Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket…Duh!

I'd like to thank those who took the time and reviewed! Thank you!

And I'd like to send special thanks to dooshy who helped with some of ideas in the story. Thanx dooshy!

So, The Sohmas don't exactly appear in this chapter yet ,but they are definitely mentioned… Please Read, enjoy, and Review!


Cured

'It is part of the cure to wish to be cured'

Chapter 2: The last resort

The next morning, Tohru woke up with no improvement whatsoever in her condition. On the contrary, her fever was becoming even worse. Her friends immediately rushed her into another hospital once they found that her forehead was still burning. However, the doctor at that hospital gave them the same medicine the doctor before him did. In fact, all the doctors they visited gave the same medicine. Three days passed with Tohru and her friends going to every single hospital in the city, until they reached the last one left.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her system. I'll give her some antipyretics for the fever and she should be all right," said the doctor helplessly, scratching the skin of his bald head furiously.

"We don't want no goddamned antishit!" Arisa screamed at the doctor's face. "We already got those, and they're not working!"

"I'm sorry, but—but that's all I can do," the doctor said, looking at her sheepishly and itching his bald head yet some more.

"What part of 'not working' don't you understand?! The poor girl is shivering with the heat and you—

Saki held Arisa's hands, because she was clenching her fists at the doctor, who was literally taking a few steps back—intimidated like a little child getting reprimanded by his parents.

"Calm down Arisa. This won't solve anything," Saki said calmly, and then added in a low voice to Arisa, motioning with her eyes towards Tohru, "perhaps it's psychological."

Before Arisa could object, she considered Tohru. Tohru was sitting on the bed laughing. Yes, she was laughing and completely unaware of anything that just happened between the doctor and Arisa. She looked worn out, and the illness was obvious in her face, but yet she chuckled, looking at some distance behind where the doctor was standing.

"I'll go ask for something. I'll be right back," Saki said to the pensive Arisa and left the room.

Arisa looked at where Tohru was looking and she only saw the doctor deeply occupied with itching his bald head more violently than ever.

"Let's go Tohru. We'll go find somewhere else," Arisa said helplessly.

"Huh?" Tohru said at the sound of her name. She was too much engrossed in her mother's hilarious act. Kyoko was moving a feather across the doctor's head, and the way her mother enjoyed tormenting this doctor amused Tohru in a way that she hadn't been amused with for a long time. Even though, in normal situations, she would feel sorry for the guy…but this was different—this was her mother.

Tohru looked towards the person who called her, and then back towards the doctor, who was standing alone looking relieved. She's gone again.

Arisa noticed some disappointment in Tohru's expression, and didn't know what to think. She knelt down on the floor in front of her, and looked at her worriedly. Tohru looked back into her friend's eyes and understood that she must've been acting weird to them. She had gotten used to her mom in the past few days. She even got used to the sudden appearances and disappearances—well, as used as she could get.

"I'm sorry Arisa. I know I've been—ouch!" Tohru suddenly exclaimed after receiving a hit on her head by Arisa.

"Don't you ever apologize for something you can't help! Okay, silly?" Arisa said intensely.

Tohru was about to apologize again when Saki entered the room gracefully, dragging behind her three excited-looking, giggly female workers at the hospital.

Tohru and Arisa stared at the three women who were captivated in some chatter of their own, and then turned their eyes towards Saki who just stood there looking graceful and quiet.

"So…??" Arisa asked, looking at Saki with wide eyes, still sitting on the floor in front of Tohru.

"I think those here beside me might know about someone who could help out our little friend Tohru," she said, smiling with clear contentment.

"Of course we do! I'm telling you if you wanna get cured from anything you should just go to him. I'm not sure, but I think he uses some kind of weird potions he mix or maybe this special type of hypnosis," said one, nodding her head. "Remember that girl who used to work here—Suki I think."

"Oh yes! She got this disease and suddenly she started truly believing that Hirathe superstar!was her boyfriend!" said the other and the three of them broke into a fit of giggles.

Arisa was getting irritated by this, and stood up slowly. "Listen, I know you all must think the whole situation is funny," she said, walking slowly towards the girl and then adding more violently, "BUT IT'S NOT! So if you think that doctor can cure anything just give us his goddamned name and his goddamned number!"

The girls stopped laughing, but still chuckled every once in a while.

"Well, it's very hard to get an appointment because he doesn't usually accept people from the outside, you know," said the third who didn't say anything before this. "His name is Hatori Sohma, and he is an extremely exclusive doctor."

"Wait, did you just say Sohma?" Arisa said, pondering. "I think the owner of the agency I work for is a Sohma, although I've never met him. Actually, I don't think any of the models have met him."

"Well, probably not. You don't normally catch sight of a Sohma walking down the street. I mean sure you've heard of them. They own about half the things in this city! They're like the richest of the rich!!—

"And I've heard the men are so handsome. It sucks that they don't let anyone in their world!"

"I know!" said one just as dramatically as her friend, " Maybe they're werewolves or maybe vampires!"

"YES! Vampires. That would explain everything—the wealth, the good looks and the fact that they live so far from everyone in this gigantic sanctuary-like place—

"I think we'd like to have the number of the doctor now, or will you not give it to us?" Saki said in her strange calm voice that made everyone fall silent.

"Um…sure!" Said one of them hesitatingly, looking at her friends and then at saki with a rather nervous expression on her face. "Here, I'll write it down for you."

Arisa pulled the paper from the girl's hand as soon as she finished writing. "let's go!"

