Hi all! Apologies for the long absence and I do hope you'll like this
chapter that I rushed out last night! Thanks for your patience!
Chapter 3 - Found Out
"Hey Rui, come and join us!" Akira yelled as he ran to the stone bench that I was perched on, quietly observing the three of them kicking a football. We were at Soujirou's garden. "Come on, we can split into two teams and have a real match then!" He tugged on my sleeve. I simply shook my head quietly and then proceeded to ignore him as I gazed unseeingly at a spot in front of me.
"Leave him alone moron, you know what he's like!" That was of course Tsukasa. It had been slightly over a year since we first met, but his temper had not improved at all. Instead, it appeared to have deteriorated. Akira shrugged in his easy-going way and gave up trying to persuade me to join them. I was just as lost in my thoughts as they were involved in their game, thus no one noticed Mr and Mrs Nishikado approaching.
"Soujirou, look who's here!" I turned automatically at Mrs Nishikado's voice and froze as my nose caught a whiff of the familiar scent of jasmine flowers. I found myself staring at an exquisite white kimono embroidered with delicate light blue and purple flowers. Lifting up my head, I saw a beautiful lady in her late thirties or early forties with a breath-taking smile. My heart clenched painfully as I gazed at my mother's smile on the face of a kindly looking stranger as I breathed in her perfume. Mother! I bit down on my lip hard enough to draw blood as the old ache suddenly surfaced.
"Auntie Toudou, how are you!" Soujirou quickly ran up to the elegantly dressed lady and bowed respectfully to her.
"Boys, this is Auntie Toudou. And these boys are Doumyouji Tsukasa, Mimasaka Akira and Hanazawa Rui." Mrs Nishikado pointed us out one by one to Mrs Toudou. Tsukasa and Akira bowed respectfully - we have all been taught the proper etiquette by special tutors. However, I still had not recovered from my shock and simply stood there like a pale statue, my eyes fixed on her face. I had to fight my sudden urge to weep when her eyes landed on my face with an extremely sympathetic gaze.
"Ah, so this is little Rui," her voice was soft as her hand gently touched my hair. "I've heard so much about you from your parents." I stiffened and regretted it almost immediately when she redrew her hand, apparently under the misconception that I was uncomfortable with her kind gesture. She turned to smile at the rest of the gang, but I found myself unable to remove my eyes from her. Although she did not physically resemble my mother, her expressions and mannerisms were strangely similar to hers. I felt drawn to her like a moth to a flame. However, I must clarify at this stage that yours truly is not guilty of an Oedipus Complex unlike Akira. It's simply that the guilt I feel for partly being responsible for causing my mother's death, combined with the fact that she died before I had time to really get to know her well or to see her faults as a person, had resulted in my placing her on this pedestal above any other woman. You see, since young I have had a habit of placing women I love on pedestals.
"Auntie Toudou, is Shizuka here as well?" Soujirou had just finished his question when I heard musical laughter resembling the tinkle of silver bells. Before I could turn around, a young girl had stepped into our little gathering.
"How are you, Auntie Nishikado?" Her voice was just as lovely as her laughter. We all stared at the vision in front of us, unable to blink. That was my first impression of Toudou Shizuka. I still remember the angelic smile on her beautiful face as she stood in front of us dressed in the frilly white dress with her long black hair tied up in two braids that fell to her waist. She was obviously older than us because she was slightly taller than all of us. Of course, we have more than caught up with her since then. Most people still think that it is her beauty that captivates us all. However, although we all find her strikingly beautiful (who would not?), it has never really affected us overly much despite what others would like to believe, because we all practically grew up together. For me, it was always her smile that attracted me - the smile that resembled her mother's. However, I have to admit that I preferred the real thing because her smile lacked the maturity that was incorporated in Mrs Toudou's and my mother's smile.
"Can we go and play now?" Soujirou asked his mother who nodded at us. With a whoop of joy, he and Akira grabbed Shizuka and pulled her to the corner of the garden where they had been playing. Tsukasa was already kicking the ball. I did not follow them but remained rooted to the spot, my eyes unconsciously followed the retreating figure of Mrs Toudou as the grownups left, lost in my painful memories.
"What are you doing here?" A soft voice broke into my thoughts. I found Shizuka standing in front of me, looking at me with a concerned expression. "Are you feeling alright?" I remained silent but nodded slowly.
