Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket because if I did, I'd be rich and awesome. Unfortunately I am poor and awesome...oh well!
When I woke up, I checked my answering machine, which had seventeen messages on it sixteen from John trying to apologize. I had forgotten about his stupidity. One was from Stan asking if I was okay. I deleted them all and turned to my computer. I decided not to wait for Stan and just type that story anyway. I turned on my iTunes and loaded up some loud music to drown out everything and wrote all day, stopping only to eat some Ramen noodles for lunch then dinner.
It was almost time to go to bed so I shut down my computer and watched the next episode. It was the New Year's episode. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I wanted the boys to stay with her but if I was there then they wouldn't come back cause she wouldn't be alone. Finally it was time for sleep again and I went into the world where John nor Stan could reach me.
It was the day before New Year's and it was cleaning time. Everyone was doing their part. Even Hana and Uo came over to help. I had barely seen anyone all day except for when Yuki accidentally put his hand through the door, Kyo got mad and asked if he could do anything right.
Yuki merely responded, "You're the last person I want to hear from."
Kyo, getting angry again said, "What does that mean? You trying to start something?"
Uo walked into the room, dusting and said, "Quit horsing around you two."
"Who asked you, you dirty bitch?!" yelled Kyo, which got the dusting rag, wrapped around his head.
"You gonna talk to me like that after I came here today to help you out of the goodness of my heart?!" Uo asked.
I swatted Uo away and smacked Kyo's head, "Watch your language, little brother."
"Stop calling me that!" he said, scowling.
"No," I responded simply and walked off, sweeping the dirt out of the room and onto the ground.
Shigure was walking into his study to discover his editor, Mii, was in there and she said, "Shigure, I need the last 500 pages of your book. I already had to make excuses to the print shop to get them to wait until today. I mean we can't release a book with the last half of the pages blank! It would be the--" Shigure slammed the door in her face. He was sneaking away when he was asked to help carry the bookshelf the boys were trying to move. He asked Mii to help carry it then snuck off as they were moving it outside. They got to the door when Mii realized he was gone and released her hold on it to run off after him. That made the bookshelf fall over onto the door that Tohru had just repaired.
I was following Shigure around to monitor what he was doing. He was in the kitchen, snacking when Mii found him again. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Oh, I was just feeling a bit hungry--" Shigure said, rubbing the back of his head.
"500 pages not five, 500! I need them now! You don't have time to be hungry!" Mii said, holding her hand in his face, fingers spread.
"Of course, of course! I'll get right on that. But one thing before I start..." he said, backing away from her and I saw the smirk on his face before he even said it, "I just need one little favor- could you hold your hands out for me? Once I see that, I'll be able to write, no problem."
"Is that a fact?" Mii asked, suspicious and when he nodded, she held her hands out vertically and parallel.
"Now, just put your head down a bit," Shigure instructed and when she did, he announced, "Donations for the poor beggar girl!" Then he snuck off, chuckling.
I walked through the living room where Tohru was fixing the door yet again. Uo suggested she just go do her shopping. Shigure offered to help carry her things but was dragged into his study by Mii and I followed.
He sat there, sitting in various positions while humming to himself, clearly trying to think. Mii got aggravated and said, "Your hands! Your fingers! Start moving them! Write!"
"It's strange. For some reason, with you standing over my shoulder like this... well.. It's stifling my creative spirit. The ideas aren't flowing through the pen like they should..." Shigure said, staring at Mii over his shoulder, taking no notice of me sitting on the other side of his desk, leaning against the bookshelf with my feet propped up on a stack of newspapers, staring at their exchange.
"I don't want ideas! I want ink! This is no time for you to be worrying about creative spirit!" Mii yelled, obviously getting really annoyed. Who wouldn't?
Shigure stood up and said, "Perhaps I should go and search for quiet inspiration."
"Alright, I'm leaving. But you'd better be writing when I come back!" she said and true to her word, left.
Shigure smiled at me then said, "Want to help make a duplicate of me?"
"You really are a pain in the ass, don't you know that?" I asked him, helping him to pick up things that would help to look like him.
