Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel, but I do own an annoying older brother... Although I would trade him for the DN Angel cast any day...
Warning, this is a very long chapter. You have been warned...
Chapter 16: Can you Define Wrong?
Dark's POV:
Honestly, I did feel a bit guilty for going through the girl's mind, but it was all for a good cause. I mean, there was still the slim possibility that Shizuku was just pretending to be Daisuke's friend... After all, she was able to tell that I was in Daisuke by just taking one look at us, if that doesn't spell out suspicious... then I should really start paying more attention during school.
"Let's see what she was doing before she met Daisuke..." I said to myself, before starting to search for some of her earlier memories, although I felt like I wasn't completely alone in here.
Well, I guess since it is Shizuku's memories, her past self is here too, living in the memories. I rationalized, seeing that it seemed like that was probably the most logical reason for it. There could be no way that Daisuke would have been dragged into here too, since her was already sleeping when I chanted the spell. I had to make sure of that, because if he had somehow found out about what I was doing, I bet he would be more than upset with me. Most likely going on and on about how I am invading her privacy, how impolite this is... You know, all that boring stuff.
"Who are you?" I heard a small voice say. Quickly, I spun around, only to see a young blonde girl with small pigtails in her hair. Wait, what would a cute little girl be doing in Shizuku's mind? I put on my best smile, and bent down to her height, although, I wasn't sure if that was possible, because even down on one knee, she was still looking up at me.
To say she looked peculiar would to be the least. I had to admit that that her hairstyle and face was fairly normal, but her dress wasn't something you would see everyday, unless you might be at a costume party, or at perhaps a very formal party.
This very small girl was wearing such a fancy dress, which was one of the most frilly and most lolita that I had ever seen before, it was a soft pink with very short sleeves, but white elbow long gloves hid most of her arms from view. If you had to describe how she looked, I would say she looked a lot like a small miniature princess.
"Well, I could ask you the same thing..." I told her sweetly, and started to slightly ruffle her hair, "My name is Dark, what's yours?"
"I'll tell you if you take your hand off of my head, Dark." She said blandly, although she had a sort of inquisitive look on her face, and I felt a little shocked by her behavior. Reluctantly, I removed my hand, and watched as she stared at me with a cocked head, as if I was some unknown species.
"You can call me Himeko, and I'm this much!" She said, while holding up four fingers in her right hand, and something was telling me that she couldn't count very high yet, and she really was quite small, and not just in size. What would a four year old be doing in here anyway?
"I'm here because I protect Her memories." She told me, as if my thoughts as I did with Daisuke. Wow, I guess that can get annoying, I should probably take note of that.
"Well, who is, 'her'?" I asked Himeko, at least I think that's her name, because that's what she said it was.
"Well, I think it's pretty obvious, isn't it Mr. Phantom? Can I call you that?" She asked while still looking at me. But, wait, where did she get 'Mr. Phantom' from? That title barely suits me! True, I may be an astounding phantom thief, but she couldn't know that. Right? She just met me after all, and I'm pretty sure you can't just tell what someone's career is just by a glance. Especially if that person guessing can't even count to four.
"I know what and who you are because you are in Her memories." Alright, irony, now I know how Daisuke really feels when I keep responding to his thought. And he's right, that is somewhat annoying.
"But, you still haven't answered my question, who is this 'she' you keep referring to?" I asked her once again, now getting slightly annoyed with her. Man, I'm not good with little kids.
"She is the reason I am here, and who's memories I protect," Himeko said, her eyes looking completely blank with boredom. "In short, she is the reason that I exist, and who's mind you are presently resigning inside."
"So, you're talking about Shizuku, right?" I asked her, I mean, if she just had said that in the first place, there would be a whole lot less of confusion for me. And why was this Himeko talking as if Shizuku was some sort of God to her or something? And I still don't understand why she was here. How could she protect Shizuku's memories?
"She doesn't like being labeled as a name, and here, She is my soul purpose. I try my best to do what she desires her mind to do. Although sometimes, I can't fulfill her requests right away."
"You sure like to talk, even though you can barely count." I told her bluntly, slightly glaring at her, she was just stalling my time. After all, if I didn't leave here in a given amount of hours, I may just be stuck in here for all eternity, just wandering around, having to listen to this little kid and her endless talking.
