Well, uh... here's chapter one. It's more of a filler chapter than anything else, ya know? I mean... I just had to write something about that day 'cause the real troubles starts the day after. Yeah, we all know that this is boooooooorrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg... okay, more me thinking it's boring more than... whatever. I've lost my chain of thought now. Ugh...

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Chapter 1: To Know or Not to Know

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The rest of the school day seemed fairly passive that day, with the exception of Takeshi and some of the rowdier students, that were just like that all the time.

"DAISUKE!"

"Eh?" Daisuke turned as he name was practically bellowed from the other side of the room, where Takeshi stood, grinning mischievously. The redhead frowned at this, noticing the warning signs of when his best friend was about to ask – or do – something stupid.

"Yeah?" he finally replied, walking over to the raven-haired boy, who instantly caught him in a headlock. "SAEHARA!"

He struggled for a moment or two, but Takeshi kept his grip on the boy, still grinning.

"C'mon! You can tell me!"

"Wha?!"

"You're not yourself, Daisuke!" his friend insisted, tightening his grip and making the redhead struggle for air more so. "So tell your best friend what's going on!"

"Nothing's going on!" Daisuke spluttered as he gasped for air. "Let me go already!"

"No can do 'till you tell me--" Takeshi started in a sing-song voice.

"Boys! Stop that right now!"

Both boys froze at the sound of a sharp female's voice, and Takeshi let go of Daisuke, who was now recovering much needed air. They both turned to see the young educator glaring at them with such irritation that they might as well have dropped dead there and then.

"May I ask what you were doing?" she demanded, while the rest of the class – who were sitting down in their respected seats – watched the scenario with interest.

"Um..." Daisuke started nervously, not used to teachers being angry at him.

"He won't tell me what's going on!" cut in Takeshi, pointing an accusing finger at the redhead, "And I asked him politely."

At this, the class began to mutter among themselves, having seen the situation firsthand.

"Yeah right."

"Got him to come over and nearly choked him to death."

"How does Niwa-kun stand such torture?"

"Well, they are best friends."

"Class!" shrieked the teacher impatiently. They fell silent once more, and she placed both hands on her hips and glared at the raven-haired boy, her foot tapping against the hard floor.

"Saehara-kun. You started this?" she asked softly, but had a hint of danger mixed with it. The rest of the class seemed apprehensive, but Takeshi merely shrugged before replying.

"I was just jokin' around."

Almost everyone stopped breathing at his answer, knowing what was going to happen next...

"OUT!"

Getting herself into a rage that couldn't be matched – except with Krad, the redhead decided – she began to tell his best friend off. As each line went one octave higher, he found himself conversing with his other half; not because he wanted to in particular – since Dark was asleep most of the time – but because the Thief started the conversation. This startled Daisuke.

((That's one scary lady... but not that bad looking, if you know what I mean.))

(You're awake?) Daisuke gulped.

((Her voice woke me up,)) huffed Dark. ((Was he trying to choke you to death again? My my, Dai-chan, one day you have to tell him to stop doing that.))

(He doesn't listen, even when I tell him!) protested the redhead.

((Must be 'cause you're too cute to be scared of.))

(WHAT?!)

Dark laughed.

"Niwa-kun."

"Eh?" jerked out of his conversation he looked up to see the teacher looking over in his direction. It was only then did he notice that Takeshi was no longer standing next to him, and that she seemed more composed than before.

Like Dark had said, their English teacher wasn't that bad looking, until her temper got the best of her. A select number of male students were taller than her, but she was well built in stature and had a neat crop of light brown hair. Her eyes – when she wasn't angry – were also brown in shad and usually radiated a neutral feeling to the classroom. Her attitude was fairer compared to other teachers, and she believed as long as one encouraged the student, then they would try harder, which they did.

But whenever her temper got the better of her...

"You can take your seat now," she said calmly, not looking the least angry. "And we can begin our lessons now."

"Yes, ma'am. Sorry about that," Daisuke bowed slightly before sliding back to his desk. The rest of the class were murmuring among themselves about what she had done with Takeshi – making it sound like she killed him on the guillotine or had put him on the rack – before returning to their exercise books.

"Now, from where we left off last lesson," the teacher started briskly, "Kusao-san, would you care to start?"

The student in question stood up, cleared his throat slightly, and began to speak.

---

"Niwa-kun, are you alright?"

"Hm?" Daisuke turned.

