Playing with Fire
Prologue: Eclipse
Disclaimer: Hana Yori Dango and its characters do not belong to me.
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4:30 A.M. Eastern Time…New York, New York
The building stood tall, its shadow covering the many smaller buildings next to it. The windows were tinted, allowing no outsiders to see what went on inside. Mysterious, foreboding, elegant, these were all adjectives, which described the large building perfectly.
On top floor of the building lies a large glass room. It occupants blurred by the peculiar glass which protects its many secrets. What really went on inside, no one knew, the secrets lay hidden underneath the many files, papers, and documents.
The lights shined through the glass room, the only source of light throughout the whole top floor. Inside, a beautiful woman stared out the window at the city below, her head tilted back to lean against the back of her leather office chair. She waited patiently; her fingers wrapped together and lied softly above her crossed legs.
She turned her attention back towards the door when she heard light footsteps approaching. Step. Pause. Step. Pause. Step. Pause. The almost inaudible noise of the light footsteps echoed throughout the top floor. The woman stared expectantly for the door to open, her eyebrow cocked as she saw the doorknob turning.
Through the darkness that lied just outside the door, a shadow of a young woman stood, confidently yet almost hesitant outside the door.
"What are you waiting for?" The woman said, waiting for the figure to enter the room.
This woman was Sakura Shiji, the queen of the Shiji Clan. The law. The word of justice or injustice. The ruler of the world, on top of everybody and everything. This, this was Sakura Shiji. She was as beautiful as she always had been, her eyes burnt with fire, her hair still the same light brown yet it now streaked with a light gray due to the passing years.
She looked at the young woman who just entered the room, her eyes traveling over the young woman's body suspiciously. She sighed inwardly when she saw that the young woman had returned, unharmed and well.
"You are still angry, Mistress?" The young woman said with a smile, her eyes vibrant even at the odd hour to which their meeting took place.
This, this was Tsukushi Makino, the young, the vibrant, and the feared Tsukushi Makino.
Her hair, which used to be long, was now short due to her passing missions. If mission was what you could call it. She was beautiful, graceful, and peppy. But that was what she seemed like to the untrained eye. Below the beautiful teenage girl was a deadly assassin, ready to kill and strike at any unsuspecting prey.
No one would have thought that the vibrant, charming young woman that was Tsukushi Makino would be the world's top assassin. Tsukushi Makino, the name used by her peers, her elders, her friends, and all the other unknowing and innocent people. She was known as Eclipse by the underworld.
Tsukushi stared expectantly at her Mistress, her life source, and her savoir. But could anyone really call Sakura a savior, the answer was "No". No one could ever consider the "Queen" as anyone's savior. That was not what Sakura was all about; she could care less about the poor, the sick, and the hungry. But Tsukushi had always saw Sakura as her savior and the mother she never had. In everyway, Tsukushi hated Sakura but in everyway,
Tsukushi also loved Sakura.
"No, I'm not mad."
"I'm sorry for leaving; I had something to take care of." Tsukushi said with a light bow.
"No one can blame you. Come here, sweetheart."
Tsukushi approached Sakura confidently, her eyes softening when she saw what was left of the woman she had always saw as her mother. The woman who saved her from the world, this Sakura was just an empty shell of what used to be her "mother".
Tsukushi stood next to Sakura and kneeled down, letting her head rest on the older woman's lap. Sakura looked down at Tsukushi and smiled; she then gently stroked Tsukushi's hair.
"I was worried. Next time tell me where you are going ok?"
"Yes, Mistress."
"Dear, don't call me 'Mistress'. It sounds so distant, call me 'Mother'."
"Yes, Mother."
An outsider who looked in this scene would have said "aw" or "how sweet", but this was nothing near the words "aw" or "how sweet". This situation was nowhere near that. This was not some loving family scene, where a mother cared for her daughter; this scene was so much more than that. This was something unspoken and forbidden; this was the relationship between Sakura and Tsukushi.
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10:00 A.M. Standard Time….Tokyo, Japan
Tsukasa sat up groaning more out of habit then of irritation. His eyes squinted when the light from the sun, just lying on the other side of the curtain peaked into the room. He stared remorsefully at his room. It was a complete wreck. All of the vases and expensive furniture were destroyed. The pieces of his destruction lied quietly on the cold floor of the room.
