Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango. :)
AN 8/14/07: Here is the first chapter of the sequel to "A Simple Misunderstanding". It is rated M for innuendo and future scenes of romance.
Characterizations in this story are based upon the HYD Yomikiri and volume 36 of the manga. The story takes place after Tsukasa has returned from New York for good. There is a small reference to two stories I wrote previously in this chapter.
Hope you enjoy the first chapter of "A Simple Gesture"! –Maho-chan :)
A Simple Gesture
A Hana Yori Dango Fanfiction
By Maho-chan
Chapter 1
"Tsukushi, LOOK at this!"
Tsukushi looked up from browsing the job ads in the newspaper as Shigeru elbowed her and pointed at the magazine that lay open in front of her. Glancing down at the popular women's magazine, Tsukushi simultaneously scanned the title that Shigeru read aloud
"Smoothing over those rough spots! Tips for the bedroom and more!"
"S-Shigeru!" Tsukushi blushed and stammered, feeling very surprised. She had expected the article to be another piece on how to choose perfectly fitting jeans or five ways to do your makeup in a natural way. She had never expected to be looking at tips about boyfriends and bedrooms. But here she was, staring down at an article that had a famous model looking mischievously out at the reader, surrounded by captions like "What men really want" and "How to drive him crazy".
Tsukushi stared in mute shock as Shigeru peered closer at the magazine and muttered about how this article was very interesting. Trying to appear somewhat interested for the sake of politeness but also wanting to retreat at the same time, Tsukushi scanned the article quickly, hoping Shigeru wouldn't ask her opinion about it. As she glanced over the text, Tsukushi couldn't help but catch descriptions of kissing technique and "hot spots". The phrases she noticed in the section on how to "drive him crazy" were especially embarrassing.
Tsukushi blushed as she fought the urge to cover her face with her hands. Instead she reached out and grabbed her drink as she focused on the view outside the window of Shigeru's bedroom. The information in that article was definitely not for her as Tsukasa was already "crazy" outside of the bedroom and to her chagrin, inside of it too. Would it be wise to encourage him to be crazier?
Blushing as she imagined what he might do if she did as the magazine suggested and "greeted him wearing only her underwear and an apron one night" Tsukushi began to get flushed and overheated. There was no way she was going to do that!
Tsukasa sometimes got overexcited when she wore her normal clothes and came over to his house to say "hi". Meeting him in the kitchen while scantily dressed in an apron was too weird of an idea and as dangerous as waving a red piece of cloth in front of a rampaging bull. Imagining Tsukasa as a bull charging her down, Tsukushi choked on her drink and then coughed to clear her throat. Taking another long drink, Tsukushi hoped to hide her blushing face behind the tall glass.
Still trying to regain her composure, Tsukushi was startled when Shigeru announced loudly
"This is perfect! The article is exactly what we need to read."
How was this article exactly what they needed to read? And what was it perfect for? Tsukushi wondered. As far as she knew, Shigeru didn't have a boyfriend. Sakurako was usually indifferent to this kind of advice and Yuki was unattached as well. Glancing at Yuki, Tsukushi was surprised when Yuuki looked up from the manga she was reading and said in a calm, sweet manner, "Shigeru, that article does sound interesting. What does it say?"
Interesting? But it was about bedrooms and boyfriends! How could Yuki say it was interesting in such an innocent way? Hiding behind her drink even more, Tsukushi inwardly groaned as the ever-wicked and super experienced Sakurako chimed in, "I wonder if that magazine came up with anything new."
As Yuki and Sakurako crowded around the table so they could inspect the article in more detail, Tsukushi entertained the idea of getting up and leaving the room. She could pretend she wanted a snack. No, that wouldn't work; Shigeru would just ring for a servant to bring the snack up to them. She could say she had to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, that plan would probably fail too as she just went 10 minutes ago. Wracking her brain for ideas, Tsukushi inwardly groaned again as Shigeru called out "Tsukushi, this is good advice! C'mon!"
