This chapter will be a little more "chaotic" than the others in that the points of view will be changing very quickly. It's just my way of getting the plot along, because there is only one more chapter after this, and then this story is officially over and I can move along with other endeavors in different fandoms (I am now an avid fan of Death Note).

"You were not trying to kill yourself!" Riku hastily whispered, her eyes wide and angry.

Risa sighed. "No, I wasn't.." Her fingers traced the sore lump of red flesh.

Riku slammed her sister into the wall, pinning her down. Her shocked sibling tried to free herself, but unfortunately, Riku's increased strength prevailed. But how could that be so? Risa thought. It was only a month ago and she pushed her down the steps...

"A few students said they saw you with Satoshi after school that day! If he was the last person you were with then--"

"Satoshi wouldn't--"

"Don't lie to me, dammit!" Riku shrieked.

Risa fell silent.

(Risa)

This is spinning out of control.

I had my mind in pieces, but now that my life is coming apart too, I finally begin to realize that mental atrophy was only the beginning.

Needless to say, my father was furious; Riku was grieved and suspicious; I was terrified and shaken.

He just wouldn't stop yelling.

"Where is he, Risa?" He thundered, sending powerful echoes throughout our home to ring my sore ear drums.

"I don't...know..." I gripped my shoulders, praying for the strength to separate myself from this nightmare somehow. I need my reverie. I need my mechanism. I need my Mom...

I want my Mom...

"Pooh bear..." she cries, "Did you fall down? Do you have a boo boo?"

I nod my head helplessly, ignorant that Riku and my father can see me. They're confused. I'm confused. They think I've gone insane. I know I'm insane.

"I know who did it, Dad!" Riku clenched her fists, "It was--"

Then out of nowhere, unwanted and unprecedented to even myself, I began holding my head and screaming. Suddenly, the world started...

Spinning...

And...spinning...

It won't stop spinning.

Even thinking of the colors now, the vortex of incomprehensible colors and incoherent thought, I can see him.

That man.

"...When I rip your throat out..."

"...From the inside..."

Impossible scenarios whirred around in my groggy head as I lay in a fetal position in my bedroom. My only source of consolement being this pink dress, completely robbed of her soothing smell and replaced with my repulsive one.

All the while I thought of the now destroyed relationship between Satoshi and I. There were so many things I wanted to do at that moment. To scream. To cry. To embrace him. To condemn him. But in the end, all I could do was run. And run.

That proved to be a major mistake. Had I taken into consideration his current state, we could have possibly sorted this out, and I wouldn't have to be feeling this horrible sensation in my stomach. I wouldn't have to suffer from this shame, this degradation.

Why did I have to leave him there? He obviously needed help. And he even called out to me..

"Risa..."

Oh, so vivid. I can still see that trembling hand, reaching out to me. Begging me.

Begging me to what?

Forgive him. Forget. Forget.

If I had helped him...

I shouldn't have ran away from him. I saw the look on his face, but I wanted to run. I was just so scared...

Did he even get out of the forest all right? Is he still trapped there? What about that man? Did he help him get home or...?

That necklace. I hadn't noticed it before. But it glowed. I only saw it with half of my regular eyesight, being so engorged in the mud, but..

I know my eyes weren't tricking me. That pendant was glowing. Why did it do that? Is that where that man came from?

Maybe he's not inside Satoshi's body at all. Maybe he came from that necklace.

No, but wait. Those wings...his wings...came out of Satoshi, not the necklace..

Dammit, I can't piece anything together! This is all too sudden, too confusing! Too involved!

What to do? What to think?

I sit up on the bed, cautious so as not to disturb a sleeping Riku by my side. She has her back to turned away from me, wearing an expression of content that is so foreign on my own face. She reaches up to scratch her nose briefly and sighs, returning her arm to it's previous position.

The creaking of the rocking chair has ceased since Dad got a hold of himself, so he no longer requires it. He sleeps in Mom's bedroom now.

Riku is sleeping. So is Dad.

All the more reason to leave this house. No one would catch me.

