A.N. (5/12/21) - Took a little longer than I expected to write this. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 2 - Father's Rutile
Sometimes, I think about my old life.
I died fairly young, around my twenties if I recall right. I remembered that I had two parents and a brother. And on rare occasions, their faces would pop up in a dream or memory of mine.
Of course, I had long forgotten their names. After all, I had even forgotten my own after all these years.
But on certain days, when the night is quiet and my mind is clear, I can sometimes almost remember who they were and what they were like once. Memories of happier times with us calling out to each other.
Sometimes, I wish I didn't remember my past life.
I was greatly troubled during my childhood because of them, so caught up in the past that I couldn't focus on the present. I didn't treat my new father fairly because of that, and it didn't help that he often went on long business trips, causing us to rarely spend time together.
So when he died unexpectedly in an accident last year, I didn't mourn for him. Some would say that is heartless of me, but that's the honest truth. I didn't see him as my father.
I do regret the fact that I couldn't get close to him though.
So when Daisuke's father suddenly returned home all of a sudden one day, I prayed that Daisuke's relationship with his father wouldn't end up the same mine.
But after getting to know the man myself, I sincerely doubted that was ever going to be the case. After all, it was easy to tell that Kosuke Niwa cared for his son.
Maybe that was why it should have been obvious in hindsight.
~ Part 1: Monday ~
Azumano Middle School.
A large building with an archaic architectural design, with multiple floors and facilities across the campus. Casting a shadow across the grounds was a large clocktower that was twice as tall as the building itself. It was a school whose very existence was something Nagi had trouble accepting due to how extravagant the school was compared to his past life.
Currently, Nagi was staring at the bulletin board with various other students.
"Ah," he remarks as he spots his name. "I'm in Class B."
"Great!" Saehara pumps his fist in the air. "Looks like we'll all be in the same class again. Hey Daisuke, did you check and see if Risa's in our class yet?"
"Hold on, I'm still looking…"
Daisuke suddenly lets out a whoop. "Yes, she's in our class too!"
His loud shout caused several of the students around them to give him weird looks. Finally realizing what he did, Daisuke begins to blush as the other two boys begin giving teasing looks.
"Glad that you're going to be in the same class as your crush?"
Daisuke shoves Nagi as the other boy laughs at him.
"Now that I look at it, it looks like the elder Harada is also in our class." Saehara moves closer to the list to take a look. "In fact, most of our old classmates are going to be in the same class as us."
"Well, at least we'll know everyone."
The three of them make their way to class, only to find the classroom completely filled with other students.
Nagi blinks as Daisuke nudges his arm. "Looks like our seats are assigned at the front."
"Ah, yeah. I'll check it out now."
Settling down in his new seat, Nagi looks around the room. He immediately spots Daisuke sitting next to the window, the classic protagonist seat. Saehara is next to him and the two continue to talk before class starts.
In the back of the class, Nagi spots the Harada sisters talking to a couple of their friends. Turning around, Nagi was surprised to find that Hiwatari was also here, sitting by himself and reading a book. He considered going up to him to talk, but Nagi decided to talk to him later.
It's weird how nobody seems to care about Daisuke and Hiwatari's weird hair colors, he thinks to himself. Seriously, nobody has natural bright red or blue hair. I'm pretty sure that still holds true in this world, human biology doesn't change that much.
Nagi yawned as he waited for class to start. One of the problems with reincarnation was the fact that he had to redo his education again.
And no matter how you put it, redoing middle school really isn't fun.
}-{
Nagi closed his notebook that he had been doodling in for the past couple of hours.
Sometimes, he wished that he just did what Hiwatari did and skipped grades to graduate early. Sadly, Japan wasn't as lenient in that regard compared to other countries.
School was finally over for the day, so Nagi packed up his stuff and was about to head home.
A shadow cast over his desk and Nagi looked up to find Hiwatari standing in front of him.
"May I have a moment of your time, Kujikawa?"
He frowned at that. "Just call me Nagi. Kujikawa is a bit long of a name, don't you think?"
Hiwatari blinked at that. "Very well then, Nagi. I have something I'd like to ask you."
"What is it?"
"Are you going to be busy anytime after school this week?"
A long-forgotten memory suddenly surfaced as Nagi recalled how the two first met.
"This isn't another invitation of yours to watch one of Dark's heists, is it?"
That caused Hiwatari to chuckle.
"Actually, that's close to what I'm asking you. I'm here to give you a heads up that the Granbel Museum recently acquired an interesting piece that our mutual friend might be interested in."
Nagi's eyes narrowed.
"Mutual friend?"
"Either way," the other boy ignored the question. "I suspect that this next event might be a bit more challenging than usual. Make sure that the two of you are prepared for tomorrow."
And with that, Nagi could only watch as the blue-haired boy turned around and left.
}-{
The year 2003 was something that Nagi had fond memories of in his previous life. It was the year that his baby brother was born, and the year that he learned to tye his shoes by himself. It was also the year he was introduced to Power Rangers, watching various episodes at his babysitter's house.
Of course, he was also a toddler at that age. So reliving the early 2000s again as a teenager in his second life was a strange experience for Nagi.
I feel like I've already had a similar monologue like this before…
One of the main differences between both of his teenage years was how much preparation it took to meet up with a friend or acquaintance. Communication was vastly different between his two lives.
In his previous life, you couldn't walk five feet down the road without bumping into someone with their eyes glued to their smartphone. That was simply how prevalent the concept of an individual owning a phone was ingrained into the human unconsciousness. It was simply expected of a person above the minimum teenage years to already own their own phone.
Currently, it was still the beginning of what looked like the garakei (mobile phone) era, and not everyone was expected to own their own phone yet. So if you wanted to meet up with someone, you either had to contact them using their home phone, or you had to set up plans beforehand and expect the other party to meet up with you without ditching. Proper scheduling was still a thing because of that.
That was why when Nagi showed up on the doorsteps of Daisuke's house, the person who greeted him wasn't surprised at his appearance.
"Come on in," Daiki waves him inside. "Daisuke came home a while ago. I was surprised when you didn't turn up with him."
"I wanted to drop some stuff off at home first," Nagi replied as he entered the house. "So, are we still doing lessons today?"
"Of course."
Even though Nagi had decided to help the Niwa family to pay back his debt, there wasn't much that he could do. Compared to the rest of the family, Nagi wasn't suited for the role of a phantom thief. His body was weaker than most others his age, and Nagi didn't have the various skills Daisuke trained in that would help on a heist.
That was why Daiki decided to offer Nagi the chance to learn more about magical artworks and how to deal with them. Every week, Nagi would meet up at Daisuke's house and spend around an hour or two every day after school reading to various tomes and listening to Daiki's lectures.
This was a schedule that the two of them were familiar with.
Because most of Dark's targets were artworks that contained dangerous magical properties, there was a need for someone to learn how to deal with these dangerous artworks after Dark stole them. Usually, it was the adult's job to deal with the artwork and seal the magical properties.
"The world is vast, but we see so little. Humans are limited by what we sense around us. Sight, hearing, feeling, taste, smell. The world you perceive is limited by these basic senses of ours."
Daiki draws all five words onto the blackboard before drawing a circle around all of them.
"To sum it up, the world you see is made only out of your cognition."
Cognition, the concept of humans perceiving the world and viewing what they see as reality. Tapping the circle, the man writes the word 'world' above it.
