Chapter 7
Whoo! College! Well, I must say it's great to be back. I don't like the "getting up early" part, but other than that it's pretty okay.
Author's note: I'm waiting outside of my class right now, so I'm not really listening to music. : (
Disclaimer: I still no own . . . you know what? I'm getting sick of saying this. If you don't know by now that I don't own DN Angel, then you haven't been reading my disclaimers. Shame on you.
She almost made it out of the building without incident. There were so many students around that no one paid attention to little miss Risa Harada, and for the first time in her life she was thankful for that. She would've hated to have to explain her current situation to someone - she had always been a terrible liar, and wouldn't ended up telling them anyway.
She was almost out the double doors. After that, all she had to do was go down the street and around the corner and there would be an ABC store where she could buy some . . . er . . . supplies. After that, the could come back, change into her swimsuit and hit the beach! Yeah!
"Harada-san?" Oh no. Please, anything but this. "Where are you going?" She whirled around and, just as she had thought, there was Satoshi Hiwatari, staring at her with those shrewd blue eyes. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. This was the last person she wanted to run into right now.
"Oh . . . I was just on my way to the store. What about you? What are you doing here?"
"I was visiting some of the stores in the hotel . . . Isn't anyone going with you?"
"No. I can take care of myself, Hiwatari-kun." She replied.
He sighed. "Didn't you read the itinerary? No one is supposed to go anywhere unless another person is with them. It's dangerous."
"I can take care of myself." She repeated with more emphasis..
"Well, I can't let you go alone." He said simply, removing his glasses and cleaning them on his shirt.
"Oh? And what are you going to do?" He ignored her and put his glasses back on. She sighed. "I'm just going down the street. I'll be fine, really."
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that."
"Why not?"
"It's not safe for a lady to walk the streets alone, even in the daylight."
"Hmph . . ." He makes me sound like a prostitute . . . wait . . . did he just call me a lady? "So what are you going to do? I'm leaving no matter what you say."
"I guess I'll just have to come with you."
"No! You can't!" Terror filled her at the thought. Of all the people . . . of all the people! She'd rather Saehara went with her. Well, that was a little over the top . . . but still! "Hiwatari-kun, youcan't."
"I have to. You don't realize how dangerous this place can be if your alone."
"Please. It'sHawaii.. How often do you hear about bad things happening to people in Hawaii? It's a tropical paradise!"
"There are psychopaths everywhere." He countered.
"You're not coming with me." She turned to leave, but he just followed her. She tried to ignore him, hoping he would give up and go back to the hotel, but half way down the block he was still behind her. "Look," She turned around. "Any other time, I would be okay with it. But you can not come with me."
" . . . Why not?"
"You just can't."
"Is it really that bad?" He was still following her. "I respect your privacy, Harada-san, but I can't let you wander the streets of Waikiki by yours-"
"I'm buying tampons." She said, whirling around to face him. "Happy now?"
He did a good job hiding his embarrassment, Risa thought. He looked shocked only for a second before his face returned to it's natural composed state. She almost missed the faint pink blush that spread across his face as he turned his head away and cleared his throat.
"W-well. Um . . . in that case I'll . . . I'll come with you, but you can . . . you know . . . have your privacy while you . . . shop." He cleared his throat again. Risa felt mortified and grateful at the same time.
"Thank you, Hiwatari-kun." she murmured, turning her back on him.
A horribly awkward silence fell between them
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Thankfully, Hiwatari kept his word and looked at books while she shopped. She would've died right there on the spot if he had seen her make her selection - ultra slims. He even pretended to keep shopping while she paid for it and asked for it double bagged. She tied the first bag so there was no chance of an accidental glimpse of it's contents and carried it by the second - a trick she had taught herself while shopping for girl essentials with Daisuke.
"Ready?" Hiwatari asked as she approached him. She merely nodded and he held the door open for her. Oh . . . how . . . polite. Maybe . . . maybe Hiwatari wasn't so bad after all. After all, he was a good escort . . . a real gentleman . . . and how many of those were left in the world? And of course, she knew she was safe with him. It wasSatoshi Hiwatari, after all.
"So . . . Riku and Daisuke are off doing their little "dating" thing." Risa said with a smile. "And . . . well I wanted to go to the beach . . ."
"Okay." Hiwatari said carefully.
"So . . . would you like to come be my bodyguard again?" She gave him her sweetest smile.
"I guess I don't have any choice." he said, but he didn't look upset. "I'll meet you in the lobby?"
"Yeah." She said with a smile.
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It was just Hiwatari. Satoshi Hiwatari. Satoshi-kun. Hmm . . . she liked the way that sounded . . . no! Hiwatari-kun! It was only Hiwatari-kun, so it really wasn't a big deal that she was going out with him. Out . . . on something that resembled a date. Nope, not a big deal at all.
Hmm . . . which swimsuit to wear? She shouldn't really care . . . but in case . . . . in case Dark showed up, she wanted to look her best . . . yes. It wasn't Hiwatari. She just wanted to look nice for Dark. She selected her two piece and put it on, then examined herself in the mirror. Perfect. She put on a T-shirt and a short, pink skirt over the suit, grabbed a towel, and headed downstairs.
