Okay, I went over this chapter multiple times to get it in a way that I wanted the story. I swear I rewrote this over and over to finally get it somewhere. I hope everyone likes it! :)

I got some feedback on my question I posted on Chapter 13, I would like a few more comments before I bring Hiwatari back into the story. Please give me your feedback. I would love to hear it.

Anyway, here ya go!

Chapter 14-Ignition

Daisuke took a step back from Fukomachi, the taller boy greeting the redhead with a sneer. His arm was in a sling with a cast wrapped around his hand and forearm. Daisuke bit his lip as Fukomachi spoke, "Hello, little Niwa. It's about time you crawled out of your hole."

~This guy again...crap.~ Dark growled.

Daisuke couldn't hear Dark very well, his focus fixed on Fukomachi. His happy demeanour washed away, now showing a growing fear across his face, "W-What are you doing in this place? This isn't your neighbourhood."

"I can go where I damn well please, you little brat." he said flatly, stepping around the swing. "I don't need to tell you- what the hell is wrong with your eyes?"

The redhead blinked, looking above his senior. His eyes were still able to see the energy around them, the threads of energy swirling around the others face without a passing thought. Fukomachi seemed unfazed by the threads that floated across his line of sight.

'Oh no...my eyes change too?'

~...crap.~

'D-Dark!' he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on his eyes going back to normal. He looked back at Fukomachi, who was currently raising an eyebrow in his direction. "There's nothing wrong. M-My eyes are just irritated."

"You're a weird kid, you know that Niwa?" Fukomachi asked, taking another step. This caused Daisuke to take a second step back. "How you managed to dodge and escape me still baffles me. You're just a weak little runt. But you somehow managed to escape me." He looked down at his sling, his gaze becoming darker. "Because of you I haven't been to participate in football practice because of my hand."

"I-It wasn't my fault. You were the one who threw the punch...and missed."

Fukomachi narrowed his eyes, "Excuse me?"

Daisuke took a few more steps and felt something behind him grasping his shoulders, making him jump. He looked up to see two other older boys who he had never seen before, making him panic inside. He tried to move but the pair held him in place, each of them grabbing an arm and a shoulder. The redhead struggled, looking around him and found the usual goons Honda, standing around the trail towards his home and Sho, leaning on one of the metal arches that was the main entrance to the playground. He could see others boys who seemed to appear from the edges of the park, causing his heart to pound as few of them were making their way towards them. The two that had him pinned pretty tight, not letting go.

'W-What do I do...I can't escape now. Everything's being watched and now I'm trapped.'

~Let me take over Dai. I can try and find a means to escape.~

The two boys pushed Daisuke down so he was on his knees. He yelped as the cold, wet grass starting to dampen his pants, making him shiver 'I-I can't. If you take over you might be discovered.'

~But if I don't you'll get hurt. I promised myself that I wouldn't let that happen.~

'But Dark-'

"What did you just say, brat?" Fukomachi ordered, grabbing the redhead by the hair, pulling upwards. "Did you say that you were sorry for breaking my hand?"

Daisuke let out a whine, tears prickling his eyes as he felt the pain all the way down his spine. He managed to mutter softly, "It wasn't m-my f-fault."

"What's that?" The older boy leaned in closer, "I don't think I heard you correctly, try again." He twisted on Daisuke's hair again, hearing another whine escape the redheads mouth.

Dark was fuming from within. With Daisuke not wanting to cooperate it left him dead in the water. He didn't like that at all, hearing Daisuke's cries echoing in his own thoughts. Dark knew the redhead was right, but Dark didn't care; the boy needed help again. Plain and simple. Fukomachi was playing dirty, and it angered the Fallen to his core.

~Daisuke, let me out.~

'I-I can't. I won't.'

~Oh, for the love of- why are you being stubborn at a time like this?!~

'I'm sorry- aah!'

~Daisuke!~

Fukomachi had let go of Daisuke's hair and the other two let go of his arms. They watched the boy on his hands and knees, trying to breathe while he choked on air, a hand on his head where his skin burned with pain. Fukomachi didn't give Daisuke much time as he gripped the redhead's jacket, lifting the boy up onto his feet. The older boy glowered at the child. Daisuke closed his eyes, fighting back the tears while he tried his best to keep his lungs from seizing. He grabbed Fukomachi's good wrist with both hands as he weakly struggled. There was now a circle of boys around the two of them, creating a barrier so no one could see what was going on. Some of them chuckled at the scene, watching the helpless child trying to break free.

"Try again, Niwa." Fukomachi stated, his arm with the cast out of the sling. "If you don't do what I ask...this will hurt you more than it will hurt me."

Daisuke opened his eyes a little, watching the older boy raise his other arm, getting ready to backhand the redhead. "P-Please...Fukomachi. Let me go."

"Wrong answer," the elder said low, bringing his arm towards the little one.

'...h-help me.' was all the redhead thought.

Daisuke watched as the arm come down, bracing for the impact. He didn't want to get hurt, knowing that he ignored Dark's request was a big mistake. He begged to be able to defend himself, not wanting Dark to come to his rescue all the time. But as the arm came down, time seemed to slow around the crowd. All of a sudden his body began to feel...warm inside. Something sparked to life as his body began to glow with an eruption of energy; an encircling aura of warm, golden light enveloping his small frame.

