Standard Disclaimers Apply. May I remind you I am a poor college student writing to entertain those who love Hana Yori Dango as much as I do.
Ch.5-An Invitation
"Kaa-san?" Mariko asked as she peeked through the living room doors. She saw her mother sitting on the couch at 2:30 in the morning with a man who was definitely not her father. 'Who's this guy and what's he doing here so late?' Mariko was on the verge of losing her cool. 'And why is he hanging on kaa-san?'
Tsukushi saw the look on Mariko's face when she peeked inside the room.
"Mariko, come in here. Doumyoji-san and I were just talking" Mariko had a surprised look on her face thinking that Doumyoji would be the last person she expected to see with her mother right now. Tsukushi knew what her daughter was thinking, so she glared back, giving Mariko that 'I'll tell you about it later' look.
"Good evening… or should I say Good Morning, Doumyoji-san" Mariko greeted the man who looked at her with the sweetest smile.
"Good morning to you as well Mariko-chan. I'm sorry we woke you."
"Oh no, you didn't. I couldn't sleep and well, I was headed to the kitchen and I heard voices in here," she said waving her hands and shaking her head, letting Tsukasa know that they were not the reason she couldn't sleep. "Well, I'm going to get something to drink. Can I get you anything Doumyoji-san?"
"No, thank you Mariko-chan. I should be going. I didn't realize how late it was. Ayumi is going to kill me when I get home." Tsukasa said in a worry realizing that his wife was probably still up waiting for him.
"Good night then Doumyoji-san. Take care!" said Mariko. Tsukasa returned the good night bid as Mariko left to get her drink.
"She's a sweet kid Nagane." Tsukasa said staring as Mariko walked away.
"Yes, I know. Thank you Doumyoji." Tsukushi replied. "Here, let me walk you out."
At the front door, Tsukasa was putting his shoes on. "Thank you for taking the time to listen to me tonight. It means a lot to me that I've talked to you and I know we can be friends again. I've truly missed you."
Tsukushi blushed. 'Why is my face flushing?' "I'm glad you came by and told me everything Doumyoji." She softly smiled and gave him a hug. Tsukasa froze, but relaxed and embraced her one final time.
"We should all have dinner one day. I'll give you a call and invite you and your family over. You and Ayumi would get along great." Tsukasa said as he walked out towards his car. He turned around and waved at Tsukushi, before she closed the door. 'Welcome back' thought Tsukasa as he drove away.
Tsukasa entered the house as quietly as possible, in hopes of not waking Ayumi.
"Where have you been?" A voice asked from the shadows. Tsukasa looked around, surprised.
Ayumi came out of the shadows, "Well? It's 3 a.m. Tsukasa. Where were you?"
"Ah, sorry Ayumi. I was at Nagane-san's house." Ayumi's heart stopped. 'He's been there all this time?'
"And what were you doing there?" At this point, Ayumi was more hurt and afraid than angry.
"I had to tell her that I remembered her. I had to apologize to her." Tsukasa said softly, noting the tone of his wife's voice.
"This late at night? Couldn't it have waited Tsukasa??" Ayumi cried "All Hikaru-chan told me is you had gone out. You didn't even call. And now you stand there, telling me you were at that woman's house all this time?"
"Look Ayumi, nothing happened. We just talked. That's it. Don't make it more than it really is." Tsukasa said in defense.
"Why couldn't you talk to her tomorrow?" Ayumi's face saddened.
"Because I had to tell her now! Why can't you just understand that?!" Tsukasa roared back. Ayumi froze. "I'm happy now that I've told her. You know how long I've had to keep it to myself. I needed to tell her Ayumi. I'm sorry if you don't understand that."
"I…I..I do understand. I just wanted to know where you were that's all. Plus you didn't call. You could have told me you were going there. I would have understood." Ayumi said and walked off.
"Ayumi wait!" But Ayumi had already disappeared back into the shadows. Tsukasa didn't know what to do. He knew he had hurt Ayumi just then and felt terrible for it. Tsukasa didn't think it would have been best to follow her up yet. He knew she was truly upset, and it was because of him.
'I'm such an idiot' Tsukasa thought to himself as he entered the bedroom. Ayumi was curled up in bed and crying, the muffled sound of her sobs echoed in the room. Tsukasa joined her in bed and pulled her close to him. Embracing her and stroking her hair, he whispered, "I'm sorry Ayumi."
Ayumi's sobs died down after a while and she turned to face Tsukasa, "Tsukasa, I'm not her."
