A/N: I don't own DN Angel

.o~Chapter 11-Ups and Downs~o.

Daisuke's school days were quiet. Students continued to avoid him since his return. But at least he wasn't being constantly bullied because he remained in the classroom all day. Fukomachi, Honda, and Sho didn't pay him much mind for now, since the gang leader still had a cast on his hand and wasn't able to do much until it healed, which put Daisuke under the radar for now. Riku and Risa hung out with the redhead during school hours, but then they would have to leave him alone while they had their various school activities that kept them busy. Daisuke would work on his homework and eat during recess and lunch, and go home to finish up the rest of his work from the afternoon at home. He would try to keep busy as best he could with school and assignments that he could do in order to put the rest of his problems in the back of his mind.

Since the incident there didn't seem to be any kind of physical changes that Dark had seen. But he remained on alert, watching over the boy. His seal over the transformation phases seemed to stay in effect for now until he had time to look things over. Since the weekend there were more tests that Dr. Sekaki needed to perform that Daisuke's mother wasn't aware of. But the Niwa family took them in stride, understanding that the tests needed to be done to monitor Daisuke's progress. Dark was concerned that with Daisuke's possible internal and external changes with him merged with the kid's soul would bring up some red flags. With the seal he hoped that the changes wouldn't become more apparent until after all of the future tests were completed. Everything looked to be in the green, which was a relief to now only Emiko's but to Dark as well.

The next week came and went. Daisuke did his normal routine of waking up, going to school, come home, watch some TV with his mother, or stay in his room to finish his homework. Things were as normal as they could be, except that Daisuke and Dark didn't talk very much since their conversation. Daisuke was still trying to understand all of the information on top of balancing his life and schoolwork in his brain. Even though he was getting better as the days passed; he was beginning to feel trapped. He was now afraid that he was going to suddenly become something inhuman or a monster overnight or worse. But he did his best to hide his insecurity behind his smile, masking his problems to look like things were okay in front of others.

As Daisuke continued his week, things were becoming progressively demanding on the boy's body. By Friday he was feeling completely drained. He got up and rubbed his eyes, getting dressed and felt a slight throbbing in his temples. He kept away from trying to interact with Dark, doing his best to get through the day as best as he could so he could rest during the weekend. The day seemed to go by slowly, each second taking a moment to last longer before passing to the next. As much as he wanted to focus on school, his body was trying to convince him that he needed something other than studying. Once he got off the bus he went inside, he called out to his mother that he had returned, dragging his book bag behind him and let it fall to his side when he got into his bedroom. He managed to make it to the bed and collapsing on top of it with a heavy sigh.

"So sleepy..." he said to himself, curling up with his pillow.

His mother called up at the foot of the stairs. "Daisuke? Dinner's going to be ready in a another hour."

"Okay..." he called back, masking his discomfort.

The throbbing in his skull hadn't gone away all day. He looked up at the ceiling to try to distract himself to no avail. He closed his eyes, seeing Dark's violet eyes in the back of his eyelids, sighing softly.

~Still going to continue to ignore me?~ Dark asked.

'No...' he groaned. 'I'm having trouble focusing on things is all.'

~You have been eating properly. But you're still feeling tired?~

'Yeah. Does this have something to do with...'

~It's possible. Have you felt or seen anything differently?~

'Am I supposed to?'

~It depends.~

Daisuke grunted in frustration. 'Now you're going to start talking in riddles?'

~You've been avoiding me. You know that I am here to help, but now you've been distant.~

'Can you really blame me? It's been hard to concentrate.' he rolled over. 'You said before that the Fallen lives off the world around you?'

~Correct.~

Daisuke opened his eyes. "Then how do I-" he stopped mid-sentence and noticed something move in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to see but there was nothing there. Then another flew past his vision, almost like a string of light floating in the air and then it disappeared. And then another.

'Dark?'

~What?~

'I think I'm going crazy. I'm seeing things.'

~What do you see?~

'I dunno. It was something in the air. It looked like a string, but I couldn't quite place it.'

~What did it look like?~

'I think...it was yellow? They keep disappearing and reappearing I can't really tell.'

~It's the energy that I have spoke of. We use it as a life source. Your body is probably low on energy and needs to be restored.~

'What do I do? Will it do something to me?'

