Satoshi listed back and forth, still half-asleep, as they walked down the street. "Daisuke, explain two things to me: Why are going to school so early, and, when told about the rings, why did you not bring clothes to change into?"

Daisuke raised his hands in apology, the sleeves of another of Satoshi's uniforms falling over his fingers. "I thought that maybe the little summoning thing would work in turns, like, first your house, then mine. I'm sorry…"

His glasses came off and were held above his head. Blue eyes looked through them into the glare of the sun, trying to kick start his brain. "I don't think you're doing my sleeping habits a lot of good. I feel as though I was at a raging party all night…"

The redhead grinned, walking backwards and in front of him to look at Satoshi, saying, "Actually, I've been wondering about that. Do you mind my asking a few questions?"

Satoshi blinked, nonplussed, and shrugged. This boy could steal art worth more than the U.S. state of Rhode Island and still ask permission to start a conversation? How very odd.

"Well, first, of course, is; How old were you when you graduated college?"

"I was twelve." Satoshi didn't look away from the eyes before him, staring daggers at the obscene energy being displayed so early in the morning.

"Have you ever gone to a college party?"

"No."

"But then how do you know how it feels-"

"A few guys in my forensics lab said it almost every day." Satoshi shrugged, noting with surprise that his shirt felt loose. Was he losing weight again? Oh. The last time he'd eaten was Daisuke's lunch the day before. And before that…? "I must have picked it up from them. It's nothing."

"So, were you friends with these 'guys'?" The quotation firmly fell into place, and Daisuke grinned like a cat.

Satoshi wasn't going to humor him. "No."

"What about other people? How many friends did you have?"

"None." Thank God, the school was finally visible at the end of the street. Divine intervention was going to change this line of questioning. Satoshi couldn't stop it himself; he had agreed, hadn't he? And he wasn't going to deny Daisuke.

The redhead in question looked as though he had been struck. "But college is four years-"

"-and I finished it in two-" Satoshi cut in smoothly.

"-and you didn't have a single friend?"

"I told you yesterday; I've never had a friend I've felt comfortable around. And I only have one friend that I don't."

Daisuke's eyes widened, his foot slipped off the curb of the corner, and a blaring horn urged him to squeeze his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he lay sprawling across a very thin person. Satoshi's pale arm was around his shoulders and right hand on his waist, and Daisuke felt very… protected. Or claimed.

"Daisuke," Satoshi breathed, trying not to disturb him, "are you hurt?"

"N-no, I'm feeling great." Daisuke, painted red, stood as though electrocuted. "I mean, the car didn't get me. I'm fine."

"You should pay more attention," the blue-eyed boy said, twisting the ruby on the ring away from the ground as he pressed a fist to the concrete as leverage. "I'm not always going to be around to save you."

They walked in a pseudo-awkward silence the rest of the way to school. The mood was only lightened as they entered the classroom and Takeshi ran up to his best friend. "Nice to see you without food smeared across your face, Daisuke!"

Daisuke struggled against the arms holding his neck and cried, "Takeshi, I can't breathe…!"

"You're coming with me to stake out Piazza Bello tonight!"

"What? Why?" Daisuke asked just as loud (due to partial hearing loss). Takeshi was shaking him vigorously back and forth, giving him whiplash and a murderous headache.

"Dark is going to steal the Moglie della Notte," Satoshi helpfully supplied.

Daisuke whacked his forehead against a desk, hard, and whined, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Blue eyebrows rose, and Satoshi said evenly, "I thought everyone knew."

Takeshi struck a weeping-maiden pose and sobbed, "Satoshi, how about you call me the next time, so I won't have to race my dad for the phone every time it rings…?"

"I don't have the time," the Commander said, sliding into his seat. "You won't be able to get into the Piazza, by the way - there are officers crawling all over it as we speak. You shouldn't bother. If you sneak in, they'll catch you." Before Takeshi could say anything, he finished, "No, I won't help you if that happens."

As the girls cooed over his amazing ability to outguess Takeshi - Satoshi was mildly insulted - the teacher called the class to order. He spent the rest of the morning staring at Daisuke's head as he pondered unknowable things.

"You have to tell a secret, remember?" Daisuke said happily as he pushed a bento box into Satoshi's hands as he opened his own. He had had Takeshi pick them up from his house before school that day, showing at least a little forethought.

Satoshi rolled his eyes and ate a few bites, thinking. Well, better to go with an obvious one. "I have no artistic creativity."

"What? But Dark said that you can draw anything!" Daisuke yelped, almost dropping his lunch. Satoshi caught it and held it steady for him until he calmed down enough to continue, "I mean, you've helped me before. You copied over my entire painting!"

"Yes, I copied it. I can't do anything superfluous. I draw what I see, and I don't add anything on." Satoshi took a bite of fried eggs and commented, "Tell your mother that her cooking has, if anything, improved."

"I don't believe you. Your family created all those magical sculptures and things!" Satoshi ignored him and kept eating for a moment as Daisuke's mouth worked in shock. He grabbed the chain holding the two rings together and tugged on it, forcing the taller boy's attention to him. "I said you're lying. You have to prove it, or do a dare."

Satoshi sighed and removed his glasses. They weren't necessary, and they were gathering the sunlight in exactly the wrong way. "Fine. What do I have to do to prove it to you?" He noticed again that Daisuke had followed the path of his glasses again. "Daisuke, eyes front."

"R-right, um, you have to draw… a still life, a landscape, and a portrait. Alright?" Daisuke looked anywhere but directly at him and decided to grow what seemed to be a monster of an appetite.

Satoshi watched him silently for a moment. This was a really bad idea, to be showing Daisuke something like this. It was going to turn out with consequences. It was just too bloody tempting, though. He reached into his schoolbag and brought out a 12"x18" pad of thick paper. "This… is my sketchbook. You're not going to pass judgment on any but the three I show you, agreed?"

Daisuke's fingers twitched, and he nodded with a gulp.

"Now, this is a still life." Satoshi flipped to a picture of the brick building next to his. It was detailed to the smallest winding vine (in charcoal, though, so no color) and even had the rustling of the drapes in the breeze as though it were real.

Daisuke had to hold himself back from touching it and smearing the black everywhere. "But it's perfect."

"No, it's a copy. I drew what was; anyone could get the same with a photograph." Satoshi flipped to another page, a skyscape. "This was last Tuesday's sunset. I used colors because it was pretty, but I couldn't only remember most of it."

"Remember? When were you drawing this?"

"Last night. To relax, you know." Satoshi turned pages again, but snapped the book closed suddenly. "And this concludes the tour of my inventive failings."

"Huh? But… the portrait! You have to show me a portrait, don't you?" Daisuke tugged on his friend's arm, lower lip out in a pout. "Otherwise you lose and I get the ring!"

Satoshi sighed and handed it over. The image on the page was in the same tones as the ring on his finger; red and gold. And the person was gorgeous.

"This is…" Daisuke gasped, touching it reverently, "this is me…!"

Eh-heh, stopped it a bit abruptly... but it was the end of the roof scene, an I din't want to get into all the confusion until next chapter, so... Oh, was I really that vague last chapter? The punishment was the embarrassment of everyone laughing at the soy sauce from ear to ear. Still taking suggestions of secrets or lies they can tell each other...