Tohru and Saki followed Arisa, who was basically marching down the hallway, until they've reached the telephone. Arisa immediately started punching the number and waited for an answer, jumping up and down impatiently.

"Hello? Yes, We'd like to get an appointment with Dr. Hatori…uh huh…sure I'll wait it's not like my friend's life is in any DANGER! What do you mean I'm one of those fan girls?!…NO! I'm not interested in dating any Sohmas!…Can you just give me one freakin' appointment! I'm telling you my friend here is DYING!"

"Eh?" Tohru uttered nervously, trying to calm her friend down. "I'm fine—really, you don't have to—

Saki put her hands on Tohru's shoulder. "Don't worry," she said looking at Tohru reassuringly, "we can trust her."

"…Well, you should be scared! The name is Tohru Honda…umm…Tomorrow…six in the morning…uha…ok," Arisa said, more settled, scribbling one some paper. She finally hung up but instead of having a triumphant expression, she had a rather despondent one. She gave Saki a meaningful look and Saki apparently had understood it.

"What a jackass!" said Arisa, "apparently there are many girls who call that number just wanting to hook up with a Sohma or something, but anyway, we got an appointment… tomorrow."

"Tomorrow…" Saki repeated thoughtfully.

Tohru was at lost. "What's wrong with tomorrow?" She asked carefully.

"I'm afraid Arisa and I won't be able to make it with you. You see, she and I have been ditching work for several days and if we don't come tomorrow we then must face penalties," said Saki.

"Oh what the hell?! We'll just get fired!" Arisa shouted, waving a hand in disregard.

"No!" Tohru automatically objected. "You don't have to come with me. I understand, really. It's not a big deal, and besides," she said, looking at the ground, and added more quietly, "I won't be alone."


"It's very quiet out here."

"Seriously! It feels like this whole area is deserted," Kyoko replied, hopping along the extremely high fence on her side.

"I think we're getting closer to the gate," Tohru said, unsure, looking at the Arisa's messy scribbles on the tiny paper. But it was hard to concentrate anyway. It's the fever again, she thought. Her head was becoming too heavy for her to carry, but she had to be strong. She shouldn't make her mom worry.

The street was completely empty. On one side, there was nothing—just a large barren land. On the other side stood the long wall of the Sohma sanctuary's fence. They've been walking around it for a while with no sign of any opening to the inside. The place was getting creepy. This reminded Tohru of the time when her mom told her scary tales to entertain her, but Tohru always got too frightened to be entertained at all.

"Mom…do you remember the tales you used to tell me when…?

"The stories that terrified you! Of course, Just because I'm dead, that doesn't mean I've had a memory loss too!" Kyoko said playfully.

Tohru laughed at this, even though when her mom joked about her death, it made Tohru feel a bit…unnerved. Anyhow, her lungs couldn't handle such a laugh and she immediately started coughing.

"Are you okay? We could always have a break," Her mom suggested in the hopes of convincing Tohru. She knew, however, that her daughter—against what people might think—is fairly stubborn. This worried Kyoko a little. Her stubbornness was the reason that she doesn't let go of things she decided to hold on to.

"No, I'm fine. Let's keep on walking. I think we're getting closer," Tohru said—as expected, trying to smile naturally.

Kyoko shook her head helplessly, and decided to bring a subject that might energize her daughter.

"So, tell me Tohru! Did you meet anyone—you know—in high school—maybe a certain someone that you might have had a certain feeling to…?" Kyoko said teasingly, winking at her daughter a number of times.

"Eh?! I don't know what you're talking about," Tohru replies frantically. This type of thing never crossed her mind.

"Well…?? Throughout your high school years? Wasn't there anyone—there must have been somebody…?" Kyoko's voice was getting less teasing and more serious.

"Mom," Tohru said, laughing as the blood rushed to her already ruddy face. "I couldn't ask for more. I had my friends, and most importantly I had the memory of you always carried around with me." Tohru finished her sentence with a smile that broke Kyoko's heart.

Kyoko considered Tohru's expression carefully. She thought of the solitude her daughter must have been in. She looked at her expression so sorrowfully—almost…guilty.

"Tohru," Kyoko started slowly, and Tohru looked up apprehensively, "you have to understand that I came here for a purpose. Once this purpose is fulfilled, I have to return to where I belong."

Tohru listened, at a loss of words to say. She felt that this whole thing was a dream and she had decided to enjoy it. She didn't want to wake up from that dream. She didn't want to think of waking up from that dream—ever.

"Well, that's my theory anyway. HELL! I don't even know what that purpose is!" Kyoko said, trying to sound as cheerful as she could. "Oh look!"

And for her good fortune, they had finally arrived at a gate like no other gate they've seen before. It was higher than the walls on the sides of if, and hanging down from the top of the gate was a camera, that was actually moving closer down to them. Unexpectedly, the camera hovered over kyoko for a while before finally turning to Tohru.

"That was weird," Tohru said, smiling nervously.

"Well, what are you waiting for hun? Knock the door." Kyoko said simply, regardless of the fact that the gate was metal and not something that a knock can be heard on.

Tohru nodded, and raised her shivery hand. She wasn't sure if it was shaking from her fever or fear. And just when she was about to knock the metallic door, a voice out of nowhere called out—

"STOP!"


Umm…Well, this was the end of chapter two—what do you think?! I hope you liked it. And remember whether you do or you don't you can always tell me exactly what you think by submitting a little nice review… XD