This moment was never intended to happen. Fate was never intended to intertwine both of her hands, locking her fingers in the process. To have the exact two same events occur in the exact same place, at the exact same time, for the two people who never knew they needed each other- it shouldn't have happened like that.

But there they were, two teenagers gracelessly flung together, not even enough distance between them to place a magazine, as they both gawked at each other. His forehead rest against the locker behind her, eyes frantically pulsating in devastation. She was facing him, too, not wanting to look at the crowd around them. To say that she was embarrassed would be an understatement. Instead, she lay her own forehead on the side of his neck, her eyes pleading with his bewildered ones.

At first, everything was just shocking. They had both been running as fast as their legs would carry them in an attempt to flee their pursuers. They hadn't counted on running directly into one another as they tried to turn the corner. But when the collision happened, the only thing he could think to do was reach out and shield her. Whether she went tumbling to the ground or wound up slammed into the corner of the wall, he didn't care. As long as she didn't get hurt, he would manage.

Yes, he knew who he had shamelessly run over the instant it happened. No one else had such beautiful mahogany locks and eyes to match. He knew it was her before he could even think of her name. But along with pressing himself closer to her, his feet tangled amongst themselves in what was supposed to be an attempt to keep them upright. It had worked, he supposed, because they ended up pressed against a locker. His left hand was cupping the back of her head, while his right arm was wrapped protectively around her waist.

And she was slammed rather forcefully into the metal. He knew by the amount of pain that went shooting through his upper limbs that he had taken the full impact. Theoretically speaking, she shouldn't be hurt. And when his panicked sapphire irises scanned her features, he was relieved to be proven correct. But the mortified look on her face swayed his relief and flooded him with anxiety and fear. What was wrong? Why was she looking at him like that? He did a mental check, assuring himself that his hands were on strictly appropriate places of her body. He had done nothing except violate her person space.

And she saw the fear playing across his face plain as day. That flicker between positive and negative, and she knew she had caused it. She hadn't meant to, she was just scared. It wasn't everyday that you were being relentlessly chased down and then crashed into the most unlikely savior. She took her hands, which were viciously clutching the sides of his shirt, and slowly released him. She placed one hand at his waist, making sure that the rest of him was stable, and placed the other one on his back. In layman's terms, she was awkwardly hugging him.

Her heart rate was only increasing at their close proximity and she prayed to God that he couldn't hear it. Strike that, couldn't feel it against his own chest. What kind of impression would that give him? She tried her best to soften her stare and she gave him the most sincere and reassuring smile she could muster. And in a whisper that even he almost didn't hear, she said, "You being chased, too?" He blinked, surprised at how low and almost frightened her voice was. He mouthed a 'yeah' before dropping his gaze to her lips. He wanted to make sure he was hearing her right.

"Me too." she said again, voice slightly more high pitched. He was just as aware as she was of the monstrous fan club that they both possessed. His admirers consisted of rabid fan-girls that wrote him love letters, passed him notes in class, and clawed at each other like wild cats to be partnered up with him. While she, on the other hand, had a pack of lecherous dogs. They faked their kindness by opening doors for her, pulling out her chair, and offering to walk her home, but it was obvious what they wanted. You could see it in their eyes every time she walked into the room.

And it was these very same absurd groupies that had cornered them to the locker and they dared not move a muscle. The girls could be heard gossiping in the background, loudly whispering the most horrible things about her and how dare she touch what was so obviously not hers. She had been called many things from middle school until now and the names only got more nasty and degrading. She was a tease, slut, whore, bitch, and cu- well, just to name a few. And he had been listening to every word until he zoned in on one mini-conversation in particular.

It was coming from the men's section. It had started out somewhere along the lines of, "He's such a scrawny guy. Why is she letting him put his hands on her?" Then it escalated to, "I hope he hurries up and finishes so I can have a turn. Guess it's not too bad to let this pathetic pipsqueak break her in for the rest of us." The way her eyes widened at that statement made his heart drop. They all thought that they were just fooling around. And the worst part was that she was going to be the only target.

He would easily be overlooked by the other guys, perhaps even congratulated for his nonexistent accomplishment. His fan club would cry and throw themselves at him, demanding to know why it was her and not them, but that would be the worst of it. But she... she would be publically humiliated and tormented. The girls would ambush her, gang up on her, and possibly even beat her for taking what was "theirs." And the guys, well... they would assault her. Verbally, for sure. She would be called even more names. But what if they tried to force themselves on her? If they think that's what he was doing, then they'd probably assume that she liked it and would reenact it.

Things were spiraling even more out of control as the whispers evened out, becoming normal voices. With all of the clamor becoming so clear, he could only watch as the tears formed at the brim of her eyes. She heard every word, engraving it into her memory, as she prepared to deal with the harsh reality around her. She made an effort to gently push him up off of her, smiling as big and wide as she could in the process. It broke his heart.

