A/N: yes! i am finally back from my tiring dance competetion. it was a little depressing at how little reviews were waiting for me in my emails, (hint hint) but beggers can't be choosers i guess. still, i really would like more reviews. and i would prefer ones with strong, helpful critism. apparently i need to make some improvements so my fanfic is more popular. (sad face) i don't care if you just say i spelled "they" wrong, JUST READ AND REVIEW!!!

Disclaimer: i do not own DNAngel

The Next Generation

Chapter 10

The Heat Between Two Rivals

A young man with messy black hair was bent over his desk, deeply involved with the complex paperwork. The sound of the door opening broke his concentration. The man looked up and adjusted his glasses. "Mara! You're back!"

Mara smiled in the doorway. Shifting his load in his arms so he could shut the door, he greeted, "Good morning, Yamata."

"I was beginning to think you'd never get out of bed!" Yamata exclaimed gratefully. "I'm still so new at this. I thought I was going to go mad with all this paperwork!"

"Well you no longer need to worry, because I'm feeling better than ever!" Mara replied, setting his stuff down on his desk.

Yamata gazed at the rectangular package curiously. "What's that?"

"Oh, this? This is just a present my daughter made for me to celebrate me feeling healthy again. Would you like to see it?" Mara started ripping the brown paper off and held up the painting proudly. It showed a golden wheatfield under a blazing sun.

Yamata whistled. "She sure is amazing! Watch out. Sooner or later you'll never get any peace from art collectors!"

"Here's hoping," Mara chuckled. He wiped his brow and sat down. "But man, if this weather gets much hotter, everywhere is going to look just like this sun."

Yamata nodded his head seriously. "I know what you mean. I don't think temperatures have ever been so high. Normally, the cool winds would be driving you crazy this late in the fall."

"I guess it's not so bad when you're in an air conditioned office," Mara sighed. His eyes traveled over to a picture of Ren and the twins. "But I'm a little worried about Ren. Today, her class is supposed to have a race in gym. It's a 10K. This sun could make someone pass out if they weren't carefull."

Daichii walked out of the locker room and sighed with relief. It felt so good to be wearing gym clothes instead of the school uniform. He turned a corner in the direction of the field track. It's too bad it had to get really hot these past few days. Daichii didn't care that much though. Running was his favorite sport, and as long as he drank a lot of water, the strange weather wouldn't be too much of a problem. Nothing would get in the way of finishing first in his class this year.

"Daichii!"

Daichii turned around and immediately regretted it. Ren was jogging towards him, wearing one of those irresistible smiles. Her hair was pulled back into a cute bun to keep her cooler. And her clothes! Why does the girl's gym outfit have to be so formfitting? And could her shorts get any smaller? Daichii wondered, blushing fiercely.

"Eh?" Ren said when she caught up to him. She peered into his face, getting a little too close for Daichii's liking. "You're red . . . Are you . . . feeling alright?"

"W-what? Of course!" Daichii stammered, staggering back. "It's just hot today. That's all."

"Okay . . ." Her worried expression only made her look cuter. "Don't . . . push it."

"I won't. Don't worry," Daichii laughed, putting a hand behind his head.

"Oi! Ren!"

Daichii and Ren glanced down the hallway. Ren's face brightened. Daichii's eyes darkened. It was Takahashi, waving cheerfully at them.

"Hey, Ren you look great today!" Takahashi said politely, giving Daichii the cold shoulder. "I was wondering, could you maybe show me where the track is? I'm still a little lost."

Ren nodded eagerly, but Daichii held her back. "Hold on. You can't be serious about taking the running test. It's a 10K. It's too hard to do without training . . . unless you want to fail the class."

Takahashi narrowed his eyes coolly. "Aww! You're worried about me? That's so sweet," Takahashi responded sarcastically. Daichii felt really pissed when Ren giggled softly. "Anyway, you don't have to be concerned about me. Running's a breeze for me. I do it all the time. Besides, it's only a 10K. It's not a marathon."

"You're . . . so . . . confident," Daichii forced out through clench teeth.

"Confidence is key," Takahashi replied.