"But our minds are amazing things, capable of processing details that normally we wouldn't be aware of. If one's spiritual awareness is strong enough, then they have the potential to perceive the 'other side' of our reality."
Pressing a hand against the board, the entire surface flips over to reveal a blank canvas on the other side.
"This 'other side' has many names in various religions and myths. It is the home of almost all supernatural beings, and it is where all beings like them return to upon their death."
The words 'spirits', 'yokai', 'ghosts', 'demons', and 'angels' appear on the board.
"The thing you have to note with beings like them is that they never take initiative in interacting with the material plane. Their very existence is a state of nature, having lived almost as long as recorded human history. But because of that, as long as you leave them alone, they won't do anything. Except..."
"Except?"
"Humans seem to have an uncanny ability to touch what lives on the 'other side'. No matter what incident it is, there is always a human cause. That is why humans of ancient times have all those ceremonies and traditions. They learned how to pray to these spirits and understand the boundaries between the human and spiritual worlds."
Daiki sighs at that.
"Hundreds of years ago, we would have shamans and priests managing the spiritual affairs of the world. But ever since the Cultural Reform, the existence of magic seemed to have been wiped from public perception. Nowadays, people no longer believe in the myths and legend of old."
Again, Nagi noted the significance of the Cultural Revolution, a major event in history that was absent from his old world.
"Over the last century or two, public perception has caused magic to almost fade from society. The remnants of the Cultural Reform only exist in the few artworks that survived the ordeal. These artworks are currently what Dark goes after, stealing them and mitigating their magical properties so that it does not become a danger to the public."
That caused Nagi to blink.
"Wait, are you trying to say that we're the good guys?"
"Of course!" Daiki gave Nagi an annoyed look. "What did you think we were until now?"
"Honestly, I was half convinced you were a bunch of hyped-up thieves who only targeted magic stuff because of your weird rivalry with the Hikari family. Since that conflict usually puts the Niwas on the opposing side of the law due to those selfish pursuits, I figured I was just joining a magical small-time mafia family as the newest henchman slash mafioso or something."
Daiki slapped his forehead and sighed.
"You know what, let's move the lessons on magic till later. It's clear to me that we should have you focusing on learning more about our family history instead."
That caused Nagi to groan as he realized that probably meant that he was going to be stuck peering over stacks of dusty books for the next couple of hours.
Clearly, this old man wasn't above petty revenge if this was his response to an honest opinion.
~ Part 2: Evening ~
It was only after hours of mind-numbing reading that Nagi finally allowed himself to stretch and relax.
Learning about the family history of the Niwa family was kinda interesting, even if it meant enduring the dry readings of century-old accounts. Most of it was just records on the times Dark and the host at the time worked together to steal something particularly noteworthy. But there were also a couple of accounts on the times the Niwa came into conflict with a certain group of artists.
The Hikari family.
One other side of the coin to their story. A family of artists who constantly came into conflict with the family of thieves. The fated enemy of the Niwas, a conflict guaranteed to last between the two families as long as one of the other existed.
And in this current age, the two heirs of the family are continuing this feud.
"Hiwatari," the name was said as a whisper. "The last of the Hikari family, another victim of the Cultural Reform."
While time was somewhat kind to the Niwa family, the same couldn't be said for their rivals. As far as Nagi knew, Hiwatari was the last remnant of the once widespread family. That is until most of their works and members were lost during the events of almost a century ago.
"Even though most of this world's history seems to match that of my previous life, looking at the last couple of decades shows that there's a divergence originating from the point when the Cultural Reform began."
Hovering a hand over a nearby book, the words on the cover spells out the words Ice and Dark. The title was something he vaguely recognized, an original copy of a popular fairy tale by the name of Ice and Snow.
"Whatever the Cultural Reform was, it caused something to diverge from my world's point of history into this new world. Literary works, popular art pieces, and even technology development seem to be different in this new world."
Once, Nagi had decided to go to the nearby public library when he was young to find a few of his favorite bedtime stories to read for the night. Using the newly installed online library catalog at the time, it took him by surprise when Nagi discovered how difficult it was to find the stories he was familiar with.
Harry Potter? Percy Jackson? None of the books existed in this world, and neither did their authors.
Snow White? Sleeping Beauty? Cinderella? Because there was no Walt Disney, all he was able to find was the pre-1950s versions compiled in recent bibliographies.
Even manga was a hit and miss. Some of the big titles seemed to still exist, even if they were under strange parody-like names. But most of the titles Nagi saw seemed to be original plots that didn't exist in his old world.
That was one of the first times Nagi realized that he was in a completely different world. The moment he discovered that the small deviances in history could cause such a drastic change in how popular culture grew in this world.
"Honestly, I'm just glad that Mcdonald's still exists in this world." Nagi stands up and begins to clean up the books around him. "Even if they're calling themselves WcDonald's now."
It still cracked him up every time he ordered a Bic Wac.
Shrugging his shoulders, Nagi closed another one of the books and began reading another. This time, he was going to go over the list of the archived Hikari works the Niwa family was able to find.
Still, something nagged at him as he read through the list. A forgotten memory that was triggered by something he just read.
That feeling continued to nag at him as he began reading through the records.
}-{
"You know, I'm still curious why Gramps isn't trying to force you to take lessons like Nagi is."
The voice echoed through Daisuke's mind.
It was something that Daisuke was used to now, ever since Dark appeared in his life all those months ago. Even though he still found it weird that he had to share his headspace with another person, Daisuke found himself conversing with his head roommate now and then.
"I'm not sure myself," Daisuke admitted. "Not that I'm complaining, I don't know how Nagi's able to go through all those books without complaining."
"Well, it's quite different compared to when he was my host. Back then, the two of us used to use a lot of magic together. Your grandfather was quite the accomplished spellcaster when he was your age, but I guess you're better in the physical side of things compared to him."
Wiz took that moment to approach Daisuke with a smile on his face, lifting his arms in the air towards the red-haired boy. Picking the rabbit up, Daisuke began playing with him while he sat down on the couch.
"It's rare that you talk about your times with my Grandpa."
"Ehh~ you heard about a couple of the stuff the two of us did before. Remember that girl, Menou Kurashina? And the Adonis of the Promise Garden. And then there was that Vandembagu guy too."
"Yeah, but I never hear you talk about your previous hosts except whenever it concerns us."
"Well, if you really want to hear the juicy stories of the legendary Phantom Thief Dark, then I guess I can tell you all about the girls I used to charm back in the day. You'd be surprised at how well I can turn on my roguish allure…"
"Ugh!" Daisuke quickly shook his head. "Can't you please not talk about girls with me? No wonder Miss Harada the elder thinks you're a pervert."
"That hurts, Daisuke. Right in my metaphorical heart."
Before Daisuke could reply, he heard the sound of the doorbell ringing. From the kitchen, his mother called out to him.
"Dai, could you get the door please."
"Okay!"
Tossing Wiz off his arm, Daisuke stood up and went to the entrance. Opening the doors, it revealed the appearance of a disheveled man wearing a weary smile on his face.
"Hey, kid."
The man entered and closed the door behind him while Daisuke looked at him confused.
"Hey, kid?"
"Well, I guess you're too old for kid now."
Again, his mother called from further in the house. "Who is it, Dai?"
"No, it's okay. But may I ask who you are, Sir?"
"Well, all I can tell you is that I'm not much of anyone—"
Before he could say anything else, the sound of footsteps coming their way suddenly interrupts him. The appearance of Nagi stumbling in the hallway surprises them, the boy himself looking as if he just ran a marathon.
