Disclaimer: I don’t own “The Wallflower” or any of its alternate titles. I wish I did, but I can’t even draw stick figures let alone draw beautiful characters to go along with a great story.

Author’s Note: This story does contain a little slash (and no it isn’t amongst the boys, don’t worry). You don’t like, please utilize your back button.

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Nakahara Sunako woke to the sound of screaming. Normally such a greeting first thing in the morning would have sent her into waves of ecstasy. Ordinarily she would have leaped from the bed and to the window to see if someone was dying on the front lawn. Ordinarily she would have been hard pressed to ignore the anguished wails and would have been torn between a desire to watch the wailer to see if they were going to die or to help…she was never exactly sure what she would end up doing when crunch time came…but this was no ordinary day and those were no ordinary screams. With a frustrated sigh, she rolled out of bed and shrugged on her black terrycloth robe before heading downstairs. Might as well start breakfast…the screaming was staring earlier than normal.

The world outside was blinding and Sunako lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the bright white, fumbling with her free hand for the curtain. The instant her hand brushed the glass, an excited, hopeful and tear stained face filled the glass. Sunako stared at the face, startled, and the face stared back…for all of five seconds. “GHOST!” The girl framed in the window’s shriek made Sunako smile ever so slightly as she found the shades and drew them against the light. One psycho girl down…and only about fifty more to go. Life would have been far easier if they were ALL afraid of her. Unfortunately after the initial shock wore off, they were more content to either ignore her or glare at her. This far more undesirable reaction was the reason Sunako was now entertaining nightly fantasies of running out into the yard with a chainsaw and scaring the HELL out of all of them. Pity that would probably get her arrested...that and she didn’t know if they HAD a chainsaw.

She was unprepared for the sight that awaited her in the kitchen, as blinding as the two inches of snow outside. She froze as she got a good look at the three teenage boys slumped all over the counter, each in various stages of undress. They stared at her, she stared at them and felt her eyes begin to water. It was like looking into the sun! Her eyesight mercifully went dim as blood spurted from her nose. “Damn it all!” A hand found her back and gave her a hard shove, sending her crashing into the sink. “Sunako-chan, you act like you haven’t seen us before!”

“You’re all nearly naked!” Sunako wailed in reply, pulling a paper towel down to mop at her nose.

She was greeted by stony silence and then a derisive snort from the person just at her back. “Only you.” Morii Ranmaru sounded both amused and disgusted. “Only you would complain about seeing us nearly naked.”

Sunako rolled her eyes. “Just put on some damn clothes!” She snapped in reply, and he chuckled as he moved away from her.

“Very well my dear. I should have known better than to violate your kitchen half naked.”

Sunako wanted to stab him and alternately laugh. It was hard to hate Ranmaru…she should know…she had tried. It was easy enough want to stab him, but hard to gain the conviction and temper to actually do it. It was a pity though…he would make a lovely corpse. A sensible mortician would display him on white satin, it would make his hair flame. She didn’t even realize she was staring until he shuddered. “I hate it when you stare at me like that…and look. You made Yuki cry.”

Startled, Sunako glanced around and saw that indeed, Touyama Yukinojou was nearly in tears, hiding his face from her. As with Ranmaru, her initial reaction to this was mixed. She both wanted to laugh at her success in managing to scare him again and to kick the crap out of the person who made him cry. It was difficult not to want to protect Yuki…she should know…she had tried.

“Believe it or not we didn’t come in here to upset you, Sunako-chan.” Oda Takenaga’s voice was calm as was usual, and he rubbed his eyes tiredly. “This is the quietest room in the house. They don’t try to look in HERE.”

“That’s because they’re terrified Sunako-chan will put a curse on them.” Ranmaru sounded gleeful at the thought, something that surprised her somewhat. Usually he enjoyed feminine attention…even HE must have been getting annoyed by the crowd that refused to leave their front yard. As a matter of fact…Sunako sighed dreamily. A curse…it wasn’t a bad idea. The proposal had merit. Maybe she would curse them…maybe…

“Sunako-chan?” Yuki sounded nervous. “You have that scary look on your face again.”

The door to the mansion flew open and someone entered, using language that could melt ears. “Kyohei…language.” Takenaga looked resigned as blond, impossibly beautiful Takano Kyohei entered the kitchen, entirely pissed off, and mercifully, fully clothed. Sunako felt a drop of blood slip down her nasal cartilage and rubbed the paper towel over her face again.

“Get STUFFED, Takenaga.” Kyohei advised, slouching against the counter. “They’re crazy.”

“True.” Ranmaru looked highly amused. “But what can you expect?”

Kyohei shot him the finger. “I expect not to get mobbed the minute I step outside the damn door.” He groused.

