Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango.
Chapter 3: Of Tree Houses, Violins, and Handstands
Still feeling bad about what had happened earlier, Tsukushi did not go straight home that night. As she was wont to do whenever she needed a good cry, she went to the park and made her way to her favorite 'thinking spot' -- the rickety old tree house situated in a neglected portion of the park.
It wasn't really much of a tree house. It was more like a few planks of wood crudely nailed together on top of a large oak tree, probably the summer project of some poor dad whose kids wanted some sort of clubhouse for juvenile meetings. A rope ladder completed the picture. Thankful she was wearing jeans that night, Tsukushi agilely climbed the rope ladder and sat herself down on the scratchy wooden floor. The place wasn't much but it was her refuge and she had had many a good cry there over the last two years.
Making herself comfortable against the bare wall, Tsukushi thought of how her once ordered life changed when Junpei left her. She never did fulfill her parents' as well as her dream of getting a college diploma. When she first dropped out of school she told herself it was only a temporary thing, and that she'd go back again once she had saved enough money for her tuition and books. But even with two jobs, her pay was barely enough to cover rent, food, and utilities. She had to live from paycheck to paycheck, and so her plans of enrolling in school again were soon forgotten.
Like countless times before, Tsukushi cried as she implored her parents, God rest their souls, for their forgiveness because she knew that wherever they were, they were very disappointed in her.
Losing track of how long she had been sitting there crying in her solitude, Tsukushi checked her watch and saw it was already midnight. She sighed and decided to head back home, hoping to be claimed by sleep immediately when she got there. She was looking forward to a few hours of blissful oblivion before she had to face another day of her sorry existence.
She was halfway down the rope ladder when. . . OOOF! Tsukushi winced in pain when a pair of leather-shod feet connected with the small of her back in a hard blow. In her shock she abruptly let go of the rope ladder and fell down upon a white-clad figure in a tangle of arms and legs.
"What the fuck?!?!" Two surprised voices cried out in unison in the quiet of the deserted park.
Tsukushi scrambled to get off the poor sap she had fallen upon, and dusted herself off as she stood up.
A tall, lanky guy wearing a white long-sleeved polo and khaki trousers drew himself up to his full height in front of her. Blood rushed to Tsukushi's face as she recognized the handsome features of the stranger.
"It's you. . ." she gasped, more in awe than in anger.
She remembered when she had first seen him at this very same place. It was dusk a few months ago and Tsukushi found herself at the tree house after a particularly bad day. There she was again, crying silent tears of frustration at how her life was going when suddenly the haunting strains of a melancholy tune drifted to her ears from below. It was a very sad melody being played beautifully on a violin.
Curious as to the source of such lovely music, Tsukushi got down on all fours and brought her face close to the floor of the tree house. Peeking through the opening, she found herself looking at a young man leaning against the wide trunk of the tree, his fingers expertly coaxing the poignant notes from a violin. His face was turned up at an angle as he played the instrument tucked between his chin and the slope of his neck. Although his eyes were closed, she felt her breath hitch as she admired his striking features.
Tsukushi lay there in that position barely breathing as he played, not wanting to make a sound lest he discover her presence and walk away, and deprive her of the most beautiful music she had ever heard. She lay there even long after he had gone, so touched was she by what she had just listened to.
She was privileged to be his secret audience a few more times after that. Always he played the same sad song, and always he would leave just as quietly as he had come.
"I'm sorry? Have we met before?" His voice shook Tsukushi from her thoughts.
"I, uh. . . that is. . . no, we haven't," Tsukushi stammered. "But I've seen you here a few times before, playing your violin. You play beautifully."
A cold mask came upon the guy's face, quickly replacing his earlier expression of confused surprise.
"I wasn't aware anyone was here while I was playing. That music wasn't meant to be heard by anyone," he said frostily.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to listen in. It just happened that every time you came to play, I was already up there," Tsukushi pointed up to the tree house. His aloof demeanor grated on Tsukushi's nerves. Why was she apologizing anyway? If anything, it was his violin-playing that intruded on her solitude. After all, all those times she heard him playing, she had always been here first. This was her tree house, damn it! Well, okay, it wasn't really hers, but surely she had reason to feel so proprietary. "And what the hell were you doing anyway, kicking me as I was coming down the ladder?!"
