The shrill darkness of the apartment seemed slightly more threatening than what it was when he left. Satoshi had warned him that something was coming; something that seemed like it was going to be quite a powerful opposition. Flicking on the lights, he stopped, a sudden chill creeping up his back. Thieves? He thought as he noticed how pretty much ransacked his place was. Then his perfectly clear violet irises fell upon something that seemed a little out of the ordinary, something that told him that it wasn't no normal thief who did this. Master? He thought as a delicate fingertip traced over the white feather within his hands. Placing the feather in his pocket, he proceeded to clean up the place, to see if he could work out what had been taken.

I told you something was coming Dark!
Satoshi, I have to ask! How did you actually get here? You don't even live here!
I flew like any other vampire would accept you! I watched you climbing the side of the building earlier.

I can't help it, I'm just different! What doe's he want? Do you know?
Yes…
Well, what is it?
He wants what you treasure the most! Your precious Riku then! I suggest you go and check on her!
Hey, what about the sun?
I'll take care of that!

And with that, Satoshi disengaged the conversation at his end, leaving Dark to push open the door of his apartment and run to the second floor. Ringing the doorbell at least three times, he heard a low groan on the other side before the sound of Riku mumbling to her sleepily reached his ears. Riku, get up! A low grumble of something he couldn't quite understand reached his ears as she unlatched the lock before opening the door quite aggressively.

"What is it?" The anger seemed strained as she addressed him. He couldn't blame her for this. After all, he did wake her up at a ridiculous time. Leaving the door open for him to come through, he managed to push his way in hurriedly before closing and locking the door once more. Looking into each room, he made sure that everything was all clear before turning back to Riku who wore a confused expression on her face.

Okay, Riku we need to keep speaking to each other like this. You're in danger if you stay here!

In danger from what? What is going on?
I'll explain along the way! Right now I have to stay out of the sun!
Does that mean…?
Yep, my place it is!

Packing a bag full of clothes and other stuff she knew she was going to need, she followed Dark out of the doorway, locking it up before the headed down the stairs all the way to the basement. She could hear a hiss escape from Dark's lips as tiny rays of the sun could be seen coming through the windows of the lobby. Where the rays hit the vampire, they seemed to leave light red marks. A cringe of pain crossed his perfect face, distorting it slightly before it returned to normal. It must have only stung him slightly, after all it wasn't exactly like he was standing outside, turning into ash. He turned towards her, a grin forming quite clearly as she tried to shake off the thought before he couldn't detect it. This blood link was starting to get on her nerves.

The stairs seemed to go on forever, as if they were to become one of those many who became lost within the Bermuda Triangle. When they did finally reach the basement, she gaped at the sight, amazed to find only one room down here that was accessible and big enough for at least five people. It seemed that Dark didn't need any keys to get in to her, instead her stuck one of his long nails into the lock, prying it loose carefully. She pretty much guessed that was how he had brought her back to her apartment twice in a row. She simply watched, her mouth still agape as the door swung open inwardly. The place itself was a mess, but it did look like he had been broken into which was particularly strange because he didn't seem to have much except for two bedrooms each with a bathroom, a kitchen and a living room.

The interior seemed to be designed exactly the same way as hers was, but it was a lot bigger and it had no windows. This was definitely a perfect place for a vampire. A stereo player and a TV set were stuck with separate corners of the room, each CD and DVD placed neatly in the stands beside each. It seemed the vampire was good at keeping everything in order, some much that the mess itself began to look more like someone had actually broke into the apartment. Was this place…broken into?

Yeah it was…by my master…well he isn't my master, just someone who took me in! He never sired me!
Who is he?
His name is Krad – my name backwards. I don't know what that actually means yet though. This is why I had to get you away from your apartment for now. He knows you, knows where to find you. Riku was scared at the way that the vampire was speaking. In the past few days that she had known him, she knew that this wasn't like Dark to act so worried. Although cold at times, he always seemed extremely cocky and flirtatious but now, he had become reduced to something like this. Helping the vampire gather up most of his things, she couldn't help but notice the smaller version of the painting that she had noticed only yesterday. However, someone else in this picture, another with long golden hair and white wings, accompanied the man with a darker pair that graced his back.

Holding the picture a little bit closer to her however, she realised who the man with the beautifully dark pair of wings was. It was Dark, which meant only one thing to her, for if he was Dark, then the other one was certainly the vampire who took him in, Krad. It seemed that an evil sneer had been painted upon the figure of Krad as his golden irises seemed to be looking at something in the sky. Every bit of detail about this vampire told her that he was evil every way imaginable. However, if he was so evil then why did Dark join with him.

"He taught me everything, even how to recognise a hunter!" Dark said, leaning over her shoulder slightly. Until he spoke those words, she realised that she didn't exactly know that he was there, watching her reactions to the picture. "There's another version of this picture as well, one I had made without Krad in it, but I realised that the picture wasn't the same without him."
Riku realised that the picture she had seen hanging upon the art gallery was the "other version" that Dark talked about. That was the picture that she had fallen in love with, yet the one in her hand seemed far more beautiful in its own sense, a complete piece.

"I've seen the other piece before, upon the walls of the art gallery in the middle of the city…" She admitted, his smirk grew before he placed a tiny peck upon her cheek. If it had been there all along, it had become an icon attraction. Maybe that was why Dark didn't really like that version of the wonderful piece. Now that she came to think about it though, the picture didn't seem to have anything truly mythological or fantastical compared to the smaller picture she held within her hands. Placing the framed picture upon a bare shelf along with many other ornaments that looked like they had been collected from different culture groups over the years, a low sigh escaped her lips as she felt a thread of sleep try to make her collapse there and then.

"Hey, you can go to bed if you like. I can finish up here. It's not like I need that much energy for the night time anyway!" She accepted his offer without really thinking and took to the room on the right, the one that didn't have all the strange lavish furnishings in. Sleep took over quickly yet nothing followed it. No dreams or nightmares came to her that day. After all, it was time for her to learn to stay awake at night for now.

Dark watched as the girl fell asleep. That was actually his bedroom but he didn't mind giving it up for her. There wasn't much in there anyway except for his portable radio. Shutting the door gently, he removed the black tank top that was designed to fit him perfectly. There was even a set of slits cut into the back to allow him to snap his wings open whenever he wanted to. Unbuckling the belt upon the jeans that he was wearing, he slipped it out before unzipping the catch and placing the trousers along with his tank top and the belt in a nice, neat pile at the end of the bed. Slipping into the silk covers quickly, he closed his eyes, shutting out the events of what had happened so far.

Authors note: I apologize for this chapter and the last one being shorter than the others. Trying to seek out some inspiration to stretch the story is hard but now I guess since I am going to add a few mysteries, everything will get better soon. Keep the reviews coming in though, I like to hear peoples oppinions.