** Blossoming Love ~ Chapter One **
Doumyouji Tsukasa. The most feared person in Eitoku college and yet.. the most sought after. Heir to the Doumyouji empire, he was the richest guy in Japan. Girls flung themselves at him, hoping to be his girlfriend. However, he had no interest in these girls.. only one person remained in his heart.. Tsukushi. It had been eight years since she had left him. Sometimes he still wondered whether she remembered him. Did she think of him as often as he thought of her? He only had two letters from her, received during the first few weeks she had been away. They were his treasures, though old and worn from the constant times he had read them. If it was at all possible, his temper had gone from bad to worse after Tsukushi had left. The one person who had had control over him - apart from Tsubaki - was gone.
His parents abandoned him as usual, F4 never really cared about his temper. They never offered sympathy or consolation to him, but they couldn't really be blamed, since they knew nothing of Tsukushi. So his temper had grown, to terrorizing students of Eitoku, all living in fear of the red tag. The red tag. Once someone received the red tag from F4.. they were as good as dead. All other students turned their backs to them, tricks were played until the victim eventually left the school. No one dared help the "victim" for fear of receiving a red tag themselves.
Such was the power of F4 in the school. They were kings, owners of the school, no one dared disobey them. Bullying others gave Tsukasa some temporary contentment, the satisfaction of watching those who had annoyed him suffer. But nothing could fill the deep hole in his heart that Tsukushi had left. Had she really forgotten about him?
* Flashback *
Doumyouji Kaede turned to face her son. The violent and brooding man that was her son. Sometimes she couldn't believe that it was her son. What happened to the bubbly cheeky baby? She sighed, those stupid people she had hired to teach her son had failed terribly. But the damage was done and nothing she could do could change that. "Tsukasa.. You are already old enough." She smiled, "I have arranged an engagement for you."
Tsukasa stared at the woman he called mother. He smiled bitterly, so that was the reason she had come home. He should've known, had he really thought that she cared? No, it was all just for business. This engagement.. it was probably part of a business deal too.
"You will be married to Okawahara Shigeru." She continued before looking sternly at him. Our oil company.. we need help from the Okawahara company and they need our help for the hotels." She smiled, "I have already signed the contract with them. You need to help your family, Tsukasa!"
"No! I won't marry this baka!" he cried out defiantly. His heart belonged to Tsukushi! How could he marry another?
Then almost as if she could read his thoughts, "Tsukushi has forgotten about you Tsukasa.. let her go and start a new life with Shigeru!"
"Kushi wouldn't forget me.." he said softly.
"Well, you haven't seen her heard from her since.. what? Eight years ago? Forget her like she has forgotten you. I heard that the Makino company went bankrupt a few years ago. They are commoners now, it is not good for you to be with poor people." Kaede tried to reason.
"Bankrupt?" he echoed. So was that why Tsukushi had forgotten him? Oh.. his poor Kushi.. was she suffering in poverty?
Kaede glared at him, her patience was tiring. It was rare that she had to reason so long with people, normally others just agreed with her, no questions asked. Her troublesome son was another matter. "This is final. Do your duty for you family Tsukasa!" she declared before turning and walking away. Once again leaving him in the cold and lonely mansion..
* End flashback *
Tsukasa brooded over their conversation. Do your duty for your family Tsukasa! The sentence repeated itself in his mind. Maybe he should marry this Shigeru girl.. After all, it wasn't possible he would ever see his Kushi again.. What was the point of locking away his heart.. there was no chance of Tsukushi coming back to reclaim it. He sighed, maybe he should start a new life. But Kaede's (he refused to acknowledge the woman his mother) tone had left no room for disagreement. Her decision was final, her word was the law. How could he disobey? His eyes roamed over to his three friends: Akira, Soujiro and Rui. Akira and Soujiro were off flirting with girls as usual, it was rare that they came to school at all and the girls took their chance when they did come. Rui's eyes were closed, he was sleeping again. He sighed, school was boring. Everyone avoided him, fearing the red tag, and other than the occasional girls, no one bothered with him at all. School was boring. Life was boring. Tsubaki was away in New York, nothing to brighten up the dull routine that was his life. Tsukasa sighed and stood up, walking out of the cafeteria.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tsukushi smiled as she stepped onto the grounds of Eitoku College. She had dreamed often that she would come here to study. Her dreams had crumbled when she moved to Australia. But now she was back in Japan. Back home. They say absence makes your heart grow fonder. Well, she was truly fond of Japan.. the land of the rising sun. Home of the beautiful Sakura trees. She smiled, it was spring and the air had never smelled so sweet. Australia was okay.. but Japan was truly where she belonged.
