A/N: THIS IS THE SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER! ONLY ONE MORE TO GO! I'M WARNING YOU ALL NOW; THIS IS WHERE EVERYTHING HITS THE FAN! PAY ATTENTION OR YOU MIGHT JUST GET LOST! WHO CAN GUESS WHO THE KILLER IS?

Angel Ren- Shhh! Don't ruin it for me. I haven't got to Krad and stuff yet but… grins and plus… WHO WANTS A SEQUEL?!?!

Phantom Dark- My friend, my dad died and everything kinda got thrown at me all at once and my world was chaos. I have missed your emails.

Xkuroxshinobix- I'm glad you liked it, thanks for reviewing!

Taki-hime- I'm glad your enjoying it, because we all know I just love it to pieces.

Vixyanna Dowdell- I feel so special and proud that you would rate this story so high! Thank you so much!

Disclaimer: I'm so broke, just- just don't even okay?

Part XIV

Instead of a quote I want to insert a part of a poem that I wrote ages ago, so here you go.

The rain fell down,

Hitting the still body on the ground.

Blood splattered and choking,

The girl lay, broken.

Satoshi woke up with an incredibly sore neck. He groaned with his eyes still closed and tried to move but something was weighing his limbs down. Opening his eyes he saw tousled black hair on his chest and blinked slowly.

Aeris lay half on him and half beside him on the sofa deep asleep. He smiled and brushed aside the hair covering her face with his hand.

He remembered now; the events of last night came flooding back. Grinning he carefully moved out from under her and carried her body upstairs. Satoshi slid back the covers of Aeris's bed and gently placed her on the mattress before bringing the covers to her neck.

Satoshi started to leave, but before going to his apartment he lightly kissed Aeris on the lips and then left in the best mood he'd been in in ages.

Aeris stirred when she felt something furry on her face.

Not something furry brushing against her face, something furry literally sitting on her face.

"Chuu!" She grumbled and moved the small rabbit like creature off of her face without opening her eyes. Aeris suddenly sat up to find herself in her bed. Not that that was an unusual occurrence but she didn't remember going to bed in her bed last night.

"Satoshi." She smiled and gently touched her lips.

"Kyuu!"

"C'mon Chuu, let's take a walk." Aeris scooped up Chuu and left her apartment, deciding on the pathway that led through the park for their walk.

Satoshi picked up the tickets and then looked at Aeris's picture.

"Well," He grinned. "Looks like she's going to have to break her date with Jin tonight."

Aeris looked both ways before crossing the street to the entrance of the park. Chuu hopping happily at her side.

But Aeris walked slowly, deep in thought. She'd allowed herself to forget for a bit and be happy but she couldn't just ignore it all.

Someone had framed her for her parents' murder, and tried numerous times to kill her.

"There's no way none of this is connected. I have to go back, to their murders. That's when everything began."

She sat down on one of the parks numerous benches and closed her eyes.

Her father was well liked and her mother adored by everyone. They had no enemies that she could remember; she'd never even seen them get into a fight with anyone.

But that didn't mean anything, just because she hadn't seen it didn't mean it didn't happen.

She had to talk to Hiwatari. He'd know what the next move was.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Hiwatari waved a waiter over and looked at her calmly.

After calling him and requesting a meeting he suggested lunch at Treize's, one of the best restaurants in town.

"The whole almost-getting-killed thing is getting a little old. I figure all these attempts are related to my parents' deaths. So I thought that would be the best place to start."

The waiter stopped at their table with his ballpoint ready.

"I'll have the Domburimono and she'll have the Sukiyaki." Hiwatari handed him the menus.

"Very good." The waiter left and Hiwatari sighed.

"I agree that the attempts on your life and your parents' murderers are most likely related. But all the evidence… everything was destroyed. That was my job and I saw to it that nothing remained but the fake story we gave the papers."

Aeris nodded. "That much I expected. But I was hoping you could go back and talk to some of the neighbors in the old neighborhood. Talk to their best friends, someone had to have had motive."

Hiwatari raised his eyebrows. "As honored as I am to be your man on the street, may I ask why you won't be doing the interviewing yourself?"

Aries smile was cold. "I imagine the people wouldn't react well to me showing up at their door and demanding answers for my parents' death. Especially since they all think I dropped off the face of the earth."

"Point taken."

The dishes were delivered and Aeris winked as she took a bite.

Sometimes Takeshi really hated the fact that his dad was a cop.

