Kari's aim
After Dark stole yet another artwork, Kari headed home tiredly. She did the usual routine; bath, change into night clothes, then bed. Or so she thought. As she walked past the balcony window, she noticed something that immediately caught her attention. Phantom Dark was outside her window watching her!
"What the…? If he's spying on me…!" she growled. Sure enough, as she walked toward her room, his eyes followed her. That alone confirmed her suspicion. She located her bow and arrows and silently walked toward a window that was within visual range of the Phantom Thief. She quietly opened the window; Dark didn't even notice.
As she cocked the arrow, she calculated the range and let loose. The arrow flew into the night and…into Dark's leg. He yelped in pain and surprise; his eyes widened when he realized she had actually hit him with an arrow! Then he realized she was about to shoot a second arrow; he took his leave quickly before she could hit him again.
"That should take care of him for tonight. If he comes again tomorrow…" said Kari as she put her weapon down. She went to bed without incident.
-----
"Dark?! What happened to your leg? It's bleeding!" said Emiko in horror.
"I got careless and someone managed to hit me with an arrow."
"Who did this?" said Emiko angrily.
"It was my fault for not noticing the window had opened. I didn't even realize that someone had shot an arrow until I felt it sink into my leg."
"Why would someone shoot at you with an arrow?" asked Kosuke.
"…"
"You stay still while I bandage this up," said Emiko firmly. Dark visibly winced as she tied the bandage securely around his leg. He was secretly grateful that tomorrow there wouldn't be any school. By the time Daisuke went to class, the wound will have healed. He went up to Daisuke's room, switched back with the red-head, and fell asleep.
-----
"You're kidding! Dark paid another visit to you last night?!" said Saehara in surprise.
"He was staring at me through my window. I took my bow and arrow and shot him. He got lost pretty quick once he realized I was going to shoot another one."
"Did the arrow make it's mark?"
"I was aiming for his ankle, but it was too high. I did manage to hit him though!" said Kari with a smirk.
"Why does Dark keep appearing at your apartment? It makes no sense…" murmured Satoshi.
"If I knew, then maybe I could stop him from showing up!" said Kari in defeat.
"Do you think he'll show up again tonight?" asked Satoshi suddenly.
"Who knows?"
"In that case, would you mind if I stayed with you tonight and see whether or not this person you shot at was really Dark?"
"Sure…why not?" shrugged Kari.
As if on cue, Dark did appear that night. Satoshi was mildly surprised; Dark had a bandage on his left leg. So far Kari's tale rang true. This time, Kari did something different. She opened the door to the balcony with a scowl as she said, "Why do you keep coming here?!"
"Because you're interesting…"
"GET LOST CREEP. I didn't get along with perverts back home, and I don't get along with them here!"
"Make me."
Kari drew an arrow and prepared to fire. Only this time, he was ready. He shot at her bow; cleanly splitting the bow in two. Her eyes widened…and then she started throwing things at him. (None hit the mark.)
"Well, well…seems little Ms. Night-Owl can't throw!" laughed Dark amused.
"Shut up, Phantom Dork!" growled Kari. (Satoshi once again held back a laugh; the name was all-too-appropriate!)
Dark avoided the objects with ease. Kari's rage kept growing every moment he remained. It grew so much that eventually, her hands began to glow a violent crimson red. Satoshi immediately sensed a surge of magical power; then he felt a powerful burst as Kari threw something at Dark…only this one wasn't some random object. Kari had unconsciously let loose a fireball of magical energy!
Dark's attention immediately went on the fireball that came flying at him. He went to the side, thinking that would help him avoid it. GUESS AGAIN. The ball turned back to his direction faster than he could think; he felt the power behind the blast in full. He plummeted from the sky; he narrowly dodged falling out of the air. He had his familiar took him straight home; Emiko was livid!
-----
"Kari…what did you…?" started Satoshi when her knees buckled. He went to her side; she was barely conscious. He managed to help her inside; by the time she was on the couch she was unconscious. Satoshi was still shaken from her blast. By morning, she was still weak, but conscious.
"Ow…what happened?" she groaned painfully.
"You just nailed Phantom Dark with a very powerful blast of magical energy," said Satoshi bluntly.
"WHAT! No way!" said Kari in surprise.
"You've never done that before?"
"No…I didn't even realize what I doing until you told me. I can't believe I used magic…" said Kari, still stunned.
"Why aren't you more freaked?"
"I've always been a fan of magic. So the fact that I used it without realizing it doesn't exactly faze me. Why would I be horrified?" Kari said confused.
"You really aren't normal, are you…"
"Not if I can help it, no."
"Okaaay…"
"So how bad was my aim?" said Kari, changing the subject.
