Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango.
Chapter 14: Truce
Utter dread was written on Tsukushi's face as she looked at Tsukasa, who was still intent on rattling the door knob, as if doing that would miraculously unlock the door. A hint of pink tinged her cheeks when she suddenly became aware of their proximity to each other.
"What do we do now?" she asked as she stepped away from him.
Tsukasa finally gave up on assaulting the poor door and wearily walked to the table in one corner of the basement. "We wait," he said in a dull voice as he picked up pen and paper and started working on a song.
Tsukushi strode over to the couch and sat down. "Right," she sighed in resignation. "I'm gonna kill those three when they get back."
"Not if I get to them first," Tsukasa growled even as he continued to write.
Nothing was said for the next several minutes as both got lost in their own thoughts. Tsukushi watched in silence as Tsukasa went on working at the table. He really works hard at writing those songs of his, she thought as she observed him pause, bite the tip of his pen as he stopped to think, then resume writing. She remembered the hurt look on his face when she told him she thought the song they were rehearsing was sucky.
"Uhrm. . . Tsukasa?" she called out softly. He didn't seem to hear her as he went about his task. He seemed to have forgotten that she was there in the room with him. Either that or he was ignoring her on purpose. "Tsukasa?" she called out again, this time a little more loudly.
"Hmmm?" he said absently without looking up from what he was doing.
"I'm sorry about calling your song sucky a while ago. I didn't mean it," she said contritely. She had wanted to add that she actually thought the song was good, because it really was, but she didn't want to sound like she was overcompensating.
The sincerity in her tone caused him to glance up at her face. The earnest expression she had erased any doubts he may have harbored as to whether she meant the apology or not.
"Forgive me?" she spoke again as she offered him a tentative smile.
"Of course," he said gruffly as he dropped his gaze, to mask his sudden shyness. "I'm sorry too if I was a little hard on you this last couple of days."
"A 'little' hard?" she mockingly asked.
"Okay, very hard," he smiled as he looked back up at her and saw the mischievous twinkle in her eyes, making him realize that she wasn't really angry at him anymore.
Tsukushi felt her breath catch in her throat as she saw him smile at her. Sure, she'd seen him smile, even laugh occasionally before whenever Soujiro or Akira would crack one of their stupid jokes, but this was the first time she saw that smile directed at her. Sensuous lips stretched across perfectly white, even teeth and a dimple deepened on his left cheek, emphasizing his handsome features. She never realized just how gorgeous he was until now.
"Anyway," he spoke again, breaking her reverie, "for what it's worth, I think you have a really good voice. You really have the potential to be a great singer. I wouldn't have hired you otherwise. We'll need to work on your timing, though. And seriously, you have to do your homework and memorize the words to every song in our repertoire. Be open to constructive criticism. It's not meant to bring you down. It's only meant to help you improve."
Tsukushi was nodding thoughtfully as he was talking. "Yes, I know that. I just got carried away a while ago, that's why I yelled at you. You were being such an arrogant, pompous ass." She glanced at him covertly from under her lashes to see how he'd react to what she just called him. To her surprise he let out a hearty laugh.
"You're right, I was. Well, can you blame me? You were acting like such a crazy bitch."
This time it was Tsukushi's turn to laugh out loud. "Touché! I guess we both started out on the wrong foot. Truce?" she said as she walked up to him and smilingly offered her right hand.
"Truce," he nodded as he warmly shook her hand. They looked down on the floor after that, suddenly shy in the face of this newfound peace.
"You think a bobby pin would unlock that door?" she asked, pulling out one of the pins that held her hair up and walking towards the door.
"Nah. There's a double latch on the other side, and even if we got the knob unlocked, I'm pretty sure Akira locked that latch."
"Oh." She sat back at the couch and twiddled her thumbs, wondering how long it would take their bandmates to come back. Tsukasa was still seated at the table.
"Um, Tsukasa?"
"Yeah?"
"I never got to thank you," she said softly as she pulled a chair to join him at the table.
"For what?"
