I grasped the steel baseball bat tightly, not planning on losing my grip. Taking the bat back over my shoulder, I winced as it ran over the slice in it, but quickly hid the expression of pain. This guy was going to pay - whether he liked it or not. Swinging the baseball bat forward, I felt all my anger explode in that swing, letting myself snarl slightly as the bat collided with his head in a dull thud. Instantly, blood began matting in his hair where the bat had collided, and the teenager fell to his knees and collapsed on the ground. Immediately, his gang was surrounding him, whispering, astonished emotions on their faces as they all turned to glare at me. I felt my stomach sink. God, was I going to have to pay for this.
"Shit," I muttered, turning on my heel and beginning to run across the abandoned street, towards the skyscrapers just a little bit away. There was a market down there somewhere - just past the second left, near the blue business building - with an alleyway. If I could get there, I could get away: Hop on the Dumpster and jump the barbed chain-link fence, then escape to the other side of town, which was rolling fields of emerald hills. I smiled, feeling my arms beginning to pump faster at my sides and my legs begin to pick up more speed as a strong wind blew against my back, pushing me onwards.
Unfortunately, that meant that the gang shouting and firing guns behind me increased about two miles per hour, as well. I groaned, struggling to try and go faster. I felt in my school pockets. Something I can throw to trip them - something to slow them down. I grinned successfully, retrieving a jar of marbles. How classic was that? Cracking the glass jar on my hip, I winced again as some of the shards stabbed into my thigh, slicing my black jeans and making dark slits of blood begin to run down my leg. But it didn't matter, as long as it put as much distance between me and the gang.
I laughed as the jar leaked open. Instantly, marbles of all shapes, colors, sizes dropped to the ground, most of them rolling onwards. Before the gang knew what was awaiting them, I watched as all eight teenagers toppled to the earth - slipping, tripping, and crashing. The ninth gang member - the leader - remained fainted on the ground with blood still leaking from his hair. I grinned wickedly, darting around the alley corner. I'd made it! Hopping up onto the Dumpster with an audible creak, I took a step backwards, preparing to jump, and let myself get a running start before launching myself in the air and touching the ground. I'd only taken a few scratches down my back from the barbed wire topping the chain-link fence.
Finishing my way out of the alley, I noted how weird it was that they had built concrete to the end of the market building, then cut it off into a field of grass. Either way, I shrugged, continuing to run down the hill until I was no longer visible - as far as I knew - by the gang, or, in fact, the whole city I'd left behind. Jogging up another steep hill, I leaned against a thick maple tree and caught a breather, glancing around. Where was I going to go now? Below me, the hills seemed to roam on forever - trees dotting one every once and a while. And then, I spotted it: The orange dirt pathway that ran through a small forest. On the other side, it looked like there were a couple houses. Maybe a way back into the opposite side of town where my home was? I smiled vigorously, brushing down the hill and not too many minutes later winding up walking down the path and through the forest.
The forest was . . . dark. Vines hung from the green rooftops, and trees taller than the skyscrapers back in the city stretched around me, white and coated with moss. Mud from a rain shower not too long ago still dusted the woods, and coated my shoes. I groaned; these were my only school shoes, and now N was going to kill me. Darting through the rest of the forest, I tried to avoid collecting any more "souvenirs." In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to get out. Eventually, I caught a crack of daylight through a sheet of vines at the end of the pathway - a way out. I nearly jumped for joy, breaking the curtain apart and scanning the scene in front of me.
My heart sank. There wasn't any civilization here; only one dojo-resembling house. I slumped my shoulders forward, putting my head down in defeat and groaning for twenty-some time that day. Suddenly, the sound of something shattering caught my attention. My head snapped towards the house, eyebrow perking suspiciously. Not to long after the shattering sound was over, I could clearly hear someone shout in a deep voice: "That stupid cat!"
I started walking closer to the house - but not too close. I could hear everybody clearly already. And considering the only thing separating me from its inhabitants was a paper door, I wasn't going to take any chances. Still, I continued listening. This time, it was a higher-pitched voice that began talking. "Ah, feels a little empty now that there's nobody to say 'Damn rat', eh?"
"It doesn't matter!" The person from before shot back. You could hear the resounding vibration of feet stomping against wood as the person paced. The pacing stopped. "What did he do to you?" This time, the shout was closer.