"Holy shit, I can't believe I completely forgot about the Second Hand of Ti—"
He pauses as he notices the scene before him. His eyes widen as he takes in the sight of the man standing at the entrance.
"Erm… am I interrupting something?"
}-{
Daisuke's father came home.
All of them were currently sitting in the living room, including a confused Nagi. Even though he offered to leave the house while they had their family reunion, Daisuke's mom assured him that his presence wouldn't be unwelcome and that there was no need to leave on their account.
Still, he felt a little weird about the situation.
Tea was served as everyone was quiet at the moment. Daisuke's father was giving him a confused look, probably wondering who the strange blond boy was and why he was here.
Nagi pretended to take another sip of his tea. Daisuke just shifted in his seat nervously.
"It feels like you just went out for a bit and came home," Emiko began. "My, how the time passed."
"I still can't quite believe it," Daiki followed up. "To think you'd come home after all these years."
"It's nice to see everyone doing well," Daisuke's father said. "And it looks like a lot has changed since I was gone."
"Oh, speaking of which." Daiki turns and gestures towards Nagi's direction. "I forgot to introduce you to young Nagi Kujikawa. He knows about our 'family business' and helps out with some of the more technical stuff."
"Nice to meet you."
Daisuke's father chuckled at Nagi's polite greeting.
"It's nice to meet you too," he said. "My name's Kosuke."
The room was silent again after he said that.
"So…" Nagi awkwardly began. "How long have you been away?"
"Twelve years."
"What?!"
"Closer to thirteen actually. If I recall right, Daisuke was only around a year old by then."
Nagi looked in Daisuke's direction with wide eyes, not realizing that this was Daisuke's first proper meeting with his father until now. Shouldn't this be a more touching reunion? He was intruding on something pretty significant.
"W-Wow… thirteen years, you must have a lot of stories to tell then."
Kosuke looked at him with an awkward look on his face. "I did send the occasional letter home."
"No phone calls?"
"The places I went to... didn't always have good reception."
"But now he's home, and for the first time in years," Emiko interrupts at that moment. "Don't you think, Dai?"
"Huh?" Daisuke finally looks up. "Yeah, mmn…"
The room grows quiet once more at that. A few seconds later, Kosuke speaks up.
"Daisuke, I have a souvenir for you." He reaches into his bag to grab something. "It's a Rutile of Grief replica. I've read about you in the papers. Tomorrow, you're stealing it."
He reveals it and moves his hand towards Daisuke.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm planning on it."
"If you have this you won't be able to mistake it for another," he says that as he takes Daisuke's hand into his own and gives him the ring. "Always keep it with you."
"Y-Yes. T-Thank you very much, S-Sir."
"Oh, Dai." His mother smiles. "You're acting strange, there's no need to be so formal."
Honestly, Nagi could probably understand Daisuke's emotions on this. To him, the man was still only a stranger and still not quite a father. Daisuke definitely needed time to process this new development in his life.
}-{
They offered to let him stay for dinner, but this time, Nagi knew that it was a bit much to overstay his presence.
As he went home that night, he thought about his own father from this life. Similar to Daisuke, Nagi had grown up most of his life with an absent father. Unlike the other boy, however, Nagi's father had occasionally met up with him whenever he wasn't busy from one of his business trips.
That is, until his accident all those months ago.
He sighed out loud as that thought crossed his mind.
"It should almost be a year by now," he muttered. "I should take a break to visit his grave soon."
In his previous life, he died early and before both of his parents. In this life, it was the opposite instead, with both parents already deceased while still in his early teens.
"Still, to think Daisuke's dad is home now. I've heard Gramps talk about him a couple of times, but usually about some artwork he sends home or something…"
That caused him to pause as he recalled something.
"Artwork… he gave Daisuke a Rutile of Grief replica, and the fact that there's a heist tomorrow."
Wasn't the artwork Hiwatari talking about the Rutile of Grief?
"Ugh, my memories really aren't reliable if I'm forgetting simple stuff like this."
Even if he didn't remember the episodes after decades of not watching them, Nagi could tell that something big was probably going to happen tomorrow night.
"Better remind myself to warn Daisuke about it tomorrow. If Hiwatari is up to something, that might be trouble. And maybe I should look more into what exactly is so special about the Rutile of Grief"
As he continued on his way home, he couldn't help but feel a nagging feeling that he was forgetting something important. Sadly, he was unable to figure out what it was, and the night soon passed by without him recalling it.
~ Part 3: Tuesday ~
The next morning, Nagi found something strange on the way to school.
Normally, his day would start by him taking the tram from his area to the Grande Station near his school. After exiting the station, he would normally cut through the square plaza to go to school.
Today was different, however. Set up on the concrete floor was a loud and boisterous man with a rug displaying various accessories in front of him. While it wasn't unheard of for people to set up temporary shops at the park, it was still rare for one to set up on a weekday morning.
Although, it looked like the seller was doing pretty well so far. Already, Nagi could see several people gathering around and looking at his merchandise with curiosity. Some of them were even students from his school, with the majority being young girls.
Moving closer to take a look, Nagi blinked as he spotted something familiar.
"Isn't that the Rutile of Grief?"
No. Looking closer, it was obviously a replica. Especially since there were multiple copies of the same ring being displayed in a small line.
Looking up, the retailer noticed Nagi looking and beckoned him over.
"See anything you like, young man?"
"How come you have so many copies of the Rutile of Grief?"
"Why, it's all the rage now." Picking up one of the rings, he lifts it upward until the stone on top catches the light. "A lot of kids like to have a copy as an accessory. Even if it's only a copy, the rutile stone on these rings is still real."
The retailer laughs as he stretches his arm out.
"Wanna take a closer look? Who knows, you might be interested in buying one."
Nagi nods and opens his palm upward, grabbing the replica ring when the retailer drops it in his hand.
His entire body shivers as a wave of something passed through him.
Staring at the ring in his hand, he gives it a curious look. Looking back up, a question comes to his mind.
"Why exactly is it so popular?"
"Well, legend has it that the ring has the power to draw out people's hidden powers." He shrugs his shoulders. "Most seem to interpret that as discovering their hidden talents or skills. Either way, it's popular with a lot of students your age."
Nagi hums at that.
"You know what, I'll buy one please."
"Alright, that'll be ¥8000."
That caused Nagi to pause as he mentally translated that to around eighty American dollars.
"...am I allowed to haggle?"
}-{
With his wallet considerably lighter, Nagi made his way to school with his new purchase in hand and questions in his mind.
That feeling from before, there was no doubt about it. He rubbed the rim of the ring in his hand. That was definitely magic, but how can a replica ring from a street peddler have magic?
As tiny as it was, there was some kind of magic inside the ring. And it wasn't even unique to his purchase. Every other copy the retailer was selling had some small amount of magic within them.
I'm pretty sure that guy wasn't some crazy magician or anything, he mused. So how come all of his replica rings had magic in them? And only rings that are copies of the Rutile of Grief?
"The power to draw out one's powers, huh?"
Holding the ring in his hands, Nagi could still feel some kind of strange magical aura emitting from it. A recent development that he was only able to accomplish thanks to his lessons with Daisuke's grandfather.
"But what does that mean? What power does it bring out?"
Power could also mean something like potential, so the ring could have the ability to draw out one's potential. Normally, that would most likely translate to something like one's talents or skills. But if it was magical, then that could mean all sorts of things.
