"Tomo, somebody's coming," the guy said urgently.
The guy they had called Tomo stopped struggling with his zipper.
"What? We're just starting to do this! Who is it?"
"Sh*t, it looks like Hanazawa Rui!"
Tomo stopped whatever movement he was engaged in. Under him, lay Makino Tsukushi. It could have been finished if only they were given another ten minutes at least.
"You're sure?" Tomo whispered urgently.
"Dammit, Tomo, let's go! Let's go!"
The four fled.
*~*~*~*~~*~*~**~~~~~~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
His hands reached out...
"Tsukushi! Stop screaming!"
Tsukushi's eyes flew open. She came into focus with whiteness. She heard someone say something about the time: 9:30 PM. For a moment, she thought that she had fallen asleep and woken up in her parent's hospital room, but then she remembered that they had been released the Sunday before. While her eyes were adjusting, she shifted, and pain shot throughout her whole body.
Along with the pain, she remembered a couple of things...she remembered how she had been dragged after school to the parking lot, how Kazuya had tried to hold them off as long as he could...she remembered seeing Makiko's stricken face. Then she remembered the rest until she fell off into darkness.
She stared at the ceiling, the silence deafening her. Then, her eyes filled with tears. They coursed down her cheeks. The feeling was something strange. She felt dirty and ugly and she felt as if she were a whore.
Rui's concerned face came into focus. Tsukushi bolted up, holding the cover to herself.
"Tsukushi, calm down," Rui said softly. He reached out to put his arms around her shoulder. Tsukushi screamed.
"Get away from me!" she screamed. The sight of another guy so close made her go into flash-back mode into the nightmare she was trying so hard to forget. She jumped out of bed, dragging the blanket with her. The dextrose needle ripped from her arm. She didn't feel the pain at all. Rui was looking at her in alarm. She was terrified of him.
"Makino," Rui said urgently. "Wait!"
Tsukushi bolted for the door. It was a private hospital room, obviously exclusive. There was a television set, and a private bathroom, and a large overstuffed couch and a coffee table. A private intercom near the hospital bed was for the benefit of the patients, in case they needed anything, all they had to do was press the button. Tsukushi could barely get enough energy to walk fast, but the desperation she felt on getting away from Hanazawa Rui gave her enough adrenaline to run.
But Rui was faster than her. he reached her before she had reached the door. At the touch of another guy so soon after her experience, she starting sobbing and crying and struggling. Rui easily held her in his two arms, keeping her feet off the ground so that she wouldn't try to drag him on her way out the door.
"Let me go!" Tsukushi was crying out. The door burst open, and nurses streamed in, hired by Rui when he had first driven her to the hospital. One of them carried a pacifying needle. Another nurse held on to Tsukushi's arm, and the first nurse jammed the needle into the skin.
Tsukushi became limp in Rui's arms. Silent, he carried her to the hospital bed, hating himself with all his heart for putting up the red tag in her locker. Tsukushi's eyes were about to close, her eyes clouded with the pain of memory. She whispered in a broken voice:
"Rui...please don't look at me like that...Please don't look at me..."
*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~**~*~*~
Rui called Tsukushi's parents, telling them what had happened to Tsukushi. He left out the state he had found her in, and he left out the fact that she had been beaten up by the student body. He had also brought Kazuya into the hospital as well, but this time, he knew that Kazuya could take care of his own hospitalization bills on his own. Rui went over to the doctor's office in the hospital.
"When can you examine her?" Rui asked as soon as he entered. The man at the desk jumped in his seat. He was a short, extremely smart doctor, and for that reason, Rui had asked for his service.
"Not tonight. She's probably too traumatized to let me examine her." the doctor said.
Of course, they weren't talking about Tsukushi's physical condition. Enough had been done to take care of that. As of the moment, Rui was asking the doctor if those guys had gone all the way with Tsukushi. He had found her completely naked, her clothes torn around her. He had driven her to the hospital immediately.
"She's sleeping," Rui pointed out, his genuine concern showing.
The doctor rubbed his hands together, sighing.
"I really recommend waiting. She might wake up, and start struggling."
Rui shrugged.
"I want to know right NOW, doctor," he said, his voice deadly. But the doctor wasn't intimidated. This young man before him was his own nephew.
"I'll do it tomorrow morning," he promised.
