Chapter 3 – Shopping Spree with a Dash of the Past

Ok then, enjoy. :)

Today, Daisuke had the day off from school since it was a Staff Development Day.

Tsukiko walked into the kitchen with sleep still in her eyes.

"Good morning Tsukiko." Emiko chirped as she ignored her food for a bit.

"Ah, good morning Mrs. Niwa." replied Tsukiko.

"Please, call me Emiko."

Tsukiko blinked a few times. "Yes, of course."

"Go grab a bite to eat. Then I'm going to send you shopping with Daisuke." Emiko said as he took a bite of her sandwich.

At that moment, Daisuke had walked into the kitchen. "Mom~." he said in a whiny tone. "Why do I have to?"

"Because everyone else is busy Dai-chan. You can take Riku along; she can help Tsukiko."

"OK fine." Daisuke said sitting down, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Riku." Tsukiko said to the teen with brown hair.

Riku nodded, her arm locked in Daisuke's. "Nice to meet you too Tsukiko. So what store you want to start at?"

Tsukiko looked around. She had never been to this mall before, or any mall for that matter. "Um, how about over there?" she asked as her finger pointed in that direction.

"Ok!" replied Riku before the two girls ran off, making Daisuke chase after them.

"Oh! This is so cuuute!" squealed Riku. "Here, try this on. It'll look good on you."

Tsukiko was wearing a white tank-top, black pants, a brown belt, a black casket hat, black open-toed shoes with some heels, and a black choker. She approached Riku. "You want me to try on...that?" she asked while pointing at it.

Riku nodded shyly. Tsukiko smiled and took the outfit before heading off to the dressing room.

"Thanks again Riku." Tsukiko thanked Riku.

"Of course. That was fun, tell me when you want to go shopping again!" Riku replied as she got on her bike and left.

"And a big thanks to you too Daisuke. Even though your mom said so, you didn't have to come."

"I don't mind. And besides, you had good time. … Do you want me to carry some of those bags?"

"No, I'm fine."

The two walked in comfortable silence before Daisuke decided to ask a question that was bothering him.

"Hey Tsukiko."

"Hm?"

"Who's this 'Koku Yoku'? You said I had his wings, but I don't know what you mean by that."

Tsukiko stared at him before giggling. "Silly, you should know him."

"Huh?" Daisuke asked confused.

"Let's see...what was that man's name again?" she asked sarcastically. "The one who you transformed into...hm..." she said, faking her confusion.

"Wait a minute. You mean Dark?" replied Daisuke.

"Bingo!" she chirped in a cute accent. "I can imagine Dark's wings on you sometimes." she said again with a smile.

"Ah, so that's what you meant! Anyway, how do you know Dark?"

Tsukiko froze and started thinking for a while. She didn't know how to answer his question.

"...Figure it out yourself. You're a smart kid Daisuke." she said before walking.

"Do I get a hint?"

"Mmmm...what would be a good hint..." she pondered to herself.

Daisuke waited for her response. After quite some time, she spoke again.

"Ok, here's a hint. Compared to human years, I am much younger than Dark." she said with a smirk.

"Hey! That's not a very good hint!" Daisuke said, somewhat pout like.

Tsukiko laughed. "Ha! I'll tell you another hint some other day. Now let's go on home."

Daisuke nodded before following Tsukiko.

Daisuke flopped onto the soft fluffy bed. He yawned before turning on sleep on his side.

"..er!" a young girl's voice chirped.

What did she say? I couldn't hear it...

"Hey Tsukiko!" the man replied as he ruffled the girl's hair.

"Ne, ne, let's do something!" the girl said. "It's boring here. You're always gone stealing stuff."

The man chuckled. "Sorry about that. I promise I'll take you someplace fun tonight alright?"

Wait a minute, did that girl say he's always stealing? Darn it, if only I could see their faces clearer.

"...er..."

Crap, I was thinking so hard that I forgot to listen to what she was saying! What are they talking about...

"I told you before, you can't call me that. It doesn't matter if we're in public or...in our house. You have to call...me either D... or... ku-yo..."

The voice of the man got so distorted. I can't understand him anymore.

Daisuke's eyes snapped open. He looked at the clock next to his bed. "2 o'clock." he murmured as he turned around. "Was that some dream?" he asked confused before drifting back to sleep.

Tsukiko stood quietly in the doorway of Daisuke's bedroom. It was so dark, he didn't realize she had been there the whole time.

"Maybe that will help you Daisuke." she whispered quietly. She was panting, and obviously exhausted. But from what? "Transferring memories to you wears me out Daisuke. Remember your 'dream', the precious memories I showed you. Cling to them, comprehend them, and put the pieces of the puzzle together." Tsukiko clutched her shirt. "Hurry, before the hourglass within runs out."

And there's chapter 3.

Ok, sorry if anything was confusing, especially the end. I'll try to clear things up in future chapters.

R&R. I love reviews. :3 If you have any comments about the story, or ideas for future chapters, etc., go ahead and leave me a review. :D

Oh, and the hourglass within thing. I created it (it popped into my head, but I didn't see it on the internet or whatever) and originally used it in a manga I'm working on, called Neko x Jin (roughly means cat x human) but uh...totally unrelated to fanfiction, so I'll shut up now. xD