Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango.
Chapter 28: Sweet Revenge
The smile that had been on Tsukushi's face when she slept was still there when she awoke the following morning. And it stayed on as she went about her morning rituals, growing even wider when she caught her reflection on the mirror and saw the necklace Tsukasa gave her dangling on her neck.
Her hand was already on the knob of her front door as she prepared to leave for work when the doorbell rang. Wondering who could be calling on her at this time of day, she flung the door open.
"Hey. Good morning," Tsukasa greeted her with a lazy grin as he leaned casually against her door frame.
"Tsukasa!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"Have you had breakfast yet?" he asked, not bothering to answer her question.
"Uh... no. I was thinking of stopping by Starbucks before going to work so I could grab a cup of coffee and something to eat."
"No need," he said, holding up both his hands. One was holding a cardboard holder with two cups bearing the Starbucks logo, while the other was holding a small brown paper bag, also bearing the symbol of the ubiquitous coffee house. "Muffins okay?" he asked as he took advantage of her present surprised state to walk past her and into her apartment.
"Muffins are fine," she mumbled as she followed him back in. He easily found his way to her modest kitchen, setting down the stuff he had brought onto the small table.
"Well?" she asked, settling into a chair across him as she accepted the cup he held out to her.
"Well what?" Tsukasa asked as he tore a sugar packet and started stirring its contents into his coffee.
"You still haven't told me what you're doing here so early in the morning," she pointed out.
"I just wanted to see you," he said simply.
"..." Tsukushi opened her mouth to say something but found that she couldn't find anything to say.
"Is there anything wrong if I want to fetch the girl I like and bring her to work?" he asked, an innocent look on his face.
"..." Once again, Tsukushi's brain failed her as she was unable to come up with a reply.
After a few seconds, Tsukasa let out a hearty guffaw. "Relax, I was just teasing you," he assured her, although he did mean every word he said, especially the part about wanting to see her this morning. "Remember, I promised, no pressure."
A faint hint of pink tinged Tsukushi's cheeks as she gave him a small smile. She bit into her muffin and stared at a smudge on the floor as she tried to calm the sudden fluttering of her heart. "By the way," she glanced up as she remembered something, "Thanks for the necklace. It's beautiful."
"I'm glad you like it."
Another pause ensued as they each retreated to their own thoughts. Then Tsukasa remembered that he still hadn't told her the real reason he came to see her this morning. On his way home last night from Tsukushi's, he was able to think up a perfect way to exact revenge on Soujiro and Akira. He woke up early this morning and asked his elderly neighbor if she'd be kind enough to help him bake some brownies.
"Anyway, the real reason I came here was because I have an idea as to how we could get back at Akira and Jiro for all their 'help.'"
"Oh?" she propped her elbows on the table as she leaned forward with interest.
Briefly, he ran her through what he planned to do. Afterwards he asked, "So, you think you wanna come along and help me?"
She clapped her hands gleefully. "Of course I would!" Her smile faded when she remembered something. "But I have to go to work."
"Hey, I'm your boss right? I can easily call the store and ask Haru to excuse you from work today."
"Really?" she brightened. "Well, what the heck are you waiting for? Go on and make that call now!"
After placing the call to Haru, they left her apartment and made a quick trip to the supermarket to buy the ingredients they'll be needing (no peanuts this time). They then proceeded to Tsukasa's condo.
It was the first time Tsukushi had been there, and she was impressed with the way he had decorated his home. The whole place was tastefully done in subdued shades of blue and grey. A few framed prints in black and white hung on the walls, giving the whole place a distinctly masculine flavor. The kitchen, though small, was functional, equipped with gleaming, state of the art appliances.
"Nice kitchen," she commented as she gave the place the once-over.
"Yeah," Tsukasa replied as he set the grocery bags on the kitchen counter. "Too bad the only thing I normally use is the microwave," he laughed. "But today, the gas oven will be put to good use."
The doorbell rang before she could reply. Since Tsukasa was still busy laying out the things they bought onto the counter, Tsukushi went to answer the door.
An elderly woman with graying hair stood outside. "May I help you?" Tsukushi smiled unsurely.
"Hello. Is Tsukasa in? I'm his neighbor, Tama."
"Tama!" Tsukasa appeared from behind her. He pulled the old lady inside. "Thanks so much for agreeing to do this. I really appreciate it. This is my band mate Tsukushi. Tsukushi, this is my neighbor Tama. She's the one who bakes those delicious brownies."
