Animegrrl: aloha everyone
Nozomi: -grumbles-
Misa: Oh Nozomi stop being so sore
Aki: -snickers at Nozomi-
Nozomi: -glares at Aki-
Aki: -glares back-
Everyone: -awkward silence-
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Aki grumbled on the tram, seeing more people than usual on it. She was slightly annoyed about how close she was to a nearby man; however he seemed to like how close she was. Sighing harshly she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. Looking behind her she saw Daisuke smiling sheepishly.
"H-hey Aki, wanna walk to school together?" Aki looked at him with slight skepticism. She and Daisuke usually avoided each other, occasionally saying hello at times. This however, was rather bold of Daisuke…
"Um…sure Dai…" Aki managed a small smile, and he gave back a huge grin while rubbing the back of his head. The tram finally stopped and they filed out of the tram accordingly, however the man she was next to took a rather…privileged feel of a certain area of her body. Aki stopped in mid-stride when she felt the unwelcome touch, and immediately turned to face the sleazy man. He grinned back with a perverted gleam, causing her to glare.
"Well hey babe…" Daisuke seemed to have noticed the commotion for he stopped walking, thinking that Aki was behind him.
"What the fuck is your problem?!" Aki yelled in anger, glaring even more furiously at the man. However he had the grace to look confused, "I'm sorry I don't know what you're talking about."
"Like hell you do!" and then she finally took to kicking where the sun don't shine. He groaned in pain and clutched them helplessly, kneeling to the ground. Aki grumbled and crossed her arms, walking away. She passed by Daisuke, though thinking he was okay she kept walking up the stairs to get out of the tram station. However when she got out she noticed that Daisuke wasn't behind her. Looking back inside she saw Daisuke, PUNCHING THE GUY IN THE FACE.
Aki took to gaping at Daisuke's brave action, however turned away when she noticed him starting to come up. She walked a few feet away from the station, to look as if she were waiting for him. He finally emerged, looking a little mad, which was quiet a new feature for his face.
He looked up to see Aki looking at him oddly, "What?" he snapped.
Ignoring the attitude she asked, "What took you so long?"
Then it seemed Daisuke turned into his regularly sheepish self for he blinked for a moment, before rubbing the back of his head with a rather embarrassed smile.
"Eh sorry about that I forgot something on the tram, so I quickly went to get it." He finished.
She nodded slowly, not at all buying the story since she witnessed what exactly happened herself.
"Well, let's get going." Aki said, slightly wondering what would make Daisuke act so weird. He nodded and proceeded to walk with her to the school.
Once going there they passed some halls and people, until Risa bombarded them, well…she just bombarded Daisuke. Aki just stood there in shock as Risa took Daisuke's hand.
"Niwa thank you, you don't know how grateful I am!" Risa said in delight, which caused Aki to look at Daisuke with a raised eyebrow.
That caused the Niwa male however to blush and say, "Aw, it was nothing really!" then however something seemed to have dawned on him, "For what?"
"Why, thank you for running away!" That caused Aki to look at Risa with a sudden shocked expression, 'Is this girl for real?'
"If you haven't stood me up like that I wouldn't have met Phantom Dark!" Aki slapped her own forehead in dismay while shaking her head. This girl was caught up on Dark, hook, line, and sinker.
Daisuke also looked a bit bummed, but hey who can blame him?
"Oh…that…" He looked away, sad.
"I owe it all to you Niwa!" Risa once again said with her bubbly disposition.
"Promise me we'll stay friends forever." And this time she looked really sincere, and Daisuke took note of that, for he suddenly started to blush like mad. Not wanting to stay for the rest Aki quickly took to walking the rest of the way to class.
Apparently she was early for it was only her, Satoshi, and some of his fan-girls. However his fan-girls had a small reputation for staying really, really close to Satoshi at all times…which also meant that they took her seat, which was right next to said boy.
So slowly she walked up to them, as one girl was in her seat, and the rest were around her taking animatedly about the boy next to them.
"And his hair! Oh it looks so soft I just want to run my hands through it-"
"Um…excuse me but you're in my seat."