Tsukasa held his fragile wife tighter, "I know that. That's why I love you. Ayumi…" Tsukasa tilted her head up to meet his gaze "She is my past and you are my now and always. I am in love with you, not her." He kissed her softly as she smiled in return and fell asleep in his embrace.
The next day, Hiro and Ken had arrived back from their father-son fishing trip.
Hiro found his wife in the room as she greeted him with a warm smile and a sweet kiss.
"Anata, Doumyoji stopped by here last night." Hiro stopped. He had nothing against Tsukasa personally, but he could never forget the stories Tsukushi told him. It was always so heart breaking to see her cry. She cried so much back then and it affected him deeply.
"And?" Hiro asked, pulling away from Tsukushi.
"He remembered long ago. He said it was two months before our wedding that he remembered me."
"Doumyoji-san remembers it all?"
"Yes, and last night, he came by to tell me that. He apologized for forgetting, for treating me so harshly, for all of it." Tsukushi sighed contently.
Hiro wasn't comfortable that Tsukasa was at the house yesterday, but his wife was happy. Her past was finally behind her, and he could see it in her face. Her past had always held her back, and now there were no more regrets, no more what ifs.
"Well, I'm glad everything's been settled between you two."
Mariko wasn't home when her brother and father arrived, but when she got home and went in her room, Ken was waiting for her.
"Hey Riko-chan…can I talk to you about something?" Ken asked as she walked by him dropping all her shopping bags on the floor.
"Sure, go ahead nii-san. I'm listening. Something wrong?"
"Do ya think Aya-chan likes me? Or would she like me?" Ken started fidgeting and stuttering. Mariko couldn't help but giggle and smile at her brother. 'How cute' she thought. "You're friends with her and all. Does she ever talk about me??"
"Nii-san, why wouldn't she like you? Besides, she's asked about you before too." Ken's face lit up.
"SHE DOES????" Ken couldn't help but smile the cheesiest smile.
"Yups. She asks if you've got a girlfriend and she thinks you're really nice and cute. Blah blah blah…" Mariko remembered how giddy Aya was when Mariko told her Ken didn't have a girlfriend and that there wasn't anyone special back in Boston either. Aya's face lit up, because it meant she still had a chance.
"Just ask her out on a date or something, but don't bring the F4 along." Mariko laughed thinking about all the things that could go wrong if the F4 were with her brother on a date.
"You think she'd say yes, Riko-chan??" Mariko nodded and smiled. Her brother was such a kid when it came to women. He's had girlfriends before, but didn't know why he was so shy when it came to Aya. Ken could always joke around with her and she would ALWAYS laugh at his stories and jokes, even if nobody else thought they were funny. Ken jumped off Mariko's bed, hugged his sister and ran out her room. Now he needed to figure out just how he should ask Aya out.
The week was going by so quickly. It was Thursday now and Ken woke up extra early to make himself look good. 'I'm going to ask Aya out today' He said to himself staring in the mirror. Ken fixed his hair and sprayed some Aqua di Gio before stepping out of his room. He ran into Mariko down the hall and they headed out the door for school.
The walk to school this morning was too quiet. Mariko was humming her favorite tune, but she noticed something was bothering Ken. 'Hmmm…he went all out today…cologne…new haircut…wonder what for….' Then it hit her. 'Aya!'
"What's the occasion Nii-san?" She knew, but it was fun teasing Ken about this. Never had he been so nervous around a girl, Mariko just thought it was too cute. "Are you going to ask Aya out today?" Ken froze.
"Y…yeah…I'm going to do it. I just want to look my best."
"Ah…I see…."
Later that morning, Tsukushi was walking past the front door when she heard a noise. 'Did someone just knock on the door or am I hearing things?' She heard the knock again, so she walked over and opened the door. Standing before her was a tall and extremely beautiful woman. She had long black hair, tied up in a pony tail with amazing green eyes. Tsukushi was even stunned at this sight. The woman was dressed casually in jeans and a red sweater with a black peacoat over, but she was still so beautiful.
"Nagane Tsukushi?" The woman spoke as Tsukushi snapped out of her thoughts.
"Y-Yes?" Tsukushi stuttered.
"Hello Nagane-san. I am Doumyoji Ayumi." Tsukushi was in shock. 'Tsukasa's wife?' She was thinking again.'Someone this beautiful fell in love with that idiot?'
"Doumyoji Ayumi?" The woman nodded. Tsukushi wondered what she was doing here. "Please come in. I'm so sorry. I was just…" At a loss for words Tsukushi let Ayumi in.
The two women walked into the living room. "Please have a seat." Ayumi sat and removed her coat.
"Hana-chan, can you please bring us some tea?" Hana nodded and minutes later arrived with the tea.
