Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own DN Angel. I also didn't get the chance to kill Dark. (See previous disclaimer.)

…

Lumi's POV

As Dark and I flew over Azumano, I allowed myself to become lost in my thoughts and the sound of our wings. Shinko Furaito was slung over one shoulder, the wood of the bow resting on my back along with the quiver of arrows. I knew Dark knew where he was going; his and Daisuke's minds were still strongly connected.

I kept trying to remember Gray's document. I would have to read it over when I got back to the Niwa's house, because I was sure it had been trying to warn me about this very happening, and the bow, and other things. So many other things…

"Lumi!" Dark hissed, snapping me back into reality. Had we really gone that fast? I looked below me, only to see an image straight out of a nightmare. An old, abandoned church, with a ceiling that had once been stained glass. Now, only the edge of the jagged edge of what used to be a red pane of glass remained. This was Namida-san's home. I stared at Dark, who nodded. "Daisuke's in there," he said, "Him and a lot of other artworks." I remembered Syerdtsye's army then, the small group of artworks that she had managed to unseal when she had visited the Niwa residence and almost killed Dark.

"Okay," I said, "Shall we go?" Dark shook his head. I longed for Mura, but I'd told her to stay home, and Dark hadn't brought Wiz. He'd been relying on his own wings now that he wouldn't hurt Daisuke, so Wiz had been getting his first vacation in over four-hundred years.

"I want to go first," he said, "I don't like this at all." I rolled my eyes.

"If you go alone, and it is a trap, there's no way I could get help in time." I was thankful for the light cloud cover that shielded my eyes, since Dark had a habit of flying really high, even though I wasn't that acclimated yet, so I always had to look up at him. "Let's just go, get Daisuke, maybe kill Honoo, and get out." It was said with a gentle try at humor, but Dark took me seriously.

"No," he insisted, "I don't want you coming."

"Then why did you even bring me?" I snapped at him. "Quit trying to be such a gentleman and let me come!" Dark arched his eyebrows. I wasn't normally this snappish with him, so I guess I caught him off guard. Whatever the reason, he nodded.

"Just promise that if something goes wrong, you'll leave," he called as he dove past me. I sighed. Dark was so overprotective sometimes… I dove after him, relishing the feel of the wind on my face, and trying to forget where we were heading.

The two of us pulled up sharply about twenty feet from the roof, and glided to firm landing on a support beam. "I'll be careful," I promised Dark. He grinned at me, and I smiled back.

"Alright," he said, "Now, follow me, and be quiet." I nodded, and we swept down to the floor like a pair of wraiths. I was careful to fold my wings in a way that wouldn't stir the dust around me, and wouldn't trigger any pressure alarms. Dark had taught me this quite a while ago, and I was proud of myself for remembering.

Strangely, the church was deserted, but that made me feel no better. Images flashed through my mind; a column of flame wrapped around me, a flash of red glass, Gray's body as it had lain beneath the shattered red, her blood as it had pooled around her. Sounds and feelings came to me as well. My wings, as they had burned away from my back, Honoo no Namida's laugh, Syerdtsye's evil snicker, the rope that had tied Dark and I together, that had forced me to watch what I thought was my best friend's death, Ryoushi's whimpers as he had been bound with strands of flame, Gray's scream…

"Lumi," Dark whispered, jerking me back into reality, "Are you okay?" I realized that I was standing with my head down and my fists clenched, and carefully looked up at him.

"I don't know," I whispered back, "There are so many bad feelings in this place Dark. It almost hurts…" I whimpered, trying to suppress the feelings of pain and fear within my mind. "I'll be fine," I said after a moment, reaching up and touching Gray's necklace. "Let's just try and find Daisuke." The silence in this place was unnerving. Was there not an army stationed here? Who knew how many artworks Syerdtsye had managed to reawaken before her death, and the number that Honoo had managed to awaken herself?

"Are you sure?" Dark said gently, taking a step closer to me. I nodded.

"Are you sure?" A voice mocked, "Another stupid feeling, Lumi?" I whirled around, but no one was there. I looked all around me, but there was nothing. I glanced at Dark, who seemed just as confused as me. "Oh come come now, you surely aren't both so thick?" That was Honoo no Namida's voice; I recognized it now.

"Come out, Namida-san," I called respectively, "Come out, Namida-san, unless you are scared…" Something flitted just outside of my line of vision, and I turned to face it.

Nothing was there.

"Lumi, get out," Dark said. "Damn, I shouldn't have let you come…" he trailed off, circling; looking for whatever was in here with us. "Show yourself, worthless-" he got no farther. Something darted behind him and he gasped. I saw blood glinting in a thin red stream down his back. "Who are you?"

Another darting movement, and then there was a streak of blood flowing cautiously down my arm. It took me a full two seconds to register the pain. Then I gasped. "Slow reflexes, Violet?" A teasing voice asked.

"Dark, this isn't time to joke," I snapped, glancing over at him. He was looking at me strangely.

"I didn't say anything," he said, "I didn't even open my mouth." Okay, now I was a little nervous. I could see that Dark wasn't lying, (or rather, sensed… telepathy is quite handy) but if Dark hadn't spoken, who had?

"I did," a raspy voice croaked. Dark and I both turned quickly, and I gasped. "You aren't the only one who can read minds, Miss Orvokki." Twenty or so feet away from us, a tall, lanky, redheaded boy stood relaxed, twin daggers resting in his palms. With a spin and a flick, the daggers shot up his sleeves. "In fact, you are only one of many."

"Where are the rest of you?" Dark snapped, taking a step to the left to shield me from this strange being. The boy laughed; a low, gruff noise.

"The rest of us? I believe you mean the rest of me," he said, and then his whole body blurred. "I suppose you've forgotten that Shinko Furaito means 'True Fright' as well." Chills shot down my spine, the bow on my back seemed to weigh ten pounds more. "Give me my bow girl." He was now standing behind me.

"No," I said, willing myself to sound confident. "I believe I'll hang on to this." He wrapped and arm around my neck and pinned me against him. I felt the bow dig into my wings, and whimpered. It hurt.

"Give me my, bow Candra Orvokki, before one of my daggers 'accidently' finds your throat." His voice dripped with ice-cold seriousness that made my blood run cold. Dark was staring at me, but he didn't move.

His eyes are mist, he was thinking. What is this thing? I whimpered slightly, trying to think of something I could do to get me out of this.

What can I do? I asked myself silently. I can tap electricity, change my appearance, read minds… I had more talents, but none of the others would be of any help to me right now. Unless… It would cost me a lot of energy, and I had only tried it once before… Dark, should I put up a shield?

No, he replied instantly. Not yet. It's not worth it. I blinked an okay. The boy's arm was still around my neck, so I didn't dare to nod. Lumi, give him the bow. I stared at him, he stared at me. Just do it. Tell him you'll give it to him if he tells you where Daisuke is!

"Who are you?" I asked instead. "Or rather, what?"

"I am Shinko Furaito," the boy said, "True Fright, True Flight. I was a Hikari work who chose to be stolen, and who chose to be sealed." Dark gasped. "That's correct Dark. I chose to be sealed; therefore, I could unseal myself at any time. I felt the presence of Syerdtsye finally awaken, and found her several days later." He grabbed my shoulders and spun me around. "You seem to have quite a bit in common with Syerdtsye-sama," he remarked, looking at me. At least, I assumed he was looking at me, because Dark was right. Where his eyes should have been, there were twin clouds of silver mist.

"I am nothing like Syerdtsye," I said quietly, "Take your damn bow and tell me where Daisuke is." I shrugged his hands off of my shoulders and shucked the bow and quiver of arrows into my hands.

"Daisuke… I don't know," Shinko Furaito said, "Go ahead and look in my thoughts." His right hand blurred. "I thank you for returning my bow." He was holding both Shinko Furaito and the quiver of arrows now. I dove into his thoughts, searching for anything that could tell me where Daisuke was, but there really was nothing.

"Where's Honoo then?" I asked desperately as the boy turned, "Tell me that, at least!" Furaito laughed again.

"You say that like I owe you something!" He chuckled, "No, I will not tell you where Namida-sama is now," he shook his head. "She'll find you soon enough." The way he said that sent chills down my spine. Then he blurred and was gone.

"Dark," I whispered, "I think… no, we need to get out of here." Dark nodded his agreement.

"But first, see if you can get an idea as to where Daisuke is," I was watching his lips move, so I knew it was him speaking, but I couldn't decide why he'd said that.

"Did you lose him?" I asked. Dark's shoulders slumped ever so slightly, and he nodded.

"The signal went dead as soon as we landed," he admitted. "I just… it feels like he'd be here though." I nodded. After all, this was Honoo's home, a place she seemed very attached to.

I sent out a small spark of blue from my palm. It hovered in front of me and began to grow, until it was about the size of a cantaloupe and translucent. "Niwa Daisuke," I requested of the blue orb, tracing his name on it. It had taken me such a long time to learn how to do this properly, but now I knew what I needed to do.

I closed my eyes and tried to draw a picture of Daisuke in my mind. I started with his face, trying to remember every detail, even the tooth he'd chipped when he'd forgotten about one of the banana peel traps and crashed into a wall. (Interesting day that had been.) The face was always the hardest and the easiest at the same time. There was so much detail, but it was also familiar. From his face, I simply went down. I felt myself trembling from the sheer effort I had to put into the mental painting, but at the same time, I felt secure in my strength and power.

Until every inch of my body went rigid. My eyes flew open, the blue orb of magic vanished, and to replace it was a ball of flame, glowing and sparking like the sun.

In it, I saw only one thing: A single, bloodshot, violet eye.

"Dark?" I whispered. There was no reply. "DARK!" Nobody was there.

With Krad…

Krad stared at the old woman for a long moment, trying as hard as he could to place her somewhere in his memories. "I don't know you," he stated after a moment. "I've never seen you before in my life."

"Oh, say as you wish," Takai replied, "But I am someone who was greatly loved by… an old friend of yours, I shall say." Krad's expression remained blank for several moments more, but then a look of shock passed over his face as his memories began to flow.

Dark had gotten away again. Ryuu-sama had woken too late, (not that I would ever blame him) and the kaitou had been flying out of the window just as we had arrived. I'd chased after him for awhile, but… well, it had been a normal night, say the least.

'Krad,' Ryuu-sama whispered to me, 'Go to that window.' I sent a slight curious spike through my thoughts to prompt him to continue. 'Just do as I say.' I blinked, surprised, but did as he asked. It was unlike him to not give an explanation, but I didn't think too much of it. He and I were… I suppose you might even say friends. 'And give me control once you're there.'

'Why?' I asked, purposely darting away from the box of gold-yellow light.

'Krad, just do it,' Ryuu-sama said with a sigh, 'I'm not in the mood to be questioned tonight.' I didn't know what to make of his words, but I could tell now it wasn't a good time to ask.

"Yes, Ryuu-sama," I said aloud, swooping down towards the window sill. Before I gave Ryuu his form back, I glanced into the room. In the room was a bed, and in the bed lay a sickly looking young girl. Her face was pale, and her black hair was messy and oily, as though it hadn't been washed in a while. She seemed almost bone thin, and her breath came shallowly.

'Her name is Itonami,' Ryuu said, 'Her parents named her 'Life' when they found out she was dying, in hopes that it would give her strength to keep fighting and get better. But it doesn't seem like she will…' I'd never heard Ryuu sound like this. 'I love her Krad…' I closed my eyes and let him take over.

'Ryuu-sama,' I thought carefully to him as he stared in the window, 'I… I don't want to leave, but… I want to help you help her.' Ryuu stiffened as he gently tapped the girl's window.

'There's nothing you can do,' Ryuu replied sadly as the girl stirred slightly at the sound. 'She's almost gone now…' Itonami's eyes fluttered open as he tapped on the window again. Her eyes were deep brown and dim, though they had obviously once been bright and beautiful.

"You remember me then?" Takai asked, "I thought so. My though, you don't seem to have a very good grip on your memories." Krad bristled, but stayed silent.

"Yes," he said, "But I don't understand why you don't trust me." Takai snorted and turned back to her flowers.

"Then go back to where you came from," she said, "You'll get nothing more from me." The sight of this old woman turning her back on him, combined with her words had a strange effect on Krad. Even though, in all of his existence, he had never really known 'disappointment', as he had heard his masters call it, he was certain that was the proper way to describe how he felt now.

No, not disappointment –this was a feeling of despair.

"Takai," a strong voice called, "Who is this?" Takai didn't move as she answered.

"He is a Hikari," she replied, "He's been looking for you." Krad turned to see someone walking towards him. He blinked and shook his head as the shadows began creeping into his vision again; the shadows he thought he'd banished.

A figure made of shadows and moonlight was walking towards him. Except that now it was a shadow made of more shadows. "Gray," he whispered in shock, "Gray!"

"No," the flowing shadow replied as Krad's vision gave over to the blackness and shadows that enveloped it whenever he thought of her, "I am Hateshiganai. What do you want of me?"

She looked almost exactly like Gray. The only difference was her haunted eyes.

…

AN: Chapter three, as promised! I love all of you, my faithful reviewers, for sticking with me through my sporadic updates! *Hugs*