The girls looked up to see Aki looking down at them with a plain expression.
"Oh…I didn't know this was your seat, sorry." So they only got up, and moved to the seat in front of Satoshi. Aki sighed and took her seat, placing her bag in front of her. Next to her Satoshi was reading a book plainly, ignoring the girls still talking about him.
"I do not envy you in the least." Aki finally said, just watching the scene before her. That caused Satoshi to look up, a feat that none of his fan-girls were able to accomplish.
"Do you now?" he asked with amusement lacing his tone. The fan-girls had yet to notice their man was talking to a different girl besides them, which Aki was thankful for.
"Completely and utterly, at least 75 percent of the girls here have some interest in you. Hell girls that don't even go to this school have some interest in you." Aki concluded. Though Satoshi shrugged, "It's not my fault. It's not like I want all this attention."
"But I bet you enjoy it." Aki said as an afterthought…
"No, not really." Satoshi said back, looking at his book and flipping a page.
"Mmm Hm, sure whatever you say." Aki replied while rolling her eyes, taking out a notebook.
Then to her surprise he chuckled, which soon caused the fan-girls to look at him in shock. Pretty soon though they erupted in giggles, finding another feature they adored about him.
Satoshi grunted, but only loud enough for her to hear.
"Eh…sorry about that." Aki said, however Satoshi looked at her oddly, "Sorry for what?"
"Well its kinda my fault I made you laugh."
"First off that's not a laugh, that's a chuckle, second…I really don't mind laughing…"
Before Aki could say something back the teacher decided to sweep in.
"Good morning class, today…"
And the day began however boring it was…
Hours Later
It was currently a school break, and everyone took to walking around during this time. Aki slowly got up, not knowing where exactly to go. She took instead to walking aimlessly around the hallways, not really having a place in mind to head to. That was when as she rounded a corner she saw Daisuke quickly jump out the janitor's closet. Shocked she stopped as she saw Daisuke touch his lips slightly, but then shake his head as if denying something. Then as he started to walk he saw Aki, still standing there confounded about his suddenly strange behavior. He stopped walking, and took to staring at her as well. Then to her surprise she saw a very, very light blush envelope his cheeks.
"Daisuke…are you okay?" Aki slowly asked, not taking a step forward. Daisuke continued to gape for a little moment, before confidently saying, "Why, yes, I'm fine Aki…um…thanks for asking!" Daisuke grinned her way as he hurriedly passed her in the hall, then he turned the corner Aki had come from. She slowly followed him with her gaze until he had rounded the corner. Confused she just kept walking forward, still not having a destination in mind. However just as she was turning she came face to face with Satoshi. She had to catch herself from bumping into him, and step back.
"Oh, sorry Satoshi…didn't see you there." She quickly said before side-stepping him and started to walk again. However he caught her arm before she could fully get away. Aki looked back at him in confusion, and he looked at her with a rather hard gaze.
His gaze lowered a little to the necklace hanging at her neck, and his eyes widened a little.
"S-Satoshi, are you okay?" Aki asked with slight hesitation.
"What did you and Daisuke talk about?"
"W-what? Oh we just bumped into each other."
"….I see."
Then slowly he let go of her arm and disappeared around the corner she came from, and when looking around the corner she didn't see Satoshi at all.
A little freaked she finally heard the bell ring.
A signal to go back to class….
After School
"I can't believe the teacher gave us so much homework!" a student wailed coming out of the class. Aki just rolled her eyes and continued her trek home; however Daisuke came up to her once more.
"Want to-" "I already know your question, and you already know my answer." Aki quickly cut off, and gave him a pointed look.
He blinked before smiling back at her, "Great, then lets get going before we miss the tram again."
They continued to walk and they came to face the tram. People were already filing in so the two hurried to get on as well.
Finally the tram was off, and they stood in complete silence the whole time. It seemed Daisuke was contemplating on something rather seriously, with the look upon his face. Aki looked at him at the corner of her eye but decided to not really pay him any mind. Finally the tram stopped and they proceeded to get off.
Once out of the tram station did Daisuke turn to her with a happy smile, "Well I guess this is where we part ways."
