Disclaimer: D N Angel isn't mine; therefore, I don't own it. It's logical, ne?

-by Alena S. Anigor

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I. Fall

---

Sharp, almost excruciating pain surged through his body as his knees touched the cold floor of some, to him, completely unfamiliar building. Images and sounds around him became just a blur as the monster inside of him threatened to come loose, unbind himself from the restricting chains he’s been trying to secure him with and emerge from the deepest corners of his mind and soul.

Wings sprouted from his back, a light, swooshing sound breaking the buzzing sound in his head for just a second, before the pain coursed through him again, reminding him that he won’t last any longer, that his hair would grow longer and his eyes would turn golden, narrow and menacing.

“You can’t hold me in there much longer, my dear boy,” a voice whispered inside his ear sweetly, almost gently but he knew that the creature, once he got out, would only cause terror and havoc to everyone around him.

With his last ounce of strength, he raised his head to see his friends, soon to be turned into captives, staring at him in fear and horror - Daisuke Niwa, the boy who helped him defeat Krad...so how come he had managed to find his way back inside him? There was no Dark...

He shivered and huddled into a ball, clutching his chest as if trying to prevent the blonde from tearing his way out by sheer, physical force.

“I want to be free...Release me...Let me out...Let me...”

“No!”

Voices yelling around him, calling his name. White in front of his eyes...Cruel, hot, pain...Riku Harada staring at him in fright...

“Pity.”

He screamed when he could feel himself slipping away completely, the pain intensifying rapidly and he could only shake his head and grit his teeth when he saw someone running towards him, calling his name, but he wasn’t Hiwatari-kun anymore...

He watched Risa Harada halt with a start right in front of him, auburn irises wide with fear as she watched long, blond tresses shining brilliantly in the moonlight, golden eyes eyeing her hungrily, lips quirking into a cruel smile.

“I am free.”

“Hiwatari-kun...”

He tried to move, tried to scream at her to run, to run away and take the others with her, but he couldn’t. He was weak, exhausted, pained and bruised and he felt hot tears of anger trickling down his cheeks when he could do nothing but sit and watch Krad advancing towards her.

“That’s right my dear boy, that’s all I need you to do...”

“Hiwatari-kun! Hiwatari-kun!”

“Run! Run!” He continued screaming inside, but he knew it was in vain; only Krad could hear him and that only managed to make the blonde smirk in satisfaction. The girl gasped and froze when he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her towards him, her sister and Daisuke running to help her.

“Stay away! Krad, don’t you dare! Krad!”

He sank down; tears burning and stinging his eyes...how could this happen? How was this possible? All he wanted...all he thought he could do right now...How?

He started sobbing, the dull ache in his chest having nothing to do with his previous state. He choked on a sob and covered his ears to tune the screams around him out...It hurt. It hurt too much...

“Yes, my dear boy...that’s all I want you to do...”

He could feel something inside of him shattering, but he didn’t know what it was...

“Feel.”

---

Blue eyes opened with a start as his body reacted instinctively, making him rise up in a sitting position, his breath coming out ragged and shallow. But as soon as he lifted himself from the bed he regretted it dearly, for that same, sharp pain came back and he moaned, feeling like his head would split in two. He was forced to lie back down and close his eyes, black and blue swirling in front of him. His fingers were clutching his temples, trying to somehow soothe the pain and make it go away.

He felt hot, beads of sweat trickling down his face, whether from the nightmare or something else, he wasn’t sure. He touched his forehead and realized that his skin was burning under his palm, the heat almost radiating off of him. The pulsating pain in his head wouldn’t also go away and he sighed, his breath still coming out as uneven and his heart still thumping madly in his chest. It was just a nightmare...just a nightmare. He was in his room, in his apartment and there were no Krad, no Daisuke or Harada twins.

But just to make sure, he moved a bit in his position, trying to see or feel any signs of wings on his back. There were none; only painful scars remained as a reminder that they were once there.

He took a deep, shaky breath and exhaled slowly, blue orbs directed at the blackness of the ceiling. The blinds were down and only a few beams of moonlight managed to squeeze through, bright streaks of light playing over his carpet and his bed.

He glanced at the clock on his nightstand and frowned. It was 3:17 in the morning and he was awake with an immense headache and a high temperature. And he was supposed to go to school in a few hours.

