Oh. My. God. I am soo SORRY!! How long has it been since I last updated?! Forget it, I don't want to know. I just kept starting and restarting, writing and rewriting this chapter because I couldn't get it to turn out right, and here's what I ended up with. I hope you enjoy.
This really is the last chapter, but there may or may not be a sequel…more on that after this!
Disclaimer: I don't own Wallflower/Perfect Girl Evolution/Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge. If I did, there would be a looooooooooooooooooooooong list of things I'd do.
Key: See previous chapters.
"…" Kyohei stood by the door, arms crossed, and kept glancing at the clock on the wall. Sunako was out with Take again, and he was waiting for her to return.
"Still not worried?" Takenaga asked, as the three boys popped out of nowhere, causing Kyohei to start a bit.
"This has been going on for almost a month now!" Yuki said with a frown on his cute face (I couldn't resist!)
"Be a MAN, Kyohei, and stop this! Show the world Sunako is YOURS!" Ranmaru posed, Takenaga and Yuki awed. Kyohei scoffed.
"How many times will I have to say it to get it through your think head?! S-"
"MY HEAD IS PERFECTLY FINE, THANK YOU!"
"-Sunako isn't an object!" Kyohei kept it at that, still not willing to tell his friends that Sunako had 'confessed'. But apparently, he didn't hide his emotions very well, that, or Takenaga is a mind reader (come to think of it…o.O).
"Did Sunako…confess to you?!"
Kyohei gulped, eyes darting around at his salivating friends.
And for miles around, screams could be heard from the Nakahara mansion.
"Thanks, Take-kun, I had a great time," Sunako said over her shoulder, walking in the house. She immediately noticed something…off. The house was very quiet. Too quiet. Creepy quiet. Of course, instead of feeling apprehensive and uneasy like a normal person, she celebrated.
"Now I can watch my horror movies in peace!"
Skipping to her room to embrace the darkness, Sunako was wearing a face of pure delight, and she thought of what to watch. She had the choice of watching the Friday the 13th series for the hundredth, no, millionth time, or that newly released horror movie that had been so violent, it had been banned. But Sunako never had to make the difficult decision.
She never got to her room. The last thing to pass through her mind before she blacked out was the hope that no one would discover she had an illegal movie. (-_-;)
"What the hell?!" Sunako heard someone swear as she wearily opened her eyes. Instead of being surrounded by policemen or some kind of other bad guys, she was encircled by her friends. The person who had cursed had been Kyohei, a pissed look on his face.
"Sorry, Sunako-chan, but there was no other way of getting you to come," Noi apologized, holding up a handkerchief soaked in some weird substance. It was then that Sunako noticed her surroundings. They were in the Nakahara mansion's basement, and the place had been transformed into a party place. There were streamers, balloons, kazoos, banners that read "Congratulations," and even a cake.
"What're we celebrating?" Sunako asked, and if wasn't for the after effects of whatever drug Noi had used, she would be stuffing her face with cake right about now.
Noi's face lit up. "Why, your confession to Kyohei-kun, of course!"
Sunako blinked. "Confession?"
Yeah, remember when you guys returned from the beach and you hugged him? That confession.
As if on cue, Ranmaru, Takenaga, and Yuki yelled "Congrats!" throwing confetti in the air, while Tamao blew a kazoo. Music started playing, and the teens minus Kyohei and Sunako started dancing and singing.
A flurry of emotions passed through Sunako as she wondered how everyone knew. Trying to catch Kyohei's eye, her suspicions were confirmed when he wouldn't meet her gaze. The emotions stopped swirling around and settled on…hurt?
Why should you feel hurt? You both love each other, so what if everyone knows?
Sunako couldn't answer that. She turned her gaze to her feet as she felt an unfamiliar ache in her chest.
Oh, I see…for some reason, you wanted your affections to be a secret between you two. But, people would eventually find out, so there's no reason to feel this way! Her conscience tried, in a weird way, to comfort Sunako, but it didn't work.
