Disclaimer: I don't own HYD no matter how much I would wish it too.
Piglet: Thank you very much for the kind review. I'll try to update as often as I can but my computer is being weird and I'm having trouble with my internet connection so we'll see how it goes.
Swtangel: Freaky in a good way? Haha, I hope so. But don't worry I do plan to finish all of the stories that I have planned out. It's just a matter of how much time I am able to find to write them.
Shierri: I'm not sure if I will write a lime moment or not…I need to keep in mind that the computer I use is not used by me alone…so we will see.
Sunspotmisery: Thank you and I will try to update as often as I can.
How amazing and cruel human beings are,
Evil runs deep in the hearts of men and women.
How dark are their souls,
How small their minds,
How little they actually care.
Humanity is a mockery,
The very epitome of what they despise.
And we are all the same… (Human Nature By: Ming-Chan)
The Scent of Roses
"Come on Makino, what do you say?"
"Makino-sempai it'll be worth it."
"Tsukushi please say you'll come!"
The girl in question stared at her friends around the table. For the past twenty minutes Soujirou, Akira, Rui, Shigeru and Sakurako had been trying to convince her to take a vacation. Soujirou's family had just purchased a new winter villa in the mountains of Kyoto, just north of Gion Kobu. (1) And he was inviting the whole gang to come and hang out.
"I don't know. I need to work over the break." Tsukushi said while slowly stirring her tea.
"But, Tsukushi-chan it does sound fun." Yuki chirped.
"See even Yuki agrees with us." countered Akira.
"You know what they say all work and no play makes the working virgin—" Soujirou abruptly stopped upon seeing the popping vein on Tsukushi's forehead. "I mean…ah this is good tea." He quickly looked away and took a sip from his cup.
"Anyways, I still don't know. Not only do I have to work but I'll be leaving Susumu by himself." Tsukushi reasoned.
"Susumu is a big boy he can take care of himself. It'll only be a little over a week, and he could always stay with your parents or over at a friends."
Yuki turned towards Tsukushi. Pushing back a short strand of her hair she smiled and said, "But think about it the accommodations are free, we're not going far, so traveling there won't be expensive and most importantly you have been telling me lately how tired you've been what with your classes and work. This is the perfect opportunity for you to unwind."
"Well…" She let out a sigh and weighed the option. It did sound nice. Ten days at a villa did sound very promising. There would be no work, no annoying brother bugging her to make him bentos and best of all she would be able to sleep in! That thought alone was enough to almost sway her decision. She opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it. But what about the fresh wave of bills that were about to come up? Susumu wouldn't be able to work over the break to cover the expenses; he had a make up exam to take.
Her friends all looked at her expectantly. They leaned forward as she opened her mouth to speak.
"I still don't know. I'd like to, but I don't think that I should."
"But Tsukushi—" Shigeru whined.
"Tsukasa will be there." The voice was so soft that Tsukushi almost missed it. Everyone turned towards Rui who up until that point had not said a word.
"Do-Doumyouji is—" Tsukushi was stunned. Her mouth hung slightly agape. For two long years she had yearned and dreamt of the person who bore that name. They had been in constant contact since he left that fateful day.
"I thought he wouldn't be coming back for another two years though."
"The next merger Doumyouji Corp. will be dealing with is Kantagawa Ltd. They're a large exporting company. They're looking to expand their commodities and assets. This will be the first contract Tsukasa will be handling on his own. The Kantagawa headquarters is in Kyoto, and will be conducted in the Ichirikitei teahouse (2). When he's done he'll meet us there." Rui explained.
"But once it's been dealt with won't he have to go back to New York?"
Rui's mouth twitched up in the bare hint of a smile. "Every year the CEO of Kantagawa Ltd. holds a farewell party of the pervious year in honour of the coming new year. The merger will be falling in time with the party. Tsukasa has been invited as a guest there."
"Old Kantagawa is a partier, they'll be done the deals in a day or two, and the rest is set aside for leisure. He won't mind if Tsukasa wants to go somewhere else." Akira grinned.
Tsukushi digested this new bit of information. She weighed the options in her mind. She could ask Susumu if he wanted to stay with her parents. She knew he wouldn't mind. And the lure of seeing Tsukasa again now was enough to tip the scales in favour of going. Almost. Her friends leaned toward her expectantly eager to hear her decision.
"Well?" They chorused.
"I…"
"You…?"