Aki gave him a small smile back and said, "Yup, see you tomorrow Niwa."
Daisuke nodded happily and turned left, her going right. She passed numerous places and turns that signaled her of her nearness to home.
She knew the emptiness that was ready to greet her once she got home. So she decided to slow her pace just the slightest, wanting to delay the greeting. That was when she noticed Satoshi coming out of a nearby shop, a coffee cup in his hand. Aki just gave him a soft gaze and continued her walk, hoping he wouldn't see her. He still stood in front of the store as he took a sip of his beverage. As he was about to walk away, Aki walked in front of him, causing him to stop.
"Aki?" he questioned when seeing the girl. Aki stopped and looked at Satoshi with a grin across her face, "Hello Satoshi."
He raised a brow, "What exactly are you doing in this part of town?"
She rolled her eyes, "I live near here remember?"
It seemed to have dawned on him for he nodded, "My apologizes, I had forgotten."
She smirked and merely said, "Eh no problem Satoshi…see you tomorrow."
"Wait," his words made her stop, "Let me walk you home."
"That's rather chivalrous of you Satoshi." She said with slight mocking in her tone. He smirked back, "Well just don't expect me to do this regularly."
She laughed at that and continued to walk, with Satoshi beside her.
They managed to talk about idle things, not really staying on one topic for long. To her surprise she had managed to either gain a smile or laugh from the silver haired boy. Well…if you can count a smile as a rising of the corner of your mouth, or a laugh as a small chuckle. But either or she was surprised none the less.
Finally they reached her house, and she looked back at Satoshi with gratitude.
"Thanks Satoshi….for walking me home…That's usually the loneliest part of my day." Satoshi did his "smile" again, which only meant the corner of his mouth raised just a bit.
"What I said about not walking you home regularly…" he started, and she looked at him in confusion, "I might just change my mind about that."
Before she could comment on that however he quickly then said, "Goodbye Aki, I'll see you tomorrow."
Aki could only look dumbly at his retreating back and say, "Bye Satoshi thanks again!"
Once he was out of eyesight she unlocked her front door, went in while shutting said door, and turned off the alarm. Dropping her bag in the hallway again she meant what she said about her father and brother being gone till Friday. They were either getting re-acquainted with relatives Keiji hasn't seen in a while, or just hanging out doing random stuff.
She sighed and plopped herself on the couch, flipping channels with half interest. After only a few minutes of that she got up, wanting to rid of her boredom. She went to the kitchen, wondering what there was to eat. While walking in the kitchen she noticed the phone's voicemail recorder was blinking, signifying a missed call. Grabbing a water bottle she opened it and pressed the voicemail button.
The mechanical voice jeered, "You have, one missed call. First missed call…"
"Aki, this is the Ms. Burness from the Volunteering Program at Help the Community, today you're supposed to help Mr. Yasake at his Art Gallery. You're expected to be there around 5:30. Hope you didn't forget."
Aki almost spit out her water and hearing the message, she had completely forgotten!
'Stupid dad, make me sign up for this.' Aki thought in anger.
Quickly looking at a clock hanging in the kitchen she noticed it was 4:50, however Mr. Yasake's was at least 45 minutes away.
Hurriedly she ran up the stairs and changed into a black figure hugging collared t-shirt, jeans, and a black belt. Running down the stairs she grabbed her shoes and hurriedly put them on. Going back to the hallway she got her water bottle, wallet, cell phone, and keys.
Dialing the number for a taxi she walked out the house and quickly locked the door behind her….
At Mr. Yasake's Art Gallery
Getting out of the taxi she walked up the stairs to the slightly intimidating doors in front of her. Looking at her cell phone it was 5:27.
"Good, got here in time." Slowly she knocked, and soon Mr. Yasake came out, a slight smile on his face.
"Ah Aki, right on time, I almost thought you had forgotten." However she managed a smile and said, "Oh no worries Mr. Yasake, I would never forget." 'Liar.'
He chuckled and let her inside. He was a rather old man, around his sixties with grey hair and a grey mustache to match. He was slightly hunched over, though wasn't so severe he needed a cane of some sort. His story however was a sad one. She knew of his daughter, and how he had lost her…
"Now if you can help me move some of the old paintings to the basement." He began….
