Chapter 20

Whoo. Midnight. Stormy weather. Perfect writing mood! Yay!!!!

Disclaimer: Like I said, no own.

Panic set in immediately. Risa cradled his body in her arms and called out to him in the hopes of waking him up. "Satoshi!" She cried, holding him close. He had gone completely limp. "Satoshi! Please wake up! What's wrong?!"
The elevator doors opened once they reached the seventh floor. Risa slung his arm over her shoulder and stood up with him. "Come on, Satoshi." She grunted, dragging him out of the elevator. He wasn't exactly heavy, but he was tall, which made him difficult to carry. She had to carry him on her back, which was awkward since his legs dragged the floor, but it was the best she could do.

"Don't worry, Satoshi." She said. Good lord . . . since when was her room so far away? "You'll be alright. I just . . . I just need to get you to my room, that's all." He didn't answer. She hadn't expected him to.

"This is all my fault." she thought to herself as she finally reached her room. "I knew there was something wrong with him. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, it's not normal for someone to be that pale." She slipped the electronic key into the and carried/dragged him into her room, glad that no one was around. It might look a little suspicious - Risa dragging an unconscious Satoshi Hiwatari into her room. She could just imagine the rumors that Saehara would spread.

She laid him on her bed and wondered what she was supposed to do. Her first thought was that the nurse would be more apt at taking care of him, but at the same time she didn't want to leave him alone, especially when she didn't know what was wrong with him. What if he had a seizure and died? What if he woke up, confused, and didn't know where he was? She began to seriously panic.

"Satoshi . . ." She whispered, sitting next to him on the bed. She stroked his hair back. "Please wake up . . . please I . . . I'm scared. I don't know what's happening . . . I don't . . . know what's wrong with you . . . I don't know if it's just your blood pressure or if . . . if it's something else. Satoshi, you can't do this to me. Not now. Not before I get to tell you . . ." She leaned down and rested her forehead against his.

"It was . . . always you, Satoshi." She whispered. "Even before I got to know you . . . even before, when I couldn't stand you." She smiled slightly. "You were always . . . there." He didn't respond. "Please wake up. You have to wake up. I love you too much for this too happen." Shocked, she covered her mouth. Love? Had she really just told him she loved him? Where had that come from?

"I love you." She said quietly. "I love you. So you have to wake up because . . . I . . . I can't bear to see you like this." Still he made no response. She took a deep, quivering sigh and laid down on her side and snuggled next to him. "I'm not a nurse." She whispered. "Please . . . tell me what I need to do." She closed her eyes. The only thing she could think to do was hold him.

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They stayed like that for about ten minutes before he spoke. " . . . Ri . . . sa?" He murmured. She gasped and sat up.

"Satoshi! Oh, Satoshi! You're alive."

"Uh huh." He said. "Wha . . . wha happened?" His voice was groggy.

"You passed out in the elevator. You-" She stopped and stared down at him. "Satoshi, when was the last time you ate?!"

"Uh?" He looked up at her with those beautiful, sleepy eyes of his. Then he reached up and touched her hair. "You're so pretty.' He murmured.

"So it was your blood pressure." She said softly.

"Hmmm . . ."

"Satoshi . . . don't sit up. You need to-" She stopped as he gently kissed her on the lips. Wow. That was unexpected.

"I'm okay." He breathed against her lips and kissed her again. His hand reached up to stroke her face as his lips moved to her neck.

"Sa-Sato . . . shi . . ." She breathed, torn between confusion and bliss. She shouldn't let him do this . . . he wasn't really himself . . . she should stop him . . . but . . . this felt so good! "Satoshi."

"Hmmm?" He asked. His lips were making their way back up her neck toward her mouth.

"Satoshi . . . I think . . . I mean . . . I don't think . . . that . . . we should . . ."

"I love you, Risa." He murmured. Her breath caught, then she squeezed her eyes shut.

"N-No! You don't mean that! You're not . . . you're not . . . awake yet."

" . . . But . . ." He stopped kissing her and laid his head on her shoulder. "but I . . . did mean that, Risa."

"Food. Satoshi. You need food." She thought about it for a second. " . . . We didn't eat dinner last night . . . and you never eat breakfast . . ." She gasped. "Satoshi! You haven't eaten since lunch yesterday! No wonder you collapsed!"

She heard him sigh gently. She couldn't help but smile to herself. "Satoshi . . . are you going to remember this once your blood pressure is back to normal?" She put her arms around him. " . . . But . . . just so you know . . . I love you too."

"Mmmm . . . that's good." He murmured. "I was worried."

"Okay, Satoshi." She took him by the shoulders and moved away from him. "I'm going to see if we have anything to eat. You need food. Lay down." She commanded. He gave a non-comitial sigh but did as he was told.

