By 12:15, I was sitting on the steps, waiting for Akira to arrive. Promptly
at 12:30, the familiar sound of screeching tires told me that he had
arrived. True enough, his black BMW stopped right in front of me.
The window rolled down and I found myself staring at not only Akira, but Soujiro as well who was occupying the passenger seat.
"Yo! Tsukushi, why are you standing there? Get in!" Akira shouted to me and I opened the backseat door and slid in.
"Soujiro decided to join us, since he had nothing to do. I tried calling Rui but apparently, he's still asleep" Akira explained to me, as we speed away.
"Why does that not surprise me."I muttered under my breath. Rui isn't like any normal human beings who only need a maximum of 8 hours sleep. He needed a minimum of 15 hours and nobody in the right mind would want to get in between him and his bed if he had less than that.
"Tsukushi, how are you feeling today?" Soujiro asked, turning behind to look at me. He had the exact same look he had on yesterday night.
I gave him my brightest smile and nodded my head. "I'm fine...just a little hungry..."
Soujiro continued to stare at me for a little while, as if to make sure I was fine.
"Honestly, I'm alright..."I told him and he nodded, satisfied with my answer.
We reached the restaurant and I followed Akira and Soujiro behind. Even though it was jam packed with people, the manager managed to snag us a comfortable table by the side. Apparently, F4 is one of the most valued customers in the restaurant. Soujiro sat down on the seat next to mine, slinging one arm casually around my chair while Akira took the seat opposite me.
"So...what are your plans for today Tsukushi?" Akira asked, after we told the waiter our orders.
I shrugged and shook my head. "I don't know...anything I guess..." I answered, twirling my fork lazily.
"Come out with us tonight then..."Soujiro suggested and I rolled my eyes at him.
"Right...won't I get in your way of 'scoring' some chicks?" I asked and he let out a small chuckle.
"Chicks or no chicks, nobody can get in Soujiro's way when he wants to score." Akira answered for him. Before Soujiro could protest, a shadow loomed across our table and I looked up, half expecting the waiter with our food but instead a girl who was heavily made up and had her top cut so low, it would have been better off as a wash cloth.
"Soujiro...how nice to meet you here..."She said to Soujiro who had stood up, but her eyes were glaring at me.
"Hi Yumiko...what are you doing here?" Soujiro asked, looking calm and composed but I caught the helpless look he threw at Akira.
"I've been trying to call you..."The girl's eyes narrowed to angry slits and she crossed her arms across her chest.
"Yumiko, I've told you before...your time is up..."Soujiro frowned at her when she suddenly grabbed my arms and yanked me up from my seat.
"HEY!" Akira stood up, attempting to save me from her clutches but Soujiro got to me first. He pulled me away from her and put a protective arm over my shoulders.
"That's enough Yumiko." Soujiro said in a dangerously low voice and I saw his eyes blazing in anger.
"You're leaving me for this ugly piece of...." Yumiko's painted lips turned into an ugly snarl as she glared at me.
"If I were you, I'll stop what you're saying right there." Akira interrupted her before she could finish her sentence and gave her a glare which could've killed.
Suddenly, Yumiko's started to cry unexpectedly. "I loved you Soujiro...why are you doing this to me? If you want me to change...I'll change...I'll be the girl you want...please don't ignore me..." she begged, a desperate plea as she looked at Soujiro.
I heard Soujiro sighed softly and saw him shook his head. "Look, I've told you once and I'm going to repeat this the last time. We had fun while it lasted...you had me for a week and now your time is up. You knew what the consequences were..."
"I know but I love you Soujiro..."Yumiko cried louder and by now, patrons of the restaurant was staring at us. Somehow, I felt sorry for her. After all, she truly loved Soujiro and in a weird way, I can relate to how she was feeling right now.
"Yumiko...I think you should leave now..."Akira said softly and her cries stopped abruptly.
She turned to glare at me again and before anyone had time to react, I felt a sting on my face. Yumiko had just slapped me. Hard.
"Tsukushi!" Akira shoved Yumiko aside and quickly started to touch my face which I knew was turning red. My eyes started to water from the sting I felt and Akira hastily wiped it away.
"SLUT!" I heard Yumiko scream and I looked up to see Soujiro grabbed her arms and started to drag her out from the restaurant with her screaming, kicking and basically shouting curses and threats at me.
"Are you alright?" Akira asked softly and I nodded my head touching my face which was feeling quite numb right now. I couldn't say a word, maybe because I was extremely shocked by the whole incident. But then again, this is after all, F4. Nothing should come as a surprise anymore.
