WHAT IF…
Chapter 1 – I Aren't Afraid of You!
" Over here!" Makino waved when she spotted Shizuka walking into the café.
" You are late…again!" Makino frowned, she had been doing nothing but staring at the passerby through the glass window for the past one hour.
" Gomen ne." Shizuka quickly apologized after giving the waiter her order.
" Hey, didn't she already give you her order? What are you still standing here for?" Makino decided to vent her frustration by teasing the waiter who happened to be another victim under Shizuka's irresistible charm.
" Gomen nasai!" The waited quickly apologized before making his move. Makino just laughed out uncontrollably after watching his comical expressions." Stop being so mean, okay?" Shizuka frowned.
" What have I done? I was helping you okay?" Makino gave a shrug. " Oh! What have you done this time to help me, my Great O Saviour?" Shizuka asked.
" You wanna know?" Makino whispered as she signaled Shizuka to lean towards the table by triggering her index finger.
" To save you from getting another shampooing." Makino whispered.
" Huh?" Shizuka didn't quite get Makino's meaning.
" Didn't you notice that he would just start drooling onto your head if I hadn't wake him up in time?" Makino explained further. Both girls burst into laughter and only stopped when the blushed waiter went back again with Shizuka's order.
" Your coffee." The waiter informed, without looking at Shizuka.
" …Thanks…" Shizuka tried hard to control her laughter.
" How come I never get to have that type of attention?" Makino grumbled out loud.
" Stop your grumbling, Tsukasa seems to be interested in you and he is one of the most popular guys in Eitoku."
" You can have him if you want. He is nothing but a gold-plated school bully. I wonder what those girls had seen in him." Makino voiced out her disagreement as she recalled her first encounter with Domyouji Tsukasa during the first day she stepped into Eitoku High during months ago.
*~*~*~*
" By hook or by crook, you must receive your studies in Eitoku High." Mama announced during dinner one night.
" But mama, I am very comfortable with the current school." Makino protested.
" No buts, all rich children must complete their education in Eitoku High. Your papa had made the uttermost decision by allowing you to enroll into your current school." Mama continued in a reprimanding tone. Papa just kept quiet while eating his dinner.
" What's wrong with my current school?" Makino refused to give up.
" Nothing wrong." Mama replied.
" Then? Why should I transfer to Eitoku High?" Makino asked.
" Because Eitoku is a good school." Mama replied in the 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone. " My school is a good school too and many rich children attended this school too."
" I know, but not as good as Eitoku High." Mama commented.
" In what sense?" Makino questioned out loud, she was getting really impatience over the whole thing and had totally forgotten that it was her mother whom she was trying to debate with.
" My dear Tsukushi…" Mama face softened (NN: Mama is going to change her debating strategy) and it made Makino feeling guilty for her bad behaviour during earlier.
" Didn't you know that you have already lost to Makiko and Yuuki since the day their parents had enrolled them into Eitoku Elementary? If I hadn't been away for business trip during that period…" Mama paused, her eyes narrowed as they focused on the hermit-crab-to-be-Papa, who just kept really quiet with his head down. " I would have enrolled you into Eitoku High and not into some other lousy private schools where you can't get acquaintance with guys like the F4." Mama continued.
I should have known it! Makino stood up in anger when she realised that it was only a 'fake gentleness' from her Mama. " My school is not lousy! I have good teachers and good classmates in there. What's good about F4?"
" Sit down!" Mama commanded.
" No! There's no way I am going to enroll into Eitoku High without any good reason given and I am definitely not going to transfer just because there is F4 in Eitoku." Makino exclaimed with both her hands crossed and head held high.
" Fine with me, but I have already spoken to your Principal about the transfer and everything had been settled. After waiting for so long, there is finally a vacancy in Eitoku and I am not going to miss this opportunity. After this holiday, you would be receiving your education in Eitoku High." Mama got up from her seat and walked away.
" But…" Just when Makino wanted to protest further, Papa stopped her.
" You know your Mama's characters, what she had said will be final. Just follow her instruction." Papa begged.
" Ya…neechan. Anyway, Eitoku is a good school too, I had many nice classmates there." Susumu added, he was a student in Eitoku.
" Haiz~ " Makino heaved a loud sigh before getting back to her seat. Both Papa and Susumu were right. In the Makino household, Mama's words rule. All she could blame was to have such an incompetent father who couldn't even control his wife.
*~*~*~*
Soon, the summer vacation was over and Makino was officially a student in Eitoku High. Makino was checking for her class on the notice board and she saw two familiar names in her class.
" Tsukushi-chan!" Makino turned around and saw her childhood friends, Yuuki and Makiko.
" Welcome to Eitoku High. I am so glad that you have finally decided to join us!" Makiko remarked excitedly.
" I am sure it is going to be a fun-filled three years for the three of us." Yuuki added.
