A/N: Next chapter up. Eugh, I didn't really like where the first chapter was going, so hopefully you guys don't feel misguided by the rest of the story. Trying to get everyone more in character. Review if you like - there's more to come. (:

Auggggh I want Satoshi to sound more sexy. I do, I do, I do. X(

DISCLAIMER: I do not own D.N.Angel or it's characters. Done deal.

SYNOPSIS: Satoshi x Risa. Romance & fantasy. Takes place in somewhat of an alternate universe where Dark and Krad do not exist. Satoshi gets a strange dream, and suddenly, he finds odd traits in Risa .. ? Sappy warning. Big plans for this story. (;

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

CHAPTER TWO

Once again, Satoshi found himself absorbed mindlessly, almost numbingly, with the words coming from his teacher's mouth. He had the strange capability of keeping his focus on one isolated object or being for tremendous lengths of time. Unflinching.

He had no need to pay attention to the actual words that were coming from her, however, mainly because he far from needed the knowledge that high school offered him.

In reality, it should've been Satoshi teaching the class instead of Shinohana-sensei. His intelligence far surpassed the great majority of everyone in the building, if not all, but to this fact he didn't pay much attention to. He was simply set on getting the lesson plan over and done with so that he could stride home and find a peace that only silence could offer.

Solitude was a friend that he could always rely on in his time of need. It was always there when you called upon it, the only thing that it could ever ask for in return was you and you alone. Quite simple as that.

To his left, two seats ahead, he could feel the presence of a girlish giggle that made his eyebrow quirk. For once in that whole entire class, his eyes adverted away from the teacher to the quiet laughter that turned out to be coming from Risa herself. Not her again.

It was bad enough that she had to drag him around everywhere that day, but what made it even worse was that she shared the majority of her subjects with him. She was, after all, in the same homeroom as Satoshi. What a blessed misfortune, he weeped.

He found himself, unconsciously, analyzing the girl from a safe distance. Far enough that she wouldn't inflict any bodilyharm that would dilute any patience that Satoshi had left or change his current percetion of her. He wearily held onto the thin strand of tolerance that he had for the girl, but as he watched her from afar, she seemed a lot less like a savage beast than he imagined. She seemed almost human, a lot more gentle and a heck of a lot more approachable that she, in reality,was. But not quite real enough that she could be someone Satoshi would actually bother paying attention to. He didn't have much of an interest in girls, anyways.

Besides, this was Harada Risa he was debating over. One of the school's more superficial airheads, a girl that cared only about her looks and reputation. He could never understand how such a personality could make someone so popular, nor could he care less about it. A lot of the attention that she caught was mostly from shallow boys that wanted to be with her, or desperate girls that wanted to be like her. Either way, she held a lot of power over the student body, she may as well could've ran for the president of the council. Although, she probably wouldn't of earned Satoshi's vote.

He didn't have anything against her, yet. There might of been the occasional irritation here and there, but those would quickly fade into a common indifference that he had for all the people around him.

But as he studied her in all her of her blissful, innocent glory, there was something about her that he found almost angelic. He couldn't pinpoint what made him decipher such a meaning from a simple glance, but the longer that he watched, the harder it was for him to get that idea out of his mind.

Snap out of it, Satoshi.

The school bell rang, buzzing through his brain as the rest of his thoughts were drowned out by the stampede of footsteps that made their way out of the class. So much for peaceful scrutiny.

&&&.

Satoshi had waited for the mob that crowded the hallways to die down before he made his way to his locker. There were only a few students left, filling up their bags with homework, band instruments, alcohol, drugs, whatever be the case. Satoshi was thankful that teenagers were so keen on leaving the school grounds at dismissal, or else he would've never been able to step out of his classroom.

As he made his way to his locker, he noticed that Risa was once again having troubles opening her locker. He sighed to himself inwardly, Not again. This girl and her predicaments were quite troublesome, but he had no choice but to deal with them because Risa had already acknowledged his presence. No time to escape. "Hiwatari-kun! Mouu! I need your help!"

He looked at her lowly, icy blue eyes staring at her with a contempt for his bad luck that he blamed on her alone. Satoshi adjusted the bridge of his glasses to his nose and responded in an apathetic tone. "I can't help you."

