Disclaimer: If I told you I was a manga-ka, I would be lying. So how would I be Yukiru Sugisaki? I think you basically get the idea.

Warnings: Look into the crystal orb, -cough-, I mean previous chapters. I don't feel like doing warnings. You should already be prepared this far in the story. There's KradxSatoshi. That's the second main pairing! And since it's not really the first one, it might progress faster. Oh! And angsty!Satoshi.

Chapter 8

"…festival decorations…"

"Date…cute…"

"…dress…pretty…"

The moment Dark, Krad, and Daisuke entered the next town, all they heard were excited murmuring. But it wasn't about them. From the little words Krad could grasp, he could already tell that the town was having a festival of some sort. Was it a companion festival to the one his ex village was holding?

Daisuke's face was grinning and excited, like those of the townspeople. His head turned this way and that, trying to look at everything. He was acting like a kid in a toy store. A kid with loads of cash. Dark was animated as well, but not to the same extent like Daisuke. He just glanced at things every now and then when it captured his interest. But his eyes mainly trailed back to the somewhat childish Daisuke.

"Look! Look! They have those stalls where you scoop up tiny fishes!" Daisuke laughed enthusiastically. Dark and Krad chuckled lightly as he ran off to said stall. Daisuke's presence sure eases people into relaxing. Daisuke talked with the stall manager while Dark and Krad slowly walked towards him. Handing Daisuke a net, the old man told him what to do and what's the prize.

"Look 'ere, kiddo. See dat golden one? Catch it and 'e's yers plus that little dolly on the wall." The owner pointed at a small plushie of a nude, hairless doll. "That little dolly has magic powers, yeah? It changes its appearance to the person who won it. So ye get yerself a little mini-me, aye?" Daisuke nodded quickly and tried to scoop up the mentioned golden fish. The owner smiled and turned to Dark and Krad.

"'Ello, lads. Ye up fer some fishin'? Same deal as little tyke right 'ere." He said as he patted Daisuke's head. Daisuke nudged the hand with his head absentmindedly, eyes focused on the unsuspecting little fish. Dark and Krad shook their heads, smiling as they watched Daisuke let out a predatory growl. Without letting Daisuke see, Dark flipped a coin towards the fisherman. Now, Daisuke wouldn't have to waste his own money. Everybody's happy.

Daisuke took a scoop, but the fish escaped, ready for another try. Suddenly, someone jar into him and his net was pushed forward, right in the direction of the fish. The weight of the person who fell on him disappeared and the fish was in his net. Ecstatic, Daisuke jumped around and was prepared to thank the stranger, but he was already gone.

"'Ey! Ye caught it! Congrats, kid. 'Ere's yer mini-me." The stall owner said as he handed the doll plus the fish in a small baggie filled with water towards Daisuke. Except the doll wasn't a redhead. Or Daisuke, for that matter. It was of a light blue haired boy. The boy was a bit older than Daisuke and had square-framed glasses. The clothing was nothing special, just some denim jeans and a loose white t-shirt.

"The doll isn't Daisuke. What did you do?" Dark asked the owner casually. Dark wasn't really angry that the doll hadn't turn into Daisuke. He was more fascinated by the fact that the doll had mysteriously changed to form the male that had pushed into Daisuke.

"Eh, lads. 'M sorry. I'll give ye something else." The owner said as he turned around. But before he could take another step, Daisuke grabbed his arm.

"No, it's okay, sir. I'll keep it. I'll just think of it as a good luck charm since he helped me catch the fish." Daisuke said with a small grin. What he said was true and sincere, and the owner had a guilty look. He nodded and the trio walked off. Daisuke examined the doll that he won. Well, technically the person with the doll's appearance won. Daisuke had held the net, but the boy's push of the net caught the fish. The boy was the person who is supposed to have the doll. Shrugging, Daisuke turned back to the other two.

"What do you think I should call it? Krad? Dark?" Daisuke asked the two. The purple-haired male shrugged and they both looked at the blonde. He glanced at both of them with an amuse glint in his eyes before replying.

