Title: Appreciating Things of Beauty [Chapter Fourteen
Author: Endless-Kaoru
Pairing: None yet.
Rating: Overall: R. This Chapter: R?

Warnings: Fighting… otherwise, a-ok.
Disclaimer: I don't own Wallflower characters. None. Not even a single one.
Summary: Takenaga gets answers out of Aya…

Chapter Fourteen: Confession

"…Gotta hot date?"

"Huh?" Aya glanced into the front room, pausing in brushing out her hair. Ranmaru stared at her.

"You look like you're going somewhere." He pointed out.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "…And that means I'm going on a date, how?"

He only shrugged and turned back to whatever he was doing.

"…I'm going to a movie with Sunako-chan." She decided to tell him, in case he was looking for the other girl later on.

When Sunako appeared, Aya bid Ranmaru good-bye and the pair left.

When the two girls returned, they wandered into the kitchen to drop off the take-out meals they'd picked up for the boys. Takenaga looked up from the dining room table as they passed.

"Oh, you brought food? Sorry, we already ate." He looked almost guilty, finishing off the last of his cup noodles. The other three had apparently already finished.

"Here, Sunako-chan. I'll just put these in the fridge for tomorrow then. You go eat." Aya took the food from the other girl, leaving their meals on the counter. Sunako nodded and retreated to her room.

"Hey, Aya, can I ask you something?" Takenaga entered the kitchen area, voice low as if he didn't want anyone to hear. He looked concerned, so Aya put off starting her meal in favor of listening.

"Yes, what is it? Is something wrong?" she leaned against the counter.

"When you and Yuki were on that date… what exactly happened?" when she opened her mouth to retort that nothing had happened, he interrupted, "Yuki's been acting weird since then. Machiko-chan called him today, and he didn't want to talk to her."

She quieted, shifting on her feet and hesitating to answer, "It… uh… It wasn't much. We just kinda… we kissed. But I think… I think it was an accident." Her cheeks flushed.

Takenaga didn't look surprised for some reason, "…You really do like him, don't you?"

"I-I…" her eyes widened, "I don't! I… Yuki has Machiko-chan. He's not some kind of playboy like Ranmaru is. He's so in love with Machiko-chan…"

"I asked about you, not Yuki." Takenaga shook his head, "What do you feel for him?"

She lowered her head, "At first… he reminded me of Ryo. He was always so friendly, and caring, and lively… it was like my little brother had just magically come to life again. And I wanted to protect him and be a good older sister, like I couldn't be to Ryo." She paused, "And then… sometime before he was arrested, I realized Yuki wasn't my brother, and couldn't replace Ryo. He was more like… my best friend or something. Now… Now I don't know." She hugged herself, "Now it's more… it hurts. It hurts to see him with Machiko-chan, or to see him upset. Like… at the movie that Ranmaru sent us to. It was a horror movie. I love that type of thing, but at the time, I hated it, because it was scaring Yuki. Takenaga… I don't like this." She sighed a bit shakily, dropping her head against his shoulder. Her fingers clenched on his shirt.

He smiled kindly, wrapping his arms around her. Instead of replying, he just held her, feeling her shoulders shake a little with restrained tears.

Kyohei looked thoughtful, his goal of retrieving his dinner long since abandoned as he walked away from the kitchen's entryway.

Aya turned to look blearily at the clock in the school library, then back down at her book, "Oh… maybe I should get home…" She stood and looked around for the librarian, checked out her book, and headed for her locker.

Popping her hat on her head and tucking her ponytail up under it – long hair could get so hot in the summer – she wondered aloud if maybe one of the guys had hung around after school. She checked their lockers – even Sunako's, just to be thorough – and discovered everyone had already left. Well, that was upsetting. She'd have to go home alone.

Humming to some tune stuck in her head, Aya headed home. She was nearly there when she heard a startled yelp and what sounded like a scuffle. Stopping short, the girl turned to stare across the street. A couple of boys had someone cornered, and were shouting; something about some girl.