"So, what brings you here today Doumyoji-san?"
"Please just call me Ayumi." Tsukushi nodded and handed her a cup of tea.
"Well…" Ayumi began. "Tsukasa told me he stopped by here one night to talk to you. He's told me everything about your past relationship with him. When he first told me about you, I have to say that I was hurt. He was so upset and broken because of what happened between you two. It hurt to see my husband going crazy over a woman who was a part of his past. And I asked myself over and over: How was I supposed to live up to a woman like you?" Tsukushi heart was pacing. 'What's Ayumi getting at?'
"But I realized, I'm not you. And Tsukasa fell in love with me because of me." Tsukushi just continued to listen. "I was upset that he came over here the other night. I thought I was going to lose him again because you had come back into his life. I was just being paranoid. I should have more faith in Tsukasa than that. He was just so happy that his past was lifted off his shoulders. He was so happy when he came home that night, and here I was giving him a hard time." Ayumi was fidgeting. She was so nervous talking to Tsukushi.
"Nagane-san…"
"Tsukushi is just fine."
"Ah, Tsukushi…I came over today because I wanted to meet you. He's always wanted us to visit your family, but he never felt like it was the best thing to do. I'm sorry we couldn't attend your wedding. Tsukasa was still not at his best. But, he looks so much happier now that he's gained your friendship once again." Ayumi smiled.
"I felt the same way, Ayumi. It had been hard not hearing from him. He had been one of my best friends and then all of a sudden he wasn't. It was hard on me, but I'm sure you know about all that." Tsukushi spoke.
"I wanted to get to know you better. We have so many years to catch up on. Rui and the others think so highly of you and always bring you up when they get the chance."
"Plus, I would like to personally invite you and your family to dinner tomorrow night at our house. Tsukasa suggested it, and I think it would give us all a chance to talk and get to know each other better. " 'Is she serious?' Tsukushi thought.
"Ah…I…I would have to ask my husband first, but I think it's a great idea. Thank you for the invitation. I'll give Hiro a call and then I'll get back to you as soon as possible."
"That's not a problem at all." Ayumi said.
"So, how many children do you have?" Ayumi asked. "I've met Ken-kun before, because he has been over at the house several times. I suppose he is friends with Kesshin." Tsukushi nodded.
"I only have Ken and Mariko. Mariko is 15, but she's quick to remind you that she will be 16 in 3 months and 4 days." Ayumi laughed. "I have met your son, Kesshin. He and Mariko had a sort of…run-in… at school, so when I came to pick her up, he was there with Doumyoji in the headmaster's office." Ayumi arched her eyebrow. 'I'll have to ask Tsukasa about this little run in'
"He looks just like Doumyoji. I thought I was looking at Doumyoji that day in the headmaster's office. He even has the same temper as his father."
"Tell me about it." Ayumi retorted. Both women laughed, knowing very well about Tsukasa's flaring temper tantrums. "I have another son, Aoi. He's still a baby though. He just turned 4 a month ago. Aoi looks more like me. Plus he's such a smart child, he amazes me sometimes."
The two women talked more about each other's lives for a couple of hours. It seems they share the same stories when it comes to their children. The two women were comfortable with each other. Tsukushi was surprised to learn that Ayumi knew how to cook. Not many women of upper class families knew how to do anything at all, so Tsukushi admired her for that. They made lunch and ate in front of the television as they talked some more.
Ayumi was leaving now and she hugged Tsukushi good bye. "We really should do this again. Thank you for having me over today Tsukushi. I'm glad we were able to talk. It wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be. Hopefully, we will see you tomorrow night at 7pm then." Tsukushi nodded and waved to Ayumi. She closed the door and thought about what happened today. She still wasn't sure if she could completely trust Ayumi, but she had no reason to doubt Ayumi either.
Tsukushi picked up the phone and called her husband, feeling the need to tell him about Ayumi's visit.
"Hiro?" Tsukushi spoke into the phone. "Hello Anata, how are you?"
She told him about her visitor this morning. Hiro found it odd that she would stop by and tell Tsukushi all those things. It was just something that threw Hiro off.
"So…Ayumi has invited our family to dinner tomorrow night at their house."
"Are you kidding me? Dinner at Doumyoji-san's house?" Tsukushi noticed the spite in Hiro's tone. Hiro didn't want to have dinner with Tsukasa. He was still secretly upset of Tsukasa's late night visit.
"I haven't answered her yet, but I think it's a good idea to go."
"I don't like the idea Tsukushi. I don't even know Doumyoji-san-"
"That's why we're going over there for dinner. You guys can get to know each other better." Tsukushi cut him off. "Please, Hiro…."
