The soft ethereal feeling was one she enjoyed immensely, the tender embrace of sleep engulfing her as her soul once again bonded to the majestic silver locket. "At long last, I shall sleep once again, close to the pounding heart that lulls my senses." she whispered, smiling as she finally faded.
This scene played over and over in Satoshi's mind. It was uncommon for him to dream such an odd dream as this, especially about a female. Nonetheless, it had occurred and he couldn't seem to get the eerie dream off his mind. Krad just smirked in the back of his mind. "Master Satoshi, you realize you're still in class and daydreaming about your dream girl?" he teased. The azure haired boy immediately straightened, looking at the board strictly. It wasn't as if he needed to concern himself with this low level work. After all, he had long since graduated college and simply came to high school to get a taste of real teenage life. Yet, he had so much work to do in order to attend school and maintain his job as a police chief. This school was beginning to become a nuisance.
The day dragged on. Finally, at long last, the melodic sound of the dismissal bell rang freely in his ears. He left class without a word, returning to his own private apartment. He'd refused to live with his father, as the large house seemed to become an even larger nuisance than Azumano High School. He attended Azumano as a freshman and would continue through to eleventh and twelfth grade soon. Then, he would return to his strict life of a solitary, young police chief. Or at least that is where he had set his goals. Yet, the note waiting on his front door upon his arrival was a rude awakening to the endless problem known as Phantom Thief Dark. Oh, how those words made his chest burn and his senses back up. He hated that name, despised it even, right down to the very soul of his being. Phantom Thief Dark, or Kokuyoku as Krad called him, was the most hideous of all nuisances. Not only did he steal artwork from local museums on a regular basis, he had reminded Satoshi that Krad and him shared an existence. "I will catch him this time," the youth hissed, running inside his apartment and quickly changing his attire. He then headed towards the site where Dark would make his grand appearance tonight.
The Phantom Thief was out to steal a statue from a set of four. The one displayed at this museum was the most popular, and it was quite apparent why. The set was a set of four statues as previously mentioned; yet each one represented a season. The statues for spring, summer, and autumn were garbed if festive costumes and emphasized with items from that season. They lacked emotion and spiritual depth. Actually, plain and simple, they lacked the essence of artwork. It seemed more like the sculptures were forced and done in a hurry. This intrigued Satoshi as the sculpture for winter was of a much better quality. It actually had no attribute with its assigned season; from the moment it was halfway developed, it made people chill over from the inside out, and a feeling of loneliness and calm enveloped them when they looked at the magnificent sculpture. Sadness erupted in their gut and their eyes would brim with tears when the masses looked at this statue. The cold stone it was made from was quite sturdy and displayed no chance of collapse at the time.
When Satoshi viewed the sculpture, he felt something different from the masses, a fuzzy warmth like drinking hot chocolate on a chilly day. He didn't know why he didn't receive the same reaction. Perhaps it was due to the Hikari blood running through his veins that gave him a much deeper perspective on artwork. The statue, grey and lifeless, was barren. The woman pictured on the stone surface was without clothes, or so it seemed at first glance. She was lying down on her side, upper body propped up by her right arm and the left one covered her chest. Her posture was a bit shy and she seemed to gaze out at the air hesitantly. Her ankles were crossed as well and her lower body remained fully on its side. The private areas were covered by lacy underwear that was protruding from the smooth continuation of what was meant to be her flesh. Tears were depicted on her cheeks, as her hair seemed to blow lightly in the wind. Satoshi circled the piece in awe. It was life sized, gorgeous in every way. This was the 'Yuki No Kissu' or 'Snow's Kiss'.
Yet, he was pulled away from his entranced thoughts when he heard a small shuffling. Gritting his teeth, he looked around frantically. "Dark, I know you are there!" he hissed icily. Dark flew down from the ceiling, straight at Satoshi as he punched the boy in the face. Satoshi smirked, having leapt back slightly. "Is that how it is, pretty boy?" he questioned, really not expecting an answer as he slid to his feet, delivering a spin kick to Dark's ankles and watching him fall to the ground, catching himself by hovering.
As Satoshi began to stand, he screamed, clutching his stomach. Slowly, his hair lengthened into a long azure and slowly faded into a bright blonde. His form built further, becoming that of a muscular young man. His platinum blonde hair was held back in a pearl hair band, a cross dangling off it. Wings protruded from his back, ripping through his healed flesh and white robe, which was also trimmed with gold. The blonde stood slowly, chuckling menacingly and smirking. Picking a feather from his wing precisely, he smirked, watching as Dark backed away. "Krad," Dark growled, glancing at the statue and back to the feather.
"Damn, this was an important one too," Daisuke Niwa moaned in the back of Dark's mind. Dark just ignored the whining and took a few feathers from his own wings.
"Sorry With." he apologized, hearing the soft whimper of the rabbit like creature that served as his dark, feathery wings. Krad just laughed bitterly, throwing the feather at Dark and watched as the Phantom Thief dodged it. Krad growled below his breath, hovering between Dark and the statue.
Dark smirked softly. "Are you not up to it tonight, Krad?" he asked, throwing the knife sharp feathers at his other half. Yet, he blinked and his eyes fill with horror as he sees Krad dodge and the feathers lodge into the statue. "Oh shit." he murmurs. The sculpture begins to crack and Dark flew out the window to make an escape. Krad attempted stop him, but sighed as the thief flew out the window, knowing he got away.
