Title: Flower Garden (A Hana Yori Dango AU)
Author: Yih
11: Perfect Combination (December 31, 2002 to January 2, 2003)
"Well, we've got to go now!" Tsubaki remarked as they waved goodbye to Shigeru. As soon as Shigeru was out of earshot, Tsubaki turned to Tsukushi and asked, "So what do you think of her?"
Tsukushi was still watching the fading figure of Shigeru. Not only was Shigeru beautiful and intelligent, she was strong and forceful--- a perfect match for Tsukasa! "We're going to be really good friends," she remarked. "Not only that, but she's perfect for Tsukasa. You've got good taste, Tsubaki."
"Yes, I do," Tsubaki agreed. "Now, all I have to do is introduce the two of them together. I wonder what would be the best situation for that?" As Tsubaki was thinking, she saw the wistful expression on Tsukushi's face and hit upon the perfect idea. "Do you guys have to go to school tomorrow?"
"Well," Tsukushi admitted, "I don't have to, but I like to go to school. It really isn't as draggy as Tsukasa and F3 complain it to be. I don't mind it, it's fun in a way and it passes time better than their time wasting away at a bar. What's your idea then?"
"Well," Tsubaki began, "I was thinking that I ought to ask everyone to come along. You and Tsukasa were telling me how everyone's back in town, so we might as well as arranged an entire group outing tomorrow! We can go to the hot springs in the mountain and spend a long weekend there. It'll give everyone plenty of time to forge their relationships!"
Tsukushi blushed and thought that it'd also give her time to reach out to Rui again. What Tsubaki had said to her earlier tonight made perfect sense to her now. She should try because hadn't Rui always been her Prince Charming? She just wished though that she wasn't always the one that had to reach out to him though. It'd be nice if he could reach out to her just once. That was all she wanted was to see if he was willing to reach out to her. Knowing Rui, that was even a possibility. He wasn't the kind of person that reached out.
"It'll be perfect!" Tsubaki exclaimed happily. "You have to spend the night and help me plan it and to make sure I have all the couples right. It'll be Tsukasa and Shigeru, Soujirou and Sara, Akira and Shizuka, and... you and..."
"Me and Rui," Tsukushi finished with a smile. She knew Rui wasn't the outgoing type, so she'd have to go after him. Typical, typical of her, how she'd like things to change, but if she just waited, the moment would pass her by and she'd live with regrets. If there was one good advice her parents gave her was not to live with any regrets!
~
Shizuka placed the phone back onto the receiver and smiled at the sleeping Rui, who had looked so tired that she had told him he ought to spend the night with her like he had when he'd been a baby. He'd grumbled, but sleep had been far too tempting. Even though he lived close by, it still would have taken a while before he could rest in a nice, comfortable bed. So he'd taken her up on the offer of a comfortable bed to stay in.
She nudged him and she kept nudging him until she got him to open his eyes. "We're going to the hot springs tomorrow." He nodded and closed his eyes again. "It'll be a good opportunity for you." That got him to open his eyes again. "Tsukushi is going. Basically, Tsubaki filled me in with all the details. It's basically a trip to get Tsukasa and Shigeru together, Shigeru's his arranged fiancé. Also to get you and Tsukushi back together and to get Sara and Soujirou closer together. Tsubaki has a wily mind, I have to admit."
"Tsukushi is going?" he queried drowsily, but in the back of his mind he was excited. Ever since his conversation earlier in the night with Shizuka, he'd been pondering what he was going to do to woo her back to him. He'd never actually wooed any girl, so he really didn't know how to go about it. He was tempted to ask Akira and Soujirou their advice, but that would only spark their animated interest in his nonexistent love life, interest he could do without. And that was also the reason Shizuka had been able to get him up so easily because he hadn't really been asleep long.
"Yes," Shizuka answered, "she's going, it's your chance to make it up to her. I won't give you advice on how to do it because I know that the little baby that I took care of when we were both younger knows how to charm Tsukushi if he wants to. All you have to do is to be yourself and you'll win her back, I know it because she loves you if she's willing to admit it or not, and you love her if you don't know it. She's the only one I've ever seen you act like Tsukasa about, childish and entirely immature."
