A/N: Okay, here's the next chapter. I hurried it up but I did leave something in it. I'm wondering if anyone will find it. So anyway, read, relax, and review!

Clarence Hikari- Thank you for reviewing again! And also... because I'm part evil.

Icy Pheonix- Why thank you, and here you go.

Disclaimer: If I really owned DN Angel I would be happily rolling in my pool of money.

Part IV

"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest." –Mark Twain

Aeris's eyes begun to water as newspaper after newspaper flew by on the screen. She honestly had no clue why she was even bothering with it. Thanks to that official ass, Hiwatari, the murders had been covered up neatly. But there always was a chance.

Sighing she leaned back in the hard chair and cast another glance behind her. She seriously doubted that anyone would be at library at this time of night.

Especially since she'd seen no one when she broke in and 3 in the morning was unusual times for a library patron.

Technically, she hadn't broken in at all.

She'd planned on it, but the window on the second story had been left unlocked.

And seeing as how the library hadn't an alarm system, she had no qualms about slipping in to check the old newspapers.

With a sigh she turned off the machine and slipped back into the sleeves of her warm leather jacket.

It was no use; the only way she'd get a detailed description of the crime scene was from her uncle or Hiwatari...

Her eyes narrowed in thought, or perhaps Hiwatari's files...

But that was crazy; it would involve breaking into police headquarters itself!

She sighed.

At least no one would expect it...

"Oh come on Aeris!" Riku cried in frustration. "You have to go! Our school doesn't have dances that much!"

Aeris laughed, "Really Riku, it just doesn't sound like my kind of thing..."

They were having their lunches outside on one of the various benches during break.

"But Satoshi will be so disappointed!" Riku said waving her finger in Aeris face.

"Why?"

Riku blinked at her. "Come on Aeris... your not serious..."

"Uh..."

"YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME, AERIS!"

"Good grief! What is Riku yelling about?" Daisuke said covering Wiz's ears from the grass no more than fifty feet from the bench.

Satoshi merely shrugged and continued to pick at his own lunch, thoughtfully made by Aeris herself.

"Satoshi! Honestly..." Peering into his lunch box to find nothing even remotely good for him or cooked she clicked her tongue. "I'm making your lunches from now on."

"There's no need-"

"It's a wonder you haven't dropped dead, Satoshi. Two lunches or one, its no bother to me, really." She said firmly and he didn't argue.

With Aeris there really wasn't a point to arguing, especially since she was right.

Masahiro swallowed his piece of sushi. "So, Daisuke, you going to ask Risa to the dance?"

Daisuke hung his head, "I don't know if I'll even bother,"

"He doesn't have the guts for that," Takeshi said simply.

"It's not hard to ask a girl." Masahiro said.

"Oh yeah? And how would you know?" Takeshi snapped.

"Because I already asked Riku, and she said she'd be happy to accompany me." He stuck out his tongue.

To stop Takeshi from retaliating Daisuke asked Takeshi who he planned on asking.

"Aeris!"

Satoshi choked on his rice and Daisuke started smacking him on the back.

"Oh come on, like she'd go with you." Masahiro laughed.

"Why wouldn't she?" He demanded, "AERIS!" Jumping to his feet he started to run over to where the girls were sitting.

"Oh there is no way I'm just going to sit here and miss him getting rejected, c'mon!" Masahiro got to his feet, tugging the other two along.

Riku was glaring at Aeris who was holding up both hands in protest. Takeshi rushed forward and took both of her hands into his own. "Aeris."

It happened so fast Aeris hadn't even blinked yet. "Takeshi?"

"You know, we're having a dance here soon..." He begun, looking at her with an adoring expression while Masahiro was shoving his fist into his mouth to stifle his laughter.

Riku rolled her eyes and shoved Takeshi aside. "Get real Takeshi, she's taken."

"What?! Who asked her?" He demanded while Masahiro was laughing out loud now, holding onto his stomach while Daisuke tried not to laugh himself.

Aeris however, was oblivious to the whole talk and was looking at Satoshi.

"How was your lunch?"

"Very good. Who... who are you going with, to the dance?" He asked, his voice low, even though no one else would have heard it, Takeshi was so damn loud.

"Oh no one's asked. Why?"

"... Would you like to go together?"

"I'd love too!"

"WHAT?" Takeshi yelled. "SATOSHI YOU SNEAK!"

Moving the paper bag slightly in her arms Aeris sighed. She was tired beyond belief. With all the school work and trying with all her might to remember anything about that night kept leaving her drained.

Not to mention that Satoshi and her uncle kept bumping heads.

And that slime, Hiwatari kept popping up to harass her.

It was as if the man had no job, nothing to occupy his time at all.

Shifting the bag of groceries again so she could see over them she fought back the urge to sigh again.

Soon she'd have the chance to relax. Friday there was no school due to an urgent facility meeting. Apparently some student had gone around snatching grade books.

