Chapter 13
"What do you mean you don't know where they are!" Satoshi yelled at the butler! The butler cringed in fear and stammered.
"S-sir. Th-the last t-time I sa-saw them was at th-the garden." He gulped. Angering one of the masters was not on his to-do list but it seems to be futile. The butler bowed low to the floor while Krad watches on with a disinterested face. Inside, however, he was paying a lot of attention. Where has those two fools gone? They knew that Satoshi wasn't angry with them for forcing out the truth. Krad knows that Daisuke is the sensible one of the two, so what is Daisuke doing? Krad sighed and interrupted Satoshi before he scared the wits out of another butler.
"Satoshi. Yelling at everyone won't help at all. We can search the gardens ourselves if you think your… maids and butlers are inadequate." Krad says slowly, yawning. He was acting tired and bored in front of the butlers and maids that Satoshi yelled at and Satoshi knew it. He nodded stiffly and turned away, a sign for the still bowing butler to leave. The butler bowed even lower before standing up straight and closed the door quietly.
"Where do you think they have gone?" Satoshi asked quietly, his voice bouncing off the walls at the sudden silence. Krad shrugged and made a move to remove his body from Satoshi's bed where he was laying on at first.
"I don't know. We'll find them, I'm sure. It's not like they have the ability to suddenly disappear into time and space." Krad muttered. Satoshi nodded again and they exited the room.
"Who are you two? This is private property." A butler announced as he stared down at Dark, who the butler assumed as the leader of the group, or duo before Satoshi decided to join in. Daisuke rolled his eyes from behind the butler and Satoshi snickers. At first, the butler appeared to not have heard of his master laughing at him, but the twitching at his eyebrow betrayed him and Dark fought the urge to copy the youngest (Satoshi) and laugh. The butler growled lowly when he saw Dark's lips twitching.
"Come. I shall inform those that are responsible for you two." Dark and Daisuke shared a glance and the butler noticed it. "Do not try anything. Come, Satoshi-sama. It's time for your studies. Do not let simpletons or peasants to distract you." Dark glared at the butler, but he did nothing. Turning around, the butler walked away from the place where our heroes were hiding, expecting them to follow him.
"Daisuke, what do we do? It's too late." Dark whispers to his companion. Mentally, Dark was cheering. They already changed the past, to a certain degree. Daisuke glared at Dark and Dark wondered if Daisuke could read minds and find out that Dark was already actually planning on meeting Satoshi.
"Who are you two?" Satoshi asks as he looks at the two older teens in front of him. They were strange and Satoshi realized that they weren't paying attention to him. How dare they! Everyone pays attention to him, so why didn't these two? Stomping his feet, Satoshi repeated the butler and his question. "Who are you two? I demand an explanation. I am Satoshi Hikari!" Dark rolled his eyes and groaned.
"Great. Another snobby 'I'm rich, handsome, and powerful, bow down to me' attitude for a kid. Hey, listen kid. Stop that kind of attitude if you want me to answer your questions. Otherwise I'm just going to ignore you." Dark said slowly, as if Satoshi was some idiot. Daisuke laughed at them and Satoshi glared.
"First of all, I am not stupid. Don't talk to me like I'm some kind of moron. And second, I am rich and powerful. And at my age, I cannot be handsome. So your statements are useless and invalid." Dark spluttered. A kid just talked back to him like the kid was superior to him. Dark was about to answer, but Daisuke cut him off.
"Satoshi. We know what you are. Be quiet and let's go. Your butler disappeared. Aren't you supposed to be studying?" Daisuke said quickly. Satoshi nodded and looked around for his butler. When Satoshi didn't see him, Satoshi jumped up and scampered off. Daisuke and Dark laughed at Satoshi when he accidentally went the wrong corner without noticing it.
