It's been too long since I've posted something. I'm still kinda stuck with the other stories at this point, because of classes and musical engagements. I wrote this a while back, and I'd wanted to make it a oneshot, but it's been way too long. I want to get this off of my hands for the time being. Part II will come later, but who knows how long that'll be? Blackrose108 was supposed to peer-edit for me, but she keeps not doing it, so this is the unedited version. I'll repost it later if there are significant changes to be made.
Disclaimer: I do not own DNAngel. If I did, I'd actually have some artisitic talent beyond ceramics. I'm not even too good at that...
Another day at the office, thought Riku. She'd been working at this job for about five years now, but she'd only gotten a few worthwhile cases. Most of her time was filled with tedious paperwork. Her assistant came in and plopped another stack of papers down on her desk.
"Miss Riku, here are the reports you asked for."
Rubbing her eyes, Riku thanked her assistant and reached for the top sheet. "Why does everything I ask for have to take so long to get through?" she muttered to herself. Of course, when she had first started working as a detective, it had been fun and exciting, especially after law school. But over time, those ecstatic feelings had worn away to a sort of impatience, like she was longing for a more interesting case, the right case: the one she would throw herself into.
Riku sighed, and forced herself to fix her eyes onto the paper she held. She had told Risa, her assistant, to get her the reports about the recent string of art robberies. Though she wasn't the one commissioned to this case, Riku still liked to try her hand at every case that came her way, to keep her skills sharp.
She scanned the first page of the first report, until her eyes found a point of interest: a description.
Tall, dark hair, and... wings?
Clearly, the culprit was either a lunatic or something... else. She quickly scanned the rest of the papers. Each time, the thief would enter mysteriously, somehow past the police force, take what he was after, and exit through a window, usually on a pair of black wings. Riku narrowed her eyes as she memorized that. Further, the thief would usually send a calling card, as if he was taunting the police and their detectives.
Acting on impulse, Riku hacked in to the police servers. "Oops," she muttered, "I promised him I wouldn't do that again." Shrugging the thought aside, she continued to sift through the records until she found the file on the art thief. She flipped through and picked out the calling cards from Dark, as the thief seemed to be called, and she carefully ordered them. Soon, a pattern became apparent: 7pm on Saturday, then 9pm the following Wednesday. After that, 8pm on Friday. Every two weeks or so, shift forward a day to keep them slightly confused. Move from museum to museum in a circle, and reverse the order after cycling around three times. This was a really obvious pattern, and she was kind of confused. Why hadn't the police picked up on this yet? After all, they had him working on this case, didn't they?
According to this information, the thief would next strike on... 9pm on Monday at the National Art Gallery. Now that this was out of the way, Riku had to prepare. Should she try for a stake-out? Or maybe she should just tell the police and let them take care of it.
A loud buzzing interrupted her train of thought. Startled, she cast around for the source, which happened to be her laptop. They'd caught her in the database, again. Quickly, she tapped the restart shortcut and flipped the laptop closed just as she heard a familiar ring from her desk.
I hope he wasn't stationed in tech support today, or else... I suppose it was too much to hope for.
Hiwatori Satoshi's voice reached her ears through the speaker of the office phone that she had just answered.
"I thought you said that you wouldn't hack onto our servers anymore, Miss Harada."
Riku laughed nervously. "Well, something came up and..."
"You forgot."
"Well... Yeah..."
Satoshi sighed into the mouthpiece. "See that it does not happen in the future, when our intruder policy may not be so lenient."
"Of course, Sa-" Riku didn't get a chance to finish his name before he hung up. This was the third time that he had caught her. She really needed to practice technological stealth. Too bad that she was an independent inspector, because that meant she was paid directly by her clients, which limited her income. Riku really wanted to buy some organic data chips, which she would convert to a cloaking mechanism, but black market ware was beyond her resources at the time being.
At least his phone call convinced me to keep my information all to myself.
As she looked over the information again, she felt strangely drawn to this case. It wasn't every day that she found a bit of fun that the police hadn't already ruined. The organization in question seemed properly baffled by this, and there was no way she would let this slip past her. If she solved it, she'd have another prestigious accomplishment to dangle in their faces. After all, they were the ones who'd laughed off her abilities in the beginning.
I wonder if they regret letting me go?
