Small Things

Summary:"I thought you wouldn't come back..." She whispered. Satoshi smiled. "I'll always come back as long as you're waiting." He responded.

Disclaimer: I do not own D.N.Angel

Chapter 1: A Prologue to a Good Thing

Risa Harada sat at her desk at her large estate chewing on the end of her pencil. Why was English so hard? She remembered how Riku had attempted to help her study. That turned out to be disastrous and a complete waste of time. In the end, they had spent five hours arguing and a half-hour trying. Now she only had six days before the make-up and she needed to cram! Her sister politely knocked on the door and held a warm cup of milk and cookies.

She accepted it gratefully before turning back to her studies. Riku had never seen her sister try so hard. Possibly because she did not want to attend summer school while most of the class went to the beach for two weeks. The older Harada sister walked over to the phone and dialed her boyfriend's number.

"Hello?" Called a gentle voice on the other end. "Ah, Riku-san!" He was naturally surprised for her calling late. It was already ten and at this age his innocence had diminished. "What about Risa?" He asked not able to comprehend Riku's quick Japanese through an already bad reception.

"She has to take a make-up, and me helping her study seemed to be a complete waste of time. Now she only has less time!" Cried Riku, when she noticed the severity of her actions. It wasn't just his innocence that was gone but also her emotional control had left as well. "Daisuke! Say something!"

The red-head on the other line was lost for words. What was he supposed to say? When his cell phone in his pocket began to rumble an idea struck him. "Maybe Harada-san hasn't had the right teacher. What about someone else who got a good score?" He suggested.

Riku thought for a second. Had anybody else topped her score? When she thought about it, her mind was dragged to view a picture of the two seats in the back. A book was propped onto the desk and glasses were pushed aside to a corner. Daisuke was talking endlessly to the student until he stood up and put on his glasses to reveal a handsome, mature face; one that looked like it belonged on an angel.

"Wait! You're not thinking of..." She trailed off. Riku couldn't even believe Daisuke would suggest such a tutor. He was his best friend; still, that did not mean her younger sister called for a person who'd probably use Spartan teaching methods! "Hiwatari-kun is probably too busy, Dai-kun! I don't think Risa would want to impose on him."

Daisuke laughed expectantly. Satoshi had just entered the room and he had turned the phone to speaker phone. The Hikari artist leaned back into the recliner, his arms folded across his chest. This position made the young Niwa laugh once more; his friend seemed so much more mature compared to him. "I don't think he would have a problem with it." Daisuke told her reassuringly. "Don't you think?"

"I don't think I would mind some extra company." Said a deeper, more stoic voice. Riku's face colored with embarrassment.

"Hiwatari-kun! You don't? Are you sure?"

"If you are concerned about your sister, do not worry." Satoshi responded. "I will assure you her grade will be above Daisuke's, maybe even above yourself."

"Satoshi! I got a 84! That's pretty good." Daisuke objected. Emiko could hear her son's and friend's discussion in the hallway. She could only sigh at their enthusiasm so late at night.

"Alright, Daisuke. Just tell her to meet me at 9:00 at the library. If she's even a minute late, well, she'll know what'll happen. Just don't expect her to be home the same day then."

Riku's jaw dropped. He couldn't be that heartless! She heard shuffling on the other end before the line went dead. Riku sighed deeply before hanging up the phone and checking in on Risa. When she opened the door she found her sister resting on a closed textbook, the milk and cookies not even touched.

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The next morning Riku had found herself sleeping in and the time already 7:56. She quickly remembered last night's conversation on the phone and jumped out of her bed and rushed into Risa's study where the girl could be found happily dreaming on a textbook. Riku shook her sister awake, knowing that she was supposed to meet Satoshi in almost an hour.

"Get up! You're tutor told me you have to meet him at the library at 9:00!" She yelled, awakening her younger sister. Risa slowly opened her eyes to see Riku's hand at her collar yelling about a tutor and getting up, both of those things which sounded completely outrageous.

"Riku... Sleep... Tired... No more study..." Risa mumbled sleepily.

Riku frowned and continued shaking her awake until finally her arms were tired. "You're TUTOR IS SATOSHI HIWATARI!" She screamed so that the noise filled the closed room. Risa jumped up out of Riku's grasp and hurriedly scrambled for new clothes to wear.

Finally, it was 8:42 when Risa left the house. Riku had quickly tossed her a granola bar before she had ran out the door with her schoolbag. The teen cursed under breath but sighed in relief when she saw the time. 9:01 was only a minute late. He couldn't punish her that badly.