*~**~~*~**~*~*~~*~*~**~~*~*~**~*~~*~*~*~*~**~~**~*~
Rui left the hospital when her parents came. He had explained to them that he was going to take care of all the expenses, and that they shouldn't worry. They were extremely grateful, and had thanked him profusely before rushing into the room.
When he entered his room, he saw that Akira and Soujiro were still in his room, lounging around. Soujiro was at the phone, talking with some girl, and Akira was looking through his selection of DVD movies. They sat up when they saw Rui. From the look on his face, they were suddenly serious. Akira was the first to ask.
"What happened?"
**~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~**~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*
"What?" Tsukasa picked up Akira by the front of his t-shirt. Akira gave Tsukasa an annoyed grimace.
"Let go of my shirt," he said in a deadpan voice. Tsukasa let go after a moment. Akira smoothed out his shirt, and he repeated what had happened to Tsukushi, not telling Tsukasa that it had been Rui who had put the red tag in the locker and not telling Tsukasa what state Tsukushi had been found in. All he said was that it was Makino who had been beaten up and she was currently in the hospital.
"So that's why she's not at school today," Tsukasa said to himself. The strange feeling of rage was building up inside him. He turned to Soujiro.
"Did you find out who put the red tag in her locker?"
Soujro shifted uncomfortably, and Akira fiddled with his hands. Soujiro was sort of a good liar when it came to other people, but he definitely wasn't used to lying to Tukasa, and at the moment, Doumyouji's quiet anger seemed more dangerous than usual. Soujiro felt that if he tried to lie, Tsukasa would see right through it, and give him a sock in the face.
Fortunately, Akira was more calm than Soujiro. Akira held up his hands.
"We have no clue," Akira said. Tsukasa whipped up on his, his eyes flashing. From behind him, Soujiro wiped the nervous sweat off his forehead.
"YOU might have no clue," he shouted to the serene face, "But I can tell Soujiro here-knows something that I don't!"
Tsukasa fumbled for Soujiro's shirt, but Soujiro dodged out of the way. He wasn't afraid of Tsukasa's strength, but he didn't want to become involved in a fistfight. Akira knocked Tsukasa's arms out of the way.
"We were both surprised. We thought it was you," Akira said, his face completely passive. Tsukasa calmed down and considered this a while. He frowned.
"Once I get my hands on the guy who red-tagged her, I'll make him pay so badly..."
Akira and Soujiro looked away.
*~*~*~*~*~~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*
Tsukushi sighed. The hospital was a boring place, after all. It was two days after she had been beaten up, but the shame she felt was still completely raw. She didn't want to see any person, and she didn't want anyone to look at her. She was completely paranoid that they would find out what had happened.
She stood up, and went to the balcony. She pushed the silk curtains aside gently and looked down on the street below. Cars were rushing in both directions, left and right. The fast movement, light and shadows around her...Tsukushi felt herself become nauseated once again, remembering the ordeal. She numbly felt imaginary hands around her ankles...around her legs...Without knowing it, she stepped on the metal rail of the balcony safety bar. She stood on top, the wind tearing at her to fall. The only way she remained able to balance herself on top was by holding the cement hold above her head. She looked at the onrushing cars below her...felt the unbearable shame...
"What are you doing?" Said an alarmed voice. Hands gripped her waist immediately, pulling her back easily even when she resisted.
She recoiled away from the touch as if his hands were on fire, and saw herself looking into the face of Akira. She got a hold of herself, and matched up to his stare. From his viewpoint, Akira gaped at Tsukushi. According to the nurse, she refused to eat, and she couldn't sleep at night.
"Soujiro's getting some iced tea from the vending machine," Akira said numbly, wondering what Tsukushi must have gone through to make her stand on the safety rail just inches away from a certain death.
Tsukushi inched away from him, and back into the safety of the hospital room. Somehow, she knew that it hadn't been Akira who had put the red tag in her locker. Just by looking at him, anyone could easily tell that he wasn't that violent kind of person.
She quickened the pace protectively, never once turning her back to him, wanting to go out of the room as soon as possible. A solid figure came in contact with her back. She jumped, and whirled around.
"Yo."
Tsukasa Doumyouji stood there coolly, his hands behind his head in a relaxed position.
