Chapter Eight
Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango
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"Never earned a yen in his life."
"Always gotten whatever he wanted. Spoiled bastard"
"Has no history of fidelity."
"Probably slept with half the female population of Japan, more than once."
"No history of any stable relationships."
"You're pretty much the guinea pig, Yuki."
Yuki set down the pencil, and reached for her drink. "This doesn't look good."
Tsukushi glanced over and grimaced. "I didn't think it'd be that long."
The two were having lunch at a fast-food place, compiling a list of the pros and cons of Soujiro Nishikado. One side of the list was noticeably longer than the other.
"He came to see me."
Yuki paused midsip. "Eh?"
"Nishikado-san came to see me." Tsukushi repeated. "Seemed to want my approval or something."
Yuki's eyes widened. Just what was that man up to? The Soujiro Nishikado she knew did what he pleased and never needed anyone's permission. "I'm almost afraid to ask. What did you tell him?"
Tsukushi relayed their conversation with a careless shrug and an almost bored tone. Yuki winced in sympathy for Soujiro. True, her friend had softened somewhat toward the incurable womanizer, considering her longstanding disgust with his lifestyle, but she was still guilelessly frank and unconsciously harsh when delivering her honest opinion.
"It isn't often I see him that angry." Her friend commented. "It was interesting."
Yuki gave a half smile. She didn't doubt it. Soujiro's purest emotion was anger. He was most honest when he was too angry to thing of a more proper response. She bent down to pick up a stray napkin, from beneath a table.
"Ne, Yuki, how did your date go?"
Startled by the question, she nearly choked on her soda. "You know about that?"
"You weren't thinking of keeping it a secret were you?"
Yuki felt herself blush, and Tsukushi laughed. "I heard something about Yuki in Lolita with Nishikado-san in wannabe Yakuza."
Despite her embarrassment, Yuki couldn't help but smile. "It was fun. Spontaneous, simple and a lot of fun." As quick as the smile came it disappeared, and Yuki slumped into her chair. "What am I going to do?"
"Eh?" Yuki turned miserable brown eyes over at her friend.
"This is all a game to him. A new part to a toy he's always had. He just wants to play with me." No matter how much she liked him, Yuki couldn't let her feelings for Soujiro resurface. As his friend, he never had to be anything less than himself when he was with her, but it would be too easy to fall for him, too easy to get her heartbroken. It was worse now that they had discovered the spark between them. "At first I was just going to humor him. Play girlfriend until he got bored, while trying to smother whatever chemistry we have. Our date was supposed to be just like any other day out, but he…licked my ear."
They both went red as tomatoes. "He has an arsenal of weapons to seduce me at anyplace anytime he wants, and he knows it." The thought horrified her, she'd become just the same as the women he slept. "Oh, no. I knew going out with him was a bad idea. There's no way I can see him again. I'd better call him," She made to reach her phone and then stopped. "No, he'll just start stalking me again. I should transfer. I think I have an aunt in Hokkaido, do you think it's too late to apply for a school there?" She got up and, in a nervous habit, started pacing. "But then, he might transfer there too. That man has a far reach, he'll just keep doing what he wants until he gets what he wants. I…"She trailed off as she saw her friend rocking back and forth in silent laughter. "Mou, it isn't funny, Tsukushi."
Tsukushi giggled. "You're so cute, Yuki. All flustered because the big bad play boy is targeting you."
"May I remind you of how you were when your Hanazawa Rui confessed to you?" Her friend blushed, and she nodded. "But this is completely different. At least Hanazawa-san is serious about you. How am I supposed to treat this? Am I supposed to just continue to humor him, until he decides to go back to his women or do I take this seriously?"
"I may not trust him with you, Yuki, but I do know one thing about Soujiro Nishikado." Tsukushi looked up at her friend. "He cares about you. You're different to him than all those women he played around with. He respects you. Even I can see that. But the ball is in your court. What do you want to do?"
She glanced at their list, and then remembered the last few weeks with him. He came to her school festival, and saved a young girl from public humiliation. He jumped of a bridge with her, and still showed up for their date even when he was dizzy with fever. He took her on a normal, spontaneous date. He never once played the insincere playboy, as she had feared. She really had fun when she was with him, but would it be worth the risk?
"You know, Yuki, if he wasn't such a ladies' man…it's weird, but he compliments you."
Yuki blinked, not expecting the quiet comment. "Isn't that because he's such a ladies' man? You said once, that playboys are like chameleons, because they make you see what's not really there."
She shook her head. "I did say that, but personality-wise. He's grounded. Considering what a conservative, tradition background he has, he's had to be. He follows one path, and has always got a plan." She didn't pay a lot of attention, but she knew who the mastermind was behind all the outings she was dragged on in the past. "You, Yuki, are a spontaneous person with a wanderlust. You haven't chosen a college yet, right?"
Yuki shrugged. She had applied to several schools, some abroad, and had gotten many good offers, but she was putting off the decision.
