Wooo hooo Go flashbacks! MUAHAHAAHHAA! Oki.. I know it's been a LONG time.. but, suck it up! Heartya all!
The grandfather clock chimed its twelfth bell and The Phantom Thief had just grabbed the Toll of Time jewel and was heading for the exit when a figure stood in his way. He stopped, took the jewel and placed it in his pocket, then turned to the figure.
"Hello, Krad." Dark said casually.
Krad took a step forward and into the moonlight and his long blond hair shined silver in the light as he glared at Dark who only smiled.
"Sorry, Krad." Dark started. "But, I don't have time for this." With that, he jumped out of the window and flew away leaving Krad standing in the window way watching.
Dark laughed as he looked down on the city. As he did, he noticed someone walking in the park, alone. So he swooped down to see the person better and noticed the person was a woman. He gave a smirk and flew closer to the earth. When he was about 50 feet from the ground, he could clearly see who it was; Chokuro.
"Oh-no…" Dark said as he changed into Yuki and fell in a bush near Chokuro. She jumped when she heard the loud "THUD" that Dark made when he made contact with the earth. She walked over to the bush and saw Yuki sitting there rubbing his back and Wiz next to him and laughed. Yuki looked up and turned slightly red.
"Hi…" He said.
Chokuro giggled and said "Hi…Umm… what are you doing?"
Yuki got up and brushed himself off then looked at Chokuro. "We were going home from a job…"
She only looked at him and shook her head. "Whatever. I'll walk you home if you want."
Yuki smiled. "Thanks. But isn't it normally the other way…. The boy walks home the girl?"
Chokuro laughed. "Not today."
Yuki gave in. "Fine…"He and Chokuro started in the direction of his house. Their path was lit by the moon as to it was a full moon that night. "Chokuro…" Yuki started off.
"Yeah?" She said facing him.
"Why were you out at this time of night?"
"Oh…I couldn't sleep…" She shrugged. "I don't know why…maybe it's the full moon. But, it doesn't matter now…"
"Oooh… Explains the dress and jacket." Yuki said looking at Chokuro's attire as did she, herself.
She was wearing a black dress that came to her ankles and a purple overcoat. She shrugged and laughed.
"Yup. Just through it on cuz it was quick…"
The two did not say anything on the journey to Yuki's house. They only watched the moonlight through the trees and enjoyed the cool July night air.
When they arrived, Chokuro gave Yuki a hug and said: "Good bye, I'll see you tomorrow. Tell everyone I say 'hi'."
Yuki smiled. "Of course. See you later." Chokuro turned to leave but Yuki stopped her. "Oh, Chokuro, Happy Birthday." He smiled.
"Thank You, Yuki!" Chokuro gave him one last hug before she set off.
Chokuro took her time getting home. She really wasn't tired so she decided to take the longer route to her house.
The route took her through woods with not too many trees so it made it look like a park, and Chokuro could see fine where she was going. There was still the eeriness of going through the woods at night. It didn't affect her too much since she had gone through these woods many times before.
As she walked, she wondered out loud about something that was bugging her.
"Why did Dark change back into Yuki…" Chokuro scavenged her mind to search for the answer. She found a possibility. "It was probably just some girl he saw…" She gave a sigh. "That's Dark for ya…Sees a pretty girl and he just changes." She gave a giggle at what she said then shrugged it off.
"Wonder what time it is…" She questioned herself as she looked up to try and find the clock tower.
"Far too late for a girl like you to be out." Said a voice from behind her. She quickly turned around, out of fear, to see whom it could be but relaxed once she saw whom it was.
"Phew… It's only you, Krad." She said comforting herself with the knowledge.
Krad gave her a sly smirk in return. "You know, it really is far too late for a female to be out. Especially alone."
Chokuro shrugged. "Yea, I know. But, who would want me anyway. Not like I'm of any importance to anyone… except my family… But, that's different." She smiled at Krad, only to have it fade away by Krad wearing a very serious frown. "Krad? What's the matter?" Chokuro's eyes bore concern for Krad.
Krad looked at Chokuro. "Why would something be wrong?" His tone was icy and sent chills down Chokuro's spine. "When my life is perfectly happy." He took a step towards Chokuro making her take one back. "I don't have my love of my life…. Unlike you…" He took another step. "I don't have a family… unlike you…" He took another step forcing Chokuro to back into a tree, ripping her dress in the process, causing it to rip up to her hip. "I don't have my own body… unlike you… I suppose I just don't see how something could be wrong when my life is perfect…" Chokuro was getting very scared at this moment. She knew that Krad was not one of the most pleasant people to be around. But she didn't know he could be like this.
"K-Krad…" Chokuro stuttered. "You're scaring me…"
Krad's frown turned into a smirk. "You should be scared."
Chokuro's eyes widened and she as about to run, but Krad's hand already made it to her neck. She couldn't scream and the fear was overwhelming her until her vision went black.
Over at Yuki's house, he was having some problems.
"C'mooon…" Dark was persisting in Yuki's head for the past twenty minutes. "You should check to see that she got home safely."
