Warning: This, to the reader, may or may not contain the obvious view of there being a Satoshi Hikari/Hiwatari X Risa Harada couple. You may skip this but I doubt you'll understand some things in the near future if you do.
Yes, I got excuses. What author doesn't have? What would be more common is if I gave them out when I am away, not updating for a time. Like now. Well, I won't this time. It's…let's just say my absence was that of me feeling painful things.
Maybe another word of caution: This chapter is long...
Let's start the show~
Chap. 37, What Comes to Light...?
Blue, clear eyes opened to the sound of taping on the door of the infirmary. The nurse was nice enough to have let Satoshi stay in bed till the end of the day. The sun shone it had turned to late afternoon, making the room glow in a bright orange hue. He stayed motionless as he heard the nurse rise from her chair and opened the door.
"Oh, Ms. Harada, hello." The nurse said, seeing the petite girl at the entrance moving into the room.
"Hello Misaki-san" Risa greeted as she went to the bed where Satoshi was in.
"Came to see Mr. Hiwatari again?" the nurse asked, now making her way to where the boy's things were. Satoshi cringed inwardly and frowned as he heard the last name that was dubbed to him by the man imprisoning his mother and himself; always reminded by that.
It can get real upsetting hearing that but he coped with it, being a good liar and all.
"Yes. Thank you for letting me visit him." Risa said, letting her hands stay by her sides. She almost, reflexively, touched Satoshi's bed. Call it an old habit.
"It's no problem. I think I can tell when there's a couple wanting to be together." The nurse bluntly said.
"Wh-what?! NO! It's nothing like that! We're not –" Risa yelled, frantically looking from the nurse to the boy in bed sharply.
"Say something!" Risa asked. The corners of Satoshi's lips twitched up, showing a somewhat amused smile and looked at the nurse. Risa felt her stomach flip and drop down to the floor, her face paling.
"Why Misaki-san, how did you know?" Satoshi said. Risa's eyebrow twitched. She wanted to kill him now and send him to the hospital after wards!
"Oh you know~ It's the signs! You two show a lot of chemistry~" said the nurse as she exited the room, merrily on her way to her car. Risa turned to Satoshi, a murderous intent shown in her eyes. He did not budge as he compared her glare to that of a dwarf hamster…
Dwarf Hamsters don't glare…
Satoshi relaxed his shoulders, hadn't noticed how he instantly had them tense when Risa entered. Risa went up to him, instantly having her arms crossed in front of her and looking down on the pale blue haired boy. He sighed.
"She's a hopeless romantic. Relax Harada." Satoshi assured, not looking at Risa as he made himself comfy in bed.
"That still doesn't mean you should have told her that!" yelled Risa, extending her arms to her sides as she did so. Satoshi choose to ignore her outburst, turning his back on Risa and raising the sheets up to his shoulders.
"I can easily tell her that we're not dating and she'll get the idea that we're not."
Risa relaxed, unfolding her arms and resigning herself to the chair next to the bed.
"You know..." Risa said after a few minutes of being quiet, "it's going to end soon, the school day...don't you want to go home?"
Satoshi started feeling a headache forming. He really wanted to avoid going back to where Krad and the old man were. All the white-winged angel had been doing to him was draining his life away. Every second of every hour was a kiss draining him away. It was a sickening week for him, to say the least.
But Risa didn't have to know that. She was a bystander and that's all she needed to be.
"No..." was all he replied with.
Risa rubbed her thumb over the cellphone she had, recharged and surprisingly unused now.
"How do you feel?" Risa asked quietly. He didn't think she would try to continue talking with him after showing he wasn't so open to her but he would comply, nonetheless.
"...Better..." short and simple. No need for more words. The girl behind her squirmed in her chair, feeling discomfort from the lack of conversation. She looked around before placing her eyes on her phone again. She sighed and looked at her pictures.
"You can leave." Satoshi said, startling Risa from her phone.
"What?"
"You can go home. I'll be fine here." Satoshi said. His eyes were half open as he looked at particularly nothing. "I'm going to leave later."
"How will you go back home? I'm not going to let you collapse somewhere!" Risa said, raising her voice a little as she started to feel upset. It was a bit inconvenient for him yet he did not show his discomfort. Satoshi didn't want her there. More than that, he was better off being alone for now. Who knows what other bad news would come to him now. Still, Satoshi knew that the girl was firm about what she would do and the only way to make her go away was to silence her and intimidate her to go away.
Sadly, he also knew he wasn't in the condition to do that, seeing as she already saw him in such a poor state and had already attempted to drive her away earlier.
Satoshi sighed and turned around in the bed, starring at her.
"So you won't let me go home alone?"
Risa shook her head.
"Do you even know where I live?"
She hesitated before she lowered her head a little and shook her head. Risa seemed incredibly docile for some reason. It was a bit baffling. A bit. Perhaps it was because she was alone in a room with possibly the only boy she hadn't gotten along with.