"N-Nothing," I heard a soft female's voice stutter. "He didn't do anything . . . to me." It sounded like she was crying. Faintly, I heard her sniffle before whispering something to someone, then the soft footfalls of someone light-weight approaching the door. I backed away from the porch, quickly running to the side of the house and leaning against the wooden wall, praying no one would see me.
Once again, the higher-pitched man talked. "Oh, are you going outside, Hitomi?" He asked pleasantly. Apparently whoever this Hitomi person was nodded, because he continued. "In that case do you think you could fetch a young aspiring writer a pail of water? Thanks!" There was the sound of a paper door closing, then the voice of the deeper-voiced male.
"'Young aspiring writer?'" He quizzed, voice rising at the end. As the two boys and girl continued their talk inside, I slid down the wall - glad no one saw me - and exhaled, closing my eyes and trying to breathe evenly. Suddenly, I heard someone round the corner. "Oh." A girl's voice gasped. My eyes shot open, full of fear, and I yelped - hopping to my feet. She had unbelievably orange hair that changed to black at the bottom - layered and chin-length. Long bangs hid her eyes, and she wore a black hoodie with black jeans. She had matching socks. Around her neck, there was a really old-looking golden stopwatch with the face of an orange cat on the cover.
We stood there, staring at one another in silence, for a while. Slowly, I began to try and slide away without her noticing, taking inaudible footsteps around her, towards the forest. When I was sure she wasn't going to do anything, I turned, and began to walk away. Jumping, her voice startled me. "Wait - I'm sorry," She apologized, gesturing for me to come back over. Conflicting emotions battled inside me, but I eventually took my better judgement and approached the girl. Was she Hitomi?
"Turn around." Her voice commanded when I was back against the wall. I gave her a questioning look, but pivoted, so now I was looking at the wooden wall. I gulped - there were blood marks marring the wall. Had she seen them? As if to answer my question, I felt something cold swipe down a slice across my back. I cringed, dropping to my knees and yelping. Regaining my balance, I gave her a puzzled expression - but she didn't see. She was examining the shadowed blood coating her finger. Wiping it off on her jeans, she looked back up at me, then took a step closer.
I took a step back, as well, running into the wall and clunking my head against it. I winced. "Ow," I muttered, rubbing the swollen lump that was beginning to form along the back of my head.
"Sohma?" The girl asked me curiously, getting up on her tip-toes so she could see past her bangs into my eyes. Just faintly behind the orange hair hiding her face, I could barely make out the gleam of two bright pupils.
I processed what she said for a second. "Is that word supposed to mean something to me?" I pressed, perking up my eyebrows and sliding to the right in attempt to get away from the girl.
The girl looked down, biting her lip. Suddenly, she snapped up again. "Zodiac?" She persisted with a smile.
I continued to let my brows furrow. "I don't know . . . I think I was born in the Year of the Rabbit . . . Why?" The girl just shook her head in response. Starting to head back around the house towards the porch - and more importantly, the path through the forest - I didn't look at the girl as I spoke. "Look, I've gotta go. You see those mountains over there?" I pointed towards the purple ones in the distance, the one the sun was beginning to set behind. "If I don't get home by the time dusk begins, then N will . . . " I trailed. Why was I telling her this stuff? She wasn't involved, was she?
"Who's N?" She asked. I turned to look at her. My chances of escape were becoming thinner and thinner by the second.
"Nobody that you need to know," I promised her. "But, um, okay. Forget I said that. I just need to g - " I cut off abruptly, turning.
"Hitomi, how come you haven't come back yet?" In front of me was another girl about the same age as Hitomi and I. She had light brunette hair and a sweet smile, and wore her hair in braids whose ribbons matched her pink blouse and white skirt. On her feet, she had knee-high socks and was shoeless. Gasping, she stopped talking when her startled gaze met mine. Once again, I felt my eyes fill with fear as she said, "Oh."
"Mother," Hitomi stated, looking at the ground. At first, I thought she was attempting to curse, but then I realized that this teenage-looking girl was her mother. But how could she be? They looked nothing alike.
"Oh, uh, Hitomi . . . " Her mother trailed, still in shock. I watched as her eyes traveled to the steel bat I was still holding, and I felt my stomach plummet. "Who's, um, this?" She continued.
