=Been over a month since the last update. Hopefully only a chapter or two to go still... Things have been real busy around here, but although this chapter is short, it's here! Heh. Heheh. Well, anyway, enjoy. Oh, and I know the scene changes are messed up, but FF.net is being a freak. I can't do anything, I'll re-upload this chapter when/if they get it fixed.=

Recompense for Treachery

Chapter 7, "Ripping Off the Stitches."

"Hello, Makino."

Tsukushi didn't miss a beat as she looked up at him, face firmly set, and replied, "Hello, Doumyouji." She hardly noticed Shigeru glance between them and quietly scoot off toward the buffet table as she locked eyes with Tsukasa. His eyebrows raised slightly when she nodded her head--almost respectfully--and let herself smile the tiniest of smiles.

As he opened his mouth to respond, the music changed to a familiar measured, bitter song, and many of the guests around them took up a slow dance. With a gentlemanly bow Tsukasa offered his hand to her, and smiling melancholically, asked, "May I have this dance?"

Tsukushi only nodded her head and felt a sting prick at the corner of her eye as she gently placed her hand in his. Without exertion of any kind Tsukasa brought her close to him, drawing their clasped hands away from them while he placed his opposite hand on her hip as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Their eyes locked firmly as they began to move: it was strong, sad, and unwavering. She wouldn't cry. She couldn't.

"Congratulations," she managed out at last, feeling the words burning a trail down her throat as she uttered them. "She's good for you."

Tsukushi's body went stiff--even as she moved--when he lowered his head and lightly murmured in one ear, "Not as good as you."

"Doumyouji, don't--"

"I love you." The music failed to reach her ears. Tsukushi squeezed her eyes closed and let out a breath, pressing back her tears or her sobs, and gently let her forehead touch his chest.

"Don't say that," she told him, her voice harsh, "don't tell me things like that. You have to love her. You have to love only her."

He seemed to get the message and refrained from saying anything more; when she looked up, Tsukasa was looking off into the crowd in a daze. "How's business?" she asked at last, changing the subject. The response was only a short shrug of the shoulders and a clipped "Fine." Tsukushi nodded her head.

"It's pointless for me to say even remotely how I feel," she told him at last. "We both have to move on now. We'll both be happy--someday."

Her head jerked up as she heard him emit a low, choked noise. He was staring directly at her and his hands tightened on her, their movement suddenly halted. The song started to die away as he gently touched her cheek with one finger and pulled away. "I'm sorry."

Tsukushi had an idea that they were the last words she would ever hear from him. She only nodded her head and smiled in understanding, pulled gently and playfully on one of his curls, and turned around. "Thank you, Doumyouji." With that, she walked away.

"I like to think of it as closure," Tsukushi said between long sips of her drink. She thoughtfully chewed on the straw. "I feel much better now. I can let go."

Junpei only nodded and smiled in understanding. "But besides that, how was it?"

She laughed and leaned back in her chair, pushing the drink away from her, and rolled her eyes. "Well, Shigeru-san loved the chime we gave her, but when I showed her the monkey collage at my apartment I thought she was going to explode. She really is a sucker for that sort of thing... you know, when we were in high school during the whole fiancée fiasco, she came over to my house almost every night for dinner. She loves home-cooked meals more than anything. Before I met her, I never thought that commoner's food could be even remotely appealing to rich people."

"She sounds like quite a character," Junpei commented as he wrapped up what remained of his sandwich and sipped his water. "When I called your house, your brother said you were at Hanazawa-san's. Did you go together?"

Tsukushi immediately detected a slight amount of jealousy in his voice and almost giggled. Instead, she refrained and replied, "Rui wouldn't be able to find his head if it weren't attached. He seems like a together person, but he can't even tie his own tie. He escorted me there but Mimasaka-san and Nishikado-san joined us there."

Junpei seemed to accept this and nodded with a smile. "I'm glad you had a good time," he informed her. Then, as if remembering something, he focused his eyes on her intently and asked, "By the way, are you free tomorrow night?"

Tsukushi raised both eyebrows and mentally checked her calendar. Though it was the evening she usually went out with Akira and Soujiro, she knew they wouldn't mind too much if she had a previous engagement. She rarely did anything besides work and go to school so they usually let her off the hook without a problem. "Sure, I think so," she said, "why?"

"Well, I got noticed a while back when I started modeling for two other magazines, and I did a short cameo in a new movie. I got two passes for the premiere, and it would be great if you could go with me." Tsukushi watched his face with amusement as it lit up when she replied, "I'd love to go."

As the pair left the restaurant sometime later, Tsukushi found her conscious closing the chapter of her life that was Doumyouji Tsukasa. She had sealed it with a final goodbye and found herself ready to accept all the new things life was willing to offer her. She didn't flinch when she felt Junpei lightly take her hand in his and squeeze.