"Lets see . . . let's see . . . we have . . ." She walked over to the small kitchenette and looked in the refrigerator. " . . . leftover sushi . . . no. That was from the mall. It might make you sick . . . hmm . . . Riku bought some instant rice!" She looked. "Three bags left. Great." She pulled out a bag and put it in a bowl. She then filled it with water and put in in the microwave for ten minutes. Then she went back to the bed and sat down next to Satoshi.

"Lay down." He commanded drowsily, and she stiffened.

"Er . . . Satoshi . . ."

"Please?" He added, looking up at her. She sighed and laid down on the bed.

"I'm fixing rice." She murmured. He nodded and put his arms around her.

"Rice is . . . nice." He said, then added. "That rhymed."

"I'm aware of that, Satoshi. You should be a poet."

"Huh." Was all he said, then closed his eyes.

"Don't fall asleep, Satoshi. You need to eat."

"Uh-huh." He sighed. She swallowed as he snuggled closer to her. "Let's just . . . stay like this . . . for a while." He murmured.

"Satoshi . . . this is so unlike you. Are you sure you're okay?'

"Fine. Fine."

She sighed. "Don't fall asleep." She repeated.

"I said I won't."

"Satoshi?"

"Hm?"

" . . . you really scared me." She whispered.

"Sorry."

"Well . . . it's not your fault." She sighed. "I shouldn't have made you carry me."
"I'd do it again if I had to." He said softly, stroking her hair.

"Don't do that, Satoshi." She whispered as his lips touched her cheek. I don't want you to kiss me unless you really mean it. Right now you're just doing this because your confused."

" . . . I do love you, Risa." He murmured. She sighed and closed her eyes, allowing herself to believe that it was really Satoshi talking and not his low blood pressure. She didn't want to say anything else, for fear she might say something wrong and hurt his feelings - he seemed emotionally fragile at this moment.

Satoshi seemed perfectly content to lay there in silence, holding her in his arms. She had never, never thought she would ever be in this position with Satoshi Hiwatari. It was unbelievable. She smiled to herself as she thought of what the fan girls might say.

Eventually Satoshi's breath evened out and she realized he had indeed fallen asleep. She sighed, knowing that she was going to have to wake him back up once the rice was done.

"Satoshi . . ." She murmured. " . . . when you're like this . . . you almost seem . . . normal."

He sighed contentedly in his sleep and she smiled. When the rice was done she maneuvered out of his arms, careful not to wake him up. Odds were he would just fall right back asleep again.

"Hmm . . . okay. Let's see . . ." She opened the microwave. "I should be able to - ah! " She cried, back away from counter. She hadn't thought the bowl would be that hot! It was only a microwave, after all. It wasn't like she had heated the rice up in an oven! "Ow! Ow ow ow ow!" She blew on her hand, then ran it under cold water. Where was Riku when you needed her? She wouldn't have burned herself making instant rice!

Okay . . . back to food. Right. She sighed and checked the refrigerator again. Riku had done enough shopping to last them another week. There was milk - which was so expensive here! - butter and sodas along with the rice and leftover sushi. There was also Nutella (yummy!) which Riku had gotten just for her because she was on her period. However, there was no soy sauce, which was what she had been looking for. In the cupboard there wasn't any, but she did find pepper, bread, crackers and . . . salt! Yes! It was sort of the same . . . wasn't it? Soy sauce tasted like salt!

She sliced off a slab of butter and stirred it in, then added the salt. Who said she couldn't cook? She thought she did pretty good considering what she had to work with!

"Satoshi. Satoshi, wake up. You need to eat." She brought him the rice - making sure to hold it with a dishtowel - and sat on the bed. He didn't move. "Satoshi, get up." She sighed and set the rice on the small table next to her bed. "Satoshi . . . come on." She put her hands on his shoulders and gently shook him.

"Uhn . . . huh?" He opened his eyes and gave her a bleary look. "What?" He started to sit up. "What's going on?"

"Oh, you're starting to wake up." She smiled. "I think your blood pressure is going back to normal. Here." She shoved the bowl of rice in his face. "Eat."

"What?" He rubbed his eyes. "What . . . what happened?"

"You passed out in the elevator . . . Satoshi . . . are you awake now?"

"Yes . . . I . . . I think so." He rubbed his eyes. When he looked back at her his gaze was clearer and he looked less confused. "I passed out then?"

"Yes. When was the last time you ate?"

" . . . . I believe it was yesterday at lunch."

"Here." She handed him the rice. "Eat."

"Sure." He said taking the bowl. The spoon was halfway up to his mouth before he stopped. "Erm . . . Risa . . . did you . . . cook this yourself?"

"Yes." She said. He cleared his throat and put the spoon back in the bowl.

