Lief: And… Here's the awaited chapter five! I'm sorry it took a while. I got a sprained wrist during my Ninjitsu class (hurt like hell, it does) and couldn't type for a while. I know, pathetic excuse, but it's better than no excuse at all, ne? Anywho, enjoy!

Title: No More

Author: Lief Nerys

Pairings: SatoshixDark, DaisukexKrad. Others will be decided in future.

Rating: As usual, I'm not sure, so it'll be M, just to be safe.

Summary: Living through high school's bad enough, but living through a high school where tons of gang members that have been after you for years is downright hell. At least, it is for Satoshi. And as if that wasn't enough, he's got to deal with a certain obnoxious and perverted Phantom Thief who's just decided his new hobby is annoying the blue eyed teen to death.

Warnings: Yaoi, hints of Yuri, not-so-distinct mentions of rape, past mentions of murder (and probable murders in further chapters) and stalking. If you find any of these annoying, irritating, revolting, ghastly, horrid, terrible, nasty, offensive or disgusting, then I suggest you leave right now and forever remain as ignorant as you probably are. Oh, and beware of major OOC for all the characters. I can't, for the life of me, keep any character in character at all.

Disclaimer: I do not own DNAngel or its characters, only the plot in this fanfiction, the grammatical and spelling errors, and any OCs.

Chapter V: Evasive Maneuvers

'Damn, damn, damn!' cursed a frustrated, dark purple-haired Kaitou, punching the top of his wooden desk angrily. A whine of annoyance made him look up and over his shoulder, to a wooden door that led to the large white bathroom he and Daisuke shared in their room. Daisuke stood in the middle of the doorframe, glaring slightly at his cousin, his hair a usual mess and his clothes, the same attire from last night, slightly mussed.

"Don't break your desk again, Dark," muttered the redhead sleepily as he went back into the bathroom. "Kakari-sensei'll blow a fuse."

Dark rolled his amethyst eyes. "Whatever. I don't care about what he'll do."

There was silence before Daisuke peeked his head out to look at Dark seriously. "You're worried about Satoshi, aren't you?" he asked quietly.

Dark scowled. "Of course I am, Dai. Aren't you?"

Daisuke averted his eyes to the red, fluffy carpet on the floor of his side of the room. "Yea. I am. I can't believe Satoshi freaked like that… He looked so scared."

Dark's eyes darkened slightly and he, too, looked away. "He was so terrified. Daisuke… You saw it yourself. He looked like… like…"

"Like you were gonna rape him or something?" finished Daisuke, turning back to look at Dark. His Kaitou cousin kept his gaze on the dark purple wall of his side of the room but gave Daisuke an almost imperceptible nod.

"Yea," he muttered quietly. "Dai… He was totally freaked out. It was as if it was someone else he was seeing, not me. Someone who's… hurt him before."

Daisuke's crimson orbs widened before returning to their normal size. He sighed softly and went out the bathroom. He walked over to his Kaitou cousin, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You think… it's happened to him before?" asked Daisuke quietly.

Dark glanced at him for a moment before turning back to his wall. "Yea… Probably a long time ago… But I think… I think what I did made him remember…"

The hand on his shoulder gave him a light squeeze. "No," said Daisuke, softly yet firmly. "What happened wasn't your fault. Caine and Krad said so. Maybe… Maybe Satoshi did get hurt in the past, but what happened last night was not your fault. So don't beat yourself up for it. Or your desk," added Daisuke, causing Dark to smile slightly. The redhead always knew what to say to lighten things up.

Right then, Dark was glad the young Niwa was there. He had never felt so in need of brightening up than he did then. Which slightly worried the redhead. All his life, Daisuke had always known Dark as a mischievous, perverted, care-fee, perverted, obnoxiously-happy, perverted, sly, perverted, sneaky, perverted and loyal friend who was always looking things in an optimistic, if not sarcastic, way. Oh, and did I mention he was perverted?