Ranmaru laughed. “Again…what did you EXPECT?!” He demanded. “And couldn’t you have waited to leave the house until we were all awake? The screaming and crying and wailing disturbed me from a rather nice dream where…”

“Enough.” Takenaga cut him off expertly, already knowing that whatever Ranmaru had been dreaming about, it was probably not meant for Yuki’s ears. It was not so much that Yuki was so innocent that he would not have a clue what Ranmaru had been dreaming…and judging by his slow flush, Yuki DID in fact know…it was more that like Sunako herself, Takenaga had a soft spot for Yuki and tried to protect him from unpleasantness.

“What DID you go out there for anyway?” Yuki asked, covering the silence as Ranmaru looked wickedly at Sunako who ignored him.

Kyohei’s dark expression grew darker. “I went to get groceries. We’re not going to survive off of the stuff we have left in the house if we don’t shop soon.”

Sunako sighed and asked the question nobody else was brave enough to venture. “So…what happened to the groceries?”

Kyohei threw her a glare that could pierce flesh. “What do you THINK happened? The same thing that ALWAYS happens! I was mobbed and the groceries were stomped.”

A gloomy silence fell over the kitchen. Sunako sighed. “I’ll go out myself after I get dressed. They won’t mob me.” She said quietly. This was true. They might run from her…at least she would get home with some food.

Kyohei looked more upset by her offer. “This is STUPID!” He cried in irritation. “I should be able to go OUTSIDE in our own YARD without getting attacked by psychotic girls all pressing presents in my face.”

Yuki sighed. “Maybe…” He said quietly. “…you should just accept them. It might make this easier.”

The other teens had decided to take this course of action, and the pile of wrapped gifts was growing in one of the spare bedrooms. Kyohei looked mutinous. “If all they wanted was to give me their damn gifts I’d take them and burn them.” All that burned chocolate. Sunako mourned the loss already. “But that’s not all they want and you damn well know it.”

The gloomy silence filled the house again, broken only by the sound of a knife hitting a cutting board as Sunako busied herself with the preparation of breakfast. She stared morosely into the fridge. It was pathetic but true…they were running out of food and the siege was just going to continue. None of them had stepped foot outside of the house in a little over a week. “At this rate we’re going to have to stay in for Christmas.” Takenaga mused.

Sunako’s knife slipped as she jumped. Stay home? For Christmas? They were going to STAY?! She wanted to cry, wanted to rage, wanted to swear and slice them to ribbons. Her solitary, quiet Christmas was going to be ruined…AGAIN…by these creatures of the light!

“I’m sorry, Sunako-chan.” Takenaga at least LOOKED apologetic, correctly interpreting the expression on her face from his angle. “But you’ve seen it out there. They ATTACKED Noi when she came to see me last week, god only knows what they’ll do next.”

“Especially if Kyohei keeps rejecting them.” Ranmaru agreed, throwing Kyohei a wicked glance.

“They’re scary.” Yuki agreed. “They’re really taking it too far this year.” They all sighed. “Maybe we should get away.”

“To WHERE?!” Kyohei demanded, instantly looking apologetic when Yuki’s face filled with hurt from the harsh tone. “It’s not like we have money, Yuki…hell we can barely afford to keep rent on this place sometimes.” He threw Sunako a meaningful glance which she ignored.

The gloomy silence grew oppressive. “It’s getting worse you know.” Takenaga looked tired. “The older we get.”

It was true. The girls in their school grew more desperate as they began their last year. Their admirers had gotten nearly psychotic at the idea that after high school was over they would never see their “princes” again. It had led some to desperate measures, including but not limited to, suicide attempts. These attempts did not have their desired effect however as they earned Yuki getting distressed enough to stay home for a week with migraines, earned Takenaga refusing to say more than two words to any female other than his girlfriend, earned derisive disgust from Kyohei and driving Ranmaru to temporarily tell the whole school he was gay (this did not have the desired effect as he was forced to contend with a different group of admirers as well as slash fangirls but was highly amusing for the rest of their household).

“Yuka’s father won’t even let her come over anymore.” Ranmaru stared down at his bare feet moodily. “Not after they tried to attack when she showed up a few weeks ago.”

“GET THE HELL OFF OF MY YARD!” Five heads shot up as they heard a woman’s shout followed shortly by the sound of many feet tromping through the snow as they scattered, most calling the names of their obsessions in tear filled voices behind them. The door to the front hall flew open and a slim figure stood framed in the doorway, looking utterly furious. “What the hell is all that?!”

“Just fangirls, Auntie.” Sunako pulled her robe tighter around her body as she walked out of the kitchen to greet her aunt.

The landlady looked at her niece with raised eyebrows. “How long have they BEEN there?! What do they want?!”

Sunako shrugged. “A few weeks. They come and go when they get cold.” She motioned behind her. “They want to give THEM presents.”