Deciding to venture out into the night, I slowly slide off of the bed, keeping my gaze on her for any sudden indication of being stirred from her dormant state.

She keeps still for the most part, her chest heaving slowly in and out to the rhythm of her breathing.

So I declared it save to rove about the room.

I inched closer to my dresser with the slow steps of a toddler, licking my lips in silent anticipation. With my hand on the knob of the dresser, I turn around once more to check up on her. Motionless and at peace. Good.

I pull out the drawer and inspect it for a decent shirt. I had a mind to wear black for the occasion; after all, the deeper I blend in, the better. Pulling out a long sleeve turtle neck, I slide it over my night gown, pushing out my thick heap of hair and letting it cascade down my shoulders. My hair looks so black in the moonlight. I wonder why that is.

I dismiss the thought as I pull out another drawer, intent on finding a black pair of sweatpants that Riku usually wears to track. Finding my desired article of clothing in the corner of the box, I don't hesitate to put it on.

The coolness of the night is freezing me. Even while wearing more suitable clothing it doesn't help much. The wind bites into my body, and the darkness seems to take me into its cold embrace as if wanting to stifle me and never let go. Still I know I can't stop. Or go back for that matter. I just know I have to keep going. Where? I wish I knew. All I can think of is going forward...

After walking for who knows how long, I arrive on a bridge—only to be abruptly halted in my progress. Not because I can't go on due to an obstacle... but because a familiar figure suddenly catches my eye. A figure reciding on the bridge in noble solitude. A figure I was half wanting to see, yet fearing to find... A figure just standing on the bridge as if etched there in marble and somehow brought to life...

I see him upon the bridge. He looks so distant from everything around him I can almost forget my own existence. The water runs beneath our motionless feet, still not loud enough to break the atmosphere of silence or the prison his own thoughts have created on his behalf. In reality, I'm only standing a few feet from him; in my mind, a whole ocean separates us.

Seeing his obscure figure solemnly resting over the bridge is a beautiful sight; my mind does not hesitate to entrance me with his image. Everything blurs into nothing and ceases to be as I begin losing even myself. There is something so supernaturally appealing in the way those jagged, silver strands sway in the wind and shield his shadowy profile. Continuing to stare only seems to deepen the spell.

Then his intentions hit me in one fell swoop.

He peers over the bridge, as if silently pleading to the water to grant him release. He presses his foot against the base of the guard rail, then the other. Slowly, he manages to stand on two feet atop the ledge of the bridge. The only thing standing between him and death has been conquered.

He has his back to me, so I cannot ascertain whether or not he had closed his eyes in relief or anticipation. Nor can I ascertain if he was truly going to jump or not. I made sure to notify him of my presence before I could find that out.

"Satoshi!" I shrieked.

Much to my utter astonishment and overwhelming relief, my outcry did not startle him, nor did it cause him to accidentally titter off the edge. He slowly turned around to face me.

The breeze flowed through him like blood in his veins. His clothes and hair danced freely to the movement, adding to his frightening beauty. I think I can make out a faint trace of that terror illiciting gold in his eyes I had come to dread more than the specter of my mother, but I can't be sure. That faint color was soon replaced by the reflection of the moon in his dismayed eyes.

Now seeing that his suicide attempt was thwarted, he licks his lips with mild apprehension, and lands gracefully on the stone floor of the bridge. His lips contort into the perfect frown, depicting beauty even in despair.

Glimmers of the murderous entity within him sting my thoughts. Now I can feel those hands around my neck once more, as real and suffocating as the first time. It is as if his relentless gaze sent invisible limbs to make an attempt on my life once more.

Every sensation, every feeling, was suddenly brought back from a dormant stage to ebb away at my senses. And all of this torture was accomplished so unintentionally with a single look.

My mind brings words to my mouth, only for them to die soundlessly on my tongue.

The vague surprise in his expression shifts without warning to sheer panic, and I can see him tremble away from me, much to my imminent awe. Satoshi...trembling?

