"Man, that's expensive. I can't after all." Daisuke said.
"More slowly! Hey, watch out!" Guy lifting Piano said.
"Stop!" Guy said.
Daisuke ran and saved a girl.
"Is he okay?" Guy said.
"Hey, he's okay!" Guy said.
"What happened?" Guy said.
"I'm sorry! Are you all right?" Guy said.
"Yes, somehow." Daisuke said.
"Are you okay?" Guy said.
"Thank goodness." Daisuke said looking at the girl.
"Miho!" Mother said. "Miho! Are you okay, Miho?"
"Excuse me..." Daisuke said. "My legs have started shaking now. I thought so. If Mom sees it, she's likely to say something. I'd better come up with an excuse somehow."
Xxx
"Mom..." Daisuke said.
"Are you all right? Any injuries?" Emiko said.
"What are you talking about? Oh, this? I just fell." Daisuke said. "What?"
"A small girl and her mother came earlier to thank you for your help. You were lucky that the piano didn't crush you. That was dangerous! Okay, looks like you just got some scratches. Even if they're just scratches, if you get hurt, it means you haven't trained enough." Emiko said.
"Okay." Daisuke said.
"If you're not around, Dark won't be able to appear either!" Emiko said. "Be more careful from now on!"
"I'm sorry." Daisuke went up to his room. "Hey, Wiz. I wonder which one Mom cares about more, me or Dark? I can't help but think that rather than being worried about me, she was worried about Dark not being able to appear. There are times that I don't really understand her. She really is kind of different from other mothers. She's just strange. Hey, what do you think she would do if I ran away from home? But I can't do it right now. Three more days... What should I do this year? I can't think of anything at all."
Xxx
"Dark hasn't shown up recently, has he? But soon... Do you think a warning letter will come? I'd like to meet him..." Kuri said.
"Hey! Do you want some pictures of Dark?" Takeshi said.
"That's typical of you, Saehara. What is it this time? Cleaning duty?" Kuri said.
"Let me copy your notes." Takeshi said.
"No way!" Kuri said.
"Cheapskates!" Takeshi said.
"Saehara..." Kuri said.
"Hey, younger-Hikawa!" Takeshi said. "Do you want them? Special pictures of Dark..."
"Hey, don't you have any news? From your father?" Kuri said.
"Nothing so far." Takeshi said.
"I see." Kuri said. "Then let me know when you get it, Mr. Press Chief!"
"Okay! Leave it to me...Hey, what about your notes as payment for the pictures?" Takeshi said. "What's wrong, Niwa? You've been kind of spaced out all morning."
"No, nothing." Daisuke said. "What gift do you think makes a woman the happiest?"
"Hey! You seem innocent, but you're a real playboy! Just who are you going to give a gift to? Well?" Takeshi said.
"It's not like that! It's my mother's birthday." Daisuke said.
"Oh, your mother's?" Reiko said.
"Hey, hey, you still give a birthday gift to your mother?" Kuri said.
"Doesn't everyone?" Daisuke said.
"No, they don't." Takeshi said.
"Really?" Daisuke said.
"If it's a girl, that's one thing, but you're a guy, so don't!" Takeshi said.
"There's nothing wrong with giving a gift to his mother!" Reiko said.
"Anyway, don't get worked up over that kind of thing. Just write "massage coupon" on a piece of paper. That'll do it." Takeshi said.
"Well, that alone isn't really enough." Daisuke said.
"You're kind to your mother, Niwa." Kuri said.
"No, not really." Daisuke said.
Xxx
"I'm home." Daisuke said.
"Dai!" Emiko said.
"Mom?!" Daisuke said.
"What do you think?" Emiko was wearing her high school uniform.
"What's with that outfit?" Daisuke said.
"It's my high school uniform." Emiko said. "I found it when I was cleaning. It reminded me of old times, so I just wanted to try it on. It's incredible! Still a perfect fit!"
"Geez, you're too old for that." Daisuke said.
"Too old?" Emiko said.
"No, you're young, Mom!" Daisuke said. "People'd still think you're a high school student! Right!"
"What kind of comment is that?" Emiko said. "You may not believe it, but in my youth I was popular with the boys! Just come with me!"
"All right already." Daisuke said. "Grandpa, say something!"
"Well, humor her until she's satisfied." Daiki said.
"Here, take a look at how cute your mother was!" Emiko said.
"Wow!" Daisuke said.
"Everyone in my town knew who it was when someone talked about an Emiko." Emiko said.
"You really were cute!" Daisuke said.
"Wasn't I just? There were letters every morning in my shoe locker and there was always someone waiting for me at the school gate when it was time to go home." Emiko said.
"I see, you really were popular." Daisuke said.
"Yeah, I was. But for some reason, all the boys ended up running away from me." Emiko said.
