D. N. Angel Fan Fiction ❯ Snippets ❯ Seadancer, Earthwalker ( Chapter 11 )

Seadancer, Earthwalker:

 

Disclaimer: I do not own DN Angel. Anyone who sues will find themselves sadly disappointed.

 

Warnings: Shounen-ai, fluff, humour.

 

A/N: Just to clear up any confusion you may have after reading `Walk the Line', it's all impulse and the fine line between love and hate. The thing is, Dark is bugging Daisuke because he wants his attention. Since he is the most popular in school, he is used to having his way and thus doesn't know how to get someone who doesn't already admire him. Yeah. Enjoy this next chapter!

 

It was a journalist's dream come true-and a police officer's worst nightmare. Spotlights were trained on every available inch of the massive building otherwise known as the Celestial Museum of Arts and Sciences. A pretentious name by anyone's standards, as Dark observed on his trip there. Daisuke, on the other hand, could see exactly why the place was so named; apart from its collection of beautiful artwork, it had one of the best observatories in the world. Famous astronomers regularly came here just to look at the stars.

 

That wasn't what they were here for, though. Oh, no. They were here for a painting by a Western artist this time, one who had no connection whatsoever to the Hikari. The artwork in question was of the sea, apparently. Or mermaids. Or something of the sort. Daisuke didn't quite remember. All he knew was that it was a painting, it was of marine life forms and it was valuable. Hey, Dai, Dark said. See that? Daisuke looked and nodded. It was a tiny niche, hidden from the searing brightness of the spotlights. Daisuke could feel his other half's lips curving upwards into the familiar, cocky smirk.

 

-No way, Dark,- he thought back. -It's too obvious.-

 

Indeed. But you know the Commander; he's always two steps ahead.

 

-So?- Daisuke didn't agree. After all, Satoshi had been combating them long enough to know the pattern of Dark's thefts, even if he didn't necessarily succeed. -You're too cocky, Dark. One day we'll be caught, and then what?-

 

And then I transform into you and distract our dear friend, Dark cheerily replied. Hush now, Dai-chan. I got work to do. He landed in the niche and leaned forward, swaying a little to keep his balance as he worked on the window. Taking a phial out of somewhere, the Phantom Thief dribbled a little of its contents onto the latch. A hiss, a sizzle and the glass pane swung open.

 

He landed on the floor, straightening up from his crouch. It was at times like these he really wondered about the police force. They were better for dealing with drunken drivers and petty crimes and utterly useless when it came to a professional job. Dark made his way deeper into the heart of the museum, where Seadancer was being kept.

 

It took all of five minutes to reach the main viewing hall, where the best pieces were kept. Any art aficionado would have died of delight in this room, but not Dark. He moved swiftly past the pieces, not even deigning to notice the famous Van Gogh. His eyes were fixed solely on the large canvas in the very centre of the room. He stopped three feet away from it, squinting at something. Motion sensors-check. Pressure sensors-check. Heat sensors-check. Noise sensors-standard issue. Lasers-check. Oh me oh my. Dark rolled his eyes scanned the rest of the room, looking for the trigger. At first, darkness met his eyes and he was just about to start clambering over the mesh of lasers when a white light flickered at the edge of his eye. He produced a small piece of plastic from his pocket, and flicked it almost carelessly at the light. It went off, and the glow from the lasers disappeared. How painfully amateurish, he thought to Daisuke. You could get through this without any problems. Ignoring the redhead's indignant protests, he reached the painting without any further ado. Then the cage slammed down on top of him and the sound of voices reached his ears. Oops.

 

“You're getting careless in your old age, Dark,” Satoshi commented, emerging out of the shadows like some ghost. “I honestly thought this,” he gestured at the cage, “was a waste of effort. But I guess it wasn't. I'll have to thank Inspector Saehara for this,” he added as an afterthought.

 

“Meh,” Dark replied. Clutching the artwork in his arms, he scooted away from the Commander. “You'll have to catch me first,” he taunted. Closing his eyes, the thief began to focus on phasing out, but then the artwork began to glow. He looked down in shock, eyes wide. Judging from the gasp near him, he knew that Satoshi, too, had not expected this to happen. For the second time in five minutes, Dark Mousy had made a very big mistake.

