Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango. I admire Kamio-sensei so much:)
Characterizations based upon the Hana Yori Dango Manga Volume29. This fanfiction was originally written in response to reading Margaret 2001, Issue ¾ when it was released five years ago. There will be spoilers up until volume 29 in this story.
Author's
Notes (6/21/06): Hi everyone! This is one of my old stories that I am
working on and plan to finish someday soon. I began writing this story in
2001 and first posted it on the HYDML while following Hana Yori Dango
as it was being serialized in Margaret Magazine.
Please see my author's page for more information about the progress of The Engagement and this story in the future! Hope you enjoy reading:)
(2001) Thanks to my wonderful editor and "publisher", Rita B, my other great editors, Lelu and Antigone, for all their comments and support!
Tomorrow
A
Hana Yori Dango Fanfiction
By Maho-chan
Part 1
Edinburgh,
Scotland
November 10, 2001
10:00 PM
Rain was all Tsukushi could make out as she hurriedly walked through the city streets. Her footsteps made soft pattering noises as she stepped quickly past house after house, looking for the Domyoji Mansion. As she adjusted the hood of her rain jacket over her short hair and pushed her wet bangs out of her eyes, she thought back to all the circumstances that had brought her to this foreign city. The familiar emotions arose again as she relived the memories of the past year's experiences in her mind.
January 13, 2001
The Domyoji House
Suburbs of New York City
"You have some nerve coming here Makino Tsukushi," Kaede said with undisguised malice in her voice. "Coming to make a fool of yourself halfway across the world."
"I want to see Domyoji. Let me see him please," Tsukushi said angrily, looking Kaede straight in the eye. "I am not leaving until I do." She felt her determination falter a bit as Kaede scrutinized her with a glacial stare.
'I won't give up!' Tsukushi thought. 'Everyone is counting on me to have courage. And Domyoji, I owe him this gesture, this promise. Every time, he's come for me. Every single time, and not once have I ever shown him what that meant to me. This time I want Domyoji to know. I want to do this for him to repay all those times.'
'And besides, I need to scold that moron for making me wait that day on the roof.'
Her thoughts were interrupted by Kaede's snide voice.
"My, you are persistent, aren't you? It is amazing how much effort you are putting into trying to ruin my family! You broke up my son's promising engagement, created strife between myself and my own children, and have blatantly insulted me countless times. Your lack of understanding of your own depravity is astonishing. Well, you'd best go home." Kaede sneered and made a motion with her hand towards the front gate. "You won't be seeing my son ever again." She turned and began to walk into the house, carrying the large bouquet of blood red roses that she had freshly cut.
Tsukushi stared at her in disbelief.
'I can't believe this! How can this woman act as though she alone has control over people, that she has the right to treat others as though they were pawns to be removed or kept depending on her whims?" she thought angrily, squaring her shoulders and planting her feet firmly on the ground. "How can she be so removed from reality and people's feelings? She may be right, that Domyoji and I are not meant to be. This may be a wasted effort, all of this.'
'If we are doomed then so be it. However it will not be because of this woman and her schemes.'
Tsukushi cleared her throat nervously, then calmly and with a twinge of iciness in her voice, said out loud:
"It is amazing to me how someone can be so cruel and insensitive to those around her. You call me a fool; you are a larger one for your lack of integrity. Don't you feel shame for the unhappiness you have caused your children? Don't you feel remorse for how you have destroyed lives for your own selfishness? The sad reality is you will never be able to force Domyoji to do as you wish. Even if you remove me, he will never bend to your will. To force Domyoji to do anything is impossible. It is amazing how little you know about your son."
Tsukushi rushed to catch up to Kaede, to run in front of her and look her straight in the eye.
"Depraved. I think that is your situation not mine. I will find him, and you can't stop me." said Tsukushi, smiling coldly. Kaede's eyes narrowed at her words.
Tsukushi turned and began to walk toward the open door, her footsteps quickened with the determination to find Tsukasa. She stopped short as Kaede spoke again.
"Makino-san. I think that it is time that you leave. Again, you are missing the reality of the situation." Kaede's voice was as smooth as ice "He isn't here. And fortunately for my family and me, you'll never find out where he is."
