Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket.
Thanks for all the kind reviews! I'm glad I wasn't alone when I said I liked the Toriru pairing! Yay! I'm so thankful to my reviewers! They are so nice! Oh! One reviewer pointed out that Yuki almost kisses someone in the manga! I didn't know that... (cries) I've been trying so hard to not get spoiled, but now I know that Yuki almost kisses someone! I haven't gotten that far in the manga. I'm waiting patiently for Vol. 12!
But, it's not your fault, you didn't know, and please don't think I'm blaming you. Cause I'm not. Okay? Well, anyway, here's chapter two to this humble little fic of mine!
Here ya go!
Picking Up The Pieces
Chapter Two: Onigiri
The young lady fidgeted slightly under the scrutiny of the elder doctor. Her hands kneaded in her short, navy blue skirt that came slightly above her knees and hugged her small curves slightly. She wore a short sleeved white shirt that fit her well. On her feet she wore a pair of nice black shoes. Her long, brown hair reached past her shoulders and settled on her mid-back. He could see that part of it was tied back with a navy blue ribbon. Bright, innocent blue orbs seemed to look at him with nervousness.
She stood like that for a while, until Hatori finally spoke up.
"Are you going to take a seat or not?"
"Oh! Um...yes. I'm sorry..." The girl called Tohru pulled out the chair and sat down in front of him. "It's just that this is my first interview and I..." She trailed off suddenly. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize." Hatori said, slightly shocked at the girl's quick explanation as to why she was nervous.
Tohru smiled brightly, a brighter smile than Hatori had ever seen in his life. "O-Okay..." She said, trying to shake the anxious edge from her voice.
"So, Honda-kun, may I call you that?" Hatori said, trying to rid the air of tension.
"Yes," She smiled in return. "Is Hatori-san appropriate for you?"
"That's fine." Hatori said, flipping through some paperwork. "It says here that you just graduated from a college in Tokyo."
"Yes. It took a while, but I finished." The brunette girl said, smiling all the way. "It was hard, too, but eventually I got through it!"
"You majored in nursing and health care, that is correct?"
"Yes."
"It also says that you finished school with straight As." Hatori gazed up from the paper and into pools of blue. "That's very impressive for a nurse these days."
"Thank you. My mother always taught me to study and try to do your best in everything." Tohru smiled, wrinkling her hands into her skirt once again. "So, I used that as my motivation."
"It sounds that your mother is very important to you." Hatori gave a slight smile in her direction.
"Yes!" Tohru grinned in return. "She might be gone, but she always had a very big influence on me."
Hatori was curious...her mother died?
Tohru tilted her head to one side, "Is something wrong?"
The dark haired man shook his head slightly, cursing himself for letting his thoughts get the better of him. "No, nothing at all."
The rest of the interview went smoothly. Hatori made some comments that made the brunette giggle, and the sound was refreshingly pleasurable to the ears, he found out. This Tohru was, like Yuki said, very nice. Which was strange, because Hatori originally thought that it was a ploy to get him to interview the cheery girl.
Finally, Hatori got all the information he needed and gave a brief smile toward the bright eyed girl. "Well, that's all I need to know, Honda-kun." He stood up and placed the chart on his cluttered desk. "Thanks for coming today." He offered a pale hand for her to shake.
Tohru cheerily offered her own hand for Hatori to shake. He grabbed it, the soft skin of her hand met his. "No problem."
"I'll let you know if you got the job by tonight, alright?"
"Okay, that's fine!" The bright girl smiled, and retracted her hand from the doctor's firm grasp. She bent over gracefully in a bow, and then smoothed her skirt one final time before heading for the door. "Have a good day, Hatori-san." Tohru then stopped, remembering something. Digging in her handbag, she brought out a small item, wrapped in thin paper. "Here, I had an extra one of these when I made them yesterday, so I thought I'd give it to you!" She placed it in his hand, smiling all the while.
Hatori stared at the item in his hands, wondering what it was.
The girl twirled around, taking the knob in her hands, her hair swirling around her shoulders and back in a playful manner. Twisting it open, she gave a final smile, "Bye!"
Hatori's lips curved into a rare smile, "Goodbye."
"I'm home!"
Tohru kicked off her shoes by the door and hung up her coat on the coat rack. Her feet padded down the wooden floors of her apartment that she shared with one of her best friends, Kagura. "Kagura-san, I'm home!" She called out cheerily as she walked down the hall.
Kagura Sohma peeked out of her bedroom door, smiling gently. "Ah, Tohru-kun, you've gotten back earlier than I'd expected." She smiled, hazel-grey eyes shimmering.
The brunette smiled as Kagura approached her, "I'll have dinner ready in a minute, Kagura-san, as soon as I get changed."
"That's fine." Kagura grinned as she walked out of her bedroom and into the living room. Suddenly, she remembered something, "Oh, how did the interview go?"
