D. N. Angel Fan Fiction ❯ A Guy Friend ❯ The Unexpected Friend ( Chapter 1 )

“Riku! Come on, it's getting late!” came Risa's muffled voice from behind the door.

“What do you mean late?” retorted Riku, rolling her eyes as she tied her necktie in front of the mirror. “It's still an hour and a half before classes!”

“Oh, just hurry up! You don't really regard punctuality as a virtue.” Riku heard her twin sister leave with unusually heavy footsteps.

“Silly,” she sighed, observing her appearance in the mirror dully.

Riku Harada held short, chestnut brown hair and dark brown eyes. She looked exactly like her twin sister Risa, except that Risa's hair is longer and dark brown in color. Furthermore, she carried herself quite unlike to her twin — for she acts like a hoyden whereas Risa is as lassie as any girl could be.

Today is Riku and Risa's first day in school as second-year students. Anyone reasonable would of course be excited about the prospect for it, but that thing doesn't work out with Riku. She just can't see any reason for anyone to get excited about it, now that they would be facing a new school year with twice harder lessons and schoolwork. Unless it's about what girls nowadays go gaga over: boys. Rika scowled heavily at the thought. She just doesn't get what is thrilling about boys, and she was more frustrated when she realized that Risa is also one of those kind of girls.

Pissed off, Riku shook her head unnecessarily, picked up her book bag, then left the room, moments later confronted by a restless Risa and pulled into a run to school.

 

 

 

 

 

“How is vacation?” called out Takeshi Saehara, a male classmate of the twins, as they entered the classroom of 2-A.

“It's fine,” said Risa happily. Before Rika could reply in turn, however, the two of them were hauled by a horde of giggling girl classmates, shunning Takeshi out of their sight.

“Ooohhh, it's you guys!” said one of them. “Riku…you look more blooming than last year!”

“Err….huh?” said Riku, slightly embarrassed.

“That's because she started to use beauty products this vacation,” teased Risa, which amused the other girls.

“What are you talking about?” said Riku angrily to her twin. “It's you who is using those!”

“It's okay, Riku,” said another girl. “We're girls, you know. It's normal to use beauty products.”

Riku was about to protest when the door suddenly slammed open, distracting all of them. A slender boy with flaming red hair and crimson eyes stood at the door, one hand grasping the door frame for support, breathing heavily as he grasped for breath.

“I…I…I still…made it….right?” he said between gasps.

“Yeah, you did,” said Riku, in an almost pitied voice.

“T-Thanks,” Daisuke said, then turned unusually red when he caught sight of Risa, who was just behind Riku.

“Daisuke!” yelped Takeshi, who had just recovered from the stampede. “I've been waiting for you since six!”

Daisuke looked slightly surprised. “Were you? I didn't know!”

“What?”

Riku lost track of their conversation as Takeshi led an apologetic Daisuke away. The other girls began to speak among themselves when the two of them were already out of earshot.

“No one would like a boy as tactless as that to be their boyfriend.”

“Yeah…imagine it's you who waited since six…then he'll just say `were you'?”

“But he said he didn't know it,” said Risa reasonably. “Maybe Takeshi had a fault on this.”

“Why are you so determined to defend him, Risa?” said one girl suspiciously.

“Yeah! There's something going on with you two, isn't there?” teased another girl.

“What? No, you're terribly wrong,” said Risa, chuckling. “Daisuke and I are just mere friends.”

Riku, on the other hand, had been observing Daisuke, who she had caught to be eaves-droppping unnoticeably to the conversation. As he heard what Risa said, Daisuke frowned and his shoulders drooped slightly, and Riku saw him pocketing something she thought might be a letter.

The school bell suddenly rang, signaling the start of the class.

 

 

 

 

 

As what Riku expected, schoolwork had increased and become doubly harder. Additional subjects would be taken by the second-year students, and teachers were stricter this time around. Riku could just see how Risa's smile became less and less noticeable as teachers come and go, leaving behind them their wrath of giving tedious homework.

The class of 2-A could barely conceal their grins as the bell rang again at lunchtime.

Riku and Risa made their way outside to the school grounds, bringing with them their lunch boxes.

“Oooh, how cruel teachers they are,” grumbled Risa to no one in particular. “Just because they have the authority……” her voice trailed away to mutinous murumurs.

Riku grinned lavishly. “I told you our first day would beat the hell out of us. You're the one here who's all excited about it and now you lay there, grumbling and cursing our teachers.”

Risa ignored her and walked a little faster so that she could walk several inches ahead of her. Riku loved to make fun of her sister.