The fond memories of childhood had never left her.. Tsukasa, her best friend. She wondered how he was. Was he still so arrogant and bad-tempered? He had promised to go to Eitoku with her when they were older. But that had been almost nine years ago, would he still remember?
Tsukushi made her way to the principal office. She was filled with awe as she looked at the designs of the school building. So grand and beautiful compared to her old high school in Australia. But she reminded herself that it was rich person's school. Of course it was beautiful. She sighed, her family was poor now. The name "Makino" had lost it's former glory, having collapsed in the business world. Now, they were just normal, middle-classed citizens. But she had grown up in a rich society, she had confidence she would be able to fit into the school.
She knocked slowly on the door of the principal's office. After a while, she heard a voice calling her from within. Slowly she opened the door and walked in.
"Kouchyou Sensei (principal), Ohayou Gozaimasu!" she greeted as she bowed.
"You are Makino Tsukushi? The scholarship student?" the principal asked.
"Yes."
"Makino san, you are in class 4B. Here is your timetable." He handed her a piece of paper. Tsukushi hid a smile. Even the paper was expensive. It was bordered with gold edges and the paper was pink with a faint rose scent on it.
He peered from his glasses and observed the girl in front of him. Not bad looking. Uniform neat. He nodded his head, he couldn't afford the school to lose it's image with scruffy looking students. "I heard you came from Australia.. You can read Japanese?"
"Yes, I grew up here in Tokyo." Tsukushi replied politely.
"Ok then.. The bell rings at 8:30am. Your locker number is 125. You are dismissed." He told her before turning back to the numerous paper files on his desk.
Tsukushi bowed once more, "Arigato." After a polite thankyou, she left the office to the labyrinth of corridors and hallways. With a determined look set on her face, she set off to explore the vast building.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tsukushi walked cautiously around, finally finding her locker in the West Wing. After placing her books safely inside, she studied her timetable. Room 11A. She sighed, it would prove a challenge to find this room. She was lucky she had come early to school.
Suddenly a bright and cheery voice filled the air. "Hello! Are you a new student?" She turned around to face a boy with a childish face smiling at her.
"Yeah.." she bowed, "My name is Makino Tsukushi." "Oh.. Makino san."
The boy smiled, "No need to be so formal! My name is Kazuya!"
Tsukushi smiled back. Finally someone in the school willing to talk to her. "You can call me Tsukushi."
"Do you need help?" Kazuya asked in his bubbly voice.
"Yeah.." she said hesitantly. This Kazuya seemed too energetic and cheerful for her.. but how could she turn down the first person who talked to her? She was friendly by nature and decided to be friends with him. After all, what was the worst that could happen?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Soon Kazuya had led her to the room 11A, she smiled thanking him politely. After reassuring him for the tenth time that she would be fine, he finally left her. Tsukushi breathed a sigh of relief. All this constant energy was tiring her.
She glanced at her watch, still 10 minutes until class started. She looked around, surveying the hallway, trying to remember what things looked like. But it was hopeless, everything was but a jumble in her mind. She turned and found a staircase in front of her. Curiosity filled her as she wondered where it might lead. Her mind was telling her it was not a good idea to go wandering around, but she dismissed the "common sense" and decided to satisfy her curiosity instead.
After walking up a few staircases, she finally reached the top. Pushing the door slowly open, she was surprised to find she was at the rooftop of Eitoku. The breeze rushed past her, refreshing her. She smiled, ecstatic at her discovery.
