Chapter 5: Face to Face with Dark

"Hey Risa!" Maya yelled as she approached the brown-haired girl.

"Hey Maya!" Risa waved in return and bounced slightly on the balls of her feet. "So, what did you want to talk about?" She clasped her hands behind her back and smiled brightly.

"Oh, I just thought we could just talk, you know? Get to know one another better."

"Oh yes, that's a wonderful idea!" Risa replied. "So where are you from?"

Maya grinned. "A place that not a lot of people have heard of," she answered flippantly. "How long have you lived in this place?" Maya asked, trying to get the attention off of herself.

"My whole life really," Risa answered as she began to walk slowly. "I love this place though. I won't ever move away from here." She paused in her steps. "But, I do want to visit other places, you know? But this place… this is my home." She sighed contentedly and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Oh? You still want to stay here even with a Phantom Thief on the loose?" Maya asked with a smirk. Risa turned around and looked at Maya in shock.

"Mister Dark is not a bad man at all!" she said defensively. She calmed down and held her hands together in front of her. "In fact, he's one of the most gentlemanly men in the world!"

"You seem to know him pretty well, Risa." Maya inched closer to Risa.

"Mm, I do," younger Harada volunteered. "He used to take me out on dates, you know? And he treated me so well, and he was always looking out for me even when I almost got him in trouble. And I know for sure he didn't take those jewels."

"But the news said he did."

"They don't know anything about Mister Dark. He's gone…" she turned away slowly. "And he's never coming back."

Maya's eyes narrowed and she gritted her teeth. "What do you mean he's never coming back? Did something happen to him?" Maya hoped that questioning the younger Harada sister would bear some fruit, especially since the older one seemed so closed off and suspicious.

"Well it's been two years since-"

"Miss Risa." It was Satoshi.

"Hiwatari," she said cheerfully. "What are you doing out here?"

Maya glanced at Hiwatari and crossed her arms over her chest. This was exactly what she didn't need, especially with Risa being so close to answering her question. Hiwatari strode forward, his eyes piercing Maya from above the rim of his glasses.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," he said as he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek though his eyes never left Maya.

She pressed her cheek into his lips and sighed happily. "I'm just talking with Maya," she said as she glanced at her friend who was now wearing a grin.

"About what?" He slipped his hands into his pockets.

"Girl talk," Maya said before Risa could say anything. She slid up to Risa and entwined their arms. "We're having a great time! Aren't we, Risa?"

Risa nodded and hugged Maya. "Yes! Maya's so nice, Hiwatari!"

Hiwatari looked unconvinced. "I see. Well… I need your help with something, Risa." He took her hand and began to pull her away.

"Um… okay… bye Maya," Risa said as she waved at the dark-haired girl. Maya crossed her arms and chewed upon her lower lip as they disappeared from view. She was about to return to the school herself when she saw someone approaching her once more.

"Hiwatari."

"I want to know what you're up to, Maya," he demanded.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "None of your business," she said adamantly before she began to walk away.

"I'm not done with you," he said as he picked up a large rock and tossed it at her. Maya turned around quickly and caught it with her left hand. Hiwatari's eyes narrowed as he stepped forward.

"It was you… you stole the opals from the museum!" His chest heaved deeply with anger.

"No…didn't you hear?" She asked with a bit of sarcasm and a voice that Satoshi was sure he heard before. "It was Dark."

She tossed the rock aside and walked away, leaving Hiwatari alone in the courtyard.

----

The end of the school day came quickly and Maya, as usual, was the first to leave the school. She had barely left the front doors when a hand clamped down upon her shoulder. She whipped her head around to catch who it was that had a hold of her.

"Niwa!" The surprise in her voice was apparent.

"Miss Hattori," Daisuke said with a smile. If he was going to find out more about her, now would be the time to do it. "Can we talk for a bit?"

Maya looked over his shoulder and found Hiwatari and Riku rushing toward them. She narrowed her eyes and grabbed Daisuke by the hand. "Hurry, this way." She dragged the young man through the crowd and away from the school until they reached a nearby alley. She looked around the corner and grinned proudly at the fact that she was able to ditch the two people who would have hindered her time with Niwa the most.

"Hey, why'd you do that for," Daisuke finally said when they stopped. He was panting slightly as he leaned against the wall of the alley.

"Because," Maya began. "Your girlfriend and your friend don't like me." She said pointedly. "And if we're going to talk… really talk… we need to be alone." She had placed a hand upon Daisuke's chest as she looked up into his brown eyes. "Now come on, you can walk me home."

