Crystal Hearts
We can grow only once in our lives. As our love crystallizes and grows, so, too, do our hearts…they are a manifestation of our love. In time, they are given over to the one who inspired them…who wished them happiness. You at least…I wish you happiness…
Chapter 11: Symbols of Death
Dark shook his head in dismay, "No! It can't be!"
The redhead watched from the thief's eyes in confusion as black swirls began to take shape on the blonde's collar bone, #Dark? What's happening to him?#
/There's…a death curse…/
#What!.?#
/This curse…it runs on magic, the more magic the cursed uses the faster it disappears and when it disappears the person cursed dies or disappears./
#But Krad-#
The thief clenched his fists and picked up the blonde, "With!" The creature came swooping down, picking the thief and the painting up on its way. I'll kill him…They headed back to the blue haired boy's house, Dark frowned as he set the unconscious hunter down on the bed. He didn't want to leave him, at least not until he woke up.
#We can stay.#
/Daisuke?./
#I don't mind, I'm worried about Satoshi-kun too…#
/Alright then, we stay./
#Aa…#
That night, the blonde slept with the thief by his side, watching over him until his eyelids became too heavy and he too, drifted off.
"Let's see how my pet handles doubt? This shall be interesting…very interesting indeed…"
In the middle of the night, Krad let out a whimper, his host roused in his mind and tried to reach out to the blonde only to get dragged into the nightmare which was inflicted on the blonde and he too was entranced into the dream the hunter had.
He was tied onto a stake, about to be burnt. Looking around desperately, he saw them. The three of them, the wing master, Satoshi-sama and Dark…The boy blinked, he was watching himself looking at him emotionlessly. (What's going on…) Suddenly the fire was lit, his eyes widened as he began to struggle. He could feel blood trickling down his arm but the ropes wouldn't come undone. Then he tried to scream out for help only nothing came out, no one could hear him. (This isn't my voice…Krad?) He let out a whimper, only it wasn't his. Help me…
"No…please…don't leave me behind…Dark…"
Then something happened, a girl appeared beside the thief, drawing his attention away from him, he looked around. He watched himself and the redhead walk away, everyone was laughing and then some. How can they not see me? A sense of betrayal overwhelmed him. He was left alone to face his death. Betrayed by the people around him. People who he thought he could trust…
"Don't you know? There is no trust in this world kitten, trust is but a fairytale…understand that no one would come to your rescue. There is no such thing…Krad…"
Satoshi ended up watching from, a distance. The blonde was still tied to the post only now the fire had vanished. Golden eyes fully stared at the darkness only his eyes weren't gold anymore, they were pale blue. (Like Kin's…) Was this what the hunter looked like when life itself had been taken from him? Nolonger were they feral golden eyes. Suddenly, a hand reached out from the darkness and stroked the blonde's cheek.
"My poor pet…you should've known from the start kitten, they were all going to turn their backs on you eventually…it was only a matter of time…"
The blonde was drowning in his nightmare, Satoshi was frantic, (Krad! Krad! Wake up!)
Both tamer and curse woke up breathing violently, Satoshi could feel the blonde's uneasiness. He bit his lip at the last bit of the dream, "It's bound to happen…betrayal is in the air…"
How many times have you been betrayed?
So many times I lost count…
The bits and pieces swirled around in his head, then he heard a wary voice ask, ((Satoshi-sama?))
(Yea?)
The blonde remained silent, then something at the edge of the bed stirred, "…Krad?"
Golden eyes widened, Dark? Why was he here?
The thief rubbed his eyes only to see a very surprised Krad with a trace of fear and anger in his unseeing eyes. He could only yelp when he got shoved backwards and hit the ground. The blonde wasn't acting like himself, already he was gathering magic to attack the thief. /No! He can't use magic! The curse!./
Before Krad could get the blast going, he was knocked onto the ground, hands entwined with his own. Dark's mouth covering his. His mind began to come back to him, "Dark?"
"Don't…gods Krad…don't use magic…please…"
"Why?"
The thief continued babbling on, more to himself than anyone else, "This is all my fault! First this whole chain starts and when everything just began to settle down again, just when everything was beginning seemed like it was getting better…everything gets screwed up! And I don't even know what will happen to us after this!"
