Chapter 13

Eh . . . don't really have much to say . . . I'm listening to my play list of awesomeness, which includes music from Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Pan's Labyrinth, Hairspray, Rent, and Techno-ness.- None of which I own.

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own it. Sorry.

"So . . . Satoshi . . ." Daisuke looked down. "What . . . um . . . what do you think about Risa?" They were walking down he hallway to the girls' room. It had sort of become an unspoken rule that when they were going somewhere they would always wait for the twins.

"What do you mean." Satoshi asked, knowing exactly what Daisuke meant.

"You know . . . what do you think of her." God, this was embarrassing. But . . . Riku had wanted him to ask.

"You mean am I attracted to her?"

"Yeah."

" . . . yes."

Well that was unexpected. Daisuke had been expecting him to lie about it . . . or not answer . . . or . . . something. "R-Really?"

"Yes. She is quite attractive. Even you have to admit that."

"Well . . ." Daisuke looked uncomfortable. "She's pretty . . . but . . ."

"Not as pretty as her sister, right?"

"Right." He said confidently. Satoshi smirked. He felt the exact opposite. "Sooo . . ." Daisuke continued to press. "What do you think the prettiest thing about her is?"

"Excuse me?"

"Risa. What is the thing that draws you to her?"

"I'm not drawnto her. I said she is attractive. But anyone with eyes can see that."

"Yeah, but what is it about her appearance that you like the most."

" . . . Her eyes." He said, looking away. "She has . . . she has pretty eyes."

Daisuke's steps faltered. "B-B-But she and Riku have the same eyes!"

"Not really. If you'll look closely, you'll see that though they look the same, Risa-san's eyes have a softness about them. She's more . . ." He paused. "Don't take this the wrong way, but Risa-san is more feminine."

Daisuke chuckled. "Oh, I already knew that. But that's one of the reasons I like Riku so much. She's not . . . erm . . ."

" . . . High maintenance?" Satoshi looked at him out of the corner of his eyes.

"Uh . . ." He smiled sheepishly. "M-Maybe."

"It's okay, Daisuke. That's just your honest opinion."

The conversation would've gone further, but they had reached the twins' room. Daisuke knocked on the door. Riku opened it with a smile.

"Hey! We're actually ready on time! Risa only brought one pair of suitable hiking shorts." Riku said with a laugh. Satoshi was surprised that she had thought to bring anything at all. "She would've have even packed it if I hadn't reminded her." Oh . . . that explained it.

"Yeah yeah." Risa said, coming out of the bathroom, adjusting the rubber band in her hair. She was wearing knee length, khaki shorts, a black thick strapped tank top and brown hiking boots. Satoshi noticed with dissatisfaction that she had all of her hair pulled up into a pony-tail. Not that it mattered, but it did look better down.

"Let's go. The teachers won't like it if we hold the buses up, and we're probably going to have to take the stairs again."

"Riku, are you serious?" Risa looked at her sister wearily.

"Yeah. don't be lazy."

"Well . . . maybe the elevator won't be too crowded this time."

"Maybe. I doubt it though. Everyone wants to take the elevator, especially today since we're going to be hiking all day."

Riku took Daisuke's hand. Risa felt a stab of jealousy. Sure, she had held Satoshi's hand last night, but this was a completely different situation. She couldn't just grab Satoshi's hand when her sister and Daisuke were around. She couldn't do it when anyone was around.

The truth was, she wasn't sure she had the nerve to try to hold his hand again. He wasn't her boyfriend, after all, she had a feeling that he hadn't let her cling to him because he'd wanted to. In fact, she was fairly certain he had only held her hand because she was so upset. Now that she was better, he probably didn't want her touching him. She sighed.

"Something wrong?" He asked. She shook her head and forced herself to smile up at him.

"No I'm fine . . . wait . . . Oh no!" She cried. Just as she had feared, the elevator was crowded with students trying to get to the first floor. "This doesn't mean we're walking, does it?"
"I'm afraid so." Riku opened the door to the stairs. "C'mon."

