Disclaimer: I do not own D.N Angel.
A/N: Sorry for the late update because I was concentrating on other stories. Just a quick note, this story is continuing!
DNAngelfanatic07: Thanks for the review. Enjoy this chapter!
shana.rose.: Nope, this isn't the last chapter. Besides, I haven't mentioned Satoshi and Risa being together, and let's not forget Miyu. Enjoy this chapter!
animelver101: Sorry but I think your review was cut off. No matter, you still reviewed and that's what I like about you! (Laughs) Enjoy this chapter!
ffgirlmoonie: Thanks for the review. I hope you'll like this chapter!
Litterlink048: Thanks for the review! Enjoy chapter 13!
Link Fangirl01: Well, actually, I only thought about CCS for some things, for example, Kinomoto in Miyu's name. About substitute math teacher's name, I'm assuming you're talking about the name 'Kaho'. Well, I didn't exactly get the name from CCS. Besides, 'Kaho' is a common Japanese name, though I could not remember ever writing the name in the story. Well, I did 12 chapters and I'm expecting you not to expect me to remember every single detail of it. Enjoy this chapter! Yes, I'm a big CCS fan:)
Captain.Hitsugaya: YAY! New reader! Welcome to my story and yes, I'm extremely glad you like this story! And yes, there will be Satoshi and Risa pairing in this story so look forward to it! Enjoy this chapter! (Overly dramatic drama is a must xD)
Chapter 13: Hesitations
"Riku-san, are you alright?"
"Harada-san, welcome back."
"Riku-chan, I'm so glad to see you again."
As the red-haired walked to her classroom, she smiled at her friends who were expressing their concern. No matter how Harada Riku loves the showers of concern she was receiving, the mental note of reprimanding her sister did not cease…
"Teacher, Riku will not be coming to school for this three days."
"Why is that so, Harada-san?"
"Because she got knocked down by a car and is hospitalized."
"EHH?!" (The whole class)
"But she's alright now! Just that the doctors want to keep her under observant so she has to stay in the hospital for three days."
Riku sighed regrettably for having such a sister like Risa. As she continued to walk to her class, people she had been on friendly terms with waved happily to her and showered the common concern. Her cheeks involuntarily flushed at so much attention she was receiving that it was embarrassing.
Finally, when Riku reached her classroom, she quickly slid open the door and entered without her usual dread of lessons. She heaved a sigh of relief and placed her bag peacefully on the table and sat down. However, the sight of Risa napping on her table (Risa reached the school faster by train) transformed the finally-peaceful angelic Riku into a flaming Riku.
"RISA!" The loud voice woke the napping Risa up by making her jump a bit.
"Riku, don't scare me like that!" Risa frowned and whined.
"You are the reason that I've been so embarrassed by all these…concerns." Riku blurted out, slamming her palms on her table.
"But isn't that good?" Risa closed an eye quickly from the 'shock' she received when her sister pounded on her table. "That shows how much our friends care for you."
"That's true," Riku's expression softened but the frown refuse to disappear, "But it's quite embarrassing, having people to be over-concerned about you."
"But you don't really care how concerned they are, do you?" Risa broke eye contact with Riku and reached for her bag to fish out the romance novel she had started reading only recently. "All that matters is just a word from Niwa-kun asking if you're okay."
"Risa!" The read-haired girl said her name as if she was announcing any possible conspiracy against the school. Upon seeing her sister's flushing, Risa grinned evilly, knowing that she nailed it. It was a good thing that the classroom was still empty at this early time of the day, for gossips were guaranteed to circulate around.
Suddenly, the door opened and revealed Satoshi and Mio from behind. "Good morning, Risa-chan, Riku-chan!" The yellow-short-haired girl chirped as she stepped into the classroom.
"Good morning, Harada-san." Satoshi, although monotonously as usual, greeted them. The Harada twins knew that he was addressing to the both of them, so they greeted politely in return. The brown-haired girl was disappointed, but her heart skipped a beat upon seeing the stoic blue-haired inspector nonetheless.
