Disclaimer: As everyone knows, I do not own the characters from Hana Yori Dango/Boys Over Flowers. However, I do own Neko, my OC. (Yay! I own something! Mine! Don't touch!) It's still not worth suing me; I am but a humble fan.
Thank you, Kamio-sensei!
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AN: This is completely AU. Not canon! Things are different--deal with it! Don't like, don't read!
AN2: Words in Bold type are in English.
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Tea and Saké
A Hana Yori Dango FanFic
By Janice Rips
Chapter 13: A Stable Relationship?
"Hey, baby, did you miss me? I sure missed you. Mmm, yes I did."
Rui paused outside the stable door, caught off-guard by the intimate, albeit one-sided, conversation he could overhear. It would be embarrassing to interrupt a lovers' tryst, but wouldn't an actual conversation involve give and take?
"Yeah, you know it, big fella. You are a handsome devil. If I didn't know how sweet you are, I'd find you a little scary. Want some sugar, sugar?"
Who could she be talking to? It was driving him nuts. He really wanted to ask her what was up with her and Akira, but... well... that conversation was getting very suggestive, and she deserved her privacy. It really was none of his business. Actually, none of it was, but he never claimed to be a saint. Wait, could he have it wrong? Could she be talking to... a horse?
"Come here, you big stud, I'm going to ride you like the stallion you are," she said in a very sultry voice, followed by a muffled giggle.
"All right, Neko, how long have you known I was standing here?" he said in a mock stern manner as he strode into the stables.
"I figured it was you, Rui-san," she grinned. "Tsukushi would have snuck away, embarrassed, and Doumyouji would have just barged in without thinking, then gotten flustered later." She reached up to lovingly caress the neck of the horse behind her, huge and black, with a white blaze at his forehead. "This is who I was talking to. His name is Star. He's a beauty, isn't he? Come say 'hi'!"
Rui approached the stall, and Neko said, "Here. Hold out your hand, palm side up, flat." She placed some apple quarters in his hand. "Offer it to him. It may tickle a bit," she warned as he proffered the apples to the ebony stallion. Star whickered softly, and delicately nibbled the apple pieces from Rui's hand.
Rui reached up to scratch between the horse's ears. "Neko, the inside of his ears is all fleecy, and his mane feels funny."
"Well, yeah. He's a Curly," she replied.
"A Curly?" he echoed.
"It's a breed of horse. Look, I'll explain more tomorrow, because I'm sure Doumyouji's going to ask 'What the hell kind of horse is that, anyway?' not too long after he finishes his 'There's no way I'm going near that thing!' rant. The horses are supposed to look like that. Let's just leave it at that for now."
"Okay. Which one did you have in mind for me?" he asked.
"Over here." She led him to another stall across the way. A large bay horse stuck out his head and shyly nuzzled Neko's shoulder. "This fellow's name is Ranger. Here, give him these," she said, handing Rui a handful of figs. "He'll eat apples, but he really likes figs better. He's a little shy, so I want you guys to start on the right note."
Rui carefully approached the horse, which eyed him warily, but accepted a proffered fruit. "So, you cater to their whims," he observed.
"More like I respect their preferences. As long as they want fruit, and not a lot of sugar, I'm not above bribing them," she grinned. "So, Rui-san, what has you up wandering about so late at night?"
"Actually, I was hoping to get a chance to talk with you," he replied.
"Oh," she said, the grin fading from her face. "What did you want to talk about?"
"If you're willing, I'd like to hear your take on what's going on between you and Akira," he answered.
Neko turned away. "There's nothing going on. Nothing for you to be concerned with, anyway."
"It doesn't sound like nothing, Neko-chan," he admonished gently. "This involves my friends. Of course I'm concerned."
"Your friends. I see," she murmured. "I suppose you would be worried about them..."
"Neko, you're one of my friends, too. I'm just as worried about you as I am about him. Maybe more so," he chided.
"Nothing happened. I just danced with him. That's all it was," she stated unconvincingly.
"I see. So, you weren't dressed like a hooker, you weren't looking to get laid, and you never engage in 'casual kissing', so you couldn't possibly have kissed Akira?" he asked sternly.
"It wasn't like that! Gawd, you make it sound so tawdry! It's none of your business, anyway! You guys aren't really my brothers, so butt out! I can take care of myself!!!" she yelled, bursting into tears.
