A Change of Sorts
Chapter number 4! Hope you'll enjoy this story, cause I'm enjoying writing it! Really fun mixing everything up XD. Sorry if I don't get to Dark's thieving in this chapter or Daisuke's first day; I drag things out too much! If you want, you can criticise me, but I got this thing for thinking up new ideas on the spot, leading to dragged out nonsense. Please R&R!
Chapter 4: More Visitors!
--Hey Daisuke!--
Daisuke groaned and rolled over. "Just 3 more minutes okaa-san…" he muttered.
--Uh Daisuke?--
"I want to sleep some more…"
--There's someone at the door.--
"Riku-san, you're mean…"
Dark blinked. So Daisuke dreamed about girls now, huh? Hey!
--THAT'S MY JOB YOU IDIOT!--
"What!" Daisuke sat up quickly, Dark's voice doing well to awake him.
-- I dream about girls, not you!-- Dark scolded, a frown marring his fine features.
"Oh, is that it?" mumbled Daisuke, about to go to sleep again.
--Daisuke, there's someone at the door.--
"Okaa-san will answer it…" he murmured sleepily. But your okaa-san isn't here.
"Dark, did you say something?"
--No.--
"Oh. Must have been my imagination."
Dark shrugged. --Who cares? Just go get the door.--
Daisuke yawned and sat up in his bed. His hand reached out for the ladder instinctively, but was confused when it found nothing but thin air. Still half asleep, he continued looking for the ladder while Dark watched, stupefied. That just goes to prove that most of the things Daisuke do in the morning is purely out of nature.
--Daisuke, this bed doesn't have a ladder.--
-Hnnn?-
--You're not at home so there is no ladder for you to climb down.--
-Oh…-
Daisuke woke up now, and peered stupidly at the short distance between the ground and his bed.
Tap tap tap.
--The door Daisuke. The door.--
"I'm coming!" he yelled to whoever was at the door at the moment.
Grumbling, he walked to the sliding paper door, and pushed it aside. -These doors are so hard to get used to.-
He covered his eyes so as not to blind them from the morning sun and peered at the person outside.
"Hello?"
"Erhem, are you Daisuke Niwa?" asked the man who was the postman.
"Yes."
"Well, here's your mail."
"Thanks…"
As the postman left, Daisuke went to the living room to look at his mail.
-Wait a minute…why do I even have mail?-
--Maybe from Emiko.--
"Maybe…"
He flipped through the letters, only 3…
"Let's see, the first one is from the school…"
He sliced through the seal and pulled out the letter inside.
Dear Mr Daisuke Niwa,
Welcome to Kaiwaia High! You have been placed in class 2-D as the second year of high school. We are also sorry to inform you that due to insufficient workers, there has been a shortage of male uniforms for Kaiwaia High. We therefore ask if it is possible that you retain your former uniform and wear it as substitute for the black uniform of our school. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused…
-Ironic…-
--Yup. Not inconvenient though; lucky you packed your old uniform in--
-Yeah…at least that one fits me well-
"Hmmmmm, so school starts in 2 days eh?" he looked in his mirror where Dark was attempting to look through his other mail.
"Calm down Dark, you can read them via me anyway."
"Stupid mirror! Hey Daisuke, let me out a bit tonight, eh?"
"OK, we'll go flying tonight." Daisuke laughed at Dark's personal war with the mirror.
He picked up his 2nd letter and twirled it around in his fingers before tossing it in the bin.
"Junk mail…" he muttered. The 3rd one was from home.
Dear Daisuke,
Is everything alright there? We miss you back here and Riku has only just stopped crying. How is Dark? Make sure you wear a different outfit with each steal; I don't want anyone thinking that I don't have a sense of imagination! (--Does that really matter?--) You don't need to reply yet, we'll find out when With comes home with the update. Just have a letter written for him to come back with. Try to keep up some basic training routines; we don't want you fumbling during thefts! Dark, make your first appearance in 1 week, then leave 2 day gaps in between, ok? We have the first card here, just in case. Be safe Daisuke, and make sure you make some good friends over there! Takeshi's grades have started to drop, if it makes you any happier. Good luck!
Out of the envelope fell a warning notice and a single black feather. Daisuke picked it up, and twirled it around as he read the notice. It was written the same way as the other ones, except it had a bit of an introduction about Dark.
"So, we have to steal the Khaydrin Necklet first? There's only one museum in this town, so that'll be easy." He murmured, eyes scanning the white notice.
--Won't be as fun without creepy boy here though.-- Dark sighed. --Sometimes, things just aren't the same without some particular people. --
"Yeah…I'll go over to the museum this afternoon. Wonder if their security's good? Better eat something now."
As Daisuke stood up and left for the kitchen, Dark remained in the mirror, eyeing the notice. It was flipped around, and had a picture of a black feather drawn on it. There was some small writing over the feather. He read it and smiled to himself, before leaving the mirror and back with Daisuke.
'Can you see in the darkness of heart? I want to keep it 'DARK'. He is 'DARK MOUSY'.