"I'm pretty sure the retailer said that all the stones were genuine and not synthetic," he muttered. "That might have something to do with it. But there must be another reason why I can sense magic coming from this."
Now, let's see if he can tap into his lessons on the occult.
Magic was thematic in nature. Rather than imagining the result and process, you had to weave a tale out of it. If the fields of logic were ruled by math and science, then the fields of magic were ruled by language and history.
So say you have an object filled with a long history, and that would be the source of the object's magic. That was why it was almost impossible to remove the magic of something without destroying it. Because magic is composed of the thoughts of those that interacted with the object, the compilation of its history made manifest into a paranormal power.
And history could be shared.
At its core, you could also look at something's history as information. If an author wrote a book, and multiple copies of it were made, the book would spread its information even if people were unable to gain access to the original copy. So rather than the physical book itself being useful, the information it represented was more important.
Or looking at it from a different perspective, you could say that the information was a depiction of the object.
Here's another example. A cross isn't just two sticks fused perpendicularly together, but also the principal symbol of the Christian religion. Items were representations of power and belief. The thoughts and belief of the people that believed in it caused the symbol to be respected, giving it significance and power.
Even in a replica, its symbol as a copy of the Rutile of Grief gave it power.
That was the basics of Kazuma Kamachi's Idol Theory, something that Nagi found was suspiciously applicable in this new world of his. Not that every single replica in existence contained magic, but so far, that was the most likely explanation to how a copy could gain magical abilities.
"Great, and I'm pretty sure tons of people are already interested in buying a copy of their own."
How many people were carrying around tiny objects filled with magical powers? Just his school alone probably had about a dozen students with their own replica versions of the Rutile of Grief.
"Still, it's not like just having it will do anything."
He held the ring above him and stared at it through squinted eyes.
"Even I don't have a single clue as to how this thing works. Hopefully, that means that this will just stay as a trinket to most people."
But if that was the case, then why did Daisuke's father give one to Daisuke?
}-{
"Curious."
Kosuke held up the small blue gem in his hands, a confused look on his face. The gem glowed dimly as it was raised into the air.
"He somehow managed to revive the artwork spirit within it?"
"Indeed," Daiki responded. "Not just that, but it seems we were incorrect in identifying it as simply a water elemental."
"Oh?"
Gently setting it down on the table, Kosuke tapped it a few times with his finger and watched as it began to glow. A hazy white mist began gathering around it as the blurry form of a tiny woman began manifesting above it.
"Interesting," was his response. "So it used to house the spirit of an Undine, a type of water nymph."
"Used to?"
"This is just the lingering remnants of its presence." The figure of the tiny woman began to disappear from the table as he spoke. "It most likely moved on to a different container to live in. After all, nature spirits of the water element typically embody the traits of a current. Flowing from one place to another in search of objects with less of a magical resistance to live in."
"I see that your journey these past few years has taught you a lot."
Kosuke gave an awkward laugh at that.
"I've studied a lot on how magic artifacts worked, hoping to somehow dispel the magic contained within them. If we're still planning on releasing the magic contained within the Black Wings…"
"That shouldn't be something you should be concerned with," Daiki said with a frown. "The danger it might cause to Daisuke—"
"Is something that I will always consider above all," Kosuke interrupts with a serious look. "Dispelling the curse of the Niwa family is important, but not worth it if it endangers Daisuke."
"Good," Daiki said with a firm nod. "Not that I believed that you would truly do so, but these things are always something to watch out for."
"Still…" Kosuke gives the still-glowing gem another look. "The possibility of the object's magical synergy might pose a problem."
"Synergy?"
"It's what I like to call the trait of an object linked to another magical artwork," Kosuke explained. "Like a replica of an object, items that used to house the spirits of that moved on to other artworks are linked together through a connection I call synergy."
He picks up the dimly glowing gem in his hand and began to roll it around his fingers.
"Synergy is what allows for the power of the replica of an object to manifest its own power. Even if a copy of a magical object can only manifest a small fraction of the original, it's still an amount that some might want to harness."
The gem in his hand seems to pulse between different levels of brightness.
"For objects that used to house a spirit, synergy might hold a different meaning. When a spirit leaves an object to move on to another, it leaves behind some kind of mark where it can still hold a connection to where it used to live."
He looked up and gave Daiki a curious look.
"That connection is something you should have some experience with. After all, you can still feel the remnants of Dark's power within yourself, can you not?"
The older man nodded slowly at that.
"It's true that I can still use some of Dark's magical power, even though I am no longer his current tamer."
"That's the connection between you and him caused by synergy."
Gesturing back to the blue gem in his hand, Kosuke continued his explanation.
"What I'm worried about is that the former spirit of this artwork might notice that something has changed its former container. And to draw upon the attention of an elemental is worrying."
"Truly? I had thought that most nature spirits were benevolent and kindly."
Kosuke gave a nervous chuckle at that.
"Have you ever heard of central hypoventilation syndrome?"
He waited until after his father-in-law shook his head before continuing to speak.
"It's a sleep-related breathing disorder that causes difficulty breathing when one is asleep. Something to note is that it used to be called the Ondine's curse. I'm sure you can figure out how exactly it got that name."
It was almost amusing how wide Daiki's eyes got at that revelation.
"Once, there was a story about how a young human man fell in love with an Undine. He vowed to love her with every breath he took, but once it was discovered by the Undine that he was unfaithful, she placed a curse upon him. When he fell asleep, he was unable to breathe properly and causing him to eventually die."
The gem in Kosuke's hand began glowing dangerously, as if in response to his story. Placing it carefully back on the table, he looked up to Daiki's worried face.
"While most spirits are passive by default, we should care never to anger any of them. Less we invite their wrath upon our family and friends."
Thinking about the history of the Niwa family, he gave out a heavy sigh.
"After all, our family is already stuck in one feud with a powerful spirit. Let's not increase that number by another, why don't we?"
~ Part 4: Afternoon ~
During his lunch break, Nagi spent his time in the school computer lab looking up various articles on the artwork Dark was going to steal tonight.
The Rutile of Grief.
A fancy-sounding name that made Nagi almost ignore the meaning behind those words. Looking up various accounts on the previous owners of the artwork, Nagi discovered why exactly it was named that.
Everyone knew that the rutile, the stone fixed to the ring, supposedly had the power to draw out one's power. What people did not realize was that the artwork did so at a terrible cost.
In exchange for its ability to draw out one's power, it also came with the risk of causing terrible harm to its owner.
Closing the webpage, Nagi began rubbing the bridge of his nose.
This was definitely the main reason why the Niwa family decided to steal this. The curse related to this artwork is completely in line with the Niwa family's modus operandi of dealing with dangerous magical artworks.
So far, there was no mention of the ring being part of 'that' family. But it wouldn't surprise him if it was a creation of theirs.
"Nagi—!"
He looked up to the source of the sound and saw Risa dashing towards him. A big smile graced her face and she quickly moved until she was only a small distance away from him.
"Risa? Is there something you need?"
"There you are, I've been looking all over for you."
"Huh?"
"I have a favor I'd like to ask you. Can you please hear me out for a minute?"
Nagi's smile froze at those words. While he generally shared a nice friendship with the other girl, he knew more often than not that she was often a little reckless in the pursuit of the things she liked.
Such as a certain phantom thief.
"Please tell me you're not going to ask me to accompany you on another one of Dark's heist."
"How'd you know?!"
"And if you're asking me, then I'm assuming that your sister refused to go with you when you asked her."
