Umm. I can tell you all didn't like the last chapter much. That's ok, I
didn't much like it either. Hopefully this one's better.
"Hey! Where are we going? I was just going to go talk to that hottie over there!" Akira protested desperately, as a determined Sakurako firmly dragged him towards the door. "Let me at least finish my drink!"
"Stop whining, and come with me." Sakurako refused to relinquish her grip on the reluctant playboy. "I want to find Tsukushi, and you're going to help me."
"Why me? Can't you get Shigeru to help you? Better yet, call Tsukasa or Rui. I bet they'd know where she is."
"Because you're here." Sakurako smiled unrepentantly, "Besides, I want to talk to her about Tsukasa and Rui. I can't very well do that if she's already with one of them, now can I?"
Akira sighed and rolled his eyes. Why did he have to be stuck with Sakurako of all people? It just wasn't fair. First, his girlfriend stood him up, and now he was going to be tortured by this perky bitch. If only Soujiro was here. He could suffer too. No, dragging Soujiro here wouldn't be very nice of him. But, "I gotta try one more time to escape from this girl," Akira thought despairingly.
"Hey, I think that woman over there is smiling at me.. I gotta go buy her a drink. I'll be right back." Akira mumbled hastily as he tried once more to free his wrist from Sakurako's iron grip.
"What? That ugly cow? Don't make me laugh, Akira. I know you've better taste than that. Now give it up and come with me!"
There was no help for it. Akira went.
"But where are we going?" he plaintively asked again as the pair stepped out into the street.
"First, lets go check out that fast food joint Tsukushi works at." Sakurako replied. "It's fairly close by here-actually, I was on my way there when I spotted you through the window."
"Just my bloody luck." Akira gritted his teeth, "Ok, let's get this over with."
Walking past the Ritz hotel a few short blocks later, Sakurako paused abruptly, her eyes fixed on the cab that had just pulled up to the hotel entrance.
"Hey, Akira. Isn't that Soujiro? Let's get him to help us look too!" Sakurako suggested brightly.
"Bah, He's probably entertaining one of his ladies right now. You don't want to interrupt his fun, now do you?" Akira replied, silently thinking, "No need for both of us to suffer tonight."
And indeed, Soujiro had turned around to help a woman out of the cab behind him. Sakurako gasped as she caught a glimpse of a familiar face wreathed in brown hair.
Akira blinked several times in rapid succession as he watched in stunned disbelief-Soujiro was escorting Tsukushi to a hotel!!!
"Sakurako, Please tell me I'm hallucinating. That's not Tsukushi is it?" Akira managed to whisper hoarsely as he recovered from his slack-jawed stare.
Sakurako couldn't answer. She was too busy watching Soujiro put his arm around Tsukushi as he escorted her into the hotel. She almost missed the sight of Tsukushi elbowing Soujiro sharply in the ribs for his efforts, but not quite.
"Ah. I don't think you're imagining things. 'Cause that's Tsukushi, alright." Sakurako weakly replied at last.
"Shit! I knew he wasn't telling me the whole truth!" Akira muttered angrily under his breath. "This just proves it! How could my best friend lie to me?"
"Huh?" Sakurako twisted around to face Akira. "What did you say?"
"Ack! Did I say that aloud?" Akira mentally kicked himself in the head, "No.. Nothing! Nothing at all!" He didn't want to have to explain to Sakurako about Soujiro and Tsukushi's strange escapade over the weekend. and. surreptitiously he rubbed his neck-he could still remember the bruises Tsukushi had inflicted, and the threat of more to come if he spoke out. So, deny everything until he could figure out what to do.. that was the only solution!
"Men!" Sakurako sniffed. "What are we going to do? To think, Shigeru and I were all set to help Tsukasa make up with Tsukushi-and she's gone after Soujiro?! I mean sure, he's fun for a quick tumble, but.. Tsukushi?? That's not like her .I can't believe it!"
Akira continued to shake his head, "Why would Soujiro interfere with Tsukasa and Rui? I mean, he knows what Tsukasa's like when guys go after Tsukushi! Something's not right with this scene."
