DiScLaImEr – Oh I wish…oh how I wish!! LoL…if Fruits Basket was mine, then the anime wouldn't've stopped where it stopped…although I have to admit, it was a good place to end on… But still!! :P
JuSt a LiL note – I'd like to dedicate this lil fic to Sailor Panda, for taking the time to read over The Day the Dream Ended for me, and giving me so many pointers in your e-mail. Arigatou gozaimasu, Panda-san!! I hope you like this result of my attempt at correcting some of the confusing/unclear part that was so common in my other fic ^^*
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One Stormy Night
~ When the Rain Fell ~
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"What do you mean you can't return right now? I forbid you to remain at Shigure's house tonight and you know what comes with defying my orders." Sohma Akito snared over the telephone. Angered beyond belief at the current situation, it was obvious that he was one who demanded strict obedience and was accustomed to receiving it.
"I am fully aware of that." came the contrastingly calm-toned reply. "But at the moment, Yuki is in critical condition and I can't afford to move him anywhere nor can I leave him like this. You yourself had always told me that the health of the Jyuunishi is my solo responsibility, and I'm merely carrying out what you have appointed me to do."
Silence took its reign over the conversation. This is not good. Sohma Hatori thought to himself with an inward sigh as he practically felt the heat of the Sohma family head's anger rising rapidly on the other end of the line. However, I also don't have any other choice. Everything I've told him is the truth, and there is no avoiding my staying here to keep watch on Yuki tonight. He hasn't had an attack like this since he was very young, and something as sudden as this could cause permanent damage to his bronchi tubes, if it's not caught in time.
At the moment, he was using Shigure's hallway telephone while four pairs of nervous and worried eyes fixed their gazes upon him, seemingly unable to move, with another pair trying to hide the concern evident in them. It was already 11 o'clock at night, and he had been called over through this very telephone by an uncharacteristically tense Shigure, telling him to hurry over to treat a particularly sick Yuki. Outside, thunder rolled and the rain seemed to be falling endlessly, adding more gloom to the already-intense situation. Finally, a voice sounded from the other speaker.
"Fine." Akito muttered angrily, though it sounded a little wheezy. The stress of the situation was obviously taking its toll on his frail body and adding to his current sickness…yet another one of his infamous fevers.
However, Hatori's relief at being able to stay to attend to Yuki didn't last long before a cold dread took over him at the next words he heard.
"But," his tone taking on a sinister edge, Akito almost smirked as he continued. "I'll allow you to stay there only if you send someone over here now."
"Who would you like me to send? Momiji, Hatsuharu, Shigure and Kyou are all here with me right now." calm-sounding and completely contrasting what he was feeling inside, fearing what he knew he would inevitably hear.
"You're missing someone, Hatori." came the almost taunting reply. "I want you to send that girl over, to be my maid tonight. It's her or you…oh, or better yet," Akito felt his face twist into an ugly sneer, "you could even send Yuki over to replace you, if you'd like. But I believe the best solution here is to send her over, wouldn't you agree?"
Hatori could count on one hand how many occasions his mind froze completely and he can barely bring himself to think, and this was one of them. Take Yuki over there? He knows that's not even an option. The usually calm and cool Hatori thought frantically. And the whole purpose of this is to keep me here to watch him…he knows I'll have no choice but to give in to him. But this…
"Hatori-san, is something the matter?" asked a timid yet anxious voice. "Please tell us what's wrong…will Akito-san not give his consent?"
Identifying it as female, Hatori cringed on the inside, already knowing what she would say when she hears of Akito's proposition.
"That's…that's not the problem…" covering the mouthpiece of the phone still didn't keep him from trailing off.
"What is it, Ha-san?" Shigure chipped in, just as anxious as Tohru was.
"Akito said he'll allow me to stay tonight, but err…" mentally slapping himself for trailing off again, Hatori could only watch as Kyou finally got fed up with the whole waiting situation.
"Well spit it the hell out already! What does he want?"
"He wants Honda-kun to go over to the main house right now, to stay for tonight."
Silence once again took control over the whole house. The worry that was evident in all their eyes was now displayed openly on all the present Sohma males' faces. Tohru to go to Akito—alone—this late at night? And with a thunderstorm outside, to boot…none of that added up to what would be considered "safe" in any of their standards.
Thinking of her last interaction with the family head, Tohru too, couldn't help but mentally flinch a little. It wasn't that she was afraid of ever facing him again, but, given the choice, she would have probably preferred a later date, on a more friendly night. However, there are times when the matter at hand is much more important than choice circumstances and, to Tohru, anything involving her friends was one of them.
