Now everything is out of whack. Oh well, now I've got to change Dark's-Daisuke's speech/thinking things. So Dark is in italics, and Daisuke's in 'whatever this is...' Heh. Anyway, things are slowly going. Slowly...

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Disclaimers here, can't bother to write out too much...

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Chapter 14: Increasing Danger

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As the rain continued to pour down relentlessly, with no sign of stopping, Satoshi slowly made his way to the next class, working out the mystery that was slowly unraveling to him.

Scarlet knew Celes, Akane knew Celes, and the very source of Time was with the Flame. Thirteen sources in all, and if it were to die off, the world would freeze. Somehow, it was too much like the Second Hand of Time.

::But you had the power to destroy the art piece, Satoshi-sama,:: Krad drawled out, ::you just didn't have the heart to do it.::

:Shut up, Krad,: snapped the boy, but took the reasoning as another point. They couldn't just destroy the Flame, it seemed, and doing so would lead to destruction.

The Flame was the very source of Time... and the very source of human life.

Sliding the classroom door open and entering, he noticed that most people were slowly making their own ways to class, and the teacher still hadn't arrived. As he took his seat, and looked out the window, he noticed another thing.

Akane wasn't there.

---

Coughing slightly, Akane opened the classroom door slightly, peering out as students passed through the corridors to their next lessons. She considered herself lucky to have run into a classroom that was not being used for the time being, but the prospect of getting caught by Satoshi left her worried.

'If he suspects me...' she started, 'then what's the point of being here... if I drop my guard again, it might lead to... more disastrous results. And... he can't be told the truth yet. No one can, not until they're ready for it. But... when is that...?'

'You there? Akane?' demanded Celes' voice, jerking the girl back to attention, 'Answer me already!'

"I'm here," she replied slowly, eyes roving around the now empty corridors, "but what is it this ti--" her eyes widened at the sudden realization, "don't tell me another one..."

'Yes,' the girl sighed sadly, 'another one of the thirteen flames just faded off. We can't just hang around! We need to make haste and stop the Flame from dying! Akane, I know you wanted to make sure that they were ready for it, but this is ridiculous! Another week and all the Flames will be dead!'

"... but Niwa-kun's condition... it's still very unstable. We can't risk it..." whispered Akane, "just a few more days... please, Celes, you just have to make it hold for another few days. I know we can sort this out."

'You said that before, dear,' Celes said impatiently, 'but I'll do my best. Scarlet's got a job tomorrow night, hasn't she?'

A small smile appeared on the girl's face as she went down the corridor, "Yeah, I know. Don't worry, everything will be fine. I know it."

'Wait...' the other girl's tone became suspicious, 'shouldn't you be in class by now?'

Flinging a door open, Akane exited onto the school roof again, the rain still pouring, "I can't stay here anymore for today. If he suspects me, then I'm just going to call it for the day. And don't tell me otherwise," she added, "because I'm not going back today."

'How about tomorrow?' persisted Celes calmly, 'I doubt that he would just forget about it in one day.'

Shaking her head and looking at the gray sky, she fell silent, 'That's right. Hiwatari won't just let something like this go... I probably can't go back until the whole ordeal is settled...'

'Akane?'

She blinked, wiping rain out of the way, "Yeah... I'll just have to deal with it, won't I?" she paused momentarily, "Now, first I have to leave the school with an excuse..."

---

Flipping through his notebook unconsciously without reading any of it, Satoshi's attention remained on the sky outside, although he really couldn't see much due to the fact that the rain was pouring and it splattered the glass, leaving it fogged up on the other side. The class seemed louder than usual, since the teacher still hadn't arrived, and Akane was nowhere in sight.

::I do believe she has turned tail and ran. A little like Niwa, if you think about it.::

:Must I keep on telling you to shut up and leave me alone? I'm trying to think.:

::And I know exactly what you're thinking,:: continued his other half, obviously not taking his warning seriously, although Satoshi knew that he never would, ::you're worried about Niwa's condition, who this Celes and Scarlet is, and what this Takada girl knows and how she is connected with the power of Time.::

:Obviously you know what I'm thinking,: replied the blue-haired boy acidly, :you live in there. But I don't want you to talk to me or I'm going to lose it.:

::Why don't I just start telling you how much fun it would be to see Niwa die?::

Seeing that the conversation was going down the twisted trail, Satoshi instantly blocked Krad's voice off his mind the best he could before going back to his investigations. Over half of his book was taken up with the daily tasks of what Daisuke and Dark did, but this was the first time he had to write about another person unrelated to the Niwa blood. And still... something didn't feel right.

Too closely connected... healing magic on Niwa... somehow related to Celes... another world... Scarlet... the Flames of Time, which was the very source of time itself...