Good advice? But for her, the bedroom advice really wasn't needed at all. Actually things were fine in that area of her relationship with Tsukasa. If she needed advice, it would be for what happened in between the bedroom stuff, especially the recurring arguments they had lately over why Tsukushi didn't say a certain phrase more often.
Good advice would be telling her how to get her brash, stubborn boyfriend to stop pressing her to say "I love you" every night. They'd had arguments about these words several times in the past but lately they argued about them almost every other day.
Of course she loved him, and she'd said it before. Last week even. Or was it the week before? Anyway, couldn't he just be happy with that? Why did he have to hear it so much? It wasn't that she didn't want say it to him; it was just really hard for her to say…
It always was. Reluctantly Tsukushi huddled with her friends over the magazine, still lost in thought. The words "I love you" had always been really hard for her to say, even though every time she had said that to him she had felt a little giddy and couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement as Tsukasa ardently said it back.
As Shigeru squealed something about cute nighties, Tsukushi was startled out of her reverie. Blushing from the realization that they were now looking at what to wear in the bedroom, Tsukushi stammered and tried to get up. "Um, I need to get…"
She was abruptly cut off as Shigeru hugged her arm and ignoring her words, pointed to a picture and said gleefully "Isn't this is so cute? And so sexy! I like the lace."
Sakurako chimed in "I think the silky one is more my style."
Yuki added "Look at all the little bows on this one!"
As Shigeru hugged her again, Tsukushi realized she was stuck. Feeling defeated, Tsukushi decided playing along might be a faster solution. She nodded absently in reply to their comments as she pretended to examine the contents of the page before her.
A brightly colored caption on the side of the page caught her eye and Tsukushi peered down at it.
Surprisingly this article included recipes, under the caption "men feel cared for when you cook for them". This must be part of the "and more" that the article title had promised, Tsukushi mused. And she agreed with this statement, Tsukasa was always pleased to receive something she made for him. And eating her handiwork together was always so fun. Feeling relieved that there was more to this article than just advice related to making love, and that there was some information that could be of use to her, Tsukushi contemplated a recipe for a chocolate layer cake.
That cake was probably too rich for Tsukasa's tastes and he would make a face if he ate something like that, Tsukushi thought. She searched for another idea. The heart shaped onigiri with little sprinkles of umeboshi seasoning to make them slightly pink were very cute but maybe a little too embarrassing to include in Tsukasa's lunch, she reasoned. The star shaped cookie recipe had promise and she mentally committed it to memory.
Making him a pasta dinner might be nice, she usually made Japanese food for him but she could try something new…
Continuing to glance down the page, Tsukushi let out a little "oh!" under her breath as she found a recipe for coffee cake. Tsukasa would surely like coffee cake given his liking for coffee in general. Peering closer, Tsukushi was dismayed as her friends turned the page and squealed over how cute the bedroom set ups were in the next set of pictures. Tsukushi barely paid attention, still thinking about how she'd have to remember to copy down that coffee cake recipe later. More excited exclamations from her friends brought her attention back to the magazine.
Lots of pages were turned and soon they were reading another article that seemed almost identical to the one they had just looked at. Tsukushi blinked. Was the entire magazine devoted to risqué topics? How many articles were there? And what could this one be about? More lingerie? She sincerely hoped not.
The article was mostly text and as Shigeru read aloud, Tsukushi couldn't help but listen as she glanced out the window again. The article started innocently with a few comments about the difference between men and women and common misunderstandings that happened between them. Tsukushi started to think to herself that maybe this article wasn't so bad.
Most of the information on the next pages was about dating and how to make sure a guy knew you were interested so that he'd call the next day. It proposed that men sometimes lacked the confidence to call. Finding this interesting, Tsukushi read along with the others with growing curiousity. She hadn't realized that men could feel anxious and insecure in relationships too.
