A/N-I know that people are reading this. Why they chose not to review it, I'll never know. A few important notes before we begin this chapter:
1. In Japan, High School goes from 10th grade to 12th. They start the numbers over, though. So, they're in 1st.
2. In Japan, they only have one teacher besides their gym teacher.
3. They say their last names, then their first in Japan.
Disclaimer- I dun own Okmi r n e thng ls.
Riku sighed and sat next to Miuri. "Jeez, they shouldn't call these things books, they should call them bricks. It's so annoying to have to lug a ten-pound backpack all around this stupid school. Seriously, why can't we just be happy with having some small books and not having tons of large ones?"
"That's what I'm wondering," she answered, yawning. "I mean, seriously. Why can't we have something simpler than this? Maybe I should, like, move to America so I can have less homework. Plus, I heard somewhere that they only have six hours of school, unlike our ten."
"Six, huh?" Riku murmured, bringing some noodles to his mouth. "That sounds good to me. I'll probably end up dropping out of school, anyway."
"What?!" Miuri squealed, standing up quickly. "Drop out of school!? That would be so idiotic! What if you have a family?! What will you do then?! Your family won't be able to fend for themselves! It would be horrible if you worked in a restaurant or something and had a family to feed! Have you ever thought about that, you idiot?!"
"Whoa." Riku said blankly, staring at her. "Didn't think I'd get that reaction."
"Of course you would!" Miuri exclaimed. "I mean, seriously, Riku! What else could you-"
"Miuri!" Mr. Jintayo snapped. "Be quiet! If you want to get rid of some energy, use it to get your math grade up!"
Miuri's face turned bright red and she sat down. Riku gave a little, quick smirk. He was glad that he didn't have Mr. Jintayo. He was rumored to be the strictest teacher in the whole school.
Riku felt himself staring at Miuri and quickly turned away, his face bright red. She was amazing... most people didn't find her that way, but Riku did. She was beautiful. When she was in first grade, she had accidentally died her hair a red-brown color. She liked it, so she kept it. Her eyes were dark, but clear and sparkling. She had soft curves and a gentle smile that almost no one could resist. She was the most amazing girl that Riku had ever met in his entire life.
"H-hey!" Miuri said, quickly looking up. "Jin's not here today!"
Riku frowned. "He hasn't been here for two or three days, right? He said he felt sick a couple days ago, didn't he?"
"Well, yeah, but..." Miuri hesitated. "It's just that... he's... not called me or anything. Neither has his father, or his sisters."
"Why haven't you called?" Riku asked blankly.
"Because... our phones went off a week ago and haven't gone on again..." She mumbled.
"Want me to call? I have 'im on speed dial." Riku answered, taking out his cell phone and turning it on.
"Riku!" She squealed. "You aren't supposed to have a cell phone at school!"
As Riku put his cell phone to his ear, he replied, "Miuri, you should know by now that I don't usually follow the rules."
"Well, I-" She began, but Riku shushed her by putting a finger to her lips and giving her a stern look. Her face turned bright red and he grinned.
The phone rung a couple of times before someone finally answered. "Hello? This is the Sakurada residence."
"Uh, hi. This is Riku." He nearly hit himself on the forhead. It was common courtesy to say your last name then your first name! Stupid!
"Ah! Riku! This is Michiru."
Riku frowned. Michiru? Wasn't that Jin's older brother? But... Michiru was at college, studying to be some sort of teacher...
"Michiru? What're you doing there?" Riku asked, confusion clear in his voice. Miuri raised her eyebrows a bit, also frowning. She had had a slight crush on Michiru, so it was obvious that she would care that he was back.
"Well... you see... just a second. I need to ask Dad something."
"Wait, what?!" Riku exclaimed. "Your dad is there?! But isn't he supposed to be at work right now?!"
"Yeah... I guess. One second. Please, Riku." For a moment, Riku could hear muffled voices on the other end of the line. Soon, Michiru started talking again.
"All right. So, my dad says it's okay to tell you what's going on."
"What is going on?!" Riku demanded, panic filling his voice. "Seriously!"
"A couple of days ago, Jin... disappeared. We're not sure where he went. He just... was gone." Riku's eyes widened and he almost dropped his phone. Jin was... gone? How could that be? Where did he go? What was going on? What happened to him? Was he okay?
"What?!" Riku exclaimed.
"I-It's true... I'm here because Jin disappeared. Now I won't be able to go to college again for quite a while since that was my tuition money."
"Do you have any clue where he went at all?!" Riku demanded into the phone.
"I-I'm sorry, b-but... we don't know... he just upped and was gone a couple of days ago."
"How in the heck can you be so freaking calm?!" Riku practically shouted. "I want to know where he is!"
"Please calm down, Riku..."
"No, I won't be calm! In fact, I-"
"Mr. Takahashi." Mr. Jintayo snarled. "That's your name, isn't it? What are you doing here with a cell phone?"
"Oh, crap." Riku said blankly. "Michiru, I've gotta go... I'll call ya later."
