Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango, so please don't sue me.
A/N: Hi! This is my very first fanfic, so I hope you'll support me. The story will revolve around Tsukasa and Tsukushi, my favorite couple! It's an AU of HYD and here they'll be twentysomething yuppies.
Let me know what you think by posting your comments if you have time. I'd really appreciate it.
For Winglin readers, this is the same story I posted there, except that I used the Japanese names from the manga here.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoy the story!
*************
CHAPTER 1 - FRIENDS
I made my way through the dim bar, scanning the crowd for my friends. It was a Friday night and the place was packed, so it took several minutes before I could spot them at a table on the far corner of the room.
"Sorry I'm late," I said breathlessly once I reached the table.
"Hey, what took you so long? We've been here for the last half-hour or so." A tall, lanky guy with a lazy grin on his handsome face rose to give me his seat. This was Rui, my ex-boyfriend.
"Impromptu meeting called by the higher-ups after office hours. Sorry," I apologized again as I took a seat beside Shizuka, a pretty, long-haired girl. She is Rui's current girlfriend. Rui grabbed a vacant chair from the table beside ours and set it beside her. "So, you've ordered a beer for me?" I ask, as I flashed everyone around the table a bright smile.
"Yup. You know how long it takes for them to bring our orders here, especially with the weekend crowd," Soujiro replied, tilting his head towards the packed dance floor. I saw his eyes roam around the room with anticipation, no doubt checking out his prospects for the night. So far no one had caught his fancy yet so he turned his attention back to us. "So, why this little get-together?"
"No special reason," I muttered, avoiding the questioning looks on their faces as they all looked at me. "What? Do I need a reason to want to see my friends? I just wanted to see you guys."
"You broke up with your boyfriend, didn't you?!" Akira was wagging a finger in front of my face. When I didn't answer, everyone around the table nodded in understanding, suddenly realizing the reason why I invited them out tonight.
Akira flipped his long hair from his face with his right hand. "Man, Tsukushi, that's like the third or fourth guy you've dropped this year, and the year isn't even halfway through! Talk about commitment problems!"
"Hah! Look who's talking!" I jabbed an elbow at his side. "You and Soujiro are the poster boys for commitment phobia!" Soujiro and Akira both pointed at themselves and flashed a "Who, me?" look. These two were the resident playboys of our circle of friends. They had no steady girlfriends but they certainly didn't lack for female company. The three of us worked together two years ago as production assistants at a television company. I still work there and have since been promoted to assistant marketing manager. Soujiro left after a year and joined a record company where he is a sales manager, while Akira left shortly after that to join an ad agency as a marketing executive. They were the ones who set me and Rui up on a blind date. Rui is their childhood friend.
"Besides," I continued, "is it my fault that all the guys I've dated so far are jerks? Not including you, of course," I glanced at Rui. I sighed. "I just haven't found the right guy yet."
"Tell me about it," Soujiro piped in. "Remember that ganjin scumbag you dated before we set you up with Rui? Hey Akira, what was his name again?"
"Lester," Akira and I said in unison. "Yeah, Lester the Molester!" Akira and Soujiro were both laughing, while Rui looked on in amusement.
"What? Why do you call him that?" Shizuka was curious.
"We were watching a movie on our second date when he took my hand and placed it on his crotch."
"Oh my! So what did you do?"
"I poured my drink where he wanted my hand to be and dumped my bucket of popcorn on his head."
"Bet that quenched his fire! Oh, and tell us about that geek you went out with after you and Rui broke up!" Soujiro chuckled.
"He was in a cult that worshipped aliens. I'm for religious freedom and all, but when he wanted me to prepare for the day 'they' would beam us up, that's when I drew the line."
"And then there was that actor who was in that TV miniseries. Hey! Wasn't he a handsome dude?"
"Koji. Gay. He dated me to dispel the rumors about him and another actor. When he ran out of excuses for not kissing me, that's when he broke down and told me the truth. Anyway, we became very good friends. Now I go to him whenever I need to have my face made up for social functions."
"Boy you sure can pick 'em! So what went wrong this time with this last guy? Hiro, that was his name right? I remember just a month ago when you were gushing about him."
I nodded after taking a gulp from my beer mug. "He was becoming too clingy. He was getting jealous of everyone, especially you guys."
"Ugh. Good riddance then. No wonder you don't seem affected. Come to think of it, you're never affected by any of these breakups. Heck, the only time I saw you really depressed was after you and Rui broke." Akira trailed off as he realized what he just said and an awkward silence descended on the table.