She smiled amusedly at Tsukushi's surprised look. "Really, did you think it would be that easy?" Kaede walked up to Tsukushi until they were shoulder to shoulder and then said conspiratorially, "You underestimate me Makino-san."
Tsukushi simply stared straight ahead, her fists clenching and unclenching, trying her hardest not to give in to her strong emotions.
'I want to punch her, to hit her, this woman that has hurt her son and her daughter to the core of their being, has hurt my friends, and ruined countless lives.' Tsukushi thought.
"But the weight of those words 'You'll never find out where he is.' Why does my heart feel so heavy, so afraid?'
Her courage faltered, and her anger swelled, as she considered Kaede's words.
Tsukushi simply stood there, trying to keep control, attempting to hold up the façade of strength, even though she was dying inside from the self doubt, the fear that fate was once again against her.
'I may have lost him, I may not be able to see him again. I may not be able to control my own destiny.'
These thoughts caused her to cringe inwardly.
'Baka,' Tsukushi scolded herself. "I am Makino Tsukushi. It is my fate to struggle. Whatever the outcome, I will fight her, for Domyoji and for myself. Using the courage that everyone has given me. Even if I fail, I will still fight. Even if my tomorrow is without him"
She shuddered as she imagined the possibility of her world without Domyoji in it. Pushing that horrible thought out of her mind, Tsukushi gathered her unswerving determination.
'I will not give up.'
Tsukushi opened her mouth to retort, when Kaede continued on, her voice deceptively pleasant, ever the actress and hypocrite.
"Why don't you go do some sight seeing? I am sure you have never been to the United States before! Someone poor like you may never be able to come back again! Why don't you enjoy your stay, I understand you have some friends here. You could take them and go to the Statue of Liberty or Central Park. There is always the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but I doubt that you know anything about famous artists, being so poor and lacking the opportunity to educate yourself in the arts. Well, you should at least try it out. Your journey does not have to be a complete waste!"
All of this was said with a fake smile firmly plastered on Kaede's perfect face.
"Here, I will help you by having someone drive you. Sumida, Kobayashi, please show Makino-san to the door. She will be leaving, and never coming back."
Saying this, Kaede gave a haughty laugh and walked away as two men in dark suits strode over to Tsukushi and took her arms.
Tsukushi stared in shock. That anyone would dare be that insulting amazed and horrified her. She couldn't even reply. She had no idea how to even begin conveying her disgust.
Kaede's laughter echoed throughout the foyer of the Domyoji house.
Tsukushi was suddenly shaken out of her stupor when she felt firm pressure on her arms. Each word began to sink into the turmoil inside her mind. Finally, in the clamor of her thoughts she found her courage again, and more importantly, her voice.
"You…..You witch!" Tsukushi shouted at Kaede's retreating form, straining against the henchmen that held her back. "I will find him, and you will see me again! Do not doubt that! You're the one who has underestimated me! This isn't finished! It's your effort that is complete waste." She laughed loudly, feeling angry and frustrated. Tears welled up in her eyes.
Tsukushi kicked and struggled as they dragged her out to the black car waiting in the front of the house. She held back her emotions, until she was tossed onto the curb at 42nd and 3rd, right in the neighborhood where Thomas and his friends lived. Watching the car slowly drive away, Tsukushi stared numbly at it, the tears finally spilling over.
February 2, 2001
Thomas' Apartment
New York City
3:00 am
Darkness.
The sound of footsteps on ice.
Numbing coldness.
A maze of trees.
And in the distance, the frozen pond.
Tsukushi awoke with a start, sitting up in bed and gasping with fear.
"Domyoji."
March 17, 2001
The Maple Hotel
5th and Broadway
New York City
Tsukushi was running, and she couldn't catch her breath.
'I have to make it to the banquet in Maple Hotel in time. Before Kaede discovers me.'
She was racing through the city streets, a hurried "excuse me" uttered as she brushed past the throngs of people still walking after dark.
'I can catch him, the witch will not be able to act in front of all those people. We can finally see each other again!'
Hope swelled inside her heart. Dodging people left and right, she reached the front door of the hotel, and entered, looking anxiously around for Tsukasa in the huge foyer.
It was too late.
