Tokyo City, earlier that year…A young boy was walking along the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets. He wore blue jeans, a white hoodie with blue sleeves, and white sneakers. His hair was black and was parted in the middle while at the same time pulled into a ponytail. He had an ahoge sticking out at the top of his head. He also had tanned skin and blue eyes.

And this story is being told in his words:

I was walking home from school one day. Nothing major, it was just routine. Oh, you don't know my name yet. Well, it's Shiro Hikari and I'm 13 years old. I was just your average teenage kid.

Well, until today that is.

The day had been pretty strange. For some reason, it had started snowing in the middle of spring! I know, you probably think I'm crazy, but I'm being honest! Somehow, the entire sky grew dark before snow started falling. I was at an after-school club meeting so when the snow started falling, I heard teachers saying that glaciers were appearing in Tokyo Bay! With so much strangeness going on, the teachers who were in charge of the club decided it was best for us to go home. That was how I was walking in the street while the strange snow continued to fall.

I heard an extremely loud boom and when I looked towards the sky I saw these streaks of black and white lights flying through the air. I didn't know what they were, but I knew I didn't want to be hit by them. Well, that was the original plan until I saw one of those black lights about to strike a stray cat. I had an intense love for animals and if those lights were harmful, I didn't want that cat to be hurt. I rushed forward and caught the cat in my hands before holding it protectively against my body.

Then, I was struck by not only a black light, but a streak of white light as well, and let me tell you that it wasn't pleasant. I was screaming in both pain and shock as I felt something being pulled from me. I wasn't sure what it was but I was relieved when the pain subsided and I collapsed onto my knees, face beading with sweat and breathing hard. Those who'd seen it went to my aid to see if I was alright. One even offered to call an ambulance to take me to the nearest hospital but I declined, because I didn't feel anymore pain, just exhaustion. I looked down at the cat in my arms whom licked my face in gratitude. I laughed a bit and let it go before I continued on my way home.

When I finally got myself home, I didn't tell my parents what'd happened. I doubt they'd believe me anyway. I greeted my mother, who was very happy to see me home and safe and went upstairs to my room for a little rest. What I didn't know was that I'd brought something along with me.

As I happily collapsed on my bed I suddenly heard another voice, not unlike my own, but with an edge to it.

"That was really stupid, y'know? Risking your life for a cat," the voice said. I spun around to find the source. "Up here." I did and I almost screamed 'Ghost!'

Floating above me was some kid my age dressed in a black leather outfit that covered his entire body, fair skin, sharp red eyes, and messy white hair that was longer than mine. He had his arms crossed and staring straight at me. I gawked at him with my mouth hanging open.

He continued on, this ghost, "I mean, you die, then I die, which is not something I wanna do, okay? So, can you please take care of yourself better?"

When I finally found my voice, I asked him, "Who…who…who are you?"

The 'ghost' shrugged, "I don't know, but what I do know is that you and me are connected." He poked at my chest but since he wasn't solid his hand went right through me. I jumped backwards in shock. "Damn, I forgot. I'm no different from a ghost."

"OK, I know an exorcist so back off!" I cried. I was scrambling as far away from the ghost as I could while making warding gestures that I had seen on T.V.

"No you don't," the 'ghost' said, crossing his arms. There was an amused smile on his face as I continued trying to ward him away.

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm you."

I blinked. Now that was not an answer that I had been expecting. Then again, this entire situation was something that I was not expecting. I was treading on unknown grounds as it was.

"Huh?"

"That's right, Shiro. I'm part of you," he said. His smirk was as big as ever. It looked like he had been in on the biggest secret in the world and liked holding it over my head.

And that was when I went into a tirade, "OK! That can't be true! How can you be me!? Because I know I'm me and there's no way you're me! Then, you say you're a part of me! What's up with that?"

The 'ghost' scowled. "Remember that fancy light show? You know, the one with the black and white lights?" he reminded. I nodded. "Well, you got struck and because of that, presto, I'm here."

My conversation with this strange spirit was suddenly interrupted out of the blue. This interruption came with a soft knocking before my mom then opened the door and asked, "Honey, who are you talking to?"

Finally! Someone I knew could do something about this! Acting quickly, I pointed towards the ghost who smirked in response, "It's him! The ghost!"

My mom blinked, "What ghost?"

I stared at her and continued pointing, "Right there! Don't you see him!?" The ghost chuckled, "Stop laughing!"

My mom seemed to grow increasingly worried before she walked over and placed a hand to my forehead, "Shiro-kun, are you feeling alright?"

