23Yay! I love the way my story is headed!
"The doctor said that he'll need at least a day's bed rest. He hasn't seen anyone able to heal that fast from that degree of injuries before." Daisuke told Riku calmly as he softly closed the door to Satoshi's room.
"What are we going to do now? Wait?"
"I want you to wait here while I go look for him."
"But…!"
"I know he can handle himself, but he's not invincible. I have to find him before anything happens, but I don't want Hiwatari-kun to wake up alone. So stay with him okay?"
"Mm…" She nodded.
"By the way, when Hiwatari-kun gets up, makes sure he stays in bed. He needs the rest."
"Okay."
"I found out from one of the nurses that the only statue they have is in a shrine on the mountain. We'll beat Krad Riku-san."
"Be careful."
"I won't be long."
"Kay," she added as he smiled and turned away, but then suddenly grabbed onto his arm. "Daisuke-kun…" she began as she moved closer to his ear. "Don't you feel like someone's following us?"
"Maybe." Was all he said as he walked off with his bag slung over his shoulder.
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"What are they doing here? And why's Hiwatari-kun hurt?"
"I don't know Harada-san," he said whilst taking a sip from his drink. At a small café just across the street from the clinic – where they followed Daisuke, Riku and Satoshi into – the two curious individuals sat and waited. "It may have something to do with the recent art incidents. Daisuke may be helping Hiwatari-kun with the investigation."
"But that doesn't mean that he has to drag Riku along! And not tell me about it!"
"It could be a something they have to keep under wraps Harada-san…I mean police files aren't exactly public information…"
"Ah! Look!" Risa pointed towards the hospital entrance and there was Daisuke walking briskly to an unknown destination.
"Let's follow him…"
"Wait, where's Riku?"
"She's probably staying with Hiwatari-kun…"
"What should we do?"
"Would you be okay staying here and wait for Riku, while I follow Daisuke?"
"Are you going to be alright? What if you get lost?"
"Don't worry! There's no way I'd get lost!"
"If you say so…" Risa said under her breath as he started off.
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'I can't believe I'm lost…' Takeshi sat dejected against a tree and sighed. 'I don't get it…I was following him so carefully, then all of a sudden…' he took his camera out and used its zoom lens as binoculars and scanned through the woods. 'Where are you Daisuke?'
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"Uggh…"
"Hiwatari-kun?" Riku asked, leaning in from her chair.
"Harada…san…" Satoshi opened his eyes and slowly got used to the brightness of the hospital lights. "Where's Niwa…?"
"He went to look for Dark. He said he'd be back soon, so…" she drifted off, nervously playing with her fingers. "How are you feeling?"
"I'll be fine," he began as he sat up on the bed.
"The doctor said you have to stay in bed for a day."
"What? Krad is getting closer to the statue! We're wasting time here!" He started to get off the bed but got pushed back in.
"No! Daisuke-kun said to stay in bed; he'll take care of Krad okay?" Satoshi looked up at her stubborn face, showing clearly that she wouldn't take no for an answer. He smiled at her in defeat and lay back down.
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'Dark…where are you?' Daisuke climbed up a tree and as he reached the top, his eyes met a clear, vast view and it stretched to the edge of the island and to the top of the mountain. Suddenly he heard a loud boom near the peak of the mountain and he knew that was his destination. 'Hold on Dark, I'm coming.'
"What was that?" Not so far away, Takeshi jerked his head to the origin of the explosion and with the curiosity of a reporter, followed it.
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"Did you feel that?"
"What?"
Satoshi sat up on his bed as Riku watched him wide-eyed, fearing where this conversation was headed.
"There's no volcano, construction…anything on this island that could have caused that kind of explosion. Except for…"
"Wait! I know what you're thinking and no! We're not leaving!"
"Harada-san, what if that explosion meant that Dark was losing? If Krad gets this statue, who knows how strong he could become and whether any of us can stop him. So I'm asking you to decide with your instincts before something happens that we're going to deeply regret ignoring."
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"DARK!" Daisuke rushed to his side and stared scared at all the abuse he's taken.
"Daisuke…what are you doing here?" Coughing, Dark struggled to stand but only could with an arm around Daisuke's shoulder.
"Where's Krad?"
"He's up there somewhere, waiting for me. Did you come here alone?"
"Ahaha…"
"I guess now we're even." Dark smiled and chuckled a little but all that came out was blood, staining his palms.
"Wiz!"
"No Daisuke! He'll see you."
"But we have to get you out of here soon…" Daisuke looked around frantically, hoping for…something! He couldn't call for help, this was Dark! The famous phantom thief who would be arrested on sight…
Leaves rustled not too far away and it seemed that it was getting closer.
"Crap…why does it have to be so dense?" Takeshi mumbled as he made his way through the shrubs and stuff, coming closer to the exposed Daisuke.
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"Careful, you're still getting better." Riku cautioned as she supported him as they walked out of the hospital. "Ugh…Daisuke-kun is going to kill me…" Outside, Risa watched crouched behind a corner. 'The nerve! Why would she keep this from me? What if she got into trouble and none of us knew where she was?' she clenched her fists and growled at everything.
They turned a corner, "RISA?" Riku quickly covered her mouth as the twins mirrored each other's expressions. "What are you doing here!" Risa shook herself out of her dazed state of being caught and stood up.
"What do you mean 'what am I doing here?' what about you! What are you doing here!"
"I uh…"
"She came here to help me."
"But why didn't you tell me? Something could have happened to you!"
"She had to keep this confidential."
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"Saehara…" Daisuke ignored Dark's warnings and flew with Wiz and flew above the canopy and away from Takeshi. Though just as he feared, Krad was there waiting and without a moments hesitation, he threw a horde of feathers that exploded at contact. Carefully dodging all of them, Daisuke hid in the smoke and flew low between the trees and arrived at the peak of the mountain. He set Dark down in the shadows and inspected his surroundings.
