As Krad lay in the fourteen-year-olds bed, his luxurious locks draped over one shoulder, Rai licked his ear. He startled out of his trance and petted the sleek creature behind his ears. "Hn. I missed you too." Closing the book, he tapped his fingers gently on the cover and sighed. He'd found a case the Hikari hadn't noticed but as he'd suspected, the human had been overwhelmed by the magic and destroyed. White Wings crossed his arm over his abdomen absent-mindedly.

When I…became 'cursed' I didn't think excessively about the future for Aisoku. I hope our lineage doesn't hurt him. It stung to think of that so he picked the book back up and scooted deeper into the covers. His tamer Kiryu muttered sleepily, Krad, what are you thinking about? and he smiled a little. It felt strange because he hadn't in such a long time. I'm thinking about my little boy. He felt his tamer's response, a kind of timid curiosity. Don't worry yourself; it is not…hopefully will not become an obstacle. Kiryu stretched in the recesses of his mind. Oh. Well, night then. It amused Krad how awkward his wing master still was in his presence. Good night.

He opened the book again.

The intense relief as the limb finally had more room than it had ever experienced. The thick pulse as the cramped blood vessels loosened and expanded along with the damp joints. The other wing followed, stretched, and then settled in behind him, brushing the back of his head with soft feathers. "Ahck-"

Aisoku sat up and panted, then put his face in his hands and curled up his legs.

Every. Single. Day this was happening and apparently now he was even daydreaming about it. He rubbed his eyes and reached for his manga but after a few seconds set it back down. His hands were shaking so badly the stupid book practically jumped out of his hands. For some reason his heart was pounding and as he gathered his legs up to stand they suddenly gave way. As best he could he lowered himself to the floor. One of his wings had stretched- not shakily like before but solidly as if testing the elasticity of Aisoku's skin. It hurt so much he didn't have time to do or say anything besides react. He gritted his teeth to keep any noise from escaping and tried to relax. So you're finally going to come out…? A weird sort of thrill went through him that changed to nausea as the limb moved again, and a tiny needle-sized tear appeared in his skin. If he'd had enough strength to yell he would have but what came out instead was a surprised noise far too quiet to attract any attention.

Even the rise and fall of his ribs hurt now, but nothing compared to this feeling between his shoulders. Through the whitish-red streaks of pain that blurred his vision he realized the carpet fibers in front of him had a blue tint. Well the ones about a foot from his face at least. More seemed to be changing color…It was his right wing that stretched next and as his hands tightened into fists he saw playful white tendrils of something reach up fro the carpet and caress his desk. What is that?

Crash!

Kyo stood above the broken glass with an empty hand and frowned. Generally he was not a clumsy person but Dark had just uttered an insult abut a person's lineage, something about interbreeding, that involved words he didn't even know were swear words. Daisuke peeked in from around the corner of the kitchen. "Is everything alright?" Before he could finish Dark had taken over and he answered quickly, "No, it's not. I need to leave, right now. Wizu!" As the little creature landed on his shoulder Daisuke grabbed his arm. "Wait! Is it Aisoku?"

The phantom thief's eyes locked with round red rubies, and he said lowly, "Stay here with Riku, okay? I'll keep your son safe."

Then, in the habit of phantom thieves, he was gone, a few black feathers drifting down onto their carpet.

Krad closed the book again and patted Rai's head,. The little fox had fallen asleep squished between the pillow and the blonde's shoulder. Just then, fear and pain that was not his own coursed through his chest and shoulders, and he laid one hand where his right wing usually manifested. What? This is not my pain, my wings are still …Aisoku. He shot out of he7is tamer's bed and almost flew downstairs, then found who he was looking for drinking hot chocolate in the kitchen.

"Satoshi, you must come with me now. Kyo is not as skilled with barriers and we will be needing one." The commander put his mug down.