Hitomi shrugged. Was that it? A shrug? Didn't she realize her mother was taking everything the wrong way?
Suddenly, Hitomi's mom's eyes bulged open. "Oh, Hitomi! You're leg - it's bleeding!" She said concernedly, dropping to her knees and beginning to examine Hitomi's leg. I exhaled, still frozen in surprise, but suddenly became more stiff as Hitomi pointed at me.
"His blood," She explained, causing Hitomi's mother to become panicked.
"Oh my God . . . are you okay? Did something happen? Do you need to go to the hospital? Agh - step in the light! Let me see where you're bleeding!" I felt her mom's tough hands grab me, dragging me into full view of the porch. Fortunately, the paper door was closed. Unfortunately, I found myself being pulled closer and closer towards it. Tugging me up onto the porch, there was a slam as the paper door opened and a wash of light spilled on me. Inside the house, there were two boys - one an adult, the other a teenager - seated at a wooden dining table.
"Miss Honda!" They both cried in unison, hopping to their feet and eyeing me with looks of rage. Especially the bat. Yup - I'm pretty sure they didn't like the bat part.
Miss Honda jumped in front of me defensively. "He's not trouble! Hitomi was with him outside and I saw blood on her leg so she explained it was his blood and now he's hurt and judging by the looks of him he needs somewhere to stay!" She took a breather. It was amazing how fast Miss Honda seemed to be capable of talking.
They both looked suspiciously at me before moving away from the doorway to let Miss Honda in. From a side glance, I saw the teenager whisper something into the adult's ear. I recognized the words. They sounded like something along the lines of, "Don't let him out of your sight," or, "Don't let the bat out of your sight." I sighed - typical. Everyone assumes the boy with the steel bat is trouble. Well, I guess I had to give them some credit. It's not like there's ever been a moment when the boy with the steel bat wasn't trouble.
Miss Honda helped me up once she had dragged me into the fairly large dining room. As soon as I was on my feet, I began to back away, holding up my hands in defense. "Look, I really need to go . . . " I explained, setting my bat on the ground. "See? Okay. I'm not trouble. Go ahead and keep the bat - I'll just go buy a new one. But it doesn't matter. I just really need to go." I repeated, stepping backwards. One more step, and I'd be in the paper door's doorway. If I took a bigger step - I'd be on the porch.
Suddenly, a blast of wind caught my attention as the two boys came up behind me and held my shoulders. Their hands were extremely warm - nothing alike to Hitomi's, whose were colder than ice. I shuddered at the touch, but not because of the temperature. The teenager slammed me forward for a moment so he could shut the paper door with a nerve-racking clink!
Miss Honda began freaking out. "Oh, no, no! That wouldn't be right of us to leave you out in the cold when you're hurt! Agh! No - don't grab him! I'm sure when he says he's not trouble, he's not trouble! No, no! Take your bat home! We won't steal, I promise! And don't worry - we just want to help you, not harm you! Do you want to stay the night here? Do you feel okay to? Do you need us to call the hospital or something? Agh . . . ! Oh, no! We left Hitomi outside all by herself! B-But don't worry! Yuki, go get Hitomi! Shigure, call Hatori to help . . . um, what's your name?"
I blinked at her. "Name?" I asked, eyebrows furrowing. An expression of shock crossed over Miss Honda's face. I felt my eyes shoot open. What had I just told her? "Um, people usually just call me X," I explained to her. "It's not that I don't have a name . . . it's just that my name is just a letter." I quickly covered up. At this point, I was glad nobody else was in the room with us. The indigo-haired teenager (who I guessed was named Yuki) had gone to go get Hitomi, and the black-haired adult (Shigure) had immediately ran up the nearest stairs to retrieve a phone.
Miss Honda looked relieved, but she looked like she knew something about me, too. "Oh, okay," She breathed, sounding much more relieved. Suddenly, she looked up at the ceiling, where footsteps were creaking. "Akito, Machi - Hatori's coming over!" She hollered, causing footsteps to run down the stairs. Two curious faces peeped around the corner.
"What for?" A deep voice asked.
"Yuki didn't have another asthma attack, did he?" A higher-pitched voice asked worriedly.
