A/N: What I love about this pair is their stubbornness. I simply adore them. Hehe. This is the product of being alone…Hm… I think Sunako-chan can be a good fanfic writer.
Disclaimer: How I wish I own The Wallflower but I don't, nor do you, please don't sue me.
EPISTAXIS
The sun. The bright train lights. The lively chattering of people. Where's my solitude? Where is my lovely darkness?
I should have never agreed to come in the first place. I could have just played with Josephine, Akira, and Hiroshi at home, seen bloody DVs, eaten chocolates, dissected frogs, or cooked meals.
But I am stuck here. Stuck with happy women in the female compartment. They only talk about beauty, their boyfriends, late night dramas. Now why am I here?
I love aunt. I really do. Very much that I am willing to undergo everything for her (Ranmaru, Takenaga, Yuki: EVERYTHING?). Nope. Save being prim and proper.
Now I'm on my way to one of her caprices of turning me into a lady. I have to go to the different malls in the different parts of the country to look at how girls live, to expose myself at what she calls "blessed sunlight" and friendly society. And if that is not enough, she asked one of the radiant creatures to come with me.
Good thing I 'm saved from him for a while. I will be enduring his presence after a quarter of an hour. I hope it can be more. It depends on the distance. I don't know. I haven't been to Kyoto.
That radiant creature! He always complains. He is always hungry. He is always angry.
But he can be gentle at times. Sometimes.
He always eats my ice-cream. He always asks me to cook tempura for him even if I have cooked already. But he doesn't forget to give me green tea ice cream and chocolate afterward…even if he eats them with me while watching DVDs.
He always comes into my room and gets my DVD, insults me for my inability to look at him, a mirror of the sun… but he protects me from harm. He picks me up when I stumble.
Now that I think about it, why was he always there in times I could not save myself? Why was he always there when I showed every sign of not being able to live when he was around?
Blood? But he is not even near me. How come that I feel this way? Why does he bother me so much? His silky-soft blonde hair, his deep long-lashed eyes, his straight nose, his porcelain skin, his lithe and somehow angular body, his wide shoulders. His scent. His voice. His lips.
Those lips haunted me in my darkness every night after the incident in the school clinic-until now, I blame the window. If it hadn't shattered and forced him to save me AND forced me to tend to his wounds, he would not have…
Now, I can't stop this bleeding. Why CAN'T I stop this bleeding? (I don't need your handkerchief, thank you, and I can clearly see how you are scared of me, leave me alone).
Why?
Why?
"Now why isn't that dark child hopping off the train?" Kyohei Takano muttered under his breath as he walked towards the female compartment oblivious to the hungry stares of the female species in the station. What caught his attention was the number of people shouting from the would-be-Sunako's- direction. It was not the usual fan-girls' AaaAaaAaaHhh but more of a banshees' AAAAAHHHHHH! He started to run.
A station guard blew his whistle to somehow part the crowd, comprised mostly of females. HE blew his whistle at a tall young man, shoving his way to the female compartment. "Hontou? How many times must a guy ride a train to know that he's not allowed in the female compartment?"
However, the young man seemed unperturbed. The guard ran to the young man and saw that some girls were trying to get a piece of the handsome teenager. "What is the meaning of this?"
Takano turned to him, giving the guard a crazed expression. "How am I supposed to know?" he answered a little gruffly that the girls who had been terrified before, swooned and started to characteristically chant their "AaaAaaHhh." That was the last straw. He looked down to the girl hugging him by the waste. "Get off me."
The mystified girl reluctantly but obediently let go of Kyohei's almost torn shirt, revealing his famous wide shoulders. Good thing he didn't forget to wear his undershirt this day. The girls made way for him.
Even the guard could not dare approach him, considering that he was older and more equipped than the high school bishounen. Kyohei's death glare was already a warning, not to mention the number of girls that were ready to mob him once he dared touch the apple of their eyes. He merely thought that there must be something behind this man's actions. On the other hand, the train driver thought there was something important going since the station guard was not giving any signal.
After a lot of trouble, Kyohei finally got to the door of the compartment. Not knowing, not even giving a damn that he had contributed to the chaos in the train station, he stepped into the compartment and saw red: red wall, red floor, red window, red ceiling, and red Sunako Nakahara. If Kyohei was correct, Sunako had been wearing a blue shirt a while ago.
"What have you done this time? You're already wearing a hat with matching glasses!" said a bewildered Kyohei. The place was a havoc—a potential crime scene. Meanwhile, the cause of all the problem was there, slumped at a corner, muttering, "Radiant…so radiant…"
"Stop it...Stop it already."
