Disclaimer: DN Angel copyright Yukiru Sugisaki.
Sakura-Angel: Alright, this is the last chapter of 'And I Hate You So'! Oh gosh, I really loved writing this story, it was so wonderful hearing all the comments and encouragements on the pairing, especially since this started out as an experimental couple. You readers are so fantastic.
Dark: Yup! I'd like to thank you all for reading this story, I feel so loved.
Sakura-Angel: Ah, I'm gonna get sniffly.
Dark: [Pat pat] Here we go.
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The morning after the talk with Hikki, Dark realized that a lot of the things he wanted in a girl were right in front of him - in the form of Riku.
After he said that he had romantic interest in Riku last night, Hikki pointedly went '...' for a good ten minutes, which Dark spent amusedly blinking at the phone in hopes it would come to life. And come to life it did. Hikki started yelling that it was just soooo romantic that they had met by chance and fallen in love and that Dark should confess to her under the full moon with the breeze blowing while they gazed adoringly into each others eyes and--
That's when Dark cut her off. He told her that first of all, he wasn't even sure Riku liked him, much less loved him. Second of all, that scenario was incredibly cheesy and smarmy and outright lame.
Hikki promptly yelled that it was not cheesy and that Dark should totally confess to Riku like that BECAUSE HE LOVED HER.
Dark hit his head on the table. Repeatedly.
But he did have to confess that what he was feeling for Riku was beyond what he had ever felt before. So he resolved to tell her very soon. See, Dark didn't do that stalling, getting nervous thing. He just spit it out, whatever 'it' was.
So imagine his distress when he found that Riku's phone had been turned off and she wasn't answering when he buzzed her apartment. Something just wasn't right...
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Riku heard the voice on the other side of the intercom and tensed up considerably. Daisuke's intercom was broken, you see, and the person on the other side could just talk and she'd hear. She didn't have to buzz them or anything, and she found it annoying. But now, she found it dangerous. Very dangerous. She'd heard him very plainly say after the buzz went off, "Come on, I have to tell you something..." in a hushed voice. What that something was, she didn't want to know. She didn't want to know about her other options or what Dark had to say to her because she was set on leaving with Takeshi, and nothing could stop her. She didn't want to take a chance with Dark because he'd end up breaking her heart, and she couldn't take it if he refused her.
So... why did she feel that she could take it if Takeshi refused her? Something inside her told her that she didn't really want Takeshi's heart, and that was why it didn't matter to her if he refused her, but she ignored it.
"OH MY GOD RIKU, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"
Riku screeched at the top of her lungs. Her hand flew to her chest and she whirled around to see Daisuke and Risa standing in the doorway.
"RISA!" Riku yelled with a reprimanding tone. "You scared the crap out of me!"
"Me?" Risa marched over to her sister. "You're the one that's scaring me! What are you doing?"
Riku closed her eyes and said with sewing-machine precision, "I am packing."
"Why?" Risa gave her sister an admonishing glare.
"I'm leaving for England--"
Risa's eyes instantly lit up. "Ohmygod! Emiko's sending you on an assignme--"
"-- with Takeshi."
Risa's eyes clouded so fast, it was frightening. Her hands started forming fists. Her mouth became a hard, bent line. She ground out, "What?" the same time Daisuke did.
Riku turned to face Daisuke, since he was less volatile and more likely to understand. "He wants me to go to England with him, and I thought it might be worthwhile. Y--"
"BULLSHIT," Risa shouted, rage evident on her features.
Riku turned to face her twin. "What do you know? Maybe he just wants to--"
"Mess up your life again? Screw you over? Lure you into a false sense of security and just dump you all over again?!"
"Risa..." Daisuke headed over to the younger twin and placed a hand on her shoulder, only to have it knocked off.
"No, Dai! You don't understand!" Risa tucked some hair behind her ear so she could see her sister clearly. "I can't believe you! How can you just drop your life and your family and your friends to jet off to some foreign country with your ex-boyfriend who probably has bad intentions?" Risa took a step closer to Riku, who had her head down now. "How can you do this to that nice guy? Dark," Risa didn't notice her sister shaking. "Every time you come back from the park or from downtown with him, you look so happy, 'Ku," Risa smiled a little sadly. "Don't you have something with him? Don't you want to find out? He makes you happy, 'Ku. Don't you want to be happy?"