"Barrier? And why should I help with that endeavor?" Krad bared his teeth in frustration, a habit that he didn't indulge in very often. "If your fine with half of Azumano becoming a smoking crater by morning, then stay." "You're exaggerating." The White Wings walked past him and opened the front door, thankful that the fog was so thick you could cut it with a knife. It would make it easier to fly undetected. "I certainly hope so." Krad muttered and Satoshi approached him. "How do you even expect to transport me? You're not very fond of cars-" He didn't get a chance to finish as Rai transformed and bonded into his master's back. The wings filled the doorway almost completely and each feather gleamed with the soft golden-white of his magic. Satoshi had forgotten how much…presence Krad held in a room. "Like this."

Krad said simply and without another word scooped the Hikari into his arms and took off. As the ground dropped away dizzyingly below them and disappeared beneath the mist Krad felt Satoshi's hand tighten, painfully, around his shoulder. The blonde fought the urge to roll his eyes. "I didn't know you were afraid of heights, Satoshi." The bluenette adjusted his fogged glasses angrily. "Excuse me, we are not-"

"On a first name basis? But oh, I think we are." They picked up speed and Satoshi's hair plastered in a glittering helmet while Krad's trailed behind him in long salty tentacles. "No, and furthermore…" Beneath them the clouds and revealed the flat black water of the bay, the white caps looking as small as blades of glass. Satoshi swallowed deeply. "Close your eyes, Hikari. I will not drop you." His former partner didn't believe him for a second but out of a simple desire to not throw up on both of them he did.

It wasn't at all like it had been in his dreams. What it was…was painfully slow, like nails dragging across a chalkboard and as each second passed he could feel his strength thinning. Every once in a while his skin would split a few more centimeters and the slack would immediately be filled by a bit more of his new wings. He wanted it to be over. He wanted to just force them both out of his body in one quick movement, like stretching his arms. But the same instinctual voice that had told him to wait before told him now that it was a bad idea. The little white flickers he'd seen before were still growing and seemed to be everywhere but the patch of carpet where he lay. Aisoku realized he should probably be freaking out but at a certain point of pain, he realized that would be a waste of energy. Even when they touched his body they didn't hurt- they just tingled. All the other things in his room melted under the strange fire's touch. He wished he could yell to tell his foster parents to get out of the house. The carpet and most of his furniture was burnt black now but there was no smoke. Just after that thought his back split open again in what felt like a few inches and somewhere in his mind he screamed. Then he curled his hands up and spread his shoulder blades farther apart. Wait…

He watched the brilliant flames waver in front of his eyes and saw another color mixed in with the white. It also had that same electric blue that emanated from each of his palms. Emiko and Kosuke went out shopping... In his relief his left wing escaped from its fleshy prison in a single liquid burst. Thank God, thank God…

He felt like laughing and crying at the same time, but first things first. This time when he cried out it rang in his ears, parched his throat and eventually ended in a dry, sandpapery hiss.

Dark detected Krad's presence from across the bay and growled mutedly. The inside of his skull was burning with the warning of new magic and yet his other half suddenly faltered, about halfway across the water. Said angel's left wing snapped up against his body as Aisoku's pain shot through him. With that single muscle contraction they began to drop. "Au-gh!" "Krad!" Satoshi cried out in terror as the deadly cold water rushed up to meet them. White Wings loosened his connection with his son, like letting out a length of rope and forced his wing back out. The wind caught them and straightened them out in an instant.

After a moment, Krad coughed. "Hikari your hurting my ribs." He relaxed his arms from their death-grip on Krad and blushed faintly. "You really shouldn't have closed your eyes." The blonde commented helpfully. "It's always a good idea to-" "You told me to!" The Hikari seethed.

"I didn't. It was a suggestion." Krad replied haughtily and his wings took great rowing strokes to get them back up to speed. "I am way too old for this."

