Dance Steps
By Chiharu Tanaka
A/n: Being busy and lazy at the same time is no fun. (cry) I need more discipline! So here, you go folks, Dance Steps chapter 6. I AM SO HAPPY FOR THE REVIEWS I GOT! THANK YOU EVERYONE! I LOVE YOU!
The History of Dance Steps: I can't really take ALL the credit. I owe some to my younger sis, Mizuki. We were on a family drive (somewhere December 2003) back from my dad's uncle's house after a brief 'reunion', and it was raining – I took out a notebook that was in my pocket and started to write down about Dance Steps. I only watched a little bit of D.N.Angel at that time, so I left the project aside. I typed out chapter one and two on my computer before it went busted, so I had to retype. I finally posted it in 2004. . Now you know how lazy I am.
Disclaimer: Please go to :link: to see the complete list on what I would do if I owned D.N.Angel.
Chapter 6: Forgiveness
Taking a deep breath out of the fresh air from the balcony, Risa let out a groan, facing the sea. The faint smell of sea salt caressed her senses. 'I've been toyed around long enough. It's time I go into anti-crush mode…' she thought with a sharp pang in her heart.
Being dumped once by someone you care for dearly was enough, but dumped again by another? This was too much for her.
The evening air felt nice on her face. She knew that she could only enjoy some peace away from him for now – she would have to go back to dance class sooner or later. She stood against the balcony and closed her eyes, admiring the serenity. The wind gently blew by her as it played around with her pink nightgown.
The sound of flapping wings gave her a jolt. 'Dark-san? No way – he's gone!' she thought. She turned to the direction of the sound, and she came face to face with the complete opposite of the midnight pirate.
The radiating white angelic wings gave Satoshi a somewhat more refined look. However, Risa's head felt like it was about to explode. She wanted to scream for the police – but she realised, Satoshi IS the supreme commander.
"Get out of my house – and out of my life – Hiwatari!" she yelled in anger, before taking a step backwards into her room. Before she could shut the door, Satoshi placed his hands on the door, preventing her.
"I'm not going to hurt you again, Harada-san. I sincerely apologize for what I've done," he said. Risa looked into his eyes, and she noticed, he wasn't wearing his glasses. 'He looks better without it,' she thought. 'His voice felt warmer than it was yesterday, too.'
Nevertheless, she still was fumed. "You flew to my balcony – just to apologize? I'll consider forgiving you – if you get away from me NOW!" she roared.
He smirked at her. "Wow, Harada-san, I've never seen you so angry…" he said. She gritted her teeth, and proceeded to 'roar' at him some more.
"Why WOULDN'T I be angry at you! You tricked me; you made me fell for you – just to find out that I was still in love with Dark! I cried for two nights, I didn't eat today, and now – YOU just broke into my house! Why can't you…"
She paused in mid-sentence as her screaming led her to spitting out yells at Satoshi's face – which he ensued by covering her mouth with his palm.
"Bite my hand. I deserve it. To you, I was a 'totally mean jerk', am I right?"
Risa really did want to bite his hand. How dare he trick her, just because she was so naïve to wag her tail like a puppy whenever Dark was around? She pulled his hand off her mouth. "Well, you're a totally insensitive jerk. I don't think I can forgive you for that – even though I'm not the type to hold grudges."
She walked a few steps backwards and shut the French doors. "Goodnight, Hiwatari-kun; I suggest you leave before I sue you for stalking me."
Turning back towards her bed, she scoffed and sat down on the edge of the bed. She turned on the television and flicked through the channels.
Her eyes glanced over to the French doors she had just closed. She saw Satoshi sitting down there, his large, white wings against the doors. Her eyes narrowed in anger.
'That jerk!' her mind screamed. 'He's still sitting there! What, does he think this country is his father's! Why the heck won't he leave!'
Angered, she stomped towards the French doors like a Minotaur.
"I thought I told you to leave?" she yelled.
"I won't. I'll stay here until you forgive me."
"You really are a stubborn jerk, aren't you?"
"Isn't that what you are?"
"...Jeez, get a life, Hiwatari!"
"I already got mine - and in case you haven't noticed, it's attached to yours."
She bit her lower lip, trying hard to hold back her tears. Why won't this guy stop! She took a few steps backward to grab a pillow off the sofa and ran towards him, pulling the doors open.
"Why…" she screamed, as she hit him hard with the pillow. "…won't you LEAVE ME ALONE!"
He didn't flinch a single bit as she hit him over and over with the pillow, white feathers flying out from the sack. Her screaming and hitting became less forceful, as she broke down and cried, kneeling on the floor.
Warm tears streamed out of her eyes, rolling down her pink-tainted cheeks and splashing upon the carpeted floor. Satoshi looked at her, the ice blue within his eyes turning to a sad shade of cerulean. He slowly knelt down in front of her and placed his hand on her chin and pushed her head upwards.
"You know, Harada-san, it really pains me to see your face like this."