Daisuke gulped slightly before he nodded and followed Maya out of the alley. The walk home was quiet and no one paid the pair any attention. They talked about school and art and the different places in the world that each of them had visited. And before each of them realized, they had reached their road and Maya's front door.

"Well, this is me," she said with an uncharacteristic blush as she pointed to the house.

Daisuke looked up at the house with darkened windows and dead flowers in the windowsill pots. The curtains seemed tattered and the paint was peeling on the outside. The girl inserted the key and opened the door. She didn't call out to anyone nor did anyone come to greet her.

"Where are your parents," Daisuke asked innocently.

Maya looked down, her dark hair covering her eyes. "I… my parents have passed away."

"Oh… I'm sorry… I-"

"Don't worry about it," Maya interrupted. "Look Daisuke…" she rested her hand upon his arm. "Thanks for walking me home." She smiled at him and entered the quiet home. She closed the door behind her and rested against the wood. She sighed deeply and slid to the ground.

----

Daisuke stood alone on the cobblestone street for a few moments after Maya entered the dilapidated house. He wanted to say something, wanted to knock on her door and just… he really didn't know. He almost felt responsible somehow, like he was supposed to fix her or at least try to make her feel better. But when she didn't emerge from the house after a few minutes Daisuke continued on his way home.

"Dai!" called out a voice from behind him. Daisuke turned around and found Riku running toward him. She caught up to him and grinned. "Where did you run off to after school?" She linked arms with him and began to walk along with him.

Niwa blushed slightly. "Oh… I figured you had practice after school."

Riku laughed and shook her head. "No silly, only on Mondays and Wednesdays and today's Thursday."

"Sorry, I must've forgotten," he said sheepishly.

"Like you forgot to tell me about Dark?" she asked with a sly grin as she leaned up to kiss him upon his cheek. "Don't worry, Hiwatari told me that you two were trying to catch the imposter. I figured you probably had enough explaining to do to your mom." She giggled and held onto his arm tighter. "Listen, you can make it up to me by inviting me over for dinner."

Daisuke smiled. "Deal," he said, glad that he didn't have to explain it to Riku as well. "Not sure what mom's cooking tonight though."

"Doesn't matter," Riku replied. "Whatever your mom cooks is good anyway."

Daisuke nodded in agreement and led Riku toward his home though his mind was on the lonely girl he left behind only a few minutes earlier.

-Back at Maya's house-

The girl remained at the front door long after she left Daisuke in the street. She held her knees close to her chest and lowered her head. Her sound of her breath was heavy and echoed throughout the empty house.

"Almost… I've almost completed it," she said to herself. She smiled at the thought that her goal was finally within her reach. But then amemory invaded her mind and her heart sank completely.

--

"We've scattered the pieces, Maya! You'll never find them and you'll live with what you've done for the rest of your life," said a wizened old man lying down in a bed.

"Father no!" Maya reached out a hand only to have the man shy away.

"Don't call me that… you're dead to me!" The man coughed into a handkerchief and spit out blood.

"Father please…"

"Remember this, Maya. You are the one who put me here. You are the one that stole the-"

"I stopped you because I love you! Don't you see I didn't want you to become power hungry and mad!"

"Better for me to be incapacitated and dying? Get out Maya; leave a dying old man in peace."

--

The memory faded from her mind's eye and she looked up into the darkness. Her rosy cheeks were stained with tears that she wiped away quickly.

"Crazy old man," she said out loud. "I did the right thing… I know I did."

She pushed herself up to her feet and began to climb the lonely staircase up to her room.

----

"Hey you guys! My dad told me that Dark sent another note to the station!" exclaimed Saehara as he rushed into the classroom.

"Huh? What!" Daisuke said as he rose to his feet. Riku and Risa looked over at him and then looked over at Satoshi's desk which was empty.

"Yeah! This is great! My dad says I'm old enough to be on the front lines with him this time around! I'm gonna get some GREAT pictures for the paper!"

"Hey Saehara, did your dad say what the note said exactly?" Daisuke was determined to catch the imposter this time.

"Yeah, something about stealing some necklace or something tonight at eleven… didn't know ruins have necklaces…" he added quietly afterward.

Daisuke's brow furrowed deeply. Why was this person still using Dark's name to commit their crimes?

"What are you going to do, Niwa?" whispered Riku into Daisuke's ear. He glanced at his girlfriend from the corner of his eye and sighed softly.

"I have to go there… I mean, I have to find out who this is."

Riku nodded. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No… I should do this alone." He smiled at her and was about to give her a kiss when the teacher entered the classroom. He took his seat immediately (as did the rest of the class) and discreetly glanced over toward where Maya's seat was.