"I'll talk to Susumu first and then I'll tell you." She smiled when Shigeru bounced up and down and ran over to hug her.
"Uwa! Tsukushi's coming! Tsukushi's coming!" she beamed her eyes alight with pleasure.
Tsukushi laughed trying to disentangle herself from the bouncy brunette. "It's not official. There is still the problem of the rent I have to pay. I can't pay for it if I won't be working."
"Don't worry; you left early last night from work so you didn't hear what Nakagawa-san said. She told me that she will be going to be giving us our pay cheques in advance, as well as a Christmas bonus because sales have been really good. And before you even ask, her nieces will be coming in to run the store because I asked her if it would be o.k. for us to take a few days off. Perfect ne?"
Tsukushi had to smile at her friend's thoughtfulness. A sudden beep made her look down. Her digital watch told her it was 6:00 p.m. "You guys I have to get home then so I can talk to Susumu, I'll call you Yuki to confirm if I'm going or not." With that she stood up to take her leave.
"Do you want me to drive you home?" Rui asked.
"No that's alright I can take the train." She waved goodbye to the others as she made her way to the front door of the café. She quickly jogged down the street in the direction of the subway.
………………………………………………
"Susumu I'm home!" Tsukushi called as she stepped into her darkened apartment. "Susumu? Are you in here?" She took off her shoes and jacket and placed her purse on the kitchen counter. She switched on the overhead light and looked around. The door to the balcony was slightly ajar, and the curtain was drawn across it. Through the translucent material she could faintly make out the silhouette of her brother.
"Why did you have the light off?" Suddenly Tsukushi's cell phone went off. The soft melody of Canon in D filled the small room. Turning around she snatched up her purse and dug around looking for her phone.
"I'll answer just wait." Her hand brushed against it and she quickly extracted it from her bag, flipping it open she pressed 'yes' and pressed it to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Where have you been? I've been trying to call you since forever!"
"Well hello to you to." She rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's antics.
"Hi, where were you?" he asked impatiently.
"If you were trying to call me in the past 30 minutes I was on the train. Sorry I probably couldn't hear it ringing." She replied. She replaced her purse on the counter and walked over to the fridge. She opened it to take out a bottle of water. She untwisted the cap and took a long gulp.
"Ah, the train. So how are you? I haven't heard your voice in a while."
"Doumyouji, you called me this morning. Remember I was just going to take a bath, and then you made a perverted comment about wanting to know what colour panties I had on?"
"What do you mean perverted? Every man has those kinds of thoughts. You can't ridicule me for having young healthy thoughts. If anything I should be ridiculing you for your abnormalities. When was the last time you asked me what colour underwear I was wearing?"
Tsukushi rolled her eyes. "As I recall, Doumyouji Tsukasa, you seem very partial to sleeping in the nude."
"That is beside the point. When was the last time? Hmm?"
She was too tired to argue with him. She let out a sigh before replying. "Never."
"Exactly. That makes you the abnormal one. I win."
She just chuckled choosing not to dignify that statement with a response. Sometimes all she could do was laugh, his twisted sense of logic was just so…Tsukasa.
"So I heard you'll be meeting us in Kyoto after your merger goes through." She casually mentioned.
"Yeah, I will be—hey! How did you know about that? It was supposed to be a surprise!" She laughed lightly and sat down at hers and Susumu's small table.
"It was the only way Rui and everyone could convince me."
"Ohohoho. Thinking of me were you?"
"You wish."
"So you're going then?"
"Still not sure, I need to ask if Susumu will be O.k. without me."
"Good God woman, the boy is 17 I'm pretty sure he can take care of himself."
"Normally yes I would agree with you, but he has some make-up exams to take and there is no way in hell I'm letting him near the grill anymore. Not after that incident. I'm still finding bits of fish behind the fridge and stuck to the floor. Speaking of fish, I need to make dinner."
"All right. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Bye."
"Bye."
She pressed the end button but continued to look at the neon blue screen. When she usually hung up from a talk with him she always felt slightly hollow. But this time was different. She felt excited. Excited because she knew that she might be able to see him. The thought made her smile fondly. She put it down and stood up. Making her way to the kitchen, she opened up some cupboards taking out a small frying pan. She looked to her left and saw that Susumu had still not moved from the balcony.
"Susumu, what do you want for dinner?" He didn't answer. "Susumu?" Still nothing. Did he fall asleep out there? She wondered.