"I'll go." she said to the nervous faces around her. Touched by their concern for her, Tohru continued soothingly with a smile. "Don't worry about me! I'm sure Akito-san just wants some company, seeing how he's sick too. He must want someone there to take care of him tonight. Hatori-san can take care of Yuki-san much better than me, so I'll go to the main house to care for Akito-san in your place." Seeing how none of them looked reassured in any way, Tohru frantically waved her hands around (like she always does whenever she gets nervous!), trying to assure them of her safety. "Please don't worry about me! I'll be okay over there, and since Akito-san is sick too he must be pretty tired and I'll just sit and watch him sleep tonight! And if he needs anything then I'll be there to help him—I'm sure that's why he asked someone to go over to keep him company tonight. So everything will work out just fine!"
She's completely just making things up now… Hatsuharu thought as they all stood with fat sweat drops on their foreheads ^^*, and dumbfoldedly watched as the girl continued in her fervent blabbering, obviously trying very hard to reassure them that they should let her go as Akito requested. However…
This is not very reassuring at all, ya know… Kyou thought as Tohru, unstopped by anyone as of yet, continued on her rambling speech.
"Ummm…Tohru?" Momiji finally spoke up, sweat drop still intact.
Finally realizing that her rambling was getting a lil out of hand, Tohru stopped and gave a tiny nervous chuckle, waiting for their decision. I don't want to worry them so much…but there's just no other choice. I know that Akito-san wouldn't give Hatori-san any other alternatives, otherwise he would've taken them already. Please let me do this one thing for you all…
"I'm still waiting, Hatori." Akito's voice reflected his impatience, although he was getting plenty of amusement out of this little live-soap.
A chest-tearing cough upstairs reminded them that a decision had to be made. With so few choices presented to them, it was obvious that they had to give in to Akito yet again.
Looking around him one last time to see if he could catch a glimpse of another idea, Hatori could only see that the others had come to the same conclusion that he himself had.
"She'll be over as soon as she gets ready, Akito." was the slightly sullen reply that matched the looks on the usually expressionless man's face.
I'm sorry, Honda-kun. But there isn't any other choice, and you understand that as well, don't you?
"Good. Make sure she doesn't make me wait."
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Well, here I am. Honda Tohru thought a little nervously as she stood outside the Sohma family head's private chambers. Upon her arrival at the main house she had been very much rushed here by the nervous servants, who were obviously glad that their master would have someone else to focus his attention on instead of taking his unpleasant mood out on them. Right now, standing alone so close to another confrontation with Sohma Akito, Tohru shivered as the chilling air of the house and her well-hidden fear got the better of her.
Maybe I should have listened to Hatori-san and changed before I came…
Looking down at her "outfit", Tohru winced. A firm believer that comfort always comes before style when one's at home and completely at ease, she had been wearing merely her "home" red shorts and a simple large t-shirt. In her haste to get the main house, Tohru didn't want to make the family head wait and thus didn't take the extra time to put on something warmer. I just hope that Akito-san doesn't think I'm trying to disrespect him, coming to see him dressed like this.
Taking a deep breath and gathering her courage, Tohru knocked lightly on the paper slide-door and waited nervously for a reply.
Minutes passed by, and Tohru couldn't help but grow anxious. Was something wrong with Akito-san? What if he'd fallen asleep already and she was disturbing him? What if…
The paper door slid open violently, revealing a ragged looking Akito.
"What took you so long?" he managed to wheeze at her.
"Go…gomen nasai! I tried to get here as soon as I could, honest…"
"Did I say you could talk ba..." sentence trailing, Akito started to cough uncontrollably, his plans to take out his frustration of Hatori's disobedience on the girl obviously taking a worse toll on him than on her. Servants attempted to rush to their master's aid as the family head clung to the doorframe for support.
"Akito-san, are you all right?! Here…let me…"
"I don't need your help!" he growled as loudly as he could manage.
Even in his weakened state he still refuses to receive help from those who only mean him good…
Biting her lower lip partly in pain of being so helpless at seeing someone suffer like he was suffering, but mainly to keep it from trembling, Tohru took the glass of water that one of the small crowd of servants had brought and stepped towards the slumping figure.
"St…stay where you are." Akito hissed, panting for breath and stuttering on his words. "I do…not…need anyone's help…you understand?"
