A/N: About that kissing- that happened in like... Volume 15 I think... Kyohei fell on Ranmaru, and yeah... Hehe.

Disclaimer: Own I do not. Want not for Spawn Demon.

Title: Second Chances

Chapter: 3: Nowhere. Now Here.

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Kyohei and Ranmaru struggled on the porch, their legs slightly tangled. Ranmaru was crying, trying his hardest to get away from the other.

"You idiot!" Kyohei bellowed loudly, "Why the hell are you crying?!"

The redhead choked earnestly, "I was just- so scared. I thought when we fell you might end up kissing me again!"

"You idiot!" Now Kyohei sprang from the boy and then attacked him, the person by the doorbell completely forgotten.

Sunako and Noi sighed, breaking up the two boys as their visitor stood, shocked, at the entrance.

"I'm sorry, these guy's are a bit... Eccentric," Takenaga smooth-talked his way into the guest's good side, "I'm Takenaga O-"

"Oh my God! Nakahara-san?! Nakahara-san, is that you?!" Their visitor's exclamation brought everyone's attention to the owner of such a booming voice. Yuki and Oda's eyes grew wide with the force of such a monstrous yell.

Sunako froze. Shock stopped her from reacting correctly.

Her hands clutched into Kyohei's arm, "Hi... Hikari..."

The two girls stared at each other for some time, silence passing all around.

How could she not have recognized her? How could she forget the girl who tried to embarrass her in every single class since freshman year of middle school?

Hikari had cut her hair into a pixie cut. Her long auburn locks were gone. But that face. Those wicked, colorless eyes...

This was the girl who had seen it all. She had laughed. Sunako remembered it vividly; through the blur of her tears, she saw that demon girl laughing triumphantly not far from where he stood.

She was there.

Just like that time, Sunako didn't even have to think about it. She was already running. Just a second more and she'd be safe inside her haven. Safe in her darkness.

She hadn't noticed that Kyohei was just behind the door. Instinctively, he'd followed her, but at the last second he'd known it would be better to hear what happened from that loud girl. Maybe easier to hear it from her.

But just because it was easier didn't mean he would go easy on her.

The guys moved their guest into the living room, and Noi went to comfort Sunako.

Takenaga was the medium. He was the only one who could keep up a façade strong enough to dissemble his big-brother disposition. Yuki pouted stubbornly, waiting for the girl to prove her innocence. Ranmaru ignored her completely. Kyohei glared so fiercely, she saw past that angel face of his and saw the devil within. It was completely petrifying.

"I- I'm sorry..." The girl kept her head down, shaking with trepidation, "But if you could just hear me out..."

Somehow, the sincerity in her voice softened the animosity in the room. Ranmaru decided to shift his approach into the role Takenaga left open. He took charge as the protective Big Brother, but still tried to be open to understanding. Yuki was moved completely, and was now hoping there was some sort of mix up between the two.

There was a long silence before Ranmaru sighed, "Okay," he smiled tentatively, "We'll listen to what it is you have to say. But first, tell us who you are, and how you know Sunako-chan."

"My name is Ogawa Hikari... I was in middle school with Nakahara-san, and Seiki High before she left."

"Okay..." Takenaga nodded, thinking about what he would want to ask next. They had to be calculative. They needed to ask the right questions in the right order... He looked at Ranmaru.

"Do you know why Sunako-chan ran from you?" Kyohei tensed at the redhead's words. He hoped it wasn't about that jerk-off...

"W-well, we weren't exactly close. Actually, we were enemies. It wasn't that she ever did anything back to me. I just hated her, and she knew it-"

"That doesn't explain why she'd run." Kyohei's gaze was hard and challenging.

"I- I..." The girl stuttered clumsily, trying to find the right words. The boys caught on quickly to the fact that she was holding something back.

"We know Sunako-chan! If you had come here to apologize for that, she would have stayed! If it was just bullying, she would stand her ground!" Yuki insisted defensively, sounding a lot like a small child defending his older sister.

Hikari sat silently, staring at the brunette with a trembling stare, then she looked down. It was quiet.

"I'm sorry, it's not that we're going to do anything bad to you. We're just worried about Sunako-chan. So you can relax, we're not judging you," Takenaga forced the words, but they flowed gracefully from his lips. Both he and Kyohei wanted to add that neither did they care about the skirt before them.

But Hikari already knew it. She wasn't a Demon for nothing. She felt like just sighing and acting like her normal self already. But she wouldn't. She'd hold back to gain Nakahara's sympathy, "I came because of Koichi..." Then she stood politely, "Please tell her that."

The guys were all silent. They watched the girl walk out of the room, and moments later, heard her closing the front door behind her.

Each face held a frown and upset eyes. Kyohei was boiling inside, his brain was flying in every direction and he couldn't contain. He didn't even know why it was happening. There was worry, and images of her with some strange guy, and anger, and fear. Fear was prominent. He couldn't understand why.

Everyone was too distracted by their thoughts to hold up a conversation, so when Noi reentered the common area, it was no surprise she mistook it for a wake.

Takenaga looked up as her hand took a place on his shoulder, "She wouldn't tell me anything. I don't know what to do..."

They knew right away that Noi was close to tears, and at the same time, the answer clicked in all four of their heads.

Koichi. Koichi had to be that guy. The guy.

Oh, this was bad. This was very, very bad.