In the Sohma household, the Sohma's were just waking up from their deep slumber. Yuki was the first Sohma up, he, half-asleep of course, sleepily entered the kitchen and promptly fell asleep again on the table. Tohru, who had been up since the dawn chorus started tuning, had prepared breakfast, done the washing, and cleaned half of the house.
Kyo was second, and his grumbling and smashing into paper doors and walls managed to effectively wake up Shigure and Yuki. Shigure sauntered in, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and immediately foraged through the fridge, looking for any available goodies before breakfast.
"Shigure-san!" Tohru teased, tapping the elder man's shoulder. "Breakfast is ready!"
The Sohma's settled down to another one of Tohru's delicious breakfasts. Shigure took a sip out of his tea and sighed contently.
"Ahhhh, yet another perfect morning begun with Tohru's perfect breakfast, and not a single flaw yet predicted in the day." He rambled, eyes closed in a satisfied way. Kyo and Yuki moaned simultaneously, and the door burst open to reveal Shigure's frustrated editor holding out several pieces of paper and pens.
"SENSEI! Your deadline passed 3 weeks ago and you haven't even written half a page!" she cried, tears running down her face.
Shigure took another sip and sighed again. "I'll do them later…" when she left, still crying, he picked up the newspaper and flicked through it. "Yep, a perfect day…"
"I think I'll go see Niwa-kun when I finish cleaning the house!" Tohru chirped as she went by with a mop and bucket (she had eaten earlier.). "He might need some help settling in." she stopped as she looked out the window to where his house could just be seen. "Poor Niwa-kun, he must be lonely there…"
"Don't worry Honda-san," Yuki said. "You heard him; he wanted to try living away from home. Otherwise, he'll be at home right now."
"That little shrimp? He doesn't look like he'll survive a night alone in a hotel, let alone in a house!" Kyo grumbled. "What a weakling…"
"Kyo-kun! We've only met him for a day! Shouldn't we wait before judging him?" Tohru asked, shocked.
"Honda-san, for all we know, the stupid cat might be scared."
"Like hell I'm not!" shouted Kyo, launching a punch in Yuki's direction. Yuki dodged easily and hit Kyo aside, muttering, "I'm eating. Don't bother me."
Kyo jumped up angrily, but decided to let it pass…for now. He snatched a few rice balls and marched up to the roof, presumably to mope.
Even though this happened just about every morning, Tohru started worrying and dashed up to comfort Kyo. Yuki and Shigure watched her go, and the adult grinned slyly.
"You know…I think Kyo pulls a tantrum just so Tohru will go and talk to him." He said, almost thoughtfully. "Ooooo, Tohru and Kyo…"
Yuki stood up haughtily and headed to his room, ignoring this comment. Shigure's grin grew bigger, and he mentally made a note: Yuki has a crush on Tohru…
Shigure giggled childishly, but seconds later was dragged away by his bawling editor due to his 'mucking around-ness'.
Tohru returned, and blinked as she was greeted with an empty room. Blink, blink. Happy smile. "I'll go see Niwa-kun now!" she announced, and grabbed a food parcel she had prepared. Still smiling, she left the house and headed next door to her destination.
Ahhhh yes. Another typically chaotic morning in the house of Sohma's and one Honda.
Birds chirped in a merry tune that tended to satisfy even the most arrogant of listeners. They flitted across the trees, as if visiting their many neighbours. Daisuke sighed contently at the beautiful scenery before him. There were many tall trees there, filled with different shades of green leaves. Up on one of the taller ones was Daisuke, nestled comfortably in the crook of a few branches. He felt on top of the world there, where he could see just about everything around him. Well, flying felt even better, but this seemed to be as good as he could get without wings.
Daisuke smiled; his drawing was nearly finished. He was drawing a picture of the Sohma house and was planning to give it to them, among others he planned to draw, as a sort of thankyou gift for their warm welcome and basket.
It wasn't much, but it was the best he could do. Like Tohru could cook and open her heart to others, he could sketch and draw and paint. Just about anything that included art, he could do quite well in.
--Hey…nice picture.--
Daisuke's smile grew broader. "Yup, I plan to give it to the Sohma's as a thank-you gift. It was kind of them to welcome me." Dark had only just woken up again so had missed out Daisuke's ramblings for the past few minutes.
--Yeah well, don't put too much heart and soul in it. There might end up being some sort of magic inside it like the Hikari art works.-- Dark said, half-joking, half-serious.
"I won't. Plus, our family probably can't do that."
--There's always a first time…--
Daisuke laughed at the seriousness in Dark's voice. "Can't they have good magic too?"
--Possibly-- Dark said thoughtfully. -- Except, the Hikari's mainly were, and still are, cold, withdrawn people who wished for a way to express their true emotions. Their coldness is mainly due to Krad, you see, but even so, their emotions were strong. So they poured their hearts out into their art, giving it a life of its own. So in the end, most of the spirits are pretty mean.--
Daisuke blinked at this. "Wow…history lesson and Dark's longest speech in ages…interesting."
--Hey! I resent that!--
Daisuke laughed and finished off his drawing. Nearly…nearly…done!