It was late Saturday night, and Tsukushi was sitting on the couch in a posh living-room with Rui, Soujiro, and Akira. Soujiro had gotten so drunk at the club that he had passed out on the drive back, while Akira had waited at least until he arrived at Rui's house to get piss drunk and eventually fall asleep next to his already knocked out partner in crime. Soujiro was sprawled over the couch opposite from where she sat, with one arm stretched over the back and the other dangling off the cushion, and both feet propped up on the arm opposite his head. Akira had slightly more poise as he sat in a reclined, over-stuffed chair with his head hanging off one side and a bottle balanced between his thumb and index finger merely inches off the ground.

From the looks of them, neither would be awake for many long, long hours, and when they did, it would not be a pretty sight.

Tsukushi let out a sigh and set her small, non-alcoholic strawberry mix drink on the table. She leaned her head back on the couch and closed both eyes in hopes that she might just fall asleep as well. Her week had been long, strenuous, and she was far ready for the day of lounging around that would follow such an eventful evening. She lazily opened one eye and looked to the side when she felt the couch indent, where Rui had just seated himself.

"How was the movie last night?" he asked in his usual bored tone.

Tsukushi shrugged. "He had a pretty small role, but it was amazing to see him up on the big screen. He got a proposal to do another little part in some upcoming film, so I think he might be seeing stars in a few years." She laughed. "Wouldn't that be funny?"

She didn't wait for a response and instead returned to her previous leisurely position of leaning back and let a long, tired sigh escape. She absently flipped off her indoor slippers, then dangled her feet and wiggled her toes. "Tsukushi," Rui addressed her suddenly, and she almost jumped at his seemingly heavy voice. Tsukushi opened her eyes and lifted her head enough to look at him.

His usually trim, brown hair was ruffled about his ears, with a longer bit dropping down in front of his face. Lines had appeared on his furrowed brow and his lips were drawn with what was either concentration or deep seriousness; but what alarmed her most was how his gray, marble eyes seemed to burrow deep into her skin as he stared at her. Only twice had she ever seen such an intense look in Rui before: after Tsukushi had begged Shizuka to stay in Japan and when...

When he had told Tsukushi he was in love with her.

Before she could open her mouth to inquire, his hand covered it and he shook his head, immediately silencing her. When he began to speak, his voice was lower than usual and the deep timbre of it seemed to vibrate in her ears. "It's been a long time, hasn't it, Tsukushi?" She nodded and felt prompted to respond, but only waited for him to continue. "I'm graduating from university in a month. Do you know what that means?"

Tsukushi almost said "Yes," but then considered it. His father certainly wasn't ill or dying, so would he take over the family company? She knew he would probably enter some sort of business training or the like--but wasn't that what he'd been studying in college, just like her? It seemed strange when she thought about it, because she realized that she really didn't know. So instead, she shook her head and said, "No."

His smile seemed almost sad as he said, "I will be beginning as a business associate and manager for the company. I'm almost twenty-three now, and... Well, I've delayed for much too long. I should have found a fianceé at least two years ago, but I can't just find a woman out of the blue to marry." Tsukushi nodded in understanding. The search was especially difficult for a young, rich, handsome man, who found himself surrounded constantly by gold-digging, lecherous females almost all of the time. "My father delivered an ultimatum to me. He has never been one for pre-arranged marriages, but if necessary, that will be the case."

At those words, Tsukushi almost choked when she felt something tighten horribly in her throat. Her head swam and she hastily grabbed her drink off the table, taking one slow, long sip before she could raise her eyes to meet Rui's once more. At the sight of them she forced herself to calm her breathing and think rationally--she didn't know what he was going to say. Besides, she had no reason to be worked up. He was only her friend, not an essential part of her life; she didn't have to fear losing him or his friendship. She had no special feelings for him, no affection beyond that of a friend.

"Makino Tsukushi." Her head jolted up and she found herself staring directly into his calm, gray eyes. "I love you."

Everything was silent. Not even the sound of Akira and Soujiro's breathing could be heard, especially not beneath the rapid beating of her heart in her ears. "Do you remember? Every day, you would go outside onto the emergency staircase and shout, 'I hope you all die from overindulgence!' or, 'The king has donkey ears!' You were amazing," he ended the sentence with a short laugh, smiling the smile that had always made her pulse jump. "I think I was trying to fool myself when I told you I was just using you to forget Shizuka. When I was with you... Only you were on my mind."

She finally spoke. "Rui..."

Rui cut her off with one raised hand. It was the first time he had ever stopped her from saying something she wanted to say, and he shot her an apologetic look as he told her, "Please, just this once." Tsukushi could only nod in acquiescence.

"I know, you already told me back then when I came back from France--you don't feel the same way about me that I do about you. So I have been content to just be by your side--to be your friend. For years I've watched the drama unfold between you and Tsukasa. I've seen you cry over him, laugh over him, experience new things with him, and eventually find your heart stolen and broken by him. Though I wish there were, there's nothing I can do to ever fix you. But I will never, ever abandon you, Makino Tsukushi. I never want you to work yourself until you can no longer keep your eyes open; I never want you to be awake in the middle of the night worrying over your family situation; I never want to see you remembering Tsukasa with such pain in your eyes."

Tsukushi could think nothing, feel nothing, see nothing but his intense stare as he said, "Marry me."