"What are you doing here?" He asks, no longer caring to hide his once concealed trepidation. His breathing begins to escalate, and so does my suspicion that the angel's wrath is simmering inside him. I begin to wonder: can that man see me through Satoshi's eyes? Does he look upon me with utmost abhorrence? Is that hate becoming too intense for Satoshi?

He grasped himself fearfully, whispering, "You can't be here...he...he can't know you're here. He can't know I'm here!"

I take a few steps closer in his direction. He flinches and edges nearer to the guard rails. Shaking his head, he iterated one defiant, "No."

I decided to take a few steps back to ensure his comfort, but he obdurately refused to move from his current position.

I instantly felt ashamed. This is all my fault. I drew his inner demon out. I reawakened his dread, his fear.

It was all my doing.

Then came the persistent thought that he was the one at fault, not me. It couldn't be my fault. I was already suffering from too much guilt as it was. This couldn't be my fault too.

Now convinced that he was at fault, I grew angry at him. That anger gave me the strength to use my mouth. "If you knew he lived inside you...wait. You knew! You knew he was inside you all along! That's why you avoided everyone and hardly talked to anyone and glared a-and..." my breaths shortened into fragments gasps as my excitement became too great to bear. I had too many accusations, too many denouncements and too many outbursts to restrain within the confines of my gnarled thoughts. With that understanding came the dwindling desire to censor myself.

And so I continued my senseless scolding.

"Damn you, Satoshi! You put on that act like you wanted to save me from my pain..! Like you wanted to save me from myself! But you! You already had issues of your own! Still you allowed me to...to think that..."

Tears materialized at the edges of my eyes. My voice became disfigured and broken as my feelings only intensified. But as soon as I was aware of my state, I started edging away from him. I knew if I didn't distance myself, I would go into a fit. I could attack him out of anger for what that man did to me.

"...To think that I could...trust you." I gritted my teeth in bitter regret.

I was torn between my desire for revenge and the notion that he was not at fault for what had happened. He had probably taken precautions against him that ended up failing. The only thing that matters now is that I'm alive and...

No. No, that man tried to kill me! He has a monster living inside him! He's not only dangerous to me, he's a danger to society!

He should just crawl back into his hole and never come back.

My eyes widened. What? Crawl into his hole...?

I didn't think that. That wasn't me. No, it's not his fault. He just let his guard down at the wrong time.

That man tried to kill me.

I wanted to love you, Satoshi. I honestly wanted to. I think I still do.

I don't love him. Crawl back into your hole.

I do love you, Satoshi. I know you love me too.

Never come back.

A glint in his eyes seemed to tell me something that I truly didn't want to hear: he knew. He knew what I was thinking.

Why did I so foolishly allow myself to sputter that nonsense?

My mind ponders the wisdom of apologizing as he sinks deeper into a state of melancholy that I had, once again, brought upon him.

That's my fault too, isn't it...?

His blue eyes dilate, his arms wound tighter around himself, his frown deepens. Shame embeds itself into his face. He instantly loses the will to look me in the eye. In the instant he breaks eye contact, he mutters with scorn directed at himself: "I'm a fool, Risa."

A fool? Satoshi..why are you calling yourself that? Please, don't...

"I dared to imagine...that I could love you freely." He said darkly.

And just like that, my animation and thoughts were suspended in space.

Love?

(Exeunt)

(Satoshi)

One of my earliest memories of Krad occurred when I was six. I looked in a mirror and saw him standing behind me. He waved cordially at me; at the time, I was ignorant of the monster he really was, so I waved back, thinking I had made a new friend. Someone who could help me though the hard times, someone who would be there when I succumbed to agony. Someone who could save me from the cruelty of school children.

Soon was I to learn that he was not the savior of my childhood; he was the sole destroyer of it.

Through the years, his appearances became more apparent, more taunting. But there were always those instances where he would go through a dormant phase, where he seemed to lose interest in me and disappear for a time. In that interlude, I began to hope. Hope that he would never come back. Believe that he would never come back. I believed.

He soon taught me how foolish it was to indulge in the frivolity of hope and belief.

That absent stage only lasted for a month or two. He would be with me the majority of the year.

