"Another note has been sent from the Phantom Thief Dark. This one reads 'I will steal the Rose Ring at ten o'clock tonight.' The Rose Ring is over two centuries old, and the odd piece of jewelry is said to have been forged of silver older than civilization, and inside are runes carved to protect the wearer …"

Daisuke half-listened to the news report. His mother, again, had sent out a warning letter without notifying him first. But tonight, it was far from a burden.

He could not stop thinking about Satoshi all afternoon. His heart raced, he felt flustered and distracted. The day's homework lay out on his desk, ignored.

As he sat in his bedroom, counting the minutes until he and Wiz could spread wings and soar, he could not believe how blunt he had been with Satoshi that afternoon. He had had no intention of letting so much escape into the open …

… But it was all right.

With a heavy sigh, Daisuke fell back on his pillows. He turned his head to the side, and he could almost see Satoshi there, hair spread out on the white pillowcase, a tiny grin starting across his face …

Daisuke sat up, shaking his head. There was no time for that! And no excuse, either! He swung his legs over the railing to his bed and leapt lightly to the floor. What was he thinking?

'Pervert!'

"Shut up, you," Daisuke told the voice in his head. Dark just laughed, though. It was the first thing he had said all evening. Daisuke had started to think that the Thief was asleep. He had hoped he was.

'No such luck.'

Figures, Daisuke thought.

'Okay, Dai. You need to tell me now that that whole thing today was your sick idea of a joke.' In Daisuke's head, Dark was standing with his arms crossed, straight faced and dead serious.

Daisuke swallowed.

'No. No, no, no. Please, Daisuke! I'm not going to be paling around with the tamer of Krad everyday. I refuse!'

Daisuke walked down the hall to the bathroom, closing the door. As he looked in the mirror, he saw Dark emerge from his reflection.

He looked pissed.

'That beast's tried to kill me! I can't count how many times!' Dark shook a finger at Daisuke. 'Tell me you were joking! You had to have been joking!'

"Well, gee, I'm sorry, I guess you're right." Daisuke hoisted himself up onto the sink, turning around to sit toward the mirror and have a nice, long argument. "I'll just have to go see Hiwatari-kun and tell him the truth. That you're a stupid jerk, Dark!" He was set to see the dispute through.

'Oh, I'm a stupid jerk, 'cause I don't want to get slaughtered. You don't know what Krad's pulled on me over the years. Centuries!'

Daisuke's eyes narrowed. "Hiwatari-kun is not Krad, Dark."

Dark laughed. 'Oh, really? He's Krad as much as I am you. You know that.'

Daisuke looked away.

'Ah, no retort from Mr. Knows-it-all, I see.'

"Please, Dark," Daisuke said quietly. "Please don't ruin this for me."

'Ruin what?'

Daisuke turned back to the mirror.

'Why is he so important to you?'

"I – I really like him, Dark," Daisuke swallowed. And there it was. Just a few simple words. No turning back now.

'I don't. You may have changed your mind, Dai-chan, but I like girls.'

"And I like Hiwatari-kun!"

'I knew it. I just hoped that you never would …'

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Daisuke poked one finger on the mirror, right in the middle of Dark's reflected chest.

'It means I have my limits, Daisuke! And this little fancy of yours surpasses all of them!'

"You're not the only one, Dark! I …"

'Yeah, yeah, you. You, who begged to have me captured today. What happened last time, Daisuke? When I was in the Sage of Sleep, huh?'

Daisuke shook his head franticly. "No, Dark, that's not …"

"I can't survive without you! You're what keeps me real, keeps me here, Daisuke! And do you really think you'd survive without me? After all this time, could you let me go? Could you kill me?!'

"Dark, that's not fair!!"

'You told Hiwatari to capture me today. And you're telling me what's not fair?"

"Dark … please understand …"

'I can't.'

And with that, the image in the mirror faded back to Daisuke, curled up in the sink, eyes holding back tears.

Daisuke swiped at his eyes and leapt from the sink, darting from the bathroom.

An hour left.