"Ittakimaaasssu!" a red-haired girl announced as she stepped out of a house.
"Niika," a woman in the house called, stopping the girl in her tracks, "wait for your brothers."
"Damn," Niika muttered, hunching her shoulders in defeat.
There was a huge clamor coming from further in the house and getting louder until the shouts of two teenaged boys could be understood.
"Second best again!" one boy hollered.
"Not over yet!" the other called.
Niika winced at the din, desperately wishing to make a break for it, but her mother would never allow it.
"Daika, Daiku, behave!" the woman snapped.
The two boys reached the bottom of the stairs they were racing down and halted. "Sorry Mom," they moaned in unison. They were exactly the same height and had the same reddish-brown hair as Niika's. One's was brushed down and reached his shoulders while the other had short spiky hair. With them each wearing their identical school uniforms, the hair was the only indicator of who was who.
"Honestly, this is not how a phantom thief should behave," their mother scolded.
"Oh, so Daiku's O.K. then," the one with longer hair said with mock annoyance.
"Hey, we're both Niwas!" Daiku snapped, pushing his brother, "how can you be so sure you're Dark?"
"Cause I'm older," Daika said, confidently. "The phantom thief is always the first born Niwa."
"If that's the case, it'd be me," Niika piped up. "So you're already wrong."
"First born male," Daika corrected himself.
"Like two minutes makes a difference!" Daiku spat back.
"Two minutes makes the difference between late and on time," Niika called. "Get a move on, brats!"
"You're just jealous that you can't be the phantom thief!" Daika sassed as he walked past her and out the door.
"Yea, you don't even have a chance," Daiku teased. "At least whichever of us is not Dark," he glanced at Daika as he said this, "will at least have been close."
Niika frowned angrily; her brothers had hit a nerve and they knew it. She had always thought that being a phantom thief would be a fun and exciting life when her parents had first explained the concept to her and her two brothers, but her dreams were immediately shot down when they were informed that only a male can be the phantom thief.
"Kyuu?" a long-eared, little white creature peeked out of her bag. He blinked and tilted his head, looking up at Niika with confusion that soon turned to compassion.
Niika looked down at the creature in her bag and smiled. "I'm fine, Wiz. Thanks."
"Hey!" Daiku called back to her from a few paces ahead. "What was it you were saying about being late?"
"Yea yea," Niika snapped good-naturedly. "Get down, Wiz."
"Kyuu," Wiz nodded and dropped down into the bag so that he couldn't be seen.
Niika raced after her brothers, catching up in no time flat. There had only been enough distance between them for them to make a stink about it.
"Can't you talk to Wiz and walk at the same time?" Daika asked. Why do you force him to go everywhere with you? He's my sprite!"
"He's Dark's sprite," Niika reminded him. "We still don't know which one of you has the Niwa gene. And besides, I'm not forcing him, he likes coming with me, don't you?"
"Kyuu!" Wiz popped out again and cried happily, as if agreeing with her.
"Whatever," Daika rolled his eyes. "We both know who Dark is. It's always the oldest male. Why wouldn't it be me? Just because Daiku and I are twins doesn't make him any less younger."
"I'm right here, you know," Daiku grumbled.
Niika sighed and rolled her eyes. Why was she getting involved in this anyway? She wasn't Dark and she knew it. In fact, that was all they were sure of. "To answer your question, I bring him because he's cute."
"Kyuu," Wiz agreed, knowing Niika would scratch him right behind the ears where he liked it, which she did.
"And besides," Niika continued, "he'll come whenever Dark calls him no matter what, so what's it matter to you?"
"He's just jealous that Wiz bonded with you," Daiku replied. "If he hadn't, he would've bonded with whoever is Dark, solving this problem."
"You're not worried that it's a sign I might be Dark are you?" Niika arched a brow teasingly. Despite the fact that she knew it would never happen, she still clung to the false hope of actually being Dark.
"N…no, of course not!" Daika retorted. "Don't get your hopes up. I'm Dark and that's all there is to it. And tonight I'll prove it!"
"Hmm," Niika looked at the sky and laid a finger on her chin as if pondering something.
"What?" Daiku leaned towards her as if he could pick up her thoughts by being near her.
"Can someone without a true love be Dark?" Niika asked.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Daika demanded. "Everyone has a true love!"
"If you truly do," Niika said, grinning and narrowing her eyes, "and you are, in fact, Dark, then you could very well be Dark forever."
"What?!" Daika's cry sounded both angry and confused, signaling that he may have picked up on her true meaning.
"The carrier of the Niwa gene will continue to transform into Dark at the sight of his true love," Niika explained, "until his true love returns his feelings to both halves. But, since no woman would ever love you,…"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Daika shouted. "I'll have you know I already have a girlfriend."
"By that he means he's got the hots for a cute girl in class who doesn't even know he exists," Daiku muttered to Niika who nodded understandingly.