"Wait, I-"
Riku closed his cell phone, staring blankly up the teacher who was glaring with fierce anger down at the fifteen-year-old. Mr. Jintayo grabbed Riku by the collar and began dragging him away to the headmaster's office.
"You know that's against the rules, Mr. Takahashi. Now you're going to pay." Mr. Jintayo snarled.
"NOOO!" Riku screamed. "Save me, Miuri! My mom's gonna kill me!"
Of course, she just waved good-bye to him and ate the rest of her lunch.
Riku sat down in front of the headmistress, a big pout on his face. It wasn't as though this were his first time being here, but he was going to get suspended. That was the deal. If he was a good boy for a month, then he would get some money to buy video games. If not, he would be suspended from school for a whole week with no ability to retake any of the things that he missed.
"Ah, Mr. Takahashi." The headmistress murmured, turning slowly to him. "It's been less than two weeks. Is 10,000 yen (About 100 dollars) not enough? Apparently not because you're back here."
"Please," Riku began to beg. "Don't tell my mom! It was an accident! And I was just wondering where a friend of mine was!"
The headmistress, Mrs. Tanaka raised an eyebrow. "Where you calling the Sakurada family?"
"I-" Riku began, but quickly stopped and looked up. "Well... yeah. It's Jin. I don't know where he is."
"I know." Mrs. Tanaka replied softly, staring out her window. "He just disappeared. We know that he didn't run away because he didn't bring anything. We know that he wasn't kidnapped because he would have shouted and there was no sign of a struggle. He merely vanished."
Riku nodded slowly. "What do you think happened?"
She turned slowly back to him. "I'm not a very churchy kind of person, but I think that a force greater than us took him away. Some sort of god."
Riku blinked. "A god?"
"Yes. It's not my place to judge or anything, but even Koheiko thinks that might be the case."
Riku's jaw dropped. "Koheiko?! As in, the Koheiko who is a detective?! The greatest detective in all of Asia?!"
"Yes." She answered softly. "After hearing about Jin's mysterious disappearance, he was rather curious, so he sent some men to take a look around for him. He concluded soon that something supernatural was going on. Other things like this have happened, but never before has he admitted so openly that Jin could never be found."
Riku felt despair come over him. If Koheiko, who was ranked number three best detective in the current world, was unsure if Jin could be not found, then who else could they look at for help?"
"However... Mr. Takahashi." Mrs. Tanaka said, turning to him, darkness in her eyes. "Although I haven't too many notices on what's going on in the Sakurada home, I believe that Light, from the U.S.A., might be coming to take a look at it sometime today."
Riku's jaw dropped again. Light was the number one detective in the world. He had been given that name after solving so many cases that someone proclaimed that he had brought a new light to the world. That was just over five years ago. Now... Light was even better and smarter.
"B-But, Koheiko said that he didn't think that Jin could be ever found!" Riku exclaimed. "Didn't he? I mean, what's-"
"Mr. Takahashi." Mrs. Tanaka quickly turned away. "I... I don't know what happened to Jin. No one knows. Light wants to know. He hasn't met a case that he hasn't been able to solve yet. He wants to meet a challenge. And that's what this is."
Riku blinked as he noticed that her shoulders were shaking. "M-Mrs-Mrs... Tanaka..." Riku mumbled.
"Just go, Riku."
And so he did. Little did he know, but that was the last time he would see her.
Lee leaned against the wall, a slight smirk on his face. His usually black, fierce eyes were currently a mystifying purple. He was wearing interestingly thick glasses, but with oddly thin rims. It was made from black wire.
However, Lee did not use his glasses for the usual things, like seeing. It was more useful than that. These glasses allowed anyone that looked into his eyes to regain their lost memories, or to faint. Either way, Lee usually got what he wanted.
And what he wanted right now was Riku.
His old best friend. General Riku was his official best friend. He was so different right now... Riku acted so strange. Lee could only hope that he would be back to normal after this.
When Riku left, he had needed half of Lee's power due to the fact that he needed to be able to become slightly human-like. At least slightly. He had also changed his inward ways, which took quite a bit of power. After Lee took back his power, he would be much better off against the God of Time for quite a few reasons:
1. He would have an amazing general back.
2. Jin would be unsure about how to act towards his ex-friend.
3. Lee would have much more power.
4. He would have a better general than his current one.
5. Jin would be unsure who to trust.
6. Jin might leave their group, changing the fate of history.
Either way, it would be a win for Lee. After all, he would have at least three of those six things happen to him. And how he eagerly awaited these things to happen for him.
Riku walked out of the front office, a look of fear on his face. He blinked as he noticed Lee, who smirked.
"Hello, Riku." He muttered in perfect English.
Riku seemed even more confused. "E-Excuse me?"
Lee walked quickly over to Riku, faster than most humans could call a walk, and pinned Riku silently against the wall. Riku seemed more confused than ever. Lee felt his breathing deepen with delight at finally having been able to get Riku back.
"Lee...?" Riku whispered, slight pain in his voice but more fear than anything. Lee relished that. The pain in Riku's voice. To him, it tasted like honey.