Satoshi took his eyes away from her, closing them as he decided whether or not to let her walk with him.
"In any case, I do feel better." Satoshi reassured. Said girl looked up from her cellphone and smiled a small smile. She had, unknowingly, started to get comfortable with Satoshi. The light-blue haired boy caught her gaze and relaxed more in the bed. They stayed like that for a while until Risa felt the need to say something. Grasping on what to say to make conversation, she said the first thing that came to mind.
"So, um, you missed out on classes today" Risa said, meekly. She inwardly reprimanded herself on how obvious that sounded. The boy's brow rose as he heard her.
"Do you need notes?"
'Of course Risa! What kind of question is that?!' Risa immediately thought.
"I don't need any."
That stopped her train of thought as she looked straight at him, her shoulders slumped. He figured she was having troubling thoughts. It was easy to see.
"...but thank you." Satoshi said, quietly and sincerely. An appreciative smile crept up on the girl's face. She could now see that Satoshi's face had a sort of glow to it as he didn't show any of his usual seriousness. Must have been the lack of glasses.
'Wait, his glasses are off. Can he see me?' Risa thought as she looked towards where Satoshi's glasses were, sitting right on top of his bag on the nurses' desk. Once she stopped making eye contact, Satoshi prepared himself to get off from the bed. He might as well walk a little with her. Its not like he would actually faint now that he rested well.
Satoshi was lax at first on the bed, just removing the sheets as Risa stood up to get his bag and glasses, leaving her own bag and cellphone on the chair.
She caught herself once she had the glasses in her hands. 'Wait a second, what am I doing?!'
Risa looked back at the boy as he swung his legs over the left side of the bed.
'Maybe I'm a little out of it. It's not like he needs help getting his glasses.' Risa thought as she took the glasses and the bag and went over to the boy's side. She looked away as she gave him his belongings, a small tint of pink was starting to show on her cheeks.
"Thanks" he muttered as he left his bag on the side and put his glasses on. Just as soon as he placed them on his person, he felt a sensation going through him as if someone was about to leave this world. In his chest he felt a sort of tightness as he glimpsed at the window.
Risa looked at him, seeing as he slowly stood up, neglecting to button up the last remaining buttons on his uniform shirt. "Hiwatari?"
His focus was back and he looked back at the girl. Satoshi stared at her for a second before composing himself and continuing to button his shirt. Risa's eyebrow rose as she dismissed the odd behavior of the teen. 'He must be out of it, still…'
Satoshi shrugged the feeling away and walked right up to Risa for his bag. The brunette looked up at him, realizing he had grown taller compared to last year. She hadn't noticed.
"May I have my bag back?" the blue haired boy asked.
"Ah- yes! Sure!" Risa said as she was caught in surprise from her staring at him. She quickly handed him his bag and walked to where her things are. The boy then fixed the bed up and headed for the door.
"Well, are you coming?" Satoshi asked, not at all in his usual cold tone but in a rather light hearted one. Risa jumped, not having expected that. She hurried along, feeling a strange sense of shyness in her steps.
"What about Ms. Misaki? Won't she need permission?" Risa asked as she saw Satoshi placing his hand on the doorknob. His eyes lazily looked back at her.
"She already knows how I am so I can leave…"then he paused.
"But if it bothers you that much..." he turned towards the door, not really wanting to let her see his face as he contemplated on why he sensed what he did a few seconds ago. "We can just wait for her outside of the room."
Risa smiled at that as she nodded her head, agreeing to the suggestion the boy made. She jogged right up to him and kept on smiling.
"I guess you're not so uptight all the time, huh?" Risa said, deciding to be cocky and not think about whether it's make the boy mad or not. What she didn't count on, however, was a sort of smirk coming upon his face as his eye lids drooped half way.
"Hn, same goes for you," he turned the doorknob and took one step out of the infirmary before finishing, "whiny princess."
"Wha –?! 'Whiny princess?! Take that ba-" Risa said as just as suddenly being angered by him, she grew quiet when she saw why Satoshi hadn't continued going out the door. Brown eyes shown behind rimless glasses as a smile as fake as a mirage looked down upon the two.
"Hello Satoshi." Greeted the man right before Satoshi.
Satoshi's good humor vanished in an instant as he saw the man that was the main cause of his problems.
Kei Hiwatari.
With Dark and Daisuke (forward )
"And here we go!" Dark said as he opened the door to the infirmary. Daisuke panted as he leaned forward, hands on his knees. Dark looked about the room, already figuring out that no one was around.
"Huh….guess there's no one here to visit. Let's go to my place and eat Dai-chan~" rejoiced Dark, already taking the red head's hand and dragging him away.
"Huh" – he panted as he was suddenly being led away from the infirmary – "What? Wait, Dark, stop. Let me breathe at least!" Daisuke protested, all the way to the exit door right ahead of them. A woman with short brown hair and cheery-looking violet eyes bumped into them as the two were about to head on out. Luckily enough, Dark had quick reflexes to catch her by her arm and pull her back where she could properly stand upright.