Risa looked at him like a deer caught in headlights, as her struggled to open her locker died down to a silence. She arched her eyebrows and pursed her lips tightly, placing her hands over the sides of her hips. "Why not? You helped me before!"

Satoshi blinked vacantly at her. He wasn't going to fall for that trick again. "I don't trust your locker."

He could sense a tantrum coming on, reading Risa as easily as a toddler's learning book about the alphabet. Her actions were so predictable, in most cases, mainly because she didn't put much of an effort to hide her personality and quirky traits. Firstly, you'd notice the persistent person that she was. She would do anything it takes to get what she wanted, and she wouldn't stop trying until she reaches her goal. You could almost admire her keen determination.

Opposed to Satoshi's previous calculations, Risa instead sighed deeply as she leaned against her locker, letting her back drag herself to the floor. She pulled her knees close to her and looked lost for a moment, confused, as if she was a child who's candy had been stolen from. There was some sort of pain that was hidden behind those toffee chocolate eyes of hers, and there was more to her actions than Satoshi had primarily believed.

Satoshi was wrong about Risa : that was a first.

He had the strong urge to barrage her with his own set of questions, inquiring such details as, "Is there anything bothering you?" "If not, do you want to talk about it?" "Is there anything that I can do to lightened your mood?", and any other questions that could relate to the situation at hand. But no, anything of the sort was strongly out of character for his icy exterior. He showed little emotion towards her, not only now, but in general. He hoped that that wouldn't change.

Satoshi resolved to a simple silence that filled up the air and spit it back out, all over again in a rotating motion.

Risa shook her head scornfully as she massaged her temple. "Today's just not my day."

Satoshi set on the task to allow his intense stare to linger on, prying through her like a hot knife through butter. It was strange how one single look could do so much. He wasn't expected to speak a word, and a whole story would come pouring out of her mouth at any minute.

This time, he was right about her. Risa sighed woefully as she began to ramble on about how 'miserable' her day had been. She simply broke down and went all out, spilling her guts out. "First thing in the morning, I run out of conditioner, and now my hair feels like hay. When I tried curling it with my iron, the plug breaks off and I'm left with a half-done do. By the time that whole mess was over, I found out how late I was going to be for school, so I had to run to the subway station to be able to catch the train. By the time I got to school, my make-up was ruined and I looked like a clown! And to make it even worse, I forgot to bring my project for science, which I had to have first period, and he took off 25 percent of my mark for being one day late! At lunch, there wasn't any room for me at my regular table, so I had to end up sitting with Riku-chan and Daisuke-kun, and don't let me begin to tell you how awkward that was. I even burned my mashed potatoes in cooking today .. I mean, honestly, who burns mashed potatoes? I really don't know what's wrong with me. My locker won't open, I've been missing some of my textbooks, I failed my math quiz .. And throughout the whole day, my back has been aching to no end."

Satoshi watched her intently, trying to absorb all the information that he had fed her in such a short amount of time. And he thought that he was having a bad day, what with the boomerang and the locker incidents, but he was proved wrong. It seemed like he had the habit of underestimating the Harada twin. "A detailed enlightenment, Harada-san."

Risa turned her head weakly to the other side to face him, looking at him half-heartedly. She seemed exhausted with herself. "Look, I'm sorry for acting so moody today. You seemed to handle the bad luck for me, even though it was just for a while. I want to thank you for that. I think I just need some time to relax and get away from all of this."

He didn't know if he should've took what Risa had announced as a compliment or as a subtle insult within itself. Satoshi doubted the latter, simply because Harada Risa wasn't quite cleaver enough to have an ulterior motive to her verbalizations. This, however, could change in a quick instance if he let his guard down, which he seemed to do so often, lately. He had to be more cautious around her from now on, just for safe measures. She was, after all, probably the only person that was carrying more bad luck on their shoulder that he had that day. "It's alright. I didn't notice."

Risa pulled herself together and up to her feet, giving a careless look towards her locker. "Forget it, I'm not gonna do my homework for tonight. There's no use."