Krad blinked, eyes wide, Dark was…crying? Unable to move, being pinned to the floor, he whispered softly, "Dark? What happened?"
Dark frowned and let go of one of the blonde's hands, he lightly traced the symbol on the hunter's collarbone slowly making sure Krad could find out what had happened. "This…this is what happened…"
The blonde's eyes grew wider, his mind went blank for a moment before he saw the symbol in his head. "So that's what happened…I was cursed?"
"I'll kill him!" The thief cried into the croak of the blonde's neck. Golden eyes softened, using his free arm, he wrapped it around Dark.
"It'll be okay…"
"No it won't! That bastard! Why does it always happen to you?"
The hunter just regarded the thief sadly, ((I was born cursed…))
That day, everyone was silent, not feeling in the mood to converse. Eventually, the entities returned back to their tamers, Satoshi looked somewhat glazed. Daisuke on the other hand ran over and took a look at the boy's collarbone, there was nothing. He hugged the blue haired boy in relief, "Thank you you're alright! I was so worried Satoshi-kun…"
"Niwa…" He could feel his heart quickening by the second, yet at the same time, he felt like he could stay like this forever. Then he felt it, an urge, it wasn't all that strong, but it was there nonetheless. It was an urge to give the redhead something special that only he could give. The thought scared him, (Krad?)
The blonde appeared unfazed, ((That's the calling which eventually led my previous tamers to put their crystal hearts to work.))
(Did you ever get this feeling?)
The hunter paused, ((Yes…I believe I did, it seems that everyone has a different way of satisfying that feeling.)) He lighting ran a finger over his gloved hand. ((I am curious to see how you will satisfy this hunger, Satoshi-sama.))
Satoshi's eyes drifted onto the curse on the blonde's collarbone. It was a Hikari curse. The bloodline that created for both life and death, created both light and dark, dealt with both magic and art…Krad grew uneasy under the long hard stare his host was giving him. Normally he would've looked into those solemn blue eyes to determine whether he was upset with him or not, whether he needed to make a retreat or not. Unable to decide the boy's emotions, Krad excused himself and took his leave, fading into the back of his hosts' mind. Satoshi blinked, finally noticing that Krad was gone.
As the blonde stayed at the back of his host's mind, isolated from the rest of them, it allowed him to put some time into thinking. ((So after all this time, it's finally my turn to go…)) He found it somewhat ironic since he was finally beginning to enjoy life again. But still, one could never get what he wanted in life, even if it was life itself. There were still a lot of things he felt like doing, meant to do but was delayed, like talking to Dark. There was still something holding him back, both from his past and nightmare.
Betrayal's in the air…he bit his lip, feeling his host searching for him, he used his wings to cover him up, hoping to be left alone. Satoshi's mind was a new world to him, no longer could he watch the boy's memories which fascinated him endlessly. No more could he see the warmth and light emitting, basically out of Satoshi himself. No, everything had been swallowed by darkness and he couldn't escape it. Hearing noises yet not being able to see the cause, feeling warmth yet not knowing where it was emitting from, sensing people but unable to watch them, their reactions and changes. Smiles, laughter, scowls, tears, even pouts, all gone. ((Satoshi-sama would probably still be hating me if this hadn't happened. It's because-))
(It's not because I pity you.)
Krad looked up, blackness greeted his sight, he inwardly cursed his blindness again, ((Satoshi-sama…))
(I might've still hated you…maybe not, I think I still do, a bit.) Krad blinked, (When I found out about your past, I didn't know what to think. But there was this question that kept on repeating itself, what would life have been if Krad had been like he was with Kin?) Satoshi gave a little smile, (I began to think, wow, he had a heart at one time, he felt and loved like any normal person. Maybe he's not as I had first interpreted him as…the nightmare you once were to me began to disappear. I think I saw you as someone else, something new that just came out of hiding. This is anything out of pity.)
The blonde felt his throat dry up, ((Satoshi-sama…))
(We won't abandon or betray you like others might've done. I won't let you fall, I'd sooner fall with you than let you go down alone.)
