Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket or any of its characters, affiliations etc.
Summary: Hatori is a physician, in fact one of the best ever. But when a patient comes to him with a broken heart, can fix it? Hatori x Kagura
Notes: This pairing may seem a little out of the ordinary but its something that has been on my mind for a long time. The POV is done in both Hatori's and Kagura's. This is a rewrite of the original version mainly because the original version was stored on my laptop which crashed. Oh well, all writers have their darkest hours. Anyway, enjoy the story!
Doctor, Doctor
Kagura's POV
Sometimes I guess you have to let go, no matter how much you don't want to. There comes a time when you know you can't chase anymore.
That's how I felt when I heard the news: tired and weary. I guess in my heart of hearts, I had always known Kyou wasn't fond of me that way. Maybe I was the one who was wrong all those years. Yet the pain was still deafening. Seeing Tohru with Kyou made my blood boil, but it was impossible to tell Tohru that.
She was just too innocent, how could I blame her for a fault that was mine?
Everyone seemed surprised when I didn't blow up at the news of Tohru and Kyou. Even Shi-chan had seemed a bit bewildered. But Hatori didn't seem least bit unnerved. I guess he understood, I mean with Kana and all. I wonder how Hatori did, how he could just forget Kana like that. Except I don't think he ever forgot her completely, he couldn't let himself forget.
But I'm not as strong as Ha-chan. Forgetting Kyou wasn't easy for me, but I needed it, I needed to forget him…and everyone else.
A new resolute flitted in my head as I got up off my futon. Ha-chan wouldn't be busy now; I knew at least he would help me.
Hatori's POV
A tired sounding sigh escaped my lips, tending to Akito had been challenging again. But part of my weariness came from another source.
Kagura.
My younger cousin had, had an interest in Kyou ever since they were both little, though Kyou adamantly refused her affections. But in due time we all thought that Kyou would come to accept Kagura and it would be a happy ending-well happy as it could get with the Sohma family.
But then, Honda-san came along, giving this family a kindness it hadn't seen in years. I guess we had all foreseen what would happen but never cared enough to stop it. Kagura was falling deeper and deeper into Kyou and he was falling deeper and deeper into Tohru. Shigure would call it a tragic, heart wrenching love triangle or something. He always had the gift for over dramatization.
But that didn't change the fact that it happened, the night was still imprinted clearly in my mind.
/"Ahem- everybody please…could I please…"/
/"Here Tohru, let me do it. SHUT UP!"/
/Silence fell abruptly over the gathering./
/"Um, Kyou and I would like to say that-that…we have found a new meaning to our relationship!"/
/"Yeah, that means we're in love, so hands off nezumi!"/
/A pointed look was directed at the rat of the zodiac. But all eyes were instead fixed on the boar. /
/"Oh really? I'm very happy- Kyou, Tohru...," a sob escaped her lips," Please…excuse me…"/
/She pushed past us, and Tohru started to follow suit but I caught her arm, shaking my head. /
/Some things just needed time. /
After that, Kagura's health suffered tremendously and she fell into a deep bout of depression. I found myself at her bedside even more often than Akito's. While in bed, all of the family came to visit her at least once, if not more.
Even Kyou came.
His visit worried me at first. External factors like him could trigger another bout of depression in Kagura. But oddly she just smiled and said that it was her own foolishness that landed her in this mess.
My initial impression was that she was finally beginning to mature a bit but a visit from Shigure changed all that.
/"Hatori, can I have a word with you?" /
/"Shigure, I don't have time for this. Kagura needs her medicine." /
/But he caught my arm before I could move. /
/"It is about Kagura, I 'm worried about her."/
/"Worried? Don't be, she's making a full recovery. Her color looks better, her appetite-
/He interrupted my medical records. /
/"No, it's not that. It's in her eyes, Hatori. A sadness, a fear. Talk to her before it's too late." /
/"Why me?" /
/The look he gave me made me feel like the irresponsible one. /
/"Because you know what she's going through. Don't you remember Kana?"/
/"Of course I do! How could I forget?"/
/"Then just do it Hatori, talk to her…"/
I knew Kagura was suffering, but she needed it to move on. My good eye rested briefly on the photo of Kana and me, and I felt a deep pulling in my chest. We were so happy together, our love was meant to last but it never did.
And somewhere in me I knew that it was because I was born into this family. Love wasn't like Shigure's novels, it was real and more often than not, it hurt. Being a Jyuunishi meant sacrifices, but it's not like we ever asked for this. We weren't cursed with just spirits of animals, our whole lives were cursed. We were viewed as beasts to those who did not know better.
And love was impossibly hard to find.
But it was there.
One just had to look hard enough.
Kagura had to realize this. I realized it too but it was too late for me. She was young, she had time. And just like the seasons, in the end, winter does melt into spring.
"Br-ring ring ring!"
The sudden sound jolted me out of my thoughts and I picked up the phone, annoyed that the caller id read Shigure's House.
"Moshi Moshi."
"Aah, Hatori, it's me."
"I know. Look Shigure, I'm not really in the mood right now."
"Hatori-
-I'm sorry Shigure, I have other things to do."
And as much as I wanted to put the phone down, I didn't. Something about his voice sounded oddly serious; in fact the usual joking tone was gone.
"It's about Kagura."
A cold feeling seeped up my spine, the unfamiliar tingle of trepidation making its presence known. Usually I was calm about these sorts of things but…
"What about her? I sent her home a few days ago."
"Well, she's not there anymore. She's gone. Rin just called me a few minutes ago."
And the worst of my fears came true.
"What? But she still has a fever, she shouldn't even be standing!"
"We sent Yuki and Kyou out to search the forest by here, but they came back empty-handed."
"Fine. Shigure, you go search the city since you know it better than I do. I'll search the woods around here. And call Ayame too; ask him if he's seen her."
"OK then, bye."
"Bye."
I didn't even notice that the phone had missed its receiver in my haste to stand up and put my coat on. The sanguine umbrella felt cold against my hand as I walked towards the shoji and pulled it open.
The darkness of the hallway immediately consumed me and the only sounds to be heard where the beeping of the phone, and the rain that drizzled against the house.