"Well, for hiring me, despite the not so ideal circumstances of our first meeting," she felt her cheeks growing warm as she paused. "And. . . for saving me that night. . ."
"Oh. . . um. . . yeah, you're welcome. I do have one question though, if you don't mind my asking. Why were you running after that dirtbag even after what he almost did to you?" Tsukasa was genuinely curious.
Tsukushi didn't know if it was the earnest tone of his voice or the concern written on his face, but whatever it was, she found herself pouring out the whole sad story to him. She related everything, down to the littlest detail, not bothering to glaze over the facts as she had done with Soujiro and Akira. She even told him about Junpei's gruesome end a week after that night.
Tsukasa listened quietly until she finished telling her tale. He gritted his teeth, clenching and unclenching his fists under the table while the story was being told. Now he understood why she reacted the way she did when he chased Junpei away. "If I'd only known, I wouldn't have let that bastard get away. I'd have beaten him senseless right then and there," he said in a harsh voice.
Tsukushi was truly touched at his concern. The re-telling of the story left her feeling totally drained. "Well, he got what he deserved anyway," she said weakly.
Once again the room grew quiet as they each pondered on their thoughts.
Wanting to lighten the mood, Tsukasa tried to change the subject. "Who'd have thought our bandmates' little ruse of locking us up together would actually work, huh?" he said lightly as he nudged the elbow she had propped on the table.
She grinned in response.
"Although," he mused as he tapped a finger on his lips, "I will miss seeing that angry scowl on your face. You're kinda cute when you're angry." Whoa, he thought as he heard the words spill out of his mouth. Did I just say that aloud? Where did THAT come from?
At that moment, they heard the knob turn and saw the door open a crack. Tsukushi was grateful for the timely intrusion, because she was at a loss as to how she would respond to what Tsukasa had just said. She could feel the warmth flooding her cheeks, and could only hope that the others wouldn't notice the crimson hue her face had taken.
Three guilty faces peered cautiously through the slightly opened door. When they saw that the room was in pretty much the same condition as it was when they left it and there was no blood splattered on the walls, they heaved a collective sigh of relief and decided it was safe to enter.
Soujiro flung the door wide open and walked in, with Akira and Rui right behind him. All three were carrying bags laden with the food they had bought earlier. "We're back!"
They were met by the sight of Tsukasa and Tsukushi, both striking an identical pose, their arms folded across their chests and each had a foot tapping impatiently on the floor. Even the scowls on their faces were identical.
"Hey, we come in peace!" Soujiro said in a conciliatory tone.
"And look, we brought food!" Akira said brightly while silently praying to the heavens that the two people in front of him would be hungry enough to forget about the little trick he, Soujiro and Rui pulled on them earlier. Rui was already clearing the wooden table of Tsukasa's papers, and laying out the styrofoam containers of take-out food on it.
"You guys better not pull something like that again or I'll make sure Tsukushi isn't the only one singing soprano in this band," Tsukasa warned them in an ominous voice, before seating himself at the table. Everyone else followed suit and started to partake of the food before them.
Dinner was consumed in awkward silence. There seemed to be a silent agreement amongst all of them not to bring up the 'locking incident' anymore, which was perfectly fine by Soujiro, Akira, and Rui. But of course Tsukushi wouldn't let it go just like that. Right after she wiped the remnants of chicken cacciatore from her mouth, she looked around the table and asked, "So, whose bright idea was it to lock us in?"
"Aw, c'mon Tsukushi. What's done is done. Why is it so important to know whose idea was it?" Akira asked.
"That's so Tsukushi and I would know who to kill first," Tsukasa interjected.
"Woohoo!" Akira exclaimed. "Jiro, did you hear that? They're a team now! Who'd have known Rui's little ploy would work, huh?" he asked as he nudged Soujiro.
"Rui?!" Tsukushi asked, stricken.
Four pairs of eyes turned towards the figure who had retreated to the couch, quietly strumming his guitar.
"What?" Rui asked calmly as he met the fiery gazes of Tsukushi and Tsukasa. "All I did was ask them what would happen if the two of you were locked in a room together. Next thing I know, those two clowns were dragging me out of the basement and locking you in."
