Disclaimer: Fruits basket is property of the great Natsuki Takaya and
Hakusensha. I'm just using her characters for a little fun ^.^
The Tide that binds us
Chapter 1: Recovery
After much debate Hatori had come to the decision to release the young woman in room 502. She had spent the last 5 months in the same room recovering from deep wounds suffered in a mysterious accident that was much speculation on the floor when she was rushed in one night several months ago. No charges were pressed, neither were the police involved. Everything was kept hushed and veiled in secret. For the first few weeks of her stay she was the talk of Unit C on the 5th floor of Tokyo General hospital. The gossips amongst the nursing staff spun many rumors ranging from an argument with a boyfriend that ended in a brutal stabbing. Others speculated she had been mugged and raped. The truth lied somewhere in between but none would ever guess the true reasons behind her wounds nor that for the lack of authority involvement. The Sohma were very private people and any scandal that would put their family in the spotlight had to be adverted at all cost even if it meant lying or resorting to manipulations.
Discharging patients were part of his routine yet this one case was far from anything ordinary. She wasn't just any other patient of his. Neither was she just another Sohma member. In fact she was one of the 13 cursed members of the Jyunnishi circle and as such he felt a closer bond to this case. However, what pained him most was the hypocrisy of the whole situation. As a physician his ethical duty would have been to report the matter or at least encourage the girl to file a report. However, he could do neither as doing so would mean exposing his family to public scrutiny or worse yet potentially compromising the jyunnishi's secret. Most importantly his mouth and hands were bind by Akito's direct orders.
The young doctor sat at his desk with a pen in one hand the other slowly massaging his aching left temple as his eyes stared at the discharge paper lying before him. With a few strokes he would sign her over to her prison and back into her cage under the care of the very person who sent her in the hospital in the first place.
There it was done. He closed the chart and flagged the station to alert the nurse to get the paper work moving. He had one more thing to do before calling it a night. With that he made his way down the long white tiled hallway. It was fairly late; she might be already asleep but he wanted to talk to her before leaving.
He tapped lightly at the door but did not receive any response. He slowly propped the door open and stepped into the dimly lit room. There was no movement from the single bed occupant. He silently made his way to the head of the bed.
"Rin" he asked seeing that her eyes were wide open yet she laid their motionless.
She didn't answer instead seemed to be more fascinated by the white of the room's walls.
'It's late but I wanted to stop by to let you know that you'll be going home tomorrow morning' he continued in a solemn voice.
'If you need anything buzz the nurses' station or have them page me'
It was always like this when Akito got involved.the women were always the one to suffer the most. He knew that all too well from personal experience. He stood there quietly a few seconds staring at her still figure. . Her long dark hair an amazing contrast to her skin; her dark eyes also seemed to contrast her skin and hair. Her lips were the color of summer's brightest berry. He remembered the lively blush that once grazed her beautiful face and couldn't help but remember the past as it replayed itself in front of him. Than something else caught his attention. He watched the single crystalline tear roll down her soft cheeks. It was the most reaction he had managed to get out of her in the past few weeks.
Slowly he brought his hand to her cheek wiping away the tearstains.
"I'm sorry" was all he could say.
He had failed her. They all have failed her like he had Kana and little Kisa. How many more victims would he have to silence to protect the family and Akito he thought bitterly as he bit his lips.
He turned around ready to leave. He couldn't bare it any more. He had accomplished what he had set out to do and needed to get out of there before he lost it.
'Hatori..'nisan.' a voice asked . It was neither shaky or weak. He heard it clearly with almost a faint trace of the deviance he had come to known.
He turned around to face her.
'yes Rin? ' he asked.
'I want to see him' she said point blank.
He didn't need to ask who she was referring to; He already knew.
'I'll let him know' he said giving her one last reassuring look.
She nodded and closed her eyes. With that his night came to an end. He had a long drive back to the Honke. He would have to notify Akito about Rin's discharge and make one last call for the night.
The phone rang several times at Shigure's Resident when finally a female voice answered from the other end of the line.
'Hello, Sohma resident' a cheerful voice chirped through the receiver. Hatori instinctively closed his eyes taking in the sound of the voice they've come to appreciate. After a brief silence he finally spoke in his usual stoic voice.
"Tohru-kun, is Shigure there?" he asked.
"ah Shigure-san? Umm.he's in his study. Hang on I'll let him know you're on the line"
"thanks' he replied back.
A few minutes later he heard Shigure's playful voice greeting him like he always did.
"Ah!. Ha-san what do I owe this honor to! " he asked jokingly in his warm friendly voice.
'Cut the crap and listen carefully. She's coming out tomorrow. I thought you might want to know." He started.
Shigure's expression changed in a matter of seconds. Gone were his silly grin and the playfulness in his voice. Instead he wore that mysterious dark expression that he rarely showed to anyone but Hatori.
