There were more people in the school library that lunchtime than usual on
this particular day that just happened to be Wednesday. Which would have
made last night when the phantom thief visited the museum, Tuesday night.
Phantom thieves do not wait for the weekend to steal strange and wonderful
artifacts. No, they steal at random. Makes things more unpredictable. More
fun for Dark, and less fun for Daisuke's homework.
"I'm not procrastinating, Daisuke" Takeshi leant over the table, pen in hand, scrap paper blank, "I like to do things at the last minute. See the way I got it figured, is that if you do everything at the last minute, you keep your options open."
"More options are not helping your maths marks," his friend cautioned and pointed to the textbook, "we had to do this for homework."
The future reporter sighed and got down to work. Daisuke sat back, watching his friend speed through the maths sums. When you put your mind to it, anything's possible. Saehara Takeshi was a genius in disguise.
"There, see? Done," grinned the boy, "now I get to show you my article on Dark that I wrote last night."
Daisuke smiled and blushed to stop himself from groaning and slapping his forehead. Dark. The newest sensation, the latest craze, resurrected for the new generation of crazy, obsessed fan girl mobs. The ego that had been built up over hundreds of years was enough to kill a lesser man. Yet, it continued to grow with every print, every gossip and every successfully stolen artifact. He stared at the headline.
IVY'S EMBRACE - DARK'S EMBRACE
"..."
"So, what do you think?"
"It's um, interesting. Very different. It's good, uh, yeah. Yeah, it's good."
There was a pause in the conversation. Daisuke looked up to see his friend looking back at him, eyes wide and glittery. A single tear slid down from the reporter's cheek, and fell from his chin in dramatic slow motion. His words quivered, nearing to a sob.
"I know."
"."
"But that's not all."
An envelope was slapped onto the table; it's contents sliding onto the workbench where the two sat.
"Look at these, look at these!"
It took Daisuke's brain a couple of seconds to focus on the mass of color and shape in front of him. Dark. All of the pictures were of the phantom thief. He picked a picture out of the stack and held it up, studying it closely. It was Dark, all right. Daisuke frowned. But he didn't remember visiting America, and that was definitely the Empire State Building Dark was flying over.
"Is this really Dark?" Daisuke had to know.
"Yeah, most pictures are from the last time period Dark appeared," Takeshi explained, "Though, how Kyo-san get these pictures, I do not know."
"Kyo-san? Do you mean Mikada?"
* * * * *
"It was nice doing business with you." Kyo smiled happily, folding the money carefully before putting it into his moneybag. It was nice to do business in general.
A hand slapped down on his desk, making everything jump. Kyo looked up at ice blue eyes glaring down at him.
"Your file is not in the police's computer system."
Satoshi glared at the fellow student. He hated knowing less than the opponent. Especially one that continued to smile like an idiot when he was about to get punched in the face any moment now. He drew in a breath, pushed his glasses up against his eyes, and counted to ten.
"Would my name show up in a police search?" the boy asked, "I mean, I'm not a criminal, if that's what your saying, Satoshi-kun."
He studied the smile. He would find out what was hiding behind it, even if he had to take it apart piece by piece. Satoshi blinked. Was that him talking, or was it the demon inside his head? Did he use to think about ripping smiles apart?
"Everyone's data is recorded in police files. To not have your profile in it means that-"
"I'm not real?"
"-You're illegal."
Kyo's smile faltered for a second. Satoshi's eyes narrowed.
"I'm sure this is some kind of misunderstanding," the boy replied, "Satoshi- kun, why do you have access to police files?"
A strand of blue fell across Kyo's face. The boy's smile faded, eyes opening into seriousness. Satoshi leant down, his eyes narrowing into suspicious slits. He could feel the other boy's soft breath on his chin.
"I have a feeling," he said, "that you already know the answer to that question."
*****
B.B.: Gomenen minasan! This is probably the shortest chapter I've ever written, and I've made you all wait so long. But I really need some inspiration. If any of you have any ideas, throw them at me.
Tosh: however, the next chapter may not be started anytime soon.
B.B.: Oh yeah, and that too. I'm going to Japan for exchange for a month. Writing will be a little slow. Bear with me. I'm determined to finish this fic. Thank you for all those who reviewed, firstly to those who reviewed for the second or third time. Thank you Ruby Moon - sorry for not updating as soon as I'd hoped for. Thank you Silver Tears with your DNAngel friends (?) I like reading your reviews. They seem to be the most creative. Thank you Digitalized, and in answer to your question, Mikada may be a boy, or he may be a donkey. I do not dare to hazard a guess. Last but not least, thank you Chibi Momoko. You pointed out the mistake I was hoping I could sneak around. Good job, Watson.