She knew her conscience was right, but that didn't make the aching go away. Sunako didn't want to ruin everyone else's fun, so she forced on a smile, and headed to the cake, which, to her delight, turned out to be chocolate.
"Maybe this'll make me feel better…"
She wouldn't know it, but Kyohei was actually paying close attention to Sunako, and he didn't like the fake smile she was wearing. Her eyes couldn't lie, and he could see pain in them. And for some reason, he felt…guilty?
Immediately, Kyohei, being the proud guy he was, defended himself. Why should he feel guilty that everyone knew that Sunako liked him? Loved him, even? Hell, it wasn't his fault they knew! Takenaga, Ranmaru, and Yuki had practically tortured (tickled) him until he couldn't stand it anymore and blurted it out.
But he still felt guilty, because he knew he was the cause for the pain behind Sunako's eyes.
At least some of it went away when she started stuffing her face with cake. He had to smile at that. If he couldn't make her happy, cake and chocolate always could.
As her friends celebrated, not even paying attention to the couple the party was for, Tamao carefully watched Sunako, saw the pain in her eyes and false smile, and Kyohei, saw the guilt and self-loathing he was feeling. She immediately knew what was wrong, and could whack herself and everyone else for their stupidity, the boys especially.
Taking Noi aside, she told her about their huge mistake. Noi's eyes widened in disbelief, but as she glanced towards Sunako and Kyohei, she saw the truth.
"Oh no! What'll we do?" she groaned, mentally kicking herself for being so stupid.
"We could talk to Kyohei and get him to apologize-" Tamao started, but was cut off by a now eager Noi.
"Yes! Oh my gosh! I have the PERFECT plan! I'll tell you later, after I get all the details worked out, but for now just have fun and ignore Sunako and Kyohei."
Tamao was bewildered, but trusting her friend, she agreed, and the evening progressed 'normally'.
*~*~*~*Next Day*~*~*~*
As Kyohei left the store, he scowled as he felt the lightness in his wallet and the heaviness in his arms. Why should he be the one paying for the horror movie posters, the large box of Ghirardelli chocolates, and Haagen-Dazs gift card? It was all Takenaga, Ranmaru, and Yuki's fault Sunako felt hurt and maybe even didn't like him anymore!
But, in order for Noi's plan to work, he had to pay for it all. And if this stuff made her happy, the emptiness in his wallet would not be missed.
Glancing at his watch, he quickened his pace. Also, in order for Noi's plan to work, everything had to be on time, and he only had an hour until the big event.
Sunako had isolated herself in her room, curled up under the covers of her bed. Her chest ached even more, when she felt the disappointment of Kyohei never even checking on her.
Weren't you worried he'd be overprotective and hover too much? You little hypocrite, you.
"…but he didn't even ask for food! That's not normal…and…even the other creatures of light came to see if I was ok!"
Hmm…true, true…
Her stomach grumbled, breaking the silence, but Sunako was too depressed to get herself some food. She wasn't in the mood to watch horror movies, or even talk to Hiroshi-kun (*gasp* HELL MUST HATH FREEZETH OVER!). Her conscience, who knew that in the end everything between Sunako and Kyohei would be fine, couldn't help worry about her all the same.
Kyohei stood nervously (Kyohei? Nervous? Yep, hell has frozen. Soon, the earth shall be encased in ice.) outside of Sunako's room, holding all the gifts he had bought for her, plus some ramen (even though Sunako loved to cook Japanese food, she still enjoyed the unhealthy but DELISH instant ramen). And somehow he held everything in one arm, and used the hand attached to the other to knock on the door.
No answer.
"Sunako! I know you're in there! Open up!"
Silence.
"Please?"
Still silence.
"I know you haven't been out of your room all day; aren't you hungry? I have some food!" He said lamely, wanting to keep the gifts a secret.
No answer. And just as he was about to give up and risk her wrath by walking in, the door opened a crack.
"If you have food, give it now and leave." Even though Sunako's voice was weary and tired, she still managed to put some ice in her tone. Kyohei was surprised.
