Once In A Lifetime
A/N: Yes, I know I was AWOL for the longest freakin time. I also vaguely remember promising some kinda epilogue…sorry! I was so overloaded with school that I never found the energy to do anything else; after all that typing, reading, deep analysis for Lit 12 you really lose the motivation to do more typing, writing and inventing, your mind shuts off.
BUT its summer now and summer means TIME!! YES!! And time means one last, FINAL chappie for anyone who's still with this pathetic aspiring writer. So please forgive me and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do find it in your hearts to review one last time? (hint hint)
I sincerely hope this wont be disappointing for all the people who're still with me. I felt it might be boring...please tell me!!
'One step at a time though,' she promised 'I'll take this stuff one step at a time' Sunako looked up at the menacing door before and tried to suppress a shudder of utter fear. It had been a week since that school trip and here she was, standing before the temple of fashionistas with Noi-chan prodding her to go forward. Literally, Noi was poking her back mercilessly.
"God, if you don't go in soon I'll have to drag the boys into this too." Noi threatened. The raven-haired girl obediently trudged forward, doing a perfect imitation of a prisoner heading to the gallows.
The weather seemed to have read Sunako's thoughts and copied them in a display of thick clouds and strong winds. They were in the Shibuya Ward of Tokyo doing the one thing that would've sent Sunako into contortions a couple of months ago; bathing suit shopping. Who knew so many bright, glittery lights and window displays could be jammed in such a small district? And how could those stores look so shiny even on such a cloudy day? Even now Sunako saw no reason for it; why spend a fortune on a couple of scraps of artfully arranged clothing when they would only end up wet and dirty? In her opinion some of those scraps shouldn't be considered appropriate for public display, then again, no one ever asked her opinion when it came to dressing herself.
"Why do I let you dictate my outfits again?" Sunako grumbled at her friend as she avoided eye contact with the scary saleslady smiling down at her with a decidedly predatory gleam in those beaded eyes. 'Here's a theory, maybe they can spot a sucker a mile away?' For sure, Sunako would bet her collection that salesladies had the ability to smell fear of the fashion disabled and vulnerable. But Noi-chan seemed oblivious to her whining and marched determinedly into the swimsuit section, waving off the fawning of multiple salespersons as if they were flies.
Sunako brushed long, black strands out of her face and followed reluctantly. 'Stand up tall, that's it, think of Hiroshi-kun…blood….guts…and what ever you do don't make eye contact.' She could feel the eyes on her and couldn't stop the image of being on parade; she didn't stand out that much anymore did she?
Little did she know, next to Noi, the pair stood out like guide lights in a tempest. Noi-chan, while a classical beauty, was a mere foil to Sunako. Tall, lean and angular, Sunako could've passed for a handsome boy had it not been her obvious feminine features (aka bust and hips). Her skin was a pale contrast to deep red lips and almond shaped eyes, only the merest touch of pink on her cheeks indicated she was a vampiress. Every sales rep looking on knew a potential advertising opportunity when they saw it and boy were they looking.
Noi turned from the rack she'd been perusing, she held up three sets of bikinis and squinted at Sunako as if picturing her in the suits. "Ok, try these on for now, I'm not sure if the sizes are right though." Without so much a warning Sunako found herself shoved into a large change room.
"Noi-chan I really don't like this," Sunako shot out between the slats of the door "Why can't we get a one piece like I had before? That was decent wasn't it?" A whimper of hope showed in her voice only to be squashed in an instant.
"NO! Absolutely not! I've been waiting way too long for this chance, you're leaving with a two piece today and that's final." Noi stomped, "Besides, Kyohei-kun bet that I wouldn't be able to do it and I'm totally going to wipe that smug look of his little face later."
'Oh so this is why she wanted to come today.' The horror freak though glumly before resuming her fight with bikini strings, "I'm going to kill Kyohei later."
"Did you know what I had to go through for that suit?" Venom dripped from Sunako's voice and flames spurted form her onyx eyes. The handsome boy before her ignored both and continued to stare at the television. It was only after she kicked him that he acknowledged her.
Kyohei shook his layered hair out of his face and glared at the girl before him with amethyst eyes. "What was that for?" His face was a photographer's wet dream; perfectly proportioned and symmetrical, beautiful to a flaw. Chiseled cheekbones, sensitive lips, thick lashed and an aristocratic nose defied the laws of nature; how one guy could end up with such good genes was a constant mystery. Sunako gave herself a mental slap and shook her head to clear it from its stupefied daze; she feared she'd never get over this problem of being stunned.