A strange feeling, like that of the heart suddenly stopping, was felt when Daisuke saw that. He felt his hand being let go of as Dark caught the woman. 'Huh…?' Dai thought as he saw that, not understanding why he suddenly felt that way. He couldn't even figure out what was that feeling, but as it suddenly came, it went away just as the woman spoke up.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she said, looking up as she took a step or two away from Dark. Dark dropped his hands to his side as he faced the woman. She was as tall as Menou, Daisuke idly thought as he heard the two talk.
"Don't sweat it." Dark said, then sneaked a glance at Dai as the other was seeing the two.
"By the way, have you seen a boy about," Dark paused for a split second as he placed his hands on Daisuke's shoulders and placed him directly in front of him, making the lady move away more, "this tall with this same uniform?"
Daisuke just blinked, feeling a little self-conscious. The woman did the same and then responded to the violet haired boy's question.
"You mean Hiwatari-san? He left a few minutes ago. His father came by and signed him off from my hands." Then she started to daydream a little. "He was so handsome~"
"'Out of your hands'…could you be the new nurse that the middle school has this year?" Dark asked.
"Eh?" Daisuke said, looking confused.
"Why yes, I am." Said the nurse.
"Eh?! You're THAT Misaki sensei?!" Daisuke asked, surprised that the nurse turned out to look different from what he had expected. Imagination can sometimes try to dominate the mind. Being wrong about it, though, this is one of those times. Awkwardly, the nurse answered back.
"Yes…I'm…that 'Misaki sensei" said the nurse, awkwardly. "You both might as well look for Hiwatari-san outside or when he comes back to classes tomorrow."
"Yeah, I see no problem with that. WELL, let's go home Daisuke!" Dark said, already dragging out the red head.
"No, wait, I can go without you pulling me all over the place! Dark! Argh!" protested Daisuke.
"See ya, Misaki sensei!" Dark called over his shoulder as he was already out the door.
"See you later boys" waved Misaki-sensei.
With Satoshi & Risa (backwards & Play)
Without giving notice to the two that were present, Satoshi's body went rigid. He hadn't counted for his 'step-father' to come around. Nonetheless, he kept his calm and collected façade and addressed the man in front of him.
"Commander Hiwatari, what brings you here?" Said Satoshi, putting one of his hands in his pocket as he placed himself firmly between the man and Risa. He wasn't about to let Hiwatari get any ideas with any of his peers.
"How cold of you. You're supposed to say Father to me." Said Hiwatari, wearing a smile that only Satoshi would be able see it's fake.
"Eh?! Your Hiwatari's dad?!" Risa asked, pushing the door open just a little more to see who Satoshi was talking to.
To say the blue haired boy was annoyed was an understatement. "Harada…"
He then looked at the commander and stepped outside, leaving his bag on the table. "Wait. Right. Here. I'll be back." And closed the door. He could hear the brunette protest on the other side of the door. As soon as he faced his step father again, he saw that the man had a sort of glimmer in his eyes.
'He's plotting something…' Satoshi thought.
"Harada, was it? She'd make a special guest among our little party of friends. Don't you agree…" Hiwatari said as then looked down at Satoshi. "Hikari?"
With a fierce glare, Satoshi stood his ground, now putting both hands in his pockets. "You leave her out of this."
"Always the cold one but remember," Hiwatari took Satoshi's chin and roughly pulled it forward and spoke to him in a harsh whisper, "I'm the one that pulls all the strings. So if you want to see your beloved mother you better behave yourself!"
Satoshi slapped his hand away sharply, "Tell me, what is it that you want? You came here with a purpose, didn't you?"
Hiwatari composed himself, "Ah, yes, you see, there's been a hindrance within my plan and I found out what it is. All you need to is to take care of it."
"Hn, and what in the world could that be?" Satoshi said, closing his eyes in frustration and tilting his head down, away from the commander.
"Let me clarify this for you a bit. You will lure Daisuke Niwa into the mansion with your 'womanly charm' that you're so good at and we'll trap him there. This will be perfect bait for that renegade angel to come forth with her partner in crime." Hiwatari explained.
"What the –?! There's no way I'll do that!" Satoshi yelled.
"OH you will do as I say. Everything that I am telling you now, word for word, you will do it, Hikari. If not, you know what the consequences that will occur." Hiwatari smirked, looking quite pleased with himself as he looked down on the boy.
Satoshi was seething as he stared at the man with steely blue eyes.
"If this helps, think of it as a nice prank towards that classmate of yours." Hiwatari added, looking away as he bathed in how brilliant his plans were.
"How'd you know about him in the first place?" Satoshi asked, having no choice but to comply with the current plan.
"How else? I never forget a face Satoshi. He was present when those barbarians infiltrated my mansion and took the angel away from me. To think there was another that would try to disguise themselves as a girl. That doesn't deceive me in the slightest." Hiwatari then looked straight at Satoshi, "Why not pay with the same foolish action?"
