New Friends Bring New Troubles, but Old Friends Bring...New Troubles?
Disclaimer: We do not own any of the DNAngel characters. The only characters we own are Namida, Yukiko, Mariko, Ryota, Kazuki, Jiro and other characters later to be introduced.
When I get home, I leave Wiz in the kitchen while I go get changed. I head up to my room and I take off my uniform and change into a comfortable black skirt and green spaghetti strap top. I tie my hair back into a ponytail that goes down to my waist. When I am done getting changed, I join Wiz downstairs in the kitchen.
The first thing I notice is that the fridge door is open. The second thing I notice is that Wiz is on the counter with a bowl of strawberries. He has his head buried in the bowl. I can't help but laugh at this. Wiz picks his head out of the bowl to look up at me. His eyes were all innocent and his face is covered with strawberry juice. It is just so adorable that it just makes me laugh harder. I really did miss Wiz because he could make me laugh so easily with his cuteness.
"You sure can eat, huh, Wiz?" I say looking at the near empty bowl. That was the only batch of strawberries that I had in the house. More importantly, it the only food that was in the house. Since I just got here this morning I really didn't have much time to do anything so I brought some berries before I got ready for school. I was hoping that I could eat them after school before I went grocery shopping. Looks like that fantasy was done and over with.
"Now I have to go grocery shopping." I say grabbing my bag. "Want to come with me? I'll buy you a nice basket of strawberries." This definitely grabs his attention. Immediately, he jumps up and lands on my shoulder. He really loves strawberries. Maybe he even loves them as much as I do.
I practically skip out the front door, something I usually never do.
I went down to the outdoor market with Wiz. Since he ate the only food I had in the house, I had no choice. It was a beautiful day though and I had to go to the market anyway so I couldn't really be mad at him. By the time I was finished shopping, the bag I had brought with me was nearly bursting at the seams and I still had two full bags of food in my arms. On top of it all was a small green basket of strawberries just for Wiz.
"Wiz." He looks up at me with those innocent red eyes."I know you love me so much, but you have to go back home now. Daisuke is probably worried sick about you."
"Kyuu." Wiz says sadly.
"Don't be like that Wiz. I love you. But Daisuke is your owner and one of my best friends. I can't just take you away from him."
Wiz nods in understanding.
"Before that, why don't I take you back home so you can help me put all this food away. After all, you still owe me for the strawberries." I smile widely at Wiz and chuckle lightly. Looking at Wiz, I can tell he is smiling also.
Days like these were rare and would most likely almost never come again but the memories would last a lifetime.
Back at home, I'm the one that actually does most of the work putting things away. It's not surprising though. Wiz is only about a foot tall and can't really lift anything of significant weight. I just didn't want Wiz to be sad and I almost always lived alone so the company was a great change. When I'm done putting all the food away I turn to Wiz.
"Ready to go?"
He just nods, sitting in front of his own little basket of red, plump, delicious strawberries. Why Wiz was so obsessed with strawberries I could never figure out. It did seem to make him cuter though.
I pick up the basket and Wiz jump on my shoulder. For the second time that day, I walk out the door with a smile on my face. I quietly hum a song to myself. The pink ball of fluff on my shoulder somehow catches on and starts to sing along with a chorus of kyuu's. I try my hardest not to laugh at this adorable display of cuteness but it is just too hard and I end up laughing. Wiz ignores me and continues on with his song.
It takes us about an hour to reach Daisuke's house because I decided to walk all the way there and I live all the way on the other side of town. It was just such a beautiful day that it would have beens such a shame not to walk. By the time we get there it is already six o'clock.
At the front door I ring the bell just as the door swings open. I see a familiar red head of hair turned toward the inside of the house. He was still trying to get his shoes on even as he was going to walk out the door.
"Bye mom! I'm going out to find Wiz!" He says in a slightly panicked voice. When he turns his head, his eyes show surprise to see me standing there at the door step.
"Namida?" Daisuke asks as if not believing his own eyes."Suishou Namida?"
"No." I say at first shaking my head then reconsider."Well, yes."
He just looks more confused than before.
"I'll explain. The last time you saw me was seven years ago. My name at the time was Suishou Namida. When I left Japan, I took on my mother's maiden name, Tenshi. So now my name is Tenshi Namida."
"Oh." That is all Daisuke says.
"Well, I should go. I just came to return Wiz." I said a bit awkwardly.
Finally, Daisuke notices that Wiz is sitting on my shoulder. He jumps off in to Daisuke's awaiting arms. A happy reunion. I turn and start to leave when he calls out to me.
"Wait!" He reaches out and touches my shoulder."Why don't you stay a while? You know, so we could catch up on things."