Satoshi muttered under his breath and Krad couldn't help but chuckle. "Now you know, on an infinitesimal scale, how I feel." He glanced up but Krad's yellow eyes were busy searching for landmarks in their small town and didn't meet his. Then he realized he didn't need landmarks. The sheer scale of manifesting magic made it as easy for him to find Aisoku as a torch in the dark. A good twenty rooftops away his eyes caught a blackish purple streak heading in the same direction as him.

About time you got here! The thief snarled in Kyo's mind and the poor new tamer nearly wet himself. K-Krad who was that?

Its fine, Kyo. That's just Dark Mousy, the thief. He is no threat to us. To Dark, he answered crossly, Way to scare my new Tamer. Try to focus your messages instead of yelling at both of us- we're dealing with magic, not bombs, governor. Dark growled something else under his breath and then noticed the man in Krad's arms.

Oi, why'dja bring the old dried-up Commander? The blonde shook his head at Dark's disrespect for the elderly. We'll need his barriers and seals. Specifically, an illusion barrier- and a power seal-might be useful. They both landed on the steps at the front door and Krad pointed to Aisoku's bedroom, where the white fire had begun to show through the siding. "That's why." Dark's eyes widened even as he slipped a hairpin into the door and jiggled it open. Satoshi went in first and immediately snatched up a permanent marker from the desk near the entrance. Krad stepped in afterwards and watched as Satoshi began tracing out an illusion spell over Emiko's carpets and hardwood floors. He paused for a half-second to banish his wings and handed a tiny bead of his magic to the Hikari, smaller than a marble but a thousand times brighter. The blunette gave him a simple nod and placed the marble on the outer edge of the circle. Then Dark saw the black circle.

"Emiko's going to kill you-"He saw something outside the house and as his eyes registered what they were he dashed inside with a single word.

"Vultures."

The thief banished his wings and turned to the Hikari. "Are you-"

"Done." Satoshi said firmly, his hair drying and lifting slightly as the spell took hold. The blue of his eyes flared and Krad thought fleetingly So, the magic resides in you still. Then he climbed up the stairs after Dark. "Idiot!" He barked and jerked the thief back by his arm before he opened the door, then traced a dingle finger around the door frame in an attempt to keep the magic contained in Aisoku's room. "What if your magic reacts with his? Or rejects it?" The Kaitou jerked one tan bicep out of his grip. "I don't give a damn! We don't have time for plans! Those leeches are going to such him dry if I don't get in there now!" With that he gritted his teeth against the hot metal of the doorknob and jerked it open. The white flames billowed out and Dark's magic curled up in a protective cocoon around him, allowing him to step forward.

Krad shut the door with his foot. The "leeches" were really failed or destroyed Hikari artworks that searched out and fed off of magical energy.

They were harmless to Dark and himself and avoided their two signatures, but to Aisoku… Still, it was best if they weren't both in there with him at the same time because there was no way of knowing how Aisoku's power would react. I can feel your fear, but it's alright, we're here now.

Through the thin black ribbons that protected his body he could see the 'leeches' from across the room. They stood out as semi-transparent shadows between the white flames and their pathetic paper-thin voices tittered at the edges of his mind. Best if you don't hear this, Kyo. Maybe you should just take a nap for a while. Kyo protested a little, but quickly slipped into the recesses of Dark's mind and the voices became more pronounced.

There is the boy.

His power will be mine.

No, minelifeblood bodymine.

Then he saw a six by to foot area devoid of flames, saw his son pull himself to a semi-sitting position despite the weight of two new, bloodied wings. One of the shadowed beings reached out to Aisoku, brushing the flames aside in irritation and suddenly Dark was upon him. He yanked the artwork back though a headlock that would have broken a human's neck and through his rage, his other self surfaced. In the time it took for the artwork to cry out the noise was cut off as he was simply absorbed into the thief's body. Dark shoved his other self back into his mind with a snarl, then sent the excess magic to Wiz and concealed a shudder. He hated it when that happened- it went against all his morals. Yet, his other side had no qualms whatsoever abut consuming the weak. After a moment the animal relaxed back onto his shoulder again and the other artworks cleared off.