She just shrugged, and started walking past me, although I couldn't tell where in the world she was going. This whole place just looked like some sort of black void with a haze of purple that seemed to cling to your feet. Is this what other people's minds are like? Because I think that I like being in Daisuke's WAY better than this, because Shizuku's mind was giving me the chills.
Finally standing up, I turned around to see that Himeko was barely visible anymore, and was walking further into the abyss. Then, I realized something that she had mentioned in all of those pointless facts.
"Wait!" I yelled after her, causing her to look over her shoulder and stop her walking. "You said that you protect Shizuku's memories right? Well, could you show some of them to me?" I mean, if this girl could actually prove useful and help me out, then I wouldn't mind hanging around with her. I mean, sure she talked a lot, and seemed like a know-it-all, but I guess it would be possible to drown her small voice out.
"Why do you want to see those, Mr. Phantom?" Her curious voice asked me, oh great, she wants a reason for it. What should I say? Well, a little girl won't really know the huge difference because right and wrong, and if I make it sound like no harm will come from me, I think I can be pretty convincing.
"You see, I think that Shizuku has a sort of sad look in her eyes, and she doesn't always open up to people," I started to tell her, putting on my very best sympathy face, "So I want to understand her past better, just to see what she has gone through..." I said, and I could see something in Himeko's eyes that I took to be admiration, or probably something along those lines.
Sure that wasn't completely the truth, but it would play out well just the same.
A small smile crept up on the little blonde's face, although her glare she was shooting at me didn't look as sweet and innocent as the grin. And with the small twirl of her flamingo pink and frilly skirt, she was once again fully facing me. And was using her right hand to point at me, since I was now towering over her again, standing up at my full height.
"You're not a very good actor Mr. Phantom, I can tell when you're lying!" She confessed, although she was still quite cheerful. Why is she so happy? She knows I just tried to manipulate her, yet, she is so nice towards me, I just don't get her kind of thinking, although it does remind me a bit of Daisuke.
"But, tell you what! I'll let you see them!" Himeko said to me, and for a second, I was slightly surprised, but I did my best not to show it. Bad actor? Please, she need to get her facts straight.
"Although, I do have one condition! You have to carry me on your shoulder!"
"Oh? And why would you want that?" I asked her, because to me, it seemed like a very random request. The girl probably weighed about as much as one of my feathers, but it was still quite odd.
"Because I don't like walking, and you're really tall! I want to see what it's like being tall!" She exclaimed gleefully, and I couldn't help but laugh at how cute she was being. But without saying another word, I picked her up and sat her on my right shoulder, and I felt her hold onto my head for support.
"Wow! I like being able to see things from up here~!" She said in a sing-song voice, and I couldn't really understand what it was that made her all cheerful all of a sudden. Sure, she was pretty whimsical before, but she seemed to be enjoying herself, just because she was on my shoulder? Man, what a strange kid...
"You know, there isn't much to see anyway." I told her, and in response she just let out a giggle, like I had just told her some hilarious joke. Was I being funny to her? Because I wasn't trying to be.
"Silly Mr. Phantom! Just walk ahead! You wanted to see Her memories, right?" I nodded slowly, and she just pointed in the direction ahead, although all I saw was more of the ongoing black.
Well, maybe some things are better seen in a child's eyes... I thought quickly to myself, slightly wondering if she could still hear my thoughts like before, but either way, I slowly mad my way ahead, only to see that the darkness had run out, and only to be filled with a blindingly bright light which lit up a very long, and while hallway. There seemed to be some things on the walls that in a way resembled doors, but I was confused just the same.
"Okay! what memories would you like to see?" Himeko asked me, acting as if she was used to this hallway, and understood what it was, unlike myself, who felt completely clueless.
"Um, I'm not sure, as long as the memories are important ones that happened before she moved to Azumano..." I told her hesitantly, half hoping that she would actually know where we would be going, because sense of direction was not always one of my specialties. Unless I was escaping of course, but I didn't want to leave this place without any sort of clue.
"Kay! Move down four doors, and it would be the one on your right!"
"What would be the one on my right?" They all looked like the same type of door on the right side, although on the left, they looked slightly different. I'm not sure what it was that made them different, but there was definitely something.
