A/N: Ever since I finished reading all the D.N. Angel manga online for the chapters I haven't gotten to yet (since I bought the manga up to volume six), I've been dreaming about his pairing. Seriously. And then this morning in the shower a little plot bunny popped up. It's insane! I blame it on all the adorable moments in the manga that I saw. Oh, and I blame this fic on YamiTenshi for showing me what website had D.N. Angel scanlations. Which stop at (and I quote the website): "Vol. 13, Ch.004: Stage 3 Vol. 23" (that confuses me, but I assume the vol.13 refers to English and perhaps the vol.23 refers to Japanese? Either way, it's very far from what I own, which as I said is merely volume six. And that tells you exactly how much I read in one day!)

Sometimes, when you get out of the shower after a nice long think and you look at your cat who happened to be on the chair in the bathroom the entire time but you didn't know it since you were half awake and the light wasn't on when you came to take said shower, talking to your cat is what helps you create the titles of stories and what events to occur later on in the story.

Yes, I talk to my cat. But she's very intelligent, like the Cheshire, so can you blame me?

No, you can't, because I already blamed other things for this story in my first paragraph of this note. So… nya~!

*sips homemade hot cocoa with whip cream and cinnamon and begins typing what she wrote in class today*

[Ch.1; start]

"Hiwatari-kun!" someone waves. I turn around to find bouncing red hair as a boy bounds down the sidewalk towards me.

"Niwa," I address. I adjust my glasses on my face, pretending not to look the redhead over. It's hard to do, since I always tend to acknowledge his appearance every time I see his smiling face.

He slows as he gets nearer, and I begin to walk again. "Man, am I glad that you transferred back; I think I really missed seeing you everyday! Haha…"

I glance off to the side to where some trees are planted along the side of the school. It makes me uneasy when he says things like that.

"So, um, hey… I was wondering if you might be able to help me study for the finals coming up? You said you already graduated college, so I thought I could learn a lot from you."

Ah, so he flagged me down because he wants something. But Niwa isn't the type to mooch off of others often, if at all. I can't refuse him for this reason. In response I shrug. "Sure, I don't mind. I've assisted you with your homework before."

He smiles extra wide with his eyes temporarily closed. "Cool! Thanks, Hiwatari-kun."

I slow my pace. "You don't have to call me that, you know. I'm not really a Hiwatari and you said we're friends, so why not call me by my real name?" It's been bugging me for a while now.

"Uh, well…" he stutters. I notice a slight blush tinting his cheeks; then again, the boy is so easily embarrassed, when is there not a blush on his face? "You never call me by my first name, so…"

"I didn't necessarily mean my first name," I tell him. I pause. "I only call you by your last since we're supposed to be enemies."

"Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense. But you could call me Daisuke if you wanted to; technically you're my senior since you've finished school already. You're entitled to call me anything you want and I wouldn't care. On the other hand, I…"

He's too polite for his own good. "Suit yourself," I say carelessly. "I simply thought it'd be easier for you."

He swallows, refusing to say a word.

In the silence while we walk, a thought comes to mind. "Are we studying at my house?" I ask flatly. I assume as much; his mother doesn't trust me, nor does the previous phantom thief, his grandfather. This is because of my being a Hikari. I despise the feud between our families. It's something I had no choice but to participate in, seeing as how I was born into it with Krad as a part of me. I constantly curse my ancestor for the creation of Dark and Krad and every piece of art with life in it. It makes this game of cat and mouse rather tiresome.

I hadn't noticed my quickened, angry pace that matches my thoughts until I hear Niwa jogging to keep up with me. I slow down once more. "Eh-heh, I was hoping we could go to your house; my mom wasn't so keen on me bringing you home the day you fainted, so I doubt she'll let me have you over to study for finals," he says to answer my question finally.

I nod once in agreement; I had been correct with my assumption, it seems.

Daisuke adjusts the strap of his book bag on his shoulder. "I still don't get why it has to be this way," he remarks. "Why can't someone break the chain? I mean, after you told me that story when we were rescuing Harada-san…"

He drifts off, and I don't pry for the rest. I know what he means, he doesn't need to say anything else.

The redhead looks over at me sadly, a glimmer of remembrance in his oddly colored ruby red eyes. "Why must your family be the ones to live the shorter lives? I'm still trying to think of how we could make things works like I promised…" he clicks his tongue. "It's not fair! Why couldn't the Niwas have that part of the curse?" He's frowning deeply, his arms crossing over his chest.

I stop and turn on him, my voice coming out as sharp as glass. "Don't ever say that."

He blinks at me, his arms dropping to his sides.

Regretting my outburst, I collect myself and calm my voice. I continue walking. "What I meant was: don't wish for anything different than what is, because it's pointless. What's done is done, whether the reason is Krad using his own powers all the time and wearing the body he's in down, or if it's from the deal my ancestor set with the devil, it doesn't matter. You can't wish death on yourself. I already told you that I want to give my life, so it's all right."

There's a pause in our conversation as Niwa thinks this over. "I guess so," he grumbles. "But it's still not fair. I was you to live as long as I do. I don't want to lose my friend over some dumb, pre-determined destiny."

Somehow, I always find my heart swelling when he worries about me or shows how much he cares. I hate that feeling, but I don't hate him for causing it. As I've thought in the past, I can never bring myself to hate Daisuke; being with him during moments like these are the only times that give me any real sense of joy. The reason for my joy, however, is not something I want to express. It's enough that he's become important to me, unlike what I intended.

We step in silence for the remainder of the journey. We arrive at my home, which I'm glad to say I live alone in, even after that morning in the car with my 'father'. He had offered to take me home to live with him like I used to. Naturally, I refused. I strongly dislike that man, despite the fact that he raised me and shares some of the same interests… like capturing Dark.

