Disclaimers: No, I don't own this. Only my characters and the entire strange, eeire concept.

Warnings: Nothing short but slight coarse language, and if you really want Dark and Krad, as well as Daisuke and Satoshi to be pairings, fine, whatever. Not like I'll actually mention it. They're just good friends, really. AU.

Okay. That's that. Read on.

---

"If you were scared of what you possessed. If you were afraid of what the result might be…

Don't run away. Don't try to hide. There will always be someone there to help you." -- Akane Takada

--- One: The Way We Live ---

The sound of rain and thunder seemingly crashed in on the peace of a particular household. A girl pulled back her curtains, pouting slightly, as she watched the gray clouds rolling in on them. She was wearing a frilly type of skirt – which was bright pink – and her dark hair was pulled back into two ponytails as gave the sky a meaningful prod with her eyes.

"Why does it have to rain now, Onee-chan?!" she whined, spinning around as she allowed the curtains to fall again. She waited for an answer from one of the other household members, but got none, and she stormed out of the room. "Nee-chan!"

"Bloody hell, can't you just shut up already?" grumbled an older girl as she entered what was supposedly the living room. The lights were dimmed considerably and most of the drapes had been left hanging to block out the somewhat gray sky, although something told them that even pulling them back would have allowed more light. Old-looking chairs and sofas were haphazardly placed within the large room and candles had been lit, giving off an eerie air. "I have to go the friggen' bathroom and your damn brother hogs it!" The dust that settled around them blew in an awkward flurry, and she coughed.

"That doesn't mean you have to tell me off for yelling, Aeka-chan," muttered the other girl with another pout of disapproval. "If he wants to stay in there all day, then I can't stop him. Can't you use one of the other bathrooms?"

"We only have three, and Nina and Christina took over them," replied Aeka mutinously, her short hair looking more frazzled by the minute. "Why the hell we have so many people living here, I'll never know, Karal. Where's Raine?"

"Did someone call my name?" the oldest female of the house entered the room, giving it a disapproving shake of her head. "My my, didn't I tell Christina not to use the candles until night? And what happened to the light, anyway?"

"I think it's Onii-chan's fault again, Raine-chan! But it's not like we use the lights anymore anyway," answered Karal in a gossipy sort of voice. She smoothed her skirt before continuing, voice trailing off into a whiny pitch of self-pity, "But I have to get to Estana-chan's house soon! Where's dad when you need him?!"

"You're the one that's scared of the lights…" muttered Aeka, but not loud enough for the younger girl to hear her. Karal was still whining about the rain and it wasn't long before Aeka decided to change the direction of the conversation. It was just so much fun, getting into arguments with younger siblings.

"What, worried about a bit of rain now, Karal?" She smirked and shook her head. "Carry an umbrella. It doesn't kill. At least, not until I curse it or something."

"Don't do that!"

"Both of you just stop it," muttered Raine in annoyance as the two began to bicker, "And you know that father and mother always stay in that so-called 'temple'. They take their beliefs too far for their own good, especially with leaving the rest of the family home. I am sure that they will come back to talk to us sooner or later."

"That's because we didn't want to go with them," Aeka pointed out, while she tugged Karal's hair, "Who wants to be full-blown Goths anyway. People hate them now. Don't consider them as proper people either. That's just mean."

"At least everyone at school accepts us as who we are," said Karal, yanking her hair free, "otherwise Nina might have cursed them or something! … Do you think that she threatened them before we arrived or something?"

"Of course I didn't!" yelled a voice as a door was pushed open. A girl with naturally spiky dark-blue hair entered the room and gave them all a crooked smile. "You know that I wouldn't do that UNLESS someone was making fun of you guys first. They were pretty understanding, as a matter of fact. At least at our school. Don't know about him."

"Ah… so you finally finished using the bathroom, Nina!" Aeka half-bellowed as she ran out of the room. They fell silent as they listened to the other girl sprinting down the hallway, down a flight of stairs, and the bathroom door slamming hard close by. Nina, who was the third oldest sister, gave them a bewildered look. "What was that about?"

