A/N: Hey all! Thanks for the reviews! I love them! . But Risa kissing Satoshi in the last chapter? The thought hadn't actually crossed my mind :P. Oh well. Enjoy!


Chapter 12

"Morning, Hiwatari-kun," I said with a yawn. He had gotten up and was currently washing his face by the time I had opened my eyes. I heard him call out a good morning. "Sleep well last night?"

"Just fine," he replied. "You?"

I blushed a bit, remembering the toughts running through my mind the previous night. I shook it away, though. "Same." I looked around the hotel room, and tried to figure out what exactly I would be doing on my last day in America. I had already planned to book two tickets back to Japan for the next morning, and I really didn't know what I would do for an entire DAY with Satoshi. How awkward would this be?

"Hey," Satoshi said, suddenly in the doorway of the bathroom. "What ever happened to your hat?"

Instantly, my hand shot towards my head. I let out a gasp, then began searching for it. I had thrown the covers off my body and was looking through the sheet. When I didn't find them there, I looked under the bed. I then looked on the bedside tables, around the couch, in the bathroom. I finally ended up where I had started, sitting down on my bed with a frown.

"Damnit!" I whined, falling back. "That was my favorite hat..."

"You had it at the airport," Satoshi said. He then paused. "How did you not notice that it was gone?"

I shook my head to myself. "I don't know..." I growled softly. "Damnit..."

Satoshi merely let it go with the shrug of one shoulder. "Well... at least now people can see your hair." My mind went zooming back to the bus ride, where Satoshi had complimented me on my eyes. I felt my face heat up, and decided that the best thing to do would be to hide under the covers. So I did.

"Why do you even care?" I said as if I were complaining. My voice was muffled through the sheets. Satoshi was silent for a moment, but I heard him sigh.

"It was only a comment," he said. "I appologize if I made you feel uncomfortable."

"Well, contrary to popular belief," I snapped, unaware of why I was so moody. "I don't scope out the surrounding area for young men I can sleep with everywhere I go."

Satoshi cleared his throat, probably not sure of what to do. "I wasn't implying that."

"Oh, please," I said. "I know what people think of me, Hiwatari-kun. I know that people think I'm a sluty girl, and that I was stupid for following Dark everywhere he went..." When I said his name, and the memories came back to me... there was a very weird feeling in my gut. Like, I wasn't brokenhearted. I was... embarassed.

"I don't think that at all," he said, sounding surprsied. I threw the sheets from my face, turned my head, and glared at him. I didn't believe Satoshi even when he did look semi-hurt. "What? I truly don't." I didn't give up, and he crumbled. "Alright... I used to think that... a little bit."

I scoffed and looked away from him. "Right..." There was an awkward (a very, VERY awkward) moment of silence. I swore to myself, realizing that he was, once again, shirtless and standing in my hotel room. Only, this time he was not dripping wet. Why was he shirtless again? Satoshi seemed like the kind of kid that would HATE being shirtless.

"Would you like to know what I think?" he asked. I waited until I heard him rumaging through his bags for a shirt before I looked at him. Damn. He was still shirtless. Except he was holding a white shirt. Was that progress? "I think you're a normal 17-year-old girl, who just happened to fall in love." I caught sight of his tattoo, which, other than being somewhat red and a little swollen, was looking very nice. "He was very much a ladie's man, Harada-san. I don't blame you for fallng for him."

That didn't help my mood much. "It's Risa, and, once again, I was just another one of his stupid fan girls."

"No, Harada-san, you weren't," Satoshi said, his voice becoming stern.

He was really starting to get on my nerves. "It's Risa. And, yes, Hiwatari-kun, I was. I was childish and self centered." Satoshi had now successfully made his way over to the bed and was glaring back at me.

"Maybe you're right," he snapped. "Maybe you were just a selfish, little girl. Does that make you feel any better?"

I had to look away again. Not only because he had a point, but beacause HELLO! He was shirtless! I chose not to respond, and he sighed, sitting down next to me.

"Harada-san," he started slowly. "It doesn't matter how horrible we were in the past. The important thing is that we learn from our mistakes, and we move on. That's how humans mature."

"Well, I missed the maturing part," I mumbled.

"That's alright," Satoshi said. "You'll get it."

I looked at him, unbelieving. "You really think so?"

Then he gave me this look. I can't even describe it all too well. It wasn't a bad look, mind you. It was... It was gentle... and caring... and soft... and reassuring... and... genuine. There was a genuine look that he gave me, small smile and all.

"I have no doubt in my mind."

What was this? Not Satoshi being shirtless, but Satoshi giving me advice, and Satoshi caring about my safety, and Satoshi encouraging me. Why did I feel so special whenever he would smile at me? Why did I continuously blush around him? Why did I see Dark as an infatuation that has long passed my mind (which, in retrospect, it really hasn't been too long)? Why? Why was it that whenever I fell asleep... I always saw Satoshi's face?

What was this?