Right, so second manga/anime story and first story for 'Wallflower'. This manga is quickly becoming my favourite and as soon as I find a shop that sells it (stupid Scottish shops) then I'll snap up as many as I can. As it is now, I can only find it online. Anyway, here's the first story. A bit of a taster.

And I got the brother's name from my favourite 'Contemplating Reiko' character. Now that's a good comic.

"Do you have your parasol?"

"Of course."

"Your gloves?"

"Right here."

"Your tablets?"

"Got them."

"All your school books?"

"In my bag."

"Well... I guess that's everything."

Shinobu folded his arms and looked down at his younger sister. She smiled up at him brightly, both hands clasped around her black parasol. Shinobu leant forward, looking into her warm brown eyes.

"Would you like a hat?"he asked. "You may be uncomfortable carrying your parasol around all day."

"Shinobu,"she laughed. "I've had this parasol for years and I've never been tired of it. I'll be fine, don't worry."

"Sorry,"the tall boy said, looking at the ground. "I'm just concerned about you."

"I know,"she said, taking his hand in her gloved one. "And you're allowed to be. I'm sure the sun around here is just the same as the sun back in England."

With a sigh, Shinobu ruffled his sister's dusty brown hair. "Go on then,"he said, nudging her towards the door. She pulled the little backpack onto her shoulders and turned to leave. Stepping behind the door, she opened it slightly and let a small crack of light into the dark hallway. Opening her parasol and blocking the sun from her face, Shinobu's sister stepped out into the light.

"Have a nice day, Emi,"he smiled with a wave. She smiled back at him, waved a gloved hand and tripped off down the garden path. "Stay out of the sun!"he called after her, closing the door. The door clicked shut just after her cheerful giggle reached his ears. Shinobu leaned against the doors wood and ran a hand through his brown hair. He knew that he would be on edge until his little sister came back that afternoon. He'd been worried anyway when she'd been living in England, but their parents had been looking after her. Now that she was living with him and he was the only one who could help her if she was in danger... He would have to be ready for when the phone call came.

To calm himself down slightly, Shinobu slipped into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. He pulled a small white bottle out of his pocket, popped the lid off, took out a small tablet and swallowed it with a mouthful of water. He took a slow breath and closed his eyes. If anything, anything at all happened to his sister, he would be ready.

--

"Class,"a teacher at the local school said to the class. "I'd like to introduce you to our new student who recently moved here from England. This is Kurosawa Emiko."

"Hello,"the girl said with a smile. The rest of the class looked back at her in confusion, unsure what to make of her. She had light brown hair that hung around her pale face in limp waves. Her skin was pasty, like she'd never been out in the sun and judging by the black umbrella she was holding, she probably hadn't. Her hands were covered by soft black gloves and thick black socks covered her legs. She was short too, and seemed too thin. They weren't sure about this though because her whole body apart from her face was covered. They had to admit though, that her eyes were wide and warm and that her smile was comforting and never seemed to leave. For that reason, they weren't sure whether she was pretty or ugly and were unsure how to act.

"Why don't you sit down?"the teacher suggested, gesturing to the rest of the class. The girl looked round at all the people there and down at the few empty chairs. Then her gaze travelled to the back of the room and her face lit up. With light steps she moved up the side of the room and sat down in an empty chair at the back.

Right next to Nakahara Sunako.

The black-haired girl slouched down in her seat, not looking up at the strange new pupil. Then she saw a gloved hand reaching out to the skeleton figurine on the desk. Sunako tensed, ready to snatch it away if the girl tried to take it, but she didn't even touch it. All she did was leave her fingers hovering next to it and tilted her head on one side to look at it closer.

"That's cool,"the girl smiled, dropping her hand to the desk. "Do you have any more stuff like this?"

"Yes,"Sunako nodded, not looking up. "I have lots of things like it at home."

"Wow,"Emiko said with wide eyes. "My brother and I have a few skeletons at home, too."

Sunako looked up in surprise. This strange girl with the permanent smile had skeletons in her house?

"I like them,"she said, resting her chin on her gloved hands. "But I must admit, my favourite things are the rabbits."

"Hm?" How did skeletons connect to rabbits?

"Yes, I make them myself,"she smiled, reaching down to the backpack that was at her feet. "I have one here." Sunako looked down in confusion, then her eyes widened in bliss when she saw what was in Emiko's hands. It was a small toy rabbit made of light grey fabric. One ear was longer than the other, one of it's button eyes was chipped and it's body was lumpy and misshapen. It was sewn together by thick, uneven stitches and these stitches also riddled the body and head where some areas had come apart. It looked like the kind of toy that would be carried around by a demonic child. Sunako loved it.

"Here,"the smiling girl said, handing the toy to Sunako. She took it gently, handling it like it was the most precious thing in the world. "I made him in England. His name's Melvin."

"Melvin?"Sunako blinked.

"After a guy I knew back there,"Emiko laughed. "I thought it sounded cute."

Sunako looked down at the strange rabbit in her hands, turning it from side to side to view it from all angles. She had never heard the name 'Melvin' before and she wasn't entirely sure whether she would describe the rabbit as 'cute'. Still, she couldn't say that she didn't like the thing.

Handing the toy back to the new girl, Sunako told her,"It's nice."

"Thanks,"she smiled, placing the rabbit on the desk. Then she gave Sunako a wide, dazzling smile and said,"It's nice to meet you. My name's Emiko, but everyone calls me Emi."

"I'm Sunako,"the hatted girl said, nodding.

"Nice name,"Emiko told her. Then she added,"Sunako, I've a feeling we're going to get on just fine."