Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, although I would love to own Hatori and Akito. I do own Saya.

"blah"-talking

blah-thinking

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Your Curse, My Cure

Chapter One

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Saki Hanajima sucked softly on a piece of pocky while resting her cheek on her palm, her dark eyes staring out the window of her room. She bit the pocky and held onto the end of the stick as she chewed, her eyes narrowing slightly. With a sigh, she walked into the hallway and grabbed the phone, dialing the Souma's number. "Hello, this is Saki Hanajima. Is Tohru available?" she asked in her monotonous voice.

"Hana-chan, how are you?" came the cheerful reply.

"I'm fine, I was wondering if I'd be allowed to come stay with you for a while," she said softly, her eyes downcast.

"Stay? Why?" Tohru asked, her voice filling with curiosity.

"Home isn't really a home right now," she replied with a soft sigh, gripping the receiver softly. She heard Tohru put the phone down then yell in the background and then a shuffling sound was heard. She heard Tohru pick the phone back up and giggle softly, out of breath.

"Shigure-san said it's okay if you stay, he said you can stay for however long you need to," she said. "But I must ask, what's going on?"

"I'll explain when I get there," she replied and placed the phone down on the receiver before walking back into her room. She began placing clothes into a large duffel bag, biting her lip as she did so.

She didn't really want to run away from her problems but things had gotten out of hand. Her powers had manifested in a way like never before and she had actually sent Megumi to the hospital. She didn't really want to get Tohru involved because she didn't want Tohru hurt but she had to get out of the house. She knew her parents loved her, but it was like they were avoiding her. They even sent her grandmother to leave with her aunt, in fear that she'd hurt her.

She finished packing her clothes and grabbed her essentials, stuffing them into the bag. She didn't know how long she'd be gone, but if it got to the point where Tohru would be hurt, she'd leave the Souma residence immediately. She slung the bag over her shoulder and walked out of the room and down the stairs. She walked out the door and trekked silently to the Souma house until she stood outside.

After a large breath, she knocked on the door and waited until Tohru slid it open with a large smile. "Hana-chan, come in," she said and ushered her in, taking the large bag from her and disappearing down the hallway. She returned shortly and sat at the table with Hana, Yuki, Kyo, Shigure and another man Hana had never met before. "Hana-chan, you've met everyone except Hatori-san," Tohru said while gesturing to the handsome man that sat next to Shigure.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Hatori-san," she said and gave a slight bow, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He nodded in reply and resumed talking to Shigure about some inane subject.

"Now, Hana-chan, we could go outside and you could tell me what's wrong," Tohru said softly to her. Her large brown eyes filled up with concern and she covered her hand with her own. "Would you like to?"

Hana nodded and they stood and walked outside, sitting on the step. She sighed and pulled her legs up, resting her chin on her knees. "I don't want you to worry nor do I want to burden you with my problems, Tohru-chan," she began, "but I've been having problems at home for some time."

"Like what, Hana-chan?" she asked.

"My powers have been out of control lately, I injured Megumi very badly," she said with a deep frown. "It was unintentional but it happened none-the-less. I was very distraught over something and Megumi was very concerned, he held my hand and kept asking me what was wrong. I was getting very frustrated at this and I turned my head towards him and my dempa flung him backwards into the dresser.

"I hadn't realized what I had done until he lay slumped on the floor. I cried out for my parents and they came running into the room. My mother screamed when she saw Megumi and she cried, staring at me in horror. I was ashamed and I cried as well, it was very difficult to explain to the hospital. After that, my mother sent my grandmother to live with my aunt in fear that I would hurt her too.

"I didn't want to come here, in case I hurt you or your friends but I had to get out of that house. I assure you, Tohru-chan, if my powers get out of hand I'll leave before anyone gets hurt," she said, her eyes staring at the ground and filling with unshed tears.

"Hana-chan, it'll be all right," Tohru said and wrapped her arms around her friend, pulling her head onto her shoulder. She gently stroked Hana's hair as the girl let her tears flow, her body trembling. "Don't worry, I'll always be here for you."

"Tohru-chan," a voice said from the doorway. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting."

"Oh, no, Hatori-san," Tohru said with a smile. "What's the matter?"

"Shigure wants to know what you'll be making for dinner," he said.

Tohru gasped. "Dinner! I forgot," she exclaimed and jumped up, running into the kitchen.

Hana wiped away her tears and sniffled quietly, looking up when Hatori handed her his handkerchief. "Thank you," she whispered and wiped her eyes with the soft cloth, her cheeks tingeing with pink.

"Don't be afraid to show your tears," he said softly, his murky eyes staring down at her. "Tohru will do anything she can to protect you, let her."

Hana smiled up at him. "I like your waves, they're very comforting and peaceful," she said and stood, handing him his handkerchief.

"Keep it," he replied and walked back inside, shoving his hands into his pockets.

She sighed and looked down at the white cloth, it had a dark blue bordering on it with an 'H' embroidered in red on the bottom right corner. She rubbed her thumb over it before placing it in her pocket and walking back inside as well. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and walked up the stairs, in Tohru's room. She fell onto Tohru's bed and fanned herself before hearing a creak from the doorway. She sat up and stared at the prince, as her school had dubbed him.

"I'm sorry for being rude, Hanajima-san," he said and gave a small bow. "I was just wondering if everything was to your liking so far."

"Yes, everything is fine, Souma-san," she replied with a small nod.

"You can call me Yuki," he replied with a small smile.

