Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Still don't own it!

Risa walked along the beach, knowing she was probably past curfew and not caring. After she had woken up, she had stayed out of her room for the entire day. Hawaii really was a beautiful place, and she couldn't get over how interesting the people were. She passed by a man painted in complete silver who danced to the music of a stereo for tips. Near the mall there was a guy painted with gold paint, who played something resembling a gold oboe.

Hawaii was truly amazing, and she was experiencing it without limitations. Hiwatari was wrong - there was nothing to be scared of, save for a few jellyfish, but even those seemed nonthreatening now that she was out of the water. She didn't need anyone telling her what to do, where to go. She could find it all by herself!

Now, standing on the beach she had dragged Hiwatari to, she felt surprisingly disappointed. It wasn't that she had been expecting him to be there, but she had certainly hoped he would be. A small part of her had known better - it was Hiwatari, after all. There was no way he was going to forgive her. This wasn't their beach . . . she was stupid for even thinking that. There was not going to be any romantic apologies. Hiwatari wasn't going to come back and sweep her off of her feet. That just wasn't who he was. Even if he did forgive her, it was like he always said: He didn't have time for girls.

It was a t that moment that she realized something: his glasses! If she found them for him, he'd have to talk to her! He had left them on this very beach - maybe if she found them she could win back his approval. She quickly made her way to the stone pier, noting with some interest that the jellyfish sign had been fixed. Vaguely, she wondered if her accident had anything to do with it.

She walked up and down the stone jetty once . . . twice . . . three times, all to no avail. His glasses were gone, probably knocked into the ocean at high tide by a large wave. Great . . . now what was she supposed to do? Sure, they were just glasses, and sure he didn't even need them, but he had risked his own life to try to save her! And how did she repay him? Spread a rumor that was certain to get back to him and cost him his only friend!

She sighed and sat down on the pier, feeling miserable. At the same time, however, she was enchanted by the charm of a Hawaiian night. How beautiful - the moonlight was reflecting off the dark water, and the black waves, surly yet not threatening as long as she wasn't in them, crashed against the rock. You would never know the hidden dangers that lie beneath the water's surface. And to think, just yesterday, Hiwatari had dived off of this pier to save her life . . . The thought made her shudder.

"Hiwatari . . ." She murmured, remembering the look on his face when he had been planning to paint. It wasn't the calculating expression he always wore - this look was more dreamy, as if he were caught between the world of reality and art. That was the first time she had ever seen him - really seen him for what he was. He wasn't just a cold, cunning genius. He was an artist, a person. If you cut him, he would bleed, just like everyone else. She sighed again. Maybe . . . maybe Hiwatari . . . wasn't as creepy as she had originally thought. Maybe he was just misunderstood. Maybe . . ."

"Wouldn't it be awful if you fell in? No one would ever find you." Suddenly, she wasn't alone anymore. She didn't recognize the man who was blocking her only exit. He was tall and dark of skin, and he was wearing a black trench coat with a black shirt and black pants. Around his neck hung a camera.

"Um . . . excuse me?" She asked faintly, realizing she was completely alone with him.

"Wouldn't it be awful if you fell in? No one would ever know . . ." When he saw the look on her face, he laughed. Somehow it made him seem even more frightening. "Oh, I didn't mean you. I was just saying . . ." His laughter ended abruptly, and he was serious again. "Wouldn't it be terrible?"

"Um . . . yes. It would." She wanted to get away from him, but the only way of getting off of the pier - other than braving the jellyfish infested waters - was to get past him.

"I'm trying to take a picture of the ocean . . . but I can't get it from the right angle." He paused thoughtfully. "Could you . . . take the picture for me?"

The only thing she could think was "He's going to push me in. He's going to push me in. Why is he doing this?" "Um . . . I-I should be leaving." She stood up, but he took a step toward her. She took a step back in response.

"Are you sure you can't stay?"

"Y-Yeah. It's past curfew . . . and . . ."

"Oh, there you are!" Relief washed over her at the sound of Hiwatari's voice. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"H-Hiwatari-kun!" She cried in relief. He rushed to her side, and she was about to throw her arms around him, but he didn't give her a chance. Instead, he took her in his arms and kissed her right on the lips.