Dark snapped out of his anger, feeling the aura come to life from within his vessel's body at an alarming rate. ~Daisuke...~

Fukomachi stopped his advance, looking at the redhead and started to feel something odd about the boy he was holding. His brain began to register pain beginning to sting around his good wrist and quickly let go of the boy and let out a howl, cradling his good arm. The others in the circle were startled at Fukomachi's cry as Daisuke hit the ground.

"Fukomachi? Hey man you okay?" one of them said.

"Dude, what's going on?" called another.

"W-What...the f-fuc..." Fukomachi stammered, looking down to see two small hand prints where Daisuke had touched were severely burned into his flesh. He quickly hid his arm, clenching his teeth as he fell back onto his behind and skittered away, his face covered in anguish. "K-Kuso! What the hell...what did you just do?!"

The redhead's mind was clouding over, unable to take in what had just occurred or how it happened. He looked down at himself, seeing the glowing aura around him, surprised that he wasn't being harmed himself. His looked around to the other kids, his eyes flickering with golden rings around his pupils. The circle of teens were mumbling to themselves and backed away from him, now hovering close to Fukomachi, who currently stared back at him dumbfounded.

Daisuke slowly stood up, taking a staggering step towards them. "F-Fukomachi I-I'm..."

"N-No...get away, you freak! S-Stay away from me..." he said, being pulled to his feet by some of the other kids. He let out a few more curses feeling blisters beginning to surface around his injuries. He remained close to the others, muttering bitterly. "We're done here."

The gang took a few more quick glances towards the redhead before helping Fukomachi out of the playground, unsure as to how and what just happened. The rest of the boys who were on the outskirts looked baffled but followed with the rest of the crowd until Daisuke was the only one left alone in the playground, his body shaking as he kept quiet. His golden aura continued to smoulder around him as he stared down at his hands, his mind now in shock.

The rings in Daisuke's flickered with intensity, unbeknownst to him. He could see the yellow threads of energy being pulled towards him, fuelling the barrier that he had created. His heart pounded uncontrollably while he tried to calm down, but with the events unfolding in his mind he was unable to do so quickly. He kept quiet, his shoulders shaking.

Dark assessed the situation. With Daisuke's powers lashing out like that wasn't any surprise, but it still left him intrigued. There wasn't any control, only a cry for help and the energy responded. He watched in the back of Daisuke's mind, collecting his own thoughts. He noticed the boys silence, hoping that he would get through to him.

~Daisuke...~ Dark said calmly. ~It's alright. It's over.~

The redhead heard his voice echoing in his thoughts. In response he let his hands drop, taking in a shallow breath. He watched the aura die down around him and vanish, his body shuddering as the warmth disappeared, his eyes reverting back to normal. He spoke softly, unable to properly think the words, "D-Did they see..."

~No.~ Dark stated. ~Normal humans are unable to see it unless you physically manifest it.~

"T-Then...what just happened...?"

Dark sighed, ~Let's get you home, then we will talk.~

The boy nodded, turning towards the direction of his house. "S-Sounds good." He slowly made his way back down the path to home, his brain almost on auto-pilot.

Emiko perked up from her reading when she heard the back door slowly creak open. "Daisuke?" she called, getting up from her chair and went to the door. "The hour isn't up yet. You can still play..."

She trailed off when she found her little boy with a solemn look plastered on his face. She could see that his pants were wet and covered in dirt and grass stains with a few red marks under his chin. Emiko rushed towards him, kneeling in front of him and placed her hands on his shoulders, her tone laced with worry. "Dai? Sweetie? Are you hurt?"

The redhead met her eyes, his lip trembling. "Momma..." he quickly wrapped his arms around her neck, hugging tightly. "Momma." he repeated, unable to say anything else while he began to cry.

His mother took the hug, holding him tight while as he sobbed into her shirt. "Shh...it's okay. What's wrong, did you fall?"

Daisuke sniffled, only giving her a small nod. 'I can't tell her.'

~I know.~

Emiko rubbed his back, trying to sooth him. She pulled away when he began to quiet down. He rubbed his nose with his jacket, sniffling again. She gave him a smile, rubbing his cheek. "There we go." she said, giving him a small kiss on the cheek. "Feel better?"

He nodded, his eyes drawn to the floor, "Momma...I'm tired. C-Can I go take a nap?" he asked softly.

She began to unzip his jacket, "Sure huney. After a bath first, okay?"

"O-Okay..."

She took his hand after he untied his shoes, walking with her as Emiko led her son up the stairs towards the bathroom. 'I should have done more checks. He was fine when I saw him, it wasn't that long ago. Something doesn't seem right.'

Daisuke remained quiet all the way up the stairs to the bathroom, taking off his jacket and handing it to his mother. "I think I'm okay for now Momma."

She folded up his jacket in her arms, "Do you want me to get you anything while you're in there sweetheart?"

He shook his head. "N-No..."

"Daisuke."

"I'll be okay."

