Shadowed Light, Darkness Bright, Part IV
To go back to Part III, click Here
Title: Shadowed Light, Darkness Bright
Category: Fan Fiction
Series: The Wallflower (or Perfect Girl Evolution)
Pairing: Kyouhei X Sunako, sort of
Chapters: 5
Status: Ongoing
Rating: 14A for future violence
Disclaimer: The entirety of the Wallflower series, and all of its characters, most definitely do not belong to me
Summary: The four guys force a wager that makes Sunako have to face the idea that she may not have the labels of “creatures of Light” and “creatures of Dark” to use as an excuse to hide any more.
“There she is.”
“It’s not true… it can’t be!”
“But he said it himself, in front of everybody!”
“I just can’t believe it… why would Kyohei-kun want to be with her?”
It was almost the same tirade every day. Sunako could hear the whispers everyone spoke while they thought she wasn’t listening. If it wasn’t about her living with the four guys, it was about them talking to her, eating her bentos. Normally, Sunako couldn’t care less, but, she mentally added in anger, today she had to listen. Tomorrow, she would have to sink back to being on of them, and in order to be one of them, what they said now had to matter to her.
Rage boiled up in her again, at Kyohei for talking her into this, and at herself for getting hooked up into it. The offer was so tempting… but she could never pull it off. She’d go blind, she’d melt, and she’d have no choice but to become caught up in a world obsessed with looks and fake beauty once more.
The bell rang, marking the end of class, and Sunako made her decision. It would mean still having to fight all four of them in their battle to make her a lady, but at least she could spend every single day during the fight in her bliss-filled darkness.
She passed a flock of fangirls, figuring that she would find at least one of the ones she was looking for beyond their masses. Sure enough, at the other side of the mob were Yuki and Ranmaru, carrying their bentos and looking for a place to eat. She didn’t even slow as she passed them.
“I won’t do it,” she told them. “I will never become a Creature of Light, and I refuse to try.”
Yuki dropped his bento in surprise, and Ranmaru’s winning smile faltered for a moment.
“Sunako-chan, you don’t mean that!” Yuki called out after her.
“Yes I do,” Sunako said. “Tell the others.”
She then pulled her toque down and headed for where she always ate her lunch: a spare classroom in the back corner of the school. The lights were never on, and there was an outside over-hang just above the windows, so even when the sun was at its brightest the room was still dim, but there could still be a view of the courtyard below.
Sunako slipped into the room and sighed in relief as the light from outside the door faded. She wasn’t able to come the day before because the Mori High musical theatre group always practiced there, filling the room with lights and annoying music. And so, she was forced to go to the cafeteria, where this whole ridiculous and disastrous thing started. However, the room was always empty on Thursdays, and Sunako let the darkness sink into her every pore.
This is where I belong. This is where I feel safe, and happy, and can be left alone to be exactly how I want to be. I don’t need the light. I don’t need that wager. And I don’t -
The door flung open and light flooded it, and Sunako turned around and hissed.
“Hey, Sunako-chan,” Takenaga said, stepping into the room, and closing the door completely behind him. “Sorry, I’ll keep the room dark, but I want to talk to you.”
Sunako didn’t bother saying anything, just turned back to her almost-window seat and stared back out the window and the crows flying nearby.
Takenaga came to sit down beside her, but not close enough to bother her, and he made sure to not look directly at her. The four guys had learned a lot through trial and error what was needed to keep Sunako in a lucid state (with fewer bloody noses).
“Didn’t think I’d actually find you here.” He said conversationally. “We all thought up of the four darkest places in the school, and we each went to one. I lucked out. We sent Kyohei to the hidden cellar down stairs. The place is pitch black and full of cobwebs. We were sure you went there.”
Sunako sat bolt upright. “There’s a hidden school cellar?”
Takenaga grinned. The things that got her excited… “I’ll tell you about it after. First, tell my why you’re giving up on the bet?”
Sunako slumped back down again. A tiny tidbit of a new dark place and then they want to drag her back into the light. Was that all they were obsessed about?
“I can’t. I’ll melt. I’ll go blind.” I’ll become as vapid and pointless as the rest of them.
“You agreed to it yesterday…”
“And today I realized I can’t. So I’m done.”
Takenaga gave her a curious look out of the side of his eye. “If its only that that’s really bothering you, I can mention it to Yuki. He’s really clever in coming up with things to fix problems like that. We will help you as much as we can, but you have to at least try to hold up your bargain with Kyohei.”
“I won’t become like them.”
“The Creatures of Light?” Takenaga asked. “You don’t have to become like one, just -- ”
“I meant the almost creatures of light,” Sunako muttered, deliberately saying it so that it would sound like it wasn’t capitalized.
Takenaga paused and thought for a moment, trying to decipher what Sunako was trying to say. “Do you mean those who try to be a creature of light but aren’t beautiful enough?” He frowned. That wouldn’t be it. “Or do you mean those beautiful enough to be look like creatures of light, but are actually ugly on the inside?”
He bit his lip at the use of the word “ugly,” but with Sunako’s nod, he knew he had gotten it bang on.