"Her first important memory! That's why I'm this age, because I had to start protecting her memories when she was this much!" She said, now holding up her four fingers again to symbolize age. How can she know about so many other things like the layout of the mind, but not know how to count? It just didn't make sense.
Sighing, I walked up to the designated spot that Himeko had picked out, and was about to push it open, seeing there was no knob, and just when my hand had touched the cold surface, "WAIT!" The little girl right next to my ear squealed, sounding like she was afraid of something.
"I forget to tell you!"
"Forgot to tell me what? Is there some kind of dragon behind each door I need to defeat or something?" I yelled back at her a little irritated now, mainly because she was really slowing me down, I mean, was she purposely trying to stall me?
"Huh? I'm still afraid of dragons..." She said quietly, and I barely made out the small whimper on her face, like I had really upset her or something, but she made sure that look on her didn't last long. "No! I was going to ask you if you remember that black room!"
"You mean the one we were just inside a couple minutes ago? Yeah, I remember it."
"Wellll..." She started to say, slightly dragging out her words, "That room represents what she is presently thinking about, and when she is asleep, it's black like that, but when she has a dream, you see her dream!" Himeko declared matter-of-factly. At least she had cleared up my earlier question, but now left me with new ones. Somehow, this little girl reminded me of Shizuku, except she was louder, and not as mysterious.
"But what does that have to do with anything right now?" I asked her, and she just shrugged in response.
"I just wanted you to know that any memories we open will result in Her to have dreams about them."
I sighed once again, seeing that she was just bringing up details that I had no interest in. So, Shizuku gets reminded about a couple childhood memories, so what? I don't see what the fuss might be about. I extended my left arm while using my right arm to keep Himeko in place on my shoulder, and pushed on the door.
But it wouldn't budge. I used more effort to get it open, but it still remained shut. Getting frustrated, I was about to just kick it down until I heard an all familiar giggling in my right ear.
"Aww, Mr. Phantom isn't strong enough to open the door? Maybe I could help!" Himeko offered, making me even more irritable, but I started to take her off my shoulder to put her on the ground. Let's just see if she can open it, if I'm not strong enough, there's no way this little pipsqueak is.
"WAAAHHH!" She cried when I was holding her mid-air, just what was her problem? She wanted to help, why the hell is she screaming? "You said you would carry me! Don't put me on the floor! You promised!" She started to wail, and small tears were starting to form in her eyes, and she was already whimpering again. So I put her back on my shoulder just to get her to shut up, because she was starting to give me a major headache!
"Well, how are you going to open the door now?" I asked her, since she had immediately settled down once she was back on my shoulder. Like I said before, strange kid.
"Just lean in so I can reach!" She instructed me, and reluctantly, I did as she asked. And as soon as she touched the door, it swung open with ease. For a moment, I was dumbfounded, and a bit annoyed that she could open it so easily. It's probably just because she's the so-called guardian of here, so of course she would be able to open the doors so easily. I rationalized with myself, before going ahead into what I would assume would be one of Shizuku's early memories.
When we walked through the door, we were somewhere that oddly resembled some sort of yard, and I could barely make out two small figures. One was wearing a black dress, and the other was wearing some sort of semi-formal suit. Getting closer to the two of them, I realized that they were both young kids with blonde hair, and they were both staring at some sort of rock in front of them, and the small girl in the dress was holding onto the young boy's arm.
This sort of eerie feeling clung to me, like something terrible had happened, or had already happened, but whatever it was, I could tell it wasn't good.
"See? Important memory!" I heard Himeko whisper, and for a second before that I had forgotten that she was actually here with me. As I walked closer than before, I finally realized what that rock that I saw before truly was, and noticed something important about the girl's appearance.
I took Himeko off of my shoulder, which at first caused her to start crying and screaming again, but I didn't really care at the moment. What I did care about was why she looked exactly like the little girl in this memory. Same blonde hair in high but small pigtails, same blue eyes, both wearing some sort of dress. (Although Himeko's was more frilly and pink than the other's simple and black one.)
"Hey Seiji..." I heard the little girl say to the boy in a hushed tone, and when she started talking, Himeko shut up and started to listen as well. Just to make sure she kept quiet, I put her on my left shoulder this time, because the other one was slightly tired from her previous weight on it.