Satoshi found himself disgusted. He hadn't known that Daisuke Niwa was in the mansion on that very night they had imprisoned the angel. Now he had to dress up as a girl in order to trap Niwa. It was underhanded and he wanted nothing to do with the boy. If only he had the power to do something…
'And no doubt they'll try to torture him to get anything he knows of the angel out.' Satoshi thought. He at least was able to keep his thoughts hidden from the commander.
"There's not much of a choice for you. You either do it or…" Hiwatari said, not ending what he was saying, just a smile forming on his face. Satoshi knew. It was repeated time and time again that his mother was the old man's ace in the hole when it came to him.
"Fine." Satoshi agreed, his left hand hidden by his profile showed turning into a tight fist.
"Good son." Hiwatari said as he then petted the boy's top head and walked off to the exit. "I'll see you and your little girlfriend some other time. Do tell her that she's always invited to dine in our mansion."
Satoshi just kept glaring at the man as he saw him leave the school building. Finally, he let a heavy sigh escape his lips while taking his glasses off and massaging his temple. How could he ever get out of this mess? He wanted to do something about this, something that would set things right, but it was no use; he knew that already. With a somewhat heavy heart, he went back to the infirmary room and took his bag from the table – only to find it on the lap of Risa Harada. He could see that she made herself comfortable on the nurse's chair. As he made his presence known, Risa looked away from his bag and up at his blue eyes.
"You're finally done with talking with your dad?" Risa asked as she got on her feet and pushed the chair into its proper place. Satoshi nodded as he took the kindly offered bag from Risa's hands, brushing her hand lightly when he did so.
"I…ahem," Risa paused, not feeling so comfortable "I thought you were going with him back home."
Satoshi paused as he was going to turn away and open the door. He looked back and while maintaining his calm composure said, "He's a busy man." And looked back as he turned the knob and opened the door.
"Ah, I guess so since he's in charge of the whole police department…" Risa said, sounding a little deflated.
'Risa, get it together! What are you sad for? So what if he did or didn't go with his dad? He's just a classmate to you. An acquaintance and nothing more, right? Right?! Yeah! That's right….' Thought Risa.
"Besides, I couldn't leave such a whiny girl disturb Misaki-sensei's peaceful evening." Satoshi said, letting himself smile just a little as he faced the outside. That burst Risa's bubble.
"Ah! That's right! You HAVE to take that back NOW!" Risa exclaimed as she followed Satoshi outside of the infirmary and straight towards the exit. Satoshi didn't bother saying anything which caused Risa's anger to escalate.
"Yes, alright" finally said the blue eyed boy, "I take it back."
Risa crossed her arms as she looked on from Satoshi, both bathed in the afternoon sun.
With Argentine
Argentine had made sure to act as natural as possible when it came to "waking up" in the trolley and walking outside. Hiroko's body felt heavy due to its actual host being unconscious and her muscles being confused to whether or not to continue reflexing or relaxing along with the subconscious. Unlike the first time he took over her body, this time her body was slowly forming to a different type. It'd be like trying to posses an angel, which was technically true but in essence alone. Either way, he had control of the nervous system and that's really all he needed to move. He looked left and right once he got out of the trolley, seeing if he spotted anyone he could recognize. 'I should have tried knowing some people she knows when she was asleep last week...' thought Argentine as he did his best to look normal while walking away from the station and into the streets.
A group of girls were right in front of him as he crossed the street by the stores. He couldn't help but grip at the school bag and slowed his pace. The memories of a care free little girl playing with a human boy had flooded his mind. To think that only a week ago he was half of the source of the seal to that very same girl he met long ago. Argentine knew what he done had made it so that she would be "human" but he never disappeared as he thought he would. Not even reincarnation seemed possible unlike Hiroko's brother. He knew, once Sora's soul had reincarnated into someone else and would make contact with Hikaru again, now Hiroko, that he would have been freed. His soul that is. Yet he never moved on and he had wondered about that just as soon as he saw Sora. It felt cruel to know of how he aided to warp the little girl's life, who saved him from Hell itself.
Yes, Argentine was happy that she lived and successfully turned into a human, whether temporary or not, but he was sad that she didn't remember her own life before then, or her brother. He seen her happy then, way more than now.
'Especially now...' thought Argentine as he looked inside his joined mind and saw Hiroko lying on the ribbon-filled floor. This strange, frosty view and pitch black room was their domain in their minds. It represented their minds being together and how united their souls were. Not blended (that would have meant being one) and not like water and oil either (although, that had somehow seemed to be the case at the beginning). Just two beings sharing each other.
The blonde shook his head, feeling Hiroko's hair hit his face, er, her face. He needed to get to the mansion as soon as possible. Argentine looked to the side of where a pet store was and found a solitary path. Good, he could loosen up there and head straight towards the mansion.
He made a turn towards the alley and once he got in he let his upper body lean onto his knees, hands right on them, and the bag ringing around the small wrist that Hiroko had. He looked at it, his eyes half-lidded as his tired soul breathed evenly now.