'At least I'm not bleeding again.' She thought wryly. "You're the reason I had to get the damn swimsuit. Noi-chan told me you bet her I wouldn't be caught dead wearing one. And you knew she hates to lose." Sunako pointed an accusing finger at him, more to distract herself than anything. She was perched on the arm of the loveseat, dangerously close to Kyohei who had splayed his whole body across it. Any closer and she felt she would faint. The young man looked nonchalantly at her hand and shrugged.
"Not my fault, Noi-chan's been itching to get you in a two piece since day one." His eyes gleamed wickedly, setting Sunako's already unstable heart into further palpitations. God, she was too young to die of a heart attack. While she was distracted he took the chance to grab her outstretched hand and pull her down on top of him. "Payback for throwing me to the crazy girls at school, I hope you were in hell."
'Oh bloody hell' Sunako thought before her mind went painfully blank. "Owww, headache…" She cried and tried to push away from Kyohei, no nosebleeds was an improvement but that had been replaced by extreme headaches. "You bastard."
To onlookers this scene might not indicate anything but a platonic relationship at best; much like a brother-sister one. But for the housemates peeking in, this was as romantic as it got; at least, as far as they have seen. Sunako and Kyohei weren't a typical couple, they sure as hell couldn't be considered a match made in heaven; hell was more to their liking. And affectionate displays were rarer than a four leaf clover; it simply just wasn't their way.
Kyohei shifted to let her sit up but didn't let go of her hand. "You don't mean it." He told her lazily and threw a careless arm around her shoulders. She glared wordlessly.
Kyohei looked at the girl leaning beside him and marveled at how far they had come from day one. He still remembered how horrified the guys had all been at the condition of their female roommate, and how hard it was to heal those wounds. They'd done their best and only time would tell now but he knew Sunako and he knew she would be ok. He leaned down so that their noses touched and looked straight into her eyes. "You don't mean it cause you know you'll be fine."
Behind the open door…
"What are they doing? I can't see."
"You idiot Ranmaru, don't get in my way. Hey, are they kissing?!"
"No Noi-chan I don't think so…but they are awfully close aren't they?"
"Noi, you guys, isn't this kind of sleazy?"
A week later…
"I'm not going out in this," Sunako flatly refused behind the curtain in the changing rooms on the beach. "You said I had to buy it, didn't say nothing about me actually wearing it di you?" She knew she was being difficult but in all honesty, who the hell in their right mind could've thought of such a sadistic contraption? It had taken twenty minutes for her just to figure out the suit again and then there were the stupid knots to tie, and it all only succeeded in leaving her feeling extremely exposed.
Noi had been waiting all week for this, the minute the clouds had cleared up she had insisted on going to the beach. She plied Sunako with horror movies and wasn't above instilling guilt by saying how she wanted time with Takenaga and sure enough, three guesses where they ended up? They were finally here and Noi would be damned if everyone didn't get to see her masterpiece.
"Oh no you don't, you're coming out. Now!" Noi snaked a hand behind the curtain and yanked hard, dragging the reclusive girl out into the bright sunlight and onto the sandy beach.
Sunako winced as the rays of light hit her sensitive retinas and raised a hand to shield her face. She had to admit, it was a good day for the beach, not so hot to be melting but hot enough to want a dip in the inviting waters lapping at the edges of the sand; but she wasn't actually sure she could swim in this suit. It was small, that was a given; skimpy, also a given; but the strings did not feel they would hold in the waves and she certainly didn't feel confident enough to parade around in front of strange guys. The two-piece was simple in design but left too much for the imagination. She wore a bikini top with slim crisscrossing strings across her pale back, the front was basically two triangles of clingy material strategically placed to cover only the necessary and leave the cleavage on display. Luckily the bottom wasn't a thong; it was actually just like shorts…with a large embroidered hole exposing the hip on each side. But no matter what she did there was no hiding the way the material clung and outlined every curve and muscle in her figure. She had, in effort to cover up some leg, tied a sarong around her waist, too bad it was a sheer silk one; which only succeeded in tempting the leering guys.
