Dare You to Live

By ElveNDestiNy

February 10, 2007

Dedication: To V—love once upon a time and friend always.

- Remain -

"Daisuke? What are you doing?"

Daisuke froze in surprise, not even trying to wrench his arm away, although the fingers encircling his wrist exerted an almost painful pressure. He blinked as the automatic light flickered back on from sensing the motion of his attack. The harsh artificial brightness revealed the stranger as not a stranger at all. "Dark?"

Still inside the house, Riku sank slowly to her knees, arms hugging herself tightly. Dark looked first at the speechless Daisuke and then at the kneeling girl. As if unwillingly pushed to a choice, he let go of Daisuke, straightened from his half-crouched defensive stance, and strode toward the open doorway. Even headed towards Riku, Dark's question was aimed over his shoulder at Daisuke. "What's going on?"

"So it was you all along," Daisuke said almost angrily, following Dark inside the house and seeing exactly how frightened Riku had been. "What were you thinking, sneaking around the house like that?"

Dark stood over Riku, extending a hand that she reluctantly accepted, and helped her up. He turned to Daisuke at the question, honest surprise crossing his face. "I just got here, Daisuke. What is this?"

"If you just got here, then who was it?" Daisuke challenged.

Dark's surprise changed to slight annoyance, and he opened his mouth to argue. "I don't know what you're—"

"Please," Riku interrupted, voice small but clear in tone. She realized that she was still holding onto Dark's hand tightly, and released it, bringing her hand back to her side self consciously. She took a deep breath, although it was still clear to the other two that she was shaken. "Niwa-kun, it was probably my fault. I told you, I've been having dreams recently, about what happened. All of this was probably just my imagination."

At Dark's pointed look, Daisuke explained. "When we were walking down the hall, she thought she saw the driver who hit Risa." Dark's expression didn't become any more enlightened, and Daisuke looked at Riku, suddenly wondering if he should have mentioned Risa at all, if Riku hadn't told Dark about it when they had met earlier.

Into the awkward silence, Riku told the entire story over again to Dark, speaking almost in an emotionless monotone. Daisuke ached for her; somehow hearing it all again, especially in that manner, was worse than it had been when she'd first told him. When Riku finished, Dark looked at her with an inscrutable expression. Even his wings—his real wings, since he had only used With because he feared that the considerable power his wings took would hurt Daisuke—were drawn tighter around his body, giving the sense of an impenetrable feathered shield.

"I came to check if things were all right with Daisuke, since he had been gone so many hours," he said finally. "I didn't see anyone when I arrived, but there was something that I thought felt strange."

Daisuke gave him a worried, questioning glance that Dark ignored as he walked purposely toward the open door again, looking intently at the glass windows that bordered both sides of the door. From the inside, they looked perfectly normal, but a glint of metal caught his eye when Dark stepped outside to examine the window edges.

He picked the long, thin piece of metal up, holding it to the light. Immediately, even from the distance away, Daisuke recognized it for what it was, although Riku looked puzzled. Dark looked back to his partner and they shared a look, in perfect accordance with one another on the matter, so words weren't needed. Nonchalantly, Dark pocketed the metal strip and rejoined them.

"What was that, Dark-san?" Riku asked. Having expected the question, Dark carefully avoided it, seeking to distract her with one of his devastatingly charming smiles.

"Nothing to worry about," he said easily, then paused, an odd expression crossing his face. It proved to be more distracting to Riku than anything else could have been. She could not recall ever seeing Dark look so strange, a mixture of indecision and guardedness. He was usually so confident that it translated over to his bearing and the way he spoke. "I don't think that you will like this, Riku, but I think I should stay for tonight, in case that man comes back."

Riku's mouth opened slightly in surprise, and she looked at Dark, then at Daisuke, before returning to stare incredulously at Dark. He was all but inviting himself into her house to stay overnight! How could he? It was so contrary to everything she knew that she almost missed the reason why—or at least the reason he had given.

"But there wasn't a man!" she insisted. "I must have thought I saw something, because I've been thinking about it so much lately. There's no need for…for what you suggested. Besides, Sabochi-san is here, so it's not as if I would be all alone."

"He's an old man," Dark pointed out. "And this house is more than big enough for the three of us, I would think." He gave a smile that would have been wry under any other circumstances, but now seemed slightly different to Daisuke, who had never seen the same expression. Combined with Riku's rather elusive comments about Dark earlier, Daisuke almost felt as if there was something going on between the two…although he told himself it was preposterous to think so.

"Dark-san, it's all right," Riku said, her tone perhaps more firm than she had meant for it to be.

"I understand you don't like me…but please, Riku," Dark said somberly as she rather defensively crossed her arms over her chest. If anything, the straightforward admission—that some part of her felt guilty for because it wasn't entirely true—combined with the plea, disconcerted her more. When Riku turned to Daisuke as if confirming that she wasn't dreaming, he gave her a slight nod.