"Are you alright now?" Riku's ears perked up at the sound of Mio's voice. She looked up and actually saw her worried expression.
"Yes, I've recovered completely, Mio-san." Riku felt somewhat touched by her concern. "The doctor said I'm alright now."
"That's a relief." Mio smiled brightly, "When I heard what Risa-chan told the teacher about your condition, I was totally worried!"
"I'm fine now." Riku reassured her and glared at her sister, "Risa just likes exaggerating."
Upon hearing how she was being commented badly, Risa folded her arms and muttered a small 'tsk' which went unheard by the two other girls. Satoshi, on the other hand, heard the small displeased response and smirked slightly, although no comments were made.
"I have an idea!" Mio said loudly all too sudden, shocking the three friends. Even if the blue-haired inspector was being shocked, he showed no such emotions or sudden spasm.
"What is it?" Satoshi spoke up finally after his previous sentence which was…the greeting of 'good morning'.
"Why don't we go back to that desserts café to celebrate Riku-chan's recovery after school?" The puppet-girl suggested cheerfully. "Besides, all of you liked the desserts the last time round, right?"
The Harada twins nodded and agreed to the idea immediately and simultaneously. However, Satoshi said, "I can't make it. I have a meeting this afternoon with the police chiefs so I guess you have to go without me."
"I thought it was Hiwatari-san who will be going to the meeting, Satoshi-kun." Mio looked at him questioningly.
Sa…Satoshi-kun?!
Risa looked blankly at Mio with shock, and her eyes averted to the stoic blue-haired boy, wanting to see his response. However, Satoshi did not have any reactions out of the common. He just answered briefly, "Father just told me to go for the meeting in his place the last minute." Satoshi sat himself on a random chair. "He was really sick today."
"But you really liked the desserts the previous time, right?" Risa spoke up and seeing his cold blue eyes piercing through her warm brown ones, she held her breath for a second.
"I did." Satoshi sighed silently. "But the meeting is more important and that goes into my priority."
"I see." Risa's face fell slightly at the disappointment.
"How about we'll wait for you until your meeting is over?" Mio suggested again in her cheery voice. "We can wait, can we?" She looked back at the Harada twins for their response. They both nodded and Satoshi found himself being eyed very carefully as if he was being interrogated.
"Okay then. The plan suits me just fine." Satoshi said simply and nodded in acknowledgement. Somehow, Risa didn't like the sound of their tones. It was…too agreeing. Could something happen between the two of them? Besides, it was a huge possibility as they live under the same roof. And being a girl who yearns for attention, she felt largely ignored by Satoshi. Other than the time when he comforted her during Riku's accident, Satoshi suddenly acted like he couldn't care less what happen to Risa that morning. Or was she just being too sensitive that day?
"How about Niwa-kun?" Risa asked, ignoring the little jealousy festering inside her.
"We'll tell him when he gets here." Riku brightened at the mentioning of her boyfriend.
Sure enough, when the red-spiky-haired boy came dashing into the classroom (he was one minute to being late) and was informed of the plans of going to the desserts café, he immediately agreed. As the teacher arrived to class late that morning, the red-haired couple found time – no matter how little they were – to beam at each other and mutter a few sweet nothings, which were fortunately, not very mushy.
Risa looked at them and their beaming faces, suddenly feeling envious. When she delved deeper into the topic of 'relationships' along with her musings, she found it surprisingly hard to believe that Riku would have a boyfriend earlier than her. Besides, Risa was all about boys, make-up and girly stuff while her sister was into lacrosse and other more decent things. Comparing the both of them, it would be an obvious answer as to which twin would engage in a relationship first. However, answers aren't always exact and hence, results differ.
Her mind wandered around Satoshi but she was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts when a person called her name. "Harada Risa!" Now that the brown-haired girl realized that she was daydreaming and snapped out of it, the voice boomed in her ears.