"Oh wow, that's amazing! It's like you can read my mind or something."
"Risa," he gave her an exasperated look. "Look, you're my friend and I normally wouldn't mind hanging out after school with you. Except I'm also aware that your sister will kill me if I take you to another one of his heists without her."
"Please, she'll only kill you a little bit."
"You can't just kill someone a little bit! That's not how it works."
"They'll never find your body."
"Are you writing me off as dead already!"
She clapped her hands together.
"Please, please, please, please, pleeeeaaasse!" She continued to beg with her eyes closed. "I promise you that I'll totally return the favor later. Just say the word, and I'll do whatever you need me to do."
She quickly opened her eyes and began to fluster before she clarified.
"Ah, but I can't handle anything too crazy. It has to be something reasonable."
What a vague and unreliable promise.
Still, a favor from Risa might be useful. After all, even though he was friends with Risa, he was also friends with Daisuke. And Nagi was aware of Daisuke's crush on Risa, even though she was also crushing hard on his alter ego Dark.
Quite the complicated love triangle, if you asked him.
If he played his cards right, he might even be able to set things along nicely so that Daisuke might have a chance with Risa. Even if it was fated to fail, at least Nagi could say that he did the best he could to set things right between them.
A few seconds later, Nagi gave out a heavy sigh.
"Fine, I'll go with you to the heist tonight."
"Yes!" She grabbed his hand and began crazily shaking it up and down. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Hah, what have I gotten myself into…
}-{
Still, there was something else he needed to do if he was planning on going to the heist with Risa tonight.
"Daisuke, you have to promise that you won't freak out."
On the tram ride to Daisuke's home, the red-haired boy gave a glance at his friend.
"Yes?"
"Look, I'm telling you this so you won't misunderstand. But you know how I usually go with you on your heists as a backup in case something goes wrong, right?"
"Yeah?" Daisuke nodded slowly. "So far, Dark and I haven't needed your help. But it helps that we have another option in case we need it."
"Well, I'm also going to be at the heist tonight. I'm going to be one of the spectators in the crowd."
"Might be difficult for you to act then," Daisuke replied. "But it means that you'll be able to help out quickly since you're so close to the scene."
"Yeah, but I'm not going alone."
"You're not?"
"No, I'm going with Risa."
There was only silence after he said that.
"...by Risa, you mean the younger Miss Harada?"
"Yes, the girl you have a crush on. The two of us made plans earlier today to meet up and watch the heist."
There was another brief period of silence after he said that.
"Erm… Nagi. I never really asked you before, but is it possible that you like—?"
"Definitely not," was his quick answer. "She's a friend and more of a sister than a girl to me."
And on that note, Nagi was pretty adamant that he wasn't going to try getting into a relationship with anyone until he was at least eighteen. This way, it wouldn't seem too creepy to him if he ever decided to fall in love with someone.
"Are you willing to say that again in front of the elder Miss Harada?"
Nagi saw the playful smile on Daisuke's face and punched his arm.
"Seriously, we don't see each other like that. Besides, I'm pretty sure all she cares about is Dark."
That caused Daisuke's face to fall, and Nagi winced at his mistake.
"Is it weird that the person I'm in love with is also in love with my alter ego?"
"No doubt about it. Then again, the only experience I have with love triangles is the stuff I read about in books."
"L-Love triangle… t-that's a really weird way of looking at it."
Nagi sighed out loud.
"Poor Daisuke, living out his personal action/fantasy/romcom."
"My life is not a romcom!"
That caused Nagi to pause for a moment.
"...you're right. It's just a comedy, there's barely any romance."
This time, it was Daisuke who gave out a heavy sigh.
}-{
When the two of them reached Daisuke's house, they were surprised when the door opened up to reveal the face of a clean-shaven Kosuke.
"Ah, you're back. Come on in!"
Now that his face was like this, Nagi could finally see the resemblance between Daisuke and his father. Strange red hair aside, he could easily imagine his friend growing up to look exactly like Kosuke.
Daisuke awkwardly walked past his father, while Nagi gave a weak smile as he followed after him. Catching up to Daisuke, he whispered under his breath.
"Still have trouble talking to him."
"Definitely," Daisuke replied. "It's just… so weird having a dad all of a sudden."
"Hopefully you'll get used to it with time."
As they were about to enter the living room, a voice clears their throat from behind them.
"Erm, Nagi was it? May I please have a moment of your time?"
Nagi was a bit surprised at that but nodded to show that he agreed. Kosuke then turned around and began making his way into the house where it led to the basement.
Following after him, neither of them spoke until they descended down the stairs through the set of doors that led to the library.
"So, I'd like to get to know you a little better."
"Me?"
"Yes," Kosuke gave out a small chuckle. "I heard bits and pieces about you from the others, but I'd like to get the opportunity to talk to you myself."
The two of them sat down at a table, both of them facing each other from opposite sides.
"Well," Nagi began. "I've already mentioned this to everyone else in the family, but my name is Nagi Kujikawa. Only except… that wasn't always my name."
Kosuke nodded at that, having heard something along those lines already.
"Reincarnation, was it?"
"That's what it looks like," Nagi replied. "In my past life, I died in the year 2020 at the age of twenty. Over the last few years, I've been slowly gaining memories of who I was before."
He took a moment to find his words before he continued.
"I don't think it's a form of precognition, since my memories of that version of Earth seem to differ quite drastically from this world. There probably isn't another version of me running around either, so I'm assuming that this is some kind of parallel Earth scenario. And then there's the fact that most of my memories are just… not there. I've only processed a part of my previous life, and most of it is in the form of corrupted memories that are missing context due to the next associated memory being missing."
Once Nagi was done talking, Kosuke finally replied after a few seconds.
"Hmm… even for the Niwa family, this is a bit of an unusual case to encounter."
Honestly, Nagi was just surprised at how well the older man was taking the news. Even Daisuke, when Nagi told him the truth about himself all those months ago, was still somewhat skeptical about his claims initially.
And Nagi didn't bother explaining that he once watched an anime called DNAngel in his past life. Even if he revealed the news, it wasn't as if he was able to recall much from the show. Unless he was able to explain Heinlein's World of Myth concept to them in an easy-to-understand manner, he doubted that they would appreciate learning the fact that their lives were depicted as an anime series.
"How old are you?"
"I'm not sure," Nagi admitted. "Some days, I feel like I'm still twenty years old. Other times, I'm just like any other normal fourteen-year-old boy. I don't necessarily see myself as older than I was in my last life. Rather, I feel as though I need to catch up to how I once was instead."
As Kosuke listened to him, Nagi saw his gaze lower to where his collarbone was. It took him a few seconds to realize that the older man was staring at the Rutile Replica that was hanging on his neck like a necklace.
"I have a theory that maybe there's a way to unlock more of those memories from your past life."
Gesturing towards the replica, he began to explain.
"The Rutile of Grief has the ability to draw forth one's power, but each Rutile Replica manifests that ability differently depending on the person."
He gave Nagi a curious look.
"I'm not sure exactly, but I believe that there is a way for you to use the Rutile to restore some of your memories using the magic contained within it."
"Really?!"
"It's just a theory," Kosuke repeated. "But one that I'd like to think would work."
Nagi slowly reached up and grabbed the Rutile Replica in his hand to stare at it. The ability to bring forth memories of his previous life, was that possible?
"But maybe you should put off testing that theory until later." Kosuke got up from his seat. "Daisuke and Dark are probably making preparations for tonight. I'll admit I'm curious as to how he's going to be doing things."