She turned back, walking to the fridge. "I didn't get to go shopping this week so we'll be having eggs. Is that o.k. with you? Or do you want ramen noodles?" She looked up again, but he hadn't moved, nor did he give any indication of having heard her.
She put down the carton of eggs she had taken out and walked out of the kitchen area. She stood on the threshold leading to the living area. "Susumu are you listening to me?" Through the curtain she thought she saw his silhouette turn to face her. "Well? What do you want? Ramen or eggs?"
Before he could answer, her phone rang again. "Hold that thought."
Bending down she picked it up from the table. She flipped it open and pressed it to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Hi sis, were you on the phone with Doumyouji-nichan? I was trying to call you."
"Susumu!" She asked. "Where are you?"
"Oh I'm at Ozaki-kun's house. I just called to tell you that I won't be coming home tonight. We're both studying for our make-up exams. Well I got to go. I'll be home tomorrow. Bye!"
"Susumu wait—" Tsukushi didn't get a chance to finish for he already hung up. She slowly lowered the phone from her ear. She cautiously turned her head back towards the balcony. Whoever was there still had not moved. Carefully she reached her hand out and snatched the first thing she came into contact with. The umbrella leaning against the wall. She tightened her fingers around the curved handle and carefully took a step forward.
Her socks made no sound as she padded closer to the open balcony. She was reminded of the time that burglar broke into her apartment trying to steal her panties. He was never caught but he also had never showed up since then. Probably because he knew she was not alone. But this time she was. Susumu was with a friend and Doumyouji was halfway across the world. No one would be coming to help her. Her foot creaked as she stepped on a loose floor board. The sudden noise made her glance down in alarm. She stilled her movements holding her breath. Who ever was outside didn't notice. She swallowed thickly and warily stepped forward again.
The heavy feeling in her chest filled her with dread. It spread like stain enveloping her heart. Holding the umbrella in front of her like a sword she reached a tentative hand out and grasped the curtain. In one smooth motion she jerked it back.
"O.k. buddy! Get out or I'll call the po—" The words died in her throat for no one was on the balcony. She slid the door open and stuck her head out. She looked over the railing and down the street. Darkness was the only thing that greeted her. She strained her ears to try and pick up the sounds of footsteps running away. Silence. No steps. No yelling. There was nothing to indicate the presence of another person. She froze.
She carefully sniffed the air. There was…something…the faint smell of something sweet. It was so delicate she wasn't sure if it was really there. She stepped back into her apartment, confusion and uncertainty written on her face. The fact that there was no panty thief did not calm her. If anything it made the uneasy feeling in her chest worsen. What had she seen?
She carefully shut the door making sure to lock it tight. She drew the curtains and went to change into her pajamas.
As she settled into her futon she once again thought of the smell on the balcony. It was familiar. She was sure she knew what it was. Her eyes soon grew heavy. Her last conscious thought was of that smell. It…it smelt like…roses…
Her lids drooped and sleep finally claimed her. She was not aware of the dark gaze watching her.
To be continued…
Well it took me longer to finish this chapter than expected. Sorry if this chapter is bland. It's meant to just give background info. If anyone is wondering this is a TxT fic. They are already together because it is after the manga. But I'm not going to focus on them as a couple so much. Not for this story. I'll be focusing on more minor characters. So they're together but I'm not writing a lot of romance here. At least not a lot.
Gion Kobu is in Kyoto it's an actual place where tourists can go. It has a bunch of teahouses and Geisha (Geiko) that entertain there. The Dances of the Old Capital (Miyako Odori) take place there as well, which is an annual (dance, duh) festival. I believe they also perform the tea ceremony on stage as well. Participants are the active Geisha who work in Gion Kobu; they are the dance students from the Inoue School of dance in Gion. I apologize if I have gotten anything wrong. I need to brush up on my knowledge of Japanese cities, but that is the basics. Seeing as how Soujirou's family owns a tea school I'd imagine they would buy if not already own a home there.
(2) The Ichirikitei is a famous teahouse in Gion Kobu. A lot of old movies were filmed around that tea house or so I have heard. As well there was apparently the story of 47 (I think could be more) samurai who took their lives there via seppuku (I won't go into details basically you stab yourself) in order to follow their leader, who was actually alive, just hiding. Just a note I'm getting this info from Mineko Iwasaki's book: Geisha, A Life. And from my own knowledge. Again I apologize if there are any details I have missed or have gotten wrong.