He rubbed the back of his head slowly, the signs of a hangover. He stepped out of bed, wincing when his bare feet touched the cold wooden floor. He grabbed a robe from next to his bed, wrapped it around his half-naked body and made his way towards the bathroom.
The same routine every morning, except today, he was blessed with a hangover from his two idiot best friends. Hangovers were a normal when hanging out with Akira and Soujirou; it was something to be expected the morning after.
He walked into the bathroom and stared at his reflection in the mirror. The eyes of the man who stared back at him was something he would never forget. Some say that the eyes are the window to the soul. What if your eyes were anything but a window? Maybe a door or a brick wall but Tsukasa's eyes were never a window. And he made sure of that, he made sure that he could never be read, never be understood, and never be predicted.
He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands wearily, he then took off his boxers (AN: 0.o) and walked towards the steaming shower. He relaxed as the hot water hit his body, the steam engulfing his madness and his fears. This was what red madness was about, it was the feeling of fear, but having no clue what one fears.
After about twenty minutes of soaking in the hot water, Tsukasa emerged from the shower wet- his hair straightened- and relaxed. He grabbed a towel from the rack and dried himself off. Putting a new robe on, he opened the bathroom door and made his way to his walk-in closet, picking out an outfit for today.
After all, today was another day and he never knew what lied ahead. Maybe today was another day of more red tags and watching those pathetic little freaks suffer. Maybe today would be the same as everyday.
This man was Tsukasa Doumyouji, someone who like the rest of his family loved to be on top, in charge and powerful. His word was law and he knew it. He could be described as the 18 year old who owned the world. Someone who every one admired and at the same time feared. A complicated human being living without a care of what the outside world was really like. What suffer, pain was, and living without a clue what love was.
And no matter how much he tried to deny it, Tsukasa Doumyouji was not fulfilled, he was not completed and he was not happy.
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Same time…Tokyo, Japan
Rui turned slightly in his sleep, his eyes closed, and his face as calm and beautiful as an angel. He lied quiet, oblivious to the light surrounding his room. He lied on his bed, emotionless and cold. Almost dead. Maybe that was what Rui Hanazawa was. Dead.
Maybe he was pretending to be asleep right now, to run away from the world, to run away from everything. Maybe sleep was his train ticket out of his problems. But Rui Hanazawa was not one to run away. He might have been the one in trouble that couldn't care less about what was going on. But right now, Rui Hanazawa waspretending to be asleep. Right now, Rui Hanazawa was running away from the world.
Right now, he wanted to stay in the comfort of bed, in the comfort of isolation. Because Rui
Hanazawa would never admit that he was tired, tired of being indifferent, tired of waiting for something to happen. He was just tired. And with that thought, Rui drifted back into slumber, not giving a care what date today was, what time it was, or what he could do if he just got out of bed. He didn't care about anything but sleeping right now.
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Same Time….Tokyo, Japan
Maybe this morning, Soujirou and Akira found themselves in the same situation. That was sleeping with an anonymous woman or sometimes women in the top suite at the top hotel in Tokyo.
And that was exactly what happened.
Akira was trapped in bed with a nameless woman in her mid thirties, probably married due to the large diamond ring on her ring finger. Maybe he just met her last night. He couldn't recall her name. He couldn't even recall how he got here.
He quietly got out of bed, careful not to wake up the older woman. This was the thing about older women; they were never the morning type. He slipped on his clothes and walked out the door. No need to wake her up, she wasn't remarkably beautiful anyways. He could always find something better to play with for the next few weeks.
In another hotel, Soujirou sat in bed wearily rubbing his right cheek. These girls always expected more from him, they always expected more than he could give. He couldn't give them love; he couldn't give them anything more than sex.
Sex. That was the word. It was never making love; it was always just meaningless sex.
Soujirou sighed as he stood up to put his clothes back on. It was always like this. They would get mad when he told them their time was up. It was as if all of them thought they would be the one to change him. It was as if they hoped to be the one that he would love for the rest of his life. Pathetic really, they were all just there for a good fuck. They were his toys until he got bored of them. And that was really all any of them could expect.
