Woohoohoo! I've updated! Got so excited because I just got my tickets to
the F4 concert on the 26th. Can't wait to see those four boy toys in the
flesh! YUMMY!
Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango.
Chapter 2: Of Heroes, Heels, and Damsels in Distress
"Tsukushi, is that you?" Junpei's eyes, which were already wide in surprise at being suddenly accosted, grew even wider when he realized who she was. It took him several moments to recognize her because her appearance now was a far cry from what she looked like two years ago. Where before her hair was cropped in a short bob, now it flowed way past her shoulders. Her skinny frame had filled out in the last couple of years and now there were curves in all the right places. But probably the most drastic change was in her eyes. Although they were still the same expressive brown orbs he had known, gone was the mischievous twinkle they always held before. In its place was a hard cynical gleam that bespoke of the difficult life she had had to live since he left her two years ago.
"Damn right it's me." Her voice was dangerously calm.
"What do you want?" he smirked, trying to mask his nervousness at being confronted by the now unfamiliar stranger before him.
"I just want what's rightfully mine. Give me back the money you stole, you fucking bastard!" She found herself shaking as she felt the anger seep through her whole being at finally seeing him face to face after his treachery.
"And if I don't, what are you gonna do huh? Are you gonna haul me off to the nearest precinct to have me arrested? What are you gonna tell them huh? 'Oh, Mr. Policeman, this guy ran off with the money I was stupid enough to transfer to his account!'
Tsukushi wanted to wipe off that sneer on his face by punching him senseless until his nose was lodged in his throat, as he continued to taunt her.
"That money's long gone, Tsukushi. It's best that you forget about it. Just think of it as payment for 'services rendered.' Of course, I'm willing to give you a freebie now, since it's the first time I've seen you in a long while." Emboldened by her lack of response, Junpei moved towards her and caught both her wrists at her sides in a tight grip. "How about it, huh, babe? One more time for old times' sake." He pushed her back into the shadows of the dark alley, onto the wall. Tsukushi could smell the alcohol in his breath as he moved his face close to hers and started to kiss her along the side of her neck.
She jerked her face away from his and yelled, "Get off me you worthless piece of shit!" She struggled against him and managed to break free from his hold when she hit him on the groin with a hard upward blow from her knee. He doubled over in pain and Tsukushi was about to grab him by his hair when he suddenly drew up and slammed her against the wall, his hands bruising her wrists as he held them in a vice grip above her head.
"That's it!" he growled. "I was trying to be nice, but now that you're being very, very bad. . . well, no more Mr. Nice Guy." He stifled her scream by roughly placing his lips on hers in a harsh, brutal kiss.
==================
Doumyouji Tsukasa was walking to Frenzy from where he had parked his car on the curb when he heard raised voices and sounds of a scuffle from the alley on the side. He peered through the dark space and was shocked to see a man trying to force himself on some poor hapless woman. Without pause he strode over to where they were and grabbed the man by the collar to pull him off. With a hard shove he pushed Junpei to the ground and was about to lunge at him when the other man suddenly scrambled to his feet and ran off.
Tsukasa turned around to see if the woman was alright, when to his surprise she sped past him, apparently in pursuit of her would-be rapist.
"No! Come back here you bastard!" she screamed as she ran after him. Tsukasa in turn, ran to follow her.
He caught up with her several blocks down, panting as she bent over with her hands on her knees. Junpei was just too fast for her. She lost him as he vanished when he rounded the corner.
"Miss, are you alright?" he called out to her.
She rose up slowly and turned around to face the tall, curly-haired guy. He was taken aback by the livid expression on her face as she pointed an accusing finger at him.
"You! What the fuck did you think you were doing, chasing him off like that?!?!"
"Excuse me?" was all he could say at first in his shock at her unexpected reaction. "I thought I was doing you a favor by getting that scumbag off you! Pardon me, I didn't know that getting raped was actually something you wanted!"
"He wasn't raping me! And even if he was, I could have handled him by myself!"
