A/N: This is my first Fruits Basket fanfiction, written between finishing the anime and the manga. So, please forgive any 'errors' regarding Akito, you manga elitists! 3 I ultimately plan to write more for this, but I hope you enjoy what I have here for the time being, and distract yourselves from your rabid support of "Tinged With Pink"! Love you all.
"Um.. Hatori?" came a small feminine voice from the back of the doctor's office. Hatori slowly turned in his chair to face his visitor, a young woman named Tohru Honda. Surprised, he instantly rose to his feet.
"What is it?" He asked gently. Tohru looked so uncomfortable. He couldn't help but notice she looked that way anytime he was near. He hated it – the entire point of his being a doctor was to help and heal others, not make them shrink in fear. Tohru glanced up at him with those beautiful azure eyes of hers.
"Well.. I.. I'm really not sure.." She responded.
"Okay," the doctor replied patiently. "Does anything feel uncomfortable, or does something hurt?" He questioned, trying to narrow down the problem as quickly as possible so he could fix it. Tohru bit her lip. It was going to be difficult to get to the root of this problem, whatever it happened to be. But Hatori was willing. His heart went out to her. She looked so.. sad. He stepped in closer. He was about to lay a hand on her arm to comfort her when Tohru's head popped up from its previously downcast position.
"Nope! Everything's fine!" Tohru proudly announced. She immediately presented a small gift she had been holding behind her back and smiled widely. Hatori had visibly flinched, although now he was confused. What was she doing? Did she have a problem or not? What was this mysterious gift? Wait..
Then Hatori Sohma realized what he had nearly forgotten as each day ran into the next ... Today was his birthday. He had barely recognized this fact before people began to jump out from every conceivable hiding place in his office and surrounding quarters.
"SURPRISE!" They all exclaimed as one. Hatori didn't have time to react, immediately they were all upon him, showering him with gifts and well wishes. He was overwhelmed, his personal space invaded, his personal hell dispelled for the time being.
Shigure, Ayame, Hatsuharu, Yuki, Kyo, Momiji, Kisa, and Hiro circled around the birthday boy, their faces warm with smiles. Uh.. Well, all but Kyo and Hiro, who were equally pouting that the others dragged them along. Tohru had left the small gift on Hatori's desk and had disappeared.