PATHOS: STORIES OF SORROW, SYMPATHY AND PASSION

Chapter 1: Red Pathos

A/N: Welcome to my new DarkxDaisuke fic. Hope you enjoy it.

I do not own D.N Angel characters.

As always, Dark rushed out of the classroom once the bell went. Daisuke sat at his desk and stared out the window, wrapping himself in thought.

He must be with his girlfriend again. Whichever fawning fan girl it was this week.

Dark Mousy had a reputation at this school. His cool dark exterior created an impenetrable aura around him. He was always dressed in dark clothes, usually a black coat and jeans. Sunglasses covered his eyes creating a shield blocking his eyes from the rest of the world. For some reason, he was the only person exempt from the school uniform rule. All this just added to his mysterious guy rating and ultimately the number of fan girls in his fan club. This aura attracted girls like flies and repelled boys like insect repellent. Each week or so, he would have a new girlfriend, but being friendless didn't seem to worry Dark at all. When he wasn't with his girlfriend he would be sitting at his desk alone, watching everyone else frolic around the classroom screaming their heads off.

Completely zoned out Daisuke was not expecting Saehara's sudden approach.

"Hey Daisuke!" He jumped out of nowhere into Daisuke's vision, completely throwing him off guard and almost made him fall off his chair.

"Hi Saehara. What's up?"

"Want to grab lunch?"

"Yea. Maybe a bit later. I'll meet you in the cafeteria?"

"Sure. See you later!" He left Daisuke in peace and skipped off out of the classroom. At the exact same moment, Dark re-entered the classroom and placed himself calmly at his desk, on the other side of the room. Every time the class chose seats, he would always pick a table away from the window. Unlike Dark, Daisuke loved sitting next to the window. It provided a great source of entertainment during Maths class watching the usual dramas ensuing down below. The fresh air was nice too.

Hmmm... He must've just broken up with his girlfriend... again.

The rest of their classmates all slowly disappeared from the classroom for lunch. Only Daisuke and Dark remained in the silent classroom. Though Dark was clearly a player, Daisuke couldn't help himself from feeling sympathetic. He never had anyone to talk to; he was always alone, shunned for his popularity.

This might be a great opportunity to get to know him a bit more.

Daisuke got up out of his chair and cautiously approached him. He wasn't expecting much, seeing how Dark never spoke unless it was absolutely necessary. He didn't expect his voice to be so deep and soothing.

"Hello. Umm... in case you don't know. My name is Daisuke. And… I was wondering if you want to come have lunch with me."

"..."

"Okay. Well I know you're Dark."

"..."

"Alright. I'll take that as a no to the lunch offer."

"Why are you talking to me?"

The question threw Daisuke back a little.

Why? Well I feel bad. Here you are all alone; I just wanted to be nice.

"No particular reason, but if you don't like it, I'll stop."

"Fine. Have it your way."

"What?"

"Fine I'll eat lunch with you. Just don't expect me to say anything." Dark turned his head away, reaching for his bag and pulled out a simple sandwich.

"Alright! I'll be right back. I just need to go grab something from the cafeteria."

Daisuke hastily bought his lunch and rushed back to the classroom, where Dark was still sitting unfazed.

He twirled a chair around from the desk in front of Dark's and happily sat down facing him. He unwrapped his own sandwich.

"So, what do you... like to do?" He took a bite from his sandwich staring at Dark who was frozen stiff, his sandwich still fully intact.

"..."

"Oh right. No talking."

"This is only a once off thing. Don't expect this every day. I don't need people like you digging their nose into my business."

"Okay okay. Whatever you want."

"Good."

There was an awkward silence in which neither of them moved or made a single sound.

"You should talk more."

"What did I say about the talking?"

"Sorry... but at least eat your lunch." Daisuke took another bite out of his own.

"Not hungry. AND STOP IT WITH THE TALKING! That's why I particularly hate people like you who keep pestering me!"

"How about we make a deal? You talk to me for the rest of lunch and afterwards I'll never speak to you again."

There was a short period of silence again, but Daisuke could tell there were sounds of gears whirling inside Dark's head. He was considering his position in the situation.

"Fine, deal. But seriously, NO talking to me afterwards you got that."

"Yup!" Daisuke grinned, revealing all his teeth that were currently covered in sandwich crumbs.

"And stop the smiling. It's creepy."

"So, answer my question. What do you like to do?"

"I regret this already..."

Dark and Daisuke continued their very one-sided conversation well into lunch and before Daisuke knew it, the bell rang. His time was up.