'If only she could remember me...' Argentine thought idly. He closed his eyes tight at that thought. The blonde never expected anything in return for his help but after seeing how different the girl he once knew was, he started to want to be remembered by her. Hikaru was an angel to him first. Then she had to pretend being a little human girl. She was always full of energy and excitement. Then again, that's what you would expect from a young angel.
He remembered the times when she wanted to play with him but he was too stoic at the time to care. The turquoise-eyed demon he was slowly forming into in Hell had started to develop a lack of empathy that slowly cleared up when he made it to Earth. Once he started to revert into that of a ghost, it was too late for him to do any nicer or better things with the child. Sadness clouded his mind at most times and others he felt numb. He couldn't spend so much time with the girl as much as she would have liked even when she tried to pull him into her sunny-filled world.
At least he could say he had fully liked her company and missed her now that her old personality was gone.
"No...she's not gone" Argentine said, particularly to no one as he opened his eyes and saw Hiroko's hair, knees and hands were now in his view. He could feel the flame of determination welling up inside of him, giving him the strength to stand up straight and try to focus on the mansion where the two resided at.
'Right now, she is here. Right beside me. Nothing should be better than to have her around, alive and safe...' Argentine thought last before vanishing from the alleyway, the last thing showing was a disappearing frown.
With Krad
Golden eyes watched the still form of a woman chained to a cross encircled with wood and lace. The lace had small writing on it not known to be any language on the face of the Earth. As Krad gazed at the woman, an insatiable appetite to cause havoc ran through his whole body like a thrilling chill up ones spine. Light from above bathed him and the woman as he looked at her. He felt nothing but disdain for the woman.
Light blue hair, almost to the point of going silvery white was limply hanging from her back and front as. It reached all the way to the floor of the dark room. The some strands of hair were even burned off here and there as well as there being a few minor cuts, now rapidly healing. Some of the blood that was present on her ruined the yellow sundress she had on from when she was captured.
At the moment, though, it did not matter. She hung her head low, her face not viewable. Krad went closer, knelt before the woman and lifted her head up. He knew of her condition already but wanted to be sure that the woman was going to stay this way for good.
"Her cuts aren't healing anymore…" Krad mumbled to himself then smirked. Lifting his white, gloved hand, he slapped her face hard. When there was no movement, he rose up and left the room. He got his cellphone out from the side pocket of his white suit, feeling the soft fabric of his gloves as he pressed on the speed dial and placed it next to his ear. Just as he heard the phone being answered, he wasted no time to tell of his findings.
"Hachirou-sama, I have some news."
"What is it, Krad?" spoke a man's voice.
"There may be a problem in our plans. The traitor Hikari woman has not been responding or healing her wounds for a while."
"I'll be there soon, meanwhile why don't you become useful and get a nice dress for the boy, hm? He's going to do some dirty work and I need him to be well dressed as a lady." There was a delightful tone to the man's voice as he said this. Krad nodded without hesitation, his eyes clouding over as he heard the command.
"Yes, Hachirou-sama." And he hung up, carrying his duty as he went to another part of the mansion to get the things ready.
With Satoshi and Risa
For most of the walk, the two had walked silently towards Satoshi's home. Every once in a while, Risa would glance back up at him and he'd sense it easily but paid no mind to it. This time, he wasn't trying to isolate himself.
In the end, he decided to make some conversation. Seeing as he had been asleep for most of the day, he supposed she needed an ice breaker from all the silence.
"Harada" he started, looking ahead.
"Risa" the girl beside him said quickly. He stayed silent, not expecting the correction from her.
"Just call me Risa..." the brunette said quietly. It was out of character for the very much self observed girl to be so...meek. The correction was a bonus to how weird this moment was. Yet he did not falter. She isn't the first to act so strangely.
She was testing the waters, really. Something about him calling her by her last name didn't sit well with her. As if that meant everything everyone knew her by but herself. Her actual self. To say she didn't felt confused by the feeling, though, would be a lie.
"Risa, then..." Satoshi tried out. It surprised her in how new yet natural he made it sound.
"Has it been boring for you today?" he asked, already figuring out how she'd react.
Auburn eyes looked to the back of his head sharply, her cheeks turning red with anger as her brows furrowed. 'Sure! Put me on the spot why don't you! Easiest question to answer there!' Risa thought sarcastically as she then looked away, pouting. She wanted to keep up the 'good-girl' image.
"It wasn't boring. It was kind of..." she paused as she remembered her looking at his features, "calming."
"What made you want to stay?" Satoshi asked, not facing Risa as she lagged on behind him.
"Uh, um, well, you were sick so I decided that I'd be a good classmate and take care of you" Risa said, getting at random hair strands and looking away. Satoshi stopped walking and had stayed silent for a time. Risa saw this and stopped a few feet away from him.
