Alive!

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel or any of its Characters.

Just when you think you're never going to find another special person to share your feelings with, a new dawn emerges and wakes you from your long slumber.

He was ready to die; he didn't care about life or what it had to offer. His curse had torn all hope he ever had at being able to live a normal life, but he met someone who cared enough to save him. Thanks to this person, his best friend, his brother, he learned that he could live a full life and enjoy it while he had it.

After that day, when Niwa and Riku-san had shared their first kiss, Hiwatari had looked out over the sea occasionally glancing back at Risa-san, the younger Harada sister who returned his furtive glances with a soft smile. He felt truly happy at that moment. He had been freed from his family curse and had his life saved by Daisuke Niwa when he thought there wasn't a person in the world that cared if he was alive or dead. Daisuke opened his eyes to the truth; he had a future, and he could find love.

For that, Hiwatari was eternally grateful, and more still, he suspected love might come to him sooner than he imagined. As he met Risa's sincere gaze, he had to smile. It was a tender smile produced by the deep warmth inside his chest. He was alive. The thought was overwhelming him with happiness he didn't know he would ever feel. His eyes softened for the first time. He laughed. He laughed merrily for the first time since his very early childhood.

"I'm alive!" He heard himself cry out over the horizon as his voice echoed over the waters into the distance and faded away. He was truly alive for the first time.

"Hiwatari?" The boy felt himself being rocked from side to side gently, "Hey, wake up!"

The boy opened his surreal blue eyes to meet Daisuke's happy ruby ones.

"Hey! It's time to get up! We're almost late for-

The rest of his sentence was cut off as a pillow was flung at his face.

"I was having a really nice dream Daisuke. Did you have to wake me up?" The boy sighed as he sat up to a face full of pillow in turn.

"It's the last day of school. You know mom, she'll come after us with lord knows what if we don't hurry up and get ready."

Hiwatari didn't have to be told twice. He rose from the bed, stretched and got out his school uniform for the day.

"How long has it been since I've lived under the Niwa's roof?" He asked absentmindedly.

Daisuke pulled on his shirt before answering. "It's been two years since then. Can you believe that we're sixteen and in High School now?"

Hiwatari laughed. "Time really does fly, and you're still madly in love with Riku."

Daisuke blushed. "Well, yeah... But you have no teasing rights! You know as well as I do that you've got your heart set on Risa, and I think she likes you too."

Hiwatari sent Daisuke a playful glare and opened the door to head down to eat break fast.

"I'm going to beat you again this morning Daisuke." He said and jumped every second step as he descended.

"Hey!" Daisuke hurried up and pulled on his school pants to bound after his adoptive brother, so to speak.

"Oh my! It looks like Satoshi is in the lead again this morning!" Emiko said smiling as Hiwatari took his break fast to go and headed for the door.

"See you after school, Emiko."

The woman puffed out her chest and caught the boy by his shoulder before he could leave. "You're my son now, Satoshi. Feel free to call me mom."

Hiwatari smiled. "Yes mother." He turned the door knob and set off.

"AH! He's going to beat me again!" Daisuke came stumbling down the stairs and swiped up his breakfast to go and gave his mom a quick peck on the cheek before running out the door.

"You two better be back before dark! You hear?" She called after them.

"Hai!" They called back together.

"It was a tie!" Daisuke argued as he caught his breath. He let himself fall into his desk still glaring at Hiwatari who was also catching his breath.

"I set foot inside the class room a millisecond before you did Daisuke."

"Like you could tell!"

"Sheesh, you two at it again?" It was Saehara. "You two sure are competitive. Oh hey, Satoshi, do I have news for you!" With that, Saehara produced a deck of pictures from his pocket. "I got these shots of Risa Harada. Rumour has it that she likes you. And you can own these pictures of her at a great price! All I need is some lunch money!"

"Keep the pictures Saehara…" Satoshi said through clenched teeth, "But how much lunch money do you need?"

"Just the usual… I forgot to bring it again today."

Daisuke and Satoshi shared a glance and rolled their eyes at the same time. The blunette dug into his backpack and retrieved the amount of money necessary and handed it to his clumsy class mate.

"Thanks!" The reporter cheered and went to take his seat.

"Good morning Daisuke!"

"Riku! Good morning!" The red head stood from his seat and greeted Risa with a kiss on the cheek.

Risa Harada came trailing in behind her sister looking as content as ever. "Good morning Daisuke, good morning Satoshi-kun." She said with a bright smile.