Right, anyway, seeing Dark so worked up like that pained Daisuke, for he didn't know what to do to ease the purple-haired Kaitou's worries. Daisuke and Dark had always been close, and they shared all their secrets together. They were practically joined at the hip, as he always went where Dark went, and vice versa. As both were the only child of two very loving, but honestly clueless about many things, sets of parents, it was quite understandable, and in fact, encouraged by their families, that they stuck together, through thick or thin. And Daisuke knew he would risk his life, if need be, for the Kaitou, as would said Kaitou.

But Dark didn't need him to risk his life right then. He just needed reassurance, a confirmation of what he hoped would be true. Something Daisuke could give so easily, and the redhead did give it to him.

"So, cheer up. I'll ask Krad about it later, 'kay? We'll see how's Satoshi doing, as well. Maybe it'll help if he knows we're there for him."

Dark nodded silently. Daisuke smiled brightly and turned round, heading back into the bathroom. A small smirk crept its way onto Dark's face and the amethyst-eyed Kaitou couldn't help but shout softly after him, "By the way, Dai; you should get deodorant, you smell!"

An undignified squeak came from the open door of the bathroom and Dark could barely make out an angrily sputtered "I do not!" as he was suddenly attacked by a barrage of random objects, most of which were very sharp, flying in all directions from the same open door.

Giggling and smirking all the way, Dark quickly slipped out of the room and quickly closed the door behind him before any of the objects managed to follow him out. Still giggling, he leaned back against the door for a moment before something loud thudded next to his head and he turned to look…

Only to see the very sharp tip of a pocket knife sticking out a few inches in the door. Eyes widening, the Kaitou scrambled away from the door and sweatdropped as he stared wonderingly at the gleaming, obviously-well-kept tip.

Where had Daisuke gotten the oh-so-sharp pocket knife…?

Another thud sounded from inside and Dark ran off down the hall before any other sharp things could make itself known to him, all the time cursing Krad silently for giving Daisuke such dangerous gifts for his birthdays. That is, assuming it was Krad who had given the pocket knife to him. After all, the psychopathic (in Dark's opinion) blonde did give the redhead a very sharp, very real katana (something Krad had made himself, even if he wasn't a blacksmith. Besides, the katana was more for show than real use, and it had a kanji engraving at its base, right above its black hilt, which meant 'ai'. Krad was a Hikari and the gift was beautiful, even if dangerous) last year for his thirteenth birthday and Dark had tried to steal it and throw it away (he was afraid Krad might use it to kill him in his sleep), but Daisuke had caught him (hey, Dark was a Kaitou, but Daisuke was a Niwa, so he knew the ropes of stealing just as much as Dark) and scolded him about it. Then the redhead hid the katana (which came with a sheath, courtesy of Krad, of course) and even now, Dark still didn't know where it was.

So, not wanting to risk having his head separated from his body, he left block C, intent on putting as much distance between him and Daisuke as much as possible. At least, until the redhead had cooled off.

As the purple-haired Kaitou strolled down the red-bricked path next to block C, subconsciously going in the direction Satoshi (and the 'mysterious' stranger) had went, he looked around him and noticed the sun rising in the sky. Smirking, he continued moving down the path; who'd have known Dark Mousy would wake up so early in the morning? It should've been in the Azumano Daily News.

When Dark reached the junction where the path he was currently on broke off into two separate paths, he paused and looked around, wondering which way to go. A flash of something dark on the path to his right made him raise a brow questioningly, if not amusedly.

After a slight hesitation, the Kaitou finally decided that maybe a little fun this early in the morning wouldn't be too bad and promptly went down the path to his right.

---+---

Satoshi sighed slightly as he slipped through a sliding door and into a large, neat classroom, leaving the door half open. He breathed in the slightly musky smell of the gathered dust that littered the tops of the ten rows of wooden desks he was now facing and made his way down one row, up to the teacher's desk at the front.