Shizuka really knew how to get her point across. "Of course, I love her," Rui remarked, "she's my best friend."
"You love her in another way," Shizuka added. "You just don't know it yet. My foolish little Rui, I who taught you about life, and yet you still cannot see the truth that is in front of your eyes."
"Are you going to go back to France?" he questioned, entirely switching the topic, not unlike Rui.
"Eventually, yes," she responded. "Will you miss me? What will you do without me?"
"It's not me that you have to ask that question to," he said softly. "You taught me about life, yes, but can you see the truth in front of your eyes? What about Akira? He thinks you're staying permanently."
She turned back and stared at him, not quite sure how to answer the question that she had been thinking about ever since she left France the first time and ever since she had gotten back. She just didn't know, all she knew was that she wanted to make her own way in the world and that her place was in France, it was, she knew it. That was where she belonged.
~
"So are you going to go?" Tsubaki asked.
He had to admit the motivations behind the trip was a good one. Both he and Shizuka had agreed that it was past time that Rui and Tsukushi admitted that they had feelings for each other. But he was a bit wary of going since it was also to set up Tsukasa with his arranged fiancé. If he went, it basically meant that he was giving his support to the engagement when he hadn't even met the girl, Shigeru.
Then again, Tsubaki had said that Shizuka was going and if it was a couples' retreat, there was a chance that he and Shizuka might hit it off even more than they had. Ever since she'd been back, she'd been avoiding him and he didn't know why. But if he went on the retreat, she wouldn't have a chance to avoid him by her numerous past excuses like she had to do something for her relatives or that she had a hair appointment. The springs were isolated.
"I'll go," he declared. "What time tomorrow do I have to get ready?"
"Early," she responded, "around 9ish."
"That's fine. Meet at your place or are you picking us up?" he inquired.
"Let's meet here, okay? See you tomorrow." With that she placed the phone on the receiver and scratched Akira's name off the list. There was really only one more person to call, Soujirou and Sara. Of all the F4, Soujirou was the one she didn't know that would really want to go. He didn't really have an incentive, and she couldn't bully him like her brother. However, the good thing was that Soujirou was the partygoer and that was one thing he didn't miss out on was fun. With that, she dialed his number.
Akira clicked his cell phone off and turned his attention back to his over energized twin sisters. "I'm sorry," he declared, "but I won't be able to take you to the park tomorrow."
"Why not?!" they both exclaimed, clutching his pants.
He grinned down at his impish twin sisters, adorable yet quite dangerous. He had to be careful and not make them cry. "I have to go somewhere else tomorrow," he explained. On cue, they started to whimper, their tears were coming, but he knew exactly how to make those tears go away. "Shizuka will be there."
"Oh!" cried out both of them. They were still great at talking simultaneously. "Does that mean you and Shizuka will get married soon?"
He shrugged. "I have no idea, but wish me luck, okay?"
His sisters jumped into his open arms and cried out, "Go get her, Akira! Go get her! Go get her!"
~
"I need to talk to her about it before I decide whether to go or not," Soujirou told Tsubaki. "I'll call you back afterwards, okay?"
"Okay."
Soujirou hung his phone up and turned to Sara, who was looking at him expectantly. "So what was that about?" she asked. "What do you need to talk to me about?"
He grinned at her and patted the place next to him on his bed. When she sat down, he began to tell her, "Tsubaki just called. I'm not sure if you remember anything about her since you only met her a few times, but she's Tsukasa's older sister. She just invited us to go to a hot springs retreat tomorrow."
"Don't you have school tomorrow?" she queried.
He shrugged. "We've skipped days before. It seems that everyone is going. But you said that you had something that you really wanted to show me tomorrow morning, but they leave tomorrow. They want us there by 9ish, and right now it's kind of late. We can always pack tomorrow. Can you show me what you want to show me later or do you want to show me tomorrow? It's no big deal, I can call it off."
"It's no problem at all!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "What I want to show you can wait, it'll be there for quite a while. It's not that late, we can start packing now. I'll help you if you want. I don't mind. I've wanted to go a good hot springs since I've gotten back. But I've just never have had the time."