The Police Men's ball was happening tonight and his dad had told him he'd be shooting the pictures.

Takeshi had told him it was a waste of his talent.

"Laugh in my face…" He grumbled picking up the phone and dialing. Aeris was surely going with Satoshi so he'd ask her instead. "Riku?"

"Takeshi what do you want?"

"Riku baby, why do you always assume I want something from you?" Takeshi could literally feel Riku roll her eyes over the phone.

"Just get on with it Takeshi."

"Tonight's the Police Men's ball, and I was wondering if you'd go with me." He twirled the cord around his pencil.

"Takeshi you know that I go out with Daisuke-"

"As friends! As friends! C'mon Riku, Aeris will be there, what have you got to lose?"

Takeshi heard a sigh over the line. "Fine, but don't expect me to be all happy and giddy," Riku slammed down the phone and he grinned triumphantly.

Opening the door in a towel. Mistake.

Opening the door while bending over to move your pet bunny thing, so the towel drops even lower. Bigger Mistake.

Slamming the door in your boyfriend's shocked albeit red strangled looking face while he forcefully looks only at your face. Priceless mistake.

After running up the steps and throwing on a shirt and pants Aeris rushed down and opened the door. "I'm so sorry!"

Satoshi was holding his bruised nose with one hand and covering his eyes with the other. "Decent?"

Despite everything Aeris smiled. "Decent."

Satoshi peeked through his hand. "I wanted to know if you would go with me to the Police Men's ball tonight. It's only fitting that a officer go with his girlfriend."

Aeris bit her lip. "I'm supposed to go out to dinner with uncle tonight Satoshi."

"And he's going too, as an esteemed guest of my father." He smiled at her, knowing she had no reason to say no.

"What should I wear?"

Aeris felt so out of place.

While all the policemen's wives wore nothing but black she was wearing nothing but white.

She looked like an angel with her hair down, in a pure snow-white dress that reached to her ankles and fell off of her like silk- except she was wearing a choke chain.

Many of the stuck up women in the room raised their eyebrows while the others grinned and threw Aeris's a smile for not conforming.

'I'd take it off if I could,' She looked to Satoshi and noticed he took in none of the condescending or approval looks. He was wearing a black suit with a white tie, and she thought he looked very handsome.

"You didn't say I wasn't supposed to wear white Satoshi," She muttered her eyes going to the floor to avoid a particularly nasty look.

He frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Everyone else is in black!" She felt him squeeze their fingers together.

"So? You look beautiful in white." He smiled at her and she smiled in return.

"Aeris!" Jin approached them in a black suit and tie looking immensely relieved. "Satoshi where is your father, he was supposed to be here an hour ago."

Satoshi looked surprised. "I have no idea, he wouldn't miss this."

Aeris was silent, wondering if Hiwatari's disappearance had anything to do with his interviews.

"Commander, what a lovely girl you have." A tall handsome older police officer had come seemingly out of nowhere.

While Satoshi tried to place the officer's face with his name the man extended his hand. "May I?"

Jin narrowed his eyes, what was he doing here?

"Of course." Aeris said slowly, the man was handsome, if you liked older men. With slick black hair and dark green eyes and a strong jaw she could see why some of the women in the room were giving her the eye.

He led her to the floor and clasped one of her hands in his own and placed a hand on her waist. "That's quite a necklace you have there."

"Thank you." Aeris begun to feel uneasy around the man, something about him was off. "I don't believe I caught your name."

"Albedo." He flashed her a smile and she forced one back. His eyes glittered like he was laughing about some private joke.

Aeris looked away from him to find that they had been moving more than they should have; they were in a secluded corner of the room near a door.

"I have to get back to Satoshi." She let her hand fall from his and when she felt something prick her neck.

"I don't think so." Albedo's grip on her waist tightened and she struggled for only a second before she felt weak. "I'm sure you felt that prick, it's made your muscles almost completely relax,"

Aeris eyes widened, she hardly had the strength to stand, how was she supposed to fight this freak off?

"Takeshi, where's Aeris?" Riku tapped her foot angrily; she did not want to spend the whole night with Takeshi of all people.

"That's the million dollar question." Riku and Takeshi turned to see Aeris's uncle Jin. "Satoshi's can't find her either."

And Jin was starting to worry, the last person he'd seen her with was Albedo, and he had never exactly been fond of his niece.

"Jin!" Hiwatari rushed towards him while his eyes frantically searched the room. "Where's Aeris?"

Jin's stomach clenched. "We don't know, what do you know?"