Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango. :)
AN (7/30/07): Ah, it's been a while since I've updated! Right now I'm in the middle of finishing the third chapter of "Dreaming" and the first chapter of the sequel to "A Simple Misunderstanding" (as well as doing a lot of IRL stuff for my graduate degree, internship and my job) which is why this fanfic is shorter than my usual one-shots. Those two chapters are coming asap, in the meantime, here is a short fanfic that was quickly written for my claim at the "30 kisses" Livejournal writing community. As always, hope you enjoy it. –Maho-chan :)
Unexpectedly
A Short Hana Yori Dango Fanfiction
By Maho-chan
She seemed to be seeing Tsukasa every where these days.
And this warm, summer evening was no exception. Tsukushi frowned as she peered over the convenience store aisle to make sure that her eyes weren't deceiving her. Facing away from her was a tall guy with curly hair and broad, slightly slouched shoulders. He was wearing expensive, stylish clothing and walking with a slow, shuffling gait. As he turned towards her, she saw his profile clearly before she ducked back down. Crouched behind a display of breads, Tsukushi felt a rush of nervous energy course through her limbs.
It was her stupid boyfriend as she had suspected.
Tsukushi crept slowly down the aisle, her body hunched over in an effort to hide. From time to time she looked over the aisle and watched Tsukasa carefully. Every time she looked at him, she felt a little breathless. And once, when he absently scratched the back of his head, Tsukushi's heart skipped a beat.
What in the world was he doing here?
She was certain that he had followed her to the convenience store on purpose. A small frown graced her lips. And she shouldn't encourage this behavior in him, she mused as she moved closer to the aisle he was standing in.
Tsukushi felt oddly tense. She felt a little spring in her step but didn't have a clue as to why. Her senses tingled with the awareness of his presence. Her heart pounded. She felt a rush of excitement that she tried to repress.
As he shuffled down the aisle away from her, Tsukushi narrowed her eyes at his back. Really, he was the biggest idiot. And no way was she feeling giddy about him seeing him so unexpectedly.
As Tsukushi rounded the corner and almost entered the aisle Tsukasa was in, she had the fleeting thought that maybe he had come to the convenience store by chance. She hid behind a display of packaged yogurts as a Tsukasa inquired of a passing convenience store employee how one might use the brightly colored package of mini disks he held in his hand.
Tsukasa did seem to be considering items as though he might buy them…
And for some reason hearing his gruff voice made her want to let out a little nervous laugh. Tsukushi glanced around the corner again.
"Oi! Is this really food?" Tsukasa suddenly asked the junior high school student standing next to him. He pointed at the instant ramen bowls and queried "You eat these?" Tsukushi couldn't see Tsukasa's face but he must have looked intimidating like he usually did because the startled boy backed away slowly, one of the ramen bowls clutched tightly in his hands.
Tsukasa barked at the boy "Hey! Where are you going? Answer my question!"
Appalled by Tsukasa's behavior, Tsukushi hurried towards him. What was that moron doing? Suddenly it didn't matter why he was there, he was scaring random people!
As the terrified junior high school student turned and ran away in a fright, Tsukasa furrowed his brow as he inspected another shelf. He tilted his head and picked up a bottle of Wada Calcium CD3. Raising an eyebrow, he said under his breath "Do poor people really take these?"
Having reached Tsukasa; Tsukushi crossed her arms and glared at him before speaking.
"Domyoji." Tsukushi began exasperatedly.
Noticing Tsukushi standing there, Tsukasa replied cheerfully "Yo!" He grinned and moved towards her.
Tsukushi held up a hand to stop him just as he bent his head with the intention of kissing her cheek. "What are you doing here?" She demanded as she waved her fist angrily at him.
Instead of answering her question, Tsukasa held up the bottle he was holding and inquired in a serious voice "Hey is this really a vitamin sup…supplicant?"
Surprised by his question, Tsukushi gaped at him. Again she wondered, could it be that he was shopping here of his own volition?
Tsukushi gave him a stern look before answering. "It's a calcium supplement. And people do take them." She shook her head to clear it. She couldn't believe she was talking with Tsukasa about Wada Calcium CD3. He seemed genuinely interested in it. Had she really been mistaken about him?
Tsukasa placed the bottle back on the shelf as he mumbled "So it's calcium." He then moved down the aisle and picked up a package of cotton swabs. Completely puzzled by Tsukasa's behavior, Tsukushi simply stood there and watched him.