He gracefully moved behind the high desk and sunk down into the blue and black seat where the teacher usually sat. Closing his eyes, he leaned his elbows onto the dusty top and buried his face in his hands. He tried to clear his mind, to calm himself down, as several thoughts and memories began to once again resurface.

Puppy…

Why did that accursed voice always called to him? Why could it not leave him alone, whether in his dreams or during his waking moments?

I…

Why did that cruel bastard have to keep taunting him in his mind, his own domain, his only sanctuary from reality?

Own…

Why couldn't he just leave Satoshi alone? Why couldn't they all leave him alone? Was that just too much to ask for?

You…

Satoshi jerked forward in the seat and hit his chest against the edge of the hard wooden desk. A gasp of pain escaped his parted lips and he winced as pain made itself known to him.

"Itte," muttered the bluenette, wincing again in pain as he rubbed his chest gently. A small sound, barely noticeable to untrained ears, but almost deafeningly loud to Satoshi's all-too-acute hearing, sounded from one of the desks near the back of the classroom, a little ways from the still-parted sliding door.

Narrowing his eyes, Satoshi stood up, barely able to contain the wince as another shot of pain attacked his aching chest, and glared at the table he suspected hid the source of the noise he heard before. He stepped to the side of the teacher's desk and began, slowly, walking down the row of desks where the offending wooden piece sheltered the intruder from Satoshi's intense glare.

Silent scuffling could be heard, by Satoshi, anyway, and the bluenette knew that whoever it was that was behind the desk was getting nervous and fearful that Satoshi had found out about him or her.

Narrowing his eyes further still until they were mere slits of azure, Satoshi picked up his pace slightly. He was already a two desks away from the desk of his hidden stalker when something very purple and very dark (and very dreaded by Satoshi) from the half-open door of the classroom caught his eye.

His eyes widened in surprise and slight annoyance as he turned to stare straight into the amethyst eyes of the very being he had just decided that morning to avoid at all costs. For a moment, time stood still for the blue-haired genius, and Satoshi felt like a third person watching the scene before him unfold. He could see the slight widening of Dark's beautiful amethyst eyes from beside the Kaitou, and he could see the cornered and frightened look on his own face--

Wait! Did he just think Dark's eyes were beautiful? What the--?

"Satoshi?"

Everything slipped out from the sudden pause in time and Satoshi jerked back in surprise and confusion as his point of view returned back to normal. He hit his back against the desk behind him and fell back onto the dusty top, arms swinging wildly around in an unsuccessful search for a handhold of some sort. His feet had suddenly left the ground as he slipped on the surprisingly-smooth wooden floor of the classroom and he found that his mind had relinquished all control of his body over to panicked-nerves.

In defeated acceptance, the bluenette shut his eyes tight and waited for the pain that was bound to come in falling over to the other side of the desk, hard. But when pain failed to instill itself upon his back and rear, the bluenette peeked out meekly and gasped slightly when his vision was filled with bright, worried amethyst orbs.

He scowled slightly and realized that Dark had, with an impossible speed that came only from training to run away from police officers, run over to him and grabbed his elbows and pulled him forward, inevitably into the Kaitou's embrace. While Dark still had his hands around Satoshi's elbows, the smaller teen's legs were pushed up between their chests, knees almost touching the bluenette's chin. His hands were apparently paralyzed as they hung limply in the air when Dark pulled Satoshi's arms by the elbows above his shoulders, which was what was preventing the bluenette from falling back.

"Sato-kun, daijoubu ka?" asked Dark worriedly, peering into his wide, stunned icy blue eyes.

Satoshi didn't seem to hear him and Dark took that as a not-so-good sign, as the younger teen usually found scathing remarks to throw at the Kaitou no matter what he said, and usually within three seconds. This Dark knew, for Daisuke had once timed the bluenette, and Dark had lost thirty bucks because of that. Dark had learned to never bet against Daisuke ever again. Not with big money, anyway.