He felt like he owed her something. No one, especially not a woman as lovely and sweet as her, should have to subject themselves to this sort of high school nonsense. He resisted her push, using the force of his body weight to keep her pinned. She gave him a questioning look, her eyes asking him 'why?' His own orbs responded with a shimmer, begging her to stay. He wanted to help, he wanted to protect her somehow.

His emotions were pouring from him like a river overflowing and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop them. Had the monster inside of him not been so amused by his tamer's confusion and neediness, he would have lashed out long ago. And he would surely maul and maim him later, but this was far too entertaining to not see where it all went. Perhaps giving this boy a taste of something pure and good and then yanking it all away would be even more delightful.

She recognized the look in his eyes and lightly shook her head at him. She knew what he wanted. She thought he was sweet. No matter how cold and distant he always acted, she had always found him to be sweet. He was nothing like Dark, but that was O.K. He was his own kind of knight in shining armor and she had to give him credit for that. He always fought so hard to do the right thing, but no one else realized it. They were too absorbed in his pretty face and money to really care. But she did.

Barely audible, she said, "Don't worry. After all the crazy things I've been through over the years with Dark, I think I can handle a couple of fans. I can take care of myself." But she sounded so scared, so unsure. He knew she was lying, she was only saying what she thought he wanted to hear. But he couldn't let the bad things he knew would happen become real. In a last-ditch effort to save her, he did the only thing he could think of.

With as much confidence as he could muster, Satoshi Hiwatari rose to his feet, taking the beautiful young woman before him with him. With as much resolve as he had ever had, he placed his hands on either side of her head, still trapping her to the lockers. He shot a ferocious glare at his fan club, silently communicating the message of 'you touch her and you'll die.' He hadn't intended to come off that ruthless, but it was too late now. He then turned his head towards the men on the opposite side of the hall.

And then he uttered the words that would later earn him the most excruciating kind of pain he could ever be put through. Krad would scream and rant, making his head pound harder than any migraine could. He would send jolts of agony though his veins, contracting and relaxing every single muscle in his body. He would topple the bluenette to the floor and send mock signals of protrusion to his back. He would create the feeling of his mighty wings ripping from his tender flesh for hours. But Satoshi just didn't care. In his mind, everything was worth it.

He stared down each and every one of those boys, impressing his will and intensity upon each of them. He left no room for argument or dispute when he said, "If anyone even thinks about touching her, you will become well acquainted with my fury. This lovely young lady," he said while now cupping her cheek, "belongs to me." And he sealed the deal with a kiss.

The gasps of horror and disbelief filled the otherwise empty hallway and he could only feel the satisfaction welling up inside of him. The girls ran away crying, mumbling stinging words of hatred at the both of them, though he could care less. The men had all backed away, partially in fear, and partially in defeat. They saw the surprise and awe in her eyes fade as she kissed him back. It stunned him, too, to say the least. He hadn't expected her to respond, especially not so pleasantly.

Even with the hall now cleared of the cause of their troubles, the two teenagers stood, still wrapped up in each other. Risa Harada couldn't believe that words like that had escaped his lips, but she hoped and prayed that they weren't lies. She had kissed several boys, including Dark, but none of them had kissed as... as passionately as this. As hungrily as this. As needy as this. And he hadn't known how much he had wanted her until she was trapped beneath him.

When they broke apart, their faces were painted a vibrant cherry shade of red. He thought it looked absolutely adorable on her and she thought the same of him. So here were these two people, who couldn't be any more different, and they had actually just now come to the conclusion that they needed each other. How they had managed to skip over the entire process of forming a crush, going on a first date, and having a slow and romantic first kiss was beyond them.

He never thought that he would get the chance to feel everything that she had made him feel. He never thought that the warm touch of a woman's hand on his face could be so sensational. That her muddy pools of brown could drown him in the most pleasant way. That her tiny frame could be so perfectly fitting to his own that he was led to believe that they were made for each other. And so it was vice versa.

She had never dreamed that the man she never thought she would find would be right before her. That he had been for years now. He was always so dethatched, so aloof, so far away and out of reach. He even wore glasses, a trait she had always thought she despised. But the way his slid down the bridge of his nose as he still gasped for air was the most attractive thing she'd ever seen. And she had never felt so safe in a man's arms as she did in his. The feeling was familiar, almost as if he'd held her before, but she couldn't quite recall. She highly doubted it mattered, though. This was the most right thing she'd ever felt.

So even though fate should not have brought two so completely polar opposite people together, she did. She served as an aid to miracles, silently promising them that one day, their hardships would be overcome. It would take some time before he could hold her again, feel her plump and soft lips mesh with his own, but... the wait would be worth it. When they day finally came that Dark and Krad were locked away forever, they would both be granted their longing and selfless wish to see each other again.

They had hope.


"A/N: Well? Was it cute? I hope so. I feel like the fandom is dead, especially for this pairing. Well, I still have hope. Anyway, please kindly leave a review. I absolutely adore those."