Rating: K+

Genre: Romance/Mystery

Author's Note: It's high time I came back with another story about DNAngel, ya? This one, I can say, is a lot heavier, lengthier, and actually has a plot. I say heavier, but I only mean longer. Don't be scared off just 'cause I said 'heavier'. This FanFic only has one OC. I usually don't do OC because I feel like that's taking away the main character's title and shine but for this, I'll allow (I guess). This FanFic will include only an OC, Risa, Satoshi, Daisuke, and Riku; OC, Risa and Satoshi being the main characters. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy reading this chapter.

I Know Now How to Reach You

Chapter 1

The Sound of Rain

Risa sighed heavily as she looked up toward the dark, dreary skies. She was still in her uniform because she had just left her school. However, alert she tried to be, she had absentmindedly wandered into a pastry shop across the street even though she didn't feel like eating anything sweet. The taste of bitterness and something sour resided between her taste buds. She swallowed hard and held out her hand to the door.

Chanting bells, soft music.

She stepped inside, half drenched by the incoming rain. Her hair was damp but she didn't care, which was very unusual of her considering that her favorite pink bow was also wet. She stared at the floor, sending off an aura telling the empty shop she was as happy as the dark clouds outside were.

"Oh my, our customer does not seem to be happy on this fine specimen of a rainy day," echoed a gentle, worried voice. It was a unique voice with a tone of happiness and a mix of long travels. A minstrel's song of war and love could have described the stranger's voice in full detail.

Risa paused for a moment, reacting slightly slower than usual, and then pulled her head up to the counter. Her eyes expressed a complex sadness with deep worry but not a hint of tears, only the trails of lost raindrops left on her soft cheeks. She faced a boy unknown to her.

He looked about a year older than her, with a deep conversing eye that drew the viewer's sight into his deathly color of frozen snow blue. The right eye showed contentment in life, bliss in small matters and enjoyment of company in a green field. He wore a waiter's uniform with dignity and pride. Born with a handsome face, he smiled at Risa charmingly, his nicely trimmed night black hair swaying as he titled his head. Risa couldn't help but stare at his magical appearance.

Because she didn't respond, the boy chuckled softly, resting his arms atop the white counter.

"It's a proud shower this afternoon," he said. "…May I have the permission to ask what is wrong, miss? Your face looks so sad."

Risa tried to laugh off what the boy said. "Ehehehe… It's nothing; I feel totally fine." she said with a low, soft voice.

The boy smiled kindly and pointed to a red chair at the counter. Risa stared at the grand chair which was fit to seat royalty. Golden arms with a plush seating, the red chair stood out from all of the other black ones. "Let's talk, shall we?"

Risa felt a strange force pull her toward the royal chair. She sat upright, hands beneath the counter, clutching her brown bag. She looked down at the polished top.

The boy put a hand on his hip, an eyebrow raised and a slight frown forming across his face. He took a step back and turned around to face the row of cakes sitting quietly on the shelves. As if he had done this many times before, his hands grabbed a plate of delicious Strawberry Chiffon Cake. He turned back around toward Risa, were he saw that she was looking at him. He smiled at her and softly placed the plate in front of her. He then took his seat across from her, next to the cash register. When he leaned his head against his hand, his soft black hair swayed from side to side, motioning Risa's eyes to look into his.

Shaking off the thought of his beautiful round eyes, Risa looked at the cake, her eyes brimming just a bit with a newfound curiosity. It was light, fluffy, and had a beautiful shine to it. It's white, butter cream frosting was exquisite and the luminous strawberries adorned the top like a crown fit for a queen of everlasting youth and royalty.

"…Thank you," she muttered quietly, picking up the golden fork the boy had left for her.

"It was my pleasure. Now…" The boy plucked off a strawberry from the cake and plopped it into his open mouth. "Your eyes tell me that you're not all that happy today. Why?"

Risa was a bit taken aback by the stranger. She wasn't used to the idea of telling just anyone her problems but for some reason, she felt comfortable with the boy with mysterious eyes. She sighed once, and then started.

"I'm graduating from my middle school next week."

"…Congratulations."

"No!" cried Risa angrily. "It's not something to say 'congratulations' about!"

The boy fell silent, allowing Risa to convey her feelings.

"It's just… when I realized there was only a week left of my middle school days, I just suddenly got scared and..." Risa dug her fork into the cake. "…depressed."

"Why are you depressed?" the boy asked benevolently.

"I don't know, really. I feel like there's something I still haven't done yet, something I needed to do, but didn't do it." She gripped her bag. "Something I needed to do, but didn't do it..."

The boy took another slice of strawberry from the cake and put it in his mouth. Risa stared at his actions, feeling just a bit of a blush and nervousness coming since she did not know how to react to him eating casually from her cake.

"Yeah, I know how that feels," he suddenly pronounced after swallowing the strawberry.