Akira and Soujirou lived them same way, they always had someone in their arms. Someone who they could have meaningless sex with. They were never alone and refused to be alone. But the truth was, they feared loneliness and above all, no matter what amount of girls they had in bed with them at night. The next day, they would still be lonely. That was the truth. Both of these playboys were lonely, but neither would ever admit that.
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9:00 A.M. Eastern time….New York, New York
Tsukushi sat quietly in the living room of her pent house, waiting patiently for Sakura to speak up. Waiting quietly for Sakura to tell her what to do next.
"Sweetheart, I want you to do something for me."
Tsukushi did not reply, instead she stared at Sakura's back, waiting for her "mother" to continue.
"I want you to go back to Japan."
Sakura turned her attention away from the window of the large window facing Central Park and walked to where Tsukushi was sitting.
"I want you to meet someone."
"I'm sorry for interrupting, Mother, but I'm going to meet someone?"
"Be quiet and I will explain." Sakura hissed, her eyes looking at Tsukushi as if she was the crudest person in the world. Tsukushi upon seeing this could only nod in reply.
"I want you to meet Tsukasa Doumyouji."
Tsukushi's brain racked to know why that name sounded so familiar. She was sure she has heard of it before.
"I'm sure you have heard the Doumyouji's."
"The Doumyouji Empire, richest family in Japan, head of Doumyouji Corp. is Kenichi
Doumyouji; his wife is Kaede Masami…"
Tsukushi's voice slowly faded out, her speech came to stop when she realized why she had to meet Tsukasa Doumyouji.
"I see you've done your homework."
'Apparently I've done my homework. Of course I've done my homework.' Tsukushi thought bitterly and she looked away from her mother's back.
"You will be leaving for Japan in two hours. I advice you get to packing."
Tsukushi nodded slowly as she bowed to her mother, escorting her out the door. She sighed when she closed the door after her mother's retreating back. Packing was never really packing when it came to her. She didn't really need the clothes; she had more than enough money to buy a new wardrobe everywhere she went.
No, packing was more like "prepare to kill" or make sure you bring all the weapons. But "packing" just sounded more normal.
She looked up at the clock sitting on the wall. 11:00 o'clock. Time to get some business done before she leaves.
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4:00 P.M. Standard Time….Tokyo, Japan
Soujirou waited patiently in the fancy restaurant. Holding his drink in his hand and swirling around the contents of the wine glass. Leave it up to those other three to be late when he said it was urgent. He looked up from his reflection in the glass when he felt someone sit down next to him.
"Sorry man, did I make you wait long?"
"No."
"Where are Tsukasa and Rui?"
"Late."
Just as Soujirou said that, the other two members of the F4 sat down. Rui who was dragged by Tsukasa the whole way here was threw into a seat where the latter leaned his head on the back of the chair and slept soundly.
"What do you need?" Tsukasa said as he took Soujirou's glass and drinking the remaining liquid in the glass.
"We haven't seen each other in a while that's all."
"What are you talking about? We were just drinking last night."
"Oh, yeah."
"Why are we really here?"
"I was bored."
"What the fuck? We are here because you were bored?" Tsukasa said slamming his hand on the table.
"Does it really matter? You virgins don't really have anything better to do with your time anyways." Soujirou said as he winked to Akira.
Tsukasa's forehead popped a vein as he reached out and grabbed Soujirou's collar pulling his fist back, ready to punch the latter.
Just then, Rui reached out to get a menu, interrupting the chaos at the table.
"Eh? Rui weren't you asleep?" Soujirou said peeking over Tsukasa's shoulder.
"Yeah but I'm hungry now."
The group sweat dropped and Tsukasa set Soujirou back down and fixed his now crinkled shirt also getting another menu. The situation was brushed off as the group chatted merrily.
If only they knew, they were being watched from the corner.
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11:45 A.M. Eastern Time…New York, New York
Tsukushi stood on the roof of the building, waiting silently. Watching and waiting. The sun shone in her eyes as she stood with her heels on the ledge of the balcony. It would be almost impossible to get a shot from this far up but she was Eclipse, the black sun. There was nothing she couldn't do.