Nagi stood up as well.
"I can explain to you what our usual routine is, help you get into the groove of things?"
Kosuke smiled at him.
"I'd like that."
~ Part 5: Heist ~
Hiwatari stared at the multiple screens in front of him. Displayed on them were various angles of the numerous cameras set up around the museum.
"Master Satoshi, I question whether it is wise for you not to rely on my power at this point."
The boy chose to ignore the voice.
Gripping a small ring hidden on his person, his face grimaced as another wave of pain racked his body. He stumbled slightly as he got up from his seat, but eventually made his way outside the van.
Staring at the building across the parking lot, Hiwatari was able to see the large number of guards surrounding the premises. The entire building was lit with numerous lights coming from the surrounding police cars and helicopters. The sounds of men shouting in the distance could be heard as everyone prepared for the upcoming heist.
"I'm glad that you have decided to ignore your previous idea of showing the Niwa brat the true Rutile. Your father's plan is our best opportunity of capturing Dark, after all."
"Shut up," growled Hiwatari. "I don't want to talk about him."
"You really must give your father credit more," he continued. "Playing around with Dark isn't acceptable any longer. You know that the time is almost upon us."
"Months away," his teeth clenched as he said that. "Not until the end of the year."
"It may only be a few months to you, Master Satoshi. But to me, that is everything."
"I'll capture Dark," Hiwatari said. "Without your help, or my father's. I'll capture him on my own."
"...very well then, if that is what you wish. But I reserve the right to reveal myself once more if your plan fails."
Hiwatari clenched the true Rutile of Grief within his hand at those words, staring hard at the camera pointed towards the counterfeit being protected by the numerous guards.
"After all," Krad continued. "That is why your father bestowed the ring to you."
}-{
"Risa."
"Yes, Nagi?"
"Did you already know that there wasn't supposed to be any spectators today?"
It took a few seconds for the young girl to reply to him.
"I… may have heard something about it."
"Now, let me ask you… why did you think it was a good idea to come here even though we're not allowed to?"
Risa gave him an annoyed look as she stomped her foot.
"Stop complaining already, I have a plan! I'll wait outside for Dark to quickly defeat all the police, and once he's done, the two of us will meet up."
He gave her a dubious look, and the other girl began to wilt under his gaze.
"Doesn't Dark usually fly away after his heists?" Nagi asked. "How is he going to meet you?"
"E-Err… I'll wave my arms from the ground! Mister Dark will notice me and fly down to talk to me."
The urge to slap his head and sigh came to him, but Nagi persisted in trying to keep a polite mask on as he worked with his friend.
"Let's just find a place to hide. Don't want the police to detain us for causing trouble."
"Who's going to cause trouble?!"
He didn't even bother to give her an unimpressed look before walking off.
"H-Hey, wait up!"
}-{
"Be on the lookout for anything this time, Daisuke."
Daisuke's voice echoed in Dark's mind, who was currently in control of their body at the moment.
"Why?"
"We may have to use a power that I haven't used until now."
"A power? Are you talking about magic?"
"Yes, a strong one that could strain your body."
Dark began to descend with his wings as he lowered himself above the Granbell Museum.
"I'll apologize now and do my best to avoid it, but if I do, pardon me."
"But why?"
A terrible feeling began to creep into his chest.
"You'll know why soon!"
Landing on the roof, Dark began muttering to himself as he allowed the spell to work its magic. His appearance changed and soon he was disguised as another one of the guards protecting the museum.
While I could just knock out one of the guards to steal their clothes, he thought to himself. I don't want to risk it with Hiwatari here.
A few minutes later, Dark found himself easily walking past several of the guards as he headed towards the direction where the Rutile of Grief was located.
"Hey, you!"
A voice suddenly called out to him, causing Dark to tense up for a moment as he turned around.
"Me?"
"Yeah, you." The guard walked up to him and gave him an unimpressed look. "Chief just gave out the order for us to get ready since it's almost time. Go back to your station and tell the other guys taking a break to get to their positions."
Dark saluted.
"Yes, sir!"
Once the guard was gone, Dark continued on his way towards where the target was. Entering the large room, he quickly counted and realized that there were several dozen guards just in this room alone. And who knows how many there are waiting in nearby rooms ready to cut off his exit.
"Everyone, get ready!" One of the guards shouted to the others. "It's one minute until the time stated by Dark."
Dark ignored him for now as he caught sight of the ring on display.
"There it is, the Rutile of Grief?"
Get ready, Daisuke. Once we start, we might end up getting into a scuffle with Hiwatari.
The nearby clock hanging on the wall finally struck.
Immediately going into action, Dark threw out a small pellet into the middle of the room, causing a small cloud to quickly fill the area.
"Wah!"
"It's him!"
"I can't see a thing!"
"Where's Dark!"
The cloud clears up, revealing all the guards in a state of disarray as they continued to rub their eyes or cough into their clothes. And in the center of the room…
"It's gone!"
"Dark stole the ring!"
"He can't be far! Everyone, search the building. Don't let that phantom thief escape."
With the sounds of footsteps echoing through the building, dozens of people quickly leave through the doors. As the guards began to clear the area, the room soon became empty.
That is, except for the sole figure that lingered behind.
"Can't believe they fell for that trick again," Dark said as he made his way to the glass case. "Just a simple illusion to hide the real ring."
Disabling the keypad on the case, Dark removes the glass and reaches out a hand to pick up the target.
A bad feeling hits him at that moment, and his eyes quickly widen as he takes a closer look at the ring.
It's a fake!
Too late, before he could react, the ground suddenly opens as three hourglasses appear around the room. The entire room lights up as the hourglasses bond together to activate their magic.
"Gwah!"
Dark's body freezes up as he gets caught up in the magic of the artifacts. A slow clapping sound begins to echo through the room as the figure of Hiwatari appears.
"Looks like it's checkmate. I didn't get the opportunity to use these last time, so I'm glad that these hourglasses can finally be put to use."
"H-Heh, so you had an a-ace in the hole like this last time."
The boy smirks as he watches the phantom thief struggle.
"Don't even think about escaping. The nature of these hourglasses is that they completely separate the inner world from the outer. You can't escape until time runs out of those hourglasses."
Raising his head with difficulty, Dark spots the sand falling slowly on one of the nearby hourglasses. Judging by how fast it's falling, he figured that it wouldn't run out until after a couple of minutes.
"S-So, finally caught me huh? And to think I even got t-tricked into stealing a f-fake. Where's the real one anyway?"
"Right here."
Hiwatari holds up a chain where the real Rutile of Grief hangs off it.
"It's been fun, Dark. But this is the end of the line for you."
Daisuke's voice fills Dark's mind as he struggles with his bonds.
"Dark, there must be something we can do."
Working on it Daisuke. Though, there is one thing that might be able to help us get out of here.
"What is it?"
Remember what I told you before? Looks like I'll have to use it here.
"You mean magic?"
Sorry in advance, this might sting a little.
Dark begins to yell at the top of his lungs as his entire body begins to slightly glow. Hiwatari finally gives a panicked look.
"Stop it! Whatever you're trying to do, stop it now!"
Here goes.
"Take this!"
The room is suddenly engulfed in an inferno of blue flames.
}-{
As Nagi strolls around the perimeter of the building, he pauses as a strange feeling passes through him.
"Huh?"