"If it helps, I can take you out for a walk. It might ease your mind on things." Satoshi did not understand why he was being so generous towards her. In general, he did not show much charity towards others completely, but today seemed different for him. He wasn't sure if it was because the sense was knocked out of him by the boomerang or the locker or not, but he didn't mind a little fresh air himself. Oh my, what's gotten into him?

"You know, I'd like that." Risa tilted her head and smiled sheepishly, a curious glint flashing across her eyes. The light that shone against them was somewhat golden, a shade that he was familiar with, only he could not pinpoint to where. In his dream, perhaps? Or simply his imagination trying to play tricks on him again. This was debateable.

For once in a long time, Satoshi didn't feel so lonely. He could get used to this, what those around him call company.

&&&.

Satoshi and Risa walked side-by-side through the park, a discrete hop in the Harada's step. She smiled giddily, taking in the beauty of the unique nature that the park offered. It's attraction was subtle, but there was definitely something that made that park special in it's own way. She wasn't quite sure if it was the fresh greenery, the occasionally bunny rabbit hiding behind the bushes or the frosty golden roses that lined the pathway down the trails that could explain it's charm. There were some things that could simply not be described in words, and this was one of them.

The pale, ashen blue haired boy looked at her inquisitively with calm eyes. She was so innocent, so naive and carefree. He envied that she could still act so immaturely when she was very well aware of the aging world around her. Satoshi never had the chance to be a child. He was forced to grow up much too soon.

Risa hummed a catchy tune as they continued to walk down the trail and found themselves standing in front of the center fountain. It was a cold, grey stone, marbled with a chalky white. In the middle stood a statue of a beautiful, winged angel, looking down at the people surrounding the park. A tender smile caressed its face, it's hand reaching out, almost wanting to touch and reach through your soul.

It was hauntingly reassuring, in a sense. Like a guardian angel watching over you. Satoshi attempted a glance towards it, but tried to avoid any other gaze in it's direction. Thinking about anything to do with angels made his head spin.

Risa trotted gleefully towards the fountain, watching the majestic blue water falling from the tips of the wings in awe. "Waaai .. This statue is so pretty. I can't remember the last time I've been here. It must've been ages! Don't you think she's pretty, Hiwatari-kun?"

Satoshi coughed dryly, and replied in the same tone. "I'm not too fond of inanimate objects."

Risa sighed. "You have no imagination, you know.." She looked up to study the features of the angel's face, and she found a faint familiarity. However, she wasn't entirely sure who the resemblance was related to. "Don't you think that she looks like someone?"

Satoshi studied the statue pensively. How it stung his eyes to concentrate so hard. But Satoshi had to agree with Risa, there was some likeness that the angel portrayed. His eyes slowly went from Risa to the stone figure, and for a moment, he thought that it reminded him of her. No, that couldn't be. There was something far more mysterious about the beauty that the statue revealed. Risa was a mere child, and if Satoshi knew his facts correctly, the statue had been sitting in the park for more than one hundred years. There was no comparing a century's worth of wisdom or beauty.

"I don't really think so," Satoshi replied almost intently, but also in a smug tone. She would never hear of the little scenario that was playing in his head.

"Hmm, me neither then, I guess." Risa pulled the finger away from her chin as she took a seat against cold cement that circled the fountain.

Satoshi approached her, hesitantly. He wasn't that keen on getting too close to the water - he didn't have any other clothes to change into. There was something about the cool liquid that nerved him.

Risa looked up at him and raised her hand to screen her eyes from the sun, squinting up towards him. "Well, if won't sit down, you might as well be useful and be my shade for once."

An irate glare bounced off of his icy blue eyes, but were soon softened by a small smirk that formed across his thin lips. He didn't know why he was so amused by her sense of humour, it wasn't much of a sense at all. It was simply Risa being herself, upfront and outspoken. But there was something adoring about it.

Risa leaned forward and dragged her hand through the water, cool and soothing against her skin. "You know what I noticed?"

Satoshi looked down at her, watching her hand sway freely in the steam. "What did you notice?"

"Yours eyes .." Risa sounded as if she were pondering out loud, more to herself than speaking directly to Satoshi. "They remind me of water."

There she goes catching him off guard again. His eyes opened up a bit, and questioned the small smile that sat on the corner of her mouth. "They remind you of the - .. ?"