So, given all the time I had to spend with him, I took the opportunity to study his behavior. My initial notion was that I could find out what made him tick and turn it against him.

That failed miserably.

His mannerisms, I discovered, were intricate and complicated in the utmost sense. He suffered from extreme mood swings, where he would be content one moment and fire and brimstone the next. It all depended on what went on in that tangled mind of his.

I began to believe, after years of being forced into his company, that there were times where he just couldn't stand to be alone with his own thoughts. I could see that something was eating away at him, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

One day, the answer finally came to me.

It was his loneliness. His loneliness drove him to the highest stages of insanity and back down again. It was truly the wrath of his misery that we were both subject to. And misery loves company.

I was once again reminded of this as I lay in a crumpled heap on the bathroom floor, familiarizing myself with the patterns of the shower curtain. I had been staring blankly into space for hours now. Hours that felt like minutes. I tried not to pass the time with thinking. Tried not to think about thinking.

But the processes of the mind are far more embedded into a human than the most second nature activity, breathing. I can breathe without thinking about it. And I can think without knowing it, too.

He was perturbed by the fact that I was being so motionless; I concluded this once I felt his fingers gliding so smoothly over my shoulder blade, only to wrap themselves around my neck.

My instincts are hard to ignore, but I manage to as I know that he would never take my life without first ensuring that his own was not threatened. I keep my hands willfully at my sides, waiting for him to detect the absence of my fear.

Predictably, this only makes him tighten his grip, instantly depleting my air supply. I tried to hold in my breath and suspend my need to breathe, praying that he would loosen his clasp before I fell unconscious.

I thought he had to; after all, he does harbor that interrogating look in his eye. I suspect he wants communication, possibly just one word responses.

My speculation proves correct when he loosens his fingers. "Why so stupefied, Satoshi? I warned you of it's flaw, did I not?"

I see he's not beating around the bush.

Before I could reply, his choke hold grip forces me into silence.

"The White Wings Lament is meant to protect others from my fury. Unfortunately for you and your little whore, it's powers are not everlasting; it is only temporary. Time has certainly accomplished it's deed, and year upon year its powers grow weaker.

"I am not like this troublesome little trinket, you devious fool. I am everlasting. From the moment of my birth, my life was meant to be ceaseless. This is the one simple thing you fail to understand: I will be here...always...until you die a miserable old man.."

"No!" I gasped, defying his words.

"...And soon enough, another poor soul will take your place. Undoubtedly, he will be one of your progeny." He chuckled mercilessly, wiping the abominable tears off my cheeks and licking them from the tip of his finger.

"No!"

"Yes!" He persisted, with renewed urgency. "What happened was all your fault and you know it!"

"No.." I began to weep, much to my immediate disgust and boundless shame.

Krad chuckled. "You cannot rid yourself of me. Never. And should you kill me, you shall die as well. Remember that."

"No!"

"Remember..." He materializes into thin air as does his voice, leaving me to cry here on the floor. Leaving me to my own devastating thoughts.

"No.." I reiterated, at the time incapable of saying anything more. I covered my face and shook my head. It was the only thing within my power to do.

Always? It was inconceivable.

All throughout the day, Risa and I failed to even acknowledge the existence of one another. The classes were hours of silent pain; the only choice I had left was to resign myself to torturous contemplation.

And yet the clock still ticks for me, to drive me insane.

That's right. I'm running out of time.

"Are you ever going to eat something besides bread and juice? No wonder you're so skinny." Daisuke commented, shaking his head.

I narrowed my eyes. "That sounds like something your mother would say."

He brought his knees to his chest, resting his chin in the small valley between them. "Yeah, I guess so. Mom's always telling me to pack more things in my lunch, always saying I'm skinny, so...yeah, I do sound like her. She's rubbing off on me, I guess."

I stared blankly into the blue sky, trying to distance myself from reality. Daisuke knows I hate small talk; if I needed to be unceremoniously thrust into the company of another human being, I'd prefer they discuss things of interest to me.

