A/N: Chapter 9 already? That's... *counts fingers* eight more chapters than I've ever written for a story before! Sorry for such the long wait! but there were a lot of ways the story could go from here, and I wanted to make the right choice for you!

Chapter 9: The Truth, for REAL this Time

Shizuku's POV:

I walked down the empty streets at Azumano, hearing the repetitive rhythm of my feet falling down onto the pavement. I tilted my head upwards, looking at the star lit sky. That was one thing that I had always disliked about being in the city, you would always miss the appearance of the stars, how they pierced through the jet black sky, looking like small little gems. Ones that could never be stolen. If you lived in the city, you would never get to see the stars, because all of the lights that came from the neon signs, the lights at the millions of open apartment windows, the spotlights that never seemed to turn off, that is, unlit daylight arrived.

It was sad that most people wouldn't cherish these little things that can help make your life more, enlightened. And you didn't have to be intelligent to notice them, you just had to... how do you say, "open your eyes" to them.

Although technically, your eyes are never closed, they are always looking at something, even if that something is darkness, it is still looking and observing. I thought to myself, but then realized something else. But your eyes don't really observe, they just send colored images to your brain, which then decipher them into images... and why am I thinking about this again? I had to wonder, because sometimes, I just remembered random facts that had somehow seeped into my memory over the course of years. But most of them were about topics that no one in particular really cared about.

I was about to continue thinking, just to get all of that pointless information out of my thoughts, but I never got the chance. I stopped, dead in my tracks, and clutched my head in both hands, feeling my fingernails dig deeper into my skull. My mind started to burn and ache, as if someone had just thrown a brick directly at my head.

A could hear a sort of sound from my ears, it was like a high pitch ringing noise. It was very hard to describe, but if I had to, I would say that it would sound as if you had held two microphones together, both turned on high, and creating a noise that you had to cover your ears in order in an attempt to protect them from the harsh noise.

But the problem was, that this noise seemed to be coming from inside my head, so there was no way of tuning it out. And this wasn't the first time this has happened either. It has been happening over the course of years, getting much more intense each time that it occurred.

Suddenly, the pain had stopped, and I felt back to normal, well, you know, normal enough. It was strange how these migraines had appeared, then all of the sudden, when it felt like her head was about to split open, it would stop.

"You feeling okay?" I heard a voice behind me say. I hesitated, unsure of what my next move should be. And I had come up with a couple of possibilities of what I could do in a situation like this...

A) I could run away as fast as I could, not bothering to look back. (This was a good option because I was a fast runner)
B) I could turn around and face this person, and hope it was someone not looking for trouble. (Maybe this should be my choice C...)
C) I could just turn around and punch this person as hard as I could. (This would probably be followed by choice A, depending on who it was)

I had to think fast, and decided just to do choice B, which could also be followed by another one of my choices, depending on how things work out.

Slowly, I started to turn around, preparing to face whoever may be standing behind me, trying to expect the absolute worst. But nothing could of prepared me for what, or rather who, I saw standing on the no longer empty street.

And at that point, I had started to think about several things at once, none of them being pointless. Of course, there was one thought in my mind that stood out among all the rest.

I should have gone with choice A...

Daisuke's POV:

I tossed and turned in my bed, unable to fall asleep. After all, I couldn't wait much longer, if everyone was keeping something from me, I at least wanted to know what it was! Just a small detail would make me happy, but still, no one had given me even that.

"I told you to talk to Kosuke, but you just wimped out like usual, didn't you Daisuke?" I heard Dark say, his comment adding to my already rotten mood.

"I didn't really get a chance, if you didn't notice." I told him, as soon as I had gotten home, Mom had been giving me a lecture about coming home so late, which I guess, I should have thought of before hand. And before I knew it, she had just sent me off to bed, therefore skipping dinner.

"Hey, don't blame me that your mom still treats you like some little kid." He said, now starting to sound a little defensive of himself. "If you really want to know that badly, I dare you to walk downstairs right now and ask Kosuke." Dark continued, emphasizing on the word 'dare'.

I didn't respond, but instead turned over in my bed, face down on my pillow, pondering what Dark had proposed. After all, it did seem to be a pretty decent idea. Dark came up with those from time to time, ya know, sometimes.

"Hey!" I heard Dark yell, making me jump in surprise, "I can hear your thoughts, ya know!" He said sternly, probably annoyed by my previous thought. Although, he really shouldn't be reading my thoughts in the first place...