He paused. “You don’t mean Noi-chan, do you?” He asked worriedly.
Sunako shook her head. “She’s a Creature of Light. On the inside, too. But the other ones aren’t blinding. They look like they should make me want to melt, but they have ugly insides, so they never do.”
Takenaga almost smiled. She was smart and strong and independent, but this was why they liked Sunako. The four guys at the house knew she was different from the other girls, and different in more than just her hobbies and lifestyle. The landlady was no idiot. She had always claimed she wanted the boys to fix her niece, but Takenaga wouldn’t put it past her if she had set the whole thing up so that the boys would learn a thing or two as well.
He looked out the window beside Sunako, staring at the same crows she was. “I hope you’re not saying no because you think you’ll end up like those ‘almost’ creatures of light. You never could. I know you don’t want to be a full creature of light, but you’ll never be an ‘almost’ one. You aren’t ugly enough. On the inside, or the outside.”
He hoped that made sense to her. Takenaga meant every word, but it was always Ranmaru who was so eloquent with words when complimenting the ladies.
There was a moment of silence, until Sunako finally said. “Do you know the terms of our agreement?”
Takenaga nodded, and grimaced. They had, of course, tried to eavesdrop on her and Kyohei while they were in the basement, but while they couldn’t hear what Kyohei had said to actually get Sunako to agree to the whole thing in the first place, the argument they had after to decide what the terms were had carried through the whole house.
Sunako had the live in the light from Friday morning until Saturday night, when the landlady’s party was. She was not allowed to go into her room, but each day, Hiroshi-kun, Akira-kun and Josephine would be brought out to her, and she could have fifteen minutes of alone time with them. And - everyone knew Kyohei pushed this point out of sheer nastiness - at least once a day, Sunako had to smile, a non-creepy one, at a time when she’d have at least two witnesses.
As soon as the landlady’s dinner party was done, Sunako’s half was over, and Kyohei had to spend the time from Saturday night until Tuesday at noon in the dark with Sunako. In that time, he had to watch two of Sunako’s worst slasher movies, perform at least one arcane ceremony, learn the inner workings of an anatomical model, and carry John with him everywhere.
“Don’t worry, Sunako-chan,” Takenaga said. “If I know anything about Kyohei, he’s not going to double-cross you on something like this.”
Sunako gave a sharp nod. “Make sure he keeps to his end of things, and I’ll do my end of the bargain.” She stood and left, determined to find this black cellar by the end of the day.
Takenaga didn’t bother stopping her, since he knew exactly where she was going. As soon as he heard the door click behind him, he finally let himself smile openly.
“Fine,” he said.
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To go to Part V, click Here
Title: Shadowed Light, Darkness Bright
Category: Fan Fiction
Series: The Wallflower (or Perfect Girl Evolution)
Pairing: Kyouhei X Sunako, sort of
Chapters: 5
Status: Ongoing
Rating: 14A for future violence
Disclaimer: The entirety of the Wallflower series, and all of its characters, most definitely do not belong to me
Summary: The four guys force a wager that makes Sunako have to face the idea that she may not have the labels of “creatures of Light” and “creatures of Dark” to use as an excuse to hide any more.
“There she is.”
“It’s not true… it can’t be!”
“But he said it himself, in front of everybody!”
“I just can’t believe it… why would Kyohei-kun want to be with her?”
It was almost the same tirade every day. Sunako could hear the whispers everyone spoke while they thought she wasn’t listening. If it wasn’t about her living with the four guys, it was about them talking to her, eating her bentos. Normally, Sunako couldn’t care less, but, she mentally added in anger, today she had to listen. Tomorrow, she would have to sink back to being on of them, and in order to be one of them, what they said now had to matter to her.
Rage boiled up in her again, at Kyohei for talking her into this, and at herself for getting hooked up into it. The offer was so tempting… but she could never pull it off. She’d go blind, she’d melt, and she’d have no choice but to become caught up in a world obsessed with looks and fake beauty once more.
The bell rang, marking the end of class, and Sunako made her decision. It would mean still having to fight all four of them in their battle to make her a lady, but at least she could spend every single day during the fight in her bliss-filled darkness.
She passed a flock of fangirls, figuring that she would find at least one of the ones she was looking for beyond their masses. Sure enough, at the other side of the mob were Yuki and Ranmaru, carrying their bentos and looking for a place to eat. She didn’t even slow as she passed them.
“I won’t do it,” she told them. “I will never become a Creature of Light, and I refuse to try.”
Yuki dropped his bento in surprise, and Ranmaru’s winning smile faltered for a moment.
“Sunako-chan, you don’t mean that!” Yuki called out after her.
“Yes I do,” Sunako said. “Tell the others.”
She then pulled her toque down and headed for where she always ate her lunch: a spare classroom in the back corner of the school. The lights were never on, and there was an outside over-hang just above the windows, so even when the sun was at its brightest the room was still dim, but there could still be a view of the courtyard below.
Sunako slipped into the room and sighed in relief as the light from outside the door faded. She wasn’t able to come the day before because the Mori High musical theatre group always practiced there, filling the room with lights and annoying music. And so, she was forced to go to the cafeteria, where this whole ridiculous and disastrous thing started. However, the room was always empty on Thursdays, and Sunako let the darkness sink into her every pore.
