Again, another visit to fanfiction past. This was written between 2004-2007. I still love Fruits Basket, though I can say I do not miss my old writing style. Original author's notes, etc.
Ok, this is my first official strictly Fruits Basket fic! Whoo hoo!! Hey, this is for all of you who are HUGE fans of the Mabudachi (i.e. Blossom) Trio and who never see fics about ALL THREE GUYS! WOW! *mutters*{ I have a knack for writing the fics no one else does...or maybe I just have weird tastes..first nekos n' master, now the Three Amigos...} Anyhoo, I hope I did ok, enjoy! ^_^
Warnings: Shounen-ai, it said so...TWICE in the description, so if you're not even a mild pervy yaoi fancier, then don't blame me if you read something your homophobic little mind doesn't like!
Disclaimer: The most excellent Blossom Trio doesn't belong to me...nor do any manga/anime characters...Damn!
Forgotten Memories, Healing Blossoms
"Hatori!!!!" Ayame happily cried, throwing himself at his long time friend. However, hearing Aya's battle cry, the dragon simply stepped to the side while the snake came to a graceful halt. "That is cheating, Tori. But I forgive you nonetheless!"
"What was the emergency, Ayame," Hatori coolly asked...right down to business for the oh-so collected Hatori. Aya was of course, sent into drama-queen mode.
"Oh, it's TERRIBLE, Tori-san! Shigure seems to be rather sick, I mean, he's howling like a wounded animal!"
Right on cue, a low wail echoed through the house and reached Hatori's ears; it did indeed sound like a wounded dog. Bag in hand, Hatori made his way through the house, in search of the irritating noise, with Ayame babbling the entire way.
"TORI, it's awful! Sweet little Tohru and my darling brother are in school, and Kyonkichi wanted nothing to do with him! So I was forced to stay with him until you arrived, and the noise is DREADFUL!"
Hatori ignored the flamboyant cousin until he reached the source of the noise...Shigure's study. He briskly slid open the door, stepped inside and knelt down next to the yowling dog, who was curled up on the floor shivering.
"You can stop making that noise now, Shigure," Hatori said as he whipped out his stethoscope and rolled Shigure onto his back. However, instead of seeing Shigure smirking or laughing or doing anything Shigure-like, he had an actual grimace of pain. A bit of fear washed over Hatori.
"Shigure, can you hear me?" Hatori asked softly. Shigure winced and whispered something, but it was rather inaudible. Hatori pressed closer. "What?" But still, he could not her his cousin's words, he moved closer, ear nearly touching Shigure's lips.
"...keeki...saru....ba..ku..." came Shigure's soft whisper.
Cake? Monkey? Monster? But Hatori had no time to process that information properly before being tackled from behind by an overexcited Aya and pulled down around the waist by a not-so sick Shigure!
"Baka Hari!!" Shigure and Aya yelled in unison. Hatori secretly fumed inside as his conniving cousins cuddled, prodded, and wrestled his unresisting form. He quickly stood up after several minutes of annoyance, gathered his things, and headed for the door, turning only to say, "Next time, only call if there's an emergency."
Ayame, being controlled by Hatori's words, did nothing. But the clever Shigure dashed after the dragon and blocked the doorway before he could leave.
"You know, Hatori, it wouldn't hurt to have a sense of humor about these things," Shigure casually said.
"And you, Shigure, could learn to grow-up," Hatori said coolly. "You and Aya have always been like this, I don't understand. One of these days, someone will get hurt by this nonsense. Someone could have needed me while you were playing your little games."
"Perhaps we thought the games would be fun. You do remember fun, don't you?"
"I have no time for that! Not with my responsibilities."
The truth was, Hatori wanted nothing more than to be free of his responsibilities, but he never could be. So why lament the loss of freedom? Just living with it proved much more beneficial. Although, Shigure and Ayame were always there for him when he needed a break the most. They had a way of making him forget...like when they were younger, in high school. Sometimes he missed that, but he had to work, he had to face reality, not play games.
"You did when we were younger," Ayame, who had just entered the room, said. (His need to talk to Hatori, rather than obey him, had freed his mind. ^.^)
"Yes, but now who is the only physician in the family? Who cares for Akito? I do. I'm needed!"
"Yes, Tori-san, but what about what you WANT? Do you want to drown yourself in your work," Ayame questioned.
"Do you really enjoy taking care of Akito that much," Shigure sneered, sidestepping Hatori to stand next to Ayame.
"It is not a question of what I want, it is a fact that I am the only one capable of such things. Now I must go," Hatori said as he turned to the door once again. As he stepped forward, he felt a soft hand grab his arm.
"Tori-san...I'm worried about you," Ayame's suddenly meek voice said.
"As am I, Hari," Shigure stated, wrapping his arms in his robes.
Hatori stopped moving and turned to face his two best friends.
"Tori, we have been worried about you for a very long time. I wish you would let us help you," Aya said in a more confident voice.
Hatori felt something stir through his body, something he had forgotten long ago. He looked at his two friends standing there outright concern on their faces. It had been a long time since he had seen these two act in such a way...but the emotion they showed was...touching. Apparently they cared for him very much, and he wished he could say he could do the same for them, but he wasn't quite sure he had the capacity to care in him.