" Thanks for the welcome" Makino laughed along because she didn't want her best friends to learn that she was actually being forced to join Eitoku High by her mama.
" Oh my god! The three of us are going to be classmates!" Makiko informed the girls after she finished checking the name list.
" Let's give Tsukushi-chan a tour around Eitoku." Yuuki suggested.
" Good idea." Makiko seconded it and both girls pulled Makino away before she could voice her agreement to the 'tour'.
" This is the route leading to the Rose garden." Yuuki spoke in a tour-guide tone.
" What is happening over there?" Makino asked when she saw a group of people gathered in the garden area.
" Oh, must be someone getting into trouble with the F4 again." Makiko replied.
" F4?" Makino recalled her mama mentioning about this group of people. " Who are the F4?" Makino asked again.
" What? You don't know who are the F4?" Both Makiko and Yuuki had this shocked look on their face.
" Must I know them?" Makino narrowed her eyes.
" They are the richest and handsomest seniors in Eitoku High! Especially Nishikado-kun." Yuuki blushed when she mentioned one of the F4 whom she liked the most.
" So?" Makino still couldn't comprehend with their excitement.
" We have rich and handsome seniors in my school, hmmm…ex-school too, you know?" Makino continued.
" YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND HUH? Come, let's go!" Makiko quickly grabbed hold of Makino's hands and pulled her into the direction where the crowd is.
" Where are you bringing me to?" Makino shouted.
" You will have to see them in order to be convinced how charming these guys are!" Makiko explained.
" No thanks! I have no interest or whatsoever!" Makino tried to pull back but soon they were already standing behind the crowd.
" What happen?" Yuuki started asking one of the spectators in the group.
" Shhhh…. I think that guy is going to get the RED TAG."
" What? RED TAG! That's serious, what did the guy do?" Makiko continued with her prompting.
" He had bumped into Domyouji-sempai."
" Ohhh…that's bad." Yuuki frowned.
Makino was confused with the conversations held between her friends and the schoolmate.
" What's this all about?" Makino asked.
" This is a game started by the F4, whoever got the red tag from the F4, he or she would be boycotted by the entire school."
" Boycotted?" Makino scratched her head, still getting very confused over the whole thing.
" The person who gotten the red tag would become the common enemy of the entire school." Makiko explained further.
" Nobody would dare to talk to the red-tagged person and I had heard that most of them last no more than two months." Yuuki joined in.
" Last no more than two months? What would happen to them?" Makino prompted further.
" They would have to leave Eitoku for good." Both Yuuki and Makiko spoke out at the same time.
" In another words, they are forced to leave the school just because they are being red-tagged?" Makino tried to reconfirm.
The girls just nodded with agreement.
What kind of game is this? Makino wondered and feeling much disgusted over the whole thing. And Mama wanted me to get acquaintance with people like these monsters? Makino frowned upon having the thought.
*~*~*~*
" Gomen nasai! I didn't do it on purpose! Please forgive me!"
The sound of the desperate begging filled the air of Eitoku's compound. This voice! Makino found the voice very familiar.
" Do you think you can just get by with those lousy apologies? Think again!" Another strong and masculine voice had taken over. Makino tried squeezing her body into the crowd.
" Tsukushi-chan, what are you trying to do?" Yuuki asked.
" I want to know who the victim is. His voice sounded familiar." Makino replied.
" Don't get too close, it would be very dangerous when Domyouji-sempai gets angry." One of the students in the crowd warned.
" Thanks." Makino gave her an assuring nod before proceeding towards the front end of the crowd. What can he do? Eat me up? Makino wondered.
" Please…spare me…I would do anything." The shaken voice continued.
" Anything?"
" Yes! Anything!"
" Okay then, lick my boot."
" What?"
" Do I have to repeat myself? It's either that or THIS!" Domyouji started waving his enormous punch in front of the poor guy.
" Okay! Okay! I will do it." The guy slowly bent his head down and hesitated when his face was about one inch above the dusty and mud-filled boot.
" Ha! Ha! Ha! Quick lick it before I change my mind!" Domyouji warned.
" CHOTTO MATTE!"
" Who the hell…" Domyouji turned around and spotted an average-looking girl behind him.
" Is it really that exhilarating for that asshole brain of yours to see people at your mercy? You this SICKO FELLOW!"
" SICKO FELLOW?" Domyouji was quite taken aback, nobody dared call him that.
" Tsukushi-chan?"
" Oh, so you are a friend of this pathetic creature huh?" Domyouji asked. " Hmmm…. trying to play hero eh?" Domyouji's eyes narrowed, as he surprised everyone by pulling Makino by her collar and had her lifted up in a way that she had to tip toe in order to breathe.
" Let's see how long you can last." Everyone, including Soujirou and Akira could do nothing because they knew that DOMYOUJI WAS REALLY ANGRY!
