Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango.
Chapter 8: Visions of a Better Life
After coming home late from work the previous night, Tsukushi woke up at noontime the following day only to be dismayed by the sight that greeted her eyes as she went to her kitchen. The entire kitchen floor was flooded.
Wading carefully through the inch-high water, she got down on her knees and opened the cabinet under the kitchen sink to survey the damage.
The pipes were old and rusty, and she saw that they had sprung a leak in several different places.
This is just great, she thought to herself as she set about to clean the flooded mess.
After an hour of alternately mopping the floor and squeezing the grimy water into a bucket, she stood up and stretched. She made a call to her landlord, who said he could only drop by to fix the problem later that afternoon.
Tsukushi took a shower, had her lunch, and tried to rest before the long night of work ahead of her, all the while trying to ignore the incessant dripping sound coming from the kitchen sink. It was beginning to get on her nerves.
When finally she couldn't stand the annoying sound any longer, she grabbed her jacket and bag and left the apartment, leaving a note for the landlord to just let himself in once he arrived.
It was still too early to go to the club, so Tsukushi decided to kill time at her tree house in the park.
The weather had suddenly turned nippy and Tsukushi was glad she had worn her jacket. She easily climbed up to the tree house and sat herself Indian style on the floor. After rubbing her palms briskly for some warmth, she then thrust them deep into her jacket pockets.
Her left hand brushed against a slip of paper and she fished it out, curious as to what it could be. It was the paper on which Akira wrote down his address.
She smiled to herself as she remembered the night she sang at Frenzy. What she had told Soujiro and Akira that night was not entirely true. Once upon a time, her singing was not confined to the shower alone. She loved singing, and had in fact won in several amateur singing contests when she was still in school. Of course all that had changed two years ago. She became too preoccupied with surviving from day to day to even think about singing.
However, even she could not deny to herself the natural high she felt when she was up on that small stage at the club. Sure, she was jittery at first, but when she had gotten over her initial nervousness, she forgot all about the people around her. There was only her and the music.
She wondered if Soujiro and Akira had found a new singer yet. And if they haven't, would she dare try out? Does she have what it takes to make the cut?
Get real Tsukushi, she chided herself. You think you've got what it takes to get up night after night before a roomful of people and sing?
But another voice within her was saying, if I could do it once, why couldn't I do it over and over again? Besides, she thought, it would mean another job. And another job means extra money. Money she could save so she could go back to school again. And if she managed to graduate this time, she would be able to find a better and higher-paying job than the dead-end jobs she had right now.
A better life. . . Tsukushi closed her eyes and began to dream of all the things she had always wanted to buy herself, of all the places she had wanted to travel to, of all the things she had wanted to do but couldn't afford to do.
Dare she take this first step to a better life?
While she was contemplating this, the poignant strains of a familiar piece being played on a violin wafted up to her ears.
Cute weird guy was here.
Remembering their last encounter and how he had made it known that he did not appreciate having an audience, she peered through the opening on the floor, knocked loudly to make her presence known, and cleared her throat for good measure.
The music stopped abruptly as Rui glanced up passively towards Tsukushi.
"Um, I'm here. I just wanted you to know that."
Rui continued to stare at her with no expression on his face.
"You might want to take your music elsewhere. . . not that I'm saying it's bad. . . it's really good actually. . . it's just that you said you don't want anyone listening to you playing. . ." Damn! Why did she have to turn into a blabbering idiot whenever he was around?!
"Look," she began again, "All I'm saying is, I was here first and I'm not leaving!" she finished defiantly. She went back to sitting against the tree house wall, this time folding her arms across her chest.
Silence. Just when Tsukushi was starting to relax, thinking he had left, the music started again.
Stunned, she made her way down the ladder and stood gaping at Rui, once again being mesmerized by his music.
Rui opened his eyes and stopped playing when he felt her standing before him.
"Do you know what it feels like to be left by someone you love?" Rui didn't know what possessed him to blurt out such a personal question, to a total stranger at that.
Taken aback by such an unexpected question, Tsukushi was even more surprised when she heard herself squeak out, "Yes. . . as a matter of fact, I do."
He felt the coldness of his heart thaw when he saw the pain he was feeling there reflected in her eyes as she answered him. He repositioned his violin to play once more before saying, "I don't mind if you stay."
And Tsukushi did stay, losing herself once again in the music that entranced her. No other words were spoken after that, and none were needed.
That night, two strangers found in each other a kindred soul, their shared pain expressed in a haunting melody that pierced the stillness of a deserted park.
*******************
A/N: I'm back! Sorry this update took a little longer than usual. I got bogged down with stuff over the past week.
aoringo-chan: Hi new reader! Thanks for leaving a review, although I got pretty lost too. Um, which part of the last chapter didn't you understand? You gave me my own panic attack there. Was it that bad? LOL.
XxSwtDreamerxX1: Well, this chapter answered your question, sort of. Stay tuned to find out whether she finally decides to audition.
Nermal and Buzz03: Hi and welcome! It's always great to see new names on the reviews page. Glad you checked my story out and took the time to leave reviews. Thank you!
fresh8: Well, I'll do my best to update weekly, although to tell you the truth, this story's getting harder and harder to write by the chapter. Wish me luck that I can come up with chapters to keep you interested.
Invisible Rain: Thanks! Although I really can't take credit for that line about falling in love, as I explained in my author's note in the last chap.
Thanks for your continued support, and if you have time, please do leave a review. Ideas and suggestions are most welcome. I need all the help I can get. LOL.