Did Tsukasa feel this way sometimes? She had always assumed she was the only one who felt worried and nervous about their relationship. Tsukasa had always seemed so sure of himself, so determined and focused, so it was hard to imagine him feeling anxious. But then again, he did get jealous sometimes, even though he had never had anything to worry about. Occasionally, he misunderstood her motives completely. And lately there was his insistence that she say "I love you" to him more often.
Could all of these situations be signs that he was feeling insecure in their relationship at times? Tsukushi furrowed her brow. This was an important revelation about Tsukasa! It was a whole new way of perceiving him.
Gazing down at the page before her, she lifted one of the corners and turned it, hoping that the next page would hold even more important insights into Tsukasa's feelings. But instead she was confronted with illustrated picture of a nude couple kissing and holding each other with the words "Spice it up for more passion!"
Tsukushi inwardly reeled from the change in topic as Sakurako said knowingly "Now for the really good stuff." Eyes widening, Tsukushi gaped with the rest of her friends at graphs showing hormonal changes in men and women over the course of a month and tables listing what turned men on in comparison to what turned women on. There were pictures of positions on the page after that one. Once again, Tsukushi blushed a deep crimson.
Mou, this was too much!
Shigeru pointed at a table on the next page that showed popular foods to induce a night of passion. "Look, it says chocolate and honey are good for encouraging romance." She said agreeably. Yuki mumbled under her breath as a small secretive smile graced her face "Sojiro brought me chocolate once." Everyone looked up in surprise.
"EH?" Shigeru stared at Yuki as she blushed and concentrated harder on the magazine, trying to cover up her slip of the tongue. Shigeru and Sakurako would have none of it though and in no time they were both were interrogating her.
"You went out on a date with Nishikado-san?" Shigeru asked excitedly as Sakurako leaned forward with an expression of interest. Shigeru also leaned in and said conspiratorially "How was he? Was he good?"
"Shigeru!" Tsukushi exclaimed in shock. "Yuki, you don't have to answer…" she started to say only to be stopped as Yuki blushed and replied wistfully "Yeah."
Tsukushi gaped as Shigeru grinned and patted Yuki's hand. "You'll have to tell us all about it! But first, let's get some more education!" Pointing to the article, Shigeru said excitedly, "This section is really interesting!" then began to read aloud.
"Ladies, it's important for you to let the man you love know that you are interested in being with him. Even though men love a chase, it's a good idea to chase him back occasionally. Your man can't be confident all the time."
Yet another insight about men and confidence! Thinking of Tsukasa one more, Tsukushi listened curiously.
"Sometimes he needs a little reassurance. Let him know that you like him and want him! You can do this in many ways during your dates. Why not try a sweet kiss on the cheek before a hinted invitation to stay over for the night? Also, smiling and touching him often and leaning in a little closer to show how interested you are in him might help. If you have a boyfriend who isn't particularly attuned to subtle signals or you aren't very good at giving signals, you might want to try…"
Shigeru stopped and all three of them looked pointedly at Tsukushi. "What?" Tsukushi asked, her face turning as red as a tomato. Yuki smiled slightly as Sakurako looked at Shigeru knowingly. Shigeru nodded in acknowledgement of their unspoken agreement that Tsukushi was someone who couldn't give signals very well and that Tsukasa was one of those guys who couldn't read them anyway. Shigeru then continued to read.
"You might want to try more obvious approaches. How about sending him a naughty text message? Or telling him outright "I want you now!" Even a light pat on the butt can speak volumes!"
Shigeru sat back and stared at the article, considering these words. "This is important advice." She said quietly. Yuuki nodded in agreement. Sakurako simply looked bored and started filing her nails. Tsukushi's mind reeled. She glanced longingly at her abandoned newspaper. The information in this magazine was becoming too much information for her to deal with right now.
Shigeru turned to Tsukushi and said "Especially for you Tsukushi!" She said cheerfully, pressing the magazine into Tsukushi's hands.