~*P~*A~*T~*H~*O~*S~*

Despite their deal, Daisuke just couldn't stay away. His enlightening conversation with Dark the day before had opened his eyes to what Dark was really thinking and what he thought about everyone else. He was intrigued and wanted to know more about him. He wanted to know more about his isolation and loneliness. Seeing how no one else was making an effort, he was determined to handle it all himself. Even if it meant countless rejections, hours of silence and hundreds of attempts, he was going to make Dark talk to him again.

And so, he put "Plan stalk Dark 24/7 until he gives in and talks to me" into action. He literally followed him everywhere. He got to school early in the morning to ambush him at the doorway, he jumped him at lunch, purposely gave up his much loved window seat to sit next to him and constantly tailed him after school to ask if they wanted to hang out after school. All attempts with no success. Some would call this sudden 'fascination' obsessive, some would call it highly disturbing but he didn't care. Once Daisuke was curious, nothing could stop him from finding out what he wanted to know. His mind was set on one thing; the impossible answer to the most frequently asked question at this school, "What is up with that Dark Mousy guy?"

~*P~*A~*T~*H~*O~*S~*

Days passed quickly. Some days were better than others. Usually they were just days of silence, but the occasional once or twice, Dark would actually answer Daisuke. Sadly, it was usually just a 'go away' or a 'piss off'. Not very promising, but Daisuke's motivation was still surging. All he had to do was attack when Dark's patience was thin and Daisuke could sense that the time was approaching. There is only so much hyperactive activity one person can tolerate.

10 days later, Daisuke was packing his bag up in the classroom when he saw Dark pick up his books and make a break for the door. Shoving his own books in his bag he ran after him. Dark was a fast runner and Daisuke was really slow, but by now he already knew where he was heading, the car park. From one end he could see Dark's car parked at the end. Walking around the whole car park several times over, he could not catch a glimpse of that shiny purple hair. By the 5th round, all the cars except Dark's had left the parking lot. Daisuke peeked inside Dark's car window, considering that he could be inside, but no luck.

Guess he decided to do a runner without his car.

He squinted as a flash of light sparked out from the corner of his eye. The sun had just peeked out from behind and cloud and reflected light off the rear view mirror. A blurred image flashed in Daisuke mind. It was Dark; Dark and a girl with long brown hair in the far off distance behind a tree. Daisuke turned and crept up, careful not to make a sound. He hid himself behind a nearby tree and observed. His eyes nearly popped out of his head.

What he saw was something totally mortifying. Dark was hugging Risa Harada really tightly, kissing her on the neck, with his hands wrapped around waist and her arms around his neck. It was a totally innocent image, until you realised the details.

Oh no… Risa.

There was patch of red that was seeping through her school uniform; her own blood. The patch was the result of the constant dribbling of blood from her neck. Her eyes were closed, like she was in ultimate bliss and unaware of what was going on. Shocked, Daisuke took a step back.

What are you doing to Risa!!?? What are you going to do with me when you catch me staring!?

His heart started beating heavily in his chest, almost jumping straight out. Sweat started dripping from his forehead. His hands started shaking. He wanted to run but his feet were glued to the ground. Taking all the sanity left in his mind, he managed to force himself back by one step, only to tread of a brittle leaf.

The crunch was all it took to catch Dark's attention. Immediately, he tore himself from Risa's grip and let her collapse heavily on the ground unconscious. Wiping the excess blood from his mouth he grinned and approached Daisuke.

"What… were… you doing to her?"

Daisuke feet were once more glued to the ground. No matter how much he protested, his body would not follow his commands.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Ahhhhh…"

"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you."

Dark grabbed Daisuke frozen hand and pulled him along. Together they walked deeper into the forestry and all Daisuke could do was follow.

"This should be fine." Stopping beside a log and signalled Daisuke to sit down.

The awkward long silence hung heavily in the air. During this, Dark paced around in the circles in front of Daisuke who saw sitting quietly and still on the log. Soon, the silence was too eerie for Daisuke to handle.

"So..."

Dark stopped pacing and walked straight up to Daisuke and leaned down to whisper in his ear. His smooth low voice sent shock waves through his body.

"So you know that I'm a vampire. You saw it. That's what you get for spying on me and trying to push your luck by breaking promises."

"I...I... I'm sorry. I just... wanted to get to know you some more. You were... always by yourself, I just thought you didn't hang out with other people... because they never approach you. So I thought..."

His voice trembled along with his body.