He gently wiped her tears away with his thumbs. She sniffled and looked into his eyes. "Why did you hurt me? You could've just…asked me about Dark-san…you wouldn't have to hurt me like this…"
He inched closer to her face and gazed within the windows of her soul. "I'm really sorry, how many times have I said that? I just wanted to make sure you were over him…"
"But still," she said, crying again. "You could have just discussed about it with me!"
"Think about it. Why did I hurt you, when I knew it would hurt me two times more? Why did I apologize, even though I knew you'd get angry at me – and that I was the one who hurt you in the first place?"
"Hiwatari-kun…"
He pulled her closer into an embrace and stroked her hair gently. "There, there. You said you haven't slept peacefully, I didn't sleep at all. You said you didn't eat; I was working in the office with gastric pain. I experienced double, if not triple, the pain I inflicted upon you."
Risa sniffled again. It felt good to be hugged.
"How are you doing today, Risa?"
Riku looked at her sister. She lost a lot of weight, apparently; and her hair was in a mess. Risa smiled weakly back at her. "I feel a lot better today, only that I lack so much energy, I look like a drug addict or Malice Mizer or something…"
Riku smiled back at her. Risa opened the door. "C'mon. Let's eat breakfast, and then go out for a nice walk outside, okay?"
After having a nice, cool shower with lavender-fragranced shower gel; combing her hair neatly into her usual style with a simple pink ribbon tied to the back of her head; and putting on a pink skirt and blue blouse, she was up and ready to go. She hardly looked like she had a sleepless night.
She couldn't help but smile a little at the memory of the night before. His chest felt so warm, the very thing she had needed at the time.
Riku was overjoyed and nearly jumped in glee as she cooked second servings for Risa's breakfast that morning. "What happened? You finally recovered?" she asked. With a smile, Risa just replied, "Pretty much."
The day was going to be great.
Riku patted her sister's head as they left their house for a walk. "I'm glad you're back to normal – really, it's much better having you nag at me and Daisuke then you sulking moodily all day."
"Is your leg better?"
"Yes, thank you for asking."
Maria just smiled at the young girl. "I look forward to seeing your wonderful dancing later on. You have a lot of talent. Have you ever considered about participating in a dancing contest?"
Risa shrugged, embarrassed. "No…not really. But I don't think I'm really that good – I just used to dance the waltz with my dad when I was little. He taught me a few steps."
"I believe you can win a competition or two. You have…what should I call it…star quality. But I think Hiwatari and you make an excellent dancing duo. You have the chemistry, as they say."
Twirling strands of her soft brown hair in her fingers, she just smiled, thanked Maria and went back to join Riku and Daisuke in the locker room. She shook her head a little to get rid of the blush on her face.
"What did Maria-sensei say?" asked Riku, taking off her sandals. Risa sat beside her and opened the shoe locker. "It's nothing important. Anyway…I was wondering if we could stop by that café again. I'm dying for a chocolate milkshake."
Daisuke peered over at them. "So suddenly?" he asked. He turned back to untying his shoelaces when he remembered how his mother craved for chocolate during PMS. "Chocolate, huh…are you having PMS or are you in love?" asked Riku, putting on her dance shoes.
A smear of red splashed across Risa's flared cheeks. She subconsciously rubbed her nose gently as she remembered the intoxicating scent of expensive, high-class cologne when her face was gently placed against Satoshi's chest the night before.
"Yeah…it's probably PMS…" she muttered shakily, though she knew that had passed a week ago. She tucked her loose bangs behind her right ear as she placed her shoes in the locker and took out her black dancing shoes as well.
"Konnichiwa, Harada-san."
Risa turned sideways, and found Satoshi sitting beside her, a pleasant smile on his usually pale face. She bowed her head slightly as she replied, "Konnichiwa...Hiwatari-kun."
Riku smiled as she looked at the two from inside the dance hall. She then turned to Daisuke. "Aren't they just adorable? I don't know what happened, but I'm glad Risa's okay."
Daisuke nodded. "Don't worry about Risa so much…I think everything will turn out just fine…"
"Ouch! You stepped on my foot!"
Riku smiled sheepishly as she turned upwards to look at Daisuke. "Sorry…but I really don't know how to do this…" Daisuke sighed.
"Ano…Maria-sensei!" he wailed.
The class had just covered the basic moves, steps, positions and twirls. Maria walked over to the young redheads. "What's wrong, Niwa-kun?" she asked.
"Is there a way to prevent stepping on your partner's feet?" he asked. Riku pouted in embarrassment, but she was all ears. Maria just gave a warm smile to them.
"That's simple. Here, I'll show you."
She positioned Daisuke's body slightly offset to his left, and crouched down to place his right foot between Riku's feet. "This is called Aiming. This way, you avoid stepping on your partner's feet, for both parties, that is," she said with a knowing glint in her eye. "To avoid colliding with others, just keep your vision above your partner's right shoulder. Understand?"
The two nodded. "Thank you, sensei," they thanked. Riku turned back to look at Daisuke. "Let's try again. You lead."