"Oh, no, no - of course not!" Miss Honda said happily, sidestepping from in front of me. At the foot of the stairs, there were two girls: One with purplish-black hair, like an obsidian, and cold eyes. She wore a violet kimono with black accent colors. In front of her, a girl with long strawberry-blonde hair (almost an orange, but definitely not a severe orange like Hitomi's) had inviting blue eyes. She wore a yellow T-shirt and a green skirt with thigh-high white socks. They were both unbelievably pretty, and gasped in unison when they spied me.
"Who's that?" The deeper-voiced, obsidian-haired girl questioned, eyebrows perking up. She said it as if I wasn't even there.
"Yeah, doesn't really look like a Sohma or a Honda to me." The other girl agreed.
Tohru looked a little shocked, but quickly cheered up. She gestured to me, then to the two girls. "Oh, um, this is X. X, this is Machi and Akito - Yuki and Shigure's lovely wives. They may be a little judging now, but they become really, really nice once you get to know them!" Miss Honda promised, beaming. She then turned to look at Machi and Akito.
"You see, Hitomi found X outside when she was trying to get some water for Shigure. Um, as it turns out, he was hurt - Hitomi found some of his blood. He was holding a bat when I came outside . . . and although that doesn't sound like a good story, I'm pretty sure he's an okay-guy!"
Akito and Machi gave her blank expressions. "Sure doesn't mean he is,Tohru." Akito pointed out. "And the fact that he was carrying the bat? Do you even know what he was doing with that? If he was outside your house with it, it probably means that he was gonna rob you, or something. I mean, did you even bother to examine that thing? Look - there are black and red streaks across it, which usually means blood."
I listened to everything Akito said like it was jabbing me in the stomach. Then, Machi began to speak. "He's probably trouble . . . a trouble-child, too. Do you really want to bring him here? His troubles will just get worse the longer he stays around us, considering the circumstances. Has Hitomi told you anything? I'd suggest you get her to tell you everything before you allow him here. She touched his blood, right? Maybe the blood on the bat is Hitomi's - did you ever consider that? He could've hurt her when they were outside. Who knows what he was going to do? And now you're going to help him - have Hatori help him? That might just jeapordize us even more. We've already gotten enough going on, Tohru. That blood on the bat . . . "
"Is mine." I finished her sentence. Half of the stuff they were saying didn't make any sense to me, but I knew that what they were saying wasn't good. So, I continued: "Did you ever consider the blood on the bat was mine? Hitomi found me outside - but I didn't want anybody to see me so I tried to sneak away. But she told me to come back, so I did. She told me to turn around . . . and I did - so she saw all of the blood. Then Miss Honda came out and Hitomi told her I was bleeding. End of story." I told them with an edge to my voice. I was staring at the ground, and faintly I could see tears beginning to blur my vision. I blinked the waterworks back. I didn't want to cry; I never did. In fact, I'd been able to go three years without crying. I wasn't going to let my record down now.
The three women stared at me for a second, but then their gazes snapped to the door as it wiggled open, and Hitomi came inside, carrying a pail filled with water. She set it on the dining table before nodding at all of us and heading upstairs. The way how she left the room . . . it seemed to leave behind an air of tension.
"Another girl . . . " Akito trailed, lost in thought.
"She looks so much like Kyo," Machi replied, causing Miss Honda to sniffle. Suddenly, Shigure came running downstairs just at the same time Yuki and another man with brown hair (Hatori) entered the home again. Hatori stopped dead in his tracks and gasped at my appearance. I almost rolled my eyes . . . but I decided not to. It would be rude and all, after these people called up a doctor for me. Although they didn't have to - really.
Averting his gaze from me, he looked to all the other people in the room. "I beg your pardon, but I found Yuki outside shortly after Shigure's call. He was with Hitomi, so I decided to walk back to the house with them. So, I'm guessing the new addition is my patient?" He gestured to me, but his eyes never met my curious ones.
Miss Honda nodded, closing her eyes and smiling. "Yup!" She replied, grabbing my hand and leading me closer to Hatori. "His name is X." She explained, still holding my hand. Hatori began walking down a hallway, so Miss Honda began walking with him, leaving me in their wake. Lost in thought, I stopped only to realize they'd advanced rather quickly down the hallway. Breaking out into a run, I found myself tripping and falling, sliding across the wooden floor with a loud impact.
