A Change of Sorts
Sorry for taking so long. Been working on other stories, and been trying to convince myself to get around to doing my homework. Oh, and thanks to Heart's Door who pointed out Tohru's eyes were brown. I wasn't too sure of that. Anyway…
Chapter 16: Jewel of Diversity
Satoshi sighed, leaning against the trunk of a tree, looking exhausted. One blue eye was open and watching the redhead who was sitting at the base of another tree nearby. Of course, it wasn't really the redhead in control at the moment; he was talking to Dark.
They stood/sat in silence, while Dark contemplated how to say what he wanted to say, and Satoshi got increasingly annoyed. Indeed, after 5 minutes, and eyebrow was twitching ever so slightly.
"Dark…" he growled. "If you're not going to say anything, I'm going to leave. I have enough on my mind as it is already."
When Dark did not say anything, he pushed off against the tree and started walking down the path, away from the Thief.
When Satoshi was seriously starting to think that even talking to Dark was a waste of time, his voice drifted over to him.
"Daisuke's memory has been erased." This stopped Satoshi in his tracks. Turning his head slightly so he was looking at Dark, he raised an eyebrow for him to continue.
"His memory of their secret has been erased. Putting me in a difficult situation as to how I'm going to answer his questions."
"Can't you just tell him again?"
Dark sighed. "What's the point of doing that? It's obvious that some action needs to be taken. And I," The infamous smirk appeared once again. "Believe I know a way of doing so."
Satoshi rolled his eyes, although he did turn back to face Dark again. "Like I said before, it's not our business to interfere with their's."
"…" Dark frowned, not wanting to go into his opinion about messing with other people's business again (he had already done it once that time with Hatori). So instead, all he did was mutter something along the line of 'cold bastards.'
"What?"
Dark dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "But what I mean is, if we don't step in and do something, things will be the same, generation after generation. Our interference could end up being the key to helping their curse."
Satoshi still couldn't find any logic in this. "How does this benefit us in any way?"
Dark shrugged. "It doesn't, I guess. But," he quickly said, noticing the unconvinced look on Satoshi's face. "We're helping them. And it's a more subtle way for Daisuke to get his memory back anyway."
"…" Blue eyes closed in thought.
Dark, seeing that the blue-haired boy still needed the slightest bit of convincing, decided to use his last resort. Shuddering slightly in embarrassment, he got to work.
(Don't forget, he's still in Daisuke's body.)
"Please…" His voice came out as Daisuke's now, not his own. Satoshi opened his eyes in surprise, looking at the redhead. Ruby red eyes were wide and pleading, and it was the most desperate and helpless look he had ever seen. "Hiwatari-kun…please help me." A sniffle, with the underlying hint of a gag. "Hiwatari-kun…"
Satoshi was speechless. Not only was he finding it hard to say no to that look, he was somewhat surprised that Dark was willing to go to these lengths to get him to consent (yeah, all that previous cuteness stuff was Dark.). He frowned, weighing out the pros and cons of helping.
Pros:…he'll have to get back to that.
Cons: Interfering with a business he did not want to get involved with. Having to cooperate with Dark, and knowing for sure that Krad was going to try interfering. Not to mention that it would give him a severe migraine.
Oh, he had a few pros now. It could probably help Daisuke's memory…and he could always have a good time teasing Dark about that cute act before, which had surely put him through a lot of shame and humiliation (actually, right now, Dark was practically hanging his head in shame). He smirked; yeah, he would be willing to go through it just to relish in the thought of reminding Dark of that moment…
"Fine, I'll help." Of course, he would never admit that he enjoyed doing something like that to Dark of all people.
Dark sighed in relief. If that acting like Daisuke bit had been ineffective, he would have practically killed himself.
"But…if Niwa's memory got erased, how come mine didn't?"
Dark shrugged indifferently. "Probably cause they didn't know how to track you?"
Satoshi rolled his eyes. "Alright, tell me what plan you have in mind."
Dark smirked, bringing out a paper which appeared to have lines and lines of information on it. Satoshi leaned over, reading the title. He gasped, and his eyes widened.