"I wanted to—"
"To what? Apologize?" Sunako smiled, without any humor. "Don't make me laugh. The others put you up to this, didn't they?"
"No, I—"
"Stop wasting your breath. Just give me my food." Sunako said coldly, and reached to take the ramen.
Kyohei had had enough.
"I DID come to apologize! Yes, it was Noi's idea to—"
"See?!"
"BRING YOU THESE GIFTS, but I would've apologized without them!"
"So now you're trying to bribe me? For what? Food? Forget it. I'm not cooking you anything again even if it kills me."
"Now wait a minute—" Kyohei started angrily, but was cut off again.
"Cut the crap and give me my ramen! Besides, you don't even care about me or my feelings at all, do you?"
That stopped Kyohei cold, and even Sunako knew she had tread on dangerous ground; by the look on Kyohei's face.
"Don't care about you? DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU? If I didn't care about you, do you think I would've saved you from drowning? From shards of broken glass? From sick perverts that would do God knows what to you? FROM A BUTCHER KNIFE?"
Sunako winced, and tried to say something, but Kyohei was on a roll.
"Open your eyes, Nakahara. You KNOW how I feel about you. What do you want me to do, yell 'I love you' as loud as I can? No, wait, you wouldn't like that, would you? Or maybe, I should kill myself and let you keep my corpse?"
"No…" Sunako whispered, but Kyohei ignored her.
"Damn, why'd I even waste my time coming up here? Why'd I waste my money on those stupid posters and chocolate? You won't even listen to what I have to say." And with that Kyohei threw the gifts down, but Sunako managed to catch the ramen without letting it spill.
You went too far…and he did want to apologize, you know.
"…" Sunako was no fool, under Kyohei's angry tone, she had sensed his honesty, and frustration. She immediately felt very bad, and deep down, she did know his feelings for her and hers for him.
But for now, she was going to stuff her face with ramen, and she headed inside her room. Just as she started gobbling down the warm and delicious soup, she remembered the gifts Kyohei had bought for her, and she felt bad leaving them out in the hallway, so she set down her ramen and went back outside her room.
Everything was in a bag, and as Sunako took the bag back to her room and opened it, she gasped. In the meager light coming from the barely open door, her eyes saw posters to her favorite horror movies, a large box of GHIRARDELLI chocolate (GHIRARDELLI CHOCOLATE!! THE BEST CHOCOLATE IN THE WORLD!!!!), and a gift card to Haagen-Dazs.
She slumped down in shock. God knows how much that stuff cost, and Kyohei, who never had any money, had somehow paid for it all.
Sunako held her head in shame.
"How do I face him now?"
And for once, her conscience had no reply.
*~*~*~*~*Next day*~*~*~*~*
"That's it…I don't care if she likes me anymore or not, but I'm going to go get her."
Yup. You guessed it. Even though she was very very very confused at the moment, Sunako had accepted Take's invitation for another date (of course, she TOTALLY is unaware of that). And even though Kyohei was still sullen over yesterday's events, he still felt jealous whenever he thought about Sunako and Take. Together. Having fun.
And now, Kyohei's jealousy had reached its peak, and he decided to go after Sunako and…make sure that nothing romantic was going on between her and her new friend.
He asked Takenaga if he knew where they went, and Takenaga said he recalled Sunako talking about going to an amusement park, in fact, the same amusement park they had gone on their first 'outing'.
Kyohei thanked his friend and grabbed his coat, heading out the door.
"Again, again!" Sunako squealed, acting like a little kid. Take and her had just finished riding through the "House of Horror" (Creative name, I know) for the twentieth time. Poor Take was scared to pieces, but he tried to put on a brave face. And failed MISERABLY.
Of course, Sunako was too absorbed in her fun to notice his shaking hands, or his wide eyes, or the look of dread he hastily covered up as she said "Again, again!"
"Um…Why don't we get something to eat, Sunako?" Take asked, and was thoroughly relieved when Sunako shrugged and said, "Sure."
Sunako wanted some takoyaki, and as they stood in line, Take asked, "Sunako, there's something I need to tell you…can I tell you after we get our food?"
