Part 2: Binding Past

Satoshi Hiwatari sat alone at his father's large oak desk, leaning idly forward on one elbow. He gazed at his other arm with chilled blue eyes, noting that it seemed even thinner than before, his lean muscles giving way to show more and more evidence of the bone underneath. Several students at school had begun to show concern as well, particularly Daisuke, and, of course, Risa.

He smirked slightly and tried to feel lightened by the thought of the girl who had reached out to him after the whole mess with his "other self" was finally over. Today would be their two-year anniversary. A bouquet of gold and red roses sat patiently in a vase by the corner for later, when she would come over for dinner. Satoshi didn't have much intuition for romance, so after hearing from Daisuke that he planned to cook for Riku for their anniversary, Satoshi chose to follow his friend's example. Niwa seemed to know more about such things than he did.

The blue-haired young man pondered why he kept losing weight. The doctors had uncovered nothing physical. Inwardly, he had known this would be the case. The problem was spiritual in some way. That made it, by nature, difficult for Satoshi to put his finger on. He was too practical to think honestly about emotional matters. Was it his adoptive father's death? It had been a much greater blow than he'd expected, but the tragedy had passed, and aside from taking up the man's work, Satoshi rarely brought the old man to mind. He had friends now, people like Daisuke and Riku whom he could talk to when he chose, though his introverted nature made those times rare. And he was in a stable relationship with Risa, for all this time now. Something just wasn't right. Something was missing, as though some part of him had been ripped away. He grimaced in disapproval as one possibility he absolutely refused to acknowledge flickered in his mind.

"Hiwatari-kuuun!"

Risa's soft, cheerful voice made Satoshi spring back in surprise as it interrupted his thoughts. The young girl had flung open the door to his study and presently ran over to him, her hair bouncing with girlish beauty. She came up behind his chair and flung her arms around his neck, giving him a cheerful peck on the cheek.

Satoshi felt his grim expression resolve into a helpless smile. Her lighthearted, easy manner was always contagious to him, and her presence never failed to comfort him. Surely, he thought, that was what it meant to be in love?

"Aren't you early?" he asked her as sternly as he could manage. "I haven't started cooking yet."

"I was falling into a mood, so I thought I'd come visit you sooner," she said with her usual smile.

Satoshi raised an eyebrow at her thoughtfully. She liked to use that phrase fairly often – the concept of falling into 'a mood'. She rarely discussed it in much detail, but from what he could gather, it was just her way of saying she was in low spirits. Satoshi remembered the flowers sitting on the shelf. He stood up and lifted the vase down, handing it awkwardly to Risa.

"Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman," he attempted, staring at his feet. It sounded all wrong.

Risa's musical laughter made him glance back up in embarrassment. "Hiwatari-kun," she forced out between giggles, "Where did you learn to say that?"

"Daisuke," returned Satoshi, blushing profusely as he looked to a paperweight on his desk for some sort of moral support.

"Silly," Risa said more gently, realizing she might have hurt his feelings, "You don't have to force yourself to say things if they aren't your style." She nestled her cheek against his neck, although there was a faint pang of melancholy in her voice.

"I know," he returned calmly, but inside he knew that she wanted that sort of thing, that it hurt her a little to be reminded that it was something he would probably never manage to be for her, although he kept trying. Despite all her kindness to him, he had the incessant feeling that all he ever did was disappoint her. He swallowed his hesitation and leaned forward, kissing her forehead and pulling her into his embrace. This much, at least, he could do right.

Risa grinned and leaned into his chest. "Sato, you got taller again," she murmured comfortably, using his nickname the way she did when she felt truly intimate with him. She was right. He was in a growth spurt, making his difference in age from the others truly blatant for the first time.

A sharp beeping sound from Satoshi's back pocket effectively broke up the moment. He reached back and pulled out his cell phone, flipping it open in annoyance. "Hiwatari here," he said in aggravation into the mouthpiece. Risa stood back and observed him patiently. 'Shit. I probably shouldn't have answered it,' he thought, looking at her apologetically. He'd disappointed her again. Maybe it was her fault for being so tolerant. If she didn't like it, she should put her foot down instead of just looking at him like that, he thought bitterly. He realized guiltily that he was allowing his frustration with himself to be taken out on her.

"Hiwatari-san?" the nervous voice of his secretary on the phone broke his thoughts.

"Yes."

"You have a long-distance call from America waiting here. Shall I put it through?"

"Nancy, I told you I wasn't to be contacted today. I'm taking a holiday."

"Yes, Sir, I know, and I'm terribly sorry to disturb you, but I thought it seemed urgent. It's Mr. Gorudo, Sir," the woman explained nervously.