"There!" he cried out and held out his picture proudly. It was of the Sohma house, without all the holes in the walls of course, in its full splendour. He had also fixed up the porch, and closed the open window in the top floor.
He smiled, and flipped the page of his sketchpad. He would take it in and store it away carefully later. For a minute, he just sat there and allowed his eyes to wonder around his surrounding area, looking for some inspiration.
Absentmindedly, he moved the pencil across the paper, drawing a small picture while he looked around. Getting tired, he finally looked down and was surprised to see he had drawn a rice ball, of all things (giggle).
"What the-?"
--Why a rice ball?--
"I dunno, but it can't hurt to continue could it?"
--Suppose not…hey, draw With as well.--
"Fine Dark, fine…"
After the bunny was done, he decided that he liked the animal theme (excluding the rice ball) and added more in. There was a dog, a cat, a horse, a sheep…come to think of it; he was drawing almost every animal he could think of.
He was just finishing the finer details when he heard a small voice call out. Well, it was small from his position up here on the tree.
"Hello? Niwa-kun? Anyone home?" It was Tohru, rapping at his door which he currently was not behind.
"Honda-san?" he asked, poking his head out from underneath the leaves to a position where he could see the brunette.
"Niwa-kun? What are you doing up there…" Tohru asked, confused. Well, it's not everyday you go greet your neighbour and find him up one of the tallest trees there, with NO ladder or anything of that sort.
"Ahhhh…I was doing some sketching." He replied, gathering his things and jumping down, using some of the branches for support. He reached the ground eventually, albeit a bit messily, and smiled at Tohru. "I'm an artist, you see."
"Wow…Niwa-kun that's wonderful!" Tohru said in awe, her eyes sparkling in an amazed way. "Can I see? I mean, it's ok if you don't want me to! I understand; I won't pry if it bothers you!" she panicked, suddenly managing to find reasons to overreact over small things like that.
"No, no. It's ok Honda-san!" Daisuke laughed slightly, and handed her one of his sketchbooks, the one he wasn't using that morning.
Eyes wide with wonder, she opened the black book and looked through the pages, mouth forming a rounder 'O' by the page. When she finished, she handed it back to him and smiled happily.
"Thankyou Niwa-kun! I mean, for letting me see your art book. You're really talented!"
"Uhhh, thanks…" he blushed at the compliment; Dark's comments weren't really helping either.
"But…" her eyes travelled from Daisuke, to the tall tree he had come down from, then back to Daisuke, who was looking at her in confusion (he's really naïve at times, isn't he?). She shook her head and smiled again. "It's nothing!"
"Ok…I don't mean to sound rude, but why did you come here Honda-san?" Daisuke asked, scratching his head.
"Oh!" Tohru exclaimed, suddenly remembering why she was there. "I came here to give you this!" she handed him the food parcel. "And to see if you needed help with anything!" she beamed happily. If that beam was from the sun, everything would be sprouting flowers (even houses) and dancing around with each other. When Tohru beams, you get beamed!
"Thanks…I don't know if I need any help though. Sorry to trouble you though," he apologized. Really, he didn't know what he ought to do anyway.
"That's ok! What are you going to do today Niwa-kun?" she asked sweetly, ignoring the apology. She wasn't one for accepting those; more of the maker of apologies for other people.
"I was going to go to the art museum later…but that's it." He told her, rubbing the back of his head.
"Then would you like to come over to Shigure's house when you come back?" she asked excitedly. "I mean, we all disturbed you at your house, so why not come over? You won't get lonely with everyone there either!"
-Don't worry; I got someone permanently stuck in my head…-
--Hey! That's mean! Plus, you know I'll be gone once Riku accepts me.--
-Which will be never…-
To Tohru he said, "Thanks, but are you sure it's ok? I mean, with Shigure-san and everyone…" he trailed off.
"Don't worry!" she smiled again (god, I've written that so many times, how else can I put it?). "I'm sure they won't mind. Just come over when you're ready!"
"Ok, thanks Honda-san! It's really kind of you." He smiled gratefully.
"The Sohma's have done so much for me, so I try to do my best for them and everyone else!" she exclaimed. "Ok then Niwa-kun! See you later!" she waved and headed back over to Shigure's house.
"Bye…" he waved for a minute, then dropped his hand as she disappeared from view (let's say there's lots of trees and things). "Let's go to the art museum now."
--Yeah…then we can see the house of Tohru! She's cute.-- Dark replied, grinning lazily.
"You cheat women Dark…" he muttered as he went and put away his things.
"With!"
"Kyuu!" With With (sorry, couldn't help it) on his shoulder, Daisuke headed out towards the town.
Daisuke approached a tall, shadowy building, half-shaded with trees stretching out in front of it. It loomed over him and gave off a foreboding presence. The tall black gates surrounding it were topped with statuettes of snarling gargoyles, stretching out a stony claw towards intruders.
"Eep…"
--Uh Daisuke?--
"What a scary building…"
--DAISUKE!--
Said boy blinked. He had been staring into space (well, the building really) and was lost in his own thoughts, which had not allowed any mind-spirit things inside so had not heard the seemingly annoyed Dark.