The landlady stared at them. “Why don’t you ACCEPT them?”

“Because they want more than just our acceptance of their stupid gifts.” Kyohei joined them. “They’re getting out of control. We haven’t been able to LEAVE in days. They ATTACK girls who show up here, including Takenaga’s girlfriend and Ranmaru’s fiancée.”

“They haven’t attacked SUNAKO, have they?” The landlady looked alarmed and had a dangerous glint in her eyes, one that didn’t bode well for the four teens if Sunako had indeed gotten hurt because of them.

Kyohei snorted. “No.” He returned calmly. “They’re all afraid of Sunako-chan.”

The landlady’s eyes narrowed. “Why would they be afraid of Sunako?”

Ranmaru and Yuki entered, both throwing Kyohei looks of warning. In the last year they had gotten the landlady to back off ever so slightly about turning Sunako into a lady…it was simply easier however not to remind her of her niece’s peculiarities. “Because Sunako threatened to kick the crap out of anyone who dared enter the house.” Ranmaru admitted.

“It’s the only thing that keeps them OUT at this point.” Yuki murmured, and the landlady’s face softened slightly. Everyone knew she had a soft spot for Yuki. “Otherwise they would have broken in and done something desperate.”

The landlady listened silently for a moment before nodding. “Then it’s a good thing I came with FABULOUS news for you!” She said excitedly. “You need to get away for a few weeks and I have just the place!”

Sunako’s eyes had narrowed. After three years of schemes to turn her into a lady, she was understandably wary of ANYTHING her aunt had planned for them. “What KIND of place?”

The landlady clapped her hands together. “Ayame is hosting a Christmas celebration in Hokkaido.” She replied happily. “He wants to see you!”

Sunako froze. “Aya-sensai is hosting a party?”

Her aunt smiled at her. “Yes! You and your housemates are invited, he has more than enough room for everyone. This is the perfect time to introduce the family to the new Sunako!”

Sunako stared at her aunt with pity and sadness. Her initial reaction was, of course, no freaking way. Not that she minded her uncle, it had been years since she had seen him…more that it was the person who lived WITH her uncle, who wouldn’t buy her “transformation” even a little. She had only just gotten her aunt to back off a bit, the last thing she needed was for John to make it difficult for her again.

Even so…it WOULD get them away from the house. As her aunt cheerfully described the mansion her uncle lived in, she could see her housemates perking up, their gloom disappearing as they contemplated a Christmas AWAY from their current fanclub induced psychosis. She COULDN’T throw a wrench into their plans. She would just have to beat the hell out of John if he decided to screw this up for them. “All right, Auntie.”

The landlady threw her arms around Sunako in a choking hug. “Great! Get packed, I’ll have a car here for you in two hours. Your flight leaves at 2:00, so don’t be late!” She thrust tickets into Sunako’s hand.

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Kyohei had to admit that while always loud, crowded and riddled with the occasional bursts of violence from unwanted feminine attention, traveling was, at least, never boring. The airport was packed for the holiday season, hundreds of excited voices filling the air. The mood around the four teens had lifted with each step they took away from the house and their troubles, none even caring about the admiring glances they got from married and unmarried females alike as they made their way to their gate.

The best part of the whole thing, in Kyohei’s opinion, was that none of the females approached them. Sunako walked between them, her head bowed, the stocking cap she had permanently “borrowed’ from Yuki low on her head. She was dressed entirely in black, her hands clasped at her sides, bound there as, when confronted by a multitude of happy elves dancing just outside of the airport, Sunako had tried to run. Now she was being led forward, her hands tied down, Kyohei holding the rope in one hand. They made such an odd sight and Sunako was giving off such waves of darkness that everyone left them alone. It was heaven.

“Did you have to tie her up like that?” Yuki asked, handing their tickets to the girl at the counter, who stared with wide eyes first at them, and then at the captive Sunako. “People are staring.”

“If I didn’t tie her up, she’d run away.” Kyohei replied patiently.

“As much as I wish it wouldn’t come to this,” Takenaga agreed quietly, leading their group down the gate. “bad things happen to Sunako if we leave her alone on her own for long periods of time. She HAS to come with us.”

Kyohei rolled his eyes. Bad things happened to Sunako when left alone? That was an understatement of massive proportions. How Sunako managed to get herself into situations with psycho kidnappers, potential rapists, crazed killers and homicidal ghosts intent on possessing her, Kyohei still had no idea. Sunako tried so hard not to be noticed that the entire world took notice of her. It would have been funny if he didn’t think she’d kick his ass for so much as a chuckle.

Not unexpectedly, she balked the moment they got to the seats and realized that with her ticket she was sitting directly in the middle of the row with two of them on each side. Kyohei sighed, not in the mood to argue with her. “Sit down.”

