CHAPTER ELEVEN: An Innocent Mistake
Author's Note: So sorry it has been so long! This thing called education keeps happening. But, because I feel bad, I'm uploading a bunch for you, so forgive me! Hope you enjoy!
Satoshi pushed his glasses a little farther up his nose and turned another page in his notebook. Page after page was filled with random notes of interest he had picked up here and there, most of them being about Daisuke's strange behavior in the earlier days. Sometimes he went back through them, rereading them for a change of pace. Even though he now knew for sure that Daisuke and Dark shared the same body, he still took notes on them once in a while for something to do. He also had to admit to himself that making Daisuke nervous by taking notes right in front of him was quite amusing.
These days, though, his notes were more about Shuuko than anyone else. He had already written down everything he remembered about his awkward meeting with her at the fountain a few days previously and he was looking back through them again now. The more he thought about it, the more confused he felt, and it was not a good feeling. How could she have seen Krad? he thought for the hundredth time. He wasn't even trying to take control at all. She shouldn't have been able to glimpse him like that.
He looked up briefly from his notebook as the classroom door opened; the first students were arriving now. Satoshi always got here long before anyone else, probably because he always skipped breakfast. He watched as a couple girls came in, Sakura Inoue and Miyuki Sawamura, chatting animatedly about something he didn't care about. When they glanced his way, they both started giggling and clutching at each other. Did they honestly think he couldn't see them acting so ridiculous? He just sighed softly to himself and adjusted his glasses again.
The younger Harada twin entered next, followed by her usual group of friends, Mari Ishii and Ritsuko Fukuda. He noticed Risa looking significantly more cheerful today than she had for months, and he wondered why for a moment, but no longer. He didn't bother writing a note. Riku hadn't come in yet, so he assumed she was waiting for Daisuke, who was most likely running late, as usual. Then some boys came in, one after another, but he paid them no heed. He was waiting for someone else.
The person he had been watching for finally came in after most everyone else had already arrived. Shuuko made a beeline straight for her desk, saying a few quiet "good mornings" to some of the other students. Satoshi watched her as she neared him, expecting her to pass right by him, but he was surprised when she paused. She glanced at him with a shy, nervous expression as if she were thinking about saying something, but then continued past him quickly to her seat.
Odd. Satoshi nonchalantly reopened his notebook and scribbled down a small note. He wondered if she was still afraid of him from their more than awkward meeting at the fountain. If she is, I can't say I blame her. Seeing someone's eyes change completely while you were looking at them wasn't something that happened every day, after all.
Daisuke managed to get into the classroom just before the bell rang, so the teacher didn't mark him tardy. Class was nothing special; it never was for Satoshi, since he had learned it all before. After the end of each class when everyone got that subject's homework, Satoshi would spend the next class doing the assignments from the one before. When lunch finally came around he packed up his things, planning to go eat his lunch up on the roof like always, and prepared to stand up once everyone had left.
He was distracted, though, when he noticed Shuuko staring at him again, this time from her desk in the row behind him that she had all to herself. She was watching him cautiously with a preoccupied expression, as if she were having an internal struggle. Then, so his utmost surprise, she stood up and actually approached him.
"Um," she said softly, barely above a whisper. "I… I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted the other day in the park. We got off to a bad start, and…" She trailed off, losing heart midway.
Satoshi blinked, taken aback by her move to talk to him at all. "You don't have to apologize," he said, rather bewildered.
Shuuko just bit her lip. "No, I do," she insisted. "I acted really weird and I don't want that to ruin any chance we might have to, um…" she hesitated, twiddling her fingers, "…to get to know each other a little better."
It was then that he started feeling just as awkward as she did, but for completely different reasons. Satoshi hadn't really planned on being friends with Shuuko; she was strange and he just wanted to observe her. She was more of a research project to him than anything else, and if she was suggesting what he thought she was, he had no idea how to be gentle about what he wanted to say.
"Uh, look," he said awkwardly, pushing up his glasses again for something to do, "I don't really have time for girls."