He was waiting for her in the lobby, just like he had said. She gasped angrily. "I thought you said you were coming to the beach with me!"
"I am."
"Then why are you still wearing that?!" She said, indicating his regular attire. He was wearing long pants and a T-shirt.
"I said I would go with you. I never said I would swim."
"What? But what fun is the beach if you don't swim?"
"I'm not going to have fun. I'm going because you are, and I can't let you go by yourself. My conscience won't let me."
"So basically you're just babysitting me." Ooh! And to think she had almost stopped disliking him!
"No, I'm not babysitting you. I'm protecting you from some of the perverts out there who might try to hurt you."
" . . . Oh."Well . . . when you put it like that . . . "Okay then. Are you ready?"
He nodded. On their way out, she kept a sharp eye out for one of his fan girls . . . just in case they got the wrong idea. Sure, she had convinced them he was gay, but it still might look a little suspicious if they were caught leaving the hotel together. Hiwatari didn't seem to notice anything. Of course. For a smart guy, he could be really oblivious at times.
"I think it's this way." Hiwatari said, indicating that they go left.
"No, I remember there was a beach this way that I wanted to check out." She started to go right.
"Are you sure? Because the itinerary-"
"Hiwatari-kun, I saw the beach with my own eyes. It's just a little bit further than the other one. Besides, everyone is going to the beach that's on the itinerary."
"Oh." He said, then got a strange look on his face. "Oh." He cleared his throat. "Harada-san, I really don't have time for this. If all you wanted was to be alone with me, I really must be going."
"What? Why you arrogant jerk!" She shouted. He looked shocked . . . well, shocked by Satoshi Hiwatari standards.
"Excuse me?"
"You think that I . . . that I would . . . and you!" She took a deep breath. "You actually think I would be interested in you?!" At this, she gave a humorless laugh and turned on her heel.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to the beach. The beach I wanted to go to. And I'm going alone." She started to march off, but he caught her arm and stopped her. She turned around and glared up at him. Wow . . . he was tall . . .
"I apologize if I embarrassed you." He said softly. Oh. My. God. Did Satoshi Hiwatari just apologize to her? Oh. My. God. "I was mistaken. But all the same, I'm not going to allow you to go to the beach by yourself."
"Well . . . do you promise not to insult me?" She asked, looking up at him. He paused.
"I can try." He didn't smile, but there was a touch of humor in his voice.
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"Aha! I was right!" Risa giggled and took her shoes off, making sure they were far away from the ocean. "See? Isn't this beautiful? Look at that sunset!"
"Mmm." Hiwatari said, then mumbled something under his breath.
"What?"
"I was just thinking. This would make an excellent painting."
"Oh . . ." She said, looking closely at him. She knew Hiwatari was a painter, but she had never seen him paint. She had never noticed the glazed look that came over his usually calculating gaze as he planned out a painting.
"Yes . . . I'll have to remember this." He blinked and looked at her. "Well, we're here."
"Yeah . . . Hiwatari, come swim with me! It'll be fun!"
"I . . . don't think that's a good idea. In case you haven't noticed, I don't swim."
"Ha! That's a lie! You saved Daisuke's life! I was there when you gave him mouth to mouth!"
"I know. I said Idon't swim. I didn't say I can't."
" . . . Oh . . . but it's fun."
"Sorry, but . . . no."
"Why?"
"Other than the fact that I'm not wearing the proper clothes, my doctors prefer that I don't over exert myself." For the briefest second, Risa thought she saw something resembling embarrassment flash across his face, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.
"Oh . . . so . . . that's why you're exempt from swimming in class." She murmured. "And why you don't take gym . . ."
"Yes."
"Oh . . . okay then." She sighed, trying to think of something to say.
"I don't think you should swim either." He said suddenly.
"What? Why?"
"This beach is completely deserted." He noted, looking around. "There must be a reason."
"Because everyone else wanted to go to the other beach." She said over her shoulder. She was already making her way to the water.
"I really don't think it's a good idea, Harada-san." He walked forward and grabbed her wrist. "It seems too risky."
"Hiwatari-kun," She said sweetly. "Thank you for your concern, but I am an excellent swimmer. I can take care of myself. Besides, wouldn't the beach be fenced off if there was something dangerous here?"
"Not necessarily." He said, but he let go of her hand. "Just . . . be careful."
"I will." She grinned and took of into the ocean. Hiwatari sighed and began walking down the beach toward the pier. It was basically a huge dock made of black stone. He would definitely need to include it in his painting. Hawaii really was beautiful . . . what a sunset. . . . it was really peaceful.
He took a deep breath, then squinted. Something at the end of the dock caught his attention. It was barely discernable, as he was staring in the direction of the setting sun. Curious, he went to see what it was. As he got closer he realized it was a sign that had been knocked down. His pace quickened to a run, and when he got to the end of the pier he picked up the broken sign. His breath caught when he read the warning.
Jellyfish.
"Harada-san!" He cried, dropping the sign. "Harada-san! Get out of there! Hara-" His shouts were cut off by Risa's scream.
Well, hope you liked it! If you review, I'll post chapter 8 soon.