"Oh, Riku..." Lee's shoulders began shaking as he gave a low laugh. "Oh, Riku... you and I can finally be friends again. Somewhere in your mind, you're very happy. But you can never be as happy as me. We can defeat the God of Time together, Riku."
"Lee!" Riku sounded both fearful and disturbed. "What in the world are you talking about?!"
"Riku... Riku... Riku..." Lee kept muttering his name, over and over again.
"Lee!" Riku snapped. "Let go of me!"
"Takahashi. Takahashi... Riku. What a silly name. Let's change your name back to what it was supposed to be."
Lee stared into Riku's eyes. Riku's eyes opened in shock and his mouth opened in a silent scream. Lee smiled cruelly as he watched the images flashed through his eyes.
Finally, blood red came over his eyes. Nothing else was there. He was staring blankly in front of himself. Tears slowly dripped from his eyes. Their shine was mystical and it looked pink, as though blood was mixed with the salty water.
Lee licked the water off Riku's cheeks, and felt his powers coming back to him quickly. Even though it appeared as though the water was only partially filled with blood, it actually tasted interally like blood. Sweet, sweet, addicting blood that Lee wanted to forever lick.
He stopped soon, though, know that if he took too much Riku's life-force would be sapped. And if that happened, then what would be the point of trying to get General Riku back?
Riku's eyes slowly drifted back to the color that he had been born with all those years ago: blue-green, like the sea. His hair was as white as snow, and his skin was slightly more pale. His arms looked quite a bit stronger, and he seemed more confident, but more angry.
"Hello, Youkai Riku." Lee said softly.
Riku gave a little smile back. "It's good to be back, King Lee."
"Are you ready to defeat the God of Time, General Riku?" Lee asked, already knowing the answer.
"When have I not been ready?"
"Then let's go to the Palace and make some plans."
Riku gave a cold chuckle. "That's the best offer I've had all day, King Lee."
Light looked up slowly. "This isn't good. I believe it's going to be bloody."
"What do you mean?" Chester asked softly, kneeling next to the younger man.
"It smells like... the smell of birth of a child." Light answered, not glancing up. "Like... the birth of something ignorant to the world..."
"I'm not sure that I follow, Light." Chester said softly.
"In the end... it doesn't even matter." He whispered.
"What do you mean, Light?" Chester said, sounding even more confused.
"Light. Hikari. Lumiere. Ligero. Litch. Guang. Sveta. Or. It all means the same thing, yes? It's my name."
Chester nodded, looking confused. "Yes. They all mean light. But what does that have to do with this case?"
"This person shall be a standard unto the land, a light among the nations." He said softly. "Forgetting all the hurt inside that you've learned to hide so well. Celebrate the art of life. And they stood around the Tree of Hope. I can't be who you are."
"What do you mean?" Chester asked softly.
"This person... Jin Sakurada... he will come back. But he'll be different."
"He will?"
"Yes. He shall be something so much more important. He's confused. Inside. He's not the only one, though. It's his fault."
"Is he all right?"
Light chuckled. "I think so. I'm not magic, Ches."
"I still don't understand how you can tell all of that, Light."
"Some of us just have more strange abilities than others." Light replied.
"Is he coming back soon?"
Light shook his head. "Everybody has a face that they hold inside. A face that awakes when I close my eyes. A face that watches every time I lie. A face that laughs every time I fall. It watches everything."
Chester did not answer. Light would explain himself.
"I know, Chester, that you're new to being my partner, being that Derrin died. But you must know that I think you were picked specifically for this time and place to be my partner. I believe that it was fate that you happened to pass that test. I believe it was fate that we happened to meet."
Light closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths. His white hair fell in his eyes. He didn't bother to move it.
"Chester. What do you think Jin is?"
"What do you mean?" Chester answered. "I think that Jin is a boy that has disappeared."
"I didn't ask you what he might be. I ask you what you think he is." Light murmured.
Chester seemed slightly confused, but replied, "I believe that he's a human boy."
Light laughed softly. "You have no imagination. He's not a human boy, as you say. Oh, I believe that he's male, but human? Not quite."
"What do you think he is, then?"
Light turned away. "I think... he's a god."
Chester stared. "A god?"
Light gave a little laugh. "Oh, yes. It seems quite likely to me."
Chester shook his head. "I'm not sure that I follow."
"A boy disappears. It smells like a newborn child in his room. One of his best friends disappear. It all comes together for me."
"His friend?"
"Yes... another boy has disappeared. It's funny. They're still in Japan, and yet they're not. I only have on thing I can conclude at this point."
"And what's that?"
Light's eyes flashed. "That they're in the past or the future."
"Really?" Chester's voice quivered.
"Quite." Light sighed. "But I think that's enough sleuthing for one day. I need some coffee."
Chester started staring again. "That's... it?"
Light laughed. "Oh, no. That's not it. We're going to pull an all-nighter. I'm going to solve this case if it kills me."
A/N- Review... please... poo on you if you don't. Also, Youkai means demon. I know, I'm so original...