"You know, on second thought . . . I'm not terribly hungry." He said. Risa wasn't fooled.

"Satoshi! I think I can handle making instant rice. I'm not that bad at cooking!"

He looked unconvinced. "Considering what I've heard from Daisuke, I wouldn't be surprised."

She huffed indignantly. "Did he say my cooking was bad?"

"He told me the story like it was a joke." He smirked. "About a time when you cooked for him . . . trying to learn to cook for Dark-"

"Ugh. Don't remind me. I've gotten much better at cooking since then - I promise! Just try it."

He looked dubious, but then sighed. "Okay. I guess I do need to eat." He took a spoonful and forced it into his mouth. Risa watched anxiously as he chewed, grimaced slightly, but tried to cover it up.

" . . . Well?"

"Er . . . how much salt did you put in this?"

"Um . . . not too much . . . why?"

" I just . . . wasn't expecting it. That's all."

"Oh!" She gasped, jumping up. "Here! She ran to the kitchenette.

"What -" Before he could ask, she had returned with a glass of water. "Oh . . . thank you . . ." He looked slightly embarrassed. "You really don't have to take care of me, you know. I'll be okay."

"You took care of me when I was stung by jellyfish." She reminded him.

"That was different."

"How so?"

"You were . . ." He sighed. "It just was, okay?"
"Sure sure. Whatever. If you want, I could get you something else-"

"No, the rice is fine."

"But it's got too much salt."

"I'm supposed to eat a lot of salt if I faint. Salt or sugar, or both."

"But doesn't it taste terrible?"
"Not terrible. Under normal circumstances I wouldn't eat it, but I'm usually craving salty food after something like this happens."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's all a part of having low blood pressure." He took another bite and chuckled softly. "I can't believe you used salt. You thought it would taste the same as soy sauce?"

" . . . Yes." She admitted. He chuckled again, and she sat down on the bed next to him. "Satoshi . . . I was . . . so worried about you."

He looked up, surprised. "Why?"

"I didn't know what was happening. I thought that . . . I don't know. I was so frightened."

He stopped eating and set the rice on the table. "Risa . . . I don't want you to worry about me. This isn't something that happens often."

"It was my fault." She said miserably. "I knew I was too heavy. If you hadn't had to carry me-"

"I still would've collapsed. It was my fault for not eating. I knew I should've had something." He shrugged. "You had nothing to do with it. And no, you aren't too heavy."

"Hmm . . ." She mumbled. "Satoshi . . . do you . . . remember . . . anything that you said? While you were . . . out of it, I mean."

" Er . . ." He gave her a startled look. "Why? Did I . . ." He sighed. "If I said or did anything peculiar, please remember that it wasn't me. I wasn't myself . . . and . . ."

"Um . . . you didn't do anything too strange." She lied with a smile. "Except you admitted your undying love for me." When he looked slightly embarrassed she giggled. "I'm just kidding! Mostly you just "Mmmhmm"ed and "Uh-huh"ed."

"Oh."

"So, do you remember anything at all?"

"Uh . . . yeah . . . did we have a conversation about cheeseburgers?"

" . . . No." She said, laughing. "No, we didn't."

"Hmmm . . . that must've been a dream then."

"Yeah . . ." She smiled. "So you don't remember anything?"

"What did I do, exactly?" he asked cautiously.

"Like I said, nothing too strange. Eat." She commanded, and he picked the bowl back up. "You mostly just laid there. You tried to sit up once or twice, but I made you lay back down."

"Hmm." He muttered noncommittally as he ate. Risa absentmindedly traced her finger along the side of her neck where he had kissed her. He looked at her for a moment, then set the nearly empty bowl aside again.

"Satoshi, you need to-" She stopped when he grabbed her wrists.

"Risa. Listen to me. Did I . . . when I was . . . in a daze . . . did I do anything that made you feel . . . uncomfortable?"

"What? No, you . . ." She paused. "not really."

"Because I recall . . . vaguely . . . kissing you." He trailed a hand over where he had kissed her. "And I don't know if it was just a dream or if . . . "

"It really happened." She said gently. He sighed.

"I was afraid of that. I'm so sorry, Risa. I wasn't thinking." He stopped and put his hands on her shoulders. "I would never try to do anything that would make you uncomfortable. I would never . . . hurt you in that way."

"Satoshi, I know that." She said, looking up into his eyes. "I know you would never try anything with me. You're far too polite to do that. Satoshi . . . you didn't do anything . . . bad. It was just . . . you were a lot less shy than you normally are."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She moved closer to him, and his arms slipped around her.

"What exactly did I . . . do?"