Groaning, I gritted my teeth, vision becoming darker. You sure as hell better not pass out,I told myself, attempting to push myself up. My feet were wobbly, and I kept shaking, eventually falling back to the ground. "Agh!" I cried, sliding a little farther. Inching my way over to one of the paper doors, I gripped one of the frames, slowly pulling myself up bar by bar. It then caught my attention that there were animals carved into the paper; cats, dogs, snakes, oxes, dragons, roosters, horses, tigers, monkeys, boars, goats, rats, rabbits - they seemed to be all the animals from the zodiac. I thought back. What was it Hitomi had said to me? "Zodiac?" I pictured her voice in my head, how hopeful she had looked, sounded. But what was that supposed to mean?
"X, are you coming?" Hatori asked, peering around the corner. He gasped, quickly running over to me and grabbing my other hand, helping me up. "Are you okay?" He pressed, looking deeply into my eyes. I couldn't help but let my gaze slip to the floor. There were blood marks marring the wood.
"Aw, shit . . . " I muttered, watching as his stare followed mine. Taking my hand back from his, I groaned. "I'm really sorry about the floor - I didn't mean it. I just tripped, that's all . . . "
"Tripped over a flat surface?" Hatori interrogated, perking up his only visible eyebrow.
I nodded. "Well, yeah . . . but I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me. It's just a couple scratches." I explained.
Hatori shook his head. "X, this looks major. Come with me, I need to see how much damage happened before you lose too much blood. Something like this could lead to passing out, or something even more fatal." Grabbing my hand again, he took me past two more doors until he came into the one room on the left at the end of the hallway. Miss Honda was standing near the window, watching the nighttime pass by. I looked out the other window, which was facing the mountains. The sun had set - now leaving the world in an inky blackness.
"Damn," I cursed, letting my head droop. What was N going to do to me now?
"What is it, X?" Miss Honda asked, coming over to me and placing a hand on my shoulder. I winced, my right leg giving out and causing me to fall. I hurriedly grabbed the indent beneath the window. I wasn't going to die today. Miss Honda hopped away. "Oh - goodness, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to - "
I cut her off. "No - no. It's nothing. I mean, just a bruise, right? I'm not that hurt. You must've just hit a pressure point, or something." I explained, waving my hand dismissively as I got back up. I couldn't help but notice her and Hatori's eyes drilling holes into me. Staring out the window again, my head swam with anxiety. Couldn't they have just let me go? I was in a world of trouble, now - Machi was right.
Hatori cleared his throat. "X could you come over here and sit on the bed?" He asked kindly, waiting for me to turn. I did as I was told, and watched as he unzipped his black case, pulling out a stethoscope. Hatori put the earbuds in his ears, and gestured for Miss Honda to leave the room. Shuffling out, Hatori closed the door and took the metal end of the stethoscope in hand, showing it to me. "You know what a stethoscope is, right?" He pressed curiously. I shook my head, so he began explaining. "I'm supposed to press this silver part to your chest - then your heartbeat goes through the wiring, and sends the sounds to my ears. It helps me know your pulse, how fast your heartbeat is, and et cetera."
I eyed the small silver circle suspiciously as Hatori put his hand down my shirt and pressed it up against my chest. I winced, drawing in as much air as possible as I attempted not to gasp. God, that thing was cold - and boy did it hurt. Hatori looked concernedly at me as he pulled back the stethoscope and took the earbuds out, setting it on top of the quilt beside me.
"Are you okay, X?" He quizzed, expression unsure.
I nodded uneasily. "Yeah . . . " I trailed, deep in thought. How much had I gotten hurt? I shook my head, snapping me back into reality. I met his eyes again. "Must've been just a little shocked - that thing's really cold . . . "
Hatori still looked like he didn't trust me. Thinking a moment, he looked at me. "Would you mind, X, if you took off your shirt for me? I want to see just how much damage made an impact on you."
I gulped, looking down. Staring at the floor, I didn't trust my eyes as I lied straight through my teeth. "Seriously, it's nothing that big. All what I need to do is go home and get some rest . . . and then it'll all be better in the morning. Just a couple of scrapes, you know? I get 'em all the time. It's nothing to get too concerned about." I promised.