He perked his head up with sudden curiosity. "Wait—I remember now. I wanted to talk to you about something," he began, turning to face me with avid interest, "The whole school is talking about it!" Daisuke continued urgently, "Risa comes to school with red hand marks on her neck and no one knows what happened to her! Please don't tell me that--"

"Daisuke..." I sighed in defeat, placing my hands on my forehead. I can't do this. Damn it all, I can't do this. Don't interrogate me, please.

"Look, you have the school on your side mostly...your fan girls would never believe that you have the capacity to hurt a woman without solid evidence." Daisuke grew stern. "But I know better."

I had my head in my lap, trying to drone out his voice. I couldn't be driven to tears, not here. I was already weak enough as it is. Why did I hope that I could win against him? Why did I pursue her?

Why must he berate me too?

"I know exactly what went wrong, and Dark is very angry with you for letting Krad hurt Risa. She could have died."

"What more should I have done? I already took the precautions...I don't understand why.." I mumbled, my fists clenching at my sides.

"Dark said that you should have consulted him first. If you had asked him about the necklace instead of just taking it--"

My head shot up as I felt anger rise my veins, not pointed toward Daisuke, but that cocky, burdensome thief inside him. "Well, you tell Dark that in case he hasn't realized as of yet, I'm an Hikari: my sole purpose in existing is to capture him and put him in a nice little box for the rest of eternity, not to consult him on magical devices." I seethed.

"He knows that; he was just looking out for your happiness." He frowned.

My eyes widened and a scornful laugh erupted from my dry throat. "My happiness? Is this some kind of joke? If it is, tell him I think it's funny."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Risa called the cops on me." I continued, once I was struck by the humiliation of being arrested posed, "If not, I'm sure either her father or Riku will take action."

Daisuke crossed his arms. "Let's hope that she doesn't resort to that. It'll jeopardize your future immensely. Do you want me to talk to her about it?"

I immediately shook my head. "Goes without saying, Daisuke." I mumbled.

"No, really, I'm sure she'll understand if you explain it." My foolish friend said hopefully, "She already knows that I'm Dark. She...actually found out...right after her mom died."

His red eyes suddenly averted to the ground in shame. "I remember I got into an argument with Dark that night about it. I said he was really cruel to say something like that to her, especially when she looked so sad. But he said that he had to say it to her eventually...best not to...postpone it.."

"Say what?"

"That he didn't love her."

I was overcome with mild surprise. So she wasn't only mourning over her mother, I see.

"You could say that Dark was kinda...being considerate of you." Daisuke shyly smiled. "He would never admit to--"

"Feeling sorry for me, eh?" I returned the smile.

A blush graced his cheeks, as it frequently does. "N-no, not like that!" He stuttered.

"You know, this whole Krad incident is inconvenient in more ways than one," I bitterly interjected, "If Dark actually took the initiative to clear the ground for me, and then something like this happens...well, this blows."

"There isn't much time left." He stated, grasping my arm, "I suggest you try again."

"He threatened to kill her." I said, despondent. "I know you don't want to hear this, but I don't want to talk about this anymore." I stood up and gathered my paper bag, tossing it into a nearby trashcan. "I'm going."

"But, Satoshi.." He trailed off.

"I'm going to die eventually. It's a reality I must except." I said, my back turned to him as I opened the door and peered down the darkened steps leading into the hallway. "I just hope that, when the time comes, I'll be able to take him with me."

Daisuke could only stare.

(Exeunt)

(Author's POV)

Daisuke ran his finger along the length of the window ledge, lazily peering into the darkening sky. He couldn't help but be worried about Satoshi, especially since he had finally broke after a failed love tryst with Risa and lost all hope.

How could he possibly improve this situation? It obviously wasn't going to get any better now that Satoshi has given up.

"Daisuke.." Dark emerged within the depth of his mind, faintly startling him from his pondering state.

"Yeah?" He replied listlessly, his eyelids drooping in despondency. He wasn't looking forward to Dark's scolding. Damn Dark. Always acting like he knows everything.

"I can hear what you're thinking, you know." Dark teemed with anger. "And no, I wasn't going to yell at you. I don't have time to argue with you."

