A/N: It's here, it's here! The DaixSato one-shot I've been planning for months! Ahhh...all I can say is sit back and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nope.

/commencer/

A Breath of Fresh Air

-

The wind is clogged with the words of deceivers

Muggy and filmy, caused by their lies

The world is bereft of beauty

-

"Daisuke!"

The redheaded 14-year-old pulled a pillow over his head.

"Daisuke! Wake up!"

"Mmm..." was the muffled response.

"DAISUKE!"

"GAH!"

Daisuke Niwa fell out of his bed, startled by the insanely loud voice right in his ear. His bright red eyes looked up to see the extremely chipper person's face.

"Oh, Mom..."

"Well aren't you a little sleepyhead this morning? Didn't you get enough rest?"

"Mom, I was up till 2 o'clock last night."

"I really should have a talk with that Dark," Emiko mused as she began fixing the bed.

-Hey, did somebody mention me?-

(Of course not. No one said asshole, did they?)

-Ouch. Touche.-

(It could have something to do with my lack of sleep. But, that's just a guess.)

-Hey, if you want to place blame anywhere, give it to Creepy Bastard. He's the one who was chasing us.-

(Dark, what did Satoshi ever do to you?)

-Besides be a creepy bastard?-

(ARGH! You're impossible!)

The phantom thief grinned.

-I know.-

"Dai-chan? You can argue with Dark later, but right now, you have school to go to."

Daisuke snapped out of his daze.

"Oh. Right."

And so began another ordinary day in the life of Daisuke Niwa.

-

"Whoo-hoo! Did you guys see Dark in action last night? I got some amazing pictures..." Takeshi started on his usual ramblings of Dark's latest adventure, while our poor hero could barely keep his head up.

(So...tired...)

-Really? I'm feeling quite perky today.-

(Okay, A: That's because you sleep all damn day and B: don't use the word 'perky' ever again!)

-Daisuke, calm down. What bit you in the ass?-

Instead of snapping back like he really felt like doing, Daisuke merely sighed and plopped his head on his desk. That is, until a certain commander decided to walk in the room.

-I knew it! It's Creepy Bastard, isn't it?-

(DARK! What's that supposed to mean?)

-Whatever you want it to.-

(Dark...)

"Good morning Niwa-kun."

Startled red met freezing blue.

"Uh, hey Satoshi-san."

Satoshi stood staring at Daisuke for a few more moments before calmly heading to his seat. Daisuke breathed out a sigh of relief, while, at the same time, a shiver of what suspiciously felt like excitement traveled down his spine.

-Dude, I didn't know you swung that way.-

(DARK!)

Before Daisuke could fully beat down his other self, the teacher arrived, and the class settled into their seats as she took attendance. A few names passed without pause until the teacher reached the 'H's.

"Harada, Riku?"

No one answered.

"Harada, Riku?"

"Sensei! Sensei!" Ritsuko waved her hand in the air. "The Harada twins have caught the flu."

"Oh, dear! I hope they're all right. Well, that's Harada, Riku and Harada, Risa. Okay..."

The teacher finished her roll call and began class. Now, it must be said that while Daisuke is not the most brilliant student in the world, he gets by quite well (not enough to stand out, mind you) because he can't do anything but his best. That includes paying attention to whatever boring subject the teacher is droning on about. So, had anyone been looking, it would have been wholly surprising to see Daisuke's eyes slowly droop close, and a drop of drool slithering out of his mouth (Riku would have found it incredibly adoring). However, none was more surprised than Daisuke himself when the teacher called upon him to answer a question. He instantly started awake, but because of his nap, our poor hero knew not how to answer.

"Uh, umm..."

"Alexander the Great."

"Huh?" Daisuke blinked, trying not to be too obvious, and it took his brain a moment to realize that Satoshi had spoken behind him.

"The answer. Alexander the Great."

"Uh, Alexander the Great!"

"Very good, Daisuke! Can anyone..."

Daisuke collapsed back into his chair, relieved. "Thanks," he whispered to the boy behind him.

Blue eyes that Daisuke could not see suddenly sparked for a moment. "You're welcome."

-Damn it. Now we owe him.-

-

Luckily for Daisuke, school was an easy task for him that day. Now, he was calmly chanting 'after cleanup, I can go home and sleep' to himself as he swept his broom across the floor. Hopefully, Emiko had taken pity on her son and not written a card. He hadn't heard anything yet, but this is Emiko we're talking about.

-Aww, if she doesn't write anything, it'll be another boring night!-

(Boring for you, maybe. I, however, will fully enjoy it. And don't take over my body when I'm asleep!)

-How did I get stuck with such a bossy, no-fun person? Where's Riku when I need her?-

(Oh, Dark...)

"Daisuke?"

Daisuke immediately stopped sweeping and looked up, only to see Satoshi standing in front of him, books in hand.

"Um, yes Satoshi?"