"You're planning to use that?.!"
---
Tohru returned home, carton of milk in her hand. "I'm home!" she announced cheerfully. Silence greeted her.
"Eh?" She peered into each of the rooms in turn. "Shigure-san? Yuki-kun? Kyo-kun?"
The whole house was empty. She even checked the roof for Kyo, and went back to see if Yuki was at the secret base, but none of them were to be seen. Sighing in worry, she sat down at the table.
"I hope they're alright…"
It was then that she noticed an envelope lying on the table with her name on it. Brown eyes blinking in curiosity, she opened it and read it.
To our dearest flower, Tohru-kun (it was here that she discerned that it was Shigure who wrote the letter.)
I hope you're not too alarmed that we're not at home; with luck, you would not have called the police, Ha'ri or Mii-chan (she would kill me) yet. Sorry for disappearing so suddenly; there was some business at the main house that we needed to attend to, and we will be gone for 2 days. I hope you will be alright, and we'll tell you what happened when we come back. Now, remember to lock all the windows when you're home, especially at night. Don't forget to lock the door when you go out and…
The letter went on in that fashion for awhile, before it ended with best wishes from Shigure, Yuki, Kyo and (for some strange reason) Ayame. Tohru put the letter down in thought, wondering what was so important that they all had to go to.
"But…I thought Kyo-kun was not allowed to go to the main house…"
She looked down at the letter again. Scribbled at the bottom, in what she assumed was rush, was Shigure's handwriting (again).
You might be wondering why Kyo-kun had to go too; it's because it's a whole zodiac family thing, and even though he isn't allowed to enter the main house, Ha'ri wants him to go anyway.
"That…didn't really make sense…"
Tohru sat there, wandering what she should do. In the end, she decided to go over and visit Daisuke and see how he was doing.
But, to her disappointment, no-one was home. Not even the cute little With's cry was heard.
Tohru turned around, looking balefully at the sky. "…I hope Niwa-kun is alright…"
---
Satoshi stared at Dark in disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me. You seriously want to use this to 'help' them?"
Dark shrugged, looking back down at the information. "Yeah, why not? I mean, it will help them won't it?"
Satoshi sighed in frustration. "Hikari artworks are strong and unpredictable. I thought that you, of all people, would know that already."
"But it can't fail!" Dark protested. Satoshi glared at him angrily.
"Admit it Dark. It can, and it most likely will. That's the reason why the first purpose it was created for didn't work."
"I don't see how that has anything to do with this."
This time, Satoshi almost yelled what he had to say. "This," he jabbed a finger at the title of the artwork. "The 'Jewel of Diversity', was created by my ancestors to rid themselves of the Hikari curse! And it failed! All it did was make Krad stronger than before and extend his time on earth! It will do nothing other than to worsen the situation."
"Oh," Dark had a sly look on his face. "But we can turn this situation to our advantage. Allow me to explain…"
"The Jewel of Diversity, as you said, did fail in separating the Hikari and Krad. But, like you also said, it strengthened him, making him stronger than ever. In other words, it provided him with more magical power- and more time - in the human world."
Dark was right; after the Hikari tried to use the Jewel to separate themselves, they found out that the amount of time Krad lived for was extended. Previously, he would disappear when Dark either was killed (which had yet to happen), or disappeared from that generation of Niwa's. After the Jewel came in, Krad stayed with his Tamer for longer, which was what drove most Hikari Tamers to death.
"So you could say the Jewel is like a power up to him, and it obviously doesn't work in separating two beings."
"Then how is it supposed to do anything?" Satoshi asked, getting irritated. It would not work. It had backfired last time, and was more than likely to do so again.
Dark tsked. "Let me finish, soushirei-dono." Blue eyes glared at him, but he ignored it.
"But what we're trying to do here, is not to separate the Sohma's from their cursed forms. We can't exactly do that, since it is still them in their animal forms. Its not like there is another mind living in them like is our case. So…"
A finger traced along the words on the paper that stated 'the Jewel failed in separating the two beings, only serving to revitalize the curse.'
