Author's Note:-Ode of Joy starts playing-

We have arrived at the final chapter!!! Oh! It brings a tear to my eyes XD ...And sorry for the update that's so long. There's only one excuse for it, and it can be described in one word: LAZY. ...yeah

You know, I've been thinking, Krad is a very hard character to capture his actual personality. There's the anime version, which is a psychotic blonde willing to kill anything and everything. (Also voiced by the amazing and incredibly awesome Illich Guardiola. XD) Then, there's the manga version, that is close to the anime version, yet his appearance in the ninth volume shows that he has a bit of a soft side XD Then, there's the fan girl version, which is a cross between psycho, lunatic, horn dog and ...basically everything else.
Sorry about the rambling XD I just wanted to point that out...

Disclaimer: I do not own DNAngel... No matter how much I try, Yukiru won't give it up...

Well, with out any further...waiting...the final chapter!

Chapter 19

There was a loud banging on his door. Still, Satoshi refused to get up. "I still have twenty-teen min-hours." He slurred loudly. Satoshi buried his face into his pillow once again, trying to block out the ponding. He heard his door open and peeked up. All he saw was red hair on top of a tall figure.

"Please, Satoshi! You have to get up! You can still sleep at school but if we miss another day, you might fail your classes." Daisuke shouted loudly. Satoshi growled through his pillow. Daisuke walked over to Satoshi and pulled off his blankets. He grabbed his friend's arms, dragging him out of bed. "I know you're up and I know you're still tired but you have to at least get ready for school."

Satoshi finally stood up straight. "Fine, fine. If you will stop talking, I'll get up." He chuckled softly. He and Daisuke went to the kitchen, where his mother had set the table up. Satoshi glanced over at his couch to see Kosuke and Daiki were watching his TV. Hearing Kosuke say, "That's no fair. We don't have these channels." made Satoshi laugh. He had forgotten that the family had followed him home.

He figured that now everything was over, the family would just go back to hating him again. He didn't want them to hate him, but their closeness also bothered him. Couldn't they just stay at their house? Satoshi was snapped out of his thoughts when Daisuke began to talk. "Dad! Turn the channel back! I liked that song!"

"Yeah, but I don't think your grandfather wants to hear young people music like that." Kosuke told Daisuke.

"What do you mean by that?" Daiki snapped at Kosuke. "Are you calling me old? Turn it back to that channel. I can groove to those beats."

Both Kosuke and Daisuke stared at the old man with wide eyes. "Never mind, Dad." Daisuke turned to the table and sat down, trying to suppress his smile. Satoshi sat down also. This morning, Emiko had prepared pancakes and hash browns.

"It took you long enough to wake up." She giggled, setting the syrup on the table.

"Well, thanks to Daisuke, I am now up."

"It's no pro-" It took Dai a few seconds to realize the boy wasn't actually thanking him. He laughed nervously, taking a bite of his hash browns.

Emiko nodded, handing her son a butter knife for his pancakes. "That's good to hear. After breakfast, you should clean up and take a shower, Satoshi." She told him, waving around his knife before giving him it. "I should wash your pillow case with how much you drool in your sleep. It's so cute, you remind me of a child."

Satoshi scowled as he cut his pancakes. "Yeah, well this time, you're not gonna try to interrupt me again, are you?"

"I never 'interrupted'. I was just helping out." She laughed, glancing down at his plate. "By the way, if you saw any deeper, you're going to cut through the table."

Glancing down, Satoshi noticed he had already sawed through the plate. Throwing the knife to the side, Satoshi took a large piece of pancake and stuffed it in his mouth.

Once he had finished, Satoshi gathered his gathered his school uniform and headed to his bathroom. He started the water, and then brushed his teeth while the water warmed up. Finally, he stepped in the shower. How much longer am I going to be like this? Satoshi wondered as he yawned loudly. I feel so... weak, having to rely on others while I'm so tired.

Master Satoshi, all you have to do is regain your energy. Sleep and eat a lot. That is all.

Easy for you to say. Satoshi leaned against the wall, rinsing his hair. Coming from the one who caused all of this. His eyes drifted down. Satoshi enjoyed the warm water hitting him, it was relaxing. That was the great thing about showers, it was the one time where you can have time to yourself and relax while taking care of yourself.

There was a soft feeling on Satoshi's back. He couldn't remember the shower water feeling that great on his back. He leaned backwards, trying to take in the feeling. Just as Satoshi let out a light moan, he heard someone say, "See? I knew you'd fall asleep on the shower."

