A/N: Hello! Sorry, I meant to update this as soon as I finished writing, but then, no one is on fanfiction at midnight, aren't they? Anyways, I will be honest, this is not one of my better chapters. But please read it anyway!

Chapter 8: The Truth, or Not ^^

Riku's POV:

Oh man! I am so late! I thought to myself as I raced down the halls of the school. I accidentally overslept by a couple of minutes, so now I was going to be late for class unless I can make it down this hall in about five seconds.

Come on, I'm almost there... I told myself as I was about to rounded the corner of the hallway. I was going as fast as my legs could take me, and I realized only a few short moments later that I shouldn't have been running.

"Oof" Was the only sound that came out of my mouth as I plowed right in to another person who had been running the opposite direction of me. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" I yelled as I started rubbing my head from the small pain of when I hit it on the floor, ya know, after I fell backward from the sudden impact.

"Oh! I'm sorry Riku! I wasn't looking where I was going. Sorry!" And I didn't even have to look up, I knew that I had ran into none other than Daisuke. After all, he was always way too apologetic.

"No it's okay Daisuke, it was my fault anyway..." I said as he started to help me up. And as soon as I was on my feet, I heard the first period bell ring. So now, both of us would be late together.

"You don't have to worry about being late," He said, smiling at me, even though I must of looked confused. "The teacher's absent today, and they are looking for a subsitute right now." I was filled with relief, knowing that I wouldn't be marked late for this morning.

So Daisuke and I walked to our classroom together, and I didn't even bother to ask him where he was running before, since I guessed that it wasn't really any of my business. Walking into the classroom, I saw that everyone was already talking, not even noticing the two of us walk in. I walked over to my desk, and saw that Shizuku was once again in the chair next to mine. And as usual, she was staring out the window, looking as if she didn't have a thought in her mind.

I sat down at my desk, and started unpacking the contents of my bag into my desk, just in case I would need them later on.

"You sure are late today," I heard Shizuku say, although she was still focusing on the secnery outside of the building, which was mostly clouds, and an endless blue sky.

"Yeah, got off to a late start this morning..." I told her, if that comment had come from anyone else, I would of just told them to shut it. But I would never say something like that to Shizuku, she was sweet, almost as sweet as Daisuke.

"If you start off late, and try to get everything you wanted to accomplished, it is really a race against you and the day, but in the end, the day will aways win." She said, now looking at me with a smirk on her face. I really didn't have the faintest idea of how she came up with these 'words of wisdom', but it was one of the many ways that she was unique.

"I guess that's true," I said, after giving her little statement some thought, since I did miss out on some things this morning. "I missed my morning practice today, all because I slept late, and then there was a problem with my bike, so I really didn't have the time to fix it..." Thinking back to my series of missfortunes this morning, I was lucky that I could catch the train, if I didn't I might of not even bothered coming to school today.

"Isn't the morning practice optional, not mandatory?" She asked, and she was right, I didn't have to be there every morning. But it does help wake me up, after all.

"Yes, it is optional. But how did you know that, Shizuku?" I questioned her, since she wasn't on any sport teams or anything, which is actually a real shame. If you want to know why it's a real shame, it's because Shizuku is a really good athlete, but the only way that I knew that was from gym class. But for some reason, she always wore either a hoodie, or a long sleeved uniform during class, which didn't really make sense. And one time, when I asked her why she did that, she just gave me one response...

"I get cold easily" Was all she would say, and shrug her shoulders.

"I guess it's just a common sense thing, or a well known topic or something." She finally said, pulling me back to our pervious conversation.

"Oh yeah, I guess..." I said, thinking of something else to talk about, but nothing really came to my mind. Well one thing did, but it was more of an idea than a conversation starter.

"Shizuku, how would you like to play some tennis after school today?" I asked her, and if she was confused by the sudden question, she didn't show it.

"Yeah, okay." She said, like she didn't really need to give the question any thought.

"But I'll just warn you, I'm pretty good!" I said, probably sounding either overconfident, or cocky, but Shizuku didn't seem to notice, and turned her head to the door as our subsitute teacher entered the room, silencing the entire class, and began the lesson. Although, I found it quite hard to concentrate, because my mind was set on later today, when I would get to hang out with the girl that was sitting only a few feet away.

Daisuke POV:

I asked Riku if she wanted to something after school, but she said that she was going to play tennis with Shizuku, which to me, seemed pretty random to me. Then again, whenever Riku does something, she always has a purpose, a reason to her madness, if you will. But still, I was baffeled if Riku actually had an objective with this, or if she just wanted to spend time with Shiuzku.

Or maybe it's some mix of both... I thought, but decided to leave the topic alone. It was probably just nothing, so I should worry about it. Although, I was curious of what would happen in their little tennis match. That would be something interesting to watch, and I started to wonder if I could.

"Hey Riku?" I asked her, as I caught up to her and Shizuku from behind. Both turned around to face me, and both were changed out of their outfits into their gym clothes, except Shizuku was wearing a white hoodie on top of hers.