"Niwa-kun? You think I really need Dark-san here?" Despite her initial impulse to reject the offer, there was something serious about the two young men that had no little power of persuasion.

"Just to be safe," Daisuke said almost guiltily. "Besides, like he said, he doesn't need to be inside the house at all. I would stay instead, if it would bother you less, but…I have another obligation."

"It's Satoshi's birthday tomorrow and Daisuke is planning something in the morning," Dark clarified for her sake, making Daisuke turn slightly red. The taller teen blithely ignored the glare he got from Daisuke, focusing all his attention on the girl before him. "Well?"

Riku blanched a little at the impatient demand in Dark's tone. Daisuke, having just spoken to her just hours ago about her 'complicated' attitude towards Dark, felt obliged to speak. "I could cancel it and do something else that would let me spend tonight here," he mumbled.

"No, no," Riku said hastily. She looked at Dark, clearly still unsure but also caught between their stubborn desire and hers. "It's all right; you can stay. If it means so much to you then, I mean, not that it does."

"Just for your safety," Dark replied. He felt responsible for her, maybe all the more so because she disliked him so. It would make things more complicated, though. With an inner sigh, Dark slipped one hand into his pocket, feeling the fine, smooth quality of the cold metal, which reminded him why this was necessary. Whatever Riku attributed to imagination, it couldn't conjure up a lockpick out of thin air.

Riku gave him a slight smile and, as if to hoping to avoid it, Dark turned to Daisuke. "See you tomorrow, then?" Daisuke nodded and Dark reached out to grasp his shoulder for a moment. "I hope the surprise for Satoshi goes well," he said with an actual sincerity that made Daisuke smile.

"Be safe," the younger teen said to both of them, especially holding Dark's gaze and making it clear that he was entrusting Riku to him. "I should go now, but I'll be back tomorrow."

Riku quickly stepped forward to give him a friendly embrace and then watched as he left, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her heart. Daisuke was leaving her alone with Dark—with someone she could hardly bear, even now. Moments passed as she tried to steel herself to turn toward him, all the while sensing the heaviness of his gaze on her. She looked at him finally and tried to smile, feeling the tension of something, mostly unease.

"There's a room—" she began, only to be forestalled by Dark's raised hand.

"I did mean what I said earlier," he told her. "I know I make you uncomfortable, so I'll stay outside."

"The whole night?" she objected, surprised. "It's cold and it'll be wet from dew." Without completely realizing it, Riku stepped closer to him, tilting her face up to inspect the gouges that she'd left on her face. They looked angry and red, though they were shallow, and she wondered for a moment if they would leave any permanent marks. The thought left her with a funny feeling in her stomach.

"I don't mind," Dark said slowly, wondering if she realized how close she was. So close he could almost feel her warmth, so close that he could reach out and cradle her head against his chest, under his chin. He could smell the scent of whatever shampoo or lotion she used, a mixture he couldn't accurately identify, except to acknowledge that it was slightly intoxicating.

And all Dark could think was that it was wrong, so wrong for him to be reacting like this. He knew that she somehow blamed him for Risa's death, knew also that she had a strong aversion to him, and that he probably hadn't treated her as she'd deserved. But like the first night he'd met her, when he'd almost been as surprised as she had been (he tried hard not to admit this to himself) when he'd kissed her, it was something he couldn't seem to control.

He flinched when she sudden reached out to touch his face, and then held very still as her fingertips traced the line of his jaw from below his ear to his chin with a featherlight touch.

"I have a salve I can put on this," Riku said uncomfortably after a moment, snatching back her fingers when she finally realized that she had just touched him completely without his permission.

Violet eyes locked with hers as if they were trying to read her soul, but she thought they were unexpectedly warm, and serious. It was disconcerting to have to face this more responsible, thoughtful side of Dark. For a moment she almost wished for his usual shamelessly flirting self—not that she wanted him to flirt with her, but it would be easier to explain her suddenly pounding heart, or the blush she could feel making her cheeks warm.

"All right," he said, quietly, and Riku took a step back, suddenly fearing that he was too close. Why was he so agreeable? Why wasn't he provoking her?

"Wait for me," she said shortly.

"All right," he murmured again, and she fled.

She took as long as she ostensibly could in 'searching' for the medicine, confused at the welter of feelings that odd exchange had stirred up in her, before finally returning. Even though she had half expected him to have disappeared, it didn't explain the sharp pang she felt when she entered the room where she had left him and found it empty. Before she could react more than biting her lower lip, Dark appeared almost as if out of nowhere.

"I thought it might take a while, so I took the time to inspect the premises," he said in a careless tone, although Riku felt that it was deceptive. She understood him a little better now, at least in these things—she didn't understand why he felt the need to hide his true feelings, especially when he was so bold in everything else, but she understood that sometimes it was an act.

It wasn't until she silently handed the salve to Dark that she realized she had made a serious mistake—she hadn't brought a mirror. Dark looked down at the plastic jar with bemused expression, probably having realized the same thing. Mortified, Riku snatched it out of his hands again.

