The Melody of Life
peridotpearl
(Aki)
Disclaimer: Hana Yori Dango doesn't belong to me, even though I want it. I'd even be content with just a small bit of Akira or Rui! Author's Notes: Thank you to all of my readers. I'm so glad that you're enjoying this fanfic. Sorry for not updating sooner! To my reviewers: Thanks! Your feedback is really important to me. It helps me decide a lot of what's going to happen to the characters. My Rui: Hurry up and write something! I'm sick of being the only to post. Everyone thinks peridotpearl is just me and it's not!
Rui stared silently into the sunset. Murky blues mixed with dark purples, then swirled across the sky. Thin streaks of white merged into the fiery crimson of the fading sun. Blue dots of light were barely visible at the edges of the sun's waning glow. Sighing quietly, he pulled the painting out of its frame. Slowly, he walked to the edge of the balcony. Leaning gently against the marble railing, he raised the painting over the side. Holding it in his hands, he looked at it sadly. "You're not mine anymore..." Then he let go.
:--:--:
"Yo, Soujiro! Why are you so late?" Akira called out jovially. He shook his long hair back. "I'm late for the hairstylist! I'm getting this damned-annoying, curly hair straightened!"
Soujiro stepped out slowly out of the shiny blue convertible. Spotting the hordes of girls running toward him, he smothered a smirk. [I guess things will never change for us...] Sadness flitted across his face briefly. [I remember when it wasn't like this...] "You transvestite! I'm not going with you to some girly spa!"
"Hey! I'm not a cross-dresser!" He punched Soujiro lightly in the shoulder. "By the way, have you ever been to that little dango shop, called, um, Quintessential Cakes?"
Soujiro blinked stupidly. "That place? Isn't it in that seedy neighborhood full of druggies? Nope. I don't think so. Why?"
Akira slung an arm around Soujiro's shoulders casually. "Nothing big, but we're going there after I get my hair done." He scampered away, laughing maniacally.
Soujiro shook his head in disgust. "I don't know about this..."
:--:--:
She paused at the door. Peering in through the smudged glass, she tried to locate Mr. Fujimiya's drunken figure staggering about the room. She frowned when she failed to see him. After several more minutes' of spying through the dirty glass, she gave up and decided to go inside. Pulling open the door slowly, she winced when the small bells hanging on the doorframe jingled.
"Tsukushi? Is that you? Get to work; you're late!" Mr. Fujimiya's face poked out from behind the door of the main office. His eyeglasses dangling precariously on the tip of his swollen, fleshy nose, his sagging jowls jiggled as he berated Tsukushi for her tardiness. "I'm working with some customers here. Don't bother us!" He slammed the door of his office shut, cursing wildly when splinters rained upon his bald head.
Tsukushi mumbled to herself, chiding herself for choosing such unrespectable place to work. [What customers? I don't hear anyone talking to Mr. Fujimiya in there! He's probably just talking to his whisky bottle again. I have to remember to dump it out and fill it with pink lemonade...]
She wiped down the counter with a sodden rag. Wringing out the dirty gray water into the cheap plastic bucket, she sighed tiredly. She hadn't gotten any sleep last night, what with throwing up every other hour and running that 102.3(F fever. All of her blankets and sheets were soaked with either sweat or vomit. God, her water bill would be sky-high this month if she tried to wash all of them. She trudged over to the chipped sink in the corner of the store and twisted the faucet on the sink, angling it away from her. Tugging on the rusty handle, she cursed softly when it didn't budge. [Damn this stupid store. Nothing in here works!] She pulled insistently on the old metal pieces, first the hot water handle, then the cold. Finally, the water burst free from the faucet. Bits of rust and mold was mixed in too, creating a murky mess of gunk that sprayed all over the store. Tsukushi smirked, pleased. None of the disgusting sludge had gotten on her, but she had managed to turn on the water in under five minutes, new record-yay!...What a dreary life she had.