So, when Satoshi merely stared at him with wide eyes for almost a full five seconds, Dark began to get worried. But he didn't want Satoshi to know that. Oh no. He didn't want people to go around thinking that Dark Mousy, the biggest playboy in all of Azumano Academy (in all of Azumano, really) was falling in love and was actually worried about another's well-being, even though he was. Nope. No siree. He had a reputation to keep.

And so, instead of actually asking whether the bluenette was alright again, he put on a brave smirk and did the only thing he knew would wake Satoshi from his daze, even though the blue-haired genius would probably kill him for it later; he pulled Satoshi's elbows forward, wrapped the bent appendages around his neck and kissed the smaller teen full on the lips.

When their lips met, Dark felt like melting on top of the bluenette. The younger teen's lips were so moist, so soft; so Satoshi. He didn't feel like anyone Dark had ever kissed before. And after sleeping with practically half of the teenage population of Azumano, that was definitely saying something.

So you couldn't really blame him when he wanted more than just a simple peck on the lips. No, you couldn't very much. Satoshi was different than everyone else; he was unique. He was perfect. He was something Dark couldn't, and would possibly never, after this, get, couldn't touch, couldn't claim as his own. And Dark Mousy was used to getting what he wanted.

When Satoshi had first turned down Dark's advances on him, the purple-haired Kaitou was shocked, to say the least. He had never been turned down before, by man or woman, be them straight or bent. He had always managed to get his way with them, and always with their, although seduced, will. Never before had Dark been faced with a challenge as intriguing, and not to mention beautiful, as the blue-haired genius. So, after getting over his initial shock of being rejected, and over Daisuke's constant giggles and teasing, Dark had dedicated himself to overcoming the obstacle that was Satoshi. Over and over again he tried to get Satoshi to come round, and over and over again did the bluenette hit his head with an iron frying pan (which Dark never really knew where he got from) and called him a pedophilic pervert. The last time Dark got hit, Satoshi had called him a mentally challenged pervert with palm tree hair, which kind of bruised his ego since he took pride in his hair style.

But, obviously, Dark had gotten over that and had went back to finding ways to bringing the bluenette over to his side. But Dark had grown frustrated with the bluenette's constant refusals, and as the young genius's resistance over the years grew, as did Dark's lust for him. Admiration turned to frustration, frustration to lust, until finally, Dark found it was painfully obvious to everyone, even himself, that he was downright obsessed with Satoshi Hikari. The only thing that had stopped him from actually raping the blue-eyed teen yesterday night was the very fact that the bluenette thought he actually was going to. And though his guilt still burnt strongly in his heart, his erection felt even more enflamed at the moment.

So having Satoshi in his arms, as vulnerable as a cornered rabbit during open season, was more than enough to give life back to his long-suppressed lust for the blue-haired beauty.

So, honestly, could you really blame the guy when he forced his prying tongue through Satoshi's still lips and began, almost hungrily, exploring every nook and cranny of the bluenette's hot cavern, savoring the sweet, exotic taste that was, and could only be, Satoshi Hikari?

Satoshi, meanwhile, was too dazed to notice that Dark had his lips in a bruising lip-lock and that the Kaitou's tongue was poking around in places it shouldn't have, not without the bluenette's given permission. But when something hard and large, not to mention familiar, pressed against his calf (his legs were raised between their chests, remember?), Satoshi finally managed to pull his mind out of whatever hole it had hidden itself in and his eyes widened when he saw Dark's lust-filled eyes so close to his own blue orbs.

His instinctive reaction was to snap at Dark, growl at him for being so close and invading his personal space, but he soon found that his mouth was occupied by something wet and hot, and unimaginably pleasuring, and that his lips were beginning to ache from being squished so hard against Dark's own lips.

And while he struggled to understand why Dark was kissing him and why his arms were around Dark's neck, the purple-haired Kaitou was lost in his overpowering desire to feel the blue-haired angel, to taste him and touch him in ways he wanted no one else to. Dark retreated his tongue and began nibbling lightly on Satoshi's lower lip, eliciting a small, muffled gasp of shock, that went unnoticed to him, from the younger teen, and a slight nagging for air in the back of his mind tried to make him break off their kiss.