Sunako, being the Sunako we all know and love, didn't notice the faint blush on Take's face, and so she said "Okay," thinking Take would say something like where he would want to go next.
Stupid Sunako.
After much hassle, Kyohei had finally coughed up enough money to get in the park, he decided to have some fun. The amusement park was huge, and looking for Sunako would take ages, so he chose to just start out somewhere random; perhaps he would have more luck like that.
But first, he was hungry.
And in the mood for takoyaki.
After Take had graciously paid for their food, he guided Sunako to a bench a little ways off from the takoyaki stand so they could sit and enjoy their takoyaki. Sunako hadn't realized how ravenous she was until she took a bite out of her takoyaki.
"Mmmm! Thith ith tho good!" she squealed, surprised that amusement park food would taste so delicious.
Take smiled as he watched her eat her food.
As was someone else.
After a bit of looking around and following his nose, Kyohei quickly found the takoyaki stand and magically found some more money in his pocket. He bought his takoyaki and started eating while walking.
Until he found what he was looking for.
Sunako.
With Take.
On a bench.
Eating together.
Kyohei was immediately pissed, but he didn't want to make a scene, so he decided to eavesdrop on the teens. Behind the bench was a large jewelry stand, and Kyohei chose to hide behind a flap, so he was close enough to hear.
"Are you finished eating, Sunako?" Take asked. Sunako nodded, and she made to get up and throw her trash away, but Take grabbed her arm. "Can you listen to what I have to say first?" Sunako glanced at his hand, frowning ever so slightly, but nodded.
"I'm not really good at this kind of stuff…" he started, looking at the ground, "but I want to say, that ever since I saw you in the arcade, I…I've liked you. I really like you, Sunako."
Oh NO, he DIDN'T.
Kyohei was just about to give Take a piece of his mind, but the tiny, rational part of his brain told him to wait and see what Sunako had to say.
And he actually listened. To both his brain and Sunako.
Sunako, needless to say, was about to tell him she really liked him too. *facepalm*
BAAAAAKAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! Someone shoot me noooow. NOW. Where did I put my gun?
"What? I do like him!"
Not THAT way, baka! He means love. He loves you. The way you and Kyohei feel about each other.
"…"
Well? Take your pick. Take or Kyohei?
Sunako thought. Take was really nice, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't like hanging out with him.
Kyohei…Kyohei was rude. And loud. And he always pestered her to make him fried shrimp. He always invaded her dark sanctuary. He contributed to her dying retinas and low blood supply. And she almost melted when she was with him.
Almost.
But…Kyohei was also the one who had saved her countless times. From his crazy, sadistic fangirls. From drowning, being impaled with shards, from his enemies and other perverts, from a butcher knife. He didn't care about her appearance. He had gotten her Takeshi-kun with his own tickets, and he had willingly given his body up if it meant Hiroshi-kun would be returned.
And she knew.
"Take…I like you too." Take's face lit up, only to have his happiness crushed. "But, I like you as a friend. You're very nice to me and you take me to fun places, and I appreciate that. I can't think of you as more than that. I…already feel that way about someone else," she said, whispering the last part.
Take was sad, and depressed (Hey, he'd just been REJECTED), but he took it calmly.
"We can still be friends, right?" Sunako asked, a bit nervous, remembering her past. Of course, no one who she liked as a friend had loved her, but after she started liking the darkness more than the light, many of her friends abandoned her. She didn't want that to be the case with Take, he didn't seem too bothered by her strange obsession.
"Of course!"
Kyohei slumped down behind the jewelry stand, eyes wide. He couldn't believe his ears. He wasn't sure he wanted to, to have his hopes built up, and then crushed. Besides, was she even talking about him?
But, his heart told him Sunako wasn't lying; and he was the one she loved. And that he felt the same.
