Chapter 22
My Love Is True
Daisuke covered his mouth with his hand as he let out a loud yawn. Like every school day, he was left to walk the streets alone, half awake with nothing but his heavy textbook loaded backpack for protection. It had been two weeks since his visit with Freedert and he was still grounded! At least his parents let him keep his art set. He would have gone insane without it.
He shivered when a cool breeze blew by. Maybe he should have taken the bus today? It would have been a little warmer, plus he was so tired he was barely moving his legs. The chances of him getting to school on time were dwindling down because of his pace. At this rate an old lady with a cane and a broken hip could pass him.
There was no other way to explain. Today was Sloth Day! Yes, Sloth Day! The made-up day that strikes teens at least once in their life, making it impossible to do anything that day that requires more than ten steps worth of energy. Sometimes the teens only have enough energy to hit the buttons on the TV remote, and even then the chances were slim.
"Hey Daisuke! I've been calling you for the last three minutes! Are you alive!"
"Huh…?" Daisuke slurred in his exhausted stated. He glanced from the corner of his eye at the voice, taking note of Dark and the black sports car. Wait. Rewind. Daisuke woke up from his trance and stared at what could only be hazard to everyone's health. Dark was driving a black sports car. Insurance rates just went up drastically.
"Hey! I heard that!"
"Oh?" Daisuke said slowly, looking towards the sky, a blank expression on his face. "Sorry, I'm so sleepy I don't know what I'm thinking and what I'm saying aloud. Though your insurance rates are higher most likely since you are a teenage boy."
Dark stared at Daisuke for a moment, and then his hand began moving in the car in search of something. "Oh, and why does me being a teenage guy raise my insurance?"
Yawning again, Daisuke answered the question. "Just does, teen guys get into more car crashes apparently. Also, your grades are low so that raises it more, plus, depending on where you live influences your insurance and… hey Dark?" Daisuke asked, noticing that Dark had stopped searching for whatever it was he had been looking for and was staring intently at him. "What are y-you d-do-" Daisuke couldn't hold it back, he yawn for a third time.
"This!" Dark exclaimed and suddenly there was a cell phone in his hand and then the sound of a picture being taken.
If Daisuke had been sleepy before he was alert now. His eyes were taking up half of his face as he looked at the evil camera cell phone with dread. "What did you just do Dark!" He screamed in embarrassment. "Delete it!"
Smirking Dark turned his cell phone so Daisuke could see the picture Dark had taken of him. In the picture Daisuke, had one hand covering his mouth as he yawned as the other was stretching in air, his shirt slightly ridding up on the opposite side because of this, and his eyes were part way closed. Daisuke hadn't been aware he was doing half of those things, making him flush. "Isn't it adorable Dai-chan!"
"No," Daisuke huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Delete it."
"And never have a picture of my Dai-chan? No thanks." With that said, Dark hit the save button and closed the cell phone and stuffed it in his pocket. "Now are you going to hop in or do I have to pull you in?"
Daisuke cocked his head to the side, trying to understand what Dark meant by that, and after a moment of thinking he understood. Eyeing Dark's vehicle up and down, he turned his head away, with his nose up in the air, feigning snobbishness. "Depends, how long have you had your license?"
"I got it last week."
"Nope." Smiling wickedly, Daisuke sprinted off. Seconds after Daisuke's response there was a shocked cry from Dark, making Daisuke snicker and speed up his pace. Knowing Dark, the older teen would be chasing after him in no time.
What Daisuke hadn't expected Dark to do was start the car and catch up to him before fishtailing the car, so Daisuke stood in front of the passenger seat. The sudden and reckless act had Daisuke dumbfounded, and Dark used that time to reach over the passenger seat, open the door and pull Daisuke into the car, and speeding off.
"What the heck!" Daisuke shouted when his mind finally came back from its recent vacation. "You could have killed us! Do you know how dangerous what you just did was? What if someone had been coming down the street when you did that?"
"Don't worry Dai-chan," Dark spoke with confidence. "I had everything under control. I would never intentionally put your life in danger."
"Don't say that!" Daisuke exclaimed, while putting on his seatbelt in an attempt to ignore the look he knew Dark was sure to give him.
"Don't say what?" Dark asked, his face showing how clueless he was. To him everything he just said seemed fine.
Hanging his head so his bangs shadowed his eyes, Daisuke shifted his eyes to the side of the road. "Don't say things about not intentionally putting my life in danger, or any of that other stuff you say."
"Stuff I say?" Dark raised his eyebrow suspiciously, but let the topic drop.
After ten minutes worth of silence, Daisuke spoke again. "Besides, that was a stupid excuse. You may have been making sure I wasn't going to get hurt, but what about yourself, Dark?"
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.
"He's back!" Risa squealed under her breath, making her sister sigh in frustration.