"Good morning Harada-san." Daisuke said politely.

"Morning Miss Risa." Hiwatari said smoothly. Hiwatari had changed a lot since his curse had been lifted. He was a real lady killer, but he didn't like to chase skirts. He only had eyes for Risa, and his affection had grown over the last couple years. Risa had matured considerably and was as beautiful as ever.

Risa seemed intimidated by the idea of approaching Satoshi because he practically had a love confession a day from one girl or another at school. Plus, she'd become close friends with him, and she was still a little hesitant about letting him know that she really did have feelings for him.

Daisuke shook his head with a smile but said nothing. He didn't understand those two. They obviously liked each other, but neither was brave enough to take the first step. Riku knew it too, and they'd talked about it, but figured it best to leave it up to them to sort out. It was best not to meddle in such affairs.

"Oh hey, I just remembered," Riku said suddenly, "Tonight there will be a rock concert of local bands in the area in the center of the city. Would you like to come? It only costs about three dollars each to go."

"Sounds good to me! I'm so glad it's summer vacations after today!" Daisuke said leaning back in his seat.

"Daisuke, if you lean too far…" Satoshi said warningly.

Too late: Crash, boom, bang, Daisuke was on the ground.

Riku helped him up immediately. "Are you alright?"

Daisuke rubbed his head. "Yeah, I'm fine…" He chuckled embarrassed.

Hiwatari shook his head with a sigh. "Still clumsy…" He mumbled. But he loved that about Daisuke, plus, he knew better than to underestimate him. Daisuke was brave, kind hearted, intelligent and determined. He was the first person who had cared for him at all as a friend.

"Will you come to the concert too, Satoshi-kun?" Risa asked enthusiastically.

Satoshi blushed a little but covered it up with a bright smile. "It sounds like a good idea to me."

"Great!"

School was the same, except Hiwatari had to turn down around thirty love confessions. It had to do with the fact that it was the last day of school and the girls were desperate to try one last time. He had love letters pouring out of his locker in torrents. He could have sworn that if he got anymore he would have died buried alive in them. It was actually a bit unnerving. He could feel eyes on his back no matter where he went as he walked down the hallway to his next class. Thank God it was just about vacations. He didn't know how much more of the unnecessary attention he could take. Despite the two years passed, he still wasn't completely used to it.

Hiwatari sped up his pace to get to his next class but was stopped by a group of blushing girls.

Oh no…

"Hiwatari senpai!" One of the girls cried out. "I'm sorry, but I can't take no for an answer. Just one date!"

"I'm sorry, but-

"Never mind her; I'm one of your biggest fans senpai!"

"But I-

"It's just you're so handsome and intelligent!"

"Thank you, sincerely, but-

"Oh please! Please don't say no!"

Risa Harada turned the corner to find a flustered Hiwatari desperately trying to calm the offending group of girls away without hurting anyone's feelings. He was as stoic as ever on the outside, but Risa could tell he was on the verge of cracking; it Risa to the rescue.

The brunette rushed into the crowd and faced Satoshi head on with a piercing glare.

"What's this? I can't believe you Hiwatari! I thought we were official!" She lifted her hand and threatened to slap him but withheld and instead wrapped it around his wrist turning to glare at the group of love struck girls.

"There's nothing to see here! Satoshi is dating me." She put on the best angry face she could. "Isn't that right Satoshi?!" She demanded and winked at him urging him to play along.

Satoshi cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry; of course, I tried to tell them, but…"

The girls quickly apologized and slouched off disillusioned murmuring under their breaths. Risa continued to play and tugged Hiwatari around the corner. Once they were safely out of sight and earshot, she released his wrist and began to laugh. Hiwatari couldn't help but laugh with her. It was just too funny not to laugh.

"Thanks," the blunette sighed at last.

Risa giggled. "Don't sweat it. I don't know whether to envy you or pity you though. It must be hard to get so many confessions a day. You're probably traumatized."

Hiwatari grinned. "Admittedly, I still shudder at all the attention. I don't like it much, and sometimes I wish they'd simply stop. I feel like I'm being stalked half the time. When I was fourteen, I was the one doing the stalking." He laughed. Risa did too. They remembered the days when Hiwatari had Krad living inside of him and how he always seemed to mysteriously follow Daisuke around.
"What goes around comes around, I suppose." He said.