"What? Why?" Daisuke said.
"That must have been the reason." Emiko said. "I always asked them to father my son. All through middle, high, and college, No one said yes...Even though there weren't any other conditions."
"Of course not! No one can say yes to such a thing confidently. If you press it with such intensity, of course everyone will pull back! But then, what about Dad?" Daisuke said.
"Would you like to hear? Kosuke was... It was around when I was going to college. On the day of the St. White festival in December, you know that people give something white to the one they love, right? Among the many gifts that I received, there was a small box with no name and no card. In it, there was a white ribbon. A pretty, pure white satin ribbon... It was such a simple gift, but somehow it made a huge impression." Emiko said.
"You didn't know who it was from?" Daisuke said.
"I didn't back then. Then, the next year, St. White Day came again and..." Emiko said.
"Another ribbon arrived!" Daisuke said.
"Wrong! This time, I didn't get one. The truth is that I was kind of hoping to get one. I got many accessories and pretty small trinkets, but I guess I wanted that ribbon." Emiko said. "I started to faint from studies and was almost hit by a train. A man saved me. He handed me a handkerchief and the ribbon along with it. That was Kosuke. Later he told me that he'd been following me and was waiting for the perfect time to give it to me. But he carelessly took it out with his handkerchief there."
"So I'm like Dad..." Daisuke said. "And he told you he loved you and it turned into a happy ending?"
"No, it wasn't." Emiko said.
"Kosuke is someone who never says "I like you" or "I love you." Anyway, the ribbon was just a start. The important thing happened after that. He asked me why I wanted to have a boy. He was the first person to ask me the reason seriously like that. "This person really is trying to understand me." From his words, his facial expression, his voice...I understood it very well." Emiko said. "The laundry! I've got to bring it inside! I forgot all about it!"
"I'm like Mom too. The mother of the legendary Phantom Thief... So her dream came true." Daisuke said.
Xxx
Kuri was working on plans for St White's day when she was run over by Daisuke.
"Wait Kuri I want to give you—" Daisuke began.
Oh no! He was going to give her a white ribbon.
"Daisuke wait!" Kuri said.
"But I—" Daisuke said.
"I love someone else!" Kuri said and ran off in tears.
After that she was very aware that Dark was wandering around school, as Daisuke.
She watched as he flirted with every girl.
"What are you doing here...Dark?" Satoshi pinned him to the wall.
"What do you mean?" Dark said.
Satoshi let him go. "I suppose the bet still holds..."
Dark stormed in and protected Reiko from the handsy class president.
"I've always looked at you...the truth is...I lo—" Daisuke covered his lips, and faded away.
Dark had taken over.
Kuri seized her chance and watched as he ran down the hallway.
But he caught her instead.
"Trying to capture me?" Dark asked.
"Fine, I was." Kuri said. "What do you want?"
"You love someone else?" Dark said. "That was a dirty trick. You really hurt my tamer."
"It wasn't a trick. It wasn't a lie." Kuri said. "And I never wanted to hurt Daisuke."
With those words she vanished.
"Who is it you love?" Dark asked no one.
Xxx
Kuri watched Dark's eyes, suffering in Daisuke's body all the next day.
She watched as he ached, and fell. Kuri looked over to Satoshi, and he nodded to her, lifiting Daisuke in his arms.
It was time for her to repair the damage she had done.
Her body shook and shimmered out of the room and stood invisible in the nurse's office.
"There's not much time left...for you or for me..." Satoshi said.
Invisible Kuri sat beside Daisuke and touched his forehead, her soul entering his.
Xxx
Kuri stood at the interior of Daisuke and Dark's soul.
"...I kissed Reiko!" Daisuke said.
"Daisuke. Your first love doesn't have to be your only love." Dark said.
"But what about Kuri?" Daisuke said.
"Daisuke..." Kuri stood in front of him.
Dark looked angry. "How dare you!"
"This chaos in your heart was caused by me." Kuri said. "Don't you realize it yet? Even at the very beginning, your eyes were drawn, not to me, but to Reiko? The only reason you thought of me was because of Dark. And Daisuke, though Dark 'is' you, he is also 'not' you as well. His heart loves another. Me. This confusion must end." Kuri said.
"Who do you think you are?" Dark demanded. "Stepping into this sacred space, acting like you know!"
Kuri opened her mouth to answer, but the mist around Daisuke disappeared. "She knows Dark. She has Reiko, another 'her' as well."
A sad smile adorned Kuri's face. "Go home Daisuke. Sister is waiting for you."
Kuri vanished, her last sight being Daisuke flying into Dark's arms and becoming whole again.
She sat invisible, watching Reiko confess to Daisuke.
Satoshi was right. There was so little time left.
For anyone.
"Daisuke...I like you..." Reiko said.
Daisuke's eyes opened. "Reiko?!"