But, since neither Akira nor Sakurako truly understood the inner workings of Soujiro's mind, despite all their long years of friendship, they could not possibly divine the true nature of the strange relationship forming between Soujiro and Tsukushi.
Thus, the bewildered duo was left still gaping in disbelief as Tsukushi and Soujiro disappeared from view. Eventually, they recollected some of their scattered wits, and left to go figure out what they were going to do about this unexpected turn of events.
Inside the Hotel, neither Soujiro nor Tsukushi had noticed that they were being watched.
"What am I doing here?" Tsukushi looked around nervously, as she entered the large suite. "This has to be just about the stupidest thing I've ever done. If anyone ever learns I went to a hotel with Nishikado, my reputation will be ruined. Even though Nothing's going to happen!"
Still, she was here. It was far to late to run away now. All she had to do was find out why Soujiro had so wanted to talk to her. But first, she was not going to let him get out of helping her with her problem set!
Tsukushi plunked her books down on the expansive desk that graced one corner of the room. Pulling up a second chair, she glared at Soujiro, who was taking off his jacket.
"Sit!" She waved a hand at the empty chair, as she sank into the other and flipped open her algebra text.
"I can't believe she's seriously making me do this." Soujiro shook his head. Only Tsukushi could be so stubborn. But, he had promised, so he good- naturedly joined her at the desk as she began to recite formulae and scribble equations. "Hey, you lost a negative sign." Soujiro interjected as he leaned closer, thinking, "If I'm gonna help, might as well get it over with.
Some time later.They'd finished her math homework, and were most of the way through the chemistry. "Wow.. he really is smart!" Tsukushi thought wonderingly as she brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. "You really wouldn't think the boy's got any brain beneath that flirtatious exterior, the way he usually acts." Unfortunately, this train of thought led to only one place, and she suddenly became acutely aware of how close this gorgeous playboy was to her right now. As he'd progressively leaned in to get a better look at her work, he'd ended up with one arm thrown over the back of her chair, while the other rested casually on the desk mere inches from her hand. His leg pressed close up to hers and radiated warmth, as he gazed over her shoulder at her open notebook. Occasionally, his warm breath tickled in her ear as he answered her questions. When she breathed, his pleasant scent filled her nostrils.. Tsukushi felt herself start to blush. How could she not have noticed before how close he was!?
"Hey! What's with the face?" Soujiro teased as he saw her face begin to color. "Did you make another stupid mistake?"
"Umm. Yeah! That's it... I think I need a break!" Tsukushi babbled hastily as she shoved to her feet and backed away from Soujiro.
"Strange girl. Wonder what's bothering her now?" Soujiro was so used to cozying up to people-women especially-- that he hadn't even noticed what he was doing to Tsukushi. Whatever, at least now he could stop answering inane problems. He could do this stuff in his sleep-so boring! He began to wonder just what had he been thinking, agreeing to help Tsukushi study? . Oh wait. . . he remembered what he'd wanted to ask. the whole reason he'd dragged Tsukushi here tonight.
Soujiro propped his head in his hand, brushing a few locks of his hair off his forehead as he swiveled in his chair to face Tsukushi (who had begun pacing by the door). He grimaced, as he steeled himself to speak up. He had to ask someone, sometime, right? And Tsukushi probably wouldn't make fun of him. And she wouldn't tell tales. So he might as well get it over with now. Otherwise, he might never know.
Soujiro cleared his throat hesitantly, "Umm.. Tsukushi. you remember I wanted to talk to you about something earlier?"
"Eh?" Tsukushi turned back to face the boy. Somehow, Soujiro looked more timid than she'd ever seen him before. He'd once more dropped the playboy aura, and sat before her: an ordinary, if especially good-looking teenaged boy. "What is it?" She asked in a kinder tone, as if seeing how hard it was for him to speak at all.
Soujiro looked away, as if not wanting to meet Tsukushi's eyes, and finally managed to blurt out the question that had been plaguing him for months.
"Well, ah. I wanted to ask you.