Hatori's eyes flashed as he nodded, looking a little hurt. Sluggishly, he moved the stethoscope, and sat beside me. I stilled, inhaling slowly. "You know, X," He began. "The Sohmas . . . they're really good people. And I'm not just saying that because I'm related to them - I'm saying that because that because they honestly are, the ones that you're around at the moment. Even if you've been with them for only a few moments. They have effects on people's lives. It took them a lot of trouble just to take you into their home and call me up. They could've left you outside, where you - even now, if you decide to leave - could've possibly died in the forest from lack of blood. Nobody would be able to find you. Which is why . . . I find you lucky for being able to find people so nice at the end of the forest pathway. For you to refuse to let me examine your harm, that's like refusing their kindness altogether. Thinking about it . . . they're complete strangers. What have you done for them? By doing this, this would be returning the favor. Because to Miss Honda, just to see someone smile from her hospitality is enough to keep her living."
He let this sink in to me before standing up again. I felt him watching as my eyes darted, watching the floor as I considered what he had said. I didn't want to offend anyone - but I didn't want anyone to have to worry about me, either. I was fine on my own, couldn't these people understand that? But by them understanding . . . that would be an offense. I swallowed a lump that had been forming in my throat and slowly unbuttoned my shirt. To think, just earlier I'd been thanking everything I could that none of the blood or slices had seeped through my shirt had been visible, or else the Sohmas would've flipped out even more. But now . . .
I pulled off the shirt and continued to stare at the floor. I knew that Hatori must've been shocked to see all of the scrapes, bruises, cuts, blood - and the scars. That, or he was completely digusted - but he didn't show it. Instead, he took my wrist in his hand and put two fingers on the unscathed part of it, glancing at his watch every now and then. When a minute passed, he sighed and smiled at me.
"You have a fast heart, eh, X?" He remarked, chuckling silently.
I sat there for a moment in silence, then shrugged, not really amused.
"X, have you ever seen a doctor before?" He questioned.
I thought for a moment. Had I ever seen a doctor? I mean, I probably had to have seen a doctor for me to be here . . . to have been born . . . right? My eyes continued darting, watching the wooden floor.
Hatori crouched down to look me in the eyes. " . . . X?" He persisted.
I closed my eyes, then looked up at him. "I don't know . . . maybe when I was born or something . . . ?"
"Do you have any parents or guardians that I could contact? A relation of some sort? Just to ask if you ever have seen a doctor before," Hatori explained.
I gave him a blank expression. "A . . . a what?" I blurted.
Hatori placed a hand on my shoulder. "X, do you have a family?" I remained silent. He wasn't concerned in that. "X? You know - brother, sister, mom, dad?"
I shrugged. "Maybe somewhere," I decided. "Either ways . . . even if I did - or didn't - it wouldn't concern you. I know how to walk, how to manage, how to talk."
Hatori looked at my cuts and scars and bruises. "X, what happened? How did you get these? Where?"
I took his hand off my shoulder. "Just . . . just help me . . . so I don't feel guilty for not accepting your offer of kindness." I needed to get out of here. They were figuring out too much. But still, they seemed to be hiding just about as much as I was.
Hatori sighed, but eventually gave up on pestering me with questions. It was weird. He didn't seem like the type to be concerned, like the type that showed their emotions of fear and pain and worry. I swallowed as he pulled out a roll of yellow fabric bigger than a full toilet paper roll from his bag. Along with it, there was a box of Band-Aids (thank God I can read), a spray, two liquids, a lotion-looking thing, a small glass kit filled with strings and sharp, shiny needles, and a variety of tubes with needles sticking off the ends. Of course, he began with the tube-needle-things called shots. He put several of them in my arms, waist, stomach, shoulders.
"X, how old are you?" He asked, pushing more of the liquid medicine into my wrist.
"Um . . . I think I'm sixteen," I said, rubbing my wrist absentmindedly when he finished injecting the shot.
