A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome back to Chapter IV of "True Light", the true sequel to 'Pure as the Snow'

Opening A/N: It's been a long time. Please enjoy this lovely chapter here as I extend back the hand to bring you into the world of the story of 'True Light' again...

The true sequel to 'Pure as the Snow'. If you haven't read that, my advice is to read it now, or else you're going to become very lost reading this.

True Light

Chapter V

Mika Seguchi knew a lot a secrets.

Because of the business her husband was in, she knew an awful lot about... well, everything. She knew about new bands and new releases, rigged competitions and even sometimes, although very rarely, some top secret governmental work that was disclosed to Touma on a strictly confidential basis. She was adept at finding out what was going on in his head at all times. But there were some things even Mika couldn't get out of her husband's head. Touma had built an invisible barrier around his mind to blockade even his wife from finding out anything about the trip to New York from all those years back. No matter how much Mika asked, or in the beginning, begged, Touma simply would not tell her. And she'd tried every tactic in the book. At the start, her curiosity for the secrets that Touma knew, her thirst for the knowledge, had often gotten the better of her. She'd searched his study high and low for clues. She'd scoured every nook and cranny of that office desk to find something to tell her what Touma wouldn't. But, in the end, she realised her efforts were wasted – Touma didn't want to tell her something, and he must have a good reason for it. She figured that, if it was that important, her husband would not keep a secret like that from her. And so, after a year or so, she'd given up asking and searching, and returned to normality. Touma would tell her in his own time, and what business was it of hers to pry? It could have been something traumatic that Touma had seen that had shaken him to the core, and in that case, it would be better to respect his privacy and just get on with life.

So, after a year, Mika Seguchi put down her flashlight on the kitchen table and gave up on the search into the mind of her husband, only to become a mother five years later. And by that point, she'd completely forgotten about the secrets her husband bore in his mind.

Another normal day was in full motion. Both Eiri and Shuichi ate breakfast together, having somewhat of a good conversation, before Shuichi looked at her wristwatch, realised her was late and bounded out of the door, racing at the speed of light to not be late to work, and somehow managing to give his lover a goodbye kiss on the cheek before he took off. Eiri watched in silence as this all took place, and as he rose to shut the front door that his speeding bullet of a lover had left open in his rush to not be late, he chuckled quietly to himself. Same old Shuichi. Maybe a few things about the pink haired vocalist had changed after the events of the summer before, but not many. He still had the same habits of brushing his teeth with strawberry pocky and singing loudly in the shower. He still giggled in his sleep, and when he had nightmares, he still gripped Eiri's hand tightly in his sleep. In fact, nothing noticeable had really changed about Shuichi since then. It was just... Shuichi gave off a different vibe those days. A somewhat more mature vibe. His actions, habits and tendencies hadn't changed in the slightest, but every now and then, especially when he was writing lyrics or singing to practice for an upcoming performance, Yuki could catch a glimpse of maturity springing to life on his face. It was hard to describe, but when participating in these activities, Shuichi's eyes just gained a look of total dedication and concentration to whatever he was doing. He had, of course, been slightly like this when Eiri met him, otherwise Eiri would have never been interested in him in the slightest, but now he could just see it clearer than ever. It was strange... but a good strange, if he could describe it in any way.

He cleared the plates from the table, strawberry syrup hanging off the edge of Shuichi's plate and a half-eaten pancake on his own. He emptied his own plate, run them both under the tap and placed them in the dishwasher, a unit which had only recently gained much use in the Uesugi household. Shuichi, who usually left his dishes and dirty glasses everywhere, had slowly but surely began putting things in the dishwasher, just to help keep the place tidy. Another change the vocalist had undergone since summer. And Eiri particularly liked this change. It was in fact, his favourite change Shuichi had undergone. He smiled to himself and wandered towards the window.

Summer spirits were high in the city of Tokyo, he could see, as citizens bustled around, laughing, basking in the glory of the sun's rays. The trees were draped in greenery, and the people below him were all smiling, some carrying picnic baskets, some skipping around, children out on the streets, having water pistol fights, pets out and about, racing around in the summer sun's warmth. It was such a nice sight, and it warmed Eiri to the core, if he did say so himself. But to admit that would mean he would look like a wimp, so he kept those thoughts hidden from the expression on his face. But he couldn't stop a small smile gracing his face. He'd been finding it harder and harder to stop himself smiling since that summer. It was as if Shuichi's infectious smile had stung his heart, making rainbows and glorious light flood all over it. He'd actually never felt so peaceful and happy in his lifetime. It was like being an innocent child again. And he had Shuichi to thank for that.