. What does it feel like to be in love?"
to be continued!
"Hey! Where are we going? I was just going to go talk to that hottie over there!" Akira protested desperately, as a determined Sakurako firmly dragged him towards the door. "Let me at least finish my drink!"
"Stop whining, and come with me." Sakurako refused to relinquish her grip on the reluctant playboy. "I want to find Tsukushi, and you're going to help me."
"Why me? Can't you get Shigeru to help you? Better yet, call Tsukasa or Rui. I bet they'd know where she is."
"Because you're here." Sakurako smiled unrepentantly, "Besides, I want to talk to her about Tsukasa and Rui. I can't very well do that if she's already with one of them, now can I?"
Akira sighed and rolled his eyes. Why did he have to be stuck with Sakurako of all people? It just wasn't fair. First, his girlfriend stood him up, and now he was going to be tortured by this perky bitch. If only Soujiro was here. He could suffer too. No, dragging Soujiro here wouldn't be very nice of him. But, "I gotta try one more time to escape from this girl," Akira thought despairingly.
"Hey, I think that woman over there is smiling at me.. I gotta go buy her a drink. I'll be right back." Akira mumbled hastily as he tried once more to free his wrist from Sakurako's iron grip.
"What? That ugly cow? Don't make me laugh, Akira. I know you've better taste than that. Now give it up and come with me!"
There was no help for it. Akira went.
"But where are we going?" he plaintively asked again as the pair stepped out into the street.
"First, lets go check out that fast food joint Tsukushi works at." Sakurako replied. "It's fairly close by here-actually, I was on my way there when I spotted you through the window."
"Just my bloody luck." Akira gritted his teeth, "Ok, let's get this over with."
Walking past the Ritz hotel a few short blocks later, Sakurako paused abruptly, her eyes fixed on the cab that had just pulled up to the hotel entrance.
"Hey, Akira. Isn't that Soujiro? Let's get him to help us look too!" Sakurako suggested brightly.
"Bah, He's probably entertaining one of his ladies right now. You don't want to interrupt his fun, now do you?" Akira replied, silently thinking, "No need for both of us to suffer tonight."
And indeed, Soujiro had turned around to help a woman out of the cab behind him. Sakurako gasped as she caught a glimpse of a familiar face wreathed in brown hair.
Akira blinked several times in rapid succession as he watched in stunned disbelief-Soujiro was escorting Tsukushi to a hotel!!!
"Sakurako, Please tell me I'm hallucinating. That's not Tsukushi is it?" Akira managed to whisper hoarsely as he recovered from his slack-jawed stare.
Sakurako couldn't answer. She was too busy watching Soujiro put his arm around Tsukushi as he escorted her into the hotel. She almost missed the sight of Tsukushi elbowing Soujiro sharply in the ribs for his efforts, but not quite.
"Ah. I don't think you're imagining things. 'Cause that's Tsukushi, alright." Sakurako weakly replied at last.
"Shit! I knew he wasn't telling me the whole truth!" Akira muttered angrily under his breath. "This just proves it! How could my best friend lie to me?"
"Huh?" Sakurako twisted around to face Akira. "What did you say?"
"Ack! Did I say that aloud?" Akira mentally kicked himself in the head, "No.. Nothing! Nothing at all!" He didn't want to have to explain to Sakurako about Soujiro and Tsukushi's strange escapade over the weekend. and. surreptitiously he rubbed his neck-he could still remember the bruises Tsukushi had inflicted, and the threat of more to come if he spoke out. So, deny everything until he could figure out what to do.. that was the only solution!
"Men!" Sakurako sniffed. "What are we going to do? To think, Shigeru and I were all set to help Tsukasa make up with Tsukushi-and she's gone after Soujiro?! I mean sure, he's fun for a quick tumble, but.. Tsukushi?? That's not like her .I can't believe it!"
Akira continued to shake his head, "Why would Soujiro interfere with Tsukasa and Rui? I mean, he knows what Tsukasa's like when guys go after Tsukushi! Something's not right with this scene."
