A/N: Okay guys, last chapter. I'll upload the Bonus Act within the next few hours…

The One True Love

Act 4.

By the time Tohru woke up, he noticed that he was no longer lying on the cold tarmac of Momiji Lane's car park but on a soft and comfortable bed. He also realised that he could only open one eye for the other one was covered by something.

As he brought his right hand up to his face to touch it, he heard a very familiar voice say:

'I think he's awake.'

Nao? What was Nao doing there? Where was he, anyway?'

He opened his mouth to start asking all of those questions but then he felt a piercing pain coming from his lower lip. It was probably split and rather swollen, Tohru thought.

'Shush, don't move,' Nao said soothingly.

Not being able to speak, Tohru decided to settle for the best next thing and grunted.

'You're at the hospital,' Atsurou supplied very usefully.

'It was so lucky Atsurou-san found you,' he then heard Shinichi add.

Finally able to focus his only functional eye, he saw his two team mates standing near his bed and his girlfriend sitting on a chair next to him.

'I heard from Junichiro that someone had organised a race last night and, since no one from our team had been informed about it, I decided to go and check it out,' Atsurou explained, 'imagine my surprise when I found you lying half conscious next to your car…'

'It was that Uesugi guy, wasn't it?' Shinichi said.

'What?' Atsurou exclaimed, 'you're not talking about Uesugi Shinya, are you?'

Tohru nodded making the SSR team leader swear viciously.

'Do you have the faintest idea of who he is?' he asked.

Tohru nodded again.

'Now I do,' he managed to whisper.

Atsurou looked at Tohru for a bit then, his face lightening up in realisation, he said:

'So, that's where you got the money to pay for the repairs…'

With a sigh, Tohru nodded once more.

'I'm sorry…' he said, this time looking at his girlfriend, who still hadn't said anything.

'You're in a shitload of trouble, do you know that?' Atsurou said.

'Atsurou-san,' Shinichi started.

'Be quiet,' Atsurou ordered, 'Tohru, this guy's really dangerous, he's got connections with the low levels. If you owe him money…'

'How much money did you borrow from him?' Nao asked making Tohru glace back at her.

'A lot,' Tohru replied happy to see that his voice was slowly coming back to him.

'Guys, can you please leave us alone for a bit?' Nao said talking to Atsurou and Shinichi.

'Sure,' Atsurou said taking Shinichi by his arm and leading him towards the door.

Dreading the disappointed look he was sure he'd see on Nao's face, he stared at the ceiling as though as if it were the most interesting thing ever.

'Why didn't you ask me for the money?' Nao asked and, strangely enough, she sounded more hurt than disappointed. This made Tohru look at her.

'Because I didn't want to,' he replied.

'Why not?' Nao said and now she definitely sounded upset.

Tohru sighed and, dejectedly, he admitted:

'Because I'm always borrowing money from you. How do you think this makes me feel?'

Nao looked at him as though as she failed to see his point.

'How come are you here anyway?' Tohru asked, more to change topic than for any other reason.

'Atsurou-san ran into Shinichi as he was driving you down from Momiji's Lane. They both took you to the hospital and Shinichi decided to call me this morning to let me know. I told Dad I needed to meet up with one of my work colleagues…'

'I've tried to see you so many times…' Tohru said.

'I know. My mum told me you've been trying to visit me but Dad's very upset with you,' Nao explained.

'Tell me about it…'

'I don't blame him,' Nao continued, 'he's very disappointed in you for not having asked me to marry you yet…'

'Nao…'

'I know, I know,' she said, 'you're not ready for that…'

'No, that's not it,' he said for it was true. He'd been thinking about it and, especially having been so close to lose her in more than one way, Tohru had grown to like the idea of settling down with Nao, 'I'd like for us to get married someday…'

'You do?' Nao asked looking positively stunned.

'Yeah but, I'm probably too late, am I not?'

Nao shook her head and, with a tiny voice, she said:

'No you're not. You've always known I'd wait for your forever…'

'Nao, I'm a disaster,' Tohru said and Nao shook her head again.

'Tohru, do you remember when you asked me out in our second year?'

'Sure I do, why?' Tohru replied not really understanding what this had to do with anything.

'I felt like I had won the lottery that day,' she said.

'Why?' he asked and that, for some reason, made Nao smile.

'You were so focused in your racing and your passion for cars that you didn't even notice anything else,' she explained, 'including the many girls from our class who had a gigantic crush on you…'

'What? Are you serious?'

'You see? Tohru, loads of girls found fascinating the fact that you were so heavily involved in street racing…'

'I bet you weren't one of them,' Tohru commented.

'No, I wasn't. I just liked you because I thought you were a really nice person...' she said.

