In an effort to save space and make the author (Rose-chan) shut up and get straight to the story, this nifty little line was designed. It is supposed to read "All Standard Disclaimers Apply," but due to a fail of programming and Rose-chan's undying desire to talk and type this line now reads…well all of this.
And a short (-ish) dedication to her very beloved baka-chan, who's name has been misspelled because it will not appear on fanfiction if it is spelled any other way. Congratulations on your first completed oneshot, I'm writing this oneshot for you.
And yes, it's a oneshot and not a drabble, yay! So read on, don't sue, don't hate, and I love you all!
The rain dribbled on her head, a gentle cascade of soft clear water. Music pounded in her ears, reminding her that time was still moving. It was slow, but it was moving. She could vouch for that, the time being slow part that is. Makino Tsukushi didn't feel as though time was moving.
No, no, no. The words repeated themselves over and over again. Each raindrop that fell taunted her with yet another "no," whispered just as gently, just as annoying, just as "argh!" as the next.
The sound of feet running through water brought her out of her water-stricken trance. She opened her eyes to find, well, more water. Not that she expected anything else…no, no, no.
She was Tsukushi, Makino Tsukushi. She didn't expect anything more than this. She was a weed, drowning in water, drowning in thought, drowning in love. Love that she didn't want.
No, no, no. No one understood her, did they? They all thought it was wonderful to be wanted by all the richest, most famous, most influential men on the market. But whe didn't want a market, she didn't want men, she just wanted one person. Makino Tsukushi wanted what she couldn't have.
And every time she thought about it, every time she opened her mouth to speak about, every time… the answer would just be no, no, no.
Her life was doomed to be a broken media file, scratched, corrupted, deleted and re-downloaded…only to play the same no, no, no. Over, and over, and over again.
"Tsukushi! Tsukushi!" A female voice rang out to her. So there was something besides water here after all. And a female voice means it's relatively safe to come out, right?
No, no, no.
Why did she even bother to ask stupid questions anymore? Or was that a stupid question in itself…a chorus of "no" rang through her ears as yet another downpour of rain reminded her of how rotten her life was.
Gentle footsteps turned into fast heavy ones, and it took a few moments for Tsukushi to realize someone was running. It took much longer for her to realize she, yes her, she was the one who was running.
Her hair was soaked, her clothes were as drenched as the ground she was running on, and she still wasn't anywhere close to home. No, no, no, she shook her head. She didn't have a home…
She couldn't live with a group of people who wanted her for no reason other than to marry well and save their own lives. She was Makino Tsukushi, and she couldn't. No, no, no.
Fingers calloused by work rubbed tears away from her eyes long enough to gaze at the gray colored sky that taunted her almost as much as the rain pouring from it. It hurt so much, and yet it felt nice. The sky was crying with her, and for some reason, that felt nice. That someone, or something, still felt something. Something more than just no, no, no.
Her legs moved to the right, directing her towards a small shop that seemed familiar. But as usual, she couldn't quite place it. She couldn't quite do anything. It was as though her body was always two steps ahead of her brain. She opened her eyes and blinked the tears, the rain, the pain, out of them, even if it was just momentary.
And the next surge of no, no, no began.
There he was, the one she wanted, the one she couldn't have. The biggest no, no, no, she could ever think of, standing in front of her. Well, standing was a rather light word for what Hanazawa Rui was doing, since people don't normally walk around topless on rainy days sipping hot milk tea and pretending that life's just peachy. Then again, Rui was never normal.
No, no, no. She averted her gaze. No, no, no. She stepped backwards, hoping to leave before Rui snapped out of his own trance, his ever so elegant trance. His ever so mysterious…
"Oh, Tsukushi." His words said so little and yet he said so much. His voice said, "I'm worried about you," his reproachful eyes said, "the others are looking for you," and the way he dropped his tea and stepped towards her screamed, "are you alright?" louder than Tsukasa could ever.
No, no, no. No thoughts of Tsukasa now. He's another problem. And Makino Tsukushi has to deal with her problems one at a time right now. One problem, one very gorgeous, very hot, very half-naked problem.
"I'll be going now," she said, much braver, much more confident, much more sure of herself than she actually felt. She turned around, unable to stare at him much longer because there really was no other word that could describe the actions of Tsukushi Makino at the moment.
Strong arms circled her waist, pulled her in close, tight. "You're cold," he said. Bluntly, softly, gently, and in that ever so amazing way that just took your breathe away. "And wet." He smiled, laughed, chuckled, and hugged her even more tightly.
"I love it."
And she remembered just why he was the big no, no, no of her life.
At this point, Makino Tsukushi should feel extremely accomplished, as there are very few people who could undergo a scenario even slightly resembling this without fainting or collapsing, or just going completely fan-girl on such a gorgeous guy.
But of course, the word echoing in Tsukushi's head is no. No, no, no.
No, because she can't go home and marry Tsukasa because gods that would just be wrong on so many levels. No, because she can't stay with anyone else because she'd be tracked down like a hawk and its prey. And no, because she can't stay here because one can only resist Hanazawa Rui for so long before they attempt to confess their undying love for the man and make him feel awkward enough to shun you for life.
Especially if he's warm, and you're wet, and he doesn't care one bit about it. Especially if he's far too tall and you're far too short but it feels perfect anyways. Especially if he's everything you just can't have.
And that's exactly how Makino Tsukushi feels.
She's warm and wet. Lost, confused, and yet safe and in pure ecstasy. She's so far from her house, and yet so at home, so here, in his arms. Here in this moment.
And so very no, no, no.
Tsukushi pulls out of the embrace, yanking her body out of the tangled mess that was his arms, and jolting to the other side of the room. "I've really got to leave right now. Sorry I can't stay."
And for the first time in his life, Rui looks at her and says, "but you have to."
And for a moment, she does. Tsukushi has to stay for a moment, if for no other reason that to hold onto something and support herself while her legs move out of the mush state they have been reduced to by his words, and into something that can move.
But because it has been established that Makino Tsukushi's life is nothing more that no, no, no, it's obvious just how far she has moved before Hanazawa Rui claims her again. And this time he really claims her.
His lips are warm against her cold, rain kissed ones and she knows that this little piece of heaven that she's been granted is worth more than all the money in the world. She knows that she doesn't need to be anywhere else, that she doesn't mind the game of hawk and prey, not when she has Hanazawa Rui.
Makino Tsukushi knows more than just no, no, no.
Makino Tsukushi knows love, like the feel of velvet skin on cold days. She knows how to read his expressionless eyes. Tsukushi knows how to hear his laughter, even when those beautiful chords seem non-existent. She can read the smile in his eyes, feel the laughter in his scent, hear his heart pump those words that she can only hope to hear.
And she looks up, tilts her head backwards and leans into his touch. Her eyes meet his, and the height difference once again feels like nothing. Their touch says more than words ever could; it says that everything will be alright. It says everything will be solved. It says everything Tsukushi needs to hear right now.
It says "I love you."
And Makino Tsukushi is content.
Because even though he is the biggest no of her life, she can live with it. Because of all things and of all the people and of everything that just parades it's way into her already crowded life…
Hanazawa Rui is the only one who doesn't say no, no, no.
So there's my first full oneshot. Hope you liked it, please review it because you all know how much I die for your attention. I swear, I'm like a very bad, very spoiled puppy dog.
But you love me anyways, right? That's why you're going to review for me, right? And a shout out to my Toinks who writes delectably short and sweet reviews, mwauh!
Hugs and kisses,
Your Rose-chan.