More nosebleeds.
An unstoppable epitaxis.
The train started to move, slowly at first, then gaining momentum. Kyohei worriedly looked back at the station they were supposed to hop off. Now she's done it. "Hey, you! Aren't you going to stop? Darn. You're hopeless. Can't you at least stop it?"
"I can't control it."
"Fine," Takano sighed as he started unbuttoning the rest of his torn shirt.
"W-what are you doing you pervert?
"My handkerchief can't hold the amount of blood you are secreting. Here!" Kyohei, wearing his undershirt, gave his shirt to Sunako who was trying her best to look away and refuse. There they were in the train: one a piece of sunlight, the other a representation of darkness.
Somehow, this light and this darkness had to meet somewhere.
Kyohei tossed the shirt to her anyway. It landed like a cloak on top of her head. The amount of blood she was losing doubled. The bishounen looked at his spotless but torn shirt slowly turned from white to red to crimson to maroon to rust-like red. He shook his head.
She could not see the dazzling creature but she could smell him. Which was worse? She had been trying to evade it, she had been giving her best. Why did she always have to fall under the sun's trap? Wasn't there anyway for her to escape its clutches?
I can only blot his existence with the sight and scent of blood. The intoxicating flavor, aroma and rich color of blood blind me from his radiance.
That's the only way.
And slowly, I'll return to my darkness.
Kyohei felt rather than saw his companion slid from her seat. He rushed to her, worry sketched across his handsome face. Every feature focused on checking if Nakahara was yet alive. "Can't you at least stand?
"What should I do?
"You lost too much blood…
"Hey, I promise not to eat your ice cream, just stop this joke…All right, I know you just want chocolate from me…I'll give you one bar later…Can you even hear me?"
Sunako stayed limp in his arms. Kyohei felt for the phone that Ranmaru Mori had lent him that morning. He pressed the number of the person he knew could solve the problem. That person was the only one who could retain his composure in this situation—unless it was Noi-chan who was in trouble.
"Takenaga, what—"
"Kyohei, gomen ne. Takenaga is in charge of the kitchen right now (considering that he has read a lot of cook books). He can't answer."
"You should have immediately said that," Kyohei yelled in frustration. He could hear different versions of sorry from the other line. "Don't mind about that. By the way Yuki, anou, do you know how to make a heart beat faster?"
"Um…cute girls?"
Takano vaguely thought that Yuki sounded like Ranmaru more and more each day. "For girls?"
"Cute guy!"
"Right, thanks."
"Oi. Here's Takenaga."
Yuki's childish voice changed to Takenaga's deep, calm, more mature one. "Hey, what happened? A drowned girl? (Yuki: How come his story changed?) CPR, that always works… How it works? Well, I haven't done it myself…"
The atmosphere in the Nakahara mansion changed as Yuki and Takenaga became absorbed in the situation Kyohei was in. Yuki, in charge of the cleanliness of the house, was holding a piece of dust cloth to wipe the soot from a vase. On the other hand, Takenaga Oda was wearing a pink apron against his black shirt. He wiped sweat from his forehead, the precipitation of sweat a result of staying in the kitchen for so long. Both were bored in doing household chores. They had been expecting news from the "couple" since the moment that the latter had left the mansion. Knowing Kyohei and Sunako , they had thought it would only take a minute before someone returns bloody.
However, Kyohei only called them after two hours. Takenaga had already finished preparing lunch and was sitting comfortably on the sofa with his long legs raised acrossed the sparkling table. Yuki was already about to complete his task. It was already about time for Ranmaru to go inside the house after trimming the rose bushes outside the house. He had bullied Takenaga to accept the task of preparing the meal by admitting that they would possibly have poison instead of nourishment.
At the moment, Yuki was intently listening to how Takenaga explains CPR. While at the middle of explanation, Takenaga was rudely interrupted by the reeking scent and scattering petals (to Yuki's horror) of roses signaling the arrival of Ranmaru Mori in the living room.
"CPR is a lot complicated," Ranmaru said, hearing the well-constructed explanation of CPR. "Why don't you just give her a kiss?"
Takenaga shook his raven hair, "The girl drowned. She was not some Sleeping Beauty."
Ranmaru gave a lazy smile that always made Oda's blood boil and Yuki's hair stand. "It's still the same. CPR is quite difficult. I doubt that Kyohei would be able to follow all of your instructions, anyway (Kyohei: Damn you, Ranmaru. Don't f- with me!). He may be kissing her for all we know. So why can't he start it with a real kiss. Aside from that, we don't even know who the girl is…" He winked at Oda.