Two of the guards rushed forth to restrain her and hold her back, stifling her cries as she watched Tsukasa being dragged across the foyer by another set of suited men, no doubt more of Kaede's minions.
She gasped, he looked thin, and pale, dark circles rimming his eyes. But he was here, she could see his face, his curly hair, the redness of his lips. Tsukushi's heart soared at seeing him, even in this situation. He was here. Suddenly, his image blurred as tears began to form in her eyes.
Tsukasa's appalled expression at the sight of her made her heart pound as she stared at his face, which she hadn't seen in months.
Tsukasa struggled against the henchmen, punching and kicking.
"Makino? How did you get here! What are you doing here? I thought…You idiot, I tried to protect you. Why aren't you in Japan? Where are Sojiro, Akira and Rui? Listen Makino, you need to leave, this isn't safe, you don't know."
Tsukushi struggled to free herself, and was rewarded by the grip on her arms tightening painfully and the hand over her mouth pulling her head backward.
One of the men holding her said in a seething voice "Makino-san, I would advise you stop fighting us. For your own good."
Terrified by those words, Tsukushi watched as Tsukasa's eyes turned angry, and his expression filled with rage.
"Let me go! Take your hands off her! I will kill you do you hear me? LET ME GO! MAKINO!" He shouted, trying to move towards her.
"Domyoji!" Tsukushi cried, her voice muffled by the hands covering her mouth. Her eyes widened in fear as she heard the clicking of high heels fast approaching.
"Tsukasa, really, you should keep your voice down. What will people think?" A smooth voice scolded.
Realizing the source of those words, Tsukushi groaned.
Kaede.
A queasy feeling filled Tsukushi's stomach as she was once again affixed with a familiar frosty stare.
"So we meet again Makino-san. Well, again, you have surprised me. Really, your tenacity is very admirable. But again, as will always be your fate…you lose. Tsukasa, come."
"You Hag, let me go! Makino, go back to Japan. Wait for me there! MAKINO!" They were dragging him, he was roaring at Kaede, as she calmly led them out the door of the hotel, amidst the scandalized stares of the passerby on the street.
"This isn't happening. Not again. No please, not again!" Tsukushi cried out against the hands on her mouth, beginning to shake with fear.
Tsukushi, her cries muffled behind the hands on her mouth, suddenly bit down hard. One of the men suddenly let go, holding his hand in shock. The other feebly tried to grab onto her, but she had already made it to the door.
"Domyoji! DOMYOJI!"
She was greeted with the sight of a black limousine pulling away from the curb, and the muffled sounds of Tsukasa's own frantic shouts. She ran after the car, trying to catch up with it, to catch up to him. People shouted at her as she nearly collided with them, jumping over trash and stumbling on the cracks in the sidewalk. Tsukushi was still screaming his name, and running as the limousine turned a corner and disappeared from her sight.
"DOMYOJI!"
April 3rd, 2001
Thomas' Apartment
New York City.
Cold. It was so cold.
Tsukushi turned and huddled against the pillow, her head pounding with pain. Coughing, her body convulsing with the force of her gasps for breath, she rolled over and lay on her back. Blearily she looked up at the ceiling, clutching the thin blanket around her body, in a futile attempt to warm herself. Her eyes closed once more as her feverish mind took over.
'Domyoji, you baka, we can't kiss in the middle of the street! I am not a foreigner, I can't do this! STOP!'
'Geh, you are always such an animal. Simple and an idiot. I can't believe I fell in love with such a man! My luck is definitely bad.'
'Domyoji! Domyoji! Come back please…No. Don't do this, Don't go! Don't!'
She was crying, he had left her and she had really lost him. Images appeared in her mind, and she fought against them, as though they were real.
Kaede standing over her and laughing in her face, holding Tsukushi's Saturn necklace and grinning as she smashed it in her fist.
Domyoji being dragged kicking and screaming from the hotel. Kaede slapping him as he called her a bitch.
The limousine driving away.
She struggled to rise, to get away, escape her own mind, but they continued, her nightmares her fears. All her remorse from the past, all her insecurities, they came in waves to haunt her.
She cried, fingers grasping the bed sheets.
'I didn't mean to hurt you Domyoji.'
'Time and Time again I've felt that I loved you.'