"Yeah, Himeko?" The boy said to the girl, now prying his eyes off of the tombstone he was previously looking at. Wait, did he just call her...
"I'm not going to see Mommy again, am I?" The small and disappointed girl asked, and I was starting to feel a sharp sting of guilt strike into me for some odd reason. But I was barely following what had been happening, I mean, these were suppose to be Shizuku's memories, right?
"Don't worry, I'll take care of you, trust me, you'll never be alone!" The one I assumed to be called Seiji said, trying to fill the girl with false enthusiasm, and putting on a fake smile. Seiji... Where have I heard that name before? I know it sounds familiar to me somehow. Did Shizuku ever mention a Seiji?
"Come on, let's get out of here." The Himeko on my shoulder said, and I quickly nodded in agreement. Being around all this depression was really starting to get to me, and I didn't really like the feeling.
As we walked out of the room of the past memory, I decided it was time for Himeko to set things straight. Why was she in that memory? Is this even Shizuku's mind? Because it doesn't seem like these memories belong to her!
"Now listen Himeko, why was that you in that memory? I thought that these memories belong to Shizuku..."
"They do! But I told you, She doesn't like being labeled by names, but back in the memories in which you wish to see, ones before she moved to Azumano, Her name was 'Himeko'. And I am a younger version of Her."
"But why are you the guardian of her memories?"
"Because! When She was this much..." Himeko started and was about to hold up her fingers again.
"Yeah, yeah, when she was four, I get it, can you just get on with it?" I snapped at her, and she just nodded, and was slightly more depressed than before.
"Okay, well, when she was... four, that event that you just saw changed her life, and made her very upset. So at that time, she needed a conscience to help her, so I appeared." Himeko started to explain, and she immediately perked up, and gave me one of her biggest smiles.
"She was like me before that event, but now she is different. Now she uses a different conscious than me, because she out grew me."
"But, how can you out grow a conscious ? And how are you even physical?" This crazy place was making even less sense to me by the minute, and god damn it was annoying to try and get answers out of this girl, who ever she is. It's like a never ending cycle with her, answer one question, and it would just lead to another one.
She was silent for a moment, and positioned herself so that she was looking me in the eyes. But suddenly, that expression of utter confusion came across her face, and she pouted and glared at me, as if she was mad about something.
"How did you get purple hair and eyes?" She asked me, looking really upset, although I was just plain confused. Why does this kid just ask the most random questions imaginable, yet will barely answer mine? "Oh, wait! At an angle, they look just the tiniest bit yellow!" She said, shifting her position back and forth while looking at my eyes. What the hell is she talking about?
"Purple, yellow, purple, yellow, purple, yellow!" She started singing, moving back and forth into different positions on my shoulder.(1)
"Will you knock it off?" I snapped at her, finally losing what little patience I had left after being what seemed endless hours listening to her go on and on about absolutely meaningless things. Was there some other conscious that I could talk to in here? She had said that Shizuku had another one, right? So maybe the other one would be, no, the other conscious would ABSOLUTELY be far more helpful than little Himeko would be. The last thing that I need when I'm on a tight schedule is to babysit some random and annoying little girl. Besides, the other one would more than likely be much older, and I think I could tolerate with that.
"You know, the others don't talk much, and when they do, they usually aren't very nice." Himeko said, not sounding nearly as cheerful as before. And once again, it seemed like she had a strange ability to tell exactly what I was thinking. "They're like that voice inside your head that tells you bad things about yourself that aren't always true. Like, telling a girl she's ugly, or fat, but in reality, they are really beautiful." She started to explain.
"But then again, that's just Luminia who say the nasty things, Suki takes care of Her emotions."
"Is it possible for me to met them? And if you don't mind me asking, how did you all get these names if you are just part of Shizuku's conscious ?"
"Well, if you want to talk to the other girls, they would probably be in the dream room right now, so you could start walking that way." She said, pointing in the direction in which we had come from before, in that strange and eerie room. And reluctantly, I started to walk back like she had said. At least she was being helpful, although I don't really understand how any of this could be useful right now. Yet, maybe it would be possible that I could still accomplish what I came in here in the first place. Since I still had no idea if she even knew anything about her family's past.