::--and to hear the boy's screaming, one long, ear splitting shriek, and the blood cascading down slowly...:: continued Krad. Satoshi gritted his teeth, seething slightly as the homicidal blond continued to vividly explain what would happen to Daisuke once he got his hands on him, and did his best to block it all out.

Takada Akane... Takada... was that family somehow related to the Time Keepers? Was there a connection to that family and the Niwa and Hikari family? Something just didn't seem right... her strange reaction to the mentioning of the Flame...

The sound of the door opening instantly brought Satoshi back to his senses, and even Krad fell silent, as well as all the students in the classroom. A teacher they couldn't identify entered, looking sternly over large square glasses, which clashed perfectly with his square-shaped haircut.

"You're teacher is sick today," he sad gruffly, "and I had to be called in. But with the sound you kids were making, it seems that we will have to throw a few guidelines together. And the first one will be no speaking in the class, at ANY TIME..."

Satoshi looked away, returning to the window, until another teacher entered to whisper something to the older man. His ears picked up, "Takada... sick... home early..." and then, "left a message... parents... note for Harada twins..." he saw a note pass between the two, before the other teacher left. He frowned at what he'd heard, despite the fact that he was around the very back of the classroom, and no doubt every other student present had heard, as they held their silence.

::I do believe she did turn tail and run,:: smirked Krad, ::and I'm not the reason this time.::

:...:

::Are you plotting on trying to get her where she lives?:: the blond seemed quite interested all of a sudden, ::Maybe you aren't just curious of what this girl knows, Satoshi-sama, but you know that, no matter what your feelings are, they will never be returned...::

:... you're thinking a bit off the border this time,: replied Satoshi coldly, knowing well enough that he only suspected Akane, and that was all, especially since she always seemed to pop up wherever Daisuke was, :and I never hold anything close.:

::How about Niwa?::

Knowing better than to answer such a question, and knowing that his other half already knew how he felt, Satoshi remained silent, while Krad hissed death threats. AS he watched the droplets splatter across the glass, something caught his eye. Taking a closer look, he soon caught sight of something glowing as it was battered in the stormy weather.

A feather with a golden-aura.

---

As the day commenced, surprisingly the rain ceased, leaving only a few odd droplets as people began to leave the building, calling to friends and going home. Pushing his glasses up, the blue-haired boy took a step out of the building, only to be stopped by a girl he couldn't identify, who held a letter out to him. Keeping his cool, Satoshi rejected the girl quickly and left the school grounds.

Once he was out, he returned to a regular walking pace, having no intention of going home anytime soon and decided to just walk around at random. Luckily, Krad decided to remain silent so Satoshi could think without being disturbed.

The unknown presence which he'd been sensing lately made the boy turn, scanning the area behind him. The only living things he could see were a group of students going home, and a mother with her child, holding his hand and chattering pleasantly. Ignoring the sight, Satoshi turned away, and made his way to the apartment building.

"A reason to it..." he muttered under his breath, "a reason to why the Niwa and Hikari family are connected to the Time Keepers, and the Flames of Time..."

Somewhere deep within his soul, something was awakening. What it was, exactly, he didn't know.

---

The sky remained dreary and gray after the storm, and Emiko looked out the window, while holding a tray. Her usually cheerful face was creased with worry, as she looked upon her only child, who was currently sleeping. The door creaked opened slightly, and she turned around in time to see Kosuke enter.

"Kosuke-san..."

"Daisuke hasn't woken up yet?" her husband frowned as he went over to her.

"No..." she sighed, "I never thought something like this could happen... and it was all so sudden..."

"Emiko-san..." placing a hand on her shoulder lightly, Kosuke gave her a reassuring smile, "everything will be fine, I'm sure of it. In the end..."

"I know, I know but..." she bit her lip, already knowing that he knew what she thought and what she was really worried about, "I don't want Daisuke to get hurt too badly by... whatever is going on this time? Even with Dark..."

"I know," he sighed in frustration, before returning to reality, "but until Daisuke recovers, we have to remain positive and the scroll..."

"You're right!" smiling, Emiko went to the door, "I'm sure we can find an answer to this if we just translate the scroll! We'll have it done in no time!"

Kosuke allowed her to leave before him, and then went to Daisuke's bed, where the boy lay. His eyes were closed and his face seemed extremely pale as he slept, breathing short and sharp. Shaking his head, he left the room.

"Be careful..." he whispered, gently closing the door behind him, "more is on the line than we think..."

---

The doorbell rang unexpectedly the next afternoon, and Emiko looked up in surprise, disappointed of being disturbed. Sending Towa to answer the door, she gave a glance at Daisuke.

"You don't have to get up so soon," she soothed gently, "we can take care of it."

Having just woken up, Daisuke still seemed fairly pale, but his voice remained the same as he spoke, "Mum! I'm fine now! You don't have to worry so much!"

