Chapter 4a: Birds

"The ebullient skylark

winged with hopes and aspirations

her song dripping sweet of new life

merrily sitting on the dewed branch

round and round she flew."

"Perched mightily on a high branch

A mass of blue feathers did

Its icy stare not wavering,

Full of solitude its eyes

A lone speck of blue high in a branch

Lets fly there".

'Congratulations to the two students in this class who wrote these! I'm amazed at the common theme. I won't say who it is to protect their privacy though. Well done." Shikijou Sensei said.

Risa looked straight ahead. She didn't dare glance at Satoshi. One of the poems was hers. Could it be ...? Her poem was so obvious. She wondered if he could tell. Her face felt flamingly hot all of a sudden.

"Miss!" she said. "Can I go to the washroom?"

Risa dashed down the hall to the washroom. It was one of her favourite hanging places. It sounded so silly, but it was a place where she could go to be alone and collect her thoughts. The white toilet bowl looked so welcoming and the tiny space of the stall felt cozy.

"What am I doing here?" she thought, "Who cares about the lousy poems! That other one was probably written by someone other than him anyway. It was probably written by Saehara, or even Daisuke. Yeah, it must be Daisuke. It sounds like him. The words were so poetic and artsy, and Daisuke was an artist. Oh wait, so was Satoshi.

Nevermind. She had better be getting back or people will think she was number two-ing.

"Okay Risa! Let's do this! Go back to English class." She should really stop talking to herself so much. People would think she was nuts.

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The time came eventually. The time when she would meet him at that tree. And meet him she did. He was there, that arrogant flash of blue under the green foliage. His eyes locked onto hers as soon as she walked out the wooden doors. Again, she was captured, and drawn towards him.

"My house or yours?"

Risa thought about it. What would Riku say if she brought Satoshi in? She imagined the scene of Riku walking in from a day of school, and seeing him there beside Risa.

"Yours." Besides, she wanted to see his house. They walked together down the road in the breeze of the day. The falling maple leaves fluttered around, dots of red in the blue sky. Risa felt so calm. The butterflies in her stomach stopped flapping around, and she was able to watch the scenery. A couple sat together on a bench on the other side of the road. Her heart thumped. If only ... She dared to peek at him from her curtain of hair.

"This is it." His voice broke her train of thoughts.

There were no flowers on the lawn, the grass was not as green as it should be, and the stone steps leading to the door was disarrayed. Risa stepped in to the house. The house was in a similar state, not surprisingly.

Seeing Risa's look of shock, Satoshi said, "It is kind of messy I know." Something sad flashed in Risa's eyes. "Want something to drink?"

"Tea please."

She sat down on a chair in front of a desk. There were papers strewn everywhere. Looking closer, she saw that they were reports and documents related to the police, and Dark's name was slathered across some of them. Her hand rose to her mouth.

Soft footsteps were heard from behind her. She straightened herself up and pretended to dig through her backpack for math. Satoshi removed all the papers from his desk and dumped them into a trash can.

"Hiwatari-kun...what are you doing? Aren't those important?"

"No." he said curtly. She continued to look at him, so he continued, "I've thought about what you said."

"About what? Didn't we have this conversion before?"

"Yes. So let's get started. Here's your tea."

"Thanks." She cupped her hands around the mug, and sipped the liquid, but promptly drew back. "It's hot!" She stuck out her tongue and scowled. Satoshi chuckled softly at her sudden reaction. Risa smiled inwardly. She made him smile at her. Playfully, she tried to swipe him, but he dodged easily.

"Hey, how come you're helping me? Did I ask you this before?"

"I want to return the favour, and no, you haven't asked me." Favour for what? And why does he make it sound like he was doing it just to repay her, and not for the sake of helping her? She thought, slightly annoyed, but didn't press on for more information. He can tell her the truth whenever he feels like it. Oh, so now she's assuming that he's lying.

Risa pointed to her math textbook, and opened her mouth to ask a question when the lights suddenly died and darkness enshrouded the two figures. Risa blinked across the void of darkness where she knew Satoshi would be.

A power failure, huh?

AN: Another short half-chapter. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed! hugs

To Blushing Sigh: I made you giggle? How?

Sammi Chan: I'm glad that it's going to be longer, too.

Aprillis: I feel so honoured that you think I'm a good RxS writer! Thank you so much!

Crimson-Eyed-Angel99: Thanks for your support!

MeDarkNeutralLight: I promise never to abandon this fic. I'll be sure to finish it.

Knight Basilisk: hehe, next chapter will be even more sappy! Oh gawd, somebody's going to get cavities.

Dnangelgirl: Where's your sxr fic? I wanna read it!