"So it was for pity huh?"

"Perhaps..."

"Your voice is shivering like a kid scared shitless. Are you afraid?"

"No... Maybe... Kinda... Yes."

Pulling back from his ear quickly, Dark took a step back.

"Dayum. There goes my Twilight moment."

Dark's attitude was changing. It was like he took the whole situation as a joke. Since Dark was doing it, Daisuke decided to lighten up the already awkward mood.

"Alright. I'm afraid to lose you I think you're going to disappear. Happy?"

"Very. But now down to a more serious note. Were you only trying to be nice to me because you felt sorry for me? I want a specific answer."

Dark leaned down on his knee in front of Daisuke.

"Well, I guess... I think so... You were always shunned by everyone else but adored by the girls, I just thought maybe you were lonely and I think no one has the right to be all alone. So I decided to at least make an effort."

"Understand now that I was doing that on purpose! The only reason I waste my time on the whole girlfriend crap is because I need their blood!"

"Then why do you get a new one every week? Can't you just keep a steady girlfriend? And at the same time you are probably changing the whole school female population into vampires!"

"Pffftt... You've read too many vampire books. The only way to change a human into a vampire is if I drink all of their blood, drain them completely then give them vampiric blood. Anyways, vampires need to drink daily. It's because our vampiric red blood cells destroys the haemoglobin in our blood which carries oxygen. So we need to take human blood to stay alive, but eventually that gets destroyed too so we need to feed daily. I can't always drink from the same person because we may form a strong bond and I can't risk getting involved in bonds that might reveal my identity. Anyways, girls are more 'disposable' then guys, since I can break up with them."

"Okay... I see. But won't they already know you are a vampire when you drink from them?"

"Nah. It just feels like a hot kiss on the neck. There's no pain. And afterwards they just pass out. They don't suspect a thing. And I try to keep the dribbling to a minimum, because I can never be bothered washing blood off for them while they are unconscious."

"Right. So what are going to do with me? I promise I won't tell anyone and I won't bother you anymore. I'll just forget it."

"If you say so. I trust you not to tell. I mean, what can you gain from telling people? Unless you are going to try blackmailing me."

"No! I wouldn't do that."

"I believe you that you won't but now this is going to be hard for me."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I still need more blood. You interrupted me and I couldn't finish."

"Oh. Okay. I'll leave you alone with Risa and you can finish."

Daisuke started to stand up only to be pushed back down by Dark.

"I can't drink from her again. I've already done it 5 times already. I think a 6th time could be risky."

"Oh. Well... ummm... I know you don't drink from guys but what about mine?"

"Yours?"

"I mean, since it was ME who interrupted you. And I've been bugging you for the past 10 days. It must've been really inconvenient for you. And since you said that it doesn't hurt I guess I'll let you."

Daisuke loosened the neck tie around his neck and undid the first button on his shirt.

"Are you sure? You don't have to do it. I could always go find someone else."

Dark brought his lips closer to Daisuke exposed neck, stopping a few centimetres away.

"Yes. I am sure. Consider it compensation."

Daisuke shut his eyes, blocking the whole world out except for himself and Dark. He felt Dark's cool breath brush against his skin followed by the brush of his warm, smooth tongue.

"I know you're doing this out of sympathy, whether you know it yourself or not. But I'll take it all in. I'll take in all of your 'Red Pathos'."

With those last soothing words, Dark bit straight into Daisuke's neck. Instantly, Daisuke felt his heart beat quicken and jumping out of his chest. Heat erupted from his neck and spread quickly through his whole body. Daisuke opened his mouth and tried to scream but no sound escaped his lips. He latched onto Dark's body as his fangs buried deeper into his neck.

I just wonder if pity and sympathy alone could make my heart beat so fast... It feels like you are poisoning me... Poisoning me with your passion...

Daisuke's enclosed world erupted into flames, burning with a raging force. A split second later the fire was blown completely away and only darkness remained. And within that darkness, was a single flickering, burning flame fuelled by Daisuke's...

Red Pathos...

A.N Wow... that was longer than I planned. The next chapters probably won't be as long. The introductions just took a long time. I'm sorry but I just had to put those Twilight references in there (note: I'm NOT a Twilight fan. I'm a Night World fan though. :D)
Hope you liked it! The next colour will be yellow. Thank you for reading!

Reviews: Greatly appreciated! Send in your words of pathos. ;) I would love to hear from you.

Peace out to my lovers, haters and fence-sitters! V(^o^)V