Ren beamed happily. Before either of the boys could say another word, she grabbed both of their hands and began dragging them outside. "Come on! . . . We . . . can't be late!"

Ren stretched in between the two boys, a small awkwardness starting to settle inside her. Ronin and Daichii didn't seemed to get along as well as she would have hoped. I wonder why, the girl thought to herself. Daichii's popular enough. It's not like he's anti-social or anything. And Ronin seemed so open and friendly when a stranger busted into his house. It doesn't feel like he would have a problem with making friends.

Ren sighed and then brightened. Maybe it's just a little competition. Boys can get so competitive, like it really matters. Hopefully, once they see how good they both are, they will respect each other and become close. That's what I hope anyway. A crooked smile grew on her face as she saw scenes of the three of them in the cloudless sky. Hey, a girl can dream.

Ren grabbed her foot behind her to stretch her quads. When she wobbled slightly, someone caught her hand. Ren's head whipped to the right. It was Ronin, smiling softly as he helped her regain her balance. "Careful. You don't want to fall before the race."

"Uh . . . yeah," Ren replied shyly, feeling her skin grow warm where he touched it.

"The girls are about to start. Make sure you are all ready!" the gym teacher anounced.

"Would you like me to get you a cup of water before you go on?" Daichii offered.

"Sure!" the girl answered eagerly. She began fanning herself. "It . . . really is hot . . . huh?"

"Be right back."

Ren watched Daichii's back make its way to the water station. To strike up a conversation, Ronin asked, "You and Daichii seem pretty close. How long have you been friends?"

Ren stared off into space, tapping her chin. "Mmmm . . . don't know," she finally answered after a while. She gave a shrug. "Almost . . . ever since . . . I moved here." A memory of a ball rolling into her yard sped through her mind. Ren looked at her feet, suddenly feeling a lot smaller. "Almost."

"He seems so popular," Ronin remarked. "Daichii must be a special guy if he can take time away from the rest of his buddies to be with you."

Ren followed his gaze. Daichii had been ambushed by Haru, Ai, and all his fangirls at the water station. Ren saw Daichii laugh at something his friend said. A prick of jealousy sparked in her heart. "Yeah . . . I guess," Ren agreed in a low voice, turning her back against Daichii. She was so preoccupied that she didn't notice the small smirk on Ronin's face.

The sound of a splash made Ren and Ronin glance around curiously. Ren spotted where one girl had playfully dumped her cup of water on a boy. The boy spluttered and shook his wet hair like a dog. "I'm going to get you for that!" the boy called after her as the girl dashed off.

The girl spun around, still running, and stuck her tongue out. Because she wasn't looking, she ran straight into Ren. Unprepared, Ren fell back.

"Ren!"

She braced herself for the pavement's impact, but it never came. Water droplets spun into her eyes, and Ren could have sworn that someone was underneath her. As she scrubbed at her eyes, the person sucked in his or her breath sharply. The person dropped Ren and rushed off. She opened her eyes and picked up the flattened paper cup beside her. "Who was . . . ?"

"Are you okay?" Ronin asked, crouching down.

"Did you . . . see . . . ? Who did . . . I crash into?"

Ronin was expressionless as he answered, "I don't know. I still don't remember everyone's names."

Ren frowned worriedly. Ronin helped her up, and she said, "I hope . . . whoever . . . is alright."

This . . . can't . . . BE HAPPENING!!!

Daichii had fled to the cover of the bushes, only he wasn't Daichii anymore.

Dark boredly peered through the bushes to see Ren looking around, possibly for Daichii. "Well, you shouldn't have gotten so close to her," he told Daichii unhelpfully.

I couldn't just let her fall! Daichii protested.

"Yeah, yeah. Ever the knight in shining armor." Dark shifted around to examine the other girls in their gym clothes.

DARK! FOCUS! Daichii yelled. Then he sighed and massaged his throbbing temples. Okay, so exactly how do I change back during the day?

"Well, Option One, you steal something."

Not going to happen.

"Option Two, you try to force me back inside like you did the other day."

Yeah, and be dead on my feet before the race even starts. Next.