'Yeah, I'm sure I've made you change your mind about that, huh?'

She shook her head once again.

'No,' she said, 'if anything, I think you're an even better person and I'm so happy you've allowed me to be by your side all these years…'

'Nao, I've been a nightmare,' he said frowning, 'I keep asking you for money and…'

'If I help you all the time is because I'm selfish,' she said shocking him in the process.

'Selfish? You?' Tohru asked disbelievingly, 'I've never met anyone as generous as you are…'

'That's not true,' she insisted, 'I'm selfish because I need you to need me. If you didn't need me, I'd feel useless…'

'Nao…'

'I don't even know why you're with me,' she continued, 'it's not like I'm spectacularly good looking or…'

'Shush,' he said raising his hand and placing his fingers on her lips, 'I don't want you to speak like that.'

'But…'

'Nao, you're a very special person to me. You're the only girl I know who can put up with me and still have the strength to smile…'

'I love you so much Tohru, I don't know what I'd do without you,' she said taking the hand he'd put in her lips with both of hers.

'It's me who wouldn't know what to do without you,' Tohru said trying his best to smile in spite of his swollen lips, 'we're so pathetically perfect for each other, aren't we?'

Nao laughed softly.

'We are,' she said.

They remained silent for a bit just looking at each other.

'How much money do you need?' Nao said breaking the quiet.

'Nao…'

She shook her head and said:

'Just tell me, please…'

'One and a half million yen,' he said unable to look at her.

'Okay,' she said.

'What's okay?' Tohru asked glancing back at her.

'I'll give it to you so you can give it back to that Uesu…whatever his name is,' Nao said.

'You have all that money?' Tohru asked surprised.

Nao sighed and said:

'I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to get mad at me but, I've been saving up for a while, hoping that we could use that money to get our own place someday…'

'Nao…'

'I don't have all that much saved but I've got enough to give you the money you need. I'll just need to work and save up for a bit longer now…'

'Nao…'

'Tohru, don't argue with me. Look at what's happened to you the first time you've tried doing things without me,' she said pointing at his numerous wounds.

'I'll give it back, I promise,' he said and then she shook her head for the umpteenth time.

'No, just promise me that you will try your best not to spend so much money in the car so you too can start saving up a bit.'

'You don't mind if I race?' he asked.

'Tohru, racing is part of who you are, if I asked you to quit, you'd only be half of yourself. I can't do this to you and you know it.'

He looked at her and, seeing the determination in her beautiful brown eyes, he said:

'Okay, I promise you I won't spend so much money in the car and that I'll start saving up too,' he said.

'That's all I needed to hear,' she said getting up and, placing a kiss on his forehead, she walked towards the door.

'Where are you going?' Tohru asked panicky for he really didn't want her to go anywhere too far from him.

'I'm going to get Atsurou-san and Shinichi, apparently Atsurou-san had some sort of plan to get back at whoever had done this to you…'

'They did?'

'Yeah, Tohru, you have very good friends,' Nao explained.

'I know,' Tohru said.

Three days later, Tohru called Uesugi.

'Hello?' he heard him answer the phone.

'It's me. I've got your money,' Tohru said, 'meet me at the car park in two hours.'

'Are you for real?' Uesugi said sounding very amused.

'Yeah, I'll give you the money and after this I want you out of my life and that of my friends, otherwise I'll let the galleries know what kind of scum you are,' Tohru said.

'Fine,' Uesugi said sounding a little bit less happy.

Since Tohru was still unfit to drive, he asked Atsurou to drive him up to the car park where, predictably enough, he found Uesugi with his gang.

'There,' he said handing him an envelope with one hundred and fifty ten thousand yen notes.

'You're brave coming here with only your mate,' Uesugi commented.

'He's not here with only his mate,' Atsurou said and, making a gesture with his hand, Tohru saw something like twenty or so cars driving into the car park.

'Ah, I see…' Uesugi said looking a lot less smug.

'Yeah,' Atsurou said with a very nasty smile on his lips, 'we don't want any of your business in Momiji Lane so, the next time we see you or any of your mates, we'll make sure you pay a visit to one of our cliffs, is that clear enough for you?'

'Yeah, very clear,' Uesugi said taking the whole thing very seriously.

'Good, because it's scumbags such as yourself who are ruining street racing,' Atsurou said, 'maybe, while you're at it, you should re-think your life…'

Uesugi and his friends were out of the car park in a matter of minutes.

'Thanks Atsurou, I owe you big…'

'Nah, just promise me that you'll come to us first if you need help. After all, we are a team, aren't we?'

'Yeah, that we are,' Tohru said smiling.

That night, Tohru realised that he was actually a really lucky man.

To be concluded…