"But we're already going hiking!" She moaned, following them through the door..

"Oh, don't be such a baby, Risa." Muttered Riku.

"I'm not being a baby. I just think . . . that we should . . . conserve our energy for the hike." How cute . . . she was trying to sound intelligent. Satoshi smirked over his shoulder at her.

"That's what the bus ride is for, Risa-san."

"Aw, not you too, Satoshi-kun! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Why is that?"

"Because! The three of you can't just team up on me like that! It's not fair!" She could've sworn she heard him chuckle at this, but he made no other response. "Um . . . Sato-Satoshi-kun?" Risa whispered.

"Hm?"

"Uhm . . ." How to go about this . . . "Are you . . . are you going to be okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well . . . you know . . . you didn't eat anything this morning . . . and you didn't get much sleep last night . . . so I'm just worried about your health . . ."

"Oh . . . you mean you're worried about my low blood pressure."

"Yes." She replied softly. "I just . . ."

"Don't. I'm fine. Remember, I chased Dark under worse circumstances." Oh yeah. She had forgotten that little tidbit of information.

"Right . . . but still . . ."

"Risa, only three floors to go!" Riku called back to her. Risa groaned. Her legs were already aching. She could already tell that this was not going to be her kind of day.

------------------------

"So . . . what's the name of the volcano we're going up again?" They were on the bus, sitting in their usual seats.

"Diamond Head. It's not too far away - you can actually see it from the hotel."

"What?" She gasped. "Are you serious?!"

"Yes. That's it right there."

"That's not far away at all!"

"I know." He replied calmly. She gaped at him.

"What if . . . what if it erupts while we're here and we all die?!"

"Um . . . Risa-san . . . it's been extinct for years. You don't have to worry about that."

"Oh . . . so then . . . no lava?"

"No lava."

"Whew, that's a relief. It's hot enough already." She laid her head back against the seat. Satoshi just watched her for a moment. She looked up and caught him staring. "What?"

"Nothing. I . . . It's nothing." He sighed. "You remembered your camera, right?"

"Yep!" She pulled it out and showed him. "Can I take a picture of you, Satoshi-kun?"

"No."

"But I want to!"

"Please don't."

"Why not?" She pouted.

"I don't like having my picture taken."

"But you're so cute, Satoshi-kun!" She teased, then snapped a picture before he could protest.

"Please don't do that again."

"Why ?"

"I just told you, I don't like to have my picture taken. And you should save space on your camera for more interesting things."

"You're interesting." She said without thinking.

"Oh?"

"Uh . . . yeah. You know, you've got that whole 'mysterious' thing going for you. There's a lot about you that people want to know."

"Oh."

"Yeah . . . it's no wonder you have a fanclub."

"Hmm . . ." She could tell he didn't like talking about his fanclub, which, of course, made her want to talk about it all the more.

"Oh yeah, there's a lot of things about you that girls just love." She grinned. He looked out the window, and she scooted closer to him. "Like . . . your attitude."

"Ah."

"Yeah, they love it that you have a "get-away-from-me-or-die" attitude."

" . . . So the key to having a fanclub is to be indifferent to the rest of the world. If other guys knew that, maybe the girls would leave me alone and follow them around."

"Well, it's not just that." Risa smiled at him. "You're also really smart. Like, really really smart. They can't get over the fact that someone who's so good looking could be so intelligent too."

"Excuse me?"

"What?"

"Did you just say I was good looking?"

"Wha-well . . ." she grasped for an answer that wouldn't give him the wrong idea. She decided to 'play it cool'. "Well, yeah, they think your gorgeous. I don't really see what all the fuss is about." She handled that one well.

"So, you don't think I'm attractive."