Realizing my mom couldn't see my 'guest', I sighed, "I'm fine, mom. Just a little tired, I guess. Between that light show and the ice, I must be seeing things."

"Well, take a nap then. Too much stress isn't good for anything. I'll wake you up for dinner," my mom smiled before kissing my forehead. I blushed.

"Mom!" I really wished she wouldn't do that in front of others. Technically the ghost was still watching, if the kissy faces he was making was any indication.

She walked out and the 'ghost' was on his back, laughing and kicking his legs. He was definitely finding my plight entertaining. It was probably even funnier for him because he was the source and didn't have to do anything beyond float there and wait for me to panic.

"That was hilarious!" he laughed. I glared venomously at him. I would have cussed but that wasn't allowed in my house and I didn't know enough words that would make me feel better anyway.

"Why couldn't she see you?" I asked and the 'ghost' explained it to me.

"Didn't I say that we're connected? Only you can see me. To be straight, I'm more or less a figment of your imagination."

I laid down on my bed, palming my face, "This is nuts."

"Hey, you're the one who's talking to an imaginary friend," he said to me, floating over me.

"You're not my friend," I denied.

"OK, whatever," the 'ghost' said, "But whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me, meaning we need to get along."

"Can't I just ignore you?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Maybe, but at some point you'll end up talking to me and then people will think you're talking to yourself. It's not an image you want to create, right?"

I grumbled, "So, there's no getting rid of you?"

"No," he shook his head. The small smirk on his face revealed his delight at annoying me, but he was obviously not happy with being connected to me too.

"We're stuck together?"

"Yes."

"And I'm the only one that can see and hear you?"

"Pretty sure. I might be able to be seen by other people who were hit by those lights or on a certain wavelength, but I'm not sure yet."

I sat up in bed, crossing my legs, "So, you can do anything, right?"

"I can help you cheat at that test you got tomorrow," the 'ghost' said. My eyes widened. "Oh, c'mon! It's not like you never thought of it."

"But, that's wrong! That's cheating!" I objected.

"Hey, people always try to get by with whatever advantaged they got. Some are smarter, others stronger. It's human nature. We use what we have and for our own benefit."

I pondered but still it felt wrong. I had strong moral beliefs. I couldn't just cheat, but the test was said to be really difficult. "So, you can fly off and look at the questions and answers?" He shook his head. "Why not?"

"We're connected."

"So?"

"I mean that I can't be more than 10 feet away from you," he elaborated. "It's like an invisible chain has been shackled to our wrists."

"How do you know that?" I asked curiously.

"Because I've been trying ever since you got hit with those lights," the ghost replied. "No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get away."

I looked at my hand, "So, you really can't fly off and cause trouble?"

He glared, "I can't even touch solid matter."

Well, that was a relief. I didn't want him to start causing trouble.

"So, what are you going to do?" I asked.

"Basically hang around and watch you, I guess," he shrugged. "I've just been born, plus I'm only limited to being an invisible and intangible entity that can't do anything."

"So, what am I supposed to do about that?" I asked him again.

"Well, for starters," he said, "Give me a name."

I looked at him. His hair, his eyes, his skin…Should I call him ghost? Nah, too general. How about Phantom? Definitely not. I looked at his dark attire…

Wait.

Dark.

Yami…THAT'S IT!

"That's it!" I exclaimed.

"What?" he asked.

"Your name, from now on, is Yami," I said, pointing at the newly dubbed Yami.

Instead of scowling he smirked, "Yami…hm…" He rubbed his chin. "I like that."

And thus that's how I met Yami.

Almost a year later…

"Wow, the Powerpuff Girls have done it again!" I said as I read another newspaper with a photo of the girls after foiling a bank robbery attempted by the Amoeba Boys. Well, it wasn't much of a robbery since the Amoeba Boys were incompetent, but then they became this huge blob and yet the girls still beat them.

I looked at the photo of the girls and blushed a bit when I admired Blossom. She was my favorite of the three. Bubbles had that kawaii-ness to her that made her stand out and Buttercup was the tomboy who was still attractive, but there was something about Blossom that made my heart skip a beat ever time I saw her.

"Looking at those girls again, aibou?" Yami asked as he looked over my shoulder. After a year, I started to tolerate him. He was my doppelganger. I had learned after a while that we shared a lot of the same interests. The only difference that he wasn't held back by little things called 'rules'.

"Well, they are the city heroines," I replied.