Ignoring the need, and instead trying to breathe through his nose while still kissing Satoshi, the purple-haired Kaitou subconsciously pushed the bluenette down, letting the smaller teen's back rest upon the desk he was half-sitting on. Releasing Satoshi's elbows, Dark grabbed the bluenette's sneaker-clad heels and stretched his legs down, letting them dangle off the desk in a slightly knees-bent style.

Then he slipped his hands beneath the bluenette's dark blue shirt, the same one from yesterday, his mind noted vaguely, all the while still nipping and sucking Satoshi's already-bruising lips. His hands roamed over the younger teen's cold skin, mapping out his all-too obvious ribs and slim frame. Satoshi, meanwhile, was shocked, for lack of any better word to describe what he felt, at Dark's sudden burst of courage, if not persistence, to make out with him so eagerly. He was also shocked that his body was responding all-too-soon to the Kaitou's ministrations.

He tried to tell his traitorous body to struggle, to fight, but instead, he found himself actually enjoying the closeness between them, the intimacy. He actually wanted Dark to do this, more than he had ever had. Or, more accurately, to do this to him. He wanted Dark to feel him, taste him, claim him.

For once in his life, Satoshi wanted someone to have him.

But he was afraid. Very afraid. The last time he'd given in to someone, he'd ended up getting hurt. And he didn't want to get hurt. Not again. Never again.

This sudden change of thought, and the flash of an image of Kiesu smirking cruelly at him, finally brought sense to his body, which was quite obviously enjoying itself, and Satoshi finally found the strength and the mind to struggle against Dark.

With his free hands, he pushed against Dark's shoulders. As he did so, he kicked his legs against Dark's, causing the Kaitou to yelp in surprise, after breaking their lip-lock when Satoshi pushed him, and stumble backwards. Satoshi pushed back the disappointment swelling in his chest at the sudden absence of warmth in his body when Dark's hands slipped out from his shirt, and managed to throw a shaky glare in Dark's direction. He slipped off the desk he was on and, trembling, straightened his clothes.

Dark, on the other hand, was too shocked to do anything but stare, open-mouthed, at the blue-haired genius, whose face was unusually flushed and his blue hair was in a less frozen mess, hanging limply on his head, as though melted.

The Kaitou was almost as shocked as the bluenette when realization of letting his lust control him dawned on him. But to say he was sorry was more than an understatement. Oh, the Kaitou was sorry alright, but only because the bluenette had pushed him away before they could do anything else. Other than that, the Kaitou was just fine, if not blissful at having had a taste of Satoshi after waiting for so long.

Satoshi, though, was more afraid than anything else, and he tried to hide this simple, yet oh-so-complicating, fact by slipping on the cold, emotionless mask he usually had on.

He fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, stalling for time, wishing he didn't have to talk, or even look, at the purple-haired Kaitou in front of him.

In the end, he had no choice but to face Dark, though. And face him he did. Unfortunately, he faced him at the exact same time Dark decided to face Satoshi.

"Dark-"

"Sato-"

Both stopped and Satoshi blushed, looking away, as Dark averted his gaze as well. Then Dark looked back at Satoshi.

"Look, Satoshi, I want to apologize for yesterday--"

Satoshi glanced up sharply at him and glared coldly, causing him to stop short. Even with a cute blush like that adorning his cheeks, the blue-haired genius looked dangerous.

"Don't," hissed the bluenette, wincing slightly as another image of Kiesu floated in his mind at the mention of yesterday's events. "Just… don't. Just don't. Okay? Just… leave me alone Mousy. Leave me alone."

Dark's eyes widened at the last part, surprised and slightly hurt that Satoshi had reverted back to calling him by his last name, and Satoshi tried to ignore the sudden aching pain in his heart. But he gritted his teeth and kept it in.

"Just leave me alone," he whispered, before running past the stunned Dark and out the classroom.

