Author's Note: Thanks everyone for the awesome reviews and emails! I'm just lucky that I happened to predict the storyline close enough so that I can actually still continue. (phew!) But I think from now on, my fic probably won't be anywhere parallel to Kamio-sensei's story development. I just want Umi out of the picture! Heehee!

Disclaimer: Hana Yori Dango belongs to its rightful owners, which is not me! I'm just a fan that's dying with aggravation because Umi appeared. =P

The Feelings Within
by Téa

Chapter 3: Stagnant

Makino Tsukushi sat on the steps of the fire escape staircase and leaned again the wall with her tired eyes closed. She had hoped this secluded area would give her some comfort and peace from all the additional problems that had crept in to her life these past few months. Though this used to be the spot where Hanazawa Rui and Tsukushi hung out regularly, neither had found much time to come by here lately. Everyone had been too wrapped up in the events surrounding Doumouji's amnesia.

Everyone's worried for me and Doumouji...

She recalled the events of the day before...thinking about lunch with the F4 on Doumouji's first day back at school, Doumouji's sudden appearance at the dango shop, and Umi's plea in the darkness of her apartment's hallway. Naturally, her hope for a peaceful sleep never happened as she spent all night trying to recover from the shock of Umi's painful words.

Everyone's so worried...but Doumouji...he may not even want to remember me.

Tsukushi had fought hard trying to block out what Umi was saying, but she could not get rid of the uneasiness in her heart. She didn't want to believe any of it and yet in some strange twisted way, she couldn't deny that Umi's words made sense. She knew more than anyone else that her relationship with Doumouji was especially stressful. In fact, it was one of the main reasons she went running away from him in the beginning...but only until her emotions caught up with her, throwing her in to the whirlwind of love.

Her love for Doumouji and in turn, his love for her. That was what they always had. It was their strongest bond...the one connection that always brought them back in to each other's arms regardless of what the obstacle may be.

But now...that bond is gone. He does not even remember that love. Doumouji does not remember me...and he probably doesn't want to.

"There you are," a soft voice murmured at her.

Startled, Tsukushi opened her eyes and looked up at the figure that had stepped out of the double doors leading to the stairway. "Ah! Hanazawa Rui!"

She tried to smile cheerfully at the boy, so as to not worry him. Besides, she did not want to tell him about Umi's visit the night before. Although that was all she had been thinking about, she was not yet ready to say it out loud. She didn't know if she could stand hearing it again...even from her own mouth.

Rui stared at Tsukushi, his eyes widening at the sight of the glistening tears on her cheeks. "Makino..."

"Eh...?" Tsukushi's hands flew to her face and quickly wiped the remains of her tears away as she suddenly realized that she had been crying silently while her thoughts wandered to Doumouji and what Umi said.

Feeling embarrassed and self-conscious, Tsukushi laughed nervously and exclaimed, "Ah..I don't know what's wrong with me! I've been so tired from my two jobs that my eyes are watering up all the time!"

Rui stared at her intently, his face full of concern for the obviously hurting girl. "Makino..."

Tsukushi quickly interrupted him before he had the chance to bring up whatever it was that he wanted to say. "Ah Hanazawa Rui, don't you think today's weather is especially nice?" Gesturing wildly, she continued to ramble on awkwardly, "Doesn't time just pass by so fast? I can't believe it's winter already. Oh, I wonder when it's going to start snowing..."

Snow...

Tsukushi's sentence trailed off softly as she suddenly thought of her first date with Doumouji when she found him amidst the snow, waiting and worrying about her. She was still in love with Hanazawa Rui at that time.

How things have changed since then...

Rui continued to stare at her for a moment longer before turning his gaze towards the winter sun that peeked brightly through the clouds. "Yea, the weather is nice."

Afraid of the questions that Rui may have for her, Tsukushi stood up abruptly and edged towards the door. "Ara! I did not realize how long I sat out here. It's almost time for class! I'm going to be late again!" Waving quickly, she tried to smile happily at him. "See you later, Hanazawa Rui!"

However, Rui wasn't going to let Tsukushi slip away without sharing with her a piece of his thoughts. He chose to wait until Tsukushi opened the door to the school building before he quietly said, "Makino...you don't have to be that way in front of me."

He leaned against the balcony and gazed at Tsukushi's unmoving back. "We're all waiting for you to do something. And so is Tsukasa. He's waiting for you too...he just doesn't know it yet."