He smiled. "Then I'll call Tsubaki and tell her that we're going. You can go to your room and we'll start helping you pack first."
"Okay," she agreed and she happily skipped over to her room. He smiled fondly at her and dialed Tsubaki back. "We're going," he told her bluntly, knowing that Tsubaki was a straightforward person. "We'll meet you there at 9."
"Good," Tsubaki responded, "that means everybody is going."
~
At 9 the next morning, there was only two people that were missing. As predictable, Shizuka and Rui were late. Shizuka was late because Rui was obviously having a problem getting up in the morning as normal. It wasn't a big surprise to anyone. Tsubaki was getting awfully annoyed that Rui was late though when she'd specifically told Shizuka to be here at 8:30 since she knew Rui had the tendency to be late, especially in the mornings. Timeliness with Rui could never be counted on in the mornings.
Bets were going on between Tsukasa, Soujirou, and Akira on what time Rui would show up. That only seemed to make Tsubaki more annoyed so they reluctantly stopped their bets. It was when they stopped that Rui and Shizuka made their far from timely appearance at 9:30. Shizuka smiled apologetically at Tsubaki and immediately began explaining, "I tried to get him up at 8, but I couldn't make him get up until 9 and he still had to pack. So sorry about our tardiness."
Shizuka poked Rui in the side, trying to get him to apologize as well, but Rui had already left her side and gone over to where Tsukushi was sitting on the bench. He sat down next to her. Everyone turned their attention to the silent couple before Tsubaki shouted, "EVERYONE, pay attention!" Everyone then turned their attention to Tsubaki. "There are two cars for 9 people. I don't care how you guys split up, but there will be 5 in one car and 4 in another. Let's get going so we can get there by lunch time!"
The F4 got together and decided in a very easy fashion who would be in one car vs. the other. Tsukasa wanted Tsukushi with him; Rui also wanted Tsukushi; Soujirou wanted Sara; and of course, Akira wanted Shizuka. So it was decided that in one car there would be: Tsubaki, Tsukasa, Rui, Tsukushi, and Shigeru. In the other car, it was Soujirou, Akira, Sara, and Shizuka.
Soon, they were piled into both cars with Tsubaki driving and Shigeru sitting next to her in the front and sandwiched between Rui and Tsukasa was where Tsukushi was. In the other car, it was much more comfortable as Akira was driving with Shizuka sitting next to him with Sara and Soujirou in the backseat. Within ten minutes, they were on the road to the hot springs.
~
"Stop fussing!" Tsubaki screamed at Tsukasa, Akira, and Soujirou who were fussing in the very back of the van. However, in the row right behind Tsubaki, Rui and Tsukushi sat their quietly. She had no idea what they were doing, but whatever they were doing was better than the ruckus that her idiotic younger brother was making with Akira and Soujirou. "If you three don't stop making all that noise and moving the car around with your roughhousing, I won't take you to the amusement park!"
That definitely grabbed their attentions and they quieted down momentarily, for at least ten minutes before they again got bored and started up their troublemaking again. Akira had dared Soujirou to moon the car behind him and Soujirou in his usual good humor agreed. However, in the front, Tsubaki had heard the dare and had yelled at the top of her lungs, "DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT MOONING THE PEOPLE BEHIND US NISHIKADO SOUJIROU!"
She slammed on the brakes and Soujirou flew across the van and landed partially on top of Tsukushi and Rui, hitting his head on the floor. "Owwwww," he complained, "that hurt, Tsubaki!"
"Good!" she exclaimed, hitting him on the head. "If you think about doing anything else, I'll turn around and drive back to your house!"
"Ouch!" he retorted, rubbing the back of his head. "I'll be good, I promise." He gave Tsubaki one of his younger heartbreaker smiles, which of course failed to work on Tsukasa's older sister.
"You'll be good," she agreed, smiling back at him. "You're going to sit next to me on the way there!" She grabbed his arm and dragged him until he was seated next to her. She turned around, glaring at Akira and Tsukasa. "I'll but you guys in the trunk if you keep up your mischief."