Tosh: You really need a beta.
B.B.: No, I really need a life.
"I'm not procrastinating, Daisuke" Takeshi leant over the table, pen in hand, scrap paper blank, "I like to do things at the last minute. See the way I got it figured, is that if you do everything at the last minute, you keep your options open."
"More options are not helping your maths marks," his friend cautioned and pointed to the textbook, "we had to do this for homework."
The future reporter sighed and got down to work. Daisuke sat back, watching his friend speed through the maths sums. When you put your mind to it, anything's possible. Saehara Takeshi was a genius in disguise.
"There, see? Done," grinned the boy, "now I get to show you my article on Dark that I wrote last night."
Daisuke smiled and blushed to stop himself from groaning and slapping his forehead. Dark. The newest sensation, the latest craze, resurrected for the new generation of crazy, obsessed fan girl mobs. The ego that had been built up over hundreds of years was enough to kill a lesser man. Yet, it continued to grow with every print, every gossip and every successfully stolen artifact. He stared at the headline.
IVY'S EMBRACE - DARK'S EMBRACE
"..."
"So, what do you think?"
"It's um, interesting. Very different. It's good, uh, yeah. Yeah, it's good."
There was a pause in the conversation. Daisuke looked up to see his friend looking back at him, eyes wide and glittery. A single tear slid down from the reporter's cheek, and fell from his chin in dramatic slow motion. His words quivered, nearing to a sob.
"I know."
"."
"But that's not all."
An envelope was slapped onto the table; it's contents sliding onto the workbench where the two sat.
"Look at these, look at these!"
It took Daisuke's brain a couple of seconds to focus on the mass of color and shape in front of him. Dark. All of the pictures were of the phantom thief. He picked a picture out of the stack and held it up, studying it closely. It was Dark, all right. Daisuke frowned. But he didn't remember visiting America, and that was definitely the Empire State Building Dark was flying over.
"Is this really Dark?" Daisuke had to know.
"Yeah, most pictures are from the last time period Dark appeared," Takeshi explained, "Though, how Kyo-san get these pictures, I do not know."
"Kyo-san? Do you mean Mikada?"
* * * * *
"It was nice doing business with you." Kyo smiled happily, folding the money carefully before putting it into his moneybag. It was nice to do business in general.
A hand slapped down on his desk, making everything jump. Kyo looked up at ice blue eyes glaring down at him.
"Your file is not in the police's computer system."
Satoshi glared at the fellow student. He hated knowing less than the opponent. Especially one that continued to smile like an idiot when he was about to get punched in the face any moment now. He drew in a breath, pushed his glasses up against his eyes, and counted to ten.
"Would my name show up in a police search?" the boy asked, "I mean, I'm not a criminal, if that's what your saying, Satoshi-kun."
He studied the smile. He would find out what was hiding behind it, even if he had to take it apart piece by piece. Satoshi blinked. Was that him talking, or was it the demon inside his head? Did he use to think about ripping smiles apart?
"Everyone's data is recorded in police files. To not have your profile in it means that-"
"I'm not real?"
"-You're illegal."
Kyo's smile faltered for a second. Satoshi's eyes narrowed.
"I'm sure this is some kind of misunderstanding," the boy replied, "Satoshi- kun, why do you have access to police files?"
A strand of blue fell across Kyo's face. The boy's smile faded, eyes opening into seriousness. Satoshi leant down, his eyes narrowing into suspicious slits. He could feel the other boy's soft breath on his chin.
"I have a feeling," he said, "that you already know the answer to that question."
*****
B.B.: Gomenen minasan! This is probably the shortest chapter I've ever written, and I've made you all wait so long. But I really need some inspiration. If any of you have any ideas, throw them at me.
Tosh: however, the next chapter may not be started anytime soon.
B.B.: Oh yeah, and that too. I'm going to Japan for exchange for a month. Writing will be a little slow. Bear with me. I'm determined to finish this fic. Thank you for all those who reviewed, firstly to those who reviewed for the second or third time. Thank you Ruby Moon - sorry for not updating as soon as I'd hoped for. Thank you Silver Tears with your DNAngel friends (?) I like reading your reviews. They seem to be the most creative. Thank you Digitalized, and in answer to your question, Mikada may be a boy, or he may be a donkey. I do not dare to hazard a guess. Last but not least, thank you Chibi Momoko. You pointed out the mistake I was hoping I could sneak around. Good job, Watson.
Tosh: You really need a beta.
B.B.: No, I really need a life.