"Hai!" Risa stood up and looked up, making sense of what was happening within the classroom. Seeing that the teacher had already arrived, she greeted abruptly.
"It's nice to know that you acknowledge my presence, Harada." The teacher said and gave her a hard look. "As I'm sure you know all too well yourself, I do not tolerate daydreaming pupils."
"I'm sorry." Risa apologized with her eyes closed guiltily and sat down slowly. She couldn't bear looking anywhere else, even at her sister. She had been too thoroughly embarrassed. If she hadn't been so engrossed in thinking about Satoshi and possible advancement between him and Mio, this wouldn't happen.
As she copied her notes on Math, Risa concentrated hard, although Satoshi came across her mind once in a while. Thankfully, the brown-haired girl was able to 'double-task'.
After school…
Mio walked around the school compound endless times but somehow could not locate the library. She sighed exasperatedly and asked for directions from students, although preferably juniors. Lo and behold, it was of futile effort.
It was very unfortunate for her indeed. As a student taking Art, Mio had to go to another class for her lesson, separating her from Daisuke and company. However, they had decided to meet up at the library after school, which did prove to be a good idea until Mio realized the library was more difficult to find than it let on. Besides, it wasn't very long since she entered the school so familiarizing the locations of different facilities was difficult.
After walking rounds and rounds, Mio found herself at the same place again; outside the Art Room. Were the juniors playing a prank that involved her to walk stupidly in rounds? The yellow-haired girl had no choice but to peek inside the classroom to see if any friends were still present and goodhearted enough to venture with her on the journey to the library.
She peered into the classroom through the glass window pane and smiled widely. It seems that there was still one more person in the Art Room painting on his canvas. He looked vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't remember him for exact. Nonetheless, she opened the door and stepped in hopefully. The boy instinctively looked up from his painting and at her.
Mio widened her eyes slightly as soon as he saw his features, especially his eyes. Those amber orbs were so alluring…
"Hello Mio-san." The boy smiled upon seeing Mio, and she blushed slightly at the gentle and kind smile of his.
Suddenly, realizing that she had been staring at the boy, she quickly regains her composure and asked with a tone of uncertainty, "Umm…I would like to ask where the library is."
"You don't know where it is?"
Mio nodded her head in response. "I'm still not familiar with the locations of various facilities."
The boy nodded in understanding and began saying, "To go to the library, you just have to turn left there and go straight until you see the second staircase. Just go straight up and…"
"Do you mind if you just bring me there?" Mio interrupted embarrassedly, knowing that it was quite a request. After all, she didn't want to get lost again, and this was the exact instructions that had guided her rounds and rounds the school.
"Sure." The amber-eyed boy replied and asked Mio to wait for him. After washing his paintbrushes, packing his palette and other art equipments, he covered his canvas with a white sheet of cloth. He took his bag and walked towards Mio.
"Come, I'll bring you to the library." The boy began to walk, a silent indication for Mio to follow him.
At first, silence was their middleman. However, with Mio's cheerful and open attitude, the two progressed into a simple conversation. "How do you know my name anyway?" Mio asked and looked questioningly at the brown-haired boy, "I mean, I'm not sure who you are."
Surprisingly, the boy broke into a large amused grin. "I'm in the same class as you!"
"Really?!" Mio stared, mouth wide open. "But I've never seen you in class before."
"Probably because I sit at the back of the class." The boy suggested.
"What's your name?"
"I'm Kinomoto Miyu." The boy answered.
"Nice to meet you." Mio returned a smile.
"By the way, why are you going to the library?" Miyu asked. "Are you borrowing any books or something?"
"Actually, I'm just meeting some people there." Mio answered. "I was supposed to meet Niwa-kun and the Harada twins. We're going to this desserts café to celebrate Riku-chan's recovery."
"That's nice to know." Miyu commented with a smile. But in his eyes, Mio could tell that they became duller and his expression was nostalgic one.
