DISCLAIMER:

I do not own "The Wallflower" franchise, nor am I the author of this series. This credit goes to TOMOKO HAYAKAWA. Please support the mangaka!

Author's Note:

I'm back! Thank you for all the support. Enjoy! ^_^

Chapter 23: Mr. Perfect VS Mr. Right

She was silent on the way back, which was not unusual, but given the circumstances, Kyohei couldn't resist teasing her. "No wonder you left me behind. You were meeting someone! What's his name?"

"I don't remember."

He laughed. "You finally have a boyfriend! Now the others will stop teasing me!" He grabbed the package she was holding tightly. "So…what's in this box?"

"Hey! Give that back! That's mine!" Sunako looked at him angrily and tried pulling the box away from him. How dare that radiant creature try to take her beloved cape!

They continued tugging against the box that it suddenly ripped and the cape fell on the floor. When it did, Sunako's eyes blazed. She grabbed the cape and began hitting him as hard as she could.

"That's it! We're having carrots for dinner!"

Kyohei's reaction to the cape that fell was different. So that guy bought her what she wanted, eh? He thought to himself. Looks like that guy thought stupid Sunako was special. Well good for her. She would finally become a lady and they'd all get free rent.

When they arrived home, they were greeted by the three housemates. "What took you guys so long?" they chorused.

"Did you guys go out on a date?" Ranmaru teased.

Kyohei looked at them triumphantly. "Sunako's got a boyfriend!"

Yuki looked at them curiously. "Poor Kyohei…"

"That's because you were too slow!" Ranmaru added.

"Stupid! This is great news! We'll finally be rent free! Let's call the landlady and tell her the good news!" Kyohei beamed excitedly. "Oi, Sunako! Tell them about it!"

The three stared at silent Sunako who held the cape tightly. "I don't know what he's talking about."

When she left, the three housemates turned their attention to Kyohei. "Stop making up stories!" Yuki exclaimed.

"It's true I tell you! Why won't you all believe me? Is it that unbelievable that someone would ever like a girl like her?"

"No, we don't think it's unbelievable. The thing we don't believe is you not liking her." Takenaga replied.

"I don't see her that way." Kyohei replied quietly. "And, if you can't accept that, then you just have to wait and see." Without another word, Kyohei left. I can't believe they don't believe me. Stupid Sunako. Why did she have to deny it? Kyohei wondered. He was about to enter his room when he passed by hers. Might as well bug her. He grinned. He wondered what the cape looked like. She certainly liked it so much that she fought him when he tried to take it away. Without thinking, he barged in her room. "Hey––"

He was surprised to see her wearing the cloak, her face illuminated by candlelight. His eyes widened. He'd never seen her look as radiant as she did – well she'd always looked radiant in her comfort zone. He took a step towards her, his hand reaching out to her. She turned and saw him staring at her and her eyes blazed. "What are you doing here?"

"Er...I wanted to see the cloak your boyfriend gave you."

She looked at him suspiciously.

He took another step towards her. "The cloak really looks good on you."

The suspicion was replaced with delight. "Really? I didn't want to take it at first. But that radiant stranger was so insistent and he said if I didn't take it he'd throw it away." She sighed dreamily. "What a waste that would have been."

"Radiant stranger?" Kyohei couldn't hide his laughter. "What was so radiant about him? He looked ordinary to me."

"Well, he wasn't as radiant as you. His clothes were so cool! All those skulls! I wonder where he buys his clothes..."

"You like him, don't you?" he teased.

She blushed. "Of course not. But I have to see him again!" She smiled happily.

His eyes widened. Did he hear that properly? She actually wanted to see someone again...and according to her a radiant being? He knew he should be happy about it, but why did it seem like he wasn't?

Should I go back to the Skull Shack? Sunako wondered. The next day, all she could think of was the radiant stranger. Would he even be there? She so wanted to see him to ask where he bought the clothes. She didn't even mind that he was a radiant creature. She could just look the other way, she thought, so as to avoid looking at him. Plus, the store was a dim-lit place so that would also help out.

"You going to see your boyfriend?" A voice from behind her asked.

It was the radiant creature again.

She was saved from speaking when they both saw a bunch of girls run towards the school gates. What were those girls doing now? Were they that excited to go home? She heard several excited girls exclaim, "What a hottie!"

"Is he waiting for his girlfriend?"

She was about to pass through the gates when she heard a familiar voice call out. "Radiant! There you are!"

Both she and Kyohei turned and saw the 'radiant stranger' from yesterday. He definitely wasn't from their school because he was wearing a different uniform.

"What are you doing here?"

Sunako looked at Kyohei who was eyeing Shio strangely. She was about to ask the same thing, but the radiant creature beat her to it.

Shio grinned. "You never told me where you went to school so I had to investigate. You make it really hard for a guy to find you." Shio told her, completely ignoring Kyohei.

"You came here to see me?" Sunako asked in surprise.

"Isn't it obvious?" He didn't wait for her to reply, but he grabbed her hand. "I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat."

Sunako felt another hand grab her arm. "Hey, you're supposed to make dinner..."

"There are leftovers." Sunako replied immediately.

Kyohei felt Shio remove his hold on Sunako. "Great! Then you'll have dinner with me?"

As they walked away, Kyohei couldn't believe his eyes. Sunako actually wanted to go with that stranger?

"Kyohei, you were right!" He heard the three other housemates say to him. Apparently, they saw the whole thing.

"Serves you right for taking her for granted." Ranmaru teased.

Kyohei couldn't even respond to their words. All he could think of was that Sunako might actually like someone.

-END-