Midnight's Curse
Author: Well, it seems you guys really took to the concept of Emily! I've gotten a couple reviews saying how cute you think she is…Yes, the truth is, she's just adorable because she's so clueless. I'd cuddle her if she were real…Anyways, yes…I don't own DNAngel, no sir, I don't, so if you sue me you won't get anything but my crap drawings and maybe a quarter. You won't get Yuki. I'll never give Yuki up! He's mine, I tell you, MINE! -clears throat- Right. Sorry it took so long, I had a hard time finishing this chapter! Have fun!
Stage 3: Better than Ice Cream
(Fluff-warning in effect, for the sake of a filler chapter. Flamers will be shot; survivors will be shot again.)
Daisuke groaned, refusing to open his eyes as he huddled close to a furry warmth that lay beside him. He couldn't remember the couch being so comfortable before. Something was murmuring in the back of his mind, something about being late, but a different voice told him to not even bother attempting to get up; his body wouldn't move even if he wanted it too.
He agreed with that voice. That is, until something cold and wet touched his cheek. He tried to ignore it, but was jolted awake by a loud bark. His eyes shot open and he sat up, glancing all around. A small whining noise brought his attention to a semi-large, midnight-black dog that was lying on the couch beside him. It gazed up at him with lovely jade eyes and sat up, licking his cheek.
Blinking, he stared at it for a moment. "Uhh…Mom?" He called, never taking his crimson eyes away from the dog.
"Yes, dear?" She called back, coming into the living room with a dish towel in one hand and a glass in the other. The dog barked and leapt off the couch, trotting over and sitting down beside Emiko. It leaned against the woman, nuzzling her leg.
"When…" Daisuke shook his head free of sleep, trying to think clearly. "When did we get a dog?"
Emiko only smiled. "Don't tell me you haven't met the newest member of our family! Dark went and got her last night." She pointed out.
A little confused, the boy took another look at the dog. He slid off the couch as he spotted a small silver tag showing underneath its fur. He kneeled down in front of the sitting dog—which he now believed was not a dog, but a wolf—and saw the 'E' printed on the tag. It was attached to a black leather collar that blended in perfectly with the wolf's fur.
Smiling in relief of knowing he was sane, Daisuke offered his hand. "Oh, it's you, Emily. You scared me for a second." He admitted, laughing.
Barking happily, the wolf rested a paw in his hand and licked his face again.
"But how did you change?"
Emily shook her head, admitting that she had no clue.
"By the way, Dai, sweetie…" Emiko trailed off, eyes roaming towards the clock. Daisuke followed her gaze, scrambling to his feet when he realized.
"Oh, man! I'm always late!" He cried, running up the stairs to get dressed. He grabbed his school bag and bolted back downstairs, yanking a shirt over his head and tripping on the last step. Multitasking had never been his strongpoint.
Before he could head out the door, something caught the back of his shirt. He whirled around to find Emily gripping the cloth gently with her jaws, whimpering as if to as if she could go with him. He smiled, freeing his shirt and giving her a pat on the head.
"I have to go to school, Em-chan. You'll have to stay here, with my mom and Towa." He explained. When her ears folded back and she lowered her head sadly, he added, "When I get home, I'll take you to get ice cream, okay? I promise." Turning back around, he hurried out the door.
Emily sighed, lying down in front of the closed door and resting her head on her paws. It was going to be a long day, but she was prepared to wait as long as she had to.
Later that afternoon…
"Em-chan? Sweetie, I made some onigiri(1) for you to…" Emiko stopped dead in her announcement when she spotted Emily, curled up on the couch in her humanoid form, holding a pillow close to herself and wrapping her tail around her legs. The poor wolf-girl was completely without apparel.
"I changed back…" She murmured sheepishly, her cheeks flaming red from embarrassment. "But I couldn't find my clothes…" She looked about ready to cry.
Emiko forced back a chuckle, setting the plate of onigiri on the coffee table. "Oh, dear…Hold on, I'll be right back!" She hurried off up the stairs to her son's room, leaving Emily curled up and almost in tears.
Even LATER that afternoon…
The door opened with a creak, followed closely by the sound of shoes hitting the floor. "I'm home!" Daisuke called, hearing bare feet on the floor and smiling as a human-like Emily turned into the foyer. She was clad in a black, sleeveless shirt whose collar was high and loose, covering her own leather collar. There was a white stripe from the top of the collar to the bottom of the shirt, which was overall too big for her. Daisuke recognized it as Dark's. Her bottom half was a pair of dark blue, baggy jeans that covered her feet completely and apparently had a hole cut in the seat so that her tail could go through. Those, quite surprisingly, belonged to him.
With a smile, Emily ran down the hallway to greet him. "Dai-chan!" She cried happily, squeaking in surprise when she tripped on the hem of the jeans and fell against the boy, who caught her with ease.
"Careful, Em! You'll hurt yourself!" He advised, gripping her arms to support her.
She held on tightly to the sleeves of his shirt and looked up into his ruby eyes, the smile returning to her face at the sight. Standing up on her own two feet, she nuzzled her face into his shirt. "I'm so glad you're home! Your okachan (2) and otosai (3) went out, and I was all alone!"
Daisuke chuckled a little. "Em-chan, you still had Towa, Wiz, and my grampa…and why are you wearing my jeans and Dark-san's shirt?" He challenged, half-smiling.
She turned a fiery crimson, pulling away from him. "No…uh…no reason…Your okachan just wanted to clean my clothes, that's…um…all…" She stammered, clearing her throat. "Hey, weren't you gonna take me somewhere?"
He nodded. "Do you want some shoes or something?" He offered.
She shook her head fiercely. "I don't like shoes. They're like chains." To make a point, she wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue.
Blinking, Daisuke shrugged. "Okay, well…let's go."