Chapter 8: Visions of a Better Life
After coming home late from work the previous night, Tsukushi woke up at noontime the following day only to be dismayed by the sight that greeted her eyes as she went to her kitchen. The entire kitchen floor was flooded.
Wading carefully through the inch-high water, she got down on her knees and opened the cabinet under the kitchen sink to survey the damage.
The pipes were old and rusty, and she saw that they had sprung a leak in several different places.
This is just great, she thought to herself as she set about to clean the flooded mess.
After an hour of alternately mopping the floor and squeezing the grimy water into a bucket, she stood up and stretched. She made a call to her landlord, who said he could only drop by to fix the problem later that afternoon.
Tsukushi took a shower, had her lunch, and tried to rest before the long night of work ahead of her, all the while trying to ignore the incessant dripping sound coming from the kitchen sink. It was beginning to get on her nerves.
When finally she couldn't stand the annoying sound any longer, she grabbed her jacket and bag and left the apartment, leaving a note for the landlord to just let himself in once he arrived.
It was still too early to go to the club, so Tsukushi decided to kill time at her tree house in the park.
The weather had suddenly turned nippy and Tsukushi was glad she had worn her jacket. She easily climbed up to the tree house and sat herself Indian style on the floor. After rubbing her palms briskly for some warmth, she then thrust them deep into her jacket pockets.
Her left hand brushed against a slip of paper and she fished it out, curious as to what it could be. It was the paper on which Akira wrote down his address.
She smiled to herself as she remembered the night she sang at Frenzy. What she had told Soujiro and Akira that night was not entirely true. Once upon a time, her singing was not confined to the shower alone. She loved singing, and had in fact won in several amateur singing contests when she was still in school. Of course all that had changed two years ago. She became too preoccupied with surviving from day to day to even think about singing.
However, even she could not deny to herself the natural high she felt when she was up on that small stage at the club. Sure, she was jittery at first, but when she had gotten over her initial nervousness, she forgot all about the people around her. There was only her and the music.
She wondered if Soujiro and Akira had found a new singer yet. And if they haven't, would she dare try out? Does she have what it takes to make the cut?
Get real Tsukushi, she chided herself. You think you've got what it takes to get up night after night before a roomful of people and sing?
But another voice within her was saying, if I could do it once, why couldn't I do it over and over again? Besides, she thought, it would mean another job. And another job means extra money. Money she could save so she could go back to school again. And if she managed to graduate this time, she would be able to find a better and higher-paying job than the dead-end jobs she had right now.
A better life. . . Tsukushi closed her eyes and began to dream of all the things she had always wanted to buy herself, of all the places she had wanted to travel to, of all the things she had wanted to do but couldn't afford to do.
Dare she take this first step to a better life?
While she was contemplating this, the poignant strains of a familiar piece being played on a violin wafted up to her ears.
Cute weird guy was here.
Remembering their last encounter and how he had made it known that he did not appreciate having an audience, she peered through the opening on the floor, knocked loudly to make her presence known, and cleared her throat for good measure.
The music stopped abruptly as Rui glanced up passively towards Tsukushi.
"Um, I'm here. I just wanted you to know that."
Rui continued to stare at her with no expression on his face.
"You might want to take your music elsewhere. . . not that I'm saying it's bad. . . it's really good actually. . . it's just that you said you don't want anyone listening to you playing. . ." Damn! Why did she have to turn into a blabbering idiot whenever he was around?!
"Look," she began again, "All I'm saying is, I was here first and I'm not leaving!" she finished defiantly. She went back to sitting against the tree house wall, this time folding her arms across her chest.
Silence. Just when Tsukushi was starting to relax, thinking he had left, the music started again.
Stunned, she made her way down the ladder and stood gaping at Rui, once again being mesmerized by his music.
Rui opened his eyes and stopped playing when he felt her standing before him.
"Do you know what it feels like to be left by someone you love?" Rui didn't know what possessed him to blurt out such a personal question, to a total stranger at that.
Taken aback by such an unexpected question, Tsukushi was even more surprised when she heard herself squeak out, "Yes. . . as a matter of fact, I do."
He felt the coldness of his heart thaw when he saw the pain he was feeling there reflected in her eyes as she answered him. He repositioned his violin to play once more before saying, "I don't mind if you stay."
And Tsukushi did stay, losing herself once again in the music that entranced her. No other words were spoken after that, and none were needed.
That night, two strangers found in each other a kindred soul, their shared pain expressed in a haunting melody that pierced the stillness of a deserted park.
*******************
A/N: I'm back! Sorry this update took a little longer than usual. I got bogged down with stuff over the past week.
aoringo-chan: Hi new reader! Thanks for leaving a review, although I got pretty lost too. Um, which part of the last chapter didn't you understand? You gave me my own panic attack there. Was it that bad? LOL.
XxSwtDreamerxX1: Well, this chapter answered your question, sort of. Stay tuned to find out whether she finally decides to audition.
Nermal and Buzz03: Hi and welcome! It's always great to see new names on the reviews page. Glad you checked my story out and took the time to leave reviews. Thank you!
fresh8: Well, I'll do my best to update weekly, although to tell you the truth, this story's getting harder and harder to write by the chapter. Wish me luck that I can come up with chapters to keep you interested.
Invisible Rain: Thanks! Although I really can't take credit for that line about falling in love, as I explained in my author's note in the last chap.
Thanks for your continued support, and if you have time, please do leave a review. Ideas and suggestions are most welcome. I need all the help I can get. LOL.