Sunako glared at him through her cap. “No. One of you switch me.”

“So that you can scare little children sitting across from the ends of our row? No.” Kyohei pulled her through the row, following Yuki who sank down at the end. Sunako whimpered when Ranmaru sat down beside her.

Kyohei rolled his eyes. “You won’t melt.” He saw her look up in surprise and snorted. “As if I don’t know what’s going through your head at this point.” He said sarcastically. “We’ve lived together for just over four years. I know EXACTLY what you’re thinking, and you won’t melt.”

Sunako sank down into her seat when he pulled on the rope binding her. Both she and Kyohei knew that she could bust through those ropes in an instant if it suited her, and Kyohei wasn’t entirely sure why she never bothered to do so. Despite her grumbling, her nosebleeds and her occasional psychotic episode, she seemed content to let him drag her around like a lost puppy. Women…Kyohei didn’t pretend to understand them…especially not a woman as complex as Nakahara Sunako.

The nice thing about putting Ranmaru and Takenaga on the end was that Takenaga was more apt to ignore the feminine stares his way. He simply opened a book, elbowing Ranmaru the one and only time the tall redhead tried to lean over him to wink at the girls sitting just across from them near the window. Having earned himself a bruised ribcage, Ranmaru contented himself with catching up on the sleep he had missed due to crazed fangirls, his head falling onto Sunako’s shoulder.

Annoyed, breaking out into a sweat, Sunako pushed his head away. It rolled back. She pushed it away again. Ranmaru muttered something under his breath that sounded disturbingly like a moan before nuzzling Sunako’s neck in a way that made her turn red beneath her hat. She went stock still as his arms slipped around her and blood gushed out of her nose.

Takenaga glanced over from his book as Sunako slumped in Ranmaru’s hold, blood running down her chin. Rolling his eyes, he went back to his book. Kyohei snorted, and blinked when Yuki elbowed him. Yuki wore his best stubborn expression, the one that told Kyohei instantly that if he didn’t comply to the boy’s wishes, he would regret it. Yuki never attacked, nor did he ever say anything hurtful…but he had that way of LOOKING at you that made you feel like an ass of major proportions for weeks. He stifled a groan. “What?”

Yuki shoved a tissue into his hand. “Get the blood off of her face.”

Kyohei stared at him. Yuki’s jaw hardened ever so slightly and he shot Kyohei a look that was one part glare, two parts pout. Resisting the urge to laugh, Kyohei obediently turned to Sunako and wiped at the blood on her face.

He was forced to lift the hat covering her eyes and half expected her to wake from unconsciousness and kick his ass for waking her up in such a manner. She did no such thing though light flooded over her closed eyes. Gently Kyohei mopped up her nose.

His fingers grazed her lips lightly as he brushed blood off of her face and he felt himself flushing. Her lips were chapped, yet seemed velvety soft as his knuckles brushed them. The skin of her cheek was badly in need of moisturizer, to say nothing of sunlight, but had an appealing, creamy color. Her dark lashes rested heavily on her cheeks, giving her an innocent expression. She was beautiful.

That, in essence, was what Kyohei really hated about Nakahara Sunako. He hated it when she called herself ugly. He hated it when she looked at him like he was some sort of god and couldn’t even look into a mirror without flinching. He hated that she honestly believed she WAS ugly and REALLY hated it that some jerk had told her that and set her down this path in the first place. Kyohei had known it from the moment she had kicked the crap out of a few people at school when they had gone on a rampage due to her bangs. She was strong, brave and utterly gorgeous. He could never understand why she couldn’t see it…though admittedly she WAS scary when she wasn’t pissed off enough to kill someone…and usually she was scary even then. His gaze followed the lines of her sleeping face.

“Kyohei!” He jumped as Yuki called his name and glanced over.

“What?”

Yuki handed him a clean tissue. “You okay?”

Kyohei felt the flush in his cheeks flame brighter. He cursed under his breath. “Fine.” He muttered. “I can’t believe she passed out like that.”

Yuki smiled ever so slightly. “She’s going to be mad when she wakes up. You’ll stop her from killing Ranmaru right?”

Stop Sunako from killing Ranmaru? Why would he do that? It sounded amusing. He saw Yuki’s eyebrows raise slightly and rolled his eyes. Watch Sunako beat Ranmaru within an inch of his life and deal with Yuki not speaking to him for not doing anything to stop her, or stop her and live in general harmony with the rest of his housemates? He sighed. Sometimes it was difficult to deal with the people he lived with. “Yeah, I’ll yank on her rope if she tries to kill him.” He verified, taking the clean tissue and getting the rest of the blood off of her chin. Nothing they could do about the fabric of the seat in front of them. Oh well. He let the hat fall back over her eyes.