"Hey! Satoshi! Wait! That's the wrong direction!" Daisuke shouted playfully after the kid. Daisuke ran after Satoshi and chasing the boy who was ignoring the redhead. Dark chuckled and instead of following Daisuke, he waited for them to come back so Dark could lead them. He saw where the butler went after all. After waiting for a few minutes, Dark heard some giggles and laughs before seeing Daisuke walking around the corner tickling a struggling and giggling Satoshi. He shook his head and ignored the voice in the back of his mind that said he feels like a father.
"Daisuke!" Dark shouted, waving Daisuke over to him. Daisuke walked over and Dark led them towards the mansion. Daisuke let Satoshi go and he skipped and chattered and made noise. Everything he did was so unusual by the stoic Satoshi's standards. Dark and Daisuke didn't know what to do, but play along.
"Say, mister. What's your name?" Satoshi asked Daisuke cutely. He cocked his head to the side and tugged at Daisuke's sleeve softly. Daisuke resisted the urge to pick up Satoshi into his arms. Daisuke simply kneeled down and smiled at Satoshi.
"My name is Daisuke. What is yours?" Daisuke already knew Satoshi's name. But he had to keep pretending, otherwise Satoshi would suspect something. Dark nodded, telling Satoshi to answer Daisuke's question.
"Hello Daisuke. My name is Satoshi. You can call me Sato. Nice to meet 'cha." Satoshi said as he hopped along them. Turning around to face Dark, he repeated his question. "What is your name, porcupine head?" With a nickname, of course. Dark growled teasingly and Satoshi laughed, running away.
"Sato." Dark was pretty sure that the older Satoshi wouldn't let him call him that, so he'd abuse it while he can. "My name is Dark. I'm a ghost and I'll haunt you. That's why I'm called Dark." Dark's joke frightened Satoshi a bit and Sato hid behind Daisuke, peeking at the so-called 'ghost' every once in a while. Daisuke laughed and punched Dark in the arm lightly. When Satoshi saw Daisuke's hand connecting with Dark's upper arm, he look horrified up at Daisuke.
"Daisuke-nii-chan (older brother), you're not a ghost too, are you!" Satoshi asked, jumping away. Daisuke shook his head and looked at Satoshi again.
"No, Sato-otouto-chan (younger brother). I'm not a ghost. Dark is just playing right?" Here, Daisuke glared at Dark to make him tell the truth. Dark gulped and complied.
"Sato-bozu (brat). I'm not a ghost. I was just kidding, kid." Dark added a few kiddie names to show no harm. It brought another effect, though. Satoshi glared at Dark with watery eyes and began sniffling. Daisuke pulled Satoshi close to him and glared at Dark.
"Don't go calling him names! That's being a bully!" Daisuke whispered loudly. Satoshi hiccupped and buried his face into Daisuke's shoulder. Dark envied Satoshi for being in such close contact but he didn't let it show. He only whimpered like a hurt dog and pouted (but when you asked him about it, he'd say he never pouted).
"Sorry Daisuke. I won't bully him anymore." Dark said. For some reason, he feels like a wimp. And Satoshi knows it too if the coughs were anything to go by (Satoshi was crying and laughing at the same time). Daisuke sighed in response and he nodded. Then he looked down the hallway that he didn't realize he entered. The butler was down the hallway walking in circles. And was he muttering to himself?
"Where is Satoshi-sama? Master Hiwatari will have my head. This is those two intruders' faults. I just know it is. They must have kidnapped him. Oh no! Satoshi-sama has been kidnapped! I'll call the police! But what will I say? I neglected the child?" The butler's comments were quick and random and Daisuke interrupted before he could start saying anything else. His talking to himself is starting to scare Satoshi. Satoshi must have been in sane people's company all his life.
"Sane people are boring." It was like Dark was saying that in reply to Daisuke's thoughts, but that wasn't so, since Dark couldn't read minds. He was merely trying to get the butler's attention by trying to compliment him in a vague way. He succeeded somewhat. Dark gained the butler's attention, but it was more of disgust than thanking Dark for the compliment.
