She woke up before dawn on the 28th of December. She climbed out of the bed slowly before stretching her body out. It was odd. She didn't feel any different than the previous day, but today she was officially a year older. She shook her head to clear the cobwebs.
Tsukushi went to take a long shower before dressing in some loose fitting, workout clothes. She practiced her tai chi, but her not her yoga. She doesn't feel like it. She packed up her fencing equipment and stuffed the envelope that Sammi had passed on to her just after the Hanazawa Records Ball on Christmas. It contained the membership to the international fencing club in Tokyo. She put on her running shoes. Her last stop on the way out was at the refrigerator where she picked up a drinkable yogurt.
Dominic was waiting for her at the elevator. He made his usually morning greeting, but didn't greet her happy birthday. It was just as well. The limo was waiting for them at the bottom with two more guards. They were following in another car behind the limo. Tsukushi walked into the limo with Dominic.
They did not converse on the way to the club as she drank the yogurt. Tsukushi was immediately greeted by someone at the front, who recognized her. "Ah, Ringo-sama. Welcome to the Tokyo International Fencing Club," greeted a young woman who was about her age. She made a low bow.
"Thank you," said Tsukushi with a slight bow.
"We hope that you find your visit satisfactory. This way to the changing rooms so that you may suit up," said the young woman. She stopped because she noticed that Dominic was following them. "My apologies, but your security cannot follow us, Ringo-sama."
"My security cannot be very effective if he leaves me," explained Tsukushi.
"I assure you that security in the club is one of the finest in Tokyo," assured the young woman. A lot of the fencing club's members included wealthy business people along with some royalty and other important people from around the world.
Tsukushi turned and spoke to Dominic, "It's all right. I'll meet you when I'm done."
Dominic nodded without saying a word, but bowed before he left. Tsukushi found out that the changing rooms were essentially like dressing rooms. It was no wonder that membership was steep. However, unlike most of the fencers there, Tsukushi was there to fence. She only hoped to find a worthy opponent among the members. Otherwise, she would cancel her membership as soon as possible. She was not there to socialize, but to practice her fencing.
She suited up in the typical white suit that molded to her form, but had padding to protect her torso. She had her hair up in a bun. Before she ventured out to the fencing area, she slipped on her helmet. She didn't want anyone fencing with her just because of who she was. She wanted a real fight.
"It's good to see you again, Aki," said a gentleman to him as he entered the room.
"It's good to be back in Japan. Life in Beverly Hills was getting very boring. There's lots of work to do, but my wife said that taking time off to spend with our daughter was a good idea," said Aki.
"So, you're enjoying your time off with your family. People should do that more often."
"I don't know about that."
"It's been a while since you've done any fencing."
"I thought that today would be a good day, but the club's changed. It looks like there's more people here to chat and socialize than to do any actually fencing. Or have I been gone for too long and just don't remember?"
"You're right. People come here to talk and don't fence much," admitted his friend. "Would you like to go a few rounds."
"Sure, but what's going on with those people?" asked Aki, referring to the people who were moving tables and chairs.
"There's some kind of private party today at the ballroom. It's sort of a last minute set up, but it's supposedly a really big deal. It's for one of the members."
Tsukushi looked around and was somewhat disappointed at the lack of actually fencing. Instead, she looked at that collection of swords that were from all over the world and from various time periods. She marveled at collection of samurai swords. Tsukushi never learned how to do kendo or the traditional Japanese sword play with wooden swords. She learned the elegant, Western form of fencing.
"Hey, there you are," said Sammi as she snuck up behind Tsukushi, causing to jump.
"Don't do that!" she exclaimed. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry, sorry. Looking into getting some new swords?"
"Not really just admiring the craftsmanship."
"Did you find anyone here to fence with yet?"
"Nope. All they want to do is talk."
"Do you want to go a few rounds sure?"
Tsukushi and Sammi started to duel back and forth against each other. Their match was getting intense, so much so that the crowd was stopping to watch them rather than continue talking. They watched because it had been a while since there were any really good fencing matches, even Aki and his friend had stopped to watch.
"Impressive," said his friend.
"Hmm," agreed Aki.
"The one with brown hair is going to win this match," observed his friend. "The blonde doesn't have as much experience."
"At least there's someone here who is taking it seriously," said Aki. "I'll challenge the winner."
Within minutes, Tsukushi had disarmed Sammi and knocked her to the matted floor. She pierced her sword into the spot where her heart was. The match was over.
"Hello," said Aki as he walked up to them. "That was a very impressive match."
Sammi opened her mouth to say something. Tsukushi lifted her hand to prevent her from speaking. "Go on," said Tsukushi in English with her British accent mingled with an Australian twang. Aki had only heard her speak in Japanese, but he had heard her sing in English.
