-)*(-

The night had not been a good one for Satoshi Hiwatari, but he'd expected no less once his officers had confirmed the piece Dark was to steal was Hibine's Globe. The artifact itself held such unstable power. Combine that with Krad's and Dark's as they'd fought and... things got undeniably messy.

After one particular strike to the kaito and a particularly long stall, Satoshi had begun fearing the worst for Daisuke. Krad had then secured the globe from yielding fingers like a victorious king. Satoshi immediately begun drowning in a loud, mournful tolling of bells that only he and the white angel could perceive. Along with voices. They were insidious with their evil whisperings, making promises that could never be kept, no matter the cost paid.

It was enough to give Satoshi a burst of control, and he took Krad's gloved hand and threw the globe, wanting to smash the thing against the road's pavement in an instant of insanity. If he'd been thinking straight, he would have remembered the severe repercussions that could have happened. That was not a way to destroy an Hikari Artwork.

But Dark had risen and leaped to him, stopping the globe with a tap of his booted foot and catching it as it bounced straight back up. Black wings spread. Krad couldn't recover from Satoshi's boggled mind in time to intercept the thief's takeoff and the hunter was forced to give up as Dark effectively lost him during the chase. The white angel had raged for a while prior.

Satoshi took a deep breath as he opened the school's doors and entered. He felt horrible. Drained was an accurate way of putting it. Both physically and mentally. The bluenette glanced at his hand and saw that his skin resembled weathered parchment. A sure sign he had suffered an overuse in magic. A mirror earlier had also revealed dark circles under his eyes. At this rate, the teacher might send him to the nurse's office. Satoshi forced his head high and his gait to be a little quicker.

Oh, but he felt so tired. Maybe a nap in the nurse's office wasn't such a bad idea...

He arrived to class early and was among the first few present. Satoshi liked it this way. It gave a lesser chance for people to talk to him. Sitting at his desk, he reached for his notebook again. At that time an unusual event took place.

Daisuke walked through the classroom doors early. It brought an unexpected feeling into the Commander.

Crimson eyes zeroed in on Satoshi. There was worry in them, but as Satoshi glanced back the emotion was replaced with a tentative smile. Some of the girls noticed and whispered behind their hands, looking back and forth between the two. Giggles erupted, but Satoshi ignored them. They'd think what they wanted. It should go without saying that not every tender situation led to romance.

Daisuke brought himself and his schoolbag over to stand beside the blue-haired teen. Azure looked up and the notebook was slipped back into his front pocket.

"Yes, Niwa?" At least his voice was as strong as it had ever been. The young thief faltered for a moment.

"Uh... I was just wondering how you were doing." Daisuke rubbed the back of his head, an awkward look on his face.

Some of the guys had caught on to what the girls were snickering at. Daisuke seemed to be oblivious to their noises. Satoshi couldn't help but to smile; just a tiny stretch of the lips, but it was enough to melt some of the cold from his icy features.

"I'm fine, thanks."

More girls giggled. Satoshi looked pointedly over at them. Only then did Daisuke notice they had a sort of audience. The group looked away, slowly making their way to their individual desks as they resumed talking to one another.

"Wha-" Daisuke suddenly turned red. He gave a shallow bow to the bluenette before rushing off to his own desk. Satoshi smiled a bit broader as he reached for his notebook again. A sudden twinge within his heart had him dropping it. The pain rose sharply in intensity and he doubled over his desk. With focused will, he made the move seem like he was just picking up his dropped item. He straightened and the pain passed with no one knowing. Except Daisuke. The boy was too acute for his own good. At a warning glare, Daisuke kept his mouth shut, only giving the other discrete side glances as he settled down.

Why had Krad tried to make an appearance just then? Was it because of Daisuke? Satoshi knew that globe, as well as the rest of the Hikari Arts, meant a lot to Krad. But something about the hunter was more possessive when it came to that particular piece. And it seemed he really wanted it back.

Slowly the room started filling with students. The teacher walked in, followed by Riku and a couple of her friends. When the first bell rang there was still one person missing – Risa. By the time the second bell rang, the girl barreled in as if a devil were after her.

"I'm not late, am I?" she panted. Everyone looked at her and stared. Something was different about her.

"You made it, go on to your seat," the teacher replied. Risa smiled and nodded.