 

He was floating in nothingness, unable to move. That white, searing light kept approaching him, but he couldn't do anything to avoid it. Dark desperately tried to move, he tried to flail or do something, but nothing happened. It was as though his body was utterly disconnected from his mind. Then Daisuke's form appeared in front of him and Dark opened his mouth to shout in horror, but nothing happened. The light hit and it was as though Daisuke was absorbing it. He wasn't dying; that part was definitely not in the equation; but it certainly wasn't something that would leave his Tamer unscathed. Daisuke! What are you doing?! Then they were back on the ground with startling suddenness and Satoshi was staring at him, eyes wide in shock and jaw hanging down. Dark was possessed by the urge to burst out into laughter until movement caught his eye. He turned his head…

 

“Oh dear God,” he breathed, unable to believe his eyes. Daisuke was sitting next to him, shivering slightly from the temperature in the room. That wasn't it, though. He was shirtless…and he had a tail. It wasn't an elegant cat's tail, nor was it a bushy fox's. It wasn't even a rat's hairless, pink one. It was…it was a fishtail. Daisuke flapped helplessly on the floor, arms wrapped around himself in a feeble attempt to preserve some of his natural body heat.

 

“D-D-Dark?” Daisuke stammered out. “Hiwatar-ri-kun?” Satoshi was standing there, still dazed. Dark decided that it would be wise to disappear quickly, before the police Commander regained his senses and before anyone else entered the room. Grabbing Daisuke, he concentrated and in a flurry of black feathers and white light he vanished, reappearing in the Niwas' living room seconds later with a resounding crash as he landed on the coffee-table, merboy and all.

 

All the adults leapt to their feet, shocked at this sudden entrance. Emiko rushed over to the fallen pair, helping them off the table. Daikii went upstairs to run a bath, as it was clear that Daisuke was cold and in his current…state…it would hardly be appropriate to tuck him into bed with a hot water bottle. Kosuke went for the kitchen, intending to prepare a hot drink for the two thieves.

 

Fifteen minutes later:

 

Dark sat on the edge of the bathtub, hands cupped around the mug. He looked down at Daisuke, who seemed perfectly fine in the warm water. He was even flipping his tail a little and grinning happily as it moved in accordance with his wishes. “So you're a merboy now, eh Daisuke?” Dark wryly asked. Daisuke looked at him and then nodded.

 

Cocking his head to one side, Dark looked closely at his Tamer. He reminded him of someone, especially in this state…”Daisuke?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You know that movie you and the twins used to like watching?”

 

Daisuke frowned up at his friend. “Which one?” he asked. “We watched a lot of movies together.”

 

“It was when you were pretty small, I think,” the other replied. “The one about that princess…and she lost her voice? Because she was in love?” Daisuke blinked for a moment before brightening up.

 

“Oh! You mean `The Little Mermaid'?” He asked.

 

Dark nodded. “Yeah. You look like her,” he added after a moment's thought. Daisuke pouted and blushed.

 

“Do not!”

 

“Yes you do, Dai. I mean, look at you. You've got the tail, the hair, the disposition…” Dark ruffled Daisuke's slightly damp locks to emphasise his point. “Next thing you know, you'll be seducing me with your song.”

 

The poor redhead flushed even darker. “What? I'm not seducing anyone!” He hastily retorted.

 

“I should jolly well hope not.” Both boys jerked up to look at Kosuke, who had just entered the bathroom, eyebrow raised. “Hardly an appropriate choice of subject for this hour. Dark, I suggest that you get to bed and we'll sort this mess out tomorrow morning, when we're all wide awake.” Neither protested, still too embarrassed at being caught. The purple-haired teen mumbled something along the lines of a `Good night' and hastily escaped from the room, resisting the urge to just fall on the ground and whimper in shame and embarrassment. Kosuke looked at his son calmly, inquired after his comfort and then left Daisuke to the warm water.