"I still can't believe you thought you had to do that," Tsukushi glared at the two playboys seated across her. "That was totally unnecessary. Tsukasa and I are professionals, and we surely won't allow our differences to get in the way of our performance."
"Yeah, right. Professionals," Soujiro rolled his eyes. "We could see that earlier when the two of you were PROFESSIONALLY screaming at each other."
"Hey --" Tsukushi was about to protest when Tsukasa cut her off.
"Oh, just leave it Tsukushi. Like Akira said, what's done is done. Let's just forget about the whole incident already. Anyway, I've already given them fair warning, and if they know what's good for them, they'll make sure it doesn't happen again. C'mon, everyone. Get off your lazy butts and let's get back to work." He glanced at his wristwatch. "We can still squeeze in a couple of hours of practice before we can call it a night."
And with that, everyone reluctantly rose from their seats and braced themselves for the long night ahead.
A/N: Hi guys! Hope you all had a great valentine's. Mine wasn't so great since my hubby's abroad, so I just whiled the night away watching Vanness co-host the MTV Asia Awards. Yummy, yummy Vanness!
Sailor Angie: Hi Angie! Thanks for the nice, long review you posted for the last chapter. Your comments truly warmed my heart. Lol, that daydream part was my favorite scene in Chapter 13 too. When I was writing it, I could really envision Jerry Yan (the hunky actor who played Tsukasa's part in the Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden) enacting the scene. Hope you liked this chapter too.
XxSwtDreamerxX1: And thanks to you too for taking time to always post a review. How'd you like this chapter? They're friends now!
fresh8: Glad I could be of help.
venus_goddess: Hello! Glad to see your name on this fic's review page. Thanks for reading and taking the time to leave review.
Lian: Oooh, new reader! Yay! Hi and welcome aboard. I'm happy you stumbled upon this fic. Hope you keep on reading. Did you like this chapter?
'Til the next chapter, take care y'all. Please leave me a review if you've got time. Thanks.
Chapter 14: Truce
Utter dread was written on Tsukushi's face as she looked at Tsukasa, who was still intent on rattling the door knob, as if doing that would miraculously unlock the door. A hint of pink tinged her cheeks when she suddenly became aware of their proximity to each other.
"What do we do now?" she asked as she stepped away from him.
Tsukasa finally gave up on assaulting the poor door and wearily walked to the table in one corner of the basement. "We wait," he said in a dull voice as he picked up pen and paper and started working on a song.
Tsukushi strode over to the couch and sat down. "Right," she sighed in resignation. "I'm gonna kill those three when they get back."
"Not if I get to them first," Tsukasa growled even as he continued to write.
Nothing was said for the next several minutes as both got lost in their own thoughts. Tsukushi watched in silence as Tsukasa went on working at the table. He really works hard at writing those songs of his, she thought as she observed him pause, bite the tip of his pen as he stopped to think, then resume writing. She remembered the hurt look on his face when she told him she thought the song they were rehearsing was sucky.
"Uhrm. . . Tsukasa?" she called out softly. He didn't seem to hear her as he went about his task. He seemed to have forgotten that she was there in the room with him. Either that or he was ignoring her on purpose. "Tsukasa?" she called out again, this time a little more loudly.
"Hmmm?" he said absently without looking up from what he was doing.
"I'm sorry about calling your song sucky a while ago. I didn't mean it," she said contritely. She had wanted to add that she actually thought the song was good, because it really was, but she didn't want to sound like she was overcompensating.
The sincerity in her tone caused him to glance up at her face. The earnest expression she had erased any doubts he may have harbored as to whether she meant the apology or not.
"Forgive me?" she spoke again as she offered him a tentative smile.
"Of course," he said gruffly as he dropped his gaze, to mask his sudden shyness. "I'm sorry too if I was a little hard on you this last couple of days."
"A 'little' hard?" she mockingly asked.
"Okay, very hard," he smiled as he looked back up at her and saw the mischievous twinkle in her eyes, making him realize that she wasn't really angry at him anymore.
