Kari: Huh? When was I going to say it? I hate saying disclaimers!
Daisuke: And when did she put you up for an announcer, Dark?
Dark: She didn't, I just appointed myself the spot because I know she'll pick me; it's because I'm so naturally good-looking
Kari: True, but the spot's not for you, it's for Daisuke
Dark: What! Bu-But—
Kari: Hey, Daisuke's cute, and he's nice. I remember what you did in Volume 3…
Dark: H-Hey, that didn't count!
Chapter 11: The Key to Escape
"So, who are you?" the other Dark, Kokuyoku, asked Dark as they walked into the city.
"Just…a thief who decided to help you out at the right time."
"A thief? Were you planning on stealing this stone?" Kokuyoku (I'm calling him this now) asked as he flicked the stone into the air and caught it. It shined with brilliant colors that seemed like they were aflame.
"No, I'm an art thief, I'm pretty famous from where I come from." 'Damn, how the hell do I get out of this mess? Well, I have my own body, and Daisuke's not here to annoy the crap outta me…'
"Hey, I never really did catch your name."
"Oh. It's Dark Mousy, you're the exalted Black Wings, I take it?"
"Yeah, but I don't really like that title, being called Kokuyoku is fine…" Dark looked forward to spot a small disturbance in the crowd; two people were sprinting down the crowded streets, dodging items and townsfolk. It took time for Dark to spot who or what it was until the person, or being, was close enough. It turned out to be two Kimis running as fast as they could!
"What the, Kimi! Two of them!"
"Dark! Two of him!" Kimi's face was just full of confusion as she passed Dark; you could pretty much say that instead of being confused he was utterly shocked to see two of the same girl, but just to make sure he rubbed his eyes before looking again.
"Kimi, wait! Where the hell are you going!" Both Darks immediately went after the girls; all four of them turned the corner at the last building before they hit the countryside.
"There!" The taller girl shouted, pointing with her index finger at a cloaked figure, running frantically so that its cloak was billowing against the wind.
"Heh, time for me to cut this run short," Dark said as he suddenly stopped and disappeared in a cloud of dark black smoke.
"What the, that; my technique, how'd he--?" Kokuyoku was cut short as Dark appeared in front of the figure, who stopped immediately at the sight of him, a little shocked at what just happened.
"Now then, take off your hood, please. If you're somebody else, we'll leave you, if you're a guy who knows how to get out of here, we'll interrogate you then leave you to be, if you're Resha, we'll interrogate you and then kill you."
"Uh, Dark, a little too much on the choices."
"Whatever!" Dark lunged at the figure attempting to get the mask off with one swipe of his hand; he failed, and was then knocked backwards and into the ground. The figure started towards the left and Kimi followed, leaving the younger Kimi a little dumbstruck and Kokuyoku chasing after her. The figure twisted his head to look at how far she was from thm and turned back to see the Sukimarus coming a little bit too close…
Bam!
All three boys fell to the ground and Sukimaru was nursing the injured spot on his head. The younger one was knocked out and the figure was in a sort of daze from all of that happening.
"Sukimaru!" Kimi exclaimed, surprised to see him.
"Oh, heya Kimi," he answered back. From out of nowhere dark appeared behind the cloaked figure with a menacing look on his face.
"Now to see who you really are, mister!" He ripped the hood off and it revealed a young man around Dark's age with flaming red hair.
"Dammit, what do you want with me!" he screamed at the group, his blue eyes blazing.
"Tell us how to get out of here, please," Sukimaru asked.
"Why should I tell you how to get out of here! How do I know you're not a crazy lunatic?"
"Mister, please, we're not crazy, we're not from around here, so can you tell us how to--"
"Shut up! I don't want to hear any excuses!" This rant irritated Dark.
"But--"
"Be quiet!" This irritated the Phantom Theif even more.
"Sir, you do know that--," Sukimaru started.
"Shut up, bastard!" This was where Dark drew the line.
"Enough!" Dark yelled, making everyone go silent. "You!" he pointed to the red-haired boy, "tell us how to get out or I'll make you tell!"
"Why should I tell a bunch of bastards like you!" Dark grabbed the boy's cloak collar and lifted him off of the ground.
"Because you're a bastard yourself if you haven't noticed! Now tell us how to get out!" Dark's eyes held rage, and this type of rage meant that Dark would kill or torture you if you didn't do what he said.
"Fine!" the boy yelled in disgust. He actually wished he didn't know the way out of the dream world. "You see the gem on her collar?" He pointed to a jade-like stone on her shirt collar. "If you use it with a magical feather then you'll be transported outside, but after you've used the stone it disappears." Dark dropped the boy and he landed on the ground with a thump.
"If that's the way to get out then let's try it!" Dark materialized a black feather out of thin air and waited for Kimi to hand him the gem.
"Wait a minute! I'm not sure, but I think this gem's going to be useful to aid your return, Dark! If it disappears then what?"
"I've never thought of that…" The younger Kimi grabbed the older one's hand and placed something smooth inside. Kimi blinked once, them took the one of her collar and replaced it with the same one. She then handed the gem to Dark and nodded.
"Never mind, problem solved." He nodded back and stared at the feather and the gem, concentrating his magical energy into the feather. He then touched the feather against the stone and a bright light emerged; the settings around them blurred into a mass of colors and the people they had all met faded away like water. Suddenly, a giant surge of energy sent them upward into the used-to-be sky and down onto the ground.
Whump!
The three landed hard on the ground, and Kimi was a little dazed at what had happened. Dark was watching the stone disintegrate in his hands into a pile of green dust that was caught by the wind and blown away. Sukimaru was just sitting there, with his eyes closed in a relaxed position. He heard a crunch and then snapped his eyes opened and dived towards Kimi and Dark.
"Get down!" he ordered, tugging both of them down as a scythe cut the air. It retreated back into the darkness of some walls, and the figure holding it cursed.
"Damn, I let my fun get the best of me…," Resha said as she strolled out of the shadows. "But I will kill you, and I won't mess up this time!" She swung the kusari-gama, and it flew straight for Kimi's head; she ducked just in the nick of time, and then Dark and Sukimaru tried to go for the kill. They both ran on either side of Resha, dodging swiftly her scythe. Dark then grabbed the chain and tried to yank it out of her hands, but Resha silently sent a side-kick to his chest forcing backwards into a wall. This was a perfect diversion, though, for Sukimaru to punch her in her abdomen. She slumped down, gasping desperately for air, and as Dark tried to grab her she whipped out with her scythe with deadly almost accurate speed.
"Guh!" Dark uttered as he felt the searing blade of the scythe slice his chest. He shakily stepped back and collapsed onto the ground, a bloody mess and a pool of crimson liquid forming under him.
"Dark!" he heard Kimi scream in horror as he slowly fell into the dark, his mind going blank from the loss of blood.
I know, I know, I've tried this before, but really, did Dark die? A slice to your chest, especially from a weapon like a kusari-gama, could really kill a human, but then again, Dark isn't human…oh well, find out next time!