"Come and play with us." I was about to shake my head when she suddenly smiled at me. I groaned inwardly and surrendered, letting her take my hand and lead me to the rest. I still remember the way Akira's jaw dropped comically, Soujirou's eyes almost popped out of their sockets and Tsukasa blinking several times before proclaiming gruffly that it was time I started learning to play like a boy instead of acting like a sissy. I guess that was when they thought I started to "emerge" from my "autistic" world. Shizuka's visit ended with her extracting promises from all of us to go over to her house the following week to play with her.
I have to confess that I was not looking forward to playing with tea sets or dolls when my chauffeur drove me to Shizuka's house. Yet, I could not refuse their invitation because I wanted to see both Mrs Toudou and Shizuka again. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that her collection of toys included several interesting puzzles and brain-teasers. I sat in a corner and amused myself solving all her puzzles, including separating two strangely shaped metal pieces that were seemingly intertwined. I heard a sharp intake of breath and then Shizuka was kneeling next to me.
"Rui, did you just do all these yourself?" She asked quietly. I nodded absently, still focusing on solving the last puzzle. It was an intricate cube with several letters on each face, and one had to twist the cube in such a way as to form a legible word on each side. That was the most challenging puzzle and it took me nearly twenty minutes to obtain the solution. With a sigh of satisfaction, I placed the cube on the floor and looked up to see Shizuka and Mrs Toudou both staring at me with almost identical shocked expressions. I mentally slapped myself on the head, wondering if I had just blown my cover. However, I managed to retain my usual expressionless mask and disinterestedly looked through them, appearing to stare unseeingly ahead.
"Rui," I heard Mrs Toudou calling me but pretended to be in my own little world. However, she sat down in front of me keeping her face at my eye level, and I was forced to look at her. "Rui," she waved a hand in front of all the puzzles that I have solved. "I see that you love these brain teasers don't you?" I tried to continue to stare blankly at her but ended up fidgeting uncomfortably as her eyes probed mine, assessing and weighing whatever she saw in their depths. For the first time, I felt completely exposed and vulnerable under her penetrating gaze. I finally surrendered and closed my eyes, ending our staring match.
"Shizuka, go and play with the rest. Rui, please follow me." Was that satisfaction I heard in her voice? I stood up reluctantly as she took my hand and led me to their library. By any standards it would have been considered large. However, I know that we all have equivalent private libraries at home - a luxury that can be afforded by anyone as wealthy as us.
"Please have a seat, Rui." I climbed onto one of the huge sofas and she sat next to me, facing me. "Rui, I won't undermine your intelligence - I know that you have reasons for acting the way you have. However, I was wondering if you are aware of your full potential?" I stopped breathing for a second. Mrs Toudou was looking at me gently, waiting for my response. I realized the game was up - she had caught me unaware and I had underestimated her intelligence. Yet after acting for six and a half years, it was hard to let my guard down fully and be a fluent conversationalist so I simply shook my head.
"Well, I'd like to organize a series of tests - pretty much similar to the puzzles that you have been playing with - for us to find out. And we'll keep this a secret between both of us. I won't give you away in front of the rest."
"Why?" I finally spoke up.
She sighed and remained silent for a few seconds before speaking again, "I can't tell you why at the moment, Rui. It really depends on the results of the tests. I can only ask you to trust me." Then she looked earnestly at me, "please trust me Rui. I would never do anything to harm you. I have the highest regard for you and your parents. Your late mother and I were close friends . . I should have known . ." her voice died away. What should she have known? I was about to reject her when she suddenly smiled sadly. A lump rose in my throat as I remembered how my mother had smiled the same sad smile at me when she told me that she would miss me, before setting off for what was to be her last trip overseas. I found myself nodding.
"I'll be in touch," with that, she returned me to the gang. I was so disturbed by our meeting that when Shizuka took my hand and pulled me in to join their games, I did not resist much to the delight of Soujirou and Akira who started taunting me rather mercilessly about why it took a girl to make me participate in their games. However, my mind was still focused on the event that just took place, so they eventually stopped when I failed to respond to their teasing.
Dear all,
Thanks so much for reading and taking time to drop me a comment! I really appreciate it! I do hope that this unexpected break hasn't put you all off reading this story . .