Reiko turned and ran.
She made it to the end of the hall before Kuri stopped her.
"Why are you doing this?" Reiko said, tears in her eyes. "Please let me go! I don't want to face him ever again!"
"But you have to!" Kuri said. "Don't you want his answer?"
Reiko hesitated, tears flowing freely now.
"Well don't you?" Daisuke said, standing behind her.
She turned and looked hopelessly at him. "You like Kuri. I don't need to hear your rejection."
"You're right." Daisuke said. "I did like Kuri. But the one I really like is you, Reiko."
With that, Daisuke turned and ran, and whatever she did, Reiko could not find him again.
Xxx
"I'm like my dad after all." Daisuke said at home later. "I wish I was more like mom."
"When you were born, she was so very happy. I wish you could've seen it. She used to look at your sleeping face for a long time every night. She looked so happy." Daiki said.
"That's because it was a boy who would become Dark some day, wasn't it?" Daisuke said.
"No, well...Well, you'll understand someday, when you become a father. Emiko's mother, that is to say, your grandmother, died a little after Emiko was born." Daiki said.
"Yeah." Kuri said.
"Although the labor wasn't really the cause of her death, it seems that Emiko somehow thought it was her fault. She was told about Dark from her childhood. So when she realized a girl can't be a Phantom Thief, it seems she felt responsible, although she was still small. That's the fate of the Niwa family, Daisuke." Daiki said.
"Our fate..." Daisuke said. "Mom grew up thinking of Dark all the time. Even if she says some crazy stuff, I'll listen to her. I'll do anything for her."
"That's right. For now, why don't we give her a big birthday present?" Dark said.
"Dark!" Daisuke said.
"Well, what should we get for her?" Dark said.
"She's my mother, so stay out of it." Daisuke said.
"Hey, hey! She's a mother to me too." Dark said. "It's not good to keep her all to yourself, don't you think? So that's Emiko? She's cute. You're good, Daisuke! Don't be like that. Okay, then, first we need a piece of paper."
"A birthday card?" Daisuke said.
"No, a warning letter." Dark said.
Xxx
"Reporting from Police Headquarters, Phantom Thief Dark, New Warning Letter! The Phantom Thief Dark has sent in a new warning letter. In that warning letter, it says, "A little after midnight tonight, "I will steal the heart of the world's number one lady." However, since it differs from past warning letters By stating that the target is not a work of art, some are doubtful that the warning is really from Dark, and the police are investigating the case cautiously." Yukiru said.
"The pattern is indeed different from the past. Maybe it really is a fake?" Saehara said, then answered the phone. "Yes?'
"I'm being targeted by Dark. What should I do?" Girl on phone said.
"By Dark?" Saehara said.
"He says that he'll target the world's number one lady, right? I'm the target!" Girl on phone said.
"Hello?" Saehara said.
"Hurry and protect me! I'll be attacked by Dark! Hello?" Girl said. "If I'm attacked, it's the police's fault!"
"Okay, please calm down!" Saehara said.
"Tell me where I can reach Dark!" Girl said. "He probably doesn't know that I'm the world's number one lady."
"Yes, about that case, the "world's number one lady" is the only..." Saehara said.
"What the heck is going on?"
Xxx
"Unforgivable! Using Dark's name and playing a bad joke!" Emiko said. "I'll catch him and bring him to the police!"
"When you become famous, those kinds of people show up. Don't get so upset. In any case, a thief of hearts, is he?" Daiki said.
"Dad! This is not amusing!" Emiko said.
"Okay..." Daiki said.
"If this one goes like this, that one goes like this..." Emiko said.
"Emiko?! Just what are you..." Daiki said.
"I'll catch the fake!" Emiko said.
"Good grief." Daiki said.
"Now, appear, fake Dark!" Emiko said.
"Let's go, Wiz." Daisuke said.
"It's time. He should show up anytime now." Emiko said. "That's..."
"What are you doing in a place like this, Ms. Tomboy?" Dark said.
"Dark? Hey, we have to catch the fake? Of all things, such a prank warning letter was..." Emiko said.
"It wasn't a prank. I was very serious." Dark said.
"What? Then that was...What are you thinking? The heart of the world's number one lady?! Who on Earth are you..." Emiko said.
"The world's number one lady." Dark pointed at her. "This is the first time we've talked like this, isn't it, Emiko? It's a little late to say this, but...Thanks for eagerly waiting for me for so long."
"Dark..." Emiko said.
"The mother of the legendary Phantom Thief? It suits you much better than becoming a Phantom Thief. This is from your other son. Happy birthday, Mom." Dark said.
"Dai..." Emiko said. "Have you gone to sleep? Thanks for the wonderful drawing. It made me very happy. You are my precious child, even if there was no Dark. Good night."
"Thanks, Mom." Daisuke said.