Riku smiled in glee as she was making progress: doing box turns without stepping on Daisuke's feet. "Thank God," he had said. "At least I know I won't have to wear construction boots for the next class."
Slap.
"I was just joking!"
A few couples away from the redheads, Risa was indulged in a world completely different from reality. Sure, she was dancing with a partner like everyone else, but everyone else doesn't have a dancing partner quite like the intriguing Satoshi Hiwatari.
"Are you nervous, Harada-san?"
Risa looked up at him from where she was staring at Riku and Daisuke. "What…what makes you think I am?" she asked, looking at his poker-expressional face.
"Your heel is on my foot."
Risa looked at her feet with utter shock and mortification as he was right – her half-inch heel was right over his toes. She quickly moved her foot back on the floor.
"I'm SO sorry – are you okay, Hiwatari-kun?" she stammered in panic. Still expressionless, he answered, "It's nothing. Let's continue."
Risa pouted, she knew she was daydreaming again; and she felt guilty for stepping on his toes. "Well…the least I can do is make it up to you…how about if I treat you to the café downtown?"
A few moments later, a smile just curved up on his lips as he answered, "Sure."
The faint aroma of mixed coffee beans and herbal tea filled the air. 'Smells a bit too much like that café back in Lagen…' thought Satoshi as he took a seat by the window. Riku whiffed in the air and the atmosphere of the homey place.
"I really like this place. It feels so warm," she exclaimed, taking a seat beside Daisuke.
"Riku-chan…it's summer," replied Daisuke.
Slap.
"I was being sarcastic!"
Risa wanted to sigh uneasily as she took a seat beside Satoshi. As she had expected, he was using that same cologne he used the night before. She turned sideways to face him. He turned to look at her. Large golden amber eyes came in contact with narrow, mysterious cerulean ones.
"Can we…talk…later?"
Satoshi's eyes widened slightly. He didn't expect her to ask that questions. There were a lot of things Satoshi could predict about this girl, but he didn't see that coming.
"Sure. Whatever you wish, Harada-san."
Risa felt a smile on her lips. She turned to him and touched her lips gently as she felt little butterflies tickling her stomach. 'Dark-san never made me feel this way…' she thought, turning to Riku sitting across her.
"May I take your order?" asked the young waitress.
"One glass of ice lemon tea, please," said Riku.
"A glass of orange juice for me, thanks," said Daisuke.
"A cup of iced coffee. No milk, please," said Satoshi.
Risa snapped out of her daydream and looked up at the waitress. "Um…chocolate milkshake…please." The waitress just looked at her strangely before leaving the table to get their orders.
Silence gloomed the air between Satoshi and Risa, while the other redhead couple across them were chatting happily about new PS2 games, new mangas and what to get for Christmas (don't ask me why…).
After the waitress handed them their drinks, Risa sipped down her milkshake with a calm yet panicked look on her face. 'Mou…' she pouted. 'Maybe I should back out…it's not really necessary to ask Hiwatari-kun, right?'
She turned to look at Satoshi again. She noticed; he had grown a lot in the previous year. He was so much taller than her…he was just about as tall as Dark. She turned away from him. 'Forget Dark! He's gone!' she wailed to herself.
She turned sideways once more when she felt something soft brush against her hair, close to her right ear. Satoshi was gently combing her hair with his left hand.
"What shampoo do you use? Your hair smells wonderful," he said, just low enough for himself and her to hear.
She looked up at him as he placed his left hand back on the table. "It's an expensive brand…my mom buys it for me whenever she goes on a business trip to France."
He smiled at her, his eyes radiating a warm hue of the summer sky. "Is it lavender?"
She smiled back at him with a warm smile on her face, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Yeah."
Daisuke and Riku were walking much further ahead of them. Of course, that was done on purpose so that Risa could get some alone time with Satoshi.
"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
She looked up at him. For the first time, she realised, he was quite handsome now that he grew up a little bit. He looked more like a man now, and that made him more attractive somehow. Risa felt like that caught her heart.
"About what happened last night…what did you mean…exactly?"
They stopped walking at the bridge. The warm summer breeze blew by them slowly. Risa turned to look at him properly. He was in a state of thoughtfulness, silenced and poised.
"I mean exactly what I had meant."
Risa looked up at his face. Eye contact happened once more. In depth of a swirling tunnel with so many different shades of blue, Risa opened up her mouth to utter.
"What…did you mean?"
He leaned in closer towards her, faces only inches apart. The sun was setting over the horizon after they had a nice tea time at the café. The world was suddenly an empty place to them. They didn't have a care for anything else. Everyone didn't exist except the two of them.
His soft, chaste lips parted to say a few words.
"It sounds crazy, but somehow…I think I have fallen for you, Harada-san…"
To be continued…
A/n: Whew! Finally done. I'm going to leave you guys with a cliffhanger! (Bwahaha) Please review – I appreciate it muchly! (:D) Everyone seems to love this story...for some odd reason...well, i gotta go get started on chapter 7! Toodles! (:D)