"Why Daisuke, if it weren't for the fact that I know already that you liked someone, I'd say that you took a fancy to the doll's original. If you name it, you'll get attached, after all." Krad teased. Daisuke blushed at the second statement, not really understanding the first. Daisuke liked someone? Who? Daisuke didn't like anyone that way. Krad must have misread things.

Dark mentally frowned. There was competition? Who was it that Daisuke liked? Krad? But then if so, why hadn't they tell him? Dark growled and shook off the idea of Daisuke already being someone else's. It was much more pleasant to think that Daisuke was single and gay. Wait. Is Daisuke gay? Never really thought about that. Dark was about to go into thinking mode, but Daisuke's next actions momentarily paused his thoughts.

"First of all, I don't like anybody. Second, if I did, I wouldn't tell you anyways! If you want the doll so badly, here!" With that said, Daisuke embarrassedly stalked off after throwing the blue-haired male doll at Krad. Krad's stunned face made Dark laugh a bit.

"I was just teasing. God." Krad murmured. He picked up the doll and examined it closer. "I know! I shall dub thee, Satoshi!" Krad cackled crazily and Dark tip toed away, saying "I don't know him."

Krad didn't know how accurate the name was. He didn't know that he would meet the real person.

Daisuke sourly walked around. Though he didn't know where to go, he knew that the people would be kind later on and tell him where an inn is. To the side, he heard some girls chattering away like birds.

"Oh, he's so cute! It'd be awesome if he got together with another guy!" A girl in a dark blue yukata with a crescent on her chest said. Her friends nodded agreeing. Another girl to the side opened her mouth to speak.

"But it shouldn't be some other random guy either. It should be someone that isn't average. Satoshi is so intelligent. Plus, his hair color is natural. Even though it looks dyed. We need someone special like him!" The girl said. She was wearing a red yukata with fires embroidered all over. The others, most likely groupies, nodded again and watched what the other girl would do.

"Yeah. But Satoshi's type is so rare! It'll be hard. The next best thing is okay, don't 'cha think?" She said back. With a contemplative look, the girl with the red yukata nodded. Her eyes slid across the crowds and swept by Daisuke before they landed on him for real. With an excited look, she snapped her fingers and jumped. "Ding ding ding! I think we have a winner, folks. Look." She pointed at Daisuke and he put on a nervous look.

The girls followed the direction that she was pointing and saw Daisuke. With squeals, they clapped their hands with each other and the girl with the blue yukata rushed to meet him. 'Eek! I'm going to get mobbed by a village girl! Save me, somebody!' Daisuke shouted in his mind. He didn't want to risk having the girl hear him and chase him with anger.

Like an answer to his plea, someone pulled onto his sleeve and he ran with the 'kidnapper' slash savior, not wanting to get mobbed, like Daisuke said earlier. Taking a quick look at the person who saved him, Daisuke saw azure-colored hair that seemed eerily familiar. Ah ha! In his mind, Daisuke snapped like the girl. It was the person who had helped him with the fish catching! What's his name, Daisuke wondered. Then he remembered giving Krad the doll. Daisuke sighed before thinking, 'Well, at least he won't think I'm a stalker, ne?' No reply came in his mind, but that was to be expected.

"Hurry up! They'll catch us and then they'll whine and squeal and basically rape you." The guy snarled unkindly. Daisuke gulped and nodded, though inwardly, he was swearing and damning the other. Did this guy that barely knew him think he was weak and couldn't protect himself from some girls? Okay, so maybe Daisuke can't handle the whole group, but one on one is fine! Scowling, Daisuke turned his head to the side a bit. From the side of his eye, he saw the girls swarming around them like bees and he gulped again. Okay. So this person was right.

"Eek! Satoshi-kun! Satoshi-kun! Look at me!" Shouted a girl in plain clothing to Satoshi's side. Another girl slapped her before turning back to their idol.

"Satoshi-kun! Don't look at her! I'm much more prettier!" She yelled over the crowd. Satoshi ignored them both and they silently steamed at the other female, thinking it's their fault.