But as the two of them walked through the lawn to one of the benches, Riku noticed Daisuke walking slowly with his head bowed to a bench in the shade of a large tree. The bench was so unobtrusive that Riku wouldn't have thought it to be there if she didn't see Daisuke heading to it. She thought she knew what was going on with him.

 

“Risa,” said Rika between bouts of cough as she tried to gag the piece of sandwich she had eaten, “how did you make this tuna sandwich?”

“I just followed your instructions,” said Risa crossly.

“Then why had you put more pepper than what I told you to?” said Riku, regretting that she had let Risa to make their lunch. She wasn't that good in cooking.

“Oh!” said Risa, clapping a hand over his mouth. “I-I spilled the pepper this morning. Sorry, Riku.”

Riku sighed and returned her sandwich in the lunchbox.

“Don't worry,” said Risa hastily. “I brought here some money. I'll just go and get us snacks.”

“Risa, as usual,” said Riku under her breath as Risa left. “When would she learn?” But a voice caught her attention. She turned to look at its source.

“Come on, Dai,” persuaded Takeshi. He was talking to Daisuke, who was sitting on the shaded bench. “This is our only chance! Dad said—”

“Sorry, Takeshi,” said Daisuke, a note of finality in his voice. “I'm not in the mood today.”

Takeshi gave him a quizzical look, then, shrugging, said, “Okay, fine. But I tell you, you will regret that didn't come with me.” He paused to let Daisuke absorb his statement, and, seeing he still made no success, left empty-handed.

Riku saw Daisuke sigh heavily, then uttered something she didn't comprehend. A few moments later, he reached in his pocket and withdrew a white envelope. He stared at it with contemplation.

Riku, out of pity and curiosity at the same time, decided to approach his pitiful appearance.

“Hey.”

Daisuke was so surprised that he almost fell off his seat. He pulled himself together, then looked at her quickly.

“Oh, it's you, Riku-chan.” —he hastily pocketed the envelope—“Can I help you?”

“I think it's me who should ask that,” said Riku. “Can I help you?”

Daisuke looked puzzled. “Err…what?”

“For whom is that letter?”

“L-Letter? I don't know what you're talking about,” said Daisuke, though he looked much tensed.

“Come on,” said Riku disbelievingly, “Is that for my sister, Risa?”

There was an immediate reaction from Daisuke. His face turned tomato red and his crimson eyes widened in shock.

“H-How did you—I mean, what are you talking about?” he said loudly. “You're saying nonsense, Riku-chan.”

“You need more practice if you want to lie convincingly,” said Riku. “You cannot hide the truth from me. I promise, it would only be between the two of us.”

Daisuke looked at her uncertainly. “You promise?”

Riku was so taken aback that he was so easily convinced that it took her a while to answer him. “Yes, you have my word.” She sat beside Daisuke. “Tell me what it is all about.”

Daisuke heaved a great, shuddering sigh, and began to tell his story in a low voice. “Well…I….I…..”

“You like Risa,” Riku said.

“Well….yes….” said Daisuke. “I…planned to confess it to her through a letter…but I realized that I don't have even the slightest chance on her.” He paused. “I knew it…why should she like someone like me?”

Rika thought it most likely that it was true, though it would be unwise to tell Daisuke a thing like that.

“Risa is a nice girl,” said Riku slowly. “But I tell you not to expect the same confession from her. It is because she is not yet ready for any relationship.” The true reason is that Daisuke is just not Risa's type, but it is better to lie in a situation like this. “You should still tell her. It is hard to accept the truth, but it is harder not to let it out.”

“I'm a failure,” mumbled Daisuke.

“No, you're not,” objected Riku. “Time is not yet ripe; it is still not the right time. Just learn to wait.”

Daisuke looked up and looked at her with sorrow. Riku smiled at him encouragingly.

“Thanks, Riku-chan,” he said. “That helped me.”

“No problem,” said Riku. “I noticed that you had a problem, so I thought I might give some help—“

“Riku?” Risa's voice drifted from their bench. She was carrying two bags of potato chips, and was looking around in search for Riku.”

“I'd better go now,” said Riku to Daisuke. “She had bought our lunch.” She stood up wearily and gave a sign of farewell and good luck to Daisuke. As she turned her back to him, he called at her back.

“Riku-chan?”

Riku looked back at him curiously.

“Friends?”

His question surprised Riku more. She blinked, unsure if she had heard it right, then said, “Sure. Friends.”

Disuke grinned. Riku smiled in return, then ran back to her twin sister, marveling at how a simple conversation could turn two strangers into friends.