Shuuko's face turned beet red. "No, no, no, that's totally not what I meant!" she spluttered, flailing her hands defensively. "I didn't mean I wanted to start anything like that! I only meant that I thought we could be… acquaintances," she said after a little hesitation, as if she had just substituted a word out.
Satoshi just blinked. "Acquaintances" didn't sound so bad, but that kind of standby could easily approach "friendship," and that wasn't what he wanted. He couldn't have that with anybody. "I don't know. Maybe. I don't know," he repeated, rubbing his forehead.
He expected Shuuko to push him for a much less lame answer than that, but again, she surprised him. "It's okay," she said, sounding quite sincere. She even gave him a very small smile. "That's fine. You can think about it." She took a polite step away from him as if to give him space. "I'll, um, see you later."
Satoshi was about to open his mouth, but she had already turned around and headed for the classroom door. After sitting in stunned silence for a few seconds, watching her disappear from view through the doorway, he automatically took out his notebook and a pen. He couldn't explain it, but there was something different about her today, as if she had changed overnight. It was something in her eyes; they looked brighter and more open, like she wasn't so closed in on herself anymore.
He opened his notebook to a blank page and wrote down another note.
"Daisuke, let's eat over here!"
Riku took Daisuke's wrist and boldly pulled him towards a bench out on the grounds, making him blush scarlet. When the two of them reached it, Riku sat down on one end, leaving plenty of room beside her for her boyfriend, who took the offered space.
"So, um, Riku," the redhead said shyly, twiddling with his chopsticks. "You wanted to talk to me about something? Is it about Dark?"
"No, no, it's not him," Riku said, sounding very cheerful. "I wanted to ask you about this weekend."
Daisuke's heart started pounding a little bit faster. Was she going to say what he thought she was? "Y-Yes?" he asked hopefully.
"I think we should do something together."
Yes! A date! "Yeah, we should!" he said excitedly, unable to contain his happiness. "What should we do?"
"I dunno," Riku said, pouting a little. "We've been all over Azumano already on our other dates." She put on a thoughtful expression, considering their options. "We could try looking around for something we haven't done yet just outside of town," she suggested.
"Yeah, that's true," Daisuke agreed, thinking about it, too. "We haven't seen any movies lately," he added.
"Hmm," Riku considered. "I don't know, I'm in the mood for something active, aren't you? The weather's been so nice lately."
Daisuke couldn't help smiling to himself. It was just like Riku to do something outdoorsy as opposed to clinging to her boyfriend in a movie theater like Risa might. "You're right. We should take advantage of the sunshine." Then, struck with an idea, he said, "How about we each look for a nature hike?"
Riku's eyes lit up. "Hey, what a great idea!" she exclaimed. "We could each bring lunch, too!"
He nodded enthusiastically. "Let's each research some places and pick one tomorrow at school."
"It's a deal!" Riku smiled. "We won't have to worry about Risa getting jealous. She wouldn't want to hike anyway because of all the creepy bugs."
The two of them smiled lightheartedly at each other at the thought of Risa squealing constantly because of spiders. When the silence began to get a little awkward again, they both started on their food, eating in silence but shooting sweet glances at each other every now and then.
When the bell rang out the end of lunch, Daisuke and Riku stood up and walked back into the school together. I can't wait to spend the weekend with Riku! Daisuke thought, a blush spreading over his cheeks when he imagined having fun with Riku.
Smiling from ear to ear and feeling giddier than he had in days, he sat down at his desk, feeling like there was nothing that could ruin his day.
Dark… Krad… some Satoshi… a little Daisuke… more Dark and Krad… Shuuko's thoughts swirled in a mingled mess in her mind, leaving her no hope of concentrating in class. If I don't fail every class, it'll be a miracle. She leaned forward in her chair so she could put her elbows on her desk, staring in the general direction of the teacher but no really listening to what she was saying.
So naturally she was surprised and startled when she felt a gentle poke in her shoulder. She almost leapt straight out of her chair when she yelped and recoiled in shock. She looked up at Takeshi, who was bending over her with his eyebrows arched so high that they almost disappeared into his hairline.
"Yo, Earth to Shuuko," he said, drumming his fingers on her desk. "You do know that class is over, right?"