Did Tsukasa even know what calcium was? And more importantly, was meeting him tonight just a coincidence? No, he must have come here on purpose, Tsukushi thought. There was no way he would shop at a convenience store on his own. He was trying to surprise her again as she had suspected. And now was time to tell him to stop!
Never mind that she had been truly happy to see him when he had stridden in earlier.
Never mind that she had had the urge to embrace him in that split second.
And never mind that her face had broken out into the silliest of smiles before she remembered to feel flustered and to hide.
He was still an idiot!
Who was looking at a box of Kleenex with the eager expression of an inquisitive little boy…
Tsukasa turned to Tsukushi and asked gleefully "Have you used these? How do they put lotion in them?" And once again she felt her heart pounding in her chest. About to smile as a result of Tsukasa's infectious exuberance in that moment, Tsukushi remembered that she was supposed to be irritated with him. So she tried to frown instead and ended up with a silly looking grimace. Tsukasa raised his eyebrows at her but instead of teasing her for her strange expression and lack of answer to his question; he plucked a package of face papers from the top shelf.
Tsukasa shook the package of face papers curiously. Affected by the boyish expression on Tsukasa's face, Tsukushi suddenly blurted out in unnecessary defense "That's no excuse!"
Tsukasa turned to her with a quizzical look on his face, the purple box in his hands forgotten for a moment. "Hah?" He said, surprised at her outburst.
Feeling bewildered about his motives and her emotions, Tsukushi opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. "You shouldn't follow…I mean…You have been…" She faltered.
He gave her a confused look and Tsukushi felt exasperated and affectionate towards him at the same time. "S-stop looking at me like that!" She stammered. Tsukasa shrugged and started reading the back of the package in his hands.
Glancing around in an effort to regain some composure so that she could continue her lecture as to why he shouldn't follow her around, Tsukushi noticed the shopping basket that lay near Tsukasa's feet.
From the looks of it he was buying hair products, an odd looking stuffed toy and an onigiri. What was happening here? Was Domyoji Tsukasa really shopping at a convenience store? Did he really come here on his own and she just happened to meet him? If so, should she be getting mad at him?
As Tsukasa replaced the box of face paper on the rack and started selecting toothbrushes, Tsukushi felt ridiculous all of a sudden. She had gotten the situation all wrong.
Tsukasa glanced over at her with an inscrutable look on his face. The bright florescent lights bore down on them as Tsukushi's face grew redder with each passing second.
Tsukushi was so confused. And really embarrassed…
It was too much for her to deal with right now.
She had to get out of here!
"Well, it was nice to see you. I'll just go since you are busy shopping. See you later!" Tsukushi said quickly.
About to turn tail and run away from him, Tsukushi let out a startled cry as Tsukasa quickly moved forward, grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close to him. Looking into Tsukushi's eyes, Tsukasa smiled and said in a low voice "Stupid, don't run away. Actually, I came here to surprise you and not to buy all these things. But this stuff is really interesting!" Tsukasa said excitedly.
He lovingly pressed his lips to Tsukushi's forehead before draping an arm around her shoulders. Leading Tsukushi down the aisle, Tsukasa pointed to this and that, positively brimming with curiosity. In a surprised stupor, she went along with him.
"Hey Makino, can people really drink that Pocari Sweat thing?" Tsukasa asked. "It sounds really weird. Why would anyone drink sweat?"
"It's not really sweat, it's a sports drink." Tsukushi mumbled.
Gathered against Tsukasa with her cheek pressed against the softness of his shirt, Tsukushi frowned as she reconsidered lecturing him, and then blushed as she felt the heat from his body.
And as he continued with his various inquiries and fascinated comments about commoner's stuff,
"How come these socks are dirt cheap?"
"They just are! Are you really going to buy them?"
"Yeah I want to try them. What's this, mushroom shaped chocolates? You like sweet things. You want to try these?"
"I've had them before. Wait, why are you buying ten boxes? Are these supposed to be for me? Domyoji!"
"Makino, let's light these fireworks after we look at Venus through my telescope tonight! Hey, what colors do you want?"
Tsukushi was unable to stay annoyed at him. As Tsukasa kissed the top of her head, Tsukushi relented and agreed to the red and blue sparklers. They stood under the florescent lights and bantered among the metal shelves stocked with products as Tsukushi leaned into Tsukasa and happily embraced him back.
-Maho-chan (7/30/07)
PS: Prompt used from 30 Kisses was "Wada Calcium CD3".
