Disclaimer: All the Hana Yori Dango characters are owned by Yoko Kamio

Chapter 5: A Brief Flashback

It was a silent trip to Rui's house in the limousine. Other than the F4, the others had been left behind amidst much protest. In the end, Tsukushi had ended the argument when she said firmly that she did not need an entourage. Of course this did not stop the other 3 members of the F4 who accompanied her to Rui's house: Tsukasa for the obvious reason that he wanted to be with Tsukushi, the other two were following because they wanted to keep on watching the TTR (Tsukasa/Tsukushi/Rui) soap opera.

As they entered Rui's house, Tsukushi was struck with a sense of familiarity. "I was here before…wasn't I?" She asked Rui. He nodded. "What was I here for?"

"We were on a date," Rui said matter-of-factly.

"What?" She was shocked. "I thought I…I mean…"

"You were not with Tsukasa then," he cut short her stammering remarks.

Tsukasa, who had been quiet throughout the exchange, felt an overwhelming jealously swelling within him; but for once, he wisely kept his sardonic remarks to himself. He just watched Tsukushi and Rui intensely.

They walked into a room and Rui said, "Makino, this will be your room for the time you staying here. Is it okay, or would you like to change to another room?"

Tsukushi looked around. It was spacious and airy, with a queen-sized bed in the middle. There was also a private bathroom. "No, thanks. This is just fine," she replied.

Rui then beckoned her to follow him out and he walked across the hallway to another room. "This is my room. If you need anything, you can find me here." As Tsukushi's eyes wandered about the room, her sight fell onto the bed and suddenly she had a flashback….

*************

They had gone to Rui's mansion after their date. It had been a strange date, but she felt so happy being in Rui's presence. It was relaxing and quiet, the polar opposite of the other 'date' she had, where there was a lot of screaming…Suddenly Tsukushi noticed that they were in a bedroom and her heartbeat increased. Was Rui going to…Oh no! He sat down on the bed and patted the place next to him!

Timid and uncertain, she sat down beside him. Her heart was beating so fast that it seemed as if the room was filled with its thumping sound. His hand reached behind her and she wondered dizzily if he was going to put his arm around her. Her mind was filled with dread and anticipation both battling for dominance. Then dimly, she realized that he was talking to her.

"This is a photo taken when we were six. And this…"

She turned to him and saw him holding a photo album in his laps. Both his arms were present and accounted for in front of him. She felt strangely disappointed; he was just reaching for the photo album. Yet she was fascinated at the same time. This was the first time where he offered information about his private life without prompting from her. So she must listen intently.

It was so peaceful. Gradually his voice stopped and she took the album from his lap and flipped through it herself. As she looked at the photos of the F4 where they grew from boys to teenagers, she noticed Rui was almost always somehow apart from the other three. Sometimes it was a physical separation, where he stood a little distance from the other three huddling together. Other times, it was as if his mind was not with his body as he glazed blankly into the camera.

Tsukushi saw a movement at the periphery of her sight and she realized that Rui was leaning towards her. Her heartbeat, which had slowed down, immediately quickened up again. Was he going to kiss her? She dare not look up. He leaned closer and closer to her and…she closed her eyes. Let whatever happens, happen.

Oddly, nothing happened. She opened her eyes and saw Rui sleeping beside her. Again, she felt that same tug of disappointment. But as she looked down into his sleeping face, she was struck by the absolute angelic expression on his face. He looked so content; usually his face would not reflect any emotions at all, but in sleep, he could let down his guard. His hair looked so soft that her hands itched to run themselves through it. She resisted the temptation though. So she just sat there watching sleep, his chest rising and falling in regular cadence. Suddenly she realized how intimate the situation is: her and him alone in a bedroom, together on the bed, and him sleeping beside her. She nervously got up from the bed and quietly left the bedroom…

*****************

"You…me…on the bed…" Tsukushi stammered.