"I know," he said as we crept out of his study and outside where he started to trim the bushes. That's where she found him and dragged him back to his study like she did before. Somehow, he gave her the slip again but we ended up back in his study and he started to make a kite.
"What would you do if I told her you already had the pages finished?" I asked Shigure as he sat making his kite.
He looked up in surprise and asked, "How did you know?"
I couldn't tell him because I'd already watched this day go by when I was actually awake so I settled on, "I saw you writing yesterday. Quite hastily in fact. Probably so you'd have it done by today just so you could do this to her."
"Don't ruin my fun! You'll be just like Ha'ri!" he said, crossing his arms and pouting. I almost wanted to say that I would like to be like Ha'ri but held it in.
"Okay, I'll let you have your fun. You're so mean to her," I said as the topic of conversation came in.
"Shigure! Are you distracting him?!" Mii asked glaring at me.
"No, she's just giving me company. Mii, can you hand me that newspaper?" Shigure said, pointing at the paper in the corner.
"Ah, research materials! You're working so hard!" Mii said, handing him the paper.
"Of course I am!" he said, starting to cut equal lengths in the newspaper, "I have to get ready for New Year's too you know."
Mii looked down and noticed the kite then screamed in frustration. After he had applied the tails, he took it from him then ran off. He chased her around the yard while dinner was being ready but when she ran up the hill, he gave up the chase, opting to stay with us and eat. By the time we sat down to eat, Mii returned and joined us at Shigure's request.
After dinner, Shigure was walking to his study saying, "Ah, I'm so full! Now I can spend the rest of the year without a care in the world..."
Mii ran up behind him saying, "You can't say that until after you finished your manuscript!"
"Still, you can't deny the soba was delicious," Shigure pointed out.
"Now you listen to me! This situation is critical here! Don't you understand? You have a deadline to meet! You can't afford to waste time on silly things like soba noodles or New Year's..." she started her rant but Shigure interrupted her.
"In fact, I think I'd eat it everyday if it weren't for what it did to my nails..." he said, staring at his fingernails.
"Nails?" Mii asked, being suckered in.
"Well, if you eat too much soba, your fingernails start to smell funny, don't they?" Shigure asked with his hands behind his back. When Mii smelled her nails, he held a sign in the shape of a heart he had gotten out of no where right above her head, "Ahh, Mii... you're such a good sport."
She sank down to the floor and started mumbling. I sat down next to her, trying to think of something comforting. "I know he's an asshole... I have to live with him and I'm sorry for you."
"It's hell... I'm in hell... I just know it... eternally damned... fire and brimstone... burning flesh... 'abandon all hope'..." she mumbled as Uo stepped out into the hall and walked toward us.
She held out a thick envelope and said, "Hey. The writer guy asked me to give this to you."
"Hm?" Mii lifted her head, took the envelope and looked at the front that had For Mii written on the front. She turned it around, opened it and lifted a bunch of papers out of it. "You mean it was finished? Why didn't he just tell me? Why-y?" She burst into tears.
I stood up and said, "Because, like I said, he's an asshole." Then I walked off to go talk to Tohru. I had just had a brilliant idea. "Tohru! Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure!" she said and set down the plates she was carrying into the kitchen to come talk to me.
"Listen, I got a call from my editor today and he said he wants me to catch a flight tonight over to his office. He said it was urgent. I'm afraid if I don't, I might lose my place there at the publishing company," I explained with my arm around her shoulder, "But you'll still be here with the guys so it'll be all right!"
"Oh...sure..." she said then walked into the kitchen in a daze. I knew she wasn't all right because as far as she knew, the boys were leaving but I knew otherwise.
I spent the rest of the night, after Hana and Uo left, pretending to pack for the trip. I headed downstairs and said goodbye to everyone and headed out. I figured I'd just get a room in a hotel or something. On my way down the sidewalk, my foot landed somewhere awkward and I fell over. Pain shot up and down my leg but it was focused in my ankle. I sat there for a while, trying to figure out what to do. I pushed myself up and started to hobble down the sidewalk even though every time I stepped down on my right foot, the pain throbbed in my ankle. So I sat down on the sidewalk again as soon as I crossed the street at an intersection.