His tamer was surprised. "You mean, you're not going to lecture me about the relationship between the Hikaris and the Niw--"

"No. What I have to say is far more important than that." Dark interrupted, crossing his arms. "And I'm really, really serious about this, Dai."

The redhead rolled his eyes with disinterest. Yeah right. Since when has Dark been serious about anything?

The following sentence took him completely by storm:

"I know how we can save Satoshi."

"What?! You're kidding!" Daisuke boomed, standing up instantly. "Tell me!"

"Alright, alright! Quiet down, dammit!" The thief shouted, "And you better not interrupt me while I'm explaining, alright?"

Daisuke nodded happily, leaping onto the bed to hear what his other half had to say. Now it was Dark who rolled his eyes, sighing with annoyance.

"What I have in mind all depends upon the power of the White Wings Lament," Dark began, pacing back in forth thoughtfully in a black abyss in his tamer's mind, "Now, if we want this plan to work, we have to fully understand said object, got it?"

Daisuke nodded once more, growing impatient with the passing of every second.

"Now, the White Wing's Lament is a device that is meant to repel Krad and keep him inside his tamer's body for as long as the 'duration period' allows. The duration period is how long the pendant can successfully keep him in. As Satoshi found out in an unfortunate way, the pendant's magic is dwindling; Krad undoubtedly knows this and sees no threat in it any longer, like he used to."

"Call me crazy, but I think it's a good thing that Satoshi decided to give up. That way, he won't use the pendant anymore. It only has so much magic left in it. Thanks to him, the road is now paved for us to take action."

Daisuke moaned, resting his chin on the underside of his palm. Would Dark just get to the point already?

"Aside from preventing Krad's emergence in his tamers, the pendant is specifically designed to protect the human who wears it from Krad, even if they do not harbor him in their body. Rio Hikari, Satoshi's mother, was saved from his wrath on several occasions thanks to this property."

"Knowing that it can repel Krad and protect human life, we can now use this to our advantage." A smile creeped up his face, lighting up the rest of his features. By seeing Dark's assured expression, he soon grew more elevated. He could already see where this was going. And it looked like it was going to work. "So, now, Daisuke...the time has come for me to explain my plan."

"Thank goodness!" Daisuke exclaimed, clapping his hands together. He was ready for action. "Shoot!"

"First things first," Dark said sharply, waving an authoritative finger at his tamer, "We need to have a little talk with Riku."

(Exeunt)

(Satoshi)

A day later, I received a rather peculiar letter. From whom, you ask?

Well, that's obvious. The Phantom Thief Dark; none other.

What distinguished it from the other letters I recieved was the lettering in red cursive in the archaic english style. It reminded me of Leroux's Phantom of the Opera, who sent his trademark letters also in cursive, red ink (though the font was never specified) in order to receive his monthly indulgence of 20,000 francs.

What disturbed me initially was the fact that it was sent directly to me, and not the police station, which is usually it's default destination. I began to percieve that Dark and the vunerable Daisuke had sent this as an attempt to rid me of Krad somehow. My stomach churned at the thought of this immediate deduction, but I could think of no other reason, no other way this could fall into my mailbox without some arcane intrigue behind it.

I had a mind to foil it.

I didn't need to deal with Krad's wrath, as we are already on bad terms with eachother; he sees that little rendevous I had with Risa in the meadow as a sort of plot to get rid of him. In truth, I had never considered it; I just wanted Krad restrained by the power of the pendant while I finally had some fun in my admittingly boring life.

But I digress. Allow me to reveal the contents of the letter before I stray too far from the subject. I had forgotten to mention that I had not opened the letter yet. The aforementioned theory was only my thoughts upon seeing it.

After splitting the seal with the underside of my finger, my eyes widened as I read it's brief, concise contents:

I will steal the "Void of Silence" at midnight.

Yours truly, Dark.

My first theory? This has to be a joke.

At the Police Station...

"No, it's not a joke, Satoshi," said Kei, skimming through the files in his cabinet, "I had it checked out today. It's legit."

