OSAD – Wings in the Night, Chapter 3

Words: 2385

Posted: 11:34PM (So late)

DNAngel is (c) Yukiru Sugisake

Nightowl and writing are (c) Moi

Chapter 3: When Mysterious Eyes Meet

Tonight At 9:00, I am coming to take “Radian’s Coral Pendant.”

-Dark

“So, how many of you are going to sneak out and see him?” a girl with long black hair asked.

All of the girls around her squealed in reply, all chatting about the news.

“Where’d you get the information, Tomi?” a few of them asked excitedly.

“My dad told me.  He always knows all of this stuff.”

“Tomi, you’re so lucky!”

She laughed and slid off of her desk.  She walked over to a boy with neck-length ruddy brown hair.  Two long and pale blue strands of hair hung down the front of his face, which wore a bored expression.  His gray eyes were staring at his desk.

“How about you, Rioto?” she asked, “Are you going to go and see Dark?”

“Why would I want to?” Rioto grunted, “What’s so great about some Phantom Thief?”

“Some Phantom Thief?  Dark is a legend!”

“Anyone can steal stuff…”

“Yeah, but Dark’s a pro!”

“Are you finished yet?”

Tomi giggled and shook her head at him.

“Somebody’s jealous.”

“I am not!”

“Yes you are!  Dark is amazing, and everybody wants to meet him.  Nobody can blame you for being a little jealous.”

Rioto grunted again and looked away.

“Well, I don’t want to meet him.”

“You’re such a party pooper, Rioto…Oooh, Daichii!”

The 14-year-old was ambushed before Tomi’s voice even reached his ears.

“What’s-“

“Dark is coming tonight!  Are you going to go and watch, Daichii?  Everyone else is…well, except for Rioto…so, are you going?”

“Well…um…”

“Are you?”

Daichii broke free of her grasp and shook his head nervously, small beads of swear pouring from his brow.

“I can’t go tonight,” he said, “I’m…gonna be a little busy tonight.”

Tomi released a crestfallen sigh.

“That’s too bad.  Maybe you’ll be able to go the next time he shows up.”

“Yeah…maybe…”

Daichii nodded to Rioto, who ignored him, and sat in the back of the room.  Nightowl was in the desk next to him, staring longingly out the window.

“Tomi ambush you again?” she asked.

Daichii nodded.

“Figures…the girl’s getting too good.”

She sighed and leaned back in her seat.

“Hey, did Rioto say anything?”

“No, not really.  Why?”

“Just wondering…so, what’s on the agenda for tonight, Niwa?”

Daichii looked around the classroom.  Everybody was engrossed into their own conversations.  Keeping a watchful eye on them all, he leaned over and whispered the upcoming events to his friend.  She nodded when he finished.

“I’ve heard about that treasure,” she whispered, “That thing has some pretty ancient powers.”

“Like what?”

“I think the Phantom Thief can describe them much better than I can.”

She leaned back and placed her feet up on the desk.  The thick blood-red boots she wore looked heavy, and they were untied.

“Are you nervous, Niwa?”

“Very…”

“Well, try not to worry too much.  I’ll be there for support if you get into too much trouble.”

“Thanks…hey, what is your real name, anyway?”

“I don’t feel that it’s too important…”

“Why not?”

“Because…”

Daichii sighed and placed his books on his desk.

“I don’t think I’ll ever understand you…”

“Good.  That’s just how I like it.”

- – -

“Ooh, you look so handsome!” Emiko squealed, “OK, you know the drill, right?”

“Of course,” a cocky voice confirmed.

A tall man stood in the center of the Niwas’ living room.  Emiko was making sure he looked perfect from his deep purple hair to his black clothing.

“You really haven’t changed, Grandma.”

“Don’t be a tease, Dark!”

Dark laughed as the older woman fumed.

“Relax, Emiko.”

Another laugh entered the room, this one owned by Daisuke.  He ran his hand through his red hair and smiled at his old friend.

“Well, well, well, little Daisuke’s grown up,” Dark commented, grinning.

“And you’re just as sharp as ever,” Daisuke returned, “Been a long time, hasn’t it?”

“Twenty-two years…the town’s barely changed, though, from what I’ve seen.”

“Yeah, it pretty much stays the same.”

“So…where is she?”

Daisuke laughed, then looked towards the kitchen door.

“Riku!” he called, “Come on and see him off!”

Dark smiled as Riku walked in.  She looked a little odd, and her stride was very slow.  She avoided eye contact with the Phantom Thief.