“Damn it,” he muttered, willing his eyes to close and his mind to drift off to sleep again, but images of Krad and his friends kept on haunting him throughout the night and it was past 5 in the morning when he finally fell asleep from exhaustion and weariness, his eyelids burning and his head spinning. He had unfolded the sheets sometime in the process because it has become almost unbearable to sleep underneath them, his hot skin welcoming the coolness of the room.

He fell into some kind of a half-sleep state, where his eyes were closed and his body at ease, but his mind refused to give it a rest.

And when he finally opened his stinging eyes a few hours later, he discovered that he was shivering although he was hot, the searing pain in his head had subsided to a dull throbbing sensation and his throat was burning. His hair was messy and damp, as well as his pillow and the sheets beneath him.

He tried to cough, but he had to clear his throat first to do that and then regretted it.

It hurt to lift his arm up to brush a few of damp strands away from his eyes and when he tried to move, he let out a groan, his whole body trembling with fever and aching. It was like every bone and muscle in his body refused to cooperate and he fell down on the sheets again, managing a pained glance at the clock and cursing under his breath.

He was late for school. It was way past noon. And he was sick.

And when his cell phone and telephone decided to work in unison and united to damage his hearing and make his head explode, he just sighed and looked at the shiny rays of sun, squeezing through the blinds.

“Damn it.”

---

“You think we should go and pay him a visit?” Riku Harada asked, glancing somewhat worriedly at her boyfriend who was currently walking beside her.

Daisuke’s equally concerned expression mirrored her own when he looked at his watch and then back at her and at her sister who was walking beside them, eyeing them curiously.

“I don’t know...perhaps...we should?” Daisuke replied with a question of his own, making Riku sigh and look forward. Risa lowered her head and stared at the concrete beneath her shoes pensively as they made their way from school.

She had to admit that she hadn’t seen much of Satoshi Hiwatari lately. Or Hikari, because she knew now that he was adopted. And she didn’t want to blame him for what happened between him and Daisuke...between the entities called Krad and Dark that resided inside of them.

One, little selfish part of her blamed him, though for Dark’s disappearance. For when Krad was sealed away, so was Dark and that meant no more night heists, no more trying to catch the thief and go on a date with him...no more exciting things that had managed to bring in something new and thrilling into her boring life and surroundings. It was back to normal, back to school, back to same ol’, same ol’.

Still, she knew it wasn’t the boy’s fault the things had turned out that way...

Her eyes saddened when she remembered how he was even so desperate that he tried to take his own life to rid them all of Krad...he didn’t deserve to be treated the way he was...He needed someone now to help him stand back on his feet. He needed...he needed friends.

She sighed; when had things changed so much?

“I think...” Risa finally said and broke the uncomfortable silence between them, “I think we should go and check up on him.”

Daisuke smiled and nodded at the idea, although her sister gave her a somewhat puzzled, inquisitive look that she promptly ignored.

“Yeah...I think he shouldn’t be alone...especially not now.” Daisuke added, his voice lowering down a bit, the scenes that had happened a couple of weeks ago still fresh in his mind. And they would probably stay embedded there for the rest of his life.

Riku sighed and stopped in the middle of the street, Daisuke and Risa stopping as well to look at her oddly.

Riku just smiled and shook her head, glad that she had such a compassionate boy for a boyfriend. And her sister has changed a lot since that fateful incident.

“Let’s go then,” she said and they headed down the street and towards the apartment they knew he was currently living in.

---

Trying to answer the phone and the cell phone at the same time proved itself as a very bad idea.

Not only did Saehara bug him with another case of a raving fan girl dressing up as Dark, but he also had to listen to his stepfather asking him about his whereabouts and his academic achievements.

Satoshi frowned; there was no doubt he was already well informed about his absence during classes.

Forcing his body to move, he reached his closet and opened it in a search of some decent clothes.

He cringed and grimaced when he tried to put on a simple, navy blue shirt over his head, the aching muscles in his hands and torso protesting immediately. It took him a while to put his pants on, trying to make his body stable while balancing his weight on one leg. In the end, he had to sit down on the floor to get dressed, the dizziness he was feeling preventing him from standing up straight.

He had to move, though because the kettle on the stove was already howling, the water inside on the verge of spilling out.