--You took a wrong turn at the crossing before. You were supposed to go straight, Daisuke, straight.--
"Oh…"
Daisuke turned and retraced his steps, and eventually found himself at another building, only more…weird.
"Welcome to the child care centre! Please come in!" squealed a thin, short woman with overdone make up. "How can we-whoa!"
"Onee-chan! Candy! I want candy!" wailed a short little toddler who had latched herself onto the woman's skinny legs.
"The front desk…not now Saskia…" she tried to pry the girl off her leg, but failed unsuccessfully. "Please come to the front desk for more-hey!"
Giving a feeble excuse, Daisuke hurried off, back to the wretched crossroads that had misled him TWO times now. TWO times.
--Third time's the charm, they say…-- Dark muttered, although he was seriously having some doubts himself. --And if you see anymore child care centres, run the HELL away from them.--
-Right.-
EVENTUALLY, Daisuke ended up in the right place. In fact, he had not only taken a wrong turn before, but also a wrong turn at the wrong crossing. He gazed up at the museum before him and entered it. IT at least looked normal enough.
"So that's it…"
--Yup. Pretty cool.--
"Yeah…"
He was staring at the artefact Dark was meant to steal a week later. It consisted of a silver chain with a large green stone embedded on it and small diamonds surrounding it. He wasn't so sure what was so dangerous about this object, but hey, it was beautiful. In fact, it was the first piece of art you notice when you enter this part of the gallery.
After admiring the necklet for a few minutes, Daisuke checked the security on each art exhibit, then casually strolled through the museum to check the camera's, security system and the like.
-Ok…so security camera one: above main window.-
-Security lasers…positioned at distance of 1 metre apart.-
-And…3 security guards in the whole museum?-
--Guess they don't get robbed much, huh?--
-Suppose so…even though, shouldn't they be more cautious? I mean, not every thief is going to announce himself like you.-
--Because those chickens are too scared to risk people being aware of their plans.-- said Dark smugly, a huge smirk plastered on his face. --I, on the other hand, am an experienced thief who needs no precautions.--
-Sure sure…-
In a few minutes, he decided he had a good enough knowledge, and left the museum, With still 'kyuu'-ing happily on his shoulder.
He dropped by Jim's (remember him?) moving company before he went home. Jim was happy to see him, but regretfully told him that Tommy wasn't there with him today, so Daisuke left. It was a nice office though, small and cosy, even though the background of trucks didn't really do much to improve its splendour.
Daisuke took his time walking back. He might as well get to know the town while he was at it anyway. A nice town, it was, with the few exceptions of, erhem, strange places that you'd rather stay away from.
It was nearly sunset before he left the town. While walking on the trail above the Sohma house, he looked down at the peaceful house. It seemed quiet, and the holes that had been there earlier when he had been sketching were mended, presumably by Tohru.
As his artistic mind set to work on deriving a perfect scenery for sketching, a loud 'poof!' could be heard from inside Daisuke could faintly see strange coloured smoke seeping out from some cracks.
"I'm so sorry Shigure-san!" The door slid opened and Tohru ran outside, her eyes shut tightly. She stood there for a moment, eyes still closed, before turning around and opening them.
"You did it again Tohru…" muttered Kyo, who had just exited the house. "But who can manage to slip on spilt cooked (therefore soft) rice, I don't know."
"I'm sorry Kyo-kun!" she cried, and bowed way down. "Is Yuki-kun and Shigure-san ok?"
"Don't worry, that damn rat probably won't even get a pretty eyelash dirtied." He snorted in reply.
SMASH!
"Stupid cat, you'll go flying next time." Menaced a…scary but not that kind of scary Yuki, who had appeared from nowhere and knocked Kyo over.
"Honda-san? Yuki? Kyo?" asked Daisuke, having climbed down from the trail to ground level.
"Ahhhh, Niwa-kun? When did you get here?" exclaimed Tohru, looking up to see the redhead walking towards them.
"I was walking past and I heard a…poofing noise and saw some weird smoke, so I came down to see what happened." He explained, stopping beside the Sohma's and Tohru. "What did happen?"
The said group of people exchanged panicky glances and Kyo opened his mouth, but was interrupted by yet another poof, and some more…strange smoke from the house.
"There it goes again…what is it?"
"Err…"
"I'm back!" called Shigure in a sing-song voice as he stepped out of the house, straightening his robe. "…Huh? Daisuke-kun?" he asked, noticing the red head.
"What was all that smoke? And that poof noise before…" Daisuke asked. Something was going on here…
--I agree.--
"Ahhhh, you see, that was uh…" Shigure trailed off, apparently unable to think of a good excuse.
"That was what happened when I tried to cook." Yuki jumped in hurriedly. "I'm not good at cooking, cleaning or any sort of housework you see." He explained, seeing Daisuke's questioning glance.
"But what's Honda-san's slipping on rice got do to do with it?" Daisuke asked again, determined to find out the truth.