When she entered the cavern of books she found Satoshi sitting in a secluded corner at a desk covered with large and small books. He had his feet propped onto the table and he leaned on the back of his chair with his arms folded neatly across his chest. This was classic Hiwatari-style posture.

"Sorry, I'm late." Risa said, quickly taking a seat next to him. The teen shrugged and opened a large textbook to a marked page and turned his back to her.

Satoshi sat in the arm chair in front of her. He slipped off his watch and tossed it onto the book. Risa picked up the watch and looked at the time. 9:10. Her eyes moved to the figure in front of her, who had once again resumed his normal sitting position. This time he seemed more at ease when he said, "Late."

"What?"

"You're late. So I'm going to hold you hostage for a while."

Risa's eyes widened. "H-hostage?"

Satoshi's glasses had their usual glare and prevented her from seeing his shining blue eyes. "I was only going to keep you for twelve hours, but it seems we'll be going until 10:00."

She felt her hands lose grip on her book bag. It made a thump on the floor and the sound finally woke her up. "THIRTEEN HOURS?!" She nearly yelled. Satoshi quickly cupped his hands around her mouth before more noise could escape.

"Be considerate." He whispered coolly.

The female high school student's hands clenched into fists and she attempted to punch him, only to be stopped before her hands even made it halfway across the distance separating them.

She glared.

He shrugged.

She wanted to throw a book at him.

He wished she'd just study.

It simply went on like that. She had asked him for help when she didn't understand something so he would drop the book to help her; finally this was actually starting to prove profitable. He was a much better teacher than Riku, she had to admit, but that might've been because of the fact those two naturally argued. After all, they were sisters.

"Can we take a break, Satoshi?" She pleaded several hours later.

The time was almost 12:00 and they had continually been studying since nine. The bright afternoon light had flooded into the room and brought a sense of cheerfulness into the desolate atmosphere she had been studying under. It was easy to learn in the perfect silence and when his voice broke the silence it was only so that the learning would get easier for her.

She could see behind the book, his expression expectant. It was almost as if he knew that she would've lost her patience by now. The blue-haired teen looked up from his book and grabbed his glasses. He quickly shifted them onto his face and closed the novel he'd been reading.

"Alright."

He followed her outside, and with her demands had kept only his briefcase at his side. Wanting for him not to look like the one who'd been failing, Risa had also grabbed her books and led him to a small patch of grass near the river.

She smiled at him when they had sat down. "It's peaceful." She commented staring down into the blue water. Satoshi admired his soft smile. Before he had called it carelessly thrown around but now she seemed to be more capable of understanding people's emotions than when she was younger.

"It is." His voice sounded tired.

"You sound like you haven't had a good rest in ages."

Satoshi hid a smile. "I guess so." He laid his head on the soft grass and closed his eyes. He had to agree with her. He hadn't gotten a good sleep for a long time. On some random day, he began to see horrific nightmares where everyone he'd even cared about had been killed… by Krad.

But right now, he felt at peace. In the library he was able to close his eyes and be emerged in just complete blankness. There were no more bad dreams. When Satoshi had closed his eyes that was the first time Risa noticed he was extremely handsome. His hair was slightly disheveled, spread across his face while his glasses remained securely in place. This was the perfect picture of attractive.

People who walked by had also noticed his fine features. Sitting next to him made her extremely nervous. However that picture shattered when her stomach grumbled from hunger and his eyes opened. Satoshi looked at her, still weary, after readjusting his glasses on his face. He got and walked several steps before turning back to her. "Stay here. I'll go get some lunch." He broke off into a run and didn't look back.

Risa sighed helplessly. He could really do anything he wanted. Her friends would be so jealous if they heard she had spent lunch with the Satoshi Hiwatari. He had caught the eye of every girl in the school even before he reached the pinnacle of his years. She waited there for several minutes in thought until she caught sight of his blue-hair quickly approaching her.

Satoshi, who was carrying two bags of food, stopped in front of her, out of breath. "Food." He muttered dropping the bags on the grass and dropping to the floor. A cell phone dropped beside him, still rumbling.

Her curiosity got the better of her and she opened it to reveal a new text message. She was surprised to see her tutor use something like text messaging but she knew he would've probably already done so by now. He was sixteen already after all.

Hiwatari-kun, Risa's favorite restaurant is a café bakery. She especially likes the melon bread and takoyaki. She likes those chocolate cupcakes, but where are you right now? It's pretty far from the library.

Riku

"Why would you go that far?" Risa whispered.

Satoshi didn't move except for the expanding of his chest when he breathed.

She began to take out the food one by one and saw a note attached to a box of chocolate cupcakes.

Rearrange.