I heard familiar voices from behind me and saw the three boys coming. "...as she is, if there was a way to choke on rice, she'd find it," I heard Kyo say.
"Don't even joke about that!" Yuki reprimanded.
"You two... you sound like a couple of old ladies, the way you worry," Shigure said, "Don't get me wrong, I understand your concern for Tohru but you already made the decision to go back to Sohma house."
"Now hold on! Who said I was concerned?" Kyo asked obviously embarrassed.
"Stop talking nonsense! Let's go!" Yuki said as he and Kyo stalked past Shigure.
"Oh! Now that I think about it... there was an article in the evening paper about a rash of burglaries in the neighborhood... the burglar is still at large or so they say," Shigure said turning around with a smile on his face and the two boys froze instantly.
"Funny... I didn't read that in today's paper," I said from about ten or twenty feet away. The boys looked up in surprise and saw me sitting there. "You know if you two stand there in the middle of the street like that..."
"You'll get run over..." Hana said from behind Shigure.
All three boys jumped in shock and let out a little scream. "O-oh, Saki. What a pleasant surprise." Shigure said nervously. I stood up and limped my way over before collapsing on the sidewalk again. Shigure continued, "Can we help you with... something?"
"Yes... Perhaps," Hana said.
"Are you looking for Tohru, maybe? ...She's still at the house. We were just on our way to visit our family," Shigure said.
"I see... Then for her, this will truly be a lonely New Year's..." Hana said sadly, "Until now, Tohru, her mother and sister have always spent New Year's Ever together... But this is the first year since her mother's death and Samii has to go to her editor's for fear of her job... This is the first new year she will ever see without her loving family at her side..." Hana continued even more dramatically, "Instead, she will have to spend this night alone. I offered to stay with her but she wouldn't hear of it... She just smiled and told me I should be with my own family... But what about her? What family does she have tonight? And how will she feel, sitting there by herself, remembering all of the New Year's she shared with her family, and will never share again with her mother. How will she feel when the New Year's bells begin to chime, the same bells she used to stay up late to hear with her family... Do you really think she'll be unaffected by that? Do you really think she'll be all right?" Hana finished.
Kyo started to stand and bumped his head into Yuki's cheek and Shigure said, "Do I even want to know what happened?"
"What are you doing? You know Akito's just gonna get pissed!" Kyo said angrily.
"And what about you? I wouldn't want to keep Kagura waiting..." Yuki said, smirking.
They both walked back in the direction of the house at the same time and Kyo said back, "Shut up! Why don't you go see her if you're so worried about it?"
"I'm busy," Yuki replied.
"Um, where are you two going?" Shigure asked, staring at them.
"I'm going home," they replied at the same time then raced off towards home.
"So, Saki. I'm suddenly under the distinct impression that you had all of this planned out," Shigure said, looking at her.
"I didn't really know what would happen if I came..." Hana said, staring after the boys, "I only knew that I wanted to do something for Tohru. And that is all." With that, she swept away, walking towards her own home, "I wish you pleasant electric waves, this coming year."
"I'm not sure what to make of that one," Shigure mumbled then seeing me said, "Oh, Samii, what have you done to yourself?"
"Misstepped. It hurts like hell," I said, gesturing to my ankle.
"I could take you to Ha'ri, he could set it and everything so you could get on your plane then to a hospital in the town you're going to," Shigure offered.
"Um, okay... would Ha'ri do that for me? He distinctly said that he was exclusive to the Sohmas," I said, trying to stand again.
Shigure put his hands in my armpits and lifted me up. "Something tells me that he will help. I think you can put your arm around my shoulders and I'll put mine around your waist and not transform." he suggested then slipped his arm around my waist and in fact he didn't transform. I smiled at him and put my arm around his shoulders. He helped me hobble all the way to their estate. It's a good thing I didn't really need to catch a flight cause I'm sure I would've missed it by now. I sat on the ground outside until, with labored breathing, Hatori rushed outside and composed himself when he spotted me.