"Everyone's gone for the day. You can stop cleaning now."

Daisuke looked around to find that, indeed, there was no one left in the room. Which made not only Daisuke nervous, but the phantom thief living inside him nervous as well. His cheeks warmed a little with a blush, and he walked over and put his broom away. When he went to fetch his books, he found Satoshi holding them out to him.

"Uh, thanks."

"I'll walk you home, if you don't mind."

Actually, he did mind, greatly. And so did Dark.

-NO WAY.-

(Dark, I can't just refuse him.)

-Yes, you can. Daisuke!-

"Sure, Satoshi."

-Damn it.-

The two tamers walked out of Azumano Middle School and began their journey to Daisuke's house. There was an uncomfortable silence between the two, but neither one knew how to break it.

"Nice weather for April, hey Satoshi?"

"Indeed."

After this failed attempt, the silence stretched on. Daisuke did not do well with silences. It reminded him of the time Risa had given his letter back. True, he longer cared for her, but rejection stays with you for awhile, reminding you of the loneliness of the world. This thought made Daisuke turn to the boy beside him.

(Satoshi lives alone. He doesn't even see his father a lot. It's always work, work, work in that lonely apartment. Except for Krad. Does Krad talk with Satoshi like you do with me, Dark? Dark? Are you awake?)

"Talking with Dark, I see."

The first real sentence out of Satoshi startled the redhead.

"Um, actually no. He's asleep. I was just thinking about you."

"About me?" A hint of a smile crept on to Satoshi's face.

"Um, yea. I was thinking how lonely you must be in your apartment. You know, living on your own and such."

"You get used to it."

"Oh."

The boys walked on, once more in quiet. The question about Krad loomed with Daisuke, but he felt strange asking about such a thing. It wasn't something one talked about in usual conversation. However, this was an unusual situation...

"Is Krad with you all the time?"

The blue-haired genius felt himself stop in his tracks, blinking behind his glasses. He slowly turned to Daisuke.

"Do you mean like with you and Dark?"

"Uh, yes. I mean, you don't have to answer or anything..." Daisuke, nervous that he had enraged Satoshi, scratched the back of his head.

"In a way. He doesn't talk incessantly like I'm sure Dark does," The look on Daisuke's face told him everything, and Satoshi resisted the urge to smile, "But he's with me. Always."

"So you never get lonely?" Daisuke's eyes peered curiously at Satoshi.

"With Krad? Never. He would never let me forget that he is with me."

"Do you hate him?"

Satoshi's face dropped of all emotion completely, and Daisuke feared he had gone too far.

"You don't--"

"That's a personal question, Daisuke." He suddenly turned away, facing the blood-red evening sun. "Do you hate Dark?"

"No." The word came so fast, so surely, Satoshi wasn't positive he had even heard it. "But, I don't chain him down like you do. I don't avoid a normal life in order to make sure he never awakens."

Although Daisuke didn't see it, Satoshi's hand flew to his chest and clutched his heart. However, he seemed to sense it because his next words were rushed.

"I'm sorry, that was harsh, I mean, I'm no one to judge you or your lifestyle--" Daisuke was cut off by the hand Satoshi raised.

"No, don't be sorry. You have your opinion."

Daisuke stood puzzled, unsure of what to say, when Satoshi turned around, and abruptly, Daisuke lost all balance in the world, for reasons he couldn't articulate. The red rays of the sun poured around Satoshi, making him seem like the wintry angel of death, come from God himself to retrieve his soul. His breath caught in his throat as one thought floated across his mind.

(If it were Satoshi, if he was the angel of death, I would go with him.)

Daisuke was unable to dwell on this thought as he realized Satoshi was beginning to say something.

"However, perhaps your assessment of me is right."

Still feeling lost, Daisuke blurted out a quick answer in order to get out of the situation, "But, who's to know, right? And since I'm sure you're not feeling very share-share right now, I think I'll just be on my way home, okay, bye!"

Hopeful that Satoshi wouldn't feel too deserted, Daisuke made a mad dash to his home.

Wondering about nothing in particular, Satoshi watched him run, noticing the dark wings that spread into the air behind him.

-

Bypassing all the traps and his mother's usual greeting, Daisuke safely made it to his room. Thankfully, Dark still seemed to be asleep (keyword: seemed), so Daisuke wouldn't have to explain the conversation to him.

But there wasn't anything to explain. He had just been talking to Satoshi. Right? Nothing out of the ordinary. Right?

Though Daisuke couldn't untangle the web of confusion his heart was trapped in, he still went over to his easel, where a fresh new canvas was waiting. He picked up a brush and, in careful detail, began to immortalize his wintry angel of death, the blood-red sun streaming behind him.

-

So, to me, you 're like a breath of fresh air

So sweet and cool

And I just can't get enough of you

A/N: So, first yaoi fic. Went all right, I think.

I just realized all the little connections I wrote in. Kudos to anyone who can figure them out.