Fruits Basket One Shot Collection Chapter 2: Hatsuharu Sohma, a fruits basket fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or the song listed below.

"Animals" by Neon Trees.

You secretly envy the pair. They waltz about as if they are dating, but unfortunately for the heartbroken Hatsuharu-kun, she politely declined his offer. Hatsuharu-kun promised himself that when he surpassed her height, she would finally be his. Sure, his height surpasses hers by now, but even so, Rin Sohma is fighting her feelings for the boy, and everyone at school can see it. Even you can see the pain in her eyes when he stops and tries to converse with her, the hurt and the struggle. But it has been over a month now, and Hatsuharu acts as if nothing had ever happened between him and Rin. Being one of Hatsuharu-kun's closest friends, you know almost everything about him, even about the time Haru and Isuzu made love, about the time Haru was madly in love with Yuki-kun. You thought you knew everything there was to know about him.

Well, almost everything. Everything but his curse.

You know so much about him, you've started to question your feelings towards him. Are they romantic feelings? Am I going insane? You've seen his 'black' side before. His 'black' side, or what his cousins and friends call him when he is angry, vicious, ferocious, and straight up hostile, is something you've seen only once. You never want to see this side of him again. He wasn't even angry at you. He was upset that Rin rejected him, and he punched a hole in a door as he walked alone in a corridor of the school. There was something unimaginably evil and stoic in his eyes, something that was apathetic. You shiver just thinking about his 'black' side.

You walk into your classroom a nervous wreck; you had to present a project to the class. Hatsuharu-kun is in this class, and you do NOT want to screw up. If anything, you want to impress him. Just stay calm and focus, you think to yourself, letting out a small sigh before finding your seat. The bell rings loudly just as you sit, and your teacher struts into the room. Hatsuharu-kun sits next to you. Knowing he's there in your reach gets your heart pumping a bit. You glance over to his seat to find him looking directly at you, into your eyes as if he could smell the essence of anxiety emitting from your petite, quivering body.

"Hey, can you give me the mathematics homework?" Hatsuharu-kun asks gruffly, his eyes emotionless as usual. You sigh.

"Again, Haru? Give it back at lunch," You whisper, grabbing the homework from your bag and placing it in his hands, your hand accidentally touching his rough one. You freeze, shut your eyes, and turn to face the chalkboard, trying to ignore the strong beating of your heart.

"Good morning, students," Our teacher announces, his chest puffing out like a bird's. The stout man looks at each at us in turn, waiting for our eager reply. An eager reply is just something he could wish for; the students in his class are exhausted from the rigorous project they had to complete, not to mention an extra layer of homework to ice the cake. You have completed all of this work in exchange for little sleep and a huge headache. However, Hatsuharu-kun doesn't look the least bit fatigued.

"Good morning, Saito-sensei," The class recites back in a collected, unenthusiastic tone. Somebody in the back of the room makes a snide remark about Saito-sensei. Another child snickers quietly, glancing up at his teacher. The laughter of your peers and the sound of suppressed giggles mark the beginning of a new day at your school.

"Today we will begin with our presentations! We will go in alphabetical order. First is Akiyama-chan." Saito-sensei roars, sitting in his chair. The timid girl stands and bows, before briskly walking to the front of the room. No one can hear her; her voice is too small and quiet. She bows to end her presentation. The class period drags on, your peers present their projects in what seems like a flash, and soon the teacher calls on you. You shoot up out of your chair and bow. You walk stiffly to the front of the class. You clear your throat, feeling nervous and excited.

"Good morning, classmates. I completed my project on the American novel 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitz... Fitzgerald," You begin, cursing yourself at your mistake. You put your trembling hands behind your back, scanning the class for someone who is chiding your mistake, hoping that you will not see anyone chuckling. The class stares back at you, detached from your speech. At least they aren't laughing. I'd rather them not listen then laugh, you think as you quickly take a breath to continue. Your eyes travel to Hatsuharu-kun. He retains his eyes on yours, keeping you captivated, as if you looked away, it would burn. You swallow and blush, trying to not embarrass yourself. You break his stare that only has lasted a few seconds, but felt like a whole lifetime. Remember the plot of the story. Remember the plot, don't stare at Haru, DO NOT stare at Haru, you think, trying to redirect your attention to the task at hand. You anxiously glance back at Hatsuharu-kun. He moves his white hair away from his eyes and smirks at you, his devilish grin being put into play. You don't understand why but your heart goes crazy and everything you had memorized for this project was taken away, as if Haru's smirk had stolen it to play with your mind, to watch your grade drop because you will end up failing this project. Maybe it is just to make you flustered or just to humiliate you in front of the class.