Someone behind her coughed politely. She whipped around in surprise. In her hurry, she bumped into the yellow bucket of grimy water. It teetered unsteadily, sloshing around at her feet. With one last feeble attempt to right itself, it gave up and tipped over, spilling a miniature swamp at their feet. Tsukushi grimaced as she felt the water soak into her thin white shoes. Looking up slowly, she winced.
Mr. Fujimiya stood there in a rumpled orange tee shirt and gray sweatpants. In a last-minute try to make himself presentable, he had slathered his hair with a massive amount of gel. He hadn't managed to work it into his already greasy hair and now it lay upon his head like a dead gerbil that quivered when he moved. But Tsukushi wasn't looking at Mr.Fujimiya. She was staring at the man beside him.
:--:--:
Tsukasa shivered in the cold autumn air. His light jacket wasn't nearly enough to counteract the bitter winds that whistled through the air. Pressing the doorbell again, he swore. Why hadn't the Hanazawas gotten a butler? It wasn't like they couldn't afford it-they were the second most powerful family in Japan.
When no one answered the door, he raised a fist to knock on the door. Suddenly, it swung open to reveal a dark hallway, lit by small hand-blown glass lamps. He muttered softly to himself, "What's with the cheap lighting?" He stumbled blindly down the hall, his arms waving wildly to prevent himself from walking into any walls. He cursed loudly when he stubbed his toe against a wooden side table.
A doorway opened to his left, filling the hallway with a bright light. It threw everything else into dark shadows, and Tsukasa was temporarily blinded. "What the hell are you trying to do, Rui?"
Rui merely motioned for Tsukasa to enter the room. His sleepy face was devoid of emotion, yet a small trace of hilarity danced in his eyes. "I need to get some sleep before Shizuka comes."
"Whatever. It's not like you can sleep with all these lights on in your room. Wait...Shizuka? I thought she was France!"
"She came back, I told you."
"How come you don't seem happier? You still seem so dead, so lifeless, so empty of emotion. She won't be happy to see that you're not changing."
But if Tsukasa had taken the time to look carefully, he would have seen the pure, ragged feelings that had he had interrupted when he'd rudely barged into the home. He would have seen the tearstreaks running down Rui's face.
peridotpearl
(Aki)
Disclaimer: Hana Yori Dango doesn't belong to me, even though I want it. I'd even be content with just a small bit of Akira or Rui! Author's Notes: Thank you to all of my readers. I'm so glad that you're enjoying this fanfic. Sorry for not updating sooner! To my reviewers: Thanks! Your feedback is really important to me. It helps me decide a lot of what's going to happen to the characters. My Rui: Hurry up and write something! I'm sick of being the only to post. Everyone thinks peridotpearl is just me and it's not!
Rui stared silently into the sunset. Murky blues mixed with dark purples, then swirled across the sky. Thin streaks of white merged into the fiery crimson of the fading sun. Blue dots of light were barely visible at the edges of the sun's waning glow. Sighing quietly, he pulled the painting out of its frame. Slowly, he walked to the edge of the balcony. Leaning gently against the marble railing, he raised the painting over the side. Holding it in his hands, he looked at it sadly. "You're not mine anymore..." Then he let go.
:--:--:
"Yo, Soujiro! Why are you so late?" Akira called out jovially. He shook his long hair back. "I'm late for the hairstylist! I'm getting this damned-annoying, curly hair straightened!"
Soujiro stepped out slowly out of the shiny blue convertible. Spotting the hordes of girls running toward him, he smothered a smirk. [I guess things will never change for us...] Sadness flitted across his face briefly. [I remember when it wasn't like this...] "You transvestite! I'm not going with you to some girly spa!"
"Hey! I'm not a cross-dresser!" He punched Soujiro lightly in the shoulder. "By the way, have you ever been to that little dango shop, called, um, Quintessential Cakes?"
Soujiro blinked stupidly. "That place? Isn't it in that seedy neighborhood full of druggies? Nope. I don't think so. Why?"
Akira slung an arm around Soujiro's shoulders casually. "Nothing big, but we're going there after I get my hair done." He scampered away, laughing maniacally.
Soujiro shook his head in disgust. "I don't know about this..."