Tohru turned around, azure orbs displaying a look of glee. "I think it went well!" Her fingers wrapped around the ribbon that pulled back her hair and gently tugged at it, causing the rest of her locks to fall limply around her shoulders. "He said he would call me back later today to tell me if I got the job or not."
"That's great, Tohru-kun!" Kagura exclaimed, full of friendly enthusiasm, and, without hesitation, she jumped onto the brunette, hugging her tightly.
"U-Um, Kagura-san, I haven't even gotten the job yet..."
"Well, we need to celebrate like you've already gotten it! I'll make dinner tonight! What would you like?"
"Um...well..."
"Oh, I know your favorite! I'll fix it, no problem, you just sit back, relax, and watch me work!" Kagura laughed as she skipped off into the kitchen.
Tohru let out a sigh as she watched her friend waltz into the kitchen, which was right across from the living room. Sighing, she walked to her room to change into some more comfortable clothes. Kagura-san will never change... She thought with a slight smile on her face.
The present Hatori received from Tohru just sat on his desk. He wondered whether or not he should open it. It had been about an hour after he actually had his interview with the bright and cheery young girl. And it was her cheeriness that stood out. She wasn't at all like the other nurses he had working for him. It was strange. She was like a breath of fresh air.
Soon, Hatori's fingers gave in to temptation and grabbed the small object, wrapped in simple white tissue paper. He carefully opened it and was shocked at what he saw.
An onigiri, sitting idly among the paper, just waiting to be eaten.
Hm. Hatori gave an amused chuckle as he placed the onigiri onto his desk. "I guess I'll have to thank her..." He took a bite out of the onigiri and savored the taste. Between bites, he thought, This girl knows how to cook, I'll give her that. I just hope she's that good at nursing. He took another bite, now quite surprised as to how good the onigiri was.
He imagined her reaction when he told her she was a good cook.
"Oh, no, Hatori-san, it's not that good, is it?" She would probably say with a flushed look.
Then, Hatori realized how strange it was for him to know exactly what reaction she would have if he complemented her.
Suddenly, as if out of complete darkness, memories flooded back.
"Hatori-kun, I made your favorite, I hope it's good enough for you to eat, since you're such a critic when it comes to food." A plate of food was placed down in front of him, steaming and filling the room with a delicious smell.
"Kana, I'm sure anything you cook will be good."
"Oh, Hatori-kun!" Kana exclaimed, embracing him tightly. Her lips brushed his for a moment, before walking back to the kitchen, getting her own plate of food.
The short haired woman sat down in front of him, eagerly waiting for him to take the first bite. This was their first meal together since he popped the question. It was also the first time that Kana cooked for him, and she was extremely nervous as to what he would think of her attempt.
Hatori took the chopsticks in his hands slightly, and poised them over the noodles Kana had made specially for him.
He dug into the steaming plate with excitement, solely meant for Kana, because if he showed any kind of grimace, she would notice something was wrong, and desperately ask what was wrong with her cooking.
Hatori plopped the noodles in his mouth, chewed, and a grimace came over his features that he couldn't hide.
It was terrible!
However, he tried his best to swallow it, but not before grabbing his glass of water and attempting to wash it down.
It didn't work.
Fortunately, Kana wasn't looking at him, she was too bust staring down at her own pile of noodles in front of her. With a small hand, she grabbed her chopsticks and timidly prodded her own creation.
Meanwhile, Hatori was bust trying to gulp down all of the noodles in front of him, so he wouldn't make Kana cry. It would be terrible if he was the one to make her cry. And all because of the nasty food she had made.
Despite the reluctance of his stomach, Hatori downed every last one of the noodles, only leaving the sauce to swash around on his plate. His dark eyes glance up at Kana, who had tried her own noodles, and the red on her cheeks indicated what she thought of it.
"H-Hatori...kun..." She murmured, brown eyes looking into his dark ones. "You...actually ate it?" Kana asked, somewhat stunned, if not amazed.
Hatori glanced at her and sheepishly shook his head up and down, nodding. "Yes."
The brunette's eyes seemed to lighten. "You ate it even though it tasted terrible, huh?"
Oh, so she could tell...
"Just so I wouldn't be sad?"
Hatori once again nodded.
He was surprised, once again, by her actions, as she leaned over the small table and placed her lips on his in a soft kiss, tender and meaningful. When they parted, she looked deep into his eyes, only centimeters were between their faces, and said.
"That's why I love you."
Hatori smiled gently as he gave her a kiss in return, it was brief, but it didn't lack the meaning of hers. He pulled away from her and gave her a smirk.
"Why don't we go out to eat tonight?" Hatori said, rising from his chair and walking into his room to get changed.
"Why?"
"Well, I think after all your hard work, you need to be treated to something nice." Hatori smiled at her. "So, get dressed and we'll get going."
Kana laughed, "You just don't want to cook, do you?"
"You know me all too well."
The dark haired man shook his head slightly, as if trying to rid the memory from his thoughts. Sighing, he reached for the phone. He should let Tohru know if she got the job or not. It was almost seven, and the sky had already begun to grow dark. Hatori figured she had waited long enough for his call.