"You are very good. I was wondering if you would like to fence against me," said Aki, switching to English.
Tsukushi nodded. Neither girl had removed her helmet, so Aki couldn't tell who he really was talking to. Sammi put her hand on Tsukushi's shoulder, but she shook her off.
The match began with they holding out the swords in front then going into their battle stances. "En guard!" shouted Aki. To his surprise, Tsukushi stood still. She wanted to see if he would strike first. He decided to attack, but Tsukushi evade and blocked him.
"She blocked him," murmured the crowd.
Tsubaki was else where in the fencing club, but someone came in and said, "Your husband actually challenged a woman." She stood up and wanted to see. Aki was a really good fencer, but she had never heard of him challenging a woman before.
The match continued. Tsukushi was blocking Aki again and again without much effort. "Enough. You have to strike back!" shouted Aki. She merely blocked him again.
Tsubaki was at an upper level but everything could be seen from the upper levels. The fencing area was the bottom ground. She was amazed that someone was able to block most of Aki's attacks. It would seem that his opponent's attack specialized in defense.
Sammi was watching, but the helmet was too hot and she couldn't see as well. She whipped it off as she watched Tsukushi and Aki continued. She knew why Tsukushi didn't want her saying anything. She wondered what Tsukushi had against the entire Doumyouji family, including its in-laws.
Tsubaki gasped when she saw Sammi take of the helmet. She jaw dropped when she realized who her husband's opponent must have been. She smiled because Tsukushi was holding her own.
Aki finally managed to disarm Tsukushi, but she held her hands up in surrender. "Thank you very much for the match," said Aki as he picked up her sword and tossed it back to her.
Tsukushi took it and tucked it under arm. She took off her helmet and bowed. "I should thank you as well."
"You!"
Tsukushi laughed at him. "Thank you for the fencing match. It has been a while since I have met an opponent as good as you."
Aki was at a loss of words. He slowly recovered his ability to speak. "You're welcome. You are a very good fencer. What level are you?"
"According to my last instructor, I am at level two," replied Tsukushi.
"Level two? I am at level four. Your defense moves are higher than a level two," said Aki.
"Unfortunately, my offensive moves are not," laughed Tsukushi.
"My wife is with me today, but she's over at another part of the complex," said Aki. "My daughter is at home."
"Your daughter? I didn't know that Tsubaki-san had a daughter," said Tsukushi. "That makes Tsukasa her uncle. Poor kid."
"He's not too bad with her. Although he does make her cry from time to time, but only because Reiko pays too much attention to people's moods," said Aki.
"I see. Well, I have to be going," said Tsukushi. "I have to get some rest. Today is my day off."
Aki nodded and she walked off. Sammi trailed after her and had her cell phone on. "Dominic, where are you?"
"I'm right here," said Dominic as he should up next to her.
"Okay, let's make sure she doesn't leave yet. Wait for her after she changes. I have to go and double check the preparations."
Sammi used her cell again. "Yuki, are you here?"
"Yeah, I'm here. I managed to get everyone from the airport. It took a while. Where's Tsukushi?"
"She went to go and take a shower. As soon as she's changed, Dominic's going to steer her your way."
"I understand."
"What's going on? What do you understand?" asked Tsubaki as she caught up with Sammi.
Sammi smiled at her as she closed her cellphone. "Today is her birthday. I have a little surprise set up for her. She doesn't really like to celebrate, but I like to."
"So, what do you have planned?" asked Tsubaki.
"Well, why don't you come and see. You're invited. Along with your husband. The more the merrier."
"Sure, Aki, do you want to go to a party?"
"Why not?" agreed Aki with a shrug.
Tsukushi finished up and changed back into her loose workout clothes. She saw Dominic waiting for her. He scanned the area before letting her go ahead, but she stopped when she spotted someone familiar. Someone she hadn't seen in ages. "Julie!" called out Tsukushi, startling the girl.
"Tsukushi-chan!" shouted back the girl as she ran up to her.
"It's been ages since I've seen you," said Tsukushi as they embraced each other. "What are you doing here in Japan? How was school? How are you?"
"Well, I'm here in Japan on business. School is done. And I'm fine. What about you? I hear you're doing well."
"I'm doing fine. I can't believe you're in Japan. This is your first time here, isn't it?" asked Tsukushi.
"Yes, is that strange for a full-blooded Japanese girl?" asked Julie. Her accent was definitely Australian. "Remember back in Augustine how you said you'd show me around all of Tokyo?"
"Yes, I remember, but what are you doing here in the fencing club? You don't fence," said Tsukushi.