Noi dropped Sunako's hand, tugged off Sunako's loose sarong and ran off towards their umbrella and towels. Now Sunako felt really naked. 'What the hell do I do?' An arm came across her waist and before she could lash out she found herself picked up and thrown unceremoniously into the ocean. It was cold damn it! Why couldn't the water ever be WARM? When she surfaced, she found the culprit floating on his back laughing his head off.
"You." She growled with her eyes narrowed and promptly dove for his ankle, dragging the light haired young man under. In reality, she was grateful for the distraction, at least now she wasn't on the beach being gawked. But if she'd bothered to glance back she would've seen all the eyes following their play.
Kyohei spluttered and surfaced then headed back for the beach in effort to avoid another nasty attack all the while still chortling at his own cleverness. Sunako swam close behind trying to drown him again. It was only once they reached their towels that Sunako realized she hadn't been self conscious once during that entire time, in fact she'd almost forgot about her embarrassing outfit, although now that the eyes were on her it was getting awkward.
"Hey, here. Dry off before you make the guys faint." Kyohei's voice came behind her and he handed her a towel, she quickly wiped her face and wrapped the cloth around her shoulders in effort to cover up again. Sunako sat down on the sand and allowed herself a look around; she really shouldn't have bothered. Five pairs of unfamiliar, hungry looking male eyes followed her every move and what's more, Noi was nowhere in sight.
'Noi-chan sure moves fast' Sunako thought cynically, knowing her friend was probably with Takenaga and avoiding her. She turned her ivory face towards the guy beside her and did her best to glare; kinda hard when you're already trying not to squint from the overwhelming brightness of everything. "This suit was not made for swimming and you know it. What if something came loose huh?" She bet that's exactly what those weird guys to their left were hoping.
Kyohei just grinned, "Yeah, but there wont be much to see anyways."
"You're insufferable" Sunako huffed and hunched down.
Hands came to encircle her wrist and pull her closer. "Hey, would you rather have stood there like a piece of meat?" He whispered into her ear, making her shiver uncontrollably down her spine.
To spite him she tilted her head as if in thought "I dunno, maybe. But I never got the chance did I?" She was stupid enough to meet his gaze; stern purple met liquid ink and she could feel her bones melt. Kyohei lowered his head to rest on her neck and tickled her ear with another whisper.
"I could go now and leave you here. All. By. Your. Self." He threatened lightly, knowing that wasn't an option. Those boys were getting too bold with their staring, any more and he'd have to do something drastic. Sunako didn't dare move and her mind had gone blank, her mouth was all too dry and words couldn't seem to form into a reply.
A gurgled noise came from her throat as she tried to speak.
"I thought so." Kyohei said happily, "I think I win this round, ne?" His lips brushed a phantom kiss on her brow.
He shot a round of warning glares at the male onlookers before throwing a possessive arm around Sunako's waist. Sunako shook out of her reverie and turned to give Kyohei a piece of her mind. Only, as she was about to speak, he kissed her. Right on the lips.
It was like an explosion had set off in her mind, liquidating every coherent thought she might've had and dissolving every emotion into fireworks. Her arms unconsciously twined around his neck and for once her head wasn't killing her. In fact, her head wasn't thinking of anything but the feel of his body and the sensation of his lips. Sunako knew she'd lost this one. 'Oh bloody hell, I'm gone.'
Kyohei privately smirked when he felt his girlfriend react, like he knew she would, like she always did. She might be annoying and clueless and violent and a bunch of other weird things but she was his and everyone had better get that through their thick skulls.
There would be no three-sixty changes. No overnight miracles or great leaps. Just because Sunako didn't suffer a hernia from being close to Takano, it didn't mean things could turn in just a few days. It had taken years for Sunako to reach the pit she had been in; it would take just as long for her to accept who she was again. There is no certainty how long or when it would be, but she will heal again just as she had learned to love.
A/N: So I haven't written in a long time, this is probably awful and rusty, forgive me would you? I'm now working on an original story soon to be on fictionpress . com so if you want, visit me there (my user name is the same). Thank you guys so much for reading and helping me. This is my first completed chaptered story and I hope the epilogue didn't disappoint. If it did….well then, go write your own would ya? Lol
P.S: I'll write review responses in a separate entry.
P.P.S: How could I forget….PLEASE REVIEW!! There, my last chance to grovel for reviews for this story. Now I can die happy :)
Take Care, Ja!
