Work Text:
The weeks following the dance were too busy with graduation and end-of-year preparations for Daisuke and the Harada twins to have any kind of conversation that wasn’t either brief greetings or planning meetings. For what it was worth, everyone was a bit happier that way; the stress of preparing to move onto high school, of trying to confirm their test scores, and of saying their final goodbyes to some of their friends was too much to add something else on top.
After all, many of them are moving on to the local high school. They have plenty of time there to deal with this, once graduation is over and done with.
Daisuke wandered between the classrooms of the third floor, checking on the progress of their graduation mural. He found himself put in charge of the project by the art teacher, who chose Daisuke after the other members of the art club nominated him unanimously.
“They have confidence in your ability to pull it all together,” he had said, a gentle smile on his face to try and assuage Daisuke of his fears. “The mural is drawn by everyone on small pieces, and they think you have the eye to make sure it comes together to create something great.”
So he designed a seascape at sunset–a scene he thought allowed for enough individuality with the colors, so that even if someone wildly deviated from the plan it would still look natural. Now, only days away from graduation, the project was heading towards completion and Daisuke was trying to help the stragglers complete their pieces.
Of course, the most straggling of all…
“Saehara!” Daisuke yelled, walking into his own classroom and standing across from Takeshi’s desk. While the rest of the class was working on their class-specific graduation project or practicing the various songs they would sing, Takeshi was diligently looking through his camera.
“Aww, come on Daisuke, you know they’ve got me running the slideshow for graduation.” Takeshi placed his camera on his desk and stared at Daisuke in defeat.
Daisuke rolled his eyes with a sigh. “I know, but you’re the furthest behind on your mural piece. Can’t you work on that when you aren’t taking pictures? We don’t need the slideshow until the day of the graduation, and the mural needs to be done by tomorrow!”
“Yeesh, calm down.”
“C…calm down?! Not until–”
Calm down. Takeshi’s an idiot, but he’ll get it done.
“I see your friend agrees with me,” Takeshi smirked, though it quickly fell. “But I get the impression he also said something rude.”
Daisuke pulled a nearby chair over and sat down in defeat. “Just…please finish your part?”
“Come on, couldn’t you get Dark to steal a piece or something.”
It doesn’t work that way, Dark remarked in a kind of exasperated amusement that had grown more and more common recently.
“It really doesn’t work that way, Saehara.” Daisuke echoed. He couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from rising at the look on Takeshi’s face.
“Being double-teamed is awful, man.”
“How do you even do that?” Daisuke asked for what might have been the fiftieth time.
Takeshi shrugged, drumming his fingers on the desk in front of him, and answered for what might have been the fiftieth time, “You’re just easy to read.”
It’s a wonder he never found out before, really.
Yeah…though it’s nice to have someone who knows.
Daisuke smiled absentmindedly. Even weeks out from divulging his secret to Takeshi, Daisuke was still able to find a small kind of miracle in the experience of sharing it with someone else. Just having someone like Takeshi knowing made him think that telling Riku or Risa wouldn’t be nearly as bad as he had previously thought.
Of course, the circumstances wouldn’t allow it to be that easy. Daisuke knew that. And he figured Dark knew it as well.
“….suke. Oi, Daisuke? Earth to Daisuke?”
Takeshi’s voice shook Daisuke out of his brief reverie, and as he turned to look at him, he saw Risa and Riku standing behind him.
“Ah….Good morning. Riku-san, Harada-san.” Daisuke choked the greeting out despite the odds, and he had never desired a drink of water more than right now.
The twins looked at each other in apprehension, eyes flitting and shoulders moving like they were having a conversation only they could hear or understand. Finally, Riku stood forward, eyes darting everywhere but in Daisuke direction.
“Daisuke-kun. Could you come with us? We….have a quick question.”
Daisuke nodded quietly and stood up, pushing Takeshi back into his own seat when he moved to stand up with protestations of “WHEN DID SHE START USING YOUR FIRST NAME?!”
Risa tilted her head towards the hallway and moved ahead of Riku and Daisuke. They walked the hall in silence. Risa poked her head into the various rooms they passed.
It was a slow, almost grueling walk. Dark’s silence was only making things worse for Daisuke. He chanced a small glance at Riku, who continued to walk right beside him. Her steps were tense, and he could tell she was still trying to look anywhere that wasn’t in Daisuke’s direction.
“In here!” Risa called over to them, pointing to a currently-unused home economics classroom almost halfway around the school from where they started. “It’s a miracle it’s unlocked…” she continued, and dashed inside.
Riku and Daisuke followed in afterwards, and Riku made sure to shut the door securely and put on the lock. By simple nature, Daisuke jumped a bit at the sound and turned around. His eyes landed first on Riku’s hands still on the lock, and then moved up to her face in a silent question.