"Doumyouji," she said softly. "Y-You-"
Burst-out mode. Activating...
"YOU BASTARD!!!" she threw herself at him and punched him in the face. The next time she tried to throw another punch at him, he grabbed her hands and held her in place without a sweat. He frowned.
"Stupid woman!" He shouted. "What trouble did you get yourself into?! You can't be left alone for a second without getting yourself into trouble!!!"
He was shouting in her face, and he was too caught up in himself to realize that she had become petrified. She was staring at him with wide eyes. Akira, knowing what Tsukushi had gone through, sort of understood what she was thinking. She blamed Tsukasa for what had happened to her, so of course, she would be terrified of Tsukasa's power to make her go through it again.
"Tsukasa, let her go," Akira said, approaching the two.
"What is it?" Tsukasa frowned at Tsukushi. "You look like you're seeing a ghost."
Tsukushi started struggling to move out of his grip. Tsukasa still held her small wrists easily. What was wrong with her? From behind him, Soujiro opened the door, holding four cans of iced tea.
"Hey, Makino," Soujiro said, trying to be casual. Finally, Tsukasa let go of Tsukushi, and she rushed straight for the door. Soujiro caught her, not allowing her to go past him. He felt her shaking in his arms and he frowned. He knew what she was remembering. He said softly.
"Tsukushi, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm sorry about what happened, but I promise, it wasn't my idea to put you through any of this."
If Tsukushi heard any of this, she gave no sign of it. But she stopped trying to get away from his bear hug. Then Tsukasa pried her off Soujiro and made her face him. He had to turn her head using his hand. Her face was stark white. Tsukasa felt again the frown on his face. If before, Tsukushi looked like she had seen a ghost, now she looked like there was the overlord of ghosts in front of her, and as if she were about to die a certain death.
And Tsukushi couldn't help but think that this man-this man in front her had the power to let those guys go after her again. she wanted to curse him and hit him and scream at him, but she found that she was too scared. That was unusual, but she was afraid he would arrange for another time around.
Tsukasa was studying her face.
"What are you thinking?!" He shouted, his patience with her tirade over. "What's WRONG with you?!"
He shook her like a rag doll. She winced. Before, she would have upper-cutted him in the face and have forced him to lose a couple of teeth. But that was before she had known better. As long as she stayed at Eitoku. He could control her life if he wished to. But none of these thoughts were written on her face. The only emotion seen was fear.
"Are you going stupid?" Tsukasa asked. The girl he was holding was obviously terrified. Then a thought hit him. He let go of her immediately, and she rushed a far away from his as she could.
Makino Tsukushi was terrified of him. That wasn't right.
Tsukasa felt a brittle, disbelieving laugh escape from his mouth.
"W-What? You think I put the red tag in your locker?"
He advanced towards her. she held her hands in front of herself protectively.
"I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "I won't hit you again, but please- please-don't come near me!"
She had screamed the last sentence. Tsukasa froze where he stood.
"BUT I DIDN'T DO IT!!!" He shouted. Tsukushi just started to cry. Tsukasa started to come closer, but a cool hand held him back. Tsukasa found himself looking at Hanazawa Rui.
"Let me talk to her," Rui said. Tsukasa stared at Tsukushi. She was as willing to talk to Rui as much as she had been willing to talk to Doumyouji. But Rui actually cornered her by force, his arms on either side of her.
"Tsukushi," Rui said, his face inched from her face. He was speaking softly, so that only she could hear him. "It-it didn't happen. I came before they could finish."
Tsukushi stiffened. She looked at him with wide eyes. "A-Are you sure?"
"My Uncle's a doctor. He just confirmed it. He checked you this afternoon."
Several emotions played through her face, and Rui was given the privilege of seeing each on flicker across her eyes and mouth. But the most general emotion there was relief, and gratitude.
"But those guys..." she said softly.
Rui yawned lazily and straightened up, his arms falling from her sides.
"I had them expelled from the school, and a couple of months in a juvenile center. They're taken care of."
Then she started to cry, as if a dam had been broken. The imaginary shame she had felt earlier felt like it was being washed away. A cold object poked her arm. She looked up through tear-filled eyes to look at Soujiro's face. He was smiling and holding the can of iced tea. Tsukushi took it gratefully, no longer afraid of a guy's presence. There was silence as she cried. When she was done, she drank the iced tea, and then the other can, and then another, and finally, the last one.
