** Blossoming Love ~ Chapter Three **

Tsukushi’s P.O.V:

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, “Who are you?” I watched as a look of shock and disbelief formed itself on it’s face, but his eyes.. They showed a sort of deep pain and longing. How I wished I could run to him and hold him in my arms. He was my best friend after all.. I could never really stand to see him suffering. But I hardened my heart. You have to be strong Tsukushi! I told myself harshly. All this was just an act. Did he really think I had forgotten him? I almost laughed at the ridiculous idea. The pain of parting still remained fresh in my mind. He had always been in my heart ever since I left Japan. I always had so much fun with him, his comical behaviours.. he was my best friend. Was I really hurting him too much by pretending I didn’t know him? But no.. he was an arrogant idiot.. picking on poor innocent students. Giving red tags.. it was too much. He deserved all of this, I told myself firmly.

 Finally I heard a reaction from him, “You stupid woman!” he shouted harshly, his eyes showed pure rage and anger. “I will make sure you never have a good day at Eitoku again! How dare you do this to me!”

 Whatever I had been expecting was not this.. but what had I been expecting? For him to grovel and beg for my forgiveness? I smiled to myself at the prospect, that would be really out of character for Tsukasa. He never was the one who begged.. rather the opposite. He was the one in charge.. the one who gave demands.. never the one who listened to others.. except for maybe his sister, Tsubaki. Ahh.. Tsubaki, I had almost forgotten about her. She was like a second sister to me…

 “You baka! Have been listening to what I’ve been saying?!” I heard Tsukasa shout angrily. That brought me with a thud back to reality. But seeing the way he was acting made my own anger flare up. I prided myself in keeping my temper.. but Tsukasa was another story. He always managed to make me angry. And now.. he was doing exactly that. “You idiot Doumyouji! What gives you the right to shout at me like this?”

 Suddenly I saw his mood change after my words. The anger flew from his face and again it was replaced by that look of pain and longing. So like a lost little boy.. My anger softened and I had to resist the strong urge to pull him into my arms and tell him that I had not forgotten him.. that he had always been in my thoughts.. But no, that would ruin everything! So I kept a straight face and glared defiantly at him.

 “Tsukushi..” he murmured softly.

 Argh! That look was killing me.. he always put on that expression to get me to do what he wanted. He knew that arguing and shouting would not move me.. but that look.. I grumbled, trying hard not to give in. He deserved to be punished.. Maybe I would tell him later.. “That name is not for you to call!” I cried loudly – hoping I didn’t reveal my true emotions. “Only my good friends call me Tsukushi!” I said angrily, “Even Makino is too good for you, Doumyouji! And I promise, you will NEVER make me leave Eitoku!” I shouted before turning and making my exit. I had taken extra care to call him Doumyouji instead of Tsukasa.. would he notice my formal way of greeting him? Oh well.. let him suffer for a few days then I would tell him the truth. I grinned wickedly at the thought… Yes.. a few days, and then I would reconcile with my long lost friend..  

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Tsukasa slowly trudged towards his car. How could Tsukushi say that? Only her “good friends” could call her ‘Tsukushi’. Then what was he? Did she even see him as a friend? Whereas he had dreamed about her everyday for the past 8 years.. she hadn’t even given a thought about him. The idea angered and saddened him at the same time. Did their friendship mean nothing to her? He had treasured it all his life.. but her.. what did she think?

 He had never really understood her that well, her emotions were confusing. Actually.. he regarded all females as “confusing” and “weird”. What they were thinking.. why they did things.. they would always be a mystery to him. His mother, his sister and Tsukushi.. with Tsukushi being the greatest mystery of all. What was going through her head when she had said those hurtful words? The ones that had pierced his heart so many times. He had sometimes dreamed that Tsukushi would love him the way he loved her… but that was too much to hope for when she didn’t even consider him a friend..