 

Next morning:

 

Daisuke blinked and twisted uncomfortably as his body slowly awakened. A sloshing sound met his ears and he looked down, confused and still trapped in that state of half-sleep, where a nuclear explosion seemed trivial and memory had yet to return. Then he looked down and the events involving the Seadancer and everything else returned to him. Now awake, Daisuke carefully examined his new appendage. It looked just like any fish's tail would, he supposed. It was dark turquoise in colour and shimmered with a pearly light, and the fins at the end were certainly long, barely contained within the bath tub. Delicate, almost translucent fins edged the long tail, fluttering softly with the ripples in the water. Wonderingly, Daisuke reached out a hand to feel them and giggled at the silkiness tickling the palms of his hands. He played with his tail for a while, until Dark came in, yawning.

 

“Hey Dark!” Daisuke chirped. Dark groaned, unused to sleeping for fewer than eight to ten hours at least. He proceeded to somehow shove his head under the tap and in an explosion of water, squawks and splutters he was soon wide awake.

 

“Morning merboy.” Daisuke pouted.

 

“How am I going to get to school?”

 

Dark blinked at him, not intending to say anything, but it soon became clear that he would have to intervene unless he wanted Daisuke foaming at the mouth in a panicked frenzy. “Daisuke,” he calmly interrupted as soon as the redhead paused for breath, “I don't think you'll be going to school today, or any time soon unless this…condition of yours goes away. Honestly.” He rolled his eyes to enhance the effect.

 

Daisuke glared at him fiercely from the bathtub, brushing his damp bangs out of his eyes. “I'll fall behind!”

 

“So?” Dark sorely regretted that one monosyllable as soon as it left his lips. Daisuke automatically began to recite the long list he had prepared God alone knew when. “Okay, okay, you've made your point. But you can't go to school. Not like that. And I most certainly can't go,” he hastily added when Daisuke opened his mouth to point out that Dark himself had a perfectly serviceable body. “Look, I'll get you some brekkie and then we can chat this out with the rest of the clan. Whaddya say, Dai-chan?” Daisuke glared but nodded, knowing that Dark's mind was made up. The purple-haired teen straightened up from the wall he'd been leaning against and patted his Tamer on the head, eyes warm.

 

Dark had seen breakfast at the Niwas' many times through his host's eyes, but had never actually experienced one. For the first time ever, he was actually sitting in a chair, holding a fork and knife and staring at the shiny plates. Unfortunately, he felt just a little…guilty for taking his Tamer's place, as it had been his fault for using magic around the piece of art and thus unlocking the latent potential within. Daisuke had intervened for him yet again, causing him to become more or less completely incapable of functioning in the human world unless the spell could be reversed. “Dark?” It was Daikii, eyebrows raised. When the thief gave him a quick smile, the man said, “Hurry up. You need to feed Daisuke, don't you?” Despite his sneaking up on people and hearing private facts about their lives, he didn't like others knowing his business.

 

Dark hastily shoveled down the food, grabbed the dish that Emiko had prepared especially for her son and dashed upstairs. “Dai-chan honey, here's your breakfast!” He sweetly said. Daisuke, occupied with his tail again, yelped and thrashed in shock, splashing most of the bathroom with water. Luckily, the purple-haired teen's reflexes saved him. “Why, Daisuke,” he teased, “You didn't have to try and wet me! I would have gotten in with you if you'd just ask!” The redhead made a couple of funny noises, tugged at his hair and then buried his face in his hands, mumbling all the while. “What was that, Dai-chan?” The thief wickedly asked, tossing a towel carelessly onto the wet toilet and seating himself on it. Producing a fork out of nowhere, he speared a piece of innocent hashbrown. “Never mind. Open wide, darling.”

 

“How am I going to change back?” Daisuke asked. “I can't stay like this forever!”

 

Dark shrugged, teasing manner gone. “I don't know, Daisuke. Eat.” He pushed the fork at his Tamer's mouth again, but the boy backed away.

 

“I'm not a baby,” he growled cutely. “I can feed myself.”

 

Dark silently handed the plate over, hit by another wave of guilt. He watched Daisuke eating, tail flipping about in the water. “Hey, Dai?” He asked quietly. The tone in his voice caused the fourteen-year old to look up, eyes questioning.