Her brown eyes deliberately sought out Satoshi's blue ones. His brows drew together as he studied her back closely; his Hikari genetics allowing him to see something indescribable to the others.

Why was there an unknown power radiating from her? It couldn't be what it looked like.

Risa blushed under his scrutiny, withdrawing and making her way to her desk. Somehow, he knows! she thought. But she was still going to touch him. And there was no way to prove her magic if he got angry about it. She had nothing to worry about. I'll get him in between the next class.

And so, the boring class went underway. The only highlight was the new appreciative glances the boys were giving her. It appeared they were attracted by the power she secretly held. But she could feel one gaze boring into her, stronger than the rest. It thrilled her as much as creped her out and she failed to concentrate at all on her paperwork. After about a half hour of this, she twisted in her seat and threw Satoshi a dirty look.

He didn't flinch, or look taken aback like most would. Azure just narrowed.

The war is on now, Risa thought. Once you're a chick, you won't be able to do that to me and get away with it.

Satoshi suddenly looked down. She had stared him into defeat! The victory was short lived as the teacher called her name harshly. She realized then that she hadn't won anything, Satoshi had just been avoiding trouble. That jerk.

"Miss Harada! If you have time to goof off, I'd like to see you come to the board and write out next week's poem!"

Noooo...

Risa stood from her desk. "Actually, I haven't finished my work yet," she said softly.

"Well then, you can finish it as homework."

-.-

The bell finally rang and the teacher promptly left the room. That unforgivable... TWIT! Risa's arm dropped limply to her side. Their teacher had picked out the longest poem of all time. And it was so pointless that Risa couldn't even remember anything she'd written. All well. She didn't like this class anyway. Maybe she would if they got a new teacher...

She stepped back to her desk. Further back, Satoshi was packing his stuff. Where was he going? Walking over to him made him pause to observe her.

"Thanks for getting me in trouble," she sniffed. At this, the small talk going on around them ceased. Satoshi ignored her and put his backpack over one shoulder.

"Excuse me," he said, as he brushed past her. She almost grabbed him to make him stop, but remembered that she had to find a good spot first. That's when she mentally kicked herself for having not decided on an area yet.

Where are you going?" Her doe eyes fixated on his back, looking up and down, hardly paying any attention to the other students that were watching this exchange between them. It wasn't as if they mattered much. Most were talking amongst themselves again anyway.

Satoshi paused and looked over his shoulder. His eyes warned her it was none of her business. "I'm going to the nurse."

Risa almost let slip a smile, but caught herself. The situation was too perfect! If Satoshi started having weird symptoms from the curse, then he'd already as good as declared himself sick in front of everyone. She couldn't be blamed no matter what now. After a second, curiosity and concern for him took precedence. He did look a little off color. She'd been too caught up in her scheme to give much notice.

"Are you okay?"

"Should be." Satoshi faced around and continued on, dismissing her easily. It peeved her off to no end. No one else treated her like that. She finally came to a decision and reached for him. Her index brushed against the back of his hairline. Immediately she felt a shock worse than any she'd experienced before and jerked her hand back. Satoshi stiffened an instant before whipping around to her and grabbing her retracting hand.

"What did you just do?" His voice was very low and very dangerous. His face was anything but friendly. She was suddenly scared out of her wits. What situation had she just put herself in?

"I-I..." Risa shook her head. Satoshi's grip tightened into a bruising hold and she cringed. He wasn't acting right. People could tell when they got cursed? She felt stupid for not checking the book on that.

"What's going on here?" A man's voice boomed. The next teacher was here. Astonished whispers were abounding all around. Satoshi dropped her hand and without words let her know that he wasn't through with her.

"I need to see the nurse," Satoshi faced the teacher and spoke.

"Very well. Everyone else, back to your seats."

With some shuffling, the class got ready for the next learning lesson. But Risa kept biting her bottom lip nervously and Daisuke kept throwing her looks. When lunch came around, she was sure she was going to be questioned during the whole break, probably by the whole classroom.

She just wanted to get out of school. What was Satoshi going to do to her?

-)*(-

A/N: Hibine's Globe is an idea I came up with based on an original character I created: Hibine Hikari. The name itself means "ringing", or "noise". If anyone would like to learn more about him, check out my one-shot "Hikari: Hidden Within The Fake Light".

Also, I've got a new poll going on. It's about this story, so please check out my profile if you're interested. I'd very much like to know what everyone thinks. Thank you for reading!