Tears of pain clouded his vision as he ran down the hall of the building he was in. But he knew where he was headed. He didn't need to look to know where he was. He'd always gone there whenever he snapped. Whenever the pressure of being the cold-hearted Chairman became too much and he just needed somewhere alone to be. Whenever he needed to show weakness.

There was only one thing he showed his weaknesses to, and that thing stood right at the back of the oldest building of Azumano Academy, living in solitude amongst moss-covered stones worn away by time. Something most knew only as a Hikari Artwork. Or, more accurately, Tsubasa no Jikan; Wings of Time (1).

And so, ignoring Dark's shock-delayed shout after him, Satoshi exited the building and headed to the old hall, supposedly of-limits to students due to dangerous and unsteady walls that needed more than mere reconstruction or renovation.

And as Dark cursed, quite loudly, and began running after him, no one noticed the third bright flash of a camera from behind the desk Satoshi had been leaning against. Nor did anyone notice the dark-haired teenager who stood up from his crouching position, grinning like a cat that had just caught a fat mouse.

---+---

Dark stopped running and bent over, leaning his hands on his knees as he panted for breath. Rolling his eyes heaven-ward, he shook his head to clear the dizziness that was setting in for lack of air, and looked around him. Searching, yet not finding, any kind of clue as to where Satoshi had run off to, he let out a quiet growl of frustration.

The purple-haired Kaitou was currently standing in the middle of two red-brick buildings that stood facing their fronts to the left of block C, where he had come from and where the boys' dorms were. The buildings he stood in between were both, for some reason Dark couldn't care less about, were locked and one was the gymnasium, while the other was where the laboratories were located. Both, as mentioned before, were locked, and though Satoshi was a genius, Dark knew he couldn't have managed to decode either of the automated locks (which he couldn't help but scoff at). And for some reason, he felt that Satoshi hadn't went back to his and Krad's room.

And so, the thief had lost Satoshi's already freezing-cold trail and was at a loss as to what he should do. He looked around once more, almost hopefully, and then finally sighed in defeat. Shoulders slumping he made his way slowly back to his and Daisuke's dorm room, all the while wondering how a skinny kid like Satoshi could outrun him like that.

He had given up on trying to figure that out, as well, when he reached the door to his and Daisuke's room. When he looked up with a long face at the door, he sweatdropped slightly when he saw that the pocket knife Daisuke had thrown was still sticking out of it.

Hesitantly, and still sweatdropping, Dark slotted his card key through the cad-key slot and pushed open the door slowly when the piece of machinery beeped once. Peeking his head in, Dark looked around the darkened room (Daisuke had pulled Dark's thick curtains over the window) and called out tentatively, "Daisuke?"

Silence answered him and Dark wondered if Daisuke had left their room while he was out or something. Deciding that this was probably so, the Kaitou sighed in relief and went in completely, shutting the door with a soft thud behind him. Sighing again, he made his way over to his dark-purple duvet-ed bed and flopped onto it.

Dark buried his face into his lilac pillows and shut his eyes tight, pushing away all thoughts into the back of his mind. This proved quite hard, though, when a certain blue-haired genius persisted on popping in his head to give him more worries of what he was to do. Eventually, the purple-haired Kaitou gave up trying to sleep and instead set his mind to find out how he was going to explain to Krad that he had driven Satoshi off by making out with him in English Class.

An image of the blonde 'angel' smacking the Kaitou's head with an abnormally large frying pan and screaming obscenities that would make even a sailor blush made Dark wince slightly. It would definitely not be good for him. The one-too-many-time hit in the head with a frying pan was going to give him a concussion one of these days.

Sighing, Dark turned over onto his back and stared up at the deep purple of his ceiling, which went quite nicely with Daisuke's dark red walls. This fact did not interest Dark, though. No, the Kaitou was much more busy with thoughts of Satoshi in his head to notice the beautiful contrast. After all, blue and purple were so much nicer, ne…?

"DARK!"