"Dunno," Karal shrugged.

"Diarrhea?" suggested Raine, as she finally took a seat. "And Karal, you can't go out today anyway. We have to have a… family meeting."

"Eh?! But we just had one yesterday!"

"Oh… Raine-san…" another girl with light violet hair and glasses poked her head into the room, "Did you… um… call?"

"Christina, it's okay, nothing's wrong," reassured the oldest member as she waved a hand to indicate them to take a seat. "But we have to have everyone one here before we can start."

"Ah… but I have a feeling that something will go wrong though," the youngest fiddled with her glasses as she entered properly, her shoulder-length hair pulled back neatly while her jeans and parka looked fairly wrinkled, "Is something happening to Onii-san again?"

"No, not him, although I do have to ask him a few questions at hand."

"I'm back," called Aeka – now cheerfully – as she reentered the room, hair finally brushed back properly. She then pulled out a piece of paper out of her pocket, stared at it, and threw it away before turning to Raine, "Want me to call him now? He's been in there for half an hour, I'm sure of it."

"Go ahead. We don't have all day." She nodded her consent. The second oldest female took a deep breath – while the other covered their ears – and then released the air she'd been holding in her lungs. The sound carried most likely out of the house and at least two streets across and down, warning everyone outside to stay away from their house for the time being.

"DARK! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW OR I'LL DO IT MYSELF!"

"… CAN'T YOU SHUT UP ALREADY, SOME PEOPLE ARE BUSY HERE!" came the equally loud reply, except in a male's voice. "SHOW SOME RESPECT TO A PERSON'S PRIVACY ALREADY!"

"DIDN'T I JUST TELL YOU TO GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE?!" Aeka shrieked impatiently, "IF YOU AREN'T DOWN HERE BY THE COUNT OF TWO, I AM SO GONNA GET RID OF ANY PRIVACY YOU HAD LEFT! AND I'M SERIOUS THIS TIME!"

"Ae… Aeka-san…" stammered Christina nervously as she hid behind a plush chair that flopped under her touch pitifully, "That… that was scary…"

"He only has two seconds though," Karal stated cheerfully, pointing at the luminous clock that hung on the wall close by them, "One… one millionth of a second, two millionthofasecondthreemillionthofasecond…"

"I'm here already! Geez!" the only male of the entire household stomped in angrily, his dark violet hair looking messier than usual. His clothes also seemed a bit put on too quickly, since both items of clothing he had on were wrinkled to the point where one had to wonder if they had just been in the washing machine. "What the hell is wrong with you, Aeka? Yeesh… people these days…"

"Dark, you're the only male in this family, we have a… tradition to uphold," Raine said calmly before Aeka could reply. "I know that you don't like the idea of being part of a more… absurd or strange community, but we're not asking you to prance around the streets claiming you religion or who you are. Christina seems to be the only other one who agrees with you, though."

"Raine, what is it this time?" Dark, having heard the same line repeated time after time before each meeting, chose not to reply and crossed his arms, while Christina went over to him for support. "Why are we having another meeting so soon? We already agreed on all that crap you were on about last time and I have a meeting with Krad today--"

"Ah… that's one of the points I want to discuss," cut in the oldest member. "About your choice of friends… you do know that both our parents are against his… type and the worst that could happen to you would be… well, mental torture. Haven't we already told you that you should drop your friendship with him and move on? Not to mention your… spare time around with him and those others… Niwa, Hiwatari… they're names that will be the end of you."

"We're not starting this argument again, are we?" Dark asked in annoyance, sighing. "Like I told you, if you can't stand any of that, then I can move outta here and that will be that. I don't care about this whole Goth stuff and I'm not dissin' it or anything, but it's not for me."

"Dark onii-san…" Christina started nervously, "But if you leave now… I… I, um… would you?"

"Hey, I can take care of myself," he smiled reassuringly at the youngest member of the family, "If anything, you could move in with me!"