I kept walking in the same direction, and only heard the heavy sound of my own footsteps I was walking back down the empty, brightly lit hallway. It had somehow seemed longer than it was before, but that could have just been my imagination. As we finally reached the end of the hallway, I stepped through, expecting to see the same black and slightly colorless room as before. (There had been a purple haze, so I guess that had counted as color.) But instead, the old room had appeared to be replaced by somewhere entirely different, which was just as brightly lit as the previous hallway.
"Oh! So those two were creating a dream!" Himeko cheered energetically, as I started to observe the current room, which was a sort of elaborate ball room, filled with people. Although the two that stood out the most to me were two girls that were leaning against a wall in the room. One was noticeably younger than the other people in the room, and the one standing next to her looked almost exactly like Shizuku, except for one small difference...
"Luminia! Suki! Over here!" Himeko yelled to them from on top of my shoulder, slightly damaging my ear, but obviously catching the two girls attention, seeing that they both turned their heads in our direction, and started to walk towards us as well. The younger girl was in front of the somewhat Shizuku look alike with very short hair, and wasn't wearing her glasses. Although the younger one had hair that was slightly longer than the one behind her, and in my eyes, it looked like all three of these girls looked very similar to each other, although they were all obviously different ages.
"Hi Lulumi!" Himeko squealed, addressing the younger one, who had a nasty and intimidating look on her face. My best guess would be that she was about 13, and she was wearing a type of purple gothic top with black skinny jeans, and kept on looking at me with a deadly glare, but nodded in acknowledgement of Himeko calling her that name. I was guessing that this was the Luminia that was in charge of saying nasty things to Shizuku. And by default, the other one must have been Suki, who looked 18, the same age as Shizuku was now, and was acting very timid, mostly hiding behind Luminia.
"Well, who is this?" Luminia asked Himeko, obviously referring to me, and I could practically hear the venom dripping from every word that she said. I kinda wonder why she hates me so much, she barely knows me!
"T-That's Dark Mousy, he lives and resigns in the same body of Daisuke Niwa, one of Her best friends, he is half of the Black Wings, and a very shady character..." Suki said quietly to Luminia, and was looking at the ground, acting very nervous.
"Oh? That Phantom thief? It makes me wonder what he's doing in here, interrupting Her dream... You were probably the one that opened that horrid memory, didn't you? Do you know how much trouble we had to go through? We had to make a brand new dream to make sure that she would forget about it, you have some real nerve mister!" She started yelling at me, inching closer with her icy glare, and honestly, I was starting to feel a bit intimidated by this girl, and I was kind of surprised that not all the other people in the room were looking at her now, but instead, they just kept on dancing.
Getting a closer look at the other people in the room, which I was now starting to understand was Shizuku's dream, I noticed a couple familiar faces, and a head with spiky red hair.
"Are you even listening to me? Himeko! Get off that low life's shoulder this instant!" Luminia started shouting, and looked even more furious than before, but I just decided it would be best to ignore her rage, except Himeko instantly obeyed her, and hopped down from my shoulder and landed swiftly with both of her feet on the ground.
"So, you both made this dream?" I asked her, keeping calm, and put on my signature smirk, although my calm attitude seemed to annoy Luminia even more, if that was even possible.
"Yes, it was to keep Her happy, but now that I think about it, why are you here anyway?" She asked, folding her arms, I was a little surprised that she asked why I was here instead of how I was here, but she was probably curious about that too.
"I'm here to find out if Shizuku knows anything about her family's past, do any of you know the answer to that?" I asked, acting completely serious, which caused Luminia to look a little shocked at my sudden change of behavior, but she was still looking at me in a cruel way.
"Well, we only know what she knows, and I refuse to answer you, so... SUKI!" She yelled, calling the other, although she was only a foot away. The sound of the girl yelling made the girl Suki cringe, but stepped forward. She still looked really nervous, and was just staring at the ground, I could imagine that she was intimidated by Luminia, and in a way, this one reminded me a bit of what Shizuku was like when I had first met her.
Just as she was about to start to speak, I pulled her onto the dance floor with all the other people in the dream, which earned me a surprised look from her, and another nasty one from Luminia, not that it much mattered to me.
"It would be boring to just stand and talk, why not dance?" I explained to her, and she just gave me that "are your crazy?" look, but I started dancing with her anyway.