He nodded. "Mm-hmm." He mumbled, picking up two more shots and putting one in each shoulder. "That's it for the shots," He decided, putting all of the empty capsules in the nearest trashcan. He suddenly picked up the kit with the needles and strings. "And now for the stitches," I sighed, but allowed him to thread the chosen string through the needle he was holding, and slowly slip it beneath my skin. I lurched at first, but it didn't hurt anymore than the shots. In fact, it tickled slightly - considering half my body was already numb from the previous needles. I watched as he slowly sealed together the cuts slitting up my chest, arms, neck, shoulders. Then he moved on to my back. I still felt the cold touch of Hitomi's finger along the jagged slices from the barbed wire as Hatori sealed up three more huge scrapes. In the end, he told me he'd had to seal up over fourteen cuts. Just fabulous. After that he continued spraying my tinier cuts with an anti-bacterial liquid that was supposed to not sting, but did. To add to it, he dabbed some of the other anti-bacterial liquids onto cotton balls and swiped over the cuts, absorbing most of the blood. When he finished with that he moved onto putting mini Band-Aids on my tinier slices, then wrapped the whole of my chest in most of the bandages. He also wrapped up most of my arms, and a cut on my leg. On the one shoulder that was sliced, he wrapped the bandage over and around it - sort of making it look like I was wearing a toga. I giggled silently at the thought.
Hatori put the rest of the leftovers in his bag as I stood up clumsily, pulling my shirt back over my bandages. "Shit," I whispered, watching as the bandages were visible. It was only a striped blue T-shirt with buttons - not a long-sleeve. How much was N going to kill me now?
"Hmm . . . ?" Hatori turned to face me.
"Um, thank you," I said, bowing gratefully, and wincing as I toppled to the floor. He quickly caught me, though, before I could land.
"Careful, X," He forewarned. "Hitting those cuts again could reopen them. I'd suggest taking it easy from now on, for example, resting often." He stopped abruptly, listening to the rising voices from the other room. "Sit on the bed for a second. I'll be back soon," He ordered. I followed his commands, watching as he opened the paper door and shut it in one swift movement. From outside, I could hear voices mixing around. They were loud, and hurt my head. I winced, growling lightly as I held my head in my hands.
"She can't stay here!" I heard Yuki shout. "Look at what she's done to us!"
"Where else can she stay?" Miss Honda shouted back.
"The Sohma House, where else?" Yuki shot back.
"We can't!"
"Why not?"
"Because we'd face the same problem!" Miss Honda snapped.
"But yet you bring her into our house like we won't react?" Yuki persisted.
Shigure cleared his throat. "Ah, I don't know. I'm not too sure I liked being 47. 27 is a much happier year. What do you think, Hatori?"
"It doesn't matter, Yuki." Hatori said. "As long as they're here, they affect the whole Sohma family - whether at the Sohma House or not. You should see everybody, how shocked they are. It's actually quite nice to be nineteen years younger."
I made a puzzled expression. What were they talking about?
Someone - probably Yuki - sighed. "I-I just don't know . . . " Yuki voiced.
"So it's unanimous!" Shigure exclaimed victoriously. "Tohru and Hitomi stay!"
"But what about Kyo?" Hatori asked. "He's supposed to be coming here, isn't he, Miss Honda?"
There was a silence. "I honestly just don't know . . . You should've seen him - his reaction - how hard Hitomi cried that night. She doesn't stop crying, either. Most of the time when I find her she is. You know, she hasn't talked more than a few words ever since she figured it out . . . "
There was another silence in which footfalls were heard and someone rounded the corner to the hallway. Someone sniffled, then whispered; "Mommy?" It was Hitomi's voice.
"Hitomi?" Miss Honda asked as the others gasped. "Aw, sweetie, what happened? Are you alright?"
Hitomi didn't speak for awhile. "No. Nothing happened. I'll try, though."
"Try what?"
"To reverse it." Hitomi said. There seemed to be a lot weighted on that answer.
Shigure cleared his throat. "Well, on that happy note I think Hatori only came out of his patient's room because he has something he'd like to announce, right, Hatori?" Shigure said, sounding happier than ever.