Tsukushi felt her breath catch in her throat as she saw him smile at her. Sure, she'd seen him smile, even laugh occasionally before whenever Soujiro or Akira would crack one of their stupid jokes, but this was the first time she saw that smile directed at her. Sensuous lips stretched across perfectly white, even teeth and a dimple deepened on his left cheek, emphasizing his handsome features. She never realized just how gorgeous he was until now.
"Anyway," he spoke again, breaking her reverie, "for what it's worth, I think you have a really good voice. You really have the potential to be a great singer. I wouldn't have hired you otherwise. We'll need to work on your timing, though. And seriously, you have to do your homework and memorize the words to every song in our repertoire. Be open to constructive criticism. It's not meant to bring you down. It's only meant to help you improve."
Tsukushi was nodding thoughtfully as he was talking. "Yes, I know that. I just got carried away a while ago, that's why I yelled at you. You were being such an arrogant, pompous ass." She glanced at him covertly from under her lashes to see how he'd react to what she just called him. To her surprise he let out a hearty laugh.
"You're right, I was. Well, can you blame me? You were acting like such a crazy bitch."
This time it was Tsukushi's turn to laugh out loud. "Touché! I guess we both started out on the wrong foot. Truce?" she said as she walked up to him and smilingly offered her right hand.
"Truce," he nodded as he warmly shook her hand. They looked down on the floor after that, suddenly shy in the face of this newfound peace.
"You think a bobby pin would unlock that door?" she asked, pulling out one of the pins that held her hair up and walking towards the door.
"Nah. There's a double latch on the other side, and even if we got the knob unlocked, I'm pretty sure Akira locked that latch."
"Oh." She sat back at the couch and twiddled her thumbs, wondering how long it would take their bandmates to come back. Tsukasa was still seated at the table.
"Um, Tsukasa?"
"Yeah?"
"I never got to thank you," she said softly as she pulled a chair to join him at the table.
"For what?"
"Well, for hiring me, despite the not so ideal circumstances of our first meeting," she felt her cheeks growing warm as she paused. "And. . . for saving me that night. . ."
"Oh. . . um. . . yeah, you're welcome. I do have one question though, if you don't mind my asking. Why were you running after that dirtbag even after what he almost did to you?" Tsukasa was genuinely curious.
Tsukushi didn't know if it was the earnest tone of his voice or the concern written on his face, but whatever it was, she found herself pouring out the whole sad story to him. She related everything, down to the littlest detail, not bothering to glaze over the facts as she had done with Soujiro and Akira. She even told him about Junpei's gruesome end a week after that night.
Tsukasa listened quietly until she finished telling her tale. He gritted his teeth, clenching and unclenching his fists under the table while the story was being told. Now he understood why she reacted the way she did when he chased Junpei away. "If I'd only known, I wouldn't have let that bastard get away. I'd have beaten him senseless right then and there," he said in a harsh voice.
Tsukushi was truly touched at his concern. The re-telling of the story left her feeling totally drained. "Well, he got what he deserved anyway," she said weakly.
Once again the room grew quiet as they each pondered on their thoughts.
Wanting to lighten the mood, Tsukasa tried to change the subject. "Who'd have thought our bandmates' little ruse of locking us up together would actually work, huh?" he said lightly as he nudged the elbow she had propped on the table.
She grinned in response.
"Although," he mused as he tapped a finger on his lips, "I will miss seeing that angry scowl on your face. You're kinda cute when you're angry." Whoa, he thought as he heard the words spill out of his mouth. Did I just say that aloud? Where did THAT come from?
At that moment, they heard the knob turn and saw the door open a crack. Tsukushi was grateful for the timely intrusion, because she was at a loss as to how she would respond to what Tsukasa had just said. She could feel the warmth flooding her cheeks, and could only hope that the others wouldn't notice the crimson hue her face had taken.
Three guilty faces peered cautiously through the slightly opened door. When they saw that the room was in pretty much the same condition as it was when they left it and there was no blood splattered on the walls, they heaved a collective sigh of relief and decided it was safe to enter.