Julie smiled slyly at her. "What?" asked Tsukushi.
"Come with me," said Julie.
"What's going on?"
"Stop asking so many questions."
Tsukushi didn't really ask as she allowed Julie to drag her to the ballroom with Dominic trailing after them. She wondered why he hadn't made any move to intervene. It was suspicious.
Julie threw the doors open to the ballroom.
"SURPRISE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!"
Tsukushi looked like she had been thrown off her feet. In the ballroom were her friends from high school from Augustine Academy along with her friends from England. Yuki and Kin-san along with Susumu were there. Tsukushi covered her mouth in amazement.
"Happy Birthday, Tsukushi," said Sammi with a laugh. "I was afraid we wouldn't be able to pull this off."
"But...why?"
"You said you missed London, didn't you? So, I decided to bring a bit of London to you," said Sammi.
"It's good to see you, baby girl," said one of the boys. He had his black hair in dreads. His cocoa brown skin brought out his brown eyes as he came up to Tsukushi and picked her off the floor.
"Eddie! It's great to see you. Now put me down, you're making me dizzy," said Tsukushi with a laugh.
"What you're not happy to see your band? You can make your next album without us here," said a strawberry blonde boy with freckles and green eyes.
"Robby, it's great to see all of you," said Tsukushi as Eddie put her back on the floor. He gave her a bear hug first. Robby gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"What about me?" asked a boy with short black hair and blue eyes. This boy gave her a light hug.
"Sean, you know that I missed you, too," said Tsukushi. Eddie, Robby, and Sean were the musicians that made up her band. Tsukushi took the guitar usually, while Eddie played the drums, Robby played the key broads, and Sean did the backup guitar. They were on hiatus while Tsukushi was writing for the next album.
"What about us?" asked Julie as she gestured at herself and the other guests from Australia.
"I can't believe you got all these people here, Sammi," said Tsukushi. "I can't believe all of you actually came."
"Who could resist a free trip to Japan to see you?" asked Mike, one of her friends from Augustine. "Besides, Julie said if we didn't go she'd hunt us done and do things to us that were too terrible to talk about openly."
"It wasn't just me. Why do you think I've had Yuki doing 'special projects' all week?" asked Sammi. "And I didn't know what to get you, so this is really your birthday present."
"Oh, presents!" declared Julie. "We brought presents. We had to wrap them when we got here because of security at the airport. That was such a bothersome thing."
"Yes, it was," agreed Alicia who was from the London Theater group that Tsukushi started in.
There were lots of presents from her friends. The guys from the band picked up some weird mind bending puzzles for her. Her friends from the theater group ended up giving her books of different plays that were good for practice. They were all so happy that she was actually in a movie. Yuki and Kin-san gave the most thoughtful presents.
"I didn't know what to get you. So, I got you something I noticed that you didn't have. You missed your adult ceremony," said Yuki in Japanese, but Julie translated.
"What's an adult ceremony?" asked Eddie.
"The legal adult age in Japan is twenty. They all go to the town registry to get registered as adults at that age," explained Sean.
"Oh."
"Anyway, I realized that you should have one of these," said Yuki as she handed a small present to her. "I know it's not much, but it's not easy to figure a gift for someone who doesn't ask for anything."
Tsukushi smiled as she ripped the wrapper. It was a plain, white box. Tsukushi opened and found a stamp. It was a signature stamp that Japanese people needed to use instead of signing their signatures by hand. The stamps were crafted to be unique to each person and registered at government offices.
"Thank you, Yuki. I completely forgot that I needed one of these," said Tsukushi as she hugged her.
"No problem. I knew it had slipped her your mind," said Yuki.
"Don't forget about me. It's nothing special, but it's the thought that counts," said Kin-san as he handed her another small present.
"I guess the saying that big things come in small packages is true," said Tsukushi as she opened the box. It was a velvet box. She opened and found a pair of black and violet butterfly hairclips.
"Oh...these are so beautiful. Thanks, Seinosuke," said Tsukushi as she hugged him. She hardly called him by his real name. With his closest friends, he was known as Kin-san.
"I figured it was appropriate because of the movie you did. You have to promise me that you'll wear them to the premiere," said Kin-san with a laugh.
"I sure will," agreed Tsukushi with a smile.
"Wait, there's one more present," said Sammi.
"Who?" asked Tsukushi.
"I have to play this DVD," said Sammi. "Excuse me." She went and put a DVD in the player and a blonde man with blue eyes appeared on the screen. His skin was tanned and it looked like hadn't shaved in days.
"Hello Tsukushi. This is Charlie, but you already knew that. I'm sorry that I'm still stuck in the Middle East. There's tons of reporting to do here," explained the man on the screen.