She booted up her pc now, because she wanted to give the laptop a rest. After all, she didn't keep tabs on the tech department's new tracking devices, though she probably should, she decided. Riku quickly recorded the information on Dark's calling cards onto her hard drive for safekeeping. Then, she waved goodbye to Risa, who sat in the receptionist's desk near the glass doors. "There's work to be done!" Riku told her.
Easing the door shut behind her, the detective emerged into the late morning sun appearing as ordinary as a civilian. Not all inspectors dress in the traditional trench coat and hat, and Riku was one who thought such fashion was sorely outdated. Instead, she preferred to don a simple white blouse and a light brown long skirt, most days, or a pink sweater with blue jeans in the winter along with her black overcoat. Today, however, she opted for a pale green turtleneck and tan capris.
With her notebook and pencil tucked under one arm, she strolled down the busy street, heading for the National Art Gallery. Most probably, Dark would try for the Shirahime no Tsuki sculpture that was currently on display in the main hall. By all accounts, it was a beautifully intricate sculpture, made of white marble and inlaid with silver. Riku understood why Dark would try to steal it. But the sculpture was heavily protected by motion sensors and guards. Not the kind of guards who stand around eating doughnuts, but these were real guards, dependable and effective. How would anyone get past security like that? Still, she had heard of thieves who had weaseled their way around tougher spots than those, so she wasn't about to discount Dark's ability. No, the more distressing thought was: If Dark were to break in and steal the Shirahime no Tsuki, it would be either a completely secret method, and they wouldn't find out until the next morning, or he would try for the most obvious path, in the hopes that the guards would be too observant and only pay attention to suspicious details. Of course, there's always the fact that every barricade or safety measure has its loopholes.
Riku stopped in front of the Art Gallery, scrutinizing the towering white columns once again. She'd actually had to perform a stake-out here before, back when she had a contract with the police department. That time, the thief had almost been successful; she'd taken off through the dark halls with the painting before Riku realized what was happening and sounded the alarm. The incident had cost her her job, and it was then that she decided to work freelance. Looking back, that was probably the best decision of her life. She didn't have superiors who didn't understand her, who wouldn't support her because she was female, and who tried to take credit for themselves. After hiring Risa, Riku had begun to take a place among the populace as a brilliant, trustworthy, and dependable detective. Soon, she had to declare herself a specialty inspector, because she simply did not have the time to find everyone and his mother's missing dog, cat, or keys.
Her heels quietly clicking on the tiled floor of the museum, Riku silently paid the entrance fee. She shook her head as her feet traced the long corridor that led into the main hall. It did her no good to dwell on past memories, and she had to concentrate on the task ahead. While seeming only remotely interesting at first, this case had gradually drawn her attention in the space of a few hours. A faint smile graced her lips; she was actually looking forward to the task ahead.
When she stepped into the main hall, Riku noticed a figure dressed in spotless white standing at the foot of the 9-foot tall, impressive marble statue titled Shirahime no Tsuki. His short-ish blond hair waved as he swung his head around to gaze at her.
Satoshi?
He smiled lazily, as if enjoying her confusion. "Ah, my dear hacker. What brings you here?"
She took an involuntary step back, slightly startled. "I... " she began, trying not to stutter. "I'm just here to see the Shirahime no Tsuki. Is there a problem with that?" She managed to finish confidently. Why did she always feel so nervous around him? What was it that stimulated that fear?
"No, of course not, but I don't think that's what you came for, is it?"
"I..."
Why couldn't she talk properly? He was only her ex-boyfriend, after all. There was no reason for fear, she knew, but she couldn't get her body to respond as he took measured steps toward her.
Satoshi reached out a pale hand to caress her cheek, and she tried not to shudder at the touch. It had been over a year since they had broken up, and Riku really did not want to reopen that avenue of her life. Their relationship had been... rocky, at best, and they had fought constantly until she finally realized what he truly was: possessive and abusive. His other arm encircled her waist, and she tried to pull away.
"Won't you come back to me?" he whispered in her ear. She pushed him away with her hand, but he just snatched her wrist in a grip that belied his image.
"S-Satoshi, please let go."
In response, he only tightened the hold. "You're still mine..."
"Hey."