"I see. Did she say anything?" he asked.
"well since you asked she's recovering well enough to be released; she will need reconstructive surgery on her back but that won't be for another few months' Hatori said with a twinge of bitterness in his voice. Did he always have to pretend that he didn't care about what happened to those around him.
'oh and She wants to see you. I have to go now I'll talk to you in the morning' he concluded placing the receiver back on the hook.
'Shigure-san? Is something wrong?' Tohru asked looking concerned at the older man staring blankly at the dead phone.
He turned around to face the girl trying to collect himself.
'oh no it was just Ha-san in a rotten mood. Nothing to be concerned about" he smiled at her.
"Ne, Tohru-kun you think you could whip up a quick late night snack for this hungry author" he continued in his trademark playful voice.
"sure. Give me a few minutes and I'll get some Rice balls ready." She replied back happy that it wasn't anything serious for Hatori to be calling at this hour of the night.
Shigure headed back to his study lost in his own thoughts. The timing was bad. Akito mood had gotten more volatile in the past months and with Tohru in his house things couldn't have been timed worse than now.
Notes: After much yearning to Read a fic about Rin and Gure I've finally decided to do one my own damn self (LOL) anyways, I'm not sure how long she was in the hospital but I just pulled the 5 months out my magic hat . Since her wounds were more severe than Kisa who spent 2 months in the hospital I just roughly estimated. (now in real life unless you're in a complete body cast or terminally ill 5 month stay in hospital is excessive but hey this is a fic and I can throw out my medical knowledge and do whatever the heck flows. Anyways I intend on exploring briefly what I think might be between Gure and Rin . I'll touch briefly on her relationship with Haru but that won't be the focus of the fic :P Rin and Shigure are both secretive and mysterious so I can't guarantee that my guess are anything close to their true motives but I promise I'll finish this one since I have it set for 3-4 chapters and a semi-conclusion. Since the manga is still running it won't be definitive. Just something to ponder on.
Another reason that I decided to write the fic was something that bothered me a lot. Hatori's seemingly compromising position as a physician and jyunnishi member steadfast in protecting the family secret yet he has to take all the abuse around him in silence without reporting them to the authorities. I'm not sure what the laws are in japan but it sure bothered me. I still love my Ha-san but wish he'd grow a back bone along with the rest of the sohma guys ;x
Hehe notice the use of number '5' ? (I have no clue why I used it but I read somewhere that there was a symbolism to it hehe)
The Tide that binds us
Chapter 1: Recovery
After much debate Hatori had come to the decision to release the young woman in room 502. She had spent the last 5 months in the same room recovering from deep wounds suffered in a mysterious accident that was much speculation on the floor when she was rushed in one night several months ago. No charges were pressed, neither were the police involved. Everything was kept hushed and veiled in secret. For the first few weeks of her stay she was the talk of Unit C on the 5th floor of Tokyo General hospital. The gossips amongst the nursing staff spun many rumors ranging from an argument with a boyfriend that ended in a brutal stabbing. Others speculated she had been mugged and raped. The truth lied somewhere in between but none would ever guess the true reasons behind her wounds nor that for the lack of authority involvement. The Sohma were very private people and any scandal that would put their family in the spotlight had to be adverted at all cost even if it meant lying or resorting to manipulations.
Discharging patients were part of his routine yet this one case was far from anything ordinary. She wasn't just any other patient of his. Neither was she just another Sohma member. In fact she was one of the 13 cursed members of the Jyunnishi circle and as such he felt a closer bond to this case. However, what pained him most was the hypocrisy of the whole situation. As a physician his ethical duty would have been to report the matter or at least encourage the girl to file a report. However, he could do neither as doing so would mean exposing his family to public scrutiny or worse yet potentially compromising the jyunnishi's secret. Most importantly his mouth and hands were bind by Akito's direct orders.
The young doctor sat at his desk with a pen in one hand the other slowly massaging his aching left temple as his eyes stared at the discharge paper lying before him. With a few strokes he would sign her over to her prison and back into her cage under the care of the very person who sent her in the hospital in the first place.
There it was done. He closed the chart and flagged the station to alert the nurse to get the paper work moving. He had one more thing to do before calling it a night. With that he made his way down the long white tiled hallway. It was fairly late; she might be already asleep but he wanted to talk to her before leaving.
He tapped lightly at the door but did not receive any response. He slowly propped the door open and stepped into the dimly lit room. There was no movement from the single bed occupant. He silently made his way to the head of the bed.
"Rin" he asked seeing that her eyes were wide open yet she laid their motionless.
She didn't answer instead seemed to be more fascinated by the white of the room's walls.
'It's late but I wanted to stop by to let you know that you'll be going home tomorrow morning' he continued in a solemn voice.
