It's been weeks since the tutoring session began and seems like Tsukasa has been progressing, very slowly. "I still can't believe this, do you know how much of an impact I have on my reputation because of this stupid tutoring session? And plus, it adds a great deal of damage to my pride!" Tsukasa barked at Akira. "Alright, we can all it quits! I can tell her to stop showing up and you can marry that dyke and live with your mother happily ever after, alright?" Akira back-fired with Tsukasa's most feared destiny. He just let out a long sigh and slumped back into his big, comfortable chair.
Things haven't been the same ever since he noticed the way she smelt like roses. Alright Tsukasa, you're being stupid. Girls are a waste of time and plus, she is a COMMONER, there is nothing worse than a poor beggar girl demanding attention from you. He thought to himself every time his mind drifted off without his consent. "So what are we doing for Winter Break again?" Soujiro interrupted the moment of silence he added, "going to England for winter was the biggest mistake of my life ever last year, I almost froze my butt off in the cold and found nothing but a handful of blondes and brunettes. I want to go somewhere exotic, away from this cold!"
"I know! Why don't we go to Guam? It's a pretty small island but pretty exotic enough for me!" Akira suggested in excitement, but everyone knew, the source of his suggest was born out of his desire to see women in bikinis. "Alright, sounds like a great get-a-way..." Tsukasa finally agreed, "oh wait, don't you lay back yet! You're not off the hook, we're going to take Tsukushi with us! That way, she can pack some more knowledge into your already over-loading brain!" Akira was greeted by a firm upper-cut punch by Tsukasa. "Who do you think she is? She doesn't fit in with us, she's just a commoner, I bet she's never even been on a plane!" he added. "Well, then it'll be a good chance for us to show her some new things, you know? A no good deed ever goes unpunished." Soujirou gave no room for Tsukasa to complain, the plan has been established.
"So I heard, you've been tutoring Doumyouji-sama and that you get to be in the presence and grace of F4 every weekend! You undeserving rat!" Asai and her gang found Tsukushi after P.E. class. "It's not that big of a deal, and plus if you were maybe poor and ranked top 10 of the class, you could have gotten the job!" Tsukushi shot back at them, Yamano grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked it towards her. "You listen ok? This isn't you little playground, commoners like you should have never set foot in here in the first place!"
"Yamano is right, girls like you disgust us. Poor, filthy, trying to be someone they were never meant to be, ha ha!" Eriko pushed Tsukushi against the wall as Yamano let go of the fistful of hair she clutched on from Tsukshi. In an attempt to fight back, Tsukushi threw a punch across Yamano's face only to be warned by Asai "think twice before you act, when you leave even the smallest scratch on our faces, you better be ready to quit school and start attending school where you REALLY belong!" With a devilish laugh, she slapped Tsukushi across her face leaving a trail of red scratches from her ridiculously long fingernails painted bright pink. "Let's go, I can't stand this filth any longer." The Asai gang disappeared around the corner.
You're not a coward Tsukushi, stand up! Do not cry, never let anyone see your tears. Their words are meaningless, it's nothing to me. She bravely picked herself up and headed back to the locker room. She brushed her hair into a braided pigtail and packed her dirtied P.E. clothes into her book bag.
Tsukushi sluggishly walked up the steps to her next class in a dreamy haze. Sometimes she really couldn't understand what all this enduring was for. If she tried hard enough in a public school she might have had a good chance getting into a good college also. And her mom's silly theory about meeting a rich, handsome boy at Eitoku seemed like a fairytale.
From across the hall the F4 made their way to leave after lunch, then something caught Tsukasa's eyes, a sluggish moving figure across the hall. Her braids were loose and as they got closer, it seemed like her cheek was swollen with bright red gashes. Without even realizing where she was going, Tsukushi bumped into Akira, apologized, and continued walking. Normally she would have been more alert. Tsukasa grabbed her wrist and swung her around. "What is this? Are you too poor to go to a beach and now you burn yourself tanning at school?" Tsukasa didn't mean to sound so harsh and he almost regret opening his mouth.
Tsukushi looked up into his eyes but he knew that she was not there. "Yeah" she simply said and turned around and wiggled a bit to loosen her arm from Tsukasa's grip. "Who did that to you?" Rui asked with concern on his face. When Tsukushi turned to answer, she saw a new light. Don't cry Tsukushi! Never let the F4 see your tears, it's a sign of weakness, you have to be strong! "It's nothing, really, I just fell during P.E." she stuttered her words and avoided making eye contact. Tsukasa loosened his grip on her wrist as Rui cupped her face. Tsukushi blushed even more and looked up into this beautiful wispy boy's eyes.
There was something inside Tsukasa that stung when he saw this. Why couldn't be cup her face like that? Why couldn't he ask her with a face of concern what was wrong? He knew the answer, it was his pride. "I think I am going to take her to the nurse, you can't let scarring happen on a face!" Rui was quick to act, he scooped her up in one swift motion and walked towards the Nurse's office. Pshh, what is she to me anyways? Whatever, let Rui take care of the mess, it isn't my business. Tsukasa tried to blow off this swirling feeling inside and continued walking.