 Tsukasa speeded along the road in his sports car, the wind ruffling his hair. His whole mind was on Tsukushi.. filled with images of their childhood and their conversation only 1 hour before. His feelings were always mixed up when it came to Tsukushi.. he never knew when to feel angry, resentful, happy.. Then he noticed the annoying ring of his cell phone. He had a sudden urge to throw the phone out onto the road. But.. what if it was Tsukushi calling him to apologize?! Without even bothering the check the caller i.d. he eagerly answered the phone. “Hello?”

 “Tsukasa?”

 “Oh.. Akira..” Tsukasa sighed, crestfallen.

 “What’s the matter?” Akira asked concernedly.

 “Uhh..” Tsukasa hesitated, “Nothing.. I’m fine..”

 “Hmm.. well, wanna come to the pub?”

 “Okay..”

 “See ya!”

 “Bye..” he finished dejectedly. Maybe going to the pub might cheer him up..

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Rui’s P.O.V:

 I glanced furtively at Tsukasa, I wondered what he was thinking. The earlier encounter with Tsukushi.. it roused my curiosity. It was often that something interested me, but this was special. I closed my eyes to think, oblivious to what was being said around me. What was there between Tsukasa and Tsukushi? Tsukasa had seemed to know her.. but Tsukushi had pushed him away. What happened after they ran out of the cafeteria? Maybe I would ask Tsukushi later.. but it wasn’t as if I was good friends with her or anything.. I sighed, why did I care anyway? My mind flew back to Shizuka. Even thinking about her brought a smile to my face. A perfect goddess in my eyes, I had loved her since I was young.. but I would never know how she felt about me.. Others I could read easily, but her.. she would always be a mystery to me.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Akira looked at Tsukasa and Rui with a hint of impatience. They both seemed to be in another world, not really focusing. Rui, he could understand, he was always like that. But Tsukasa? Okay.. so he wasn’t the world’s greatest playboy unlike him and Soujiro.. but it was still unusual for him to mope around and brood over nothing. He glanced over at Soujiro who was flirting shamelessly with a bunch of girls. He shook his head, what fun was their in courting girls that were brainless idiots? Soujiro had always preferred younger girls, while he, Akira liked older women.

 Older meant more mature and that meant he could have more intelligent conversations with them. All the constant flirting and one night stands didn’t appeal as much to him. He could never really understand Soujiro’s tastes, but then again. He had to admit, he had those occasional flings with the younger ones. Having affairs were the most difficult, the woman always had to sneak out and if there was some problem with the husband, the date was cancelled.

 Soujiro was undoubtedly a playboy – one that almost changed girlfriends every few days. But that Akira could understand. Who could stand having to face the same idiot for too long? Soujiro was in it for the sex and the fun, and he broke up with them harshly. But it didn’t really matter with most of them anyway, since they were just playgirls. So no attachments, no nothing. Akira grinned, of course.. they all had to be pretty. All with perfect hourglass figures and the looks were so beautiful that they looked fake. He seriously wondered if anyone of them hadn’t had cosmetic surgery.

 His eyes wandered back to Tsukasa.. ah yes, that was what he was thinking about in the first place right? How had he gone off the track to Soujiro? Ahh.. but Tsukasa. What was his problem? He had seemed moody ever since he had gone after that Makino girl. ‘What was so special about her anyway?’ Akira mused.   Her looks weren’t really that spectacular though she didn’t look that bad. Her figure was terrible compared to the girls he normally dated – a totally flat chest. So what was it that had managed to capture Tsukasa’s attention?

 Akira could almost swear that Tsukasa had NEVER taken any interest in the female sex whatsoever..  they had almost believed that he was gay. It was pretty obvious that him and Soujiro were not gay and Rui had Shizuka. Tsukasa had never dated anyone and had not noticed those beautiful girls who came up to him practically everyday. It was strange. He only experience he had probably had with girls was with Tsubaki, Shizuka and Kaede. Akira couldn’t help but chuckle as he thought about it. Tsukasa was still a virgin and had never kissed anyone before. It was hilarious considering who he was. With those pretty girls flinging themselves at him.. how could he resist? Akira certainly didn’t understand. But Tsukasa was Tsukasa.. and he was certainly not one who liked girls easily. So what was so special about Makino? Tsukasa had given red tags often enough, how was this time any different?  