Regards, Sheen
Chi: I went to Brisbane for a week! The weather there was lovely and it wasn't very cold. And I definitely agree that weird people are usually pretty talented. I have no idea why, perhaps they are able to be so passionate about what they excel in that they shut themselves in a little world of their own in order to be able to focus on what they do well? Beats me (
Opal Soul: You definitely hit the nail on the head! To me, Rui has always been a mystery. I guess he could either be a weirdo that behaves pretty much like a machine and lives for sleeping. Yet, we see glimpses of him in the manga that seems to indicate that his character may be much deeper than what is shown to the world. Or at least me and my overactive imagination likes to think so! I'm sooooooooooooo glad you like this hypothetical side of Rui !!!!!
Syaoran's Tenshi Itsumademo: Thanks so much for taking time out to drop me a comment especially since you don't usually review HYD fanfics! I guess everyone who writes have insecurities about how realistic or original their plot is or how crappy the writing is. So I'm really grateful for your kind comments and I'm glad that you like Rui's perspective.
Toinks: Hey thanks so much for your encouragement! I really appreciate it and I'm glad you find it realistic (
Lian: Hi !! Sorry for writing such a confusing story! Between I haven't been to Winglin so let me know if you have new updates. I'll proceed to reading your other fic on this website ( !!!
Angel: Ah! The answer to your question has been answered in the above chapter - "when will he meet Shizuka?". I know I might be overdoing his talents but I was trying to imagine why he could act in the way he always does. Thanks so much for your encouraging comments ( !!
Shari: The internet! You're right - I guess I simply assumed that they would have internet in their house being so rich. Also, Rui at the time of surfing the net was already three. Given his exceptional intelligence, I assumed that he would be able to accomplish much more than other people his age. Thanks so much for your comments and I'm glad you like the story!
Kensingtonkid: You're definitely right. I was trying to imagine why Rui would be so musically inclined and why he appears to be so fond of his violin that I thought of how his mother could have died when he was very young. I know no one ever mentioned that he had a stepmother so I incorporated the part where most people had forgotten that the even had ever taken place. I do hope it's convincing!
Fresh8: Thanks so much for your encouraging comments and reading this story! It's just that since you have all been so kind as to take time out to drop my comments, words of encouragement etc the least I could do would be to reply ;) !!!
Piglet: I'm really glad that you liked the other story - it was pretty melodramatic but please excuse my first attempt in writing a HYD fanfic. Do you happen to be a Rui fan? Thanks so much for commenting - I love reading other people's point of view!
Drina: Really love reading your insightful comment! I was imagining that their characters would have developed since they were young (.
Chapter 3 - Found Out
"Hey Rui, come and join us!" Akira yelled as he ran to the stone bench that I was perched on, quietly observing the three of them kicking a football. We were at Soujirou's garden. "Come on, we can split into two teams and have a real match then!" He tugged on my sleeve. I simply shook my head quietly and then proceeded to ignore him as I gazed unseeingly at a spot in front of me.
"Leave him alone moron, you know what he's like!" That was of course Tsukasa. It had been slightly over a year since we first met, but his temper had not improved at all. Instead, it appeared to have deteriorated. Akira shrugged in his easy-going way and gave up trying to persuade me to join them. I was just as lost in my thoughts as they were involved in their game, thus no one noticed Mr and Mrs Nishikado approaching.
"Soujirou, look who's here!" I turned automatically at Mrs Nishikado's voice and froze as my nose caught a whiff of the familiar scent of jasmine flowers. I found myself staring at an exquisite white kimono embroidered with delicate light blue and purple flowers. Lifting up my head, I saw a beautiful lady in her late thirties or early forties with a breath-taking smile. My heart clenched painfully as I gazed at my mother's smile on the face of a kindly looking stranger as I breathed in her perfume. Mother! I bit down on my lip hard enough to draw blood as the old ache suddenly surfaced.
"Auntie Toudou, how are you!" Soujirou quickly ran up to the elegantly dressed lady and bowed respectfully to her.
"Boys, this is Auntie Toudou. And these boys are Doumyouji Tsukasa, Mimasaka Akira and Hanazawa Rui." Mrs Nishikado pointed us out one by one to Mrs Toudou. Tsukasa and Akira bowed respectfully - we have all been taught the proper etiquette by special tutors. However, I still had not recovered from my shock and simply stood there like a pale statue, my eyes fixed on her face. I had to fight my sudden urge to weep when her eyes landed on my face with an extremely sympathetic gaze.
