Miranda sat on the couch, frantically glancing back and forth at the clock to see the time. It was 10:09 at night, and Hilda still wasn't back yet. The older red-head stared and grimaced upon seeing the time again. She trembled and stared at the door now.

Said door flew open, startling Miranda. A man wearing hiking boots, a leather jacket and blue jeans walked in. He took his shades off, revealing golden eyes that scanned every inch of the house. Miranda breathed a sigh of relief.

"Miranda, where is Hilda?" the man asked, scratching his orange hair. Miranda shrugged.

"I don't know, Frank. She went for a date with her new boyfriend and never came back!"

Frank's eyes narrowed. As soon as her heard the word "boyfriend" he was furious.

"Boyfriend, huh? And why wasn't I told about this, boyfriend of hers?"

"Hilda would've told you if you hadn't been out of state on important business."

"You could've called me. I think I have the right to know when my own daughter is dating someone!" Frank stomped his foot on the ground at the last word, angrily staring at the clock, which now read 10:18. Miranda watched her husband walk to the other room and pull out his pistol. He also stared at his badge. As a policeman, it was normal he'd be stern about who Hilda were to date. This was different, though. Hilda had never come back, and judging by the look on his face, Miranda guessed he was beyond miffed off. Frank turned back to her and asked, "What's this boyfriend's name?"

"His real name is Reginald, but everyone calls him Shark." Miranda watched Frank growl and walk back to the living room and sit on the couch. The red-haired woman sat by him and gave a reassuring smile when he looked at her.

"Frank, I wouldn't worry too much. Hilda's responsible. Besides, it started raining not too long ago. She probably just went with Shark to his place to get out of the rain for the night. She has done that before, and you know it."

"That was back when we lived in Domino, Miranda. Besides, we knew her friends there. Here, we don't know any of them! Besides, if that were the case, she would've called to tell us!"

"She told me her phone was low on battery. It probably died out. Besides, she didn't bring the charger."

"Whatever you say, Miranda, but I am going to get to the bottom of this." Frank almost jumped off the couch and out the door, Miranda watching his every move. He took off in his police car, siren blaring and lights flashing.

Miranda sighed. She knew he would be gone a real long time.

XxXxXxXx

Cathy sat on her bed, stroking one of her cat's shiny blue fur. The gray-haired girl had changed into a pair of black long-sleeved PJ's with cats in different colors on them. She hummed the song Hilda and Shark had been singing to herself and stared out the window. The moon and stars were covered by the clouds, and rain droplets were hitting the window all around it. Her parents were out, so she'd been left alone.

The blue cat suddenly jolted up and ran down the stairs with a meow. Cathy followed with a questioning look and stared at where her cats had stopped. They were all sitting at the front door.

"Huh?" Cathy stepped cautiously around the cats and opened the mail slot to see who or what was out there. Yuma and Shark stood outside, and the cats were going crazy with meows. Cathy turned and shushed them, then had them scamper off while she opened the door. The boys were wet, but she allowed them to come in anyway.

"Hi guys. What're you doing here?"Cathy asked, staring at her pair of wet friends. "It's 10:45 at night."

Yuma was motionless, while Shark scowled. Hilda tried to stop him, but he ignored her and marched up to Cathy, who had backed up until she hit the wall behind her. Her blue-green eyes shook wildly as Shark pinned her to the wall and glared.

"Why did you do it?" Shark demanded.

Cathy was puzzled."Do what?" she asked.

"You know what!"

"No, Shark, I don't! I don't know what you're getting at!"

Just as Shark was going to attack, Hilda jumped in front of him, her pink aura glowing slightly brighter than usual. "Reginald, don't do it. Somehow I don't think Cathy could've done this."

Shark widened his eyes. "Why not?"

"Because she's a cat freak. Most likely, her attire would've had cat ears and a cat tail, just like everything else she owns that isn't for school. Don't you agree? Even her Duel Deck is made up of Cat-Type Monsters."

"There wasn't anything cat-based about your attacker?"

"Nope. Not unless you count the way she moved." Hilda twirled her braided hair in between her fingers and floated to Yuma's side. Since he couldn't see her, he didn't notice.

"Hmm, I guess you're right." Shark backed up and let go of Cathy, who meowed and rubbed her wrists.

"What was that all about?!" Cathy demanded. She scowled and sat down, crossing her arms and growling.

Yuma sighed. "I suppose it's time we tell you the story if you don't already know."

One explanation later...

"She's dead?! How?! What?! Where?! When?! WHY?!" Cathy screamed her questions quickly, and they echoed off the walls of her mansion. Shark and Yuma had to cover their ears, even Hilda had to. They stared at Cathy with shocked looks. No one had ever heard that nervous cat lover get so loud.

"Was it necessary to get so loud?" Yuma questioned.

"I suppose not, but I gotta have answers to these questions! Why did this happen? And when?" Cathy had moved to the couch to hear the story. Now, she was laying on it, innocently staring up at Yuma and Shark for answers.

"We don't know why this happened," Shark said.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I think it happened a few minutes after she left Karaoke Fancy," Yuma chimed in. Shark had also filled them in on the details of being able to see Hilda, just as Yuma used to be able to see Astral.