"The easiest way is to let me have my fun and let the romance gene get triggered."

But that would mean . . . Daichii began in horror.

"Let's hope that a celebrity appearance doesn't change Ren's feelings for a certain someone," Dark smirked. He began to stand up.

STAY . . . WHERE . . . YOU . . . ARE! The angry stress placed on each word was enough to make Dark sit down again, propping his head up with his elbow.

"We could always sneak into the girl's locker room. That could work too."

That's even worse, Pervert!!!

"So I'd say you're stuck in my form for a while," Dark said amusedly.

I can't miss this race! Daichii complained. That will almost assuredly give me a D in P.E. for this semister, and there's also . . .

Dark's eyes traveled back to the small gap in the bushes. Ren seemed really worried that she couldn't find Daichii anywhere. Someone must have called the girls over to the starting point, because they all began clumping over somewhere. Ren held back, a little unsure. Then Takahashi Ronin came over. Dark couldn't hear the conversation, but the boy said something to make Ren blush and look away coyly. Dark felt his blood begin to boil, or was it Daichii? Takahashi gently tilted Ren's face up and said something else. Dark clenched his teeth as his heartbeat quickened. The boy twirled her around and nudged her towards the starting line. A wave of darkness passed over the phantom thief. Ren walked away, her eyes wide in shock and . . .

"NO!" Daichii shouted, jumping out of the bush.

The gunshot sounded. The girls were off. Daichii started towards them, but stopped when he realized it was useless. Instead, he changed directions to Takahashi. "What was that?" he demanded

Takahashi blinked. "Oh. There you are. Ren was looking for you. The boys race starts five minutes after the girls begin so--"

"Don't change the subject! I saw what you did to Ren and I--"

"You know, it's great and all that you're so overprotective of your friends, but you don't have to worry," Takahashi walked away from Daichii before turning around with a mocking smirk. "You ARE just her friend, right?"

Daichii opened his mouth to say something, but his body froze up. Takahashi nodded. "That's what I thought. See you at the finish . . . Well, if school isn't already over by then."

Takahashi snickered and approached the finish line. Daichii shoved past him roughly and got to the front. Takahashi elbowed him and stood on his right. They both glared at each other.

"Is everyone ready?" the gym teacher boomed. There was a bunch of mumbling as tension filled the breezeless air. "Alright. At the sound of the gunshot. Make sure you follow the flags. One. Two."

Bang!

The boys surged forward. Daichii quickly fell into his usual pace, but then he saw Takahashi inching ahead. He sped up a bit. Takahashi threw a sidelong glance at his rival and pushed forward. Daichii gritted his teeth and went faster. And faster. And faster. And faster until both boys were close to sprinting --a definite mistake when running long distances.

The thick group of boys weedled down to those two as everyone began to figure out that Takahashi and Niwa were to crazy to save their energy and stopped trying to keep up. They didn't say anything -- they were too breathless to -- but their murderous glares said more than words ever could, or dared to. Daichii's legs began to burn instantly, but he fought to ignore it. Sweat poured down Takahashi's forehead, but he just tossed the wet bangs out of his eyes carelessly. The sun beat down silently, mercilessly, until . . .

Is that the sound of an ambulance? Daichii wondered wearily.

Takahashi skidded to a stop. Daichii thought it was because he had given up. He was starting to feel a sense of triumph when he saw a girl kneeling on the ground. "Ren!" Daichii gasped out. Did she fall? Was she hurt?

Ren's troubled eyes glanced over her shoulder. Daichii was about to ask what happened when he saw another girl at Ren's knees. She lay unmoving, eyes closed. "Ai?" Daichii whispered, panting heavily as the flashing lights neared closer.

PREVIEW

"So . . . that must mean YOU are the cause of this weather!"

"The water level has dropped. A few have already fallen victim to heat stroke, and many are suffering from dehydration."

"So what you're saying is I'm going to have to scout up and down this oven city until I find where the magic is strongest."

"The Sunny Side? What kind of name is that?"

"OH MY GOSH! IT'S DAAAAARK!!!!!!!!"

THE SUNNY SIDE