A/N: Okay, I know that I've been really slow in updating Bewitched, but I've had this story in my mind for a while and I have a few chapters under my belt already so I promise pretty quick updates. Please review to tell me how fast you want this story updated. I leave it in your hands. Your choice's: Every Friday or every other Friday. That'll give me some time to continue writing and to build on the story without running out of pre-written chapters.
Also just FYI: Tsukasa is not the youngest Doumyouji in this story, so he's gonna be OOC. He's smarter, more responsible and a little less aggressive when it comes to Sojiro, the reason will be explained later. And Shizuka is OOC too, no reason other than I like her better this way.
Chapter 1 : Girl Meets Boys
There was once a miniature window that faced a very lush and expansive garden. The garden, along with the rest of the estate belonged to the Doumyouji's. Like many wealthy families, the Doumyouji's would have illustrious parties and gatherings. On occasions like this, if you really looked, a petit girl with long brown braided pony tails and big chocolate eyes hidden behind thick dark framed glasses could be seen sitting at that window staring over the guests, wishing she were one. She was silent for the most part. Usually very timid when approached, but fiery and strong willed behind closed doors.
"MAKINO!" The head maid called and she ran from her perch to answer.
"Yes, Tama-sempai."
"Makino, how many times do I have to tell you to stop lulling around and work? Doumyouji-sama lets you stay here because I tell her you're useful. Don't make a liar out of me." Without another word the sweet little eight year-old ran from the room to continue her chores.
Life wasn't hard working for the Doumyouji's. They were very nice people. Mr. Doumyouji was a very successful business man and was always busy traveling around the world. Doumyouji Corp. was one of the deciding factors in Japan's economic stability. As long as it was in good standing, Japan was in good standing.
Mrs. Doumyouji was a goddess. She was tall, beautiful and smart. A crafty and savvy business woman, herself, she was a force to be reckoned with in any boardroom. Her cutthroat tactics were world renowned, but her philanthropic heart kept her a household name throughout Japan. Even poor Tsukushi had been witness to her generosity when she not only let the little orphan stay with the staff members after her mother died, but personally offered to put her former maid's daughter through school.
Together the Doumyouji's had two sons. The eldest, Tsukasa, was tall, dark and as scary as he was handsome. He, like his parents, was well known for his business dealings. Even though he was only ten years old, he had been known to talk his way out of trouble. A born negotiator, he could be as ruthless as a lion and as frightening as well. With short unruly curly hair and cold dark brown eyes, he had been known to scare Makino into silence on more than one occasion.
Nothing like the youngest Doumyouji, no, Sojiro was charismatic. At nine years old, he also knew how to get out of trouble, but his way was to charm the pants off of his discipliner. With his short straight black hair and his wooing smile he had succeeded in winning the heart of almost every woman on the wait staff, including Tsukushi.
To Makino this was just another boring Sunday. The Doumyouji's were out, which meant that Sojiro wasn't in the house. With no incentive to stay in such a cold and uninviting place she rushed through the house completing her chores as quickly as possible. Wiping cleaner off of the double paned window in the study she could see the approaching black clouds like carnivorous wolves swallowing up the white sheep in the sky.
The room grew ominously dark sending a chill down the youth's back. The big wet drops of rain began to pour onto the clean glass making one thing frighteningly clear to Tsukushi, it was going to start thundering any minute. Fearing the worst she reached for the table lamp beside her just as the crashing sound filled the room causing her thin hand to brush the lamp switch lightly sending a shock through her.
The blood curdling scream that escaped her sounded more like a murder than a shock, but thinking that she had been electrocuted she didn't restrain herself. Oddly it wasn't one of the staff that came to her rescue, but Tsukasa who had come home early from a rained out basketball practice.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" He yelled still holding the orange ball on his hip.
Not able to talk from sheer fear, Makino shook her head and balled herself quietly into the corner.
"Are you okay?" A softer more compassionate tone now lacing his voice.
Again silence was his answer, but slowly she had worked up the nerve to quickly nod.
"Good." He sighed and threw his ball onto one of the study's chairs. "Did you get scared from the thunder or something?" He crouched down to be eye to eye with her.
His closeness was uncomfortable, but she tried to not to flinch when he reached out a hand and placed it on her head.
"Oi, Makino." At such a close proximity his loud voice made her jump, catching him off guard. "What's your problem?" He blushed embarrassed that her reaction had startled him.
"YOU SCARE ME!" Was the only response she gave before pushing him on his back and running down the stairs and into the pouring rain.
Despite the fact that Tsukasa and Tsukushi lived on the same property, they didn't interact often over the years. Even in school she did a very good job of hiding from him, not that he was looking.
With time both boys grew taller and more handsome drawing more and more attention from the opposite sex. Each boy took their own roads. Tsukasa regarded girls as money leeching parasites with nothing better to do than whore themselves into good socialite standings. While Sojiro regarded girls as entertaining ways to pass time. Every week finding himself falling head over heals for one enchanting young lady only to become bored with her companionship by weeks end.
