Disclaimer: Fruits Basket belongs to its respective owners…but I do own Hatori though .
This is a continuation of "Summer is Not So Bad After All", where Yukina is still an OC and well, coupled with Hatori.
Apple-phobia…?
She had always hated apples, and he had always puzzled over this matter.
"Why?" he had asked her many times before, but she just shrugged nonchalantly without replying.
No matter what he did – that includes persuading her, coercing her, brandishing a big red apple to tempt her, threatening her…and the list goes on, she would never put an apple into her mouth.
Sitting at his desk, Hatori sighed as he looked at the fruit basket in front of him. It was now empty except for three apples left inside.
"It must be Yukina again…" he thought to himself.
Talking about the devil, or rather thinking about the devil, Yukina appeared in front of him in an instant after bursting through the door and plopping down in a chair opposite him.
"Hatori, were you looking for me?" Yukina asked cheerfully.
"Sometimes I wonder…are you a little telepathic?" he frowned slightly, wondering how she knew it.
Yukina cocked her head and gazed at him.
"Maybe, who knows?" she chuckled. "Anyway, what is it?"
"Why are there three apples in the basket, Yukina?" he narrowed his eyes at her, thinking whether he could try to force her to eat them today.
Yukina then scratched her chin thoughtfully.
"Because there is only three apples when the basket arrived?" Yukina hinted helpfully.
Not being able to take it any more, Hatori stood up and went to lock the door. Then, he advanced towards the grinning girl and put his hands on her shoulders.
"If you are going to eat it, you might as well finish it, Yukina. Apples are good for your health," he said earnestly. "By the way, I will not let you step out of the room unless you eat those apples."
Yukina stared at the doctor, wondering why he was so serious about the matter.
"I left them especially for you, Hatori. Apples are good, so you should eat them," Yukina said sincerely, although there was a telltale glint of humour in her eyes.
Hatori's eyes flashed.
"I'm serious this time, Yukina. If you will not tell me the reason you don't eat apples, I will force you to eat them today. I'm already bored with eating all the apples you left…"
Suddenly, Hatori tried to remember the time when he first knew Yukina. In truth, Yukina was a sixteen year old girl who had amnesia, and he had found her in front of his house, unconscious and badly injured. He treated her back to health and adopted Yukina as his ward out of sympathy for the cute, bubbly girl.
Then, Yukina slowly discovered her own talent at music in the process when Hatori tried to restore her memories. Since then, she got a job as a musician at a café with a magnificent pay and worked there four nights a week.
Because of her cute look and amazing talent in music, she had many fans from the town that were crazy about her, and frequently received presents from them. The most common ones were baskets of fruits…loads of them.
However, every time Yukina received these fruits baskets, she ate almost everything…except for the apples. Invariably, the apples eventually would end up with Hatori, who had eaten them without complaining…until today, when he must find out the truth.
To his surprise, Yukina's eyes suddenly filled with tears and she hastily turned away from Hatori's gaze.
"I don't like apples…I hate them," she said, infuriated.
Hatori looked at the weeping girl in front of him and became flustered. He quickly moved to put his arms around her shoulders, trying to console her.
"At least, tell me why you don't like them, Yukina…" he said gently, feeling sorry for making her cry.
The sobbing girl hastily wiped her tears and looked at him timidly.
"If I tell you, would you promise not to laugh at me?" she asked softly.
Hatori exhaled a short breath, feeling glad that he was able to know the answer at last.
"I solemnly swear not to laugh at Yukina-Rei for telling me the reason she does not like apples, or else…" he was hushed down by Yukina, who put a finger against his lips.
"Don't say it, Hatori…all right. I don't like apples because…" Yukina's face now was scarlet as she blushed furiously. "People said that…an apple a day keeps the doctor away…so if I ate apples, you might…"
She was interrupted as Hatori pulled her into his arms and kissed her forcefully, swallowing her words.
Their lips interlocked and their arms entwined each other. Their tongues met in a heated kiss that left them gasping for air but still yearning for more of each other. Finally, when they finished, both of them were out of breath and Yukina's lips were especially swollen.
"I will prove to you that even if you eat apples, the doctor will still stay with you, Yukina," Hatori said darkly to Yukina, and went off to slice an apple.
Yukina watched Hatori curiously as he removed the skin of the apple painstakingly. Then, he sliced the apple into small pieces and put one into his mouth without swallowing it.
Hatori walked slowly to Yukina and tilted her head to look straight at him. Then, he bent down to kiss her once again, with the apple transferred into Yukina's mouth. The kiss now was slow and deep, with Hatori embracing Yukina tightly to prevent her from falling backwards.
After they finished once more, Hatori said seriously to Yukina, "An apple a day might keep the doctor away, but it won't keep me away from you, Yukina…"
Yukina did not respond, but just hugged him lovingly. At last, she was able to overcome her fear of apples, with the help of one particular doctor – Hatori Souma.
The End