ASN: I know, I know, this is a really short chapter, but Sunday's chapter is really long. I promise.

Chapter 2: December 2

Satoshi stalked into his father's office the next morning, bypassing the startled secretary with a single glare. He stopped in front of his father's desk and stared at the man, waiting.

Hiwatari glanced up from his work. He did not look surprised to see him. "Good morning, Satoshi. Sit down."

"Did you authorize this?" he asked coldly, continuing to stand.

The man put his pen down and leaned back in his chair. "I assume you're talking about last night's debacle."

"Who put Hashimoto in charge?" Satoshi demanded. "The man was clearly unprepared to deal with a thief of Dark's capabilities."

"The chief of police invited Hashimoto to come and assist."

"He discussed this with you, of course," the teen stated rather than asked.

Hiwatari nodded, a small but wary smile on his face. "He was very enthusiastic about it."

Satoshi's eyes narrowed. "You could have vetoed his coming. One word in the planning stages was all it would have taken to convince them not to ask him."

"It was none of my doing," Hiwatari protested mildly.

The commander stared down at him expressionlessly. The two locked gazes for a minute, but Hiwatari looked away first.

"I thought we had agreed that no one else would interfere in my investigation," Satoshi said calmly.

Hiwatari leaned forward in his chair and rested his chin on his hands. "I realize that you're upset about Hashimoto taking over so abruptly, but the man does have good ideas and a considerable amount of experience."

Satoshi could not hide his disbelief, and didn't even bother to try. "The man had tranquilizer darts! If he had actually managed to hit Dark and the transformation was triggered—"

"Then we would have captured the thieves," Hiwatari finished.

Satoshi glared at him. "A shape-shifting thief that could fly? It would prove that magic exists—do you think the world can handle that?"

He shrugged. "The world will believe what it wants to believe. Saying that the Niwa was good at disguises and had a machine that allowed him to fly will be enough for most of the public."

"You don't appear to understand," Satoshi said coldly. "The goal is to catch Dark, not Niwa."

"One is the same as the other. Perhaps it is you who do not understand." Hiwatari sat up straight and regarded his son with a calculating eye. "You have grown attached to the Niwa, Satoshi. I am more observant than you give me credit for, and I have noticed the two of you together." His eyes grew colder. "You've ignored my instructions to distance yourself from him."

Satoshi's face set. "It's none of your concern."

"I worry about you."

Satoshi doubted that very much.

Hiwatari stood and walked round his desk to him. Satoshi stood his ground. The man placed his hand on Satoshi's shoulder in a friendly gesture. "I'll see what I can do about putting you back in charge," he said, "but Hashimoto will still be around to offer advice. It would probably be wise for you to take it."

Satoshi said nothing for a moment, and Hiwatari's hand on his shoulder grew heavier.

"Satoshi?" he prompted.

"I will take his advice into consideration, as I would all officers with that much experience," Satoshi said neutrally.

A smile appeared on Hiwatari's face with such rapidity that it had to be manufactured. He guided Satoshi toward the door. "I'm glad to hear that, Satoshi. You know I just want the best for you. Hashimoto will provide some fresh ideas."

"Perhaps." Satoshi calmly removed his father's hand from his shoulder and turned to go. "Good day."

"Oh, and Satoshi?"

Slowly, Satoshi turned back to his father. The man smiled brightly at him.

"Please, think about what I said concerning you and the Niwa. He's not good for you."

Years of practice kept Satoshi from saying something that could potentially lead to a loss of temper. Instead, he simply walked out.

He could feel Hiwatari's eyes on him all the way down the hall.

XXXXX

Tranquilizer darts! What the hell was he thinking?! Dark said furiously.

Daisuke's sigh turned into a yawn as he walked toward the school. Dark had been ranting all night, so he hadn't gotten much sleep.

Guns are cheating, there's no honor in it, Dark spat. Damn Hikari, taking everything too seriously.

He could see Satoshi approaching in the distance, pale hair shining in the sun. Daisuke stopped and waited for him.

Satoshi's steps slowed slightly as he came toward him. "Good morning, Niwa," he said calmly.

Don't 'good morning' us, you bastard!

"Morning," Daisuke responded, yawning.

Satoshi eyed him thoughtfully. "Are you all right, Niwa?"

Daisuke reached into his pocket, pulling out one of the darts and dropping it into Satoshi's hand. "Dark says you should be glad the painting didn't explode when this hit it," he told him dryly. "We've noticed that when Hikari artwork is poked, it tends to poke back. Violently."

The commander gave the dart a calm once-over glance and slipped it into his bag. "Indeed."

As they continued toward school, Daisuke cast Satoshi a sideways glance. "You could have warned me," he said, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice and not entirely succeeding.

Satoshi sighed and said nothing.

Annoyed by Satoshi's apparent indifference, the redhead began to get annoyed. "I really can't believe you would use tranquilizer darts on us, Hiwatari-kun. What if one had actually hit Dark? I could have transformed, and then what would have happened?"

"It wasn't my idea," the commander replied shortly.

"But you're in charge," Daisuke retorted. "You could have stopped them."

"Not last night."

Daisuke stopped and folded his arms. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Satoshi likewise stopped and gazed back at Daisuke. "I wasn't in charge last night. A man named Hashimoto was."

"Hashimoto?" Daisuke's brow furrowed in thought. "Aimi-chan's father?"

"Yes."

Why is there always something wrong with the girls I admire? Dark mused petulantly in the back of his mind.

"Why was he there?" Daisuke asked, anger forgotten in his confusion.

"He's a specialist in art theft," Satoshi said coolly. "He was called in to advise on the Dark issue, since I have been doing so poorly."

"Oh." Daisuke gazed down at his feet. "But I thought your father wouldn't interfere."

"Even my father has superior officers," he told him sourly, "And they're not impressed with my performance."

Though Satoshi tried to hide it, Daisuke could tell that the idea of others thinking him incompetent grated on him. Especially when he was in this situation—if he caught Dark, he would have caught Daisuke, too. And if that happened, a new set of problems would emerge. Even if Satoshi had wanted to, he couldn't catch Dark without others finding out about the curse.

He could either win and let the truth about Daisuke and Dark and maybe himself be known, or he could fail.

And that wasn't really a choice at all, was it?

Daisuke gave him a small smile, his way of letting Satoshi know that all was forgiven. "I understand. Unfortunately, the only way I could help you would be to let you catch us, and I doubt Dark would be too keen on that idea."

Damn straight!

Satoshi nodded once. "I couldn't let you do that, Niwa…but thank you for even mentioning it."

The smile grew bigger. "I figured. If I can do anything to help, tell me, all right?"

"We'll see," Satoshi responded after a moment of thought.

As they came up to the gates of the school, Daisuke gave him another glance. "One last thing…"

A suspicious look came to the commander's face. "Yes?"

"If at all possible, could you get rid of the guns?"

Surprised, Satoshi blinked at him before giving him a small half-smirk. "You shouldn't have to worry. Hashimoto wasn't too certain of their continued usefulness after Dark's performance last night."

Daisuke could feel Dark grinning. I did look good, didn't I?

"Yeah. Dark's pretty proud of himself," he told Satoshi.

"Isn't he always?" he responded.

What does that mean?

The redhead ran a hand through his hair and chuckled, refusing to respond to either question.