Akira and Tsukasa quieted down, though every once and a while Tsubaki would have to shout at them to shut up. Meanwhile, Rui and Tsukushi continued on with their silent conversation. Whenever she glanced back, all she saw them doing was playing with each other's hands. It was at a red light that she finally caught on to what they were doing. They were writing notes to each other in each other's hand with their fingers! Rather ingenious considering that the car wasn't very private, and quite romantic as well.
She focused her attentions in on Rui, who seemed to stare at Tsukushi a great deal more than she ever stared at him. Tsubaki saw that Rui would glance at Tsukushi whenever he knew that she wasn't looking and that he'd quickly turn away whenever Tsukushi moved her head in the slightest direction, even if it was away from him. Tsubaki grinned and thought of how cute their relationship was. Much cuter than the screaming argument Tsukasa had gotten into with Tsukushi this morning.
Whenever she thought of that, she got into a headache. She still didn't see why Tsukasa persisted in pestering Tsukushi like he did, when it was so obvious to her and F2, who had teased him, that he liked Tsukushi. Of course, he remained oblivious to it. What was even more amazing was that Tsukushi didn't even seem to notice that Tsukasa liked her. She smiled and wondered what else this trip had in store for her. Obviously, Rui and Tsukasa both liked Tsukushi immensely, but which did she like?
~
When Tsubaki pulled onto the highway, she remembered this road only too well. It was one of her fondest and most irritating memories. That car ride to the amusement park had been miserable and enlightening at the same time. She'd seen the beginning of the playboy in Soujirou, the unusual way Tsukasa showed Tsukushi he liked her, and the odd communication method used between Tsukushi and Rui. She wondered what this car ride had in store for them this time. She could only hoped it'd be as memorable.
Author's Note: Reviews are very necessary. I wrote this much quicker than I thought I would. Thanks guys for your support!
Check out my newest HYD fanfic: SEASON OF FIREWORKS! & my original novel: SECRET, A TALE OF LOVE.
If you like this fanfic, I'm sure that you'll like Season of Fireworks (the pairings are still uncertain). It incorporates the F4 in a new situation, modeled a bit after HYD/MG, but mostly taken the characters and inserted them into another setting.
Watch out for the next chapter ---- NEW MEMORIES ----
Author: Yih
11: Perfect Combination (December 31, 2002 to January 2, 2003)
"Well, we've got to go now!" Tsubaki remarked as they waved goodbye to Shigeru. As soon as Shigeru was out of earshot, Tsubaki turned to Tsukushi and asked, "So what do you think of her?"
Tsukushi was still watching the fading figure of Shigeru. Not only was Shigeru beautiful and intelligent, she was strong and forceful--- a perfect match for Tsukasa! "We're going to be really good friends," she remarked. "Not only that, but she's perfect for Tsukasa. You've got good taste, Tsubaki."
"Yes, I do," Tsubaki agreed. "Now, all I have to do is introduce the two of them together. I wonder what would be the best situation for that?" As Tsubaki was thinking, she saw the wistful expression on Tsukushi's face and hit upon the perfect idea. "Do you guys have to go to school tomorrow?"
"Well," Tsukushi admitted, "I don't have to, but I like to go to school. It really isn't as draggy as Tsukasa and F3 complain it to be. I don't mind it, it's fun in a way and it passes time better than their time wasting away at a bar. What's your idea then?"
"Well," Tsubaki began, "I was thinking that I ought to ask everyone to come along. You and Tsukasa were telling me how everyone's back in town, so we might as well as arranged an entire group outing tomorrow! We can go to the hot springs in the mountain and spend a long weekend there. It'll give everyone plenty of time to forge their relationships!"
Tsukushi blushed and thought that it'd also give her time to reach out to Rui again. What Tsubaki had said to her earlier tonight made perfect sense to her now. She should try because hadn't Rui always been her Prince Charming? She just wished though that she wasn't always the one that had to reach out to him though. It'd be nice if he could reach out to her just once. That was all she wanted was to see if he was willing to reach out to her. Knowing Rui, that was even a possibility. He wasn't the kind of person that reached out.
"It'll be perfect!" Tsubaki exclaimed happily. "You have to spend the night and help me plan it and to make sure I have all the couples right. It'll be Tsukasa and Shigeru, Soujirou and Sara, Akira and Shizuka, and... you and..."