Which also meant that this weekend would be the perfect opportunity to break into Hiwatari's files.

Aeris sighed again.

The only thing everyone at school talked about was the upcoming dance. Guys were either talking about what girl they were going to ask, or who had agreed to go with them.

Girls were giggling nonstop, much to Aeris and Riku's annoyance.

When everyone found out that Aeris and Satoshi were going together, there were two general responses.

"I can't believe he asked her before I got the chance!" –Boys.

"Satoshi asked her? I thought he said he didn't have time for girls, no fair!" –Girls.

Daisuke had yet to ask Risa and Riku was starting to regret that she'd agreed to go with Masahiro. "I know he wouldn't have asked me... but still." Riku whispered to Aeris in the middle of trig.

Personally, Aeris didn't understand what he saw in Risa in the first place. She was perfectly nice and pretty, but between her and Riku... why would he pick Risa?

She discussed it with Satoshi during break.

"What do you think?"

He stopped eating, chopsticks still stuck in his mouth. "Hmm?"

"For Daisuke, who would be better, Riku or Risa?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Are we taking into consideration who he wants?"

Aeris laced her fingers together, "Absolutely not."

He smiled one of his rare smiles at her. (They all seemed to be directed at her) "I don't know, I don't know either of them well."

"Well Riku's my best friend-"

"And therefore your opinion would be biased. Which means it doesn't count." He grinned at her expression.

"But yours still does." She smiled at him and he raised his eyebrows again.

"Are you trying to influence me?"

She laced their fingers together. "She is my best friend Satoshi..."

"I agree, Riku is best."

Aeris beamed at him.

"Just look at him! Holding her hand! Why does she have to go for the dorky intellectual type?" Takeshi grumbled focusing the binoculars on their hands.

"Takeshi!" Daisuke gasped, trying to loosen the binocular strap from its death like grip on his neck. "I-I can't breathe!"

"Why are you even using the binoculars?" Masahiro demanded. "They're like twenty feet away!"

"Be quiet!"

"Jeez Takeshi, I think Daisuke's turning blue!"

"DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW TO BE QUIET?!"

"Aeris? Where are you?" Jin kicked the door closed behind him as her voice rang from upstairs.

"Upstairs uncle, I'll be down in a minute!" Flopping down on her sofa he grinned. She was accepting him as her uncle, and wasn't even cold towards him lately. Things were looking up.

He sat the manila folder on her coffee table and frowned at the black picture frame. Well, not the picture frame, the picture in the frame.

Aeris stood beaming into the camera with Satoshi in front of a large tree. The thing that disturbed him most was that Satoshi's arm was around his niece's shoulders.

"That little son of a-"

"Uncle?" Aeris stepped off the last step still towel drying her hair, "Were you saying something?"

Figuring it would do no good to argue with her, she merely got upset every time he said something against the young boy, he cleared his throat. "I have some information for you."

She sat opposite him, and pulled the folder towards her. "What kind of information?"

"Apparently there was a witness. A man walking his dog saw a guy leaving your yard, shortly after the murder took place."

Aeris shot straight up. So maybe the man she'd seen was real after all... not just her mind playing tricks on her.

"Why didn't anyone tell me this?" She demanded.

"Well by then it was already decided you'd done it. The man was written off as pure coincidence." He said apologetically. "The folder has the name of the witness, and some other information. I thought you'd like to look it over."

"Thank you uncle."

"Anyway, I thought we could go over the whole thing, this Saturday. I'm not working." He "accidentally" knocked the picture frame face down.

She frowned at him and righted the picture. "I can't uncle. The dance is on Saturday."

He frowned as well. "Who are you going with?"

She sighed, "Uncle, why does it matter who I'm going with?"

"It's Hiwatari's brat, isn't it?"

"Satoshi isn't even his son! He was adopted!"

He snorted and she glared.

"I'm still going with him, and if you'll excuse me, I have to study." It couldn't have been more obvious if she'd thrown him out.

"Fine, but don't blame me when he shows his true colors." He slammed the door behind him, leaving a tense silence.

Aeris sighed and made herself a cold drink before settling down on the couch to go over the file's contents.

Maybe it was just too much to expect that the two would get along...

A loud clap of thunder woke Aeris with a start. The rain was pouring down harshly on the roof and windows.

Running a hand through her hair she glanced with bleary eyes at the clock. It was 3:39 in the morning.

And she was on the couch and the contents of the folder had spilled onto the carpet. With a groan she started to pick them up, ignoring the blaring TV no more than ten feet away.

"-And already Dark Mousy has stolen the Angel's Blood painting, we managed to get a shot of him as he escaped into the night air."

Aeris looked up and the folder fell from her fingers as she gasped.

It was him! The man she saw! The phantom thief Dark had been fleeing the crime scene!