The lady standing before her couldn't have been more different than what Tsukushi had pictured she would be. This was no leggy model with fake boobs in a slutty outfit. Instead, the person standing before her was a woman in her late sixties with kind eyes, her graying hair swept up in a tight bun. She was clad in a high-collared blouse women her age seemed to favor. A wooden cane helped support her slightly hunched figure, but it didn't take away the quiet dignity she commanded.
"Hello Tsukushi," Tama said as she offered her hand in greeting. "I'm glad to finally meet you."
"Oh, the pleasure's all mine, Tama-san. I'm very happy to meet you." You have no idea just how happy. And relieved.
"Tsukasa's told me a lot about you. This young man is quite smitten with you, my dear," Tama chuckled as she patted Tsukasa's back.
It was hard to tell whom between Tsukasa and Tsukushi was blushing the hardest at hearing this comment from the old lady.
"Oh Tama," Tsukasa attempted to make light of the awkward moment by pulling the elderly woman goodnaturedly towards the kitchen. "Tsukushi already knows perfectly well how 'smitten' I am with her, as you would put it. No need to bore her by telling her all about it."
"She's even prettier than you described her, Tsukasa," Tama went on, unaware of how uncomfortable her two young companions were growing by the minute. "You certainly make a handsome pair."
Tsukushi, who was left behind standing in the doorway, was grateful no one could see her face at that moment. The healthy pink which had stained her cheeks earlier had now deepened into a fiery red. She brought a hand up to her cheek and held the back of her palm against it, feeling just how warm her face had grown. She shook her head wryly and sighed before hurrying to catch up with them in the kitchen.
"Let's get started," Tama tossed a folded piece of garment at Tsukushi when she saw the younger woman reappear. "Now Tsukasa, I only brought one extra apron, so you'll have to do without one." She tied the apron around her waist and neck, and Tsukushi followed suit with the apron she'd been provided.
For the next hour, Tama demonstrated to the two how to go about making the batter for her special brownies. Tsukushi paid close attention to how each ingredient should be measured, as well as the procedure, carefully noting things down on a piece of paper. Tsukasa, for the most part, was content to observe Tsukushi with a goofy grin on his face, but also happily obliged when Tama scolded him to help by beating the eggs with a wire whisk.
It was noontime when they finally put in two trays for baking in the oven. "Okay, everything's set," Tama declared as she took off her apron and wiped her hands on it. "Now all you have to do is wait for this timer to go off. Make sure you put on oven mitts when you take those trays out, unless you want burnt fingers," she cautioned.
"Um, Tama dear," Tsukasa tried to keep his voice nonchalant as he leaned casually on the kitchen counter. "What should we do to make the brownies um, er, harden?"
Tama whipped her head sharply to face him and asked suspiciously, "Now why in heavens' name would you want to do that?"
Tsukushi, who had been busy cleaning up around the kitchen, hurriedly sidled up to Tsukasa and gave him a hard kick on the shin, something Tama failed to see since she was on the other side of the counter. "What he meant, Tama-san, was, what should we do to make sure the brownies won't turn out hard? We wouldn't want to put all your hard work to naught, and we really want to make sure the brownies come out perfect, right, Tsukasa?" Tsukasa could only smile sheepishly as his shinbone was still smarting from the kick Tsukushi delivered. Boy, the woman sure could kick!
"Oh," Tama nodded in understanding. "Well, just make sure to take out the trays as soon as the timer goes off. Don't leave it in the oven a minute longer, otherwise all the moisture will seep out, and you'll have brownies that will be very dry and hard to chew," she chuckled. "They may look perfect on the outside, but they'll be very dry and hard on the inside."
"Perfect!" Tsukasa almost clapped his hands in glee. But when he saw the deadly warning glare on Tsukushi's face, he stopped himself and just said, "We'll make sure to take them out when the timer rings."
"Good. Well, I'd better go back to my place now that my work is done here. Tsukushi dear, it was a pleasure meeting you. I hope to see more of you in the near future," Tama squeezed Tsukushi's shoulder as she winked at Tsukasa.
"Same here, Tama-san," Tsukushi smiled warmly at the older woman.
"Wait, Tama," Tsukasa stopped her by catching her wrist as she was walking towards the door. "Won't you join us for lunch? I've already ordered some Chinese food to be delivered. It should be here in a few minutes."
"Nah, I think I'll pass," she replied as she patted his hand. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone." And with that, she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, as Tsukasa thanked her for her help.
Tsukushi kept telling herself it was the heat coming from the oven that was responsible for the flush on her cheeks.
For the next few minutes, the two worked in silence, tidying up the kitchen. The food delivery came just as they finished, saving them from the awkwardness of having nothing to do and nothing to say.