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tsukushi smiled as she fastened the Saturn necklace around her neck. It held all the fond memories that she had had with Tsukasa. She surveyed herself in the mirror. * Hmm.. not bad..*  she was wearing a simple but stylish outfit – but of course, she would never be as good as Asai and the others.. She was not rich anymore.. would Tsukasa still want to be friends with her? * Don’t be silly.. Tsukasa is not that type of person..* she reassured herself. Judging by his reaction yesterday, it showed that he still cared… A faint smile lit up her face, she would finally be reconciled with her best friend.

 The hurt look on his face had hurt her as much as it did for him. Was it really that bad if she really did not remember him? But she would drop the act today..

“Susumu! I’m going to school now! Your lunch is on the kitchen table!” she shouted before waltzing out the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Tsukasa’s P.O.V:

 I waited in front of the school gates for her, ignoring the stares that people were giving me. Damn.. where was Tsukushi? She should feel privileged to have me, the great Doumyouji Tsukasa, standing in front of the school waiting for her! I looked at my watch impatiently, I had already ruined my reputation – chasing her all over the school yesterday. And now this! I had to get an explanation from her.. Last night had been a terrible night, I was surprised there were no bags under my eyes this morning.. but then again, the great Tsukasa would never look bad.

 My two playboy friends were flirting with girls.. again. I could never understand them.. why have sex with people you don’t love.. they always HAD to bring up that touchy subject of me being a virgin.. Rui was gone as always..

 I strained my eyes and finally saw a petite figure heading towards Eitoku. FINALLY! After what.. I looked at my watch again, half an hour of waiting! I seriously had NEVER waited that long for anyone before.. I was not known to be patient. The pent up anger inside me, my insecurities of her not remembering me.. I stormed towards her and then.. I saw her wearing the Saturn Necklace!! My anger quickly dissolved away and was replaced by pure joy. She was wearing my gift for her! She had not forgotten me! On Tsukushi’s face was a bright and cheerful smile.

 “Good morning Tsukasa!”

 I gaped at her. She called me by my first name!! yes! I knew she wouldn’t be able to keep up the act for long.. after all, who can resist the great Doumyouji Tsukasa?

 “Tsukushi!” I cried. Then I remembered that I should be angry with her.. right? She had completely fooled me yesterday.. not that I would allow myself to admit it. She was the one who had put on the act.. made me so afraid that she had really forgotten me.. But then again, I could never be angry at Tsukushi for long. Somehow.. her cheerful spirit was contagious…

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Rui’s P.O.V:

 I watched from the door of Eitoku, oblivious to the commotion around me. Tsukasa was holding Tsukushi tightly in his embrace. Love shone clearly in his eyes but Tsukushi’s.. they only seemed to hold friendship. What had happened between the two? Only yesterday, Tsukasa had been moody and angry.. and now he was happy? Normally I could read him like a book, but now.. I had no idea what was going on.

 Who was Tsuksuhi to him? How did they know each other? Why didn’t Tsukasa introduce her to the rest of F4? The questions rang in my head.. Why was I so concerned over this matter anyway? But as I watched them continue hugging and Tsukasa’s light kiss on Tsukushi’s forehead.. I couldn’t help but feel a faint stirring within my heart..

 How was this possible? I had only just met the girl.. And besides, the only one I loved was Shizuka.. and only Shizuka I told myself firmly. I would never be interested in any other girl. Shizuka was perfect, my idol, an angel in my eyes. I loved her dearly but did she love me back? She was a mystery. A graceful smile always playing on her beautiful face.. I could never see what was going on by that mask. It seemed as if nothing ever troubled her.. nothing ever fazed her.. But this Tsukushi was cute.. I had to admit, but still.. it was nothing compared to the beauty of Shizuka..