"Uh. Satoshi, right? Where are you taking me?" Daisuke asked, sweat dropping as he watched a cat fight behind him. Not literally cats. Daisuke turned around quickly, blushing, to avoid watching girls tear off each other's yukata. Satoshi ignored him too and pulled him around a corner of an alley. Wrapping an arm around Daisuke's waist, Satoshi brought up the other hand to Daisuke's mouth to silence him. With a muted "Shh!" Satoshi peeked through. After a few moments of waiting for something, Satoshi let go and Daisuke broke free.

"They're gone and you can go now." Daisuke's blush was still there and he stared accusingly at Satoshi. In reply, Satoshi merely rolled his eyes. "Look, if you just let them catch you, they'll be hounding all over you right now. It's better this way. See 'ya, wouldn't wanna' be 'ya." ''Cause I have my own problems to handle before yours.' Satoshi added to himself. Daisuke nodded and walked straight out, deciding to avoid Satoshi before Krad suspects. He forgot the fact that Krad didn't even know Satoshi.

Daisuke shakily exited and after a few minutes of wandering, crashed into Dark.

"Where were you! I was worried about you." Dark tried to prevent himself from yelling, but his worry got the better of him. He grabbed Daisuke's shoulders and shook him hard. Krad stood in the background, not shaking Daisuke like Dark was, though not forgiving either. Slightly guilty and with the blush gone, Daisuke ashamedly looked at his toes like a child being scolded. Dark's eyes softened, but were still hard. They were so distracted by each other that they didn't hear the squeal of fan girls or see the crowd part. They never saw Krad's small fearful look and backing away.

"Eek! Look! It's that redhead that we saw earlier!" One girl screamed while another nodded. Daisuke knew his ears caught some sound that ignited some pounding in his heart (but he wasn't exactly sure if it weren't because of Dark, either).

"I'm sorry, Daisuke. I shouldn't yell at you." Dark said softly, trying to ease Daisuke's discomfort 1. And the girls squeal on how cute it looked. This time, Daisuke heard the screeching and his head snapped to the side. Seeing the girls that Satoshi had warned him of, his eyes widened and he took a step backwards. Dark, misinterpreting what the small step meant, felt heartbroken. Daisuke was now afraid of him? Dark wondered briefly where Krad had gone, since Krad was behind him and therefore Dark didn't see him.

"Redhead!" An unfamiliar girl shouted as she glomped Daisuke. She obviously didn't know his name if she shouted redhead. With an unexpected weight, Daisuke fell down to the floor, but he twisted his body to make sure he wouldn't land on anything that would hurt too much. Immediately, Dark knelt down to see if Daisuke was okay. Pushing away the slightly dazed girl off, Daisuke shook his head and groaned. Landing on your rear wasn't exactly fun, but at least he didn't land on is head and cracked his skull open.

"Daisuke! Are you okay?" Dark asked worriedly, again. He grabbed Daisuke's arm and yanked him up, kicking the girl away hard (Dark: Ha! Touch MY Daisuke, will you?). Daisuke, from the quick movement, dizzily nodded before steadying himself. When he was sure he could stand and walk without help, he lightly pulled his arm away. The fan girl simply sat and watched Dark and Daisuke. If there were popcorn available, she would probably get some to eat while watching the duo.

"Dark. Daisuke. It's getting late. We should just find an inn and rest, ne?" Krad commented as he stepped out of the crowd. He figured out which type of fan girl that female was. She was a yaoi fan girl. (Krad: Thank god it's not a rabid fan girl that jumps hot bishounens!) Dark and Daisuke nodded and ignoring the girl who stood up cautiously while looking at Dark. They turned their back on her and were oblivious to the fact that she was discreetly following them with years' practice (except Krad, of course).

Once they had pay for an inn (and still didn't notice the girl yet), they each went to their separated rooms. Distantly, Daisuke wondered where Krad got all the money. Mentally shrugging, he entered his room. Across the hallway, Dark entered his own room. And beside him, Krad went inside while holding his bag of clothes and things. Kicking the door shut, Krad grabbed the doll out of his pocket.

"Who are you, really?" Krad asked. The question fell upon deaf ears, but Krad didn't mind. It was expected.

'Who was that redhead today?' Wondered Satoshi as he typed on his laptop without looking to see if he had mistakes, not that he would, mind you. 'I bumped into him at the fish stall, but I don't think he noticed. And luckily I saved him by those YFGs. If not, who knows who they'll pair him up with.' Satoshi didn't really think that the girls would pair Daisuke up with him. They'd think Satoshi would be too mean to someone as cute as Daisuke, he was sure of it.