" Until… I get… my university… certificate… from…EITOKU UNIVERSITY!" Makino's face turned pale due to the lack of oxygen, as she used up the remaining oxygen in her earlier reply. However, Domyouji had no intention in letting her go.
" Take your words back." Domyouji demanded as he Makino higher from the ground than before.
" N…E…V…E…R!"
" Tsukushi-chan, stop being so stubborn…it is not worthwhile." The bullied guy scrambled towards Makino, begging her to give in.
" N…O…W…A…Y!" Makino's eyes became teary, not because of fear, but lacking of oxygen.
" Tsukasa, enough is enough." Akira whispered behind his ears. After 'much consideration', Domyouji finally loosen his grip, " You look kinda tough eh? We shall continue some other day. Oh ya…don't forget to check your locker…"
" Let's go." Domyouji beckoned the rest to go, leaving Makino behind to catch up with her breath.
"Foolhardy."
Makino heard a voice above her head and looked up. She spotted a pair of marble-like brown eyes that almost took her breath away.
" Tsukushi-chan. Are you alright?" Makiko and Yuuki rushed over when the F4 was nowhere to be seen.
" Who was that person?" Tsukushi asked with a blank look on the face.
" That was Domyouji Tsukasa…the leader of the F4…" Yuuki was very worried for her friend who had just offended the most notorious school bully of Eitoku High.
" Not that baka! I meant the last one who left." Makino re-phrased herself.
" Oh…are you referring to Hanazawa Rui?"
Hanazawa Rui? Makino had the name mentally recited over and over again.
" He is one of the F4 too." Makiko added.
" What?" Makino couldn't believe what she had just heard, her heart shattered into pieces at the very moment.
" What a waste." Makino continued when finally recovered from her shock and disappointment.
*~*~*~*
" Aoike Kazuya!" Makino shouted out.
" Tsukushi-chan…" Kazuya looked up, his face red as an over ripened tomato.
" What are you doing here?" Makino demanded.
" Errrhhh…" Kazuya managed to stand up straight. " I learnt that you have transferred to Eitoku, so I asked my father to…" Kazuya explained his presence.
" Oh my god!" Makino couldn't believe that Kazuya would go till that extent to be with her.
" Didn't I already tell you that it is IMPOSSIBLE between us?" Makino explained.
" I…know…but…" With no or whatsoever reason, Kazuya's face was getting redder than before.
" Urhh!" Makino slapped her forehead hard. " Stop giving me that kind of expression!" Makino growled.
" I know you are just shy to admit that you had a crush on me too." Kazuya replied, with puppy eyes. " You had risked your life just now…"
" OH! SPARE ME!" Makino finally knew the reason. " I should have let you lick that baka's boot in the first place!"
For a moment, Makino really regretted for getting herself into such trouble just for this pathetic guy.
" So how?" Yuuki reminded Makino about her current situation.
" How? Let's see how tough that SICKO FELLOW is…come, let's go." Makino replied, not feeling a tinkle of fear in her, however, that pair of eyes still lingered on within her heart.
*~*~*~*
" No thanks! I don't think I have enough energy to tame Tsukasa down." Shizuka rejected Makino's 'offer'.
" Let's not talk about this baka. Why are you late?" Makino asked.
" Oh…hmmm…I received a call from the law school in Paris." Shizuka stopped laughing changed to a serious tone.
" Paris? I thought you have given that up for the sake of Rui?" Makino had a bad feeling about this news.
" No, I haven't and they had accepted my application." Shizuka replied.
Both kept really quiet for a moment.
" Have you told Rui about it?" Makino finally broke the silent.
" No and I don't intend to." Shizuka replied.
" Doushite?" Makino frowned.
" I don't wish to go through another heat argument with him about this issue. My mind is set and I want get the certificate using my own strength and not depending on my family name." Shizuka explained.
" How could you do this to him?" Makino stood up, not feeling embarrassing for being the centre attraction at that very moment.
" Sit down please, people are looking." Shizuka tried to hush her down.
" TOUDOU SHIZUKA! Do you know that you are nothing but a self-centered and selfish bitch? I wonder why Rui is crazy about you! " Makino couldn't control her emotion anymore, she had finally hit her limit.
" Tsukushi! Stop making a scene here…" Shizuka pleaded softly.
" Its always you and your dream huh? Have you ever thought of Rui's feeling?" Makino hurled her final reprimand at Shizuka before dashing out of the restaurant.
" Tsukushi!" Shizuka wanted to stop Makino but Makino just ignored her shouting. Makino wiped the tears away as she ran because she could anticipate Rui's reaction if he was to learn about the news about Shizuka's decision.
" HANAZAWA RUI! WHY COULDN'T I BE THE ONE YOU LOVE?" Makino screamed out loud into the open sea. She was standing alone on the stretch of water breakers, allowing the chilling sea breeze to numb the already shattered heart of hers.
To be continued…