This fanfic is a Hana/Tohru one-shot. This is for those people that were getting on my case for making a successful fic for them. My last one ended up being Tohru/Yuki, and shoujo-ai shippers flamed me for it. How about you give me some constructive criticism next time and I be tempted to make a rant flash about you people! You're an annoyance!
This takes place after Volume 11 of the manga, where Akito confronts Tohru and tells her about himself, that's he's the God of the Zodiac, Kyo will be confined, and everyone is supposed to live with him, and that she's being conceited thinking she'll save them. After coming back from the summer home, Hana comforts her, enough said. Yes, as this is based on the manga, we have the honorifics and some Japanese thrown in.
I don't own Furuba or its characters, no matter how cute they are.
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Tohru trudged back into Shigure's house with a heavy mind carrying an equally heavy bandage, thanks to Akito. Her vacation, although ending on a happy note by launching fireworks, was tainted when Akito confronted her, hurting Momiji. She learned much about the curse that day, but still had many questions buzzing about her head. Why would Kyo be confined? Why did Akito wish to bind the zodiac to him? Why did he hate her? While climbing the stairs to her room, Shigure called her.
"Tohru-kun?" He asked in a semi-serious tone. She looked down with a depressed look on her face. "Tohru-kun… What Akito-san said was true… demo (but) don't worry. It'll be fine. Just keep being yourself." She smiled, grateful for the dog's vote of confidence, but hiding her emotions beneath it. 'Being myself has gotten me this far, demo… what can I do now? I want to break the curse so badly… Oka-san… (Mom) what can you tell me?' The answers escaped her as she laid on her bed pondering about the family. Just then, her thoughts were interrupted when the phone beside her bed rang. She hesitantly picked it up, still laying on the bed face-down. "Moshi-moshi? (Hello for the phone) Honda Tohru-desu…" She then bolted upright whe she heard the voice on the other end.
"Hana-chan! How are you? Hai, Daijobu. (Yes, I'm all right.)" Lost in talk for several minutes, leaving out the part about Akito and Kyo's fight with him as well as Yuki's 'move' on her. "Eh? You want to go out for dinner?" Her face lit up at the idea, grateful for her friends' generosity. "Sugoi-desu! (Wow!) That sounds great! When can I go? Oh… you'll pick me up? Yoshi! (All right!) I'll see you then! Arigato Gozaimasu (Thank you very much), Hana-chan, Sayonara." She placed the phone down on the receiver, and plopped back down on the bed with a smile rivaling others she had had before. 'Hana-chan… maybe you can help me…'
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Later that night…
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The two girls came walking down the narrow road to Shigure's house laughing as they recounted their vacation memories. Tohru recounted that she met Isuzu (without mention of the curse) and told her about Hiro and Kisa. 'Tohru-kun… she's hiding something. Her face is smiling, but… her mind is… it's crying. I need to help her.' The duo came to a fork in the road where Hana made her stop. "Tohru-kun… what's wrong? Something about your waves is… different tonight. I even sensed it over the phone… it's not natural. What's troubling you?" Tohru hung her head, starting to walk again but not looking where she was going. Instead of taking the path that led the Shigure's house, she took the one that led to Yuki's Secret Base. Hana didn't care, she followed anyway. "You… wouldn't want to know…" Tohru attempted to dismiss it and kept walking. Suddenly, Hana came up with a slightly stricter tone.
"Tohru-kun… I can sense disorder. If you don't… sort it out soon… It'll eat you alive from the inside out. I don't want that to happen… to someone… like you…" Hana trailed off, looking truly sad since the first time they met in middle school. "Hana-chan… OK, I'll tell you… I… met the head of the family there… he… he didn't know I was living with the Sohmas… he called me… a bitch, a tramp, all these names… he wanted me to leave, but… I can't… the Sohma's are like family to me now… Hana-chan…" Saki couldn't think of anything to do but run up and hold her friend close. She sensed it was something like this, but there was little she could do. "Tohru-kun… Thank you for letting me listen to your troubles… but you shouldn't worry over things like that." The brunette looked up with tear-filled eyes, confused.
"They stood up for you, didn't they? The family?" She offered, hoping to jog Tohru's memory. 'Please… just let her smile like she used to…' She pleaded in her mind. Tohru stared into space as she thought about it. "Yes… they did, but… he's their leader, that can't…" Hana interrupted her again. "They can overpower him. I won't let you think you don't belong there after living there for so long. That's not the Tohru that… that I love."
'Love…?' The word rang in Tohru's mind for several seconds like a bell, unfamiliar yet with her all along. "Hana-chan… What do you mean?" Both of the girls knelt on the ground from fatigue and their own emotional weight. "I love you, Tohru-kun… even more than a friend." Tohru was shocked but couldn't force much of a reaction through her already stunned face. "I want you to smile again… I want to be… with you… but not if you don't believe yourself like you did before. Tohru-kun… I know you don't feel the same for me, but… I treasure those things about you. I love you, Tohru-kun."
"Hana-chan… you're wrong." The contradiction stunned the both of them. Since when was Saki Hanajima wrong? Her psychic powers allowed her to accurately tell how people would react to certain situations, and this time, she was wrong. "Hana-chan… I love you too. You're always there for me… you know how to make me feel better… you remind me of my reasons to go on. I love you, Han…" Saki then put a finger to her lips to replace it with her own lips. Tohru's mind froze. She never dreamed she would kiss Hana, but the feeling that came with in was indescribable, one that would always live within her. Slowly closing her eyes, she returned the kiss with equal happiness and gratitude. She took the time then to check out her surroundings, she was very close to the base. This startled her.
"Eh! Why are we at the garden? We must have taken a wrong turn at the for…" Hana interrupted her again to make a request. "Just one thing Tohru-kun… use my first name… please?" The tears from both their eyes increased as Tohru nodded and complied. "Hai… Saki-chan."
"Arigato, Tohru-kun… it sounds so much better." They then walked hand-in-hand away from the garden to contemplate how to explain how they were late and what do to about their new romance…
(A/N: There, I hope you're happy now! I'm kinda proud about this one, it makes sense for those who have kept up with the manga for as long as I have. Now to write the epilogue for my second fic… (scurrys off…) )