Soujiro looked towards the hospital door.
"I can buy you some more of those, Makino," he said. Tsukushi laughed and refused.
As of the moment, she had forgotten that the F4 were her sworn enemy.
Her eyes looked over to Tsukasa. He was watching her. His words sounded in her mind. She wondered whether to believe him.
"Tsukasa," she said, zeroing the attention of everyone in the room to him. "Is it true what you said? That you weren't the one who put the red tag in my locker?"
Tsukasa bristled. "Yeah," he muttered. "Why don't you believe me?"
Tsukushi thought a moment, and then she frowned. "I believe you, Doumyouji. I'm sorry. Things between the five of us are still the same, right? I mean, the four of you will still be at my throat. But...if you weren't the one who put the red tag in my locker, then who did?"
Tsukasa thought. "Akira and Soujiro didn't put it. Rui wouldn't do something like that (The F2 looked at Rui, who looked at Tsukushi.) and I didn't do it...There must be an imposter."
Tsukushi nodded. But she had seen Soujiro's and Akira's look towards Rui, and Rui had looked at her with such remorse in his eyes that she knew right away that it had been him who had put the red tag, and the remorse in his eyes made her forgive him right away. She knew he hadn't meant for things to get too far, and after all, he was the one who had saved her and now, he was paying for her hospitalization.
"Oh yes," Tsukushi said, turning to Rui. "I'm going to be discharged tomorrow. Thank you for your help in taking care of these bills."
"Tomorrow?" Akira said. "You don't look like you're well enough yet."
Tsukushi smiled. "I'm a weed, remember? Besides, I don't feel as bad as I look. See?"
She bent down to make her point, and tried not to wince as pain shot up in all her major muscles and joints. But the pain was clear on her face. It took her a while to gather back enough strength to pull herself up in a standing position. Soujiro was talking on his cell phone. He hung up.
"Well," he said cheerily. "I just hired a security guard outside this room. Tsukushi can't leave until next week at least."
Tsukushi grimaced, too tired to argue.
"You guys better go home. I'm going to go visit Kazuya-kun."
The guy they had called Tomo stopped struggling with his zipper.
"What? We're just starting to do this! Who is it?"
"Sh*t, it looks like Hanazawa Rui!"
Tomo stopped whatever movement he was engaged in. Under him, lay Makino Tsukushi. It could have been finished if only they were given another ten minutes at least.
"You're sure?" Tomo whispered urgently.
"Dammit, Tomo, let's go! Let's go!"
The four fled.
*~*~*~*~~*~*~**~~~~~~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
His hands reached out...
"Tsukushi! Stop screaming!"
Tsukushi's eyes flew open. She came into focus with whiteness. She heard someone say something about the time: 9:30 PM. For a moment, she thought that she had fallen asleep and woken up in her parent's hospital room, but then she remembered that they had been released the Sunday before. While her eyes were adjusting, she shifted, and pain shot throughout her whole body.
Along with the pain, she remembered a couple of things...she remembered how she had been dragged after school to the parking lot, how Kazuya had tried to hold them off as long as he could...she remembered seeing Makiko's stricken face. Then she remembered the rest until she fell off into darkness.
She stared at the ceiling, the silence deafening her. Then, her eyes filled with tears. They coursed down her cheeks. The feeling was something strange. She felt dirty and ugly and she felt as if she were a whore.
Rui's concerned face came into focus. Tsukushi bolted up, holding the cover to herself.
"Tsukushi, calm down," Rui said softly. He reached out to put his arms around her shoulder. Tsukushi screamed.
"Get away from me!" she screamed. The sight of another guy so close made her go into flash-back mode into the nightmare she was trying so hard to forget. She jumped out of bed, dragging the blanket with her. The dextrose needle ripped from her arm. She didn't feel the pain at all. Rui was looking at her in alarm. She was terrified of him.
"Makino," Rui said urgently. "Wait!"
Tsukushi bolted for the door. It was a private hospital room, obviously exclusive. There was a television set, and a private bathroom, and a large overstuffed couch and a coffee table. A private intercom near the hospital bed was for the benefit of the patients, in case they needed anything, all they had to do was press the button. Tsukushi could barely get enough energy to walk fast, but the desperation she felt on getting away from Hanazawa Rui gave her enough adrenaline to run.