"Nishikado-san has his tea ceremony, and the school he's going to inherit someday. You have teaching, art, theater, photography…I've lost count of all your interest."
"I like trying new things." She defended. "I'm only in highschool once, I don't want to miss out on something."
"Nothing wrong with that." Tsukushi said, reassuringly. "My point is, Nishikado-san's influence might give you focus. Like yours might make him loosen up, and relax. You'll teach him how to enjoy life, while he'll help give yours direction."
Yuki sighed again. "It's not that simple. I know what you mean. It's like how Hanazawa-san calms you, and you motivate him to experience new things, but he loves you. Nishikado-san could destroy me, if I gave him that power." That was it. That was heart of her worries.
"Oh, sure. That is, if his fanclub doesn't get hold of you first. Then there's his family to deal with, and those in their circles." Tsukushi said, grimly.
"Not helping."
"I, of all people know what its like, but, Yuki, even if it's someone like Nishikado-san, you have to base your decision not using excuses. Look at him as a regular guy. If you like him, go for it. If you don't, then don't."
She had always admired her friend's simplistic views on life. "It's too soon to tell." She said, finally. "I want to try him out first, make him show me more of who he is." She made a face, remembering his onslaught of flowers, candy and jewelry. "He should know me, too. I'm not nearly as easy, as he thinks I am."
Tsukushi grinned, liking the spark she saw in her eyes. "You should take him to Kana-san's wedding."
She laughed with appreciation. "I like the way you think."
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Soujiro stared into the jewelry store window. The necklace was simple. A thin string of gold with a polished pearl pendent. Buying it would be pocket change. But Yuki didn't like out-of-the-blue gifts. He was on a good streak with her lately, and he didn't want to mess things up, simply because of sudden uncontrollable urges to buy her things. Maybe he could save it, put it away and give it to her on her birthday. It wasn't too far away…
"Excuse me, sir." The Sale's representative said, interrupting him from his thoughts. "We are open." He looked away from the necklace, still picturing how it would look around Yuki's pretty neck, but he could hear the eagerness in her voice. "If you'd like to come in, I can help you pick out something special."
He glanced at her then. She was pretty enough. Curvy and more than willing, but he felt…nothing. There was the usual tug of basic interest, but that was it. No heat, no beginnings of arousal from possible fun to be had, nothing. Why was that? Was he no longer interested in women? He told himself not to panic.
He looked away. "No, thank you." Yuki. He needed to see Yuki. Carelessly dismissing her, he hopped on his bike and sped off. He didn't quite know how Yuki would alleviate his sudden unease or why he felt the need to seek her out, but before he knew it he was striding through her school courtyard.
According to his research, she had free period this hour, which she usually spent in the library. He walked pass the main building of the school, to the school library. Halfway there the wind breezed pass carrying the unique scent he recognized to be her's. Turning his head in the direction the wind came, he saw her.
At the top of a small incline, propped against a tree was Yuki, fast asleep. Instantly calm, he made his way to her. She sat upon a blanket, her books strewn heedlessly around her and a pad of paper in her lap with a lead pencil lying in her limp grasp. He scanned her notes briefly, and smiled. Yuki had been studying English before she'd nodded off. The books around her were manga, the originals and their English editions, and a translation dictionary. Only Yuki., he thought.
He looked up at her sleeping face, drifted his gaze down her body and felt the quick, hot bolt of desire draw him. She was every bit was soft and innocent as when he first met her, but there was a quiet strength and a serious mystery about her now. He remembered her cold, angry look when he had "confessed" to her, and then the exhilarated, thrilled expression when they'd jumped off the bridge. The one that stuck most was the dazed, blushing face whenever he'd kissed her. There was something between them. The chemistry they had and her overall mystery, intrigued him. When he got her into bed, and he fully intended to eventually, they would be explosive.
She sighed in her sleep, shifting a little against the tree trunk, before settling down again. He didn't imagine the thing was at all comfortable, but she looked so relax. When was the last time he slept as deeply?
He took off his jacket, and placed it on her front as a makeshift blanket. Satisfied that she wouldn't get cold, he knelt beside her on the blanket, moving her books to make room. There was something lulling about the quiet around them, with only her even breathing to listen to. Just a quick nap, he decided, then maybe I can talk Yuki-chan into another date…
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A little while later, Yuki woke to the mellow gong of the dismissal bell. What was today, again? Thursday. What was Thursday? She thought vaguely of her weekly agenda, trying in her half-conscious state, to remember what it was she was supposed to do on Thursday. The weight on her thigh was distracting her though. Whatever it was, it was making her entire leg go numb. She shifted in an attempt to move the weight off, and was startled to feel a warm hand brush sweepingly against her inner thigh beneath her skirt. Her eyes flew open, and then narrowed at the sleeping playboy currently using her lower half as a pillow. He appeared to be sleeping. His breathing was even, and his body was in the natural stillness of slumber. He also happened to be snoring.