"Well, to me they just look like cheerleaders." It should be said that while he liked the looks of the Powerpuff Girls, he didn't care much for what they stood for. To him, if they were going to fight crime, they should just beat the offenders up and go. No need to make a spectacle about it unless you wanted to have fun.

"You always say that."

"And I always will."

With a smile I walked away and headed towards school. It was the start of a new school year and I may end up in a class filled with other kids. Despite serious temptation from Yami, I never let him help me cheat. Instead, I made him help me study for tests instead. Having a study partner really helped me remember stuff for my tests.

Well, it wasn't likely. Same bunch of kids and once again Ms. Keane was our homeroom teacher. I liked her, I really did, but she was too cheerful for Yami's taste. Then again, he didn't like uppity people in general anyway. He says they creep him out.

Well, at least I could still be in the same class as her, Momoko Akatsutsumi. I sighed as I watched her from my seat in the back. Her red hair in that high ponytail and that red bow ribbon accentuated her look. Though many admired Miyako Gotokuji for her looks and Kaoru Matsubararu for her athleticism, I admired Momoko for just being Momoko. She was nice, really nice, and not too hard on the eyes either. Unfortunately, I never found the nerve to talk to her since I saw her in class. I was basically a loner and though I spoke to the other kids in passing, I didn't work hard enough to make any friends.

It wasn't lonely, though, I had Yami. Even if kids did see me as weird for talking to thin-air, I didn't seem sad.

What made me wonder was why those three girls always seem to vanish during class. What was their secret? Yami suggested that maybe they were really the Powerpuff Girls, but I brushed him off. That couldn't be it…could it?

When the lunch bell finally rang, I was about to approach Momoko. This was my chance to talk to her. But when I was about to say hello, she, Miyako, and Kaoru had run off somewhere. Disappointed, I went back to my desk and took out my bento to eat in silence. Half an hour later they returned, looking tired. I had later heard from the radio that once again the Powerpuff Girls Z had saved the day. I then recalled how the girls had vanished for a while and started thinking. Was Yami right all along?

The school day went on after their return and I continued to watch Momoko without her noticing. Why couldn't I have the courage to talk to her?

I was walking along the sidewalk again and noted it was the same one where I'd been struck by those lights nearly a year ago. That'd changed my life since now I had Yami who would talk to me so I wasn't bored. Though, people gave me weird looks for talking to myself.

"Gah! Help me!" shouted a man, running out of an alleyway. I didn't really recognize him, but I knew he was from one of the gangs around town. Following closely behind him was another man.

"That's right! You better run!" shouted the second man. This one I recognized a lot clearer.

"Guess Shin-san is getting into fights again…" I muttered.

The cat was still there. She had kittens since then and she recognized me. Whenever I could, I'd buy some food for her and her kittens since I was pretty sure that the pickings were slim in trash cans. The kittens would often climb onto my shoes to try to claw up my pants but I put them down. I didn't want any of them to get hurt.

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion and I could see a huge hulking robot of a familiar design of those Mojo Robos walking into the city. I had lost count how many of the machines that the evil monkey had created, but I always recognized them.

I picked up the mother cat and her kittens in my arms before depositing them into a nearby alley. I told them to stay there. People ran in panic but then I saw three streaks of like in pink, blue and green flying through the air. I smiled.

The Powerpuff Girls Z were here.

"Alright, Mojo! Time to get beat, again!" shouted Hyper Blossom.

"I don't think so-Mojo!" Mojo Jojo, who was in the cockpit, said. "I will steal all the fruits-Mojo, so girls get out of the way-Mojo!"

"Enough of this!" shouted Powered Buttercup as she raised her hammer. She swung it at the robot but was bounced off by a barrier. "Huh?"

"Like it-Mojo?" Mojo Jojo chuckled. "It's a new invention-Mojo!"

"Oh, yeah?" Hyper Blossom sneered. "Well, take this!" She hurled her yoyo at it with full strength but then it bounced off and was headed for her. Rolling Bubbles then used one of her bubbles to shield her friend. "Thanks, Bubbles."

"No problem, Blossom," Bubbles smiled. She then shouted, "Watch out!"

The Mojo-Robo swung its fist at Blossom.

I'd been watching the entire battle without blinking when Yami shouted at me, "Aibou, its time!"

"Time? Time for what?" I asked, bewildered.