The purplette glanced at the floating red-haired girl next to him. "It did happen at that time, right?" he asked. Hilda nodded. Shark did the same to tell everyone else. Cathy put a hand to her lips and gasped. Yuma stared at the floor with wide eyes.

"Well, we have to call the police!" Cathy said, tears forming in her eyes.

"I already did. No doubt Hilda's dad will be part of this case." Shark stood and went to the door of Cathy's mansion, ready to go. Hilda followed quickly.

"Wait, what makes you think her dad will be involved?" Yuma asked.

"Her dad is a cop. Of course he'll be involved."

"How did you know he's a cop?"

"Duh. Hilda told me." And with that, Shark was gone.

XxXxXxXx

"Reginald, what do you think my parents are going to think?" Hilda asked, floating right behind Shark.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno, Hilda. I hate that I'm the one who has to tell them."

"Why are you the one who does? My dad can just tell my mom."

"Just do." Shark shoved his hands in his tuxedo pockets and continued walking. Hilda had not been told where they were going, and she was extremely curious.

"Well, then where are we going?"

"Does my place sound okay? As long as my dad isn't there, we can hang in my room. It's blissful in there." The purple-haired boy stopped and turned to face Hilda. His eyes were filled with sorrow, that of which the spirit couldn't tell if it was from her being dead or his dad being there. As he turned to keep going, Hilda saw tears forming in the corners of Shark's eyes. Some of them fell down his face. Hilda gasped and floated right in front of him, stopping the purplette in his tracks.

"What?" Shark asked.

"There's something troubling you, I can tell. What is it?" Hilda inched closer to him and put her hands on his face, forcing him to meet her gaze. His ocean-blue eyes were shimmering with tears, but they were wide and trusting towards the red-haired spirit.

"..."

"C'mon, Reginald. Cough it up."

"I-I can't..."

"Yes you can. It's just the two of us. No one else will here what you are going to tell me. What is troubling you?"

Shark hesitated for a moment and stared at the cement. His tears hit it, leaving splash marks on it. Hilda waited and listened closely as her still living boyfriend began to speak.

"My dad... he's a drug addict. When he's drunk, he takes his anger out on me and Rio, my sister. Since she's in the hospital, she doesn't have to worry about that anymore, but he still beats me and scolds me."

"Is that why you were always so stiff before?"

"Yes, it is. When I met you, I had a place to go where I felt welcome again. Now, it's just the way things used to be...scars and bruises..."

"But I'm still here! Spirit or not, I can still physically touch you. Nothing's really changed between us."

"It's not quite the same..." Shark sighed and let the tears continue to fall. Hilda dropped in front of him, not floating all together, and pulled him into a hug. Shark didn't hug back. The red-haired spirit pulled away and pecked him lightly on the cheek before floating back up into the air. The purplette stared in disbelief, like he couldn't believe they could still do that.

"C'mon, let's go. And, where are these scars?" Hilda asked.

"They're on my arms. The rest are bruises that are on my wrists and legs." Shark continued walking, feeling some relief because he'd gotten that off his chest. Hilda followed, staring idly at the sky. She could've sworn she saw a figure in it for the third time of the day.

She'd been right. A figure swooped over the moon, which had been peeking from behind the clouds. Hilda recognized it as Kite and wondered what the heck he was still doing out. It was now 11:00 at night. Shark had stopped and done the same, even wondered the same thing as Hilda.

Kite? What is he doing here? "Yo, Kite!" Shark called. Kite glanced down and dropped in front of his purple-haired friend. Hart was with him. Kite's sky-blue eyes pierced into the ocean-blue ones lower than his.

"What? Shark? What are you doing out at 11 at night?" Kite asked. Orbital and Hart had their gaze on where Hilda floated. No doubt Kite would soon figure a way to do the same. Hilda sighed and floated next to the robot to see if he could truly see her. Her theory was correct. Orbital 7 had the technology to see spirits like Hilda, and Hart just had an ability to do so. She smiled, glad that Shark was no longer the only one who could see her.

"I'm walking home from somewhere," Shark replied flatly.

"You're always on your motorbike, though."

Then the thought hit Shark. He forgot his motorbike in the alley!

"I knew I was forgetting something! I left it in the alley!"

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about the same alley Hilda's body was found in, would you?" Hart chimed in. Shark widened his eyes. How had these two known about Hilda's death?

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"The police were told Kite was one of the last 3 people to see her alive. They're currently looking for you and Yuma to question." Hart's amber eyes stayed glued to Hilda after that.

"That's why we're here," Kite said. "We wanted to tell you the police are looking for you. Come with us."

Shark never got the choice as the teal and blond-haired male grabbed him and dragged him away. Hilda followed right behind. They made it to the police station, and there, at the front, stood a tall man in a leather jacket, jeans and hiking boots. Hilda gasped. She knew this man.

"Who are you?" Shark asked. The man, who had also been wearing shades, (Even though it was dark.) took them off and smirked.

"Me?" he counter-questioned. Shark nodded, as did Kite. "I'm Hilda's father, Shark. And I'm going to arrest you for the murder of my daughter."