Disclaimer: All the Hana Yori Dango characters are owned by Yoko Kamio
Chapter 11
"We'll be there in 4 hours, 5 hours top," Akira put down the phone. He had just finished conversing with Soujirou, and had told him what had happened so far, except for the part of his newfound love for Tsukushi. He knew that what was important now was to keep Tsukushi safe, and the emotions part would only complicate things. However, he could not get rid of the uneasy feeling that he was in from the moment he stepped out of Tsukushi's house. He quickly exited his apartment and drove off to Tsukushi's house.
When he reached Tsukushi's apartment, his heart almost jumped out of his chest. Tsukushi's door was wide open. He ran in, shouting, "Tsukushi, Tsukushi! Are you here?" He ran around the apartment, searching for her in different rooms, hoping desperately to see her in one of them. However, the apartment was painfully devoid of Tsukushi's presence. The last place that Akira looked in was in her bedroom. He sank bonelessly onto the bed they had shared the night before, and despaired.
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All that was in Soujirou's and Rui's minds now were the same questions that Akira had originally asked when he saw Tsukushi's bruised face: what had happened between Tsukushi and Tsukasa? They were on their way to Sydney now, to try and help Tsukushi. But their minds refused to work; after all it was one of their own they are going against. Rui, in particular, agonized over Tsukushi's fate. He raged at himself for letting Tsukushi go back to Tsukasa. Although he loved Tsukushi, it was more of a brotherly love, and he thought Tsukasa would truly treasure Tsukushi for the beautiful person that she was, yet look what had happened.
However, this was not the time for recriminations: what was solely on his and Soujirou's minds now was how to help Tsukushi.
When they reached Sydney, they immediately rushed to the address that Akira had given him, the place where Tsukushi had been hiding for the past few months. Like Akira before them, they knew something was wrong when they saw the gaping door. They found Akira in the master bedroom. He told them in a dead voice, "She's gone. Tsukasa must have found her."
Rui said, "Then they would be flying back to Japan. Come, we must fly back there now too. Back to the place where all this started in the first place." He took the initiative to call the pilot that they would be flying back to Japan.
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It was a silent trip. The three men were all lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly Akira got up from his seat and started pacing on board the jet. He said, "I shouldn't have left her alone in the first place. I should have stayed at her side. Now she's back with Tsukasa again, and I'm so frightened of what he would do to her."
"It's not your fault, Akira," Soujirou tried to calm him down. "You have done all you can. All of us know what Tsukasa was, or is; like, yet we have always tried to justify his actions. But now, we won't sweep this under the carpet. We'll confront him."
"And then what? What can we do? Tsukushi is his wife. And he had powerful connections, that even if we bring this to the police's attention, there's nothing they will do to help us, for fear of offending the Doumyouji dynasty." Akira raged.
Silence fell upon the three of them again, as they felt the hopelessness of the situation. Whatever budding plans they had seem doomed to failure…
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Tsukushi tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible, sitting next to Tsukasa in his private jet. They were flying back to Japan. Other than the one ominous statement he said to her at the apartment, he had exchanged pleasantries with her, as if nothing had happened at all. She was totally terrified: she did not know what his plans were for her, and especially for her unborn child.
Tsukasa put his arm around her shoulder and she cringed reflexively. He tightened his hold on her, when he felt her shuddering. Then he put his nose into her hair and breathed her in, "Ahhh…how I have missed you." His tone was almost loving, but Tsukushi, who knew him so intimately, could hear the violent and possessive undertones in his voice.
Then she gave out a sharp cry as Tsukasa's hold on her turned bruising. "Oh, my dear, you will pay for trying to escape from me…yes, you will pay." And he used his tongue to lick away the tears on her cheeks that fell from her eyes.
AN: It seems like a pretty hopeless situation, doesn't it? Will Tsukushi be able to escape unscathed? Find out in the next chapter.
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