"Dark…that's it…"
"Wha…t…?" slowly turning, his eyes met a shrine.
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They heard the blast from the woods. Risa stared at it in wonder where both Satoshi and Riku fought to not look but kept their focus on Risa. He stood up straight shakily, but was intent on doing so to enforce his point. "You need to leave, its dangerous for you to be here."
"What? Why? What are you getting Riku involved in?"
"Risa…please...what we're doing right now is really important. I'll be fine!"
"Like Hiwatari-kun? Tell me what you're doing! What have you been keeping from me Riku?"
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"What the hell was that…?" Takeshi came into a clearing where the trees and the ground were destroyed. You could clearly see that this was recent with the traces of fire still lingering in the bushes. "What's going on here?" Taking a couple of pictures, Takeshi forgot about his little hunt for Daisuke and headed back down, wanting to tell Risa about what he found.
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"We don't have time for this!" Satoshi interrupted, slightly annoyed. "We need to get going." Turning to Riku she nodded and brought his arm around her shoulders.
"I can't explain right now Risa…I wish I could, but it's too important and we're running out of time."
"But…"
"Go home Harada-san." He said sternly, putting an end to Risa's begging. She was a little offended, but, in a way, she understood that she pushed too hard.
"HARADA-SAAAAAN!" Takeshi ran towards her and then bent down to catch his breath. "You…wouldn't…be…believe what I…found!"
"Takeshi!"
"Look!" From his pocket, he took out a pure white feather and she stared at it in awe. "It's a mess up there! There's this whole clearing that I think was blown apart! And all I could find was this feather, and you can tell that this isn't a normal feather."
"I've…seen this before…Riku!" But they were out of sight. "Dammit Riku!"
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"Daisuke-kun mentioned a shrine…he said that that's where the statue is."
"Then we have to hurry…" Satoshi flapped his wings harder and Riku held on as the wind blew through her hair.
"Are you strong enough for this? I mean…doesn't it hurt?"
"Don't worry about me…worry about Krad." He held her close and they soared above the town and towards the hilltop.
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"C'mon Dark…"
"Not so fast tamer!" Krad dived towards Daisuke and punched him away from Dark. Daisuke retaliated quickly and locked himself in a duel against Krad. "Why are you always in my way?" Daisuke hit him in the back with an energy ball which threw him to the ground. Sand and dust spread until it surrounded him too, even the beating of his wings couldn't clear it. Though suddenly, without warning, Krad appeared behind him and pushed him down to the ground, slamming his face against the hard, solid earth.
"You're fight is with me Krad!" Dark intervened.
"You? You're nothing compared to what I have become! What makes you think you have a chance against me, Phantom Thief Dark?" he mocked devilishly as he picked up Daisuke by the collar and was about to crush him by a tree trunk, when suddenly-
"KRAD!" Satoshi cradled Riku so that she wouldn't get hurt as he rammed into Krad. Momentum took place and it threw him against a tree, breaking it on impact. He set Riku down who, without a second's hesitation, ran to Daisuke's side.
Satoshi flew on top of Krad and his face distorted to express his ruthless anger for him. As Krad gained a few winks of consciousness, Satoshi began to continuously punch him in the face, getting stronger each time.
"Hiwatari-kun! Get a hold of yourself!" his eyes blinked a couple of times and he finally realised what he was doing. Stepping back and turning around, he saw Riku staring at him, half frightened. But what caught his attention was the shrine behind her where the statue resided.
"We're going to have to seal it Satoshi." Dark began as he stood up. "We have to hurry before…" Dark's knee gave way but he caught hold of the thief before any damage was done.
"Let's go…but a little slowly, Krad doesn't look like he'll be…" he looked back at the wreckage Krad was buried in, but he wasn't there. "Shit!" He and Dark disregarded their pains and ran into the shrine and Riku and Daisuke followed. When they got in, there Krad was, halfway through the process of another victory. The statue, The Goddess of Valentine's spirit began to form as it was pulled out by the pendant, clearly suffering and fighting not to be taken.
"No!" Satoshi put everything he had left in his self, light energy surged through his arms and towards the palms of his hands where a large ball grew, and then he threw it at Krad, sending him crashing through the walls of the shrine and into the woods.
"Did he stop him?" Riku asked as she was holding onto Daisuke, shaking after seeing his overwhelming display of power and strength.
"I…think…so…" what made him so unsure was that the statue was cracked and darkened and, full of light and colours, like the lights of the aurora borealis, the spirit lay fallen. The brightness started to fade and reveal a form, solid and human. Her statue had portrayed her as beautiful and strong, yet she was caught in a position where she was so frail and helpless.
"Why has this happened?" No-one answered Riku, not meaning to be rude, just that neither of them knew what to say. Satoshi approached the body slowly and cautiously. Her deep violet hair cascaded all around her, the strands that fell over her parted lips moved back and forth, telling him that she was alive and breathing.
"What are we going to do Dark?" Daisuke whispered from behind. Satoshi took no notice of their little conversation; he was too captivated in the girl that lay in front of him. His next move caught them by surprise. The Hikari cradled her in his arms and stood to his full height.
"This is all that's left of 'The Goddess of Valentine'. Depending on how she is when she wakes up, we can tell how much power Krad got to take from her."
They all stood silent as they watched him hold her.
"We should head home." Dark simply stated.
Nyaahaa! I got it done! You likes my sudden comeback? Ha Ha! See you next time!
TBC
Next Chapter: Tension is rising between the twins, while everyone finds out about The Goddess of Valentine's past, which seems to be a bigger one than any of them expected.