Aomi had gone to bed early and was fast asleep when she felt a chill run down her spine. Without waking up she pulled the covers up higher to cover her back. She slept peacefully for a few minutes until she felt warm breath on her cheek and someone whispering her name softly in her ear. She still didn't wake up thinking it was a dream. Then she felt warm lips on hers. They were soft and gentle and she soon found herself kissing back in her dream.
"Is that you...?" Aomi mumbled between kisses in her sleep but quickly woke herself up. She had almost said Eden's name but was glad she didn't when she saw Dark leaning over her. He grinned mischievously at the shocked and alarmed look on her face when she woke up.
Aomi swallowed in nervousness not sure what to say to him. She wasn't prepared to see Dark yet, especially after her night with Eden. He leaned in closer for another kiss and Aomi allowed him, glad that she didn't have to say anything after all.
They laid there for a while as Aomi allowed Dark to sweep away all thoughts of Eden and the night before and the guilt that had set in. When those worries faded to a distant memory she let herself get lost within Dark's strong arms and tender kiss. And after what seemed like an eternity, Dark pulled away leaving Aomi breathless.
"I have something to show you," he said as he pulled her out of bed and led her to the balcony where he had conveniently let himself in to Aomi's room.
Aomi followed Dark and looked down into the street when he pointed down. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary except for a beautiful Rolls Royce parked in front of her house. She looked at Dark questioning him with her eyes.
"Nice, huh?" He said smiling down at her. "It's been awhile since I've ridden in a car personally, so I figured I'd do it in style."
"Where are we going?" Aomi asked excitedly noticing for the first time that Dark was wearing a tuxedo.
"You'll see," he whispered in her ear. Then seeing she had noticed his attire, he turned around in a circle with his arms held out, so he could show off. "Suites me, doesn't it?"
"It does," she said taking in the handsome young man before her.
"I have something for you to wear," and taking her hand he pulled her back into her bedroom. He then presented a beautiful emerald green dress that was hanging on a hook from her closet door. It was exquisitely beaded with delicate stands of gold woven throughout.
"I picked it out to go with the bracelet I gave you." He said enjoying the look of wonder in Aomi's eyes when she saw the dress. "I'll let you get ready." Kissing her forehead he left her alone in the bedroom so she could get ready leaving Aomi feeling a little swept off her feet.
"Dark!" Aomi called as she came downstairs dressed and ready to go. Dark got up from the couch where he had been waiting for Aomi and met her at the foot of the stairs. He stepped back and Aomi smiled in embarrassment over his reaction as she saw his jaw drop. He soon recovered the cocky expression he usually wore.
"You look almost as good as me," he said impressed.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Aomi responded taking Dark's offered hand as he led her down the rest of the stairs.
"Dark, I tried to put the bracelet on but it was too small," Aomi told him as they headed for the front door.
"Oh, that's because it's a magic bracelet that only I can slip on," Dark said taking the bracelet from her and slipping it over her hand. Aomi watched in amazement as the bracelet expanded over her hand and slid easily onto her wrist. When she had tried earlier the bracelet remained still.
As the bracelet settled on her wrist Aomi felt a jolt of what she thought was static electricity and let out a small yelp from the sensation.
"Sorry about that, got to learn not to drag my feet," Dark joked.
"Something a phantom thief shouldn't be doing," Aomi teased.
Aomi couldn't remember having a better time than she did with Dark. First he had taken her to an upscale French restaurant where he tried to impress her by ordering in French. Then he took her to the opera. Aomi had loved every minute. She didn't even mind the looks Dark got from other women. She wasn't surprised by the reaction. Dark look so smooth and handsome in his tuxedo, Aomi thought that if they didn't stop for another look at him they were crazy.
The evening had been perfect but there were times when Aomi felt her thoughts drifting. But when she brought herself back from spacing out, she couldn't remember what she could have been thinking of. She didn't think much of it at first until she felt Dark nudge her back into reality as the opera broke for an intermission. When she looked up she saw Dark standing over her, the opera house lights were on and people were already out of their seats stretching their legs and mingling with each other. She gave a lame excuse about being caught up in the music but she couldn't even remember the last aria or the lights even coming on for the intermission. She could see that Dark didn't completely believe her but he didn't question her and let her lack of attention slide.
Despite her memory lapses through the night, when Dark had asked her if she had a good time, she was able to answer truthfully. They sat in the back seat of the Rolls Royce enjoying the luxury of the car as it drove through the dark, quiet streets on their way back home.