"I wasn't doubting it's legitimacy." I stated, "I was doubting the fact that he would even come near that thing, much less steal it."

Kei interposed. "The Void suddenly reopened. If we leave it alone, it could do some major damage. It's a black hole, you know. It'll suck up this museum in a heartbeat."

"I know." I said in my usual bored monotone as I shoved my hands in my pockets, leaning lazily against the door of his office. "But there's something I don't understand. Why would he want to steal this? It's easy enough for us to seal it all over again; once that's done, the Void won't open for another 50 years."

"You forget, Satoshi...the Void of Silence is a dangerous weapon. A weapon that we can use to our advantage. He doesn't want that. That's why he's stealing it. So he can continue his theivery uninterrupted."

I came upon the dawn of realization. "I suggest--"

"We leave it open." Kei smiled, tearing the words right of out of my mouth. "I know. I'm glad we think alike. We're very close to capturing him—all thanks to this work of art. Now, all we need to do is lure him into it."

"Oh, by the way, I sent that letter to you. It came to the police station first, though, as it always does. My plan is, while we capture Dark and have him taken care of, why not take action against the incompetency of the police force?"

I rubbed my chin with my thumb as I mused. "Hmm. Good thought. So, I imagine you won't notify them tonight?"

"Exactly my intentions, my son." He nodded, pleased at my quick conclusions. "Rather than relying on Detective Saehara and his so-called "men", we can devise a plan together. Two great minds can surely overpower the wit of one Phantom Thief, no?"

"Daisuke isn't dumb either, contrary to your beliefs." I said a little more sharply than I wanted to, "Niether is Emiko Niwa and the experienced old man...Daisuke's grandfather, Daiki. He was Dark 40 years before the current generation. He's probably teaching him all the tricks he knows."

"I'm glad you've taken that into account, Satoshi. But I've seen Dark personally, and he said that no one knows about this except himself and his tamer, this Niwa boy who goes to your school. He also told me not to involve anyone else."

I gasped. "You...talked to Dark?"

Kei nodded, "Indeed. Last night, actually. I was coming home from a long day at HQ when I saw him standing by the steps. There was no one out that late, of course, so no one else saw him. He hand delivered the message to me."

"Why would he tell you that no one else is involved?" I mumbled, suddenly growing extremely suspicious. My stepfather couldn't be in on this too, could he? No, he wouldn't betray me like that. He wants Dark in a cage just as much as I do. But why...?

"I'm not sure. One can only assume it's all part of his plot. And you haven't considered the possibility that he could be lying."

"I know he could be lying...but what use would that be? How could he use a small fib like that against us?"

My stepfather laughed, "Hell, he might even be as sick of the police as we are! He might not want to get them in the know...no wait. Here's an idea: maybe he wanted to ensure the area was cleared when he sought the piece. Should something go wrong, no one would be near the building so--"

"No one would die...except maybe us two." I said bitterly, "I find it hard to believe he would want to save the police and watching spectators from being sucked up into a black hole, but...I guess he isn't that heartless. Maybe he even wanted to save Mrs. Niwa and Daisuke's grandfather. I'm sure they watch his exploits from afar, anyhow."

Kei sighed. "Satoshi...you've been through a lot. I think it would be best for you not to read too much into this. No matter how masterful Dark is at theivery, he still is a simple person. I doubt he would think of anything more elaborate than just stealing the Void and disappearing into the night. That's what he's always done up until now."

I bit my lower lip in frustration. "I want to agree with you."

"Then please do so," he said, smiling. "Dark likes a rigid routine when it comes to his job. I doubt that he'd switch anything around for a piece like the Void of Silence. The Sage of Sleep is just as dangerous as what he wants to steal now, but he managed to escape with it."

"I am worried about him alternating his 'routine', but my primary concern is Daisuke. You know I don't want to hurt him."

The older man slouched near his desk, closing his eyes as he plunged himself into thought. In a moment, he opened his eyes. "I've got it."

"Shoot." I said quickly.

"Let's use Krad."

(Exeunt)