Chapter 8:

Hate them? Did Sou-chan really just say that he hated butterflies? There hasn't been a day I've known him that I haven't seen him wear or paint a butterfly. Even as I sat next to him, he was painting butterflies. It's official; Sou-chan's a liar.

"But you're painting butterflies right now," I said, staring out the window. There was a brightly colored butterfly resting on a blossom from our neighbor's over-grown hanging plant. It looked almost exactly like the one Sou-chan was painting. "Why do you hate them?" I murmured in a dreamy voice. "They're beautiful." Sou-chan continued to paint. At first I thought he was ignoring me because he didn't answer me for a long time.

"That's why I hate them," he replied. "They're so easily trapped and preserved like specimens." Geez! Sou-chan's cranky!

"That's not the butterfly's fault," I said. Sou-chan continued to paint, but he seemed more on-edge. Heh, my fault. Wait a second. The night before, I didn't feel any holes in his ears, and Sou-chan had a piercing gun with him. It's starting to make sense. "Did something happen, Sou-chan?" I asked, hoping to answer my questions. Suddenly, Sou-chan froze just as he was about to lower his brush for a long, purple stroke. I hit it right on the mark!

"Something did happen!" I grinned. "Tell me! Tell me!" Then, I understood. His words about a kid using a piercing gun, coming home late with a new piercing gun hidden beneath his clothes, my inability to find holes in Sou-chan's ears, they all added up! "Wait," I said, brandishing my candy sucker. "Who exactly pierced your ears for you?"

"Ritsuka." Sou-chan answered with no hesitation. I couldn't believe this guy! He was proud that he had forced a little sixth-grader to pierce his ears! "Snap," Sou-chan continued, "just like that." Sou-chan is really creepy.

"I can't believe you had little virgin kid pierce your ears!" I cried. "You're so cruel, Sou-chan! That poor kid's probably scarred for life." But, I don't think Sou-chan was listening to me. He seems to tune me out a lot, doesn't he? "I'm sick of spending time with perverts," I said bluntly. "I'm going to work." Sou-chan continued to paint. Damn, does he even listen to me at all!

"Have fun," he smiled. Good. He wasn't tuning me out completely.

"It's my new part-time job," I grinned. "I pose provocatively in the nude in front of a bunch of people!" Sou-chan picked up one of his little paint bowls and began swirling paint with his fingers.

"I'm sure you're good at it, Kio," he said almost mechanically. Frustrated, I clapped my hand down on his head.

"You're not interested in me at all, are you!" I growled. "You act like you have better things to care about!" Sou-chan just smiled and set down his paint.

"I wouldn't mind seeing you naked," he said. Wha! "You're a nude model, right?" My cheeks began to burn red as Sou-chan dipped his brush into his freshly-mixed paint. "I'd love to draw your body sometime." Ha! He's totally into the kinky stuff! I pulled my shirt open, stripping myself so he could draw me.

"Anything for you, Sou-chan!" I grinned. Sou-chan held up a hand to stop me.

"Maybe later," he said. Still a little disappointed by Sou-chan's postponing of our modeling session, I buttoned my shirt, and then I was off to work. As I hurried down the street, I wondered if Sou-chan would stop by to see me. Probably not. He'd be too busy playing with Aoyagi Ritsuka.