The Way You Look Tonight
Chapter One: In Which Tsukushi Goes to a Wedding
by dementedchris and Dora-chan
@----
...Only afraid that I will fall in love with you.
Don't dare let myself lean too close...
"Rui..." called a soft female voice.
Hanazawa Rui walked into the study in the east wing of the Hanazawa mansion, following his mother's melodic voice. He entered the chamber quietly and, closing the door behind him, gave his mother a questioning look.
"Yes, mother?" he said, his voice bearing the trademark tenderness of the Hanazawa clan.
Sitting behind a paper-filled desk, Mrs. Hanazawa looked up at her son and smiled slightly, in that motherly and elegant way that only she can manage. Few woman are fortunate enough to possess the natural glow that she seemed to radiate and also a certain refine, careless grace that made her almost surreal. Rui obviously took after her high cheekbones, fair hair, and other modeling features.
"I just want to remind you that your cousin Akiko's wedding is this Saturday, dear."
"I remember, mother."
Mrs. Hanazawa paused, as if wondering how to voice her concerns without embarrassing her son. The Hanazawa's had always been a courteous and refined group, not prone to bluntness or rude confrontations. She cleared her throat politely and cast her eloquent eyes upon her son and heir.
"Well, Rui, it's going to be a very important affair, and a lot of public figures are going to be present...so...have you..." she trailed off uncertainly as she shifted slightly in her chair.
Rui smiled at her motherly concern.
"Don't worry, mother. I already know what suit to wear. I won't embarrass cousin Akiko on the most important day of her life."
Mrs. Hanazawa was too elegant to sweat-drop à la the hackneyed Anime teenager, so she simply blinked several times and sighed. "No, not that, dear. I have never doubted your impeccable sense in fashion. What I meant to ask was...have you decided which young lady to take to the wedding, yet?"
Rui blinked. Rapidly, as a show of surprise. Had the girls of Eitoku been there to witness it they would have squealed in girlish excitement--it was rare indeed that the stoic Hanazawa Rui would deign to display such raw and genuine expressions.
"Er...beg pardon, mother?" he said weakly, praying to the heavens that he heard her wrong.
"A date for the wedding, Rui," his mother said patiently. "You need a date."
"...Why?" Rui muttered, an odd sensation sinking in his stomach.
"What do you mean 'why'? This is a wedding and a formal occasion, honey. You are eighteen and quite of age, so it will naturally be expected that you procure a date for such an event!" Mrs. Hanazawa exclaimed, as if it was obvious.
"But..." Rui faltered, kicking his brain to think fast (for once). "Mother, I don't..."
"Rui," sighed Mrs. Hanazawa. "There are so many proper young ladies at Eitoku...surely you could ask one of them to accompany you for just one evening? I'm sure they would be thrilled." She smiled warmly at her son. After all, he wasn't a bad looking boy.
Rui groaned. Yes, the Eitoku girls would be thrilled if he asks them. But...
"Mother, you don't understand," he said helplessly.
His mother paused, regarding her son quietly for a long moment or two. He stared blankly back at her, watching his own reflection in her clear, blue pupils. Then...
"Is it...is it Shizuka, Rui?" she asked tentatively, sliding her glasses down her powdered nose and peering at her son over them. Shizuka had been one of her major concerns about her son. Rui had been so deeply attached to the girl that Mrs. Hanazawa feared Rui would fall apart emotionally and psychologically after Shizuka decided to return to France.
Is he too scarred to venture to fall for another woman? Mrs. Hanazawa looked worriedly at her son. My poor little Rui...
"It's...not...Shizuka..." Rui managed to say, not exactly sure how to articulate his thoughts. His mother eyed him skeptically. "It's just that...well, I don't want to ask anyone." He finished lamely.
"But it's expected of you, Rui."
"Oh well."
"Rui!"
Rui gave a martytred sigh. "But mother...you don't understand. The Eitoku girls...well, they...they..."
They want Hanazawa Rui--his money and his power. But they don't want me.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Rui," Mrs. Hanazawa said, exasperated. After all, she's an Hanazawa, not a saint. "You're just asking her to accompany you for one day, it's not like you're going to marry her. What's the big deal?"
"But...!"
...but the girls at Eitoku are like vultures preying on available men!
Mrs. Hanazawa put her glasses back on and said in a firm, final sort of voice, "The matter is settled, Rui. It's time you learn about social etiquettes. You will find a date for Akiko's wedding this Saturday. This discussion is closed. You may go."
The young Hanazawa heir cursed his ill karma and groaned once more as he walked out of his mother's study.