Hiro sighed deeply, a sign of defeat. "Fine, we'll accept their invitation for tomorrow night." Tsukushi smiled.
"Thank you anata. I love you." Tsukushi ended the conversation to call Ayumi and accept the dinner offer.
At Eitokou, the day had passed by quickly. Ken was more than nervous as he waited for Aya by her locker. He didn't see her all day, basically because he had been trying his best to avoid everyone. Ken didn't want any of the F4 asking about his plan. 'Just be yourself, Ken. You can do it.' He told himself that all day today.
"Ken-kun?" Ken had been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even see Aya approaching. He snapped out of it and turned to Aya.
"What are you doing here?" She asked smiling up at him. 'God she's got the cutest smile.' Ken thought, fidgeting his hands.
"Well…I…uh…" He cleared his throat. This was harder than he thought. "I was wondering if you would go out..with….me tomorrow night for dinner." There, he said it. Aya was beyond shocked. Her heart fluttered and skipped a beat.
Ken looked at her confused, because she was just smiling, but not saying anything at all. "Aya-chan?"
"Huh? Oh…Y-YES! I'd love to join you for dinner tomorrow night." Aya still had a biggest smile on her face as she constantly nodded her head yes.
"Really??" Ken smiled as he was shocked by Aya's answer. Aya nodded again. "Okay! That's great! I'll pick you up tomorrow night at 6:30 then?" Aya was speechless, so she just nodded. Ken walked off while Aya still stood there, shocked. 'Ken asked me out. He likes me? Why?' So many questions were running through her head. Then something hit her
"What am I going to wear?!" Quickly realizing she said that out loud, she looked around to see if anyone saw her. She turned back to her locker to see Mariko standing there.
"What are you going to wear? Where are you going Aya-chan?" Mariko knew perfectly where she was going, but she loved seeing Aya blush and smile like that. It was so amusing.
"Your brother just asked me out on a date." Aya couldn't help but smile. She had a crush on Ken since she first saw him in the headmaster's office that day. He was always nice to her too, and it made her like him even more.
The two girls gathered their things and walked home. They talked about what Aya was going to wear and what they would do on their date. Mariko and Aya stopped at a coffee shop before going their separate ways. Both of them burst into laughter when some guys tried flirting with them. Mariko told the guys that they were both taken so they would be left alone.
"I'M HOME!!!!!!!!!" Mariko ran all around the house looking for her family. She burst into Ken's room to tease him about Aya, but he wasn't there. 'Hmmm….' She went to the game room hoping Ken would be in there. She got tired of walking around the house and finding nobody, so she called her mom.
"Kaa-san? Where are you?"
"Oh Mariko-chan, I'm over in the salon. Come join me." Mariko hung up and went to her mom. She almost forgot the had a full salon in the house.
Mariko saw Tsukushi getting her nails done, which was rare for her mom. "Why are you in here kaa-san?"
"Well, we are having dinner tomorrow night at Doumyoji-san's house, so I want to look all spiffed up. I'm getting my hair done too…
Mariko stopped listening after hearing about dinner at Doumyoji's house. 'DINNER AT DOUMYOJI'S?'
"We're having dinner with Doumyoji-san and his wife?" Mariko asked hoping that it would just be Doumyoji-san and his wife and not Kesshin.
"Yes…." Mariko sighed. "And their children, Kesshin and Aoi." Mariko's face scrunched up at the sound of Kesshin's name. Tsukushi looked over at her daughter's face and held in her laughter. "Mariko-chan, your father and I expect you to be on your best behavior. We are aware that you and Kesshin-kun aren't the best of friends, but the decision has already been made."
"But…"
"No 'but'…You will join your father and I tomorrow night."
"What about nii-san?"
"He has a date with Aya-chan tomorrow night, so he won't be with us." Mariko grunted and left the salon.
She was still looking for Ken and decided to try his room again. Mariko found him in there smiling. 'Geez he's probably thinking about Aya.'
"This is UNBELIEVABLE!" Ken jumped to see Mariko standing next to his bed annoyed.
"What's the matter with you?"
"UGH! I have to go with kaa-san and tou-san to dinner tomorrow night at Doumyoji's house." Mariko plopped on Ken's bed with her arms folded. Ken tried really hard not to laugh, but he couldn't help it. Mariko would be having dinner with Kesshin, the one boy at school she couldn't stand. He was laughing so hard that Mariko finally hit him.
"It's not funny!"