A few more hours into the night and it was around 9 o'clock. She was dusting some of paintings in the Far East corridor, when an impounding knock echoed throughout the gallery.
Since she was closest, she presumed, she hurriedly started to run towards the door.
"I got it Mr. Yasake!" she shouted, not wanting him to hurry and open the door.
Finally she made it and opened, however to only come face to face with the Police Detective, otherwise known as Saehara's father.
"Mr. Saehara?" she asked in confusion. He looked at her with the same expression, and quickly she said, "I know your son."
He nodded and said, "Would Mr. Yasake be here?"
Before she could answer the said man answered from behind her said, "I'm right here."
She quickly turned to see Mr. Yasake looking slightly tired.
"Mr. Yasake, it said that tonight Dark will steal a…unicorn painting from this gallery." Mr. Saehara started, however Mr. Yasake interrupted.
"I'm sorry, but we don't have a painting like that. Now will there be anything else?"
Mr. Saehara looked dumbfounded, "But, read this letter." Holding up said paper.
Aki looked at it from beside Mr. Yasake, and it indeed read that Dark would steal this "unicorn painting" from this very Art Gallery. Mr. Yasake also looked at it, but then didn't really seem to care about it, "Hm, I see that, it says, he's coming tonight. But, whoever this Dark character is he doesn't know my collection very well. There's nothing to steal," he did a quick bow, "if you'll excuse me."
And he promptly closed the door on them, which she thought was a great feet for Mr. Yasake.
However he seemed to return back to his semi-happy self and say, "Ah now where were we? Oh yes, the second floor must be ready for tomorrows show…Oh Aki I was hoping you'd be able to make it here to see it."
Aki just smiled, already knowing she had nothing better to do. "Sure why not, I'll come."
However the seen from just a few seconds ago continued through her mind, Dark…coming here? To steal something that wasn't even in this exhibit? The only unicorn painting she knows of is….
Her eyes widened slightly, and she quickly left to go clean the second floor.
'Why would Dark want to steal the painting of Mr. Yasake's daughter?' she thought.
Finally after possibly a few hours she had finished cleaning on the second floor and had come down to see what else Mr. Yasake might need.
However as she got down, she couldn't seem to find him. Confused, knowing that he didn't come up stairs, else where she would've seen him. She started to look for him all around the first floor, and when that didn't work she decided to check the basement. She took to walking down multiple corridors, and then as she rounded another corner to her surprise she heard a familiar voice shout, "Hey wait!"
She stopped short, shocked and frightened by the new shout echoing throughout the corridors. Then to her amazement, a unicorn with, was that Risa?, something on its back and Daisuke quickly running after it. Shocked she quickly ran herself, wanting to know what the hell was going on.
"Ms. Harada!" Daisuke yelled after the unicorn, and Aki indeed saw Risa get up slightly and look back at Daisuke helplessly, "Niwa help!"
The unicorn with Risa on its back rounded a corner and Daisuke soon followed, though Aki slowed some, not wanting to get caught. Then she rounded the corner herself to see Daisuke go in one of the basement's old storage rooms….which kept the painting of Mr. Yasake's daughter.
She quickly followed inside, however came to see a rather confusing sight. A dark room, no lights whatsoever, which almost sent Daisuke falling off the banister. He caught himself however and took to jumping off the ledge instead. Aki watched from the door, not wanting Daisuke to know of her just yet. It seemed he was as confused as she was.
"What the heck?" and he quickly turned on his head light. He continued to search until his light landed on the large painting behind him. And instead of the usual picture Aki was use to, where Mr. Yasake's daughter was standing beside the unicorn…instead it was Risa sitting atop the unicorn, a strange daze in her eye.
"She's inside the painting!" Daisuke said in realization, and to both their amazements the unicorn started to walk away, while inside the painting.
"B-But, how can I?" he then started to bang against the painting, hoping for an entrance. Then that's when the window on the painting started to close, and Aki watched Daisuke become frantic
"No the window!" and he started to push his shoulder against the painting, hoping even more he'll get in.