He managed to drag himself away from his room and to the kitchen, grabbing a teabag from the counter and placing it into the mug on the sink. He turned the heater off and just when he was about to grab the safety glove from the sink to grab the handle of the kettle with, a doorbell rang and he resisted the urge to growl at whoever dared to disturb him to go away.

When he heard familiar voices in front of the door, he sighed and put the glove down, contemplating the choices he had.

He could stay here and not open the door and then have the magnificent three calling him on the phone or coming back tomorrow again to ring on his door. God knew the Harada twins had minds to move the mountains with if they wished to. Niwa-kun...well, he was just there to follow the original plan.

He sighed again after the bell ran for the second time.

So, that left him with another option...And he decided that it was probably...probably and hopefully the better one.

He put on his best mask, the one of sheer indifference and aloofness and managed to suppress the urge to wince when his legs carrying him to the door resulted in his head threatening him with a seizure.

The commotion outside seemed to stop for a while and when he opened the door, carefully pushing the doors open, he was surprised to see only Risa Harada in front of him, holding her schoolbag in her hands and smiling at him merrily. Funny; and he thought he had heard more voices...Great, now his hearing had also decided to conspire against him.

He arched an eyebrow at the younger twin whose smile vanished slowly upon seeing his face.

Risa stared at him in a mixture of wonder and worry, making him frown in discontent. He cleared his throat, as painful as it was (and congratulated himself for not grimacing at the burning sensation) and grabbed the door handle for support. His legs were starting to work against him now, as well.

“Hiwata...Uh...Hika...Uhm...”

“Despite my real last name, I am still a Hiwatari, Harada-san,” he replied and frowned at his voice, coming out as raspy and gruff. He watched the younger Harada blush in embarrassment and for some odd reason, found satisfaction in it.

Risa wanted to smack herself on the forehead but just smiled uneasily at him in response. She frowned soon after when she noticed in what kind of shape the boy was.

His hair was messy and disheveled, even slightly damp on the tips. Was he having a shower when they interrupted him? She looked more closely and noticed the slightly glazed look in his eyes that seemed somehow so out of character by looking so strangely unfocused like that. His face was pale although his cheeks were slightly flushed. He didn’t even have his glasses on and his clothes were wrinkled. He looked so...torn.

“Was there something you wanted from me, Harada-san?” He asked her, his grip on the handle tightening. His head was spinning and his body ached, desperately demanding something to lie on. He knew he had to get rid of her and fast but his moral and ethics, as well as the knowledge of etiquette called for him to be polite as much as his body allowed him to. But the inquiring and scrutinizing look on her face was starting to annoy him and he started doubting his decision to open the doors as a good one.

Risa snapped out of her stupor and looked down, suddenly feeling awkward for standing there alone like an idiot. Daisuke and her sister have gone to buy some things, Riku demanding that they bring something with them, instead of showing up at his door empty-handed.

And so, Risa was left there to ring the bell and wait for him to open the door.

“Uhh...well, we were kind of worried for you since we don’t see you at school lately and...and...well...” There she stopped, watching his body shiver slightly and his fist clenching by his side. “Hiwatari-kun...are you all right?”

The pain in his head had become almost unbearable, as well as the dizziness accompanying it, his low blood pressure also stepping in action to add up to the whole bunch. His body decided to not obey him any longer, the searing pain in his bones and muscles making him feel like he would topple over any second. He gripped the door handle tighter, his knuckles turning white; his other hand flying up to his forehead to feel his skin burning like fire.

Risa stepped back, her eyes widening in sudden fear that Krad had come back once again. She already half-expected wings to spring out of his back, but when he just looked at her pleadingly and apologetically at the same time, she gasped.

“I’m sorry, H-Harada-san, but now’s not the ti...”

She yelped and leaped forward just in time to catch his falling figure in her arms, his weight making her fall down on her knees together with him, his head falling in the crook of her neck, making her shudder.

Her breath quickened; her heart racing madly in her chest when she realized that he had just collapsed in front of her. She gasped softly when she could feel the heat on his forehead seeping through the fabric of her school uniform. He was sick.

“Hiwatari-kun!” She exclaimed, trying to make him say something or do anything at all, but he remained unresponsive.

“Oh...what am I supposed to...Riku, where are you?” She exclaimed to no one in particular, not knowing what to do with an unconscious boy in her arms who was neatly resting in her lap, his head leaning on her shoulder and his arms hanging limply by his sides.