Satoshi blinked in unpleasant surprise at hearing the name he had hoped to hear the last of, then narrowed his eyes sternly. "Yes, Nancy. Put him through," he said, glancing at Risa.

After a moment, the call connected with a foreboding click and a sharp, patronizing voice spoke through the earpiece. "Hiwatari Satoshi, it's been a long time."

"Indeed." Satoshi made no effort to hide the contempt in his voice.

"Why, Hiwatari-san, you don't sound happy to hear from me. Surely, you haven't forgotten my assistance in your efforts to capture Dark Mousy."

"Your financial support was most crucial, sir," he replied, forcing polite gratitude into his tone.

"I loathe niceties, so I'll get straight to business. Despite your highly disappointing lack of interest in assisting me, my company's men have finally discovered the location of Kaitou Dark's wing host."

Satoshi's jaw tightened. "Congratulations," he said in a carefully indifferent drawl, "though I still hardly understand what use he could provide you that would warrant such a prolonged search." Noting that Risa had made herself busy admiring and arranging her flowers, Satoshi stood up and stepped out of the room as inconspicuously as possible.

"I grow tired of your shamelessness, Hiwatari-san. Surely you're well aware," he lowered his voice dangerously, "that Dark Mousy is my property – a piece of property that your family foolishly lost."

"Yes, I am well aware that it was your family that commissioned the Black Wings, and our offer to refund you for the failure of the project still stands."

"I'm not looking for a refund, boy."

"Even so, as I've already made clear, the phantom thief no longer exists, and therefore can not possibly be acquired for you," Satoshi snapped.

"My scientists have reason to believe that is incorrect. How you artists can create something without even understanding what it is, is beyond my comprehension. All I need is the wing host, and we shall see just how truly Dark Mousy has ceased to exist, and possibly even the meaning of the second magical being that was seen fighting him."

"That's absurd. Dark Mousy is dead, and the one rumored to have fought with him was likely a figment of the spectators' imaginations." Satoshi was shocked to realize that he was trying to protect Krad. Not only did it make no sense, but the entity known as Krad no longer existed any more than Dark Mousy. Of greater concern was what Gorudo's intentions were for Daisuke. He had the money and political power to do to Daisuke whatever he might suspect would lead him to Dark, and Satoshi had no idea what manner of psychotic experiment Gorudo's men intended for the redhead. Satoshi's one advantage was that Gorudo wasn't aware of his connection to Daisuke or, apparently, of his former status as Krad's wing host.

"Well, you've found him. If you'll excuse me, I'm very busy."

"Now now, Hiwatari-san. Or shall I call you Hikari-san, now? Surely you won't refuse your services in retrieving what your family owes me."

"I work for the law, Gorudo, not against it. If you want to seize an unarmed civilian for no good purpose, dirty your own hands. I have offered you a refund; beyond that, I have no further involvement in the matter."

Eerie laughter clouded the phone line. "You will regret opposing me. You have 24 hours to change your mind. In the meantime, some of my men will be paying our wing host a little visit."

Before Satoshi could react, the connection dropped. He held the phone in front of him and stared at it blankly. He'd believed he was finally free of his family's connections with Gorudo, but it seemed the rich bastard didn't easily let go of things that were owed to him.

The Gorudo family had put up billions to fund the Black Wings project, on the condition that the final product would become their property. The Hikaris were only interested in the act of creation itself, thrilled by the concept of creating a perfect, living, breathing work of art, and so naturally they accepted. Of course, at the moment life was breathed into the Black Wings, the interference of the Niwa family caused a fluke in the process of animation, resulting in Dark and Krad, the former of which had thwarted all efforts to deliver the 'product' to its rightful buyer. Gorudo had poured absurd amounts of money into the Hikaris' mission to capture Dark, and the efforts were not only in vain, but resulted in the death of countless Hikaris as well as many outsiders, including Satoshi's adoptive father, and the near collapse of the Hikari family name. Satoshi wanted nothing more than to extract himself from the mess his ancestors created and live his life as normally as he could, but it seemed there was no time to lament such things at the moment.

"I have to find Daisuke," he murmured to himself darkly as the full weight of the situation dawned on him. He quickly turned and reentered the office, where Risa had given up on her flowers and sat waiting for him by the desk.

"Is anything wrong?" she asked him worriedly, noticing the stiffness in his gait.

"It's nothing serious," he lied, "but I do have to go out for a while." He caught the disappointment in her eyes, annoyed by the guilt it stirred in him. "I'm very sorry. I will somehow make this up to you. Can we have dinner another night?"

Risa nodded, not meeting his eyes, looking off to the bookcase instead.

"I'm sorry," he repeated quietly, grabbing his coat and disappearing out the door without locking it.