"Dark, don't be ridiculous!" Raine snapped, slamming a hand across the coffee table, "It's bad enough that you drifted away from your roots, but to drag Christina away as well is…" she bit her lip, "And with you forever meeting them… especially HIM…"

"You know, I think Dark-chan and Hikari-kun are more than good friends," started Karal in a tone of excited gossiping, "You see, a few weeks back, when I was going home from--"

"Shut up, Karal, if you want to see another day." The seriousness of his voice and the underlying danger were clear and she bit her lip quickly, giving him a look close to saying 'why are you so mean to me?'. He ignored it as Aeka stepped up to speak her peace.

"But Raine, you said that we didn't have to follow the 'rules' exactly," she pointed out calmly, "And Dark has his rights, especially since he's the only guy here. None of us can stop him."

"And nothing's wrong about liking a person of the same gender anyway! If Karal was about to say that stuff," added Nina.

"Why? Because you're also like that?"

"You're saying that you didn't know?"

"… You're so straightforward with your words, Nina…"

"I will tell you this just one last time, Dark," Raine said softly, as she pulled out a deck of tarot cards, "Stop associating with these people before father and mother come back. The last thing they need to know is that their only son is with people like that."

"Please," Dark laughed and smoothed his wrinkled shirt out, "You really don't expect me to do that now, do you?"

"Dark…" she started dangerously.

"No way, Raine, not on your life," he snorted, "And I don't care about being disowned or anything. If that's the case, you can just say it right now and I'll leave. Simple."

"Dark-san…" started Christina softly, tugging at his shirt, "You don't mean that… you're really…"

"And don't think that I don't know about you, Christina," added Riane wearily, "Making friends with those… people as well. Drop them now, please, and save your soul before it's too late."

"I… I can't Onee-san, I just can't," whispered the youngest member, taking a deep breath, "They're not bad people! Just because they're different from us doesn't change who they are in the inside! We're all people, we're all living creatures! You can't tell us who to make friends with and not!" she gasped and covered her mouth, surprised with what she had just said.

"Punishment!" crowed Karal excitedly, leaning on her chair, "Ooh! I can't wait to see this!"

"Dark, if you're going, I suggest you go now," both Aeka and Nina suggested, and he nodded, thanking them both. Taking Christina's hand – which was shaking slightly out of fear – he pulled her gently away from the living room, Raine sat up sharply, pointing a finger towards them.

"And where do you think you're going?" she asked in a dangerously soft voice. "We haven't finished the meeting yet, Dark."

"Well, I'm done for now," he retorted, "And Christina's coming with me. I wouldn't want to leave her with you while you're in THAT mood for sure. We'll be back, not like we have anywhere else to go…"

"…"

It wasn't too long before the remaining four girls heard the distinctive sound of the front door slamming shut before silence fell over them. Raine drew out some cards from the deck she'd been holding and placed them on the table for all to see.

"Before I trailed off, I wanted to warn all people with Gothic background and blood to not leave their homes tonight," she said, almost sadly, "All lines of connection has broken already, and they're after us again."

"Again?" squeaked Karal, hands over mouth in horror. "Why again?"

"I don't know."

"This is beyond serious Raine," Aeka said softly, "Why didn't you just tell us instead of letting Dark and Christina go? You know that they'll get in trouble."

"They have to learn their lesson," Raine replied, in a cold voice, eyes glazing over slightly, "They won't follow my lead, then they'll have to do it the hard way. You'll see, they'll come through."

"… Aeka, can you help me clean up my room?" Nina asked calmly, and the two left. Raine watched them with narrowed eyes, the cards on the table glowing eerily and the candle on the mantelpiece flickering dangerously.

"Nina…" started the second oldest member, as soon as the door was shut. "Did you…"

"She's becoming just like her…" whispered Nina, almost fearfully.

"I know…" Aeka's eyes narrowed, as if trying to sense something that couldn't be seen on their side of the world, "I know exactly what you mean by that, Nina… but we can only hope that it doesn't happen…"

"She's becoming just like mother…"

"…" she bowed her head.

