When Sunako woke up the following morning, she had already forgotten what had happened the day before. She had what people would call a selective memory. Indeed, she had the ability to erase from her mind and thoughts what wasn't to her liking. She didn't even remember someone was staying. Therefore, she was in a particularly good mood. For many reasons, Tuesday was her favorite day of the week. There was no maths lesson, which was a great asset in itself. But most of all, it was obento day. Since her friends and she only had a thirty-minute break to eat, Sunako had suggested cooking obentos for them every week. She loved to try new recipes, but most of all she loved to see their smiling faces at the sight of them. Just the day before, her friend Chihiko had texted her to say she looked forward to her cooking.

Sunako frowned. She had the feeling Chihiko had written something else, but she couldn't recall. She couldn't check it: her battery was dead, and well, it mustn't be so important. Sunako checked the hour: 5. 30. Perfect. She dressed up quickly and went down to the kitchen. Today would be takoyaki and vegetable tempuras. She had quickly learned to cook, and to cook well, since her mother was bad at it. At first, she had made simple dishes that were mostly utilitarian rather than sophisticated, but she soon realized how much she enjoyed it. Mixing the ingredients, trying new techniques, tasting the food… She blushed when she thought of the first time she had used the high-sided frying pan. She was afraid of using it, and had let the food burn. Not only did the house stink for days, but she couldn't go near this precious apparel for weeks. But she had learned to master it and used it almost every day now.

Sunako gathered all the ingredients on the table and quietly started. She loved to work in the morning, when her parents weren't up yet. For two hours, she had the house for herself and nobody to witness her actions. She didn't need recipes. She always used the same basics. Only the ingredients and sometimes, the quantities would change. But here, no difficulty whatsoever, takoyakis were her father's favorite food, and vegetable tempuras, her mother's. She had already cooked it a hundred times, but couldn't get enough of them. She made extra food as usual, for her mother's lunch. For two hours, she would live in her world, until she heard her mother greet her.

They ate their breakfast together, like every morning, but her mother was more talkative than usual. Keiko was not a morning person.

'I wanted to tell you that you don't have to worry about yesterday. I'm sure everything will be fine. Just ignore him.'

Sunako nodded but didn't understand a thing her mother was saying. Was she sleepwalking? It would be surprising. She put the food in different boxes and hurried to the shower. Except that the shower was already running. Her mother could be so distracted! She had no notion of how to save money! She entered the room, but remained at the door, her eyes wide open. A young man was showering. Suddenly, she recalled everything. The strange apparition of this guy who had prevented her from conveying her feelings to Takeshi-kun, who had pretended to be her boyfriend, who acted like he belonged in here, made her sick. She sighed heavily.

'What?' Kyouhei asked, 'wanna join me?'

Sunako was about to say something but closed her mouth. She had to get used to him. It seemed that he would stay for a fortnight, and she had other things to do than picking fights with a stranger. She was about to leave the room but stopped at the threshold. Not turning back, she asked Kyouhei not to talk to her at school.

'I can't have my friends know we live together for the moment. Please. I'm begging you.'

Kyouhei didn't know how to react. The Sunako he knew would never beg. Was she that ashamed of him? He was hurt. She had hurt him.

Actually, he had woken up that morning with apprehension. He had been thrown back into the past to stop Sunako's confession, that was his wish when he watched the shooting star. And indeed, he had prevented her from conveying her feelings. The night before, he had been afraid to sleep, in case he would wake up three years later, with no memories of her whatsoever. And he wanted to know the young Sunako. He had been deeply relieved to realize he was still at Sunako's home. But well, she still intended to confess after all.

He would stay home. If it was what she wanted, he would grant her wish.

Sunako was early at school, as usual. She hated to be late. It gave her the feeling she was the center of attention. Something that she wanted to avoid, needless to say. But still, this boy really didn't help. Why was he always on her path? She shook her head. She had promised herself not to think about him. Her friends would come in ten minutes, they would laugh and talk about meaningless things and she would have a lot of fun and she would forget about him. She also had longed for this day because the day before, she was supposed to confess her feelings. If it had gone well, this Tuesday would have been the first day of her life as a girlfriend. She had to wait for the following Monday, because she didn't see Takeshi-kun very often, and when she did, he was always surrounded with friends. But the lesson he had on Monday was optional, and none of his friends had chosen it. Moreover, as he had chosen chemistry, he had to go to the lab which was isolated from the school. And her friends had encouraged her so much…

Sunako raised her head when she heard her friends call her. Chihiko, Noriko, and Nanako were in her class. They were friends since the beginning of the year and meant a lot to her. Sunako always had some problems getting well with students of her age, but with her friends, she felt accepted and understood. They were only talking for a few seconds when Chihiko asked her why she had not answered her text message. She was not the kind of person to dodge a topic.

'Oh, yeah, I'll invite you I promise, but now is not the good time.'

'You always say that Sunako! Don't you want us to come to your place?'

She hated when Chihiko used these kinds of arguments. It made her feel like she was not a good friend.

The friends didn't talk about it anymore, and the day went smoothly. Nevertheless, Sunako was worried her friends might be annoyed with her. Therefore, when she came back home, she decided that, even if it cost her, her friends would come home, and they would have great fun, and everything would be perfect. And if that guy didn't want to help her, she would fend for herself. She was a resolute girl.

Nevertheless, the first step to re-decorating the room was to throw away everything that wouldn't fit the new decoration, that is removing all her beloved gore stuff. This would not be painless of course. Sunako had prepared five bin bags, and she didn't intend to completely throw her stuff away of course. She would store them in a corner of the cellar. But still, she felt like she was betraying everything that she was. In particular, the separation with her newly met friend Hiroshi-kun tore her heart apart. And the beautiful skull that served as a candle-holder! And her collection of horror movies! Before she could restrain herself, she started crying and apologizing loudly for her betrayal. Kyouhei, who was hungry, burst into her room, without knocking as usual, to witness this strange scene.

'What the fuck are you doing?'

'Farewell, my friends, farewell. I promise it won't be long. I will come back to you.'

Kyouhei, quite puzzled, watched her kiss each and every one of her objects and put them in the bin bags, with a word for each of them, and leaving the room, not even aware of his presence. Okay, this girl was crazy. But he had to admit that he was impatient to see her vision of the room of a normal girl.

For the next three days, Sunako's mother and Kyouhei didn't see her much. Every time her mother asked her to make some food, she said she was busy and only got out of her room to throw things away or to pick up new things for the decoration. She would always hide it in bin bags, and Kyouhei had no idea of the kind of decoration she was making. During this time, Keiko took care of the food, and she was an even worse cook than Sunako's aunt. On Friday night, at last, Sunako came down and started cooking. She was quite happy with herself, and Kyouhei dared ask her what her new decoration looked like. He made a step backward when Sunako turned to him to express her enthusiasm, and her hurry to invite her friends in.

'I'm sure they'll love it! It will be so much fun.'

Kyouhei wasn't used to a gentle Sunako, nor was he used to see her eyes sparkle for something so different from blood or death. He asked her if he could see the room. He was shocked when he saw Sunako blush.

'Well, it's not totally appropriate to invite a guy in my room but I guess it's okay…'

This girl was frightening. After dinner, which made him realize how much he had missed her food, he followed her upstairs. Before she opened the door, he stopped her, and tried to prepare himself psychologically.

'Okay, open the door.'