[section=Disclaimers & Notes]Disclaimers: I own nothing here. All content is belongs to its valid copyright holders, one of which I am not. The storyline, however, belongs to me; mine, steal, die.Violators will be beaten with a broken stick and a meat tenderizer then stuffed in a zip-lock baggie and left to rot. Vague disclaimers are no one’s friend.
Dedications: To Ryoko Crawford, for being the only one I know who is reading this and who supports my Dark/Daisuke obsessions.
Word Count: 830
Notes/Warnings: Spoilers through episode 24. POV fic. This is the stuff I write when I want to start getting into characters’ heads for something more major.[endsection]

Okay, so maybe diving straight in hadn’t exactly been his brightest idea yet, but it was definitely too late now to change his mind. No, there had been no other way, and he needed to save his companion immediately and this was the sole method that had presented itself. And, as pleasant as it was to finally have a body of his own, he certainly wasn’t going to take this opportunity and let Daisuke take the punishment for it. He wasn’t quite sure when, but somewhere along the way he’d gotten rather fond of his little partner. He certainly wasn’t about to let some woman from centuries ago trapped in a painting steal the boy away from not. Not only did he have a reputation to maintain (How would it look for the master phantom thief to have been successfully stolen from? Not a little painting or piece of jewelry either, but his partner and current host. He’d never live it down.), but there was this strange… affection he had for the latest Niwa.

Still, the wind bit into the slice across his stomach, as well as the stab wound deep in his shoulder. There was still no blood, which he counted as a good – albeit a strange – sign, but it hurt like… well, like the devil himself was shoving a red-hot poker through his arm. Krad certainly hadn’t been pulling blows on him, that was for sure. And his partner, as he’d seen him last, was out here in nothing but his pajamas and his bare feet. The snow below him and blowing through the air may not be cold, but still…

In the end, he needed to get Daisuke out of here before it was too late, before Freedert’s world swallowed the boy whole – or before Krad regained control of that Hikari boy and closed them both into the painting.

“Daisuke… where are you?” he muttered, almost to himself. He was getting nowhere. He’d been flying for what felt like hours, and there was still no sign of his partner. Dai could be anywhere in this crazy world. He had no idea where to find him or even if Freedert would allow Daisuke to be seen this time.

Wait! There! Below him, a sole break in the white landscape drew his attention, and he swooped down to examine it more closely. Snow crunched beneath him as he landed and sank up to his ankles. “This is -” It was Dai’s easel after all; on it sat the painting of the exact same snow-bound landscape he found himself standing in. He twisted about, eyes darting around wildly. But where was…?

“Daisuke! Where are you?” he yelled. “Daisuke!” Fear, an almost completely unknown feeling to him, ate at him as the wind swallowed his words. Even on the barrenness of these plains, there was no echo.

His gaze cast around, desperate for some sign of his missing other half. The snow had filled whatever footprints there might have otherwise been. He certainly wasn’t giving up yet though! They were running out of time before this place ceased to be.

The wind whipped around him, and he held back a wince as he had to push his hair out of his eyes. Then something in the distance caught his attention. Was that -? It couldn’t be – But it was the windmill monument. He knew he hadn’t seen it in the painting when he’d entered it, so that Hikari boy must have added it. But would Dai remember to go there? It was as good a chance as any he had.

He shook the snow from his wings and took to the air again. The wind was growing worse, making flight all the more difficult. It was almost like this world didn’t want him to find his little partner. Well, obviously this world didn’t know him very well if it thought that this would stop him. He was the Phantom Thief Dark Mousy, after all. He did not fail to retrieve what he set out after, be a famous treasure or be it his partner, Niwa Daisuke.

He was over the tower now, and faintly he could hear Daisuke’s voice echoing “Freedert-san”. He’d found him.

Daisuke… “Daisuke!” escaped him. A hand wrapped around the back of his pajama shirt and yanked. He vaguely heard himself and Dai arguing (for some reason, the boy didn’t want to leave). Then he felt Dai’s grip on the blonde woman kneeling before them slip, and he pulled him free, starting to rise into the air. They had to hurry; there wasn’t much time left. The Hikari boy would be closing the painting soon, and he had no wish to remain here.

Daisuke was beating on his arms, demanding to be released, to be allowed to go back. He was silent. Even struggling, at least he finally had Dai in his arms. That would do for now. Yes, for now it would suffice.

[section=Footer Notes]08 August 2004

Waii!!! I finished! This is sort of a companion piece to “Alone in the Dark”. It’s not necessary to read them together, but it gives you a more rounded view of the situation. There’s at least one more coming after this one, called “Absence of the Light”, with yet another POV jump. I’m not saying who, though. And I swear I’m still going to rewrite the series’ ending someday, just not yet.

And whee! 830 words!