"I did," she smiled turning to look at him. Dark had his arm casually draped around her shoulders and was playing with her fingers. He smiled back down at her and kissed the top of her head. "It's been years since I've been to the opera. We used to go all the time," she added indicating her parents and brother as she looked away from Dark.
"I remember, I was there, too," Dark reflected. He remembered those memories of Aomi and Rio's parents as the happiest for the two siblings. They had been so attached to their mother and father that when they were killed in a car accident it nearly killed the siblings as well. Aomi had refused to eat for a week and Rio wouldn't come out of his room or speak to anyone, including Dark. Dark, who had never been around to witness the death of a former tamer, took it pretty hard too. But as time went by, Aomi and Rio learned to accept what happened and continued with their lives knowing that was what their parents would have wanted.
"Can I ask you a question?" Aomi said interrupting Dark's thoughts. She didn't want to start crying at the memory of her parents so she wanted to talk about something else, something that had been on her mind for a couple of days.
"How long are we going to be doing this?" She almost regretted asking the question but she needed to know. She had been wondering what she should do about Eden. She liked being with both Eden and Dark and didn't want to stop seeing either. She didn't believe anything serious would development with either of them, but she didn't think she could handle seeing both at the same time and she felt guilty for it. She felt like she was betraying Eden and Dark even though she was not in an official relationship with either.
"Why, have you found someone else to cheat on me with," he asked smirking. Aomi knew he was joking but the comment hit too close to the mark and she stiffened slightly at the remark feeling even worse than she did a second ago.
"Just until you fall in love with me and I can count you as one of my many conquests," he continued jokingly but when Aomi sat up and stared at him expecting him to be smiling at her arrogantly, he wasn't. He wore such a serious expression that it worried her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked looking in his eyes and seeing sadness there.
"I don't think I'm going to be around for very long," he told her.
"What do you mean?" Dark not be around, could that mean...? Aomi thought to herself.
"Rio has been seeing someone," he explained. That was all that he needed to say. Aomi could already guess what the rest of the situation was.
"I had no idea," Aomi said quietly.
"Yeah, he just told her about me yesterday. That's why he didn't make such a big fuss about us going out tonight. He figured he let me say a final farewell to my fun and carefree ways until the next tamer," he said darkly not looking at Aomi anymore.
Aomi could feel how depressed he was about the situation. It's not fair to him, she thought. Dark had no control over anything, not even his own life. He would never be allowed to fall in love and spend the rest of his life with anyone or have a family. He was forced to watch and be a spectator to what he would never have and then he would disappear until the next time and the whole cycle would start again. Her guilt that she was feeling after her night with Eden grew stronger and she wished she could have resisted and been faithful to Dark on his last days. She wanted to cry and she did. The tears began to spill and Dark, noticing them, pulled her towards him into a hug.
"Look, don't cry about it," he laughed trying to make light of the situation.
"I'm going to miss you," she said her voice muffled because her head was buried into his chest. She couldn't stop crying. Every passing second she felt worse and regretted being with Eden for the first time. But why should you, a voice from inside said. You don't belong to him.
Dark sighed before repeating the sentiment and Aomi sat up and looked at him.
"I know you won't, you will have forgotten about me when you return with your next tamer," she accused. Her tone was cold and it made Dark look at her with a worried expression. Her eyes seemed different, like it was someone else looking at him and not Aomi.
"Maybe, but will that keep you from letting me count you as a conquest?" He asked smiling back at her hoping this sudden change in her attitude came from her crying.
"No," she said shaking her head more to get rid of a dizziness that had suddenly come upon her. Her tone was a lot gentler now and her face had softened. It was Aomi looking at Dark now not the stranger he thought he saw just a second ago. Pulling Aomi closer he looked deeper into her eyes, searching for the stranger but was unable to see anything different.
"What's wrong?" Aomi asked as Dark continued to stare into her eyes.
"Nothing," he lied trying not to rouse her suspicions. "Just wondering how you're going to help make my last few days here something to remember."
Aomi gave Dark a thin, sly smile. The guilt she had been feeling had just suddenly disappeared and she actually began to agree with the voice she heard earlier. She didn't belong to Dark or to anyone. She was free to do whatever she wanted. And if she wanted to kiss Dark, she would. And if she wanted to kiss Eden, she would. That's more like it, the voice said to her. They'll only end up using you in the end. It's best to get them before they get you. And Aomi, agreeing with the voice again, leaned in closer to Dark for a kiss. As her lips fell upon his she felt all her thoughts, her memories, her feelings fade away and it felt like she had been pushed out of her own body. Her soul tossed to the side unable to see, hear or do anything.
