring up your girlfriend at random points during the day?'
Daisuke rolled his eyes. A couple of years ago he might've turned a shade or two of crimson, but at 16 years old he had matured at least a little. "I told you, Riku and I decided we'd be better as friends for awhile. Besides…if we hadn't, you wouldn't be here. Be grateful."
Dark went off into muttering, but Dai decided not to comment on some of the words he caught. Better to not get his other half going, or there would be no stopping him.
"Hey mom," He called, sitting down at the table. "I'm home!" 'Just in time to get changed and go straight back to the museum!' He mentally added.
"Oh, good!" Emiko's voice echoed back to him. "Can you help Towa with supper, please? I'm resetting your training traps!"
"Figures…"
Tuesday, May 2nd, 11:49 PM…………
"See, Daisuke? I told you there wouldn't be cops here until five minutes of midnight!" Dark chuckled triumphantly, gliding on wind currents over the deserted museum.
'Yeah, well…let's just double check for guards, okay?' The other boy suggested warily, not enjoying the thought of being ambushed. 'I'd hate to get caught.'
Rolling his amethyst eyes, Dark began his descent. "You worry too much. I'm convinced that this place will be glad to get rid of that cursed statue. Hikari work causes nothing but trouble, after all."
Daisuke blinked. 'Dark…d'you know what kind of curse it's under?' He asked quietly as the Phantom Thief got to work on the lock. There was a stretch of silence before he pushed the door open and stepped into the huge building.
"No." He admitted, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness before glancing around a corner. "Looks like the coast is clear; time to get to work." He bolted off down the hallway, being sure to count the number of paintings along the left wall. It may sound strange to anyone else, but he had been counting that afternoon to help speed the process of finding the statue.
After much running, he finally slowed to a stop—in front of an empty pedestal. He stared at it for a second, raising a brow. "This is where it was…isn't it?" He asked, looking at the plaque. It still read, plainly and clearly, "Midnight's Curse." But there was no sign of the wolf statue anywhere. "Well, this sucks…" He narrowed his eyes at the stone.
"What sucks?" A young female voice inquired, making a jolt go up his spine. "Are you looking for me?"
Dark whirled at the sound, finding himself face to face with the strangest girl he'd ever seen.
She stood little more than five-foot-one, with jade green eyes that seemed to gather what little light there was in that portion of the museum. She had black hair that rested against her forehead as bangs, the rest tied back in a ponytail by a white ribbon. Around her neck there was a black, leather collar with a silver tag that had an 'E' printed on it. A shawl rested comfortably around her upper arms, just off her shoulders, and the hem reached the top of her navel. It was a dark black hemmed in shining silver. Her midriff was completely bare, before giving way to the other half of her outfit, a navy blue mini-skirt also hemmed in silver. She wasn't wearing shoes, but that wasn't what intrigued him. What caught his attention was the two black, furry wolf ears in place of human ears and a very fluffy, charcoal-colored wolf tail swaying passively behind her and apparently attached.
"Who are you?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "You're not the boy who promised to come and see me." She observed, folding her hands behind her back and pacing around him in a circle.
Dark jolted out of his stupor just in time to find her standing in front of him again. "Actually, I am him." He told her, pausing. "Well…kinda."
One of her ears twitched a little and she looked him up and down. "You don't look like him." She leaned forward and sniffed his trench coat, forcing him to step back a little. "You don't smell like him." She wrinkled her nose. "You smell like that strange girl in France who ate another boy's face behind me one time. It was weird." (2)
Dark forced back a chuckle at her description of a kiss. "You lived in France?" He inquired, ignoring the comment about his scent.
She nodded, trudging over to the pedestal and perching on it. "I've lived in a lot of places. France, India, London, Dublin, New York City, Italy…" She sighed. "I move around a lot."
"Because of your curse?" He threw in casually, looking away a little as though he was observing a different painting.
Her emerald eyes shot up to look at him, as though a switch had been thrown. After a moment she looked away, but her complexion paled just a bit and she tugged at the collar as though it had just tightened around her neck.
"Who are you?" She asked again, staring blankly at her toes.
He offered her his hand to help her from the pedestal. "I'm Phantom Dark. I'm here to take you away from here." He told her, smiling gently as she dared to look up.
After a moment's hesitation, she laid her own trembling fingers in his palm. She relaxed a little as he closed his hand around hers and gently tugged at it.