But, since neither Akira nor Sakurako truly understood the inner workings of Soujiro's mind, despite all their long years of friendship, they could not possibly divine the true nature of the strange relationship forming between Soujiro and Tsukushi.
Thus, the bewildered duo was left still gaping in disbelief as Tsukushi and Soujiro disappeared from view. Eventually, they recollected some of their scattered wits, and left to go figure out what they were going to do about this unexpected turn of events.
Inside the Hotel, neither Soujiro nor Tsukushi had noticed that they were being watched.
"What am I doing here?" Tsukushi looked around nervously, as she entered the large suite. "This has to be just about the stupidest thing I've ever done. If anyone ever learns I went to a hotel with Nishikado, my reputation will be ruined. Even though Nothing's going to happen!"
Still, she was here. It was far to late to run away now. All she had to do was find out why Soujiro had so wanted to talk to her. But first, she was not going to let him get out of helping her with her problem set!
Tsukushi plunked her books down on the expansive desk that graced one corner of the room. Pulling up a second chair, she glared at Soujiro, who was taking off his jacket.
"Sit!" She waved a hand at the empty chair, as she sank into the other and flipped open her algebra text.
"I can't believe she's seriously making me do this." Soujiro shook his head. Only Tsukushi could be so stubborn. But, he had promised, so he good- naturedly joined her at the desk as she began to recite formulae and scribble equations. "Hey, you lost a negative sign." Soujiro interjected as he leaned closer, thinking, "If I'm gonna help, might as well get it over with.
Some time later.They'd finished her math homework, and were most of the way through the chemistry. "Wow.. he really is smart!" Tsukushi thought wonderingly as she brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. "You really wouldn't think the boy's got any brain beneath that flirtatious exterior, the way he usually acts." Unfortunately, this train of thought led to only one place, and she suddenly became acutely aware of how close this gorgeous playboy was to her right now. As he'd progressively leaned in to get a better look at her work, he'd ended up with one arm thrown over the back of her chair, while the other rested casually on the desk mere inches from her hand. His leg pressed close up to hers and radiated warmth, as he gazed over her shoulder at her open notebook. Occasionally, his warm breath tickled in her ear as he answered her questions. When she breathed, his pleasant scent filled her nostrils.. Tsukushi felt herself start to blush. How could she not have noticed before how close he was!?
"Hey! What's with the face?" Soujiro teased as he saw her face begin to color. "Did you make another stupid mistake?"
"Umm. Yeah! That's it... I think I need a break!" Tsukushi babbled hastily as she shoved to her feet and backed away from Soujiro.
"Strange girl. Wonder what's bothering her now?" Soujiro was so used to cozying up to people-women especially-- that he hadn't even noticed what he was doing to Tsukushi. Whatever, at least now he could stop answering inane problems. He could do this stuff in his sleep-so boring! He began to wonder just what had he been thinking, agreeing to help Tsukushi study? . Oh wait. . . he remembered what he'd wanted to ask. the whole reason he'd dragged Tsukushi here tonight.
Soujiro propped his head in his hand, brushing a few locks of his hair off his forehead as he swiveled in his chair to face Tsukushi (who had begun pacing by the door). He grimaced, as he steeled himself to speak up. He had to ask someone, sometime, right? And Tsukushi probably wouldn't make fun of him. And she wouldn't tell tales. So he might as well get it over with now. Otherwise, he might never know.
Soujiro cleared his throat hesitantly, "Umm.. Tsukushi. you remember I wanted to talk to you about something earlier?"
"Eh?" Tsukushi turned back to face the boy. Somehow, Soujiro looked more timid than she'd ever seen him before. He'd once more dropped the playboy aura, and sat before her: an ordinary, if especially good-looking teenaged boy. "What is it?" She asked in a kinder tone, as if seeing how hard it was for him to speak at all.
Soujiro looked away, as if not wanting to meet Tsukushi's eyes, and finally managed to blurt out the question that had been plaguing him for months.
"Well, ah. I wanted to ask you.
. What does it feel like to be in love?"
to be continued!