However, none of these feelings could sway him from thinking about his recent dreams.

His face hardened. He knew Touma was hiding something important from him, but he just didn't know what or why. But he was going to find out. And he knew just the person to seek out to dig it out of him.

His darling older sister. The lovely Mika Seguchi.

Touma Seguchi could feel it in his bones – a great secret was soon to be unearthed. He just knew it. He could feel it in the air.

He pulled out the desk draw and stared at the photo in it. The photo taken six years ago when he took Eiri to New York, with Yuki Kitazawa, himself and Eiri all standing underneath a large oak tree, in the middle of a park, a sixteen year old Eiri standing in between himself and Kitazawa, each with a hand on each of Eiri's shoulders, all smiling and laughing. The photo taken just a week before Kitazawa was killed. The week when Touma actually trusted that Yuki Kitazawa was actually a good person.

'Oh Eiri..,.' he thought to himself, 'if only you hadn't have gone there... if I'd been wiser... I'm so sorry Eiri... I always have been... because... this was all my fault. If I never took you to New York, you'd have never met Yuki Kitazawa and the darkness would never had arisen in your heart... I've put my hopes in Shindou – that he could spread the light back into your heart and free you from the darkness that was transferred to you on the night you killed Kitazawa... but now I'm not even sure he can save you. Because... the darkness hasn't given up. The darkness that once enveloped Yuki Kitazawa got transferred to you when you killed him... and while Shindou seems to have given you back the light in your heart... I don't think the darkness will ever give in. It wants you Eiri. It feeds off you. And when it gets to you again, the black snow will fall again... and the fear it creates it will feed off of... and grow even stronger ...'.

"Shuichi Shindou is here to see you Mr President, just as you asked," piped up the voice of a certain Mr Sakano, who had been quietly standing outside, hoping not to disturb the President while he was deep in thought. A fake smile spread across Touma's face.

"Yes, thank you. Send him in,"

A pink haired young man wandered in, for once a frown adorned his face. He had never liked Touma, and he knew Touma had never liked him. And every time Touma asked to speak to him, he knew only trouble could ensue.

"You called for me?" he asked. Touma nodded and pointed to the seat in front of his desk. Shuichi sat down, as instructed, and folded his legs. The smile left Touma's face, only to be replaced with a look of serious concern.

"I did. We need to talk about a very serious matter Mr Shindou. But you cannot speak a word of this to Eiri, do you understand?"

Shuichi nodded slowly.

"What is it?"

Touma leaned back in his leather office chair, and put his hands together, tapping finger on finger in thought.

"Well..."

"You think Touma is hiding something?"

Eiri looked across to his older sister, sitting on the opposite end of the café coffee table. He nodded, taking a sip of the cup of black coffee in front of him, and frowned.

"I've been having strange dreams Mika. And they're not any old dreams. They're about New York... more specifically, myself and Touma in New York. Something else happened while we were there Mika. I don't know what exactly... but something. You told me often after the incident that you suspected he was hiding something from everyone. I think that something has something to do with the events of last summer,"

Mika raised an eyebrow, sighed and tapped her fingernails on the table.

"Touma is entitled to his privacy," she replied. Her little brother's eyes hardened.

"Not when it might involve my life or my lover's, for that matter. I want to know,"

Mika paused in thought for a few moments, putting her hand to her mouth and biting her thumb nail, before nodding.

"I'll see what I can do,"

Eiri gave his sister a small, soft smile.

"Thank you,"

I know everything about everything. I am the darkness hidden deep in the hearts of the disturbed. I am everything, and yet, absolutely nothing. I am eternity. I am hidden in every nook and cranny of time and space. I exist.

And I want my greatest work back Touma. And I will have him. He belongs to me. He is mine now.

And not even that stupid, pathetic, idiotic puffball will stop me.

Closing A/N: I think it's been over a year since I last updated this story. So much has happened to me since then, but there just isn't enough space to write it all here. The other day I came across the folder with this story in it, and it just hit me – I left you all with an unfinished story. An adventure with no end. So, I got up today and devoted my time to writing this. Hopefully, I should finish this in the months to come. I have finished my GCSEs and am waiting on the results. So I plan to devote my time to completing this. I hope you enjoyed reading this. Please review and let me know what you think.

I've missed you all terribly. I hope this chapter makes up for all the time we've missed together.

- Hikari Konoshiro.