"Miyu-kun?" Mio called him and the boy jumped slightly at how his daydream was disrupted. However, he maintained the smile and flashed it at Mio.
"I was just thinking about something, Hio-san."
"Don't call me that." Mio pouted and faked the glare directed at him.
"Eh?"
"Just call me Mio-chan!"
"I see." Miyu smiled and then said simply, "Mio-chan."
"That's more like it!" Mio smiled happily and advanced a few steps further than Miyu. "I don't like people who are too formal." Upon seeing Miyu's understanding smile, she blushed slightly and looked away too quickly. Luckily for her, Miyu did not notice and they continued to walk.
"You're late, Mio-san!" Risa said in a high-pitched tone.
"Sorry, Risa-chan. I couldn't find the library. But I was lucky Miyu-kun helped me get here." Mio gestured to the boy next to her and the three friends – Daisuke and the Harada twins – turned to look at him.
"Kinomoto-kun!" The three of them said his name simultaneously that their voice overpowered his weak 'hi'. Riku looked intently at Daisuke, wondering if he still harbored anymore misunderstanding thoughts about him. However, when the amber-eyed boy turned to leave, Daisuke called out his name. Miyu turned back and looked at him with a questioningly look. The red-haired boy did not give any reproachful look (much to Riku's relief) but smiled and offered, "You want to come with us to the desserts café, Kinomoto-kun?"
Miyu widened his eyes at the offer from the boy he thought hated him because of the misunderstanding. Initially, Miyu rejected, but after so much persuasion from the three girls, he nodded quite reluctantly, although deep inside, he was somewhat glad. He eyed Riku who was chatting animatedly with Daisuke and felt a pang in his chest. He cursed himself silently for holding on to his unrequited crush and inflicting himself with so much unnecessary pain.
"Hello." A monotonous voice said from behind the group and their attention were brought there. They were about to open their mouths to fire tons of questions until the blue-haired boy held up his hand, silencing them before saying, "The meeting is cancelled. I'm free now."
"Hiwatari-kun, you're so troublesome." Risa muttered under her breath.
"You're not too bad in getting into trouble yourself." Satoshi's voice sudden made Risa look up at him. His smirk indicated the incident where she got reprimanded and she made a face at him.
As she walked next to Riku, she thought deeply about that morning; about the possibility of Satoshi and Mio being together. It wasn't impossible, but the chances were not high either. She glanced to her side where Satoshi was walking with Daisuke. Seeing that he had caught her looking, Risa hurriedly turned back to the front.
Harada Risa didn't know what to think. She was hesitating.
Mio: YAY! A very decent chapter if I might say so myself. I was great!
Risa: But Hajimari…
Hajimari: Hmm?
Risa: I could never doubt Hiwatari-kun.
Satoshi: (Blushes)
Hajimari: Stand here, Risa. See this? (Forms a rectangle with fingers with Satoshi and Mio within as if in photo)
Risa: (Stares blankly)
Hajimari: Risa, are you okay? Risa! (Shakes Risa)
Risa: (Cries and runs away) Hajimari, I hate you!
Hajimari: Wait! (Runs after Risa)
Daisuke: Riku, I guess we'll have to do the honors.
Riku: I guess so. Mio cheering for the start of her love life, Satoshi is blushing too much to even look at the camera and Dark is… Where is Dark?
Mental Image of Dark: LET ME OUTTA HERE! (Holding bars of prison cells)
Daisuke and Riku: (Sweat-drops)
Daisuke: Anyway, we hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Riku: Please review!
Daisuke: By the way, when is Kinomoto-san going to appear in the ending credits?
Riku: I don't know, we should ask Hajimari about it.
Daisuke: I'm sure she'll agree. Besides, Kinomoto-san is a great guy.
Riku: I'm glad you think that way (looks lovingly at Daisuke).
Daisuke: Hah? (Huh?)