Chapter 1: Rise of a new Dark
"Mom, I'm home!" Daisuke entered the house and made a beeline for the kitchen where his father and grandfather were seated. "Where's mom?"
"It's nice to see you too, Daisuke," said Kosuke Niwa sarcastically. He took a sip of his coffee and continued reading the newspaper. Daisuke's grandfather smiled at his grandson and chuckled.
"Oh Daisuke, your mother and Towa went out to buy groceries. They should be back soon."
"Mom and Towa went out for groceries?" He asked as he grabbed a drink from the refrigerator. "They'll be gone forever!" He settled into the chair across from his father and sighed.
"How was school, Daisuke?" Asked Kosuke.
"Fine… long… I'm so tired" he whined.
Daiki laughed. "That's what you get for being on vacation so long with your parents, Daisuke."
"I wish you could've come with us, Grandpa," Daisuke replied.
"Oh no, I'm much too old to endure such a long flight. No no, Towa and I had fun here at home. Didn't we, Towa?"
Daisuke looked over his shoulder to see his mother and Towa returning with arms full of groceries.
"Dai, you're home early today," said Emiko. "You didn't go over to Riku's house?"
Daisuke blushed. "No mom, she had practice after school."
"And what about Takeshi?" She asked in continuation.
"He's out taking photos and Risa and Satoshi went out for a walk," he offered before she could ask again.
"Oh I see, well, it's just as well. You and your father can fix the front door for me. It keeps sticking for some reason."
"Yes dear," Kosuke answered as he rose to his feet. "Come on, Daisuke. Let's get it done before dinner."
Daisuke nodded and followed his father to the front door.
"Now let's see what's wrong with this thing," Kosuke said as Daisuke stood against the wall just outside the door. He opened and closed the door a few times before he stood upright to scratch his head. "Hrm, I don't think there's anything wrong with it? Maybe your mother's just imagining it, eh Daisuke?"
There was no answer.
"Daisuke?" Kosuke looked over at his son who now seemed to be memorized by something just down the road. "Dai… what's the matter?"
Kosuke looked up and followed his son's gaze to a girl that stood several feet down the street. Her black hair wisped across her face as the wind blew before she turned around and disappeared from view.
"Who was that, Dai?"
"She's in my class," Daisuke answered. "Her name's Maya. She's new."
"Oh," Kosuke said as his eyes narrowed. "She has a strange aura around her," he added.
"You think so, dad?" Daisuke looked back the spot where Maya stood.
Kosuke nodded. "It's strange… but familiar…" He was quiet for a few moments before a smile crossed his face. "There's nothing to fix here," he said, indicating toward the door. "Let's go back inside."
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"So I'm sending my photo into a postcard contest. If I win, they'll use my photo and pay me a thousand dollars!" Takeshi said excitedly as he showed everyone the photo he was going to submit to the contest, a landscape scene of their town with the windmills in the distance.
"That's a great photo, Saehara," Riku said excitedly. "There's no way you can lose!"
"Thanks Harada! Hey Daisuke! Check this out," Takeshi said as he spied Daisuke coming into the classroom. He shoved the photo into Niwa's hand and slung an arm over his shoulders. "Whaddya think? Could it win first prize in a contest."
Daisuke's eyes widened and he nodded. "Wow Saehara, this photo is great! You know, if you let me have a copy, I could do a painting of it." Takeshi's eyes widened.
"Yeah, that's a GREAT idea! I'll get right on it!" He took the photo away from Daisuke and began to show it to a group of girls at the front of the classroom. Daisuke smiled and shook his head as he moved to his desk.
"Niwa," said a deep voice behind him. Daisuke turned around.
"Hiwatari," he said happily before he noticed the dark look upon the blue-haired boy's face. "Is something wrong?"
"Come with me," he said as he turned upon his heel.
"Huh," Daisuke said as he followed Satoshi out of the classroom. He entered the empty hallway and walked around the corner where he found Satoshi looking out one of the windows. Daisuke approached his friend slowly – warily – until he was standing next to him. He noticed a piece of paper clutched tightly in Satoshi's hand.
"What is it, Hiwatari?"
"Niwa, this was delivered to the police department this morning," he said as he held out the piece of paper. Daisuke reached out for it gingerly and unfolded it. His eyes widened as he read it aloud.
"I will be stealing Heaven's Tears tomorrow at midnight. Try to stop me if you can. Signed, The Phantom Thief Dark!"