"Oh yeah, sure, I could see that you really had things under control back there!"
Tsukushi glared at him, seething. He wouldn't understand, of course. How could he know that he had unwittingly chased away what was probably her last chance to get her money back? And just like that she felt her anger deflate, leaving her only with a feeling of utter frustration. With shoulders slumped, she walked away dejectedly from Tsukasa and muttered, "You don't understand. . ."
"Damn right I don't!" Tsukasa glared at her retreating back. "Oh, and by the way. . . You're welcome!" he shouted. "Ungrateful bitch!" he fumed as he walked back in the direction of Frenzy, where he was supposed to meet Akira and Soujiro before he decided to play the knight in shining armor.
Akira and Soujiro were already seated at the bar, surrounded by a bevy of women when he arrived. These were all charmingly but firmly dismissed but not before all their phone numbers were written down on a paper napkin now safely tucked away in Soujiro's shirt pocket.
"Hey man, what took you so long?" Akira questioned.
"Long story. You wouldn't believe it if I told you."
"Oh, c'mon Akira," Soujiro chided his friend. "It's not like you didn't enjoy the time waiting. At least he's here now, which is more than we can say for Rui."
"Where is Rui, by the way?" Tsukasa asked.
Akira shrugged. "Beats me. Ever since he and Shizuka started dating, we hardly see him anymore except at our gigs and rehearsals."
Both Tsukasa and Soujiro nodded sagely at Akira's comment. Unlike before when the four of them were inseparable, now they hardly saw Rui outside of band practice and gigs. Once work was over, he and Shizuka promptly bade the group goodbye and left to do God knows what.
"Anyway, so where is this friendly bartender you both have been blabbing about?"
"Tsukushi's not here tonight. She had the earlier shift, so now we're stuck with boring ol' Kazuya.
"I heard that." The skinny bartender approached them as he refilled their drinks.
"Hey Kazuya, you know, this place could really use some live music. Your deejay's great and all, don't get me wrong. But I'll bet things'll really get pumping here once you have a live band playing."
"Funny you should mention that. Actually we do have a live band here one night weekly. Well, sort of. It started out as a lark really. But one night a few weeks ago our CD player broke down. Good thing it was a slow night and there were only a few people around. But what's a club without music, right? So a few waiters and I took out the band instruments from our boss's storeroom and started jamming together. Yuki, one of the waitresses, provided the vocals. The customers that night enjoyed it and requested the manager to make it a regular thing. So now Thursday nights are jam session nights. So far the feedback has been great and the manager is considering hiring real bands to play during Friday and Saturday nights when we have the most people."
"Really?! Tell your boss we wanna try out! Maybe he'll like us enough to give us a regular weekend stint!" Akira was excited.
"Oh yeah, that's right, Tsukushi mentioned about you guys being in a band. What kind of music do you play?"
"Mostly pop tunes 'cause that's what our audiences ask for. But hey, we can also do rock, light jazz, you name it. We can be pretty versatile. And we also do our own original music. Tsukasa here writes most of our songs," Soujiro said. Tsukasa nodded to confirm.
"Oh really? What's the name of your band?"
"F4."
"F4? What's that stand for?"
"Flower 4. See, we have a female vocalist, Shizuka. She's the 'flower' and Tsukasa, Soujiro, Rui and I are her four thorns, he he. Tsukasa provides the male vocals aside from writing our songs. Soujiro plays the drums, Rui the guitar, and I play the keyboards. Kazuya, come on. Maybe you could ask your boss to give us a shot."
"Yeah Kazuya," Soujiro piped in. "How 'bout we play for free one night so your boss can see how good we are? Then if he likes us we can talk about playing here on a regular basis."
"Hmmm," Kazuya was rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I can talk to him, sure. On one condition."
"Eh? And what's that?"
"Come this Thursday and watch our amateur band perform. I play the keyboards myself and I wanna hear the opinion of a professional whether I suck or not," Kazuya grinned sheepishly.