Akira led me back to the chair and before we could say or do anything, Soujiro came back. I looked up at him and wished I hadn't. The look on his face was something worst than what Tsukasa looked like when he was angry and it scares me.
"She's gone?" Akira asked and Soujiro nodded before turning to me.
"I'm so sorry Tsukushi..."He apologized, reaching out and touching my face lightly, his angry expression gone, only to be replace with a concerned one.
I gave him a small smile. "Well, I should've seen it coming...after all...I am having lunch with the most eligible bachelors and playboy of the century." I pointed out, trying to lighten him up.
Soujiro and Akira gave me a small but weak smile when a waiter suddenly turned up and asked us if we were okay. Soujiro nodded and asked us if we were still hungry. Even though I've lost any appetite I had earlier on, I didn't want Akira and Soujiro to know that the incident had shook me up and make them even more worrier than they already are.
"Of course I'm hungry! You promised me lunch and lunch is what you're going to give me." I told Akira who then told the waiter to bring out the food.
When the food arrived, all three of us ate in silence. Maybe it was because we were all lost in our own thoughts. I've no idea what was going on in the two playboy's mind but mine was definitely on how amusing Akira's face can change from one expression to another while eating and not even saying a word. My eyes moved to Soujiro's and saw his handsome face in a frown. He started to cut his lamb chop mechanically and stuffed it in his mouth and started to chew then swallowed. He repeated the steps until the lamb chop disappeared and only looked down when his knife and fork touched the empty plate.
I wondered if Rui was here, would he have done anything to stop Yumiko from slapping me. Wait a minute...did I just said Rui? Funny, I used to think if Tsukasa was here, would things be different. Why did Rui's face appeared in my mind. ArggghHHH! Did that slap rattle my brain or something?
"If you continue shaking your head like that, it's going to get unscrewed..."
I looked up and gasped in surprise. Rui was standing in front of our table with a smile on his face. Looking at Soujiro and Akira, I guess my expression and theirs weren't any different. Eyes as big as two golf balls and mouths wide open. Rui started to laugh a little and I can't help but notice how handsome he looked today. His hair was slightly wind blown and his white shirt and khaki pants gave him a casual and carefree look.
Akira was the first to recover from the shock and stood up. "Rui! What are you doing here?" he asked and I heard a tinge of nervousness in his voice.
Rui shrugged and dropped on the empty chair next to mine. Darn it. If he looked closely at my face, I'm sure he's going to see the finger imprints there even though I'm not to sure it had faded or not.
"Can't a guy come and join his friends for lunch?" Rui said taking the menu from a waiter.
"Of course you can."Soujiro said calmly, picking up his glass of wine and sipping it.
As if sensing something was wrong, Rui looked at us quietly. His eyes fell on Akira first, making the poor guy squirm uncomfortably and then shifted his gaze to Soujiro who pretended to look busy with his glass of wine, when he finally turned and look at me.
I felt him staring at me for an awful long time while I looked down at my half empty plate. Did I mentioned that Rui can read me like an open book and there's nothing in the world that I can hide from him?
"What is going on?" His soft voice broke through the silence firm and demanding.
Akira quickly stood up. "Urm...I see my old buddies there...I'm going to go over to say hi."
"You don't have any 'old buddies' Akira..."Rui said, staring at Akira who dropped down on his seat dejectedly. "Besides, we are your only friends."
"I guess I'm not going to get any answers out from both of you..." he muttered under his breathe and then turned to me.
I glanced at him and wished I hadn't. It was as if, with just one look at me, his eyes could've penetrated into my mind and soul. I quickly looked down and hoped my long hair would cover my face. A few seconds later, I felt his fingers grazing my cheeks as he brushed my hair away. "Who did this?" He demanded.
Once again the three of us kept quiet.
"Tsukushi...who did this to you?!" Rui repeated his question but his voice was gentler.
I opened my mouth to say something but Soujiro beat me to it. "It was my fault Rui...".
"Remember Yumiko?" Soujiro asked and Rui shook his head. I don't blame him. How can any of us remember the number of girls Soujiro had been with? I don't think he himself knew how many.
"Well.she became obsessive with me and saw us having lunch just now. She thought Tsukushi was my girlfriend and lost her head. We never expected her to slap Tsukushi..."
"Yeah Rui...it's not Soujiro's fault.Yumiko just suddenly hit me...I'm fine really...it's not that pain..."I quickly put in a few good words and Akira nodded his agreement.
Rui kept quiet for a short while when he finally sighed and nod his head. "We should put something on that...or it'll probably bruise up or something." He said to me quietly and I nodded. Somehow, I couldn't help but feel a little tingle up my spine about how Rui acted. At least he wasn't like Tsukasa who would scream, shout and most probably threaten to run after the girl and kill her.