"So, you were interested in knowing how we received our names, and how we are materialized, yes?" Suki asked me, sounding just a bit indefinite, but still in that not cocky, but know it all way too, just like Shizuku. It was starting to get to me that all of these girls seemed like that they're possibly replicas of Shizuku at different ages, Suki being the closest to 18, although, in a way, she looked a bit older.
"Yes, that's right, because I've only been inside one other person's mind before, and not all of this happens in his head, I can tell you that."
"Well, every mind is different, and every soul is equally unique, and as for Her, we are here to protect the memories and thoughts of Her mind from invaders."
"Well, why the need for protection?" I asked rather cheerfully, because being able to comprehend this whole situation was a bit overwhelming, and didn't make much sense to me.
"Tell me, do you know anything about the human immune system?" She asked me, and was quickly able to read the slightly confused look on my face as a no. "Basically..." She started to explain, "Every time a new invader enters the body, the immune system creates these things called antibodies which help protect them if that specific invader returns."
"So, what does this have to do with why you are here?" I politely asked her. "Because frankly, I don't see much of a connection between the two." And as soon as I had said that, it caused her to slightly giggle.
"The connection being, that Her mind works the same way, after one invader enters, Her mind is prepared in case the same invader comes back, henceforth our half existence." I was about to ask her what she meant by half, but she had beaten me to the point. "And by half, I mean we are only materialized at certain times, and our existence is limited by what happens to her. So outside of her mind, we're not actually real."
"But doesn't all that mean that someone has invaded her mind before?" I asked, sounding a bit more serious than before, while Suki slowly nodded.
"Actually, it happened twice with the same invader." She said, slightly intriguing me, but mostly causing me to be quite curious. I wonder who would be able to do something like that? True, I was here now, but I wasn't exactly human... and even for me, this can turn out to be a troublesome task to complete just once. But twice? What would anyone else have to gain from traveling into her mind? I knew my own intentions, but I couldn't really imagine anyone else's.
"Do you know anything about this previous invader?" And she shook her head no, slightly disappointing me, but there wasn't really anything I could do about it.
"All we really know is that at the times the invader entered, She was four, and the second time She was thirteen. Henceforth our ages."
"But then, you look older than Shizuku does now, and your hair is shorter than hers..." I stated, although one may say that my statement was formed as a question.
"Well, aren't you a curious person." Suki said sarcastically, and pretended to roll her eyes. "If you must know, I appear to be eighteen, the same age She is now. I am like this with shortened hair because we were able to predict that the same invader might return, and at the time, She will look like this." She explained, although most of the explanations I've been getting recently were just adding more questions for me to ask.
"If you want to compare, She's just over there." Suki said, and pointed in the direction behind me. And sure enough, Shizuku was about ten feet away... How did I miss that? "She can't see us, so we can get as close as we want." I heard her say, and I also saw her walking toward Shizuku.
Just like all the other girls inside the dream, she was wearing a somewhat formal dress as well. And taking a closer look, I saw a bright smile across her face, and somehow, it seemed warmer than any other that other that I've seen from her before. As I started to get closer, I almost instantly froze on the spot at what I was seeing. Is she dancing with... Creepy?
"Wait, Suki... You're in charge of keeping control of Shizuku's emotions, right?" I asked her, which caused her to nod in response to my question. "Then can you tell me... Does... DOES SHIZUKU HAVE A CRUSH ON CREEPY?" I practically shouted out in hysteria and disbelief.
"I'm sorry, but who is 'Creepy'?" She quizzed me in confusion, and I found it a bit ironic for a second that she was asking the questions now.
"That kid, over there... The one with blue hair... Dancing with Shizuku in this weird dream thing..." I barely managed to say, still slightly in shock at the possibility that those two could like each other, or even that Shizuku would have the even slightest crush on him. She should be dreaming about dancing with ME! Okay, that sounded just a little weird, but still, why chose Creepy over me?
"Yes, I guess that you can call it a crush, but it certainly has awaken some new emotions in Her..." Suki said rather blandly, although I felt like it couldn't even be true, but chose to keep my cool. So, those two are like a secret couple huh? I sort of wonder what Krad would react to that... I thought briefly for a moment, but then quickly pushed it out of my head, because I knew that something like that wouldn't end well.
