Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango

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Soujiro Nishikado always got what he wanted. No matter the price of an item, if he wanted it went home with him. If a pretty girl caught his attention, she'd be his. It didn't matter who she was with or what orientation she preferred. She wouldn't be able to resist him. It was only natural, for who could turn down perfection?

"Stop calling me, Nishikado-san!"

Yuki Matsuoka that's who. He sighed and put away his phone. He had never been turned down so often in his life. The average man would have given up by now. But every "No" and "Go away" that Yuki gave him only made him more determined. The problem was, Yuki knew him. She knew him for who he was, so much that his looks and wealth held no allure over her. She knew all his tricks and had developed some sort defensive barrier against his charms. If it weren't for the kiss, he would have believed her completely desensitized to him. Ah, the kiss. He thought of it fondly. He was curious at his own reaction: immediate heat and a constant wanting. Even if she did get all his old girlfriends to start seeing him again, he doubted he'd give them the time of day. He had to have Yuki, and it was only a matter of time before he had her.

"Wah, Kazunari-kun!"

Soujiro turned just as a boy had surfaced from one of the ponds. A girl was wringing her hands anxiously as he swam to the brook.

"Mou, who told you to jump in, you idiot?" She helped pull him up from the edge.

"But, isn't this important to you?" He held up the bracelet he had apparently retrieved.

The girl's eyes filled with tears, and she threw her arms around him. "Stupid. You are important to me. What would I have done if you had drowned?"

The boy reached up and gently wiped away her tears. "Don't cry, Haruka-chan." He took her wrist and refastened her bracelet. "You're much prettier when you smile."

He looked away when the couple kissed. It was a tender moment so separate and removed from his world. He turned back to them, watching intently. The girl had taken off her sweater and was trying to dry him as best she could. Scolding him all the while. "Honestly, you could have broken your neck. Don't you dare do that to me again, do you hear me? Oh, now you're going to get pneumonia. What am I going to do with you?"

The boy just chuckled, he murmured something Soujiro couldn't hear and the girl blushed.

What a curious thing. The boy was ordinary at best, didn't look to be an athlete or an academic. The girl was cute and obviously saw nothing lacking in her boyfriend. A couple together through mutual adoration. How nice, he thought. Affection and fondness for no other reason than to give to someone you like. He probably couldn't afford expensive jewelry, or exotic chocolates, and yet…they seemed so happy together.

I want that. He imagined Yuki fussing over him. Tending to him when he was sick, making him lunch, comforting him after a stressful day…He'd always believed that such attention would be suffocating and being on the receiving end had always been irritating, but to be fawned over…looked at as if he could conquer the world…it wasn't bad. Yuki had looked at him like that once. It had made him uneasy, but at the same time he couldn't deny the ego boost it gave him.

He frowned. She hadn't looked at him like that in a long time. Likely, she had long since gotten over her infatuation with him. He was fine with that. She was more fun to be around now that she wasn't trailing after him like a lost puppy. She wasn't nervous around him anymore. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind, telling him exactly what she thought no matter how unflattering it was. She used to be so shy and excessively polite, now she rolled her eyes at him and didn't bother hiding her irritation. Their friendship had been something he enjoyed. The laughed together, argued and talked so easily. At least they used to. Nowadays, she did all she could to avoid him. As if his new attention for her was a sickness she was waiting to go away. By all accounts they weren't even friends anymore; she hadn't smiled at him in a long while. Why was that?

Despite her resistance, his ultimate goal was still to get Yuki to be his girlfriend. Their compatibility was something she couldn't ignore forever, and their unquestionable chemistry wasn't just going to go away. He needed to get her to change her mind, to lower her guard just a little. But how to do that? He must be missing something. He was obviously doing something wrong if she wasn't falling into his arms. He needed insight. Who did he know with a girlfriend that could give him sound advice? He immediately rejected Akira. Advice from him would probably get him into trouble with Yuki. That left only one person.

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Tsukushi snuggled under the covers of the abnormally comfortable bed. She dimly remembered coming to wake Rui for something and struggling when he pulled her into his arms. "Let go, Hanazawa Rui. We have things to do." She had said, but the protests died as she registered how soft the mattress was, how warm the cocoon of his arms were. "Just this once," she murmured, pressing herself more firmly into the bed.

He smiled when he felt her surrender. He watched her drift off and nuzzled the side of her neck. He pulled her closer and was just shutting his eyes when the door burst open.

He heard footsteps walk into the room, but didn't bother to turn and greet the intruder, silently willing him to go away.

Soujiro approached the foot of the bed, prepared to rip the comforter off his friend, when he noticed another person tucked beneath his chin. He paused, looking intently at the other body as if to confirm her identity. He grinned. "Rui, you dog. So, you finally did the deed."

Tsukushi, apparently not as asleep as he suspected, stiffened at his voice. "Go away, Nishikado-san." She was far too comfortable to give the order the tone it deserved.

"Wish I could, darling, but I need your lover here." Soujiro knew she probably wasn't naked underneath the blankets, but there was no harm in having a bit of fun. "If you like, I could give you a bit of time to recover, before I steal him from you."

