'Suna-chan ! Suna-chan ! Are you ok?'

Sunako opened her eyes with difficulty to see her friends staring at her worriedly. She startled and got on her feet.

'What happened? Where am I?'

'You're on the roof. Do you remember? We were waiting for you in front of the classroom when we saw you being pulled by a man. We tried to stop him but he was too fast. Did he do anything to you?'

'What are you…'

Sunako kept silent when she remembered with horror what had happened. How could she have let this bright creature be so close to her? She shouldn't have let her guard down. This guy was no good. And who was he to meddle in her business?

'Come, Suna-chan, let's go to the infirmary.'

'No, I still have to confess!'

'It's too late, class has already started!'

Sunako stood shocked and angry.

'Are you kidding me? Since when? I'm gonna kill this guy!'

Her friends looked at each other with amazement. Sunako was always quiet and shy, but here she looked confident and… bold. She seemed almost frightening. What could this guy have done to her?

Kyouhei watched the scene hidden behind a wall. He had been looking over her until her friends came. He seemed quite satisfied with himself. Well, she didn't need to be called 'ugly' to be freaking out at the sight of him. She was really an interesting girl.

Whistling, he decided to use the public phone near the school to call the number the landlady had given him in case of emergency. The phone had not rung twice that she had picked it up.

'Where are you, Kyouhei?' he heard Oba-chan say with worry.

'Eh? You know it was me?'

'I only gave this number to the four of you, and since the three others are with me… To tell you the truth, I was expecting you would run away.'

'I kn…'

He stopped himself in time. He was about to say he knew. She had told him the night following his act of kneeling down that she was surprised he had not run away.

'What would you have done if I had really run away?' he had asked.

'I would have used my relations to find you. You are under my custody. You can't leave that easily you know.'

He was interrupted in his thoughts when she asked him again where he was, ignoring his hesitation.

'Hokkaido.'

'Hokkaido, are you kidding me? What are you even doing there?'

'Sorry, I just felt like it would be less crowded.'

'Can you be that stupid? Anyway, it's going crazy at home. Stay at my cousin's house until things quiet down. It might take a fortnight though. I'm gonna call my brother's wife to pick you up. Where are you?'

He smiled. He had been waiting for that reaction, or rather hoping for it. He told her he was near Sakura high school.

'Eh, Sakura high school? What a coincidence, it is my niece's high school! Maybe you saw her. Anyway, go in front of the school and wait for her mother. I'll call her. She shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes to come. And most importantly, hide your face.'

Kyouhei hung up, relieved. He had kind of expected she would say that, but still, she was so weird sometimes. He was wondering why she had not given a description of Sunako's mother, but when he saw her come fifteen minutes later, he understood. He could not miss her. She was driving a striking red Porsche and was as beautiful as ever. Did such women really exist? Would Sunako become like her mom? Well, she was on the right track.

'Hurry up and get in the car! Sunako doesn't like me to come with this car, she says the car is too bright.'

'Hi,' he said in the car, 'I'm Takano Kyouhei!'

'Oh my, the famous Takano Kyouhei! Everyone is talking about you, seems like you have a great success. But I understand why, you're gorgeous! Don't worry,' she added when she saw his shocked face, 'I only see my darling. But I hope you'll get along with my daughter, she is a true sweetheart. Even though she has her habits… But she's great as she is!'

Kyouhei watched her gentle smile and could see how much she loved her daughter. It was the first time he had seen that kind of love. Except for the relationship between Oba-chan and Sunako, maybe, but it was a bit different. His mother had always rejected him because he was too handsome. Here, Sunako's mother was rooting for her daughter, even though she was kinda weird and freaky. But well, maybe she was different back then. He decided to investigate a bit.

'I look forward to meeting her,' he replied politely, and truthfully. 'What do you mean, her habits?'

She seemed hesitant, but finally spoke up.

'I might as well warn you. Her father is working overseas, so she won't hold back, especially if she sees you. She is a bit bipolar. At school, she has fun, has friends she likes, takes care of herself. But at home, she is, well, she's different. She can watch horror movies all day long, she likes to fight and play video games, she likes skeletons. Her room is a true sanctuary. But, well, it's fun to see how she's enjoying it.'

'Interesting, I might get along with her. I like that too.'

'Eh, a handsome boy like you? It's surprising! However, don't expect too much. She hates very handsome people because she gets nosebleed. She would rather be with average people. I've never understood why. I think she doesn't have confidence and considers herself as not pretty. She has always admired her aunt, so you can see the level of her standards.'

Kyouhei looked pensively outside. The level? From what he knew, Sunako had nothing to be jealous of. Well, she had a bad personality, but her aunt as well. She liked gore stuff, but he liked it as well. And her cooking! It was to die for! Her aunt could not cook. And as for being beautiful… Really, he could not see why she was not confident.

'We've arrived. Hurry in the house, I have to do some fishing.'

He didn't even notice what she said; he was too absorbed by the sight of the house. The Nakaharas must have been rich, the house was gorgeous. It looked like the Nakahara mansion, even though it was smaller. The outward appearance was very inviting, and a few minutes later, he was following her in the house. Suddenly, he felt something bite his pants and almost had a heart attack. What was a fox doing in the house? Sunako's mother, Keiko, explained she was taking care of the healed animal. 'Unfortunately,' she sighed. 'He will have to leave in a few days. My hubby will be coming home. He doesn't like frightening things. My big bear…'

Kyouhei tried not to laugh when he thought of Sunako's father's outward appearance and gently pushed the animal aside, which submitted obediently, certainly tamed by Sunako or her mom. The Nakahara women were really impressive. She showed him his room, and two doors away, they arrived in front of Sunako's house, and Sunako's mother, Keiko, told him to prepare mentally. When he entered, he pretended to be surprised, but he was in truth relieved. It was so much like Sunako. It was the exact room he knew. Dark, creepy, awesome.

'Oh, this movie!' he exclaimed, picking up a horror movie and reading the synopsis, 'I've always wanted to watch it.'

'Ask Suna-chan, maybe she'll accept to lend it to you. I have to go, I must fish for lunch. Make yourself at home!'

'Fish?' Kyouhei thought when she left. Something told him he would always be surprised in this house. He was about to leave when he felt something was missing but we couldn't say why. He remained there for five minutes, thinking about it, and when he was about to give up, it struck him.

Hiroshi-kun. Hiroshi-kun was not there. Where could the skeleton have gone? Sunako was going to freak out if she discovered he had disappeared. Once, Hiroshi-kun had disappeared, and Kyouhei had realized at that time how much the anatomic doll meant to her. He had brought it back for her, and for the first time, she had been genuinely happy and had sincerely thanked him. It was also the first time her gaze had melted the iceberg that had replaced his heart. He didn't want to relive his sufferings. Then he remembered when he was. The confession day. And she had not confessed. So, supposedly, Hiroshi-kun was still in the garbage, about to be thrown away. His 'rival' was for the moment out of the way. What should he do? He knew that this stupid doll was her best friend and she cared for him more than anyone else, more than Kyouhei himself, needless to say. But would she be happy to see him since she had not yet been rejected, and could still be considered normal? He thought about it over and over again, and he took his decision.