I unlock the door and flick on the light. Niwa follows me in and slips off his shoes. "I haven't been here since Saehara-kun and I visited you!" he exclaims as he enters the living room. "Some stuff has changed…but it's mostly the same." He's smiling again.

I know he's politely referring to Takeshi's comment about how I live like a lone bachelor, my whole home one giant, empty mess. I don't own much, but at the time I hadn't cleaned much, either. I started my cleanliness the day they left.

A vague thought crosses my mind. I don't want Niwa to get in any more trouble with his mother than he needs to, so I ask: "Does your mother know you're staying with someone after school?"

He nods. "Yup. I told her I'd be studying with someone… although I sort of left out who. My guess is, she thinks I'm at Riku-san's." he sets down his bag and gets out some books, all of which I've learned cover to cover before anyone else my age.

"Would like a drink?" I offer casually, remembering my manners. I head for the kitchen when I hear a 'yes, please' reply. As I reach for a water bottle in the refrigerator, I notice a black and plaid jacket on one of the chairs at the table. I thanked the redhead for letting me borrow it, but I accidentally left it on when I got into the car with my 'dad'. Figuring now is the best time to return it, I grab the water bottle and pick up the jacket. I toss them both, aiming for Niwa's feet.

"Whoa!" he says, startled. The jacket got more loft than I meant for it to and ended up landing on his head. He yanks it off, chuckling lightly. "I forgot I lent this to you. Thanks for giving it back! You probably would've kept it, since I'm so forgetful." He picks up the bottle and cracks it open with ease. I watch as the lump in his throat bobs while he takes a couple sips.

Blinking to avert my eyes, I join Daisuke on the floor. He moves to lay on his stomach. I prefer to sit cross-legged. He has the books widespread on the floor around us. He selects the math book first and flips it open to the latest chapter studied by his class.

"So," he mutters, "I thought we could start with the algebra and geometry… I stink at all those formulas and equations."

I push my glasses up further on my nose and take a peek. Geometry, algebra… math in general is pretty easy for me. Languages, too; they're both all about logic and memorization. "Here," I say, "Start by balancing out the equations with the givens."

"Okay," he smiles up at me.

And so our study session began.

- - - - - - - .S. .A. .T. .O. -x- .D. .A. .I. - - - - - - -

When the redhead finally left, I found my mind drifting in the silence of my apartment. It bothers me, this silence; normally I wouldn't think twice about it, but since our little rescue mission for Risa-san, I can't stand not hearing Daisuke speak. Silence is a lot louder when he's not around. And he's been around a lot since then. I think, in telling him about our true pasts, he feels closer to me as a friend. I'd like to think so, but I can't get my hopes up.

'Certainly not,' Krad's voice whispers so clearly it's almost as if he's behind me, talking directly into my ear. 'Because he won't ever return your feelings… not entirely, anyhow. He loves that Riku girl. But I'm here for you.'

"Shut up," I snap at my so-called angel. "I don't want to talk to you about him."

'You rarely do,' Krad replies. 'I wonder why?'

"It doesn't matter why," I hiss. "You don't even like Daisuke. You tried to choke him when we were going to rescue Harada-san. So don't even try and act like –"

'Oh, I wasn't,' the blonde says. 'It's a pity, really… Dark's tamer doesn't know what he's missing. You're such a nice boy, trying to find your own way and secretly… what was the phrase the redhead used? Oh yeah: break the chain.' He pauses as he muses to himself, 'Although I doubt you can do it. That's breaking your genetics, you know.'

"I told you to shut up," I grumble through grit teeth. Normally I try to ignore anything Krad says; I don't want to take him seriously. Half the time he can be pretty sinister for a white-feathered angel. He's not like Dark; even though I hate Dark Mousy, I know Dark doesn't hurt Daisuke the way Krad hurts me: by using his wings and multiple magicks. Krad says that I'm everything to him, but it's a lie. I know he's just using my body as tool for his own goals. It's this nature of his that's the reason why I tried not to let anything become dear to me. I put that distance around me and others to save them… and myself.

'Aw, now Satoshi, you don't mean that… I do too care about you. I help you whenever I can,' he protests.

"Will you stop reading my thoughts already?!" I bark. Maybe if I go to sleep, he'll lose interest…

'Fine,' Krad sniffs. 'I'll leave you alone. …For now.'

And then I'm left in the quiet of my home once more.

I sigh to myself and walk into the kitchen. It's late, just passed dinner hour, and I haven't eaten since lunch. I don't get hungry often, but I know I should eat something… it's not wise to skip meals. I put on a kettle of water, aiming to make some tea or instant noodles (if I have any in all these mostly-vacant cupboards). Yet I turn off the water before it can boil and decide to take that idea to get rid of Krad and use it. Sleep sounds pretty good all of a sudden.

I pace down the hallway and enter my bedroom. It's dark, full of spidery shadows from my window and unrecognizable shapes formed in the nook and crannies of the room, but I don't want to turn on the light. Instead, I peel off my clothes and fall onto the mattress. Today was the last day of the week, so I roll over and shut off my alarm. Even on weekends I will wake up on school time, but not this weekend; I want to sleep in. I feel… oddly exhausted.

In fact, I've felt that way for a while now. I'm beginning to wonder if it's a sign of how much time I have left on this world.

Depressing, perhaps, but it's a fact.

[/end ch.1]

A/N: Future chapters will be longer (around 3,000 words or more, hopefully). And I hope I didn't make Krad seem too evil? I don't like him much (he's pretty, but a bit cruel), so I might portray him accidentally as a bastard when he isn't too much of one. Warn me if I start doing that, alright? Oh! And review, please. I don't know if I have Sato-kun in character or not; it's hard when I'm trying to write him in first person. :/