Shuuko blinked. "W-What? It is?" She looked around and, sure enough, there weren't many people left standing around except for Takeshi, a couple girls who were just leaving, herself, and Satoshi, who was just standing up and picking up his bag to go.
"Yeah, I'm surprised the bell didn't snap you out of your coma," Takeshi grinned, pleased at his own analogy. "What'cha thinking about?"
You have no idea, she thought. "Um, nothing, just spacing out," she lied quickly. "I guess I should go, huh?" She scrambled out of her chair and started gathering up her books and other things.
"Yup, or the school might close on you." Takeshi yawned widely and stretched. "I gotta go, too. I wonder if Pops has a scoop on Dark tonight."
"Maybe," Shuuko said, trying to be conversational. She picked up her full schoolbag and started for the door, Takeshi tailing her like a dog.
"I wish I could find a better spot at the museums," Takeshi grumbled, naïvely believing that Shuuko was actually listening. "I can't get any good photos if there are all those people and if I can't get a new zoom lens!" He folded his arms bad-temperedly.
Shuuko was just thinking about saying something to make him stop trying to make her talk when something caught her eye. On the floor by one of the desks in the front row was a sheet of paper that looked very out of place. Curious, she bent down and picked it up, smoothing it out against her knee. It was a sheet of world history homework. She looked at the top and saw a name written near the edge: Daisuke Niwa.
I guess Daisuke dropped this, she thought. He won't get this turned in on time if someone doesn't return it. She straightened up, still holding the paper sheet, and turned to Takeshi, who was still rambling.
"I mean, it's a wonder why anybody goes there night after night if they never get a good look at him. You'd think they'd get a clue after–"
"Excuse me, Takeshi," Shuuko interrupted as politely as she could. "Do you know where Daisuke lives?"
"Wha? Oh yeah, he and I go way back," Takeshi said smugly. "What do you wanna know that for?"
"He forgot a sheet of his world history homework," she said, holding it up. "I wanted to return it to him so he can get it done on time."
"Aww, isn't that sweet?" Takeshi snickered, giving Shuuko a look that made her feel very uncomfortable. "I can show you if you want."
"Oh no, please don't bother," Shuuko said hastily. "I'd be happy if you just gave me directions. And didn't you want to ask your father about Dark?"
"Oh yeah," he said dismissively, trying not to sound stupid. "Okay, I'll tell you where it is. You sure you won't get lost?" he asked just to make her nervous.
"I think I'll be fine," she said, trying to convince herself as well as him.
Takeshi shrugged. "Okay, if you say so. So, when you leave the school, go to Grande Station and take a train…"
Niwa, Niwa, Niwa… There! Shuuko stopped in front of the nice house on her right. She was immensely relieved that she hadn't gotten lost. Takeshi's directions had been very detailed; he must have come here many times to know the route so well. I guess he wasn't kidding when he said he and Daisuke have known each other for a while. Carefully, Shuuko picked her way up the front steps to the door, hoping she wouldn't interrupt the Niwas' dinner. So before she could chicken out, she reached out and rang the doorbell.
She heard a high-pitched "Coming!" from the other side of the door and a second later, it opened. A very young and very odd-looking young lady opened the door. She had greenish eyes and was wearing a cute, frilly, gothic-looking maid's outfit. What was strangest about her was her hair: it was in a short, youthful style to match her energetic face, but it was a silvery white.
"Hello there!" she said cheerfully. "What can I do for you?"
The Niwas have a maid? "Um, hi," she said shyly. "I'm Shuuko, a classmate of Daisuke's. I wanted to return some homework he left behind."
"Oh, that's so sweet of you!" the maid squeaked. She stood back from the doorway. "Please come in! My name's Towa and I'm the family maid."
"Um, thanks, Miss Towa," Shuuko stammered, stepping inside.
"Oh, please leave the 'Miss' off," Towa said, looking a little irritable for some reason. "I'm not that much older than you are, you know!" She frolicked down the hallway to another door and opened it. "Miss Emiko," she called into the room beyond. "One of Dai's classmates is here."
Through the doorway came another woman, older than the maid but still quite youthful. She could only be Daisuke's mother. "Welcome!" she said to Shuuko, bustling into the hallway. "I'm Emiko, Daisuke's mother. What's your name, dear?"