This spurred some thoughts in Riku's head. 'I want to be happy... I want to... be with him...' A tear fell unbidden down her cheek. 'But... is it worth risking my heart?' She mumbled an 'I'm sorry' and ran out the door, too fast for either Risa or Daisuke to grab her arm.
She ran out of the building, tears flowing freely. Her vision was bleary, but she managed to dodge a few citizens. Most of the others moved out of the way, surprised to see a young woman running on the streets without shoes on.
Her feet led her to the park, the mini-waterfall to be more precise, the place she had ran to when she broke down and where Dark comforted her. She sat just as she had that day, so long ago it seemed, rocking slightly to comfort herself, her hair forming a curtain around her face.
She sat alone, sobbing in silence, over the realization that this time, he couldn't come to save her from the earth shifting beneath her feet.
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Dark walked, with a passion iced tea in hand, down one of the main paths in the park. Being here made him nostalgic, which he thought was kind of stupid because he was with Riku in the park just yesterday. He just felt... that something big was about to happen. It wasn't a very good feeling, sort of making him squirm and feel uncomfortable. It was the kind of feeling he got when someone was trying to sneak up behind him [usually Riku, she was trying to get him back for what happened outside Premium] and, of course, failed to scare him.
Ah, Riku. He had searched her usual haunts, the newspaper stand, the popsicle stand, that import store that sold funny lighting fixtures and that candy store next to the radio station. But he couldn't find her. The park was his last chance to find her. He walked over towards that little waterfall, where she usually sat. He could've sworn he saw a blur whip around the basin where the water poured into, so he ran after it.
After he got past the large foilage, he saw a very familiar figure running from him.
"Riku!" Dark yelled, hardly believing she was running from him again.
The figure merely ducked into a small street in an attempt to lose him.
"Riku! Hey! Stop!" He followed her easily.
She wove like crazy, ducking under branches, running in the middle of streets in hopes that a car would come and block his way temporarily.
"Riku! Please! I've got to tell you something!"
He was mildly surprised when she responded, "Whatever it is, I don't need to hear it!"
"Riku! Just stop running! Please!" He had to admit that she was very fast and it was very hard to keep up to her. She even slipped out of his sight a few times.
She ran right to a familiar apartment building and hurriedly punched in the code and ran up to Daisuke's apartment, where, she was glad to see, Daisuke and Risa were not in.
Dark arrived seconds too late, and hit her button.
The buzzing wouldn't go away. Riku weakly leaned against a wall in the kitchen. She was breathing harder than she ever had. He was fast. She was surprised he kept up with her.
"Look Riku, I don't care if you can hear this or not," the normally smooth voice became crackly over the intercom. "I wanted to tell you..." he was also breathing heavily. "Tell you... that you really changed me." He paused for so long that Riku thought he might have left.
"You mean a lot to me, okay?" she heard him sigh tiredly. "I know it sounds stupid because we met not long ago, but you're a great girl. Don't let anyone - ex-boyfriend or not - tell you otherwise. Just... open up. Please." He waited for awhile, but got a response instead of a buzz, allowing passage.
"I'm leaving tonight," she said in a small voice. "With Takeshi. Please... leave."
Dark felt his mouth twitch, he wanted to say something. But who was he to judge her decisions? It was then that he forced himself to walk towards the radio station. He still had a shift to fill, and the clouds were getting dark. He felt his heart sinking.
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Riku sank down to the tiled floor, throat raked with sobs. 'I'm... an idiot,' she thought to herself sulkily. She willed herself to stand up and finish packing, even though it was the last thing she felt like doing. She made her way slowly over to the middle of the living room and found four boxes packed and sealed. She extended a shaky hand to the pink note on top of the largest box.
Thought that we might as well have helped you. We decided to support whatever you decide to do. Please, after you're done with England, come back? We'll miss you until then.