"Risa, your obsession with Dark is getting way out of hand. Do I have to remind you of the cooking incident?" Discreetly, Riku cast her gaze over the class. Krad and Satoshi were back too. Strange, Krad, Dark, Satoshi, and Daisuke had gone missing simultaneously, maybe Daisuke was back as well.
"Hey, who's the cutie behind the guy with freaky purple hair?"
"Mio! How dare you insult Dark's hair! It's the most beautiful thing on the planet, other than Dark himself!" Risa yelled at the sandy blonde haired girl, who was dressed in strange attire. The girl was wearing a frilly white skirt with matching knee high boots, and magenta halter top. The strangest part of her outfit though was the small golden crown on the side of her head.
The girl known as Mio just smiled innocently at Risa's outburst. "Aw, so that's the famous Dark. Now if only someone could tell me who the redhead is. He looks so cute with the way he's hiding behind Dark, or is Dark just standing in front of him protectively?"
Riku blinked at Mio's words and stared in the direction of Dark. Like Mio had said there was the redhead, Daisuke, standing behind Dark, but it didn't look like he was hiding, in fact he looked pretty comfortable. Dark on the other hand was just as relaxed; maybe they didn't realize their positions?
"Hey, what's Daisuke doing standing behind Dark?" Risa pouted.
"Oh Daisuke?" Mio's face contorted into something that looked like a cat who had just caught a bird. "A nice name for a nice boy. I guess he's the old new kid. I better go tell him that Keiji and I are the new 'New Kids'. He'll be so happy."
"Someone say my name?" A boy with light colored hair that reached down to his shoulders asked, a slightly perverted smile on his face.
Mio giggled and pointed at Daisuke, "That would be me. Let's go over there and tell Daisuke we're the new kids. By the way, isn't he just the cutest! I swear I just want to go over there and hug him!"
Keiji followed Mio's finger and his smile became more perverse at the sight of Daisuke. Lifting up his hands, he made a see through box with his fingers, pretending they were a camera. "He's just the guy I need! And you're right! He's so molestable!"
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.
Dark looked up from shooing off one of his many fangirls and glared. Something didn't feel right. He glanced at Daisuke, who was smiling contently, unaware of his surroundings and another wave of protectiveness washed over Dark.
Krad, who had been standing next to Dark, and trying to talk to him, gave his friend a troubled look. "Are you okay?"
Dark's fingers twitched. He felt like punching someone, which made his glare intensify, and a scowl emerged on his face. "My Daisuke senses are tingling. Someone wants to molest him." Dark glared at Satoshi, who had been reading quietly at his desk.
The bluenette looked up from his book long enough to see Dark's cross look aimed at him. Returning the glare he asked coldly, "What?"
Dark shook his head. No, it wasn't Satoshi. Then who was it? That's when he saw them. The two new kids. They must have transferred in when he and the others were gone. Well it seemed he had a real reason to torture the new kids this time. No one thinks about molesting his Dai-chan and gets away with it!
X.X.X.X.X.X.
"Is it just me, or has Dark lost it?"
Satoshi glanced over at Daisuke before shrugging apathetically. "Since when did he have it?"
"Hey!" Daisuke rebuked, a tiny blush tinting his cheeks. "I'm just worried about Dark. It's like he's on a mission to hurt the new kids, but every time he tries, someone else gets involved and instead they're the ones who fall into his trap."
"That's exactly what's happening."
"What?" Daisuke, had to control the urge to yell. Hadn't Dark learned from previous experience not to pick on people? The thought of Dark teasing someone after all they had been through made Daisuke see red. He could practically feel the heat of his anger in his blood. He'd never forgive Dark! Never! That jerk should have learned his lesson long ago.
Satoshi raised an eyebrow at the angered expression on Daisuke's face, but went back to reading, it wasn't his problem.
X.X.X.X.X.X.
"Hello class!"
Daisuke hit his head on the kitchen counter. He was in his cooking class, but someone else was too, Yume. Why won't she just go away! Is she a stalker or something! If he could, he would be crying tears of self-pity.
Yume ignored the loud thump of many heads hitting the kitchen counters, it seems a lot of people were thinking the same thing as Daisuke at that moment, which is probably why Dark wasn't freaking out about Daisuke's sudden masochistic ways. He most likely thought it was some sort of new fab.
"I know you all probably know me by now, it is I, Yume!" Striking a heroic pose, Yume grinned smugly and let out a haughty laugh. "I will be your cooking teacher for today, because Mr. Ishida is tired of being called gay for being a cooking teacher!"
"You are so totally awesome!" Mio shouted from the back, waving hello to Yume.
Jumping out of her pose, Yume cupped her hand around her mouth, while with other waved her hello as she shouted, "Why thank you, Girl-who-I-have-never-met! Now," She paused looking over the class, "let's switch kitchen groups."
