A/N: Wabi, shhh! :3 Anyway, if you haven't seen, I changed chapter nine quite a bit, so you might want to go back and reread it if you haven't already. The changes I made were kind of important.

The Kiss

Satoshi had only ever felt great regret a few times in his life. A few when he let Dark get away, once when he didn't punch his father in the face for insulting his friends, and the last for not staying as connected to Risa as he used to in the past months.

But that moment, right there, on the dance floor... that was the greatest and worst regret of Satoshi Hikari's life.

He had wanted to pull her closer, to hug her and make her stop worrying, but he had no intention of... of being so... of practically...

Satoshi clenched his fists, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. He walked around the ballroom for a few minutes, brooding. Then an idea hit him, and he excused himself from the party, briefly discussing the whereabouts of the hotel's pool with a manager.

As the socks in his shoes rubbed against his skin, Satoshi chided himself for not thinking clearly. He had more tuxes, but still. He really shouldn't have done such a juvenile thing while wearing a nice diner jacket. Walking to his room, he glanced down at the glasses in his hands. At least he remembered to take those off before his little adventure.

The card slid in to it's hole, the light turned green, and Satoshi stepped into his room. He looked around, droplets of water still cascading down his face. The TV was on, and Risa sat on the couch in a fluffy white bathrobe, watching it. He also noticed that Risa was eating from a pint of Ben&Jerry's ice cream. Upon hearing him enter the apartment, though, Risa turned.

Her mouth dropped. "Satoshi Hikari, what did you do?!"

He frowned, momentarily forgetting everything, and focusing instead on her hair. "You're hair is wet, Harada-san."

She was practically speechless. "M-My hair?!"

He then shivered at the air-conditioning and figured out why she was so surprised. "Ah. Yes. I'm sorry, I went for a swim."

"At one in the morning?!"

He smirked. "You'd be surprised at what they let rich people do."

Risa just glared at him. "Go take a shower, baka! Before you get a cold!" Satoshi smiled. He couldn't help it really. He was just so happy. "What? What are you staring at?"

He shook his head slightly. "Nothing... I'm just glad we're back to normal, as opposed to earlier tonight." Risa quieted, a deep shade of crimson tainting her cheeks. She looked away, pulling at the ends of her hair. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

She rolled her eyes and waved it away with a hand. "It's not like this was the first time." Satoshi was struck dumb for a second. He had almost forgotten that day. "Stop apologizing and get in the shower, idiot. Before you catch pneumonia and die would be preferable."

He almost laughed. "A bit over-dramatic, but I'll take it. To the shower, then."

No, Satoshi hadn't really almost forgotten that day. He always remembered it. He just tried not to.

It was strange seeing Risa so dedicated to something other than stalking. He just sort of watched her for a while, intrigued. She was painting with acrylics after school, listening to her iPod. She was haunched over a table, cups with blended colors spread around her. No one else was in the room due to a faculty meeting, but the teacher had let her stay, which was peculiar, but good for Satoshi.

He heard her humming as she worked. As he watched her strain, he slowly began walking towards her. She almost didn't look like she was moving for a moment, then he saw her forearm twitch as she wet her brush with more needed paint, then she was back to the same position, only able to paint a few strokes at a time. He finally reached a point where he could see over her shoulder, and he saw that she was painting/outlining tiny areas in black. If she was frustrated at the tediousness of her job, she didn't show it. Her face was blank, brow furrowed in concentration.

It was then that he had realized that Risa had grown up. True, they were only juniors in High School, but she really had... and he had missed it. When had she began to wear her hair in a pony-tail? When had she stopped putting on make-up in the morning? When had she grown two inches without the heels? It was stunning, really, to see that so much of her had changed without him taking time to notice or comment on it.

No, even that wasn't true. He had noticed it. He had noticed her emotional maturity, but not the physical aspect of it all. He was always too shy, or too nervous to actually really look at her. Now that he had, Satoshi was forced to admit that she was one of the most beautiful girls in the whole school, even without the accessories and make-up.