Love, Risa & Dai-chan
Riku felt herself sink onto the floor for the second time that day and sob her heart out.
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Buzzzzzzz...
What was that annoying noise? It sounded like... the intercom?
Riku discovered that she had fallen asleep on top of one of her boxes. What time was it? It was dark. And she could hear rain on her roof. What was that sound again? Oh right! The intercom.
She stood up and made her way over to the speaker. "Whaaaat...?" She was drowsy, and hadn't fully remembered all the events that had transpired that day.
"It's Takeshi, 'Ku. Let me up."
She absently hit the button that provided him passage and opened the door for when he arrived.
She heard him enter clunkily and announce, "Hey 'Ku, let's go."
She turned around, fully awake thanks to the news. "What?"
"We gotta go," he made an attempt to grin at her, but she extinguished the attempt with a glare. "You said we left at nine."
"Did I? Sorry. It was really eight."
Riku threw her arms up exasperatedly and signaled for him to wait. She came out with a purse, coat and a key. She placed the key on the counter sadly for Daisuke to find. The key he'd given to her when she'd asked to live with him.
"Come on, get a box, I'll help you," Takeshi's voice came to her ears.
She snapped to life and grabbed a box, heading downstairs to the taxi she guessed Takeshi hired for the trip to the airport.
The boxes were eventually loaded into the trunk of the taxi and she stood at the door of the apartment, suddenly feeling an even greater heaviness in her heart. "I'll miss this place," she said softly to no one in particular. Her eyes fell on a white umbrella in the pot by the door. She grabbed it half-heartedly, having no intention of using it even though it was raining.
She settled herself in the taxi next to Takeshi, white umbrella across her lap. The driver started the engine and nightlife in the city flew by.
The driver said he felt like listening to some music, was it alright with them? And when they nodded, he tuned into to a well-liked station, reputed for it's bouyant, amiable host.
Eighty-eight point seven.
"--rapping out on us, so I'm filling in for the unreliable thing tonight, alright?" Dark Mousy's voice floated into the air of the car, warm and smooth as always. "I have a special treat for you tonight, a classic. I know someone who would like to dedicate it to a very special girl, a girl that changed his views on love. He'd like to thank her and wish her the best with her life. Here it is, by Frank Sinatra..."
Riku's eyes widened. The record... was... Frank Sinatra. Her eyes immediately softened after.
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Goodbye
No use leading without chairs
This is where our story ends
Never lovers, ever friends
Goodbye
Let our hearts call it a day
But before you walk away
I sincerely want to say
I wish you bluebirds
In the spring
To give your heart
A song to sing
And then a kiss
But more than this
I wish you love
And in July
A lemonade
To cool you in
Some leafy glade
I wish you health
And more than wealth
I wish you love
My breaking heart
And I agree
That you and I
Could never be
So with my best
My very best
I set you free
I wish you shelter
From the storm
A cozy fire
To keep you warm
But most of all
When snowflakes fall
I wish you love...
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Dark sat in his swivel chair, slowly bobbing his head to the song and trying not to cry. She had just left him after all, just when he thought he might have a chance.
A knock on the booth window disturbed his thoughts. He didn't look over, just signaled that he was busy, but the knocks kept on coming. He whirled around angrily, ready to snap, but froze the second he saw who it was.
Riku.
He turned the doorknob and stepped out of the booth in one fluid motion, pivoting on his heel to face her.
"I couldn't leave you," she looked up at him, waterlogged and ready to cry again.
He hugged her cold, wet body, his cheek to hers. He moved to look her in the eyes, but she grabbed the back of his head and kissed him.
His red eyes flew open, clearly surprised, but they closed just as fast as he held her close.
Riku had finally found the one that made her happy, the one that made her laugh no matter what, the one that kept her mind and tongue sharp, the one she could spend every moment with, without regrets. Dark had finally found the one that he could talk to, listen to and comfort, the one that was fast enough to keep up with him, the one that he could love unconditionally. And they both knew that somewhere lay a discarded white umbrella, never to be seen again.