'I can't let her know where I live. If they see her, they'll assume that she's something more to me and take her hostage, too. This is where I draw the line.' Thought the light-blue haired boy.
"You don't have to stay taking care of me." Satoshi said suddenly. Risa blinked once, staring at the back of the boy's head. She didn't think he would push her away now but it's not like she was surprised either. Her temper got the best of her as she placed her hands on her hips while still holding onto her bag.
"You know what your problem is?" Risa said in a mighty high voice that almost startled the other. Satoshi turned around and was faced with an angered Risa Harada who was coming towards him.
"You think you can take care of yourself. That you don't need anyone. Well I know you can't." Risa said, now face to face with the boy. Satoshi sported a poker face right there and then since he could see that the brunette was on a roll, now.
"I actually stayed with you just so that you won't be laying around on the street for anyone else to come pick you up and you just toss me aside as if I did nothing?! Ha! Like I'll let you!" Risa yelled, poking her index finger onto the Satoshi's chest.
"I'm staying right by your side till we get to your home and that's final!" Risa finished yelling. A few people from a short distance hurried onto to where they needed to go and others stayed starring.
Satoshi calmly closed his eyes for a few seconds and allowed a smile to show. He opened them again to see Risa still very close to him. She was now breathing hard from all the yelling and had remained in her offense position, her pointer finger back down to her sides.
"So you were really worried for me." Satoshi stated. He could now see the increasing amount of red staining her cheeks as she now realized how close she was, as well as what he said.
"Wh-what? No!" Risa started to say, taking a few steps away from him. "Of course not. As I mentioned before, I was just being a good classmate and that's all!"
Satoshi chuckled inwardly as he turned around and started to walk away.
"Hey, wait Hiwatari-san!" Risa said, following suit.
"Satoshi."
Risa stopped in her tracks as well as the boy. Satoshi looked back, showing how calm he was.
"Just call me Satoshi," Satoshi said, adding in "Risa."
Risa reacted the only way she knew how, by blushing and being surprised. Her eyes widened for a short while then she smiled as she realized that they were on the same page.
'This means he considers me as a friend…' thought Risa as she walked side by side with Satoshi, all the while wearing a smile. 'Ah. Wait a second, why am I happy about this…?' She looks down and then shakes her head. 'Don't mind that, don't mind it, Risa! Just think about all the good things that'll follow'
'I'll just have to make another reading' thought the brunette as she strolled her way towards Satoshi's home.
With Argentine
Tousled, golden brown hair fell from thin air and onto feminine shoulders as a hand touched the somewhat damp leaves on the ground. As a last minute thought, another hand shot down towards the hem of a skirt and tugged it down while quickly standing up. Argentine had rapidly learned all the dislikes Hiroko has that was practically given to him. The hard way, 'given to him', that is. While she had dreamed throughout the whole week, she had peculiar dreams in which had made him go on the short end of the stick. This while still being that third point of view person that she had slightly seen standing off in the side lines. Out of sight, and figuratively speaking, out of mind.
What he applied now would only have been thanks to those dreams. Argentine's dream-like counterpart had accidentally floated around the hem of her skirt and received a well done punch. He winced at the thought, even now, as he knows that she has the ability to hurt him. As if he had a physical body.
As well, emotionally.
He shook his head to rid the thoughts away, being reminded that said girl was still unconscious as he felt her hair hit her face. From behind the frosty view, the girl still laid fast asleep in the darkness, still surrounded by the ribbons of her old memories. It gave him some peace of mind that she hadn't woken up yet. There was going to be a lot he had to answer to once she wakes up and he still hadn't thought of how to go about it. If he ever got the chance to explain everything first, that is.
He walked towards the back of the mansion, seeing as they landed under the tree that they were under before going to school, close to the greenhouse. Argentine was starting to feel the strain of having to move about with a body not his own. 'I'll be fine once I get some rest…' he thought. Though, he already knew that 'some rest' will result to an uncertain amount of sleep for him.
As he made his way to the door of the back entrance, the land around him moved beneath him. Hazel eyes widened as Argentine felt all his senses sharpen, readying for what was to come. In an instant, an astral figure came from the mansion. A white, ghostly colored female in a robe rose up to the sky; her body big enough to cover the whole entrance and even the second floor of the mansion. Not many details were shown besides the long hair and porcelain-like face she had on as she looked down at the figure before her. The woman frowned.
"Help me…"
Too shocked for words, Argentine could only stare up at the spirit. From a glance, he could tell that she did not have much time left in this world. Either she turned into a restless spirit, a ghost wandering the Earth in search of whatever she wanted, or she moved on. It seemed she had already, subconsciously chosen, to move on.
"Help….my only one…" the woman said quietly again and then wailed as she swooped low to the ground where Argentine stood and disappeared into thin air, bringing about all the fallen leaves that were on the ground. He had to duck and stay low, least he were to leave Hiroko's body. The girl's hair whipped all around him as he stood back up and looked around for any signs of the astral woman.