That's when she saw the icing on the cupcakes were one or two letters in English. Risa looked at the group of letters: Go, Jo, o, d, b, and her name written in Kanji. She began to think of something he would say to her. Go and Jo were the only letters capitalized so they must be the first two letters of two words. Joob, didn't make sense neither did Goob. Jood, didn't seem to fit either. When she stared at his sleeping face did she understand what the letters formed. "Good Job, Risa."

"Thank you Hiwatari-kun."

Once Risa was done with lunch, Satoshi woke up and brought the extra food with him to the library. He continued watching over her studies until the sun had fallen and the stars had revealed themselves in the sky. Risa looked out in longing. Studying was so boring, and she had a better reason now. With Satoshi's help, she understood everything. Even things they didn't even cover.

Risa felt her cell phone vibrate but didn't bother to answer. She knew it was Riku, wondering where she was.

Satoshi felt his cell phone vibrate but didn't even feel it. He could hear the rumbles through pages of a textbook. After all, he was trying to avoid any yelling from Harada-san who would soon attempt to kill him knowing how late he was making Harada study.

When the clock rang every thirty minutes it signaled only getting closer to her freedom. But when he heard that ring, he shifted his glasses and closed the book he'd been reading. "This place is reserved, so no one will disturb the layout of books. Just make sure you bookmark every page you're on. Once you finish, you can leave."

Risa sighed in relief. She was exhausted! Now she only had five more days until her make-up but Satoshi surprised her again. "I've arranged it so your exam is tomorrow afternoon." Risa's jaw dropped.

"WHAT?!"

Satoshi sighed. "We'll review in the morning. But if you're late, well..."

"I know! But why tomorrow?!"

"I know you hate spending time with me being your tutor," Satoshi started.

"I don't ha--!" Risa interjected. She stopped herself, however, before anything else could escape her lips.

Satoshi remained silent but then continued. "And the fact you understand everything now. If we review all morning, you'll be fine and can go have fun with everybody on the beach trip."

Risa paused before responding. So he knew the reason why she was studying so hard. "Just don't worry about the test. Have Riku help review if you need it. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear you know most, if not all, of the answers."

"Hiwatari-kun," She wanted to say to stop him from leaving. He had done so much for her yet she had done nothing except take up his time.

Satoshi got up from his chair and took the book he was holding with him through the door. "Satoshi..." Risa whispered. His name sounded so sweet when she said it. But he would never get to hear it.

Right then thunder struck the sky and lightning flashed through the windows. Risa lost her balance in surprise and felt her shoulder hit a bookcase and several books bounced off her head before hitting the ground. She shut her eyes tightly. Rain began to pelt the large windows while gray clouds ruled the sky. "Satoshi... Come back..." She whispered helplessly.

She began to remember the things she had forgotten. All of those small things that he did were always unacknowledged.

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Risa was in charge of bringing the reference books for her class that week. This job was the worse since they normally borrowed so many from the library that the tower of books was almost always taller when you tried to bring it to class. No one yet had successfully brought it to the classroom without it falling over once down the stairs. One person even broke a leg doing it, while going down the stairs.

Daisuke had offered to help her along with Riku, but she declined both of the offers.

"It's okay! Besides, you'll still be late. I won't as long as I bring the books." She told them before shoving them in the direction of their classroom. Risa sighed when she saw Daisuke catch his sister's hand. She never would've thought he could be so courageous. She wished that would happen to her.

When she had received the stack of books from the library she began her trek, including a walk down the stairs to the floor lower. Risa carefully carried them, her arms aching more and more as she slowly shifted her legs to bear the weight. Once she got to the stairs her arms painfully moved to secure the books in place but her feet overstepped. She felt the books leave her arms and her feet leave the floor, her hands remained in the air in shock. However, a dash of blue caught her eye and her hand was grasped before she fell.

"Hiwatari-kun!" She shouted in surprise. Risa almost let go but Satoshi's hand wouldn't let her fall. The teen gave an audible sigh as he lifted her back on her feet and moved to collect the fallen books.

"Didn't you ask for help?" He asked her seriously, finally turning back to look at her.

Risa hesitated to answer. "You could've broken something!" He said loudly.

"Why are you so mad?" She yelled back.

That must've really made him angry. His eyes turned cold as he picked the last book up. As he approached her he said, "So many people would be sad if you were hurt. Why can't you accept the fact you're loved? Why do you always choose the choice most risky? Can't you accept help from your sister and friend?"

"Why do you care?!"

Satoshi's eyes lowered and his voice dropped an octave. "I--I can't answer that."

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It was getting so cold. Risa waited outside the theater for her sister. She was currently watching a movie with Daisuke but Risa still needed a ride home. She sat on the bench that was facing towards the ocean. "Hurry up, Riku!" Risa mumbled. She began to rub her hands together for warmth and wished she had worn something warmer than just her school uniform and a light jacket.