She opened her eyes marginally to glare at him. Tightening her hold on Rui's arm, she growled. "Hanazawa Rui is mine."

Rui chuckled, pulling her more firmly against him. "Would you mind coming back later, Soujiro?"

"Rui! I can't believe it's come to this," He clutched his heart in mock agony. "We've been friends since preschool, and now that you have a girlfriend you're blowing me off?"

"Well, I doubt you're as soft as she is." He heard her muffled giggle.

"So, there." Tsukushi stuck her tongue out at him, and turned to smile up at her boyfriend. "Be gone you playboy."

Once upon a time the Tsukushi Makino he knew would be doing all she could to scramble away from such a compromising position. Now she refused to move, and insisted that he leave them to their snuggling. She had changed since she began dating Rui. Even he saw it. She acted more like a girl. Rui obviously had knowledge and a great power. He wasn't leaving until he shared.

"You know what?" He went over to the window and pulled a chair to side of the bed, facing them. "I think I'll stay and watch."

"Mou, what'd I ever do to you?" Tsukushi grumbled, burying herself into the pillow. "Make him go away, Hanazawa Rui."

Rui leaned down and placed a kiss on her cheek, before moving to her neck. "Is this really important?" He directed the question at Soujiro, but didn't cease his assault on Tsukushi's neck.

Soujiro sighed, an aggravated sigh. "Must be nice to have a girlfriend that likes you."

"Your girlfriends like you." He nipped at her earlobes, moving his hand down her side.

"Watch your hands, Hanazawa Rui." She warned, though making no moves to stop him.

"Come on, Makino. I need his advice, and you being here will only distract him." Soujiro could not watch them for another moment. It was disgusting watching your friend devour someone you didn't even consider a girl.

Something in his tone must have reached her, because with a sigh she reluctantly pulled away and got out of bed. To his relief they were both fully clothed. He didn't think he could handle seeing her body. Some things he'd never be able to handle.

"Hmph. I'll remember this, Nishikado-san. I'll see you later, Hanazawa Rui." She leaned to give him one last peck, and made her way out.

Rui sighed watching her go, and the flopped back on the bed. "How can I help you, Soujiro?"

He said nothing for a moment, his eyes going to the picture frame on his nightstand. It was of Rui and Tsukushi sitting side-by-side on a park bench. It was a simple shot, taken on a whim and it was before they had gotten together, but you could see how close they were even then. "You were friends with her once." He murmured, picking up the picture. "Now, you have her willingly snuggled beneath the covers with you. The old Makino would never have done that."

"Hmm…We all change sooner or later."

Soujiro put the photo back down. "How did you do it? You gave her up twice. She's always so busy. The two of you were the definition of just friends, and now…how'd you do it?"

Rui shrugged. "What does it matter? She's mine now."

"No, that's not good enough." He shook his head. "You never gave her presents. You didn't take her to all the romantic places you could have. You probably didn't even seduce her. So, what did you do? What was your strategy?"

Rui stared at him. He's serious. He remembered that expression Soujiro wore. They were about eight years old when he had least seen it. He had just bought his first pair of jeans, the first of them to move away from designer threads, and he had that same serious expression while firing question after question about them. Why did he buy them? Were they comfortable? Could he move in them? Now he had that same look asking him what strategy he used to get a girl. He couldn't help it. He chuckled. "So, you can still be cute, ne Soujiro?"

Soujiro frowned in puzzlement.

Rui propped himself up against the headboard. "I've always liked Tsukushi. Even while she was with Tsukasa. I was just lucky that she came to like me back."

"You were her first love, weren't you?" He pressed.

He shrugged. "She still rejected me once. You'll have to ask her why she decided to give me a chance."

Soujiro ran his fingers through his hair in a frustrated habit.

"Being her friend might've worked in my favor." He allowed, smiling internally when his friend came to attention. "Unintentionally, mind you."

"Of course." Soujiro knew that Rui and Tsukushi were much closer than he and Yuki. "So, you…held her while she cried? Listened to her problems? You were there for her?" The sensitivity technique was more Akira's forte than his. He had comforted Yuki in his own way once before. Tea and reassuring words of wisdom and a little of her pride back by scaring the shit out of her cheating ex-boyfriend. He had felt out of his depth, but it had helped somehow back then. Not that it would do him any good now. Yuki was far from vulnerable.

"So, who's the lucky girl, Soujiro?"

Soujiro blinked.

"Must be someone special, if she's resisting you so much that you'd come to me for advice."

He narrowed his eyes at Rui. There was a smirk in his tone. He knew.

Rui grinned openly at him. "It's like a story from a manga. Hopeless playboy finally sees the light and chases after his lady love, but his lady love too hurt from past relationships won't trust him."

Annoyed, he grabbed the pillow at the foot of the bed and threw it at him. Rui ducked, laughing. "Will you help me, Rui?"

Rui looked thoughtful. Soujiro hated that look. Most people saw Rui as quiet, lazy, harmless. They didn't grow up with him. It either meant brilliant advice with immediate success or utter hell. The last time he saw that look he made the mistake of getting into a car and letting him drive.