Sweating, Tsukushi's head rolled from side to side. The feelings of pain intensified, as familiar darker hallucinations ensued.
In the distance, the frozen pond glittered, illuminated by some unseen light.
Startled, she looked up as lightening traced a jagged path across the sky and the rumble of thunder resounded through the sky.
The trees closed in around her ominously.
Her frightened heartbeat sounded like the loudest of drums.
Tsukushi
continued to walk, numbed by the cold rain that fell around
her.
She awoke from her feverish dreams as arms suddenly lifted her from the bed, voices penetrating the haze of her mind.
"My god, how long has she been like this? Makino, listen to me, Makino…"
"She has been sick for a while, I didn't know what to do, she said that she was feeling better a couple hours ago, just a little tired."
"She has a 106 temperature! Hurry Thomas! Get her things. We need to go to the hospital. Makino, can you hear me?"
"Hanazawa Rui?" She asked blearily. "Hanazawa Rui, is Domyoji with you? I need to talk to him, He is avoiding me…I called him and called him and he won't answer."
Tsukushi suddenly gripped Rui's shirt as she looked up at him, her vision blurry from her fever.
"Hanazawa Rui, why? Why couldn't I do this? Why couldn't I do this for him? He's gone and he's never coming back…" she sobbed brokenly.
"Makino, it's alright. Makino, you are very sick, please try to relax…We need to go, is her stuff ready?"
"Hanazawa Rui, it doesn't matter anymore. None of it. She won." Tsukushi's head lolled as she passed out.
"Thomas, we have to get her to a doctor! NOW!"
April 7th, 2001
4 days later
Memorial Hospital
New York City
"Why didn't you call me before?" Tsubaki cried holding Tsukushi's hand as she lay in the hospital bed.
Tsukushi looked over at Rui who sat nearby, his normally subdued expression replaced with one filled with concern.
Ashamed, she looked back to Tsubaki and answered. "I didn't want to bother you, I thought I could do it myself, I thought that I could do this for him on my own, show him myself, just like all the times he came for me."
"We will find him Tsukushi...I promise you. I cannot believe the lengths my mother would go to keep you two apart." Tsubaki nodded determinedly, patting Tsukushi's hand. We will not let her have her way."
"Oneesama." Tsukushi couldn't even begin to voice her gratitude.
November 7, 2001
Months later
Thomas's Apartment
New York City.
Hope and disbelief.
"I found him Tsukushi! He is in Scotland! My mother is in Hong Kong on business, she won't be able to stop us this time!"
"…." The words were caught in her throat.
"Tsukushi, don't go without us, stay there and we will meet you to go get him. Do not go without us! These new SP's are dangerous, we don't want you to get hurt." Tsubaki's frantic voice traveled through the phone line. "Please! For your own safety, wait for us. We will get him back, I promise! Just wait for us….."
November 8th, 2001
JFK International Airport
New York City
"Gomen Oneesama," Tsukushi whispered, as she handed her ticket to the attendant and boarded the plane.
They were all hurrying to New York, the rest of the F4 and Tsubaki, all of them coming to help Tsukushi.
She hadn't listened to their pleas and hadn't waited for them. Instead she had gone ahead to face the obstacles alone.
'Maybe I am truly an idiot.'
Tsukushi thought as she buckled her seat belt and nervously prepared for the long plane trip.
In her mind the memory of his face smiling at her as she said "Meet you tomorrow for lunch on the roof?" materialized.
"Sure" he had replied confidently, smiling also.
'Domyoji, I will see you tomorrow. For sure.'
Tsukushi felt the plane rise into the air, and watched the NY skyline become smaller and smaller in the tiny window.
November
10th, 2001.
The Present Moment.
All of these memories swirled in the haziness of Tsukushi's consciousness as she continued to walk. The feeling of insurmountable obstacles, of love and happiness dangling on an unreachable thread was more real in this instance than any other.
She was closer to finding him than she had ever been before.
"I just want to see you," Tsukushi whispered as an image of Tsukasa staring at her in annoyance then looking tender with love, appeared in her mind.
"Just once more." She kept walking as a lone tear flowed down her cheek.
"Even if tomorrow never comes."
AN (6/21/06): To be
continued…