"W-What?" She stammered while trying to push the magazine away.
"You and Tsukasa are always having strange miscommunications! And then you fight about it and we have to watch. I'm tired of watching, I always feel so frustrated." Shigeru declared. "For everyone's sake, it's time for you to try something different with him! No more confusion." Shigeru grabbed Tsukushi's hands and placed the magazine in them. "C'mon Tsukushi, just try something new!" Shigeru said pleadingly. "It can only help. This magazine talks about some interesting things you can do. Personally, I like the apron idea that was mentioned earlier." She continued, winking theatrically as Tsukushi looked shocked.
"So do I." Sakurako said with a wicked smile on her face. Even Yuki nodded in agreement, much to Tsukushi's chagrin.
Tsukushi sputtered "B-but…Domyoji and I don't need this, we are fine!"
Shigeru tilted her head and looked thoughtful. "But didn't you guys get into a huge fight about a month ago before a big party? Sojiro and Akira told me that you didn't speak for an entire night."
"That was just a simple misunderstanding!" Tsukushi said, blushing as she remembered the incident. "Really, we are fine. We don't need this." Tsukushi tried to hand the magazine back to Shigeru. Unfortunately, Shigeru wouldn't accept any of her refusals.
"Well, even if you are getting along, this article has lots of good tips for strengthening your relationship and having fun. And you know what I mean about fun!" Shigeru grinned. "I'm giving you the magazine." She declared. "And now that that is decided, after all this reading and studying, I'm ready to go out and do some shopping!"
Sakurako smiled and said in agreement. "There's a new café in Ginza that we haven't tried yet. Maybe we should go there!"
Shigeru pumped her fist in the air and said excitedly "Let's go have some candy and some parfaits!"
Still holding the magazine, Tsukushi felt bewildered as Yuki said agreeably "That sounds really nice. I'm in the mood for something sweet." As her friends got up to go, Tsukushi stared down at the magazine in her hands before quickly stuffing it into her bag. She appreciated her friends' concern, but really, she and Tsukasa didn't need any of the advice in the magazine. Miscommunications or not, they would be just fine.
She'd take the magazine for now, grab that coffee cake recipe she had wanted from before and then recycle it, Tsukushi decided as she gathered her things.
Shigeru and Sakurako were shopping machines, Tsukushi thought wearily as she trailed behind them through the large department store. And they had even roped Yuki into the task of selecting shoes from the bevy of new arrivals on the rack. As her friends browsed the displays of shoes, Tsukushi sat down on one of the benches that were provided for trying the shoes on. Waving away a salesperson that approached, and feeling more than a little exhausted, Tsukushi sighed. Looking down at her bag, she saw the magazine peeking out of it and considered reading it to pass the time. But remembering the tidbits about erogenous zones made her think twice.
Her cell phone suddenly rang.
Tsukushi opened it and tiredly said into the receiver, "Hello?"
"Hey, where are you?" Tsukasa asked, his voice coming through loudly through her phone. Tsukushi tiredly replied "I'm in a shoe store in Ginza with Shigeru, Sakurako and Yuki."
"Wanna go on a date tomorrow night?" Tsukasa queried, as Tsukushi yawned sleepily. "We could have dinner." Tsukasa suggested. Tsukushi looked around her and barely paid attention as she wondered when her friends might be ready to go home.
She loved her friends but sometimes their excursions could be so exhausting. As she watched Yuki twirl in a mirror as she admired the delicate high heels she was trying on, Tsukushi smiled and then brought her attention back to the phone.
"Movie…or we could go for a walk in that shopping center you said that you wanted to go to before…" Tsukasa continued.
Tsukushi wondered what he was talking about. "Hm?" She murmured into the phone as Shigeru waved a pair of shoes at her and mouthed "What do you think?" Tsukushi nodded at her and then jumped as Tsukasa said very loudly "Hey, are you listening to me?"