Satoshi couldn't believe he was seeing Risa Harada sitting outside of the movie theater in the freezing cold. "Harada-san," He called out. The fifteen-year-old stopped his bike and looked at Risa's frozen state. "Why are you outside with such light clothing?"

Risa's teeth began to chatter as she began to explain what had happened, how she needed a ride from school, how Riku had promised Daisuke a date, and whatever else led to her being covered in snow. Satoshi didn't respond and during that time, Risa began to admire his preparedness: a long, warm coat, a sweater underneath, a scarf, and gloves.

Satoshi noticed this look of admiration and with a flick of his wrist slipped his scarf off and had it draped around Risa's shoulders. "It's getting colder, do you want me to bring you home?" Risa immediately nodded and hopped on the end of this bike and gripped his waist tightly to prevent herself from falling. As he began pedaling they took this time to talk about their lives. It felt as if they were so close.

"Daisuke does do his best when it concerns Harada-san."

"Yeah, but Niwa-kun can be so forgetful. Good thing you're there for him, huh Hiwatari-kun?"

Satoshi stopped at a red light. "How so?"

"Well you remind him of all of those important dates. I remember during the Christmas party, Niwa-kun told me you were the one who reminded him that day and when to get his gifts. You always seem so on top of things, Hiwatari-kun." By now they had continued towards Risa's house with her directing her.

"Thank you. But Daisuke is helpful when it comes to thoughtful actions."

Risa laughed. "Yeah, I guess so." She said. Satoshi looked back momentarily and they stared into each other's eyes until a horn sounded for them to move. The blue-haired teen immediately continued pedaling until they had finally reached the large Harada Mansion. She got off the bike and watched as he rode away. Once he was out of sight did she remember that she forgot to say thank you.

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More thunder began to roll closer and the noise was frightening. However the oak doors burst open revealing a drenched Satoshi carrying a box. Risa's eyes opened.

"Hiwatari-kun!"

Satoshi was still bent over, trying to catch his breath. His hair began to drip onto the floor. He'd never even left her for a moment. He stood up straight despite his lack of oxygen and tore open the box. Inside were several towels, an umbrella, blankets, and food. Risa wanted to just hold Satoshi but she stopped herself. She began to cry. He'd always taken good care of her, yet she had only responded in thanks and nothing else. However, in his eyes she had given him the most wonderful gift ever, a chance at love. While neither of them noticed it, they both fell in love with each other. They began to depend on each other. They took each other's opinions into account more than anybody else's. They cared about each other.

He didn't know what to do when she started crying except...

A white handkerchief was held out in front of her.

Without her noticing it, a warm blanket was draped around her shoulders.

Without her noticing it, a plate of food was in front of her.

Without her noticing it, he had already wiped her tears away.

Risa didn't know what to say.

She wanted to thank him.

She wanted to tell him how thankful she was that he was born.

She wanted to tell him that she loved him. She wanted to tell him to find someone better because she didn't deserve him.

Instead, he had stolen those words from her lips. He sat before her, straight and upright. His eyes were calm and gentle. His words full of resolute.

"I love you. I live only to see you happy. I want you only to be happy." He said to her, his gaze steady.

Risa wanted to fall into his arms and cry, but she had yet to tell him how she felt. It wouldn't be fair if only he said the 'I love you's because he was the only one brave enough. She knew her resolve was strong. She loved him as well. She loved how his hair was slightly disheveled when he slept at the river. She loved how he would run so perfectly with his coat hanging in the air behind him.

"I thought you wouldn't come back..." She whispered.

Satoshi smiled. "I'll always come back as long as you're waiting." He responded.

"I love you." Risa whispered. The thunder rumbled but it looked like the lightning had resided. Satoshi's eyes widened. He didn't think she would say it; he actually thought she'd reject him. "I love how you always act so cold but kind to me. I love how you always finish first during tests. I love how over three years you fell in love with me."

Around midnight the storm had completely left and the only thing left were the scattered puddles in the ground. However, they didn't leave until morning. Satoshi rode his bike to Risa's Mansion in the morning, a sleeping Risa resting her head against his chest. Riku greeted them at the door and shouted loud enough that Risa woke up.

"Where were you?!" She inquired.

"Satoshi was going to let me out at 10:00 but the storm prevented me from leaving the library." Risa responded coolly. She did not like the fact that Riku had shoved Satoshi off the property and caused him to almost fall. Satoshi didn't think any of it, though. She knew that without him even telling her. That confession had caused some invisible link between them, and both of them couldn't have it any other way.