'If you need anything buzz the nurses' station or have them page me'
It was always like this when Akito got involved.the women were always the one to suffer the most. He knew that all too well from personal experience. He stood there quietly a few seconds staring at her still figure. . Her long dark hair an amazing contrast to her skin; her dark eyes also seemed to contrast her skin and hair. Her lips were the color of summer's brightest berry. He remembered the lively blush that once grazed her beautiful face and couldn't help but remember the past as it replayed itself in front of him. Than something else caught his attention. He watched the single crystalline tear roll down her soft cheeks. It was the most reaction he had managed to get out of her in the past few weeks.
Slowly he brought his hand to her cheek wiping away the tearstains.
"I'm sorry" was all he could say.
He had failed her. They all have failed her like he had Kana and little Kisa. How many more victims would he have to silence to protect the family and Akito he thought bitterly as he bit his lips.
He turned around ready to leave. He couldn't bare it any more. He had accomplished what he had set out to do and needed to get out of there before he lost it.
'Hatori..'nisan.' a voice asked . It was neither shaky or weak. He heard it clearly with almost a faint trace of the deviance he had come to known.
He turned around to face her.
'yes Rin? ' he asked.
'I want to see him' she said point blank.
He didn't need to ask who she was referring to; He already knew.
'I'll let him know' he said giving her one last reassuring look.
She nodded and closed her eyes. With that his night came to an end. He had a long drive back to the Honke. He would have to notify Akito about Rin's discharge and make one last call for the night.
The phone rang several times at Shigure's Resident when finally a female voice answered from the other end of the line.
'Hello, Sohma resident' a cheerful voice chirped through the receiver. Hatori instinctively closed his eyes taking in the sound of the voice they've come to appreciate. After a brief silence he finally spoke in his usual stoic voice.
"Tohru-kun, is Shigure there?" he asked.
"ah Shigure-san? Umm.he's in his study. Hang on I'll let him know you're on the line"
"thanks' he replied back.
A few minutes later he heard Shigure's playful voice greeting him like he always did.
"Ah!. Ha-san what do I owe this honor to! " he asked jokingly in his warm friendly voice.
'Cut the crap and listen carefully. She's coming out tomorrow. I thought you might want to know." He started.
Shigure's expression changed in a matter of seconds. Gone were his silly grin and the playfulness in his voice. Instead he wore that mysterious dark expression that he rarely showed to anyone but Hatori.
"I see. Did she say anything?" he asked.
"well since you asked she's recovering well enough to be released; she will need reconstructive surgery on her back but that won't be for another few months' Hatori said with a twinge of bitterness in his voice. Did he always have to pretend that he didn't care about what happened to those around him.
'oh and She wants to see you. I have to go now I'll talk to you in the morning' he concluded placing the receiver back on the hook.
'Shigure-san? Is something wrong?' Tohru asked looking concerned at the older man staring blankly at the dead phone.
He turned around to face the girl trying to collect himself.
'oh no it was just Ha-san in a rotten mood. Nothing to be concerned about" he smiled at her.
"Ne, Tohru-kun you think you could whip up a quick late night snack for this hungry author" he continued in his trademark playful voice.
"sure. Give me a few minutes and I'll get some Rice balls ready." She replied back happy that it wasn't anything serious for Hatori to be calling at this hour of the night.
Shigure headed back to his study lost in his own thoughts. The timing was bad. Akito mood had gotten more volatile in the past months and with Tohru in his house things couldn't have been timed worse than now.
Notes: After much yearning to Read a fic about Rin and Gure I've finally decided to do one my own damn self (LOL) anyways, I'm not sure how long she was in the hospital but I just pulled the 5 months out my magic hat . Since her wounds were more severe than Kisa who spent 2 months in the hospital I just roughly estimated. (now in real life unless you're in a complete body cast or terminally ill 5 month stay in hospital is excessive but hey this is a fic and I can throw out my medical knowledge and do whatever the heck flows. Anyways I intend on exploring briefly what I think might be between Gure and Rin . I'll touch briefly on her relationship with Haru but that won't be the focus of the fic :P Rin and Shigure are both secretive and mysterious so I can't guarantee that my guess are anything close to their true motives but I promise I'll finish this one since I have it set for 3-4 chapters and a semi-conclusion. Since the manga is still running it won't be definitive. Just something to ponder on.
Another reason that I decided to write the fic was something that bothered me a lot. Hatori's seemingly compromising position as a physician and jyunnishi member steadfast in protecting the family secret yet he has to take all the abuse around him in silence without reporting them to the authorities. I'm not sure what the laws are in japan but it sure bothered me. I still love my Ha-san but wish he'd grow a back bone along with the rest of the sohma guys ;x
Hehe notice the use of number '5' ? (I have no clue why I used it but I read somewhere that there was a symbolism to it hehe)