Reaching into his shirt collar, he pulls out the replica Rutile of Grief he bought earlier that day. The gemstone on the ring was suddenly glowing as it began to warm up in his hand.
"It's acting up?"
A voice calls out to him.
"Nagi, what's wrong?"
"Hm?" He looks up again. "Oh, it's nothing. Did you find a good place yet?"
"No. You'd think it would be easy to find a place with rooftop access, but surprisingly, there aren't that many fire escapes around here."
"Remind me again why we're looking for a fire escape?"
"Well, how else am I supposed to meet up with Mister Dark? If he's going to fly out of the museum after he's done with his heist, then the best way to catch his attention is from the top of a roof of another building nearby."
"What if he heads in the opposite direction we're at?"
"Then I'll just yell louder until Mister Dark hears me."
Won't the police catch wind of you if you do that?
Before he could voice that particular thought, both of them stumble as the ground suddenly rumbles underneath them. The sound of something breaking in the distance causes the two of them to turn back towards the direction of the Granbell Museum.
Around them, several other people being to panic at the situation.
"What was that?"
"Was that an explosion?"
"Is it an earthquake?"
Another loud sound comes from the building, as two figures burst out of the museum roof and into the air.
"Look!" Risa lets out a loud gasp. "It's Mister Dark! And there's someone else!"
Nagi's face pales as he catches sight of the other person in the air. With brilliant white wings and long blond hair, there was no doubt in his mind who that person was.
The opposite of Dark in everything including his name, Krad.
"Oh my," he turns to face Dark. "It's been too long."
Dark hovers in the air and glares at the other person.
"Krad, so you finally decide to show up."
"Now, now. It wasn't my fault Master Satoshi didn't wish for me to emerge." Krad's face twists into a cruel grin. "But now, we're finally able to meet once again. Come, my other half."
"Rrraagghhh!"
The two flies towards each other with their wings spread wide.
~ Part 6: Conflict ~
At the Niwa household…
Kosuke hunches over as another wave of pain envelops him. In his hand, a replica Rutile of Grief continues to glow.
"D-Daisuke…"
He cries out as pain shoots across his body. Hiding in the Niwa basement, nobody saw the man struggle to hold himself together as he attempted to take in part of the burden their family curse had placed on his son.
"D-Don't worry about m-me, kid…" he muttered to himself. "Your d-dad can still go on."
Even as another wave of pain hits him, he continued to smile.
"After all, it's the duty of a father to look after his kids."
}-{
Despite his current state where most of his past memories are missing, Nagi was still able to recall the first time he watched DNAngel.
It was the first anime he ever watched, and the first episode started with a flashforward scene of Dark facing off against Krad in one climactic battle. Feathers were swirling around them as the two clashed with all of their might.
Nagi was suddenly reminded of that scene as he watched the two angelic beings fight against each other in the air.
"Dark and Krad," he muttered to himself. "Two halves of a whole."
Black and White.
Love and Hate.
Good and Evil.
An eternal dance between these fated beings that transcends entire lifetimes. The greatest work of the Hikari ancestor made manifest in the form of these two angels.
Crowds of people begin to gather as everyone watches the battle. Risa looks up to Nagi with a hint of panic in her eyes.
"Why is Mister Dark fighting? And how come there's a white Mister Dark?"
"Risa, we need to get away from here."
Even as he kept his eyes on the fight, Nagi held back Risa from trying to charge towards the direction the two were in.
"Forty years ago…"
"What?"
She paused as he said that.
"This exact thing happened forty years ago. Most of the older people in this town can probably still recall that time, and sometimes, they tell us about what happened that year."
Risa frowned at his words. It was true that there were stories of the last time Phantom Dark was still active, how strange and incomprehensible things occurred during that time.
"If you ask around, you'll hear that there are times when Dark faces off against another being like him. One who is clad in white but has a heart darker than black."
"Him?"
Nagi nodded.
"And there is one lesson that all those people from forty years ago always make sure to impart whenever they tell those stories."
He spoke in a firm tone.
"It is that we don't want to get caught in a battle between angels."
}-{
Gravity had lost all meaning as the two of them continued to fly around, dodging and throwing attacks at each other while doing so.
"Wings of Darkness that hold my power."
The words of a powerful spell.
Preparing his magic, Dark holds up a hand with a single feather clenched within it. As he does so, a storm of energy gathers around him.
"Become a weapon to strike my enemy!"
"That's not going to work," Krad yelled as he began flying straight towards him. "The Rutile of Grief is giving me more power than you can ever comprehend."
Dark yells as he fires off a blast of energy towards the other angel. Krad sneers as he waves his hands, redirecting the attack to the side as he does so.
"This is the power of the Rutile. To draw forth one's power, me! I am the power of Satoshi Hiwatari, and my might is greater than yours."
"Your mouth certainly runs a lot more than mine does!'
Krad scowls at that.
"What a joke! Even now, I can tell you're still trying to hold back your true power so that you don't overwhelm your precious tamer. Unlike me, who certainly doesn't have that problem."
"You crazy bastard," Dark cried out. "Do you want to kill your host?! He'll die if you keep using that much magic!"
He sneers again as he clenches the Rutile of Grief in his hand.
"No matter. In the end, this body will be mine, and so will you!"
The two clash once more.
}-{
Whenever Dark took control of Daisuke's body, he always found himself in a strange state of existence where he was able to see what was happening to him from a stranger's perspective.
"Dark, are you okay?"
"It's not as bad as I thought," Dark replies. "It doesn't hurt at all."
"It's the Rutile," Daisuke realizes. "It's helping us offset the pain."
Dark grins at that.
"Then that means I don't have to hold back!"
And right as he says that, he begins to dance.
Weaving through the air, dodging all of Krad's attacks, feathers flying everywhere in a beautiful performance.
With the beat of his wings, he blows back attacks.
A glow surrounds his body, and Dark begins to fly faster.
Dark danced in the sky and underneath the bright moon.
Like a shooting star, he flies straight towards Krad at his fastest speed and crashes into him, forcing the other angel to lose his grip on the Rutile of Grief.
"No!"
Falling straight for the ground below, the two quickly chase after it as they race to catch it first.
}-{
"What's going on?!"
"It looks like they're falling."
"The Rutile of Grief, it's falling!"
The crowd has expanded greatly as policemen and newscasters began to gather in the area. Everyone was watching Dark's battle with the other angel, despite the risks of a stray attack getting too close to them.
"Don't lose, Mister Dark!" Risa continued to cheer from the back of the crowd. "You can do it, I believe in you!"
Meanwhile, Nagi just stared at the scene before him.
}-{
As Krad desperately tries to reach for the ring, a voice yells out in his mind.
"That's enough, Krad!"
"Argh!"
The momentary distraction causes him to slow down slightly, but that was enough for Dark to capitalize on that and grab the ring out of the air.
"Got it," Dark yells out as he quickly begins to flee the scene. "See ya, Krad!"
"Get back here Dark—!"
"No, forget about it."
He winces again as his body is forced to stop once more. Unable to do anything else, all he could do was watch as Dark flew away with the Rutile in his hands.
}-{
"He did it!"
Risa cheered as she saw Dark fly away, while Nagi instead continued to watch the figure of the other angel warily. He saw Krad hover in the air for a few more seconds before the angel decided to turn around and leave the scene as well.
Finally, the battle came to a conclusion.
Sighing to himself, he finally noticed that his replica Rutile wasn't acting up anymore.
Could it be that it can sense whether or not the danger has passed?
