A/N: In the spirit of Valentine's Day

Disclaimer: I do not own.

Title: Second Chances

Chapter: 7: Secrets

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The two women sat quietly in the living room. Sunako had served her guest a darker portion of her wonderful english tea. The two milky cups now sat on the coffee table; cooling. It was silent, and it was because of this that Sunako could hear what was no-doubt her friends "stealthy" breathing behind the wall that divided this room from the dining room.

"Ah! Ranmaru, my foot."

"Move over, you're squishing me!"

"I can't hear!"

"Shhh! She'll hear us!"

The dark girl picked up her tea pointedly, rolling her eyes, "So... Why are you here...?"

Ogawa cleared her throat. She picked up her tea... Out of stalling options, she began, "Koichi's here." Rather abruptly.

Somehow, Sunako managed to get her tea down the right pipe. Since she had become completely one with the darkness, Sunako had coined a special skill to keep out of trouble with her aunt. The EAR tactic. The EAR tactic would work well right now. It did not consist of tearing off ears, blood, guts, terror... It was an acronym for evade and redirect. Now...

"Oh, that's..." Find something to focus on... "Interesting..." Teacup. "Hey, you're tea is probably cold by now," Find a chance to leave the room, "how about I fix that?"

Before Hikari could even object, ignore her, or continue her confession Sunako quickly stood and cleared the serving tray from the table.

She skittered quickly through the kitchen archway, "How about some green tea?"

The demon spawn followed quickly behind her, "Fine, Nakahara-san, but back to what I was saying about Satto-kun. He's in Tokyo, Nakahara-san. He's here."

The demon pixie's voice caught in her throat. She leaned against the counter, crossing her arms across her narrow chest. The maternal side of Sunako kicked in, and she went to the girl's aide with a cool glass of water. She stood next to the demon, rubbing her back as she mumbled a 'thank you' and drank.

Sunako didn't care much for Ogawa, but she knew about her frequent panic attacks in school. The girl definitely had issues. She hated her, in a competitive fight for pride and honor in the classroom; still, the good 'mama' within her just let all that go for now...

The group had migrated to the kitchen archway, positioning themselves in the classic 'see-but-not-seen' positions. A little while later, they repositioned into their 'hear-but-not-heard' form.

"Ogawa-san, if I may... What's the point of all this?" Well, her friends expected that. Ogawa, however, did not. Her mouth opened and shut a few times, struggling for a conniving enough response, "Don't be offended, I just mean... Well, why tell me? Why are you telling me? What's the point of all this?"

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The truth about that day was actually a ridiculous story. It seriously was one of utter confusion.

It was outrageous in a way unheard of in real life. It was like a comic book, a cartoon if you will.

The delicate Nakahara was waiting outside of his classroom on the beautiful first of June. Her heart was fluttering at a rate signaling blood to rush beneath the surface of her cheeks. Rumors had been flying around all over school. Apparently, Haruhi was just too excited. She couldn't keep it in. Sunako never bamed her. Everyone was excited. Everyone was rooting for them... Okay, we all know not everyone, but that art will come soon enough.

Koichi's friends alerted him of the visitor at the door with hoots, howls and raised voices. He silenced them with mock-annoyance, trying not to bolt out of the door.

He walked out of the classroom, sure to close the door behind him, and face her. Sunako smiled meekly, leaning the right of her body against the space between the door and classroom window.

"'Evening..."

Koichi could hear his classmates hushed giggling, amping up his nerves. All Sunako could hear was the ba-thump, ba-thump' of her pulse in her ears. As a means of relief, he moved away from the door, and leaned opposite, along the windows overlooking the courtyard.

"Hello. How-ah-What's up?" Koichi struggled with his reddening cheeks, the noises from the classroom, and trying so hard to capture this moment. He had to admit he couldn't believe it could happen.

"I'm good. Great, actually, I... Well, I've decided to let you in on a little secret..." Sunako smiled in a charming way, leveling her gaze to his. A flash.

"Don't you get the feeling she's hiding something...?" Hikari's devilish face loomed underneath his eyelids with the words she had whispered to him once during math class.

"Hika--" He mumbled angrily under his breath.

A holler of laughter exploded from his classroom. The two jumped slightly. Koichi's patience was thinning quicker than most would expect. Then a window slid open... Guess whose ugly head popped out?

"Sorry, sorry you two... On with whatever you were doing, I'll keep these rugrats nice and quiet... Carry on," She commanded them in the kind of sing-song voice that just makes a person want to do the exact opposite... And she didn't close the window all the way either.

"Umm..." Sunako caught a glimpse of Koichi still staring at the gaping window, "You... You were saying?"

"Ah, I..." He redirected his attention where he really wanted it, where it should be, "Nakahara-san, I would love to hear this secret..."

She smiled triumphantly. It was adorable. He could jump her right there (of course, in the most innocent of ways, because they were both just that way...), "Okay, then..." Sunako took a bold step forward, she looked at her feet, and his shiny black shoes came into view. She looked up at him, into his eyes.

"Koichi-kun, I..." She blinked, her face flushed. She looked down in embarrassment, "like you..."

But to Koichi's ears, her voice had drifted. Sunako hadn't realized there was another burst of laughter, and a bang as the demon-girl flung open the window on the far right of the classroom. She began singing a popular pop song. It was a cheesy love ballad, and she'd belted the chorus in an obnoxious fashion. His face flushed with rage.

"You're so disgraceful! God! I hate ugly girls!" He'd shouted it at Hikari, but the girl in front of him was a completely different person. Her eyes instantly widened in shock. Her silky hair fell over her face as she raised her shoulders in defense. She hugged herself tightly, turned left, and ran, "Sunako-san! Sunako-san, wait!"

"Yes, Sunako-san, wait! Please, wait" Hikari echoed in the same light-hearted tone. The broken girl saw a flash of a wicked smile and gleaming pale eyes... They were the look of nightmares.

She'd run home. The next day she wasn't at school. She hadn't picked up anyone's calls. Not Koichi's, not Haruhi's, not her homeroom teachers. She had her parents pull their connections and get her transferred immediately to the nearest school to her Auntie's mansion furthest in Japan.

It had led her to Tokyo. It had led her to her current state of happiness.

And all we can hope is that this wouldn't break it.

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Short again, but meaty, wasn't it?

I'll try harder.

I think you'll be happy to know I've got my plot down, and I shouldn't have writer's block anymore, so I look forward to updating bigger and faster.

I love you guys, you really make my day.

I love writing, I love reading, but I don't think it would be the same without feedback, so thank you. Yeah, I'm in a freakishly cheery mood. I think I really needed this update.

Oh, by the way, Martian Child, with John Cusack-- excellent. Watch it.

I hope to hear what you guys think of my latest installment.

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day.

Later Days,

NerdSavvy