But Rui was faster than her. he reached her before she had reached the door. At the touch of another guy so soon after her experience, she starting sobbing and crying and struggling. Rui easily held her in his two arms, keeping her feet off the ground so that she wouldn't try to drag him on her way out the door.
"Let me go!" Tsukushi was crying out. The door burst open, and nurses streamed in, hired by Rui when he had first driven her to the hospital. One of them carried a pacifying needle. Another nurse held on to Tsukushi's arm, and the first nurse jammed the needle into the skin.
Tsukushi became limp in Rui's arms. Silent, he carried her to the hospital bed, hating himself with all his heart for putting up the red tag in her locker. Tsukushi's eyes were about to close, her eyes clouded with the pain of memory. She whispered in a broken voice:
"Rui...please don't look at me like that...Please don't look at me..."
*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~**~*~*~
Rui called Tsukushi's parents, telling them what had happened to Tsukushi. He left out the state he had found her in, and he left out the fact that she had been beaten up by the student body. He had also brought Kazuya into the hospital as well, but this time, he knew that Kazuya could take care of his own hospitalization bills on his own. Rui went over to the doctor's office in the hospital.
"When can you examine her?" Rui asked as soon as he entered. The man at the desk jumped in his seat. He was a short, extremely smart doctor, and for that reason, Rui had asked for his service.
"Not tonight. She's probably too traumatized to let me examine her." the doctor said.
Of course, they weren't talking about Tsukushi's physical condition. Enough had been done to take care of that. As of the moment, Rui was asking the doctor if those guys had gone all the way with Tsukushi. He had found her completely naked, her clothes torn around her. He had driven her to the hospital immediately.
"She's sleeping," Rui pointed out, his genuine concern showing.
The doctor rubbed his hands together, sighing.
"I really recommend waiting. She might wake up, and start struggling."
Rui shrugged.
"I want to know right NOW, doctor," he said, his voice deadly. But the doctor wasn't intimidated. This young man before him was his own nephew.
"I'll do it tomorrow morning," he promised.
*~**~~*~**~*~*~~*~*~**~~*~*~**~*~~*~*~*~*~**~~**~*~
Rui left the hospital when her parents came. He had explained to them that he was going to take care of all the expenses, and that they shouldn't worry. They were extremely grateful, and had thanked him profusely before rushing into the room.
When he entered his room, he saw that Akira and Soujiro were still in his room, lounging around. Soujiro was at the phone, talking with some girl, and Akira was looking through his selection of DVD movies. They sat up when they saw Rui. From the look on his face, they were suddenly serious. Akira was the first to ask.
"What happened?"
**~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~**~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*
"What?" Tsukasa picked up Akira by the front of his t-shirt. Akira gave Tsukasa an annoyed grimace.
"Let go of my shirt," he said in a deadpan voice. Tsukasa let go after a moment. Akira smoothed out his shirt, and he repeated what had happened to Tsukushi, not telling Tsukasa that it had been Rui who had put the red tag in the locker and not telling Tsukasa what state Tsukushi had been found in. All he said was that it was Makino who had been beaten up and she was currently in the hospital.
"So that's why she's not at school today," Tsukasa said to himself. The strange feeling of rage was building up inside him. He turned to Soujiro.
"Did you find out who put the red tag in her locker?"
Soujro shifted uncomfortably, and Akira fiddled with his hands. Soujiro was sort of a good liar when it came to other people, but he definitely wasn't used to lying to Tukasa, and at the moment, Doumyouji's quiet anger seemed more dangerous than usual. Soujiro felt that if he tried to lie, Tsukasa would see right through it, and give him a sock in the face.
Fortunately, Akira was more calm than Soujiro. Akira held up his hands.
"We have no clue," Akira said. Tsukasa whipped up on his, his eyes flashing. From behind him, Soujiro wiped the nervous sweat off his forehead.
"YOU might have no clue," he shouted to the serene face, "But I can tell Soujiro here-knows something that I don't!"
Tsukasa fumbled for Soujiro's shirt, but Soujiro dodged out of the way. He wasn't afraid of Tsukasa's strength, but he didn't want to become involved in a fistfight. Akira knocked Tsukasa's arms out of the way.