She smiled lightly to herself when she saw her target approaching not far from the building where she stood. Step. Thump. Step. Thump. She could hear his heartbeat with every footstep he took. As if the man felt her intense gaze, he turned his head around and looked towards her direction.
"You're not going to be able to see me." Tsukushi said as she followed the man with her gun.
He waited for his driver to open the door, walking into the car. He sat down. This could hardly be seen from where Tsukushi was standing but that was only to the untrained eye.
She set the gun on silencer and aimed.
Shoot. The gun was shot and Tsukushi silently packed her gun and made her way out of the building.
In the car, the man was dead, his head now engraved with a bullet hole. The driver looked at the rear view mirror and let out a scream as he saw his boss bloody and dead in the back of the car.
He stopped the car and pulled to the side. A commotion started when he called for help, people started to gather. And not far form the chaos, a janitor walked out of the gates of the building for his "lunch".
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12:00 P.M. Standard Time..…Tokyo, Japan
"Guys, did you hear the news?"
"What news?"
"Edward Winston of the British Embassy was shot today walking out of his apartment in New York."
"And?"
"They think that the assassin is a janitor from Tsukasa's company building."
"Mine? The Doumyouji Corporation in New York?" Tsukasa said as he looked at Soujirou with a cocked eyebrow.
"Yeah. They think it is someone from your building. Now some people are calling it a scandal. Newspapers." Soujirou said with a scoff.
"Why are you so interested?"
"I don't know. It's just odd. The Doumyouji's buildings were always very heavily guarded."
"Let's talk about something else. So what are we going to do tonight?" Akira said, quickly changing the subject to something much more interesting. The F4 discussed their plans still clueless about the fact that they were being watched.
In another place, a jet plane quietly landed the grounds of Japan. A figure of a young woman walked out. She carried herself with dignity and grace as she slowly walked off the plane. Placing a hat on her head and a pair of dark glasses to cover her face, she made her way to the car waiting for her.
She placed her luggage in the car and drove off. Taking off her wig and putting on her make up, she made herself more comfortable.
"Tsukasa Doumyouji."
The words repeated over and over in her mind as she drove down the crowded streets of Tokyo.
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11:00 P.M. Standard Time….Tokyo, Japan
The club was filled as the crowd of people outside the door tried to push their way in. Inside, people danced wildly to the jumpy beat and the rhythm of the music echoed throughout the club.
Tsukasa looked at the bimbos crowding around their table trying desperately to get their attention with disgust. He couldn't stand those kind of women. Though he would never admit it, he had to give it to Akira and Soujirou for always keeping up with women like that.
He froze when a young woman touched him, his scowl slowly turning into a cold mask. He slapped her hand away as if it stung his skin at her touch and threw his drink on her, yelling at her for touching him. The woman looked surprised than slowly her face turned into a frown as tear crept out of the corners of her eyes.
Security came after that and everybody was ushered away, leaving the F4 alone once again.
The group talked quietly amongst themselves as the women around them eyed them hungrily. Rui seemed out of the conversation, his eyes looking out the window of the club. He held his breathe and his eyes widened when he saw someone walk in.
This did not go unnoticed by Akira and Soujirou; they turned their head toward the direction that Rui was looking. They also held their breathe, Tsukasa who was still clueless about this situation could only cock his eyebrow dumbly and looked over Soujirou's shoulder to see what had caught the trio's eyes.
His eyes bulged when he saw the young lady that walked into the club. Apparently they were not they only one whose attention the young lady had aught. The other men in the club were also drooling over the girl who just entered the room.
She wore a black satin skirt that covered her knees and clung to her tiny waist and a see through tube top, which was covered by a white tweed coat. Her hand was adorned in the finest jewelry and her feet covered by a pair of 6 inch pumps. Her face was covered by a veil, which was held on by her hair bun.
Though the black veil covered most of her face, it could not cover her doll like face from a bystander's view. Her eyes were large and round resembling those of a fairy, she made her way through the club and sat down quietly in the table across form the F4's. She gently crossed her leg and held her white clutch in her lap. The waiters fought each other to take her order, each hoping he would catch the lady's eye.