"That was because Tohru slipped, and fell on Yuki, causing him to knock over an ingredient that didn't match with the other thing he was trying to cook." Shigure put in, now fixing his hair.
--Sounds just like Risa.--
"Yeah…" Daisuke muttered, forgetting to speak in his mind.
"What?"
"Oh…nothing." Daisuke shook his head. "But Harada-san never actually blew anything up in colours and made it go 'poof'…" he murmured thoughtfully.
Before he got a chance to properly think it over, he was interrupted by something else.
"Hey Tohru!" called out a female voice. Broken out of his reverie, Daisuke looked around and saw a blond teen and a…slightly freaky looking black-haired girl, all dressed in black. Her eyes took that of calm, knowing expression.
"Uo-chan!" Tohru replied happily, glad for a distraction. They would have to be more careful sometimes! "Hana-chan! What are you doing here?"
"We came to see the newcomer, after running into your friend Momiji." The one known as Hana replied.
"Yeah, hi to you too orange top, prince, writer guy."
"We have names you know, dammit!" snarled Kyo, immediately switching into offensive mode. "So use them, Yankee!"
Uo ignored him and turned to Daisuke. "So you're the new kid huh?" he nodded and she continued. "Jeez, red hair, red eyes, everyone's getting weird hair and eye colours now." She sighed, examining Daisuke. "Is that natural colour?"
"Uh…yes, it's a family trait." Daisuke replied, fidgeting.
--At least she's not criticizing your shortness.--
-Shut up Dark.- Daisuke replied back shortly.
"Oh! Niwa-kun, these are my friends, Saki Hanajima, or Hana-chan, and Arisa Uotani, or Uo-chan. Uo-chan, Hana-chan, this is Daisuke Niwa-kun!" Tohru introduced them happily, and Uo and Hana nodded at the mention of their names.
"So Daisuke, why are you here?" Uo asked, flicking the hair out of her eyes loftily.
"Uhhh, change of pace, you know…" Daisuke replied tensely.
--That Saki is creepy.-- whispered Dark, slightly crept out.
-Dark!-
--What?--
-…nothing.-
"Alright then, want to take the 'newcomer electric waves test'?" Uo asked, grinning ever so slightly.
"Oka-what?" Daisuke was confused now. Electric waves?
The grin became wider. "Alright, read him Hana!" Uo ordered, Daisuke starting to sweat.
Hana closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate. A…antenna-like thing stood up from her head and Daisuke began to tense up. He did not appreciate being 'read' when he had no idea what was going on.
-Dark?-
--Yes?--
-Help.-
"I sense strange waves coming from you, Daisuke-kun." Hana replied, opening her eyes eerily. She stared at him intensely for a minute before continuing. "Much like that of the Sohma's, but different. Slightly more…intense."
"Oh…is that so?" Daisuke laughed nervously. "I wonder why?"
--Hmmm, the Sohma's have strange waves too, apparently.--
-Yeah, wonder why?-
--We'll see…got a feeling it's got something to do with that incident before.--
Yuki and Shigure exchanged looks, while Tohru looked surprised (and possibly elated, seeing how she was so ecstatic about finding out the zodiac members) and Kyo looked…same as usual. A pointless little run through of their minds…
'Another one like us?' Yuki thought, wonderingly.
'Things are getting interesting.' Shigure thought with a hint of a smile.
'…wonder if I have enough food for everyone?'
'Freaky girl…I'M GOING TO BEAT THAT DAMN RAT!'
And yes, all the while, Uo, Hana and our little friend Daisuke are standing there, wondering what to make of it all.
Tohru seemed the first to recover, and she smiled happily.
"Please come in! I'll get you some tea!" she ushered them inside and ran off, as if the past event had never even occurred. Daisuke looked around the sparkly house and sighed in homesickness.
"Just like how okaa-san used to keep home…" he muttered, eyeing the shiny floorboards.
"Kyuu?" Daisuke looked at With, who was on his shoulder all this time but had remained quiet, and smiled.
"Thanks With. Can't believe I really have to do this…" he sighed again, walking forward dejectedly. He seated himself at the low table, and watched as Tohru bustled around the kitchen cheerily.
"Can I help you Honda-san?" he asked 'gentlemanly', standing up at the same time.
"Oh no no! I can't have one of the guests help the hostess! Don't worry, I'll be fine!" she told him and hurried off again, making the food.
"So Daisuke, Momiji said you're living alone?" Uo asked, holding a cake that Tohru had handed out in her hand.
"Uh huh…"
"And you're going to our school?"
Nod.
Uo looked him over and grinned. "Black will suit ya. You seem to do well with dark colours."
Daisuke rubbed the back of his neck nervously (actually, I do that a lot too! XD) and looked off.
"Actually…I'll be wearing my old uniform." He fished the crumpled letter from his pocket and showed it to them. "See? They sent it this morning."
Uo read it first and then grinned in surprise.
"Hey, you're in the same class as us!"
"Oh…I am?"
Everyone else read it (everyone else being Hana, Kyo, Yuki, Shigure and Tohru, who had prepared everything) and Shigure smiled playfully.