"Say we decided to…reverse the properties of the Jewel. Say that…a complete opposite of it was made by one of the Hikari,' a sly glance was thrown in Satoshi's direction. "And, instead of giving it more life…"
"…It killed the other being." Satoshi finished, eyes wide at the possibility.
Dark smirked triumphantly. "Exactly."
"But how can we reverse what it can do?"
A finger was pointed in Satoshi's direction. Dark frowned. "Really, Commander, I thought you would be brighter than that. You, as a Hikari, are capable of making an artefact exactly like this Jewel, but alter its magical properties."
"…"
"So, what do you say, Commander Hikari?" Dark asked teasingly, calling him by his real name on purpose. "You gotta admit, genius plans like this only come from the almighty Dark Mousy."
"In the end though, it would have to be killed, won't it? You would have to seal it away, and destroy the artwork."
Dark frowned. "Oh, right. I forgot that the Hikari were sensitive about killing their artworks."
Satoshi's mind was in turmoil. He had to admit, it was a pretty good idea, and it could possibly - even if there was only the smallest of chances - work. He, however, was hesitant about the future of the artwork. It could not be allowed to live, certainly not something as dangerous as being capable of killing another being. But, it had taken almost all his effort to attempt to destroy the Second Hand of Time, it would be even harder to destroy something of his own creation.
He stared at his hands. He knew what those hands could do; they could create a living spirit, mould it and manipulate it and, eventually, destroy it. The idea filled him with a sort of disgust, but he did say he would help…
Dark watched Satoshi closely, seeing if he could detect a kind of reaction from the boy. He knew that the boy was reluctant about creating something that was alive, but for god's sake, they were helping people here!
"Well, what do you say?"
He heard a snort. Dark looked up at Satoshi, only to find not the blue-haired commander standing there, but his other half, white wings unfurling themselves around the golden haired almost-angel.
"Krad!" Strange though, normally there was a great deal of (overdramatic) moaning and pain from Satoshi as Krad forced his way out.
Krad shrugged, as if reading his mind. "It was easy this time; all his barriers and defences were down. His mind was in too much of a conflict to stay alert. And I wanted to have my say in this as well."
Dark eyed Krad warily. "What do you want Krad? I hope you're not asking for another fight."
It was quite a strange sight, seeing the two near each other (even though one of them wasn't in his own form) without breaking out in fighting (or one of them being choked by the other). Indeed, it was an almost calm scene, and probably the first that the two of them had had around each other for a long time now. If Emiko had come along and seen them like this, she would have immediately screamed murder at Krad and 'rescued her darling, baby boy from him'. Probably.
Krad threw him a disgusted look and ignored the question. Instead, he picked up the piece of paper, eyeing it with loathe.
"The Jewel of Diversity…it's a powerful artwork." He threw it to the ground. "Even if you do succeed in making it's opposite, and use it on those Sohma's, the possible side-effects are that they themselves will also be harmed."
"But…surely the sacrifice would be minor compared to the long-termed results. After all," he glanced up at Krad. "You took the same risks when it was used on you."
A sigh escaped the angel. "True…but the consequences can be quite severe on a normal human. The Jewel is merciless when dealing out magic."
Dark smirked. "Of course, I know that well. But you didn't care, did you? That cross…" he fingered the cross hung at the end of Krad's hair. "Is proof enough."
Krad glared at him, yanking his cross out of Dark's hands. He crossed his arms again, though he kept the cross out of Dark's reach.
"What I'm saying is that your attempt to help the cursed family is useless. They obviously don't want the help. And the Hikari's gift is not something to be used lightly, Dark Mousy."
Dark frowned. "How would you know what they want or don't want?"
Krad smirked. "Only a matter of personal experience…"
"You know you're just going to end up assisting Satoshi in making it anyway." Dark shrugged. "It's just that little habit of helping the Hikari in making their creations that you never got out of."
The blonde sniffed. "I plan to stay out of this as much as I can."
Dark grinned, while Krad gave control back to Satoshi. "Which, of course, is his way of saying that he'll be a part of this plan, like it or not."