"Are you calling me boring!" The butler cried indignant. He swatted Dark's arm and when he saw Satoshi behind Dark, he squawked and tried to redeem his honor. It was too late. Satoshi already saw and made himself an opinion.
"You're a human!" Satoshi asked mystified. Daisuke sweat dropped and wondered why Satoshi would ask that question. As if Satoshi heard his thoughts, the blue-haired child turned around and faced Daisuke and opened his mouth.
"He was always so emotionless and ruthless like a monster! He made me do homework and studies like he's a slave driver!" Satoshi exclaimed, stunned. Dark burst out laughing and the butler's face reddened, though no one was sure if it was in embarrassment or anger. It was probably a mixture of both. Daisuke tried to remain the most mature in this group, but to no avail. He sniggered, acting like his age and not like a responsible adult.
"Satoshi-sama!" The butler screeched. Satoshi jumped up and ran behind Daisuke, clutching his cargo pants like an anchor. The butler stomped forward, unable to control the growing anger from appearing. Dark, still laughing, grabbed the butler's arm before he could do anything too drastic, like say, choke Satoshi for the embarrassment he caused. Daisuke smirked before kneeling down and brought Satoshi into a comforting embrace.
"Where could they have gone? It wasn't even that long!" Krad yelled frustrated. He wanted to rip his hair out of his head, but it would waste all the years that he had spent to make that ponytail. Krad decided to tug on his bangs only, not hard enough to rip them off, of course. Satoshi watched Krad and felt like he wanted to copy Krad, but he had an image to keep up, outside his bedroom anyways. He could rip off all the hair he want in his little sanctuary.
But more importantly, the visions. They're less, but still there. And it's all of the same time too, when he was six. It was a few days before the rape and Satoshi was a cheerful, hyperactive boy when his foster father wasn't around. He'd blush if you ask him about it. In the visions, he saw a very familiar redhead and wine-eyed male that he saw less than an hour ago. And Dark and Daisuke weren't that young in the visions, about the same age as they were the last time Satoshi saw them.
So either Dark and Daisuke are demons that age really slowly, or they traveled back in time. Both of the options seem too far-fetched to be real. Satoshi is a logical person and he likes to have facts before assuming anything. And there were facts, but the facts for these options can bring lots of other possibilities as well. Maybe Dark and Daisuke traveled into the future or a.k.a. now. Or maybe Satoshi actually met their parents instead. But that one didn't make sense. If it were their parents, then Dark and Daisuke are supposed to be younger than Satoshi. This does not make sense.
"Satoshi?" Krad asked, waving a hand in front of the one he addressed. Satoshi was startled and jumped back, heart thudding in his ears as his mind split in two. One side continued thinking about the visions while the other responded to Krad.
"Y-yeah?" Damn. He stuttered. Krad's eyebrow rose and his interest left the disappearance of his two companions. Satoshi told himself to get it under control before Krad suspects something and interrogates him.
"What are you thinking about?" Krad asked, wondering how something could attract so much of Satoshi's attention that he wouldn't notice anything except a waving hand three inches from his face. Satoshi shook his head and subconsciously backed away. Krad didn't know if he wanted to be amused or sad. It was amusing to see a prodigy at a loss for words, but Krad was shocked that Satoshi would back away from him, as if Krad was like Hiwatari. Krad shook his head, unaware that he was confusing Satoshi. His thoughts were unneeded. Satoshi wouldn't think of Krad that way. He even let Krad hold him.
"Krad, I… I'll tell you later, if we cannot find them." Satoshi said, quietly. He didn't know why he said he'd tell Krad and he wasn't sure if he would, that was why his words were almost silent. Krad nodded in understanding and the two resumed searching, both lost in their own thoughts as maids wondered what their master and his guest was looking for.
"X to the third power + 4x squared + 3x + 12 is the answer to (x squared + 3)(x + 4)." Satoshi murmured as he wrote down the answer onto his work sheet. Dark and Daisuke stared at the six year old child that could do algebraic equations without batting an eyelash.
