Title: Locks and Picking Them

Word Count: ~1800 words.

Warnings: mild shounen-ai of the SatoDai variety, a little cursing, extreme fluffyness, Dark and Krad being... Dark and Krad.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Daisuke Niwa is not a normal child.

He may act like one, and he may even be completely accepted as one, but he is most certainly not one.

This is probably because Daisuke has an infamous phantom thief named Dark living inside his body and occasionally temporarily taking control, normally whenever Daisuke sees the person that he has a crush on, and flying places and stealing stuff.

With Daisuke's body.

Now, Daisuke has no problems with this. Dark is a good friend and doesn't really torment Daisuke and Daisuke's totally insane mother has been preparing him for Dark's eventual inhabitation since he was a small child, training him to see trap doors and be able to pick locks and do all the other things that any phantom thief would be able to do.

Satoshi Hiwatari is also not a normal child.

In fact, one could even go as far as saying that he is an extremely disturbed child. However, this is easily explained by the fact that Satoshi, like Daisuke, is sharing his body with another person.

More specifically, he shares his body with the archenemy of Dark, a blond, white-winged male named Krad. This causes problems for Satoshi, because said white-winged male is also a complete and total possessive psychopath hell-bent on destroying Dark and Daisuke and the Niwa family overall.

Satoshi has issues with this because, well, he is Niwa's friend, despite their families also being enemies for many generations.

Dark is not just the average phantom thief.

For one thing, he makes a point of only stealing dangerously magical artifacts, usually made by the Hikari family, and prides himself on being chivalrous. Dark, you see, is what one would normally call a "ladies' man."

Dark is also, however, very protective of his tamer, Daisuke. Not in any creepy way, Dark just thinks that he also inhabits Daisuke's body, so he should have a say in what the hell Daisuke does with it. He feels that Daisuke's friendship with creepy kid, Satoshi, is unhealthy for both the redhead and the blue-haired creep.

This might have something to do with the insane killer that Dark knows is living inside Satoshi's head. Dark also happens to know that said insane killer hates his and Daisuke's guts. A lot.

The fact that creepy kid somehow always happens to be there to catch Daisuke when Daisuke's innate clumsiness shows itself at school and he falls is also something that makes Dark grind his teeth. Dark just knows that creepy kid spends all his free time stalking and staring at Daisuke. There is a reason that Dark nicknamed him 'creepy kid,' after all. Despite Dark's natural antagonism towards Hiwatari, though, Dark still feels pretty bad for the young commander. He was unlucky enough to be born destined to have a homicidal maniac live inside his head for a few years, where Daisuke was lucky enough to be blessed with Dark, of all things. Dark thinks that Daisuke was pretty damn lucky there. Doesn't everybody want a phantom thief living in their head?

Well, regardless, Dark thinks that it would definitely been interesting if Daisuke finally got around to recognizing the fact that Satoshi obviously had a thing for him. Given Daisuke's total innocence, Dark knows that it may well take some- or a lot- of prodding and hinting from him before this actually happens. And though Dark still disapproves of the fact that it will eventually happen, he knows that it will.

Dark thinks that it would be pretty interesting, in a scientific experiment sort of way. A Hikari liking a Niwa. First time for everything. For another thing, Dark would finally have a chance at Krad. Not to stab him while he sleeps or anything, that's not chivalrous at all. That would be against Dark's sacred code of honor.

No, Dark just wants a chance to get Krad for himself.

Dark sees the weird looks Daisuke gives him when he laughs maniacally like that. Perhaps he should stop, so as not to freak out his tamer even more.

Krad thinks that everybody in the world has gone completely insane.

His tamer, a Hikari by blood, is friends with Dark's tamer, a Niwa. A Niwa.

A Hikari is friends with a Niwa.

Thinking about this makes Krad want to kill something. He always wants to kill something, really, but when he thinks about the little "friendship" that his Satoshi and the Niwa have going on, he just wants to go on the mother of all-out killing rampages.

You see, Krad knows everything. He has his secretive little tamer all figured out. He knows that Satoshi has been pining after Daisuke for God-knows how long and for some reason Dark doesn't seem to care at all and has simply let his own tamer be oblivious and that whole messy situation working out would give Dark a wholly unneeded opportunity to have his perverted way with Krad.

Which Krad totally and completely does not desire in the slightest. Nope, no way.

Krad hears Satoshi snickering in his head at Krad's thoughts. He does.

So it comes to pass that one day, Emiko, Daisuke's aforementioned insane mother, decides that Dark is going to steal a magical Hikari painting that day. A note is left, as usual, and Daisuke has to dress in overlarge clothes, as usual, and Dark comes out when Daisuke is near the museum, and Wiz shows up and flies Dark to the roof, where he easily breaks and enters.

The traps in the museum aren't very efficient that day, Dark thinks as he simply avoids most of them and makes his way towards the room where the painting is. Creepy kid must be slacking in his work. Good for us, bad for him.