"Ah, so this is little Rui," her voice was soft as her hand gently touched my hair. "I've heard so much about you from your parents." I stiffened and regretted it almost immediately when she redrew her hand, apparently under the misconception that I was uncomfortable with her kind gesture. She turned to smile at the rest of the gang, but I found myself unable to remove my eyes from her. Although she did not physically resemble my mother, her expressions and mannerisms were strangely similar to hers. I felt drawn to her like a moth to a flame. However, I must clarify at this stage that yours truly is not guilty of an Oedipus Complex unlike Akira. It's simply that the guilt I feel for partly being responsible for causing my mother's death, combined with the fact that she died before I had time to really get to know her well or to see her faults as a person, had resulted in my placing her on this pedestal above any other woman. You see, since young I have had a habit of placing women I love on pedestals.
"Auntie Toudou, is Shizuka here as well?" Soujirou had just finished his question when I heard musical laughter resembling the tinkle of silver bells. Before I could turn around, a young girl had stepped into our little gathering.
"How are you, Auntie Nishikado?" Her voice was just as lovely as her laughter. We all stared at the vision in front of us, unable to blink. That was my first impression of Toudou Shizuka. I still remember the angelic smile on her beautiful face as she stood in front of us dressed in the frilly white dress with her long black hair tied up in two braids that fell to her waist. She was obviously older than us because she was slightly taller than all of us. Of course, we have more than caught up with her since then. Most people still think that it is her beauty that captivates us all. However, although we all find her strikingly beautiful (who would not?), it has never really affected us overly much despite what others would like to believe, because we all practically grew up together. For me, it was always her smile that attracted me - the smile that resembled her mother's. However, I have to admit that I preferred the real thing because her smile lacked the maturity that was incorporated in Mrs Toudou's and my mother's smile.
"Can we go and play now?" Soujirou asked his mother who nodded at us. With a whoop of joy, he and Akira grabbed Shizuka and pulled her to the corner of the garden where they had been playing. Tsukasa was already kicking the ball. I did not follow them but remained rooted to the spot, my eyes unconsciously followed the retreating figure of Mrs Toudou as the grownups left, lost in my painful memories.
"What are you doing here?" A soft voice broke into my thoughts. I found Shizuka standing in front of me, looking at me with a concerned expression. "Are you feeling alright?" I remained silent but nodded slowly.
"Come and play with us." I was about to shake my head when she suddenly smiled at me. I groaned inwardly and surrendered, letting her take my hand and lead me to the rest. I still remember the way Akira's jaw dropped comically, Soujirou's eyes almost popped out of their sockets and Tsukasa blinking several times before proclaiming gruffly that it was time I started learning to play like a boy instead of acting like a sissy. I guess that was when they thought I started to "emerge" from my "autistic" world. Shizuka's visit ended with her extracting promises from all of us to go over to her house the following week to play with her.
I have to confess that I was not looking forward to playing with tea sets or dolls when my chauffeur drove me to Shizuka's house. Yet, I could not refuse their invitation because I wanted to see both Mrs Toudou and Shizuka again. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that her collection of toys included several interesting puzzles and brain-teasers. I sat in a corner and amused myself solving all her puzzles, including separating two strangely shaped metal pieces that were seemingly intertwined. I heard a sharp intake of breath and then Shizuka was kneeling next to me.
"Rui, did you just do all these yourself?" She asked quietly. I nodded absently, still focusing on solving the last puzzle. It was an intricate cube with several letters on each face, and one had to twist the cube in such a way as to form a legible word on each side. That was the most challenging puzzle and it took me nearly twenty minutes to obtain the solution. With a sigh of satisfaction, I placed the cube on the floor and looked up to see Shizuka and Mrs Toudou both staring at me with almost identical shocked expressions. I mentally slapped myself on the head, wondering if I had just blown my cover. However, I managed to retain my usual expressionless mask and disinterestedly looked through them, appearing to stare unseeingly ahead.
"Rui," I heard Mrs Toudou calling me but pretended to be in my own little world. However, she sat down in front of me keeping her face at my eye level, and I was forced to look at her. "Rui," she waved a hand in front of all the puzzles that I have solved. "I see that you love these brain teasers don't you?" I tried to continue to stare blankly at her but ended up fidgeting uncomfortably as her eyes probed mine, assessing and weighing whatever she saw in their depths. For the first time, I felt completely exposed and vulnerable under her penetrating gaze. I finally surrendered and closed my eyes, ending our staring match.
"Shizuka, go and play with the rest. Rui, please follow me." Was that satisfaction I heard in her voice? I stood up reluctantly as she took my hand and led me to their library. By any standards it would have been considered large. However, I know that we all have equivalent private libraries at home - a luxury that can be afforded by anyone as wealthy as us.