The interruption, though slight, was heard by both of them. Satoshi turned his head toward the voice in anger, and Riku saw a young man, probably in his twenties. He wore a jean jacket over a plain white shirt and faded blue jeans. A black cap hid most of his hair, and she could see the red tips poking out from under the rim, which covered his eyes. The man stared at Satoshi, clearly irritated. "The lady told you to let her go."
Riku was jerked against Satoshi as he glared at the stranger. "She's my woman, and she'll do as I say. Don't meddle in others' business," he growled.
"Quite the contrary, actually. She looks very uncomfortable when she's near you. It is my self-proclaimed duty to free women from oppressors like you." With that, the man punched Satoshi in the face.
Clutching his nose, Satoshi was pushed back and Riku lost her balance. The stranger held out a hand to her. "Are you alright, miss?"
"I-I think so. Thanks," Riku stammered when she looked into his eyes. They were a strange mixture of pale red and purple that seemed to change with each second she spent staring at them. They were oddly mesmerizing, and for some reason, she couldn't look away. He smiled, an expression that made her heart ache, for some reason.
After all that time with Satoshi, am I falling in love again?
No! It couldn't be, could it? He was just a stranger; she didn't even know his name. What was she thinking? Then, as if he had read her mind, the man said, "I'm Daisuke Niwa. What's your name?"
"R-Riku Harada..."
He smiled at her again, and then he turned to the statue. "So, what brings you here? Just an art lover, or something else?"
"Well, I wanted to see the Shirahime to Tsuki. I've heard a lot about it, and I just wanted to see it for myself." She blushed as Daisuke chuckled softly. She had to get control of herself before her brain flipped into embarrassing high-school girl mode!
"That's not the whole truth, is it?" he asked casually. Riku's heart pounded in shock. How could someone like him know why she was here? Luckily, she'd had enough training to keep her composure. It would be a sad day when the best actor in her high school graduating class couldn't tell a convincing lie with a face to go along with it.
"Of course it is," she answered calmly. "I wouldn't lie to someone I just met, would I?"
"Would you?" he repeated. They were silent for a full minute before he turned the conversation to more trivial subjects. "So, where do you work?"
"I'm an independent detective. I'll take just about any case, as long as it's worth my while. I usually take art-related or murder cases. Maybe you've heard of me somewhere?" She grinned full into his face, warming up to the subject. Riku loved to talk about her work; it was truly for her a dream job. Even when Daisuke shook his head in a regretful manner, her spirit brightened all the more with the opportunity to educate another about the delicacies of her work.
She spent hours just talking for leisure, something she hadn't done in a while. Of course, it helped that Daisuke was a relatively easy person to speak to; he was a great listener and he also provided intelligent discussion. After some time, he would slowly shift the subject to another topic, an action that Riku allowed herself to get caught up in. She'd noticed it happening, but it'd been such a long time since the last conversation she'd had that wasn't crucial to her occupational tasks. It was time that she rediscovered what it felt like to let time flow past her in a lazy stream, uncaring how it was spent.
Now, they were on the subject of trees. Apparently, if she let herself be led by Daisuke's subtle topic changes, it would lead her to some very strange places. Surprisingly, there was much to be said about trees. Another hour was happily spent as she discussed the intricacies of grooves in the bark with her new acquaintance. Sadly, their debate over the proportions of leaf size to petal color was cut short by a soft ringing from Riku's front pocket.
"Miss Riku?" Risa's voice sounded slightly tinny through the phone. "There's someone here who wants to see you. It's about the reports you wanted earlier."
"Okay, I'll be right there," she responded. Ending the call, Riku turned to Daisuke. "I'm sorry, but something's come up at my office. I really enjoyed talking with you, and I hope we can get together again sometime." She waved to him and rushed out.
Daisuke watched her go, eyes hidden by his hat. So, she was a detective? This could turn out to be quite sticky if she were involved. The truth was, he had heard of her before. She'd quickly risen in the ranks of her field to be considered one of the most brilliant women of the times. If she ever suspected, or began to suspect, there would be no escape from her. He had to tread carefully, if he was to escape unscathed. He turned back to the statue, appraising it once more, before slipping into the shadows...
Well, how was it? If I can do better, please let me know. I haven't read and reread DNAngel like the hardcore fans, so I'm a bit unsure of the characterization. Please review!
Merodi-chan, 1.31.06