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He stood outside of her door for the second time that day. Again, contemplating on whether or not he should go in.

This time greed won and he entered.

He closed the door quickly behind him, but kept his hands against the wood as he let his eyes adjust.

The TV wasn't on, and she hadn't lit a single candle. The darkness was much thicker than usual. The prodigious atmosphere chilled him with foreboding as he scanned the room. He didn't see her, but at least now he could see.

He walked to the center of the room, looked passed the dolls on one side, the shelf of her unique collection, the black curtain covering the enormous window, the TV, the armoire, her bed.

He knew the layout by heart now. But he'd never expected his friend to be hiding where she was.

The armoire was a new edition to her furniture. It was a big, gothic-style, closet-type thing that was placed against the wall left of her bed. She'd said it was for her new collection of the Nightmare Before Christmas dolls coming this Halloween. She wanted them in there because she'd said, although she loved them, they didn't exactly "fit in" with her surrounding decor. He remembered laughing when she said that. Fit in, like she'd meant for her room to intimidate people and force men like her father into heart-attacks. "Only Sunako," he'd thought kindly to himself as they watched Edward Scissorhands for the fourth time that month.

But now was not the time to be thinking about his Kodac moments. Now was the time to approach the slightly ajar armoire door and help his friend.

He heard nothing but her breathing as he approached. At least she wasn't crying. That was good.

But her breathing was heavy. It sounded like she was struggling for air.

He carefully creaked open the door, knowing fully that moving too quick would alert the dark girl's animalistic reflexes. He watched carefully, his topaz eyes swirling with concern.

Sunako was leaning into herself. Her knees were brought up to her chest. Her hands gripped her ankles fiercely, pulling them into herself. Her head was down against her thighs, her forehead pressed to her knees. Her breathing was raspy, empty like she was freezing, like that time they were trapped in the basement.

A helpless feeling washed over him, and the sight made him inert.

Without thinking, he crawled into the armoire, filling the empty space to her right. He closed the door behind him so that his face wouldn't bother her so much.

Her body was pressed against the wood where the wall would be, so that if she looked up, she would see Kyohei's marvelous profile.

But she didn't look up. Kyohei kept his eyes on her as he moved his legs into a more comfortable position. He propped his left leg up so the his knee was leve with his shoulder and bent the other so that his shin rest under the arc of his leg.

He watched her. Soon enough her hand was gripping the hem of his shirt and he gripping her waist to move her beside him. She slid easily from her previous spot and Kyohei pulled her up against his side.

He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to ask what had happened, but he didn't.

He knew now was not the time, and talking would only shorten it. Right now what he wanted most was to be with Sunako and hope that she was okay with that. His right arm positioned itself around her lower back, trying to hold as much of her as possible, trying to stop the chill that made her breathe so hard. His other hand loosened her grip on his shirt, and held it in his own, resting it on his leg.

Slowly, her breathing started to slow, her death grip softened, and her head lolled to rest upon his chest.

Kyohei thought she was finally asleep. He was glad. Even though he would come out with no new information, it was a comfort to him to know he had been there for her...

He thought to get up and move her to the bed, but when he moved, her hand tightened in his. A ghost of a smile crossing his features.

He settled back down, using his right hand to run his fingers through her hair.

He did not know that Sunako was awake. Most of her being had fallen into unconsciousness, but enough of her was awake to think. Torn in two directions of utter chaos, they had now settled firmly on one thing.

Kyohei.

There really was no one like him.

Not for her. Not ever.

Hours passed. She had never known of a man who could just hold someone. A person who would just hold her, and nothing more. For hours.

No questions asked, no promises made for after.

During the night, Kyohei's foot would push open the door, and Sunako's legs would sprawl out in the space provided. Her head would fall into his lap, and his back would drag against the mahogany walls. His mind would conjure up sweet dreams of he and his friend doing things his conscious mind knew were utterly impossible.

"This is a dream," she thought to herself. In the morning, Kyohei will go on about what an idiot she was, and she'd have to face everyone and apologize. He would not be there in the morning, not like this.

In the morning he would be nowhere.

His hand tightened around hers unconsciously.

But for the moment, he was now here.

Kyohei.

And then she slept.

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Ah! So what say you?

Did you like it? Not exactly what you were expecting, eh?

Me neither.

It didn't focus on Hikari and Sunako's past at all! I know!

But I couldn't help myself.

You can thank two events for this update.

The first is the nice update from xSTICKYxNOTEx for her new Vampire/Werewolf story, and for sending me great reviews.

And the other is just what put me in the most amazing mood of my life. Now this, this almost gave me a heart attack. On Wednesday night, I was on the phone with two friends of mine. During my little serenade of Admit It, one of my friends informs me that my favorite band will be playing in NY next month. Next month, October 30! The day before Halloween! Ohhohoho. So the next day at noon, I ordered tickets. And now, I am daydreaming about seeing Say Anything live in concert in the Hammerstein Ballroom. (Along with like- 2500 other people and HelloGoodbye and the Polysonics) Ah God! I could die, truly I could! But I won't! Not until after the concert.

I'm sorry for taking long to update, there's actually this other story that I can't wait to post! But not until this one is finished! Ahhhhh(Say Anything!)hhhhhh!!! Okay! Review and tell me what you think! And if you're a fan of SA, too, tell me so I can gloat some more!

Later Days,

NerdSavvy