"Please have a seat, Rui." I climbed onto one of the huge sofas and she sat next to me, facing me. "Rui, I won't undermine your intelligence - I know that you have reasons for acting the way you have. However, I was wondering if you are aware of your full potential?" I stopped breathing for a second. Mrs Toudou was looking at me gently, waiting for my response. I realized the game was up - she had caught me unaware and I had underestimated her intelligence. Yet after acting for six and a half years, it was hard to let my guard down fully and be a fluent conversationalist so I simply shook my head.
"Well, I'd like to organize a series of tests - pretty much similar to the puzzles that you have been playing with - for us to find out. And we'll keep this a secret between both of us. I won't give you away in front of the rest."
"Why?" I finally spoke up.
She sighed and remained silent for a few seconds before speaking again, "I can't tell you why at the moment, Rui. It really depends on the results of the tests. I can only ask you to trust me." Then she looked earnestly at me, "please trust me Rui. I would never do anything to harm you. I have the highest regard for you and your parents. Your late mother and I were close friends . . I should have known . ." her voice died away. What should she have known? I was about to reject her when she suddenly smiled sadly. A lump rose in my throat as I remembered how my mother had smiled the same sad smile at me when she told me that she would miss me, before setting off for what was to be her last trip overseas. I found myself nodding.
"I'll be in touch," with that, she returned me to the gang. I was so disturbed by our meeting that when Shizuka took my hand and pulled me in to join their games, I did not resist much to the delight of Soujirou and Akira who started taunting me rather mercilessly about why it took a girl to make me participate in their games. However, my mind was still focused on the event that just took place, so they eventually stopped when I failed to respond to their teasing.
Dear all,
Thanks so much for reading and taking time to drop me a comment! I really appreciate it! I do hope that this unexpected break hasn't put you all off reading this story . .
Regards, Sheen
Chi: I went to Brisbane for a week! The weather there was lovely and it wasn't very cold. And I definitely agree that weird people are usually pretty talented. I have no idea why, perhaps they are able to be so passionate about what they excel in that they shut themselves in a little world of their own in order to be able to focus on what they do well? Beats me (
Opal Soul: You definitely hit the nail on the head! To me, Rui has always been a mystery. I guess he could either be a weirdo that behaves pretty much like a machine and lives for sleeping. Yet, we see glimpses of him in the manga that seems to indicate that his character may be much deeper than what is shown to the world. Or at least me and my overactive imagination likes to think so! I'm sooooooooooooo glad you like this hypothetical side of Rui !!!!!
Syaoran's Tenshi Itsumademo: Thanks so much for taking time out to drop me a comment especially since you don't usually review HYD fanfics! I guess everyone who writes have insecurities about how realistic or original their plot is or how crappy the writing is. So I'm really grateful for your kind comments and I'm glad that you like Rui's perspective.
Toinks: Hey thanks so much for your encouragement! I really appreciate it and I'm glad you find it realistic (
Lian: Hi !! Sorry for writing such a confusing story! Between I haven't been to Winglin so let me know if you have new updates. I'll proceed to reading your other fic on this website ( !!!
Angel: Ah! The answer to your question has been answered in the above chapter - "when will he meet Shizuka?". I know I might be overdoing his talents but I was trying to imagine why he could act in the way he always does. Thanks so much for your encouraging comments ( !!
Shari: The internet! You're right - I guess I simply assumed that they would have internet in their house being so rich. Also, Rui at the time of surfing the net was already three. Given his exceptional intelligence, I assumed that he would be able to accomplish much more than other people his age. Thanks so much for your comments and I'm glad you like the story!
Kensingtonkid: You're definitely right. I was trying to imagine why Rui would be so musically inclined and why he appears to be so fond of his violin that I thought of how his mother could have died when he was very young. I know no one ever mentioned that he had a stepmother so I incorporated the part where most people had forgotten that the even had ever taken place. I do hope it's convincing!
Fresh8: Thanks so much for your encouraging comments and reading this story! It's just that since you have all been so kind as to take time out to drop my comments, words of encouragement etc the least I could do would be to reply ;) !!!
Piglet: I'm really glad that you liked the other story - it was pretty melodramatic but please excuse my first attempt in writing a HYD fanfic. Do you happen to be a Rui fan? Thanks so much for commenting - I love reading other people's point of view!
Drina: Really love reading your insightful comment! I was imagining that their characters would have developed since they were young (.