 I walked slowly away to the cafeteria to meet Akira and Soujiro. On the outside I may be expressionless.. cold and uncaring, but the truth was, this thing with Tsukushi and Tsukasa really bothered me.. But why? Why had I helped her get to class? Talked to her on the rooftop? (I will change to emergency stairs later.. =P) No one ever understood me.. not even myself Only Shizuka had found the way to my heart… maybe that was why I loved her. But Tsukushi seemed special… I shook my head to clear my thoughts and entered the cafeteria.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tsukasa clutched Tsukushi’s hand tightly as he walked through Eitoku proudly. A large grin was plastered on his face. Finally.. he was back together with Tsukushi, nothing else really mattered anymore. The thought of the engagement with Shigeru never once crossed his mind. He dragged Tsukushi into the cafeteria, ignoring her vain attempts at struggling to get free.

 “Tsukasa!” she hissed, “People are staring!”

 “Who cares? I am..” he started.

 “Shut up.. I know you are the Great Doumyouji Tsukasa!” she muttered, “Let go.. All there girls look like they want to kill me!”

 “That’s because they are jealous. Don’t you know it’s a great privilege..” he was soon interrupted again.

 “Ha! I think it’s your privilege to have me as your friend!” she retorted, “Let go of my hand!” Seeing he had no intention of doing so, she kicked him hard in the shin, forcing him to let go. She smiled smugly, “See if that will teach you to listen to me!” she cried before walking off.

 Tsukasa’s face flushed with anger and embarrassment. “What are you looking at?!” he yelled to the flustered people around him. “Get lost!” how dare she embarrass him.. again! He sighed, but Tsukushi was like Tsubaki.. so difficult to handle. That girl was untamable..

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Rui’s P.O.V:

 “Ooh.. our lover boy is here!” Akira said jokingly. “Heard you came to school with a girl today? Finally.. and here I was thinking you were gay!” he laughed after exchanging a high-five with Soujiro.

 “So who is the lucky girl who finally captured to heart of our Tsukasa?” teased Soujiro.

 I sat there, expressionless as usual. But that faint stirring came again. Yes, I knew who it was.. It was Tsukushi. Tsukushi.. somehow I had already gotten used to calling her by her first name in my mind. I sighed inwardly, why was I getting so close to someone I hardly knew? It made me feel vulnerable.. I liked to understand and comprehend people.. but it seemed I knew everyone but myself. My mask was fixed firmly in place, my eyes blank and cold. It had almost become a habit for me.. it was a form of protection that I had… against everyone but Shizuka. She was the one that could always see right through me. It scared me sometimes. But she was the only who understood..

 I watched as a blush crept up to Tsukasa’s cheeks. “How did the news spread so fast?” he asked sheepishly.

 I sighed and closed my eyes. These petty conversations didn’t interest me. “I’m going.” I announced softly before walking off, ignoring their protests.

 I walked towards the rooftop, the place where I always went to find peace. I pushed open the door to the emergency stairway and found a small figure huddled on the stairs. Walking closer, I found it was actually Tsukushi.

 “Tsukushi?” I called out softly.

 She looked up and smiled. “Rui. Hi!” I smiled back, her cheerfulness was contagious. Rui.. What are you doing? What was I doing.. smiling and talking to some stranger.. nothing ever escaped my lips unless I had thought about it carefully first. But around Tsukushi.. I seemed to act on impulse and not thought.

 “What are you doing here?” I said in an attempt to start a conversation. Ahh.. no one would ever believe that me, the cold, cool Hanazawa Rui would be the one to start a conversation.

 “Oh.. Everyone is so rich around here. I feel so out of place.” She sighed as she poured out her thoughts to me. She was such an open person.. and her emotions.. so easy to read.  “I just came here to get away from it all. Even Tsukasa is so..” she paused, “so.. dominating sometimes!”