“Be careful, alright?” she ordered, finally looking up at him, “Daichii is still frightened, so please, try to avoid any close calls…”

“Not to worry, Riku, he’s in safe hands.”

“I’d beg to differ…”

“Who saved you and Risa countless times back then?”

“Who got us into trouble in the first place?”

“Oh, that’s easy.  Risa!”

Riku went to argue again, but she really couldn’t.  Risa had been the cause of a lot of trouble back then.  Instead of debating further, she simply sighed and looked helplessly at Daisuke.

“Come, now, you need to be punctual,” Emiko said, pushing Dark out the door, “You can’t keep your adoring fans waiting, now, can you?”

“Emiko, I have plenty of time…”

“You always say that, but then someday you will be wrong.”

“I’ll call you grandma again…”

“Dark!”

Emiko gave him a hard pinch on the arm, earning both a grunt and a laugh out of Dark.

“You’re so easy to tease,” he sighed, smiling tenderly at her, “Wiz!”

Emiko gave him a good-natured wink as a streak of white appeared on his shoulder.  The tiny creature licked the Phantom Thief’s cheek and smiled.

“Long time no see, Wiz.”

“Kyu!  Kyu!”

He started to walk out the door, giving Wiz a small tickle on the chin with his index finger.

“Don’t get home too late,” Riku said hurriedly, “Unlike you, Daichii can’t sleep all day.  He has a schedule to keep to.”

Dark looked back at her with a sly grin.

“Ease up, I’ll have him home in good time,” he assured her, “See you later.”

With a final glance, he tapped Wiz on top of the head.  His familiar obeyed and transformed into a familiar set of black wings.  They flapped rhythmically and carried the Phantom Thief up into the night sky and towards the museum.

“That was more awkward than it needed to be,” Daisuke said after Emiko left the room, “We talked about this, Riku…”

“I know,” Riku sighed, “But…well, he’s…him!”

“Riku, he’s still our son.  He’s Daichii’s other personality, but he’s still Daichii.”

“Exactly.  Do you know how weird it is to be the mother of the man who flirted with both you and your twin sister?  Do you know how awkward it is to be the mother of a man you once hated?”

“Riku…we just need to give it some adjustment time.  It’s just like what you told Daichii.  We all need to adjust.”

“Yeah…I know.”

“Give it some time.

Riku sighed and nodded.

“It’s easier for you, though…he never flirted with you.”

“Nope, he didn’t…he just lived inside of me and used my body to flirt with girls when Risa fell for him…nothing too awkward about that.”

“That better not have been sarcasm…”

Emiko sighed as she watched from the kitchen.

They’re still kids… she sighed.

She shook her head and left the room, leaving the two to bicker amongst themselves.

- – -

Looks like Commander Hiwatari and I still have some unfinished business to attend to, Dark thought.

The museum was just coming into view, and cops and reporters already infested the scene.  A lot of the kids from the school were also there, waiting for him to arrive.

He let out a small sigh as the cold night air whipped at his face.

“Something wrong?” Daichii asked.

“Not really…guess I’m just a bit tired.”

“Mom was pretty strict with you…”

“Yeah, well, she’s got her reasons…”

“What reasons?”

“Didn’t your dad tell you anything?”

“Not really…”

Dark rolled his eyes and sighed.

“I’ll explain as we go along…it’s too much to explain at once.”

“All’s I know is that dad used to transform into you, and some basic information…that’s it.”

“You have a very long way to go…”

“Yeah, I noticed…so…how are you gonna break through all of that?”

Even though Daichii wasn’t physically there at the moment, he could still see through Dark’s eyes.  They were fixated on the mob of people in front of the museum.  Dark simply laughed and shook his head.

“Just leave it to me, I’ve broken through much worse.  I have the advantage with my wings.”

“Alright…but be careful.”

“I sure will…”

“Dark…”

“I will!”

- – -

“I can’t believe this!” Tomi squealed, “Any minute now, Dark will be here!”

“You’ve been saying that for the past five minutes…” a girl with braided black hair sighed.

“Only ‘cause it’s true, Ritzu…”

Ritzu rolled her eyes and looked around at the crowd until she spotted a familiar face.

“Hey, Ayumi!”

She earned the attention of Daichii’s best friend.  The night prowler walked over to her, a pair of shades hiding her eyes.

“What is it?” she asked, folding her arms.

“What’s with the shades?” Tomi asked before Ritzu could reply, “How will you be able to see Dark with those on?”

“I can see fine.  Is that all?”

“I was just wondering why you were here,” Ritzu said, covering Tomi’s mouth, “You almost never go to anything involving a crowd of people, and you’ve never shown much interest in Dark.”