And later, in the town square…Emily's jade eyes were wide and shining with curiosity as she followed Daisuke through the town of Azumano. She was amazed by the sight of so many people, all in one place. It didn't even occur to her that she might lose her escort in the crowd. That's not to say she did; the thought simply never crossed her mind.
"Em-chan, c'mon!" The red-head called, reaching back and taking her hand. "It's not a good idea to wander; you could get lost, y'know?"
She half-pouted, still trying to see every little detail surrounding her. "I know, but it's just…it's so overwhelming!" She admitted, taking a deep breath before sighing. She skipped up to walk beside him. "So many things to see; I've never been out walking before."
Daisuke smiled. "I probably shouldn't have brought you out on such a nice day; the crowds are so dense. I hope it isn't too much for you." He spotted the shop he was destined for and headed for it, pulling Emily along behind him. Pushing the door open, he led her up to the counter and smiled politely at the clerk.
The woman smiled back, double-taking when she glimpsed Emily. "Uh…good afternoon! What can I do for you today?" She asked, eyes still darting back to the wolf-girl every few seconds.
Emily shrank back to hide behind Daisuke, her face going red again. "Why's she staring at me?" She whispered warily, gripping his arm and peeking out a little.
"It must be your ears and tail…" He whispered back. Speaking aloud, he addressed the woman. "Please don't stare; she's a big fan of Halloween, and she likes to dress up every day." He fibbed, smiling convincingly and stepping aside to reveal Emily. "See? She's a wolf! Great costume, ne(4)?" He rested a hand on the nervous girl's shoulder, gently pulling her forward.
The woman smiled. "Oh, I see! What a beautifully done costume! What can I get for you two?" She asked, demeanor completely changed.
Emily sighed in relief, looking up at the sign with all sorts of words on it that she didn't understand. She tilted her head to the side, trying to make heads or tails of the strange writing. "Daisuke…?" She murmured, nudging him.
"Hmm?" He looked up to where she was pointing. 'Oh! Hang on, I'll show you. Could I please have a two-scoop strawberry cone?" He asked the woman. She nodded, going back through a doorway and coming out a few seconds later with his ice cream. "Thank you!" Taking it by the cone, he offered the first lick to Emily.
She stepped back a little, sniffing the odd pink substance. "Umm…I don't know, Dai…"
Daisuke smiled. "It's not gonna bite you, Em-chan. I promise." He assured. When she shook her head, he took the first taste for himself. "Mmm…It's really good, see?" Aware that the counter woman was staring again, he added, "She's really picky."
Finally, Emily stood on her toes and took a small lick of the ice cream. Almost instantly, her eyes lit up and she smiled. "It's really good! I want one too, lady!" She announced, turning to the woman who seemed taken aback by her rudeness.
Daisuke pushed in front of her. "Emily, you need to say please." He scolded quietly, handing the woman money for two cones. "What she meant is, could you please get her the same thing as me?"
Huffing indignantly, the woman bustled back to the freezer and came back, thrusting the cone in Emily's face.
As the two were leaving the shop, Emily spun around happily. "Dai-chan, this is so good! And you can have it anytime you want!" She brought the cone up and took a large bite from the top, stopping dead in her dance as she swallowed it. After a pause, she squealed and held one hand against her head while her ears folded back in annoyance. "It aaaaaaches!" She cried, distraught.
Daisuke blinked. "You ate it too fast, Emily! It's too cold for that!" He realized, jumping back when the ice cream rolled off her cone and hit the sidewalk with a splat. She had jumped around so much from her brain freeze that she had lost her treat. He glanced at the now-melting ice cream, then back up at Emily.
The girl had stopped freaking out and was now staring longingly at her fallen snack. Her emerald eyes grew misty with tears as she stared at it, threatening to release them at any moment.
Glancing around quickly, Daisuke took her free hand and led her over to the fountain overlooking the sea. He sat her down on the edge and tilted her chin up, wiping away her tears with his shirt sleeve. "Don't cry, Emily. It's alright!" He assured as he took the empty cone from her other hand.
She sniffled. "I didn't mean to drop it…" She whimpered, trying to force back more tears. "It was just so cold, and…it hurt!"
He couldn't help but smile at her. "It's called a brain-freeze, Em-chan." He explained. "It happens when you eat ice cream too fast." Thinking for a moment, he handed her his ice cream cone. "It's okay, you can have mine."
Emily blinked and tilted her head to the side. "Daisuke, I can't…it's yours!"
"I don't mind, I can always get more. Besides, you've never had ice cream. You deserve it." He insisted, pushing the cone into her hand and taking her other one. Smiling at her, he helped her up. "Let's go home now, okay? I'll bet mom's making dinner." He suggested, beginning to lead her in that general direction.
Emily didn't know why, but a blush crept onto her cheeks and she felt compelled to walk beside him. Something odd was going on in her head, and it felt like something was flying around in her stomach. Smiling, she gave in to her impulse and skipped up next to him in time to place a chaste kiss on his cheek.
The red-head blinked, glancing down at her. "Em…chan?"
She felt her face burning, but still smiled. "I had to thank you again…for everything. No one's every shown me kindness like this."
End Stage 3Author: Awwww, they're so cute! Anyways, I'm sorry again for this taking so long, but I finally broke down and rented Kingdom Hearts 2, so I've been occupied…yeah.
Onigiri – Fruits Basket! Onigiri is like a kind of rice ball snack…thing…I think. If you've read Furuba, you know what it is.
Okachan means mother, I believe…I saw it in Seed of Chucky.
Otosai is dad. Again, Seed of Chucky.
Ne, is like, "right?" or something like that. I think.
Very cool, very long, very new chapter in a few weeks! You all heart me. Anyways, I'm out. Chat again later!
--Queen Luffie