 I raised my eyebrows slightly, “Tsukasa?”

 “Oh..” she blushed, “er.. he’s my best friend, I knew him many years ago. Before I left for Australia.” She explained.

 So they were old friends.. childhood friends. Somehow the unease in my heart died down. What’s happening to me? “How come I’ve never met you before?”

 She shrugged, “I was going to go to the same high school as you guys. But I had to leave for Australia just before. I think Tsukasa was planning on introducing me to.. F4..” she looked at me for confirmation. I nodded slowly and she continued, “to F4 in high school. I guess..” she stopped and I saw sadness come into her eyes. I wondered what she could be thinking.

 “It’s okay if you don’t want to say.” I reassured her. She smiled at me again.. and surprise surprise I smiled back. Ah! Rui! What are you doing? Why are you being so open to this girl? I dismissed those thoughts slowly. It didn’t matter. I felt comfortable being around Tsukushi.. With Shizuka, I always felt inferior. She was on some high plane that I could not reach. But Tsukushi.. I wasn’t sure how I felt.

 Silently we sat together on the emergency stairway, not saying a word. But it was comfortable silence. She was the only person I had ever met who liked silence like I did. To get away.. escape from the rest of the world for a while. Escape all the expectations.. society’s rules.. I smiled and slowly fell asleep next to her.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I woke up slowly to find Tsukushi gone. A little note was on my lap.

 Dear Rui,

      You look so peaceful sleeping that I didn’t want to wake you up! I had to class so I had to leave. So sorry!

Your friend, Tsukushi

 I smiled slowly at the note, she was so considerate. Had I really fallen asleep for long? I stood up. It had felt nice being with Tsukushi.. it almost felt normal. I sighed, I could be myself in front of her… something I could not do, even with F4. I pushed open the door and walked towards Tsukushi’s classroom. Suddenly my phone rang, I picked it up. “Who is this?” I asked coldly.

 “Rui! It’s me!” Her sweet melodic voice floated through to my ears.

 It was Shizuka! “Shizuka!” I cried, before composing myself.

 “I called you before.. Some other girl answered. Is she your girlfriend?” she asked excitedly.

 My heart sank, a knot forming in my stomach. Did she mean Tsukushi? The girl that I had started liking only a few seconds ago.. Didn’t Shizuka know my feelings for her? Hadn’t I made it clear often enough? But maybe I just wasn’t good enough for her.. “No.. she’s just a friend..” I said, my cold tone back again – maybe to protect myself from the pain that Shizuka was inflicting towards me.. Disregarding my feelings like that..

 “Really? That’s great! My Rui has finally grown up.” I could hear her slight laugh on the other end of the line. Pfft! Right.. Her Rui.. was that really true? She never seemed to treat me that way.. “This girl must be so special that you are friends with her.”

 “No.. she is Tsukasa’s childhood friend.” I tried explaining. Why was I saying that? Why not.. she is my friend? I sighed inwardly. She was my friend too.. in a way. I just didn’t want Shizuka to misunderstand..

 “Oh.. really? What’s her name?”

 “Tsukushi.. Makino Tsukushi.”

 “Oh that’s nice.” She didn’t sound interested at all… somehow that bothered me. “I just wanted to tell you I’m coming back in a few days.” She sounded distracted.. was she so busy that she couldn’t even fit a short phone call in her schedule? “I have to go now. Bye!”

 “Bye..” I answered slowly, but she had already hung up.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Tsukasa walked out of the cafeteria, still blushing from the conversation with Soujiro and Akira. Damn! Why did they always have to talk about sex? Just because they always did it.. didn’t mean he had to. And they always seemed so interested. It had took a long time for him to convince them that Tsukushi wasn’t his girlfriend.. well, at least not yet. He was almost sure that he would win her heart. Anyway, he had told them that she was just a good friend. He hoped that would turn to something more..