Tsukushi laughed. It was Charlie Collins. He was like an older brother to her. He was the oldest child of the Collins. "I hope you have the best birthday in the world. You deserve it. I wasn't sure what to get you, but Sammi helped me out and picked it up. It's something that you need. And I hope will prevent you from stealing from me in the future. Give her the present, Sammi."
Sammi handed her a clothing box. Tsukushi opened and laughed because it was a London University sweatshirt. It was blue with white letters embroidered on it. "It's a sweater!" she declared.
"There you go, my sweater stealing imp. Now stay out of my closet. I'll see you later. Bye," finished Charlie with a laugh.
Susumu looked like he was loafing about. He had a present. It was something that he and his parents got together. He didn't want to give it to his sister in front of everyone else.
"Now, that we've gotten that out of the way. It's time to really start this party!" declared Sammi.
Tsubaki noticed him and approached him. "Do I know you?" asked Susumu.
"My name is Tsubaki. I'm Doumyouji Tsukasa's older sister," she replied.
Susumu turned his head away from her. "Is that so?" he said.
"Yes, however, I am friends with your sister. You are her younger brother, right?"
"Yes," said Susumu.
"This must all be very strange for you."
"What do you mean?"
"Seeing this part of your sister's world. Even Tsukasa has never seen this."
Susumu laughed as he faced her. His eyes narrowed dangerously, causing Tsubaki to smile slightly more at him. For some particular reason, he was starting to remind her of her own brother. "Would he appreciate it? This is her life. These are the people who care about her and accept her for what she is. You rich people wouldn't understand that even if you tried."
No, he's smarter than Tsukasa thought Tsubaki as she found herself staring straight into his brown eyes. His eyes. They're so much like his sister's, but colder. Tsubaki knew that his actions were those of a jealous, younger sibling, but a very defensive boy who wasn't about to let anyone or anything harm any member of his family.
"Are you okay?" asked Aki as he approached them.
Susumu walked passed him to go and talk to his sister. Tsubaki rubbed her arms as if she were suddenly hit by a chilly wind. "Nothing. But...we'll talk at home," said Tsubaki.
"Who was that?" asked Aki.
"Makino Susumu," replied Tsubaki.
"Really? He doesn't seem to be anything like his sister," observed Aki.
"He's a lot more like her than even he thinks he is," said Tsubaki cryptically.
*
The party went underway. Everyone was having a good time, so Tsukushi took the time to go and speak with Susumu. He seemed aloof and distant. He lingered outside on the grounds of the fencing club. Tsukushi approached him with some cake.
"Try it. It's delicious," said Tsukushi as she handed it to him.
"Thanks, Oneesan," said Susumu.
The silence seemed deafening. Tsukushi spoke up again, "You know I just realized that you keep calling me 'Oneesan,' but you used to call me 'Oneechan.' What happened with that?"
"I was a kid back then, Oneesan," replied Susumu. "Here."
"What is it?"
"It's a birthday present. It's from Mama, Papa, and me."
Tsukushi opened it and found a bounded book. It was made out of the finest paper along with a leather cover. "I told them how you were working on your master's. They thought it would be a good idea to have it. You can use to practice writing."
"Thanks," said Tsukushi. As if by cue her cell phone rang, she picked it up. "It's Mama and Papa."
"Of course it is. It's your birthday. They haven't celebrated it in five years. They're the ones who brought you into this world after all," said Susumu. "I'm going to eat my slice of cake inside."
Tsukushi pressed the button and answered. "Hello, Mama."
"Hello, Tsukushi. Happy Birthday! Your papa and I are celebrating in Osaka. Did Susumu give you your birthday present? We know it isn't much, but we didn't know what to get you."
"No, it's fine. How is everything?" asked Tsukushi as she smiled.
AN: Attaching the title "-sama" at the end of a person's name actually isn't very typical in Japan. However, it is typical when dealing with customers, so that's why you still hear it often "-sama" is usually attached to something like "customer-sama." I also included stuff about Japanese culture that I learned from my sensei in Japanese class.
This chapter shows how many friends Tsukushi made. I have a feeling had she been able to attend the same high school as Yuki she would have made tons more friends. However, in her last year of high school and years in the university has allowed her to make a diverse group of friends. Yes, all of Tsukushi's band is male. That was no accident on my part. Charlie will come in later on. This is his introduction to the readers. Tsukushi and Charlie definitely have a non-platonic, sibling relationship. He's like an older brother to her.
Once more there is more foreshadowing here, but no one will realize it until later chapters. Oh well, for more ideas and commentary please go to ayane.blurty.com. After the next chapter, things will start to really kick up. ^_^
Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango.