'Eh? What did you say?'

Sunako didn't answer.

'I mean, why? Why would you give a random guy this kind of power?'

'Takeshi-kun is not a random guy!' Sunako answered vehemently, her eyes filled with anger. 'He's a nice boy who always finds something beautiful in people. He seldom badmouths people. I'm sure he will be able to understand me and accept me as I am,' she added with a faint touch of distress in her voice.

Kyouhei couldn't believe it. The Sunako he knew could at least read characters. The girl in front of him did not even seem to have considered that this guy could be acting nice only in order to be popular. Be nice with people for no reason, you'll be seen as an angel.

'And if he ends up rejecting you?' he asked hesitantly, afraid of her reaction, 'what will you do? Lock yourself up and never go out again?'

Sunako looked offended. She clenched her fingers and squished some dough.

'How can you say that so casually? Probably because you will never know what it is to be rejected, you might not be aware of it, but the very thought of rejection can hurt people you know!'

Kyouhei, dumbfounded, echoed her words, emphasizing every syllable.

' . ! The only girl I ever came to like would always end up rejecting me. And she never tries to be nice to me. I'm very used to rejection. Believe me, I know how it feels!'

'Hmpf.'

With one quick move of her head, Sunako looked away from him, but didn't answer a word, he noticed, satisfied.

'Do you need help?' he asked after a few minutes of silence.

She looked at him with surprise.

'Since you didn't pour me a cup of tea and a slice of cake, I might as well help you.'

'Look in the fridge, there might be some sponge cake leftovers. As for the tea, the kettle is over there, on the sink, and the teabags are in the cupboard above.'

Kyouhei chuckled. 'That's not what I meant. Let me help you.'

He came next to Sunako, which seemed to trouble her. She stepped away a bit.

'I don't need your help. I'm used to cooking. I enjoy it.'

'That's true,' he whispered. 'Did you bake the sponge cake?'

'Yes.'

'Okay then, I'll eat it.'

He walked to the fridge and opened the door. It was filled with various ingredients meant for the making of cakes as well as mixtures prepared in advance, probably for the pastries of the following day. He took the plate that contained the mouth watering slice and made himself some mocha tea.

He returned to the table and tasted the sponge cake. It was moist and tender, porous and light. It was just perfect.

'It's really delicious. Like everything you cook. I remember once, I didn't want to eat the carrot cake you had baked, because I hate it, you know that, and you…'

'Won't you just shut up? I'm trying to get this done quickly but I can't concentrate because of your constant blabber.'

Kyouhei jumped with surprise. He was so used to Sunako not listening to him that he had talked about something that happened in the future, an anecdote she couldn't be aware of. It was enough that she didn't like him, he didn't want her to think he was crazy on top of it.

For the first time, he felt grateful that she didn't listen to him.

They remained silent. An hour later, Sunako was putting the freshly-baked scones on a tray and cleaning the working space. She filled the display case with the pastries prepared by Elizabeth. Sunako looked around the shop one last time to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, and smiled, satisfied. They left the shop and the young girl locked the door.

'I'm going home now,' she said.

Kyouhei nodded and followed her quietly. As much as he liked talking to her, he knew when to stop. She would get really mad at him if he insisted. As soon as they got home, she shut herself in her room. He didn't try to protest. These few hours alone with her were already a blessing. Why was everything so difficult with her? Did she just not like him? He thought it would be easier to talk to her before her trauma, when she was a normal teenage girl, but he started to wonder whether it actually had had any impact on her. She was so stubborn, she would never let a guy affect her in any way. A normal teenage girl? What the heck! So much for his luck! He was wanted by all the girls in the world, and he had to fall for the weirdo.

His stomach grumbled. He went to the kitchen to find something to eat. Sunako's mum, Keiko, was already there, a cup of tea before her, petting the fox. She smiled as she saw him.

'Do you want some tea?'

'No thanks. Are there some leftovers instead?'

Keiko smiled knowingly.

'You really like Sunako's food, don't you? It's in the fridge.'

There still was a portion of the rice curry Sunako had cooked the evening before. Kyouhei put it in a saucepan and heated it slowly. While he waited, he seated with a sigh, which Keiko noticed.

'Did you have a rough evening?' she asked softly.

'Was she always like that?'