---

"Dark-san… onee-san… is it really okay for us to leave like that?" asked Christina hesitantly as she allowed herself to be pulled by her older brother, "She's going to be so mad at us…"

"For what? Thinking for ourselves?" Dark frowned as he held the large umbrella over his head, "Who knows how warped their minds are already, from all that Gothic belief stuff they read all the time… ah! Here we are! Don't worry, Krad won't be mad at me for taking you with me, he liked you."

"R-really?"

"Yeah, you're the most stable one out of the girls in that family. Not that Aeka and Nina are insane yet…" he reassured her as he hit a doorbell. They heard the chime inside the house, and it wasn't long before someone answered the door.

"Who is it—oh, Dark."

"Hey Krad!"

"And you brought your sister along as well?" Krad raised an eyebrow slightly in question, "Another argument about your beliefs?"

"You could say."

Krad opened the door to allow them entry into his own home, golden hair tied back in its usual ponytail. While the two boys greeted each other (which really just involved Krad choking Dark for being late and Dark yelling back as he tried to breath), Christina took a look down the hallway, marveled by the different form of décor the Hikari family used compared to her own family. It was always so… bright and cheerful, she decided. She walked down it until she was hailed by a voice she recognized quite well.

"Christina-chan? What are you doing here?"

"Daisuke-san…" she turned to face the person. Daisuke Niwa waved her over from their side of the room cheerfully, accompanied by a boy his own age with cerulean hair. Christina liked the contrast; blue and red, red and blue. It was almost as amusing as the blonde and violet mix that sometimes happened when she saw Dark and Krad at school when they were sleeping. They were so cute. Although the fact that Dark liked to stay up incredibly late and only have three hours of sleep wasn't good for his health, but she knew she couldn't change his sleeping patterns even if his life depended on it.

She pushed the thoughts away and smiled nervously at the two older boys before sitting down. The room they were in also held a startling cheerful and bright air that drowned out the rain and the choice of call colour made her slightly jealous of what the Hikari family possessed that hers didn't. Again, she pushed her thoughts away, not wanting to wallow into self-pity in front of people other than family. They probably wouldn't understand, and she couldn't risk it.

"Why are you and Hiwatari-kun here as well, Daisuke-san?" she asked, recovering and fidgeting with her glasses at the same time. Satoshi Hiwatari – the blue-haired boy, obviously - raised an eyebrow in her direction, but it was the redhead that answered.

"Ah, it's a group project. Dark-kun didn't tell you that, did he?" he smiled, "So, why're you here, Christina-chan?"

"Eh? Uhm…" she stammered, ducking her head to look at her knees, "Onii-chan, he, um… he just…"

"Eh? Chris-chan?" another male's voice – younger though – perked up, and a boy with the same shade of hair colour of Satoshi's entered the room. He gave one of the chairs close by a disgruntled kick and muttered in annoyance before collapsing on a seat next to Christina. "What'cha doin' here?"

"Kaz-kun?" she looked up in surprise.

"Hm? Did you get lost again?" Daisuke asked the other boy innocently, and he ducked his head, similar to what Christina had been doing only moments ago.

"Damn Hikari estate's too big. Don't know how he manages…" muttered the other boy, and Satoshi shook his head.

"Don't get started or I'm making them pick you up early. Sing songs and play with Leah, if you can take it."

"Ugh! No thanks… Satoshi---," whined the disgusted Kaz, who was also the middle child of the Hiwatari family; the resemblance was obvious from hair, eye colour, and way too serious nature, which was humorous on it's own accord. The youngest child and only girl Leah was the most hyperactive of them all and was also violent, which wasn't a good combination either way. "But I'm going to die of boredom just sitting here. Why did the rain have to ruin it all?"

"Well, keep Christina company, then," replied the oldest Hiwatari member coolly, "We do have a project to finish."

"Ah… sure, whatever," the other boy got up and then smiled in an almost sheepish way, "You wanna go somewhere else and explore, Chris-chan?"

"Sure, I guess…"

When the two younger children left the room, Daisuke watched as Dark and Krad entered. The violet haired one was pouting slightly while the blonde remained expressionless.