"I will kill you some day, Kokuyoku," he growled, watching at the statue's fresh cracks completed themselves and the statue shattered. As the small pebbles and large chunks dispersed themselves to their liking, a small glint caught his eyes. He headed toward where he saw it, rummaging through the rubble and picking up a heart-shaped pendant. He rolled his eyes and returned control to Satoshi. Krad didn't care much to deal with any sort of heart-shaped object. It was enough seeing Satoshi's Valentines' chocolates from the back of his mind. Touching hearts was a different story. Human symbols of love were awful in his opinion. Actually, in general, love was awful.
As Satoshi stepped out onto the balcony, the pendant glinted once more in the moonlight from the nearly full moon. "The full moon is soon, isn't it?" Satoshi asked himself, chuckling at the pointless thought. Little did he know the phases of the moon would soon become a worldly and desperate part of his life.
He exited the museum and reported that Dark destroyed the statue by accident. The locket, as Satoshi had discovered, rested in his pocket with his fingers clenched over it, trying to get it open. The police didn't seem to notice the miniscule movement in his pocket and he headed home for the night, quite tired. Luckily, he had finished his homework at school during his last class, a free study period. Arriving back at his apartment, he shut and locked the front door behind him, taking out the pendant. It was indeed a locket. He could tell by the small clasp on the bottom point and the hinges at the peaks of the two bumps of the heart. Yet, it wouldn't open, seemingly sealed shut. He tossed it on the table in frustration and went to his room.
Brushing his teeth and taking off his clothes, he sighed, climbing into bed with nothing but boxers on. He removed his glasses and laid them on the nightstand, shutting off his lamp and nodding off to his long needed sleep. His sleep was calm, unusually peaceful even. Not a single dream protruded his subconscious mind and he remained in a deep slumber.
For others, things didn't go so well when they got home. Dark flew in through Daisuke's window, seeing Emiko, Daisuke's mother, standing in the room. "Um, yes, Emiko?" he asked.
"Dark, let me see the statue." Emiko ordered, a sharp look in the mother's eyes. "Don't tell me you weren't able to steal it!" she snapped, furious as she glared up at Dark. She'd been really looking forward to seeing 'Yuki No Kissu', now she was having doubts.
"I can go pick it up if you want. It will take a while. After all, it probably broke into a lot of little pieces." he whispered in response, quickly changing back into Daisuke. Daisuke looked flustered.
"Dark, don't leave me hanging!" Daisuke begged, getting no response. Emiko just cracked her knuckles.
"Dark broke the statue? Dark, next time you come out of Daisuke you're doomed. Oh, and Dai sweetie, don't worry about it. It isn't your fault Dark was stupid enough to break the statue I heard so much about." she assured, ruffling her son's hair. "Now off to bed." she demanded, leaving the room.
With leapt from Daisuke's shoulder onto his bed and cuddled into the sheets, lying on his back. "Kyuu." he squeaked, falling asleep instantly. Daisuke got his pajamas on and crawled into bed, kind of annoyed as he too dozed off.
"Ice, snow, lonely and cold,
Enveloping and old,
Truth be told,
My heart, to it, I have sold.
Taking hold,
Of my mind's only fold,
Thoughts so bold,
Bite away my voice's mold.
In my voice, there will be gold,
In my hands, it is ice that I hold."
Risa clapped softly, having listened to her sister's poem. Riku was pretty good at rhyming, but Risa could never figure out the meaning to the poems. "Um, so Riku, what does it mean?" she asked.
Riku just groaned, rolling her eyes as she flung herself, notebook in hand, on Risa's bed. "If you can't understand it, it sucks." she moaned, angry at the fact she could never get something meaningful. "I was writing about the statue that was on the news," she explained.
Risa nodded, looking at her twin sister. "Yah, I thought that statue was pretty. The 'Yuki No Tora', right?" Risa just blushed softly. She was never good at remembering names. Riku just sat up and met her sister's gaze.
"Are you stupid? It was 'Yuki No Kissu'. I mean you talk about wanting to kiss Dark all the time. How can you forget the word in the title of a sculpture, but remember the part about snow?" Riku was bewildered by her sister's memory and sighed heavily as her sister's cheeks puffed up in anger from being called stupid. "'Night, Risa." Riku then left, not wanting to argue with her prissy twin sister right now. Or more like a look-a-like counterpart. The two had personalities that were polar opposites of each other.
Risa just rolled her eyes and went to bed as well. It was late and they both had school tomorrow. Yet, Risa had insisted on staying up to watch the outcome of her precious Dark's raid. Of course, Riku had shut the television off and by the time Risa got it back on the broadcast was over. "Stupid Riku." Risa mumbled, cuddling into her blanket.
Back at Satoshi's apartment, far away from Daisuke's home or the Harada's mansion, there was something new unfolding. This something had an unfathomable form and would soon awaken.
Above the pendant, resting on Satoshi's table, a bright pink pattern began to glow. The center was a heart and separated from the side of the heart were two identical shapes, the reverse of each other, which appeared to be the bone structures of a set of wings. This glow enveloped around the pendant, casting a faint light that crept only a few inches under Satoshi's door. Yet the youth paid no notice, lost in his peaceful slumber. Little did he know he would awaken to an indefinitely changed scene. Satoshi Hiwatari's life was about to make a complete turn around.