The loud shout caused the Kaitou to jolt straight up in bed like a bullet and something dark and red and slightly shiny landed atop him, sending him and whatever it was on top of him back down onto the bed.

"Nani?" yelled the Kaitou in surprise.

The… something on top of him made a low growling noise and Dark was suddenly looking up into an eyeful view of flaming black, red-tinted orbs.

"Dark…" growled Caine quietly.

"H-hai?" replied Dark nervously, hoping the other teen wasn't going to kill him or anything.

Caine Talraven, to Dark, was a complete and utter stranger, despite the fact that they had known each other for a little over three years. From what Dark had gathered when he first met with the red-highlighted ebonette, which was when he first met Krad and Satoshi, the strange, quiet, contemplative teen was a first rate troublemaker who wouldn't give a damn what people thought of him.

Now this; this scared Dark. He knew what people like Caine were capable of. Vandalism, theft, robbery (okay, Dark could do those, too), forgery, heck, even murder. And honestly, the Kaitou did not do murder. He despised the thought of taking lives just to instill fear upon others. No, Dark loathed it. It was… immoral. Yes, Dark knew what immoral was, so don't look like that. True, Dark had always played against the rules and bent and twisted them so much you could hardly recognize them anymore (face it, he's a thief, and one who doesn't want to get caught. He had to know how to use loopholes to his advantage), but the Kaitou would never in a million years ever stoop so low as to murdering.

So, Dark usually either avoided or made enemies of (though he never really knew how he did this) people like Caine. In fact, Caine had first looked at Dark as if he were a piece of days-old trash that hadn't gotten thrown out yet. But Caine had tolerated Dark because Krad had, and Krad was like a god to the ebonette. Everything Krad did or said was always, always, embraced and fervently acted upon by the teen. This had given Dark another reason to add to his list of reasons why he should not anger Krad, and the Kaitou had always stayed on the blonde's 'good' side. Usually. Most of the time. Okay, maybe not most of the time, but he tried, he really did, so don't look like that, either.

Anyway, aside from all that was mentioned above, Dark knew next to absolutely nothing about Caine. They did not share many classes together, only Phys. Ed, so Dark never really got to see him often (except during breaks, when the six of them /Satoshi, Krad, Daisuke, Dark, Caine and Reese/ would hang out together at the garden at the edge of campus), and most of the time, he preferred it that way. Although no one really noticed, Dark knew that Caine, too, wanted Satoshi. Heck, most of everyone the group met, be them strangers or old friends, would either want Satoshi or Daisuke. And Dark honestly couldn't blame them (although he could hate them for wanting his Satoshi); Satoshi and Daisuke were undeniably cute.

But, back to the point, Dark knew that Caine wanted Satoshi, though the ebonette would never admit that. No, Caine would never admit to wanting Satoshi, because he knew he'd never get him. For some reason unfathomable to Dark, Caine wanted Satoshi, but knew, almost implicitly, that he could never have the blue-haired angel.

Call it instinct or whatever, but Dark knew Caine knew. Which is kinda very complicating, so we'll skip that. Long story short, Caine wanted Satoshi, Caine knew he could never have Satoshi, and Dark knew that Caine knew and Dark knew that knowing that Caine knew meant that Caine would have many reasons to hate and despise Dark.

And again, that's complicating. And pure, pointless rambling. So, anyway, Caine was capable of many things, and Dark hated the fact that these many things Caine were capable of scared the shit out of him. Plus, without Caine breathing down his neck, Dark had more chances of wooing Satoshi (yeah, right). So, not having the ebonette around was more than welcomed by Dark.

And this comes to the conclusion that Dark was afraid of Caine, and having Caine pin him down to his own bed was a very freaky thing for Dark. And Dark did not do freaky well, either.

"Where is…" Dark closed his eyes, bracing himself for the question of where Satoshi was

"… my book?"

Dark's amethyst eyes snapped open and he stared into Caine's still-flaming eyes. "Y-Your what?" he stuttered, staring wide-eyed in confusion.

