I'm so sorry for the delay. I will try to post more chapters soon, but I want you to know that I didn't forget my story.

Kyouhei, Sunako and her mother ate in silence. Kyouhei was too busy enjoying his fried shrimps to realize both women were nervous. Sunako was staying as far away from him as she could, wondering how she could avoid him for the following fortnight. But for her mother, another thing, much more important from her point of view, preoccupied her. She didn't know how to approach the topic though. Finally, she opted for the direct approach.

'Kyouhei…?'

'Hmmm?'

'Is it really okay not to call your mother? Mina didn't tell me the details, but she told me you were under her custody.'

'Yes, that's the solution!' Sunako exclaimed, suddenly happy. 'You should return among bright creatures!'

Kyouhei slapped his hands on the table and stood up in an instant, surprising both women.

'I'm sorry but I don't have a home to go back to. Thanks for the food.'

He left the room, not finishing his dinner. Sunako felt like she had said something she shouldn't have, and her mother's glare confirmed this thought. Contrary to her habits not to interfere, she asked her mother what the problem actually was.

'His mother has kicked him out and told him to disappear from her sight.'

'Eh? Why?'

'I don't know, ask him yourself.'

Of course she wouldn't do it, but still, it intrigued her. If he was bright, his mother should be bright as well and wish to have him by her side right?

Kyouhei slammed the door, angry. Was she that happy to get rid of him? And his mother…. He had almost forgotten about her. Of course she had just kicked him out. She had even cut all his photos and would even have cut his face if he hadn't escaped on time. His demonic mother. Those were the memories he had tried in vain to forget, and he had almost succeeded. But sooner or later, of course those memories would come back. The worse of it was that he still loved her. Even though she had rejected him. For a long time, he had wondered if he had done something wrong, before realizing his very own existence was wrong. But what could he do about it?

Someone knocked. After a moment of hesitation, he let the person in. He was almost disappointed to see Keiko enter his room. What had he hoped? That Sunako would be worried about him? But still, he felt relieved.

'Do you want to talk? I brought you a piece of chocolate cake, in case you're still hungry.'

'Keep it for Sunako, she loves it.'

Sunako's mother did not seem surprised to learn that he knew of her daughter's tastes, but rather grateful.

'You seem to like her and accept her. I want to thank you for that. Really. I love her so much that I tend to forget that some people don't accept her. She's changed a lot since she entered middle school.'

'Because she fell in love?'

Keiko looked at him with shock.

'What?! She fell in love? Since when? Well, it wouldn't surprise me. She doesn't tell me anything about school anymore. Before, she would tell me everything. She doesn't even talk about her friends. Does she even have any?'

Kyouhei reassured her, but strangely, she didn't feel happy to hear that, rather sad.

'Oh? It's great I guess.'

She met Kyouhei's questioning look but didn't say anything.

'Keep the cake. There's still plenty for Sunako. Good night.'

Sunako was restless. She was in front of her favorite horror movie - the story of a family of cannibals who eat their victims after having killed them with a chainsaw - eating chocolate, but couldn't enjoy it. She kept thinking about the bright creature. Had he really been kicked out of his house? With such a bad temper, it was not surprising. But still, could someone kick you out for such a futile reason? After all, she had the right to know, he was a stranger in her house. And well, if she met him every day for the following fortnight, it would be best if they were in good terms. Her phone rang. When she read the text message she had just received, she realized she had no choice but to talk to him.

After a few minutes doing things she would usually never do, like tidying her room, to delay the moment, she went to see him but stopped in front of his door. She knew she was about to walk into the lion's den. She had dedicated her life to avoid this moment. She had promised herself she would remain to the safe world, far from the bright creatures. Not too beautiful, but not too ugly either. A perfect, secure and plain world with plain friends and a plain romance. Just like any other teenager. She could, and she would do it. And her survival instinct told her that if she walked through this door, everything she had tried so hard to achieve would be over. Earlier in the day, she had almost been busted after all. Her friends must not know her weird habits. Everything but this. Even so, she didn't feel ready to confront the bright creature. She felt like she could melt just by being beside him, so what would happen if she talked to him? Would she die from nosebleed? The first time she had gotten nosebleed was by meeting one of her aunt's numerous boyfriends, three years ago, who was a top model of twenty-two years old. It was also the first time she was so conscious of beauty and ugliness. Unhappily for her, she was considered ugly, compared to her stunning mother and aunt. Thinking of this guy's face made her sick and suddenly, she felt like she couldn't face him. She decided to return to her room to summon some courage while watching the movie, but fate had other plans for her. Kyouhei was standing in front of her, less than one foot away. If she had not been so surprised, she would have noticed that, coming from the bathroom, he was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, but she couldn't keep her eyes away from his face. She was flabbergasted. How could she have so much bad luck? He smirked at her.

'Uhoh, did you miss me that much?' he asked, trying to conceal his joy.

'Of course not! I was… I was just passing by! I was going to the kitchen.'

'Oh, okay…'

Pushing her aside, he entered his room, leaving the door ajar. Sunako hesitated, but followed him, closing the door behind her. Kyouhei was surprised, but didn't say anything. He sat on a chair and waited for her to speak first.

She was about to talk, but suddenly realized he was half naked. At once, she felt her blood reach her nostrils and covered her nose. Kyouhei asked her to turn around for him to dress up.

'So, what can I do for you?' he said after a minute.

'I need a favor,' Sunako replied, not beating around the bush. She wanted to get away from him as soon as possible.

'Wahoo, it's a first. And what could I do to a grown-up girl who doesn't need help from anyone?'

Sunako ignored his sarcasm and explained that her friend Chihiko had texted her to say it was her turn to invite them home, that every time, she dodged the subject.

'They are right,' she said, 'it's not very nice. But I can't let them into my room. I have to re-decorate it.'

Once again, Kyouhei could only state that she was very considerate. She liked her friends very much, and wanted them to be happy, even if she had to do things she didn't like. Nevertheless, the Sunako he knew wouldn't go as far as re-decorate her room. He wondered what had changed. He asked her why she couldn't let them in, even though the answer to the question, but he wanted to hear it from her.

'Well, they don't know my weird habits. I don't want to frighten them, or… But you know, they are very understanding, and I'm sure they would not judge me, it's just that…'

'Can't your mother help you?' he interrupted her. It hurt him to see Sunako being so hesitant and trying to justify her friends' possible reactions when it was unnecessary. It gave him the feeling she was not confident and was belittling herself. His strategy worked. Sunako took her eyes away from the ground and looked at him with assurance.

'How can you ask this when you've met her? If I let her do it, my friends would think I am a taxidermist,' said Sunako, referring to her mother's passion for furs and animals.

Kyouhei burst into laughter but didn't say anything. Sunako waited, but feeling he didn't seem to be ready to help her, just shuddered and was about to leave the room.

'Okay, I will help you' she heard him shout. She turned to him swiftly, her eyes filled with hope.

'Really?'

'Yes, but I have a condition.'

'It was too good to be true,' she murmured for herself. 'What do you want?' she asked him, louder.

'A date with you.'