I glared at him then I turned to Shizuka and took her hand in mine. "Don't mind motor mouth here. There's a 10-second lag before his brain can catch up to his mouth."
Shizuka smiled at me and mouthed an "It's okay." Then to break the uneasiness she pulled Rui to his feet and led him to the dance floor.
"Nice going, Mr. Tactless. You can take your foot out of your mouth now."
"Sorry," he mumbled.
It was no big deal really, but I was just slightly upset because everyone knew how hard I had to work to make Shizuka understand that there was nothing romantic between Rui and I anymore. Sure, we were together for about a year and that was the longest I've ever been with a guy. I thought I was in love with him, and maybe I truly was for a while. But after a year we came to a mutual decision that we'd be better off as friends. And we really were. In fact, Rui became my best friend. He was like a guardian angel to me because he always knew when I was feeling down, and how to make me feel better. We have a very special friendship. It was because of this special bond between us that Shizuka was very wary of me at first, but eventually she saw that she had no cause for concern.
"Anyway," I said, wanting to change the topic, "what's new with you guys?"
Soujiro replied, "Nothing much on my side really. I'm up to my neck in work, 'cause we have several albums to launch in the coming months. Haven't had much time to go out."
Akira looked at Soujiro sympathetically. Then he remembered something. "Hey, did Tsukasa call you this week?"
Soujiro's eyes lit up. "Yeah! So he's finally coming back huh? After two years, we're all gonna be together again!"
"So I'll finally be able to meet this friend of yours huh?" I must admit I was curious to meet Tsukasa, who was also one of their childhood friends. He went to the States for further studies two years ago, shortly before I met these guys. I didn't really know much about him because the guys seldom mentioned him but whenever they did, I could tell they were very fond of this friend of theirs.
"Which friend of ours?" By this time Rui and Shizuka had come back from the dance floor.
"Rui, did Tsukasa call you too to tell you he's coming back next week?"
"Uh-huh. Said he'd e-mail me his flight details so we 'd know when to fetch him at the airport."
For the rest of the night, the guys regaled Shizuka and I with stories about their childhood escapades and their growing up years. It was almost 3 a.m. when we broke up for the night. We agreed to meet again the following week so they could introduce Tsukasa to me and Shizuka.
If this Tsukasa person is as great as they say he is, then I couldn't wait to meet him.
A/N: Hi! This is my very first fanfic, so I hope you'll support me. The story will revolve around Tsukasa and Tsukushi, my favorite couple! It's an AU of HYD and here they'll be twentysomething yuppies.
Let me know what you think by posting your comments if you have time. I'd really appreciate it.
For Winglin readers, this is the same story I posted there, except that I used the Japanese names from the manga here.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoy the story!
*************
CHAPTER 1 - FRIENDS
I made my way through the dim bar, scanning the crowd for my friends. It was a Friday night and the place was packed, so it took several minutes before I could spot them at a table on the far corner of the room.
"Sorry I'm late," I said breathlessly once I reached the table.
"Hey, what took you so long? We've been here for the last half-hour or so." A tall, lanky guy with a lazy grin on his handsome face rose to give me his seat. This was Rui, my ex-boyfriend.
"Impromptu meeting called by the higher-ups after office hours. Sorry," I apologized again as I took a seat beside Shizuka, a pretty, long-haired girl. She is Rui's current girlfriend. Rui grabbed a vacant chair from the table beside ours and set it beside her. "So, you've ordered a beer for me?" I ask, as I flashed everyone around the table a bright smile.
"Yup. You know how long it takes for them to bring our orders here, especially with the weekend crowd," Soujiro replied, tilting his head towards the packed dance floor. I saw his eyes roam around the room with anticipation, no doubt checking out his prospects for the night. So far no one had caught his fancy yet so he turned his attention back to us. "So, why this little get-together?"
"No special reason," I muttered, avoiding the questioning looks on their faces as they all looked at me. "What? Do I need a reason to want to see my friends? I just wanted to see you guys."
"You broke up with your boyfriend, didn't you?!" Akira was wagging a finger in front of my face. When I didn't answer, everyone around the table nodded in understanding, suddenly realizing the reason why I invited them out tonight.
Akira flipped his long hair from his face with his right hand. "Man, Tsukushi, that's like the third or fourth guy you've dropped this year, and the year isn't even halfway through! Talk about commitment problems!"