He glanced at the dangling ladder and his expression softened as he shifted his gaze back to her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't expect anyone to still be here, seeing as how late it is. I didn't kick you. I was. . . trying to do a handstand against the tree trunk. . ." His voice was apologetic and she barely heard the last words he had spoken.
"Oh. . . of course. . ." was all she could say, although she was already thinking, okay, this guy is cute but weird. . . definitely weird.
Seeing her perplexed expression, he explained, "Someone once told me that if I feel like crying, doing a handstand is a good way to stop the tears from flowing. I'm really sorry if I accidentally hit your back. I didn't see you coming down."
Her anger forgotten, Tsukushi looked down at the ground, suddenly feeling shy in front of the attractive stranger before her.
"I understand. Um, I'm sorry too if I listened in on your playing. Although I must say that I really enjoyed it."
At the mention of his music once again, the mask came back on his face. Seeing this, Tsukushi didn't wait for his reply before speaking again.
"Well, um, I was leaving anyway, so now you'll have the place all to yourself. Feel free to do your handstands, cartwheels, whatever. Good night."
*********************
A/N: Aha, so finally Rui makes an appearance. How lucky can Tsukushi get, meeting two handsome strangers in one night?!
ToinKs: Thanks for reviewing. Hehehe, I'm glad you liked that part where Akira explained the meaning of F4. I always hated how 'Flower 4' made these hunks sound feminine, that's why I twisted it a little to include Shizuka.
XxSwtDreamerxX1: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. Hope you liked this chap as well.
Sailor Angie: LOL! No, they won't have a mosh pit. What they do have is a cordoned VIP section for those willing to fork out 20,000 pesos (roughly USD 400) per seat to see them up close. It's encouraging to know that you like what you're reading so far. Hope you liked this chap too.
Chi5: Sorry Junpei got away. But I'm not done with him yet. LOL.
Three AM: Yay, a new reader! Welcome to my crazy world. I hope you keep reading. How'd you like this chappie?
Thanks to y'all for your support. Do leave a review if you have time. Let me know how I'm doing so far. See you next chapter!
Chapter 3: Of Tree Houses, Violins, and Handstands
Still feeling bad about what had happened earlier, Tsukushi did not go straight home that night. As she was wont to do whenever she needed a good cry, she went to the park and made her way to her favorite 'thinking spot' -- the rickety old tree house situated in a neglected portion of the park.
It wasn't really much of a tree house. It was more like a few planks of wood crudely nailed together on top of a large oak tree, probably the summer project of some poor dad whose kids wanted some sort of clubhouse for juvenile meetings. A rope ladder completed the picture. Thankful she was wearing jeans that night, Tsukushi agilely climbed the rope ladder and sat herself down on the scratchy wooden floor. The place wasn't much but it was her refuge and she had had many a good cry there over the last two years.
Making herself comfortable against the bare wall, Tsukushi thought of how her once ordered life changed when Junpei left her. She never did fulfill her parents' as well as her dream of getting a college diploma. When she first dropped out of school she told herself it was only a temporary thing, and that she'd go back again once she had saved enough money for her tuition and books. But even with two jobs, her pay was barely enough to cover rent, food, and utilities. She had to live from paycheck to paycheck, and so her plans of enrolling in school again were soon forgotten.
Like countless times before, Tsukushi cried as she implored her parents, God rest their souls, for their forgiveness because she knew that wherever they were, they were very disappointed in her.
Losing track of how long she had been sitting there crying in her solitude, Tsukushi checked her watch and saw it was already midnight. She sighed and decided to head back home, hoping to be claimed by sleep immediately when she got there. She was looking forward to a few hours of blissful oblivion before she had to face another day of her sorry existence.
She was halfway down the rope ladder when. . . OOOF! Tsukushi winced in pain when a pair of leather-shod feet connected with the small of her back in a hard blow. In her shock she abruptly let go of the rope ladder and fell down upon a white-clad figure in a tangle of arms and legs.
"What the fuck?!?!" Two surprised voices cried out in unison in the quiet of the deserted park.
Tsukushi scrambled to get off the poor sap she had fallen upon, and dusted herself off as she stood up.