Dark's jaw almost hit the ground. Change kitchen groups, but that meant Daisuke and him would be separated. "I OBJECT!"
"OVERRULED!" Yume giggled, thinking Dark was joking. "I always wanted to say that," she whispered under her breath.
Dark couldn't believe it. He was actually going to be separated from Daisuke, and not only that, but Krad too. Heck, he was going to be separated from Satoshi. He would love for Satoshi to go away, and Krad he could live without, but he couldn't leave Daisuke alone! Daisuke was his guaranteed A, and let's not forget the fact that he had a crush on him too. Plus, switching groups meant a good possibility of being partnered with a fan girl or two.
He shivered at the thought. Fan girls, the natural enemy of all attractive looking men, and sometimes women, but let's not get into that shall we.
"The next group will be," Dark tuned into Yume's announcement, only now noticing that people were shifting groups. So far it looked like eight people were left, and he and Daisuke were two of them. Perfect, there were four people to a group. Meaning Daisuke and him had a fifty percent chance of being together again.
"Risa Harada, Keiji Saga, Mio Hio, and Daisuke Niwa!"
Dark could hear his life shattering at that moment. It sounded like a window being broken, or maybe a breaking mirror, either way, the sound made his mind shut down. All he could process was Daisuke with… poison girl… pervert boy… hugging happy girl… NOOOOOOO!
If Dark hadn't been so obsessed with the group Daisuke had been placed in he would have seen the undeniably happy look on Daisuke's face.
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.
"My Dai-chan is in danger!" Dark growled as he sulked, watching Daisuke from across the room.
Riku scowled and whacked him on the head. "You better help we're not doing all the work!"
Giving the Harada twin a nasty look he pointed at the group Daisuke was in. "I'd gladly help if I wasn't busy making sure you're sister isn't killing my friend!"
"How many times do we have to go over this! It wasn't Risa's fault and she's sorry!"
"If she's sorry then have her switch places with me so Daisuke has at least some form of protection in that hell sent group of his!"
"I would if I could, Jerk! Anyone is a better group partner then you!"
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.
"Oh Daisuke!" Mio called the redhead over in a singsong voice. "Will you please taste test my soup for me?"
"Sure," Daisuke answered, stopping in the middle of cutting up the remaining vegetables.
Mio held out the ladle to Daisuke, one hand underneath it so it wouldn't drip onto the floor. Carefully she lifted it up to Daisuke's lips, letting him take a sip of it. After a few moments of silence Daisuke smiled brightly and nodded in approval. "It's delicious Hio-san."
"Oh Daisuke!" Mio cried and wrapped her arms around Daisuke, forgetting about the ladle and spilling soup on the floor. Realizing her mistake she pulled away from Daisuke and laughed at herself. "I'm sorry Daisuke, I don't cook often so I was really happy to hear you say my soup tasted good."
"It's okay, Hio-san, I'll just-" Daisuke reached for the paper towels, but another hand reached over and grabbed it first. Blinking, rapidly, Daisuke looked at the owner of the hand to see a perverted smile on Keiji's face. "Uh…? Yes?"
"I'll clean up the mess. Go help Harada-san cut the vegetables." Daisuke was reluctant about allowing the boy to clean. He had a feeling that Keiji was plotting something. However, without any proof he had no reason not to accept. Sighing in defeat he went back to cutting beside Risa, but she seemed to be staring across the room.
"Harada-san?" Daisuke questioned.
Hearing her name, Harada snapped her attention back to Daisuke. "Dark and Riku are fighting!" She blurted out.
"What? Why?"
"I don't know."
"Hmm. Nice ass."
Daisuke and Risa both stiffened and paled. Neither of them had made that comment, and it sounded like it had come from behind them. Slowly, they turned their heads, glancing over their shoulders, and saw Keiji staring at Daisuke's butt. "Umm." Was Daisuke's intelligent response.
Risa on the other hand started freaking out. "What are you doing looking at Niwa's butt!"
Daisuke winced. Why did Risa have to be so loud? Now everyone was staring at them. Even an already pissed off Dark. He could feel the violent aura radiating off his friend from this distance. He also felt a bit of a protective aura coming from Satoshi and Krad's direction. This was the most humiliating day of his life.
"I'm just appreciating the beauty of nature. Don't tell me you're a homophobe, Risa." Keiji responded coolly, as if he had been looking at the clouds, not someone's butt.
"I'm not a homophobe, but I do know that you should not go around looking at people's butts! It's called harassment!"
"Sure, that's some nice excuse."
Risa flushed in anger. "Stop acting like an idiot. You know I'm not like that, or have you forgotten I saw you making out with your boyfriend in the hall yesterday and reacted perfectly fine. You're just trying to make yourself a martyr!"
