Chapter 7

"Daisuke! Daisuke, come in here!"

The redhead looked up as he heard his name, and he went running down the stairs. His grandfather sounded worried and even afraid, and it was a little disconcerting to Daisuke. He skipped down the stairs two at a time, sliding into the living room in time to see a report come onto the TV.

"This just in, Phantom Thief Dark has been taken from the prison and rushed to the local hospital. He is currently in critical condition. More details haven't been released as of now, we'll keep you posted."

Daisuke felt his heart plummet. "The hospital? Why? What's happened to him?"

Daikii frowned, folding his arms. "I'm not sure. They aren't telling us any more information, and I don't think they will. The only way we'll be able to find out is going in to see him."

Daisuke flopped on the couch, running a hand through his bangs. "Which we can't do… How are we supposed to fix this one?!" Daisuke closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the couch.

Daikii sighed. "I'm not sure Daisuke. But we need to figure it out. If Dark is in critical condition, then he may be in serious trouble."

"Well, if he's there then we need to leave him there right? He needs the medical attention." Daisuke said, a little confused at what his grandpa was saying.

The man grinned. "We can give him medical attention. Did you forget the Niwa family doctor? She knows well about Dark's connection to our family, and she can take care of him. It would be better that we get him away from them, out of the hands of the public. It's safer for him and for us."

Daisuke nodded. "Well, that's right. But how are we going to get him out of the hospital without them finding out?"

Daikii grinned again, and Daisuke frowned. 'Sometimes I have to wonder why I haven't run screaming years ago…'

Daisuke shivered slightly, and the creature on his shoulder made a small sound of comfort, dark wings folding around the redhead's shoulders. Daisuke smiled slightly, reaching up and petting Wiz's head gently.

He looked down at the hospital, his eyes training on the window that was brightly lit, one of the only ones left on the wall. He knew that Dark was in that room, and he was getting ready to steal the thief away from the hospital.

Wiz made another soft sound, but Daisuke didn't respond this time. The light in the room had just clicked off, and now he was getting ready to make his move. "Go Wiz…" he murmured.

Wiz spread his wings, holding onto Daisuke's back and flapping towards the hospital's wall. Daisuke carefully slipped into the room, thankful that the window was one of the opening ones, because the hospital thought that fresh air was good for the patients.

He let out a soft sound as he spotted Dark lying on the bed. The thief was pale and still, a breathing mask over his face, bandages wrapped around his chest, torso, and around his arms. Daisuke sighed, and then the door opened. The boy nearly had a heart attack, Wiz's wings flaring in front of him as his emotions spiked and scared the small creature.

"Easy Daisuke, it's only me."

Daisuke let out a sigh of relief, Wiz relaxing and the dark wings falling back to their folded position. Daisuke met the green eyes of the Niwa's family doctor, Sara Tsuma. She smiled at the boy, and then focused practiced doctor's eyes on Dark's limp form. She started to unhook the wires and tubes that connected Dark to a lot of the machines, turning them all off. She left the heart monitor and the breathing mask alone, however.

"You have to be careful with him Daisuke; he's in very critical condition. I've been keeping an eye on him since he got here. Right after I unhook the breathing and heart machines you have to move fast, they're monitoring them in the main room of the hospital." Sara said, moving back so Daisuke could pick up Dark's thin form.

Daisuke frowned. "He's so light…"

Sara nodded. "He's about 30 lbs underweight, so it'll take some time to get him back to full health. I'll fill you in on more when we get him out of here, but right now they're probably beginning to get the cameras back online, we need to hurry."

Daisuke nodded. "Got it."

Sara quickly disconnected the heart monitor and breathing machine, and the sound of the flat-line sent Daisuke into action. The redhead instantly flung himself out of the window, Wiz clutching to his back and flying for the Niwa home. He saw Sara turn and run from the room, but then he focused on holding Dark's thin body close to him.

Sara sighed, running a hand through her brown bangs. Dark had been unconscious in the two weeks since they had gotten him out of the hospital, and the woman was starting to wonder if the thief was in a coma, or if he was just refusing to wake up. She had seen him move multiple times, and that was a good indicator that he wasn't deep in his consciousness. In other words, he was somewhat aware.

Daisuke had been at Dark's side for nearly every hour of every day, and the redhead was currently sleeping on the couch in the corner of the Niwa's basement where they were keeping Dark. Sara walked to his side, pulling the blanket up the boy's shoulder and then moving back to Dark.

She looked to his face, and then gasped. Violet eyes stared back at her, dull and dark, barely aware. She smiled softly, trying to be comforting as she spoke to him. "Dark? Can you hear me?"

There was no response, Dark did not even blink. The thief didn't move at all, and then Sara frowned. She reached out, gently shaking Dark's shoulder and trying to get a response of some sort from him, but there was nothing. Dark continued to stare into the space above him, his eyes unfocused.

The woman began to check him over, taking his pulse, checking his breathing, looking into his eyes. All that she could see was that his pupils were dilated, but other than that he seemed perfectly fine, at least for having just woken up after being comatose for nearly three weeks.

Sara frowned, moving away from Dark to wake Daisuke with a gentle touch to the shoulder. The redhead sat up sharply, instantly aware. Sara motioned towards Dark. "He's awake."

Daisuke shot to his feet, running to the thief's side and taking the limp hand in his own. "Dark, please, are you okay?"

There was no response.

Daisuke frowned. "Dark? Dark, please, talk to me!"

Sara's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "I'm sorry Daisuke, but I don't think he'll respond to you. It seems he's retreated into himself. In other words, he's basically a vegetable."

Daisuke looked back to Dark, tears brimming in his eyes as he looked into the dull violet orbs of the man that he had longed to find. Now that he had, Dark had left him, his mind broken and unwilling to interact with anyone because of what he had been put through in the eight months that he had been in hell.

BWHAHAHAHAHA!!! I've finally started again! -grins- I'm so proud of myself, I got this out and I'm actually happy with it! I hope that all of you are as well! Please review for me and I'll start up the next chapter!