The boy leaned in closer toward Risa. He took her hand and squeezed her fingers, lifting the fork and brining a piece of cake straight into her mouth. "You haven't eaten my cake yet; that's making me very mad."

Risa felt her ears turning red with embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry!" she apologized after swallowing the piece of delicious cake.

Their hands were still intertwined, his large hand holding hers. A pause, and then the boy let go.

"It's okay if you feel depressed. If there's something you think needs to be done, you should go do it." he assured her. His voice carried on waves of mixed emotions that Risa could not decode.

"But I don't even know-"

"It'll come to you. I'm sure it will. Just like how you came here, that feeling of knowing what to do and just how to do it will come to you again someday."

As her first smile spread across Risa's face, the boy could almost feel a faint, warm glow emitting from her.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed joyfully.

The boy's heart was filled with warmth from her smile, so he showed it to her by smiling back. "You really do look prettier when you're smiling."

"Huh?"

The boy took her hand once again, causing Risa's heart to beat faster and faster. They locked eyes, looking at no one but each other. The boy maneuvered Risa's hand away from the plate. He then picked up another strawberry and ate it casually, as if ignoring the spark between them.

"Your hand was covering one of the strawberries." he said simply with a bright smile.

Risa's eyes widened and she quickly looked down in shame, embarrassed by her fluttering heart. She knew that by now her ears were red like roses. The boy laughed to himself.

He opened his mouth to speak but at that moment, the sound of tiny bells sang and the door swung open. Risa and the boy turned to see who it was.

"Satoshi? What're you doing here?" asked a surprised Risa. She dropped her fork and it splattered on the plate and elsewhere just as the sound of drums from the sky echoed like Gods throughout the town.

Satoshi still wore his uniform so Risa thought to herself that he had just come from their school, just like she did. However, he was drenched in rain from head to toe as if he had just jumped head first into a pool of water. Even with entirely drenched clothes, his eyes were as blank as the clear, rainy sky and stoic as ever.

Satoshi stared at Risa with unchanged eyes but the mysterious eyed boy thought he saw a hint of relief in them also. His mouth slightly opened and his eyes widened but only for a moment.

When Risa saw Satoshi's dripping wet condition she quickly ran to his aid and roughly dried off his face with her handkerchief, implying that she was greatly worried. "Why are you walking around in the rain, Satoshi? You can catch a cold or even worse!" she scolded him like a mother would with her ill-disciplined son.

The mysterious eyed boy laughed to himself when he heard Risa reprimand Satoshi. Satoshi, however, simply grabbed Risa's hand sternly to stop her from drying off his face. "I'm fine; you don't have to do that."

Risa paused, unsure of what to do next but then quickly narrowed her eyes at him. "Hmm… Fine, I'll stop." She pulled her hand away from Satoshi's grip with a bit of an attitude in her actions and voice. She slipped her handkerchief back into her skirt pocket and then walked back to the red chair, seating herself down on it. The mysterious boy looked back and forth between the two. As if examining a new type of species found only on another planet, he was well into the fray.

Satoshi's eyes widened just a bit when he realized that the mysterious boy was there with Risa. Risa, however, continued eating her cake without any worry at all for Satoshi.

"Risa." Satoshi called out her name. "Here."

Risa turned back to face Satoshi. His hand was extended to her and in them he held a single red umbrella. This confused Risa greatly. She asked him, "Satoshi, if you had an umbrella, why didn't you use it to stay out of the rain?"

And he replied, "This is not mine to use." He paused for a moment before continuing. "…Riku was the one who sent me with this. You shouldn't make her worry all the time."

Risa stared at Riku's red umbrella, and then at Satoshi. She slid off from the red chair, leaving an empty vast space between her and the mysterious boy. The mysterious boy stared at Risa and Satoshi with mixed feelings residing within him. He gripped his hands tightly.

"Satoshi, are you going to walk out into the rain again if I take this?" Risa asked, feeling a jittery feeling in her heart. Satoshi shrugged.

"How else can I go home?"

"What?! Are you serious?" Risa exclaimed worriedly. She peered outside the open door and saw that everything in sight was being covered by the heavy tears the sky cried. She sighed and patted Satoshi's shoulder.

"Wait here," she told him with a heavy sigh.

"Why are you making me feel like you're doing me a favor?" Satoshi asked.

"Just wait here!" she exclaimed.

Risa walked back over to the mysterious boy and smiled wearily at him. She pulled up her brown bag, which earlier fell to the floor, back into her hands. She opened the latch and dug around for her wallet as she said to the boy, "I'm sorry for leaving so soon," she started, "but I'll gladly pay for the delicious cake you gave me."

Satoshi stared hard at the boy. The mysterious boy noticed this. He simply smiled back at him and then turned his attention toward the struggling Risa. "No, you needn't pay. It was I, after all, who gave it to you."

