The next day…

"Hey! Puffy Head!" Kiri turned around to see Narumi running towards her, with Kei and Ochiai following behind. Kei was eating, as usual, and Narumi look grumpy, as usual. Kiri sighed. Here we go again…

"What is it, Naru-Naru?" she asked, slightly irritated. The SP boys were always stalking her. Narumi ran his hand through his hair. He's been doing that a ton lately…I wonder why?

"I want to show you a new cutting technique I've been trying out," he explained. He reached into his bag and felt around a bit. "Oh darn, I left the sketch in the clubroom!" He stomped his foot and started grumbling, but Kiri noticed that it looked a bit strained. "Hey, Kazuhiko, can you go get it for me?"

"I'll get it for you, Naru Naru!" cheered Kei. Narumi glared at him

"I don't trust you looking through my stuff, Kei," he snapped. "You'll probably spill your juice on it or something! Kazuhiko, can't you go with him?" Ochiai blinked.

"All right," he replied. "Let's go, Kei." Kei skipped off towards the school, with Ochiai running behind him. Kiri watched them leave. Weirdos…

Before she knew what was going on, Narumi had grabbed her wrist and dragged her away.

Moments later, the two stood behind a large building. "Naru-Naru, what's going on?" Narumi ran his hand through his hair. Again. He seemed to be at a loss of words. Kiri sighed.

"You got rid of Ochiai-sempai and Kei and then dragged me here. I get it, you don't have to explain. Just tell me what you want."

"I'm sorry!" Narumi blurted. "It's just that…ever since you got back from LA, Kazuhiko's been breathing down my back and Kei is never far behind. I feel like they've been sticking closer to me than usual, and I think I know why. But it's not them I wanted to talk to you about."

"Talk to me…Naru-Naru, why did you bring me behind some sketchy building to talk?"

"That's not the point!" Narumi ducked his head, angry and embarrassed at the same time. "Ever since you got back from LA, I feel like you've forgotten everything that happened before you moved. Everything you've been through, everything I've been through, and everything I've…said." Slamming his hand to his forehead, Narumi shut his mouth and stared at the ground. There, I said it. Now I can kill myself. After a few moments of silence, Kiri finally spoke up.

"I forget about a lot of things," Tell me about it… "But…I don't think I'll ever forget you, Naru-Naru." Narumi continued to stare at the ground. What is she trying to say?

"I don't want Naru-Naru to change," Kiri continued. "I know this isn't the same Naru-Naru that I met back when the SP was in its early days, and I know you're not the Naru-Naru that got angry at everything, was mean to everyone, and never listened, but the way you are now…well…" She lifted her head. "I like it." And a moment later, she was gone.

Narumi leaned against the side of the building. Stupid idiot… Running his hand through his hair again, he shut his eyes and sighed. I like the way you are too.

Later…

"Another SP day out?" Kiri groaned, flopping down on the bench. The rest of the SP was standing around. "Where are we going this time?"

"I was thinking back to that time in Karuizawa when the SP did makeovers for random girls on the streets," Ochiai explained. "So I thought we could do that around here. It'd gain us a ton of publicity for those who haven't heard about us yet." Kiri perked up a bit on the inside. We should split up then, she thought.

"Hi everyone!" a cheerful voice called from behind them. Kiri turned to see Sammie running towards them. "Sammie!" Iori cried happily. "You is here!"

"Greetings, Yagami-San." Ochiai dipped his head.

"Yeah! Sae-chan is here!" cheered Kei. "Did you bring any snacks?" Laughing, Sammie handed Kei a bag of candy.

"I hope you don't mind if I tag alone with you today. I'd love to see the SP in action!"

"Sure," said Ochiai. "No problem at all. Maybe you can learn a few things." Is he being mean to Sammie-chan?

Suddenly a gasp came from Iori. "Kanary! What happened to you's hair?" Kanako was stumbling towards them, a flustered look on her face. Her dark hair fell in front of her face, and Kiri could see that it was terribly frizzy and sticking out everywhere.

Choking a sob, Kanako ran over to Kiri. "Ki-chan, what do I do?" she cried. "I just woke up and it looked like this! I can't come with you guys looking like this! You have to do something!" Kiri shook her head.

"Sorry Kanako," she murmured. "My scissors can't fix frizzy hair. It's just natural sometimes." Kanako burst into tears.

"What am I going to do?" she sobbed. The rest of the SP watched in silence; nobody knew what to do. Suddenly, a hand reached out and grasped Kanako's hair.

"Wow, you have such nice hair, Aoyama-san!" Sammie ran her fingers through Kanako's dark locks. "It's such a shame it's so frizzy. But," Sammie reached into her bag and pulled something out. "a little power goes a long way…"

"What is that?" Taro whispered to Kiri.

"It looks like a hair iron of some sort," Kiri muttered. Everyone stared as Sammie ran the iron through Kanako's hair. Soon enough, the frizz was gone and Kanako's hair was back to its smooth, silky state.

"Thank you so much, Sammie-san!" Kanako gasped, feeling her hair in awe.

"Oh, it's nothing," Sammie replied, embarrassed. "Frizziness is a pain, but it's easy to get rid of it."

"Interesting," murmured Ochiai. "I've never seen a straightener work so fast and efficient. What was that device you were using?" Kiri noticed that Sammie tightened her grip on her bag.

"A straightener," she replied, shooting him a strange look. Her usual cheeriness had cooled for a split second when Ochiai had asked her that. What's her deal? She doesn't seem to like talking about her straightener…or whatever it is.

"It's cordless isn't it?" Ochiai pondered. "What a great deal of power! It turns on and off so quickly."

"Are we leaving or what?" Sammie tilted her head. She seemed eager to divert the conversation topic from her straightener. The SP gang set off, eager to start makeovers on the streets. Kiri glanced at Sammie, who was chatting happily with Kanako. How strange…what's so special about that device of hers?

…..

Sammie opened her bag and quietly slipped her hair iron into her drawer. Taking out her sketchbook, she began to carefully draw a new combination. Frame…complexion…hair colour…length. Matching everything carefully, Sammie sketched out a new set of curls. Perfect…now how many more to go? As she quickly flipped through the sketchbook, the door opened quietly behind her. Sammie stiffened but didn't move. "Mi-chan," a voice murmured behind her. Sammie's chest tightened. Just ignore it, she told herself. He leaves after a while. An arm reached over her shoulder and pointed at her new sketch.

"This style," the voice said. "It fits." The arm retreated, but Sammie could still feel him lingering behind her. "Perfectly." That's the point, idiot. She heard him sigh.

"When are you going to let me style your lovely hair?" Never. And then it happened. He reached out beside her and grasped the handle of her drawer. Sammie slammed down her pencil and jumped on him. Shoving his shoulder roughly, she knocked him over. The boy lay in a crumbled up heap on the floor with Sammie standing over him angrily. "Hey, what was that for?"

"Don't you ever," Sammie snapped, "try something like that again." She narrowed her dark eyes. "Iketani."