The window rolled down and I found myself staring at not only Akira, but Soujiro as well who was occupying the passenger seat.
"Yo! Tsukushi, why are you standing there? Get in!" Akira shouted to me and I opened the backseat door and slid in.
"Soujiro decided to join us, since he had nothing to do. I tried calling Rui but apparently, he's still asleep" Akira explained to me, as we speed away.
"Why does that not surprise me."I muttered under my breath. Rui isn't like any normal human beings who only need a maximum of 8 hours sleep. He needed a minimum of 15 hours and nobody in the right mind would want to get in between him and his bed if he had less than that.
"Tsukushi, how are you feeling today?" Soujiro asked, turning behind to look at me. He had the exact same look he had on yesterday night.
I gave him my brightest smile and nodded my head. "I'm fine...just a little hungry..."
Soujiro continued to stare at me for a little while, as if to make sure I was fine.
"Honestly, I'm alright..."I told him and he nodded, satisfied with my answer.
We reached the restaurant and I followed Akira and Soujiro behind. Even though it was jam packed with people, the manager managed to snag us a comfortable table by the side. Apparently, F4 is one of the most valued customers in the restaurant. Soujiro sat down on the seat next to mine, slinging one arm casually around my chair while Akira took the seat opposite me.
"So...what are your plans for today Tsukushi?" Akira asked, after we told the waiter our orders.
I shrugged and shook my head. "I don't know...anything I guess..." I answered, twirling my fork lazily.
"Come out with us tonight then..."Soujiro suggested and I rolled my eyes at him.
"Right...won't I get in your way of 'scoring' some chicks?" I asked and he let out a small chuckle.
"Chicks or no chicks, nobody can get in Soujiro's way when he wants to score." Akira answered for him. Before Soujiro could protest, a shadow loomed across our table and I looked up, half expecting the waiter with our food but instead a girl who was heavily made up and had her top cut so low, it would have been better off as a wash cloth.
"Soujiro...how nice to meet you here..."She said to Soujiro who had stood up, but her eyes were glaring at me.
"Hi Yumiko...what are you doing here?" Soujiro asked, looking calm and composed but I caught the helpless look he threw at Akira.
"I've been trying to call you..."The girl's eyes narrowed to angry slits and she crossed her arms across her chest.
"Yumiko, I've told you before...your time is up..."Soujiro frowned at her when she suddenly grabbed my arms and yanked me up from my seat.
"HEY!" Akira stood up, attempting to save me from her clutches but Soujiro got to me first. He pulled me away from her and put a protective arm over my shoulders.
"That's enough Yumiko." Soujiro said in a dangerously low voice and I saw his eyes blazing in anger.
"You're leaving me for this ugly piece of...." Yumiko's painted lips turned into an ugly snarl as she glared at me.
"If I were you, I'll stop what you're saying right there." Akira interrupted her before she could finish her sentence and gave her a glare which could've killed.
Suddenly, Yumiko's started to cry unexpectedly. "I loved you Soujiro...why are you doing this to me? If you want me to change...I'll change...I'll be the girl you want...please don't ignore me..." she begged, a desperate plea as she looked at Soujiro.
I heard Soujiro sighed softly and saw him shook his head. "Look, I've told you once and I'm going to repeat this the last time. We had fun while it lasted...you had me for a week and now your time is up. You knew what the consequences were..."
"I know but I love you Soujiro..."Yumiko cried louder and by now, patrons of the restaurant was staring at us. Somehow, I felt sorry for her. After all, she truly loved Soujiro and in a weird way, I can relate to how she was feeling right now.
"Yumiko...I think you should leave now..."Akira said softly and her cries stopped abruptly.
She turned to glare at me again and before anyone had time to react, I felt a sting on my face. Yumiko had just slapped me. Hard.
"Tsukushi!" Akira shoved Yumiko aside and quickly started to touch my face which I knew was turning red. My eyes started to water from the sting I felt and Akira hastily wiped it away.
"SLUT!" I heard Yumiko scream and I looked up to see Soujiro grabbed her arms and started to drag her out from the restaurant with her screaming, kicking and basically shouting curses and threats at me.
"Are you alright?" Akira asked softly and I nodded my head touching my face which was feeling quite numb right now. I couldn't say a word, maybe because I was extremely shocked by the whole incident. But then again, this is after all, F4. Nothing should come as a surprise anymore.
Akira led me back to the chair and before we could say or do anything, Soujiro came back. I looked up at him and wished I hadn't. The look on his face was something worst than what Tsukasa looked like when he was angry and it scares me.