"Me and Rui," Tsukushi finished with a smile. She knew Rui wasn't the outgoing type, so she'd have to go after him. Typical, typical of her, how she'd like things to change, but if she just waited, the moment would pass her by and she'd live with regrets. If there was one good advice her parents gave her was not to live with any regrets!
~
Shizuka placed the phone back onto the receiver and smiled at the sleeping Rui, who had looked so tired that she had told him he ought to spend the night with her like he had when he'd been a baby. He'd grumbled, but sleep had been far too tempting. Even though he lived close by, it still would have taken a while before he could rest in a nice, comfortable bed. So he'd taken her up on the offer of a comfortable bed to stay in.
She nudged him and she kept nudging him until she got him to open his eyes. "We're going to the hot springs tomorrow." He nodded and closed his eyes again. "It'll be a good opportunity for you." That got him to open his eyes again. "Tsukushi is going. Basically, Tsubaki filled me in with all the details. It's basically a trip to get Tsukasa and Shigeru together, Shigeru's his arranged fiancé. Also to get you and Tsukushi back together and to get Sara and Soujirou closer together. Tsubaki has a wily mind, I have to admit."
"Tsukushi is going?" he queried drowsily, but in the back of his mind he was excited. Ever since his conversation earlier in the night with Shizuka, he'd been pondering what he was going to do to woo her back to him. He'd never actually wooed any girl, so he really didn't know how to go about it. He was tempted to ask Akira and Soujirou their advice, but that would only spark their animated interest in his nonexistent love life, interest he could do without. And that was also the reason Shizuka had been able to get him up so easily because he hadn't really been asleep long.
"Yes," Shizuka answered, "she's going, it's your chance to make it up to her. I won't give you advice on how to do it because I know that the little baby that I took care of when we were both younger knows how to charm Tsukushi if he wants to. All you have to do is to be yourself and you'll win her back, I know it because she loves you if she's willing to admit it or not, and you love her if you don't know it. She's the only one I've ever seen you act like Tsukasa about, childish and entirely immature."
Shizuka really knew how to get her point across. "Of course, I love her," Rui remarked, "she's my best friend."
"You love her in another way," Shizuka added. "You just don't know it yet. My foolish little Rui, I who taught you about life, and yet you still cannot see the truth that is in front of your eyes."
"Are you going to go back to France?" he questioned, entirely switching the topic, not unlike Rui.
"Eventually, yes," she responded. "Will you miss me? What will you do without me?"
"It's not me that you have to ask that question to," he said softly. "You taught me about life, yes, but can you see the truth in front of your eyes? What about Akira? He thinks you're staying permanently."
She turned back and stared at him, not quite sure how to answer the question that she had been thinking about ever since she left France the first time and ever since she had gotten back. She just didn't know, all she knew was that she wanted to make her own way in the world and that her place was in France, it was, she knew it. That was where she belonged.
~
"So are you going to go?" Tsubaki asked.
He had to admit the motivations behind the trip was a good one. Both he and Shizuka had agreed that it was past time that Rui and Tsukushi admitted that they had feelings for each other. But he was a bit wary of going since it was also to set up Tsukasa with his arranged fiancé. If he went, it basically meant that he was giving his support to the engagement when he hadn't even met the girl, Shigeru.
Then again, Tsubaki had said that Shizuka was going and if it was a couples' retreat, there was a chance that he and Shizuka might hit it off even more than they had. Ever since she'd been back, she'd been avoiding him and he didn't know why. But if he went on the retreat, she wouldn't have a chance to avoid him by her numerous past excuses like she had to do something for her relatives or that she had a hair appointment. The springs were isolated.
"I'll go," he declared. "What time tomorrow do I have to get ready?"
"Early," she responded, "around 9ish."
"That's fine. Meet at your place or are you picking us up?" he inquired.
"Let's meet here, okay? See you tomorrow." With that she placed the phone on the receiver and scratched Akira's name off the list. There was really only one more person to call, Soujirou and Sara. Of all the F4, Soujirou was the one she didn't know that would really want to go. He didn't really have an incentive, and she couldn't bully him like her brother. However, the good thing was that Soujirou was the partygoer and that was one thing he didn't miss out on was fun. With that, she dialed his number.