"I know we've only been apart for a few hours, but I missed you. I was so worried. Let's never fight again, darling."

Huh? A kiss? Darling? What was Hiwatari getting at?

"So . . ." The stranger looked at the two of them "You two are . . ."

"Together? Oh yes." Hiwatari put an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. "But we should be leaving now. Come on. We're probably going to get in trouble for being out past curfew." With that, he steered her past the guy, who stood gaping at the two of them. He looked like he was about to try something, but one glacial look from Hiwatari stopped him in his tracks. It was amazing the effects an icy glare from a fourteen year old could have on people.

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He kept his arm around her until they were out of sight of the creepy guy. The shock of what had happened had worn off quickly, and she found herself in tears. Had that really just happened? Could she have nearly just been murdered? Suddenly Hawaii felt a lot less like a tropical paradise than it had an hour ago . . .

The minute Hiwatari was sure it was safe, he removed his arm from around her waist and spun her around forcefully. "What the hell were you thinking?!" He shouted furiously, grabbing her wrists. "You could've been killed!"

"I-I'm sorry!" She gasped, tears streaming down her face.

"Why don't you ever listen? I told you it was dangerous to go off by yourself! I told you! Why didn't you listen to me! Do you have any idea what could've happened if I hadn't shown up?!"

"I was trying to find your glasses!" She sobbed. He stopped seething suddenly and just stared at her.

"My glasses? You were trying to find my gl-" He looked absolutely flabbergasted. "Wh-why would you do something like that? Of course, they're gone by now!"

"I felt bad because you lost them when you saved me. I thought that if I found them . . . that maybe I could get you to talk to me . . . and . . ." She sobbed.

"Risa . . ." he sighed, then pulled him to her. She found herself crushed against his chest, her head taking in his light, soapy scent. Still crying, she clung to his shirt like a child. "At least I found you." He murmured, holding her tight against him. "Do you have any idea how devastated your family would be if something happened to you?" She sniffled, and he sighed. "Do you have any idea how devastated Iwould be?"

"Not terribly. You might actually be a little relieved." She sobbed against his shirt. God, she felt safe in his arms.

"Is that really what you think, Risa-san?" When she nodded, he stroked her hair. "I would never wish for any harm to come to you." He said gently.

"I-I want to go home, Hiwatari-kun!" She cried. "I want to go back to Japan!"

"Don't be like that, Risa-san." He murmured. "We still have five more days here . . ."

"I'm scared! I don't like it here! It's not fun anymore, it's just . . . awful! I saw a man digging through the garbage for food! It's dark and scary and . . . and I hate it!"

"Yeah . . . Waikiki is a completely different place by night." He held her close. "Stay with me, though, and I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

She was still sobbing. There was nothing he could do but hold her. He rested his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes. For a moment, they just stood there, clinging to each other. His embrace made her feel cared for . . . he was holding her with the same intensity you hold a toddler you caught just before they walked out into traffic. He held her as if she were the only thing in the world that mattered at that moment.

They stayed like that for a minute, then she felt Hiwatari shift slightly and reach into his pocket. Opening one eye, she saw him pull out a cell phone. She closed her eyes and listened.

"Yeah." He said. "She's with me. You don't need to worry . . . no, go back to your room. I'll take care of her . . . I don't know, but we've already had room check so it really shouldn't matter . . . we'll sneak back in . . . alright . . . of course. You're welcome . . . yeah." With that he snapped the phone shut. "Your sister wants me to have you back in your room by midnight. That gives us an hour . . ."

"Wh-what?" She looked up at him, her eyes questioning.

"Unless of course, you'd rather go back to your room. I'd understand that. You must be tired from-"

"No . . . that's okay!" She said. "What do you want to do?!"

"Well . . . are you hungry?"

"A little." She said with a smile. "Why, do you have a place in mind?"

"Well . . . you like ice cream, don't you? Haagen-Dazs is famous for their ice cream."

"That sounds . . . wonderful." She smiled up at him. As long as she stayed with him, she knew she was safe.

"Here." He removed the jacket he was wearing. "You're shivering."