I'm thinking of all reasons to turn him down when I hear a familiar voice. I knew that voice so well because when I went to Canada I met some new friends and I could swear that I knew who that voice belonged to.
"Dai-chan!" I hear someone happily sing from inside the house. That only confirmed my suspicion. I definitely knew who it was.
Out of nowhere, a girl with black and white streaked hair glomps Daisuke. I remember her from the Blades of Blood concert that we met at in Canada. It was one of my two best girl friends, Yukiko.
"Uh...Namida, I should introduce you two."
"Nami-san! Yukiko says looking up at me.
"Yuki-chan!" I say happily.
Yuki jumps up off Daisuke to give me a great, big bear hug.
"I missed you so much! Why did you leave me Nami-san?!"
"I'm, sorry Yuki-chan. I had to go home to take care of some things. Trust me, I would have preferred to stay with you." Yuki seems pleased to hear this bit of news so I know I'm off the hook. On the other hand, she is on it.
"Why weren't you in school today?" I ask in all seriousness.
"She backs away a little and looks down, poking her finger together."I got lost."
"How did you get lost?" I ask curiously.
"I don't know. I was on the other end of town and somehow I ended up here." She looks up at me with puppy dog eyes."Emiko found me and told me to stay here so I wouldn't get lost again."
"I'll have to thank Emiko later."
All this time Daisuke is just looking at us with a look of confusion on his face. "You two know each other?"
"Yea!" Yuki chirps enthusiastically.
"We met in Canada." I say clearing things up."After I was living in America for a few years I decided to go to a concert. It just so happens the one I wanted to go to was in Canada, where I met this little psycho."
"Yep." She says happily. "That's me."
Then as if finally realizing something of importance she starts jumping up and down, like a hyper puppy. "Guess what?! Guess what?!" Yuki asks.
"What?" I ask suddenly hyper along with her.
"Mariko's here too! But she won't be in school tomorrow." She says all this with a happy but somewhat evil look on her face. Now I really don't think I wanted to know but curiosity got the better of me and I urged her to go on. Yuki whispers the next part as if it's a big secret."She fell up the stairs and sprained her ankle."
"NO I DIDN'T YOU BITCH! YOU PUSHED ME!" Angry thumps could be heard from upstairs. Soon after, I see Mariko at the top of the stairwell. She looked might angry.
"Mari-chan! It's a miracle! You can walk!" Yuki says in a childish voice."She bounds to the bottoms of the stairwell."Santa came early this year and gifted you with the ability to walk. So that means...PRESENTS!!"
I watch as she tears up the stairs like a wild animal. In her pursuit of presents, she "accidentally" pushed Mariko down the flight of stairs.
"Yipe!"Mariko squeals just before she starts falling.
Before she actually falls down the stairs, Daisuke amazingly does a flip and lands on the step behind her. He quickly grabs a hold of her arm in an attempt to prevent her from falling down the stairs. Unfortunately, he ends up falling down the stairs with her. How, I don't know, but Daisuke ends up underneath her and Mariko lands on Daisuke. Luckily Daisuke is unharmed and Mariko didn't get seriously hurt.
"Ow."Mariko gently rubs her wrist. Even from where I am standing I can see that it is already starting to bruise. 'Looks like she won't be coming with us tomorrow night.' Upstairs, I hear and angry hiss and the breaking of something expensive. Afterward I hear Yuki scream and again, the sound of something breaking. 'Guess I'll be going alone.'
"Mari-chan? Do you need any help?" I ask walking over to her.
"No." She winces when she is getting up."I'll be fine. Thank you though."
"Guess I'll be going then." I carefully walk over Daisuke who is laying unconscious on the floor. I stand in the doorway and before I step outside I turn back to Mariko."I hope you get better. May the Gods/Goddesses bless you."
Mario lightly bows her head. "Good luck."
I nod acknowledging her. I would need all the help I could get.
The Next Day At School
Daisuke's POV
"Daisuke! Daisuke!" I hear my friend Takeshi yell from across the room."you've got to see this!"He hands me a picture. All I see is the clear, black night sky.
"Takeshi, I don't see anything. All it is the a picture of the sky."
"What?!" He exclaims grabbing the picture from my hands."I was so sure I got a picture of her."
"Who?" Now I was curious.
"An angel." Takeshi has a dreamy look on his face."Daisuke. She's the one. My perfect woman. Short. Small. Cute."
"Do you even know her?"
"No. But I know she's the one. She has to be."
"What does she look like?"
"She has long silky white hair and red eyes. She is definitely the one. We made eye contact last night."
I let Takeshi revel in his fantasies about his perfect girl. I really didn't want to get involved in this. Somehow I got involved in too many crazy schemes that my crazy family and friends came up with and I didn't want to get involved in another.