'I learned it in 7th grade! And I was already considered smart by my teachers.' Daisuke thought amazed at Satoshi. He was twice (little) Satoshi's age when he entered the 7th grade and the Algebra class. Dark, on the other hand, wasn't sure if he was jealous or surprised. After a moment of consideration, he supposed surprise would be a better choice. He already knew that Satoshi was smart, just not this smart. How many more secrets does Satoshi have?
"Satoshi-sama. It is lunchtime. Will your companions accompany you to the dining hall?" To-to asked. It was a younger To-to, if her personality was to be counted. She was more quiet and submissive, like any other servant. Dark was confused how she seemed like something happened to her, but Daisuke wasn't.
'She must have changed for Satoshi after the rape. He could've been lost in the darkness if not for the bright light To-to's personality can give.' Daisuke thought. He nodded in greeting to the maid and in answer to the question for Satoshi. Dark nodded dumbly, allowing Daisuke to take the lead once again.
"Daisuke-nii-chan, how long are you staying?" Satoshi asked as he jumped and skipped the way to the dining hall. There was a bounce in his step that the older Satoshi didn't have and for a moment, Daisuke was lost in thought. He finally remembers his reason for coming here. Seeing Satoshi's bubbly nature, no matter how out of character it seemed, made Daisuke determined to save him. However, in a tiny part of his mind, Daisuke doubted he could stand the older Satoshi acting this way.
"I don't know. My plans have changed due to a… nuisance." Daisuke sent Dark a glare which Satoshi saw. He giggled and ran the rest of the way to the dining hall. To-to ran after him and knowing that he nor Dark know the way to the dining hall, Daisuke pulled Dark's hand into his own and chased after the maid.
By the time both of them were there, Satoshi was already seated and eating some of the appetizers. Suddenly thinking about To-to's choice of words, Daisuke remembered that the dining room was a dining hall. In shock (again, twice in less than an hour) Daisuke gazed at the long table in the middle of the hall that had many, many plates and bowls on it. This was like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Dark gaped and Daisuke let go of his hand and walked forward. He noticed that maids and butlers alike were allowed by Satoshi to join the meal. That was different from other lords and masters.
"F-food…" Dark muttered and his eyes drooped and his mouth watered. He lazily walked over towards the table and people (except Daisuke) have yet to see his embarrassing form. Drool began to drip onto Dark's shoe and Daisuke wondered if it was against his policy to have such embarrassing friends. Then he shook his head and decided to help Dark before anything else happens. He quickly stalked forwards and grabbed the back of Dark's shirt, jerking him into awareness of what he was doing.
With cheeks a bit tinted, Dark stood up straight and coughed, glancing at Daisuke before looking down the hall to Satoshi who was continuing to eat while watching them.
"Arhent yu eahing?" Satoshi asked while chewing on a piece of chicken wing. Daisuke nodded while To-to scolded Satoshi for lack of table manners from a nearby seat. Satoshi rolled his eyes and nodded absentmindedly. He put down the chicken onto his plate and wiped his hands and mouth on a cloth on the table. "Come. Seat yourselves near me and we can talk. Get whatever you wish, first." And then, Satoshi resumed eating whereas To-to merely sighed in resignation. Dark's face split into a wide grin and Daisuke scooted a bit away from him. They both grabbed a plate and began piling things up.
"Hm… I guess I'll get some fried chicken, mash potatoes, celery, clam chowder, (and etc). I never knew rich people ate these things. Whatever. Oh! Ice cream!" Dark was acting so childish, like a kid in a candy store, with free access to any and everything. Satoshi would've choked on his food but he held in his laughter. Even though they were that far away, Satoshi could still hear Dark. Without making any noise, Daisuke approached him from the side, startling Satoshi.