"Help them…" a whisper was left behind as the winds that were brought up by the spirit were now settling down. Argentine sighed and stood quietly as he noticed the leaves still falling around him. All were dry and withered once they landed on the ground.
'Looks like our guest's roommate woke up…' Argentine thought as he looked back at the greenhouse. 'And by the looks of it, we may have to do something about what she wants…'
He proceeded to walk to the back entrance of the mansion, albeit in slow strides. Finally touching the golden knob on the mahogany doors, he pushed in and saw that the mansion was gloomy and dark. He shivered. Long ago he would've felt alright with such an atmosphere, even comfort, but not anymore. Now it was a haunting feeling, an unfriendly reminder of how he was way back when he had been an actual demon.
And even further than before when he wasn't a demon.
He closed the door, trying his best to be silent and quietly went to the greenhouse entrance just a few feet away from the huge doors he just entered by.
He had thought it would be musty. Surprisingly enough, it was chilly inside. He only concluded it to be the rain from earlier that caused the temperature to drop. As he stepped in further, a small sigh escaped Hiroko's lips. There, on the stone seat right next to the glass window showing a foggy view of the backyard outside, laid a young girl with short dirty blonde hair.
Argentine walked up to the girl's body, seeing that she did not stir and was pale compared to when she had been stuck in bed for a whole week.
'Whoever that ghost is, is in serious need of someone to hear her out…' Argentine thought. He was trying to get Hiroko's hair out of the way before he would be able to carry Mio Hio's body. Getting Hiroko's hands to go under the girl's legs and back, with difficulty, lifted Mio up and slowly walked up to the staircase. He made sure to steer clear of the debris and passed a few doors before getting to the room where the blonde should sleep in.
'I should probably give her a boost. It'd be helpful once Dark comes back from school.' Argentine thought, giving a small amount of his vitality to the unconscious girl in his arms. He knew he wouldn't wake up for a couple of days, yet he was positive he would come around in time to be there for Hiroko. He pushed the thoughts of what's to come to the back of his own mind and continued on.
Finally, after thinking he could not move another step with the body, Argentine managed to lay Mio down easily and left the room in a daze, shuffling Hiroko's feet as he went straight for the brunette's room; almost tripping as he passed the room where Mio was last sleeping in.
'Just…a little more…' Argentine told himself, feeling a heavy weight lean all over his tired soul. He didn't have a body of his own but as of that moment, he certainly felt human. Once he opened the door to Hiroko's room and saw the bed, Argentine did not bother to close the door or even help get out of the uniform that the brunette was in.
Face hitting just below the pillow, he felt himself loosen up and then the sensation of sinking into the clouds itself seeped into him and he felt as light as a feather again. Yet he felt so tired that he could sleep for ages. That wasn't good but earlier in the day he DID manage to get a good sum of energy from Menou. He didn't count on that but he figured that it would come in handy later on when wakes up.
Either way, there was no possible way to stop himself from sleeping as well. Just as soon as he was about to fall into slumber and detach himself from Hiroko, he felt her bliss in actually being on the bed. Being unconscious and still managing to move about, she wrapped herself in the sheets and slightly brought her legs up close to her chest. She smiled a faint smile as she curled up, giving that precious feeling of being safe, comfortable and all around at peace. He hadn't felt that in a long time from her and with that in mind, he went to sleep, peacefully.
With Dark & Daisuke
"Finally here!" said Dark, jogging up to his front double doors and already pushing the keys to open them. The late sunset bathed the back of the mansion and the sides a rich red as Daisuke looked at it. He had been almost regretful that he couldn't paint this scenic moment earlier on. At least he would be able to once he went home.
It hadn't occurred to him that he had been staring more than he intended to till he heard his name being called out.
"Earth to Daisuke!"
"…"
"Dai-su-ke!"
Daisuke's eyes widened as he saw the last syllables of his name being spelled out in front of him. Dark, being so near to him, had brought him back to reality as he saw the other's hand waving back and forth in front of his face. He blinked and removed the hand away from his face slightly embarrassed and frowning at the situation.
"Okay okay already!" Dai said, walking passed the taller one of the two and heading straight for the door, not looking back as his face still felt warm to him. He could hear Dark chuckle as he neared the door.
Once they both got in, Daisuke looked up at where Mio Hio used to sleep. He frowned as he saw the rubble on the floor. Dark sees this and also frowns. They both look at each other and without needing words, they communicated about the problem up the stairs.
Dark shrugged. "It's not like the mansion is magical and it could repair itself. Besides, we had school today." He then patted Daisuke's shoulder and headed for the kitchen.
"Don't worry, I can take care of this mess." He said, turning the corner and entering the room, feeling Dai's eyes follow him. Daisuke looked back up at the door, he couldn't explain it but something was telling him to go up the stairs and see the girl. His red eyes dimmed a little as he proceeded to go up the stairs, making sure he didn't trip where the rubble was.