He looked up as himself again and saw eyes so startlingly similar to his that the hairs on his neck stood up. Aisoku had looked up just as the shadow creature had reached for him and watched as the other…artwork? Demon, more likely…consumed it, somehow pulling the other into itself. The only Dark that he had seen was the side that 'hunted its own race' and he was terrified. "G-Get away!" He shouted and the flames that until now had been calm flared up, knocked the phantom off his feet and through the door out Aisoku's bedroom. The Kaitou slid down the wall of the hallway, still smoking, and Krad crossed his arms. "Did I not tell you." There were pretty little lights winking in front of Dark's eyes and he sincerely hoped he hadn't given Kyo a concussion.

"Ngh. See 'f you'd do 'ny better…" He slurred, cupped his head and pushed Krad into the flames "You bas-!" with his foot. Yo, you all right? His tamer answered feebly.

Uh..? You! Stop abusing my body, you womanizing-

Alright, good. Dark let out a snort and waited until the lights had faded away and the headache subsided into something relatively manageable. Then he dove back into the fire. Back in the bedroom things were still chaos. Krad heard a low creak of wood from above them and tightened his connection with Aisoku. He didn't have time to get thrown like Dark- they needed to get out of here. Aisoku? The pain almost crippled Krad but he clenched his fists, gritted his teeth and bore it. The flames parted slightly and he caught the curve of a dove grey wing, dyed white in this light. Aisoku!

…What...He felt hesitation, and then his son reached out with his mind as he tried to figure out who the voice belonged to. …Dad? The fire died down enough for the blonde to take a few steps forward and a chunk of ceiling fell to the floor, leaving open an oval of darkness.

Yes.

Aisoku pulled his feet under him and somehow stood as the fire around them flickered away to nothing but half-inch tongues. Dark watched them both from the corner of the room using his shadow-blending trick. He didn't want to scare Aisoku again. Krad's cat gold eyes met the boys and he rasped again, "Dad?" as if he didn't believe him. Through the matted blood Krad could see the soft grayish blue feathers and the way that, as the wings drew out further, the color changed into strict black-and-white stripes at the primaries. "Your wings are magnificent." Krad murmured softly, then flipped his wing over himself and jerked the other out to cover Aisoku as the ceiling collapsed in on all of them. At least the roof is still standing. Krad though, then added, The beams anyway. Then he tilted his wing slowly so a section of the ceiling slid off and shook the splinters out. The snow-white appendage half-curved around Aisoku's body.

It glowed in the light of the moon, which filtered through the barrier around the house Satoshi had constructed. "Are you all right?" the boy shied away from the limb and nodded vaguely. He hadn't even seen the wing when it snapped out to protect him. "I…" He trailed off as his arm caught his eye. It looked as if his skin was gathering up the light of the full moon, as well as the reflection off Krad's white feathers. "Uh oh…" Nearly as soon as the words escaped from his mouth his form blurred, split and disappeared as little streaks of moonlight.

"The Hell!" A pair of rough amethysts glittered near the reddish streaks of a charred wall. "Where'd he go?"

Aisoku had, quite unintentionally it seemed, used one of Krad's more draining tricks. In strong light he could hide himself and become insubstantial, like mist.

It was basically the opposite of Dark's shadow performance. Krad turned to him and his salt-encrusted hair stuck to his neck in a glittering wheaten rope.

"To Kokuyoku." The darkness swore, disappeared and Krad walked along the wood beams of the floor to Aisoku's vacant door frame. Satoshi met him there, looking a little drained from the illusion spell. "You might want to inform Emiko and Kosuke about-" The blunette tapped his cell phone once, "I already have." and Krad smirked. "Well, well. The damage is mostly in this room. You can reduce the illusion to the top level." The Hikari watched as Krad went over and snapped on a hallway light, but by the time his corneas had recovered from the flash White Wings was gone.

Um, comments later. For now, review please!And thanks for reviewing before! XD