"Satoshi-san. Where will I sit?" Daisuke asked, bowing for appearances. Satoshi nodded approvingly and pointed to the chair beside him. It was obvious that Satoshi was not allowed to be close to peasants. Having them as guests would be okay, because the village might think the family as kind masters. But in truth, only Satoshi was that kind of person. Temporarily, anyways. Dark finished his hunting and clattered all the way to Daisuke's side and plopped down beside him. The next few minutes were quiet with the exception of silverware (Dark) and chewing (Dark) and slurping (Dark).
"Say, Satoshi?" Dark asked without a suffix, something all the servants noted and paused for. They thought he was disrespectful. But at least he stopped eating while he was talking. "Where's Hiwatari?" Now all actions stopped as everyone, including Daisuke, turned to look at Dark and Satoshi. While everyone was surprised at Dark's scandalous question, Daisuke gave him a glare that could kill if looks were able to do that. Satoshi dropped his fork and knife and turned to Dark with wide, petrified eyes.
"How do you know my foster father?" What a stupid question! Of course he'd know his father. They were rich people! Satoshi, unconscious of his movement, scooted away from Dark, and Daisuke in the process.
"HOW DO YOU KNOW HIM!" Satoshi yelled. Dark winced and whispered to Daisuke's ears only, "The rape didn't happen yet, so why is he so upset?" Daisuke turned to look at Satoshi, but he moved his hand onto Dark's knee and traced a few words. D-O-N'-T F-O-R-G-E-T H-E A-B-U-S-E-D S-A-T-O-S-H-I T-O-O. Oh yeah. Dark hit himself in his mind and tried to stammer out an apology.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" Dark stuttered as he ducked from a flying chicken wing thrown his way by a rapidly growing hysterical Satoshi. Daisuke meanwhile tried to get Satoshi's attention.
Satoshi blacked out and fell down to the ground beside a statue. The last thing he saw was the statue of Daisuke. A statue of Daisuke? 'Oh yeah! Now I remember something else from my alternate life. I built one for both of them but hid them…' That was his last thought as he succumbed to the darkness.
Krad heard a thump from behind him and turned around to find… nothing! Where was Satoshi? Why is everyone disappearing! Taking a step towards the spot where Krad last saw Satoshi, he noticed something light bluish amidst all the grass. Kneeling down a bit, Krad pushed away the grass to take a closer look. He found strands of Satoshi's hair! No. Locks! They all seemed to be connected somewhere. Krad pushed the grass farther away and saw Satoshi's face.
"He's not gone, at least." Krad muttered as he pushed the long grass again and picked up Satoshi's body. A flash blinded him momentarily and he fell to his knees, Satoshi's body limply rolling away as Krad, too fainted.
Satoshi wasn't sure what he was seeing was real. Before him was his six-year-old self! But nobody noticed him. However, the older Satoshi saw everything and everybody! Dark and Daisuke were somehow there and now Satoshi is as well. He watched as Dark brought up a taboo subject. Walking behind Dark, he watched Daisuke look at the younger Satoshi while tracing a sentence onto Dark's knee.
Satoshi lifted a hand and was about to smack Dark on the head for scaring younger Satoshi like that. But Satoshi's hand traveled through Dark's head, not affecting anything. Dark didn't even feel anything. Those stupid ghost movies were wrong. A ghost touching you doesn't feel like icy cold water pouring over you. Satoshi's eyes moved from his hand to his arm to his chest and below. Everything was corporeal. He could see through his clothes and body to the ground and the things behind him! The younger Satoshi yelled something and the real one decided to wait and simply watch what was progressing.
"D-Daisuke-n-nii-chan! D-don't let him c-come near me! Please!" Sato screeched, flying into the approaching arms of Daisuke. He buried his face into Daisuke's pants (because he was short) and wept in fear. Daisuke-nii-chan? Since when was Daisuke his older brother? The older Satoshi was even older than Daisuke!