Not giving Rui the chance to say any more, Tsukushi quickly slipped through the doors and closed it behind her as she leaned against the wall, her breathing heavy. Hanazawa Rui's words had pierced through her like a dagger, more so than he could've imagined. She thought of what Umi said again. How could she do anything? What if Doumyouji really didn't want to remember her...

"You must know you're torturing him...let him go...set him free, Tsukushi..."

Tsukushi could feel her eyes burning again with the threatening tears that had been visiting her so often these days. She wished she could believe Rui's words, but there were so many things that kept nagging at the back of her mind. Thoughts of how Doumouji had chosen to be with Umi on his own free will. Thoughts of how he didn't come to her this time. She was too afraid to think about what that might mean...about the possibility that maybe Doumouji could be happier with Umi.

* * * * *

Nishikado Soujirou looked up at the approaching figure and quickly asked, "Rui! Did you find Makino?"

Rui stretched on the grass beneath the shade of a large tree and used his hands to cradle his head comfortably before answering to the impatient faces of his friends. "Ah. I did. She went to class."

Akira gaped at Rui incredulously and groaned. "In class?? How can Makino go to class at a time like this?!"

Soujirou threw his hands up in defeat and said, "She works two jobs and goes to class. And she's still doing the same thing even with everything that's going on. I'll never get poor people."

Sakurako crossed her arms stubbornly and angrily exclaimed, "I just don't get Makino-sempai! Doesn't she care about Doumouji-san? I'm telling you, there's something very fishy about that oh-so-bright Umi. I just know it! Girls who act all cute and innocent are actually the worst kinds!"

Soujirou and Akira exchanged a nervous glance with each other. Sakurako was yet another girl they just couldn't figure out. Soujirou leaned over to Akira and dryly stated in a hushed voice, "I guess it takes one to know one."

Sakurako shot the pair a dirty glare and haughtily declared, "I heard that!"

Deciding to ignore the two useless boys, she turned to Rui for his thoughts. "Hanazawa-san, what do you think? I mean...what you did yesterday was great, but I don't think that's enough. Especially not after what Yuuki said about what happened at the dango shop."

Hanazawa Rui's facial expression remained unreadable at Sakurako's query and with his eyes closed, he plainly stated, "I wasn't joking. I meant everything I said to Tsukasa yesterday."

That blatant statement was enough to hurl everybody in to a shocked silence.

An uneasy minute passed by...then two...three...and five when Rui finally spoke up again as though he had never uttered his previous confession. "Makino works and goes to class because that's her way of keeping things under control. And besides, she has to...you all know that. But you're all forgetting something important. You're forgetting the reasons that Tsukasa fell in love with her."

Soujirou was the first person to snap out of his shock and absorb what Rui had said. "There's only so much we can do to trigger Tsukasa's memory. Makino's got to do her share too...but.."

Akira sighed and dolefully uttered the main problem of the whole mess. "But Tsukasa doesn't seem too fond of Makino ever since that whole amnesia thing. He doesn't even want to listen whenever we bring up Makino's name. And on top of it all, we now have Umi."

The group fell silent at the mention of Umi's name, each lost in their own thoughts about the sticky situation. Akira shifted uncomfortably on the grass as though he was deciding whether he should say the one thing that's been lingering in the air between them since Umi came in to the picture. "We're Tsukasa's friends...I mean we're Makino's friends too, but what if Tsukasa's really happy with Umi now. Are we supposed to take that happiness away?!"

Soujirou leaned backwards on his outstretched arms and considered what his friend had just said. "Yea...and Tsukasa seems pretty passive these days. He and Umi have never really argued either. Unlike him and Makino."

Sakurako scowled. "Uwaa! Are you two stupid? Did you not hear what Hanazawa-san just said?"

Sakurako was getting increasingly exasperated with the boys and their train of thoughts. "I'm telling you...Doumouji-san does not care enough about Umi to argue with her! Doumouji-san loved Makino-sempai for the person that she is...even when they argued. That was how they started out!"

Akira understood what Sakurako was saying but still could not see a solution to their problem. "Yea, but you can't deny the fact that he's with Umi now. We think he would rather be with Makino...but Tsukasa doesn't know that. He doesn't even remember her. He only knows of Umi in his life now. In a way, Tsukasa's changed since his memory loss."