It took Satoshi a few seconds to register the voice. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and he jumped forward. Satoshi caught the sight of Emiko laughing softly with a loofah in her hand. "What are you doing in here?!" He glared at her. Seconds later, Satoshi remembered where they were and blushed, covering himself up with the shower curtain.

"I figured you fall sleep so I came to help you out." She smiled innocently. Satoshi's blush deepened.

"Alright! Thanks for caring! Now, if you haven't noticed, I am up." He let go of the shower curtain to wipe the water out of his eyes and push his bangs to the side.

A high giggle came from Emiko. "In more ways than one, I see."

Satoshi glanced down to see what she was talking about. He let out a shriek and pushed her out of the shower. "I can finish myself!"

He listened to Emiko walking away. "Sure you don't need Risa to finish that?" Satoshi growled loudly so she'd hear.

Minutes later, Satoshi came out of the bathroom. Daisuke met him when he walked by the kitchen, handing him his school bag. The two of them waved goodbye to the parents and headed to school.

Once again, Satoshi slept though almost all of his classes. Takeshi still seemed angry and threw the occasional paper wad at him. Satoshi's fan girls began to notice that he was throwing them and glared at him. When the lunch bell rang, one girl pulled him to the side from his friends. "Takeshi, can we talk to you for a moment?" She said, along with about ten other girls behind her. At first, Daisuke figured they were just going to pester him, but once he heard his friend's shouts and screams, he decided that Takeshi tried to fight with them.

Daisuke had been a little relieved when Risa said that she would take care of Satoshi during lunch while he and Riku could hang out. Although he didn't want to, Daisuke had to admit that to it was relaxing to get to just hang out. He worried too much when Satoshi was around.

Who are you kidding, Daisuke? Why don't you just come right out and say it? Go up to Satoshi and say, "Listen, Sa-To-Shi." Daisuke imagined Dark with his hand on his hand on his waist, bobbing his head and snapping three times. He turned away from Riku to chuckle softly. "I think that you are old enough to take care of yourself. There is no need for me to have to stick by your side, just incase you yawn. Dark continued.

Dark! That's just rude! Daisuke shook his head and turned back to Riku. "So..." He paused, trying to think of a conversation starter. "Winter break is in a few months. Are you doing anything special?"

"Well, my parents-" Daisuke immediately zoned out, glancing over at Satoshi. A smile crept on his face as he registered the image. Satoshi was leaning on Risa. Meanwhile, she was feeding him like he was a Roman emperor.

Like I said, you worry about the boy too much. He's a Hikari. He's going to die anyway.

DARK! Daisuke jumped a little in his seat. He tried his best to keep an angry look off his face while Dark laughed loudly in his head.

It was just a joke. He managed to say through his laughter. Daisuke crossed his arms over his chest, blocking the thief out.

Then, another voice interrupted his thoughts. "Are you mad about something, Dai?" Riku asked him, noticing his posture.

Daisuke laughed nervously, shaking his head. "No, I'm just fine. Continue telling me whatever you were talking about." Riku stared at him for a few seconds. She then just sighed and kept talking.

It took a few days but finally, Satoshi was able to go through a whole day without falling asleep in the middle of the day or getting sleepy. Earlier that day, Satoshi's father had called him over to his mansion to talk. He had told his son that there would be a theft from Dark the next night. It was now getting dark and the sun was setting. Satoshi imagined that the view at the windmill would be beautiful right now but there was no time to go there.

As Satoshi climbed up the apartment stairs, he thought back to how he and Risa seemed to be closer now. He still had not asked her out but he figured the two of them were going out. They had gone on a date, if you consider dates going to the movies, holding hands and sharing the same drink a date, the previous night. Once again, Daisuke had dragged Satoshi to the movies but he had invited Riku, who invited her sister along. Satoshi rubbed his forehead in confusion as he thought.

Even though they were practically going out, it would have been nice to make it official. Satoshi went through his mental schedule, thinking where and when he should ask her. Then again, she would probably laugh at him and tell him that they already were going out.

Damn it, you're going in circles. Growled Krad, who was trying to sleep. I swear, if I hear one more 'but we're already going out.' phrase again, I think I'm going to kill you.

Satoshi rolled his eyes and unlocked his front door. At once, his ears were filled with shouting. "NO! What are you doing? Why did you throw the ball to him? You should have passed it to forty three!" Kosuke had stood up and shook his fists.

Daisuke laughed softly and pulled his father back down to the couch. "But forty three wasn't open. There was no where he could go." Still, Kosuke sat in his seat, complaining.