Suddenly, they both were quiet. Where were the stupid crickets when you needed them? The silence was a bit too awkward.

"I-

The two said in unison unexpectedly.

"Never mind." They said again.

Suddenly a loud ring echoed through the halls summoning all students into their next classes. Whew, saved by the bell.

"Well, we have the same class next, right Satoshi-kun? Let's go!" Risa turned and headed for the class room and Satoshi followed. A faint pink color spread over his cheeks, and if he could see Risa's face, he'd notice that she also was blushing.

The End Bell! Yes! It was music to all students' ears. Vacations were officially announced and all alumni made haste to leave. The screeching of chairs being pushed back over the ground echoed through the whole campus as cheers and excited conversation rose from everyone.

"Come on guys! Let's get outta here!" Riku cried happily taking Daisuke by the hand and running out of the classroom. Satoshi decided to wait for the rest of the crowd to disperse so he could leave the room without too much clamour. When the room was calm he stood to gather his things, but found that he wasn't alone. Risa stood there gathering her things too.

"I decided to wait for you. You had the right idea, too. I didn't feel like being shoved around just to get outside." She explained before he could ask.

Risa stood up with her mini backpack hanging off her shoulders and she offered her hand to him.

"Come on, I'm just as eager to get out of here as the rest of them!"

Satoshi stared at the offered hand hesitantly and then took it in his own. Risa smiled at him brightly and tugged him out the door.

"Summer vacations at last." The pair said together and rushed for the exit.

The four spent the day together until late afternoon and split ways to go home and get ready for the concert that evening.

Satoshi studied himself in the full length mirror in Daisuke's bathroom. He was wearing a black dress shirt that was unbuttoned and hung open over a red wine coloured shirt that fit his form nicely. With this, he wore simple yet comfortable blue jeans.

Daisuke peeked inside and came up behind him in the mirror. He was looking sharp in a black trench coat with a high rise neck and wore a red shirt and black jeans underneath.

"Wow, you look great Satoshi. I bet Risa will love it." Daisuke said honestly but still managed to earn himself a half hearted glare from the blue eyed boy.

"Thanks, you're a bit of a knock out yourself." He complimented.

Daisuke quirked a brow, "You think so?" He paused and looked himself over, "Well, I don't know, but thanks anyway Satoshi."

The boys took a look at their watches to make sure they were on time and headed out the door to meet the Harada twins waiting for them in their limousine. The trip to the center was relatively short and the group all thanked the Harada's driver for the ride. He promised to be back around ten o'clock to pick them up.

The plaza was set up with lights hanging across the way from balcony to balcony. The stage had been put up next to the fountain that Daisuke had to pass to get to the train station everyday, and was decorated with many different color lights, posters and advertisements about the bands that would be playing. There wasn't much space among the throng of people who had come to watch the show. There were impatient whistles resounding throughout the crowd beckoning the show to begin. There were cheers and shouts coming from adamant fans who were demanding that the show start immediately. Suddenly a tall and thin man with spiked orange hair jumped on stage wearing big sun glasses, a purposely torn black T-shirt and tight jeans with tears in the knees and pockets. The crowd broke into screams of excitement.

"Hello to everybody out here tonight!" He shouted into the microphone. The crowd greeted back with cheers and more screaming.

"Tonight we'll be opening with our well known locals, the Zests!" Here, more screaming ensued.

"Please welcome them with a HUGE round of applause!"

The crowd was now jumping up and down waving their fists in the air as the band members climbed onto the stage.

Satoshi looked over at Risa to see her with big excited eyes watching the band before her, and she cried out with the crowd as the bassist flicked his fingers over the electric chords tied over his instrument. Riku and Daisuke were also cheering. Satoshi joined in. Why not? Tonight was a night for fun, and he hadn't ever let himself just let loose and have a good time before. He formed a speaker around his mouth with his hands and shouted out with everyone else. Risa turned to look at him astounded by his sudden change in mood, and her face broke into a wide smile. She turned back to the front and resumed her cheers.

The band started to play and the crowd quieted. It started off slow and in deep tones that were hypnotizing to the senses, but soon broke into quick beats that forced even the listless off people to jump to it. It wasn't much of a tune to dance to, it was more just for waving fists and jumping around like mad with the occasional head-banging, but it was incredibly fun. Satoshi was having the time of his life. He really couldn't believe how easy it was to just let go of all his serious nature and throw caution to the winds. He just didn't care anymore.