He looked up, face flustered from his coughing efforts, to see that the lone girl holding a glass had not been fazed in the least by his words. For reasons unknown to him, seeing this only enraged him more.
"I said stay away!" with that, he knocked the glass from her hands, causing Tohru to let out a gasp of surprise as the object hit the floor with the unmistakable sound of breaking glass and spilling water. "All of you…get the hell out, now!"
Using the doorframe as support, Akito stood for several long moments, trying to regain his breath as he watched objects obviously intended for his use being put down or merely dropped as quickly as possible, and heard the scrambling of footsteps as his servants fled, frightened by his display of anger. Thinking he was alone, Akito finally gave in to his body's wimps and reached for the closest bucket and proceeded to throw up violently. To his surprise and absolute shock, a cool hand gently held his head for him, while another held his shoulders in support, to keep them from collapsing. When he was done, a cup of cold water was brought to his lips and a cool towel followed, wiping his mouth for him.
Wha…? Struggling to turn to face whoever disobeyed him to stay, the last thing Akito remembered was how nice it had felt when those gentle hands had held and helped him…
Then darkness.
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Sleeping like this, so peaceful looking and so vulnerable, one would have never guessed what a fierce tempter came with the authority this particular eighteen-year-old held.
But then again, just by watching him, one would have never been able to comprehend just how lonely he felt.
A deep loneliness it was, its roots growing back even in the days of his childhood, which he had spent watching the others around him frolic and play all day while he sat in the house, too sick to have enough energy to play, had too much responsibilities to attend to as the head of the large and mysterious Sohma family, or had been just forbidden to play with the others in order to uphold a more stern image. His loneliness only grew as he aged and his body grew more and more frail, unable to provide him with the liveliness and freedom that he had always dreamed of having ever since he was a child. Ever since he was bounded from living his life the way he wanted to.
Ever since he was born.
Ever since he was born with the worse of the curses upon him as the most powerful member in the large and well respected Sohma family…as the most hated one within the family.
Maybe I was destined to be lonely.
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He awoke to the strange sensation that someone was watching him. It wasn't that he was not used to being watched, but somehow this gaze seemed…different. Not the emotionless gaze that Hatori always cast upon him while he watched him during times of sickness, and not like the looks of despise he gets from certain member of his own clan. It felt…calming…like the gentle rays of the sun as it warms you up. Groggily, he noted that he was in his own bed, under several layers of comforters, probably through the workings of his servants, and the cool sensation on his forehead told him that there was a cloth there, probably intending to suppress his fever. Moaning, he tried to sit up, to find that he was left with not only no memory of what had happened after he threw up, but also no strength left to even move around on him own.
"Oh Akito-san, you're awake! Please don't try to move around too much—you have a high fever and should try not to overexert yourself."
Opening his eyes widely in surprise at the concerned female voice, Akito could only numbly obey as he stared at her, wondering what in the world had possessed her to stay to look after him. Smiling brightly, obviously relieved that he had regained consciousness, Tohru moved to replace the cloth on his forehead with a newly chilled one.
That hand…she must have been here the whole time, taking care of me. But why…? Why didn't she run like the rest of them when I lost my tempter and yelled for them to leave?
Why isn't she angry?
"W..wh…a…" he stammered.
"Shh…everything is all right now. Please just rest…I'll stay right here to look after you…if that's all right with you, Akito-san." Tohru couldn't help but smile at the obvious confusion and disbelief on his face as he once again tried to say something to her, thinking to herself, at least he's not angry at my staying. I just couldn't leave knowing that he's sick and all by himself.
"Wh…" Akito tried once again to speak to her. Before she could wave his question off and tell him to rest again, he took a deeper breath and continued with his sentence. "Why did you stay?" a bit stammered, but still a complete sentence.
"Because I wanted to help you, Akito-san." Tohru replied simply and sincerely.
A look of disbelief swept over Akito's face as he heard the words that he had convince himself he would never hear.
"You…you wanted to help…me?"
Ever since he was young, Akito had been despised by all whom he had encountered. To give him credit, he rarely had the need or the physical strength to go anywhere, and thus has only met very few people. However, to be hated by mostly everyone you've met in your lifetime isn't something so easily dealt with. Orphaned at a young age, Akito had relied solely on commanding his needs from over-anxious and fearful servants, and then later other members of his large clan, in order to survive. In his memory, there wasn't a time he could recall when someone had told him they wanted to help him.
To be honest, he didn't even think he was worth anyone's willing help.