A grunt sounded behind him and when no one seemed to notice, the older Satoshi assumed it was in the same dimension that he was currently in. Turning around, Satoshi was surprised to see Krad groaning on the ground. Walking quickly towards the blond man with quick, wide strides, Satoshi helped Krad up while holding onto Krad's arm. When he saw Krad looking at him appreciatively and made a move to speak, Satoshi covered Krad's mouth.
"Don't speak. At least not yet. I want to see what happens." Satoshi murmured, wondering why he was being so quiet. Krad nodded and they both turned to watch what was happening.
"Okay. Shh. I won't let him hurt you anymore." Daisuke whispered as he kneeled down and starting rubbing Satoshi's back gently and slowly. Dark continued stuttering an apology and the maids bustled around trying to keep the noise from traveling outside the room in case someone heard.
"Nii-chan… It hurts… He hits me…" Sato sniffled and winced when Daisuke brushed against a bruise near his waist. Daisuke stopped and looked worried. His hand was about to move the shirt away to examine the bruise but Sato pushed him away.
"No. No. You can't see it. He said if someone sees it, I'd get punished. Please don't make me be punished, nii-chan." Satoshi pleaded with tears still leaking. Seeing nobody paying attention to Dark, Dark kept quiet and watched Daisuke, unaware that Krad and the older Satoshi was doing exactly what he is now doing.
"But if you show me, otouto-chan, I might be able to get him away." Daisuke reasoned while soothingly rubbing Satoshi's back. He wiped a few tears and waited for Sato's response while the others continued to watch. By now, the maids stood surrounding the room at the walls and some are at the door. They were acting like bodyguards for the one master that was different from the rest.
"I can't! You said might! Which means it's a possibility! And that means there's also a possibility that he'll come back!" Satoshi wailed as he pounded his tiny fists onto Daisuke's shoulders. The tears increased, making Daisuke feel useless. "It's useless. I'll never get away!" Daisuke didn't know what to say, now. Satoshi, the little one, was right. Hiwatari would come back. Even if the police lock Hiwatari away for child abuse, one day they'll set him free.
'Why am I so useless? I couldn't bring myself to make friends at home. I couldn't help Dark get back to our world. I can't even help a little kid!' Daisuke yelled at himself. There wasn't anything that wasn't Daisuke's fault. Or at least, that's what the low self-esteem part of Daisuke said.
Suddenly, the door to the hall banged open and a surprised brunette entered the scene. Hiwatari. His eyes swept over each and every person inside, excluding Krad and the older Satoshi, and made them shivered. Hiwatari smirked and looked back at Daisuke and his adopted son. His smirking face disappeared when Daisuke glared at him. Hiwatari frowned before putting on a false smile that was perfect. It was so perfect that you'd have problems from separating the fake emotions from the real feelings. And Daisuke was sure that the smile was false and was meant to intimidate him.
"Hello." Hiwatari's deep baritone voice glided down at Daisuke and caused him to shiver again. If Hiwatari were a different person, Daisuke would dare to say that Hiwatari was attractive. For a second, Daisuke forgot what Hiwatari did (or what he was about to do). But his shirt was wetting faster than normal and Daisuke realized that Satoshi (little) was crying even more and faster.
"Hiwatari." A slurred voice murmured. A hand slowly searched for Hiwatari from the real hallway and found Hiwatari. A drunken Kiyomi appeared. She was elegant, though poorly dressed. The rapist has returned. The forgotten older Satoshi jerked away and almost fell, but Krad's arms came to the rescue. If this were any other time, Satoshi would've pulled away, but he was facing the woman who was about to rape him, if Daisuke and Dark didn't do something. Krad understood and decided to let Satoshi stay in his arms.
"Hiwatari, who's that cute…" Kiyomi was speaking. She must be talking about the younger Satoshi. Maybe she is already lusting after the poor boy.
"…redhead?"
Or not.
A/N: If you think Satoshi is acting OOC, well I have a valid reason! Satoshi is a child for one. And this is also before the rape. And the older/younger brother thing, I just wanted to make Satoshi seem more innocent and cute. And this chapter can be filler, since it was so boring.