"And you can call me Hana," she said with a smile of her own before standing and following him down the stairs. They sat at the table as Tohru placed soup in front of them with rice. After they ate dinner, Hana walked outside and stopped near a pond, looking in at all the fish. "I wish I could be carefree like you all," she whispered.

"What's stopping you?" she heard someone ask.

She turned to see Hatori sitting by the edge of the pond, a cigarette dangling out of his lips. "A lot of things," she replied and walked over to him, plopping down next to him and huddling her legs up to her body.

"Like what?" he asked.

"I suppose you know about my powers, well I can't always control them," she said and stared at the blue water. "They're giving me hell right now."

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop but I heard you saying something about a person named Megumi," he said while inhaling the cigarette.

"My little brother," she said. "I injured him with my powers and he's in the hospital right now."

"Oh, how unfortunate," he murmured softly.

"Why is it so warm in the daytime but so cold in the evening," she asked and tried to pull her legs closer to her. She looked over at him when she felt something warm draped over her shoulders and realized it was his jacket. She pulled it closer and caught a whiff of his scent, cigarettes and a soft cologne. Oddly, the smell gave her a heady feeling, just being next to the man gave her a heady feeling.

"We should head back inside," he said after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah," she replied and stood, handing him his jacket when he did as well. They walked inside in silence and parted ways to different rooms. As Hana laid next to Tohru that night she found herself thinking back to the smell of his jacket. She also found herself thinking about how warm it was sitting next to him, and his eyes. The murky depths sending slight shivers throughout her body. Saki, what is wrong with you, she asked herself before yawning and drifting off to sleep. Hana shifted slightly and groaned, opening her eyes and looking around the darkness of the room. She sat up and got out of the bed, quietly pulling a book from her bag and leaving the room. She walked down the stairs and into the sitting room, where she slumped against the wall near the door outside and began reading her book.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" a voice said from the doorway.

She looked up at Shigure and gave a small smile. "Shouldn't you?"

"I have a really bad sleeping schedule, I'm up at hours like this writing," he replied. "I just came to get some more coffee and saw you sitting in here."

"I couldn't sleep, I was restless," she replied.

"So you come and read by moonlight," he teased and sat next to her. "What're you reading anyway?"

"One of your books," she replied and showed him the cover.

"Ah, so you are," he said with a wolfish grin and stood. "Well, I'll leave you to your reading."

"Could you bring me some coffee, Shigure-san?" she asked and gave a small smile when he nodded.

"Ah, hey Ha'ri," he said when he was in the hallway. "You couldn't sleep either?"

Hana's heart sped up when she heard his voice reply, she looked at the ground while trying to calm her heart. What's wrong with me, she asked herself as she saw him look into the room and see her against the wall. He walked in and placed her cup of coffee on the ground next to her and sat a few feet away.

"Enjoying your book?" he asked and gave her a side glance.

"Yes," she replied and looked over at him, biting her lip softly. "May I ask, why do you have you hair covering your eye?"

"It's partially blind so there's no reason in leaving it uncovered," he said and laid his head back against the wall. He turned to her again and watched her resume reading her book, taking sips of her coffee every now and then. He looked to the doorway and saw Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo staring at them.

"What're you guys doing?" Tohru asked, drawing the attention of her dark-haired friend.

"We couldn't sleep," Hatori replied.

"Damn insomniacs, keeping everyone else up," Kyo muttered and walked back up the stairs, giving off a loud yawn.

"Oh," Tohru replied with a smile and walked up the stairs as well, followed by Yuki who shook his head.

Hana turned to Hatori and they shared a smile, quickly turning away from each other. Hana bit her lip and closed her book, turning completely to Hatori. He looked at her for a long time before moving closer to her and facing her as well. She smiled before looking at the book that laid on the floor a foot away. "Hatori-san, have you ever been in love?" she asked while touching the cover of the love novel.

"Yes, I have," he replied and stared at her intently.

"I read about love in these books and other books like these but I've never experienced it for myself," she said and looked at him again. "What does it feel like? Why do people sometimes come out happy? Why sometimes hurt?"

"Love can feel like many things, for me it was wonderful," he said with a small smile. "I felt like I had never before, it made me very happy and nothing could bring me down from my high. As for happiness and unhappiness, sometimes people can stand in the way of others love and the lovers come out hurt."

"What about you? What happened to your lover?" she asked and leant forward slightly on the palms of her hands.

Hatori stared into her curious, dark eyes with an uncomfortable expression. "Someone stood in the way and certain measures had to be taken to fix the damage that was done."

"Oh," she said softly, falling back on her bottom. "That almost makes me not want to fall in love."

"You should always want to fall in love even if you can come out hurt," he replied and stared down at her sad expression. He placed his fingers under her chin and pulled it up, staring into her eyes before lowering his lips to hers. Her lips were soft and inviting, they tasted like chocolate pocky and coffee. It felt like something out of Shigure's novels.

Hana sighed into the kiss, letting Hatori's tongue enter her mouth and lick it clean, leaving his taste. She never thought someone could taste like something but he tasted like cigarettes and something that was just him. She let her hand raise to his cheek and ran her thumb across his cheekbone softly. She pulled away for air and stared at him with flushed cheeks, her eyes filled with surprise. "That was unexpected," she said and sat back on her legs.

"Yes, that was," he said and ran his hand threw his hair, revealing his other eye. He stood and pulled her up only to grasp to her when she stepped on the book and slipped. He awaited for the loud "poof" but it never came and he stared down at the girl he held against his chest. His eyes were wide with shock and his mouth was slightly agape. He held her away and stared down at her before rushing into Shigure's study.

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Hope you enjoyed, please review.

Yoko Touma