@----
Makino Tsukushi walked quietly down the hall, careful not to disrupt the classes on either side of her. She had asked her teacher for permission to use the restroom and then promptly used the oppotunity to head towards the emergency stairwell.
Ditching is simply too easy at Eitoku.
She reached the emergency exits and, pushing the doors open, protruded her head to peer around. To her quiet satisfaction, she found Hanazawa Rui sitting on the ground as he leaned his back carelessly against the wall. His eyes were closed and he wore an irritated frown on his handsome features as he silently bemoaned his fate.
Tsukushi smiled to herself. He was graceful even when he didn't intend to be.
She stepped onto the stairwell and kneeled down next to the troubled boy.
"...What happened to you? You look so tragic."
Rui snapped his eyes half open crossly. "Guess, why don't ya," he challenged, almost sarcastically.
"Okay, then..." she fingered her chin thoughtfully. "Did someone die?"
Rui's eyes snapped fully open as he stared at her in horrified disbelief.
"No!"
"The F4 broke up again?"
"No. Worse."
"You are sleep deprived?"
"No."
"Your TV broke?" she asked. Such an event would probably be like the apocalypse for Rui.
"No!" he fumed.
Tsukushi laughed, despite herself. Rui, when irritated, was simply adorable.
Watching her giggle like she had gone mad, Rui couldn't help but surrender a small smile as well. Then he understood...she was hoping to cheer him up. Makino always has such weird tactics...
But effective, nonetheless.
I was just brooding over something my mother said to me last night," Rui said finally.
"Oh?" said Tsukushi, sitting down in another position to make herself more comfortable on the cement. "What did she say?"
Rui remained silent for a moment, staring off into nothing. He was simply stalling for time, of course; he just didn't want her to delve too deeply into his personal affairs...
"Oh, come on. You're not going to make me guess again, are you?"
Another smile graced his lips. Tsukushi almost sighed.
I've gotten too comfortable with just being his friend that I've almost forgotten how beautiful he really is...
Tsukushi blushed. Kyaa~! What am I thinking!?
"It's nothing, really..." he paused, suddenly staring at her intently as if noticing her presence for the first time.
"Eh?" Tsukushi blinked, taken aback at his sudden change of attitude.
"You." he breathed. "You're an Eitoku girl."
Tsukushi sweat-dropped. "...And you're just realizing this...now!?"
"But you're not really one of the Eitoku girls..." he went on, more to himself than to her. "That's it!"
"Hanazawa...Rui?" Tsukushi blinked again, her eyes turning into tiny dots.
"Makino," Rui said suddenly, giving her a small, half smile that would give many girls a bloody nose. "What are you doing this Saturday?"
Tsukushi cocked her head, thinking. "Nothing much, really..."
"Good. You can be my date at my cousin's wedding, then."
Tsukushi gaped, not believing her ears. Did Hanzawa Rui just ask her out? Did Hanazawa Rui just ask her out? Did Hanazawa Rui just ask her out!?!?
"Wh--What!?" she gasped.
"Well, why not?" he reasoned. "You have nothing to do anyway, and I need to find someone to escort. You're the perfect candidate because I'm not comfortable around strange women anyway."
"But...but..."
"Hey, remember that time I went to Amakusa Seinosuke's birthday party with you? Well, now it's time for you to return the favor."
"But...I don't have anything to wear to something as formal as that!" Tsukushi protested, blushing.
Rui waved her objections carelessly aside. "I'll find something appropriate for you. No worries." He glanced at his watch and stood up. "Well, see ya on Saturday."
At this, he actually flashed Tsukushi a genuine smile. A real, Hanazawa Rui smile.
Dazed, Tsukushi blinked and caught her breath. I can't believe...
Hanazawa Rui actually asked me out on a date!
@----
"So tell me again why Rui isn't riding with us," Soujiro asked as he straightened the lapels of his expensive tux.
Akira gave a short laugh. "Said he was taking a date."
"Rui, with a girl other than Shizuka? The world must be flat."
Akira shrugged. "I know. Sure, he went through his dating phase after he came back from paris, but Rui's Rui. He's just not the playboy type."
Even as the two guys bantered on, they were well aware of someone brooding at one corner of the car. Tsukasa gazed out the tinted window of his limousine, lost in thought. Rui's cousin Akiko had been a friend of his sister when they were younger, and in their elite social circles, it was hard to ignore such invitations. He had to come. They were all expected to.
The invitation had been for him and Tsubaki, politely informing them that there were two seats reserved for them. His sister had confirmed, but at the last minute had to fly back to the United States, leaving Tsukasa with an extra seat. So he did the next best thing -- he asked Tsukushi.
After all, what girl would say no to Doumyouji Tsukasa?
Well, Makino Tsukushi, apparently.