"You got it bro!" Akira punched him lightly on the arm.
***********************
A/N: Why is Junpei always trying to molest Tsukushi in my fics?!?! Man, I really need to go out and buy myself some creativity! LOL! Sorry if I twisted the meaning of the F4 name to include Shizuka. I just couldn't find a suitable name for their band.
Sailor Angie: Thanks for being my first reviewer for this fic and for that long review (you're right, I love reading long ones). I do try to make a roadmap but even at my best, I'm not a very organized person, LOL. You know how it is when you're daydreaming and you suddenly get hit by a lot of ideas running over each other in your head? In your excitement you forget to put them all down on paper. And when you finally think, "Oooh, I should write this down!" you kick yourself because by then you've forgotten the better half of them. Happens to me all the time. I really should get more organized, lol.
Chi5: Thanks for reviewing. Whether Tsukushi gets her money back or not will soon be revealed. But worry not, I WILL make Junpei pay, and pay dearly! Mwahahahaha!
piglet: Thanks for the encouragement. I look forward to hearing more from you in the coming chaps.
XxSwtDreamerxX1 & Shopps: Yup, I'm back! I'm really happy to be writing again. I hope you like this story as much as you liked my first one. As for your question whether this'll be TxT, well, keep reading to find out. Although I am an avowed TxT fan, the entire plot for this fic hasn't been fully worked out yet, so as of now it can go either way (TxT or RxT). Or to make it different, maybe I can pair her off with Kazuya? LOL!
ToinKs: LOL! Well, I did tell you I was working on 3 fics, didn't I? This was one of 'em. I am trying to take advantage of a sudden surge of writing energy before I get hit by @#$%* writer's block again. Thanks for the compliment! Awww, you flatter me! *blushes*
KyouFan17: Thanks for thinking it was a good chapter. My first reviewer on Winglin for this fic thought it was really wordy and difficult to read. *sighs* Maybe it was. I'll try not to be so longwinded next time.
Hope you all liked this chap! Please leave a review if you have time. It's always great hearing from you guys. ^_^
Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango.
Chapter 2: Of Heroes, Heels, and Damsels in Distress
"Tsukushi, is that you?" Junpei's eyes, which were already wide in surprise at being suddenly accosted, grew even wider when he realized who she was. It took him several moments to recognize her because her appearance now was a far cry from what she looked like two years ago. Where before her hair was cropped in a short bob, now it flowed way past her shoulders. Her skinny frame had filled out in the last couple of years and now there were curves in all the right places. But probably the most drastic change was in her eyes. Although they were still the same expressive brown orbs he had known, gone was the mischievous twinkle they always held before. In its place was a hard cynical gleam that bespoke of the difficult life she had had to live since he left her two years ago.
"Damn right it's me." Her voice was dangerously calm.
"What do you want?" he smirked, trying to mask his nervousness at being confronted by the now unfamiliar stranger before him.
"I just want what's rightfully mine. Give me back the money you stole, you fucking bastard!" She found herself shaking as she felt the anger seep through her whole being at finally seeing him face to face after his treachery.
"And if I don't, what are you gonna do huh? Are you gonna haul me off to the nearest precinct to have me arrested? What are you gonna tell them huh? 'Oh, Mr. Policeman, this guy ran off with the money I was stupid enough to transfer to his account!'
Tsukushi wanted to wipe off that sneer on his face by punching him senseless until his nose was lodged in his throat, as he continued to taunt her.
"That money's long gone, Tsukushi. It's best that you forget about it. Just think of it as payment for 'services rendered.' Of course, I'm willing to give you a freebie now, since it's the first time I've seen you in a long while." Emboldened by her lack of response, Junpei moved towards her and caught both her wrists at her sides in a tight grip. "How about it, huh, babe? One more time for old times' sake." He pushed her back into the shadows of the dark alley, onto the wall. Tsukushi could smell the alcohol in his breath as he moved his face close to hers and started to kiss her along the side of her neck.