By the time they were in their late teens Doumyouji had graced the covers of Forbes, Fortune and Time, while Sojiro had notably appeared in a Dolce and Gabana ad, which hung in the lockers of almost every girl at Eitoku.
Now eighteen, Tsukushi was still the same quiet petite maid she had always been, but she was noticeably taller. Her studious attitude at Eitoku, and her grateful behavior at home, had afforded her the best opportunities her poor background could offer. Her grades, and a stellar reference letter from Mrs. Doumyouji, had landed Makino the internship of a lifetime with the best cooking school in France.
With only one day until her departure she found herself wishing she had the courage to tell Sojiro how much he meant to her. A knock at her door called her attention away from the window and to the older woman with the tray of hot tea.
"I'm so glad you're getting away from here, Tsukushi." She smiled warmly as she set one cup on the young girl's lap. "I think the time away will be good for you." Sighing she poured herself a cup of tea and joined the longing teenager at the window. "You've spent the better part of a decade obsessing over someone who doesn't know you exist."
"He knows I exist." Makino whispered pathetically. "He just doesn't care."
"Exactly." Her mentor placed a fragile looking hand on her knee waking her from her pity party. "You deserve to see the world. Your mother would have wanted this for you." Tears threatened to fall from her deep brown eyes. "I've known nothing for the past few years but taking care of you and I can't believe you're leaving me."
"It's only for a year." Makino consoled her adoptive mother. "I'll be back before you have time to miss me." She chuckled trying to liven up the moment.
"Impossible." The older woman laughed. "I miss you already."
Together the two giggled over tea until a light from the main house in the distance caught Makino's attention. "He's back." She said without thinking.
"No Tsukushi I forbid it." Tama said spreading her arms to stop the love crazed teen from running past her, but she hadn't foreseen the little vixen's determination to unload herself of the burden she had been carrying for as long as she could remember.
Adrenaline on her side Makino ran from the servants' quarters to the main house with blinding speed. Past the security that lined the estate, none finding it odd that the youth would be walking around the grounds at ten o'clock. Scaling the steps to the third floor loft style room that belonged to Sojiro she almost turned back twice before continuing her ascent at double pace.
Standing on the stairs that led to his inner sanctum she finally felt the butterflies in her stomach take over. 'He's probably up there getting ready for bed.' She blushed, thinking about the improper position she might chance upon. 'It doesn't matter.' Taking a deep breath she continued until the top of her head showed over the landing. Looking into the room she searched for any sign of her quarry, but was rewarded by the sound of someone in the bathroom.
Slowly, steeling her nerve, she walked onto the landing and ran to lock the door before he could come out. "Please don't try to come out because I'll unlock the door when I finish." She bit her bottom lip because she heard him pulling at the handle. "If you can hear me please knock."
Closing her eyes waiting for the response she almost ran from the room when she heard the knock. "I know you've never seen me, but I've loved you from afar my whole life. I'm not crazy or anything, but I've waited patiently for my turn." She rolled her eyes hating what she was saying, but she was so nervous. "Tomorrow I'm leaving. I'm moving to Paris."
'God I'm so stupid. What was I thinking?'
"I know you probably don't care and you probably want to fire me right now because I locked you in your own bathroom, but I just needed to tell you this. If ever you're feeling lonely and you don't know if the girl you were just with really loves you…"
'What are you saying?' She reprimanded herself when she heard the door being pulled at again.
"Please, I'll let you out in a minute." She shook her hands trying to calm down. "I just want you to know that someone very far away is thinking about you and loves you very much." She turned the key on the old Victorian door and started to walk down the steps when she felt a hand reach for her shoulder.
When she turned her jaw dropped and her chest tightened from pure horror. "If you ever lock me in my brother's bathroom again, I'll kill you." Tsukasa's face was bright red, and a thin vein in his forehead throbbed angrily, but he didn't lash out like he usually did.
Without as much as a squeak Makino ran down toward the exit practically throwing herself down the flights of stairs. Her feet carried her to the door where she ran into a stunned Sojiro and his newest conquest.
"Oh." He held her shoulders tightly stabilizing her trembling frame. "It's only you Tsukushi." He laughed, looking back at his date. "You shouldn't be running around. What if I was my mom?" He let her go and showed the tall luxurious blonde up the steps to his fortress of solitude.
Paris was unbearably lonely without Sojiro, and Makino let everyone who would listen know. She went to class everyday with a sourpuss look etched over every inch. Horrified by the events of her last night in the Doumyouji house she rarely called Tama or any of the other staff. Whenever she did call all she talked about was Sojiro.
"You're going to burn your egg." The tall red head said from behind the spaced out, love sick Tsukushi. "No matter who he is, he doesn't deserve to monopolize your thoughts like this."
Her smile warmed Makino's heart and made her laugh for the first time since landing on the foreign soil.
"My name is Shizuka."
"Tsukushi."
It didn't take long for the two to become inseparable. Toudou Shizuka had the same background of many of the girls Makino had gone to school with, but she was nothing like them. She was the heiress of a global communications company and her favorite outfit was a tank top, a pair of worn-out jeans and a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes.
Tsukushi always joked that Shizuka had enough shoes for a small army of models, but the punch line was that her own collection continued to steadily grow.
For some reason, time seemed to disappear in Paris. Some days she would leave class or her part-time job and wander around the streets looking at the bridges and the people. Sitting by the river with just an apple and a thin sandwich, sometimes she would have spent the whole day and not eaten either one. She slowly began to love her surroundings and little by little she started to think about Sojiro less and less.
Shizuka called her one night and demanded that she meet her at one of the cafés she had been invited to. It was more like a club, but Makino fit right in with her skin tight tee and her denim mini skirt.
"Hey you made it!" Her friend yelled over the music.
"Yeah." She shouted too. "I thought you said café? Where are your friends?"
Gently Shizuka dragged the wallflower past the grinding teenagers to the VIP section of the club. In the small yet spacious room she found five guys and four girls. She knew this routine, one of the guys didn't have a date and she was the fill in. She hated this game.
"I think I'm gonna go." She whispered into her friend's ear and turned to get away, but the redhead was too fast for her.
"You know I wouldn't have called you if he wasn't awesome." She pointed to the guy dozing off in the corner. "Give him a chance."
"A chance Shi, he's sleeping."
"He's bored."
The guy had short and messy light brown hair. He looked Japanese from what she could tell by the door. His nodding had finally stopped and she assumed he must have fallen asleep.
"The things I do for you." Slowly she made her way through the room uncomfortably smiling at the others making out in the room.
"Ano..." She looked over at Shizuka who sat on a tall muscular guy's lap. 'Great she gets the hot guy, I get Rip Van Winkle.'
"Pardon…" She tried French, maybe he was born here, but still not as much as a twitch. Giving up she took a seat next to him and pulled out her phone. She played one of the usually boring games, which at this point seemed fascinating, and didn't notice her date was up until he started laughing.
"You're persistent I'll give you that." She looked up to find the most beautiful marble-like eyes she had ever seen. He was gorgeous for a narcoleptic, but he wasn't really smiling. He was staring at her intensely.
"I came all the way here." She smiled. "I might as well stay."
"Whatever." Was all he said before stretching and getting up. "You want to go for a walk?" He buried his hands deep into his pockets and started to walk away not waiting for her response.
Their walk was quiet for the most part and she didn't really know why she stayed, but she was strangely drawn to him. She hooked her thumbs into the pockets of her skirt and strolled by his side.
"What brings you to Paris?" She inquired finally sick of the silence.
Sighing gently the mystery date shrugged and sighed again. "I came after my fiancé, but she dumped me." He didn't elaborate and she didn't pursue the issue. Once again they were plunged into an uncomfortable peace.
They had stopped at a railing over looking the river, but even he could ruin such a tranquil place. "I'm going home." She raised herself from the cold metal.
"Suit yourself." Was his cold reply.
"I know that I wasn't your first choice as a date, but you don't have to be such a jerk." Her hands gripped tightly to her hips.
"You weren't my choice at all." He lifted himself from the rail and started to walk further down the river.
Tsukushi almost growled with anger. 'Where does he get off?' She stormed in the other direction so she didn't see the intriguing smile that brightened his up gloomy expression.
"Where did you guys go last night?" Shizuka jumped up onto Tsukushi's counter, blocking the novice chef from her equipment.
She sucked her teeth, thinking about the irritating young man. "You don't want to know."
The red head stole a banana from the piled ingredients and returned her feet to the ground. "Well, I had the best night." She ate the fruit happily.
"Good for you." Tsukushi replied bitterly.
"What's got your panties?" She acted like she choked. "Don't tell me Rui?"
"Who?" The name wasn't familiar to her.
"You're date. Don't tell me you slept with him and didn't even get his name."
Tsukushi threw a grape at her. "One, shut up you're talking way to loud. Two, I would never just casually sleep with someone. Three, that guy was a total jerk and I'd rather kill myself than see him again."
Shizuka smiled and handed her a knife. "Well," the confused expression she was getting told her she needed to point out the obvious. Standing three rows of counters behind them was the same sleepy brunette from the night before.
"He's been here all this time?"
"Makino you're so slow. Is food all you think about?"
The professor walked in and Shizuka returned to her station leaving Tsukushi very annoyed.
Well, there you have chapter one. I hope you liked it. If you did let me know. Also if you didn't let me know what I can do to sway you.
Later
Disclaimer: I don't own HYD or any of its characters. I don't think this story sounds like Sabrina, but I can see the similarities, so I'll cover my bases by saying that I don't own that story either.