Disclaimer: Not mine.

Behind those eyes lies the truth and grief...
Behind those beautiful smiles I've seen tragedy...
The flawless skin hides the secrets within
Silent forces that secretly ignite your sins

~ Lucifer's Angel by The Rasmus

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"Towa-chan, are you okay?" Emiko helped the silver-haired girl to get up. "What happened? Did you see anything that scared you?"

Daisuke was worried sick. Had she seen anything bad happen to Riku? "Is Riku okay?"

"He knew."

Daisuke's mother cocked her head, frowning in confusion. "He knew?"

"Krad. He knew that I was watching him." Her voice was sombre. "He gave me such a cold glare." 'As if he hated me.'

Kosuke read her expression and smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry, Towa. If what Dark says about Krad is true, then he would have done the same to anyone who dared spy on him. It's nothing personal."

Daiki stroke his beard, pondering. "Yes, Kosuke is right. Towa-san, did you see anything else that might help us in finding out where Riku is?"

She massaged her temples, trying to remember anything past those icy golden eyes. "There was a bedroom, I'm sure of it. Krad was there, and I think I saw Riku-chan too."

Daisuke's dad asked. "Were there any windows?"

"Yes, there was one. I could see a city outside of it, but it was already quite dark, so it was impossible for me to see anything else apart from the lights. He created a magic field as soon as he realised he was being watched. " She turned to Daisuke, with guilt-filled emerald eyes. "I'm sorry."

The redhead smiled thoughtfully, even though concern never left his ruby eyes. "Don't worry, you did your best."

Kosuke wondered aloud. "At lest we know it's near a city, so they must be close by. Krad wouldn't go to the trouble of going to a different city." He frowned. "Daisuke, you said that Hiwatari-kun wouldn't do something like this. Is it possible that once he turns back, he'll let Riku go free?"

Dark crushed their hopes. 'Good luck with that, Hiwatari isn't the kind who'd take the chance of being found out just to let some girl go. I'm pretty sure he's going to keep Riku there as long as it benefits him.'

"Daisuke, what did Dark say?"

The spiky-haired boy shook his head. "He's being negative as usual. But I think it's a good idea. I believe Hiwatari-kun is above using a person in this way. I just hope Krad isn't making Riku suffer..." As he was speaking, he felt his body changing.

The purple-haired work of art smirked. "About time." Daisuke had been thinking of Riku so much that it was inevitable that the thief would come out. "Now, here's what I think: I don't believe that the blond maniac is going to let her go until either we find his hiding place or he finds us, and I'm also pretty sure that Hiwatari doesn't care, as long as he arrests me."

'Hiwatari-kun wouldn't do that!'

Dark snorted. 'You're so naive.' "And Daisuke agrees completely. So, I propose we take the initiative. Hiwatari won't want to cause suspicion, so he'll go to school tomorrow. We can have a little chat with him then, and if he doesn't cooperate, I'll follow him home."

Daiki stroke his beard. "That sounds like a reasonable plan."

"There's just one problem." Everyone turned to Kosuke. "Hiwatari-kun will be more alert than usual, so it will be hard for you to follow him without being noticed. We need someone else to do it."

"I can do it." The silver-haired girl put her hand up, volunteering. "I can turn into my bird form and see where he goes."

Emiko sounded worried. "Towa-chan, are you sure? Krad already tried to hurt Dai-chan, it can be dangerous."

The female work of art waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry, this is the least I can do, since I couldn't find where Riku is." She inched closer to Daisuke's mother. "Just promise me that you won't let Argentine touch any of my stuff. That boy has a knack to disassemble objects."

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"I hate you." Riku huffed the sentence for the one thousandth time that day. The blond had just beaten her again at playing cards. "How come you're so good at this?"

He shrugged. "Years of experience." His gold eyes looked at his bored hostage. She'd refused to help him, something he was already expecting. After all, she didn't know him, and he was sure his first impression wasn't the best it could have been. Actually, it was, since he refrained from killing her, but the silly girl obviously hadn't considered that possibility. So he decided to gain her trust. A simple card game seemed to be a good way to do that. They could talk, and he could find out more about her hatred of Dark and use it to his advantage. Usually, he'd simply use torture to get information, but using her against Dark out of her own free will would be a more fitting revenge. "You still haven't told me why you hate Mousy."

The short-haired girl blushed as the stolen kiss once again invaded her mind. "Do I need a reason?"

The angel smirked. He liked that answer. "Touché."

Not for the first time, Riku wondered what he was. He seemed about seventeen, the same age as Dark. But unlike the black-clad thief, he looked more demure, had a bit more class. Even though he had the appearance of an angel, and a rather beautiful one, she knew he wasn't one. No angel would kidnap an innocent girl and ask her to help him in taking revenge against someone else. At first she'd been afraid and suspicious, but after the first few hours, he didn't intimidate her as much. "Why do you hate him?"

His gloved hands abruptly stopped mixing the cards, and his eyes hardened, an indescribable emotion flickering across them. It had happened so long ago, and it shouldn't even matter anymore, but it did. He and Dark had been created as the opposite of each other, and by eliminating the other, one could finally be whole. But that wasn't the only reason. Dark had constantly humiliated him, defeated him, and... "He stole what was meant to be mine." The regretful undertone in his voice was completely overshadowed by the poisoned hatred.

This appealed to her curiosity. Dark usually stole works of art, what could he have stolen from this guy? "And what's that?"