She jerked her face away from his and yelled, "Get off me you worthless piece of shit!" She struggled against him and managed to break free from his hold when she hit him on the groin with a hard upward blow from her knee. He doubled over in pain and Tsukushi was about to grab him by his hair when he suddenly drew up and slammed her against the wall, his hands bruising her wrists as he held them in a vice grip above her head.
"That's it!" he growled. "I was trying to be nice, but now that you're being very, very bad. . . well, no more Mr. Nice Guy." He stifled her scream by roughly placing his lips on hers in a harsh, brutal kiss.
==================
Doumyouji Tsukasa was walking to Frenzy from where he had parked his car on the curb when he heard raised voices and sounds of a scuffle from the alley on the side. He peered through the dark space and was shocked to see a man trying to force himself on some poor hapless woman. Without pause he strode over to where they were and grabbed the man by the collar to pull him off. With a hard shove he pushed Junpei to the ground and was about to lunge at him when the other man suddenly scrambled to his feet and ran off.
Tsukasa turned around to see if the woman was alright, when to his surprise she sped past him, apparently in pursuit of her would-be rapist.
"No! Come back here you bastard!" she screamed as she ran after him. Tsukasa in turn, ran to follow her.
He caught up with her several blocks down, panting as she bent over with her hands on her knees. Junpei was just too fast for her. She lost him as he vanished when he rounded the corner.
"Miss, are you alright?" he called out to her.
She rose up slowly and turned around to face the tall, curly-haired guy. He was taken aback by the livid expression on her face as she pointed an accusing finger at him.
"You! What the fuck did you think you were doing, chasing him off like that?!?!"
"Excuse me?" was all he could say at first in his shock at her unexpected reaction. "I thought I was doing you a favor by getting that scumbag off you! Pardon me, I didn't know that getting raped was actually something you wanted!"
"He wasn't raping me! And even if he was, I could have handled him by myself!"
"Oh yeah, sure, I could see that you really had things under control back there!"
Tsukushi glared at him, seething. He wouldn't understand, of course. How could he know that he had unwittingly chased away what was probably her last chance to get her money back? And just like that she felt her anger deflate, leaving her only with a feeling of utter frustration. With shoulders slumped, she walked away dejectedly from Tsukasa and muttered, "You don't understand. . ."
"Damn right I don't!" Tsukasa glared at her retreating back. "Oh, and by the way. . . You're welcome!" he shouted. "Ungrateful bitch!" he fumed as he walked back in the direction of Frenzy, where he was supposed to meet Akira and Soujiro before he decided to play the knight in shining armor.
Akira and Soujiro were already seated at the bar, surrounded by a bevy of women when he arrived. These were all charmingly but firmly dismissed but not before all their phone numbers were written down on a paper napkin now safely tucked away in Soujiro's shirt pocket.
"Hey man, what took you so long?" Akira questioned.
"Long story. You wouldn't believe it if I told you."
"Oh, c'mon Akira," Soujiro chided his friend. "It's not like you didn't enjoy the time waiting. At least he's here now, which is more than we can say for Rui."
"Where is Rui, by the way?" Tsukasa asked.
Akira shrugged. "Beats me. Ever since he and Shizuka started dating, we hardly see him anymore except at our gigs and rehearsals."
Both Tsukasa and Soujiro nodded sagely at Akira's comment. Unlike before when the four of them were inseparable, now they hardly saw Rui outside of band practice and gigs. Once work was over, he and Shizuka promptly bade the group goodbye and left to do God knows what.
"Anyway, so where is this friendly bartender you both have been blabbing about?"
"Tsukushi's not here tonight. She had the earlier shift, so now we're stuck with boring ol' Kazuya.
"I heard that." The skinny bartender approached them as he refilled their drinks.
"Hey Kazuya, you know, this place could really use some live music. Your deejay's great and all, don't get me wrong. But I'll bet things'll really get pumping here once you have a live band playing."