"It's time to do it!" Yami said in determination. I then recalled what he'd meant. A few times I allowed Yami to take control of my body but it only lasted for less than half an hour, but it allowed Yami to actually interact with physical objects, though he didn't like it that he couldn't be invisible, intangible or fly. Of course, we'd fixed that and right now was the time to test it out. I never thought this would be it. Imagine, my chance to be a hero! The girls, despite having beaten several previous versions, were having trouble against this new and more powerful robot. It seemed that Mojo Jojo was finally learning from his mistakes and was letting the girls have it. They looked like they weren't going to make it.

"Yami, let's go!" I shouted.

"OK!" shouted the spiritual entity before flying into the air.

"Spiritual Wave Change! Shiro Hikari! Henshin!" I shouted as I threw my hand into the air. Yami then flew downwards and turned into black flames which engulfed my body. My entire body changed as the flames engulfed me, forming a black bodysuit with matching gauntlets and boots. Black torso armor covered my chest, back and shoulders. In the centre of my chestplate was a circular Yin-Yang emblem. My head became covered in a black helmet with a red visor, also holding the emblem on it. It left the lower half of my face uncovered. My hair became long and silver, flowing out from the back of the helmet. Pointed earpieces were also set on the sides of the helmet.

"Darkboy-X!" I, now Darkboy-X, announced before I flew towards the battle, trailing black flames behind me. A mouthguard slid over the lower half of my face, hiding my entire identity, as if the outfit didn't do that already.

3rd Person P.O.V.

Blossom, Momoko's transformed state, was slammed hard by the robotic fist and lost consciousness. Her friends Bubbles/Miyako and Buttercup/Kaoru, could only watch in horror as she fell to her doom. The robot was stopping them from coming to their leader's rescue and that drop would surely kill her.

Blossom was about to hit the pavement when all of a sudden a black shape grabbed her in midair and then landed on top of the roof of a building. She then opened her eyes to see someone clad in dark armor and looking at her with a red visor covering his eyes. His mouthguard slid open, showing her the lower half of his face, nose and mouth. "Are you alright?" he asked. Blossom blushed at the close contact. She was silent and her cheeks turned red. "You seem alright," he said before letting her go, much to her disappointment. "Your friends seem to be in trouble." he narrowed his eyes and allowed his visor to glow as he began to scan the robot. Crosshairs pinpointed the robot's weak spot, which turned out to be right underneath the cockpit of the machine, "Alright, right there!" he pointed his right hand towards the robot and then black flames swirled around it, morphing the appendage from normal to a powerful-looking cannon. He turned his face slightly and said to Blossom, "You might wanna step back a bit. I don't want to wound that pretty face of yours." Blossom blushed as he turned his attention towards the robot. "Alright! Here we go!" he shouted out, "DARK BLIGHT CANNON!" A dark energy ball began to form at the front of the cannon and then he released it. Everyone watched it go flying towards the robot before smashing through its chest. The robot instantly became stiff and crackled with electricity. Mojo instantly paled as he realized what was about to happen. Bubbles and Buttercup, knowing that the robot was about to explode as the usual with all of Mojo Jojo's inventions when they were destroyed, flew as far as they could before it did just that.

BOOOOOOOM!!

Mojo Jojo screamed as he was sent flying to who knows where for what seemed like the hundredth time. No one was sure where he would land, or how he would get back, but he would eventually come back. Maybe he would give the city a rest period before starting his next evil plot.

The boy in black sighed and let his black flames change his weapon back into a normal arm. Flexing the limb, he turned towards Blossom who just stared at him in awe. It wasn't everyday that someone managed to defeat one of Mojo's robots with just one attack.

"Well, I need to go." The boy sighed as he turned to the edge of the building. He was about to take off when Blossom regained her voice and called out to him.

"Wait!"

"Hm?"

"What's your name?" she asked.

"It's Darkboy-X," was the boy's reply before he flew off. Blossom could only watch as her hero flew off and developed hearts in her eyes, sighing dreamily. Blossom was always a fan of heroes and becoming one herself was a dream come true for her. Of course, meeting a boy hero who thought she was cute was like a fantasy come true.

Darkboy-X flew far away from the battle before he finally landed in an alley. As he came to a stop, the black flames once again engulfed him before flying off his body, changing him back to normal. The black flames reformed into the dark doppelganger, Yami.

"That girl sure was cute," said Yami, grinning. Seeing the girl on paper was definitely different from meeting her in person.

"Yes, she was," Shiro smiled in agreement. "But a girl like her is out of my league."

"Oh, stop selling yourself short, aibou. I bet Darkboy-X can sweep her off her feet."

Shiro had to smile at that. Yami may have been mischievous, but he never told a lie. Hide the truth or tell only part of it maybe, but he never told an outright lie since the day he was born.

TBC...