Eternal SailorM[endsection]

[section=Disclaimers & Notes]Disclaimers: I own nothing here. All content is belongs to its valid copyright holders, one of which I am not. The storyline, however, belongs to me; mine, steal, die. Violators will be beaten with a broken stick and a meat tenderizer then stuffed in a zip-lock baggie and left to rot. Vague disclaimers are no one’s friend.
Word Count: 800
Dedications: To Kleptomaniac Can Opener, for putting up with me whining while I wrote this. To Usa-chan, for trading for more SI. To Chibi Tenshi, for pre-reading and helping with the summary. And especially to Ryoko Crawford, for pushing me to fixing the ending of the series; I’m getting there, as quickly as Kei will let me.[endsection]

He was gone.

He’d realized he was alone in the ruins of the museum, but it hadn’t really sunk in. Not till he’d woken up this morning to that haunting loneliness within himself. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he was alone inside his head. And… Well, he hated it.

He’d never realized how bad being alone could feel until now. He now regretted every harsh word he’d said to his partner, every time he’d cursed the Fates for sticking them together, every time he’d told his alter ego to leave him alone or quit being annoying.

He’d never counted on the peace he’d sought so diligently being exactly what he didn’t want. To have known then what he knew now… He’d have treasured the time they’d had together, instead of treating his partner as a nuisance, a burden. He’d take back all the times he’d all but accused his companion of ruining his life. Instead, he’d cherish each time that deep voice piped up in the back of his mind with some inane comment on what was going on around them. He’d even keep his mouth shut about this silly outfits they ended up wearing.

Now, though, he could only hide his tears – and his regrets – and he had a lot of both. He didn’t even have anything to remember the other man by. There was no sign anywhere he looked that proved his best friend had even existed. Once again, he wanted to curse the Fates, this time for taking his most important person from him so soon, just as he was coming to realize what the other meant to him. Why now, now that he was just starting to find out how his other half had felt about him, how much he had been loved and had never known, never seen.

If only he were smarter… If only he’d come to understand these feelings sooner… Maybe they could have thought of a better way to end this, a way that didn’t involve his partner sacrificing himself. There had to have been a way! There must have been! He knew now he’d have done anything to keep his partner with him, to save him as he himself had been saved before. He just refused to believe that there had been no other way!

He picked at the bedcovers, having not moved from the bed all day. A glance over at his clothes closet brought another regret: he shouldn’t have been so quick to give away that coat. It contained his precious last memories of his companion and their final hours together. Now it was in someone else’s hands, someone who… didn’t need those moments the way he did. Yes, another regret to add to the field of them he was growing.

He should have known and recognized these feelings beginning to build in him when his partner had rescued him from the other world. He should have heeded the words he’d been told there: “That person you hold dear… No matter what happens, don’t let them go, okay? Please… To protect that person, please don’t choose death. To protect that person, no matter what happens, stay alive for them.” He should have passed those words on to his beloved partner, his other half. Then, perhaps, he would not be the one left alive, would not be the one burdened with somehow  resuming some kind of a life after this. He wasn’t sure he knew how to live a solitary life anymore – and he wasn’t sure he wanted to!

He’d never expected or wanted someone thrown so deeply into his life, but he certainly didn’t want a life without him either! Not since the early days anyway, and those early days were long gone. He needed his partner. He’d come to count on him in so many ways, even just to keep him from becoming too serious or overwhelmed by whatever was going on. Half the time, he needed him just to remember when to get out of bed! No, all there was to it was he needed his companion.

He plucked at the bedcovers some more – and there it was. He picked up the delicate object like it was the most fragile of treasures and held it to his cheek reverently. Maybe all hope wasn’t lost after all.

He’d heard it said many times, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” He knew now it was true. It was entirely too true, and that was why he was sitting along on his bed, solitary in his mind and his heart for the first time in months.

You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. That’s why Niwa Daisuke was all alone now, clutching a single black feather. Dark…

[section=Footer Notes]05 July 2004

Oh gods, that hurt. It physically hurt to write this. I love writing the angst, but I think I might have played a little too much this time. I started this at 7 p.m. on July 4th and finished it at about 12:45 a.m. on July 5th. It weighs in at 800 words, not all that long considering, but I’d stretched the angst as far as I cared to. Dark/Daisuke fics shouldn’t be angsty; they should be romantic, but I wanted this to be full of unfulfilled love and hope. “Forever together, forever apart” was sort of the theme I was going for.

This is the first of two D. N. Angel fics I’ve decided to do. This one, obviously, is set after the ending of the anime series. You have no idea how much I despise that ending, no idea whatsoever. Hate. Despise. Loathe… Anyway, the second fic will (hopefully) pick up after episode 24 and rewrite the ending, but I need to go back and rewatch the entire series before I start it (plus I should finish Gods and Other Creatures first), so bear with me if it takes a bit.

And for the record… UGH… I think I got a bit high writing this with a fruit-scented red pen. @.@

So here is my first contribution to the D. N. Angel fandom. Expect more D/D goodness from me!

Eternal SailorM[endsection]