Just as he was about to dial her number, he was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Come in." He droned, obviously annoyed.
The door burst open, and a flamboyant silver haired man entered the room, wearing a flashy red jacket that reached his knees and a pair of black pants. His gorgeous silver hair was tied back in a loose braid that reached his waist. Green eyes glittered with almost childlike enthusiasm, which was strange, for he was exactly Hatori's age.
"Ayame..." Hatori growled in annoyance. "What have I told you about busting in my office..."
"Oh, but Tori-san, I just had to show you this!" Ayame Sohma exclaimed as he brought out an outfit.
He held out a white nurse's outfit, complete with little white hat. It was...modified in other areas to show more skin than a normal nurse's outfit should. If a girl was here, she would say it was cute...until she wore it, then she would call it degrading. But, for most of the nurses in Hatori's office, that wouldn't matter, for they'd be showing their "goods" off to him.
This is what Ayame did for a living. He made even the most innocent of clothing be a man's fantasy for his woman, or, if he didn't like women in that way, for his man, which would be intensely creepy for Hatori if he ever saw it.
Thankfully, he hadn't.
But, Ayame was talented in what he did, even if it was strange to Hatori. He even owned his own shop, which was very popular, by the way. He would get requests daily from men, women, anyone who was mature enough to handle his "masterpieces", as he called them.
Ayame smiled as he walked up to Hatori, strange nurse's outfit in hand. "Don't you just love it?" He said, giving a rather confident laugh. "Do you want to know who inspired me to make this absolutely remarkable item of men's romance?"
"No." A rather blunt answer from Hatori.
"Well, Yuki showed me a picture of the girl you were going to interview today, and she became my muse!" Ayame exclaimed, despite the answer he got from Hatori. "She was just so innocent! And thus all the white on the uniform!"
"All nurse's uniforms are white."
"And don't you just love how I added the lace here, and the bow on the back, and the red cross on the hat - "
"Ayame!"
"Yes, Tori-san?"
"Can you please talk to me about this later?" Hatori said, obviously annoyed.
"Oh, you should have just said so!" Ayame smiled, walking to the door, taking his creation with him. "Bye, bye, Tori-san! I'll make sure to call you and talk to you about this!"
"I can't wait." Hatori said sarcastically as the door closed.
Well, that was the random moment of the day. I wonder how he got into the hospital? Probably seduced some nurse into letting him in...that's Ayame, alright. Hatori thought, as he once again grabbed the phone.
This time, as he dialed the number to Tohru's apartment, there were no interruptions, thankfully.
"Tohru-kun, dinner is ready!" Kagura exclaimed, causing Tohru to jump slightly from her position on the couch, where she was lazily watching television.
The brunette smiled happily as her nose picked up the aroma of Kagura's prepared meal. It sure smelled good, and Tohru was starving.
Tohru had changed from the clothes she had on earlier, when she was interviewed by Hatori. She now wore a comfortable pair of deep green silk pajama pants with a baggy white shirt. She only had a pair of socks on her feet, as it was kind of chilly in the apartment, since winter was approaching and she had forgotten to turn on the heater.
Tohru walked to the stove, where a pot of ramen noodles was simmering. She scooped out a few and sat down in her usual place on the bar that looked over the living room. It was still in the kitchen, but you could see out into the living room, which was quite large. Kagura soon got her own plate of food, and grabbed Tohru a pair of chopsticks. "Here. You forgot these." She handed the utensils to the brunette.
"Oh, thank you, Kagura-san." Tohru smiled brightly as she took the items from Kagura's slender hands.
Kagura sat down beside Tohru and began to watch the show Tohru had been previously watching.
As soon as Tohru picked up some of the ramen noodles with her chopsticks, the phone rang. "I'll get it." Tohru said when she saw Kagura start to get up. She rose from her seat and walked over to the phone and picked it up.
"Hello? This is Tohru Honda speaking."
Kagura glanced over to her friend and saw an immediate smile wash over her features. Must be the doctor that interviewed her.
"Um, yes...oh, thank you so much!" Tohru giddily exclaimed into the phone, clutching it tighter.
Kagura smirked. Oh, yeah, it's him.
A few minutes later, the brunette hung up, and Kagura was curious. "What happened?"
It took Tohru a while before he found the words to answer. "He said I seemed like a nice girl and he said that I can cook really good, and that he liked the onigiri I made!"
"And...?" Kagura asked, waiting for Tohru to tell her what else happened.
Tohru smiled, cerulean blue orbs sparkled.
"I got the job!"
End Chapter Two.
I'm finally done! Actually, it was a quicker update that I thought it'd be. And it's all because of my reviewers! So, I'll update quicker if I get a lot of reviews! It would help me!
And, if I haven't said this enough, I'm really grateful to all the reviewers and people who like this story and want me to continue. Without you, I probably wouldn't even have written this chapter.
So, anyway, please press the pretty purple button down there and review!