"Why do we have to do a joint project with a class three years younger than us?" whined Dark, "No offense, you two, but the entire syllabus is completely screwed up, if you ask me."

"You didn't do any of the research at school though, Dark-kun," Daisuke pointed out, "If you had, then you wouldn't have to be here then. Today, anyway. It's really your fault when you think about it."

"Dai-chan!" the older teen pouted at his – younger – friend in annoyance, "That's a mean thing to say! I didn't think you were capable of saying that."

"Not only that, but you're half an hour late," Satoshi cut in smoothly as he took a look at his wristwatch. "Tell us what happened this time."

"Family again, wasn't it?" Krad said as he sat down. "Didn't want you 'associating' with us again, wasn't it? 'Our type' is the wrong type? What, are we contaminated or something now?"

"Nah," Dark scratched the back of his head as he took a seat next to the blonde, "Usual family argument, I have to admit. But man, they're getting persistent. And I don't see what's wrong with hanging around you guys, either."

"Must be a cult thing."

"Hm…"

"Are they going to kick you out of the house, Dark-kun?" asked Daisuke, eyes wide in question. Out of the four boys, Daisuke didn't have any younger – or older – siblings and the thought of fighting didn't appeal to him.

"It's bound to be soon, anyway," he shrugged. "But since I am the only guy that family's got, they can't afford to lose me, can they?"

"You'll be punished for coming here again, though," Krad pointed out, "And your sister, since she got dragged here as well."

"Well, Christina's the only one who knows reality. Aeka and Nina are supporting us, but it's really Raine. She's the problem."

"What was the meeting for? Just that?" asked Satoshi, looking at a sheet of paper he was currently holding.

"Uh… I don't know, actually." Silence filled the room for a moment, until Daisuke finally gave in and stood up.

"Do I really have to do this?" he asked.

"Yeah," Dark and Krad replied in unison.

"Ugh, fine," the redhead mumbled incoherently for a moment. "Satoshi-kun, can you just help a bit? And Krad-kun and Dark-kun as well… more help, less time, ne?" They all got up, knowing what their task was, and went to work silently.

Lights were dimmed and the center of the room was cleared of all furniture. Daisuke stood in the center while the others kept away at a respective distance, and he began to mouth words softly, the actually sounds not leaving his throat as he started the simple procedure of communication with the 'other' world. For a moment there was silence, and then…

"Ah, I don't want to alarm you, but…" the redhead blinked while Krad turned the lights back on. As they rearranged the furniture again, Dark couldn't help but prod the younger boy for what had happened first.

"It was about me, wasn't it?" he demanded. "Well, if that's the case, then I want to know now."

"Well, I guess it's better to warn you before it's happened," admitted Daisuke, "But it's not just you. It's your younger sister as well. You see… monsters are coming after you. I don't know which world, though, so…"

"Shit," Dark muttered something before turning to Satoshi, "Hey, creep. You know about those monsters I saw you researching a few days back?"

"What about them?" the blue-haired boy replied coolly.

"Seems they're coming this way. Krad, you'll have to supply weapons then."

"Oh…" the blonde went over and frowned at Dark, "So now I have monsters on my doorstep because of you, is it?"

"Nah, not your fault, Krad. Not anyone's," the other teen said in a distracted tone, as he looked around the room for support. "These monster things like to kill people of certain… religions, as you can call it, and the people are supposed to hide in their houses until it comes to pass. Course it's the stupidest thing I've heard since the time Karal was going on about having a boyfriend, but I'm sure the four of us can handle it."

"Us?" repeated Krad skeptically.

----

Okay, I know I started another story, but I don't care. And no, I'm not Gothic, and I have nothing against them, in case you're wondering. The main focus is on Dark, so yeah, and he has a very extended family. Let's see… Raine's 22, Aeka's 18, Dark's 17, Nina's 16, Karal (what kind of name is that?) is 13, and Christina is 11. So… yeah. In case you were wondering. Hope you liked it. I have two other chapters done, but I'll put them up next week… just to see if you like this story or not.