"Huh?" Tsukushi answered, suddenly very alert and focused as Tsukasa loudly exclaimed "Makino! Are you going to go on a date with me tomorrow or not?"
Rubbing her forehead and mentally checking her schedule, Tsukushi said quickly "I-I'm free. I'll be there!"
"Good." Tsukasa replied gruffly.
"But what are we going to do?" Tsukushi asked confusedly, realizing that she hadn't paid attention to him at all during that conversation.
Tsukasa said irritably "You weren't paying attention were you? I already told you my ideas. I don't want to say them again so just meet me at my house tomorrow. I'll decide on my own what we will do." The phone clicked in her ear and Tsukushi stared at it strangely. Why was he so annoyed all of a sudden? And why did she have no say in their date tomorrow?
Tsukushi gazed at a distant point, her mind preoccupied with what had just happened. Tsukasa was upset with her because he hadn't liked that she wasn't paying attention when they spoke. But it wasn't as though she was doing it on purpose, she had just been distracted.
But on purpose or not, now there was this tension that she felt inwardly, that something had gone awry in that situation. That tension was growing into real concern and as she played with the strap of her phone she realized that this feeling was somehow similar to past times, as was the tone of Tsukasa's voice and his words.
"Why did you do this Makino?" Tsukasa had demanded as he wiped the carefully applied make up off of her face with his handkerchief, the ribbons he had pulled from her hair having been carelessly discarded onto the floor.
"But it's been so long and I want to see you! Hey, are you sure this isn't some kind of excuse? Are you thinking of spending Christmas with Rui?" Tsukasa had said accusingly.
"Why are you always so stingy about those words? Even though you are my girlfriend, I don't understand you at all." Tsukasa had complained in hurt tones. "Ah, forget it. Just go inside, it's cold out here. I'll call you tomorrow." He had said gruffly before turning and leaving her at her door.
Did they misunderstand each other that much? Surely it couldn't have been that often. Could it?
Looking down at her shoes, Tsukushi frowned. Shigeru's words came back to her
"You and Tsukasa are always having strange miscommunications!"
If her friends had noticed, then as much as Tsukushi hated to admit it, this was probably true. They probably did misunderstand each other often. And it was possible that they did it too much. But it didn't mean that they weren't in love or that she wasn't happy.
Remembering Tsukasa's hurt tone of voice, a slow realization of the connection between their miscommunications and the revelation that men could feel insecure began in Tsukushi's mind. If they had miscommunications that caused that Tsukasa to feel hurt or upset, could it be that Tsukasa wasn't as happy as he could be in their relationship?
The idea unnerved her. Her love for him had grown unbelievably in the years they had been together and truth be told, his happiness was as important to her as her own. Imagining Tsukasa feeling hurt as he planned their date tomorrow on his own, Tsukushi felt constricted in her chest. She really cared about that idiot.
But these thoughts didn't solve the problem at hand, the miscommunications and any feelings that Tsukasa might feel as a result of them. And it definitely wasn't stubbornness or a lack of caring that caused her to be this way, Tsukushi mused. It was just that it was so hard to "talk straight" to him.
She hated the feelings that arose when they misunderstood each other. She really did. Trying to distract herself from these morose thoughts, Tsukushi absently dug around in her bag.
But what could she do about it? How could she make things clearer to him? How in the world could she let him know that she really did care?
Her fingers found the magazine that Shigeru had given her and Tsukushi tilted her head as she read the cover to distract herself.
"Improve your relationship! All your answers found here!"
The background noise faded away as Tsukushi contemplated this anew. Glancing up at her friends who were still sequestered among several store clerks and boxes of untried shoes, Tsukushi realized that she still had some time to wait. And since she hadn't come up with any answers on her own yet….
Feeling a change of heart from earlier, Tsukushi tugged the magazine out of her bag and began to read in earnest.
To be continued…
AN (8/14/07): Please check my profile page for some updates! –Maho-chan :)