"Welcome home, Satoshi." Emiko giggled, who had been reading a magazine at the kitchen table.

"Hi..." Satoshi glanced around the room. "Um...why are you guys still at my house?"

"I thought you would enjoy the company." She smiled. "Either way, Towa decided to call in and get out carpets cleaned. I heard that professions work wonders on your carpets. 'Good as new'." Emiko laughed to herself, turning the page of her magazine. "So we're going to stay here just until tomorrow."

Satoshi walked into the kitchen and took down a bowl of instant ramen. He walked to a cupboard to grab a pot when he heard, "What do you think you are doing?" Satoshi glanced at Emiko to see her peeking from the top of her magazine, watching him.

"...Making ramen."

"Dinner is in the oven. It should be done in ten minutes. I think you can wait." She told him. Satoshi opened his mouth to protest but seeing Emiko, he changed his mind.

By the time dinner came, Kosuke had finally calmed down. Satoshi smiled, he never imagined Kosuke as a sports kind of guy. Maybe that was what tons of channels did to you, Satoshi thought. Once dinner was over, Satoshi stood up and pushed his chair in.

"I need to get some rest...for that thing tomorrow." Satoshi said, hoping they knew what he meant. It took everyone a few moments, but finally, they understood what he meant.

"Wait! Satoshi!" For the first time Satoshi could remember, Daiki spoke to him. "Before you go to sleep, I wanted to give you this." The old man took a moment to dig into his pockets. When he took his hand out of his pocket, he held a picture. Satoshi stepped forward and slowly took it.

"What is it?" He asked, glancing down at the photograph. There were two men and two women, who all looked like friends. All but one of the men had a child.

"That there is me." Daiki pointed to the man the most to the left. Since it was black and white, it was hard to tell, but Satoshi saw the similarities. "I'm holding Emiko, she was so cute at that age." Satoshi looked closer to see a child that looked about five waving to the camera in Daiki's arms.

"And?" Satoshi didn't mean to sound rude but he didn't see the point to this.

"That woman next to me is your grandmother and that child holding her hand is your mother, Rio Hikari." Satoshi could have sworn he felt his heart stop for a few seconds. His grandmother was very beautiful, with her old curly hair and soft eyes. "The man she married is right next to her and then the woman next to him is a friend of ours."

"So my grandmother was a friend of yours?" asked Satoshi.

"No, the man she married was my best friend." Daiki took a quick sip of his tea. "We hated each other and faked smiles in this photo. I remember right after this picture was taken, we walked into the other room and began to fight. I argued that she had gotten my friend into something he doesn't need to be in but she said that he wouldn't have to go through it. And...she always won the fights." He set his cup down, a sad look was in his eyes. "I never was able to figure it out if it was because she was right or if it was because she was too beautiful to argue with."

Satoshi had on a confused expression. "Isn't that answer obvious? She was right. She was a woman and so was my mother. They didn't have to have the burden of Krad. Her husband probably didn't even know that she had a curse."

Daiki nodded. "Yes, and that was another thing that made me angry. She had never told him about the curse of the Hikaris. But then again, I had never told him the curse of the Niwas so I guess I had no room to talk." The old man let out a sigh, trying to hide his sad expression. "I just wanted you to have that as evidence that you did have family. I'm sure if they were still alive, they'd love you very much."

"Thank you."

Satoshi held it close to his chest as he began to walk away. "They say that the Hikari's are fated to be alone. Also, that the Hikari and the Niwa families must always be enemies. You have proven both of those to be false. Sometimes, I think that maybe if I had become friends with your grandmother, maybe she could have done the same." Satoshi nodded and tried to walk away again but Daiki spoke again. "My friend left her after twelve years of marriage."

He turned around to look at the old man, as if he was lying. "If the Harada twins break up with either of you, you have each other, correct?" Satoshi glanced at Daisuke, whose eyes were wide.

"Of course." He shot Dai a warm smile before turning and going to his room.

"And once again, the great, brilliant and, we can't forget handsome, Phantom Thief Dark has slipped into the museum and stolen his target with complete ease." Dark snickered, staring at the foot tall statue in his arms." Now, where's Commander Hiwatari, his bad-ass police squad and the demon Krad?" He sat the statue down and looked around.

"Hey! Look at me! I'm a well known thief with lots of money on my head! Anyone who found me would get millions of dollars!" Dark shouted. He paced the room, circling the statue's empty stand a few times. This is BORING without Satoshi or Krad. I feel like I just shoplifted from a gas station. And are those dumb police officers so stupid they don't know where I am?