As she looked out at the landscape, the scene was truly breath-taking. You can see the whole of Tokyo from up here.. she thought to herself. Suddenly she realized she was not alone. A tall, dark handsome boy was sitting on the ledge, his attention focused on her. But she wasn't aware.. for she was looking at his eyes. Yes, it was the eyes that truly mesmerized her. She drowned in the depth of them, pools of deep dark mystery. Abruptly, she fell back to reality and realized that she had been staring at him. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks. "Sumimasen!" she said earnestly, "I didn't know you were here! Am I disturbing you?"
Rui surveyed the girl that had just burst through the door into his sanctuary. She had come in and looked out to the view. Yes, the view. That was the thing that had first attracted him to this place. But the girl seemed not to notice he was here at first. Then when she had finally acknowledged his presence, she had stared at him.
He was almost amused at this. No one had dared to do this before. Everyone knew he was part of F4. They all knew that the rooftop was his place, his territory. It was an unspoken rule, not to go to the rooftop and disturb Hanazawa Rui. But this girl was different. Could it be possible that she didn't know about him and F4? Maybe she was new..
Tsukushi hesitated, after receiving no answer to her questions. The guy's face was void of emotions, still staring blankly out into space. She felt uneasy and awkward, not knowing what to say. She could've laughed at herself, Makino Tsukushi, at loss for words. It had never happened before. But when she was loss, she usually blabbered on about nothing. and that's what she did. "I'm sorry for troubling you. My name is Makino Tsukushi." She bowed, "Douzoyoroshiku! (pleased to meet you)"
A faint smile appeared on Rui's face, a smile rarely seen by anyone. This girl amused him. Makino Tsukushi.. so that was her name. He had never heard of her before.. She must be new.. he concluded. "My name is Rui.. Hanazawa Rui." He replied softly. He rarely spoke to anyone, but Makino interested him.
"Hanazawa Rui.." she murmured. She smiled, it was a nice name to suit a nice person. The blush appeared again, what was she saying? She had just met the guy.. But she felt attracted to him somehow. She opened her mouth to start a conversation when the bell rang. Quickly she ran down the stairs, praying she would find room 11A again..
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tsukushi’s P.O.V:
“Tsukushi chan.. I think I should really tell you this.” Kazuya said softly, as if whispering some great terrible secret.
I looked at him, puzzled. But then again, I could never really understand Kazuya. His eyes seemed to reflect real fear, so I leaned in and listened. “What?”
It was after class, lunchtime on my first day of school. I had finally made it through with the help of another friend Makiko. Makiko was also a poor person, not someone I could really relate to, since I had grown up as a rich girl, but Makiko was nice and friendly all the same. I could not help but like her.
The memory of Hanazawa Rui.. I simply cannot wipe him from my mind? Why? His smile.. His face… Arrrgh! What is happening to me?
I switched my attention back to Kazuya, who was murmuring something incoherent that I could not understand. “umm.. Can you repeat that?” I asked, embarrassed that I had not been listening to him before.
Kazuya nodded and started again with a big grin on his face.
I cannot help but wonder.. where does he get all his energy from? How can he be so happy all the time?
“There’s this group called F4..” he started.
F4? Why is that name so familiar? I mused. But I concentrated on Kazuya’s whispers again.
“They are Flower 4. Their parents are the owners of the school..” he shuddered, “If you get in trouble with them.. you will get a red tag.” He gulped, “And then.. you’re dead.”
I almost laughed, what joke was this? But Kazuya’s face was dead serious. “You’re kidding right?” I commented lightly.
“No..” he shook his head gravely. “Their leader is Doumyouji Tsukasa.. I..”
After the part about Tsukasa I stopped listening. Tsukasa? He was here in Eitoku? I could barely resist a smile. So he was here after all. F4? His friends.. I remembered him vaguely talking about them. Of course.. those were the friends he was going to introduce me to.. when we got into Junior High.. Before I left Japan.. The memories were almost too painful to remember. I sighed, leaving a still mumbling Kazuya behind. Absentmindedly I made my way towards the cafeteria, my stomach growling.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I stared, shocked at the expensive prices of the food at the canteen. Fortunately.. I had my own bento. I opened it to find teriyaki chicken with rice and also some sushi. I smiled, my favourite, my mother really knew me well.. I joined Makiko at the table and we started to chat and eat. Life at Eitoku wasn’t too bad.. except for the occasional sniffs and sneers from the snobby people. It was okay. After a while Makiko finished her lunch and excused herself to go to her locker. I smiled, preparing myself to join her when I saw a tall guy starting to yell at a girl who was lying on the floor, her shirt covered with juice and sauce stains. And the guy only had one little juice stain on his sleeve.. I thought ironically.