"Aww, whadda you know?!" Daika spat. "It's only a matter of time before Chisakou-san confesses her dying love to me!"
"You're so conceited," Niika said, eyes narrowed. "So what about you?" she turned to her other brother.
"Huh?!" Daiku was caught off guard. "What about what?"
"True love," Niika replied, "girl friend. How will we know if you're Dark if you have no one who's picture makes you sweat?"
"I…I…" Daiku stammered.
"He's hopeless," Daika said. "Any girl makes him sweat! Except you, of course. Hey, maybe you are Dark. That's why Wiz bonded with you, You're not a girl at all!"
WHAM! Niika's arm came crashing down on Daika's head and sent him tumbling to the ground. "You're lucky I'm not Dark, or I'd whoop your ass double-time!"
"H…hai," Daika writhed on the ground. After a few minutes, he regained his senses and propped himself up on his arms. He looked up and saw a female figure staring down at him, her face obscured by the sun. Daika knew it wasn't his sister, the short length of the hair tied back into a low ponytail was a dead giveaway.
"You never learn, do you?" the girl teased. "Nice going, Ni-chan. What'd he do this time?"
"Same stupid shit," Niika brushed her hands together and stepped over her fallen sibling towards her friend. "So what's up, Ekai?"
"Same old, same old," Ekai replied. "Oh yea," she turned to Daiku, "happy birthday." She reached into her bag and pulled out a box of Pocky. "Don't eat it all at once." She tossed it to him.
"Hey, what about me?!" Daika scrambled to his feet.
"You're the jerk twin," Ekai spat. "You're present is that I don't do what Niika just did."
"I can live with that," Daika rubbed his head.
"C'mon," Niika took Ekai's arm as she walked past her, "let's go. That bell's gonna ring any time now."
"Mmm," Ekai nodded. "Chao!" She waved to the twins as she followed her friend into the school.
"What're you thinking, giving that pig more junk food?" Niika asked.
"I forgot it was his birthday today," Ekai admitted. "I knew he liked sweets, and we just happened to have a box in the pantry."
"Still a waste if you ask me," Niika said. "But, it was only chocolate, so it's not too bad."
"Oh I know," Ekai agreed. "I like Strawberry."
"Ever tried Blueberry?" Niika asked.
"No," Ekai shook her head. "They make that?"
Niika nodded. "I think it's the best Pocky ever. But, I've been told Milk Pocky is really good too."
"Really?" Ekai asked. "That sounds so weird though."
Daiku looked at the box of Pocky in his hands with a bit of confusion.
"If you're not gonna eat it, hand it over!" Daika reached for it, but Daiku pulled away. "But why'd you get something and I didn't?"
"She said you're the jerk twin," Daiku replied, tucking the Pocky away in his bag. "And I can't argue with her." As he reattached the clip that held the bag closed, a bell sounded across the courtyard.
"Shoot, we're late!" Daika grabbed Daiku's arm and dragged him towards the school. He raced through the halls and burst into the classroom. "WE'RE HERE!"
"Daiku laughed weakly. He was often amused by his brother's apparent lack of dignity, but didn't like being dragged into it.
"Niwa-kuns," the teacher said, half upset, half unsurprised. "I thought your absence was too good to be true."
"Gomen nasai, Sensei," Daiku said, nervously. He rubbed the back of his head as he made his way to his seat. Daika followed him since they sat next to each other.
Daiku looked over as his brother took his seat. "What are you doing?" he sighed watching Daika turn in his chair and scan the room.
"There!" Daika stopped and looked towards the back of the room.
Daiku followed his gaze and saw the beautiful blonde he was staring at: Chisakou Katina. "And he says I'm hopeless," he muttered, turning back around. His heart suddenly began to beat harder and faster. His breath caught in his throat and he started to sweat. Wh…what's happening? he thought desperately.
As suddenly as the condition has arisen, it vanished. Daiku looked over at his twin who had turned back around in his seat and was staring, wide-eyes, at the front of the room, sweat beading on his face.
Something happened, Daiku thought. Whatever it was, it must have affected Daika too.
"Kyuu?" Wiz poked his head out of Niika's bag which leaned against her seat.
"Huh?" Niika looked down at him. "What's up, cutie-pie?"
"Kyuu," Wiz sighed.
Niika tilted her head in confusion as the bunny-like creature sunk back into her bag.
"Niwa-san?" the teacher's voice brought her attention back to the front of the room. "Is there a problem?"
"No, sensei," Niika shook her head. She waited for her teacher to continue her lecture before casting a sidelong glance at her bag. What's up with him? she thought. Wonder if he smelled something. A shiver ran down her spine, making her gasp quietly.
"You cold?" Ekai asked.
Niika shook her head, too startled to form a worded reply. Maybe there was a chill and Wiz felt it too. Yea, that would explain it! she thought. She stared straight ahead and tried to focus on the lecture to get her mind off it.