However no matter what the window closed on him.
"This just isn't fair, I came all the way here, and I came here all by myself, why? Why can't I do it!" and he sounded near tears while saying this. She slightly felt sad for the poor boy; however her concern for Risa, believe it or not, was growing by each passing second.
'What the hell is he gonna do now?' she thought.
"Ms. Harada." Daisuke suddenly said, re-catching Aki's attention.
"It responds even when I'm feeling miserable…" and Aki was wondering what he was talking about, "my love gene…"
And then he threw his head back, which slightly shocked Aki, and he yelled at the top of his lungs, "COME OUT DARK!"
The yell sent her tumbling backwards, since she was kneeling earlier. And as she watched while on her butt Daisuke transform….into the Phantom Thief….
Now in a matter of seconds Dark was now standing where Daisuke was a few moments ago. Aki watched with horrified eyes, still on her butt, not making a sound.
"Aw you can be such a cry baby sometimes." Dark said mockingly. That was when the lights in the room suddenly turned on, causing Aki to scramble back slightly. That was when Mr. Yasake made his appearance known.
"Are you Phantom Dark?" The elder man questioned, looking at the purple haired teen.
"If so, take it, it's yours."
"You're not gonna let me just walk out of here with this are ya? I got a reputation you know."
A sad gleam developed his eyes soon, which caused Aki to understand his pain. He took to re-telling his painful story about how he had lost his five-year-old daughter, and how he had just finished the painting at her death. Aki slowly got up, but still stuck to the door, not wanting to attract any attention.
She then learned what his daughter's name was.
'Asaki?...sounds like my name…' Aki thought.
"…and at her death I couldn't bear to place it in display, so I placed it here in the basement, where I hoped I wouldn't have to see again."
Dark however nodded and said, "Fine we'll do it your way then."
Dark took out a feather, and started to mutter words she wasn't able to hear…or understand. Then amazingly she watched as Dark disappeared, and was replaced with a ball of light, then the ball of light zoomed inside the picture, making the picture glow for a second, then it returned to it's old view. Aki thought it was the perfect time to come out now, so she slowly walked in, acting as if she had just stumbled in.
"Mr. Yasake I heard some commotion in here, is everything okay?" Aki questioned, though tried to keep a straight face. Mr. Yasake looked at her and smiled, "Ah yes, everything should be okay now."
Acting confused she looked to the painting.
"Aki, I think it's best if you start preparing some beverages, and possibly some blankets." Mr. Yasake said after some contemplating.
Still feigning confusion she said, "Why? Are we expecting someone?"
He chuckled, "A few people."
Not wanting to ruin her act she quickly left to prepare what he had asked. Going back up to the first floor she decided to prepare some iced water, and got some blankets from the closet. She placed them in the rather spacious living room, placing the glasses on the table and the blankets on the couch. Just as she was about to head back to the basement, Mr. Yasake came back helping two girls to the living room, Dark behind him helping a girl and the Harada twins.
Aki blinked but quickly went into action, putting some blankets over some girls and giving some water to another.
Once they were situated comfortably Risa took to gushing over Dark.
"Oh, Dark you were so brave!" however Dark just took it in by saying, "Oh it was nothing." or "Just doing my job."
Though Aki would notice Dark give her a questioning look, and she would promptly ignore him. Nervously she toyed with the Heart's Glass still hanging at her neck, and it seemed Dark noticed this also.
Riku, who was still sleeping on a nearby chair, started to rouse from her sleep.
"Hmmm…" and Risa hurriedly went to her sister's side.
Dark took that time to go up to Aki, "What are you doing here?"
"I volunteer my time to help Mr. Yasake with his Art Gallery." She said bluntly, side stepping him. However he didn't seem to mind, and instead led his attention to Riku, who had fully woken up.
The next thing she heard was Riku angrily shouting, "GET AWAY FROM ME PERVERT!"
Aki laughed under her breath which went unnoticed by everyone else. She watched the scene as Risa scolded her sister, etcetera…In the end Risa was the one getting the ride from Dark.