~Reach out to it. Being like the Fallen it should comply to your actions.~

Daisuke took a slow breath, sitting up and saw multiple strands of golden yellow strings of light now circling his bed. It was beautiful and hypnotic, watching them dance, disappearing and reappearing in the air. He reached out towards one of the threads with a shaky hand, curious if they were actually something he could physically touch. As Daisuke moved closer, the string disappeared. He frowned and looked for another one, reaching towards it. In response the string of light reacted, spinning around his index finger. At first Daisuke wanted to pull his hand back, but was too entranced by the experience, watching the light dance in between his fingers. It felt warm and soft at the same time, giving off a golden glow. The redhead tilted his head, turning his hand as the thread swirled around the top of his palm and then dissipated into a pile of golden dust, landing on his skin and faded.

'Dark...what was...?'

~Relax. Just wait.~

The boy waited, not feeling anything, slightly puzzled. And then all of a sudden something ripped through him like a jolt of electricity. His heart gave a strong thump in his chest, causing him to fall back onto the bed. Daisuke suddenly felt like his entire body was as light as a feather, feeling like he could float away with the smallest of breeze. He looked at his hand to see the golden energy move inside his hand and up his arm, slightly alarmed by the experience, but it wasn't painful or harmful to him. The energy spread inside him, the pain in his skull ceasing and the fatigue that he had felt was almost like it was never there. He felt more alert, almost like he could literally bounce around his room with little trouble. His back felt warm, like he was laying on a cloud. The golden light began to fade into his small frame, the rush dying down. He took a few moments just laying there to catch his breath, the threads of light continued to swirl around him lazily.

~So, how do you feel?~

Daisuke blinked a few times, sitting up on his bed. He took one more look around before the threads disappeared. The room returned to normal as if nothing had happened.

"That felt...amazing. I'm not tired anymore."

~Yes, you have the ability to borrow energy from the world around you in order to rejuvenate yourself.~

"Rejuvenate?"

~Replenish. Fill you up. You use the energy to maintain your body.~

Daisuke pushed himself off the bed, looking at his hands. He then looked around again, almost dumbfounded. "So I really am becoming like you."

~You know, it's not a bad thing. Your body doesn't seem to need much energy, unlike us. It's almost a blessing because now you won't tire as easy.~

"How come they disappeared? The lights I mean?"

~They appeared when they're called, or when they're needed.~

Daisuke blinked again. "So you were just going to let me pass out on the bed like that? Why didn't you tell me?"

~Well, I figured you would call me eventually.~

"How cruel."

~Hey, I had to do wait and see what would happen. I'm learning what's happening with you. You forget that I am just as worried as you are. As good as my seal is, there are changes happening that I cannot control inside of you.~

"Do you know if there's anything else I can do. Like the abilities you talked about."

~We won't know unless we try. Do you trust me enough to do so?~

Daisuke paused, biting his lip. "Yes."

~Then let us try something. Close your eyes.~

He did as he was instructed. He saw the violet orbs once again within the darkness. Objects began to form in his thoughts. At first they looked to be a bunch of mismatched letters of a different language. A moment later the letters began to shift and change in his mind, translating for him. "What is this?"

~Think of it like a spell. I need you to read it out loud.~

Daisuke took a second to read the words a few times, giving a nod. "I think I'm ready."

~Go ahead.~

He cleared his throat and began to speak aloud, "Darkness that remains hidden within my being, appear before me in shape and form. Fallen brother, Dark Mousy. Be released!"

After he spoke the words, the room remained quiet. Daisuke opened his eyes slowly and looked around in front of him. Nothing had happened, his heart dropping in his chest. Just then Dark started to laugh in his thoughts, a blush of embarrassment falling on Daisuke's cheeks.

~Oh man, you looked so serious!~

Daisuke pouted. "I was being serious!" He bawled his fists. "That was mean!"

~You have to admit, I got you good!~

He sat back down on the bed, a look of defeat plastered on his face. "I really thought that something would actually happen."

~Well, you're not nervous anymore. You've seemed to have calmed down now.~

The child looked down at his hands in his lap, going quiet. Dark was right. He didn't appreciate the joke, but at least he knew that Dark was really trying to be there for him. He ran his fingers through his hair, leaning forward on his knees. "Well, I better head downstairs. Mom might let me watch a movie while dinner was cooking."

He got up and stopped, the sound of the bed continued to creak. A familiar voice filled his ears from behind, causing him to pale slightly.

"Come on Daisuke. You think I was going to let -nothing- happen?"

He quickly turned and locked eyes with familiar violet eyes, but now there was a human face included in the package. There, sitting with his legs crossed was a young man with long dark purple locks that framed his face. He was dressed in a black sleeveless shirt that was unbuttoned, exposing his slightly tanned and toned chest. He wore black cargo pants and was barefoot, giving the child a small smile. The redhead went wide-eyed and squeaked in surprise. The man placed a finger on the childs lips, hushing him, causing him to blush even further.