"A-are you sure? Your shop won't go down will-"

"Now, now, when someone gives you something, you should take it." The boy looked out the window with disdain. "The rain looks like it will not stop so it's best if you two leave for your houses as soon as possible."

Risa looked out the window and then back to the boy. "Ah… Yeah, I guess you're right. Satoshi?"

"Yes?" Satoshi replied.

"Let's go!" Risa said with a smile. "Good-bye! Thank you… for caring for me." She waved her hand at the boy. He waved back at her with a smile etched across his face.

Chanting bells, the farewell of soft music. The boy was left all alone again in his tiny, little shop. The air of nothingness suddenly crept its way up toward his heart and he sank down on the royal red chair, looking sadly at the unfinished cake. He couldn't help but sigh to himself, unexpectedly feeling tired as if he had just crossed oceans. He pulled his hand through his majestic black hair as his sea blue and green field eyes continued to gaze upon the still unfinished cake. "…Again?"

"Hey, Satoshi, wait up!" Risa cried as they left the pastry shop. Satoshi had gone off before her and was now walking alone in the pouring rain. The dark clouds covered the sun so as to make the world turn black with them. Because of the strange rainfall and because of Risa, Satoshi felt something uneasy about everything. He especially formed concern about the mysterious boy. Something about the boy was not quite right. He questioned the reason why Risa was there also. Satoshi stopped unexpectedly in his tracks. Risa, unprepared to stop running, crashed into his back. He, however, did not budge even an inch.

Risa raised the red umbrella over his head. "There, now, let's walk together. And no going off on your on anymore."

Satoshi remained silent, quietly thinking to himself. Risa puffed up her cheeks angrily like a sulking child. Like the wind, quickly but silently, she raised her hand up toward his blue hair. Satoshi, coming to the conclusion that he should simply just ask Risa his question, turned around but was surprised that he was looking at her hand, not at her.

Awkward silence engulfed the two as the red umbrella shielded them from the sky's ongoing tears.

Satoshi cleared his throat. "I don't know what you're doing but I need to ask you something." He took hold of Risa's hand carefully and moved it away from his view so he could see her eyes.

"Something like…?" Risa urged Satoshi to continue on. She let her hand fall to her side.

"What were you doing at that place?" he asked sternly.

The two began walking again, but this time, together. The red umbrella held them both close like magnets. Risa held the umbrella with her hand but Satoshi saw that she was also holding her bag. He took the umbrella handle from her and held it up for the both of them.

"Ah, thank you," she said. Both her hand were now clutching onto her bag's handle. "Well…" she continued.

"I went there for…" Risa thought for a moment, looking forward out into the streets. They were nearing their school now. Darkness was still spread out over the land, as if everything had dived underwater where the sun no longer illuminated. She suddenly remembered why she went to the pastry shop, and was not very happy with her cruel memories. "…help, I guess."

Satoshi couldn't understand her explanation. "Help? For what? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"I'm not sure myself," she explained miserably.

Satoshi and Risa walked past the school in continued silence. A car passed them, revealing a hint of light in the darkness. However, the thundering sound of rain drowned out its existence. Still, the light glowed on until it passed Risa's eyes. She thought of asking Satoshi a question. "Satoshi?"

"Yes?" he answered obediently.

"We're graduating from middle school next week…" she started to say.

"…What about it?"

Risa looked at Satoshi's unwavering eyes. "How do you feel about that?"

Satoshi didn't know what to say. "How do I feel? What do you mean?"

"Like, do you feel scared? Do you feel sad? Happy? How do you feel about graduating? Are there things you wish you could have done but didn't? Do you… regret anything? Do you feel like there's something you need to do but you don't know what it is?"

Satoshi somehow, through Risa's long list of questions, managed to figure out for himself what was bothering her. "Have you figured out what you needed to do?"

"…Are you a magician?"

"What?"

"Eh, nothing."

Satoshi sighed, suddenly drained of energy. "You'll find it. What you need to do, and how to do it, you'll find it. Because you're you, I think the answer you're looking for will come easier than you may think."

Risa felt a new sensation within her heart burn brightly but softly. This was, after all, the first time Satoshi has said something so kind to her. But after thinking of what to say, she realized that both the mysterious eyed boy and Satoshi said the same thing to her.

"O-of course I'll know the answer by the time we graduate! Don't underestimate me!" she said, feigning bravery.

"Will you now?" Satoshi smirked. "Today's Monday, let's see how long it'll take you to figure out what you need to do before next Monday."

"Weren't you the one who just said that the answer will surely come to me?"

"Did I now?"

The feeling of happiness crept back inside Risa's heart and overflowed her body as she stood next to Satoshi's side. Even if just for a moment, she felt content and was filled with relief. Even with the pouring rain and the expanding darkness, she felt a tiny candle light up her heart and hopped that it lit up Satoshi's as well. Thinking this, she felt her ears turn red.