She looked throughout the crowd, her eyes stopping at the bar. Then she turned her head and looked at the direction of the F4's table. The occupants of the table drew in a sharp breathe as the saw her face which they could now see clearly due to the fact that she was facing their direction. She was beautiful almost unreal. She cocked her eyebrow ever so gently, curving her perfect lips into an elegant smile. Getting out of her seat, she walked towards their direction.
The truth was each one of them hoped that she was approaching him, hoping that he was the one she was smiling at. As she neared the table, her smile widened showing a perfect set of teeth. And within that short moment, the F4 really thought she was heading away when they all were surprised that she walked to another table, greeting another man with a handshake and a friendly hug.
Tsukushi greeted the Kin happily, shaking his hand and giving him a short hug, which did not go unnoticed by the F4. She smiled, glad that she had kept their attention with her appearance. The rest would be simple.
"If looks could kill, I'm sure every man and woman in this room would be dead." Kin said, lazily drinking his vodka.
"Why?" Tsukushi asked confused.
"Because you are drop-dead gorgeous. You don't even look like you belong here."
"Kin, you were always good with your words."
"Flattery is one of my skills."
"You mean flattery towards yourself?" Tsukushi said smiling teasingly at Kin who cocked his eyebrow up in surprise.
"It hurts me to hear that that's how you think of me."
"Don't be sad, Kin. Its good that you flatter yourself, no use wasting breathe on other people when you are more beautiful than they are." Tsukushi said sarcastically turning her attention back towards they crowd.
She almost let out a laugh when she saw that the F4 still had their attention on her even though they were not looking directly at her.
"I told you when you get older you would have men kissing the ground you walk on."
"Oh, Kin, you're making me blush."
Kin rolled his eyes and waved a waiter over to their seat. "What would you like to drink, precious?"
"Pierre."
"Of course."
"And I advice you to stop drinking, it will do nothing but kill you." Tsukushi said shaking her head.
"But it does make me look rather charming, does it not?"
Tsukushi let out a soft chuckle at Kin's words.
Rui sighed standing up and getting ready to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"Home. Sleep." The other members of F4 sighed, it was Rui after all, and who could blame him?
"I'm leaving, too." Soujirou said standing and walking out after Rui.
"He's going to find someone to fuck." said Akira with a light chuckle before he also stood up and walked out after patting Tsukasa on the shoulders.
Tsukasa sat there downing what was left of his drink when he saw the man that has been talking to the veiled girl leave. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, seeing if she was leaving or not.
He couldn't help but feel a little curious about her. What was her name? Who was she? What was her relationship with that guy? He had to admit this was the first girl he felt remotely attracted and curious about her. He couldn't help it. Maybe it was the veil.
He sat there waiting for her to leave so he could "accidentally" bump into her. He sighed when he realized she was not leaving anytime soon. Pushing his chair back to get out of his seat, Tsukasa felt his seat bump into something.
He turned his head around, ready to snap at the person when he saw someone's chest in front of his face. And the worst thing was his face was now leaning on that person's chest. He felt the person pull away and stumble back.
His face turned red when he realized who it was, "Excuse me, I'm sorry."
"No, its all right, I know you didn't mean to." The lady said and took off.
Tsukasa ran after her and held her back by her wrist, "Erhm, excuse me, but I'm sorry about what happened back there."
"I said don't worry about it." Tsukushi said curtly and pulled her wrist out of his reach.
"No, I mean yes, can I have your name and I can take you out sometime for a sorry lunch?"
"There is no need."
"No, I insist. Here, how about you give me your name."
"You just don't give up, do you?"
"Not when I'm trying to be sincere."
"Tsukushi Makino." Tsukushi said and walked away before Tsukasa could pull her back. She smiled to herself, all you had to do was get their attention and they would make the first move themselves.
Tsukasa stood dazed, looking at Tsukushi's retreating back. Tsukushi Makino. Tsukushi Makino. The words repeated over and over in his head. And before he knew it, a rare smile graced his lips. He would make sure to get her attention. He would make sure that she would fall in love with him.
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I guess it ends there, sorry if this is really bad. I'm fairly new at this writing thing. Please forgive me if anything was really badly written. I don't have the best grade in English. It might be a little draggy so please forgive me on that part. Please review, it really helps. More than you would think.