Sakurako stood up and smiled triumphantly at Akira. "So then we test his love. Make him see the qualities of Makino-sempai that he loved so much. If he fell in love with Makino-sempai once, he can fall in love with her again. We'll find out once and for all who he really loves. I know he could not possibly love that Umi. No matter how much he's changed...his heart must still be the same."

For a moment, Sakurako looked down sadly and softly said, "Once a heart has loved, it never forgets." She had, after all, never fully given up the spot in her heart that she had kept for Doumyouji.

The forlorn tone in her voice disappearing as fast as it had come, Sakurako turned to Akira and asked, "Mimasaka-san, isn't your family holding some kind of an annual ball or banquet soon?"

Akira looked at her blankly and replied, "Yea...the annual company winter ball. So?"

Sakurako crossed her arms and smiled again. "So we have between now and then to get everything ready."

* * * * *

Doumyouji Tsubaki flung the doors open to the Doumouji mansion and walked in grandly, dropping her luggage roughly on to the floor. Glaring at the SPs standing guard around the lobby area, she retorted, "What, is my mother still posting SPs to torture Tsukasa at a time like this?!"

A man dressed in a plain but smart suit stepped up and bowed deeply at Tsubaki. "Welcome home young mistress. We are here to protect the young master's safety and to make sure only the proper people are allowed to enter the mansion."

"Che...don't you mean to smother him with my mother's filthy schemes?" Tsubaki threw back nastily. She, of all people, was more than aware of her mother's heartless capabilities.

"Nee-san!! You're back!" A group of people came up through the door behind her and happily exclaimed in unison as they rushed up to Tsukasa's older sister.

Tsubaki smiled widely at the familiar faces and put one of her hands on her waist. "Ah! Soujirou, Akira, Rui. You all came!" She noticed the two girls beaming behind the F3 and said, "Ara! Shigeru, Sakurako...you're both here too."

Soujirou smiled sweetly and replied, "We also just got here. Tama told us you were coming back today so we all came just to welcome you!"

Tsubaki looked at the boys wearily and raised her hand to her forehead. "Geh...still doing the sweet talk. You haven't changed one bit." Then she looked around curiously and noticed someone missing among the crowd. "Where's Tsukushi-chan? Did she not come with you?"

The group shifted around uncomfortably and tried to avoid the touchy topic that seemed to be plaguing them in the last few months. Tsubaki crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She saw that Rui was the only person who seemed unaffected by her question and mentally noted that she would talk to him later about the progress of Tsukasa's amnesia. Right now, she had other matters at hand. Spinning around towards the staircase leading to the bedrooms, she forcefully said, "Well, let's go see about that idiotic brother of mine first."

Tsubaki stormed off in the direction of her brother's room with the group of friends running to keep up with her pace. She pounded down the door and hollered, "TSUKASA! What's the meaning of all these SPs around the house? Are you still being hounded by them? And where's Tsuku-"

Tsubaki's stream of words halted abruptly as she caught site of a blond girl sitting next to Tsukasa with her hands intimately clinging to his arm. Tsubaki gaped at the scene before her eyes, looking as though her brother had just sprouted ten heads and maybe several arms. She realized a lot of things must've happened while she accompanied her husband to some business events during the last few months.

Before she could recover from her shock, the blond girl jumped up and smiled so cheerfully that it almost made Tsubaki turn a shade of sickly green. Tsubaki immediately sweat-dropped from the shining smile, suddenly having the urge to block it with her hand. By reflex, she leaned backwards as the girl bounced towards her and swooned happily, "Ah! Hello Auntie! Welcome! You must be here to visit Tsukasa! So many relatives have been visiting lately since he was discharged from the hospital." Without skipping a breath, Umi peered at Tsubaki and said, "Eh? You look really familiar."

By this time, no one was paying any attention to Umi's words as they all froze with a stricken expression on their face. If Tsubaki turned green just now, the color had surely drained away since her complexion was presently as pale and crisp as paper. Au...auntie?!

Behind her, Soujirou and Akira echoed Tsubaki's thoughts out loud in disbelief. "AUNTIE??" Even Rui looked as though his sleepy demeanor had been overtaken by incredulous astonishment.

Tsukasa's face, however, contorted through a train of expressions and he eventually threw his head back, roaring with laughter that made his stomach spasm in knots. He arrogantly put his hands on his waist and hollered away, unaware that his sister was menacingly crossing the room towards him. In three quick strides, Tsubaki reached her brother and sent a powerful high kick to his chin with her beautiful boots, then proceeded to knock him to the floor with a combo punch in his face. And there Tsubaki stood, glowering over Tsukasa with the heel of her shoe locking his neck to the floor.