Their hunger and the surprisingly delicious food that was delivered for their lunch helped a lot to break the ice. Soon they were chatting comfortably over yang chow fried rice, fried scallops, soy chicken, and beef in oyster sauce, while waiting for the brownies to bake. They decided to make one good batch, which they could share with each other and with Rui, and another not-so-good batch, especially for Akira and Soujiro. They both got excited when they thought of how the pair would react once they popped those brownies into their big mouths.
The timer Tama had set pinged just as they were finishing lunch. They took one tray out, and left the other one in for another five minutes, just enough so it would look perfect on the outside but dry and hard on the inside. They each had extra big slices of the good brownies and topped these with scoops of vanilla ice cream for dessert.
At half past two, they left Tsukasa's place to go to Akira's house. Both Akira's and Jiro's cars were already there, as expected, while Rui, who usually arrived the latest of them all, was still nowhere to be seen. Tsukushi went into the house five minutes ahead of Tsukasa, so Jiro and Akira would not know that they arrived together.
The two were just lazing around in the basement when Tsukushi entered. "Hi guys," she greeted them casually.
"Hey! How was last night's dinner with Tsukasa?" Akira sprang up from his position on the couch when he saw Tsukushi walk in.
"Yeah, Tsukushi, tell us all about it!" Soujiro strode over to her, wiggling his eyebrows in such a comical way.
"Well, well, I'm glad you two have miraculously recovered from your stomach flu," she commented with one arched eyebrow.
"Oh that," Akira waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, it was just a one day bug, thank god."
"So," Soujiro said, still wiggling those eyebrows. "Tell us all about last night's dinner. Rui told us he couldn't make it as well, so it was just you and Tsukasa. I hope he had enough sense to make your birthday a memorable one." There goes those eyebrows again.
"Of course I did," Tsukasa piped in as he entered the basement. "Tsukushi and I had a great time at dinner last night, didn't we, Tsukushi?"
"Oh, definitely. Last night's dinner was very..." she paused as she tried to search for the right word.
"Enlightening, you might say," Tsukasa quipped as he winked very quickly at her. Soujiro and Akira were already curiously eyeing the two boxes Tsukasa was carrying in each hand, so they failed to catch the wink.
"What's that you have there?" Akira asked.
"Oh these? Yeah, these are special brownies I brought for you guys. See, I was feeling so bad you couldn't make it to dinner last night, and you were home sick while Tsukushi and I were having such a grand time, so I decided to bring you these brownies to make up for it." He held out one box to Akira, then proceeded to the table and laid the other smaller box on it. "That box is for you two to share, while this one here's for Rui."
"Cool!" Soujiro exclaimed. He joined Akira, who had walked over to the couch and was already opening the box excitedly. They were quite hungry for a snack. Once they had gotten the box open, they each hurriedly popped a brownie square into their mouths. The transformation in their faces from childlike glee to utter disgust was a sight to see. Tsukasa thought it certainly made all their efforts worthwhile.
Akira chewed into the brownie in his mouth with gusto, and almost broke a tooth in the process. It felt like biting into a piece of wood. "What the fuck?!" he sputtered as he spat the brownie out of his mouth. It landed with a loud, undignified thud on the bare wooden floor. Soujiro was a little more discreet. He went on chewing (or at least trying to chew) the piece in his mouth for several seconds, then gave up and took the brownie out with his hand. He then threw it to the trash can.
"What's wrong guys? Don't you like my brownies?" Tsukasa's innocent tone was belied by the wicked glint in his eyes. "Awww, you're breaking my heart! I got up really early this morning just so I could make those brownies for you. I was in a baking mood today, and I really wanted to bake you a batch of my specialty -- brownies a la Tsukasa!"
The double D looked with mouths agape from Tsukasa to Tsukushi, who was looking at them expectantly with wide, innocent eyes. Tsukushi strode up to them and took advantage of their open mouths by popping new brownies into them. Then she fluttered her eyelashes at them and said, "Yeah, didn't you guys tell me how much you love Tsukasa's brownies?" Then she turned to Tsukasa and winked at him. This time they saw it. And finally they realized that their two bandmates had played them when Tsukasa and Tsukushi both burst into loud, raucous laughter.
"What the hell?!" Akira and Jiro cried out in unison.
When the laughter had finally subsided, Tsukasa turned to the two men and said gravely, "I think you both owe Tsukushi and I an apology." The two playboys looked at them speechlessly. When he saw that no apology was forthcoming, Tsukasa continued in a threatening tone, "And if we don't hear an apology soon, I'm gonna shove the rest of those brownies down your throats until you've finished every single one."