"I'm Shuuko," she said nervously. Meeting so many new people at once was slightly intimidating.
"Pleased to meet you, Shuuko," she said sincerely. "Would you like to see Dai?"
"Um, yes please."
"Towa, will you fix some tea while I get him?" Emiko asked the young maid, who nodded and hurried away. "Follow me, Shuuko, I'll show you to the kitchen."
Shuuko followed Emiko through the doorway into an area outside the comfy kitchen, where Towa was boiling some water in a kettle. Emiko went to the bottom of a staircase off to the left and hollered up to the floor above. "Daisuke, Shuuko's here to see you!"
She heard something that sounded like a "Huh?" from upstairs and she heard thumping as Daisuke came downstairs. He appeared at the bottom, wearing some blue jeans and a yellow T-shirt, and looked around at Shuuko.
"Uh, hey," he said, obviously surprised by her unexpected visit. "What's up?" he asked timidly.
Shuuko pulled the homework sheet out of her bag and held it out to him. "You dropped this in the classroom today and I wanted to return it."
Daisuke took the sheet and looked it over. "Wow, you're right," he said, smiling embarrassedly. "I was wondering why there were so many questions missing! Thanks a bunch!"
Shuuko just shook her head modestly. "It's okay, really. I got your address from Takeshi. I hope you don't mind."
"No, that's fine," Daisuke assured her, smiling at her in his bright but shy way. "I don't mind."
From the kitchen, Emiko spoke up. "Daisuke, why don't you show Shuuko around while Towa and I fix up a tray?"
Both Daisuke and Shuuko reddened in embarrassment. "M-Mom," Daisuke muttered, looking away from Shuuko to hide his awkwardness. "Are you sure–?"
"Absolutely!" Emiko interrupted, smiling in oblivion. "You'll stay for a while, won't you, Shuuko?"
"I—um—," she spluttered, feeling very on-the-spot. "Only if you don't mind, I don't want to intrude–"
"No intrusion at all," another voice spoke up. Shuuko jumped and looked around at a man who had entered the room unnoticed. He had the same open, timid face as Daisuke and similar, quite unruly hair, only it was black and not red. "Make yourself at home."
"Oh Kosuke, you snuck in again!" Emiko said delightedly and clung to him, confirming Shuuko's suspicion that he was Daisuke's father. "Really, Shuuko, it's no trouble. We love the company, don't we, darling?"
Kosuke blushed a little at his wife's boldness but nodded. Daisuke was shifting around nervously, but he made no further objections. "Well, um, okay," he said hesitantly, shooting an anxious look at Shuuko. "I'll just drop this homework off upstairs and come back down." A little too quickly, Shuuko thought, he turned around and dashed upstairs, jumping two steps at a time and out of sight.
"Well, this is awkward," Daisuke said aloud, dropping the homework sheet on top of his desk. He picked up his special mirror off his bed, ready to hide it, but paused to look into it at his other self.
Dark just shrugged back at him. "Don't worry about it," he said breezily, waving away the redheaded teen's concern. "You've had people over at your house before and you handled that fine. She's nothing to worry about."
"It's not that," Daisuke replied, sliding the mirror out of sight in the small space between his desk and the wall so it was unnoticeable. "It's what Satoshi said the other day, remember? Shuuko saw Krad when she looked at Satoshi." He shuddered slightly at how that must have looked to her. "What if the same thing happens to us? What if she sees you?"
Again, Dark refused to take him seriously. "Y'know, you're worrying way too much lately. It's bad for your blood pressure, and you'd better get back downstairs before Shuuko comes up here looking for you."
Daisuke sighed heavily and trudged back downstairs where Shuuko was waiting patiently, rocking a little on her feet. "Um, hey," he said again lamely, making Shuuko look up at him. "Shall I give you the tour then?"
Shuuko gave him a small, shy smile. "Sure, if you want." She followed him as he started to lead her out of the room, giving her a timid commentary as they passed through the house. As they passed the kitchen and entered the family room, Daisuke saw his grandfather sitting on the sofa.