"Hah! Look who's talking!" I jabbed an elbow at his side. "You and Soujiro are the poster boys for commitment phobia!" Soujiro and Akira both pointed at themselves and flashed a "Who, me?" look. These two were the resident playboys of our circle of friends. They had no steady girlfriends but they certainly didn't lack for female company. The three of us worked together two years ago as production assistants at a television company. I still work there and have since been promoted to assistant marketing manager. Soujiro left after a year and joined a record company where he is a sales manager, while Akira left shortly after that to join an ad agency as a marketing executive. They were the ones who set me and Rui up on a blind date. Rui is their childhood friend.
"Besides," I continued, "is it my fault that all the guys I've dated so far are jerks? Not including you, of course," I glanced at Rui. I sighed. "I just haven't found the right guy yet."
"Tell me about it," Soujiro piped in. "Remember that ganjin scumbag you dated before we set you up with Rui? Hey Akira, what was his name again?"
"Lester," Akira and I said in unison. "Yeah, Lester the Molester!" Akira and Soujiro were both laughing, while Rui looked on in amusement.
"What? Why do you call him that?" Shizuka was curious.
"We were watching a movie on our second date when he took my hand and placed it on his crotch."
"Oh my! So what did you do?"
"I poured my drink where he wanted my hand to be and dumped my bucket of popcorn on his head."
"Bet that quenched his fire! Oh, and tell us about that geek you went out with after you and Rui broke up!" Soujiro chuckled.
"He was in a cult that worshipped aliens. I'm for religious freedom and all, but when he wanted me to prepare for the day 'they' would beam us up, that's when I drew the line."
"And then there was that actor who was in that TV miniseries. Hey! Wasn't he a handsome dude?"
"Koji. Gay. He dated me to dispel the rumors about him and another actor. When he ran out of excuses for not kissing me, that's when he broke down and told me the truth. Anyway, we became very good friends. Now I go to him whenever I need to have my face made up for social functions."
"Boy you sure can pick 'em! So what went wrong this time with this last guy? Hiro, that was his name right? I remember just a month ago when you were gushing about him."
I nodded after taking a gulp from my beer mug. "He was becoming too clingy. He was getting jealous of everyone, especially you guys."
"Ugh. Good riddance then. No wonder you don't seem affected. Come to think of it, you're never affected by any of these breakups. Heck, the only time I saw you really depressed was after you and Rui broke." Akira trailed off as he realized what he just said and an awkward silence descended on the table.
I glared at him then I turned to Shizuka and took her hand in mine. "Don't mind motor mouth here. There's a 10-second lag before his brain can catch up to his mouth."
Shizuka smiled at me and mouthed an "It's okay." Then to break the uneasiness she pulled Rui to his feet and led him to the dance floor.
"Nice going, Mr. Tactless. You can take your foot out of your mouth now."
"Sorry," he mumbled.
It was no big deal really, but I was just slightly upset because everyone knew how hard I had to work to make Shizuka understand that there was nothing romantic between Rui and I anymore. Sure, we were together for about a year and that was the longest I've ever been with a guy. I thought I was in love with him, and maybe I truly was for a while. But after a year we came to a mutual decision that we'd be better off as friends. And we really were. In fact, Rui became my best friend. He was like a guardian angel to me because he always knew when I was feeling down, and how to make me feel better. We have a very special friendship. It was because of this special bond between us that Shizuka was very wary of me at first, but eventually she saw that she had no cause for concern.
"Anyway," I said, wanting to change the topic, "what's new with you guys?"
Soujiro replied, "Nothing much on my side really. I'm up to my neck in work, 'cause we have several albums to launch in the coming months. Haven't had much time to go out."
Akira looked at Soujiro sympathetically. Then he remembered something. "Hey, did Tsukasa call you this week?"
Soujiro's eyes lit up. "Yeah! So he's finally coming back huh? After two years, we're all gonna be together again!"
"So I'll finally be able to meet this friend of yours huh?" I must admit I was curious to meet Tsukasa, who was also one of their childhood friends. He went to the States for further studies two years ago, shortly before I met these guys. I didn't really know much about him because the guys seldom mentioned him but whenever they did, I could tell they were very fond of this friend of theirs.
"Which friend of ours?" By this time Rui and Shizuka had come back from the dance floor.
"Rui, did Tsukasa call you too to tell you he's coming back next week?"
"Uh-huh. Said he'd e-mail me his flight details so we 'd know when to fetch him at the airport."
For the rest of the night, the guys regaled Shizuka and I with stories about their childhood escapades and their growing up years. It was almost 3 a.m. when we broke up for the night. We agreed to meet again the following week so they could introduce Tsukasa to me and Shizuka.
If this Tsukasa person is as great as they say he is, then I couldn't wait to meet him.