Kyohei was starting to really get sick of this – again. He always started to really get sick of the situation on an almost regular basis, usually coinciding with Sunako's regular violent shift in attitude. The shift that made her even more determinedly anti-everything than she usually was. He was beginning to believe, with how regularly this happened, that it was her version of PMS. He wasn't about to voice that opinion to his house mates of course, it would be detrimental to his health, and more likely because of his male house mates than because of Sunako herself, who was more likely to bleed on him than cause him to bleed.
Aware that it was approaching this time, however, and theory well in hand, Kyohei called up Noi and Tomoe, and asked each of them to remove Takenaga and Ranmaru from the house for about a week. Yuki he just asked. That kid was a lot more sensitive and understanding than the other two, and he wouldn't put up a fight as long as Kyohei promised that he wasn't going to deliberately do anything to Sunako that would hurt her feelings. So the house was empty except for himself and Sunako for a week, a week which fortunately was shortly into summer vacation so there was no school to worry about.
Clad in a big, brown, hooded cloak made from something soft and kinda fluffy, and armed with a western horror film and a box of chocolates for a peace offering, Kyohei knocked on Sunako's door before letting himself in.
"What do you want?" she demanded sullenly, not looking up from the square inch of carpet she had been studying from her vantage point just behind her knees in the corner of her room to the right of the door.
"Nothing in particular," he answered from under the hood. "Just brought you something I thought might cheer you up a bit," he said, extending the dvd and chocolates towards the darkness-obsessed girl.
Sunako glanced up at the offering, but surprisingly didn't move to reach for it. "Why would you want me to cheer up? Me smiling won't automatically make me a lady for Auntie."
Kyohei sighed and ventured a little closer to Sunako, sliding down the wall so that he sat beside her.
"Believe it or not, but I actually care about you," he said, keeping his PMS theory well away for now. It wouldn't be helpful at the moment, and despite Ranmaru and Takenaga's views, Kyohei was in possession of the fine skill known as tact. He just didn't display it very often.
"I don't believe it," Sunako said sullenly, as she accepted the chocolates from Kyohei.
Looking at the box, Sunako stared in silence for a moment in awe at the chocolate creation before her. There was a finely sculpted grim reaper made from white chocolate, with a dark chocolate robe and a milk-and-white scythe, cushioned there in the middle of the box, with lots of little tombstone chocolates around him, each one with the flavour inside stamped across it like the names of the deceased: caramel, peppermint, and cherry.
"Thank you," she breathed, awed at the confection before her.
Kyohei smiled. "You're glowing," he said gently.
"Huh?" she hadn't heard him, too absorbed in the chocolates before her.
"You, Sunako Nakahara, are a beautiful, radiant, gorgeous girl," he stated, clearly and carefully, hoping to get through to her. "And anybody who can't see that is either half blind or not looking properly. Or they could just be jealous that you're prettier than them."
"But... but I'm... I'm the Creepy Girl..."
Kyohei sighed and shook his head. "Doesn't change the fact that you're the most beautiful person in this house Sunako. It just means that you've found a way to get out of being pestered about it by the annoying masses."
"You... don't think I'm ugly?" Sunako questioned, looking away from her chocolates and new horror movie.
"No. Not in any way." Kyohei's answer was definitive. "I've seen every type of ugly this world can throw at a person, Sunako. Physically disfigured people, people who are ugly on the inside, and the ugliness that is the way people treat each other. No Sunako, you're beautiful. A little lacking in confidence sometimes, but not ugly," he added with a chuckle. "The only thing even vaguely unattractive that might ever be attributed to you, Sunako, is how stubborn you are sometimes, but that's also really cool sometimes too."
Sunako curled up a little more, hiding from Kyohei and his words as much as she could.
"What are you doing here, Kyohei?" she asked quietly. "What do you want from me?"
"I've got this crush on you Sunako, a big one. When you forget your self-consciousness and just say what you think needs to be said, you're so beautiful you just blow me away. You're the best cook in the world, I swear. You've got the biggest heart, giving so much of yourself to see the people you care about smile, and you hardly ever ask anything for yourself. You're free to reject me of course, I know I'm a jerk and not worthy of you, but I thought I'd better tell you."
Not that he had meant to just then, but it was out there now, and he felt better for having said it. Still, he figured it was time to make his exit. Sunako probably didn't want him around after he said all that. He stood up and moved to head for the door, but a hand grasping onto his sleeve stopped him.
"Mean it?" she asked quietly.
"Every word," he answered with a smile.