"Still here!" He yelled, this time, giving me a slight head ache, "And besides, it's not like I asked to be in this situation with you! When you think about something, to me, it's like you're talking." Dark said, although I already knew about that little tibit of information. So in return, I just rolled my eyes.

"Okay, okay," I said, now sitting up on my bed, "I'll go talk to Dad." I mumbled, giving in to the temptation. At this point, I realized that Mom would probably understand these circumstances, if she chose to listen to me. So I walked downstairs, and saw that almost everyone had been in the living room. Grandpa and Dad were on the couch watching the tv, Towa pouring both of the a cup of tea. Thankfully, Mom was no where in the room, so she couldn't be here to snap at me for not being in bed.

"Hey Dad," I spoke up, causing everyone to look up at me.

"Daisuke," He said in response, acknowledging my presence, "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" I heard Towa say, a confused look appeared on her face.

"Yeah, I am," I told her, but then brought my focus back to Dad, who was now standing up, facing me. "But Dad, I needed to talk to you about..." I started, but didn't really know how to phrase the topic, mainly because I wasn't even sure what the topic was.

"It's about the research that Dark asked me to, isn't it?" He said, grinning that smile that I had gotten to know so well.

"What research, Kosuke?" I heard Grandpa ask Dad, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Strange, not even Grandpa knew what had been going on. This was weird because Grandpa had always been the wisest, and therefore, the most knowledgeable about most topics. I guess he didn't know about this anymore than I did. But wait, that still brings me back to one important question, what WAS this about?

"It's a long story, but I think that Daisuke and I need to have a talk," Dad said, taking a short glance at Grandpa, but then started walking toward me. And as he passed me, he whispered something in my ear, so that it was inaudible to everyone else.

"Meet me in the study, we'll talk there..." Was all I heard, and nodded in understanding. After all, most of this house was bugged with cameras and microphones, but the study was one of the few places that wasn't.

I guess this is something important, or else he wouldn't be hiding it from Grandpa... I thought, but decided to stop thinking, and that I should probably start acting. And by acting, I mean finding about what's going on. And I know that I've probably said a million times now, but I still don't know!

I walked down toward the study, after convincing to Grandpa that nothing was going on. It had taken a while to do, considering that I was a horrible liar, but all in all, he bought it.

I closed the door behind me, and turned aruond to see Dad sitting down on one of the chairs in the room. Silently, I took a seat across from him, and he looked up from the book he was previously reading while waiting for me.

"So, I was actually wondering when you would come to talk to me about this." He said, and put the book aside, forgetting about it completely.

"Actually Dad, I'm not even sure what this is about exactly..." I said sheepishly, embarrassed that I rarely knew anything. But hey, that's why I'm here, to get answers. I need to find out what's been going on, since I think it would be nice to know.

"What this is about is your friend..." He started, folding his hands together, and I was pretty sure this was about to become another talk about Satoshi. And how I should stay away from him, and how the Niwas and the Hikaris were supposed to be sworn enemies... "Her name was Shizuku, right?" I heard him say, pulling me back to the conversation. "Shizuku Sakishima?" He asked with curious eyes.

"What about her?" I asked, but then a thought occurred to me. What if all of this, all the secrets, had just been about her all along? Well, I just knew one thing, there was never any harm done by Shizuku, and there never would be.

"Listen Daisuke, something has been wrong, your mom and gramps know it too, but they still don't know what the cause of it is..."

"What does this have to do with Shizuku? Answer me that first." I said, a little sternly I might add. After all, she was my friend, and I wouldn't want her pulled into all of this weirdness.

"It's a long story Daisuke, and it goes back..." Dad started, but it wasn't long until I started to lose my temper, something that barely happened.

"I have time, just tell me already. I mean, I don't have the slightest idea of what is going on, and I want to know."

"Of course you do," Dad said, still staying completely calm with me, "But I'm just not all that sure if you want to hear the story or not, it's pretty late you know. You sure you don't want to wait til morning?" And of course, I nodded.

"It all started a long time ago, when the Niwas and the Hikaris had never met. After all, you already know the story of the Black Wings, Daisuke." Dad said, I wasn't sure where this was going, but I still answered.

"It was when Dark and Krad were created," I said, "When a Hikari artist created a piece of artwork, but then, before he could transfer magic into the statue, a Niwa showed up and stopped the ceremony. In result, the magic that was originally was supposed to go into the Black Wings had no where to go, so then, Krad and Dark were created, living in the genes of the male members of the two families." I summarized, not really understanding what the Black Wings had to do with any of this.

"Correct," He said, but suddenly, the expression on his face turned into an extremely serious one, "But there was much more to it than that."