At that time, Risa put down her brush and cup, and stood up straight. Satoshi could almost tell how long she had been in such a position because of all the bones that cracked in her back. During mid-stretch was when she caught sight of him. She screamed a bit and stumbled back, then put her hand to her heart and laughed.

"Good God, Satoshi-kun!" She hit his arm. "You scared me!" She paused a moment to catch her breath, removing the headphones from her ears. "How long have you been standing there?"

He shrugged one shoulder. "What are you listening to?"

"Huh? Oh, just some silly pop music. You wouldn't like it."

"Ah."

"But I've been getting better!" She quickly found a song on her iPod and put the headphones to his own ears. "Listen."

He placed one stud in his ear, so she placed the other in hers. He was quite surprised to find himself listening to a classical instrumental that he had sent her as an mp3 file online one night. Satoshi felt his emotionless mask leave him as he stared at her.

She beamed. "Recognize it?"

He nodded silently, then allowed himself to glance at her work once more. "Art project?"

Risa nodded enthusiastically as she scratched her face and wiped her brow. "Yeah. I have to stay after a lot because there are so many little details that I have yet to paint..." She exhaled. "It's a pain, really, but it'll be worth it."

A piano solo played in his ear. "It's very good." She gave him a look. "Really, it is. And because I say so, it's a fact."

"Good then! A Hikari approves of my work. Now I can become world-renowned!"

"I never said that."

"Oh, ho. So now I'm not a good artist?"

He rolled his eyes as Risa giggled, but they knew that she was just teasing him. A content silence fell across the room. Some soft woodwinds and a muted trumpet backed-up the piano. Satoshi looked at her once more; at her head that was lolled to the side, and her closed eyes, and her shoulders that heaved up and down when she breathed. She must have been tired.

There was a spot of black paint on her cheek, so Satoshi reached out to wipe it away. At his touch, Risa's eyes opened, but she didn't back away. That was when he felt the goosebumps.

"Paint on my face?" He nodded. She nodded.

He then scowled. "It's not coming off."

"It's acrylic."

"I know." So he licked his thumb and tried again. She made a face. There was another moment of silence as Satoshi successfully removed the paint, but continued to stroke her cheek. Her skin was so soft...

"Icky," she finally said, but smiling nonetheless. "Satoshi's germs."

There was a pause, where both of them half-expected for a teacher to walk in, but none did. So it happened. She leaned forward... or perhaps he leaned forward. He wasn't quite sure. One of them moved, and they came together, and something clicked. He remembered everything. How she slightly smelled of paint, how soft her hair was, how her hands clung to the front of his shirt. She tasted like strawberry-flavored chapstick and chocolate...

They slowly separated, a second or two passed, and he went back for more.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll see ya, Frank! I've got a delinquent in my room who needs to be checked up on!"

Upon hearing the teacher coming from around the corner, they flew back from each other.

"Ow!"

"Ow!"

"Alright, Harada-san, how is the project coming along?" The teacher entered the room to see both students clutching one of their ears. The middle-aged woman laughed at the iPod that had fallen, abandoned, on the ground. "I can't tell you how many times I've done that. Stepped away while a headphone was in my ear. Hurt's like a bitch, doesn't it?"

There was a blur of his memory as Risa, flustered, cleaned up her things, whereas Satoshi picked up the iPod and placed it on the table, making polite conversation with the teacher. His driver called him and told Satoshi that he was outside. So he bid the teacher farewell. That was when he stopped at the doorway and turned to Risa, as she was washing her dainty, paint-stained hands in the sink. He remembered her looking up at him, and they both blushed. He was about to hurry out, but she called out.

"Satoshi-kun!"

He turned once more. "Yes?"

She gave a weak smile. "Awkward?"

And he gave a weak smile back. "Awkward."

They never spoke of it again.

A/N: Alright, I thought I'd be nice (again) and post another chapter in a short amount of time. I'm doing my best. I just got a couple ideas for this a few days ago, so I'm trying to go with it before I forget them.