I wonder where Satoshi is... He left earlier so I figured he was going to come here.

I JUST SAID THAT! Dark rubbed his forehead in frustration. "I might as well get going." He growled to himself. Dark picked up the statue and was ready to call Wiz when he could have sworn he heard a laugh and a footstep. "Who's there?" He quickly turned around. Still, there was no one. Finally, Dark gave up on trying to get anyone to come after him. Wiz's wings spread widely, causing a swift breeze. Dark went to kick off the ground when he saw a white feather float across the floor.

He bent down and picked it up. He was still convinced that someone was here but if they did not want to show themselves and let Dark go, who was he to argue? With a "kyu", Wiz and Dark flew out the window and back to the Niwa residence.

"Great job Dark!" Emiko patted him on the shoulder and smiled happily. She had taken the statue and placed it downstairs after the family all looked at it. "Well, now that it's getting late, I suppose we should all be heading to bed." She told the family.

Dark gave her a nod and began to head upstairs when Emiko stopped him. "Oh, and Dark! Can you make sure that Daisuke wears a shirt tonight? It's supposed to get very cold tonight and I'm afraid that this habit he picked up is going to get him sick."

"Sure." Dark chuckled. "Though, it is comfortable but we don't want Daisuke getting sick." said Dark, thinking back to when he and Daisuke were sick.

Emiko walked over to Kosuke and the two of them were about to go to their bedroom when Emiko had looked over at the kitchen and let out a loud gasp. "No! I left my special pan over at Satoshi's house."

"But honey, it's too late to go over to his house." Kosuke stated.

"Yes, but I can't make breakfast without it!" She quickly want to the door, gave her husband a wave goodbye and ran out.

It didn't take her very long to get to Satoshi's house. It also didn't take very long to realize that she should have brought a jacket. Emiko picked the lock of Satoshi's front door and entered as quietly as she could. For someone who works for the police, he sure does have a weak security system for his apartment...

Emiko snuck into the kitchen. She tried to go through the dishes quietly, since there were plates and bowls covering the pan, but still made tons of noise. After retrieving the pan, Emiko tip-toed out of the room. Then, she froze. She had heard a door open and close behind her and turned around.

Looking closely, Emiko could see a tall figure with long blonde hair in a white T-shirt and dark blue boxers. That is one flat chested woman... Emiko thought at first. Once she caught sight of their cat-like golden eyes, her eyes snapped open. Krad?

Krad walked passed her, a dazed look was in his eyes. He dragged his feet to the sink, filling a cup with water and chugging it down. "How many times have I told him to buy boxers at least one size larger than his. They'll still fit him and they won't be a crotch grab for me. I might as well be wearing briefs." He muttered under his breath. Slowly, his head turned towards Emiko. At first, his eyes just passed her but once they came back around, his eyes snapped open. "I thought you guys left this morning." He maintained his calm voice.

"Me?" She laughed nervously. "You see, I forgot my special pan and I'll just be going now." Emiko tried to escape but Krad grabbed her collar and dragged her back. He filled a cup of water up, dragged her over to the couch, turned on a lamp and sat down while he handed her the glass.

"Can we... talk?"

Emiko felt her jaw touch the floor. She slowly nodded and took a sip. Somehow, she wasn't surprised he offered water. "What was it that you wanted to talk about?"

He held the glass to his lips, then set it back down. "I can't keep doing things like this. You know very well that we're enemies. So this is the last time I'll let you this close with no consequences."

Emiko was silent, but then a laugh escaped her. "You know, that's what I used to think. I was afraid of you, which meant I was also afraid of Satoshi. Dai and Kosuke tried to convince me that Satoshi was alright but even if he was alright, what about you? I didn't expect any less of you. But, I guess the good outcome of this was that I saw that you weren't just some evil thing the Hikari's created. I guess you're not exactly a killing machine."

Krad looked surprised. Emiko wondered if she was too blunt. When she glanced back at Krad, she jumped so hard, water splashed out of the cup and spilled on her blouse. Krad was smiling. It wasn't his normal eerie smile. It was a warm smile, like the one you would use when you're surrounded by friends and family and it felt as if nothing could make that moment better.

After a few minutes, Krad stood up and put the glasses in the sink. "I'm guessing then, that this is goodbye." Emiko had also stood up but she hadn't moved. She didn't want to say goodbye like this but there was nothing that she could say. Would this really be the last time they talked? There has to be something I can say! She thought, seeing the blonde head back towards the hall. "By the way, don't let Dark get mad at how I just sat in the shadows and watched him tonight. And thanks."

