Kikuko stood up from her chair and walked over to Dark and Chie. She reached down, grabbed Dark by his shirt, and lifted him off the ground. Dark was surprised by the strength of the old woman.
"What did you do?" Kikuko asked, frowning. "What the hell happened to Chie?"
Dark blinked and struggled to come up with an explanation. She he just tell her everything that happened or should he lie? For some reason, he couldn't bring herself to tell her the truth. Dark opened his mouth as if to say something, but immediately closed it and stared at the ground. How could he explain all this? How could a simple emotion suddenly get out of control and cause so much pain and suffering?
Kikuko sighed wearily and let go of Dark. He fell back to the floor for some reason. It was as if all his strength had been drained. Kikuko licked her lips and raised her arm. She quickly smacked Dark several times before stopping.
"Did that hurt?" she asked.
Dark raised arms as if to shield himself and bowed his head. Anas had slapped him like that. "Don't," he whispered. "Please, don't."
Kikuko took Dark's hands and forced him to stand up. She gazed up at him and smiled sadly. He was older than her and at least a foot taller, but to anyone else, he might've been a teenager. A teenager is still a child.
"Oh, Dark," she said, "I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry for hitting you, but I'm not sorry for what happened to you. You should've thought things through."
Kikuko noticed that his lips were trembling and he was biting them in a desperate attempt to keep the tears inside.
"I don't know what to say," Kikuko said. "I can't say it'll be all right because it won't be. You've changed many people's lives. You've changed Chie's life." Her gaze fell on the floor where Chie lay. She looked completely peaceful, like she had just finished a huge project and could finally sleep and dream. A smile played on her lips and she let out a soft giggle. Whatever dream she was having must've been a happy one. Kikuko turned her gaze back toward Dark. "I can't say that I blame you entirely because there were many contributors to what happened today. However, I can say that you did plant the seed for this wretched weed that choked every flower in the garden."
"I'm sorry," was all Dark could say.
"I guess an apology is better than nothing. Now, turn back into Niwa."
Dark looked up with surprise. "Huh? But why?"
"You're not the only on suffering. Do it!"
Dark reverted back to Daisuke. Daisuke looked up at Kikuko with a pained expression on his face.
"Ekisha-san, is this what you meant by the Fortune of the Four Angels?" he asked softly. "And what of Penelope-san? And Chie-san and her sister? And Hiwatari?"
Seeing the look of sadness and pain on Daisuke's face hurt Kikuko. She bent down and picked up Chie.
"Chie's right here," she said. "I don't know where Sasaya and the others are. As for Penelope, I can tell you one thing. She's not from this world and she's not human and not an angel."
Daisuke's eyes grew wide. Not human? Penelope hadn't been human?
"What do you mean? If she's not a human being or angel then what could she possibly be?"
Kikuko shook her head. "I don't know. However, I did see her. Several others as well."
"She said we were all going to die." Daisuke's shoulders shook a bit and his lips quivered. Two tears rolled down his face and fell on the polished wooden floor. "Why would she say something like that? What happened to Penelope-san? And those others. Are they going to die as well?"
Kikuko tore her gaze away from Daisuke's face. She couldn't stand seeing a child cry. And staring at the crying Daisuke only made her want to curse Dark for what he had done in the past.
"I'm not sure. I hope they don't, because they're all children, but I truly don't know."
Daisuke's eyes grew big with horror and disbelief. "Children!" he cried.
"Yes. All between the ages of fourteen and nineteen. Some may actually be older than that, but that's how old they look."
Daisuke blinked several times and frowned with frustration when his tears wouldn't stop. They dripped down like useless water that couldn't possibly be of any use to anyone. He covered his face to try to stop the tears, but it was in vain. Daisuke started to sob and his slightly muffled gasping and hiccupping broke Kikuko's heart.
"Go home, Niwa-chan," she said simply. "I need to take care of Chie."
Daisuke looked up. His cheeks were wet with the hot tears that had fallen down and his eyes swollen and redder than before.
"Will Chie-san be all right?" he asked.
"Yes, now leave."
Daisuke wanted to stay, but he didn't want to argue. What could he have done anyway?
"Dark? Dark, are you there?"
Dark didn't respond. More tears fell down Daisuke's face.
"Come on, Dark. Answer me! Please."
Dark still didn't answer. Daisuke knew why. He could feel Dark's sadness tugging at his heart. It hurt so much. Daisuke grabbed the front of his shirt and felt the sadness squeeze his heart. How could it hurt so much? Why did it hurt so much?
"What happened? What happened to Saki and Krad and---?"
"She's dead."
Daisuke gasped. "What?" he asked out loud.
"Saki is dead. Sumiko killed her in that dimension."
"Does Chie-san know?"
"Not yet."
Daisuke sensed that Dark didn't want to talk anymore, she he closed his mouth and kept quiet. He wandered around the dark, lonely streets like a zombie. How did everything happen? How could it have all turned so bad? And why did Penelope say they were going to die? Daisuke felt like he was in a sea of confusion and all those questions were sharks. The sharks were getting ready to attack. Would anyone save him from certain death?
"Daisuke?"
Daisuke looked up slowly.
"Riku-san?"
Riku walked over to Daisuke. "Chie's grandmother told us some things about what happened. Are you all right?"
Daisuke stared at the ground. "I . . . I . . ." He couldn't find the correct words to tell Riku how he felt. He stood there and tried to think of something, but couldn't.
Riku gently grabbed Daisuke's chin and made him look up. She gasped with shock. He looked like he'd been crying for hours! "Daisuke, what happened to you?" she asked and wiped away some of his tears with her hand. "What happened?"
Daisuke grabbed Riku's hand and squeezed it just to make sure that she was really there. Fear suddenly washed over him. Was Riku also going to die?
"Riku-san," he said and let go of her hand.
A tear welled up in Daisuke's eye and rolled down his face. Riku caught it before it fell to the ground. It shimmered like a caught jewel.
"If it's too hard, don't tell me," she said, "but I want to know what happened to you."
Daisuke opened his mouth and everything he knew came out. He just couldn't stop talking. Daisuke wanted at least one person to hear what had happened. He just couldn't keep it in.
When he finished talking, Riku had a look of bewilderment, disbelief, and sadness on her face. Not knowing what else to do, she threw her arms around Daisuke and pulled him in for a gentle hug.
"Oh, Daisuke," she whispered.
For a moment, Daisuke didn't move. He felt a little numb, but the warmth of Riku's hug brought several emotions back. Slowly, Daisuke laid his head on Riku's shoulder and let her shirt soak up the tears.