“S-sorry,” she stammered, quickly withdrawing both of her hands to her chest. “It’s just a bit of a….it’s probably better no one walks in.”
“It-it’s quick though!” Risa stammered in turn, and now Daisuke turned to face her. “Just. Security.”
Riku walked slowly around Daisuke to stand by Risa. Their eyes burrowed into each other and nowhere, continuing the conversation Daisuke believed they must have had earlier.
You know, we’d probably be like that if we were separated.
…you think?
Dark laughed a bit, and Daisuke was certain he could feel a couple of pokes between his own shoulder blades.
Strange silent conversations while seemingly staring off into nowhere?
…ah.
“Niwa-kun?” Risa’s soft voice called out to him, and it was exactly because it was so low that Daisuke was so easily called from his own strange silent conversation. He nodded silently, hinting at Risa to go on.
“Um….” she stared silently at the ground, twisting her right hand through the length of her hair and twisting her left foot on the ground.
“Risa’s worried,” Riku broke through, hands clutched in front of her. “Ah, but first. Are you…okay now?”
Daisuke’s eyes flitted between the two twins, both obviously nervous for (probably) the same reasons. And their nervousness was only making his own nerves worse.
He was afraid of what they would ask. Where those questions could lead. Afraid that, after telling Takeshi everything, that he would want to let the words spill from his own mouth. And afraid that he would just as badly want to clam up and refuse them the explanations they deserve.
He stumbled forward; an inexplicable motion to all those who were watching. But Daisuke could still feel the shadow of a hand on his back, urging him forward.
“I’m okay. Much better than….than before.” He finally said. “I’m sorry for worrying you.”
Riku slowly closed her eyes as she let out the breathe she had been holding, a small smile gracing her features. But she opened her eyes again suddenly, quickly, and glanced back in Risa’s direction.
“…Dark-san….” Risa whispered, slowly walking forward. “Is…is Dark-san….Riku told me what she saw, and I don’t really understand it, but I just want to know if….if he’s….”
Daisuke swallowed reflexively. He could still feel the hand on his back, the strange phantom pressure directly on his skin that shifted as if the fingers had curled in on themselves.
Please, he whispered, and Daisuke was compelled to respond.
“He’s fine. And…” Daisuke wavered, wondering how much he would be allowed to say otherwise–how much was safe to say. “He knows you’re worried. And we both know he’d much rather you didn’t worry about him.”
Daisuke scratched the back of his head with a sheepish laugh. “So, uh. Please don’t worry, both of you. We’re, uh….we’re both okay.”
The lights that lit up in Risa’s eyes could have rivaled the summer fireworks, and the fire in Riku’s a festival bonfire. Risa grabbed Riku’s arm and started jumping in her excitement, whispering “he’s okay! he’s okay!” over and over again. Riku got a bit swept up in Risa’s excitement, smiling along with her, but her eyes constantly swept back to Daisuke.
“Okay!” Risa exclaimed, jumping one final time. “I’m going to get back to class! Niwa-kun, I still owe you my mural piece right? I should be finished by the end of the day!” She patted Daisuke on the arm as she ran to the door behind him, and quietly left the room.
In the silence, Riku stared back to Daisuke. He nearly faltered under her strong gaze, but in those flames he could feel only warmth.
“Thank you.”
“Eh? Why are you…”
“For telling the truth. For helping Risa feel better.”
For telling the truth.
Those words hit Daisuke at a place deep down in his heart. He doubted she meant those words to hurt in the way they did, but there was a sting behind them all the same.
So, he only nodded.
“I know…we can’t do much for right now. And that you’re probably still figuring out things.” Riku stepped towards Daisuke. Her hands were fidgeting where she held them against her chest. “But it still means a lot that you could answer that much.”
“I’m sorry, Riku-san. I’ve done a lot of terrible things.”
Riku shook her head vigorously, and begged that Daisuke not look away from her with her own gaze. “Knowing you, there was probably a reason. So I can wait. But only for a little bit!”
Daisuke couldn’t help but smile at how serious Riku’s face was, despite how dangerous he felt the situation was otherwise. “I promise.”
Even the smile on Riku’s face, more beautiful than Daisuke was sure he had ever seen it, couldn’t completely erase the feelings of unease in the pit of his stomach.
—————————————————————————————————–
Graduation itself was uneventful. Well, uneventful for Daisuke’s standards. There was a spot of embarrassment when he heard Emiko’s cries from the audience during the unveiling of the class memorial (which Takeshi had only submitted his piece for an hour before; their classmates would talk about the way Daisuke chased Takeshi afterwards for weeks after graduation ended), but otherwise Daisuke didn’t think his graduation would be memorable for any particularly outstanding reason.
Afterwards, as parents were talking with teachers and students were cleaning up and preparing for the third years’ march out of the school, Daisuke was stopped on his way back to the classroom by an arm around his torso and a hand over his mouth.