"Neko, I just want to know what's going on!" he hollered back, frustrated.
"Look, my father knows I'm sexually active-- he came to Japan to go to the doctor and pharmacy with me to sign off on things so they would give me a prescription for the Pill! If he's okay with it, then it's no one else's business, not the Old Fart's and not yours!"
Rui stared, stunned. "Your dad knows?"
"Yes, he knows! When will you people understand? I was raised American! I don't share the same Feudal Era morality as everyone around me! Yes, I was dressed provocatively, no, I'm not a virgin, yes, I was looking for a sex partner, no, I wasn't being particularly discreet, yes, I turned Akira down, and no, I'd never been kissed!" she huffed, still sobbing. "It's all a big mistake, even my just being here, no one's listening to me, and even if they did, they wouldn't understand, because the Japanese just don't think that way!"
"Neko," he said, reaching for her.
"Don't touch me! Just don't!" she shouted.
"Okay. I won't. Neko, I'll try... I'll try to understand. Tell me what happened," he coaxed.
"I went to this club in Roppongi... I'd never been there before, but it was loud and crowded. Unfortunately, the pickings were slim. I had settled on this one guy and was all set to take him to a hotel and... well... you know... but he was acting like a big prick. I had already changed my mind and decided to dump him, when Mimasaka-san cut in. He paid off the jerk I was dancing with, did Nishikado tell you that when he was flapping his jaw?! Asshole was bought off for all of 5000 yen! Fifty bucks! I spent more than that at the hairstylist that afternoon! Still, it pissed me off, Mimasaka getting in my business like that. Then he asked me to dance. I was angry, so I challenged him to keep up. Damned if he didn't do just that!"
"You didn't know he's the best dancer among the four of us, did you? The women he dates demand a bit more in terms of the social graces," Rui chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess that would be true... Actually, it was a lot of fun. It's the first time in a while that I've been able to cut loose. I even forgot why I went to that club in the first place." She paused, and looked down at her feet. "But Mimasaka didn't. He couldn't just leave it at that, two friends having fun, dancing together. He invited me up to the lounge, and then said that if I'd go home with him, he would show me a better time than that other guy ever could have. And suddenly... I felt really cheap. I mean, I know I was out trolling, but I... it hurts to think that you guys think I'm a tramp."
"So that's why you got so angry just now, why you wouldn't let me comfort you," Rui murmured, beginning to understand. "And then?"
"And then I blew him off. Gave him the whole 'it would be awkward, we see each other every day' line. Then I messed it all up, broke all my personal rules. I kissed him. Not just a 'Ciao, bebe' kind of kiss, either, the real deal. I'm so stupid!" Neko started to sob again, and when Rui reached out to hug her, she didn't push him away.
"Neko... shh, it's okay... Neko, it's alright," he soothed. "Now, what rules did you break?"
"One: never kiss anyone I don't want to get involved with emotionally. Two: never do anything with an 'eligible' that my grandfather could use to trap me into an unwanted marriage. Three: the F4 are the ultimate in 'eligibles', and are thus absolutely off-limits. I break that one every day just by hanging out with you guys, but no one else at Eitoku wants to be my friend, not really, so I've got little choice. Anyway, if it gets back to the Cartel, Ojiisan will announce my engagement as soon as he gets Mimasaka-sama's okay."
"The Cartel?" Rui asked, confused.
"The Wine Cartel. The merchants' organization. You see, the wealthier families all have their SPs, as I'm sure you know. Some of them, like the Doumyoujis, use them to keep tabs on their heirs. My family has them, too, but we only use them as bodyguards on Dad's business trips. Ojiisan doesn't have that kind of clout on his own, so he uses the Cartel's resources, even though he really shouldn't. My behavior is always under scrutiny, especially in any establishment that serves alcohol. Now do you begin to understand why I'm so worried?" she explained.
"I see. But your grandfather can't make any announcements without approval of the other family," Rui noted.
"I know, which is why he was relying so heavily on the connection with the Nishikado family, and why he is so absolutely infuriated with my father for 'turning a blind eye' to my behavior. After all, my father is 'inappropriately lacking in concern' about the value of my maidenhead. It's just another asset, as far as he's concerned, one that my father has allowed me to throw away. If it wasn't for Soujiro-san's reputation, and that of his father, I would have been beaten for it. If he knew just who it was who made me a woman, he'd be devastated."
