~TOWICL~ Phantom Thief Returns

Chapter 17: First Sign of Trouble

Recap:

Daisuke faced his brother and continued his wordings, "I put my trust on you, brother. It's nearly midnight and it's getting dangerous for a vulnerable girl to be out. You should go to her. Take good care of her while I'm not around."

"You can count on me." The thief said confidently as he grabbed a cap and bolted out of the house.

------------------------------------------

Dark made it in time and found Riku still inside the bar. She was sitting on the counter with a couple of empty bottles. She seemed drunk.

Dark took his cap off and sneaked inside the bar. It was hard to get near her since the bar was full of teens. Besides, he was dressed like a staller. His clothes were composed of a pair tight fitting pants and a button down shirt tucked in, with sleeves rolled up just beneath the elbow and top buttons undone. His messily styled hair added to the looks of a perfect bad boy, which the girls loved.

The girls were blocking his path as they try to get him to join them drinking. He tried shoving them away with few nicely chosen words, which was totally the opposite of his playboy nature. The girls found him cold.

As he continue to make his way towards her, a sharp reflection of light caught his attention. She faced towards the direction of the light, only to find a not-so-short man lifting his glasses. Dark glinted his eyes, trying to recognize the mysterious man.

The man looked suspicious. He was in his early 30s and was dressed like an untidy businessman. He's definitely not Satoshi and he's definitely not the bar owner. He was the only adult in the bar besides the bartender by the counter. His deadly glare on Riku made Dark feel the need to rush to her, but Dark felt reluctant somehow.

First, Riku believed that he was dead, and second, a young man sat next to her. That young man had orange hair and appeared to be at the same age as him. He's wearing button down shirt with a lighter color and top buttons undone, and a very tight fitting pants. He sat on a stool next to her and leaned an arm on the counter, with his hand supporting his chin. He look so dreamy, extremely attractive, but Riku couldn't notice him as her full attention is focused on her wine. Dark stopped on his track and watched the two of them from afar as he observed the man glaring at Riku.

The young teenager next to her was getting impatient as she continued ignoring him. He spoke up in a very charming way, "Looks like you're a newbie. What has brought you here?"

Riku shot him a glare as she felt one of his arm snake around her waist. She shot back, "It's none of your business, JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Don't be so cold, dear. We all go here to have fun." He said that as his arm started venturing slowly from her waist and upwards.

He kept his intimidating stare on her eyes, as if trying to hypnotize her. Even if Riku is drunk, her mind was still half conscious and she wouldn't let herself be molested. As his hand reached beneath her breast, she shove it off and glared deadly at him. He was taken aback by her resistance, but flashed her one of his smirks.

"Why do you resist? Isn't that why you came here... To forget him?" again, he tried to charm her with his voice.

Her face fell as she remembered what happened earlier that day. Her blood boiled as he cupped her chin and she answered back, "You don't know anything about me!"

"That's true, as that's why I'm taking you with me."

"I'm not a whore that you can just drag along for your own good. I'm someone who you should be afraid of!"

"Afraid of?" he laughed. "You're drunk, and no one is here to protect you."

"I can prove you wrong!"

"Then do it!" he shot her a glare as this hand motioned from cupping her chin to painfully gripping her face. "Or else... " His gaze travel from her lips, downwards, and back to her eyes.

She made muffed sounds as he forced himself on her. She regret staying at the bar at night. As she struggled more, she captured Dark's full attention and he rushed towards her. He shouted, "LET HER GO!"

The young teenager spun and loosened his grip on her. The music was loud, but the orange head has keen sense of hearing. He faced direction of the voice he barely heard and found a purple haired teen, same as his age, with a furious expression on his face.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to get on with your girlfriend," He said in a very sarcastic tone.

Upon the sudden appearance of her savior, Riku gained courage and strength to fight the orange head. As fast as a lightning, she kicked him in his most sensitive place and shoved him to her side. The youngster winced in pain as he failed to pull Riku back.

Riku ran to her savior, and threw her arms around his neck. She cried on his neck, "I'm glad you came!"

He hugged her back, but he didn't take his glare off the youngster.

Somehow, she didn't recognize him. I was expected, she's drunk after all. This guy she's hugging seemed so familiar to her, as if he was somehow very close to her who disappeared and came back. Her mind doesn't process well that time and all she could take in was his angelic features. She felt too much attracted to him, not knowing that she used to despise him before. Dark was surprised by her actions, but that didn't let his attention be diverted. What Riku did next caught him totally off guard.

Riku grabbed Dark's collar, and pulled him down for a passionate kiss. His eyes widened as he felt her lips met his. It was Riku who voluntarily kissed him, something the Riku he knew would never do. The kiss was warm, inviting, and full of desires – a kiss where anyone can get lost into. Even if he was shocked with her actions, he cleared his mind and paid attention to their surroundings. They were kissing inside the bar, and Riku was far beyond her limits. It should end before he gets carried away too.

Dark's eyes scanned their surroundings. Seems like no one cares about couples kissing around, it was like that kind of events are normal to them. The orange head had his gaze dropped on the floor in defeat as he clutched his most painful part. And the man in glasses glared more deadly on Riku and Dark as well.

Although he knew that he would regret it at some point, he placed both of his hands on Riku's shoulders and pushed her away, parting their kiss. He felt the urge to leave the place immediately, and dragged Riku along with him for her safety. He lifted his hand and cupped her chin so that she could connect gazes with him, and he spoke up in a low and quiet voice, "We should leave immediately."

Riku nodded, still feeling the lightheaded due to the liquor. She followed Dark as he dragged her along, making their way out of the crowd.

The suspicious man in glasses made his way out of the dark corner of the club and approached the orange head. He placed his palm on his shoulder and said, "You've done well, Kai. I'll give you an extra credit for that." He patted his shoulder and left before he turned his back, missing the pained smile of Kai.

He chased after the couple which was already on the door way. As a sign of respect to him and his age, the crowd gave him way. But when the couple exited the bar, they moved twice faster, and the glassed man failed to go after them.

Dark pulled out one of his black feathers and chanted a sleeping on it. The feather glowed blue and Riku fell on his arms before the glow disappeared. He carried her in a bridal style, spread his wings, and took flight in the night sky.

As the couple ascend and disappear from sight, the glassed man stood outside the bar with his eyes glinted and an evil grin plastered on his face. He kept his chin lifted and his gaze focused on the black winged angel as he whispered to himself, "This is interesting... another obstacle."

ftrdrd