The girl weighed her options. She could intervene; maybe help out the kid they were picking on. It wasn't right, after all. Or she could leave them to it; as far as she could tell, it wasn't a fist fight, and they didn't seem to be inflicting any sort of major psychological damage. She looked again, and her eyes narrowed. Was that Yuki?

"You're always dumping her and then going back! What kind of man does that?! Huh?!" one of the boys yelled.

"Yeah! And I saw you out with another girl the other day!" the other shouted.

"You don't deserve a girl like Machiko-chan!" the first boy raised his fist, "I don't know what she sees in a pretty boy like you, anyway!"

The fist came down, and there was a cry of pain, "Please, stop!"

Aya moved before she could think about it. Another punch was thrown, and she placed herself in its path, staring coldly at the dark-haired boy. She barely flinched as it connected with her jaw.

"You, what do you think you're doing?! Protecting this weakling?!"

"You won't touch him." She commanded coldly, pressing Yuki backward with her body. She heard him say her name, and looked back at him. His eye was bruised already, and there was a red mark on his jaw – had they already hurt him?

The two boys laughed, "Then we'll just take care of you first! Don't try to be the hero, we're tough!"

Another punch was thrown when her head was turned, and the force of it knocked her hat off. She turned back to them, blocking the next hit with an arm and kicking out. She didn't have much space… her next kick threw the shorter of the boys away from her, and she grabbed the remaining one's fist in her hand, twisting the arm around painfully and throwing him down on the concrete.

The first boy came rushing at her; she went to dodge, but thought better of it. Yuki was still behind her. She took the body slam full force, smirked directly into his face, and sharply kneed him in the crotch. Before he could jerk away, she brought her heel down on his toes and grabbed him around the neck.

The boy still on the ground grabbed her ankle and yanked her down to the cement. With a yelp, she dragged down her prisoner, managing to slam his face into the ground.

She found herself on her stomach, and before she could regain her footing, the one that had dragged her down had pinned her and was punching her head, grounding her face into the concrete.

"A-Aya…! Stop it!" Yuki cried, but was ignored.

Aya's fingers slipped into her pocket – the idiot had left her hand free – and she withdrew a pen. Her fingers deftly twirled the writing utensil around, aimed the sharp point, and she randomly stabbed. The boy let out a scream and released her.

Aya scrambled to her feet and stumbled toward Yuki. Her hand caught his and she jerked him forward, "Let's go!"

"Aya, you're hurt!" he cried, trying to keep up. She was strangely fast for having just had her head slammed into the pavement.

"Shut up, I don't care!" she snapped, turning sharply down an alleyway, then another, and another, until she'd decided they'd gone far enough.

The girl collapsed against a wall, holding her head, "Ow… that hurts…"

Yuki knelt beside her, trying to look at her face, "How are you still conscious?"

"Will power." She smirked painfully; the action reopened the tear on her lip, and fresh blood dripped down her chin. She reached for her pocket and withdrew her cell phone, but couldn't see it clearly. With a sigh, she leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes, "…Here. Call home, would you?"

"Uh…yeah…" he shakily punched in the numbers, looking almost sorrowfully at the abused electronic. The screen was cracked, and the casing was ruined. He had to use his pen to press the call button, because the plastic covering was gone.

Someone at the house picked up, and Yuki began to wail. Aya's eyes snapped open, and she painfully moved to hold him. She ended up collapsing against him with a pained groan.

"Yuki?! Yuki, what's wrong, where are you?!" Came Takenaga's frantic voice over the phone. Yuki managed to choke out their location.

By the time the four boys – and Sunako, for good measure – had shown up, Aya had passed out and Yuki was still on the ground, clinging to her.

"Yuki?! Aya?!" Takenaga and Ranmaru rushed to them, while Kyohei and Sunako looked around for possible threats.

Ranmaru eased Aya out of the smaller boy's arms, turning her to see her face. He frowned sagely, tearing off part of her sleeve to wipe at her face. Yuki was relating the tale to Takenaga as he helped the blonde to stand and get into the taxi. Aya was laid out across the four boy's laps, with Yuki holding her head.