"He had some companions as well. They're going to get mobbed. If they travel together, those banshees will think it's a threesome." Satoshi thought aloud. Following some other thought, he laughed and didn't notice his maid in the doorway of his bedchambers.

"Satoshi-sama? What's so funny and who's having a threesome?" Asked the maid shamelessly. She wasn't afraid to be punished because her master wasn't some kind of sadist. On her nametag on her maid outfit, the name Towa was written on it. But it was crossed out and a female's scribble of To-To stood there. Satoshi whirled around and got his composed form together before glaring at her for not knocking.

"None of your business, To-To." Satoshi said quickly, too quickly. But it wasn't like the redhead was any secret or anything. Or the blonde man.

"Aw. But Satoshi-sama! You rarely laugh or talk about other people! I'm not saying that you're shallow or anything." To-to said teasingly. Satoshi stared at the wall, holding in the blush. For some reason, when To-to had said other people, the blonde suddenly popped into mind. Satoshi sighed and shook his head. "You okay, Satoshi-sama?"

"Yeah. I want to be alone for a bit. Sorry." Satoshi said. 'Damn. This sounds like those cheesy little novels that girls like to read.' To-To nodded and made a move to close the door. Ignoring her, Satoshi stood up and slowly walked over to the deck 2. Pushing open the glass doors, he stepped into the now cold night air. Taking a deep calming breath, Satoshi looked across the town. His family is rich, or at least Satoshi was. Satoshi was an orphan and had no relatives. Blah. Same sob story. Satoshi would never admit he thought his life like that, but he sometimes does.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw some girls hanging by the bushes of his garden. The bush wasn't really tiny, so Satoshi wondered whether or not the girls want to be seen by him. Ignoring them, his eyes brushed past shops and houses and landed on the only inn in town. He wondered if the blonde and his other companions (the redhead and the amethyst-eyed male) were sleeping in that very inn that he's staring at. Wait, staring? Satoshi shook his head and stood there, letting the breeze ruffle his hair like a father would to a son. It was moments like these that Satoshi could use to pretend he was as normal as any other boy.

A door slammed downstairs and rushing pairs of feet traveled through the door and into Satoshi's ear. His face hardened and instantly thoughts of anything pleasant escaped his mind. Even though he had no living relative, it didn't mean he didn't have a guardian. And his dear old guardian was anything but nice and happy.

"Satoshi! Get your ass down here!" His guardian shouted. Slurs in his words indicated that he was drunk. Satoshi heard some maids murmuring and trying to calm their master down. Stomps were heard closer to his door and Satoshi was glad To-To locked his self-made unbreakable lock. There was no hole on the other side of the knob and the lock was too complex for anyone to try to lock it themselves. If they were any other person besides Satoshi, they'd need magic.

"Sir! Sir! Please calm down! Satoshi-sama is asleep! Please, sir, don't wake him up!" One of the maids said. By her words, it was rather blatantly obvious that she was one of his stalkers. Rolling his eyes (Is that possible with a stone face? Satoshi wondered), Satoshi silently closed the glass doors and entered his room. He glanced at the left wall that had held his pictures. Those pictures weren't your average drawings. They wouldn't really interest a girl. The pictures were of machines and technology. Basically, they're things that Satoshi thought of making and had already made.

Blocking out the noises, Satoshi pushed away the pictures and out came a safe. It held one of his last gifts from his mother before she died. Though when he had received it he had said it was girly, he actually thought the gift was in actuality beautiful and delicate.

38. 12. 34. Satoshi quickly spun the lock and it opened less than a moment later. Like a cliché movie, steam drifted out leisurely and Satoshi impatiently patted it away. Once Satoshi could see inside, he removed the cloth that prevented dust from gathering on top of the gift. And finally, the moment you've all been waiting for, the gift Satoshi treasure appeared. For better view, a close-up was made.