 Suddenly he stopped. He didn’t even know where he was going. What class was Tsukushi in anyway? Crap.. how was he going to ask her out then? He tried to resist the urge of barging into the principal’s office and demanding the answer to his question. Where was Tsukushi? She was almost certainly in class.. he knew that…

 His eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Who could he ask without seeming stupid? He had too much pride to ask anybody.. He suddenly walked into somebody. He opened his mouth to start yelling.. then realised who it was. “Rui?”

 “Shizuka’s coming back.” Rui answered in monotone.

 “What? Really? That’s great!” Tsukasa grinned, the problem with Tsukushi temporarily forgotten. He paused, “Why aren’t you happy? Don’t you er.. you know..”

 Rui shrugged and walked off again.

 Tsukasa shook his head, Rui could be so weird at times.. 

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Tsukushi walked slowly out of class, glaring at Asai who walked before her. The girl had made school almost a living hell for her. The constant insults about her family.. herself.. it was more than she could take. But she had to stay strong.. she would not be beaten down by these petty insults. But the gossip about how she had “seduced” Tsukasa.. Honestly.. did those people have anything better to do? They talked about Tsukasa like a great prize that everybody wanted to win. They had called her manipulative.. deceitful.. and what else? A slut.. right. Tsukasa was her friend.. but all the others had been convinced by Asai and her friends that she had somehow bewitched Tsukasa.. 

 Suddenly she noticed that she had bumped into someone. She opened her mouth automatically to apologise then found out that it was Tsukasa. Argh! She totally didn’t need anymore bitching from Asai.. Maybe the less time she spent with Tsukasa the better.

 “Tsukushi.. I’ve been waiting for you for so long!”

 “Who told you to wait for me?” she asked angrily, letting out the frustration that had built up from the continuous teasing.

 “What?” he looked at her shocked. He had at least been expecting some sort of thankyou from her. Didn’t she know that he had spent so much time and effort trying to find her room? And waiting in the corridor, attracting so many stares.. “Don’t you know how much time I spent..” he started.

 “Well obviously I didn’t know..” she said sarcastically before rolling her eyes.

 “You.. you baka!” Tsukasa cried angrily. Why did Tsukushi have to be like this?

 “Leave me alone! I don’t want to argue with you right now..”

 “But.. Tsukushi!”

 Tsukushi didn’t reply and pushed past him. With each step, she felt more and more guilty about her treatment of Tsukasa. He had really deserved to be the object of her pent-up anger. He was her best friend after all… but he was the cause of all the gossiping. It wasn’t exactly his fault..  She sighed, maybe she would apologise to him later.. after school.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Tsukushi’s P.O.V:

 I hadn’t walked a few minutes before I bumped into someone else again. What was wrong with me today? First Tsukasa and now.. I looked up and saw it was Makiko. Finally.. a friend I could talk to. “Makiko. I’m so glad to see you! How come I haven’t seen you at school for a while?”

 She looked at me with a cold look in her eyes, “Why do you have to be with Tsukasa? I thought you were my good friend..”

 I gasped, did she believe those rumours too?! “No! That’s not true! I’m not dating Tsukasa! We’re just good friends!”

 She scoffed at looked at me disbelievingly, “Don’t lie.. Don’t you think I know he gave you the red tag? How can you expect me to believe.. you are good friends? I thought you weren’t that type of girl.. to go to a guy for their money.” She looked down sadly, “I guess I was wrong. I won’t be seeing you again Makino.”

 I reeled back in shock. Even my good friend didn’t believe me.. I guess it was hard to believe, nobody knew I was childhood friends with Tsukasa.. “Wait! Makiko! Let me explain!”

 “I don’t want to hear more of your lies..” she said softly before turning around again.

 I slumped, defeated. Asai had made me lose a friend.. it only made me hate them more.. and Tsukasa too. Why did he have to be rich? If we were just normal people, there would be no problems! Doumyouji.. why? A tear slid down my cheek. Sometimes it just wasn’t fair..

Chapter Four                                                                                          Review Chapter.

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