The double D looked at each other and gulped nervously. They knew Tsukasa well enough to know that he would make good on his threat if they didn't do what he wanted. Akira threw his hands up in the air defeatedly. "Okay, fine. I'm sorry! Tsukushi, I'm sorry I lied to you about Tsukasa baking those brownies. Tsukasa, I'm sorry for misleading Tsukushi and letting her think you were responsible for her allergy attack."
Tsukasa smirked in satisfaction, while Tsukushi was trying hard not to fall into another laughing fit. The three of them turned expectantly to Soujiro, who had remained quiet all this time.
"What?" he asked, feigning innocence. "It was all his idea!" he exclaimed, pointing at Akira. "I just played along!"
Tsukasa looked at him ominously. "Oh, I think you'll want to apologize too, Jiro. Otherwise, I'll have to make you drink a whole bottle of your cologne to wash down all those brownies I'm gonna shove down your throat!"
"Okay, okay! I'm sorry too!" Jiro immediately cried out.
"Apology accepted," Tsukasa declared. "Maybe this'll teach you dorks a lesson. Next time, think before opening your big mouths."
"Geez, we were only trying to help," Akira sniffed.
"Yeah, well, be thankful Tsukasa and I cleared things out last night," Tsukushi said.
At this time, Rui arrived. "Hey," he greeted. "What's up?"
Akira remembered the box of brownies Tsukasa had set aside on the table for Rui and went to get it. "Oh Rui," he said, casting a sly sideward glance towards Soujiro. "Tsukasa brought us some of his special brownies like the last time."
"Yeah," Soujiro seconded. "And we've already finished our share, so this box is all for you, man! Have some. They're great!"
Rui looked at the pair suspiciously. It wasn't like Soujiro and Akira to offer something so graciously to him, especially delicious brownies.
"Go on, Rui," Tsukushi prodded him. "I'm sure you'll like them," she said sincerely, knowing fully well that the brownies in the box they had set aside for Rui were part of the good batch she and Tsukasa had made.
"Okay," he agreed, taking a brownie from the box Akira held out to him. The double D winked at each other and waited in anticipation as he popped the pastry into his mouth. "Yummy!" he closed his eyes to savor the rich chocolate flavor. "This (chomp) tastes even better than the last time, Tsukasa!" he commented.
"What the...?!" Jiro and Akira stared at him in confusion. "Are you crazy? Gimme that!" Akira grabbed the second brownie Rui had taken out of the box and was about to pop into his mouth. He bit into it cautiously at first, then put the whole piece into his mouth when he realized it wasn't anything at all like the brownies he tasted earlier. "Hey! No fair! How come Rui gets the good brownies?!"
"That's because Rui was smart enough not to join you both in your schemes to 'help' build me up with Tsukushi," Tsukasa replied smugly.
"Hah!" Jiro snorted. "Who do you think orchestrated last night's dinner so that none of us could make it, leaving the two of you alone on a romantic date?"
Tsukasa and Tsukushi turned to look at Rui, who by now was practically inhaling the brownies out of the box and trying to keep the box out of Akira's reach. "You were responsible for last night?"
Rui smiled sheepishly. "Guilty as charged."
To the surprise, and dismay, of the double D, Tsukasa merely let out a hearty laugh and patted Rui on the back. "Then enjoy your brownies, bro! I owe you a lot more than that!"
Akira and Soujiro looked at the scene incredulously, then turned their attention to Tsukushi, who merely blushed and smiled, but offered no explanation.
Before they could voice out all the questions in their heads, Tsukasa glanced at his wristwatch and saw that it was already a quarter past 3. "Okay guys," he clapped his hands twice. "Back to business. We've got three more weeks before our big wedding gig, and we still have a lot of songs to rehearse, especially the new song Tsukushi and I co-wrote. Let's start working."
And with that, they took their positions and got ready for the long day ahead.
A/N: Woooohooooo! I am back and so is OBTS! Gee, I hope there are still some people left reading this. Sorry for the delayed update. I got sick right after my month-long vacation. Then, just when I thought I was on the road to recovery, I suffered a relapse. As recently as two days ago I was aching all over, and there were times I just wanted to beg someone, anyone, to shoot me and put me out of my misery. But I'm getting better now, and hopefully I won't suffer any more relapses.
If you're still reading this story, please let me know what you think of this update. I miss hearing from you guys, and it would really make me happy to hear from you again. So, hit me with a review, will ya?
Thanks to the following for your comments on the last chap (reading and re- reading all your kind words have helped encourage me to get this new chapter out, believe me):
kamiangel, XxSwtDreamerxX1, purebloodwitch, Syvonair, abyss, Sailor Angie, Lian, cherub girl, and a big welcome to new readers Xyjah and Sunigirl!
Up next: The big gig! Coming soon to a computer screen near you!