Krad was baffled, ((Thank you Satoshi-sama…))
The boy scratched his head awkwardly, (Now that we have that out of the way, don't you think it's about time you and Dark set things straight? The past is in the past and no one can change it.)
The hunter stood up and unfurled his wings, a gentle smile on his face, ((Thank you…)) He wrapped his tamer in an embrace and for once, Satoshi didn't mind, the angel felt almost warm, ((I will talk to him…)) Still, there was doubt.
(He'll understand, don't doubt him or yourself. It'll be alright.)
Krad smiled again, it looked angelic, he let go of his host and began to fade, ((What would I ever do without you, my Satoshi-sama.))
With that, the blonde appeared back into the present world, "Ni-Daisuke-san."
The redhead, who had let go of the boy and began to converse with his own curse blinked in surprise, "Krad…"
"Can you call Dark out, please?"
The thief appeared without protest, "Is everything alright?"
Krad nodded, he put a hand over his curse, "I won't be staying here long…"
Dark looked away, "I'm sorry…if I had known it was a trap-"
"It's not your fault."
The thief looked up and blinked, "Krad?"
It'd been so long since they had talked normally out of their own will. Krad smiled sadly, "Honestly, I don't feel like going yet…I wanted to spend more time here…with you…"
Dark's eyes widened, wondering if someone had turned the clock back a couple centuries, back to the first few times they had met with the exception that Krad was less shy, "I don't want you to go either…"
"Ne Dark," The thief watched the angel, "Did you ever find someone else?"
He could see that Krad was somewhat embarrassed for asking, he shook his head, "No…you were the only one. Honest."
"I believe you."
"I still have it."
"What?"
"Your crystal heart." The blonde froze, "It's in my safe, where all my other few precious items are…"
"I would've thought you'd given it away to someone…" Krad looked at his feet.
"No…it was too important to me…I couldn't bare to give it away and it looked too fragile to carry around to I locked it up."
The blonde sighed, somehow he felt happy knowing that Dark held his heart precious, "I'm drowning, Dark…" The thief looked at him startled, "it feels like I'm falling into the darkness and somehow I can't get out…"
"I'll be there to catch you." Krad turned and tried to imagine what the thief looked like standing there, "If you fall, I'll be there to catch you, that it, if you fall, Krad. I won't let you, I'd sooner fall with you…"
Krad blinked, then he smiled gently, "Thank you, you know…you and Satoshi-sama aren't as different as you think you are."
"What's that supposed to be? An insult?"
"Saa…I'll let you think about it."
Watching the blonde smile made Dark want to pull him in and hug him tightly, never letting go. So he did. He tugged at the blonde's arm and caught him in an embrace, "I love you Krad…"
"Dark…" Golden glassy eyes softened.
"I love you Krad, so don't say things about drowning or falling, I'll be there, I promise. I'm not letting you go."
"I believe you…"
"Krad…" Dark couldn't take it anymore, he planted a kiss on the blonde's lips. At first the hunter had tensed up but soon found himself melting in the arms of his former lover and enemy. "I love you so much…"
"Aa…"
A warm sensation swept throughout him, ((I thought I'd lost the feeling…))
(Even though your heart's gone, it doesn't mean you can't feel emotions, love is an emotion too Krad…)
((Satoshi-sama…))
Dark pushed golden bangs out of the blonde's eyes, "It's really you…" He smiled.
"Who else could I be?"
The thief smirked, "No one but you…"
Krad sighed and relaxed against the thief's hold, "Dark…I'm tired…"
"Krad? What's wrong?"
"Nothing…just…a little tired…" With that, the hunter slumped in the thief's arms.
"Krad? Krad!" The blonde had already slipped off into unconsciousness, but the serene look never faded from his features.
#Dark?#
/Yea/
#Does it take magic for you to use my body?#
/Yes, it takes magic for me to do just about anything…/ Then his eyes widened with realization on where the redhead was getting at. He pulled down the collar of the hunter's shirt, there, sure enough, was the curse. It looked just ever so slightly lighter than it did last night. /Crap, crap, crap, crap! We're magical beings…as long as Krad's around it'll just keep going…he had it planned like this! The little-/
He shook the blonde gently, "Satoshi! Can you take over?"