Nagi decided to leave that thought alone for now. Once again, he wasn't able to do anything to help Dark while they were on their heist. And this time, it was one of the most dangerous ones yet.
He had to get better himself if he wanted to be capable of helping others.
"Risa, weren't you supposed to call out to Dark as he passed by?"
The girl gave a blank look at that until suddenly, her face changed to that of dawning comprehension.
"Oh my gosh, you're right! I totally forgot to call out to him before he left."
"To be fair, he was most likely busy."
She slumped at his words.
"I guess you're right."
"It's already late. Let's just head on home and get some rest for school tomorrow."
"Yeah, thanks for coming out here with me today Nagi."
"No problem."
The two of them began walking in the same direction, both of them were quiet as they processed everything they just witnessed.
Risa suddenly spoke up.
"I've always wondered about it, but… where exactly does Mister Dark come from?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well," she thought about it. "He looks so young, but everyone knows he's been around for decades now. Some say he's been around for several centuries."
While Nagi knew the truth, it wasn't exactly something he could share. Still, even he had questions on how Dark's existence was possible. Even amongst spirits, Dark and Krad were unusual due to their relationship to the two conflicting families.
"I don't think anybody really knows. Maybe Dark is the only one who can answer that question."
Sometimes, it was hard to remember that the cocky purple-haired thief was actually a few centuries old. Decades of incarnating once more into another descendant of the first Niwa. An existence that was so foreign to human nature, yet somehow able to maintain a relationship with those who met him.
"Well, this is my stop."
The two of them were at a crossroads, both of them were going to head in different directions. Nagi knew that Risa was only about a minute away from her house, so he didn't really think it was necessary for him to walk her back home.
"I'll see you at school tomorrow, Nagi!"
"You too."
Heading home, Nagi reached into his collar once more and pulled out the Rutile. Staring at it, he recalled the words that Kosuke told him earlier that day.
"To draw out one's power, a chance to regain my memories of the past…"
There were only several more months until the Black Wings needed to be sealed. Nagi couldn't remember all the details surrounding that event, but he knew that it was something that was going to happen soon.
"Now, I have to decide. What should I do to make things better for everyone?"
Once more, he was reminded of the conflict between the Niwa family and the enemies that worked with Krad. There were forces in the background acting to make sure that Dark was captured for some reason.
Hiwatari's insistence on Dark's capture was strange enough. It didn't seem like he wanted to turn in Dark for the same reasons the police did. No, he was trying to capture Dark for another reason.
"Why do they keep going after Dark?"
That was a question that Nagi had no answer to.
But maybe, the answer was buried underneath his long-forgotten memories from the past.
~ Part 7: Finale ~
"Good morning."
The next day at school, Nagi ran into someone he wasn't expecting.
"Hiwatari?"
The other boy gave out a tired smile at Nagi's response. But Nagi didn't miss the bandages covering various parts of Hiwatari's body.
"What happened to you?"
Hiwatari's face grimaced for a second.
"The injuries are from overtaxing my body. It was quite the whirlwind of events yesterday."
Nagi wasn't sure what to say about that. He knew how and why he got those injuries, but seeing the young boy so injured like this was making him feel unnecessarily guilty. It was something that he had to keep in mind, that this was reality and people didn't always escape epic battles unharmed.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but thank you for your concern. I'm here because I'd like to ask you a favor."
"A favor?"
Raising a hand, Hiwatari makes an attempt to bend his wrist around, which only ends up with him wincing at the action.
"I was supposed to help out some of the members of the Art Club today, but since I received this injury, I'm not quite up to the task. Do you mind if I ask you to help with some stuff after school today? It's mostly just heavy labor, picking up boxes and transferring them elsewhere."
"Sure, I don't mind."
Hiwatari nods. "Then I'll see you later."
}-{
Opening the doors to the art room a few hours later, Nagi blinks as he catches sight of Hiwatari already starting without him. At the moment, he was trying to lift up a large box in the corner of the room.
"Hey, need help with that?"
"I-If you don't m-mind."
The two of them both work together to lift the box onto a flatbed trolley so that they could drag it out of the room easily. Once they finish piling up boxes onto the cart, Hiwatari slumps against the wall while breathing heavily.
"Hey, are you sure you should be at school right now?"
"I-I'm fine, t-this is nothing."
"I can see that," Nagi says dryly. "After all, excessive panting and being unable to stand up straight are perfect indicators that a person is fine and healthy. Seriously though, do you need me to take you to a nurse?"
"No nurses," Hiwatari says suddenly. "Can't let them ask questions."
It took Nagi several seconds to figure out what that meant.
"Injuries on the job?"
"Not everyone in the school knows about my official position. I'd like to keep it that way as long as possible if you don't mind."
"I'm just surprised that word hasn't spread already," he admits. "But maybe that has something to do with Saehara. He seems to have a good grasp on controlling the school's gossip network."
Hiwatari says nothing at that.
Honestly, Nagi was still somewhat unsure as to what exactly their relationship was. Before he took a leave of absence from school, you couldn't exactly say that they were friends. In fact, you could even argue that they were enemies considering who Nagi worked for and who Hiwatari was.
Still, it was hard for Nagi not to pity the other boy.
"Hey, why don't you head on home first," Nagi offered. "I can stay behind and finish up, and I'd prefer that you get some rest instead of staying around to help me."
Hesitating for a moment, Nagi was relieved when Hiwatari nods in response.
"Then I'll take my leave here. I apologize for troubling you."
"It's fine," Nagi quickly assures. "Just go home and get some sleep."
Hiwatari leaves the room and Nagi was suddenly by himself in the empty classroom. Staring around him, he noticed that there wasn't that much left to clean up anyway. If he worked fast, it was possible for him to probably finish up in maybe less than half an hour.
The next few minutes were spent with him going over various supplies and materials as he sorted them into various parts of the room.
As he did so, he noticed that there was an empty canvas propped up in the corner of the room. Giving it a curious look, a thought comes to him.
"Maybe I should get back into drawing."
That was something of a hobby he used to have in his previous life, even if that took the form of digital drawing instead of painting. But if Nagi was going to be working with a family of phantom thieves, it might be best if he knew a little something about painting.
Making up his mind, Nagi quickly gathered a set of brushes and colors before sitting down and letting his mind wander.
Humming a familiar tune to himself, time passed as Nagi allowed his mind to go free and his hand to move on its own. He wasn't exactly drawing, but rather, he was digging up forgotten memories within himself and translating that to reality.
It wouldn't be until a few hours later that Nagi would finally regain awareness, Staring at what he drew, Nagi tilted his head in confusion.
"A butterfly?"
The image of a blue butterfly caught in mid-flight was depicted on the canvas he painted.
The sound of something ringing in the distance causes him to look up, only to wince once he noticed the time.
"Better finish things up so that I can get home."
Ten minutes later, Nagi was about to head home when he paused right as he was about to leave the room. Quickly turning around, he returned with the painting he just drew covered up in his arms.
"I'll continue to work on this at home. May as well help pass the time when I'm bored."
He was unaware of the fact that his replica Rutile had been glowing the entire time he painted. The soft glow emitting from the gemstone soon faded away.
Took a while to finish this chapter. It was a weird decision of mine to change parts of the anime for no real reason, but I thought it was neat.
The next chapter will cover the events of the 13th episode, and I'm still deciding whether I should stick to canon or have Nagi go off on his own crazy adventure.
Anyway, hope some people enjoy that nod at the end. I'll see how I'll expand on that in future chapters.