"Umm... S-so.. J-Jay Gatsby..." You say, your face flushing red as you stare at a spot on the back wall of the classroom. Your mind fills with images of Hatsuharu's face, his white and black hair and his smile which you realize you love. You cough, trying to cover up your stutter, trying to kill the thoughts of Hatsuharu that fly about your mind.

Once you finish presenting the rest of your project somewhat flawlessly, the class politely applauds. You give a weak smile and bow before returning to your seat.

"Sohma-kun, please come and present your project," our teachers says, shuffling some papers around on his desk as he waits for Haru to rise. Haru remains in his chair, cracking his knuckles. You look at him, alarmed. Will he present? Why isn't he moving?

"Haru-kun, Saito-sensei called you," You whisper harshly, trying to motivate him. He doesn't glance at you and he makes no move to stand and present. After a few more minutes of an unbreakable silence, he stands and bows, slowly sauntering towards the front of the class. He sighs, glaring at Saito-sensei before he starts.

"I didn't do a project." Hatsuharu-kun states bluntly. Saito-sensei, frigid with anger, glares at Haru, his eyes burning with annoyance. Before Saito-sensei could mutter another word, Hatsuharu-kun bows and returns to his seat. Saito-sensei sighs, shaking his head in disappointment. Haru slouches in his chair as if nothing bad has happened. The people around him do nothing but stare at Haru in disbelief. Soon after, Saito-sensei goes on and on about how we should be motivated to become successful.

"Most of you will be successful in life," Saito-sensei barks, "But I cannot guarantee that success in some of you. Class dismissed."

The bell rings, signaling that it is lunch time, and Haru races out of class like a cow runs from a wolf. You call out to him, but the boy continues on his way. You sigh, and run after him.

You wait by the large tree where Haru-kun and you have always met every day at lunch. He usually jogs up to you, moving his hair out of his eyes, complaining that your handwriting is illegible or that he got lost again. You feel a smile on your mouth. Suddenly, your chain of thought is broken by a vibration in your uniform pocket. Your phone is beeping, and you see it's Haru. You nervously answer.

"H-Hello?" You stammer, scanning your surroundings.

"Hey, Duck Duck, where are you? I'm at that tree in front of the school. I need to instruct you." Hatsuharu-kun says to you, slightly annoyed. He calls you 'Duck Duck' since you were the only person that took him to the duck pond every Sunday.

"It's a cute pet name. Maybe one day, when you get a boyfriend, he'll call you that," Hatsuharu-kun had said playfully punching your arm.

"You aren't here, Haru-kun. Why do you get lost so easily? I need my mathematics homework back!" You say into your phone, exasperated.

"You know how lost I get. It runs in my family. Help." Hatsuharu-kun urges you, "I need to talk to you, Duck Duck."

"Ugh, okay Haru, I'm on my way," You whine. Before you hang up, you hear Haru-kun say something. It probably wasn't anything important, you think, jogging to the back of the school.

You see his hair from a distance. You pick up your pace and finally stand next to him. He crosses his arms, his eyes flashing with a hint of anger. You don't say anything in fear.

"So, I'm going to return your math work. I'm not going to give you my advice on your presentation, though. The way you sassed me on the phone? Unacceptable." He goes on and on, going into another one of his famously useless lectures. You roll your eyes and groan, staring at the steps that lead back into the school.

"Are you… ignoring me?" Hatsuharu-kun says, his anger bubbling within. You could feel his anger, but you refuse to turn back around, refusing to be lectured like a child. You bite your lip and pout, your back still facing him. Suddenly, the bell rings, calling the children back to class. You turn to grab your bag and return to class without a word, but Hatsuharu grabs your chin between his thumb and forefinger.

"Ha-Hatsuharu-kun, that was the bell for class," you say softly. His eyes have returned to the stoic, angry way they were when he was alone, punching holes in doors in the hallway of the school. Your mouth falls open a bit, terrified. You turn to run. It is then that Black Hatsuharu has arrived.