Apparently Hatori made a weird expression, because Shigure laughed at him. Clearing his throat, Hatori began speaking. "Um, yes. The boy you found - X - he seems to either have a problem with his memory or just honestly doesn't know. He can't remember his age, whether or not he has ever seen a doctor. Oh, and I don't think he's ever gone to school, either. He hasn't got a family - and the damage he had was extremely severe. Possibly a concussion, along with several odd-looking bruises - like shoes, bats, fists. I had to give him all his shots, and I found a bullethole in his back, but there was no bullet." I gasped, quickly lifting my hand to my back. The gang had clipped me? "He also had lots of glass caught in his sides, and a blade that looked like it was from barbed wire in his back. Whatever he was in was big, and he lost a lot of blood. The problem is is that he can't exactly walk right now, or barely stand due to all the stitches I had to put in him and all the bandages I wrapped him in. Right now he's fine . . . but he might pass out because I gave him so many shots, that or from lack of blood - or both.
"Aside from that, he and I were talking and it sounds like he lives by himself - and if not, then with someone (or something) rather forceful. Which is where you guys come in. I was wondering if maybe, alike to what you did with Miss Honda, you allowed him to stay here so long as he does some sort of work for the space." I felt like I was going to puke. I didn't need a home. Though most of what he said was true, I was fine living with N and R and Z, and all the others. As soon as he finished, Yuki began to speak.
"At this time?" Yuki was cut off.
"Sure," Shigure said firmly, trying to make a point to Yuki. Yuki screamed, then ran upstairs. There was the slam of a paper door shutting, and then a silence in which Machi broke.
"He's still trying to get over the fact he has to go through puberty again," She explained, earning a round of laughter. "Well, I better go after him . . . " She decided, following him up the stairs. I heard her scream, "Yuki!" above my head, and then a paper door open and close again.
Miss Honda sighed - or was it Hitomi? "I better get Hitomi upstairs for bed . . . " Miss Honda explained, following the couple upstairs with light footfalls.
"Huh . . . guess that just leaves you and I, eh, Hatori?" Shigure said, bemused.
Hatori sighed exasperatedly. "Actually, I need to tell the news to X - then I need to get back to my office. Remember, I've got other patients besides just the Sohmas. Plus . . . I actually have an interview with a new employee."
Shigure sounded surprised. "Really? Who?" He asked.
You could hear the smirk in Hatori's voice. "No one that concerns you . . . "
"Kana's divorce went through." Shigure said, sounding empty. "And you broke up with your girlfriend . . . just for her?"
I heard Hatori shrug, and a hand appeared as a shadow through the paper door as Hatori leaned against it. "The curse isn't mine to carry anymore." Hatori sighed. "I figured . . . if somehow Hitomi could reverse this . . . or not - we could stay young, or old, together in time - forever."
"Mayuko . . . she was pregnant?" Shigure explained.
"It's nothing to worry about." Hatori sighed. "Maybe I'll deny the job for Kana. I still have Mayuko and Chiharu underneath my watch."
"A girl? Is that why you broke up with Mayuko? Because you couldn't hug your own daughter?"
Hatori sounded hurt. "No," He paused. "Chiharu lives with me. She was the reason Mayuko broke up with me. Because she couldn't stand to see me hug my own child. Did you know . . . Hitomi is probably one of the strongest gods I have lived to see? Chiharu . . . is a full dragon. Not a shameful seahorse."
There was a silence. What the hell were they talking about, the psychos? I sighed, clutching my head tighter in my hands. Maybe I did get a concussion. Suddenly, the paper door swung open and Hatori was in the doorway. "X, are you okay?" He questioned, approaching me and sitting on the bed beside me. He didn't bother to close the paper door.
"My head hurts really bad," I answered. It wasn't a total lie. Standing up, I watched as Hatori helped me lay down on the bed, pulling the quilt over me. When I thought about it, he actually seemed like a pretty good dad.
I nearly jumped. Was I actually considering letting them take me in? "You should rest," Hatori told me, turning to leave. I tried to resist his offer, but eventually my lids felt like lead, and shut on me. But I was still awake.
"Um. Thanks." I replied. "I probably would've died. Or something. So. Thanks." My sentences came out really choppy.
"You're welcome," Hatori responded. "In fact . . . if you really like it here that much, you can stay as long as you help keep everything clean." Said Hatori.
"Uh . . . " I trailed, unsure of what to say. " . . . Maybe." Was my final response. Or maybe it wasn't. "Sure, I guess - if you don't entirely mind." I answered, snuggling into the sheets.
I didn't get to hear Hatori's reply, as I was sent into a realm where there was no reality, no light. I was either entering a blissful dream, or a terrifying nightmare.