"Yes it is! I can just picture you and Kesshin at the table together." Ken was laughing so hard at the thought of Mariko and Kesshin on their best behavior in front of each other. The two could barely stand each other's company. At school, they would always argue about something and insult each other non-stop.
"FINE! Laugh all you want." Mariko stormed out of his room and slammed the doors shut.
Friday. 'It's Friday' The thought of having dinner at Kesshin's tonight was driving Mariko mad. Neither Mariko nor Ken had much sleep last night. The two siblings barely made it down the stairs and out the door this morning. Ken was too nervous about his date with Aya and Mariko, for some odd reason, was nervous about dinner at the Doumyoji's. She was dreading dinner there, because she knew that her and Kesshin in the same room meant trouble. Mariko sighed as she sat in the car staring out the window.
School came and went. Mariko did a good job of avoiding everyone at school. She didn't want to run into the F4 today, for fear they may tease her and Kesshin about tonight. Mariko wasn't in the mood for it. She did see Aya in class and they talked about what Ken and Aya were going to do on their date tonight. She wasn't looking forward to walking home alone today. Ken had left immediately after class to get ready for his hot date with Aya. Mariko gathered all her books and closed her locker.
"AHHH!!!!!" She screamed as she turned around and dropped all her books. She hadn't noticed someone standing behind her.
"RYU-KUN!" Mariko was breathing heavily trying to calm herself as Ryu laughed at her reaction. 'Gods she's so cute' Ryu thought. She looked like she had seen a ghost. Ryu picked up all of her books and apologized for sneaking up on her. "Sorry Mariko-chan."
"Ummm…Mariko-chan, can I ask you a favor?" Mariko nodded.
"Can you drop the –kun? We aren't kids anymore and it's kinda embarrassing when you call me Ryu-kun. Everyone stares." It was Mariko's turn to laugh at his request.
"But Ryu-KUN" she giggled "I've always called you that." Mariko noticed Ryu's face turn even redder. "Okay RYU…I'll stop."
Ryu walked Mariko home. He knew about Ken's date with Aya and knew he would leave school early, which meant Mariko would be alone, and Ryu didn't like that idea. He had always watched over her. They'd known each other so long. He never thought of her as more than a friend, but looking over at her now, he felt different towards her. Her smiled melted his heart and her voice was always so sweet, except for when she was mad at Kesshin. As they walked, Ryu stared at her, admiring how she'd grown to be so beautiful. She definitely wasn't the little tomboy who played basketball with him and Ken during the summers.
Ryu put his arm around Mariko's shoulders, causing her to tense up slightly. "Do you want to get some ice cream?" Ryu asked.
Mariko turned to Ryu, blushing profusely. "I.I..I…ah…Sure!"
Mariko had never been this nervous around Ryu. 'What's this feeling?' Her heart thumped rapidly and wouldn't stop. She could swear that Ryu could hear her heart pounding so loud.
"So what kind of ice cream do you want?" Ryu asked upon entering the ice cream shop. 'He doesn't seem nervous at all.' Mariko wanted to push his hand off, but at the same time, wanted it there.
"Ah….chocolate chip cookie dough please."
The two continued the walk home in silence, eating their ice cream. Mariko had millions of questions in her head. Why did he do that? Why does his touch have that effect on me? What's he thinking? Mariko sighed in frustration.
"How come I didn't see you around all day?" Ryu broke the silence, noticing the awkwardness.
"Oh…I was just avoiding everyone today. I'm having dinner at Doumyoji's house tonight with my parents." Ryu smirked.
"You're having dinner at Kesshin's?" Mariko nodded.
"Do Shinji and Aki know about this?" Ryu asked. Mariko shook her head violently.
"PLEASE don't tell them. Knowing those two they'd be asking me if Doumyoji-san and I are gonna have sex. Those perverts." Both Mariko and Ryu broke out into laughter.
"Well, good luck tonight Mariko." Ryu said as they reached Mariko's house. For the second time that day, Ryu made her blush, calling her only by her first name.
"Thanks Ryu-k…" She gave her friend a hug . 'He smells so good. It's intoxicating.'
She let go and entered the house. Ryu watched her walk away, his heart feeling light. He smiled when she turned around once more to wave good bye to him.
Mariko rushed up to her room and plopped on her bed. Her mind was consumed by nothing but thoughts of Ryu. She never thought of him as anything else but a friend, but she never knew he could have that affect on her. The way he gazed at her while they were walking drove her crazy. She didn't know what he was staring at, but his gaze was so intense. Mariko felt like her world was spinning, like she couldn't breathe when he put his arm around her shoulder, when he smiled at her. It was so warm and his eyes so gentle.
"What's happening to me?" She asked herself before closing her eyes.