Sighing in defeat, but keeping the smile on his face, Keiji held his hands up in a surrendering position. "Fine. Fine. You're not a homophobe, but that doesn't mean you have any right to reprimand me for checking someone out."
"She may not, but I do."
Oh yes, Daisuke could feel that dark battle aura, and if his senses were correct, Dark was standing behind him with a his fist in his palm, cracking his knuckles as he glares a hole trough Keiji's skull.
"Daisuke is my friend and don't think I won't defend him from your perverted ways!" Dark yelled, but before he could take a swing at Keiji Daisuke stopped him.
"Knock it off Dark."
"Wha?" Dark asked stupefied his expression incredulous. Why was Daisuke telling him to stop? Didn't he want revenge on this guy?
"I'm tired of you picking on new kids, and I don't want you using me as an excuse!" Daisuke cried, before running away. He ran out the door, slamming it shout behind him, leaving Dark to stare in wonder.
As the minutes ticked by in silence, Dark's features darkened. Without warning he slammed his fist into the counter. "DAMN IT! WHAT THE HELL DID I DO WRONG!" Not waiting for an answer, he followed Daisuke's example and ran out of the classroom.
Whispers and murmurs filled the room, but Risa was the only one who came up with the best question, "Why didn't the teacher stop what just happened?"
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.
Yume had hidden herself in the cooking classes special storage room. In her lap was a laptop and her eyes were trained on the glowing screen as she moved the mouse up and down. Finally she let out a gasp. "No! How could she end it there! That evil authoress!"
Yes, Yume was reading fanfiction.
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.
Daisuke was hiding out underneath his favorite sakura tree when Dark found him. He could tell by the red tint to the boy's cheeks that Daisuke was still angry at him, now the only question was why?
Letting his own frustration get the better of him, Dark stomped over to the tree, not bothering to hide his approach. Daisuke looked up from his spot under the tree at one point and sent him dirty look before turning his head and sticking his nose high up in the air, acting as if he were better then Dark, which only fueled the purple haired teen's anger.
"What the hell is your problem!" Dark yelled as he took a seat next to Daisuke.
"I already told you." He replied with such iciness it stunned Dark. Who knew Daisuke had it in him?
"So I'm not allowed to defend my friend from perverts?" Dark asked, not hiding any of his anger or confusion from Daisuke. "I'm sorry but I can't accept that!"
"You know you were only using me as an excuse to pick on the new kids!" Daisuke protested, trying to stand up before Dark grabbed his shoulder and shoved him back on the ground.
"Don't walk away from me, and especially over something so stupid as this," Dark commanded, squeezing Daisuke's shoulder to make it clear the younger boy wasn't going anywhere.
"It may be stupid to you but not me," Daisuke seethed. "This is all a joke to you! I'm sorry, but I don't approve of you hurting the new kids, or anybody for that fact."
Dark sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to calm himself down, while still keeping a good grip on Daisuke. "Okay, let's get this straight. You think I'm picking on the new kids because I'm a sadist?"
"Not in those exact words, but yes."
"You think that what I did back there was just me trying to take advantage of the opportunity, and not because I actually cared about what that guy was doing?"
Daisuke seemed to hesitate at Dark's question, but nodded his head.
"And you think that I'm mad at you because you ruined my so-called 'fun'?"
Another nod, but more hesitant.
Dark laughed. It was a low, barely audible one, but Daisuke heard it, and he was beyond confused. Why would Dark be laughing about something so serious? He should of known Dark was going to be jerk and have just kept silent. Well, technically he had, but what he meant was not answer the questions. Did that make any sense?
"Jeez Daisuke," Dark chuckled out. He let go of Daisuke's abused shoulder and wrapped his arm around his friend's shoulders, pulling Daisuke closer to himself. "Do you really think I haven't matured at all since we've met?"
Daisuke frowned, but rested his head on Dark's shoulder, allowing himself to enjoy the affection even if a part of him was still mad at Dark. "Would we be here right now if I didn't?"
"I guess not," Dark spoke softly, and rested his chin on Daisuke's head. He could smell the shampoo the boy used that morning and smiled at the scent. " Listen Daisuke, you may not believe me but I have grown and I can confidently say that it's from being with you and maybe that's why I've grown so attached to you."
"Attached to me?" Daisuke asked, not fully comprehending what Dark meant.
"Daisuke how would you react if I asked you out on a date?"
Daisuke wanted to be scared. He wanted to freak out. Yes, he was a little surprised, but not as much as he wanted to be. Had a part of him always known Dark was going to ask something like this? Instead of doing what his mind was screaming at him to do Daisuke pulled back from Dark just enough so he could stare him in the eye.
"I don't know Dark. You'd have to ask me."
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.
For those of you at the beginning, who actually paid attention to the things Daisuke listed off about insurance, I'm not sure if those things are the same everywhere, but where I live they are, so please understand that I for all I know where you are things might be handled differently.