"I wonder where she is," he said to himself as he noted the empty seat. He shrugged and began to take notes in his notebook.

----

"I want that writing analyzed immediately," Satoshi said as he sat behind a desk, fingers steepled in front of his face.

"We're trying sir but it's almost exactly the same as the ones that were sent two years ago."

Satoshi growled under his breath and slammed a fist onto the desk before he pushed his chair away. "I'm going to the ruins. I want the task force to form a secure perimeter around the area and I want helicopters watching the skies."

"We were planning that already, Sir," said Inspector Saehara. "I figure we could send a few men inside the ruins to-"

"No," Hiwatari interrupted. "I'll be the only one inside." He turned to glare at Saehara. "And if I see any officers within the ruins, I'll make sure you never work in this town again." He walked away, anger practically pouring from his very being. Inspector Saehara blinked a few times and shook his head before he turned to the men who were snickering behind him.

"What are you men laughing at!" he demanded. "You heard the Chief, go and set up a perimeter on the outside of the ruins. Now!"

The men scattered out the door and within moments several squad cars were headed toward the ancient ruins that stood upon a hill outside of the seaside town.

----

The light of the moon shone brightly down upon the earth and bathed the ruins in an ethereal light. There were groups of officers gathered around the broken pillars and rubble that surrounded the main building of the ruins. Helicopters made their rounds over the ruins with their bright spotlights shining around.

Hiwatari was already inside the antiquated building which had surprisingly withstood the test of time better than its surroundings. He was crouched down in a corner setting up a small electrical box; a trap he hoped would work against the fake Dark.

"I hope that's not the same trap you tried on Dark before," said Daisuke as he emerged from the darkness.

Satoshi grinned and rose to his feet. "No, this one is better," he said before he turned around. "You shouldn't be here."

"I need to be here… I need to find out who this person is," Daisuke demanded.

"Once I capture them we'll both find out." Satoshi's tone held no argument.

"Oh… but that is if you can capture me," came the mysterious voice. The thief appeared from behind one of the intact pillars and chuckled. They were clad entirely in black and wore a black mask over their eyes. Short hair framed the thief's face and their figure obviously suggested a female.

"You…" Hiwatari's voice was practically dripping with venom.

Daisuke looked on hopefully but the thief was not Dark at all. "Who are you?" he asked almost sadly. "Why are you doing this?"

The thief sauntered to the middle of the hall, hands upon shapely hips as they did so. "Why is it that every time I intend to lure out the Phantom Thief, I find you two instead?" She stopped and shook her head. "Come on, Niwa," she said as she turned to Daisuke. "Bring out Dark, pretty please."

Daisuke's eyes widened. "How do you know my name?"

The thief stepped forward a few more steps. "I know a lot about you, and you Hiwatari," she said turning to Satoshi. "Or should I call you Hikari?" She let out a wicked laugh and threw her head back slightly. "Now seriously… where is Dark?"

"He's… gone… I-"

"Not another word, Niwa. They don't deserve to know." Satoshi fiddled with the remote he held in his pocket and waited for the thief to step forward only a few more feet.

The thief glared at Hiwatari. "I don't deserve to know?" She stepped forward. "I need to know."

"Niwa get down!" Satoshi pressed the button upon the remote just as Daisuke somersaulted out of the way. Translucent red bars sprang forth from the ground and surrounded the thief just as the same red bars covered the top. The thief's eyes widened as she moved to touch the bars.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Satoshi said. "Those lasers can cut through anything, including human flesh and bone. You'd be dead before you even made it past them."

The thief pulled back her hand and glared at Satoshi and then looked over toward Daisuke. She smirked and covered her head with her hands. She ran her fingers through her hair and they immediately turned to the dark purple that was indicative of Dark's. Her hands moved over her face to cover them for a moment as she talked.

"C'mon Daisuke… you know me... it's me, Dark."

When she moved her hands she no longer looked like the thief Hiwatari had captured but just like Dark himself. Even her clothes had changed as well as her height and build. Dark smirked and shook his head.

"So I'm having a little fun… c'mon, not gonna throw me in jail are ya, Satoshi?"

Daisuke looked up, unable to believe his eyes or ears. Just a moment ago it was an unknown girl who had written the note to lure out Dark but now – now it really was Dark. Or at least, someone who looked like Dark. The whole situation confused him and he approached the red bars cautiously.

"How did you… change?" He asked. Satoshi's reaction was the same; his usual stoic façade was replaced by a shocked one.

"What are you trying to pull? Who are you really?" Earlier, Satoshi's mind was sure that the thief was Maya. But now, with the introduction of the thief with short hair who could change their appearance at will… Satoshi wasn't sure of anything.