His mind and body went into overdrive as he recognized the hand in front of him and remembered previous warnings. He lowered his body weight, reached behind him….
…and flung Keiji Saga over his shoulder and onto the floor.
As soon as he heard the sound of a body hitting the ground Daisuke immediately regretted his rash actions despite Dark doing his version of cheering in the back of his mind. Even so, he didn’t reach out to Saga; he stood where he was, and watched as he laughed through a coughing fit.
“That’s a hell of a way to greet someone, Niwa-kun!” Saga forced through heaving breaths.
“Speak for yourself!” Daisuke countered with a flush.
Saga just gave a non-committal shrug has he lifted himself from the floor and brushed himself off. “I just came to see the graduation ceremony! And wanted to say hello to my favorite friend.”
Daisuke shrank in on himself, his legs bent and ready to sprint at any notice. He glanced around the hall; besides the two of them (and a stoic as ever Funabashi further down the hall from Saga–That’s the opposite way Saga came from…did they wanna trap us?) there was no one else in the vicinity.
“I’m…glad?” he finally responded, though still very confused. “But how did you get up here? And why is there nobody else?”
“Ah, I wouldn’t worry about that part. Just simple logistics.” Saga smirked as he walked towards Daisuke and patted him on the shoulder.
Daisuke couldn’t respond except to tense up even more.
“But anyway, I just wanted to wish you a fun, brand new high school life! Grab life by the horns! Get busy with that girlfriend of yours, since you won’t be interrupted anymore.” As if the words didn’t insinuate enough, Saga wiggling his eyebrows for emphasis heightened the blush on Daisuke’s face.
Saga patted Daisuke’s shoulder twice more, and motioned with his other hand to Funabashi. They both walked away, Funabashi giving a final nod as he passed.
Daisuke was rooted to the spot for the several minutes of blank time until others appeared in the hall again. The conversation with Saga felt like a dream.
The hell does he mean.
“You’re going to have to be more obvious…” Daisuke murmured, moving on autopilot back to his classroom to clear out his stuff.
As he drew closer to the classroom, someone’s arm grabbed his right arm around his wrist. Being on autopilot meant he reacted automatically. Which meant he moved around with his other to deck whoever had grabbed him–
but he stopped it just before Takeshi’s face after recognizing a friend.
“…shit, Daisuke, you’re all out of sorts.”
Daisuke shook his head and blinked in quick succession as he lowered his fist. He only managed to get out one word–or rather, a name.
“Saga.”
“Dammit, I thought I saw him!” Takeshi grabbed Daisuke by the shoulders and shook him gently. He growled out in a whisper, “He didn’t do anything to you, right?”
At Daisuke’s shaking head, Takeshi calmed down. “No, just…wished me a happy high school life.”
“Tch. Maybe that means he’ll leave you alone.”
“Doubt it….we both do.” Daisuke laughed weakly.
Takeshi shrugged. “Can’t do too much about it now. Come on, we’ll be late to the march. Time to walk bravely into adulthood!”
As Takeshi walked back into the classroom with a flourish, Daisuke only hoped high school really would offer a fresh, clean slate.
———————————————————————————————————
The entire return trip home was filled with family banter and Emiko’s exclamations about how wonderful the graduation mural was. The more she complimented it, the more embarrassed Daisuke got about it. As they inched closer and closer to home on their walk, Daisuke was growing more and more ready to shut himself up in his room and sleep away the strange and emotionally exhausting day.
His dinner was light; he was too preoccupied with Saga despite Takeshi’s insistence not to worry about it that he couldn’t find it in himself to eat much. He could see the worry in his mother’s eyes, and he felt bad for feeling so down on his graduation day…but she eventually relented and let Daisuke return to his room early.
“One week until opening ceremony at Azumano High School…and I already have homework to do.” Daisuke threw his schoolbag on the floor by his desk and collapsed on the bed, sighing out the tension he had built up throughout the day.
…Oi, Daisuke. On your desk.
“My desk?” Daisuke rose to his hands and knees reluctantly and moved his gaze to the top of his desk. On it was a small black box, wrapped in a thin red ribbon. From a single glance, the small package looked like it had seen better days; the corners were worn down, and the ribbon was quite frayed at the ends.
Daisuke slowly rose from his bed and walked towards his desk. He gently untied the ribbon from the box, setting it aside as he lifted the lid.
Be careful. I’ve got a strange feeling about this.
He nodded, picking up the box to get a better look. Even he could feel something coming from whatever was sitting inside, cushioned on the old worn velvet.
“That’s…..is that a yin-yang?”
The two halves are wings. Dark answered. And look, the clasps are designed so it comes apart.