"We were both surprised. We thought it was you," Akira said, his face completely passive. Tsukasa calmed down and considered this a while. He frowned.
"Once I get my hands on the guy who red-tagged her, I'll make him pay so badly..."
Akira and Soujiro looked away.
*~*~*~*~*~~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*
Tsukushi sighed. The hospital was a boring place, after all. It was two days after she had been beaten up, but the shame she felt was still completely raw. She didn't want to see any person, and she didn't want anyone to look at her. She was completely paranoid that they would find out what had happened.
She stood up, and went to the balcony. She pushed the silk curtains aside gently and looked down on the street below. Cars were rushing in both directions, left and right. The fast movement, light and shadows around her...Tsukushi felt herself become nauseated once again, remembering the ordeal. She numbly felt imaginary hands around her ankles...around her legs...Without knowing it, she stepped on the metal rail of the balcony safety bar. She stood on top, the wind tearing at her to fall. The only way she remained able to balance herself on top was by holding the cement hold above her head. She looked at the onrushing cars below her...felt the unbearable shame...
"What are you doing?" Said an alarmed voice. Hands gripped her waist immediately, pulling her back easily even when she resisted.
She recoiled away from the touch as if his hands were on fire, and saw herself looking into the face of Akira. She got a hold of herself, and matched up to his stare. From his viewpoint, Akira gaped at Tsukushi. According to the nurse, she refused to eat, and she couldn't sleep at night.
"Soujiro's getting some iced tea from the vending machine," Akira said numbly, wondering what Tsukushi must have gone through to make her stand on the safety rail just inches away from a certain death.
Tsukushi inched away from him, and back into the safety of the hospital room. Somehow, she knew that it hadn't been Akira who had put the red tag in her locker. Just by looking at him, anyone could easily tell that he wasn't that violent kind of person.
She quickened the pace protectively, never once turning her back to him, wanting to go out of the room as soon as possible. A solid figure came in contact with her back. She jumped, and whirled around.
"Yo."
Tsukasa Doumyouji stood there coolly, his hands behind his head in a relaxed position.
"Doumyouji," she said softly. "Y-You-"
Burst-out mode. Activating...
"YOU BASTARD!!!" she threw herself at him and punched him in the face. The next time she tried to throw another punch at him, he grabbed her hands and held her in place without a sweat. He frowned.
"Stupid woman!" He shouted. "What trouble did you get yourself into?! You can't be left alone for a second without getting yourself into trouble!!!"
He was shouting in her face, and he was too caught up in himself to realize that she had become petrified. She was staring at him with wide eyes. Akira, knowing what Tsukushi had gone through, sort of understood what she was thinking. She blamed Tsukasa for what had happened to her, so of course, she would be terrified of Tsukasa's power to make her go through it again.
"Tsukasa, let her go," Akira said, approaching the two.
"What is it?" Tsukasa frowned at Tsukushi. "You look like you're seeing a ghost."
Tsukushi started struggling to move out of his grip. Tsukasa still held her small wrists easily. What was wrong with her? From behind him, Soujiro opened the door, holding four cans of iced tea.
"Hey, Makino," Soujiro said, trying to be casual. Finally, Tsukasa let go of Tsukushi, and she rushed straight for the door. Soujiro caught her, not allowing her to go past him. He felt her shaking in his arms and he frowned. He knew what she was remembering. He said softly.
"Tsukushi, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm sorry about what happened, but I promise, it wasn't my idea to put you through any of this."
If Tsukushi heard any of this, she gave no sign of it. But she stopped trying to get away from his bear hug. Then Tsukasa pried her off Soujiro and made her face him. He had to turn her head using his hand. Her face was stark white. Tsukasa felt again the frown on his face. If before, Tsukushi looked like she had seen a ghost, now she looked like there was the overlord of ghosts in front of her, and as if she were about to die a certain death.
And Tsukushi couldn't help but think that this man-this man in front her had the power to let those guys go after her again. she wanted to curse him and hit him and scream at him, but she found that she was too scared. That was unusual, but she was afraid he would arrange for another time around.
Tsukasa was studying her face.
"What are you thinking?!" He shouted, his patience with her tirade over. "What's WRONG with you?!"