 

“Yes, Dark?”

 

“Do you…um, do you…blame me?” he whispered.

 

Daisuke put down the plate on the edge of the bathtub, keeping half an eye on it to make sure that it wouldn't fall onto the soggy floor and cause a mess. Leaning over, he placed a hand on Dark's knee. “Dark, look at me.” Dark looked up. “I don't blame you for using magic; anyone would have done that. I just put myself in, because it wouldn't have helped if you got knocked out and Satoshi lost control of Krad—“

 

Dark shook his head stubbornly. “I should have known better. Generally magic triggers the curses, so I shouldn't have—“

 

“Should have never made anything better,” Daisuke sagely said. “C'mere.” Holding out his arms, he patiently waited. Dark blinked and then leaned over, pushing his head into the crook of his Tamer's neck. The redhead wrapped his arms around Dark and rocked slowly, nuzzling the other.

 

“It's still my fault,” Dark mumbled into Daisuke's shoulder. “I shouldn't have let you throw yourself in the way of that light…”

 

Daisuke sighed; he hated it when Dark would blame himself for bringing bad luck. “Listen,” he gently said, tilting backwards so that he could see the thief's eyes. “It doesn't matter. I can always catch up with school, like you said. I'm sure we'll find a way to reverse the spell.” When Dark didn't respond, Daisuke gently cupped his face in his hands. “Look, even if you hadn't used magic, the magic within the painting might have still woken up and I would still have become a mer-er, a merboy.” Dark grinned slightly in spite of himself at Daisuke's close slip-up.

 

“But I failed to—“

 

“You didn't fail at anything, Dark,” Daisuke told him calmly. “I chose to move in front of you. I chose to let the magic have me, because it would do neither of us any good if you died on the spot. Now, stop feeling guilty because it isn't going to make things any better. Promise?” He waited until Dark looked at him squarely in the eyes, and then repeated, “Promise?”

 

“I…” Dark dropped his head a little.

 

“Dark, for once in your life, get this through your thick skull: I do not blame you.” Daisuke enunciated each and every word slowly and clearly, hoping that his stubborn boyfriend would get it through his head that he was in no way, shape or form responsible for the theft's going wrong. “Mom doesn't blame you Dad doesn't blame you. I wouldn't be surprised if Grandpa told you to do it again. With likes it (said inference being drawn from when the rabbit tried to play with his fins). See? No one blames you. So stop moping already!”

 

Dark sighed and leaned on Daisuke again. The redhead could feel his jaw moving as he spoke. “Ya know, Dai-chan…I guess there wasn't really anything we could do about it.”

 

The redhead let out the breath he'd been holding. “Good boy,” he wryly said in answer to Dark's admission.

 

“So…” The thief looked up, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Seeing as you're not going to be getting any visitors for the next three hours…”

 

Kosuke walked in, eyebrows raised, hands shuffling through a sheaf of papers. “You'll have to get Earthwalker tonight,” he dryly commented. “It's the other half of Seadancer.”

 

“So it'll change me back?” Daisuke asked.

 

“That's right,” Kosuke answered, smiling slightly. “Well, we hope so, at least.”

 

“Oh.” Daisuke drooped a little, then he looked at his father. “Dad?”

 

“Aa?”

 

“Could I…” the redhead fidgeted nervously. “Could I swim in the sea then, please? Just for today…you know, before I change back. I…I want to see what the sea's like,” he said. Dark and Kosuke looked at each other, then nodded.

 

“Dark, why don't you take him down in the car? It'll be easier for all of us, as I have to finish off some research anyways. Dark looked at Daisuke, then grinned widely.

 

“Sure thing.”

 

“Don't get caught,” Kosuke lightly said as he left. “And don't try anything funny, boys.” Both teens looked at each other and smiled sheepishly, already planning for the night ahead. “Oh, and Dark, make sure you get back before five. You'll need to prepare for the theft, won't you.” With those words, the dark haired man left.

 

Daisuke whined in the back of the car, fishtail covered by bags of ice (it was the closest substitute to water that Dark could find). “Dark! Are we there yet?” The thief groaned and allowed himself to press his forehead against the steering wheel of the vehicle for just a moment, wondering just when Daisuke had become so whiny.