"Are you sure."

"Yes."

Emiko gave him a frown. "Alright huney." she said, closing the door behind him. "I'll be downstairs."

Daisuke stood by the sink, walking over and sat on the side of the bathtub. He remained quiet, hearing his mothers steps descending the stairs. He folded his arms in front of him, staring down at the tile. He felt empty inside, unsure of what to think or do.

"I-I...didn't mean to hurt him." Daisuke said softly. "I didn't..."

~No Daisuke. You didn't. It's okay.~

"No, it's not." he buried his face in his arms, his shoulders beginning to shake again. "How did I do that?"

Dark let out a slow breath, ~You asked for help, and your abilities reacted. Without proper focus they lashed out at the nearest target, which was Fukomachi.~

His breathing hitched, the image of the bully flashed in his mind: holding onto him, and then soon after he was on the ground with burns where Daisuke had touched. He whimpered softly, the tears threatening to come out again. He felt fear beginning to rise inside of him once again, this time it was directed towards himself. Dark began to sense the change, grunting in frustration.

~Daisuke. There's no reason for you to feel this way.~

"I-I can't help it."

~Yes, you can! He had his goons with him. You were the one in the right. Your control of your powers is still weak, but they responded because you were in danger. You didn't want me to be discovered, so your body reacted on its own. This isn't your fault Daisuke! Stop blaming yourself for of that idiotic simpleton!~

Daisuke flinched at Darks words, holding his head in his hands. He could feel Dark's anger through his words, and it stung hard in his chest. Dark on the other hand took a moment to calm down; his own emotions getting the better of him. Dark let out a sigh, the edge of his tone lessened.

~I can help you prevent it from happening again.~

The redhead looked up from his hands, rubbing his face once again. He walked back to the sink, pulling up his stool and stood on it, looking into the mirror. He continued to stare at it, looking into his own eyes.

"Please..." was the only thing he said, his mind focusing on Dark.

Dark felt a sudden tug, being pulled in a direction as he manifested behind the boy in a physical body once again. He hid his startled reaction and looked up at the mirror, surprised that he could see himself in the reflection. Daisuke jumped in surprise, looking behind him to see the Fallen looking back at him. The redhead didn't leave any time to think as he threw himself at Dark, hugging him as best as he could. Being the only one who knew of what actually happened, the redhead was hoping to get some comfort. He couldn't feel much of anything from his other, but to have him there to hold onto was more than enough for the moment. Dark was stunned for a second at the new weight that was pressed on his chest, but then wrapped his arms around his vessel, rubbing his back.

"P-Please..." Daisuke begged softly. "D-Don't let it happen again, Dark. I don't want to hurt anyone again."

"I won't." he stated, resting his head on his soft, spiky locks. He remained there, rocking back and forth a little to calm the child, "I promise."

Daisuke closed his eyes, feeling slightly relieved to hear those words. A light rosy tint spread across his cheeks as Dark continued to hold him. Things might have gone differently if he had chosen to let Dark take over, but he didn't want his other to be spotted. He was his friend, and he didn't want to lose him. He knew that he made a bad choice, but at this point he was doing his best to protect Dark as best as he could. This was his way of helping Dark, even though he hurt someone.

'This feels...nice.' Daisuke thought, still hugging Dark. 'Thank you, Dark.'

Dark mentally froze, hearing his vessels words echo in his thoughts. Something inside his very soul seemed to melt to those words, making him want to hold the boy tighter in his embrace. He resisted the urge, pulling away and gave Daisuke a smile, noticing the blush. He noted to himself that Daisuke probably didn't know that he was still projecting his thoughts to him.

'What...is this feeling?' Dark thought, masking his thoughts. 'I can't...quite describe this...'

Daisuke looked away, trying to hide the rest of his growing blush. "I uh...better start the bath. I-I guess."

"Oh. Yes, right." Dark said, scratching the back of his head. "I guess now that I'm out here, I will give you some privacy. If you're tired though I will disappear back inside."

"N-No, it's okay. This is only the second time that you've had physical form. And the last one doesn't really count because you were only out for a few minutes. It's practice I guess."

'Third, but he doesn't need to know that.' "Heh, alright. But don't hesitate to say something, okay?"

Daisuke nodded, stepping off his stool and looked up at his other, turning his back to him. "No peeking, though."

Dark chuckled, turning on a heel and looked away, giving the redhead as much privacy as he possibly could. This was a normal routine for him at this point. There were limits that he placed on himself, Daisuke's shame was one of them. But being out in the open like this with the redhead made it pretty hard not to look behind him. He blinked and shook his head, fighting his own thoughts.

'He's still a child. A male child. I'm older, way older. No way...'

But he heard a garment fall, causing him to swallow hard. He turned slowly, looking behind him. 'What is wrong with me?' he fought with himself, 'This kid just went through a very traumatic experience in his life and you're trying to see him naked? Snap out of it!'

He was about to face the wall again when something caught his eye. At first he shrugged it off but he noticed something on Daisuke's upper back, causing him to pale internally.

'The rash...it's coming back...'

.o~End of Chapter 14~o.

Thanks for reading! Please R&R! :)