The Final Day

It was a rainy day when it finally happened. Satoshi, once again, was assigned cleaning duty, but this time with Riku, who had left school sick, earlier that day. So Risa happily volunteered to take her place. It went well. They joked softly and talked about what they had been up to. In no time, they finished their chores and set out.

"Harada-san, I really enjoyed talking with you." Satoshi said softly.

Risa blushed happily, "Me too! I feel like we are really getting close!" She bit her lip and continued on, "Maybe now that we are friends you could address me as Risa? Harada is so formal and it could be my sister you're talking to... Please?"

Satoshi's eyes widened a bit and his mouth turned up in a smile, "Of course Risa," enjoying the feel of her name on his lips, "But, only if you'll call me Satoshi."

She covered her mouth as a giggle slipped out. She rolled his name off her tongue, "Satoshi. I like it. Well I'd better go. Riku's probably worried about where I am."

Glancing out the doors, Satoshi frowned. "It's still raining pretty hard. Do you have an umbrella?"

"Oh! I completely forgot! I gave it to Riku earlier!" She stated, horrified.

"...Hn... I suppose I will just have to escort you home then." Satoshi brought out a large black umbrella from his bag.

Risa felt her heart beat faster and couldn't help thinking how romantic Satoshi was, "If it's not too much trouble, I would love the company. Thank you, Satoshi!"

Despite the umbrella, they were both quite damp when they arrived at the trolley station. They sat in the back of the cart, next to each other. Risa was shivering next to Satoshi, so he scooted a little closer to lend her some body warmth, leaving them both red-cheeked and avoiding eye contact.

I can't believe this is actually happening! Risa thought excitedly, I've never actually been so close to a boy like this. It's so perfect!

Soon her stop arrived and they both got out. Luckily the rain had receded and they peacefully walked to her house in a comfortable silence. They were so close to one another that the back of their hands brushed against each other. Blushing madly, Risa decided to go for it. She grabbed Satoshi's hand and murmured, "Thank you for walking with me Satoshi."

Staring dow at their joined hands, Satoshi was speechless. He gave her hand a soft squeeze, his heart soaring. Distracted by the new sensation, he was very disappointed when Risa announced that they had arrived. He turned to her and stared down into her eyes.

"I have something for you Risa." He said decidedly. Letting go of her hand, he dug around in his bag and pulled out a large plastic folder. He took a deep breath, "I entered an art competition and won first place. I don't think I could have done it without you. I wanted to thank you, and I hope you don't mind..." He let his sentence drop, suddenly unsure if she would be upset or not.

He handed her the folder. Confused, Risa glanced from the folder to his face and back down, to open it up. Her face filled with surprise, "Oh! Is this... is this me?" She was blushing again. In her hands lay a beautiful painting of her sitting in a tree of clouds and blossoms, with soft pink wings relaxed at her back. "It's amazing!" She smiled shyly at him, "I love it!"

Relieved Satoshi leant over and kissed her on the cheek, "Please accept it as a token of my affection."

Risa gasped and grinned, stepping closer to him, "I never thought I'd be happy about ever being assigned cleaning duty, but I am!" Reaching up on her tip toes, she gave him a soft kiss on his mouth, "A token for your token.

THE END

A/N: Okay, this is it! The end! I know I took the longest break ever... what 6 years? Hehe... but I decided to revisit my fanfiction accounts and I just had to finish things here. I hope everyone liked it! I apologize for yet another very short chapter, but I hope it satisfies. I would definitely have to call this a ficlet ;) Thank you to everyone who reviewed. It was really encouraging to go back and read them all. And now, I'm not sure, but I may have to include Satoshi x Risa moments in other stories I have planned. And although the story is over, feel free to REVIEW! :) Thanks again for all the support!

Here's a small epilogue... (I wasn't sure if I just wanted to leave it with the token or add this extra point of view... But... just in case, here's a bonus ending:)

Unbeknownst to the young couple, Riku was watching from a window above. She sneezed and grinned, No wonder she's been volunteering to clean! She's been love-sick! Wait till I tell Daisuke! She let the curtain drop, to do just that.