 

“No! Give me a break here, will you? I'm trying to get there without breaking any laws for once!” Daisuke ignored him and continued to whine, his translucent tailfin flopping about in an agitated manner. Dark was thankful that the ice weighed most of his Tamer down. The car shot past the fork in the road, its driver unaware that he had missed a vital turning point. His passenger, on the other hand, was not so happy.

 

“You missed the turn! Da-ARK!” Daisuke whined. Inwardly, he was enjoying himself immensely, in spite of the goose bumps on his chest. It was payback for all the times Dark had whined inside his head and caused him no little amount of distress. “You missed the turn! You have to go back now, and it's already 2:30pm! Daaarrrkkk!”

 

You had to feel sorry for Kaitou Dark. After all, he wasn't exactly the best pathfinder in the world (he was only familiar with museums in relation to the Niwa house) and the beach had never been on his `Places to Hit' list, considering that he never had the time to go visit it. “Sheesh, all right, all right Dai-chan, I'm sorry! I'll turn back!” He didn't know how much he sounded like Kosuke when Emiko had been pregnant; she'd harangued him to no end.

 

Performing a U-Turn fairly successfully, Dark finally managed to arrive at the beach and park the car properly. It was just close to 3:45pm, which gave them plenty of time to enjoy themselves a little, even though Dark remained on the shore whilst Daisuke swam far out. It seemed that whilst Daisuke was part-fish, he was able to breathe underwater for long periods of time. The thief looked up at the sky, wondering whether Earthwalker would be able to reverse the effects of Seadancer. Noting that the sun was starting to disappear behind the cliffs and streaks of gold dominated the sky instead of light blue, he stood up and whistled.

 

“So you're telling me that Earthwalker is a sculpture? Why not a painting like its other?”

 

Daikii sighed. “You said it yourself, Dark. It's the other half of Seadancer. It stands to reason that the artist would want it to be different in every way.”

 

“But that makes it difficult to display, doesn't it?”

 

“Idiot!” Daikii cuffed Dark. “I thought you were smart. Use your brain, boy! The pair is never meant to meet!”

 

Dark winced, rubbing his head where Daikii's stick had smacked it. “Okay, okay, I'm sorry!” Daikii growled irritably. “Now get ready. You're scheduled to steal it at 11:00pm tonight!” Dark nodded and then walked back upstairs, peeking into the bathroom to check on Daisuke on his way up.

 

The museum was a in a frenzy of activity, and an innocent, unknowing passerby would have thought that they were re-enacting the London Blitzkrieg of WWII. It was a new police strategy; keep it dark. Unfortunately, the effect was somewhat diminished by the number of reporters, journalists and spectators crowded just outside the towering building.

 

The windows were dark, with no glimmer of light to provide even a hint of Earthwalker's location. “Come on…” Dark cooed to the window he was currently trying to open. He had poured acid on the lock a while ago, but so far it didn't seem to be working. In a way, that was a good sign; it showed that there was something in this room worthy of protection. Namely, Earthwalker.

 

“Guess who?” A familiar voice whispered into his ear. Dark barely had time to widen his eyes in shock before he was brutally flung to the ground from the fourth-storey window. Policemen swarmed around him at once and the thief knew that if he didn't move soon, he would be the newest addition to the Cook County Jail, and probably joining in with `The Cellblock Tango'.

 

Soaring up and away with the help of With, he located the window. Now that everyone knew he was here, there was no point in trying to be nice, so he kicked the window open. Glass shards flew everywhere, but luckily nothing injured him. He entered the room, only to find a card, resting on the velvet cushion.

 

Nice try, Dark. Better luck next time.

 

Crap! He thought, eyes darting around as though expecting Earthwalker to appear out of nowhere. “Looking for this?” Krad appeared next to the window, moonlight playing across his features and throwing them into sharp contrast. In his right hand, he held Earthwalker. “Good luck.” Faster than the eye could see, Krad casually tossed the precious sculpture out the window.

