I wrote this story nearly eleven years ago, and after re-reading the wonderful manga that is Hana Yori Dango, I wanted to do it justice by rewriting this piece. Because I want to keep the original story, I moved it to chapter two. If you want to read it, knock yourself out—just note that it was written at a much younger age.
I do not own Hana Yori Dango/Boys over Flowers or its characters.
This story is written from the perspective of Rui Hanazawa.
-x-
Rui Hanazawa was always the type to sleep in during the mornings and spend most of his active hours during the afternoon and early evening. It was mornings like this, however, that kept him from snuggling deeper into his mattress and snoozing just a little longer. Today is a very important day for Rui and those he considers most dear to him. Today, his two best friends are getting married to each other. The fact that he is in love with one of them does not make getting out of bed the easiest task to do.
Rui adjusted his bowtie and took a final look in the mirror. Clad in a classic black tuxedo with a light grey vest and white dress shirt, he felt that he looked as nice as he could for the occasion. He raked his fingers through his hair and sighed. He knew he secretly wished he were dressed in the groom's attire. It was a cruel and harsh reminder where his place was when he was asked to be the best man.
Tsukushi Makino, the bride to-be, is the type of girl who anyone could fall in love with before they even realize what happened. She is not the type of person to try to be liked or even be noticed, but she can make anyone feel at ease just being in her presence. She wears all of her emotions on her sleeve whether she wants to or not, but that makes her all the more likeable, at least in Rui Hanazawa's eyes. He fell in love with this girl many years ago, but soon his romantic love had to become one that of brotherly love. While in his fantasies he could be her romantic partner, reality dictated a different story when she fell in love with his childhood best friend, Tsukasa Domyoji.
A knock at the door brought Rui out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw one of his Italian butlers standing in the doorway. In one hand, he was balancing a breakfast tray with a cornetto and cappuccino, and in the other hand, he held car keys. Although Rui rarely ate breakfast, he could not resist Italian pastries.
After his meal, Rui grabbed the car keys his butler left for him and soon found himself in his red convertible—the same car he took his fellow F-4 member Sojiro and Tsukushi for a ride in many years ago. He smiled as the feeling of nostalgia washed over him and he remembered the days when he did not have as many responsibilities and worries as he does now. He also remembered what a terrible driver he was then, too, once he revved up the engine.
He drove out onto the streets of Italy, making his way to the wedding site. He enjoyed the wind rippling through his hair as he thought of Tsukasa and how he insisted on having the wedding in Italy, the same place he and Tsukushi became engaged. Rui was initially concerned when he heard the news of the wedding being in Italy, not because of his business ties there, but because of Tsukushi's family. The Makino family still had so little and he knew round-trip tickets to Italy from Japan would become a hard burden on them. Tsukasa eased his worries, however, when he showed up to the Makino residence with personal invitations containing plane tickets and hotel reservations for the whole family. Deep down, Rui knew his best friend would take care of Tsukushi and people she holds preciously, but he also knew that he himself could do those things for her just as well, if not better.
He parked his car at the bottom of the hillside, among the few cars already there. The warm breeze gently glided along the lush grass as he looked up to gaze upon the villa where a majority of the bridal party was getting prepared for the big hour. Just beyond the villa was a large courtyard that overlooked Lake Maggiore, setting the scenery for a near-perfect wedding. Rui was interested to see the turnout of the wedding for many reasons. For one, this wedding will be Western-style. Although Western-style weddings have become increasingly popular in Japan, Rui still felt slightly awkward. He was glad to have attended weddings for business partners in America over the past few years. Another reason for his interest was that the entire Domyoji family would be in attendance, including Tsukasa's mother, Kaede. He shrugged, realizing he could not doing anything regardless, and made his way to the villa to help with any last minute touches before the ceremony began.
-x-
Rui felt his lips slightly part at the sight of Tsukushi Makino being led down the aisle by her father. She was clad in a long and full white dress adorned with simple pearl accents. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun with her veil tucked neatly into the back of it. Although her bridal dress was simple, he could tell it was a designer-created piece. In that moment, he thought he had never seen anyone more beautiful in his entire life. A growing anxiety wormed its way into his heart as he saw Tsukushi lock eyes on his best friend who was standing to his right, looking both confident and slightly nervous.
Their eyes never left each other as she made her way down the silky white aisle runner atop cobblestones set into the grassy courtyard. The warm breeze gently swayed her hair like the blue waters of the lake in the distance. For many years, Rui had suppressed his feelings for Tsukushi Makino, but it seemed as though they all began flooding his mind and his heart at once. The anxiety he felt soon turned to jealousy, anger, and then finally, sadness.
As Tsukushi was handed over to Tsukasa and the ceremony began, he could not help but think about what would have happened had he fallen for her when she was still in love with him. During that time, he was chasing after his childhood love, Shizuka Todo. Shizuka was in the audience today, sitting with her husband. While he no longer had romantic feelings for Shizuka, her good fortunes only further deepened his sorrow over his misfortunes in love. Would love ever come his way? Love and relationships seemed to come to his best friends much more easily.
While he knew their lives were just as complicated, in this moment, Rui could not help but think of both Arika Mimasaka and Sojiro Nishikado, who stood to his left. Their options and possibilities seemed endless to Rui, and he couldn't quite understand how the two of them did it. Relationships, while complicated and very different, were always Akira's and Sojiro's strong points. He remembered the many times when the pair offered him relationship advice, and he almost wished he had taken it more seriously. Maybe he wouldn't feel so bitter and so alone right now.
Before he knew it, rings were exchanged, kisses were had, and he was escorting Tsukushi's maid of honor, Yuki Matsuoka, up the aisle and back towards the villa where the newly wed couple will take pictures, celebrate, and depart for their honeymoon. Out of respect for his best friends, he participated in the group picture and hugged them both; however, he was only going through the motions. His mind was numb, and he was unable to think of anything else except leaving his friends, the villa, Italy, and returning to his home in Japan to hibernate in his bed.
Rui could not bring himself to attend the reception. Instead, he stayed outside sitting dazedly under a tree until the sun began to set in the distance and all the guests were gathered together outside to watch the new Mr. and Mrs. Domyoji slide into a long, white limousine. He vaguely remembered seeing Kaede on her mobile phone standing away from the crowd, presumably talking with some diplomat overseas for a business deal. At least she wasn't causing a scene, he thought. From what he heard, both of Tsukasa's parents did not necessarily like Tsukushi much more than they had during Tsukuasa's high school years, but they decided to allow his happiness to flourish. Rui figured Tsukasa's parents didn't have much choice if they wanted their heir to continue the Domyoji enterprise.
Leaving all thoughts of family drama, weddings, and emotions behind him, Rui found his red convertible and sat down in the driver's seat. He shut the door behind him, clipped on his seat belt, and started the car. He slid his hands over the steering wheel and slowly rested his head against it. Sighing, he began to wonder what his purpose in life really was. Maybe I'm just not cut out for love, he thought. I knew he was being irrational, merely needing a friend to console him and put his head on straight; but in the quiet of the car he found no friend and he found no reassurance.
Finally, he lifted his head and took a last glace toward the departing crowd. He watched the slowly disappearing red lights glowing from the back of the limousine that carried the newly weds away from the villa and toward their honeymoon destination. Nodding once, Rui turned his attention back to his car, his present self, and his future self. Putting the car in drive, he turned onto the road and headed back toward the town. He was going home.
-x-
Thank you for reading. As stated earlier, "Chapter 2" is not a continuation of this story, but merely the original story that was written in 2004.