It made him feel…
"Hai, Akito-san, I wanted to stay and make sure you would be all right." the softly spoken voice brought his attention back to reality.
Looking at her mutely, his mind was a hurricane of confused thoughts and emotions. First it was shock beyond belief…then slowly that shock turned to puzzlement, then confusion, then…hope, and…
And happiness? Happy that she stayed here by my side to take care of me? What if she was just staying to taunt me? What if she is trying to get something from me, or even trying to poison me so to end my pathetic life of iron command that I know made those unwillingly closest to myself miserable? What if she has something planned for me, so she stayed just to get me when I'm alone and weak? What if…
The whirl of thoughts came to a sudden halt as he suddenly blinked and looked at her—really looked at her. What he saw calmed his confused mind and relaxed him in ways he could not understand.
That gentle sincerity in her eyes…the way she stayed with me this whole time, staying awake just to watch me…how relieved she looked when I opened my eyes…how happily she smiled when I tried to speak…she doesn't have any hidden motives. She just truly wants to help me, to take care of me.
Could it really be that simple?
Yet as something long-forgotten in his heart stirred, it didn't seem so impossible.
"I…I'm sorry, Honda Tohru-san." he muttered to her weakly, to her complete surprise and bafflement.
"But…but why are you sorry, Akito-san?" This doesn't sound like the Akito-san I've met any other times before, even when he acted civil towards me. The apology he said sounded…genuine…and sincere…I wonder why he would change so suddenly. Wait…did I do something wrong?!
Puzzled as to why he would so suddenly feel the need to apologize, Tohru surprised herself with her next words. "And please don't feel that you've forced me to stay here…because I honestly wanted to stay here. I couldn't forgive myself knowing that I was leaving you here sick and all by yourself."
When she heard what she herself had just said, Tohru gasped, thinking, Uh-oh…that was definitely not what I was going to say!! And now I'm just repeating myself over and over again. And Akito-san didn't even want me to stay here in the first place…
Watching her eyes, which seem to be twirling, obviously disturbed by whatever she was thinking, Akito found himself wanting to laugh. Not laugh at her, but rather, at how she was taking everything so to heart, and so considerate of what he would think. However, in his current state his laugh turned into a cough, startling the girl out of her thoughts.
"Oh…Akito-san, here, drink some water." assisting him as he drank the water to make it easier for him, Tohru smiled, thinking how nice it felt right then, how peaceful and calm everything was despite the fact that situations which involved Sohma Akito has never been known to include any of the above. As he finished, Tohru rearranged the layers of comforters around him gently, careful not to disturb his current position, and watched as he drifted off into a deep slumber.
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Opening his eyes, he realized that he must have fallen asleep again. Akito started to reach over to the nightstand, hoping to get a drink of water, when he caught a glimpse of another head resting lightly on his bedside. Although the room was dark, the rays of the pale moonlight seemed to dance across the person's softly cascading hair and illuminated her features.
She's still here.
His drink of water completely forgotten, Akito struggled to get a few layers of his comforters to cover up the sleeping girl, hoping to keep her warm until the morning. Careful not to wake her, Akito quietly covered her up and heard the quiet sigh of contentment from her as the comforters were draped gentle over her.
Honda Tohru-san…no…Tohru-kun. Arigatougozaimasu…for everything.
And for the first time in what seemed like eternity, Sohma Akito smiled a true smile.
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Wow…this just kept getting longer and longer than what I usually write…but that's alrite :P What did you think?? Fruits Basket is currently my fav anime, and so I wanted to write something about it. I just hope that this turned out okay. LoL…of all the couplings to use, I *would* go and use one so few ppl prefer, eh?? Sworrie if I offended anyone
BiG cHaNgE – LoL…alrite, not exactly huge, but still a change If anyone is here reading this for the second time, then you might have noticed that this time, I have all the names rite ^^* Gomen nasai for getting them so embarrassingly wrong the first time…namely, all the Sohma-san/kun's!! But hey, I had only seen what…7 episodes?…when I wrote this, so I'm allowed to make excuses here, rite? ^^*
Oh yeah…Hehehe…I was also in a bit of a hyper-mode when I wrote the part about Tohru trying to convince everyone to let her go to Akito's. That was also the point when I started making up words…apparently "dumbfoldedly" isn't a word…*shrugs* oh well :D Excuse all the sweat-droppage if they bug ya o_O
Remember to drop by a line to tell me what you think of my first ever FB fic~!
~Aqua Sunshine ^^*