"At first it looked like he dodged it by going to the side…that is, until it abruptly changed direction and hit him dead on."
"Nice… So why weren't you scared by the blast?"
"I'm used to magical energy…my other half uses it all the time without my consent."
"I'm not gonna ask. So what now?"
"Right now I want some answers. Why were you able to blast Dark with magic?"
"Dunno…I guess my rage turned to magic."
"What I want to know is why now?"
"I've never been that furious before… Phantom Dork has permanently gotten on my bad side. Do you know what that means?"
"I have some idea…"
"It means that from now on, whenever I see Dork, I'm going to shoot to kill."
"Reminds me of someone I know…" joked Satoshi.
"Wow…so Mr. Serious has a sense of humor. Never would have guessed that," laughed Kari.
"Don't make too much out of it. Right now I'm more concerned about that blast. If this is the first time you've used magic, then there's a good chance it could come out at the worst time and will be out of your control."
"In other words, you're afraid that my power will get out of hand and kill people."
"You catch on quick."
"I may have a short attention-span, but when something catches my interest, I put an actual effort into it."
"What do you… never mind. I don't think Dark will return for a week at least. It'll take him a while to recover after that."
"Good… that gives me a week to get a new bow."
"I'll tell everyone that you used too much energy to send Dark packing."
"Thanks… Right now I need to find my 'sanity' medicine…" she said with a moan.
"Sanity medicine?"
"Advil. I have a major headache…I haven't had one this bad since the last time I was at my older sister's house and spent time with my two nephews and niece."
"What does the bottle look like?"
"It was round and the cap is slanted all around. It says Advil on the side."
"I'll see if I can find it. I recommend you lie down and rest."
"Thanks…" she murmured. Satoshi found it shortly and brought her a glass of water. She took two and waited for it to take effect. As soon as it did, she passed out. Satoshi closed the door and locked it. Since it was a sliding door, he knew Dark would have a difficult time getting it open.
After Satoshi left, Kari waited an hour before getting some ice for her headache which still hadn't gone away. Five minutes later she felt a lot better. She lay on her bed and grumbled, "No wonder I felt so bad…I was overheated again!"
The next morning…
"So how are you feeling, Kari?" asked Satoshi.
"A lot better. Seems I overheated last night."
"Overheated?"
"It means that I was close to running a fever. Whenever it gets too warm I overheat and get a massive headache."
"Whatever. So when do you want to start working on your control?"
"In about 30 minutes would be a safe bet," said Kari.
"Why's that? Did you take more of your 'sanity pills' again?"
"Nah…that's just the rough estimate for how long it takes for my meds to kick in," laughed Kari.
"What meds?"
"Forget I said anything. I'll be ready soon enough. So what're we gonna do first?"
"First we're going to work on your control; then we'll work on defensive."
"Control then defense? Not a very good exercise," commented Kari.
"Well you're still a novice when it comes to magic, so you can't exactly comment on what training you'll do," retorted Satoshi.
"I'm no novice at magic! I know more about magic than you think; I'm just a newbie at using it," said Kari.
"So you claim…"
"Hey! I've always had an interest in magic and the supernatural! Just because I've never used it doesn't make me a novice!"
"Just because you know a lot doesn't mean you know everything."
"Maybe not, but you're no expert at teaching others to use it either," retorted Kari irritably.
"It's been thirty minutes. Let's go."
"Bite. Me. Brat."
"What did you just call me?!"
"A brat. You think you know everything about the world around you and won't open your mind to the possibilities. That's the reason why you've never been able to catch Dark!" said Kari angrily.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying you have NO imagination. That's your problem; without any imagination, there's no creativity, no inventive possibilities. You're all statistics and no chance. Statistics and facts are fine in a controlled environment, I'll give you that. But out in the real world, hard facts and numbers can't make the cut."
"Could you rephrase that? I can't understand what you're trying to say."
"Fine, then let me make this as clear as possible. Numbers, equations, even statistics work best in a controlled environment where there aren't any new variables suddenly added to the mix. But in an uncontrolled environment, like out in the field, there effectiveness drops exponentially. You have to adapt to fit the situation, and based on what I've seen, you have a difficult time doing that."
"Are you saying I can't handle unexpected outcomes?!"
"I'm saying you're too close-minded. If you try to at least open your mind, then maybe Dark wouldn't beat you all the time."
"Whatever," said Satoshi.
"He-he-he…seems I've got you," snickered Kari.
"Can we just get this over with? If you keep this up I'm going to need some of your 'sanity' pills!" grumbled Satoshi.
"Keep this up and I'll die laughing!" chuckled Kari.