 

“With, go!” The rabbit soared out into the night after the statue, leaving Dark alone with Krad. “Huh. Pathetic.” He placed a sneer on his face, even though he was worried. What if With didn't get there in time? Right after he had this thought, something heavy was dropped into the bag slung over his shoulder. Guess that's not an option, he thought in relief, concentrating fully on the battle now.

 

As he flew home that night, he wondered why Krad hadn't come after him. Usually the other would detain him for as long as possible, just to piss him off, but tonight his attempts at fighting were seemingly half-hearted. Maybe Satoshi's finally growing a backbone, Dark thought and snickered to himself. As if Krad would let him.

 

Emiko was waiting at the door, smiling cheerfully as ever. To look at her, one would not think that she was the mother of Kaitou Dark and that her biological son, Daisuke, had been turned into a merboy just the night before. “Ah, Dark! You're back! Did you get it?” Her voice was light as ever, but Dark knew that she was worried for Daisuke. “And not a moment too soon! Na, you want to come?” Dark nodded and followed her up the stairs, the backpack swinging carelessly from one shoulder.

 

“Hi mom! Hi Dark! How was it?” Daisuke was as cheerful as ever, thousand-watt smile and all. His tail jumped a little in the water, a greeting in its own special way.

 

“I…” I ran into Krad again. And boy, was he off. “I didn't find it particularly challenging.” Add a wink and a coy shrug for reassurance. “Here it is!” Flourish of hand, plunge into backpack. Whip out Earthwalker and grin at Daisuke. Ignore squeal of delight from Emiko.

 

Dark didn't look at the sculpture as he handed it over, intent on looking at Daisuke. The redhead caught the look on his face and nodded. “Mom? Will I need you and Daikii to change back?”

 

“I don't think so, Dai-chan. Here are your clothes,” Emiko cheerfully said, placing the bundle of cloth on the sink. “And here's Earthwalker!” She handed the sculpture to the boy and a bright green light surrounded him.

 

Daisuke was floating alone. He looked down and noticed that his tail was still present, and he looked around once more, only to see nothingness. “H-hello?” He called out carefully. “Is anyone there? Anyone?”

 

The light surrounding him pulled itself into one area, in front of him. It swirled before solidifying into a recognizable shape, mainly that of an old lady. She wore a plain brown robe, knotted at the waist with a thin vine and with the hood pulled up. He couldn't see her face properly. In her right hand, she held a staff that had vines curling all around it.

 

“Ah, you met my sister,” the lady commented. “I apologise. She likes to play tricks on people.” Daisuke nodded, unsure of what to say. The spirit of Earthwalker nodded. “Yes, yes…I'll change you back. Come here.” She crooked a finger at him and Daisuke looked down once more at his tail. Hesitatingly, he flipped it, expecting nothing to happen. Instead, he was propelled forward, just like he would have been had he been underwater. He halted in front of Earthwalker, who tapped her staff lightly on tail three times. “It'll hurt,” the lady told him. “And your feet will feel like they're being stabbed by shards of glass for the first two days. So be careful. The pain should disappear after that.” Daisuke nodded, vaguely noting that she sounded like a doctor. Then all was silent once more and Daisuke felt a searing pain tear up his tail.

 

“AAAAAGGGGHHHH!” Daisuke screamed and thrashed in the tub, eyes glazed over with pain. It felt as though someone was ruthlessly slicing into him with a large meat cleaver. Dark was horrified at this and rushed over, holding onto his Tamer's shoulders and trying to calm him. If Earthwalker did this, I'll personally smash the thing! He thought grimly. Daisuke's cries brought the rest of the household upstairs, but they were powerless to do anything except watch.

 

Daisuke's screams gradually died down into whimpers, and it was then that Dark saw the cause of the pain. “Well,” he commented as he tenderly scooped the other out of the bathtub, “at least he's back to normal.” Emiko nodded, eyes still worried. Dazedly she picked up the clothes, still lying next to the sink.

 

“Here,” she said kindly. “Let me help.” Half-carrying and half-dragging Daisuke into his room, she managed to get her son dressed under five minutes and tuck him into bed. She came out of the room to find Dark pacing restlessly outside. “Stop worrying like that, Dark,” she lightly scolded before going downstairs to prepare a light snack, in case Daisuke should wake up and feel hungry.