"Yeah, they're cool like the steams in the summertime," Risa explained gallantly as her focus remained on the rushing fountain's tears. "And they can be icy, like the frozen pond in the winter."

Satoshi had no idea that Risa could even show signs of intensity, and her words came out as almost poetic. There really was more to the girl that he thought.

Risa's eyes softened as she looked up at Satoshi, catching a glimpse of awe in those deep blue eyes that she could've sworn came from the sea. Cool, calming and chilling, all at once. What a strange character Satoshi was to describe.

A scent breeze passed by them, all passer-bys far beyond non-existent to them in their 'little world'. The rushing air unravelled the bow that wrapped around Risa's hair, and frantically, she reached her hand out to grab it before it would get soaked by the water. She leaned in a little too forward and she began toppling over the water.

Satoshi realized this a moment too late as he rushed to try to grab her around her waist, but his efforts did no justice, because instead, it caused the both of them to fall into the fountain.

Risa splashed around like a mad dog, only to find out that the water stood beneath her shoulders as she on her hands and legs. She breathed a sigh of relief as she wiped the water out of her eyes.

Satoshi was sprawled over her, and as he noticed this, he quickly got to his feet, soaking wet like a sponge. He was quick to regain his composure. He pulled his glasses off of his face, and tried to wipe his eyes with his drenched sleeve. It was pointless, so he stuffed his glasses into his front pocket.

Looking downwards, he held his hand out to Risa. "Grab my hand," Satoshi commanded the girl almost disapprovingly. He didn't sound quite too happy about being wet.

Risa looked up at him with doe-like eyes, her whole face soaked with water, her hair a dishevelled mess as it soaked bucketsful. For once in her life, she didn't seem to care about how she looked. At that moment, the one thing that caught all her attention was, by foolish chance, Hiwatari Satoshi.

She looked up at him admiringly, thinking about how handsome he looked without his glasses on. This was the first time that Risa had ever even considered looking at Satoshi in such a way, as more than a simple classmate that she shared a room with. He seemed a lot more gentle, a lot more .. human, without his glasses cluttering his face.

"Well, are you going to take my hand or not?" Satoshi's voice interrupted her train of thought, and, judging by the irritation that oozed from his voice, she had no questions asked. Risa grabbed a hold of his gentle grasp and he pulled her up, the both of them dripping heavily.

Risa opened her mouth to say something, but quickly looked down at her hand that, for some odd reason, still seemed to be latched onto his. A rosy blush crept onto the apples of her cheeks as she quickly let go of his hand, smiling sheepishly as she tried to push away the embarrassment. Satoshi simply stared at her, questioningly.

"Uhum, let's go Hiwatari-kun," Risa singsonged as she stepped out of the fountain, Satoshi a few steps behind her. They both started forming large puddles beneath them like odd creatures from the marsh. They were getting strange looks from passer bys, but they paid no attention to the curious glances and murmurs. "My house is only a few blocks away, I can get you some dry clothes to go home in."

"Alright," Satoshi replied robotoically, and he didn't seemed to have too much disdain about the situation that he found himself in. Usually, getting wet like this would make him truly peeved, but for some reason, he felt amused. He was enjoying this. More and more, he understood himself less as the hours flew by.

As the two paddled heavily away from the fountain, Satoshi took one look back at the mysterious and breath-taking angel that watched over the fountain. He turned to look at Risa, and at that moment, she seemed a lot more human and a lot less human, both at once. Today wasn't much of bad luck day, after all.

END CHAPTER TWO.

A/N: It's 6 in the morning. I have homework to be done and I'm suppose to be getting ready for school in half an hour. I finished two fanfictions and two chapters, all on Satoshi x Risa, in one day. I think I'm started to get my groove back on. d: Ahaha, yeah right, I wish. Well, anyways, hope that you liked this chapter. It's really only one scenario if you think about it, but it's pretty long and drawn out. A bit too sweet too soon? You just wait, there's some unthinkable surprise to come! .. I just haven't though of them yet. (: sweatdrop. Haha, just kidding. Lots more to come if I have some good reviews coming in! So don't forget, review, review, review! x)