Satoshi slid down on to the floor, half shocked, half in disbelief. "Was…was it just me or was Krad talking normally to you without the two of you trying to kill each other?"
"Hey, we're not always the bloodthirsty idiots that we're perceived to be you know." Dark complained indignantly. "But, I gotta admit, he did seem calmer than usual today."
"And for once, his opinion had nothing to do about killing anyone…"
"What did Krad mean by personal experience anyway?" Dark asked curiously. Satoshi looked away.
"Today…before you got here…Krad took control of my body and went over to the Sohma estate. He…put their Head in a coma."
Dark raised an eyebrow amusedly. "Why?"
"Apparently, he found the fact that Akito's 'interference with the Niwa in the past' a bit of an insult. He considered himself the only one allowed to do anything of harm to them."
Dark snorted. "Really, that's just like him."
"Akito didn't seem too happy about having anyone intruding on their family either. After all, he does order the memories of every outsider who has discovered their secret, save for Tohru Honda."
"Hm…how strangely fascinating."
It was hard to tell if that was intended to be sarcastic or not. But no matter. Satoshi had some questions of his own to ask.
"What did you mean, when you talked to Krad about the consequences of using the Jewel, and that he took the risks as well?"
Dark sighed, allowing his body to shift in to his own form. He ran a hand through long purple locks.
"When the Hikari used the Jewel of Diversity on Krad…they weren't as much in control as they thought they were. They thought that they were taking Krad unawares, that Krad wouldn't know what was happening, but…Krad had watched them through the whole process of making it. The Hikari had wondered why Krad hadn't stepped in and destroyed their attempt at ridding themselves of him, like he had done before.
"The reason why Krad let them complete the artwork, and even use it, was because he knew there was a flaw in what they were making. Like I said, Krad is drawn to art, like I am, only in different ways. Krad often gives advice to his Tamer about how to improve on that of which they're creating, and is sometimes even possessive of the finished results because he, like almost every other person in the world, is drawn to the Hikari arts. He wants the creations to be completed, perfected, so that not only will the Hikari legacy run on, but because he himself enjoys those living arts, enjoys watching them come to life.
"So, Krad had watched them make the Jewel. They didn't know it, but he also knew what they intended to use it for. But, he saw where they went wrong, and for once, did not point it out. Because he knew what would result from that flaw; that it would strengthen him and extend his time to live. He also knew that consequences would be laid on him, but he went through with it."
Satoshi was surprised. Probably because he never knew that the only thing Krad was really serious about (besides killing Dark and Daisuke) was art (and probably power too). "But, what has his cross got to do with that?"
Violet eyes closed shut. "It was his consequence. Although the Jewel gave him more power, it also formed that cross as a type of seal. He had excess magic, but could not use the full capacity of it. It's practically the only restraint he has, otherwise you would be loooooooooooooong dead from his magic overuse. That cross is the only thing stopping him from practically destroying the whole world, and he cannot remove it. It's stuck with him forever, so, even though he had a lot of magic, he couldn't use it all at once.
"Not only that, but the Jewel also inflicted a bit of damage onto him. The sight in his left eye is barely there. Of course, Krad knew all this, but he was willing to give those things up in order for that power."
"Wow…" Speechless was the word now. "I thought…I thought the cross was just an accessory."
Dark smirked. "That's what everyone thinks."
"But…why did the Jewel put restraints on Krad? It could have easily let him off without the cross."
Dark stood up, hands in pockets. "Because…that artwork was just like all the other Hikari creations."
"What?"
---
I think that's enough for now! xD Whoa, I've got a headache now, typing out that long thing up there. I'm surprised I actually managed to come up with the concept of using the Jewel, and the origin for the cross…0.o Reckon there's not enough Fruits Basket part here? Sorry about that, and also sorry that Krad is quite OOC here. But hey, I like to think that he's not always that fighting, evil, homicidal maniac.
xD He's one of my favourite characters.
And can anyone please tell me what a beta reader is? I still have no idea...a few ideas, but not sure. Anyway sorry for all OOC-ness, please R&R!