Akira clicked his cell phone off and turned his attention back to his over energized twin sisters. "I'm sorry," he declared, "but I won't be able to take you to the park tomorrow."
"Why not?!" they both exclaimed, clutching his pants.
He grinned down at his impish twin sisters, adorable yet quite dangerous. He had to be careful and not make them cry. "I have to go somewhere else tomorrow," he explained. On cue, they started to whimper, their tears were coming, but he knew exactly how to make those tears go away. "Shizuka will be there."
"Oh!" cried out both of them. They were still great at talking simultaneously. "Does that mean you and Shizuka will get married soon?"
He shrugged. "I have no idea, but wish me luck, okay?"
His sisters jumped into his open arms and cried out, "Go get her, Akira! Go get her! Go get her!"
~
"I need to talk to her about it before I decide whether to go or not," Soujirou told Tsubaki. "I'll call you back afterwards, okay?"
"Okay."
Soujirou hung his phone up and turned to Sara, who was looking at him expectantly. "So what was that about?" she asked. "What do you need to talk to me about?"
He grinned at her and patted the place next to him on his bed. When she sat down, he began to tell her, "Tsubaki just called. I'm not sure if you remember anything about her since you only met her a few times, but she's Tsukasa's older sister. She just invited us to go to a hot springs retreat tomorrow."
"Don't you have school tomorrow?" she queried.
He shrugged. "We've skipped days before. It seems that everyone is going. But you said that you had something that you really wanted to show me tomorrow morning, but they leave tomorrow. They want us there by 9ish, and right now it's kind of late. We can always pack tomorrow. Can you show me what you want to show me later or do you want to show me tomorrow? It's no big deal, I can call it off."
"It's no problem at all!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "What I want to show you can wait, it'll be there for quite a while. It's not that late, we can start packing now. I'll help you if you want. I don't mind. I've wanted to go a good hot springs since I've gotten back. But I've just never have had the time."
He smiled. "Then I'll call Tsubaki and tell her that we're going. You can go to your room and we'll start helping you pack first."
"Okay," she agreed and she happily skipped over to her room. He smiled fondly at her and dialed Tsubaki back. "We're going," he told her bluntly, knowing that Tsubaki was a straightforward person. "We'll meet you there at 9."
"Good," Tsubaki responded, "that means everybody is going."
~
At 9 the next morning, there was only two people that were missing. As predictable, Shizuka and Rui were late. Shizuka was late because Rui was obviously having a problem getting up in the morning as normal. It wasn't a big surprise to anyone. Tsubaki was getting awfully annoyed that Rui was late though when she'd specifically told Shizuka to be here at 8:30 since she knew Rui had the tendency to be late, especially in the mornings. Timeliness with Rui could never be counted on in the mornings.
Bets were going on between Tsukasa, Soujirou, and Akira on what time Rui would show up. That only seemed to make Tsubaki more annoyed so they reluctantly stopped their bets. It was when they stopped that Rui and Shizuka made their far from timely appearance at 9:30. Shizuka smiled apologetically at Tsubaki and immediately began explaining, "I tried to get him up at 8, but I couldn't make him get up until 9 and he still had to pack. So sorry about our tardiness."
Shizuka poked Rui in the side, trying to get him to apologize as well, but Rui had already left her side and gone over to where Tsukushi was sitting on the bench. He sat down next to her. Everyone turned their attention to the silent couple before Tsubaki shouted, "EVERYONE, pay attention!" Everyone then turned their attention to Tsubaki. "There are two cars for 9 people. I don't care how you guys split up, but there will be 5 in one car and 4 in another. Let's get going so we can get there by lunch time!"
The F4 got together and decided in a very easy fashion who would be in one car vs. the other. Tsukasa wanted Tsukushi with him; Rui also wanted Tsukushi; Soujirou wanted Sara; and of course, Akira wanted Shizuka. So it was decided that in one car there would be: Tsubaki, Tsukasa, Rui, Tsukushi, and Shigeru. In the other car, it was Soujirou, Akira, Sara, and Shizuka.
