Family Matters

Chapter 8: That old bastard...

"Two parfaits, please."

"Parfaits in the middle of December? Isn't it too cold for this time of year?"

Parfaits will make you sicker than you already are!

"Jeez Dark, I know that already."

If you get sick, than I will too! It's not a good feeling to have two people in the same body sick!

"I've felt that before…"

Seeing him distracted, Crystal placed a foot in front of Daisuke's moving feet. He tripped and she caught him before he hit the floor. Dai-chan just stared at her while Dark spoke out very graphically about Daisuke not being a proper thief and that Crystal better not kill them.

"If you don't want one, To-to and Wiz are sharing your parfait."

That's a pretty cute yet idiotic couple to think about…

The teens sighed. The whole Niwa clan was out shopping for various (mostly useless) things. (It's not family because in the crowded market, they are really a clan. There's so many of them!) When she asked, Uncle Kosuke said that they needed to do something with their money. Either use it for firewood or buy useless things with it.

Crystal realized that the money came from the black market. With all the research on the artworks and artworks themselves, it was possible that they would have to find things on the market. Though no one flashed off, the Niwa's were above middle-class but spent enough to claim to not be wealthy.

"I'm not taking mine."

"Fine. Wiz, To-to! I have a strawberry parfait for you guys!"

Wiz and To-to (in bird form) ran over the table for a taste. Daisuke laughed as they jumped up and down to reach the straws, which were high for them. Crystal finished her parfait early and placed the tip on the table.

Daisuke said, "Don't wait for me."

"Okay, I'll be looking around."

"The meeting place is at the fountain at 5 pm! See ya there!"

December 19 was a beautiful Sunday. Even the events from last night's party couldn't damper her spirits.

Humming a little, Crystal browsed through food stalls, toys, books and antiques. Most of the antiques, although pretty, were actually younger than the antiques Kyo usually looked at. He wasn't an archeologist; he just liked old things. Especially artworks…

At 4 pm, Crystal was finished looking around (she only brought five bucks with her) and started heading toward the parfait shop where she left her cousin.

Then she felt a shiver up her spine. Her necklace got colder against her skin. Crystal whirled around.

A familiar crop of blue-green hair was seen fifty steps from her at the fountain. Crystal could also make out the two hulking shapes of bodyguards.

Ginkgo…

Crystal sprinted to the shop, her dignity right behind her.

o0o0o0o0o0

"Um… are you sure we should go home earlier than the rest of the family?"

Daisuke was wondering why Crystal was acting so weirdly. She was clinging to him and refused to let go of his arm. She had lost some of the color in her face and kept looking behind every few seconds.

"Daisuke, believe me when I say something this serious. I really needed to go back here. I wasn't feeling well."

To-to, back as a maid, touched her forehead.

"Your forehead is okay. Do you have a stomach ache?"

"I wish. Look, I'm going up to take a nap. If I'm lucky, I'll be sick for school tomorrow."

Crystal held onto her stomach and stumbled upstairs. After some thought, Wiz followed her.

The front door slammed open and Emiko flounced in. Grandpa and Kosuke were struggling with her bags. (There were twenty of them!)

"Emiko, you really should carry some these bags. They're heavy!"

"Just drop them on the table, Kosuke. Oh To-to, what's for dinner?"

Grandpa and Kosuke quickly shuffled over to the table and slammed the bags on it. The table cracked a little but stayed upright.

"I really need to tell Emiko to stop buying so much."

"You should tell her to HELP once in a while!"

o0o0o0o0o0

It was 60°F this Monday.

It was so cold.

Crystal was pissed off at her cousin's uniform. Even with the short sleeved shirt, he had protection from his long pants. Her short skirt (only FOUR stupid inches above the knee) was going to be hazardous to her health. She was convinced that she'll get either a cold or get raped by a man/woman pervert. (Though women perverts were rarer, Kyo had spoken out about the many women rapists who had tried to put a hand down his pants. Long story short, he had been lucky, but… his boxers were the only survivors of those incidents.)

"Daisuke!"

Looking up, she saw Riku calling to him. He ran immediately to her side and followed her into the school. It was still early, so she decided to sit under a tree to wait for the bell to ring.

A limo drove up to the school gates and stopped.

That shiver went back up her spine. She leapt up as the boy came out.

The boy was her age with blue-green hair and grey eyes. Crystal shuddered at the sight of the school uniform he wore. He was grabbing his bag out of the limo.

Turning around, they met face to face.

He smirked. She glowered.

"Rutile Ginkgo… welcome to Azumano High."

"Niwa Crystal… your body's curves are still as luscious as ever."

"Enough said, why the hell are you here in Japan? And even in this small place?"

"I'm here for some art business. However, since you also live here, I thought I would say hello."

"No matter the excuse, you're a stupid bastard."

"Maybe, but you didn't have to show me up at that last party."

"I have never liked you. At that party in Paris, the nasty rumors surrounding you kept me away."

Ginkgo walked until he was in front of her. Crystal was now visibly shaking like a volcano.

"It's good that your brother can't save you."

"Piss off."

"Sorry, but I'm attending this school for as long as I need to."

He leaned over and said, "You'll surrender and be mine."

He grabbed her right breast.

The volcano exploded and he was punched to the ground. He tasted blood and dirt in his mouth.

Looking up, he saw it. The girl was still the same, but that evil glint in the eyes had been resurrected from those days. Being driven too far, the glint had taken over and had caused a lot of chaos.

Resulting in the destruction of his get-rich plan and forcing him to bear the red scars on his body.

The tardy bell rang, signaling the students to hurry up.

Crystal ignored it and walked out the school gates.

Ginkgo smirked and walked into the school to find a nurse.

Satoshi slipped off the tree he had been sitting on, sapphire eyes clouded with the memory of the encounter.

o0o0o0o0o0

"… and that's why Dark is such a pervert and that Risa shouldn't even like him!"

"That was a lot of reasons, Riku…"

"I don't care about what you say! I'll still love Dark!"

Regina-sensei walked into homeroom.

"Daisuke-kun! Riku-chan! Risa-chan! Get back to your seats. We have a new student here."

Another one? What do you think Daisuke, girl or boy?

"I really don't care, Dark, but I assume you want a girl?"

Hell yeah!

"I'm sharing my body with a self-absorbed playboy… How fun…"

Hey, Satoshi is late!

The genius walked into the classroom unannounced. He passed by Daisuke's desk and sat down. Daisuke blinked at him before the new student came in.

He had a black eye and a scuffed up face, but he was still pretty good-looking to the girls. He cocked his head and smiled brightly.

"Hey dudes, my name's Rutile Ginkgo. My origin is of America and I have learned five languages in order to get around. I like traveling and yes, I'm extremely straight."

He flashed another smile before bounding to the back of the room for his seat.

While the lesson went on, Satoshi couldn't stop growling to himself.

Daisuke pretended to look at his math book while reading the note Satoshi had slipped to him when he came in.

The new student is too dangerous. He must be kept away from Crystal! See me after school at the gates.

Daisuke turned to the back of the room. The desk behind Satoshi was empty.

Shit, where did she go?!


Disclaimer: DON"T OWN IT! HEAR ME NOW!

Ginkgo learned his languages from a private tutor.

I really don't like him or of what he did that has made Crystal so mad... it's still sketchy, but it's purely EVIL!