"She's gone?" Akira asked and Soujiro nodded before turning to me.
"I'm so sorry Tsukushi..."He apologized, reaching out and touching my face lightly, his angry expression gone, only to be replace with a concerned one.
I gave him a small smile. "Well, I should've seen it coming...after all...I am having lunch with the most eligible bachelors and playboy of the century." I pointed out, trying to lighten him up.
Soujiro and Akira gave me a small but weak smile when a waiter suddenly turned up and asked us if we were okay. Soujiro nodded and asked us if we were still hungry. Even though I've lost any appetite I had earlier on, I didn't want Akira and Soujiro to know that the incident had shook me up and make them even more worrier than they already are.
"Of course I'm hungry! You promised me lunch and lunch is what you're going to give me." I told Akira who then told the waiter to bring out the food.
When the food arrived, all three of us ate in silence. Maybe it was because we were all lost in our own thoughts. I've no idea what was going on in the two playboy's mind but mine was definitely on how amusing Akira's face can change from one expression to another while eating and not even saying a word. My eyes moved to Soujiro's and saw his handsome face in a frown. He started to cut his lamb chop mechanically and stuffed it in his mouth and started to chew then swallowed. He repeated the steps until the lamb chop disappeared and only looked down when his knife and fork touched the empty plate.
I wondered if Rui was here, would he have done anything to stop Yumiko from slapping me. Wait a minute...did I just said Rui? Funny, I used to think if Tsukasa was here, would things be different. Why did Rui's face appeared in my mind. ArggghHHH! Did that slap rattle my brain or something?
"If you continue shaking your head like that, it's going to get unscrewed..."
I looked up and gasped in surprise. Rui was standing in front of our table with a smile on his face. Looking at Soujiro and Akira, I guess my expression and theirs weren't any different. Eyes as big as two golf balls and mouths wide open. Rui started to laugh a little and I can't help but notice how handsome he looked today. His hair was slightly wind blown and his white shirt and khaki pants gave him a casual and carefree look.
Akira was the first to recover from the shock and stood up. "Rui! What are you doing here?" he asked and I heard a tinge of nervousness in his voice.
Rui shrugged and dropped on the empty chair next to mine. Darn it. If he looked closely at my face, I'm sure he's going to see the finger imprints there even though I'm not to sure it had faded or not.
"Can't a guy come and join his friends for lunch?" Rui said taking the menu from a waiter.
"Of course you can."Soujiro said calmly, picking up his glass of wine and sipping it.
As if sensing something was wrong, Rui looked at us quietly. His eyes fell on Akira first, making the poor guy squirm uncomfortably and then shifted his gaze to Soujiro who pretended to look busy with his glass of wine, when he finally turned and look at me.
I felt him staring at me for an awful long time while I looked down at my half empty plate. Did I mentioned that Rui can read me like an open book and there's nothing in the world that I can hide from him?
"What is going on?" His soft voice broke through the silence firm and demanding.
Akira quickly stood up. "Urm...I see my old buddies there...I'm going to go over to say hi."
"You don't have any 'old buddies' Akira..."Rui said, staring at Akira who dropped down on his seat dejectedly. "Besides, we are your only friends."
"I guess I'm not going to get any answers out from both of you..." he muttered under his breathe and then turned to me.
I glanced at him and wished I hadn't. It was as if, with just one look at me, his eyes could've penetrated into my mind and soul. I quickly looked down and hoped my long hair would cover my face. A few seconds later, I felt his fingers grazing my cheeks as he brushed my hair away. "Who did this?" He demanded.
Once again the three of us kept quiet.
"Tsukushi...who did this to you?!" Rui repeated his question but his voice was gentler.
I opened my mouth to say something but Soujiro beat me to it. "It was my fault Rui...".
"Remember Yumiko?" Soujiro asked and Rui shook his head. I don't blame him. How can any of us remember the number of girls Soujiro had been with? I don't think he himself knew how many.
"Well.she became obsessive with me and saw us having lunch just now. She thought Tsukushi was my girlfriend and lost her head. We never expected her to slap Tsukushi..."
"Yeah Rui...it's not Soujiro's fault.Yumiko just suddenly hit me...I'm fine really...it's not that pain..."I quickly put in a few good words and Akira nodded his agreement.
Rui kept quiet for a short while when he finally sighed and nod his head. "We should put something on that...or it'll probably bruise up or something." He said to me quietly and I nodded. Somehow, I couldn't help but feel a little tingle up my spine about how Rui acted. At least he wasn't like Tsukasa who would scream, shout and most probably threaten to run after the girl and kill her.