A tall, lanky guy wearing a white long-sleeved polo and khaki trousers drew himself up to his full height in front of her. Blood rushed to Tsukushi's face as she recognized the handsome features of the stranger.
"It's you. . ." she gasped, more in awe than in anger.
She remembered when she had first seen him at this very same place. It was dusk a few months ago and Tsukushi found herself at the tree house after a particularly bad day. There she was again, crying silent tears of frustration at how her life was going when suddenly the haunting strains of a melancholy tune drifted to her ears from below. It was a very sad melody being played beautifully on a violin.
Curious as to the source of such lovely music, Tsukushi got down on all fours and brought her face close to the floor of the tree house. Peeking through the opening, she found herself looking at a young man leaning against the wide trunk of the tree, his fingers expertly coaxing the poignant notes from a violin. His face was turned up at an angle as he played the instrument tucked between his chin and the slope of his neck. Although his eyes were closed, she felt her breath hitch as she admired his striking features.
Tsukushi lay there in that position barely breathing as he played, not wanting to make a sound lest he discover her presence and walk away, and deprive her of the most beautiful music she had ever heard. She lay there even long after he had gone, so touched was she by what she had just listened to.
She was privileged to be his secret audience a few more times after that. Always he played the same sad song, and always he would leave just as quietly as he had come.
"I'm sorry? Have we met before?" His voice shook Tsukushi from her thoughts.
"I, uh. . . that is. . . no, we haven't," Tsukushi stammered. "But I've seen you here a few times before, playing your violin. You play beautifully."
A cold mask came upon the guy's face, quickly replacing his earlier expression of confused surprise.
"I wasn't aware anyone was here while I was playing. That music wasn't meant to be heard by anyone," he said frostily.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to listen in. It just happened that every time you came to play, I was already up there," Tsukushi pointed up to the tree house. His aloof demeanor grated on Tsukushi's nerves. Why was she apologizing anyway? If anything, it was his violin-playing that intruded on her solitude. After all, all those times she heard him playing, she had always been here first. This was her tree house, damn it! Well, okay, it wasn't really hers, but surely she had reason to feel so proprietary. "And what the hell were you doing anyway, kicking me as I was coming down the ladder?!"
He glanced at the dangling ladder and his expression softened as he shifted his gaze back to her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't expect anyone to still be here, seeing as how late it is. I didn't kick you. I was. . . trying to do a handstand against the tree trunk. . ." His voice was apologetic and she barely heard the last words he had spoken.
"Oh. . . of course. . ." was all she could say, although she was already thinking, okay, this guy is cute but weird. . . definitely weird.
Seeing her perplexed expression, he explained, "Someone once told me that if I feel like crying, doing a handstand is a good way to stop the tears from flowing. I'm really sorry if I accidentally hit your back. I didn't see you coming down."
Her anger forgotten, Tsukushi looked down at the ground, suddenly feeling shy in front of the attractive stranger before her.
"I understand. Um, I'm sorry too if I listened in on your playing. Although I must say that I really enjoyed it."
At the mention of his music once again, the mask came back on his face. Seeing this, Tsukushi didn't wait for his reply before speaking again.
"Well, um, I was leaving anyway, so now you'll have the place all to yourself. Feel free to do your handstands, cartwheels, whatever. Good night."
*********************
A/N: Aha, so finally Rui makes an appearance. How lucky can Tsukushi get, meeting two handsome strangers in one night?!
ToinKs: Thanks for reviewing. Hehehe, I'm glad you liked that part where Akira explained the meaning of F4. I always hated how 'Flower 4' made these hunks sound feminine, that's why I twisted it a little to include Shizuka.
XxSwtDreamerxX1: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. Hope you liked this chap as well.
Sailor Angie: LOL! No, they won't have a mosh pit. What they do have is a cordoned VIP section for those willing to fork out 20,000 pesos (roughly USD 400) per seat to see them up close. It's encouraging to know that you like what you're reading so far. Hope you liked this chap too.
Chi5: Sorry Junpei got away. But I'm not done with him yet. LOL.
Three AM: Yay, a new reader! Welcome to my crazy world. I hope you keep reading. How'd you like this chappie?
Thanks to y'all for your support. Do leave a review if you have time. Let me know how I'm doing so far. See you next chapter!