No sooner spoken, Krad began to change, Dark held onto the blonde until his host had completely taken over and was able to stand. Satoshi stood up and stepped out of the thief's hold. He wasn't all that comfortable being around such a solemn Dark. His violet eyes were grave and silent. "Krad's-"
"I know."
"What do we do?"
"How is he?"
"He's resting, the curse is fading…"
"Aa…it'll keep going as long as Krad's around."
"Can't we stop it?"
"I don't know."
Satoshi gave a little smile despite their situation, "It's ironic to think we were enemies or thief and cops but a couple weeks ago. And now…we're both trying to save the same person."
"Krad."
He nodded, "I'm beginning to wonder why I used to hate him, why I never gave him a chance until everything happened…you never know how important something is until it's too late."
Dark shook his head, "You've just never seen the side of him, the side of him before he broke."
"Yea…I wonder what it would've been like…"
"We can't really say now can we?"
"He's really forgiven you, you know that right?"
Dark stared at his feet and nodded, "Do you think you can go look up a reverse effect or a counter spell for the curse? It might be the only way to save him…"
"I'll see what I can do."
Nya
Whoa! I finally updated! XD Surprise, surprise! I hate this time of the year...school work rages out of control :(Blargh...it annoys me...
Hakudoshi-chan- Oh my god XD Krad's been cursed! Cursed:O He's going to die! Die I say! That is...unless Satoshi finds a way to reverse it :P
golden-flame4- Very much prettiness:D I like the angst too X3 It makes everything seem more prettiful than it really is XP
WolfBane2- I'm so sorry! Sumimasen! Really, really, really, really sorry! That taught me to never trust my email :( Blargh...I'm so sorry...I liked the quote too...-snuffle- you must know alot of quotes o.o And yes, Dark really should pay attention to his words sometimes...
General Kitty Girl- Cookies and milk! XD Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas no more! On the bright side, I'm getting better, on the dark side is that neither of us is close to ruling the world...yet...well someone will have to take over sooner or later...just not now I guess :P
Les Scribbles- Krad and angst go together very well :) Hmmm...how is Aku Krad? o.O We might never know...until I update XP
dimonyo-anghel- Yes! He's to blame! It's all his fault:P No...if Krad got sealed, the fic would end too soon XD We can't let that happen...no we can't...curses are the way to go -thumbs up- :D
Gabriel of Dream-Yume-Chan- Here's more! Sorry for the slug that is me, and my equally sluggish updates. Buthere's more XD
Raydar89- Finish? I'm not sure I can really finish it soon, that'd mean updating alot more often and stuff...o.o but I'll try:)
white- Yes! I swear, DarkxKrad's the best pairing in the world :) too bad dnangel isn't actually that pairing :( If it was I think I'd be in heaven XD
ilovekyo- Yea, Aku's finally making his moves (on Krad)! And then the story goes calm again...but that's okay since there'll be more action soon enough XD So here's the update! (finally)
cHaOtIc c00L- Dark's confident about himself, yes, maybe too confident...anyhow, he can't really do anything about Krad now can he? Therefore Dark has no choice but to go into denial, yes Aku is evil XD I'll try not to let you rot...to much :P
Mysterious Kaitou- I'm so proud of myself XP Next year's going to be...beyond weird...less time to update...more time to worry...but oh well! Until then! Ah yes...the guilt trip...are you still guilty? XD
icestar2007- Awww...you cried? I'm happy but guilty at the same time XP I always have to remind myself to keep Krad in more or less that "blind and helpless" spot and I found that I'm very forgetful...Satoshi took long enough right?
chrnoskitty- He's in denial! XD But then he snapped out of it after a good night's sleep and finally admitted himself...that Krad was...uhhh curse...yes that's the word...here's the next update:D
Launigsiae- It's a jewel that Dark still has o.O How creepy is that? Keeping your lover's heart...romantically creepy...hmmm...but still...shall I make something happen to it? XP
Seena58- I sorta like seagulls after my experience with them...birds of prey are cool too! Ducks amuse me :P I hate medicine :( They taste horrible and give me headaches...they make my insanity somewhat dull too!Curse them... XD