"So Daisuke-kun. What does your uniform look like?" he asked, head propped up onto his poor arm, which could only just hold the heaviness of stupidity Shigure's head contained.
"Uh, you see…it's like…do you have some paper?" he stuttered, finding it difficult to explain. Yuki handed him a white piece of paper, and he sketched out the uniform using his trusty pencil-in-the-pocket he kept with him.
"Ahhhh…how does the girl uniform look?" Shigure asked, grinning mischievously.
Simultaneously, Yuki and Kyo conked him on the head, and Kyo muttered, "And dogs are supposed to be smart. Something went wrong with him."
Shigure faked crying and turned pleadingly to Tohru. "Oh Tohru, see how mean Yuki and Kyo are to their cousin? Please tell them to be kinder!"
Yuki and Kyo grumbled and gave him another punch, which made Shigure 'faint'. Just as Daisuke was putting away his pencil, Shigure sat back up and immediately took the paper.
"Hmmmmm, very fine drawing Daisuke-kun. It'll go well with my oh so wonderful manuscript." He grinned and looked at Daisuke. "You are a very talented artist."
Daisuke blushed and fumbled with his pencil, while Tohru nodded in affirmation.
"Yes! Niwa-kun is very good! He was drawing this morning when I visited him and was kind enough to show me his drawings! They were wonderful to look at!" she beamed at Daisuke, whose face grew so red that it wasn't even be classified as red anymore.
"I see. Daisuke-kun, could you be as kind as to show me your book? I mean, it would mean a lot; such a talented author like yours truly meeting a talented artist such as yourself." He gave a wide smile that screamed 'OHOHOHO I HOPE HE'S BEEN DRAWING HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS!' and Daisuke nodded.
He took With off his shoulder and looked him in the eye.
"Can you do that With? Remember, the one I showed Honda-san this morning."
"Kyuu!" With confirmed, and bounded out the door, transforming into Dark's shape once out of sight. At everyone's astounded glances, Daisuke explained.
"He sort of acts like a dog; understands what we say and all."
"Cool, wish I could get a pet like that!" Uo exclaimed. "What is he anyway? I mean, he looks like a rabbit, but rabbits don't go kyu."
Daisuke gave a half smile and half shrug. "With's been in our family for a long time now, so I'm not very sure. But I don't know any other like him either."
Hana chose that very moment to speak up. "I sense strange waves from that creature too; slightly related to that of Daisuke-kun's."
Silence. Uo chuckled amusedly as she thought that over. "You know how they say; pets are sometimes related to their owners!"
"But that's wonderful!" gasped Tohru. "That means you and With would really understand each other!"
Daisuke laughed slightly. "I guess…"
--So very true…--
"Kyuu!" A white fuzz ball bounded past and landed on the table, a large black book propped up on his ears.
"Good job With! I'll get you some strawberries later." Daisuke smiled, patting With on his head. With purred happily and jumped on his head.
"…did he just purr?" Yuki asked, gesturing at With. "Strange bunny…"
"I guess… that was a first, With." With nodded his head happily and curled up to sleep, having done its job. It really preferred being wings better than being in human form.
"Oooooo, you are good Daisuke-kun!" Shigure put down the sketchbook and turned it to the page where he had drawn Risa and Riku together as they chatted in the classroom. They both showed happy emotions, smiling and laughing as they had been talking.
Daisuke went red in the face and looked away, not wanting to provoke another transformation.
"Are they twins?" Shigure asked, after examining their faces.
"Y-y-yes. The longer haired one is Risa Harada-san, the younger one, and the other one is Riku-san." He replied, stuttering slightly.
"Hmmmmm… Daisuke-kun, how long have you been with Riku now?" Shigure asked, a sly glint in his eye.
"Uh…nearly three years now. I'm nearly 17, and we got together about a few months or so after my 14th birthday." He replied, blushing intensely, trying his best to ignore the 'ooh's and 'ahh's he got from Uo.
"Ahhhh…" Shigure mused, and then turned to the two boys. "See? Daisuke-kun got a girlfriend when he was 14. And here we have 2 fine young men who can't even get into a firm relationship at 16," Shigure sighed, shaking his head. "And you're nearly 17 too! You're doing a great job Daisuke-kun, especially when you look at them 2." He faked crying, patting Daisuke on the shoulder understandingly.
"Shigure…" (Yuki)
"Damn you…" (Guess who?)
"Eh?" (Tohru)
"Uh…" (Daisuke)
"?" (…and the other 2)
"Well, you must excuse me now. I have some work to do!" Shigure piped up, and slunk away, all the while snickering audibly.
"Damn, there's a shrimp in our class now," grumbled Kyo, head propped up on his hand. "They just keep getting shorter."
Yuki turned over and glared at Kyo. "Where have you been? School talk ended ages ago, although I don't expect someone as stupid as you are would have known that, stupid cat."
"Shut UP! I am NOT stupid!" yelled Kyo, jumping up. "Alright, let's take this outside!"
"You idiot, it'll only be a waste of my time to fight you." Yuki replied, yet also standing up.