"Don't want to spook your mother, remember."

"D-Dark?" Daisuke whispered.

The man winked, "Nice to finally see you face-to-face."

It was another school day like the rest of them. The sound of the twittering and chirping of birds was a sure sign of spring. The snows of winter were now slush piles and large puddles that children took leisure of splashing and playing in them during recess, lunch, and even after school. More and more students were spending their time outside in the sunshine, while only a few stayed inside at the library working on school projects or studying, even after school was over.

"Hiwatari?"

Satoshi Hiwatari looked up from his novel he was reading, closing the book and remained stoic. He regularly spent some time after school reading in the quiet confines of the library. He recognized who was speaking to him as Ms. Tekako, a teacher he had for some of his subjects the year before. He had grown accustomed to talking with teachers on a regular basis. His teacher would volunteer him down to the lower grades to help with tutoring when he was asked. He didn't really mind the opportunity, in fact he took some enjoyment of being able to get out on his own during class time. She walked towards him with a small smile on her face, looking as calm and kind as always.

"Tekako-sensei, hello." he said politely, straightening his glasses. "How are you today?"

"Very well, thank you." she replied, holding a clipboard in her hands. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Not at all, Sensei. What is it?"

She handed him the clipboard with a list of names of students. He assumed that it was kids from her class, recognizing some of the names from his junior. "I was wondering if you would like to help me this year for being a reading partner for one of my students. I have some marked that haven't got a buddy yet. Would you be interested?"

He looked down the list, crossing out the kids that he knew that were younger than him and didn't really care for them. He stopped when he got to one particular name, sparking some interest. "Tekako-sensei, what about Daisuke Niwa?"

Ms. Tekako nodded, looking at the list herself with a small frown. "I'm afraid that the older kids prefer to find someone other than him. He's done well for most of his homework, but he does struggle with a few things since his absence. The poor dear, he tries really hard, but he's got a good heart."

'Indeed,' Hiwatari thought to himself.

He had noticed the boy a few years before when the redhead was entering grade school. He was a small little thing, always being the center of attention, mostly from bullies who took pleasure preying on the weak. Hiwatari always observed from a distance, intrigued at the fact that no matter how scraped or bruised the child had gotten, he would always have a smile on his face afterwards. He was found out by the little redhead, seeing the boy wave to him when Satoshi would observe him from afar. But it didn't seem to mind the kid. But then Niwa was gone, vanished. Hiwatari had later found out that Daisuke had to remain at home because of illness. It almost made him sad that his little piece of entertainment had gone from school. Since then the lavender-haired boy kept to himself and his books, putting more time into his studies instead of attempting any kind social activity with his fellow peers.

So it came to a surprise to him when he found Daisuke in the bathroom a few weeks prior. He wasn't aware that the child had returned, which almost made him happy for the sudden interaction. But this time the redhead was different. Satoshi couldn't really put his finger on it, especially on the fact that his eyes were different from what Hiwatari had known. He even researched possible medications that would lead to possible changes of eye color, and came up with nothing. This posed further questions. Unfortunately, Daisuke would always slip out of his view before Hiwatari could go and confront him. Another obstacle was that Daisuke remained in the classroom during breaks with Ms. Tekako for the moment, so it was impossible to get him alone. Now this was a possible chance.

"I'll help him, Tekako-sensei." Satoshi said flatly. "If he needs help with other subjects I will tutor him. If there's time during or after school for him to do so."

"Well, if it's okay with you, do you mind coming to my classroom at lunch hour?"

'Perfect.' He gave a small nod. "If it helps you, sensei. I don't mind. I usually spend most of my time here anyway."

Ms. Tekako smiled, writing down his name on the clipboard. "That would help me out alot Hiwatari, thank you." She gave him a small bow. "I will talk with your teacher to schedule a reading time during class starting next week. As for tutoring, you can start next week too if you're not too busy."

"That's fine." he began to flip through the novel his was reading to the page he was on. "Just let me know what he is having trouble with first and I will be there."

"Thank you, Hiwatari. I really appreciate it."

He gave her one final nod and she made her way towards the library exit. He went back to reading, adjusting his glasses again. 'No sensei, thank you.'

.o~End of Chapter 11~o.

I guess I had alot of pent up thoughts about this story. It's only been over a week and I've put out 6 chapters. I apologize to everyone who has waited this long for these updates. I am happy to see that people do continue reading it. I thank all the people who have taken the time to read each chapter, and have commented on them.