"I'm sorry to intrude..." Suki said to me, breaking me even more away from my previous idea. "But isn't Krad that other half of the Black Wings? I mean, that's the one that you're thinking about, correct?" Okay, now I was absolutely positive that these girls were able to read my mind, but wait. Did she just say Black Wings?
"How do you know about the Black Wings?" I asked her, because she had just reminded me about the reason why I had come in here in the first place.
"Well, because She knows about it as well... Actually, it was mainly what She had been thinking about Her first day in Azumano..." I knew it! She had been hiding something, so my guess was right! "Although... She has almost completely forgotten about the subject by this point, except the fact that She recently found that Satoshi is a Hikari... The fact surely shocked her."
"Can you also tell me if she knows anything about any family history that she might have?" I asked hopefully, because if Shizuku knew about the Black Wings, it would be almost definite that she would know something about the possibility that she might have magic. Suki started to stare off for a moment, as if deeply thinking of some distant memory or a slight detail, but quickly came back to face me.
"I see... You see Her as a possible threat you your tamer, and you want to see if she will be able to use magic to bring harm to either of you?" HOW DO THEY DO THAT? Are they purposely invading my thoughts? "Actually, yes. Yes we are, but only to see your true intentions, so you are not a threat." She said normally, and offered a small smile in return, although something about it seemed forced, although that could just be my opinion. But I kind of understood her concept, because it seemed like they were looking after the one they cared about. Even though these girls aren't actual beings, I could find it easy to relate to them.
"You see, a person's mind is more capable of knowledge than the person may actually become aware to, and is even able to tell the future," Suki started to explain, half making this whole speech sound like a huge bore-yourself-to-death science lecture. "...and the mind sometimes gives hints towards the future, which is occasionally shown to the person in their dreams. We also keep record of every event that has ever happened in Her life, from birth, and we will continue to collect these memories until her death... But, this isn't quite answering your question, is it?"
"No, no it is not." I said blandly, because I was starting to become fed up, although I refused to completely show it.
"All I will tell you that in her current state, She has less than any intention to harm anyone, well perhaps Her brother... But that's besides the point!" suki said gleefully, and I could see out of the corner of my eye that the other two consciouses started to walk towards we.
"Hey, punk rocker, thief, what ever you are..." Luminia started to say, "Isn't it time for you to get your sorry butt out of here?" She said in the most bitter voice I had ever heard, although she refused to make eye contact with me. I guess Shizuku wasn't the most social person when she was younger... I mean, she's not all that better now, but a whole lot damn nicer. "You better watch your thoughts buddy!" She then screamed at me. Oh right, they could do that here.
"I'll leave if you answer two questions, because I still have some time." I said specifically to Luminia, which, was partly true, although, if I hold off much longer, getting out of here will be a tight squeeze.
"Make. Me." She intimidated, staring daggers right into me, but I didn't think backing down to a girl that barely existed fitted my personality.
"Just remember, the sooner you answer, the sooner I can leave..." I said causally, my signature smirk on my face, because from the way that her expression changed slightly, I could tell that this seemed like an offer she could barely refuse. Why she hated my guts? Who could tell? But she obviously did, and made no sign to hide it.
"Fine!" She agreed, looking slightly like she was defeated, "But just for your information, I'm only answering your questions because I feel like it..." She spat out quickly.
"Whatever you want to say to save your pride." I told her, only just to make her more enraged. It didn't really matter if I had said it out loud, or thought it in my mind, so there wasn't really any shame in saying it. "First, what did Suki mean by Shizuku wanting to harm her brother... I though Shizuku didn't have any living relatives."
"Fool!" She quickly accused me, causing me to feel slightly confused. "You really don't know anything, but that should be expected... Anyway, yes, She does have a living relative, which is Her brother Seiji, although She is not very fond of him at times." There it was, that name again... Seiji. I know I had heard that name, when had Shizuku mentioned it?
"But wait..." I started to say, I knew that Seiji was a familiar name, but I didn't know from where.
"No waiting! Next question! The sooner you're out of here, the better."
"Fine!" I said, quite annoyed at her, and as I opened my mouth to ask my main question, the dream around us started to turn black, while silver sparks started to crackle in the darkness. What was happening?