He shook her like a rag doll. She winced. Before, she would have upper-cutted him in the face and have forced him to lose a couple of teeth. But that was before she had known better. As long as she stayed at Eitoku. He could control her life if he wished to. But none of these thoughts were written on her face. The only emotion seen was fear.
"Are you going stupid?" Tsukasa asked. The girl he was holding was obviously terrified. Then a thought hit him. He let go of her immediately, and she rushed a far away from his as she could.
Makino Tsukushi was terrified of him. That wasn't right.
Tsukasa felt a brittle, disbelieving laugh escape from his mouth.
"W-What? You think I put the red tag in your locker?"
He advanced towards her. she held her hands in front of herself protectively.
"I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "I won't hit you again, but please- please-don't come near me!"
She had screamed the last sentence. Tsukasa froze where he stood.
"BUT I DIDN'T DO IT!!!" He shouted. Tsukushi just started to cry. Tsukasa started to come closer, but a cool hand held him back. Tsukasa found himself looking at Hanazawa Rui.
"Let me talk to her," Rui said. Tsukasa stared at Tsukushi. She was as willing to talk to Rui as much as she had been willing to talk to Doumyouji. But Rui actually cornered her by force, his arms on either side of her.
"Tsukushi," Rui said, his face inched from her face. He was speaking softly, so that only she could hear him. "It-it didn't happen. I came before they could finish."
Tsukushi stiffened. She looked at him with wide eyes. "A-Are you sure?"
"My Uncle's a doctor. He just confirmed it. He checked you this afternoon."
Several emotions played through her face, and Rui was given the privilege of seeing each on flicker across her eyes and mouth. But the most general emotion there was relief, and gratitude.
"But those guys..." she said softly.
Rui yawned lazily and straightened up, his arms falling from her sides.
"I had them expelled from the school, and a couple of months in a juvenile center. They're taken care of."
Then she started to cry, as if a dam had been broken. The imaginary shame she had felt earlier felt like it was being washed away. A cold object poked her arm. She looked up through tear-filled eyes to look at Soujiro's face. He was smiling and holding the can of iced tea. Tsukushi took it gratefully, no longer afraid of a guy's presence. There was silence as she cried. When she was done, she drank the iced tea, and then the other can, and then another, and finally, the last one.
Soujiro looked towards the hospital door.
"I can buy you some more of those, Makino," he said. Tsukushi laughed and refused.
As of the moment, she had forgotten that the F4 were her sworn enemy.
Her eyes looked over to Tsukasa. He was watching her. His words sounded in her mind. She wondered whether to believe him.
"Tsukasa," she said, zeroing the attention of everyone in the room to him. "Is it true what you said? That you weren't the one who put the red tag in my locker?"
Tsukasa bristled. "Yeah," he muttered. "Why don't you believe me?"
Tsukushi thought a moment, and then she frowned. "I believe you, Doumyouji. I'm sorry. Things between the five of us are still the same, right? I mean, the four of you will still be at my throat. But...if you weren't the one who put the red tag in my locker, then who did?"
Tsukasa thought. "Akira and Soujiro didn't put it. Rui wouldn't do something like that (The F2 looked at Rui, who looked at Tsukushi.) and I didn't do it...There must be an imposter."
Tsukushi nodded. But she had seen Soujiro's and Akira's look towards Rui, and Rui had looked at her with such remorse in his eyes that she knew right away that it had been him who had put the red tag, and the remorse in his eyes made her forgive him right away. She knew he hadn't meant for things to get too far, and after all, he was the one who had saved her and now, he was paying for her hospitalization.
"Oh yes," Tsukushi said, turning to Rui. "I'm going to be discharged tomorrow. Thank you for your help in taking care of these bills."
"Tomorrow?" Akira said. "You don't look like you're well enough yet."
Tsukushi smiled. "I'm a weed, remember? Besides, I don't feel as bad as I look. See?"
She bent down to make her point, and tried not to wince as pain shot up in all her major muscles and joints. But the pain was clear on her face. It took her a while to gather back enough strength to pull herself up in a standing position. Soujiro was talking on his cell phone. He hung up.
"Well," he said cheerily. "I just hired a security guard outside this room. Tsukushi can't leave until next week at least."
Tsukushi grimaced, too tired to argue.
"You guys better go home. I'm going to go visit Kazuya-kun."