“You’re a weird girl…” Tomi added.

Nightowl glared at Tomi, then looked back at Ritzu.

“I’m here for the action, not Dark.  What does my interest in him really have to do with this?”

“Well…most of us came to see Dark.”

“Well, I didn’t.”

“I can see that…”

“Sorry, but I’m more interested in seeing some action, rather than doing the same old thing.  I can get decent eye candy at any old time.”

“Have it your way.”

Nightowl shrugged, then looked back at Tomi.

“And FYI, just because I’m different from you does not mean I’m weird.  Don’t be so shallow.”

She walked back to her own group of friends.

“Can you say burn?” Ritzu asked, looking back at Tomi and grinning.

“Oh shut up…”

“Well, she did have a point…”

“She’s so bland, though…

“There he is!”

Ritzu pointed to the sky, and about a hundred pairs of eyes followed.  A pair of black wings appeared.  Two violet eyes glistened in the moonlight, and a cocky grin crossed their owner’s face.

“How is THIS being careful?” Daichii screamed.

“It’s not like they can sprout wings and fly up after me,” Dark said, laughing, “We’ll be just fine.”

He flew to a dark and quiet corner outside of the museum.  He pried a window open and slipped through it.  He landed on a finely polished floor, and the sound of the impact echoed down the vacant halls.

They haven’t moved in yet, Dark thought, grinning, Great, that makes my job much easier.

Dark tapped Wiz’s head, and his familiar transformed back into his original shape and hid out of sight, waiting to be summoned again.  He began to walk down the hall, his hands in his pockets.

“See, Daichii,” he said, flipping his hair and grinning, “I’m a pro at this.  I told you that you had nothing to worry about.”

“You’re too cocky…”

“I have years of experience.  If you think those pansies have the skill to capture me, they’ve got another thing coming.”

The museum was dark.  The only light present was provided by the full moon.  It shone delicately through the windows.  Dark turned down another hallway instinctively.

“You see to already know where it is…”

“After being a Phantom Thief for so long, I’ve developed a knack for finding these things.  It comes with experience.”

“Is that why you never worry about being captured.”

“Well, I’ve been captured before…but I always escape, so I don’t worry.  After awhile, you won’t either.”

Daichii sighed.

“Yo, Dai…is your girl here tonight?”

“I hope not…”

“Rejection?”

“I haven’t even gotten up the guts to ask her out yet…”

“Bummer…you should ask her out.

“What if she says no?”

“What if she says yes?”

Daichii wanted to slap him.

“I’m too afraid that she’ll reject me…”
”Don’t you think it’d better to be rejected than to live life not knowing what could have been?”

“Okay, where did THAT come from?”

“A Phantom Thief doesn’t just steal things…”

“What do you mean by-“

“Score!”

Daichii was cut off.  His and Dark’s eyes met a soft red glow radiating from the end of the hall.  The light enticed the Phantom Thief, who grinned and ran toward it.

“Where’s that glow coming from?”

“That, Daichii, would be our target calling us.  It’s saying ‘Steal me!’”

“Very funny…”

“It is!”

The pendant glowed in its case, the intensity seeming to rise as Dark approached it.  He input the code on the keypad and lifted the glass.  His fingers locked around the tiny treasure, and its intensity rose even more in his grasp.

“Why’s it glowing like that, Dark?”

“This pendant holds many mysterious powers.  Even when not invoked, the pendant still glows more and more fiercely as those nearby become more and more powerful.”

“What happens when it glows too fiercely?”

“Destruction…”

Before Daichii could inquire further, he heard another set of footsteps approaching them.  His heart began to race.

“Dark!  Run!”

Before the Phantom Thief could react, something barreled into him and knocked him to the floor.  He landed hard against the wall.  Temporarily winded, he couldn’t resist when someone restrained his arms.  He felt someone’s torso on his back.

“Long time no see…Dark,” a man’s voice whispered over the sound of handcuffs, “You’re rusty after all this time, aren’t you?”

Dark broke out of his dazed state and broke free of the man’s grasp.  He pushed himself up, attempting to buck the man off of him.  However, a pair of hands grabbed his arms and held their owner’s body in place.  Frustrated, Dark forced his arm free and socked the man square in the jaw.  He rolled to the left when the man lost his grip on him.

Slightly out of breath, Dark pushed himself up and looked in the direction of his attacker.  He saw two pale blue eyes glaring at him, and a satisfied smile crossing the man’s face.

Dark grinned slyly and stood, crossing his arms.

“Long time no see…Satoshi…”