Caine rolled his eyes, which seemed to make them look less fearful, though they were still burning with dark, black-red flames.

"My book, Dark. The Latin book I let you 'borrow' three days ago? Or is your brain so small that it can't even store memories more than a day old?" was the annoyed answer from the ebonette, who shifted on top of Dark, so he was now straddling the purple-haired Kaitou.

Dark's brows scrunched in confusion before he remembered the book he had 'borrowed' from Caine (actually, he stole it, something Daisuke had forced him to do after losing a bet, yet again).

"Oh, that book," he said dumbly. Then he grinned sheepishly up at Caine. "Uhh… I think it's on my desk. But it's got a few stains on the cover, though. Daisuke did it."

Caine glanced over his shoulder at Dark's desk and nodded once before sliding off Dark. He quickly grabbed the leather-bound tome lying on the cool surface of the wood and checked over it for any signs of damage, other than the stains Dark had mentioned on its dark brown cover.

"Hmm," he said to Dark, flipping through a few pages.

Dark, meanwhile, sat up on his bed and stared at the ebonette. Something seemed different about the teen. True, his hair was still the same as always, and he was still wearing his clothes from last night. His right ear still had their silver circles, and his…

Wait, that was it! His Insignia was gone.

"Hey, Caine?" called Dark.

The other teen did not look up from his book, but gave a "Hn", indicating for Dark to continue.

"Where's your Insignia?" asked Dark.

The flipping of pages stopped abruptly and Dark could see the muscles on his arms tense. Eyes widening in fear that he had asked something wrong, Dark quickly tried to find something to say to amend his mistake. But nothing came to mind and Dark could only stare as Caine snapped his book shut and glanced at him once before quickly moving to the door of the room.

"Jaa ne," muttered the ebonette, and Dark almost choked when he saw the--

No, it couldn't be… Could it? Had Dark really seen the slight tinge of pink on the impassive teen's pale cheeks? No, no, it couldn't be. It must've been a trick of the light…

Then something stirred in his mind and Dark jumped off his bed and poked his head out the door, shouting in the direction where Caine was rapidly disappearing to with his book clutched close to his chest, "My brain is NOT small!"

A faint "Whatever" was all he heard in reply and the purple-haired Kaitou huffed irritably as he slammed his door shut. "Stupid teme," he muttered, glancing haughtily at his door as he made his way back to his bed. Flopping onto the purple covers once more, he suddenly wondered how in the hell did Caine get into his and Daisuke's room in the first place. He was sure he had locked the door…

Sweatdropping, Dark decided that not knowing would probably be better. After all, the ebonette was capable of many things…

Tbc…

(1) Tsubasa no Jikan/Wings of Time: Right, just something I couldn't help but make up and put into this chapter. It'll be described later and more will be revealed about it as the story unfolds. It kinda has a very large significance to Satoshi.

Glossary-

Itte: Ouch (sometimes emphasized by an added 'yo')

Teme: Bastard (sort of)

Lief: Right, once again, I had to cut this off because it was getting too long. Plus, I was getting too carried away with the ramblings. Again 'ˆ.ˆ.. Gomen ne. Anyways, I hope this will satisfy you guys for the time being. I know there wasn't much avoiding and apologizing, but I tried. The next chapter is on the way, I promise, and there will be more SatoxDark action in it! And did any of you guys get the hints about Caine? (nudge, nudge) C'mon, I'm sure you had some ideas… Hentai! ˆ.ˆ Anyways, please R&R!

Syren: Yes, please do. We love reviews. Really. We do…

Cyren: ¬.¬ … Idiots.

Lief: Oh, shut up, spoilsport. Anyways, please tell me if you'd like any other lemony goodness between any of the characters! I'll try my best to put them in (that is, assuming I don't start rambling again) and you could maybe even give my imagination a boost! So, anyways, jaa ne!

Ps: The first who guesses who's the mysterious stranger with the camera gets a cookie! A double-choc one, too. So, review!