Soujiro flung the door wide open and walked in, with Akira and Rui right behind him. All three were carrying bags laden with the food they had bought earlier. "We're back!"
They were met by the sight of Tsukasa and Tsukushi, both striking an identical pose, their arms folded across their chests and each had a foot tapping impatiently on the floor. Even the scowls on their faces were identical.
"Hey, we come in peace!" Soujiro said in a conciliatory tone.
"And look, we brought food!" Akira said brightly while silently praying to the heavens that the two people in front of him would be hungry enough to forget about the little trick he, Soujiro and Rui pulled on them earlier. Rui was already clearing the wooden table of Tsukasa's papers, and laying out the styrofoam containers of take-out food on it.
"You guys better not pull something like that again or I'll make sure Tsukushi isn't the only one singing soprano in this band," Tsukasa warned them in an ominous voice, before seating himself at the table. Everyone else followed suit and started to partake of the food before them.
Dinner was consumed in awkward silence. There seemed to be a silent agreement amongst all of them not to bring up the 'locking incident' anymore, which was perfectly fine by Soujiro, Akira, and Rui. But of course Tsukushi wouldn't let it go just like that. Right after she wiped the remnants of chicken cacciatore from her mouth, she looked around the table and asked, "So, whose bright idea was it to lock us in?"
"Aw, c'mon Tsukushi. What's done is done. Why is it so important to know whose idea was it?" Akira asked.
"That's so Tsukushi and I would know who to kill first," Tsukasa interjected.
"Woohoo!" Akira exclaimed. "Jiro, did you hear that? They're a team now! Who'd have known Rui's little ploy would work, huh?" he asked as he nudged Soujiro.
"Rui?!" Tsukushi asked, stricken.
Four pairs of eyes turned towards the figure who had retreated to the couch, quietly strumming his guitar.
"What?" Rui asked calmly as he met the fiery gazes of Tsukushi and Tsukasa. "All I did was ask them what would happen if the two of you were locked in a room together. Next thing I know, those two clowns were dragging me out of the basement and locking you in."
"I still can't believe you thought you had to do that," Tsukushi glared at the two playboys seated across her. "That was totally unnecessary. Tsukasa and I are professionals, and we surely won't allow our differences to get in the way of our performance."
"Yeah, right. Professionals," Soujiro rolled his eyes. "We could see that earlier when the two of you were PROFESSIONALLY screaming at each other."
"Hey --" Tsukushi was about to protest when Tsukasa cut her off.
"Oh, just leave it Tsukushi. Like Akira said, what's done is done. Let's just forget about the whole incident already. Anyway, I've already given them fair warning, and if they know what's good for them, they'll make sure it doesn't happen again. C'mon, everyone. Get off your lazy butts and let's get back to work." He glanced at his wristwatch. "We can still squeeze in a couple of hours of practice before we can call it a night."
And with that, everyone reluctantly rose from their seats and braced themselves for the long night ahead.
A/N: Hi guys! Hope you all had a great valentine's. Mine wasn't so great since my hubby's abroad, so I just whiled the night away watching Vanness co-host the MTV Asia Awards. Yummy, yummy Vanness!
Sailor Angie: Hi Angie! Thanks for the nice, long review you posted for the last chapter. Your comments truly warmed my heart. Lol, that daydream part was my favorite scene in Chapter 13 too. When I was writing it, I could really envision Jerry Yan (the hunky actor who played Tsukasa's part in the Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden) enacting the scene. Hope you liked this chapter too.
XxSwtDreamerxX1: And thanks to you too for taking time to always post a review. How'd you like this chapter? They're friends now!
fresh8: Glad I could be of help.
venus_goddess: Hello! Glad to see your name on this fic's review page. Thanks for reading and taking the time to leave review.
Lian: Oooh, new reader! Yay! Hi and welcome aboard. I'm happy you stumbled upon this fic. Hope you keep on reading. Did you like this chapter?
'Til the next chapter, take care y'all. Please leave me a review if you've got time. Thanks.