Tsubaki clapped her hands together, brushing the imaginary dust off her fingers as she shook her head in disbelief. "Who do you think you're laughing at? Did I not teach you anything?! Uwaaaa!! Sometimes I just can't believe I'm related to someone as idiotic as you."

Tsukasa flailed his arms miserably but remained plastered on the ground as Tsubaki had yet to release her foot's death grip on his neck. "Ne..nee..."

Umi leapt towards the Doumouji siblings to aid the red-faced Tsukasa while she pouted at Tsubaki and whined, "Auntie! Is something wrong? Tsukasa is still very sick...you shouldn't come here and hurt him like that!!"

Soujirou, Akira, and Shigeru fell back in a horrified silence at the bold outrageousness of Umi's words while Rui leaned against the door and frowned darkly at the girl. Sakurako, on the other hand, pounced forward and retorted in a demeaning tone of voice, "Who do you think you are talking to? Are you not aware of the ridiculous words that are spewing out of your ugly mouth?! This is-"

Tsubaki raised a domineering hand out at Sakurako to silence her and briefly glanced at Umi critically. Lifting her foot off of Tsukasa's throat, she looked at him and asked neutrally, "Tsukasa, is this your guest?"

Sakurako crossed her arms and couldn't resist sticking in a sarcastic remark at the question. "I guess the SPs are not doing a good enough job of allowing only the proper people to enter the mansion."

Umi cowered towards Tsukasa and pitifully said, "I'm Tsukasa's girlfriend. I'm only worried about his well-being...I don't understand why everybody's staring at me like that!"

Everyone ignored her as Tsukasa crawled off the floor scowling and rubbing the bump on his head left by his sister's punch. "Neeechan! Why do you always have greet me like that?!"

Tsubaki raised her chin up arrogantly and simply replied, "That's because I have such a fool for a brother! What else do you think I can do with someone as idiotic as you?!"

Umi's hands flew to her mouth and she immediately cried out, "Ara! You're Tsukasa's sister? Wow, you're so pretty!! Now I know why you look so familiar...your portrait is in one of the rooms downstairs!" Placing another giggly smile on her face, Umi bowed and properly greeted Tsubaki. "Welcome back, Oneesan! My name is Umi and I am Tsukasa's girlfriend."

Shigeru's eyes widened as she scratched her head and muttered at the outburst. "Isn't it a little late for the politeness..."

Tsubaki raised an eyebrow at Umi and said, "Wasn't I Auntie just now?"

Umi blushed profusely and shook her hands in the air. "Iiee! You looked so sophisticated and royal walking in like that..so...ah! But Oneesan, you dress so beautifully..." Her feeble excuses trailed away pathetically as she edged ever so closer to Tsukasa who seemed to offer her very little attention.

Tsubaki carelessly waved Umi's words away and instead turned towards her brother. "Tsukasa. Would you kindly ask our guest to leave?"

She then nodded politely at Umi and plainly stated, "I apologize for having to cut your visit short. I have some private family matters to discuss with my brother and would prefer outsiders not present. I'll have one of the maids accompany you out."

Umi glanced at the group of Tsukasa's friends standing behind Tsubaki and looked as though she was about to say something about them not being family either. However, she wisely decided against it and instead shook her head before saying, "Oh, it's okay! I can find my way out Oneesan. I hope we will meet again!"

She turned and tugged Tsukasa's sleeves lightly, smiling innocently at him. "Tsukasa! Don't forget to eat the fruits I brought! I will come and visit you again tomorrow." And with that, she skipped out of the room, leaving the rest of the group sighing in relief.

With Umi gone, Tsubaki openly observed Tsukasa curiously and slowly said, "I'll leave the topic of your so-called girlfriend for later. But I came back to see how you're doing and to attend the Mimasaka Annual Ball. I hope you know that Mother will be coming back as well."

-to be continued-

A/N: Eghh, I'm so ready to kill Umi off already! =_= It's such a pain to write her even if it's to torture her. She gets me all aggravated. But fear not, she must and will be eliminated from Tsukasa's life. I doubt that's a spoiler, no? XD Anyhow, I know I wasn't too kind to Tsukushi in the past chapters so for this chapter, I decided to play on the other characters that I've been wondering about instead. Hope you liked it! Thanks for reading and please review! ^_^