Hello again, and I am sorry to anyone who does not like Kitsune, but c'est la vie. Kitsune is just a fun character to mess around with, since she stole from Dark. And like promised, she's in this chappy! So, enjoy!

-Don't take life too seriously… you'll never get out of it alive-Graffiti

'Dark…why are you here again? You said that since there's no Krad or Satoshi this is too easy, so why are you doing this?' Daisuke asked, as Dark made his way to the beautiful canvas, covered with the elegant painting, aptly named "The Silent Dreamer."

"Because…" he replied, but was soon cut off as the museum was filled with the sound of laughter.

"Ahahaha, there you, Dark…Worried you weren't going to see me?" a voice asked from behind him.

"Her…" he replied, turning around to face her.

It was her, Kitsune. She stood there, hands resting on her hips, her silky red fox tail swayed behind her gently. Unlike last time, she wore a short, black Chinese style dress; it fell just above her knees and was adorned with gold trim and frogs. Her feet were covered with black Chinese flats embroidered in gold and red with… you guessed it, foxes.

"Well, you look as handsome as ever," she seemed to purr at him as she slinked closer to where he was standing.

"Likewise," he replied, grinning as he sized her up, his eyes flicking up and down her body, resting on her chest for a while longer then the rest of her.

"I'm still surprised that you actually showed up. I mean, after I stole from you yesterday… I thought you'd get the message," she smiled at him coyly, while he smirked back at her.

"I'm pretty stubborn," he replied coolly.

"You do know it's snowing? I would guess then that you're like the American post service, no rain, no sleet… etc. etc. etc," she waved one gloved hand at him.

"Hm? Well, no matter, I'll be taking the painting," he replied, smirking at her, as he turned around, his hand reaching toward the canvas.

"Not if I beat you to it," she replied, and he heard her footsteps echoing slightly off the pale walls of the room. He reached out somewhat timidly, before it darted to the small keyboard that was attached to the security systems. Quick fingers flew across the small surface, tapping the glass panel with surprising agility. A short mechanical beep told him he had turned off the security, but as he reached for the painting, it was soon snatched away, by none other then Kitsune.

"Aw, thanks sweetie, I was hoping I wouldn't have to waste my time trying to break the code on that thing," the painting was held gently in her left hand, her fingers careful not to touch the paint.

"Give it back," he snapped, instantly feeling foolish for saying such a childlike thing.

"What are we, little kids?" she asked coyly, twining a thick lock of hair around her index finger. All Dark could do was glare at her as she grinned at him with a smile that belonged on a Colgate ad. For some reason, whenever he was around her, he couldn't get any words in anything that might represent the right order.

"Well, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I'm sure the police will be wanting to catch you, and I don't plan to be around… ta!" she laughed, and again, disappeared, suddenly just like last time. All that was left was a note, fluttered down to the tile flooring.

Groaning, Dark walked over, picking up the note with one gloved hand. The note was simple, yet again, and he read it aloud, mainly to himself.

"Thanks again, I just love art, Kitsune," he muttered. Groaning, he crumpled the thin paper in his fist, tossing it to the ground and morosely watched it bounce off of the cool tile floor.

'Well, at least the alarms didn't go off,' Daisuke thought to him helpfully. Dark opened his mouth to agree… when the air was filled with the shattering noise of the alarms, every one turning on.

"Yeah, at least the alarms didn't go off…" he muttered sarcastically as he darted off, a fresh wave of police flooding into the large museum. With surprising agility he scaled the wall, and opened the elegant skylight and, bracing his hands against the ledges of the large opening, and shoved himself out, landing gently on the gravel topped roof.

"Wiz!" he cried out quickly, and in no time, the small white fuzz ball turned into his trademark black wings. Heralded by a large gust of wind, he was soon high in the sky, ignoring the usual horde of reporters. His enjoyment damped by Kitsune, he landed on top of the large clock tower, glaring silently at whatever he could find.

It was never supposed to be this way; he was never supposed to be stolen from! Heck, he was supposed to be the greatest thief, and what happened? A rookie keeps stealing from him!

'Who is she?' he heard Daisuke ask, though it seemed to be a rhetorical question. He didn't care… he answered it.

