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Chapter 18- A Day Trip

~Whoa...~

The mall was extremely packed. Daisuke stuck close to his mother, praying that he didn't lose her in the chaos of the crowd. Dark could only watch in awe at the bustling bodies that moved in and out of the various shops and stores that were crammed into the large complex. Emiko took her sons hand and led him past the many, many places they could possibly visit, the boy clinging to her coat tightly as they ascended on an escalator.

"It's not going to bite Dai. Just hold my hand and you will be fine."

Daisuke only gripped tighter at his mothers words. 'I didn't think that there was going to be so many people on a Sunday. T-This is crazy.'

~What's crazy is that grip you have. Any tighter and I think your moms fingers will turn purple.~

The boy unclenched his hold slightly, continuing to be weary of the mass of strangers. Being kept inside the house constantly had a side-effect of being socially inept, with partial agoraphobia. His lips were shut, only able to listen to his mother if she said any more to him. However, the fear of being surrounded and the possibility of getting lost was bubbling in his subconscious. He only relaxed briefly when he noticed some families walking around with other children, some of the kids he recognized from his school. When they looked towards him they didn't seem to recognize him, or ignored him entirely.

~You're okay Daisuke.~
'I-I know. B-But I think that I wanna go home.'

~Your mother and I are here with you. Just calm down and we will be in and out before you know it.~

'I hope you're right.'

Once they got through the initial masses, Daisuke's mother led the nervous child down a few side paths, away from the majority of people. It seemed that these longer routes only had a handful of customers hurrying through, attempting to beat the crowds to other stores. Emiko didn't pay it much mind, feeling her fingertips as Daisuke seemed to cool his head from the initial shock. She paused for a moment and knelt down in front of the child, seeing the fear in his gaze soften.

"Feel better now Dai?" she said, her voice echoing down the hall.

The boy gave a small nod, rubbing his cheek. "Y-Yeah. H-How'd you know..."
"That you were scared in the crowds?" she gave a small smile, ruffling his hair. "When my hand you were holding continued to go numb even after we got off the escalators."

"I-I'm sorry." he said, rather embarrassed.

"It's alright sweetheart." she said, "If it's too much for you honey we can go home."

~Daisuke. If you're scared-~

"B-But..." he mumbled. "It would be a waste, right?"

"Not if you're feeling uncomfortable sweetie. We can come another time when it isn't so busy."

'No, I need to try.' Daisuke paused, bawling his fists at his sides while he did his best to put on a brave face. "N-No. We will stay. Please?"

"Dai..." Emiko closed her fingers around his tiny hands, giving him a smile. "You don't have to give me any big boy act. It's my fault that you're uneasy. I'll come back tomorrow and find some clothes for you while you're at school. How's that sound?"

He looked into her eyes, seeing a slight sadness and shook his head. "No. I want to stay. Please let me try. I can do it. I need to do it."

She exhaled softly. "Alright. But if you feel like we need to head home, you'll let me know right away. Deal?"

He nodded. "Yes Momma."

~Daisuke, if you start to feel overwhelmed your abilities may react like yesterday.~

The boy shuddered at the thought, the image of Fukomachi slumped forward cradling his injured arm resurfacing. 'I-I understand. But if I'm getting better I need to be out and around people. I don't...' the boy mentally sighed. '...I don't want to be stuck inside a room anymore. You've given me that chance. I need to try.'

Dark sighed as well. ~But you also need to control yourself. Don't push your limits too far. You don't want anything unexpected to happen again. Especially in a place like this.~

Emiko continued to lead him to their destination. She would look down from time-to-time, seeing a quizzical look on his face. She made sure to hold his hand, noticing that he was too lost in thought to really be paying attention. Daisuke took his mothers hand for a second attempt, following her lead while his thoughts flickered to the day before. His new-found abilities may have put Fukomachi in the hospital once again. It never dawned on the redhead that Fukomachi or his friends may had said something about the incident. The childs sudden hopeful thoughts about being out in public with his mother may have been a mistake. It's possible that some of Fukomachi's so-called friends may also be at the mall, and could possibly spot him. What would they do if they did? What would they say?

~I wouldn't let them do anything to you.~ Dark commented, sparking surprise into the child that the Fallen had taken notice to Daisuke's thoughts.

'B-But...maybe you're right. If something were to happen-'

~It won't. I'll make sure that it won't.~

The redhead mentally nodded, snapping back to walking briskly beside his mother, looking around at the various shops nearby.

"Oh Dai. That looks so cute on you!" Emiko said happily, clasping her hands in front of her.

Daisuke stood in front of a full length mirror, almost admiring himself at the outfit he was wearing. It was a pair of loose-fitted jeans that fit snugly around his middle, covered by a white beater and open grey pin-stripped, short-sleeved, dress shirt. Daisuke didn't have much for fashion sense, but he had seen older kids wear the same kind of outfit. It almost sparked some confidence in the child, making him feel slightly grown up as well. However...