A reluctant grin spread across her face as she listened to the reserved Soujiro Nishikado make uncharacteristically uncouth sounds. It was then she noticed his jacket covering her form. Her eyes softened, the she shook her head at herself. How am I supposed to talk to him firmly when he shows me things like this? She sighed, and absently began stroking his face, from the ridge of his temples to the almost effeminate angle of his jaw, contemplating what she knew about him separate from what he was.
In a way, Soujiro Nishikado was an incomplete person. As a boy he was forced into the role as heir, forced to join the adult world before he'd even finished half his childhood. The boy never really grew up, instead he wore a mask which he piled many facets of an adult Soujiro on: charm, knowledge, skills. The mask came off sometimes, allowing the little boy out. She saw it in his face when he was genuinely having fun, with her, with his friends, but also whenever he was in pain. The mask was strong enough to hide his reactions, but not enough to protect the little boy from feeling it. She saw it the day he cried over his lost love. The pure Soujiro. The side of him that still believed in impossible things. She had made friends with that side of him, had enjoyed seeing who he was beneath his mask, until she made the mistake of falling in love and pursuing that love. As expected, the boy ran from her, and let his mask push her away, over and over.
So, she'd stepped back, and moved on. She was able to rekindle their friendship, and watched him continue his playboy ways without feeling the sting she used to. She would have been fine to continue like that. Then he began to pursue her, he used the mask and suffering failure through her rejection, let it go altogether. The little boy pursued her now, partnered with the adult Soujiro. It was a combination that would devastate anyone, a potent weapon, she couldn't allow him to fully recognize. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him, but she also wanted to keep her heart intact.
She made a face. Since when did she become like this? What happened to her policy of experience everything life had to offer without holding back? While it probably wasn't wise to give in to everything he wanted from her, she had no intention of becoming his pet, where was the fun in dooming them to failure before they'd even begun?
"Mmm, Yuki-chan, why did you stop?"
Her hand had paused on his cheek in her thoughtfulness, and dropped when he turned his head to look up at her. She blinked down at him and then smiled. "Did you have a nice nap, Nishikado-san?"
He started to nod his head, then frowned. "We're dating now, Yuki. You mustn't call me Nishikado-san anymore. Call me Soujiro."
Her smile turned amused. "Dating? One date doesn't automatically make me your girlfriend, Nishikado-san."
"We've been on lots of dates." He said, matter-of-factly. "A date is when two people go out together, right? We do that."
She looked indulgent. "So, when you took Tsukushi-chan to a café, that was a date?"
He paled at the thought. "It's not the same at all." But he caught the look in her eyes and grinned. "Rui would kill me."
She laughed.
He smiled then. "You have such a great laugh, Yuki-chan."
She stared down into his eyes, the little boy stared up at her with so much liking and trust. She really hoped she wouldn't regret this. "Thank you, Nishikado-san. You have a great smile." She touched the corners of his mouth, and felt it curve more. "But my leg has gone completely numb, so…off."
He chuckled and sat up. "So, how many dates before you're officially mine?"
She blushed at his phrasing. "Let's take this naturally. Like our first date. Fun, spontaneous and simple." With each word, his face leaned closer to hers, while she leaned back.
"Want to do something fun, spontaneous and simple right now?" He asked, his eyes leaving her in no doubt about what he meant.
She was spared a reply when her cell phone went off. Smiling apologetically she answered it. "Akira-kun?"
"Ah, Yuki-chan. We still on for today?"
That right, I promised I'd treat him today. "Sure, meet me at the address I gave you. If you're late, or you bring another girl, you can forget about me paying for either of you."
Soujiro raised a brow. He wondered if she realized yet that she had just made a date with his best friend right in front of him. When she hung up, she looked up at him and her eyes widened in realization. He chuckled. "So, where are we meeting Akira?"
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That bastard! Someone fumed, watching the couple from an upper floor window. How dare he approach her! How dare he touch her! Everyone knew of that disgusting playboy's fascination with the wholesome, chaste Yuki Matsuoka. That he thought he had the right to breathe the same air as her, him who lived a sick and depraved lifestyle. He'd charm her, seduce the pure, naïve and defenseless angel, steal her innocence and then leave her as thoroughly debauched as the many whores of his ilk. It wasn't to be born! The look on his face as he stared at the unsullied goddess sleeping said it all. It wasn't going to happen, not if he had any say in it. I will not allow you to defile the precious Matsuoka-san.
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A/N
Been awhile since I last updated this story. I have a better handle on a plan now, so hopefully the next chapter won't be as far away. I'm looking for date ideas if you guys are interested in helping me out. Simple things that anyone could do with their significant other, or ridiculous extravagant things that no ordinary man could possible do. Something a combination of romantic with the intentions of a Soujiro. Thanks again for the suggestions before, and all the alerts, favorites and reviews are much appreciated. See you in chapter 9!