Soon, they were piled into both cars with Tsubaki driving and Shigeru sitting next to her in the front and sandwiched between Rui and Tsukasa was where Tsukushi was. In the other car, it was much more comfortable as Akira was driving with Shizuka sitting next to him with Sara and Soujirou in the backseat. Within ten minutes, they were on the road to the hot springs.
~
"Stop fussing!" Tsubaki screamed at Tsukasa, Akira, and Soujirou who were fussing in the very back of the van. However, in the row right behind Tsubaki, Rui and Tsukushi sat their quietly. She had no idea what they were doing, but whatever they were doing was better than the ruckus that her idiotic younger brother was making with Akira and Soujirou. "If you three don't stop making all that noise and moving the car around with your roughhousing, I won't take you to the amusement park!"
That definitely grabbed their attentions and they quieted down momentarily, for at least ten minutes before they again got bored and started up their troublemaking again. Akira had dared Soujirou to moon the car behind him and Soujirou in his usual good humor agreed. However, in the front, Tsubaki had heard the dare and had yelled at the top of her lungs, "DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT MOONING THE PEOPLE BEHIND US NISHIKADO SOUJIROU!"
She slammed on the brakes and Soujirou flew across the van and landed partially on top of Tsukushi and Rui, hitting his head on the floor. "Owwwww," he complained, "that hurt, Tsubaki!"
"Good!" she exclaimed, hitting him on the head. "If you think about doing anything else, I'll turn around and drive back to your house!"
"Ouch!" he retorted, rubbing the back of his head. "I'll be good, I promise." He gave Tsubaki one of his younger heartbreaker smiles, which of course failed to work on Tsukasa's older sister.
"You'll be good," she agreed, smiling back at him. "You're going to sit next to me on the way there!" She grabbed his arm and dragged him until he was seated next to her. She turned around, glaring at Akira and Tsukasa. "I'll but you guys in the trunk if you keep up your mischief."
Akira and Tsukasa quieted down, though every once and a while Tsubaki would have to shout at them to shut up. Meanwhile, Rui and Tsukushi continued on with their silent conversation. Whenever she glanced back, all she saw them doing was playing with each other's hands. It was at a red light that she finally caught on to what they were doing. They were writing notes to each other in each other's hand with their fingers! Rather ingenious considering that the car wasn't very private, and quite romantic as well.
She focused her attentions in on Rui, who seemed to stare at Tsukushi a great deal more than she ever stared at him. Tsubaki saw that Rui would glance at Tsukushi whenever he knew that she wasn't looking and that he'd quickly turn away whenever Tsukushi moved her head in the slightest direction, even if it was away from him. Tsubaki grinned and thought of how cute their relationship was. Much cuter than the screaming argument Tsukasa had gotten into with Tsukushi this morning.
Whenever she thought of that, she got into a headache. She still didn't see why Tsukasa persisted in pestering Tsukushi like he did, when it was so obvious to her and F2, who had teased him, that he liked Tsukushi. Of course, he remained oblivious to it. What was even more amazing was that Tsukushi didn't even seem to notice that Tsukasa liked her. She smiled and wondered what else this trip had in store for her. Obviously, Rui and Tsukasa both liked Tsukushi immensely, but which did she like?
~
When Tsubaki pulled onto the highway, she remembered this road only too well. It was one of her fondest and most irritating memories. That car ride to the amusement park had been miserable and enlightening at the same time. She'd seen the beginning of the playboy in Soujirou, the unusual way Tsukasa showed Tsukushi he liked her, and the odd communication method used between Tsukushi and Rui. She wondered what this car ride had in store for them this time. She could only hoped it'd be as memorable.
Author's Note: Reviews are very necessary. I wrote this much quicker than I thought I would. Thanks guys for your support!
Check out my newest HYD fanfic: SEASON OF FIREWORKS! & my original novel: SECRET, A TALE OF LOVE.
If you like this fanfic, I'm sure that you'll like Season of Fireworks (the pairings are still uncertain). It incorporates the F4 in a new situation, modeled a bit after HYD/MG, but mostly taken the characters and inserted them into another setting.
Watch out for the next chapter ---- NEW MEMORIES ----