'Pretty much, but what are you thinking of particularly?'

'Well, suspicious, aggressive, distant, stubborn. I mean, I just wanna be friends with her, but she keeps on rejecting me.'

'Oh, you just wanna be friends with her?' she repeated with a knowing look which made him blush.

'Well, not only…' he said, more to himself than to her. 'But if she could at least talk to me without getting pissed off, that would be great.'

'You're asking for a miracle here. She's always been suspicious of beautiful people because she's been teased a lot. Sometimes, I have the feeling she's mad at me,' she added after a pause, as though she hesitated to confide in him, 'because even though I am pretty, she took from her dad, and she may think that I'm being haughty when I talk to her without any care for beauty.'

Kyouhei remembered his conversation with Sunako about her mother.

'I wouldn't worry about that if I were you,' he said. 'She looks up to you.'

Keiko looked at him, surprised and maybe a bit relieved.

'She talked to you?'

Kyouhei nodded but didn't say a thing. If someone had to tell Keiko about the conversation they had, it was Sunako.

'Moreover, she is beautiful,' Kyouhei added.

Keiko smiled.

'Yes she is. But she just won't believe it. And the others can be so mean. And also, I'm sure you're not talking objectively, are you?'

Kyouhei looked away but didn't answer, and after one second, he figured that she didn't expect an answer anyway.

'I think she's beautiful, but did you always think she was?'

Kyouhei met her eyes, and cracked a smile. She was perceptive.

'Not at first, that's true. But I was happy about that. She didn't seem to care about beauty, it felt so refreshing. But when I saw how she fights, how she cares for her friends, how happy she is when she cooks, I thought she was the most beautiful person in the world. And when she feels confident, she's just stunning. Beauty and ugliness, who cares? My life is a hell because of my face. I love even more to see her get mad. She has so much temper…'

Kyouhei was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that Keiko had kept her eyes fixed on him. He suddenly realized what he had just said and hastily looked up. Too late. He recognized this intrigued look. She knew something was off.

'You're not from here right?'

She didn't just talk about a location, he knew that. He didn't answer.

'And you knew Sunako even before you came here?'

Once again, she didn't expect an answer. She kept petting her fox, as though none of that mattered. Kyouhei wondered about her silence.

'My daughter can coax ghosts and strange creatures that freak my hubby out, and her childhood friend is Yuki Onna. I'm used to strange stuff. You must have an agenda if you're here. But her aunt told me about your situation, with your parents, and said I could trust you. I can trust you, right?'

Her glare pierced him even though he had nothing to be afraid of. She seemed even more frightening than the head of the bear that was hung above the mantelpiece, probably the one Sunako's father had killed when she was two. He gulped.

'Don't worry about Sunako,' he managed to say, 'your daughter can fend for herself. And I had rather be her friend than her enemy.'

She seemed satisfied by his answer and returned to being a graceful and refined lady.

'I can see you like her very much. You know, you remind me of myself.'

'How so?' Kyouhei frowned.

'When I met my darling, and fell madly in love with him, everyone thought I was just after his money, because you know, I was living in the woods and didn't have any family background. As I was pretty and he was considered ugly, his family and friends were sure my feelings for him were not genuine, and they convinced him of it.'

'Wait, you lived in the woods?!'

'Yes, in a small cabin. I'm from a rich family. My parents had tried to force me to marry a CEO who was at least thrice my age. I ran away at night. As I had no money, I built myself a place where to live. I met my hubby when he saved me from a wolf.'

That's extreme, Kyouhei thought. He now understood Sunako's fearlessness.

'Anyway, the only person to give him the benefit of the doubt was my darling's cousin, Sunako's aunt, whom you know,' Keiko smiled. 'If there's one thing she believes in, it's love.'

She paused for a few moments, probably reminiscing the past, then she looked at him.

'You mustn't give up. I'm sure your sincerity will reach her eventually.'

Kyouhei nodded. He felt fidgety. He had an urge to see Sunako, even though she wouldn't open her door to him.

'Oh, I almost forgot! I bought this for Sunako, could you give it to her?'

He took the DVD she was holding out, entitled Invasion in Forster High. On the cover, a seemingly defenseless china doll was stabbing a girl, with a creepy smile on its face.

She winked at him and left the room.