"You won't have to move anywhere else ever again." He promised, helping her slide off the pedestal and leading her out of the museum.
Later, at the Niwa house………
Daisuke, relieved at a job well done, threw aside the trench coat and collapsed onto the couch. Little Wiz clambered up onto his lap, mewling and curling up.
"What a night…" The boy sighed, stretching towards the ceiling. He had already watched Dark show the odd wolf-girl where she could sleep, i.e. his bed, and so now he was free to get some rest himself. "She sure isn't normal…" He murmured, looking down at Wiz through half-open eyes.
The little white rabbit opened one mahogany eye at his master. "Kyu." He said shortly, which may have translated into, "Sure, whatever. Go to sleep."
Yawning, Daisuke closed his eyes. "I wonder what her curse is…" He thought aloud.
"Who? Curse?" Someone asked, making both him and Wiz snap to attention. He opened his eyes to see the wolf-girl plunk down on the couch beside him. Her eyes sparkled and she smiled at him. "Hey, it's you! The boy from this afternoon; you're him!"
The half-conscious boy blinked twice before nodding. "Yeah…I am." He confirmed, yelling in surprise when she squealed and threw her arms around him in a hug.
"I knew it! I knew you'd keep your promise, and here you are!" She cried cheerfully. She looked up at his surprised features, still hugging him. "By the way, what's your name?"
Daisuke took a second to breathe. "It's Daisuke…Daisuke Niwa." He told her, carefully prying himself free of her embrace. "And what's yours?"
The girl blinked, sitting up straight and bringing her knees up to her chest. Her black tail curled around her ankles and her ears folded back, as though she was concentrating and it helped immensely. She fumbled with the silver tag on her collar, trying to remember what the 'E' stood for.
"I…" She began, shaking her head a little. "I don't remember." She finally admitted, resting her head atop her knees and sighing. "The only thing I've ever known about myself is that I move to different cities a lot. My name got left in one of them, I think." She lowered her voice. "No museum ever wants to keep me…They say strange things happen when I'm around. It's where the title "Midnight's Curse" came from."
Daisuke frowned a little at the confession. "Well…how about I give you a temporary name? Y'know, so we'll know what to call you."
The girl looked up at him. "You'd do that?" She smiled again when he nodded. "Daisuke, that'd be wonderful!" She cried happily. Reaching up for the tag again, she added, "I think it should start with an 'E,' so no one gets confused."
The red-head hummed thoughtfully for a few seconds, eyeing the tag and trying to come up with a suitable name. He really wasn't all that good at coming up with names, especially for works of art. Half the time he didn't even name his own paintings. But for her sake, he'd try. "I like…Emily."
Blinking, the girl registered the name. "Em-il-y…" She repeated, tracing the letters on her knee with her finger. Smiling, she got up off the couch and winked, holding up two fingers in a 'v.' "Konnichi wa, my name is Emily!" She greeted, giggling. "I love it!" She decided, once again embracing Daisuke. "Thank you so much, Daisuke!"
Laughing a bit, the boy returned the embrace. "Don't mention it!"
End stage two.
Author: Thanks guys, for your reviews on the first chapter! I was starting to lose hope, heh.
(1) Towa laughing at Daisuke's statement…was kind of funny to me. See, it was an inside joke with myself kinda. It basically means that, y'know how when someone has a baby, they announce, "it's a boy!" or "it's a girl!" right? Well, Daisuke announced "it's a wolf," which sounded funny and weird to Towa. Get it?
(2) This was a play on something my mom and I always say. What she means is, a French whore. Whenever my brother or any other guy wears too much cologne, we say, "geez, you smell like a French whore!" This is another inside joke, but with me and my family. I found it a good idea to throw it in there re-worded, as a nuance. You don't have to understand ME to understand IT.
I'm glad you like this fic. The next chapter is half done written, and it's kinda cute and fluffy. I needed a filler chapter. But there is a plot, and not even my closest friends know what it is yet. I'm saving it for myself to know, and build up the suspense. –winks- I know you love me. On another note, I might be adding a bonus chapter to Everything You Want, only because I got a few reviews begging me to make Jenny and Dark kiss at least once. I'm thinking about it. Maybe. Anyways, catch you in the next chapter!
--Queen Luffie of the Mole People