A moderate-sized crystal lay on a large soft cushion. The crystal was a white angel with wings about ten times larger than the body. The angel's hair was your stereotypical blonde haired. But instead of the normal clear blue eyes, this angel had a golden pair of eyes. The color often changed during differences of light. When he was younger, Satoshi often pretended that the angel was real and the different types of gold were a way to differentiate an emotion. Now, Satoshi merely appreciates the simple beauty. The angel wears plain robes the color of Satoshi's eyes that doesn't hinder his ability to fly. Since magic was real, Satoshi was afraid that the angel would come in contact with magic and simply fly away, abandoning him like his parents. The memory of when he got it was still clear in his mind. It was the first warning he had before his parents died. Their deaths were a murder and he could never find the culprit.

"Sato." His mother had said. She always used the nickname he despised. No matter how he retaliates to the annoying nickname, she never let it go. "Sato, I want to give you something." Her tone was strange. It was too serious for giving a gift away. It was too serious, period.

"It's an heirloom for the women in our family. I just think you should have it. Even though you're not a girl, it's a pretty thing and you deserve pretty things. If I'm not here, this angel will protect you." Satoshi blanched at the gift. Inwardly he stared fascinated at all the small intricate details. At his age, which was four, he doesn't really care about the importance of girls and boys.

Currently, the angel's eyes were amber. Satoshi remembered when he was little. He had dubbed the color amber as something life changing would happen. He scoffed at his own childish innocence. It was a lovely fantasy, but only that. A fantasy. A dream. Something that would never happen in reality. The truth is, Satoshi would never be able to break free from his guardian. Even when Satoshi is an adult, the town would expect him to see his guardian.

Yeah. It's the rich orphan's sob story.

"We didn't get to do much in the festival, today." Dark said as he spun up some noodles onto his fork before putting a large chunk of his dinner into the meal. Across the table, Krad scrunched his nose up in disgust. Daisuke didn't comment as he ate his own dinner. They both nodded and Dark sighed.

"You two are so dull." Dark remarked casually as he took a sip of some liquid. Krad rolled his eyes and Daisuke coughed to hide the snigger from the fact that Dark is trying to look snobbishly rich while drinking wine. "I heard that tomorrow, the festival continues. Let's go this time and not be separated." With that said, Dark glared at Daisuke.

"Sure. Sure. Hey, Krad? What did you do with the doll?" Daisuke asked. He suddenly remembered he gave Satoshi replica to Krad. Krad's form stiffened slightly. Dark didn't see, but Daisuke did. He just brushed it off, though.

"Heh. Kraddiekins named it Satoshi. I guess Krad wants to keep it for you." Dark laughed good-naturedly. A tiny, almost unnoticeable blush appeared on Krad's face. But Daisuke didn't see all of this. Daisuke was wondering about how Krad could be so psychic.

'I-is he a fellow psychic? Or is it merely coincidence?' Aloud, Daisuke said, "Krad! You want it? You can keep it." Krad shook his head embarrassedly and Daisuke knew that Krad wanted to change the subject. Pitying Krad, Daisuke complied.

"I actually met the actual Satoshi today." Daisuke blurted out. It was the first thing that came in mind. "His name is really Satoshi." Dark stared at Daisuke with an expression he couldn't read. And Krad's face seemed… Jealous?

"Oh? Maybe you can introduce us later then." Krad muttered while glaring daggers. Wow. It's probably his first love. Daisuke thought sarcastically. How right he was, ne?

1. Bleh. That sounds like some sappy shoujo manga. Or like a girly girl's fantasy.

2. I forgot what these were called, but it's like a deck connecting to a room on an upper level.

A/N: The accent was hard to write for the man at the beginning. And yay! YFGs, the Yaoi Fan Girls are back! They're from Poetic! It was a last minute thing, but I wanted this to be a tiny speck humor. And I talk about whispering and murmuring too much, ne? I guess it's because I always hear people talking behind me. And I just watched the first three episodes of the anime all over again and I just realized how OOC all the characters seem to be… Meh… Maybe I should just change this to some original story, ne?

Hikari: Can I borrow the tape? –drools- Hm… Will Krad, Satoshi, Dark, and Daisuke have a foursome? XD I don't tell anyone I write stories like this. They just think I'm doing schoolwork everyday.