"Now I'm curious-- since you brought it up, do you mind--?"
"It was Ryoichi-sensei, the master of the ryuha where I trained."
"Oh! You don't think that was... unethical of him?" Rui asked, surprised.
"On the contrary, it was a very traditional gift to one's sensei, and it was all I had of value that was my own," she replied.
"Except your kiss," he commented.
"Yes, except that," she agreed.
"So, why didn't you give him that, instead? Surely your entire body is worth more than your lips alone."
"Not to me. I value my body for what it can do, not who I give it to. Frankly, sex is fun, but it hasn't made me want to rearrange my life around the wants and needs of anyone I've done it with. But kissing... I mean, that kiss... I--uh--damn it!" Neko blushed deeply and looked away.
"What about 'that kiss', Neko?" Rui coaxed gently.
"I'd never felt anything so wonderful, and terrifying," she whispered softly. "It made my heart pound. It was all I could do just to walk out of the club like a normal person." She looked at him, wide-eyed. "Rui-san, is all kissing like that?"
He laughed at her awe-struck tone. "No, it's not. But you would know that, if you'd done it more than once. Where on Earth did you get these ideas about kissing and sex? It isn't just because you're American. I've never heard of this before-- it seems so backwards."
Neko blushed. "Well, you see, there's this 'chick flick'--"
"A what?" he asked, confused.
"'Chick flick'. How to explain... A romantic comedy movie aimed at a primarily female audience... Ah, I know! Like a shoujo manga or anime, but live-action."
"Ah, I understand-- continue, please."
"Anyway, this movie, called Pretty Woman, has a protagonist named Vivian. She's a prostitute, and this rich guy, Edward, hires her for a week as an escort. She lays down some rules before she agrees, and one of them is that she doesn't kiss her clients. That's how she stays emotionally detached. She ends up falling in love with him anyway, but that's beside the point. I always admired her, she's got spunk and she's not afraid to go after what she wants. It's one of my favorite movies. There's this great scene where he takes her to the opera 'La Traviata' and she--"
"Chotto, chotto. Do you have it on DVD?" he asks, laughing at her sudden enthusiasm.
"Huh? Yes, of course. But I don't have it with Japanese subtitles, only English/Spanish/French."
"That's okay, my English should be good enough to follow. I do have an apartment in New York, after all."
"Yeah, and Tsukushi-chan tells me that Doumyouji has a lodge in Canada, but his English is non-existent."
"Yes, but he does speak French."
"Does he?" she replied, surprised.
"Yes, and German and Italian, as well."
"Okay, now I'm impressed, considering how badly he mangles Japanese."
Rui laughed. "Yeah, he's pretty funny. I never said he got it all right, just that he can make himself understood." He paused to chuckle again. "So, Neko, want to go back to the house and watch it together?"
"I'd like that," she said, giving him a smile. "Want to stop by the kitchen and get popcorn?"
"Isn't everyone asleep by now?"
"So? What, you think I can't make popcorn? It's so easy!" she exclaimed. "Haven't you ever done it?"
"No, I haven't," he shrugged.
"Spoiled! C'mon, I'll show you how." Giving the horses a final pat, Neko headed back to the house, Rui trailing behind her. "Hey, Rui-san, what do you like on your popcorn?"
"Butter, I guess," he replied.
"Okay, separate bowls, then," she stated.
"Don't you like butter?" he asked.
"Not really, it's too greasy. I like salt and chili powder on mine."
"You really like spicy food, don't you?"
"Why not? You know what they say, spice is the variety of life!" she quipped.
"Ano, I think you have that backwards," he commented.
"I know," she laughed.
"You sound like Tsukasa when you do that," he chuckled.
"I know," she grinned.
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AN: Hello again! Lucky 13! Well, this chapter moves things along a bit, don't you think? No rants this time, promise... Hope that if you've stuck by me, you're still enjoying this. I'm going to try to update more frequently, at least for a bit, but my muse has been kind of quiet recently, so it may take a bit after the next couple of chapters. Please bear with me! Love to you all!