As they walked, Satoshi suddenly stopped. Risa, almost leaving Satoshi behind, stopped as well. "Why're you stopping?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Satoshi looked at her, surprised. "We've arrived at your house. Didn't you notice?"

"…What? Oh! My… house. Yeah, that's right." Risa replied. She looked at the gates which led to her house. They looked welcoming in the rain but Risa felt herself wanting to stay outside. However, she had no reason to, so she decided to go home.

"What, wait, Satoshi? You're going home in the rain again?" she asked.

"Yes, I am. Is there a problem with that?" he replied nonchalantly.

"What did I tell you before? You'll catch a cold!" she sighed. "Why didn't we just go to your house first? This doesn't make any sense now…" she said tiredly, placing a hand atop her forehead.

"I didn't want you walking home by yourself. That's all."

"You say, 'that's all', but it's really not." Risa looked back to her house and then to Satoshi. Before she could open her mouth to speak, he interrupted her with his usual stern voice.

"Who was that boy you were with at the shop?"

Risa stared at him, her mouth slightly open. He sounded angry for some reason, and Risa couldn't figure out why. She felt herself sinking down. "He was just the worker there who cheered me up because I wasn't feeling too happy." She realized that she did not even ask for the boy's name but did not feel the need to bring it up with Satoshi.

"When you were with him, did you feel anything at all?" Satoshi continued his list of questions.

"Feel anything? Well, I don't recall feeling scared or anything… I was mostly too depressed to really pay attention to how I felt about him."

Just then, Satoshi remembered what Risa had told him when they were walking in the rain, and closed his thoughts for her. "…That's fine. Thank you."

"Why so interested?" Risa asked, tilting her head.

"No reason. I don't recall ever seeing him in this area, so I was curious as to why he was here."

"Hmm… You have weird reasons to want to know a person." Risa laughed.

"Is that it?" Satoshi asked himself. "I wonder."

"Anyway," Risa said. She patted Satoshi's shoulder slightly with her hand and ran out from under the red umbrella. As she ran toward her house, she shouted back at Satoshi with a smile, "You can return Riku's umbrella tomorrow! Okay?"

"Wait a-"

"See you tomorrow at school, Satoshi!"

And with a prance and a skip, Risa vanished as she entered her house. The black gates which welcomed Risa home like she was a princess looked like terrifying body guards to Satoshi. He sighed, not wanting to get any closer to the buff gates. "There she goes…" he said quietly to himself. From under the umbrella, he peered up toward the sinister sky with narrowed eyes.

"Has it already come?"

"Lights out, Risa!" Riku called out to her sister. She stood next to the light switch, her hand ready to flip the switch off any second. Because the weather had turned into a thunderstorm, the two sisters had earlier decided to stay with each other. Riku's attire was suitable for sleep and that was all she needed. Risa, however, was not ready for bed.

"W-Wait, geez!" Risa cried in desperation as she hurriedly hung her uniform in her closet. Just as quickly as she put away her clothes, she ran to Riku's bed and slipped under the covers, glad to be under something warm and comfortable. Riku laughed and flipped the switch. She walked over to her bed and climbed under the sheets with Risa. The lights in the room immediately dimmed away. Only the moon was their source of light now.

"Riku, I'm sorry again for letting Satoshi borrow your umbrella without asking you first." Risa apologized as they both settled into bed.

Riku turned so that her back faced Risa. "Why are you apologizing again? It's okay. Besides, it's good that you let Satoshi borrow my umbrella. He would have gotten sick if you hadn't!"

Risa chuckled. "Yeah, you're right."

"Go to sleep now. Tomorrow's another day." Riku commanded.

"Yeah, another day…"

The feeling of missing something important, and not knowing what it was returned to Risa's mind. She rolled over to her side and faced the glass window.

Small drums thundered throughout the sky, barely entering their room. From the ceiling, Risa could hear something pitter and patter against the roof, striking away at the walls and everything else that stood in its way. Slowly but surely, even with her heavy thoughts of tomorrow and graduation day approaching, Risa drifted off into a gentle sleep.

"Wake up already, Risa!" Riku shouted early the next morning.

"What?!" Risa jumped up from the bed with a surprised and quick jolt. She looked around the room for Riku. "Ugh, it's morning already? I need more sleep…" she groaned as she pulled the covers over her head again.

"Geez, get up already. We're going to be late." Riku warned the sheepish Risa.

"Mm…" Risa replied tiredly.

Riku sighed as she slipped on her uniform. She looked at her calendar and marked off Sunday with a red pen. "I know its Monday but at least try to get in the habit of waking yourself up."

"What?!" Risa jumped up from the bed, this time fully awake. The sound of rain drummed against the glass window.