This chapter is slightly shorter (only slightly though), but it's got more action. We learn a little more about Nathalia, yay. Anyway, I forgot to tell you in the last chapter that this is based off the manga, so the stealing is going to be more for fun than to perform satanic rituals in the basement. I think that's all you need to know for now.
I own none of this, except Kiri and her mother and Nathalia. Everything else belongs to somebody else. Even the plot belongs to my muse.
Nathalia took off from Kiri's rooftop at seven-thirty, her silvery wings spreading and propelling her easily over the city. Nathalia loved the feeling of flying, watching the people as small as ants beneath her.
"Nathalia, there's Dark!" Kiri exclaimed. Nathalia glanced up to see Dark in front of her, and she sighed again.
"Well, I suppose we'll have to race," she remarked, a hint of challenge in her voice. She flapped her wings twice, pushing herself slightly higher in the night sky. She sped up and soon passed Dark, dropping down and turning so she could face the other winged thief.
"You again?" demanded Dark, a hint of anger in his voice.
"Me again. Have you remembered me yet?" asked Nathalia, grinning.
"No. And I'm going to ask you again. Who are you?" responded Dark, still sounding angry.
"I am Na-" Nathalia began, but was cut off as something slammed into her from the left. Nathalia righted herself and turned to see a man with blonde hair and white wings.
"Krad? What are you doing here?" Nathalia demanded, stopping dead.
"Who are you?" Krad asked, giving the silver-winged woman a weird look. Nathalia sighed.
"As I was telling Dark, I am called Nathalia. Though I never imagined I would have to tell you two that," answered Nathalia, flapping her wings once and sending silver feathers flying towards both Krad and Dark, who both caught the feathers and examined them. Nathalia could see a dim memory stirring in Dark's eyes, while Krad's face remained unreadable.
"What am I supposed to do with a feather?" the blonde demanded, giving Nathalia a look of pure hatred.
"Well, that depends on whose feather it is. You don't have to do anything with mine, that's my job, you see," responded Nathalia, her voice joking, even though her eyes were hard. She closed her eyes, and her feather began to glow light blue. After a few seconds, Krad began to transform, and soon a boy with blue hair was falling through the sky. Nathalia dropped down and caught him easily, then flew back up until she was even with Dark.
"I'll let you steal the painting tonight. Hopefully next time we won't target the same thing," she said. Before the bewildered man could respond, Nathalia was flying away. After a few minutes, she landed next to an ambulance and knocked on the door. The driver looked over in surprise and jumped a foot in the air when he saw the winged figure carrying an unconscious boy.
"This boy will be unconscious for at least a day. If you would make sure he's safe, it would make me quite happy," Nathalia told the ambulance driver. She placed the boy gently on a bench next to the ambulance, then spread her wings and flew away.
"What now?" Kiri asked.
"We go back to the museum and watch Dark work. I'm kind of curious about whether or not he's improved since I last knew him," answered Nathalia. She flew them back to the museum and hovered directly above the police and media for a few seconds, waiting for the people below her to take notice. After about a minute, people began to point and shout, and Nathalia suddenly found herself to be the center of attention. She did a few flips, then flew off as soon as she saw Dark leave. She sped home in front of him and landed on Kiri's rooftop.
Kiri made her way to school the next day, slightly more tired than usual. She yawned for what must've been the hundredth time that morning. Whenever Nathalia used magic, no matter how little she used, Kiri was always the one that was exhausted the next day.
"I'm sorry, Kiri. It's just, Krad is not a good person and I didn't want to deal with him," Nathalia apologized.
"Don't worry about it, Nathalia. I'll be fine," Kiri assured her, yawning again. She turned a corner to see Daisuke a few metres in front of her.
"Niwa-san, wait up," Kiri called, running to catch up. Daisuke smiled at her, but remained silent, a distant look in his eyes. Kiri cocked her head.
"He looks distracted," commented Nathalia. Kiri simply nodded, then turned so she was walking backwards facing Daisuke.
"Niwa-san, why do you seem so….distracted this morning?" she asked. Daisuke looked up at Kiri in surprise.
"No reason, Thudinia-san," he told her, grinning. Kiri sighed.
"Don't call me that. Call me Kiri. 'Thudinia-san' is my grandmother," she commanded, shaking her head. She cocked her head at Daisuke one last time, sure that something was bothering him, then spun around and skipped away, her brown hair bouncing, causing her to look several years younger than she was. During lunch, as Kiri was eating underneath a tree, Daisuke came over to her, looking angry.
"Kiri-san, where is Satoshi?" Daisuke demanded, stopping a foot away from Kiri. Kiri cocked her head.
"Who is Satoshi?" she inquired, her confusion clear in her voice.
"The boy with blue hair that sits a few desks away from you in class," Daisuke responded. Kiri was clearly still confused.
"Kiri, Satoshi must be Krad's host, the boy we caught and left by the ambulance last night," Nathalia remarked. A look of recognition dawned on Kiri's face.
"If you're asking me then…" she began, trailing off.
"Dark saw Nathalia land in your house last night," Daisuke told her, nodding.
"Then you must be Dark's host," guessed Kiri.
"That's not the point. You still haven't answered my question."
"Satoshi-san is safe. Nathalia gave him to an ambulance driver. He's probably still asleep though. The spell that Nathalia used makes people sleep for at least twenty-four hours," Kiri assured him, smiling.
"What is Nathalia?" Daisuke asked, sitting down next to Kiri.
"I don't really know. She won't tell me. All I know is that the women in my family have been transforming into her for several generations, although we're not sure exactly when it started," answered Kiri, shrugging.
"That's not all you know," protested Nathalia, sounding indignant. Kiri waved her away and stood.
"I have to get going, Niwa-san. I'll talk to you later," she said, bowing to Daisuke before skipping away. She met up again with Daisuke as they both walked home from school, and they smiled at each other.
"Hey Kiri-san," Daisuke greeted.
"Hi, Niwa-san. My mother wanted me to invite you over tonight. She says there's something she wants to talk to us about, and that your mother is already there," Kiri told Daisuke, sounding as though she was working hard to remember the entire message.
"Well, I suppose if my mom is there, I don't exactly have much of a choice," Daisuke responded, although his tone was joking. The pair arrived at Kiri's house twenty minutes later, and they opened the front door and walked into the main room to find both mothers cooking in the kitchen.
"Kiri, you're home!" Kyoko chirped, grinning.
"Hello, mom. You said there was something you wanted to talk to us about," Kiri remarked, although she could pretty much guess what her mother was going to say. She dumped her bag on the floor and sat down on their olive green couch. Daisuke followed her lead, sitting down next to her.
"Well, when you told me that Niwa-san found out about Nathalia, I began to think, and have decided that it's best if we moved again," her mother began. Kiri felt her heart drop in horror. Although she had been expecting it, when her mom said it, that made it real.
"But mom, why do we have to do this every time? I've been through five schools in the last year. I'm tired of being forced to move around all the time!" she protested, standing up in anger.
"Kiri, you know the drill. There is nothing to discuss. Now, go get your notebook from your room," Kyoko retorted. Kiri remained where she was, her eyes glowing defiantly.
"But Niwa-san is- Niwa-san understands. He won't tell anyone," she argued. Daisuke glanced from Kiri to her mother and back, then seemed to realize what was going on.
"I don't care! I told you and Nathalia when we moved here that unless you two were more careful, then we'd have to leave again," Kyoko reminded Kiri. Her daughter said nothing, but seemed to almost swell with anger. Suddenly she glowed faintly and began to grow taller, her hair lengthening and turning silver, her eyes bronzing.