Daisuke performs the mental equivalent of rolling his eyes at Dark's persistance in calling Satoshi 'creepy kid.'

Dark gets to the room and carefully avoids the motion detectors all over the place. He nips the painting and is about to break out triumphantly, a job well done, when creepy kid steps out from behind the door, glasses glinting in the thin white light filtering through the windows.

Hiwatari blinks and frowns. "Dark, return the painting immediately."

"Hiwatari, you know I can't do that. Don't make requests that you realize I will not pay any mind to," Dark says evenly, rolling his eyes.

The commander opens his mouth, about to say something, but then quickly doubles over, fists clenched. Dark sees immediately that he is fighting Krad for control of his own body's functions. Dark, Daisuke thinks frantically, Dark, what's wrong with him? What on Earth is Krad doing to him?! Dark!

Krad is being his psychopath self and trying to gain control, Dark thinks mildly back, now we have to go, before this chance flies away. He beckons Wiz over and they are about to fly when suddenly a handcuff latches itself to Dark's right wrist. Satoshi looks up, having won his personal battle and now apparently on the way to winning his outer one, smirking victoriously.

Dark's eye twitches. He was hoping for a quick escape, and now the stupid creep had managed to attach himself to Dark. How pesky. Oh well, Dark figures that Wiz has no problems carrying a lightweight like Satoshi as well as himself, as Dark does not think he has time to pick the handcuffs then and there.

They break through a window, Satoshi still dangling from Dark's wrist. Dark holds the painting under his other arm.

Krad is not amused. He does realize that they cannot fight while attached, though.

Dark takes extra care to avoid the spotlights all over the sky for once, getting home apparently unnoticed by anybody.

When he alights at the front door and quickly makes a dash, past the bewildered Kosuke who lets him in, upstairs to Daisuke's room, dragging Satoshi along all the way, Dark does not expect Emiko to already be there, waiting for them.

By the time she finishes freaking out about the fact that a Hikari, of all people, is attached to Dark's arm, Dark has already gotten tired of her ranting and retreated, pushing Daisuke to the forefront. Satoshi, who has been standing there awkwardly, merely raises his eyebrows at the thief's total avoidance of Emiko's ranting.

"Mom, stop yelling at me. It was all Dark for one thing, and for another thing, I'll just get these handcuffs off right now. It isn't that hard," Daisuke whines.

Emiko puts her hands on her hips and watches disapprovingly as Daisuke fiddles with a lock-pick and the handcuffs. She eyes Satoshi wearily and mutters something about just forcing him to hand over the keys.

"No, Mom. Don't force him to give us the keys, it isn't nice," Daisuke responds tiredly.

Satoshi continues to calmly observe, completely ignoring Krad's yelling in his head about how they were among the enemy and could be destroyed at any moment unless he takes over right now and thereby somehow prevents the end of the world.

Daisuke finally manages to get the handcuffs off, and Satoshi immediately falls to his knees and curls up into a tight ball, as Krad furiously tries to wrest control from him, the temporary attachment no longer influencing his judgment. Daisuke, worried, gently shakes his friend by the shoulders. Satoshi clenches his teeth and forces Krad into retreat, if only to keep the warmth of Daisuke's hands on his shoulders for a moment longer. He unwinds his body eventually, looking up and smiling brilliantly at Daisuke, who smiles back after a moment of hesitation.

Satoshi decides that Daisuke is exceptionally good at picking locks that supposedly cannot be picked, because Satoshi was sure that he had locked up his emotions and thrown them into some dark place years ago.

Apparently not.

Dark winces throughout the exchange of smiles and thinks about what Emiko, who is still standing right there, will do when the two teenagers stop smiling at each other like the lovebirds everybody knows they are.

Krad grits his teeth and fumes, uttering a series of expletives pertaining to the Niwa and Dark and their evil, Hikari-seducing ways.

Satoshi abruptly stands up, feeling the rise in tension. Daisuke does right after, realizing that the commander will soon make his escape. He doesn't know why he does it, but he reaches out and pulls the other boy closer by his sleeve and gives him a light kiss on the cheek, blushing furiously the entire time.

Dark gives a little mental twitch. Krad yells louder curses in Satoshi's head.

Hiwatari turns a strange light green color, excuses himself in a rush and dashes away and out the door, taking the handcuffs with him. Emiko stares after him for a while and then smacks Daisuke upside the head and walks out of the room with the painting which was forgotten in all the chaos, mumbling something about hormonal teenage boys.

Kosuke and Towa see Satoshi run out and decide that they don't want to know.

A/N: Jeez, my first update in months is this extremely cliche drabble. Why is it that I can only write cliches? Ah well. Yes, I bring you mild shounen-ai. Because for some reason, I was not in the mood for actual yaoi. Shocker, no?

Anyway, reviews are wonderful chicken soup for the fanfiction author's soul. Honest.