"Oh, Shuuko, this is my grandpa," he said, nodding at Daiki. "Grandpa, this is Shuuko. She's the newest person in my class at school."
Daiki surveyed Shuuko and gave her a polite nod. "Pleased to meet you, Shuuko," he said in his gravelly voice. Then, with a touch of mischief, "Daisuke can't seem to stop making friends with pretty girls."
"You said it," Dark snickered.
Daisuke blushed ruby red and so did Shuuko. "Grandpa!" he said indignantly.
Daiki just chuckled. "Only joking, Daisuke. Well, maybe," he added, an evil glint in his old but alert eyes.
Daisuke hurriedly led Shuuko out of the room to rescue the both of them to which he could tell Shuuko was extremely grateful. He led her around the rest of the house, pointing out little things here and there that were of interest. Over time, Shuuko became more and more relaxed until she was even making a little small talk with him, and the two of them found they had a lot in common.
Daisuke was about to lead her around a corner when she stopped. "Daisuke, what's that?"
He turned and looked where she was pointing. She was looking at the door that led to the massive library that held all the books about artworks and other things that were tabooed. "Oh, uh, that," he said awkwardly. "That's just the library. There's not really anything in there–"
"But it looks huge!" she breathed, her eyes alight with anticipation. "I love books!"
Oh no, Daisuke thought worriedly. If she looks too hard at any of those books…
"Relax," Dark said loftily. "Just tell her the books are fragile and shouldn't be handled. She'll understand."
Daisuke couldn't fathom how Dark could be so sure, but he couldn't think of any other good lie to tell her to keep her out. "Do you want to go in?" he asked, dread settling inside him.
"Oh, could we?" she said excitedly. He'd never seen her so animated before. "I'd love to!"
Daisuke forced a very fake smile and opened the door little wider to let her in. Shuuko blew into the room like a whirlwind and started marveling at the rows upon rows of old and valuable books. Daisuke tiptoed in after her, hoping he wasn't being stupid by listening to Dark for once.
"Oh this is fantastic!" Shuuko gasped, her head spinning wildly as she tried to take in the whole room at once. She started walking along the shelves, staring wide-eyed at the immeasurable amount of books. Daisuke followed her, fidgeting quite obviously.
Shuuko kept walking around until she saw the table in the center of the room, still littered with books that his dad had been reading through before. There was one thing that was different from before, though. In the middle of the table, a space had been cleared to house a very large and very heavy-looking painting of a beautiful landscape: "Dream of Reality."
Oh no, now we're done for! Daisuke panicked. If she recognizes that painting–!
"Hey, what's this?" Shuuko bent over the table to look at the painting, making Daisuke's heart stop for a full two seconds. "Why isn't it hung up?" she asked, looking up at him in confusion. "It's so pretty. It'd look much better on a wall."
Daisuke relaxed a little but not a lot. She didn't seem to recognize the painting as stolen property, but she might if she kept staring at it. "Um, that's something Mom picked up a few— no, a week ago," he said quickly, stumbling over his words. "She just hasn't found a place for it yet."
Shuuko gave him a long look but didn't press him. "I see." She looked back at the painting, smiling slightly.
No, no, no, Daisuke prayed in his head. Don't look at it. Please don't look at it.
"It's such a pretty landscape," she mused, touching its heavy golden frame gently with a few fingers. Her eyes looked wistful and far away as she gazed at it. "It kind of makes you wish you could be there in a place like that."
Suddenly, as if responding to her words, the place on the frame that Shuuko's hand was touching began to glow. Both Daisuke and Shuuko's eyes widened as they watched the light spread from her fingers all around the frame to engulf the entire picture, blinding them both with its brightness.
"Daisuke!" Shuuko panicked. The light was so bright now that he couldn't see her. "Daisuke, I can't take my hand off!"
Then he heard her scream. Her yell at first sounded right next to him but then it slowly faded, as if she were traveling far away from him. Then just as suddenly, the blinding white light began to fade and Daisuke was able to take his hand away from his eyes.
He looked back at the table laden with books. "Dream of Reality" still sat there as innocently as it had looked before, but there was still something wrong.
Shuuko was gone.