It was very much like that time when he was with Riku and had gotten inexplicably close to the girl. He could not explain why he was drawn to her so suddenly, but as the immense feeling of wanting to be near her came, it left him and he was back to normal.
Like being driven by someone from the inside.
Thankfully, he hadn't felt that when it came to Dark. Yes, he was very thankful for that. It would have caused an even bigger misunderstanding. Dark, seeing that the red head had not followed him, turned and looked for the little guy. He saw Daisuke enter one of the guest rooms.
'Don't tell me he's drawn to the supernatural…' Dark frowned at the thought. He didn't think Daisuke had this sort of skill. He had hoped it had never manifested.
'Must be thanks to Sora's awakening…' Dark thought as he proceeded to head up the stairs like lightening. He grabbed ahold of the splintered door that had stuck straight up on the floor, lifted up his legs and in the blink of an eye jumped over the door, making a quick sprint towards the second guest room. Hardly touching the floor before running to where Daisuke was, ignoring his senses of Hiroko being in the room beside the one he was going towards. Once he opened the door wider, he saw that the room was dark with the curtains drawn in. Standing up straight, his eyes adjusted quickly as he saw the silhouette of Daisuke and Mio Hio. He could see the red head's bangs covering his eyes from sight as his head was tilted forward down, looking away from the girl on the bed.
'A quiet, dark room in a lonely mansion. It does ring a bell….' Dark thought with a hint of amusement as he neared the boy. "Daisuke?"
"A more befitting question is in order since you should already know I am not Daisuke." A feminine, gentle voice came out of the boy's mouth. Daisuke's body then turned to see Dark, smiling a sort of peaceful smile. "Am I right, Angel Dark?"
Dark relaxed on the frame of the doorway, crossing his arms as he smiled back at the one who spoke. "So you know of me? I'm not surprised."
His face grew serious, "You don't have much time. Tell me what your last request is."
Daisuke's face turned serious as well. "I am tied to the first demon you have seen. I had heard that you had once met such a demon and had lost a lot of people."
An uneasy feeling grew in Dark's chest as he heard this but did not budge as the woman continued talking.
"I was an Angel once but had removed myself from the Heavens and had a son, here, in this town with a human." The female voice spoke with something akin to authority, never wavering. Daisuke's body moved as the woman kneeled forward and entwined the boy's fingers under his chin. Looking up as if begging for her wish to be fulfilled.
"I know this is too much to ask but, please defeat that demon and save my son and anyone else that are in that creature's clutches. That is all that I ask."
Dark looked down at Daisuke, seeing the woman that was possessing him instead of the red head himself. She was frail looking, he wings had clearly been ripped off, and had a light blue color to her long, silky hair and eyes. She had looked young and not so powerful but she was definitely an angel turned into a fallen one. From all that he had learned, though, it was immensely hard to kill an angel without doing battle. All the while giving a sort of imbalance to the place around the battle. Dark's eyes narrowed, that old demon has grown during these short years.
It would be problematic if he couldn't find him in time.
He refocused on the woman/boy in front of him and his eyes softened. He kneeled down and extended his hand towards the boy.
"If you tell me the details, then I'll definitely fulfill your wish, Angel Hikari" Dark said, making a possessed Daisuke smile sweetly up at him.
"Thank you so much." Said the woman. She moved the boy's hands again, placing them on Dark's extended hand. Glimmering dust particles swirled and flew upwards, shinning as the light from the doorway flooded its way to the two kneeling on the floor. "This boy will know the details. There was much I talked to him about while he was asleep. He will especially know once he sees my son that he is my son…"
Daisuke's tears rolled down his face as the woman prepared herself to leave. Red eyes looked back at amethyst ones in a sincere manner.
"I pray that you have a happy life…"
And just like that, she was gone. Dark released a breath he had held back, closing his eyes momentarily as he did so.
"Um…Dark?"
Dark's eyes shot back open as he saw a flustered Daisuke looking back and forth from their hands touching to his face.
'Ah…I forgot…since it was a possession of good will he wouldn't be knocked out…' Dark thought, a sweat drop forming around his head. 'What do I say? "Daisuke, don't worry about this. A fallen angel took over your body and submitted a wish to me. The touching was totally needed for this." Yeah, no.'
Daisuke, while Dark thought his many thoughts, paused at looking their hands. His eyes widened as realization hit him. He looked slowly back up to Dark, his face now back to its proper shade of skin color.
"I remember something…" Daisuke started, grabbing hold of Dark's attention. "The demon's name…"
Cue Cliffhanger!
*bows on the floor* I AM SO VERY SORRY FOR MY TARDINESS AND OWE MANY OF YOU MY SINCEREST APPOLOGIES!
I probably shouldn't have any excuse and I honestly only have the truth but I know I already sound like a broken record with how I always come late with my updates. *goes to a dark, lonely corner*
I understand if there aren't much out there reading this due to the way I keep updating late.
For those of you who are still reading: Thank you very much and I hope you'll continue to enjoy the fillers as well as the rest of this story.
Read and Review! Bye!