"Will you let me?"

At his slight nod, she unscrewed the lid and dipped her index finger in the salve, trying to ignore how her hand was trembling. He leaned down so it was easier for her to reach, and she tried to finish as quickly as possible. After the initial barely audible hiss of pain when she applied the salve—Riku remembered suddenly that it really stung at first—Dark's features remained composed under her ministrations, his eyes closed.

His skin was smooth, warm, and almost impossibly perfect. The top of his button-down shirt was open, revealing more of that golden skin, and without thinking her left hand came up to cup his chin. She saw his Adam's apple move as he swallowed. It was hard to breathe around him, hard to even think, and she couldn't help wonder, as she looked at his impassive façade, if he was affected by it too. A kind of tension, a kind of poison she fancifully imagined was in her blood, moving slowly through all her veins with every beat of her heart until it took her over and she died.

Concentrate, she told herself. But with his eyes closed, she could look as much as she wanted to, with no one to know but herself and the guilty little voice in her head. With one final swipe over his cheekbone, Riku stepped back on the thin excuse of checking her handiwork. Even so, she was unprepared to meet the deep violet eyes that looked straight at her, as if looking into her soul. The silence seemed almost oppressive, forcing them to rely on the language of glances and expressions, so easy to misinterpret, so difficult to conceal.

"Thank you," he said, voice somewhat hoarse, and she wanted to childishly cover her ears. Instead of protesting that she had given him the scratches in the first place, she merely nodded.

"I'll show you your room." She sensed that he was about to protest, and cut him off. "Whether or not you use it."

"All right," he said, and she thought that she had never hated those two words more, all because they came from him.

She led him to the western side of the house, where the bedrooms had been empty for almost as long as she could remember – perhaps at some point, when her parents had been here, they had been used, but the twins had always lived in the east wing. She listened to the muffled sound of her footsteps and it took her a moment to realize why it sounded so wrong to her. There was no answer echo as there had been before; Dark had stopped.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"I should be close," he stated bluntly. Riku stiffened. So, he had noticed. "You don't need waste time showing me the room. I'll be on the balcony."

"You can't be serious," she exclaimed before she could stop herself. "It's not to be taken seriously! I'm not sure I even saw anything, and...after… I've caused so much trouble—"

Riku stopped abruptly when he reached forward and gripped her wrists. "Who told you that?"

"What?"

"Who told you that you were causing a lot of trouble?" He stared so intently at her she was almost afraid.

"I-I don't know," she stammered. When had she started feeling as if she were a burden—when everyone else had moved on, and it had become painfully obvious that she couldn't? When had couldn't become wouldn't, and grief turned into vice? They'd sent her to counselors, even psychiatrists. She had an unused bottle of sleeping pills to help chase away her nightmares, but she disliked the miasma they induced during the day.

"You do. Was it your parents?" Dark demanded.

"Why do you want to know?" she burst out. She wanted to say so much more, and it was on the tip of her tongue, all the boiling, angry, frightened words. Why are you invading my life? Why can't you leave me alone? Why can't you let go of me?

Dark seemed to realize that he was hurting her with his tight grasp, and loosened his grip, but still didn't take his hands away. For a moment, his eyes almost looked a little unfocused as he took a deep breath and visibly strove to speak in a calmer tone.

"Riku, I don't want to hear you saying any of that nonsense, all right? I believe in you, but you have to believe in yourself. Please just trust me about this and let me protect you."

He seemed so honest, so sincere. There was that word again, please. But this was Dark—when no one else could understand her, when no one else was there to support her, why was it only the young man she feared and all but hated, that spoke the words that were the most meaningful? She looked at him, and to her horror, felt tears well up in her eyes. Not again, she prayed, biting her lips and blinking hard. No more.

He accepted her silence, allowed her to regain her composure, all while leading her back to her room. Under normal circumstances she would have been irritated by his presumption, seeing it as just another sign of his overwhelming arrogance. But instead his hand on the small of her back was steadying, the comforting touch of another person, and he guided her as if she were blind and he were looking out for her.

She sat on her bed in her dark room—he didn't seem to know where the light switch was, but the moonlight was bright—and watched as he locked the door. She went into the bathroom automatically and changed into her pajamas, then came out. He hadn't moved and didn't, until she returned to the bed and crawled underneath the sheets, wondering if he would be there all night, watching her with those eyes that saw too much. But he silently went over to the balcony doors and unlocked them.

"Dark-san," she called softly, stopping him before he stepped out. She wanted to tell him, wanted to explain why everything was the way it was. That she couldn't help but hate him, because in her eyes he had done something utterly unforgivable; he had killed her sister, her twin.

"Yes?"

"Nothing," she murmured after a moment. It felt almost as if every bone in her body ached, and her eyelids were heavy. She was so tired, but she knew tomorrow she would wake up with little change, because she was unable to sleep peacefully.

"Good night, Riku. Get some rest…"

A/N: Please review? lol, pretty please?