Disclaimer: Wallflower...yeah...I don't own it.

Takenaga started to wake up when he realized he wasn't in school but in his room safely tucked under the blankets of his bed. His headache was completely gone. How did I get back here? he wondered as he got up to go downstairs.

"Hey, look who's up," he heard Kyohei say. Everyone turned their attention to Takenaga.

"How did I get here? I was supposed to be going to the nurse's office," he said, confused.

"Wow, you were way off," Ranmaru said.

"What do you mean?"

"Your teacher told us you weren't feeling well and he sent you to the nurse, but when we went to the nurse, she said you never came. So we came home hoping to finding you and you were collapsed out in the front," Yuki said, pretty much crying hysterically at the thought of his friend being ill.

"Are you sure you didn't put anything in the solution that could hurt you?" Kyohei asked. He was very suspicious about this whole project.

"No, I didn't."

"You could have made a mistake," Kyohei pressed.

"I didn't," Takenaga was starting to get more irritated.

"But it's possible that you-"

"I told you I didn't!" Takenaga yelled. Yuki started crying again. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to do snap like that."

"Is there a way to abort this project?" Ranmaru asked.

"No, the effects last for a week and I can't change them without seriously risking my health."

"You already did that," Kyohei muttered angrily. "You know, unless you think it's normal for you to have splitting headaches and to collapse outside of the house." Takenaga didn't respond.

All of a sudden they heard maniacal laughter coming from the living room and all shivered. Sunako was watching the news. "Um…Sunako?" Yuki asked, clearly nervous and scared. "Why are you laughing like that?"

The girl's eyes lit up as if she just received a Christmas present from Santa. "There was a murder not too far from here!" The others fell over.

"Seriously, that girl is never becoming a lady," Kyohei said.

They watched the news report; Takenaga felt uneasy. He couldn't figure out why. He didn't know the victim; he didn't see the murder. Maybe it's because I was unconscious in the front of the house. I am very lucky the murderer did not come by here.

Almost reading his thoughts, Kyohei said, "You are very lucky that murderer didn't come down this street or that could have been you. Next time you have a headache, stay home and rest." Kyohei was genuinely concerned for his best friend's health and well-being.

"I will, Kyohei," Takenaga said in defeat. "I'm sorry for worrying all of you."

A couple days later, Takenaga still hadn't had a headache. He had however snapped at Kyohei, had almost gotten into a fist fight with Ranmaru and his "kittens" for laughing too loud while he was trying to study for an exam, and Yuki who was just trying to be nice to him. Sunako was in her room most of the time, so he hadn't gotten the chance to snap at her. That couldn't last too long, right?

Ranmaru was out, avoiding Takenaga's mood swings; Kyohei had found another part-time job after getting fired from his last; and Yuki was staying after school to get some help in English (he was afraid to ask Takenaga for help right now). Sunako was cooking for Takenaga and herself since the others told her she had to or they would take Hiroshi away. She normally didn't cook for one person, but they were worried about Takenaga and wanted to make sure he was eating.

Sunako was about to finish cooking when she heard him groan. She went to go make sure he was okay (actually, she wanted to see if the murderer had attacked Takenaga), but found that he was just gripping his head again. She quickly brought out the food, but instead of a "thank you" like she normally got from him, he just said, "I'm not hungry, Sunako, but thank you anyway."

If Sunako hated anything, it was someone turning down her cooking. "But you have to eat something. It'll make you feel better," she said trying her best to sound concerned. She was more concerned with trying to make sure he didn't waste the food she cooked.

"I said that I'm not hungry."

"But you should-"

"I am NOT hungry!" he said starting to shout, but controlling himself. Well, almost controlling himself. About two seconds after he snapped, the food ended up on the floor with a broken dish. Takenaga was shocked that he just smacked the plate out of her hands like that. What upset him more was that he was about to hit her and redirected the blow to the plate. So this is what being manic depressive is like? I feel really guilty. I can't believe I almost hit Sunako-chan.

"Sunako, I…I'm really sorry. Let me help you clean up."

What made him feel worse was that Sunako looked like she died inside. She only wanted him to eat the food, but he rejected it in such a way that, for the first time since they met, she was actually scared of him. "Sunako?" he asked, reaching a hand for her shoulder to gently shake her out of it. She flinched.

"N-n-no," she stammered, "that's okay. It was my fault so I'll take care of it. You can just go to your room and take care of your headache."

Takenaga punched the wall hard enough to make his fist bleed.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" he asked himself out loud. "I know I'm supposed to be experiencing side effects and I knew I would have sporadic changes in mood, but some of the side effects aren't even side effects to bipolar disorder and these mood swings are not sporadic."

No, his shifts in mood were not like that of someone who is bipolar. They experience extreme changes in mood, not just happy to angry, but also happy to sad, depressed to excited, and usually after experiencing one mood, going back to the other mood pretty quickly. The mood swings were supposed to come somewhat out of nowhere. For example, hearing a word that sets him off from a conversation he overheard. And what he still couldn't get over was that he was about to hit Sunako, his friend. If Kyohei was there, he probably would have beaten the crap out of Takenaga. "This is so unlike me," he said lying down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling.

That's because it's not you, his inner voice was telling him. Yeah, he knew it wasn't him. It wasn't his style. Wait a second, was that his inner voice, or someone else. He shot up from the bed. "That's weird. It sounded like there was someone talking to me."

That's because there is. He froze. What the heck was going on?

I bet you're pretty shocked to be hearing another voice inside you head, the voice started to laugh darkly, causing Takenaga to cringe.

"Who…who are you?" Takenaga asked. Now he was sure he had lost it.

Oh Takenaga, don't worry. I'm your friend. I'm looking out for you. Isn't it nice to have someone looking out for you?

Now Takenaga was scared. He definitely knew this wasn't an inner voice type of situation. The voice in his head sounded dark with a murderous intent and it just addressed him by name. His heart started racing as panic began to take over.

Oh Take-kun, don't be afraid of me. Like I said, I'm your friend.

"You…still haven't answered my question. Who are you?" He sounded more determined to get an answer.

Oh, poor Takenaga, always so analytical. You seem so tired; I can feel it. You should rest.

"Not until you tell me who you are." Neither was backing down.

Don't worry; you're just tired. You're imagining me. Just sleep now.

Takenaga was feeling drowsy and he couldn't fight it any longer. He knew this voice was not his imagination, but whatever it was, it was forcing him to surrender his consciousness.