"I know that you are the one who did it," Astral hissed without answering. "You killed that little girl, not me!"

Dark clicked his tongue in a "shame, shame" manner. "Oh, Light Side, you don't seem to understand," he sighed. "Your wish was my command. You hoped that I wouldn't cause trouble that day, so I didn't. However, you did." He grinned. "Now, don't keep me waiting. What are your next wishes?"

Astral thought about it. He knew that whatever he said next would affect the outcome. He had to think carefully and word his request carefully.

"You nor I will cause any trouble today or any other day," he stated.

"That it?" Dark shrugged. "As you wish, Light Side." Then, he left Astral alone.

That's it? Astral wondered. That's all I had to say? It seemed a bit too easy...

He sighed. At that moment, he didn't really care as long as Dark was gone.

~.~.~

Dark wandered back to the mirror. "No trouble today or any day, hmm?" He tried to find a loop hole around that request just like the last one. "Day...day..."

Then, he got it.

~.~.~

Yuma came to visit Astral since no one else would. He even brought along his sister Akari. He thought it would be good to get them to know each other.

"You sure he's safe?" Akari asked. "I've been hearing a lot of rumors about him."

"He's perfectly fine," Yuma laughed. "Once you meet him, you'll see!"

"If you say so." She still sounded dubious.

Yuma knocked on the door. Nothing happened for a while. Then, Astral poked his head out.

"Yes?" he called.

"Hey, Astral!" Yuma grinned. "I wanted to introduce you to my sister."

"Hi," Akari greeted cautiously. "I'm Akari, Yuma's sister. And you are...?"

"Astral. My name is Astral." He seemed more withdrawn than usual. "Come in, if you want."

Akari and Yuma walked in and took their first look around Astral's house.

"Everything looks old," Akari commented.

"Asi is my ancestor," Astral explained. "She was always interested in the ancient human objects. She liked collecting them." He looked warily at the wardrobe, half epecting Dark to come out.

"What's in there?" Yuma asked, pointing to the wardrobe. He noticed the way he was looking at it, as if it contailed a monster or something.

"Ah, nothing..."

"So, where are you from?" Akari asked to change the subject. "Clearly, you're not from around here."

"I honestly do not remember. I only know it is far." Unfortunately, the memories he got from uncovering the mirror didn't include taking a peek at where he actually came from.

"That must be sad," Yuma sighed. "It's a wonder you've never tried to go back. Life here must be tough."

Astral shook his head. "Before, it was not tough. The people were nice, and life was as simple as it could get. Then, all this happened..." He didn't bother mentioning the wardrobe or what it contained. "What I do not understand is why people would think me a murderer. They all know perfectly well that I would not kill a child!"

Yuma and Akari were taken aback. Before now, they had never caught wind of that. "A-a child!?" Yuma breathed. "A child was killed?"

Astral sighed, regretting ever mentioning that. "Yes. A child. To be more specific, Sanji's younger sister..."

"Ooh..." Akari knew that Yuma would want to ask more questions, but she felt it was best to leave now. "Yuma, let's go. It's obvious your friend doesn't want to mention anything more," she said before Yuma could blurt out anything painful.

Yuma sighed. "Okay, sis. Bye, Astral." Akari rushed him out of the house so that Astral could be in peace for a while.

"Goodbye," Astral called as they left.

He closed the door silently for the second time that day. Then, for the second time that day, he felt the all-too familiar presence of the reflection. Cold fingers brushed against his shoulder blade, sending shivers down his spine.

"Why didn't you tell them about me?" Dark sounded mockingly hurt.

Astral turned around quickly. His eyes narrowed. "Why do you insist on stalking up to me like that? It makes you seem like a creeper!"

Dark chuckled. "Oh, I'm sorry, Light Side," he purred. "I didn't know you found it disturbing." He giggled like a child. "Anyways, I came to tell you that your request is being fulfilled. Rest easy, now."

Somehow, it didn't sound very reassuring.

Dark grinned. "Night, night, Light Side," the reflection sang. "When you wake up, you'll find a lovely surprise!"

With just a flick of the wrist, Dark put Astral to sleep.

Dark chuckled. He picked Astral up and entered the wardrobe. He made his way to the mirror and dumped his reflection carelessly onto the ground.

"I hope you like your surprise, Light Side," he snickered with a sneer. "When you wake up, it'll be the first thing that comes to your ears." He chuckled.

Dark turned around and made his way to the wardrobe door. He exited, still laughing.

I'll be the one having the fun, not, he thought maliciously. Dark sat down, leaning against the door to prevent Astral from escaping should he come to. He grinned. It will be far more grand than your fun, Light Side. All you did was kill your best friend's sister. I'll definitely outmatch you!

It was boring, waiting for night to fall. As the reflection expected, Astral didn't wake up during the waiting period. Still, he barricaded the door with a spell just in case. As soon as the moon rose up to its apex point, he went out.

~.~.~

Knocking. Insistant screams and shouts calling his name. This is what Astral woke up to the following morning. His head was hurting, as if someone had hit it with a brick. He sat up with a groan. The screaming and shouting wasn't helping with his headache.

Astral sighed and got out of bed. The knocking had turned into pounding, as if they were pounding on the ancient door with sledge hammers.

As soon as he opened the door, he was bombarded with the complaints, shouts, and accusations of the townspeople. It was too much to bear all at once, and he shut the door almost immediately after he opened it.

"Wh-what happened...?" Astral mumbled in fear.

The wardrobe door opened. Dark stepped out with a huge grin on his face. When he saw the terror in Astral's eyes and expression, he chuckled.

"I see I've ruffled their feathers," he laughed. "I can hear their blood thirsy cried." He chuckled darkly.

Astral was so surprised by the voice, he jumped. He looked around for the source of the sound, and his eyes settled on Dark.

"You look terrified, Light Side." The reflection grinned. "It's like you've seen a ghost!"

His eyes narrowed. His fear was replaced with anger.

"What's wrong?" Dark giggled.

"Did you do this?" Astral demanded.

Dark laugehd out loud. "Guilty as charged!" he laughed. "This time, it was all me, Light Side!"

Astral was taken aback. He didn't expect Dark to admit it this time. What he expected was that the reflection would deny it again.

"Did you do it last time as well?" he snarled.

Dark put his hands up innocently. "Sorry, Light Side. That was all you." He smirked. "I was really hoping that you would come to your senses and realize this. I'm just like you, Light Side. I only say the truth based on my experiences, and from my experience, I rested in the wardrobe while you had your fun. What do you have?" He smirked in triumph.

Astral hesitated. He didn't even have any memories of what happened. How am I supposed to retaliate when I have nothing to offer...?

"Nothing to say, Light Side?" Dark grinned. He floated to the door and placed his hand on the knob. "Face the crowd for what you've done, Light Side." He opened the door, and the angry mob surged forward.

~.~.~

Astral awoke with a start. He sat up and looked around at his surroundings, breathing heavily. At first, he couldn't tell where he was because it was so dark. However, as soon as his eyes settled on the mirror, he instantly knew where he was. The wardrobe. Those screams he heard in his dream were the same thing he was hearing now. However, they were of pain, not anger. He looked into the mirror.

The scene that the mirror was playing was horrifying. Astral couldn't tear his gaze away.

It was night. Dark was out there. He was killing ruthlessly. It wasn't just one person, not two, but almost the entire population.