"Like what?" I asked, because from what I knew, there wasn't much more to the story.

"Well, you remember 'The Eternal Timepiece', right?" He asked, as if I could possibly forget. I mean, Dark had pretty much melted the memory into my mind forever, with all his complaining and everything. So in response, I nodded my head in agreement.

"Well, after doing some research, I realized why you mother was so impatient on sealing that particular piece of art."

"Is it just because it was a piece of cursed artwork?" I asked, because I knew for a fact that 'The Enteral Timepiece' wasn't a piece of artwork made by the Hikari family.

"True, but there is also a story surrounding it, and it may have to do with your little friend." Wait, if we were just talking about the 'Eternal Timepiece', then this does has to do with Shizuku after all.

"Yeah Daisuke, this has to do with Shizuku. I just wanted you to know the truth about her, and about her family." Dark said with a tone that I hadn't heard him use in a what seemed to be like forever. It was one that sounded tense, but still full of worry and sympathy.

"So you see Daisuke, 'The Eternal Timepiece' was an heirloom that was passed down for generations in the Sakishima family, although, I didn't really understand the importance of it all until I did some looking into it." He said, but was no longer smiling, and now was being totally serious, something that was never the bearer of good news.

"You see, Shizuku's family history goes back to the days of the Black Wings, and the Sakishimas were known for being a family friend of the Niwas, and offered their assistance to your ancestor whenever they could."

"So they were close friends?" I asked, and it started to remind me of Shizuku and I right now, but that was also depending where this story was going.

"Yes, and you see, the Sakishimas were always an obedient family to the Niwas. And when the day came that the Hikari had created the Black Wings, your ancestor knew that he couldn't steal it alone."

"So he asked the Sakishima to help him steal it?" I asked, guessing that was the next step in the story.

"Correct," He said, slightly nodding his head up and down. "But when the ceremony was interupted, some of the magic from the Black Wings also seeped into the Sakishima, not enough to give them an alter ego like the Hikari and the Niwa, but enough to give them magical powers."

I couldn't help but be confused, I mean come on! Magical powers? Is that even possible? I thought that the magic was just seperated into the two beings of Dark and Krad, and were released into the Niwas and the Hikaris... At least, that's what I thought, and had been told.

"That is true, Daisuke. But there was more to that story, things that you just didn't need to know at the time. After all, I thought that the Sakishima family was gone for some time now, heck, I even forgot that their name was Sakishima!" He said, followed by an all out laugh.

"And that's all there is to it!" I heard Dad say, a huge grin now back on his face. And I have to say, even having what he had told me, I was still dumbfounded about what was really taking place. I mean, that story was something of the past, right? What did it have to do with the present day?

"Uh... thanks for letting me know..." I said, not really meaning it, "I guess I'll go to bed now then." And with that, walked upstairs to my room, plopping down onto my bed with a sigh.

"So, you satisfied now?" I heard Dark asked while snickering, obviously being sarcastic.

"Okay, I heard what my dad had to say, but now can you let me in on what you wanted to tell me about this? I mean, what was that story about? And why is it making everyone so paranoid?" I asked, but I'm pretty sure that I may have asked him out loud.

"Okay Daisuke, well, my memory is a little blurred over the subject, since it's been so damn long, but I'll try to tell you what I remember." He said, but then went silent, as if thinking about the subject, and it seemed like forever until he spoke again, although it was probably only a few minutes.

"Well, from what I remember, after some of the magic was seeped into the Sakishima, they began to act differently, kinda like a combination of my personality and Krad's I guess..."

"What do you mean by 'acting differently'?" I asked, I mean, did they try to kill Dark like Krad always does? Because if they did, I guess this whole situation was becoming more dangerous than I could have thought.

"They didn't truely act like Krad, I can tell you that much." Dark said, and I felt relief wash over me from knowing that much. "But they did hold a grudge, and I believe that they blamed Krad and I for making them into a wielder of magic, which I can tell you Daisuke is not all that fun."

"But technacly, you have magic, and we share the same body, so doesn't that kinda make me a wielder of magic too?" I asked, "Because it's not all that bad in my opinion..." I mean, I sometimes felt some pain when Dark used too much magic, but it wasn't that extreme.

"It's not like anything you've ever felt Daisuke, because they're magical powers are their own, not shared or influenced from someone else."

"What does that mean?" I asked, because I couldn't really see what the extreme difference would be, ya know, besides the whole, 'being able to use at their own free will' thing. How bad could it really be?

