A/N: HAPPY NEW YEARS TO ALL! And thanks soooooooooooooooooo much for the awesome, kind, intelligent (well most. haha, i kid.) reviews. I really appreciate them A LOT! Enjoy this next chapter!

Chapter 12

"RISA!" Riku was the first to greet me once I had arrived at my old home. She bounded down the hallway, threw open the door, and pulled me into a warm embrace. I hugged her back just as tightly, inhaling her scent. I hadn't noticed how much I had missed her. When we finally withdrew from each other, Riku was beaming. "I'm so glad you could come!"

"She's been talking about it nonstop," Daisuke said, suddenly appearing behind her and wrapping his arms around hers. "It's annoying really." I was amazed at how much he had grown. He was even taller now, and his hair was still red and in spikes. What surprised me was how deep his voice had gotten.

Riku blushed and hit Daisuke's chest playfully. "I did not..."

Daisuke laughed, let go of her for a minute to hug me, then returned to wrapping his arms around my sister. "Good to see you again, Risa-chan."

I smiled at him. "You too, Niwa-kun." I heard my name being called a second time, and had to prepare myself for the sufocation of my parents. Maybe after twenty minutes of that, they were dragging us all into the living room, talking about how we had to discuss things.

"They went through the same thing with me," Riku murmured in my ear just before we sat down on the couch.

"How have you been?" Mom asked. "We've barely recieved any letters."

"Yes, tell us how Tokyo University is!" Daisuke added.

"It's... hard," I said with a laugh. "I've been really busy with homework. I like my classes well enough, it's just the work that bugs me. I don't know what I would do without help from Hi-" I stopped myself and cleared my throat. I had almost let it slip out again! If I kept this up, Satoshi would leave.

Not like I didn't want him gone or anything. Well, it would be a shame to see him leave... again. Especially because he's been such a great help in math, but... wait... what the hell am I saying? He might not even be Satoshi for all I know...

"Help from who now?" Riku said, picking her head up.

"Y-Yitoren-san," I stammered. "He's... a classmate of mine."

The day wore on with us laughing about memories and school. Daisuke and Riku were obviously having the time of their life at their college. Mom and Dad missed us, but they were still busy with work, as usual. I told everyone about my friends, about Sensei Smith and Sensei Arisa. Riku and Daisuke did the same with their friends as well. Then I had to tell them about my scar on my head. Yeah, my parents loved that. At one point, Mom and Dad left to go make dinner. Or... tell the cook to make dinner.

I battled with myself on whether or not I should tell Riku and Daisuke about Satoshi. I had to tell someone and... well, who else would be better than my own twin?

"Hey guys," I said a little more quietly. They looked at me. "Have... have you heard any word from Satoshi?"

"Hiwatari?" Daisuke clarified. I nodded and the two of them thought for a second. Riku shook her head, and Daisuke did the same. "I haven't seen him since Da-" Just then, Riku punched Daisuke in the stomach and he stopped. I giggled as he doubled over, clutching his stomach, and tried to remain serious.

"We haven't seen him since Middle School," Riku continued. "I heard that he moved to the States."

"I thought he had too," I said. "But... why?"

"Well, why ask?" Daisuke sounded like he was in pain.

I bit my lip, thinking about how to tell them about it. I didn't really think hard enough because the next thing I knew, I was telling them everything. How I saw him the first day of school, how he pretended like he didn't know me, how we got stuck in the same elective class (to which Riku laughed her stupid, little head off at), how he was being wierd at the Nurse's Office, how he helped me with my math, and, finally, about what had happened at the Christmas party. They listened to every word (except when Riku was laughing at me... stupid Riku...).

"Well... are you sure it's Satoshi?" Daisuke finally asked. I nodded.

I nodded. "I'm sure of it. Or... I used to be. I mean... he looks exactly like him!" I paused, feeling my stomach do some stupid vibrating thing as I thought about it. "His personality is just... a little different."

"Meaning he's nice?" Riku asked, surprised.

"Well..." I sighed. "Kind of, yeah. He's still very polite, but lately I've had old classmates of his come up to me and say that I've 'changed' him. Whatever the hell that means..."

"Maybe he's got a fake ID," Daisuke suggested. "I mean... he changed his name, right? Perhaps he had to had to act like a different person for... safety reasons."

"But why!" I asked. "That's stupid! Satoshi was never in any danger! He might have been incredibly lonely or something, but it's not like he was in mortal peril." The looks I recieved from my sister and Daisuke deeply unnerved me. I twidled my thumbs and my voice became quieter. "I mean... was he?"

Daisuke and Riku had this... 'conversation' with their facial expressions. I waited for at least five more minutes until they came upon a desicion and faced me. I must have looked as scared as I felt because Riku put a hand to my shoulder. With a sad smile, she took a deep breath and said:

"Risa... I think there's something we need to tell you."

Just if my life couldn't have gotten any more screwed up, it did. I'm not just talking about what Riku and Daisuke told me. After that whole mess, I had to go on a 'walk'. Yeah. If taking a walk meant sprinting as fast as I could to my old Thinking Spot. You had to go all the way up to the windmills, take a hidden path, walk through a little bit of woods, then end up at a beach. I would go there all the time in my younger years. It calmed my nerves.

I felt the magic of the place come back to me as I breathed in deep, smelling the fresh air. When I closed my eyes, however, I did not expect to feel wetness. I blinked a few times and put my hand up to my eyes. I withdrew and saw drops of tears on my fingers. I gasped and then noticed how stuffy my nose was. I was crying. Why the hell was I crying? And for how long!

As confused as I was, the only thing I could do was cry. I hugged myself and let the ocean water soak my feet. And I cried. I don't know why, but I did. Perhaps I was taking out my own frustration, crying about my schoolwork and my stupid feelings. Perhpas it was for Daisuke and Riku, now that I knew what they had to go through. Perhaps it was for my long lost love that didn't really love me at all. Or perhaps it was for him... and how he suffered... and how badly I had treated him... and how mean I had been to him... and how much he hid (himself and his problems) from the world...

And the worst part of it was, the rumors were true. Every single one of them. The ones about his job and how he chased after Dark. The ones about him and his father. The ones about his pain... and to add to that, I found out that it wasn't just his father abusing him! He had an inner deamon for god's sake! What if, those few weeks before Christmas, when he was always in pain, he had been dealing with Krad? Was that why he looked so hurt?

I shook my head, not wanting to think about it. My hands covered my eyes, not wanting anyone... or anything to see me like this. I cursed when the tears continued to flow. I don't know how long I stayed there, but it must have been a while because when I looked back up at the ocean, tears STILL there, the sun was setting. I jumped and nearly screamed when I heard the movement of feet on sand.

"Risa?"

I felt shocked, confused, and guilty when I saw who it was. However, the guilt overthrew all of the other emotions and I could feel my heart ache. He was staring at me, a brand new emotion in his eyes, which I had never seen before. I felt my knees begin to give way, but I ignored it.

"I'm sorry," I managed to sputter, my voice cracking. Why was a such a drama queen? I wished I was more like my sister. She would have never made a disgrace of herself like this. "For everything..."

"Are you crying?" he asked, shocked himself. In two seconds flat, he was right in front of me. Damn him for being so tall... "Are... are you actually crying?"

Once again, I covered my face with my hands and shook my head. "I'm so sorry..." The rest was all a blur. I remember feeling arms wrapping around my trembling body, my name being called, and the feeling of an overall shocked atmosphere. Then I blanked out. Entirely.

A/N: Betcha can't guess who it is! Well, anyway. I can't say too much about the next chapter, other than reasons are revealed and... well, yeah, that's about all I can say.