 

Dark sat at Daisuke's desk, glancing up at the redhead every now and again, making sure that he was all right. So far, the redhead seemed to be perfectly fine, sleeping peacefully. The thief stayed like that for the entire night and watched the sun rise, savouring the peace. Daisuke would probably say something utterly sappy about this, he thought as he looked at the meeting point between light and dark.

 

At around seven, Daisuke stirred slightly. Dark looked up and thought for two seconds before mounting the ladder and looking up at his Tamer. A dizzying sensation came over him and he wobbled precariously on the ladder. Groping blindly with one hand, he grabbed Daisuke's wrist and the feeling increased. Dark felt himself being sucked into Daisuke once more and he knew that all the effects of Seadancer were reversed. Back to the Dreamworld, he thought as he became part of Daisuke once more.

 

Daisuke slowly woke up to find himself in his warm bed once more, with a pair of legs instead of a mermaid's tail. A shot of disappointment went through him as he remembered just how fun it had been to swim in the sea with his newfound ability, but at the same time he was relieved that he was back to normal. He didn't like having to stay in the bathtub, anyway. Tentatively, he reached out in his mind, looking for Dark. A grunt met his advances and Daisuke sighed, wishing that he could have stayed separate from the thief. Rolling over, he sat up and began to climb down from his bed. However…

 

“Ouch!” Daisuke half-gasped, half-screamed. His feet hurt. With every step he took, it felt as though a hot poker was being pushed through into his legs.

 

Daisuke! What's going on? Dark was immediately awake and ready to fight should the need arise. Panting, the redhead leaned heavily on the side of the ladder, breathing deeply and trying to ignore the flames searing through the soles of his feet. -It's nothing, Dark…” he whispered. -Just…need…ah!- The pain flared up once more as he shifted and Daisuke felt beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead. He remembered the words of Earthwalker and relayed them to Dark, who was now clamouring for an explanation.

 

You're telling me that she gave you that pain? Dark demanded.

 

-It was the only way! Besides, it'll disappear after a while, and…-

 

No ands, ifs and buts, Dark swiftly ordered Daisuke. You'll have to stay home today. There's no way on earth you'll possibly be able to cope with school. I'm sure your mom will understand once she hears the problem.

 

Unfortunately for Daisuke, Emiko most certainly did not agree with Dark's opinion and packed him off to school anyway. Shuffling painfully down the street, the redhead prayed that no one would notice anything off about him.

 

The next two days passed in burning agony, especially when Daisuke went through the obstacle course that he called home. Running through lasers and tripwires became torture in their own special way, and dodging paintballs and other such charming projectiles was even worse. Dark could only watch and comfort the other as he sobbed with the pangs of sheer pain that coursed through the soles of his feet and his legs.

 

Wednesday morning:

 

Daisuke slowly rolled over in bed, praying fervently that he would be able to get down the ladder somewhat more quickly today. He was pleasantly surprised when he placed a foot on the top rung of the ladder and felt no pain at all, the way he was before this whole mess. “I'm…I'm better,” he whispered to no one at all. It felt good to be able to say those words again.

 

In the Niwa vault, where all the cursed artworks were kept, the sculpture of Earthwalker suddenly developed a toothy grin where she had once looked stern and imposing.

 

-Dark?- Daisuke questioned in the confines of his own mind.

 

Yeah?

 

-I never told you this…but thanks for going out to get Earthwalker.-

 

Dark shrugged and Daisuke swore that he could feel the thief's lips brush across his mouth gently. Of course, Daisuke. Of course. Then his lips quirked upwards and the purple-haired teen whispered, My little merboy.

 

Okay, so I guess it didn't pan out as I thought it would. For your information, yes Daisuke's bed is quite high up, it's one of those things where there's a gap below for the desk. It's great for small rooms.
If you're wondering why Satoshi didn't ask anything at school…he was trying to deal with Krad, You know how the poor guy gets depressed after he loses control.
Thanks for reading up to here, and review please!