Classes had finished for the time being and most students were making their way to the outside world for lunch. With, who had been wandering around the school, entered the classroom and jumped onto his master's head, 'kyu'-ing happily and the redhead patted him unconsciously before he was interrupted by the question.

Akane was currently standing by his desk – unnoticed because he had been looking outside and With was with him – and she inclined her head as she repeated her question.

"I asked if you were alright."

"Ah, yeah, I'm fine," he replied, embarrassed for not paying attention. "I guess I've just been really preoccupied with all this stuff, so..."

"Of course," she nodded in understanding. "Many things are happening, aren't they? Makes you wonder a bit..."

"What?" he blinked.

Akane shook her head slightly, "It's nothing to worry about, Niwa-kun. Well, I better go or Mina-chan and the others are going to worry a bit. See you."

"Yeah..."

Daisuke watched as she left, confused with her attitude and what she was saying. True, she did have an odd past – being stuck in a prison for thousands of years and forced to watch the world go on without her – and she seemed to have many secrets that she didn't tell them. But he trusted her judgement and it was clear that something didn't seem right.

((Why aren't you sitting outside and eating?)) Dark inquired, seemingly waking up from his sleep.

(... I dunno,) the redhead sighed. (Takada-san has been really weird, like...)

((More weird than usual,)) concluded his other half. ((Are you saying that the world's gonna explode soon?))

(Almost like she knows something but won't tell us.)

((Don't worry yourself with it,)) Dark said decisively. ((Just go outside already. I don't like it when you're this serious.))

(Towa-chan told me that once...) a thin laugh escaped Daisuke as he left the empty classroom.

As he wandered outside, his mind went back to the letter and the last time he had actually seen Riku. As the thought processed through, he couldn't help but miss her more than usual, and she was close to returning.

But with Akane's current mood...

((You'll know when it happens.))

(I guess...)

---

She didn't know what to think as she wandered out onto the school roof. Something definitely wasn't right, and she could feel it inside of her. Still... she didn't want Daisuke to worry, but her mind nagged her to tell him before it was too late.

"What are you doing up here?"

Akane turned her head slightly as she returned Satoshi's calculating look before answering. "Is there a problem to going up here? Or do I need to ask for your permission?" she asked teasingly, unable to help herself.

The blue-haired boy frowned. "You never come up here unless something's wrong," he stated.

"Hm... if that's so, you don't need to know," she replied. "Most of my concerns aren't yours."

"Does it have anything to do with Niwa?" Satoshi asked in a neutral voice, not bothering to eat his lunch.

"That is yet to be seen."

At this, the blue-haired boy stood up. Akane was leaning over the rail, her hair being blown by a non-existent wind, and he knew at once that something wasn't right: her voice had been lower, darker somehow and more mysterious, like when she was pretending to be 'Scarlet'. Satoshi leaned over slightly to see her face, and her eyes were hooded over and glazed, like she was in a trance of some sort.

And she holding the pendant of the Thirteen Elements.

This surprised him somewhat, since it had been over a year since he had seen the necklace, and she had mentioned that as long as everything was fine, there wouldn't be a need to use it.

"What do you know?" he asked.

"Trouble is stirring in another dimension, another world," Akane replied, still in her trance, the necklace glowing slightly. "It is getting ready to take over again. Ready to cause destruction and pain to everything it touches... The powers are fading and they cannot fight back..."

The necklace stopped glowing and she blinked, her eyes returning to its usual shade of red, and she turned to Satoshi.

"What's wrong, Hiwatari-kun?"

"You don't remember?" the blue-haired boy raised an eyebrow and Akane frowned at this, still fingering the pendant. After a moment of silence, she finally seemed to understand.

"... Raine," she finally muttered. "Obviously she knows what's going on, but to do that to me..."

"They're a part of you, aren't they?" Satoshi seemed fairly amused at this, and her frown deepened slightly.

"Well, clearly you know that much," she said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "But everyone in this world has at least some elements in them, even if they don't know it. Niwa-kun has Fire like you have Ice and they grow in you as you get stronger."

He frowned, "What about you?"

"Mine's undecided," Akane replied. "Until I get the truth out of Celes, I won't truly know. Everything's in perfect balance at the moment, so I can't tell."

"Hmph."

They both fell silent for a while, noticing the dark clouds that began to overtake the blue sky. Before long droplets of water hit the school roof and grounds.

"..."

"... Something just doesn't feel right..."

"Whatever," Satoshi made his way to the door and turned. "Are you going to stay out there and get wet?"