"What happened?" he asked, kneeling down next to me and examining my ankle.
"I misstepped and tripped. I'm pretty sure it's just a sprain but it still hurts," I said.
He gently massaged the ankle and whenever I winced he'd stop immediately and apologize. And every time he did that, I had to tell him that it was okay and to continue.
"So... Shigure told me that you split up with your boyfriend because he cheated on you..." Hatori said, obviously trying to make small talk but also wanting to know.
"Yeah... maybe I just wasn't good enough huh?" I said finally voicing my worries about the whole ordeal.
Hatori's head snapped up and he said, with agitation, "Don't ever say that!"
"Um...okay..." I said, watching his fingers maneuver around my ankle.
Finally, he wrapped my ankle up from foot to the top of my ankle. It was supposed to make sure that there wasn't as much pressure on the ankle.
"Now, when you get to the airport, sit down immediately. You should stay off your ankle as much as possible, okay?" he said, standing up and offering his hand to me. I took it and he helped me up.
"You know this is the first time I've seen you without your normal doctor attire on," I pointed out, "You look really good in robes."
He blushed and pretended to dig through his bag then he brought out more wrappings and a sample of some painkiller, "Do you want me to prescribe you painkillers?"
"No, I'll be okay. I have a high pain tolerance," I said, smiling.
"Okay, well take those now. I've given you extra wrappings for when you take a shower..." then the mention of me in the shower, made him blush and he had to take a few seconds before he continued, "So make sure you wrap it tight enough or else it won't work."
"Right. Thank you so much Ha'ri," I said, bowing. He blushed a little when I used his nickname.
"You're very welcome," he said, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling an awkward smile. We were kind of leaning toward each other and we were only a few inches from each other at first. I looked into his green-gray eyes and he stared back into mine. We were slowly leaning towards each other when someone started opening the gate. We jumped away from each other when Shigure stepped out.
"I've talked to Akito about Yuki and Kyo. He was very unhappy. I see you've tended to Samii," he said and looked at my ankle.
"Yes, he was very gentle and I feel a lot better now that it has support," I said, noticing that when I had jumped away from Hatori that pain didn't shoot up and down my leg but just throbbed dully in my ankle.
"Yes, well, Ha'ri, I think they're going to start introductions now and you wouldn't want to be gone when they introduce you," Shigure said, smiling at the both of us.
"Okay, I'll be right in, let me gather my things," Hatori said, avoiding my eyes.
"All right, see you in there. Have a happy New Year's Samii," Shigure said, winking before disappearing behind the gate once more.
A few seconds of silence passed before I said, "You know, I didn't think you'd help me when I came here."
"Why not?" he asked, surprised.
"Well, you made it blatantly obvious the last time we saw each other that you only dealt with the Sohmas," I explained, shrugging.
"Yes, well, I make special exceptions for my friends," he said.
I went over and helped him gather the things he had thrown out of his bag when he was searching for wrappings. We both reach for the stethoscope and his hand landed on mine. It was rather cliché but when we looked at each other, my heart started pounding. We leaned in and he gently pressed his lips to mine.
"Friends? Is that all we are?" I asked when I pulled away.
"I wouldn't say that," Hatori said.
"You better go," I said, standing up.
"Yes, I don't want to get in trouble. When will you be back? Will I be able to see you soon?" he asked, picking up his bag.
I smiled at his eagerness and said, "I dunno when I'll be back but you can be sure we will see each other very soon." I leaned in and kissed his cheek then set off, knowing that the next episode, we met Haru but Hatori comes over to treat Yuki when he has an attack.
When I got to the hotel, I dropped all my stuff on the floor and stared out the window. When the sun rose, I wished for him then my vision faded
AN: SQUEAL I was smiling as I wrote this! Hatori makes me happy. He's like a lost puppy but he's not cause he's the dragon! Even though he's a seahorse. Which is still adorable! Hehehe! And, yeah, I get it, Hatori wouldn't really give in that easy but it's all romantic and stuff so shut up! See you all later!