"For me, it's not that bad, since I was a magical being to begin with..." Or half of one... I thought, "HEY! Still here!" Dark yelled inside my head, still talking in a teasing tone. Damn, I keep forgetting that he can hear my thoughts, I mean, I can't help thinking my thoughts!

"Anyway, in order for them to gain their magical powers, which really isn't optional, they have to go through the kind of pain that Satoshi goes through every time that Krad takes over. Minus the wings of course..."

"What? That's horrible!" I knew that Satoshi had to put up with that, but there were other people that had to go through that kind of pain without a choice? Sure, they wouldn't have to feel the wings erupting from their back, but it still seems pretty horrible.

"And from what i can remember, the Sakishima family had this obsession of trying to 'put an end' to me and Krad, saying that we didn't belong in this world, and other stuff I guess... But I still think my memory is a little scrambled..."

"What do you mean by 'put an end'? Are you trying to tell me that Shizuku is trying to kill me?" I yelled, and just realized that it was possible that everyone in the house had just heard that outburst... But if they did, no one reacted to it, and just left me to start freaking out.

"Well... I'm saying that it may be possible, but I'm not even completely sure that she has powers, they usually would have come around when I was brought back into this world. But I haven't sensed them, I would have been more cautious if I had..." Dark said, before he decided to fall asleep, which of course had been the worst time possible right now...

I was still so confused, I mean, did Shizuku know anything about this? Was her being nice and all just an act or something? And I still don't know what Dark meant by 'put an end to', which worried me.

"Guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow..." I said, closing my eyes, and staring into darkness. But somehow, I doubt that I would be able to get much sleep.

Shizuku's POV:

"W-What are you doing here?" I wasn't sure how to respond, since I didn't really know how I felt right now, or how I should have felt.

"I wanted to see you, of course..." Seiji said with a smirk, walking a little bit closer to me. "And you never answer my phone calls..." He said reminding me about the other day, how he had called my cell phone, and my house phone. I had heard the phone ring, but couldn't pick it up. I remember the message he had left saying that he was sorry...

Years of waiting, hoping that he would come back, to say it was all a misunderstanding, that he still loved me. I had been wanting that more than anything, wether I had known it or not, I was certain of it now. And yet, here it was, happening in front of my eyes, and yet, I didn't know how do react. There was one part of me that wanted to run right up and hug him, but there was also a part that was holding me back, telling me that I didn't need him.

"Listen, Himeko..." And I scowled at the name. Himeko had meant 'princess', something I had never been, and knew that I would never be. The reason I changed it, because I wanted a name that suited me, unlike being labeled as something I was not. I knew that people lived up to their name, and not the other way around, but I couldn't help it. For people to address me as such made me want to spit, and I guess that Seiji had started to pick up on that.

"Oh sorry, I mean Shizuku... I just wanted to talk, or at least for you to listen to what I have to say."

"And why should I?" I yelled angrily, as I felt tears starting to brim in my eyes, and blurring my vision. And for some reason I couldn't help it. I felt so hurt, to just be abandoned by him, the one person that I had always trusted the most, and now, here he was, just wanting to talk like nothing had happened. Just like typical Seiji, always trying to fix things up, wether he's able to or not. But hey, let's just see if he can try to fix this.

Still barely able to see clearly due to the tears that were now running down my face, I felt Seiji wrap his arms around me, and I found myself burying my face in his chest, still crying like I used to when I was very young.

"Because I really care, and I really missed you sis..."

He... missed me? I never knew that he felt like that, I mean, he had walked out of my life, and left me all alone. Actually, all these years, I may have just been running, running from reality. The reality that he may find me... but what if all this time, when I was running, he was searching?

"Trust me, everything will be better, and this time I swear to always be there for you when you need me."

"You still need to explain." I said, which was true. All these years, I had blamed myself for him leaving, but I never really knew for sure why he had really left. And I still wanted to know.

"I have a lot to explain, and I know that... but please just forgive me..." He said, pulling out of the hug, and kneeling down to my height, since he was now at least a foot taller than me.

Should I? I thought to myself... I mean, having Seiji be with me could change my life. I could actually have a family again, even if it was just him and me. The guy who always found a way to make everything seem better than it was, and could never act grim if he even tried.

But, it's not like I'm alone... and I didn't need a family, even if I wanted one, I still didn't need one. After all, no matter what you have, the human heart will always crave more due to emotions and hormones... and WILL I STOP THAT!

But what should I do?

A/N: Cliffhanger! What is going to happen next? I'm not sure! But what do you think should happen? You can tell me in a REVIEW! Seriously, I want to get at least 4 reviews before I update next... So please click that really pretty blue button below! ^^