I'm so sorry for the late update! I can't continue the story because my computer broke down soI am using my school computer. Sorry for keeping all the readers for waiting

Chapter 7 - Home again. Why am I still feeling lonely?

"Riku …" Risa thought, sadly.

It had been a week since Riku's disappearance and there was still no news of her since then. Father had been worried sick and had sent more guards to find her. Now, the town was filled with tension and anxiety.

Risa walked into her sister's room. She missed her presence very much. Riku used to be standing at the balcony, staring into space or scolding Risa when she burst into her room excitedly, without knocking. Her eyes settled on the bed, shocked. There, right in front of her was Riku! She was in a daze but turned to Risa after hearing her gasped.

"Risa …"

In a flash, Risa hugged her. Riku almost choked by her tight hug.

"Riku! Where have you been? Oh, how I miss you," cried Risa. Tears were coming out of her eyes.

Riku did not reply and returned her hug. She realized that Risa had lost weight.

"Come and see Father. He is worried about you."

…………………

"Riku! My precious daughter! I'm glad that you are safe."

Tanaka gave Riku a fatherly hug while Risa watched, smiling.

"I'm back, Father," whispered Riku. She had not seen her father broke down like this before. He had grown older. Wrinkles appeared on his forehead and dark rings were around his eyes.

"Where have you been? Where did Dark take you?" asked Tanaka.

"I'm back safely, Father. You don't have to worry about it," Riku replied calmly.

Tanaka and Risa were worried as Riku was SUPPOSE to be angry at the phantom thief and demanding to lock him up. Something was wrong about Riku.

……………………

Riku wondered around the castle, aimlessly. She was confused as she should be happy being home again. But somehow, there was still loneliness in her heart.

"Riku!" Daisuke ran towards her and hugged her. "I heard from Risa that you were back after returning from my mission. It's good to see you." (In case you are wondering, Daisuke was a top rank knight and was a childhood friend of Riku and Risa)

"It's good to see you too, Daisuke."

"Why do I feel calm?" Riku thought when she saw Daisuke walking away to see her father.

"My heart should be excited or nervous upon seeing Daisuke. Why don't I feel anything for him?" By the time Riku realized where she was, she found herself inside the garden where Dark had appeared the second time. She remembered the times she had with him. Even though there were unpleasant memories, there were also good times. Tears started to drop as she touched the necklace.

"I love him …" Riku softly cried, not knowing that someone was watching her.

"Riku …" Daisuke whispered.

…………………………

Dark was staring at the castle in the same spot where he was planning to kidnap Riku. He missed her. Even though it was only a day since he brought her back, he wanted to see her face again. But if he went back and put his arms around her, he knew that he would not be able to let her go.

"Dark!"

Dark looked down from the tree branch and found Daisuke shouting at him. He flew and landed on the ground smoothly, grinning.

"Yo, Dai!"

"Stop calling me that! I'm not a kid anymore." Daisuke fumed.

"But it suits you," replied Dark. "Anyway, what are you here for? It's rare that you will come to me when there is no crisis." His tone turned serious.

"What are you going to do next?"

"…"

"Riku really cares a lot about you."

Dark still remained silent. His bangs covered his eyes so Daisuke was not able to read his emotions. A moment of silence passed before he spoke up.

"Daisuke, do you still remember how we met?"

Flashback –

Sound of water dropped as Dark slowly opened his eyes.

Sigh.

He was back in this tower where he was being chained up once again. Black feathers were floating everywhere on small pools of water. The fight with Krad flashed in his mind. The day when Rika was killed. Dark felt guilty that he was not able to save Rika. All of a sudden, the door to the room opened and light came flooding in. He quickly got used to the light and saw a small red-headed kid, looking lost and frightened. The boy stared at Dark and asked timidly.

"Who are you?"

"Dark. Why did you come here? I did not expect anyone to be here."

"I heard a voice telling me to come here but it was gone already," replied the boy, looking around to find the voice.

Dark cringed. "Krad was calling the boy." He thought. "He should be awakening soon.

"Hey boy! Quickly unchain me if you do not want to die."

The boy did not understand what he was saying but obeyed his order. Before he could finish unlocking the second chain on his left hand, there was a loud explosion. Rocks came trampling down and Dark used his wings to cover the frightened boy. His purple eyes met the golden eyes.

"Krad." Dark gritted.

"Dark, what a pleasure to see you again," said Krad, evilly. His eyes filled with hatred. "All these years when we were free from this tower, you had always stopped me from achieving my goal. I'm going to kill you first before I start my plan in controlling the world."

Krad started to create a ball and threw it at him. He blocked it. Dark broke the other chain and flew out to the open air along with the boy. He brought him to a safe place before he went and fight with Krad. The boy watched the battle and wanted to save Dark from the creature. The only weapon he had was a small sword which was used for protection. Without any second, he rushed behind Krad and thrust the sword fully into Krad. He pulled Dark and both of them ran away.

"Dark! I will definitely find you and killed you!"

When they made sure that they were safe, they stopped for a rest.

"Hey, you sure run fast for a kid."

The boy blushed and said, "I am trained to be a knight in the palace."

"Since you work in the palace, you have to help me if you don't want a big disaster to happen." Dark looked into the boy's determined eyes. "What is your name?"

"Daisuke. Daisuke Niwa."

Dark took a feather from his wings and it glowed.

"Help me find ways to steal the sealed book from the palace."

"I promise."

End of flashback –

"Of course I remember. I am tied up with this promise and no matter what, I have to do it in order to save King Harada's country and the world," said Daisuke.

Dark also recalled the first time when he first met Riku in the wood. Her eyes showed determination and did not give up when the wolf chased after her. It drew his interest and the next moment, he was in love with Rika's granddaughter. In the past, he used to find Rika an interesting lady and believed that maybe she was the one for him. However, Rika was just … Rika but Riku was the most important person that he would never live without her. He was glad that he could meet her.

"Thank you, Daisuke."

Daisuke looked confused for a while and then understood what he was trying to say. Dark was thanking him for freeing him from the tower and got to meet Riku. He smiled back.

"You're welcome."

Dark looked back to the sky and frowned. The next night was a full moon. The start of the battle.

Finished! How is it? Hope you like it. I am very happy that there are people who love this story despite the poor writing and grammar errors. Thank you very much.

Sorry for the misunderstanding but the next chapter will be the last chapter. I was planning to write in the summary that Chapter 6 was the third last chapter but I was in a hurry so it ended up that way. The next chapter may not be up so soon so you have to wait for a while. I need to prepare for my exams so it will take a longer time to finish up. Thanks for waiting.

Don't forget to review!