"Oh, you scared now? You're too scared 'cause you know I'm going to beat you aren't 'cha?" he leered, following Yuki who was heading out of the room.
"There they go again…" Uo commented indifferently, watching as the two left and Yuki headed towards the kitchen top.
"Like I said, they are like a cat and mouse." Hana stated, putting down her tea.
"Come on! Stop running away you chic-nnnng…" Kyo was cut short abruptly as a…particular green thing was stuck into his mouth.
"Leeks…" he groaned, half fainting on the ground.
"It still works every time." Yuki remarked, towering over the twitching teen.
"Huh?" Daisuke was puzzled. Did Kyo not like leeks?
--Ha, that Yuki's got some good tricks up his sleeve.--
-Uh-huh…-
--Hey, time to go flying!--
Daisuke grimaced at Dark's loud voice. -Not now…-
--Come on!--
-Wait for 30 minutes…-
--15!--
-30!-
--15!--
-25!-
--15!--
-NO!-
--Fine… -- grumbled Dark, crossing his arms defiantly. --We won't go in 15 minutes.--
-Exactly.- Daisuke breathed a sigh of relief. Dark was usually so hard to reason with, so why-?
--We go now.--
-WHAT? No!-
--Now now now now now now now now now now now now now now now now now now now…-- Dark chanted, smirking widely. He knew that once Daisuke got a headache, he would give in.
Daisuke clutched his head and mentally cursed Dark's stubbornness. If this continued, his headache would get even worse.
-Dark…-
--Now now now now now now…--
-Dark!-
-- Now now now now now…--
"Niwa-kun? Are you ok?"
Daisuke opened his eyes and found himself staring into Tohru's large, concerned eyes.
"What?"
"Are you ok? Do you have a headache?" Tohru repeated, face tinged with worry.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine…" Daisuke smiled weakly, and then grimaced again as Dark's voice reached 4 octaves higher at the sound of this. "Shut up Dark…" he muttered quietly.
"No you're not!" Tohru declared determinedly. "You should lie down and rest and we'll get you medicine!"
"No, really…"
"Tohru's right. It won't do for you to be sick on you're first day." Hana put in, Uo and Tohru nodding, agreeing.
"I'll be ok…" Daisuke replied, yet Dark wouldn't oblige. Instead, he just sped up to 100 words per minute, with gusts of up to 120.
-Shut up.-
--No. Now now now now now now now now now now now now.--
-Shut up!-
--No can do!--
"Daisuke, you should listen to Honda-san. You look like you're having a horrible headache."
"Shut up Dark…" he muttered, not listening.
"Niwa-kun?"
"Ahhhh! I just remembered; I'm sorry but I have something important to do at home. Please excuse me, and thankyou!" he said, standing up. he grabbed his sketchbook and rushed out of the house, holding on to the startled With. It was dark outside when he entered the house and hurriedly pulled on some black clothing.
"I hate you Dark." He mumbled furiously as he prepared to change. His red hair grew darker and longer and he grew a slight bit taller, the black clothing fitting more suitably now.
"I know you do Daisuke!" Dark grinned, stretching slightly. He relaxed and stepped on to the roof, gazing out at the stars.
"You shouldn't be grumpy on such a nice night like this Daisuke." He told the shorter boy. When all he received was a grumble, he smirked broadly. "With!"
"Kyuu!" the previously cute white bunny changed, as he turned into Dark's black wings. Dark smirked again, as he took off from the roof.
"Hey look, there's Saki and Arisa."
-I see them Dark…-
"Wanna say hello?"
-NO Dark.-
"Party pooper," he mumbled, swooping low slightly. He grinned as he noticed their startled faces at a large, feathery black thing brushing across their backs in the night.
Hana turned around and frowned.
"Daisuke-kun?"
"Huh? What's up Hana?" Uo asked, also turning.
"Oh nothing…I thought I sensed Daisuke-kun's waves for a minute."
"Well, he's definitely not here. Kinda hard to miss all that red." Uo laughed jokingly. "Anyway, he said he had to do something at home."
"There is something strange about that boy…" Hana replied eerily, hair waving in the imaginary wind.
"Oh Hana, you say that to everyone." Uo told her loftily. "C'mon! My legs are itching to sit down."
"Now, that is scary…" muttered Dark as he flew higher.
-That's why you gotta be more careful around them.- Daisuke mumbled grumpily, rubbing his still sore astral head.
Dark shrugged his shoulders and flew even higher. They flew in silence for a while before Dark got an idea. "Hey, wanna fly home for a visit?"
-Zzzzzz…-
Dark groaned and hovered in the air. "Awwwwww, come ON! Spoilsport! Well, I'm not going back yet!"
Having said so, he flew around the perimeter of the town, stopping every so often to…err, startle a few people. He stopped on a tree near the museum and analysed the outside.
"Huh. The defences are too easy…" he snorted in contempt for the museum. "Jeez, they need to get robbed more."
-Zzzzzzz.-
"Damn it…might as well go back."
He flew back, swooping low every now and then to flirt with some pretty girl or shock some policemen.