"Oh . . ." She hadn't even realized she was cold. His jacket swallowed her, reaching her knees easily. It was . . . pleasant. She sighed and took his hand. He looked at her curiously, but made no objection.

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"Why did you kiss me, Hiwatari-kun?"

"You may call me by my first name, if you wish." He said stiffly.

"Oh, thank you. But don't try to change the subject, Satoshi-kun."

"Hmm . . ."

"Why did you do it? I know it didn't . . . mean anything. I could tell by the way you did it there was no romantic purpose in it. So . . . why did you do it?"

"Well . . ." he paused thoughtfully. "I was trying to picture the scenario from the point of view of that guy. . . as chief commander of the police force, it's a basic instinct. I figured that if he saw me as merely a friend, I was sure to be less of a threat."

"How do you figure? I would try my hardest to protect my friends!"

"Well, that's certainly sweet, but I figure a jealous boyfriend is more likely to go after someone than a friend." He shrugged. "Sorry if it made you uncomfortable. It was strictly to protect you."

A kiss for protection. Well, that was a new one. "Thank you . . . Satoshi-kun. That's the second time you've saved my life."

He shrugged. "Here, come with me, there's something I want to show you." He led her to a brown statue that was just a few blocks away from the hotel "Yeah, I saw this earlier. What about it?"

"My family created it." He murmured. She gasped.

"Really?!"

". . . No." He said with a slight smirk. She glared at him.

"Ha ha. Nice one,Hikari-kun."

"No, but look." He pointed up to the top of a lamp post. "See anything interesting?"

"No . . . wait a second . . ." She squinted. "Is that . . . a webcam?!"
"Yeah. Smile and wave."

"How did it get all the way up there?" She asked, waving at it.

"I don't know. It's been up there for a while, so I've heard."

"That's cool." She said with a laugh. "Hey! That means my mom could probably see me!"
"Yeah, there's about a five to ten minute delay in the internet, but tell her to look up Hawaiian webcams until she finds one of a statue." He handed her his cellphone."Really, Hiwatari? You don't mind if I . . ."

"Go ahead." He said, and she punched in the number. It she waited anxiously, but it went straight to voicemail. Sighing in disappointment, she closed the phone and gave it back to him.

"They probably don't have service." She muttered, handing him the phone. "They're on a stupid cruise."

"Oh . . . well . . . we'll come back here again before we leave. Perhaps you'll be able to reach them then."

"I hope so . . ." She sighed. "It would be cool if they could see how I'm doing in Hawaii. They have wireless internet . . . if they're in port maybe . . ." She smiled at him. "Satoshi-kun . . . does this mean you forgive me?"

" . . ." he was quiet for a moment. "Yes . . . it does. I forgive you."

"I'm so sorry, Satoshi-kun." She said. Dammit, why was she on the verge of tears again?

"Don't worry about it." He could see the tears in her eyes. "Please . . . don't cry."

"I just . . . I can't stand the thought of you hating me."

He sighed. "I shouldn't have said that. It was wrong. No matter how angry I get with you, I should never say that I hate you. It's not true."

"You're just saying that. How can you not hate me after what I did?"

"I'm not going to say I know you very well, Risa-san, but I do think I know you well enough to say that you can't help it. You don't really think before you act."

She was about to deny it, then realized he was right. "Well . . ."

"And even though it's a bad thing, and it's going to probably get you in a lot of trouble." he looked meaningfully at her, and she nodded. "it's part of who you are."

"Yeah . . . "

"You realize of course, it's only the second day, and already you've been stung by jellyfish and had a run in with an insane person." He shrugged. "Just something you might want to think about."

"But . . . as long as I have you around, I don't have to worry." She smiled brightly.

"Yeah . . . but what if I wasn't around? What if I hadn't come on this trip. Where do you think you would be right now?"

" . . . I don't know." She said honestly. "I might be dead." He nodded. She smiled slightly and looped her arm through his, laying her head on his shoulder. "But you are here, Satoshi-kun, and I'm extremely thankful for that."

He looked away so she wouldn't she the blush that ran across his face. "Uh . . . l-let's go . . . you wanted ice cream, didn't you?"

"Yeah!" she laughed and hugged his arm closer.

