Gone And Back Again

XIV. Unanswered Questions And Theories

Daisuke nervously rubbed his fingers against his pencil, his bag, his clothes, his hair, basically anything he could all day. It was a nervous habit he picked up from Dark. Everyone liked to joke that Dark made sure to keep things with him when he was nervous because that’s how thieves were, but Daisuke had to admit that knowing something was rooting his mind to the world around him was slightly comforting. At least he might notice a little more if something were to happen.

By the time Daisuke got home, he thought he might’ve rubbed his fingers off. He immediately went up to his room, put down his things, and looked for Dark. Oddly enough, he wasn’t in bed. He checked the closet, the roof, and anywhere else he thought he could find the angel, but to no avail. Where did he go? He didn’t know how to get to heaven, last time Daisuke checked.

“Dark… Where are you…?” Daisuke asked quietly, continuing the search for his dead brother.

“You rang?”A cocky voice called from behind Daisuke.

Daisuke whipped around to look at the seventeen year-old, who had the most smug look on his face. Some how, Daisuke felt like he just lost some sort of game, but maybe that was because this was Dark.

“Where were you? I thought you were going to stay here! We don’t really have any angel hot spots around here for you to mingle at, and last I checked, you’re stuck here!”

“Sh, Daisuke, what have I told you? Someone’s gonna hear you and think you’re crazy. We can’t have that, now can we?”

“Where were you?”

“Wow, relax. Don’t blow a gasket or anything. I was just in heaven. My mentor came, taught me how to come back, and he told me that I was right about something being up with your path. No one’s really sure what’s going to happen, but oh well. What’s got you all wound up anyway?”

Daisuke took a second to process all this, and then at Dark’s ending question, realized he began to rub his fingers against each other again.

“There’s something wrong with Hiwatari. We were talking, and he stopped in the middle of his sentence, and ran off. He looked really freaked out.”

“So? I’d be a little worried if I was dealing with you and that hair of yours, you left with impressive bedhead.”

“What!? Hey! I did not! I combed it on the way to the train! Anyway, Hiwatari is too composed to just stop in the middle of his sentence. There’s something wrong with him Dark, I can tell. You’ve seen him, he’s serious, and he’s level-headed. What would chase him off in the middle of a sentence like that?”

“How should I know? I wasn’t there! With all the things I learned about in the past year, it could be anything! Besides, maybe he got sick or something, you’re just paranoid.”

“He wouldn’t sound scared if he was just sick, and he came back to class a nervous wreck. I mean, I guess, if you didn’t pay attention you wouldn’t notice, but still! There was something on his mind!”

“... Well… Krad did hang out around him… Although, Hiwatari wasn’t really excited about that… Maybe…. Oh! I got it! Krad was involved in gangs or something, you know, because he’s evil, and then he got Hiwatari involved, and Hiwatari hasn’t paid up for protection or drugs or something, and that’s why he was nervous. That’s also why he’s so calm, especially for a fourteen year-old. The drugs are keeping him rooted!”

“... Well… At least now I know you’ve never been under the influence of drugs, or around people who have. I don’t think Hiwatari could be that way. Besides, his dad is the head of the military! If a gang was giving him a hard time, he could just get his dad to send in a police force. There’s something else going on.”

“I’m out of ideas then… That’s all you know?”

“Yeah… Why don’t you come with me to school tomorrow.”

Dark remained silent for a little while, and stared at his little brother.

“Alright, fine, but only because I got lectured today. Something interesting better happen tomorrow.”