He quickly left the two sisters to argue and went back to Aki, who was standing idly next to a window, looking out.
"You know what I said last night, about you always ending up touching my stolen goods?" Dark said standing next to her.
"Well technically I didn't touch the painting, but merely was just there to witness it." She retorted back, not telling him she knew, she knew, that he was Daisuke.
She was probably the only one who knows besides most likely his parents….
"Dark where'd you go?" Aki heard Risa ask, looking around.
"Well that's my cue, I'll see you soon Aki." Dark said, and left her to go to Risa.
After all the girls were safely home and Aki made sure Mr. Yasake was okay she finally left the Art Gallery. He smiled as she left and shut the door behind her. She went inside the cab and sighed, leaning her head against the window. Quickly looking at her cell phone she noticed it was about three in the morning.
'Damn…and I still have school tomorrow.' She thought in dismay. When the cab made it she paid the fee and walked out. She opened the door, stopped the alarm, and sluggishly went up the stairs to her room. Once inside she sat on her bed and took of her shoes. Rolling her shoulders she didn't bother to change, but instead took to laying back, her knees down still hanging off the side. Slowly she closed her eyes…starting to relax….
Tap Tap
She cracked one eyes open…. 'No…No…God please no…'
Tap Tap
Slowly she got up, hoping this was some crazy dream…or a horrible nightmare. But unfortunately she saw the same winged figure…a figure she really didn't want to see. Instead she leaned back down, hoping he'd get it and leave. The taping continued, and when it finally ceased she gave a sigh of relief.
"Ah, so you were waiting for me to leave?" Aki snapped her eyes open and looked to her left, seeing Dark smirking down on her while leaning against the wall.
"Dark!? What the fuck?! Get out!" Aki said in anger, however was too tired and dizzy to fully get up. Dark saw her predicament and helped her balance herself before she fell.
"Whoa there, don't push yourself…" Dark said, and slowly sat her back on the bed. She breathed in deeply and started to sooth herself.
"Well then, seeing as how you're a little better I think you're up to making a decent conversation." She glared at him and didn't bother to respond.
"Aw c'mon don't be like that."
"I want you out of my room."
"Why?"
"Cause you're annoying."
"Why?"
"Cause you're an annoying jackass."
"Why?"
"Cause I bet you have no life."
"Why?"
"Because you have no life you try to make one by harassing girls."
"Why?-hey what the fuck?"
Now Dark was glaring at her, while she smirked in triumph.
"Dark…just…leave…" 'Damnit Aki think straight!' she thought annoyed, her thoughts becoming a little jumbled.
"Gah fine, I see how it is." And instead Aki smiled.
"Aw Dark don't be like that." And she yawned, by now her exhaustion had fully taken over, so she most likely won't remember what's going on now.
"Oh so now you lighten up…just when you're falling asleep." He said the last part to himself, as he watched Aki sway a little, with a slight smile on her face.
He rolled his eyes and decided to help her onto bed.
"C'mon to bed you get."
Aki stuck a tongue out at him and he chuckled in amusement, but she listened to him anyway. She got up slightly and crawled to her pillow at the front of the bed. Slowly she laid herself down, and started to drift off. Dark took to getting up and standing next to her as he watched her go to sleep. As her eyes started to close he smiled.
"Night princess." He said quietly, and rubbed her cheek just the slightest.
"Don't worry Dark…I won't tell you're secret to anyone." Aki finally said before slumbering. Dark stopped, curious as to what exactly she meant by that.
Furrowing his eyebrows he continued to look at her in confusion….
'My…secret?' Dark thought…however the only secret he could think of was…
'Daisuke…'
Dark looked down at Aki in shock, did she know?
And if she did, since when?
Various questions popped into his mind, but he couldn't take to waking her when she looked so peaceful…..
Finally he decided to confront her about it some other day….
He quickly strode to her balcony, and with his skill locked the door behind him…
"Aki…I hope you don't mean what I think you mean…"
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Animegrrl: ah, suspense
Aki: OMG
Nozomi: -rolls eyes- whatever
Misa: wait until the next chapter!
Animegrrl: until then!
Aki: Bye!
Nozomi: …whatever