"We barely even know each other . . . yet she acts like we're a couple or something." This bothered him . . . but not as much as the fact that he was kind of enjoying it.

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Risa wouldn't eat unless he got something.

"No! I'll feel fat!"

"Risa-san, you're not fat."

"It doesn't matter! I'll feel fat if I eat and you don't." She pouted. "Please, Satoshi-kun!"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. I'll get something, just go ahead and order."

She smiled. "I'll have a double Jamocha-almond-fudge on a sugar cone, please. And you?" She looked expectantly at him.

"Uh . . . vanilla, one scoop, sugar cone."

"Vanilla?" She looked at him skeptically. "That's all you're getting?"

"What's wrong with vanilla?" He asked defensively. "It's a perfectly fine flavor."

"It's just so . . . boring! Especially when you have all these other great flavors to get."
"Like . . . Jamocha-almond-fudge." he crossed his arms.

"Yeah! It's extra super caffeinated, and it has fudge and almonds in it!"

"I sort of guessed that." He half smirked, half smiled at her. The expression was both endearing and . . . dare she say . . . seductive . . . at the same time. At least, that's how she saw it.

"Here you go." The girl at the counter handed them their ice cream. Satoshi paid for it, and was about to walk off, when a hesitant voice stopped him.

"Um . . . excuse me." The girl at the counter said. Oh, jeez. Risa knew that look. "Sir, can I ask you a question?"

Satoshi looked at her curiously. "Yes."

"You hair . . . is that your natural color?"
"Yes it is." He said in an exasperated tone. She giggled.

"I bet you get that a lot."

"Yes I do. It gets annoying after a while. Is there anything else?"

"What? Uh . . . no. I just wanted to know . . ." She looked embarrassed. For some reason, Risa didn't feel sorry for her. In fact, she felt somewhat smug that Satoshi hadn't given her a second glance.

They got a booth in the corner and sat opposite to each other.

"This is the best ice cream ever." Risa gloated. Satoshi rolled his eyes and looked down at his ice cream.

"Risa-san." He said softly. He would have to be very careful about how he went about this. "Do you . . . want to talk about what happened?"

"Um . . . what do you mean, Satoshi-kun?"

"Well . . ." Without even meaning to, he went into "police mode" "We're probably going to need to report this incident to the police." He tried to shove his glasses up, then remembered he wasn't wearing them. "Ahem . . . so . . . . if you had anything you want to talk to me about . . ."

She stood up abruptly, glaring at him. "So that's it, then?"

"Wait . . . what?"

"That's the only reason you're hanging out with me? So you can interrogate me?!"

"What? No!"

"I know you're a Chief of Police back in Japan, but that doesn't give you the right to play police officer with me!"

"Risa-san!" He grabbed her arm. "I'm not here because I want to interrogate you. I'm here because I want to be. I just thought . . . that you might want to talk about it . . ."

"Yeah well . . ." She muttered jerking her arm away from him. "I don't want to tell the police. It's not a big deal."

" . . . Yes it is."

"Really, Satoshi-kun . . . I don't want everybody finding out - especially not Riku. She'd have a heart attack."

"You're telling me to keep this a secret from your sister?"

"And Daisuke! You can't tell him either! This has to be our secret."

"Eh . . . fine . . . your ice cream is melting."

"Oh!" She gasped grabbed a napkin to wrap around the cone. Satoshi smiled slightly.

"We should probably get back to the hotel . . . we're already way past curfew."

"Okay . . . Satoshi-kun . . . thank you."

" . . . Your welcome, Risa-san." He opened the door for her. Once outside she moved closer to him, taking his arm with her free hand. He didn't stiffen at her touch.

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Thankies to everyone who bared with me through my writers block. Obviously, I worked through it to produce my longest chapter yet.

A little note The creepy, crazy guy on the pier scene - TOTALLY happened to me. No lie. For real, it was scary as hell. The conversation in the story was exactly the same as real life, except Satoshi didn't show up. Instead, my friend Patrick did. I was like "PATRICK!" and ran to him.

Anyway . . . it was scary. I refer to it as my "I almost got murdered in Hawaii" story.

So . . . yeah . . . please review.