Yuki was getting frustrated by Dark and was rubbing his forehead. "We don't have to… It's Chokuro. She'll be fine."
"You don't know that!" Dark stated.
"UGH! Fine! I'll go." Yuki said aggravated as he closed the door to his house behind him.
"All I ask." Dark said. "Besides, what kind of a friend would you be if you didn't check on her."
"Dark. Shut up. I already said I'd check. I'm already outside. So you can stop worrying. I'm going to go make sure that the love of your life is fine."
"Thank y-- HEY! She's not the love of my life." Dark said, offended.
"If you say so…" Yuki teased with a smirk.
Yuki arrived at the Ieshtai manor, walking in without knocking for many reasons. One, it was close to one o'clock in the morning and two, the Ieshtai's didn't really mind because he was practically one of the family.
He ventured up the spiral staircase, past the pictures and rooms and, finally, to the sixth door on the right, Chokuro's room. He knocked on the door, no answer. He knocked again, a little louder this time and still no answer. Now Yuki was starting to worry, but nothing close to how Dark was feeling. Yuki decided to knock once more and when no one answered, he walked into the room thinking that maybe she fell asleep. Chokuro wasn't anywhere in the room.
"Where is she!" Dark asked concerned.
"I don't know." Yuki said terrified of what could have happened. "She should have been back by now. Even if she took the longer way to get here…"
"We have to look for her!" Dark said as he took over his host's body without any effort or protest from the boy.
Dark pushed open the window and jumped out. "Wiz!" he yelled as he plummeted towards the earth. Within seconds, Dark had his ebony wings and was hovering over the trees in search of Chokuro.
After two hours of this, he saw no sign of her and retired to the ground to search.
"Where could she be?" Dark wondered to himself. "Hey, Yuki…"
"Yea?" Yuki responded.
"Do you suppose your friend, Himono, might know…"
Yuki shrugged. "I don't know… He could…"
Dark sighed. "As much as I despise going to the Hikari's… I will….". Dark said as he pushed himself off of the ground and soared to his destination adding quietly to himself. "…for her."
Dark arrived at a mansion that had a lot of windows, land, and rooms. He knocked on the door out of courtesy but when no one answered, he took the liberty of letting himself in.
"Himono?" Dark yelled through the house as he was wandering the halls, checking in rooms. There was never an answer or anyone to be found. Dark walked by the door that led to the basement. He opened it slowly and peaked his head in and saw a tiny stream of light at the end of the stairs. He walked cat-like down the stairs, making no noise except for tiny 'thuds' when his feet hit the stairs. Dark saw a door opened slightly and noticed it was the source of the yellow light. Dark placed his palm on the door and pushed it open to see Chokuro passed out and her hands chained, above her head, to a link in the ceiling. Krad was holding a sword to Chokuro's back and was saying something. Just as Dark walked in, Krad shoved the sword into her back and there was a bright light as Chokuro's features became stone. Dark let out a yell and fell to his knees. "No…" The words barely touching his lips.
Krad chuckled when he saw the look on Dark's face. Dark looked and felt like he was going to puke, it did not help that Yuki felt the same way either. Krad walked over to Dark, holding the sword in his hand. He knelt down next to Dark, leaning on the sword. He laughed slightly. "Now… you're like me…." Krad chuckled and stood up. He looked down at Dark with a twisted smile on his face. "You lost the love of you're life now. Just like I did."
Dark glared up at him. "What'd she ever do to you!" He asked, anger level rising.
Krad's smile faded into a frown. "What did she do to me?" Krad said looking down at Dark. "Nothing." He said simply. "It's what she did to you."
Dark looked at him. "What?" He said as he stood up, slowly. "What does what she do to me have to do with you… you…" he looked over at the stone figure of Chokuro. "Doing that to her!" He yelled pointing at her.
Krad only looked at him. "It has everything to do with it. She makes you happy…. You don't deserve it."
Dark stood there, looking blankly at him. "What? I don't deserve to be happy? Like you do! You're the one who turned an innocent person into stone!"
Krad shrugged. "Nothing I can do about it now." He said as he started to walk away.
Dark watched after him, in shock. "How could you be so cruel?" He said following after him. "She did nothing to you! If anything, she probably saw what good you might have had left! And what do you do! You turn her into a statue!"
Krad whipped around to face Dark. "It doesn't matter now. Does it!"
Dark glared at him. "Can't you reverse the spell!"
"No." he said plainly then continued to walk away.
Dark was tempted to fight with Krad, but he knew it would get him nowhere. He marched off and flew back to Yuki's house. When he arrived, he sat on the front stairs for a few minutes, thinking. Yuki was still in shock.
Dark was holding his head in his hands and looking at the ground. "I don't get it…. Why'd he do it!"
Yuki finally recovered from his shock. "Didn't you hear what Krad said?" He asked and continued when Dark shook his head. "He said it was because you two have…had… feelings for one another and he was jealous." He stated.
Dark looked up. "But… I don't have feelings for Chokuro…" He said, as the thought ran through his mind. "… I don't think…"