"Here Tsukushi, lets just put ointment on this and we'll seal it up with a bandaide!" the nurse was nice. But Tsukushi couldn't help but stare at the way Rui was examining her while she was sitting on the bed being pampered by the nurse. "Uh... Thank you... Hanazawa-san..." she didn't make eye contact with this beautiful creature but she managed to get her true feelings out. "Don't mention it, just pay me back by going on winter vacation with us to Guam" he bluntly stated. "GUAM?" Her eyes widened as she searched through her brain to point out where it exactly was on a map. It's too far too walk, it's too far to ride the subway, it's too far to drive so... I have to fly? "Ugh, thanks for offering but as you and everyone else know, I don't have the luxury to cover all the expens..." Rui interrupted "no need, we got it. You just have to keep on tutoring Tsukasa the way you do, he's definitely improving, but it's not good enough."
"But, a week could be a good break for him to cool off from all the school work and stress from bullying people around..." she hastily tried to find excuses. "Ha ha, you make me laugh. He never really goes to school or does any of the work. We only want to tutor him so he can pass high school and avoid marrying Shigeru, but that's all you need to know for now." With that, he stood up and walked out of the office "we'll see you then!"
"No fair! I get to open and close this dango shop for the entire winter break while you enjoy the warmth and the sun in Guam with the F4!" Yuki made the saddest face Tsukushi has ever seen. "Yuki-chan! Don't say that, I would love to be here with you but it seems like I don't really have a choice. But on the bright side, I'll be able to make more money to buy better Christmas gifts! I'll even bring you back a souvenir!" Tsukushi tried cheering her best friend up. "No, just being me back a hunky tall, dark, and handsome man!" she replied and they both laughed.
The sun was brightly shining but the roads of Tokyo glistened with snow. "Everyone's here? Let's go!" the F4 and Tsukushi were driven by Tsukasa's limo to the airport. "You know, you didn't seem to have packed much being a girl and all..." admitted Akira trying to make some of the awkward silence in the car. "Well, what has she to pack?" Tsukasa spitted an insulting comment as usual. "Just stuff, to keep creeps and crooks like this noodle-haired boy away," Tsukushi joked as the rest of F4 burst into laughter except the main topic of her sentences. "Alright you piece of weed, I've had enough. You either keep your mouth shut or else!" Tsukasa began turning bright red with fury as Rui interrupted "You shouldn't be talking like that to someone who will be determining whether to marry Shigeru or not, Tsukasa." Rui sent him a heartful smile as Tsukushi took a glance and began to blush. "Aw, smile again Rui! I think Tsukushi is blushing!" Akira joked as Tsukushi gave him the strongest noogie he has ever received. Enough for his wavy locks to fall out.
Trying not to get caught, Tsukasa kept an eye on Tsukushi who was reading a book the entire ride. He observed her delicate profile and her soft looking hair. He wondered if her waves were natural like his curls. It was amazing to see her get along so well with the F4, he has never seen anyone do that before.
When they arrived at the airport, they were specially escorted around the airport to get through all the security clearances faster than everyone else. "Enjoy this while you can commoner, this is what it feels like to have power" Tsukasa held up his nose high. "You're the biggest jerk, asshole," she said it in a playful tone, however, he was able to sense a hint of hurt in her clear, deep drown eyes. You ARE a jerk Tsukasa, why would you say something like that? He thought to himself.
Once they were on the plane, they decided to sit according to their seating arrangements to avoid hassling. Which meant that Rui had to sit next to Tsukushi. As the flight continued, Tsukasa glanced back many times at Tsukushi and Rui who seemed to be having a good time as Rui thought Tsukushi card games and magic tricks. Tsukasa felt a pang of jealousy run through his blood, he couldn't stand it anymore. He got out from his seat and went over to Rui. "Change seats" he simply demanded. Without a word Rui smiled and got out to offer the empty chair. Tsukushi was a bit crushed to see Rui go away without any hesitance. Did Tsukasa have THAT much power even over his own friends? Or maybe Rui doesn't really think much of me at all... "What are you doing?" Tsukushi asked. "Breaking you two love birds apart, you can't seduce Rui, he is in love with someone else" Tsukasa replied. "Who said I was trying to seduce him? He is just far more entertaining and nicer than you are, jerkface!"
Tsukasa brought his face close to her face "disrespect me one more time and see what happens" he warned. She could smell his addictive cologne and felt a chill as soon as his hands touched and grabbed her close by the back of her neck.
"Talk about respect, you should be giving out respect if you want to be respected yourself you selfish brat!" she whispered, careful not to wake any of the other passengers up. Without any hesitation, Tsukasa turned his head and pulled Tsukushi in for a kiss. What is this? Why is this happening? So many things ran through her head in a split second. I cannot believe I've wasted my first kiss with this horrible jerk! She felt tears forming in her eyes as she tried to suppress her anger and shock. She quickly pulled away and slapped him. Waking a couple of the passengers up. However, there was no where for her to go. She just got up to go to the bathroom.