"I've already said I don't like guys with glasses." She said, then felt extremely stupid. "But you're . . . not . . . wearing your glasses." She muttered. He gave her his most evil smirk to date and looked out the window without a word.

They spent the rest of the bus ride in awkward silence. Well, at least it was awkward for Risa. Even though he was looking out the window and she couldn't see his expression, Risa had a nagging feeling that he was probably fighting to keep from smiling.

"Ooh, you're evil, Satoshi Hiwatari! EVIL!"

------------------------

At the base of the volcano was a small park complete with a snow cone stand. Their tour guide took them aside for a brief description of what they could expect. "Diamond Head is a fairly moderate hike - it's .7 miles and shouldn't take any longer than two hours. There are places to rest along the way if you get tired, though I would suggest waiting until you reach the top. The more you rest, the more tired you become. \

At the top is an observatory. It is a great place to take pictures. However, if you feel like you can't make it, you may turn back at any moment. Just keep to the side and allow those who are going up to pass by. Are there any questions? Um, yes, you in the back."

Saehara leapt to his feet. "What are the chances of this volcano erupting in a massive, lava filled fireball of death?!"

"Er . . ." Their guide looked taken aback. "I don't think anything like that's going to happen. Are there any other questions?" No one raised their hand. "No? Okay then, well, we can proceed with the climb now. Whenever you're ready, feel free to go on ahead." With that, he ended his speech and went to talk to their teacher. Riku jumped up.

"Come on! I want to be one of the first ones to reach the top!"

"Aw, Riku, can't we stay down here for a little while?" Risa complained. "It's nice here, and we can get a snow cone."

"No, lazy! Get up. You'll see - it'll be worth it once you see the view."

"Yeah, and you heard what he said, this is a moderate hike, so there won't be any climbing or anything. We'll just walk." Daisuke smiled at her, but she simply glared as she stood up.

"I remember what it was like last time we went hiking up a mountain." She muttered. "You guys went off to look a glow worms, and then yougot hurt, Riku!"

Her sister ignored that last comment. "Let's go. I want to make it up there before Saehara does. That way we can have a little peace while we enjoy the view."

Risa looked over at Saehara, who was flirting shamelessly (and pitifully) with one of the native girls. "I don't think we have to worry about that." She muttered, but Riku still turned away and started heading for the path. Risa rolled her eyes and walked next to Satoshi. It had become kind of a habit that they walk next to each other. So when he was stopped by a teacher, she stopped too.

"Satoshi-kun. Are you feeling . . . you know . . . up to this?" He looked concerned.

"Yes sir . . ." he said warily. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was just wondering if there are any extra precautions we might want to take considering your . . . you know . . . condition."

"I believe I'll be okay. I'm not the only student who has a medical anomaly who will be hiking today." He said with just a hint of frostiness.

"I'm aware of that, and I've already spoken to the others. If there are any special arrangements . . ."

"I know what to do should my blood pressure drop, thank you." He said, his voice icy this time. With that he turned his back on the teacher and walked away. Risa chased after him, startled.

"Satoshi-kun, are you okay?"

"That is why I don't like people finding out I have hypotension. Because the minute we have to do something that requires the slightest amount of exertion they automatically assume I'm going to fall out." He was agitated. Risa could understand his frustration, but it seemed strange coming from someone like him. The great Satoshi Hiwatari embarrassed by low blood pressure?

"Hey you two! Hurry up!" Riku called from the base of the trail.

Risa sighed. "Coming!" Then she turned to Satoshi. "I guess we had better go. You know, I'm probably more likely to pass out than you are." This earned her a low but sincere chuckle from him.

"Considering how your trip has been so far, I wouldn't doubt it."

Okay, so I know nothing really happened in this chapter. Sorry, but my brain has been kind of . . . what's the word I'm looking for . . . not-working-ish . . . with college and everything. So . . . Sorry, but that's all Chapter 13 has. I promise there will be more in Chapter 14. I PROMISE! . . . if you review, that is.