"I dunno..." he commented, tugging on the jeans. "They look like they might fall off of me."

"I know sweetie. But if you continue to grow they will fit better. Here, we can get you a belt to wear until then if you want to."

Daisuke seemed to relax significantly once they made it one of the large department stores in the mall. Some of the employees had come over to greet him and his mother, which did spark a bout of shyness until he realized that they were only being polite, distracting him from being nervous about the mall. Some of them even came by to check up on the mother and son to see how things were going, helping to bring over outfits so Emiko could keep an eye on her child. The small boy seemed to be a magnet for attention. Two hours seemed to roll by quickly with a large variety of clothing that the boy tried on, some to his dismay.

"Okay, so I think I found you some outfits that I am satisfied with. Do you like these too Dai?"

The shrugged, "If you like them Momma. Except for the blue shirt, I liked that one."

"You liked that one?" she repeated, checking the price tag. "This one works with the budget. Anything else? Some underwear?"

Daisuke blushed. "Mom!"

"Sorry! Forget I asked." Emiko giggled. 'He seems to be a lot better now that we've finished here. Maybe we should go to the play area later on.'

The boy blushed deeper when her heard a faint chuckle in his subconscious. 'Not funny.'

~I think this is. I feel like I'm in one of those TV shows. I'm ready for the audience to start laughing any minute.~

'Really.' Daisuke shook his head.

~Well. You've loosened up since we've got here.~

'With the pile of clothes I tried on today...I've never had to do this before.'

~Never have I.~

The boy paused. 'I-I didn't even think...'

~You don't have to think about it. You still have to live your life, kid. I'm honoured to share it with you.~

Daisuke felt a new blush creep on his cheeks for a completely different reason. He felt something stirring inside himself, biting his lip has he followed his mother towards the checkout. He followed close by holding her free hand while she held his new clothes in the other.

"Dai? Are you hungry? Do you want to grab a snack while were here before we head home?"

He thought about it, his stomach growling softly. "M-Maybe."

"Does ice cream suit your fancy?"

His eyes glimmered slightly, "Ice cream? Y-Yes please!"

Emiko smiled, handing the employee the money for the purchase. "They have a play place near the food court. You want to check it out?"

"Like a jungle gym?" Daisuke asked.

"Bigger. It's gigantic. I never had it when I was your age."

"If you want me to, Momma."

His mother grabbed the bags and exited the store, some of the employees that helped the small family waving towards the boy on their way out. Some of the crowds dispersed in the hallways as they headed to the food court. Although the volume of people had the same idea in mind. The area was loud with conversations at every table. There were children running around and babies screaming here and there in their high chairs and strollers. Dark winced from within. He almost began missing his quiet nightly rounds when the rest of the city slept. Daisuke felt his anxiety start to rise while Emiko paid for the ice cream and walked around the rows of tables to find a place to sit down for a few minutes. Since they were heading towards the play area. It was around the corner, concealed behind opaque double doors with a few benches around the entrance to sit. Fortunately a family was leaving when Daisuke and Emiko arrived, quickly filling the spot.

"Okay. Here we go." Daisuke's mother sighed with relief, handing her son the cone of ice cream. She placed it between his small hands, watching him devour it happily.

Daisuke winced, holding his head. 'O-Ow...'

~Daisuke? What's wrong?~

'Ugh...brain freeze.'

Dark chuckled. ~So cliche.~

'I don't know what that means. You're making fun of me again aren't you?'

~I'm not going to lie. Yes, I am.~

'Jerk.'

~And I admit it with pride.~

"You okay?"

Daisuke nodded. "Y-Yeah. I ate it too fast."

"You have to be careful hun. Otherwise you won't be able to head inside."

The redhead slowed down after that. He didn't want to miss out on trying to play. If his mother had taken him to one before he didn't remember it. All he could tell that it was really big was the large 'Welcome' sign with random jungle animals painted around the entrance. He was curious as to what was inside. Even when children were coming and going through the doors he really couldn't see anything besides a plastic shoe rack with what looked to be staff members inside to keep an eye on the other kids.

Once Daisuke finished his last bite of his ice cream cone and a napkin once over by his mother, he slid off the bench and scurried towards the doors to the play place. He turned to see Emiko watching him intently while he got close to the entrance. He gave her a nod before pushing at the door, trying to take a peek inside.

~You ready?~

'N-Not really.'

~If you're on edge just tell your mom and we will leave. But I think you will be alright.~

'D-Dark...'

~I'm right here.~

Daisuke exhaled softly, pushing the door open the whole way before taking a step, his eyes lit up at what he saw.

"Whoa..."

.o~End of Chapter 18~o.

Hey everyone! I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to write. It's short, but from the idea I have for the following chapter it would be too long, so I split it up. I can't promise when the next chapter will come along, since everything in my personal life seems to be expanding rapidly. Hope to see you all for the next chapter!