Then, Krad disappeared. There was no turning back and trying to fit in one more thing. But then again, he had finished everything off well, hadn't he?

"Daisuke, where are you dragging me this time?" Satoshi said as he was pulled down the sidewalk by Daisuke. "Did the next Beetle Boy movie come out already?" Satoshi had a wide smirk. Daisuke saw it and let out a soft growl, knowing his friend was making fun of him.

"Nope!" He smiled happily. "Actually... The ice cream shoppe is releasing a new flavor of ice cream today! It's the first time in months that they've made a new flavor! And I want to be one of the first ones to get a scoop." Daisuke chuckled.

Satoshi rolled his eyes. Should he have been surprised? When they finally got to the shoppe, Daisuke jumped up in down in line. He ordered three scoops of ice cream when they bought their ice cream.

"You can't really be this excited just to eat ice cream." Satoshi asked. He took a look over at Daisuke to see that the red head was staring up at the clouds.

"Well..." Daisuke gazed back down at Satoshi. He had a serious look in his eyes for a few seconds, then laughed loudly. "Of course not! Today's weather is just so beautiful! How can you not be excited on such a nice day like this?"

Satoshi's left eyebrow twitched slightly. It's official. I don't think I'll ever be able to predict this guy. He rubbed his forehead. "You do have a point." He smirked and glanced up at the sky.

"I tried to invite Riku and Risa but they said they were going to be busy this weekend. But I don't mind spending this time with you." Daisuke nodded, turning his head to Satoshi. A gasp of surprise came from him.

"What?" Stopping to see what Daisuke had gasped about, Satoshi cocked his head. "Why do you seem so surprised?"

Once again, a chuckle came from Daisuke. "I just noticed it. You were looking at the sky."

At first, Satoshi seemed confused. Didn't everyone look at the sky? Then, an image filled his head. He remembered the day the two had met. But all he could remember was the ground. Could it be that Daisuke had noticed that he was doing, even if it was from way back then? Or had he always done it? Satoshi faked a smile, saying, "I guess I just picked it up from you. It seems to me like an annoying habit."

"I may be thinking too deeply but you never used to look up at the clouds. Always staring down at the ground, whether it was someone you don't like talking to you or just walking by yourself." Daisuke laughed nervously. "I'm glad to see that you're looking at something different."

Satoshi raised his eyebrows. Daisuke never spoke about anything serious. Though, it was good to see once in a while, it wasn't a good idea to keep Daisuke in that mood. "I guess you're right. But it's not the greatest thing too. If I remember correctly, it's because of that reason that you fell the day we met."

"But I think that was a good thing that happened." Daisuke winked. It reminded Satoshi a lot of his mother.

"Depends on how you look at it." Satoshi took a last bite of his cone. He then placed his hands in his pockets.

Daisuke had crossed his arms over his chest. "Of course it's a good thing! If we didn't meet that early, how else would we have met?"

Satoshi took a moment to think of how they would have met if it wasn't for Daisuke running into him at the market.

"Hello class. Today a new student will be joining us." Their teacher said. "I would like to introduce Satoshi Hiwatari. Please welcome him with kindness and show him around if you get the time." She smiled happily. Then, the teacher showed him to his seat.

After class, as Satoshi began to pack his things in his bag, someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Yes?"

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a red haired student. "Hello! My name's Daisuke Niwa! It's nice to meet you!"

Satoshi let out a sigh. Sounds eventful... He thought to himself. Not wanting to disappoint Dai, he smirked and nodded. "True." He glanced up at the sky once again. There was a cloud that looked like it was shaped like an ice cream cone. I wonder what flavor it would be.

What a childish thought... Krad commented. Satoshi couldn't help but agree. He didn't know what possessed him to think that.

"Satoshi, look!" Daisuke pointed up at the sky. "That cloud looks like an ice cream cone! I wonder what flavor it would be!" He giggled.

At that moment, Satoshi had no doubt about what made him think about the ice cream cone cloud.

THE END! That's it! That's all! I'm so happy we finally came to an end! I've been working on this for so long and now it's done!

Thank you for reading this! And thanks for the reviews! I defiantly appreciate it! And thanks for putting up with my slow updates! (especially with the fact that it took me over a month to update this chapter! Sorry again!)

By the way, you'll see why I didn't mark this "Complete" yet. -nervous laugh-

Thanks again!

Paige