"I'm not finished with you. You're going to listen to me." Black Hatsuharu says with a sickening smirk, pulling you closer. You swallow, your throat dry.

"Hatsuharu-kun, p-please, l-let me go!" You say, pulling away from him.

"Quit it, it's going to be harder to teach you your lesson if you keep moving around like that, Duck Duck," Hatsuharu says coldly. You gasp, turning and moving about.

"First lesson; don't stare at the guy you like during a presentation. It makes your face all red, and makes you screw up your thoughts. A lesson for me to learn, don't stare at the girl you like or she'll turn you right on," He says, trying to kiss you between sentences. You barely avoid each time. He breaths heavily, gritting his teeth.

"N-No, Hatsuharu, let me go this instant! I need to go to-"

"Damn it, let me kiss you. You can't reject me. I'm not going to let you, quit resisting," Sneers Hatsuharu-kun, bringing his face closer to yours, trying to bring you around the tree.

You manage to break free of his grasp. Panting, you say angrily, "Enough. Haru-kun, I know you're in there. Please, I'm sorry for ignoring you," you plead, wanting to see Haru-kun again. You can see something change in his eyes. It's just a flicker of a change, but you keep trying.

"I'm sorry, go ahead and lecture me more. I don't mind. I don't care, I love to hear you talk," you say. You shyly look down, worried about what perverse or rude things he would say back to you, spitting them out at you like a child would spit watermelon seeds.

"You need to be punished," Haru-kun growls, grabbing your arm and pulling you closer. You whimper, turning your face away. Your face has heated up like a hot stove.

"Go away," Hatsuharu says, letting go. Hatsuharu has returned. You smile in relief and look at him.

"Hatsuharu-kun, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude-"

"I hate you." Hatsuharu-kun states simply, looking at the clouds above. You blink, the feeling in your heart slowly being torn apart. You hold in your sobs and turn away from him. He turns you around, holding your hands in his.

"I hate the way you make me laugh and smile. I can't be mad at you. I hate that. I hate that you're special. I hate how you make me feel," Hatsuharu says to you as if it is just a casual greeting. You blink and blush, looking down at the ground with a smile.

"Look at me," He whispers, taking your chin in his thumb and forefinger again. He gives you a small smile.

"Sorry, Duck Duck. I know you don't like it when I get mad," he says.

"It's fine." You say in a whisper, remembering Itsuzu-chan and his relationship. About how they made love.

"What? Was it something I said? You look upset," Hatsuharu-kun states bluntly, tilting his head to look into your eyes.

"Rin…" You choke out the word softly, nervous that he might get angry with you again. You look into his brown eyes, wanting to see how he feels about it.

"No. I have my eyes set on you." Hatsuharu-kun states again, leaning in to kiss you.

Here we go again
I kinda wanna be more than friends
So take it easy on me
I'm afraid you're never satisfied

Here we go again
We're sick like animals
We play pretend
You're just a cannibal
And I'm afraid I won't get out alive
No, I won't sleep tonight

Oh, oh
I want some more
Oh, oh
What are you waitin' for?
Take a bite of my heart tonight
Oh, oh
I want some more
Oh, oh
What are you waitin' for?
What are you waitin' for?
Say goodbye to my heart tonight

Here we are again
I feel the chemicals kickin' in
It's gettin' heavier
I wanna run and hide
I wanna run and hide
I do it every time
You're killin' me now
And I won't be denied by you
The animal inside of you

Hush, hush, the world is quiet
Hush, hush we both can't fight it
It's us that made this mess
Why can't you understand?
Whoa, I won't sleep tonight
I won't sleep tonight

Here we go again

Oh, oh
I want some more
Oh, oh
What are you waitin' for?
Take a bite of my heart tonight
Oh, oh
I want some more
Oh, oh
What are you waitin' for?
What are you waitin' for?
What are you waitin'
Take a bite of my heart tonight

Oh, oh
I want some more
Oh, oh
What are you waitin' for?
What are you waitin' for?
Say goodbye to my heart tonight

"Hey, guess what?" Hatsuharu-kun says gruffly. You smile at him, your faces still close to each other's.

"What?"
"I love you." He whispers in your ear before giving you a warm, passionate kiss on your neck. You grin, returning his love by kissing him again, for the first time. It definitely isn't the last.