Upon hearing this, Akira and Soujirou immediately teased Rui. "Didn't know that you had it in you, man," Akira nudged Rui at the side. "Yeah, and on the first date too. Couldn't do it better myself," Soujirou winked at Rui.

Tsukasa also predictably jumped into Rui's face. He bunched up Rui's shirt and pulled him so that they were almost face-to-face. And again predictably, he yelled at Ru, his spittle flying, "How dare you! You bastard! On the first date!"

Rui was unfazed at this commotion. "Nothing happened."

Tsukushi was trying to pull Tsukasa's hands away, "Yeah, you baka! He fell asleep while we were looking at some photos."

"Tss, tss, tss. Just like you, Rui, falling asleep on a date." Both Soujirou and Akira laughed. Then some thing suddenly seemed to dawn on the F4. They all turned to look intensely at Tsukushi, who shifted uncomfortably under their scrutiny. She belligerently remarked, "What?"

Tsukasa let go of Rui and turned to hold her by the shoulders, "You remember!"

"I guess I did…"Tsukushi slowly said. She felt happy yet frightened at the same time. Happy that she was getting back her memories, yet terrified at the same time what her memories would contain: whether she was a good person or not, and whether she was liked or hated by people.

Tsukasa eagerly asked, "So do you remember me?"

"Nope, I only remember that incident because I saw the bed and found it strangely familiar, and then I had a flashback."

"Visual stimulation must have helped in her recalling the past. So if we bring her around the school and the places she frequents, her memories will be able to come back," Soujirou deduced.

"Yes, let's do it!' Tsukasa grabbed Tsukushi's hands as if he wanted them to start right then.

"Whoa, hold your horses, Tsukasa. Tsukushi has just been discharged from the hospital and she needs her rest. What's more it's quite late now," Akira stated. "Let's wait until tomorrow, okay?"

"Fine," was Tsukasa's reluctant reply.

"Why don't you all leave?" Rui declared. "Tsukushi and I both need our rest."

Akira and Soujirou chortled on hearing Rui's pronouncement. And Tsukasa's face changed to an angry red. Now that Tsukushi remembered about her and Rui's previous relationship, he did not feel safe leaving her there alone with Rui. So Tsukasa imperially proclaimed that he would stay in Rui's house too, in case Tsukushi needed him, of course.

The other three guys who have known Tsukasa since young, naturally knew why he abruptly decided to stay over at Rui's place. But other than a renewed chortling fit by Akira and Soujirou, and Rui's stoic quietness, there was no comment. Akira and Soujirou made their farewells, and Tsukushi was left behind with the two men…

To break the awkward silence that had befell them after the other two left, Tsukushi uttered inanely, "So Tweedledee and Tweedledum have left the house. Well, that's a load of laugh. I'm hungry, aren't you guys hungry?" Then she gave a nervous titter. She tried to walk out of Rui's bedroom but found her escape impeded by one Doumyouji Tsukasa. He studied her face impassionedly, as if to search out her every secret, and said seriously, "How much do you exactly remember, Tsukushi? Do you remember your liking for Rui?"

AN: Sorry this took longer than expected. Sigh, I seem to be suffering from writing fatigue. It's weird, before my exams were over, I was always thinking of working on my stories, but after my exams were over, I suffered from a lack of motivation: I just laid back and don't do anything at all, except surfing the net and reading other ppl's stories. Do you sometimes feel that way too? Again I must apologize for my laziness. I hope I can get pass this phrase. Yet I seem to have less and less motivation to continue writing. I don't know…anyway, thanks for reading and pls continue to leave ur comments.

Final poll results: Who should Tsukushi be paired up with?

Tsukasa: 38 votes

Rui: 29 votes

Akira: 4 votes

Kazuya: 1 vote

Junpei: 3 votes

Soujirou: 0 vote

So the results clearly show an overwhelming support for a T/T pair-up. However, I would keep my options open by including the second choice too, Rui. Therefore the final pairing is not certain yet, you just have to continue reading to find out who she will end up with. Heehee.