"Hi Daisuke!" She said cheerfully, "Something I can help you with?"

"Actually, I was just wondering if I could watch you guys as you played." I said, and I almost immediately received a reply.

"I don't mind a bit!" Riku said, a grin on her face, and turned to Shizuku. "Do you mind?" She asked her, and all Shizuku did was shake her head, clarifying that I could watch the two of them play.

"Great!" I said, and walked with the two of them to the tennis court on the school grounds, which fortunately was not being used today for practice. sat down on a nearby bench, prepairing to watch the two of them, for what reason, even I wasn't sure of. As Riku took out the equipment, Shizuku slid the two hair bands that were holding her pigtails in place into her hand, stuffing one of them into her pocket, and using the other one to pull her semi long hair into a ponytail, securing it tightly.

"Hey, can you see without your glasses?" Riku asked, two tennis rackets in one hand, and a ball in the other. And in response, Shizuku nodded yet again, and removed the glasses from her face, and placing them in her bag.

"Hey, she looks even cuter than before, and you still like Riku?" Dark teased, yet again, but this time I dicided to just ignore him, because recently, whatever he seemed to say was just jokes, or just new ways to annoy me. And I decided that the best way to get him to stop was to just act like I didn't care.

"Aaawww, don't be like that Daisuke, I was just kidding." He said, and this time, I decided to talk to him, but just this once. Ya know, to make my point clear.

"Everything seems to be a joke to you all of a sudden!" I said, not caring if I had sounded cold, "How will I ever be able to tell when you're serious or not? Because honestly, this isn't funny Dark, it's just plain annoying!" I yelled inside my head, almost saying it out loud. But when Dark suddenly went silent, I realized that I shouldn't have said that. And now, I felt like I had made a terrible mistake.

Brought back to reality, I saw that both girls were already playing, neither one of them missing a single swing. They seemed quite equally matched, and the only question on my mind was of how long they would be able to keep this up.

"Hi Daisuke," I heard someone say behind me, and of course, it turned out to be Satoshi. "What are those two up to?" He asked, while watching Shizuku return Riku's fast ball with ease.

"Riku wanted to play tennis with Shizuku..." I said, realizing that it probably sounded completely random, which it was, but still.

"I see..." He said, and took a seat next to me, indicating that he was interested in watching this match as well. As he looked at Shizuku play, I couldn't help but stare at him, only because I noticed something. I noticed that something was... how would you say it? Off, with Satoshi, like something in his gaze at her was different, but I still couldn't figure out just what it was.

"She sure is more than meets the eye, right?" I said, and his eyes widened the slightest when I had caught him staring at her, but his expression remained calm.

"Yes, I suppose so..." Was his response, still with no obvious emotion, but I could still sense something. Is everyone hiding something from me? I asked myself, because it had started to seem like that was what was going on.

I watched as Shizuku whacked the ball with her racket with extra force than before, and in result, Riku had missed, something she was known to do only on rare occasions.

"Wow, nice hit!" She managed to say, but she was panting from exhaustion. "Let's take a break, okay?" Riku said, and Shizuku nodded in agreement.

So the two girls walked towards our direction, both of them noticing Satoshi's presence for the first time.

"Satoshi?" Riku said, as if she was surprised to see him here. "What are you doing here?" She asked, as if she was proving my theory.

"I saw you two playing and decided to watch." He said, now standing, as did I. Shizuku just walked over to her bag, and pulled out a plastic bottle of water, took a sip, and then placed it back. But as soon as she did, something in her bag started to ring. Her attention now on the bag, she rummaged through it until she had found what she had been looking for, a cell phone.

She looked at the front of it, and her glace turned into a sharp glare as she looked at what I presumed to be the caller id. She then ignored the call, and put the phone back into her bag.

"Why didn't you answer that?" I asked, knowing that it really wasn't my business, but hey, I can't help if I'm curious. And besides, I realized that when it came to asking her questions, there would probably be a fifty-fifty chance of her answering you, depending on the question of course.

"It was just my father, he likes to check on me sometimes, but he doesn't really care if I answer or not." She said, and maybe it was just me,but that seemed like a pretty strange answer.

"She's lying Daisuke, her father's dead. She told me herself, that night." I suddenly heard Dark say, a serious tone in his voice. One that I hadn't heard from him in a long time.

"Really? But why would Shizuku lie like that?" I asked, although I didn't really expect him to know the answer.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I think that it's because she doesn't want anyone else to worry about her. I mean just think about it for a second Daisuke..." He said, also sounding the slightest sympathetic.

"I guess so..." I told him, since after thinking about it, his idea seemed pretty logical.

Wow, I never knew that Shizuku didn't have any family... I was telling myself, ...I always thought she at least had a dad. But, she's really all alone, isn't she?

"Hey Shizuku, I'm actually pretty tired. Do you mind if we call it in for today?" Riku said, turning her head to face her.

"I understand Riku," She said, a smile emerging on her face, "Just remember, I beat you." Usually, Riku would of told off anyone that would dare to say something like that. But instead, she just laughed, which sort of surprised me.

"Yeah, I must say, you are better than I expected." She said, before rushing off, saying that she would be late for her train home, so she was the first to leave.

"I better be getting home too, see you guys tomorrow." Shizuku said, before walking away, now leacing me alone with Satoshi.

"Daisuke, I have a question for you, and you have to be honest..." Satoshi said, still staring in the direction that Shizuku had walked.

"What is it?" I asked, not really knowing what to expect from him, except for something concerning either Dark or... Krad.

"Has Dark..." Of course he's asking about Dark I thought, "...ever had any suspicions about Shizuku?"

I wasn't sure how to answer him, I mean how would he know about that anyway? Maybe I should just tell him... I considered. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?

"Actually, Dark has been acting differently lately..." I started to tell him, although he still wasn't facing me. "And, I remember a while ago, he told me to be careful around her, and I didn't understand what he meant. Why?" I asked, and I heard him sigh slightly, when he actually looked at me.

"So him too?" Satoshi said, confusing me slightly. What did he mean 'him too?' "Krad has been acting suspiciously also, and I have been having the feeling that he has been hiding something from me, although I don't have the faintest idea what it may be." He said, and I could tell that he seemed concerned, I mean, I was too.

"But what does this have to do with Shizuku?" I asked, failing to see a connection between the two topics.

"I'm still not sure myself..." He said, looking away, probably deep in thought. "But, if I were you, I would talk to Dark about this. I mean, I won't get any answers out of Krad, but you may have some more luck than me."

"Alright." Was all I said, before I started walking home, hopelessly confused on what was happening, I couldn't wrap my head around this, it was just too complicated.

"Dark? Dark are you there?" I asked, desperately awaiting for a reply.

"Yeah, I'm here..." He mumbled, as if he seemed a little irritated, "So I'm guessing you want to know about what has been going on, huh?" Dark said, probably reading my thoughts already, but I nodded anyway.

"Listen, I can't explain all of it, only bits and pieces. But when you get back home, talk to your dad."

"What about my dad?" I asked, "Is he in on this too?"

"Don't make it seem like we're ganging up on you Daisuke, but a couple of nights ago, I did ask your dad to do some reasearch, so just ask him about what he's found out so far... Then I'll tell you my side of this story." Dark said with a sigh. He was no longer joking, I was sure of that, but I really wasn't sure about what I thought about this, what ever it was that was taking place.

But I just knew one thing, I had a feeling that I wasn't going to like it.

Seiji's POV:

She ignored my phone call this afternoon, either that or she didn't hear her phone ring. But I still had a feeling that she was just avoiding the call, avioding me as much as she could.

And I didn't blame her. Himeko was always the strong type, but she would always aviod trouble the best that she possibly could. And I was trouble, she knew that, heck, even I knew that. But that didn't change the fact that I wanted to see her again, to talk to her face to face, even if she never wants anything to do to me.

Like I said, I still wouldn't blame her, if anyone was to blame here, it would be myself. I still couldn't believe that I broke a promise, an important one that I had made to her, one that if I kept, things would be different now, she would have never been alone like she was now. When I left her, I was idiotic, I wasn't thinking straight, I was confused.

But now, I know exactly what I needed to do, I needed to see her, no matter what it took. Unfortunately, I couldn't find her address in this current town, then again, I never knew any of her addresses, but I still looked for her.

Why was I looking for her? The girl who's heart I must have shattered into a million pieces, and didn't even give a damn at the time?

I wanted to apologize, my eyes were clouded with hate, but now, I see what I have done wrong, and I need to fix it. Him- I mean Shizuku and I are the only family we have left, I'm the only family that she has left. And I didn't want her to hate me, because I never hated her, I always loved my little sister. I always did, and I knew that nothing could ever change that.

But then, why did I leave? I ask myself this question everyday, hoping to think of an answer. But I never found one.

I picked up my cell phone, and dialed her home number. Yes, I can find out her phone numbers, but I can't find out where she lives... And counted the rings of the phone, until I heard the answering machine give off its beep, a sound I knew well, but never had actually gone as far as to make a message.

"I'm sorry" Was all I said, and hung up the phone, looking at it sorrowfully. Shizuku, my sweet sister, can you ever forgive me?

A/N: And here we have it! Sorry if you think that this chapter is a little lame, I kind had to rush through it b/c I got a ton of hw, and two tests to study for this weekend :( But anyways, haha! I ended this chapter with not one, but two cliffhangers! Take that world! And also, just a heads up, it may be two or three more weeks until I update, depending on how much downtime I get, because really, writing is basicly all of my free time now. But hey! No worries! There is a better chapter to come, one in which I hope will be much longer than the rest, but still not boring. Excuse my rambling! But plz leave a review, like the people who do, like Pheo the Flame, and Sapphiet. I 3 my readers!