'Daisuke. Get a hold of that picture again, will ya? I want to have another look at it.' I grabbed the picture from Takeshi while he was in another one of his dream-like states.'What did you want to see? It's just a picture of the night sky.' For some reason, Dark didn't seem convinced. I just sighed.'Daisuke take a closer look.' I stare at the picture again, but I still didn't see anything. As I look up though, unintentionally, something catches my eye. I hold the picture closer to my face and notice a small red dot. It was nearly invisible though, possibly even to the trained eye.
'So, what about it? It's just a red dot.'
'It's an eye. And my guess is that she is Takeshi's perfect woman.'
'Why just her eye?'
'She has wings. Can't you see?'
'No.'
'I guess I don't blame you. But she's an angel Daisuke. Just like me.'
'I never knew there could be more people out there like you. Do you think there could be others?'
'From the picture I can't say for sure, but my guess would be that there's a good possibility there are more of them out there.' So many questions. So few answers.
"Hey Takeshi." My voice snaps him out of his fantasies."Do you mind if I keep this picture?"
"No, go right ahead. If it doesn't have my perfect woman in it I don't care. I'm just glad that I got another picture of her. My beautiful angel, we will be together someday."
"You got a picture of her?"
"Yea. It's on my camera."
"You didn't happen to bring your camera with you, did you?"
"No. I left it at home. I had a late start this morning."
I sigh letting my head sink lower to the ground.
"I got something that might cheer you up."
"What?"
"My dad found a note on his desk this morning. It say, 'Tonight I will be come for the painting The Wolf of Dreams.' I bet it's from Dark. But the strange thing is, there is no painting anywhere that we know of that has a painting called 'The Wolf of Dreams.' Dark's probably finally cracked his lid and tonight I'm going to capture him. Wanna help Daisuke?"
"No thanks. I have to be home right away anyway. My cousin is staying with us right now and she sprained her ankle so I have to take care of her."
"Too bad. I'll get you that picture tomorrow then."
"Why don't you stop by my house today and give me the picture then? That way you can also meet my cousin, Mariko."
"Ok. Sounds good. See ya then."
'Dark, what's going on?"
'I don't know Daisuke but I think it has something to do with Takeshi's dream woman. I just have a feeling that she's connected somehow.'
The bell rings telling everyone that class has started and to take their seats.
Namida's POV
I don't mean to but I stare angrily at Daisuke. He may be my best friend but I can't believe that he has to be so nosy about everything. Though, I think I'm angrier at Daisuke's friend, Takeshi. He really shouldn't be messing in things that he has no business in and things that he doesn't understand. He could get hurt. And that damn boy had to show him that picture. Luckily, it wasn't the other one. But Daisuke would be able to see it after school so I might have to use some intervention.
It's no that I have any anger or grudge at Daisuke. I don't. But Dark on the other hand is a different story. It's ok to want to mess with the police in his line of work but he makes it seem like it's just a joke. The media just doesn't help at all. They turn him into some ind of celebrity and he just takes it all in stride. If you ask me, his ego needs to be tuned down a lot. One day he'll be too cocky for his own good. For us it wasn't just a hobby; it was a way of life.
'Phantom Thief Dark. What a joke.'
I pretended to listen through all of my classes. It seemed like such a big waste of time. It's not like it's going to be helping me, Yuki, or Mariko anytime soon.
The bell for lunch finally rings and everyone gets up to leave. The teacher stops me before I get out the door. She politely asks me if I would clean up the classroom before I wen to lunch. Even though I would have preferred to be outside, I gladly accepted wanting the time to be alone. Just as I am almost finished, the door slides open.
"Hello Toshi-kun." I say not even needing to turn around. Satoshi's presence was always so distinct.
"Do you need any help Tenshi-san?" Satoshi asks politely.
"You don't need to be so formal. We are childhood friends after all."
"Why were you so angry at Niwa?"
"I wasn't angry at him. I was angry at Takeshi. And besides you already know the answers to all the questions you wanna ask me so why even bother to ask?"
"Confirmation."
"Ok. So what else do you want to confirm?"
"It was you who sent out that note. And that picture was of you. Partly at least."
I stop what I was doing. A smile finds its way onto my face. My body starts to shake as I try to hold back my laughter. Finally, I just decide to let it out. I turn my head to look at Satoshi."Toshi-kun! You're so smart!" I smile at him with the innocent look of a child
"Why?" Satoshi asks in his usual cold voice.
My smile instantly fades. I shadow my eyes with my bangs. I knew he would ask this question sooner or later. I was hoping for later.