*~*~*~*~*~*A few hours later, aka evening*~*~*~*~*~*
Sunako, being Sunako, still wanted to ride the "House of Horror" again, and by the time she was satisfied, she had found a hellish heaven, aka a goth stand. She had insisted on spending every last bit of her money on whatever she could fit in four shopping bags. Just browsing and picking out what she wanted had taken an hour, and then to pay for it all—Sunako insisted Take go home; she'd be fine by herself. Take protested, but one look at Sunako's blissful face, and he knew she wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. So, they said their goodbyes, and he left, leaving Sunako alone.
Or so they thought.
Unknown to Sunako, she was being watched by Kyohei, and he was waiting for her to leave so he could get her alone.
He waited a whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiile.
Finally, Sunako finished her shopping, and heaving four hefty bags, she left the amusement park and headed home. No more than a few minutes of walking and she was already panting, sweating, and looking for a cab. The streets weren't deserted, but there were no cabs in sight.
"Need some help?" the voice Sunako knew oh so very well asked. Before she could say anything, he took her bags, not waiting for an answer. She suddenly remembered way back when, when she had made that kotatsu for him and he had carried it for her. Yet another thing to add to the long long list of things Kyohei had done for her.
"Thank you," she murmured, and kept her head down. The teens walked in silence, longing looks thrown toward them by girls and guys alike; the girls wishing to be Sunako and the guys wanting to be Kyohei.
As they neared the Nakahara mansion, Kyohei broke the silence. "I'm sorry."
And before Sunako could be oh so dense and ask why, her conscience cleared it up.
"What does he feel sorry for?"
…I really need that gun…anyway, he feels sorry for hurting your feelings. You know, when Noi and Tamao and the other guys found out about your confession?
"It's ok. I got over it. But I should be the one apologizing. I didn't realize all the things you've done for me, and—"
Arms encircled her, hugging her close, and cutting off her apology.
"Shut up." Kyohei whispered. Sunako's eyes widened, as her conscience spazzed.
When they got home, it was reeeaaaally late, and everyone else was asleep. Kyohei took Sunako's bags up to her room for her, no thanks to her complains that she could do it by herself. Just before Kyohei was about to leave Sunako to her new treasures, he thought things would be better between them if he told her that he had been forced to tell his 'friends' about her confession.
"Oi, Sunako?"
"Hmm?"
"By the way, Takenaga and the others forced me to tell them about…you know…"
Sunako was quiet for a while. When she finally looked at Kyohei, she had an evil smile and as their eyes met, a chaotic plan was born.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*Next day, evening*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Takenaga, Ranmaru, and Yuki returned home from a night of hard karaoke with Noi, Machiko, and Tamao (surprisingly), and were HUNGRY. Kyohei hadn't gone with them because he had said he needed to work for some money for God knows what, and Sunako…Sunako didn't do karaoke.
Since they were hungry, Ranmaru and Yuki decided to wait in the living room while Takenaga went to Sunako's room to ask her if she would make them dinner. He knocked on her door, and receiving no answer, called her name. When there was still silence, Takenaga opened the door, a bit concerned, but Sunako was nowhere in her room.
Heading back to his friends, he told them about their dilemma. If they couldn't find Sunako-chan, the only dinner they would get would be whatever the boys could conjure up (no money for ordering out; all used to pay for karaoke). And that was not an option.
So the three boys started searching, to see if Sunako was somewhere in the house, while calling her name. They had searched everywhere except the basement, and were about to when a bloodcurdling scream came from the basement.
And it sounded a bit like Kyohei's…but the boys couldn't be sure. Anyway, they got worried, and ran down to the basement to see what the matter was.
"H-Hello? Anyone d-down here?" Yuki stuttered, his fear of the dark creeping up on him. The boys strained to hear, but when only silence greeted them, they decided to look around. And since the basement was so creepy, they stuck close to each other.
"Kyohei? Sunako?" Ranmaru called.
No answer.
Then suddenly, candles set around the walls lit up simultaneously. The meager light shone upon a figure in the corner.
Takano Kyohei.
"K-K-K-Kyohei!!!" Yuki cried, but his friends were shocked into silence. Kyohei sat, legs outstretched, with scratches and blood all over his body, leaning against the wall, in clothes shredded to mere tatters. His eyes were closed, but at the sound of his friend's voice, opened his eyes.