This is where I belong. This is where I feel safe, and happy, and can be left alone to be exactly how I want to be. I don’t need the light. I don’t need that wager. And I don’t -
The door flung open and light flooded it, and Sunako turned around and hissed.
“Hey, Sunako-chan,” Takenaga said, stepping into the room, and closing the door completely behind him. “Sorry, I’ll keep the room dark, but I want to talk to you.”
Sunako didn’t bother saying anything, just turned back to her almost-window seat and stared back out the window and the crows flying nearby.
Takenaga came to sit down beside her, but not close enough to bother her, and he made sure to not look directly at her. The four guys had learned a lot through trial and error what was needed to keep Sunako in a lucid state (with fewer bloody noses).
“Didn’t think I’d actually find you here.” He said conversationally. “We all thought up of the four darkest places in the school, and we each went to one. I lucked out. We sent Kyohei to the hidden cellar down stairs. The place is pitch black and full of cobwebs. We were sure you went there.”
Sunako sat bolt upright. “There’s a hidden school cellar?”
Takenaga grinned. The things that got her excited… “I’ll tell you about it after. First, tell my why you’re giving up on the bet?”
Sunako slumped back down again. A tiny tidbit of a new dark place and then they want to drag her back into the light. Was that all they were obsessed about?
“I can’t. I’ll melt. I’ll go blind.” I’ll become as vapid and pointless as the rest of them.
“You agreed to it yesterday…”
“And today I realized I can’t. So I’m done.”
Takenaga gave her a curious look out of the side of his eye. “If its only that that’s really bothering you, I can mention it to Yuki. He’s really clever in coming up with things to fix problems like that. We will help you as much as we can, but you have to at least try to hold up your bargain with Kyohei.”
“I won’t become like them.”
“The Creatures of Light?” Takenaga asked. “You don’t have to become like one, just -- ”
“I meant the almost creatures of light,” Sunako muttered, deliberately saying it so that it would sound like it wasn’t capitalized.
Takenaga paused and thought for a moment, trying to decipher what Sunako was trying to say. “Do you mean those who try to be a creature of light but aren’t beautiful enough?” He frowned. That wouldn’t be it. “Or do you mean those beautiful enough to be look like creatures of light, but are actually ugly on the inside?”
He bit his lip at the use of the word “ugly,” but with Sunako’s nod, he knew he had gotten it bang on.
He paused. “You don’t mean Noi-chan, do you?” He asked worriedly.
Sunako shook her head. “She’s a Creature of Light. On the inside, too. But the other ones aren’t blinding. They look like they should make me want to melt, but they have ugly insides, so they never do.”
Takenaga almost smiled. She was smart and strong and independent, but this was why they liked Sunako. The four guys at the house knew she was different from the other girls, and different in more than just her hobbies and lifestyle. The landlady was no idiot. She had always claimed she wanted the boys to fix her niece, but Takenaga wouldn’t put it past her if she had set the whole thing up so that the boys would learn a thing or two as well.
He looked out the window beside Sunako, staring at the same crows she was. “I hope you’re not saying no because you think you’ll end up like those ‘almost’ creatures of light. You never could. I know you don’t want to be a full creature of light, but you’ll never be an ‘almost’ one. You aren’t ugly enough. On the inside, or the outside.”
He hoped that made sense to her. Takenaga meant every word, but it was always Ranmaru who was so eloquent with words when complimenting the ladies.
There was a moment of silence, until Sunako finally said. “Do you know the terms of our agreement?”
Takenaga nodded, and grimaced. They had, of course, tried to eavesdrop on her and Kyohei while they were in the basement, but while they couldn’t hear what Kyohei had said to actually get Sunako to agree to the whole thing in the first place, the argument they had after to decide what the terms were had carried through the whole house.
Sunako had the live in the light from Friday morning until Saturday night, when the landlady’s party was. She was not allowed to go into her room, but each day, Hiroshi-kun, Akira-kun and Josephine would be brought out to her, and she could have fifteen minutes of alone time with them. And - everyone knew Kyohei pushed this point out of sheer nastiness - at least once a day, Sunako had to smile, a non-creepy one, at a time when she’d have at least two witnesses.
As soon as the landlady’s dinner party was done, Sunako’s half was over, and Kyohei had to spend the time from Saturday night until Tuesday at noon in the dark with Sunako. In that time, he had to watch two of Sunako’s worst slasher movies, perform at least one arcane ceremony, learn the inner workings of an anatomical model, and carry John with him everywhere.
“Don’t worry, Sunako-chan,” Takenaga said. “If I know anything about Kyohei, he’s not going to double-cross you on something like this.”
Sunako gave a sharp nod. “Make sure he keeps to his end of things, and I’ll do my end of the bargain.” She stood and left, determined to find this black cellar by the end of the day.
Takenaga didn’t bother stopping her, since he knew exactly where she was going. As soon as he heard the door click behind him, he finally let himself smile openly.
“Fine,” he said.
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To go to Part V, click Here