"How should I know?" his voice sounding snappier than he had intended. A slight pang of guilt stabbed furtively at him, but he brushed it away quickly. This was no time to be thinking of how his voice sounded, when he needed to think about how he was going to get the artwork back.

'Maybe you should go after her?' Daisuke chimed in helpfully.

"Great idea, I haven't even thought of that!" Dark replied sarcastically. He sighed, he'd just have to head home, empty handed, again. Well… technically last time he got a string of pearls, which Emiko had abducted immediately. And with that, the phantom thief left, flying off into the moon sky, filled only by the moon and the still falling snow.

Midorai cursed to herself as she crept into her room, pulling a large covered object in behind her. Why did it have to be so heavy? But she quickly hushed when she heard the sound of the door opening downstairs. She placed the large object against the bed carefully, and snuck out quietly, to see Daisuke, dressed in black, his red hair coated in snow and a very cold Wiz on his shoulder.

Quickly, she sidled back into her room, pulling off the dress she was wearing, and hurriedly shoving on a pair of flannel p.js and a too large t-shirt. She kicked the flat shoes she was wearing off into a shadow filled corner of the room and hid the large object under the bed, being oddly careful of it. As she did, something glinted in the dim light of the moon that penetrated the shadows under the mattress, and she sighed, sitting down on the large ledge of the window in the room, placing her pale forehead on the pane of glass, watching the snow fall.

Her deep meditated was broken by soft knocking on her door. She looked over, her thick braid falling over one shoulder, coiling on the floor.

"Come in."

The door timidly opened, revealing Daisuke, dressed in pajamas this time, and looking a bit flushed, as though he had just run a mile. She smiled at him, motioning for him to come inside, casting a glance at the analog face of her clock, and though it was late, she rarely got sleep, so she didn't mind the intrusion.

"I just wanted to check on you," he explained needlessly as he made his way into the room, guided only by the light of the large moon that hung in the ink sky.

"I'm fine, I just can't get any sleep," she replied quickly, smiling at him. Slowly, she returned her gaze to the window, sighing. "It's still snowing, isn't it beautiful?"

"Ah… yes…" was his reply.

"Do you know what's so fascinating about snow? It has two meanings," she added in softly, her voice almost tender.

"Yeah… purity is one of them, right?" he replied, and she nodded her head, pulling her eyes away from the snowy world outside to the boy, who stood there rather awkwardly.

"And Death. It's amazing, like two sides of a coin," she replied smiling at him. "Well, there might not be any school tomorrow, the snow's getting pretty thick, but you should head to bed."

"What about you?"

"I'll try to get some sleep," she replied. He nodded, and made his way out of the room, when she spoke again.

"Daisuke?"

"Yes?" he turned her head to look at her.

"Thanks for letting me stay," she replied. He nodded and walked silently out of the room, closing the door behind him.

She slowly sunk down to her bed, holding her hands above her heart. To most it would seem that she liked him, but it was something different. He was so caring, so gentle, and more then anything, she wanted to protect him. If Wyngs or Skye came, they might try to kill him. She wouldn't let them kill another person again, not after Toya. Just thinking about made her heart hurt, and she sighed, falling back on the bed, trying to catch some sleep, but nothing came to comfort her.

Darkness was slowly creeping in her room, the moonlight dimming as it slowly moved away from the window. Her eyes were open, staring at the darkening patch on the ceiling, her breathing becoming shallow as the darkness seemed to crush her. The pain in her chest worsened until she finally shut them tight, grasping onto the sheets of the bed, as though she was going to fall off it into oblivion. But oblivion didn't seem so bad to her, at least there she'd be left alone.

But no, she was along, in his house, she was alone. No matter where she was, she was alone, like a lost doll, just laying in an attic, forgotten, holding onto vague memories of a better life.

She tried to remember her father, but only saw a vague figure, with no face, no voice, no soul. It was painful to think of her mother, who she saw too often, in magazines and on news shows.

Her mother… a heartless woman, with a stern face, who would sell out anyone to advance in the social class. It scared her, knowing she was related to that woman, if you could even call her a mother.

Midorai lay there, sprawled on her back on that mattress, until her eyes closed, her breathing steadied, and she slowly fell into sleep…

-There we go, done with this chapter. Please Read And Review.