“Ah, you’re right. They’re hard to see on the velvet, but there’s a chain on each end. I guess it’s a pair, then.” He gingerly reached in with his left hand and picked up the pendant between his thumb and index fingers. “I’ve never seen a black and red yin-yang before.”
Hmm. Seems fitting as a gift of some kind. Maybe Emiko got it?
Daisuke placed the box down on the desk, and settled the pendant in his palm. “Think I should try to put it on?”
He could feel Dark shrug, so he set about putting the combined chains around his neck…or would have, if one of the chains hadn’t been connected at the bottom of the necklace.
Tch, you can’t even see the thing if you try to put both on.
“It really is meant as a pair. Maybe I should try to separate it.”
Daisuke brought both hands up to work at the clasp. As soon as both of his hands touched the pendant he could feel a jolt up his spine.
“Dark…?”
Silence.
But not because Dark wasn’t there, or wasn’t paying attention. For Daisuke, it felt as if Dark’s heart was beating right along side his, speeding up in anticipation.
He undid the clasp, and Daisuke was sure he could hear the sound of chains rattling.
The click of the clasp was almost unbearably loud, and the silence that followed too quiet. But even that didn’t last long; a surprising amount of magic pulsed from the small pendant, encompassing everything in the room as it worked to wrap its tendrils around Daisuke.
He wasn’t sure how long he was caught up in the magical storm. He called out to Dark, and though he’s sure he got responses every time, something felt like it snapped.
He tried to rouse himself from the darkness that followed as the magic calmed, blinking rapidly. He could still feel vestiges of the magic on his the ends of his limbs and around his torso, but they were slowly receding into the pendant that remained around his neck. He found the bed underneath him, determined to take it easy before figuring out what exactly had happened. The headache he had didn’t seem like it would disappear anytime soon.
Of course, he should have expected the commotion he just caused would have led to the resulting clamor the rest of his family made to get up to his room.
Emiko entered first, and the scream she let out was one Daisuke had never heard. His eyes slowly opened, trying to focus on the blinding white ceiling above him. He could hear whispers–his mom to Towa-chan? and his dad and grandpa were speaking very quickly, and he could even hear input from Argentine–that were slowly rising into what he could only describe as a cacophony. He couldn’t handle that noise right now–
“Please, could you quiet d–”
…two voices?
Daisuke sat up quicker than he really wanted to. His attention first went to his family. Shock, curiosity, joy, worry–there were a lot of expressions in a lot of different mixtures on each of their faces. He noticed some weren’t always looking at him, though, so he followed their gazes to his desk….
“D….a…..r…..k…..?”
He was learning there, hands on top of the desk and bracing his weight.
Impossible.
Possible.
Daisuke’s hands shot up to cradle his head. That voice…it was still there. But it felt like it was traveling along a wire. Like a pressure, pulling taut between his head and the center of his chest, and then leading out….over to him.
“Dark,” Kosuke’s voice rang quiet. “That artifact around your necks…”
“W-was found…” Dark spoke slowly as if tripping over his own tongue, and ended by gesturing to the top of Daisuke’s desk. He then turned to Kosuke and nodded slowly.
Daisuke was stunned, watching the scene before him. Watching his father and Dark interact from a third-person perspective was one of the most strangely satisfying things he had ever experienced.
But the look on Dark’s face when he turned his focus back to him might have surprised that.
“Daisuke…” Dark murmured as he shuffled himself to the floor. His eyes fluctuated between focusing on Daisuke and staring off into nothing at all.
“Dark, are you…”
He nodded.
He was okay. They were both okay. Tired–exhausted, really–and confused, but okay.
“Is this…?” It was too good to be true. Daisuke shifted his own body to the edge of the bed and slowly lowered himself to the floor.
“An out?” Dark continued, managing to smirk despite his exhaustion.
“An out…” Daisuke echoed, inching closer towards Dark. He slowly put out a single hand and poked Dark in the knee.
Dark laughed weakly in response, and poked Daisuke back in the shoulder. They grinned at each other, and were each lost in the moment–
“Kosuke-san! You knew about this?!” Emiko shrieked, effectively silencing everyone in the room and focusing the attention on her.
“Well, not quite…” Kosuke laughed weakly. “But I can talk about that downstairs. Let them…get used to this.”
The stares returned to Daisuke and Dark, and they both felt the scrutiny fairly hard. Emiko nodded tersely, tears running down her cheeks (I’m sure they’re happy tears, Daisuke could feel from beside him), and led everyone else outside of the room.
The room was quiet once again. Daisuke sighed.
“‘Brand new high school life’, huh. No kidding….”
“…Now you can have fun with Riku without worrying about me. If you can actually manage to make the first move.”
“Hey!”
Daisuke lightly punched Dark in the shoulder with a smile. Dark returned the gesture by ruffling his hair with a grin.
Daisuke wasn’t sure he would ever get used to that.