"Something I wish to forget about." He had already managed to forget most of it. His brain was unable to recall the face and the name, but still he knew that Dark had stolen something very important, so important that decades later he still despised the wretched thief. Krad cleared his mind, in order to stop his thoughts from wandering aimlessly through useless 'what ifs'. After all, Satoshi could hear him, and the blue-haired boy didn't need to know his additional reasons to catch Dark. He handed her the deck. "Your turn to deal."

She did as he said, but didn't end the conversation, much to his displeasure. "You know, if you want to forget about it, you shouldn't try to seek revenge. It's contradicting."

"Life contradicts itself all the time."

"That doesn't mean you have to do it as well. Either choose to forget about it and move on, or be a bitter man and let it consume you. But you can't do both things."

"Why not? A man plays many parts in his lifetime." His whole life had been a long, exhausting play, where hundreds of characters had starred in, their status as protagonists and figurines blurring seamlessly into his tired mind, making no distinction between old and new Wing Masters. Of all the people he had known, some had disappeared, some were still around. Most were dead, caught by the unforgivable hand of time. He sighed, suddenly weary. "Life itself is an endless play, full of meaningless drivel, where everyone has their role to play."

Riku gazed at him, thinking about what he had just said. He seemed to be talking more to himself than to her. What was he? "What's your role then?"

He smirked and replied, an insane emptiness filling his eyes. "Ophelia's?"

_________________

Daisuke had to gather all of his willpower not to run and bombard Satoshi with questions. Dark kept telling him to keep his cool and not be brash. The red-haired boy took a deep breath as he opened the door to his classroom.

"Niwa-kun!"

"Ha-Harada-san?" Daisuke's eyes were as wide as physically possible, caught off-guard by the crying girl who was clinging onto him. "What's wrong?"

Risa sobbed. "Riku disappeared! She didn't come back from the museum last night and we have no idea where she is!"

Daisuke gently disentangled her from his person, and tried to calm her down. "Don't worry, I'm sure she's okay. The police are probably trying to find her right now."

"You really think so?"

It broke his heart to lie to her. 'I'm not really lying. The police must be looking for her.' He didn't have to answer, though.

"Absolutely, my dad's working on it right now! The older Harada twin will be back home in no time." Takeshi grinned proudly.

The long-haired girl dried her eyes. "Thank you, Saehara-kun and Niwa-kun. You're good friends."

Seeing Risa walk away, Takeshi exclaimed, excited. "Yo, Niwa, wanna come and investigate this case with me? I'm completely sure Phantom Thief Dark's the one behind it."

Daisuke sweat-dropped. "D-Dark? What makes you think that?"

"Last night, I was there outside the museum, trying to get some pictures, and the cops saw Dark coming out of the museum. And..." He took a picture out of his pocket. "...I have evidence that it's him. Look."

Daisuke looked at the photo. It was quite dark, but it was possible to see a winged silhouette carrying someone. He knew it was Krad, but anyone else who saw it would automatically blame Dark. "You can't see the person's face... It might be someone else."

Takeshi looked at him as if he was a complete idiot. "What? Who else has wings? Dark's the only one, and he was seen by the police, so it must be him!"

"I see..." Daisuke's attention was diverted to the door that had just opened, specifically to the person who had opened it. "Sorry, Saehara-kun, I have to talk to Hiwatari-kun." He waved a goodbye to his friend and walked up to Satoshi's desk. "Hiwatari-kun, can I have a word with you?"

The blue-eyed boy fought against the urge to sigh. He really didn't want ot have this conversation. His morning had started badly already thanks to the construction works near his apartment. 'Your plan is already giving me a headache, Krad.' "About?"

"Riku has been kidnapped."

"Oh. That's terrible. Does anyone have any leads?"

Daisuke hesitated. He and Satoshi had an unspoken agreement of not talking about their alter-egos at school. 'What should I say? Dark?'

'Just tell him that you saw Krad kidnapping her! We don't have time to waste!'

"Hiwatari-kun, I saw Kr..."

The young commander interrupted him. "Niwa, I assure you that I am trying my best to find and return Harada-san to her home."

"Th-Thank you."

'Daisuke, what the hell are you doing? You're letting him off that easily?'

'Dark, can't you see that he's on our side? He said he's trying his best, he's protecting Riku.'

The thief snorted. 'So we're going to let him go, just like that?'

'I never said that. The sooner Riku is safe, the better. Towa-san can follow him later.'

After school, Daisuke met Towa outside the school gates, careful not to be seen. "Towa-san, are you ready?"

The pretty girl grinned. "Yep!"

"Okay. As soon as you find where Hiwatari-kun lives, come back right away to my house and tell us. Don't do anything risky."

"Don't worry." A cloud of pinkish-purple smoke appeared around her, and a bird came out of it, flying above a certain blue-haired boy.

As Satoshi walked next to the construction works near his house, Krad felt something. 'Satoshi-sama, we're being followed.'

Satoshi looked behind him, and then around the area, discreetly. 'I don't see anyone...'

'I can feel it...' It was familiar. He remembered he'd felt this aura before...

"Ugh!" Satoshi clutched his stomach and tried to steady himself, feeling the beginnings of a transformation. 'Krad, what are you doing?! You can't come out now!' Krad didn't answer, and the pain just grew stronger, threatening to rip him apart. His right hand moved of its own accord, facing the sky. 'Krad, what are you doing?!' The floor disappeared, and everything went dark.

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A/N: Sorry for taking this long, I've been really busy finishing up my other stories . And sorry if I'm using the wrong honorifics, I haven't read the manga in a while and I've forgotten a bit... I hope you liked this chapter. Reviews are very appreciated :)