"Why?" I repeat with bitterness in my voice. I bring my head up to stare Satoshi directly in the eyes."The way he works, it seems like such a joke. It's ok to mess with the police but he doesn't seem to take his job seriously. The media doesn't help. Women fall crazy in love with him and he just goes along with it. It's all a joke yo him. He disgraces us by calling himself a 'Phantom Thief.' He also seems really cocky. That could cost him and he could get caught. He is ignorant like a child."
Satoshi just continues to stare at me even when I look away. I can feel tears burning the back of my eyes.
"You little whore! You're just am ignorant little child! You will never be a great like your brothers!" My father yells at me. I've never seen him this mad before. He always seemed to take his hatred out on me but it was never like this."But if you want to be a whore, I'll treat you like one."
"Namida!" Someone yells, shaking me.
"What?" I ask slightly confused and disoriented.
"You spaced out. Then you started sobbing and crying." Satoshi told me in his usual monotone voice but I couldn't help but hear the slight concern buried in there.
"I have to go." I say to Satoshi as I brush past him and run out the door. I run off the school grounds not caring if anyone saw or what anyone thought. I couldn't stand it there anymore and I had to get away. I knew exactly where to go.
I head over to a playground that my older brother used to take me to. Oh, how I missed him so. He was always there to help me when I needed someone to pick me off the ground. He was one of the few people I could count on other than my other brother. I never was really close to him. We got along fine but for some reason Ryota and I just got along better even though Kazuki was the eldest.
Sitting on a swing I silently weep to myself. I missed my brothers dearly and at first I thought that life without them would be meaningless but when I lived with my mother and her boyfriend, who shortly after she got married to, I found something to live for. Jiro was the one that showed me that life was worth living. He showed me the true beauty of the night. From then on the night became my life. As it was always meant to be.
I stay there for hours. Even when night falls I still continue to sit on that lone swing. I feel like I belong there. It's almost as if a piece of me was left here all those years ago.
At the other end of the playground, I see a young child, about 6 years old, playing in the sand. I smile at this. To be so young and have no worries, what bliss. As the child get up to leave, he trips and scrapes his knee. He starts crying uncontrollably.
Quickly, I rush over to his side and try to stop his wailing. But it's to no avail. He just continues to cry. Then I remember a song my brothers used to sing to me whenever I was afraid or hurt.
"Little child, be not afraid
Though rain pounds harshly against the glass
Like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger
I am here tonight
Little child, be not afraid
Thunder explodes and lightning flash
Illuminates your tear-stained face
I am here tonight
And someday you'll know
That nature is so
The same rain that draws you near me
Falls on rivers and land
On forests and sand
Makes the beautiful world that you'll see
In the morning
Little child, be not afraid
Though storm clouds mask your beloved moon
And it's candlelight beams, still keep pleasant dreams
I am here tonight
Little child, be not afraid
Though wind makes creatures of our trees
And their branches to hands, they're not real understand
I am here tonight
And someday you'll know
That nature is so
The same rain that draws you near me
Falls on rivers and land
On forests and sand
Makes the beautiful world that you'll see
In the morning
For you know, once even I was a
Little child, and I was afraid
But a gentle someone always came
To dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears
And to give a kiss goodnight
Well now I am grown
And these years have shown
That rain's a part of how life goes
But it's dark and it's late
So I'll hold you and wait
'til your frightened eyes do close
And I hope that you know
That nature is so
The same rain that draws you near me
Falls on rivers and land
On forests and sand
Makes the beautiful world that you'll see
In the morning
Everything's fine in the morning
The rain'll be gone in the morning
But I'll still be here in the morning."
The little boy finally calms down.
"Thank you onee-chan!" A smile is pasted onto his face."Come play with me onee-chan!"
I can't say no to him. There is just something about little kids that makes me unable to deny them when they ask for something. Call me a pushover but I can't help it.
We play tag for about half an hour. Then it happens. I trip an fall flat on my ass. I can hear the little boy giggle at this but I also hear another voice laugh at me. A darker, more masculine voice. I turn to see a guy about my age leaning against a pole staring at me. I just glare at him.
He walks over to me and offers me his hand."Need some help?"
"No thanks." I say slightly angry. I just get up, brush myself off, and head back over to the little boy just to find that he was no longer there.
"The little boy that you're looking for left." He answers as if reading my thoughts.
I nod as a thanks. I, myself, turn on my heel and leave.
The guy walks up to me and grabs my arm. I turn around, expecting to slap him in the face, but he catches me completely off guard. His lips lands on mine I a gentle kiss. He breaks away and smiles down at me.
I am too shocked to do anything really. That was my first kiss. It was very precious to me. And this guy just stole it. But for some reason, I didn't really mind.
"Pretty girls shouldn't cry." He whispers in my ear before he walks off and disappears.
"Wow."That's all I can say as the mysterious stranger, walked out of my life as easily and quickly as he had walked in.