"Well, it won't be raining tomorrow," Akane decided, talking more to herself than to Satoshi. She turned and followed the blue-haired boy back into the cover of the school building, completely oblivious to his suspicious glares, and trailed off into a classroom, where she was greeted by her friends.

:... Something isn't right,: decided Satoshi. :But what we don't know yet. But if it has anything to do with Niwa...:

He shrugged it off before wandering off; unable to get the answers he wanted.

---

(Rain?) Daisuke looked up at the cloudy gray sky.

((Yes, rain,)) replied Dark sarcastically. ((You know, water from the sky, perhaps? That gets you really wet and may possibly give you an illness due to it?))

(That's not what I meant, Dark,) the redhead sighed, sometimes unable to cope with his other half's odd humor. (But it just came so suddenly, that's all... isn't it a bit strange?)

((Sure it is, Dai-chan. Now get inside before you get sick,)) the Thief yawned, ((Well, I'm off to sleep now. Later.))

Blocking out the insanely loud sounds of Dark's snoring, Daisuke began to make his way across the school grounds and into the shade of the building. Most students had shut themselves into various classrooms, talking among themselves or creating havoc, but the redhead – still confused with the strange weather patterns – wandered around the levels aimlessly, not wanting to talk to Takeshi after what happened in the English class.

(But the weather was fine in the morning,) he told himself. (So why would it start to rain now, for no apparent reason?)

"Niwa?"

"Gah! Hi-Hiwatari-kun?" taken by surprise, Daisuke spun around so rapidly he ended up losing his balance and falling on the cold floor with a slight thud.

While the redhead blushed - in embarrassment more than pain because he'd been taken by surprise by a person he considered a friend – Satoshi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the reaction.

"Did I cut you short from a conversation with Dark?" he finally asked.

Daisuke got up, brushing himself off while mumbling an apology and answer, "Ah, sorry about that and I wasn't talking to Dark. He's gone to sleep."

"Ah..."

"Is something wrong?" having recovered, the redhead blinked at the taller boy in question, only then noticing the strange signs that something wasn't right.

"Takada has been acting strangely lately," Satoshi stated. "And I was wondering if you're involved with it somehow."

"I don't think so," Daisuke frowned at this. "But she did begin to act strange when I told her Riku-san was returning with the rest of her family tomorrow afternoon."

"Dark has a job tomorrow night, doesn't he?"

"Yeah..." at this, the shorter boy became wary, wondering which direction the conversation was now leading to.

"Maybe it has something to do with that."

"Eh?"

Before anymore could be said between the two boys, the school bell rang and they made their way silently down the hallway until they reached the classroom door.

(Something to do with that?) wondered Daisuke. (First Takada-san and now Hiwatari-kun... why can't I ever get a straight answer?)

Knowing that Dark wasn't going to reply, the redhead made his was to his seat and sat down and got ready for another lesson.

###

"Is anything going to happen tomorrow that I should know?"

"Well, there is Phantom Thief Dark's appearance."

"Dark, huh... from the Niwa bloodline?"

"The very one."

"But of course..."

There was a moment of silence.

"Will he be the only one there?"

"Yes. And the Hikari boy will be there as well."

"And her?"

"There is no doubt in that."

"And it will be ready by tomorrow night, then?"

"We are certain of that."

"So, then..."

A thin laugh echoed through the room.

"This is perfect..."

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Honestly, who isn't confused? My writing's gone psycho, so expect some weird styles of writing or whatever you want to call it, but maybe it also has something to do with school starting again. –bangs head- Oh well, at least this's done.

Oh, and I know that Akane seems to take the spotlight at the moment, but, really, I'm writing on impulse more than anything else right now. I've got everything planned out, but... I don't think it wants to cooperate with me. Hm... Well, let's just go on now, shall we?

-- Talkback!

-Staryday: Clearly no one cares 'bout me... ah well, I'm gonna do this anyway. No one's gonna stop me anyway. And rant all you want... look how much I did on your ones! Ah! I can't believe that I could ramble so much! Whoo! I guess it doesn't matter whether or not they review this, but it gives me some indication that people are reading it and liking it... I hope. You never know with people out there. And this time I'm hoping to get to the proper points of this story without all the mist and mystery covering it and confusing everyone. Okay, no mist and the odd mystery here and there. All the while, I'll just keep on confusing people, so that's good, right? Yeah, it's all good. Well, thanks for the review!