He sighed happily. Oh the joy of shock and surprise…
"Hey…what's that?"
Dark paused in a tree as he watched a dark figure walk down the path towards their house. The figure paused in front of the door and knocked rapidly a few times, waiting for an answer. He turned around to face yet another figure that was racing up the path after him, panting hard.
"Honda-san, he's not home."
--Yuki? Tohru? What are they doing here?--
"B-b-b-but he said he had to do something at home! And we have to give this back!"
Yuki nodded in agreement. "Yes, he should be at home. But he's not. Can we put the mobile inside?"
"No no no!" Tohru cried frantically. "We can't possibly do that! That would be intruding!"
"But he's got an urgent message waiting for him. Remember?" Yuki pressed a button on the mobile and the phone started speaking.
"Dai-kun? Are you there? We need to speak to you urgently about next week. Ring us back quickly, and you should have this on you at all times remember? Dai-kun? Is everything alright over there?" Pause. "Well call back quickly ok? Love you!" Click-beep, beep beep.
--Oh crap.--
"I know, but that still won't be right!" Tohru protested. "I mean, we can't just come in uninvited!"
"But Honda-san," Yuki reasoned calmly. "We can't exactly leave it out here. Someone might take it."
"Well…"
"Wait, I think he's coming. I can hear footsteps."
The two listened in silence for a minute but after 5 minutes, Tohru shook her head.
"Must have been something else. But what can we do?"
"We coul-hey!"
"Yuki-kun? Is something the matter?"
"The phone's missing…it was in my hand just before, but now it's gone!"
"Oh no!" Tohru cried, her hands on her face. "D-d-did you drop it? Or maybe you put it in your pocket! We can't tell Niwa-kun we lost his phone!"
"Calm down Honda-san. Maybe it just slipped out."
The two crouched on the floor and started searching with their hands.
"Found anything Honda-san?"
"N-n-n-n-no. I h-h-h-haven't f-f-found anything y-yet…"
Yuki looked up at the trembling girl. "Is something the matter?"
"N-n-no! I'm a-a-alright!" She claimed and started foraging around again.
"I found something…it's a…feather. A black feather."
"Really? Can I see?"
"Sure Honda-san."
"Wow…it's so big…I wonder what kind of bird it belonged to?"
"Honda-san, we should really get back now. It's getting dark."
"O-o-ok…"
Dark waited in silence as he watched the two head back to their respective home. Quietly, he slipped into the house and slumped on the ground.
"God, Daisuke is really clumsy."
He lifted the phone and dialled in the home number. Yes, he was the cause of the missing phone. You should have known by now because it's pretty obvious.
"Hello, Niwa residence. Can I help you?"
"Hey, Emiko."
Silence. Muffled talking. "Dark! How are you doing?" Emiko squealed, clutching the phone to her ear.
"Err, fine…"
"What happened before? No-one picked up!"
"It dropped out of Daisuke's pocket, that's all."
"Oh is that it? Wait…what happened to Daisuke!" she cried, large brown eyes trembling with worry.
"Nothing! He's just asleep. What's so urgent about next week?"
"Oh my god, oh my god!" Emiko gasped, obviously not hearing his question. More muffled talking.
"Dark, there's something you should know about next week's thieving."
"I'm listening, Kosuke." Dark replied, lazily twirling Daisuke's pencil in his hand.
"Well, you see…"
Ten minutes of crooked explaining later…
"You're not serious are you?"
"Yes, we are…so watch out."
"But how?" Dark asked, confused by this turn of events.
"He has his ways…but don't worry, it's only for that night."
Dark grinned cockily. "Who's worried? Only makes it more interesting."
"Don't get too cocky. Is Daisuke fitting in there?"
"Yup, enough. Well, except for the occasional comment about his shortness, he's fine."
"Whew, that's good. Wouldn't be good to get suspicious."
"Yeah, he made friends with the Sohma's who live next door. And there's a cute girl with them by the name of Tohru Honda," Dark said slyly.
"Sohma's? I've heard of them. They're a big family. From what I heard, they're a pretty closed up lot."
Dark shrugged his shoulders uncaringly at this. "No matters to me. Tell Daisuke when he's awake. He likes history."
"Ok…I'll let you rest now. Good bye!"
"See you."
Click.
Dark put down the phone and stared at the ceiling, mulling over this new bit of information. A small smile played on his lips, and gradually stretched out to a broad smirk.
He got up and went outside, still smirking.
"Well, well, this will be interesting. It would be nice to see you again." He stared out across the sky. "Yes…very interesting."
Ahhhh, little too long? I didn't mean to drag it out that much. I got carried away, I guess…sorry, I didn't get to Daisuke's first day! I'm so sorry! But he meets Uo and Hana; if that's much of a bright side…do you wonder who the "person who is coming" is? Kinda obvious…but shhhhh! You never know what new scheme I might cook up, or weird solution I might come up with! And it might throw you off balance 'cause you won't know what hit you! Hahahaha…or not. But hey, please R&R so I'll feel happy…and I'll update sooner too! XD