I wouldn't say that if I was you, muttered Dark, took you forever to get out of... whatever you were in, and that left me bored to no end.

'I didn't ask for your opinion!' shot back the redhead indignantly, forgetting that With was sitting in his lap and got up abruptly, 'And I don't even know why I was sick!'

Yeah yeah, whatever you say, Dai-chan, replied the Thief, you were out for at least a day, so it couldn't just be ANY sickness.

'...'

"Niwa-kun! Are you okay?"

"Eh?!" looking over to the doorway, Daisuke turned red as he saw the Harada twins enter his room, "R-R-R-Riku-san? Harada-san!? Why are you..."

"You were sick," Risa said simply, "and we thought," she gave Riku a pointed look, "that we should make sure that you weren't dying or something..."

"I'm okay, really," smiling, he managed to lift himself up into a sitting position, "thanks for coming."

Riku blushed slightly, before recovering her ability to speak, "So, um... will you be okay...?"

"Don't worry," he said reassuringly, "I should be fine in no time, so..."

Planning to change into me? asked Dark, I can feel that meter filling up again.

'DARK!' Daisuke stopped abruptly, 'We can't change now! What are we gonna do if they--'

Calm down, calm down, the Thief said, obviously enjoying the other boy's discomfort, I won't take over, so be glad I'm in a good mood today.

'So you say...'

Returning to reality, Daisuke noticed that both twins suddenly seemed extremely somber and rather uncomfortable with whatever the situation was. Frowning, he gave both girls a long look before speaking up, since Dark was telling him to.

"Riku-san, Harada-san, is something the matter?" he managed to say.

Risa exchanged looks with Riku before deciding to answer the question, "Well, you see, Niwa-kun..." she started reluctantly, "um... about the whole moving trip..."

"We're leaving," whispered Riku, "tonight."

---

As Kosuke went down the stairs, he noticed a girl standing by Towa, apparently absorbed in conversation. He frowned slightly, unable to recognize who it could be. She was around average height like most girls her age, and her hair was done up into a thick plait, which went down to her shoulder blades.

"Oh, hello," he said, deciding better than to suspect, as he went down the stairs, "are you a friend of Daisuke's?"

The girl stopped talking and looked at him in slight surprise, "Oh, yes, I guess you could say that."

Her voice seemed fairly calm and even as she spoke, but didn't seem to surprised that he spoke to her, "I'm a new student at Azumano Junior High. My name is Takada Akane."

Noticing that her speaking pattern had changed dramatically, he decided not to ask too much about it, and merely nodded, "Did you move here with your family, Takada-san?"

"Hm? Family?" Akane blinked curiously, but then nodded, "Oh, yes, of course. We only came here about a week ago," she paused, as if considering what to say, "is Niwa-kun going to be alright?"

"Yes, he will be soon," replied Kosuke, "but we really don't know what happened to him in the first place."

"Ah, I see..." she mumbled, "I just thought I would leave Riku-chan and Risa-chan to speak to him first, so..."

"Would you like to make yourself comfortable?" asked Towa, cutting in smartly as she held a tray.

"Oh, no, it's okay," she smiled weakly, "I'm sure they won't be long."

"Well, I have some things to do, so please don't hesitate to ask if you have any queries," Kosuke said, and she nodded before he left. Once he entered his own room, he fell into thought.

There was something about how Akane had reacted that made him suspicious, but he decided to leave it at the back of his mind, and turned to the half-opened scroll.

###

Celes mumbled a few words to herself, transferring her own energy into the weakened Flame, well aware that she wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer. As she expected, another smaller flame flickered out and the larger flame grew smaller.

With a frustrated sigh, she sat on the floor, taking herself back to the void. Rubbing her eyes, she muttered under her breath about a few things, mainly about how cramped and difficult the situation had become and that they really didn't have much time left.

"Geez... why do you have to be so stubborn," she sighed, "just like your parents..."

There was a loud crashing sound close by and she spun around, freezing in mid-spin when she heard a familiar voice.

"Are you absolutely sure we can break in?!"

"Chester?!" she hissed in alarm, jumping up and running to the void's source and forming a transparent barrier around it, "How did he find where it was?! She assured me that we would be safe, unless..." she gasped in horror, "it only holds as long as the Flame does?!"

The barrier shook dangerously under the pressure of another spun, and she took a step back, worry filling up inside of her.

"We've got to hurry," she whispered to herself, "we can't wait any longer... we can't..."

Right before her eyes, she saw her own barrier cracking dangerously, and she bit her lip.

"No more time..."

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No more... this is painful, really. So... things are really going to start in... about two more chaps... no one's around, are they? Oh well, ON WITH THE SHOW! 'Till next week...

Oh yeah, have a new story up: Shrouded in Darkness. Have another one coming soon, but that's later...