Everyone gasped.
They were blood red.
Upon seeing the three guys, terrified, Kyohei's lips pulled back, baring his teeth.
Or, more appropriately, his fangs.
Leaping upward, he hissed at the trio, and a second figure crept up behind them, unseen by everyone except Kyohei. As Kyohei stepped toward the three, they stepped back, and this continued until-
Until Kyohei snapped his fingers. And before any of the three guys could think, they were pushed up against a wall, hands around their throats. Kyohei held Takenaga and Ranmaru up, and the second figure had Yuki.
"S-Sunako…chan?" he whispered, more scared than he had ever been in his life. The other two somehow managed to turn their heads, but as soon as they saw her, wished they hadn't.
Sunako's hair was down, and streaks of blood were found in it. Her normally amethyst eyes were red like Kyohei's, and a large scar ran from the bottom of her eye to her throat. She was bleeding as well, and had sharp fangs. Stained with blood.
Yuki couldn't take it anymore. He screamed, but was cut off by Sunako's hands tightening around his throat.
"K-Kyohei…s-snap out of it…" Ranmaru rasped. "St-stop it…"
And all he got in return for his efforts was his airways constricted even more.
Takenaga was quiet. Sure, he was gasping and trying to get some air into his lungs, but he was smart, and he had figured it out.
"If-if we ap-apologize…and n-…never bother y…you two…*gasp*…about your…r-relationship…ag-again…*wheeze*…w-will you st-stop?"
Kyohei and Sunako just snarled and hissed, but they did loosen their grips a bit.
"S-Sorry…" Yuki wheezed.
"W-Won't hap-happen…again…" Ranmaru panted. Takenaga was on the verge of passing out so he just jerked his head. As soon as he did that, Sunako and Kyohei let them go, with big, albeit scary, smiles on their faces.
"Good." She said. The gasping teens on the ground watched in disbelief as Kyohei pulled some wet towels from behind a table and handed one to Sunako, rubbed their 'blood' (which was actually some high-quality fake stuff) off, and removed their plastic fangs.
"Well, then, I guess I'll go and make dinner!" Sunako said cheerfully, pulling her hair back into a ponytail.
You guys are evil. Pure EVIL. I taught you well.
"*smirk*"
—Hour or so later—
Everyone sat down to a much needed dinner, and enjoyed Sunako's delicious spaghetti.
But while they ate, Ranmaru, Takenaga, and Yuki swore their spaghetti moved once or twice…and had a weird taste…They dismissed it as paranoia, and failed to see Sunako and Kyohei's hidden smirks.
Looks like I've done all I can. Guess I'll leave you two kids alone. BUT DON'T FORGET WHAT I HAVE TAUGHT YOU.
ZEE END!!!! *applause* PLEASE READ ALL MY AUTHOR'S NOTES!!!!!!
Well, I hope you enjoyed that as much as I have! I really hope it was worth the loooooooooong loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong wait.
Thank you to all the people who read, members or not, favorited/story alerted my story!!!!
Special thanks to all my reviewers: DragonMangaReader, Hououza, Mya84, Animecherryblossem33, DarkSmile, iryna, Yana ano baka '-', kawaiighurl, EndearingTemptation, Sexykill69, ThierryMyst, redsakuranbo, anitsirhc, Johonna Marie, mizzradom, Minagi Soryu, purplesparkz02, Simma, and anyone else I may have missed. BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITH OUT YOU.
And as I mentioned before, there may be a sequel…and I already have a bit of an idea, but I SERIOUSLY NEED MORE. GIMME ANY THATCHA GOT!!!!! I MEAN IT!!! If you want a sequel, I'll need ideas. When it'll come out: who knows? I want to finish my Zutara story, "The Color Red", and at least get a few more chapters done in my Treasure Planet story (which is still on hiatus…sorry!)
Love ya all!
(*-*) ----- What my face looks like right now. XD
-DefyGravity2502