:--:--:
She paused at the door. Peering in through the smudged glass, she tried to locate Mr. Fujimiya's drunken figure staggering about the room. She frowned when she failed to see him. After several more minutes' of spying through the dirty glass, she gave up and decided to go inside. Pulling open the door slowly, she winced when the small bells hanging on the doorframe jingled.
"Tsukushi? Is that you? Get to work; you're late!" Mr. Fujimiya's face poked out from behind the door of the main office. His eyeglasses dangling precariously on the tip of his swollen, fleshy nose, his sagging jowls jiggled as he berated Tsukushi for her tardiness. "I'm working with some customers here. Don't bother us!" He slammed the door of his office shut, cursing wildly when splinters rained upon his bald head.
Tsukushi mumbled to herself, chiding herself for choosing such unrespectable place to work. [What customers? I don't hear anyone talking to Mr. Fujimiya in there! He's probably just talking to his whisky bottle again. I have to remember to dump it out and fill it with pink lemonade...]
She wiped down the counter with a sodden rag. Wringing out the dirty gray water into the cheap plastic bucket, she sighed tiredly. She hadn't gotten any sleep last night, what with throwing up every other hour and running that 102.3(F fever. All of her blankets and sheets were soaked with either sweat or vomit. God, her water bill would be sky-high this month if she tried to wash all of them. She trudged over to the chipped sink in the corner of the store and twisted the faucet on the sink, angling it away from her. Tugging on the rusty handle, she cursed softly when it didn't budge. [Damn this stupid store. Nothing in here works!] She pulled insistently on the old metal pieces, first the hot water handle, then the cold. Finally, the water burst free from the faucet. Bits of rust and mold was mixed in too, creating a murky mess of gunk that sprayed all over the store. Tsukushi smirked, pleased. None of the disgusting sludge had gotten on her, but she had managed to turn on the water in under five minutes, new record-yay!...What a dreary life she had.
Someone behind her coughed politely. She whipped around in surprise. In her hurry, she bumped into the yellow bucket of grimy water. It teetered unsteadily, sloshing around at her feet. With one last feeble attempt to right itself, it gave up and tipped over, spilling a miniature swamp at their feet. Tsukushi grimaced as she felt the water soak into her thin white shoes. Looking up slowly, she winced.
Mr. Fujimiya stood there in a rumpled orange tee shirt and gray sweatpants. In a last-minute try to make himself presentable, he had slathered his hair with a massive amount of gel. He hadn't managed to work it into his already greasy hair and now it lay upon his head like a dead gerbil that quivered when he moved. But Tsukushi wasn't looking at Mr.Fujimiya. She was staring at the man beside him.
:--:--:
Tsukasa shivered in the cold autumn air. His light jacket wasn't nearly enough to counteract the bitter winds that whistled through the air. Pressing the doorbell again, he swore. Why hadn't the Hanazawas gotten a butler? It wasn't like they couldn't afford it-they were the second most powerful family in Japan.
When no one answered the door, he raised a fist to knock on the door. Suddenly, it swung open to reveal a dark hallway, lit by small hand-blown glass lamps. He muttered softly to himself, "What's with the cheap lighting?" He stumbled blindly down the hall, his arms waving wildly to prevent himself from walking into any walls. He cursed loudly when he stubbed his toe against a wooden side table.
A doorway opened to his left, filling the hallway with a bright light. It threw everything else into dark shadows, and Tsukasa was temporarily blinded. "What the hell are you trying to do, Rui?"
Rui merely motioned for Tsukasa to enter the room. His sleepy face was devoid of emotion, yet a small trace of hilarity danced in his eyes. "I need to get some sleep before Shizuka comes."
"Whatever. It's not like you can sleep with all these lights on in your room. Wait...Shizuka? I thought she was France!"
"She came back, I told you."
"How come you don't seem happier? You still seem so dead, so lifeless, so empty of emotion. She won't be happy to see that you're not changing."
But if Tsukasa had taken the time to look carefully, he would have seen the pure, ragged feelings that had he had interrupted when he'd rudely barged into the home. He would have seen the tearstreaks running down Rui's face.