"It helps to pay attention to little things. Most couples only look at the big things so they don't last. Pay attention to the little things."

Well, that wasn't so bad. It made sense. If he had paid attention, he wouldn't have blundered with the gifts he gave Yuki. It gave him hope that Rui would actually tell him something useful.

"Also," Rui continued, "back off for now."

Or maybe not. "Eh? You're telling me to give up?"

"How would you like it if someone just started sending you things, following you everywhere, calling all the time? Stalkers do that sort of thing."

Soujiro blanched, leaving Rui to wonder just what lengths he went through in his strategy. "Let her be the one to decide your dates. Don't pressure her about the big things and just pay attention to the little things."

"So, I'm just supposed to wait for her? Yuki-chan avoids me like the plague. Sooner or later some guy is going to snatch her up, and then where will I be?" It wasn't his nature to wait. He was the aggressor. With any other girl he'd task steps to ensure that she chose him. Let her have the illusion of control over the situation, while manipulating circumstances. Yuki wasn't like other girls, and she'd likely hate him if he tried anything of the sort.

"It would help if you were part of her life. Become her friend again. Meet her friends, her family, get to know her a little better. Find out what she likes. It's not hard, Soujiro. You just need patience and good intentions." He stretched to the little drawer in the nightstand, pulled out a piece of colored paper and handed it to Soujiro. "Here's a start. Go to this."

It was a flyer. To the cultural festival at Yuki's school.

Rui watched the thoughtful to calculating expressions on his face and smiled. This is going to be interesting.

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"Yuki-chan."

Akira blinked when the girl shrieked throwing the platter of cookies up in fright.

"Mou!" She sat on the floor, picking up the platter and trying the salvage the few that she could.

"What's wrong, Yuki-chan? That was some reaction to just your name."

Yuki looked up at him. "I've been rather jumpy lately. Paranoid really. I also haven't been sleeping well."

"I didn't mean to scare you." He raised a brow when she laughed, a humorless laugh.

"No, it's not you, Mimasaka-san. It's all Nishikado-san's fault. Him and his abnormal mind powers."

"Oh? What has Soujiro done to you this time?" It was his intention of staying out of it, but seeing her looking so wary…he couldn't do nothing.

Yuki sighed. "He calls all the time. No matter how often I turn off my phone, it still rings when he calls. I even tried taking out the battery once, and it still rang. It also never seems to run out of room for his messages." She placed the cookies on the counter and started to arrange them. "And he just pops up out of nowhere. I can't even sense him anymore. Whenever I turn around, there he is. Just smiling that smile of his."

"I didn't realize he'd be so tenacious about this. He told me he wants to date you to prove that you're just friends, but I thought he would've already given up by now."

She laughed again. "That might've been possible before, but I made the mistake of letting my guard down. He's just not going to let it go, now. When Nishikado-san wants something, no matter how little it makes sense for him to have it, he won't rest until he gets it." She slumped tiredly against the wall. "I'm sorry, Mimasaka-san. I don't mean to dump all my problems onto you. It's not your fault your friend has been terrorizing me."

He chuckled. "Why don't you give him a chance, Yuki-chan?"

"Because I do not agree with his logic. Go out with me to prove we're just friends? How will dating do that? It's a waste of time, and Nishikado-san needs to know that he can't get everything he wants."

"He's stubborn and determined, Yuki-chan. He also has a lot of weapons in his arsenal. I wouldn't be surprised if he made you fall for him again."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of." She muttered, the she sighed. "I don't want to end up hating Nishikado-san, but I'm not happy with all this attention he's giving me. He's treating me differently. Not like Yuki. Not like his friend Yuki. But as a girl he just has to have no matter what. I don't like it."

"So, what will you do? You know he won't give up easily."

"He can do whatever he wants. Either he'll give up eventually and return to his playboy lifestyle, or we will date and then he'll give up."

Akira studied her. She sounded resigned, but he could tell she was waiting. She didn't believe that Soujiro was sincere in his attentions, and while that might be true, relationships made people change. She was waiting for the Soujiro she knew to return, either as her friend or something more, he didn't know. But clearly, she was tired of the Soujiro that was pursuing her. It wasn't her fault he only knew how to chase her with the techniques of a ladies' man.

"Soujiro is an idiot."

Yuki blinked at him, and then smiled warmly. "You're such a nice guy, Mimasaka-san." Then her eyes sparkled with something that if he didn't know better, he would've called calculation. "You know what nice guy's do? They help their friends in need."

"Er…yes. Did you need my help for something, Yuki-chan?"

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A/N

Okay, here's chapter. Thank you for the reviews and favorites and alerts. This story is better received than I would've thought. I don't exactly have a plot in my mind, just drabbles I'm stringing together really, but eh, I hope you like what I come up with. Big thanks to my girl Domyouji Love for her help. I suggested you all check out some of her stuff…genius! Look forward to chapter 5, and for those following The Siege I've got half of the next chapter written.