"You shouldn't have waited until the last minute," Akira said casually, reading his thoughts.
"Yesterday was not the last minute!" he growled in his own defense. Akira and Soujiro were there when he had waylaid her during lunch and informed her that they were going to the wedding on Saturday.
And what had she said then? Tsukasa thought furiously. She said she was going to be busy. Busy? What kind of an excuse was that?
"But you shouldn't have gotten mad at her when she blew you off," Soujiro interjected. "Girls are like that. They don't want to give you the impression that she waited the whole week for you to ask her out even if she did. So she has to act hard to get."
"Makino's not like that," Tsukasa defended.
"have you even heard yourself talking?" Soujiro asked. "Yesterday you were all mad at her. Now you're defending her. Make up your mind!"
But Tsukasa's mind was busy with someone else -- replaying yesterday's conversation with Tsukushi. When he insisted to know what was going to keep her busy on Saturday, she said she was going to a wedding with Yuuki. For a minute, he had to stop and recall who Yuuki was until he remembered the curly haired girl she came with in Canada.
"Can't you tell her to cancel the wedding?" he demanded.
"It's not her wedding, you idiot!" she informed him. "How can she cancel it?"
"It's been done before," he replied in a huff.
Tsukushi threw her hands up. "You exasperate me completely."
"To hell with girls!" he cried out.
Akira's laughter made Tsukasa realized that he had spoken the last line out loud. "That's the spirit." The limousine pulled to a stop in front of a grand cathedral. "Well, here we are. Who knows, Tsukasa? You might meet the woman of your dreams today. There'll be plenty of them inside." Then he winked. "Hopefully, married ones."
"You are one sick guy," Soujiro said as he got out of the car.
Tsukasa watched his friends. I wish it could be just as easy for me to forget about her. But Makino's different.
He half-heartedly followed his two friends up the cathedral steps. But before he reached the top step, both guys turned to him and steered him to the side entrance. "Let's grab some seats before they get filled up," Akira suggested.
Tsukasa was no pushover. He immediately sensed something was up. "This isn't a baseball game. Believe me, people don't line up for seats at a wedding."
"But I see someone we know over there," Soujiro added.
Tsukasa broke free from their grasp and turned back to where they were originally headed.
Maybe I shouldn't have.
There stood Hanzawa Rui, smiling pleasantly at his mother. And at his side, looking radiant like a bride, was Makino Tsukushi.
Akira and Soujiro sighed. Heaven help them now.
"Listen, Doumyouji, I --" Tsukushi began as Tsukasa strode towards them.
"Fancy meeting you here. You said you were going to be with Yuuki today," Tsukasa said, his voice unnaturally calm and steady. "I didn't know Yuuki suddenly grew a foot taller and lost her chest."
She blushed. "It's not what you think, really, but if I told you that I was with Hanazawa Rui, I had a feeling you would freak out and --"
"Freak out? Who's freaking out?" he continued in that controlled voice.
Rui stepped in. "I only asked Tsukushi because --"
But Rui never got to finish his sentence as the organ began to play. Rui's cousin Akiko stood at the end of the church, blushing in her white gown. Soujiro laid an arm on Tsukasa's shoulder, and he allowed himself to be led away in the opposite direction.
She lied to me.
The thought kept echoing in Tsukasa's mind. How could she lie to him? All throughout the ceremony, Tsukasa could only keep his eyes on Rui and Tsukushi.
As the priest gave his homily, he watched Rui pick up a handkerchief Tsukushi dropped.
As the bride and groom exchanged rings, he watched Rui take out a corsage from his pocket.
Tsukasa strained his neck trying to see what he would do next. Slowly, Rui leaned closer to Tsukushi, bringing the red corsage to her breast...
...closer...
...closer...
...he was practically kissing her!
"...speak now or forever hold your peace," the priest intoned.
"STOP!" Tsukasa thundered, jumping to his feet.
Everyone looked his way, including a very startled bride and groom. Rui dropped the corsage in surprise. Akira and Soujiro leapt up and tried to get him to sit down.
"You have any objections, young man?" the priest asked, his forehead wrinking.
Akiko looked embarrassed. "Tsukasa? What are you doing?" She turned to her would-be husband. "I swear, honey, he's just my friend's kid brother!"
"Sit down, Tsukasa!" Soujiro hissed.
"Are you crazy?" Akira piped up.
Tsukasa looked around, turning red. He opened his mouth to apologize, searching the church for Akiko's parents, until he saw Tsukushi staring straight at him.
And he flared up again.
He shook a finger at her. "This is all your fault!" Then he turned and stomped out of the church without a backward glance.
...to be continued.
@----