"I don't need any help, Aya. I need to leave," Hatori said depressedly as he turned to leave once again. A hard smack to the back of his head turned him right back around only to be face to face with an angry Ayame.
"How dare you! How dare you," Ayame screamed, his hands curled into tight fists at his sides. "How can you be so cold towards us?! We have been nothing but loyal to you for all of these years and you show your care for us by turning your back?!"
"Ayame-"
"Shut up, Hatori! I am so very tired of it! We try our hardest to lift your spirits because we are deathly worried about you! And you call our efforts foolish, a waste of your precious time! Can you not see that we love you, Hatori? We care for you so deeply that we feel the pain you choose to ignore," Ayame huffed and glared at Hatori, placing an arm around Shigure's neck.
"Ayame does indeed speak for both of us, Hatori. Your behavior has been less than courteous to your two best friends, who are only looking out for your mental well-being. When you hurt, we hurt," Shigure calmly stated, soothingly patting Ayame's shoulder. "It's not only you being eaten by this pain."
The forgotten feeling returned to his body, swirling all through his veins. Hatori's mind raced...How had he hurt his two closest friends so deeply and yet not recognized it?
Had he been so selfish all this time? Why was this bothering him now? Nothing ever had before. The expression on Ayame's face actually hurt him.. it was a look of pain and disapproval towards the dragon. Why should he care what Ayame thought of him? Why did it guilt him that he had hurt Aya and Shigure? Pain was something everyone had to deal with, they could handle it...but he didn't really want them to, especially if he had caused the pain. Why was that? The two stared at him while he was deep in thought, wondering what was going through his mind. Hatori suddenly looked up.
"I-...I am very sorry, Ayame, Shigure," he murmured. "I did not know that you cared for me so deeply. I thought that all this time you were trying to annoy me, acting as you usually do. I did not know that I had hurt you. My deepest apologies."
Ayame rewarded Hatori with a stunning smile, Shigure shrugged, and both walked towards the angsty dragon.
"Tori-san, we shall always be here for you," Ayame cooed into his ear, wrapping his arms around Hatori's waist.
"Yes, Hari, because we need you just as much as you need us," Shigure whispered, pressing himself against Hatori's back, wrapping arms around his waist as well. Hatori, unsure of this sudden cuddle session, tensed. But the soft nuzzling from Ayame against his chest, and Shigure's cheek rubbing against his back, made him feel eerily comfortable, so he relaxed. These were the two people he cared about most, though he didn't know how to show it. He had treated them unkindly, and he felt truly sorry now, feeling their bodies against his, reassuring him that they cared. Never had he felt so at peace...never. He pulled Ayame closer to him, and buried his face in the silvery hair.
"Aya, I am so sorry. I did not mean to hurt you," he whispered, though it was partially muffled by the hair, and his embraced tightened.
"I forgave you, Hatori. I just want you to be happy again, like you used to be," Ayame whispered back. At that moment, both men looked to each other, faces inches apart. Hatori hesitated, but seeing the compassion in Ayame's eyes made him press his lips against the other's. The tender kiss lasted but a short while before passions were unleashed and they drank each other down, exploring the recesses of the other's mouth as if the sun would never rise. Shigure's grasp on Hatori's waist tightened beyond the point of comfort...bringing Hatori to his senses. He pulled away from Ayame, violently pressing down on the shorter man's shoulders to break the kiss. What was he doing?! Why did he just do that?! Was that forgotten feeling stirring inside him...love? He had only felt it once before...when Kana was with him! No! This couldn't be happening! Not again!
"Aya, not like this...I can't! Not- not...again," Hatori whispered to the snake, falling to his knees, clutching his once injured eye, as if in remembrance. "I deserve...I have to be alone."
"Hatori!" Ayame whimpered, his eyes misted with tears.
"But you're not alone..." Shigure tenderly cooed. "You know that." Hatori turned a tear streaked face up to the inu, and roughly pushed the writer's comforting hand from his shoulder.
"What could you know about me, Shigure? What?!" Hatori suddenly stood and rounded on the calm inu. "How could you possibly know how I felt when I-I-...when I broke Kana's heart?! I made her waste away...she was dying because of me! Me! Why would I do that to someone again? How...how could I? Why?"
The dragon's tears began to flow again at the thought of Kana...and how could he possibly do the same thing to the ones he now loved and trusted the most? He couldn't stand the thought of Ayame and Shigure in the same state...Akito would never approve of the dragon, the snake, and the dog together; possibly happy. He would do the same thing...make Hatori erase their memories, but he alone would be the one to be haunted by them, and always long for the happiness that would never return. He couldn't do it again.\
A cliffhanger!! O.O
I do that a lot...^_^...o.O...*dodges sudden barrage of rotten vegetables*
I'll write more if you review!
P.S. Just so you know BEFORE you flame me, I wrote this in one night, on 2 hours of sleep and a ginger ale, so if the dialogue isn't quite right, don't be so snarky....