Satoshi felt a hand wrap around his fist that he was pumping in the air to the beat and looked over to find a blushing Risa who was having just as much fun. She looked great in a black dress with plastic diamonds sewn in the middle of the chest in the form of a zipper down to her midriff and the rest was fabric that hung over casual blue jeans and she wore black leather boots that rose just below her knees. She wore glitter lip gloss and her hair was tied back in a pony tail with hair left hanging strategically on one side of her face. She looked stunning.

Satoshi opened his hand and intertwined his fingers with Risa's and continued jumping to the beat. He didn't mind at all. This was one of the best nights of his life, without a doubt.

In the middle of the concert, Satoshi was starting to get tired of constantly jumping up and down and his throat was becoming irritated from the constant yelling. His voice box wasn't use to that sort of abuse. It had never been employed for such rough work before in his life until then. He was relieved when Risa tugged on his hand, still entwined with hers, and pulled him out of the ecstatic crowd over to the bridge that lay far enough away from the concert that all they could hear was the echo of the music bouncing off the walls of the little concrete houses.

Risa sighed as she leaned on the railing looking up into the star-lit sky.

"Whew, I'm exhausted." She said a bit hoarse.

"That makes two of us." Satoshi whispered. His voice was basically gone.

Risa giggled. "You're not used to this, huh?"

Satoshi shook his head with a silent chuckle. He wouldn't be able to talk properly for a while.

Risa looked down at her hand still in Satoshi's and blushed.

"You know Satoshi; I've wanted to tell you for a long time that I have strong feelings for you. I really like you." She said looking into his eyes boldly. She never was very shy when it came to confessing.

Satoshi felt a blush overcome his pale features and berated himself mentally. Risa laughed.

"So, I was wondering if I could ask you on a few dates." She said without flinching.

Satoshi was speechless, literally. He tried to answer, but his voice was no where to be found. It was partially nerves, but his voice really was gone. He cursed in his mind and then grinned and motioned at his throat with his free hand and shook his head. He mouthed that he couldn't speak and Risa smiled back.

"Well, just nod if it's a yes." She suggested.

Satoshi nodded vigorously. Of course he wanted to go out with her! The he remembered something and put a finger up asking for a minute as he lifted his black dress shirt and produced a pink rose from the inside pocket. He handed it to Risa with a gentle smile on his lips. The girl met his sapphire eyes with her chocolate brown orbs and threw herself on him in a tight hug. She was careful not to crush the rose and pulled back just enough to take it from his free hand without looking away from his eyes.

The mood suddenly became sincere. The excitement vanished, replaced by serenity. Satoshi found that his heart was beating too fast in his chest. He was anxious and a little confused about how to handle the situation. Risa was pressed to his chest and looking up at him with dreamy eyes. Her line of vision would shift to his lips nervously and then back to his eyes again. Satoshi knew what was going to come next. He braced himself.

He had waited so long for this moment, and the setting was absolutely perfect. He cocked his head to the side and leaned down and in slowly and carefully. Risa closed her eyes and stood on her toes to breech the rest of the distance between them.

It was like fireworks went off the moment their lips touched. A flurry of colors burst forth behind Satoshi's closed eyes in fluorescent combinations exploding and taking over him.

They stood there with their lips locked for what seemed like hours before they broke apart to meet each other's gaze once more.

'Thank you', Satoshi mouthed.

Risa shook her head and then rested it on the boy's chest. He rested his chin on her head with his arms linked around her in a protective hug. He felt truly complete now. He knew for sure that he was indeed alive, and he loved the feeling.

"Thank you for bringing me to life." He managed to say in what was barely a whisper. Risa heard him and smiled into his chest.

"Thank you too, for being a reason for me to live."

'You'll find that person who will be happy just because you're alive!' Daisuke's words resounded through Satoshi's memories. He had been right; oh he had been so right!

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

Yippee!!! I can't believe it! I wrote a STRAIGHT fic! I did it! And you know what??? I LOVE IT! Lol I actually love this pairing. They're so dang cute together.

I apologize to all Hiwatari fans who love him for his cold nature, I mean, I love the cold Hiwatari too, but I just thought he deserved to be happy, and I really wanted to give him more of a personality in this.

Well, I hope you liked it. It's just a little fic I wrote in hopes of brightening someone's day.

Happy early Valentine's Day everyone!

Over and Out!

Creepstats!