"Great, you got me into a really bad mood... Meaning the dream is turning into a nightmare." Luminia said while slightly pouting with her still bitter expression plastered on her face. Since when wasn't in a bad mood? "The nightmare won't affect us, but it would probably turn into a problem with the stability of her emotions." Suki said, and then looked as if she started thinking deeply about something, like how she could fix things.
"What's the question?" Luminia asked, more demanding than before, as lightning shot across the darkened sky, and the scenery turned into a dark forest, the trees giving off an uneasy presence as they loomed over me. Was Luminia doing all of this?
"Does Shizuku have magic..." I blurted out, stating it more as a phrase than a question, but not that it seemed to matter. But that statement awarded me shocked looks from all three of the girls, but it didn't matter to me.
"What do you mean by that." Luminia confronted me, looking like she would rip my head off at any second, but she also looked as if something was paining her. A downpour started to fall, and lightning and thunder cracked overhead, and I saw some strange type of black and dark purplish haunted house in the distance, and the faint figure that resembled Shizuku entering the house. I half wondered what this nightmare was about. Although, that wasn't my business.
"Exactly what you heard. I need to know that one detail, and I'll leave, for good, I'll never be that invader that returns." I said, a confident look on my face, although, this nightmare was giving me the chills, and I bet I wasn't even seeing the worst of it.
"Don't worry, the worst that's happening is that two figments of her imagination are locking her in a room in that house with a blindfold on, except the blindfold would have a hole in it, just enough to see the two creatures lure her with their sweets and temptations of darkness." (2) Suki said blandly to me, as if this happened often. Now I really feel the urge to get out of this place as soon as possible.
"Back to the question..." Luminia said, slightly scowling at Suki this time, and honestly it felt kinda good she was doing it to someone besides me, although her gaze was quick to flicker back in my direction. "Because you have other places to be, I'll keep this short and sweet in a way that you could possibly understand." She said, acting like I was some complete idiot to her.
"She has no magical power or core base at the moment, and she can not obtain powers from her own soul alone. But it would be possible for Her to obtain powers from an outside source, although the powers would become unstable the more She would use them, the closer to insanity and a total meltdown She would come to." And then I felt something tugging at my leg, and I realized it was Himeko. I kind of forgot that she was even here.
"In short, She has no powers now, and if She somehow got some, that would be bad." She said, simplifying things for me, which caused me to grin once again at her childish expression.
"Now, get the hell out!" I heard an all familiar hatred dripping voice yell at me, before realizing that I had only about a single minute to get out of this place before I would actually be stuck here. And that would upset more people than just Luminia.
Quickly, I spread my own wings, seeing that Wiz couldn't have possibly have come here with me, seeing he was still somewhere out of Shizuku's mind. As hundreds of feathers exploded out of my back to form my wings, I noticed the lack of pain, and how it had barely hurt at all.
"Thanks." Was the last thing I said before flying out as fast as I could possibly soar, seconds ticking away toward my escape. Just a little further... I told myself as I shot out of that place with barely a millisecond to spare in the suspense, as I felt myself seem to reawaken in the body Daisuke and I shared, although I was in control, seeing how Dai was still sleeping, and I was in control of his body when I entered her mind.
I realized that my hand was still placed on her forehead, and was about to remove it, before something caught my eye. That must be some horrific nightmare... I thought to myself, before wiping the tears off of Shizuku's cheeks, and started to feel a sting of guilt come over me, since it was partly my fault that caused her to have the nightmare in the first place. And in the end, it was just to find out to find that she really was the nice girl that Dai had tried so hard to become friends with.
"I'm sorry..." I softly whispered into her ear. "For everything."
A/N: *grumble* Stupid glitches... *grumble* Erasing over a third of my chapter... Having to write it all over... Sorry it took so long, I would have been done a while ago but fanfiction had that log in glitch, so yeah. Satoshi will be in the next chapter! I promise! (I miss him too)
(1) This got me thinking, I mean, for those who have seen the manga covers, on some, Dark's eyes look kinda yellow... and it bothers me! 0.o
(2) I was listening to "Trick and Treat" a bunch while writing this, along with "Hot Cocoa" (Which is the procrastinating song)