Anger coursed through me as I watched him continue shouting at her but no one did anything. They simply minded their own business and didn’t care about the poor girl. I stormed up to him and gave him a hard punch on the face. I heard gasps all around me but I didn’t care. My attention was focused on the baka who was harassing people for no reason. “YOU STUPID IDIOT! WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT PEOPLE LIKE THAT?!” I shouted angrily. I turned to the girl who was crying on the floor. I smiled and stretched out my hand to her. “Are you okay?” I asked kindly.
“Yeah..” the girl sobbed, taking my hand.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tsukasa’s P.O.V:
I glared at the petite girl who had dared defy me.. and shout at me too! A blind rage filled me. How dare this stupid person show disrespect for the great Doumyouji Tsukasa?! I raised my hand to hit her, but my sister’s teachings rang in my head.
You should never ever hit a girl! I gritted my teeth and lowered my hand reluctantly. Damn Tsubaki! Manners that had been drilled into me ever since I was young.. Somehow I couldn’t bring myself to disobey Tsubaki.. It would probably mean a beating from her anyway. Blinded by my fury, I could not see clearly. Not clearly enough.. to know that it was actually Tsukushi in front of me.
“You baka! You will pay for this!” I spat venomously.
Suddenly I heard Rui’s gentle voice speak up. I was shocked, when he started to converse with the girl. I received a further shock when a smile appeared on his face. I resisted the urge to rub my eyes to see if it was a dream. No.. it was really a smile on Rui’s normally cold and expressionless face. Suddenly, surprise turned to anger. How dare he talk to a person who had just humiliated me? I would deal with him later. Right now, I motioned to Akira and Soujiro to follow me. We then slowly exited the cafeteria.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rui’s P.O.V:
I was greatly amused when I watched the girl, who was half Tsukasa’s size, march up to him and shout at him. Then recognition hit me as I realized it was the girl from this morning.. So I was right. She was interesting. I was sure by now that she was a new student. No way someone would march up to Tsukasa and start shouting at him, if they had known who he was. The red tag.. Makino was sure to get it this time. But she seemed so brave and fearless. Defiance shone in her eyes as she shouted at Tsukasa. But it switched quickly to one of kindness and sympathy when she turned to the girl who had been the object of Tsukasa’s rage. And her smile.. it gave me warmth.. something only Shizuka’s smile had been able to do. It was filled with understanding.
What am I thinking? The one I love is Shizuka.. and Shizuka only. So why am I thinking about this Makino Tsukushi?
Suddenly I saw her attention turn to me. Shock reflected her eyes as she saw me. It was surprising how much her emotions showed in her eyes.. or maybe it was just me. After all, I have spent years observing and comprehending people. Till only one person remained a great mystery to me.. Shizuka.
Makino smiled at me as she blushed again. “Hanazawa san..”
I looked at her kindly and also in respect.. the only one who had ever stood up to Tsukasa. I couldn’t help but think the blush made her very pretty. Her face was not caked in make up like all the other girls I have seen.. but rather, it was natural. She was not breathtakingly beautiful or striking like Shizuka. But she almost radiated with a kind of inner beauty. I nodded in acknowledgement, “Makino san..”
She grinned, “Call me Tsukushi.”
I couldn’t resist the urge to smile back at her. The situation was almost humorous. “Call me Rui then.” I surprised myself with the last sentence. I normally would never let a stranger call me by my first name apart from F4 and Shizuka. And I had even smiled at her.. the smile I usually saved for Shizuka. Tsukushi made me act in ways that even surprised myself.. Slowly I hid myself once more behind my mask, my face once again expressionless. I then turned to follow F3, who had long since gone..
(Yeah I know, very clichéd.. don't kill me yet for making Tsukushi go to rooftop instead of the emergency staircase.. =P Just click that little link below to read on..)
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