" . . ." She looked up at him for a moment then decided on a demonstration. She leaned for ward and kissed him gently on the neck. His breath caught and he closed his eyes as she moved her lips up his throat toward his mouth. "That was about the worst of it." She murmured. His eyes fluttered open and he looked back at her.

"Uhm . . ." He said softly. He quickly stood up, blushing slightly. "I-It was still . . . improper of me. I shouldn't have-" He stopped mid sentence and put a hand to his head. Risa knew what was happening and jumped up to catch him as he stumbled backward.

"Satoshi." She sighed, helping him back to the bed.

"Sorry, I got up too fast."

"Lay down." She commanded, pushing him on his back.

"Honestly, Risa. I'm fine. I need to get to my room so I can take a shower. These clothes are making my skin itch."

"Mmm . . . Okay." She allowed him to sit up. "But I'm walking you to your room."

"You've got to be kidding."

"Nope."

"Are you planning on accompanying me - never mind." He was about to say "in the shower" but then realized how suggestive that sounded. To cover it up, he cleared his throat and carefully stood. "I think I should be okay on my own."

"I don't care. I have to make sure." She stood as well. He sighed in defeat as she escorted him out of the room. As they walked down the hall, toward the elevator, he caught her giggling.

"What is it?"

"Nothing it's just." She smiled at the memory. "You're very . . . affectionate . . . when you're not awake."

"Again, I apologize. I promise it won't happen again."

She smiled slightly and stopped. "Satoshi."

"What?"

"I don't know. I just . . ." She sighed and looked down. "You were so . . . affectionate." She repeated. He looked curiously at her.

"I'm not normally affectionate?" When she gave him a look he smirked. "Toward you, I mean."

"Not like this."

"Hmm . . ."

"Satoshi, it was . . . " she blushed . . . "that is . . . er . . ."

"What?"

"Nothing it's just . . ." She felt herself turning even redder. "You can . . . you know . . . do it again. . . sometime. If you feel like it, I mean."

"Wait . . . you mean . . ." He blushed and looked down. "Risa."

"I know you're usually shy." She said. "I mean . . . I doubt you would . . ."

"What do you mean you 'doubt I would'?"

"Well, you were very . . . passionate. I doubt you would be that passionate if you were in your right state of mind. But the truth is . . . I kind of liked it." She was egging him on now.

"So you're saying . . ."

"You lack spontaneity." She shrugged. "But that's what I-" He cut her off. In one swift movement he pinned her against the wall. He leaned in on one elbow so his face was just inches from hers. His left hand tilted her chin up.

"You were saying?"

"Satoshi . . ." She breathed. At that moment he discarded all thoughts of remaining a gentleman and kissed her. Really kissed her. Her reaction was instant - she wrapped her arms around his neck and stood up straighter. His body pressed her against the wall as his hands slid down to grasp her hips. She had never . . . never been kissed like this before. Who would've thought that someone like Satoshi Hiwatari could put this much passion into a kiss? She never would've guessed.

They finally broke apart, gasping for air, but the moment his lips moved to her neck, all thoughts of breathing were forgotten. "Satoshi . . ." She whispered as his lips parted and he gently tasted her skin. She heard him chuckle slightly. "Wh-what is it?"

"Nothing." He murmured, kissing her neck. "Your skin tastes like salt. That's all." And he craved salt.

She couldn't see him smirking, but she could sense it.. "Satoshi."

He looked up at her with those blue blue blue eyes, and she grabbed his collar and yanked his lips back to hers. She heard him growl softly from the back of his throat, and it made her tug him closer. His arms snaked around her waist.

"Hey! You two! What do you think you're doing?!" They were surprised by their teacher, and they hastily jumped away from each other, guilt written on both their faces. "Wait a minute . . . Hiwatari ?" The short balding man stared at Satoshi. "You're the last person I would expect this from. You usually seem so . . . reserved."

"I may be reserved, but I'm still a guy." He muttered. Risa stifled a giggle.

"And you? Miss Harada. Well, I can't say I'm surprised. I got your sister and her boyfriend yesterday." He sighed. "You two are the fourth couple I've caught today. This has to stop. But, seeing as it's a first offense . . . I suppose I can let you two off with just a warning. Just don't let it happen again." It was obvious that he was letting them off easy because of Satoshi. He was the best student in school, after all.

"Of course." Satoshi said politely. Risa merely nodded, flushing red. Their teacher gave them one last confused look, then hastily retreated to the stairway.

They just stood there until he disappeared. Satoshi was the first to speak. "Did we just -"
"Yeah." Risa answered. "We just got PDA-ed."

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And so we have a coughcrappycough make-out scene. Yay! And PDA - this was a big issue on our trip. Not for me of course, because sadly I had no one. (Though I did pine for someone through the whole trip. Too bad he waited until after Hawaii to ask me out. :/ )

Well, review, and tell me what you think!