Oda nodded in agreement. "Now that you said it that way, I kind of agree."
Yuki, as usual, was the last to respond, "Wah, even Takenaga agrees in this. I mean it is quite impossible for Sunako-chan to drown. She is a good swimmer. Don't you think it is a fan girl?"
The three looked at the lone cellular phone waiting for Kyohei's answer. On the other side of the line, Kyohei was debating whether he was to tell that it was Sunako who was getting paler and paler. He resorted to his usual Kyohei-response: anger. "Morons! It's a matter of life and death here. You're not giving me any help!" He hung up.
"Who do you think the girl was?" Yuki asked the other bishounens who invaded the sofa with their seemingly endless legs and limbs.
"Let's wait and find out. Those two love birds," Ranmaru sighed as he opened the buttons of his shirt to reveal his chest. "They will go the ends of the earth denying what they feel for each other."
Takenaga picked up a book (he seemed to pick up a book from the different parts of the house), "But aren't we just over reading? (Ranmaru: You're the only one doing that, you know.) Don't we just like to pair them up because they look so cute together?"
The three sighed and got starry eyed. "Yes, they look good together, that's the main point."
Back in the train, Kyohei wiped the stains of blood from Sunako's face. He felt her cold against his skin. She was also paler than usual that her hair looked blacker, her lashes looked longer. He found himself staring at her lips. They were dry and bloodless.
If he would resuscitate her, she might think he was harassing her again.
He may be kissing her for all we know, Ranmaru's naughty voice resounded in his head.
Ranmaru, I'm going to kill you, Kyohei thought spitefully. He looked at the unconscious Sunako. "You leave me no choice."
…..
"How was Kyoto? Did you see many shops?" Yuri said as he welcomed them to the mansion. "Eh?" He scanned them from head to foot but before he could say anything, Ranmaru asked,
"What happened to your clothes, you two?"
The two looked at each other and away.
"I'm going to sleep, I'm tired."
"I'm going to prepare dinner."
The other three were only able to gape at these responses. They looked at one another with Now-what-happened-to-those-two?-looks.
"They did not even notice that the roses were well trimmed."
"They did not even notice that the house is sparkling clean."
Silence. "What about you Takenaga? Can't you say something?" Ranmaru and Yuki looked at the animated Takenaga, holding a pot in his hands. They shouted in horror since he exuded the usual Sunako-sprit. "KYYYAAAAHHH! What happened to you?"
"Sunako asked me what science project I had done and why I had to use the pots…"
The other two stifled their laughter, both feeling lucky that Sunako did not notice them. Then they heard her voice:
"What is this? Is this your topiary Ranmaru?
"Yuki, what did you do to my room?
…..
It was a peaceful night but Kyohei's feeling was anything but peaceful. Thoughts of the earlier events kept on bothering him. Even the cool night breeze and the gloomy moonlight bathing his room could not soothe his nerves. He had thought a bath could do the trick, but to no avail. He was wide awake. I think I'll just have strawberries. I wonder if the morons remembered to buy me some. He got up from his bed and traipsed to the kitchen.
Then he was horrified.
Someone wearing white was already there. Her long black hair covered half of her thin frame. The white lady was holding an empty bag of chocolates.
"You…"
"Anou…" Sunako started, staring at a place three meters from where Kyohei was standing. "I was looking for chocolates…"
"Don't worry. That is none of my business…"
"You?"
"Oh," Kyohei looked at her intently. "I want some strawberries."
Sunako looked at him, trying her best to control the bubbling blood pumping through her every capillary, vein, and artery.
The cool wind rustled the leaves outside the house. The eerie moon showed its wonderful dress of light to the bright but distant stars.
Somewhere in the kitchen of the Nakahara mansion, two people stared at one another: one a representative of light looking for strawberries, the other a symbol of darkness looking for chocolates.
They kissed.
…
…
"I told you this was going to happen."
"I got a number of pictures now."
"Let's just keep all of them and show them once the two try to deny their feelings. I think they need to be reminded every now and then."
The red haired guy and the blonde haired boy nodded at the suggestion of the raven haired scholar. Stealthily, they went back to their own rooms.
More A/N: I drafted this when I rode a train. I was on my lonesome…How I wished I had a Kyohei Takano with me.
*epistaxis- medical term for nose-bleeding