"Funny you should mention that. Actually we do have a live band here one night weekly. Well, sort of. It started out as a lark really. But one night a few weeks ago our CD player broke down. Good thing it was a slow night and there were only a few people around. But what's a club without music, right? So a few waiters and I took out the band instruments from our boss's storeroom and started jamming together. Yuki, one of the waitresses, provided the vocals. The customers that night enjoyed it and requested the manager to make it a regular thing. So now Thursday nights are jam session nights. So far the feedback has been great and the manager is considering hiring real bands to play during Friday and Saturday nights when we have the most people."
"Really?! Tell your boss we wanna try out! Maybe he'll like us enough to give us a regular weekend stint!" Akira was excited.
"Oh yeah, that's right, Tsukushi mentioned about you guys being in a band. What kind of music do you play?"
"Mostly pop tunes 'cause that's what our audiences ask for. But hey, we can also do rock, light jazz, you name it. We can be pretty versatile. And we also do our own original music. Tsukasa here writes most of our songs," Soujiro said. Tsukasa nodded to confirm.
"Oh really? What's the name of your band?"
"F4."
"F4? What's that stand for?"
"Flower 4. See, we have a female vocalist, Shizuka. She's the 'flower' and Tsukasa, Soujiro, Rui and I are her four thorns, he he. Tsukasa provides the male vocals aside from writing our songs. Soujiro plays the drums, Rui the guitar, and I play the keyboards. Kazuya, come on. Maybe you could ask your boss to give us a shot."
"Yeah Kazuya," Soujiro piped in. "How 'bout we play for free one night so your boss can see how good we are? Then if he likes us we can talk about playing here on a regular basis."
"Hmmm," Kazuya was rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I can talk to him, sure. On one condition."
"Eh? And what's that?"
"Come this Thursday and watch our amateur band perform. I play the keyboards myself and I wanna hear the opinion of a professional whether I suck or not," Kazuya grinned sheepishly.
"You got it bro!" Akira punched him lightly on the arm.
***********************
A/N: Why is Junpei always trying to molest Tsukushi in my fics?!?! Man, I really need to go out and buy myself some creativity! LOL! Sorry if I twisted the meaning of the F4 name to include Shizuka. I just couldn't find a suitable name for their band.
Sailor Angie: Thanks for being my first reviewer for this fic and for that long review (you're right, I love reading long ones). I do try to make a roadmap but even at my best, I'm not a very organized person, LOL. You know how it is when you're daydreaming and you suddenly get hit by a lot of ideas running over each other in your head? In your excitement you forget to put them all down on paper. And when you finally think, "Oooh, I should write this down!" you kick yourself because by then you've forgotten the better half of them. Happens to me all the time. I really should get more organized, lol.
Chi5: Thanks for reviewing. Whether Tsukushi gets her money back or not will soon be revealed. But worry not, I WILL make Junpei pay, and pay dearly! Mwahahahaha!
piglet: Thanks for the encouragement. I look forward to hearing more from you in the coming chaps.
XxSwtDreamerxX1 & Shopps: Yup, I'm back! I'm really happy to be writing again. I hope you like this story as much as you liked my first one. As for your question whether this'll be TxT, well, keep reading to find out. Although I am an avowed TxT fan, the entire plot for this fic hasn't been fully worked out yet, so as of now it can go either way (TxT or RxT). Or to make it different, maybe I can pair her off with Kazuya? LOL!
ToinKs: LOL! Well, I did tell you I was working on 3 fics, didn't I? This was one of 'em. I am trying to take advantage of a sudden surge of writing energy before I get hit by @#$%* writer's block again. Thanks for the compliment! Awww, you flatter me! *blushes*
KyouFan17: Thanks for thinking it was a good chapter. My first reviewer on Winglin for this fic thought it was really wordy and difficult to read. *sighs* Maybe it was. I'll try not to be so longwinded next time.
Hope you all liked this chap! Please leave a review if you have time. It's always great hearing from you guys. ^_^