A shorter chapter that got sad even though I didn't plan for it to be sad. Oops...

Thanks to everyone checking out and supporting this story. It means a lot~~

Disclaimer: I only own Suzu


"Why are we here?" she asked, glancing around the restaurant they ate at.

She could hear him take a sip of his tea before he answered, "It's dinner time."

Looking at him with a deadpanned expression, she let out a loud sigh. "Don't patronize me."

He chuckled at that. "I figured it would be a treat after having to spend the day with me."

It wasn't so much spending time with Hatori that bothered her, something he definitely knew, it was being inside the Sohma residence. Walking in for her checkup, passing the help who just stared at her, and having the chance of seeing Akito again, all of it was tough. However, once she'd gotten inside with Hatori, had him check on her health and her studies, things got better, and she found herself enjoy the serenity Hatori seemed to surround himself with.

It was a nice change from Shigure's house.

"How are you settling in?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"Alright," she answered simply, having nothing to really report on the matter. She hadn't had anymore conversations with just Shigure, she occasionally talked to Tohru and Kyo, and Yuki still didn't seem to trust or like her. She seemed to blend in pretty seamlessly with the four, not breaking the rhythm they had built over time.

However, Hatori seemed to think differently of the situation as he said, "I heard you've been going out more." She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his pleased expression. "I even heard you and Kagura spent quite a bit of time together the other day."

This time she did roll her eyes. "I didn't have much of a choice."

Hatori let out a small chuckle at that. "She can be a bit… headstrong."

"More like an annoying pain," she muttered just loud enough for Hatori to hear.

"She seemed to enjoy herself. She even said she wouldn't mind doing it again soon," Hatori informed her, not that she cared. Suzu didn't plan to go out with Kagura again, something Hatori seemed to pick up on. "I think you two balance each other out nicely, you could be good friends if you gave it a chance."

Suzu couldn't help but think of Hatori with Ayame, how they fit together so well though they were different. However, Suzu wasn't Hatori, though she admired him greatly, and Kagura wasn't Ayame. She wouldn't be getting close to anyone, let alone Kagura.

"I don't think it'll happen again."

Hatori only hummed at this before saying, "You said the same thing about moving too."

She glared harshly at him, hating how smug he looked, like they had been playing a game of chess and he'd just won. Hatori seemed to be taking after Haru in terms of annoying her recently, which was a shame really, since she didn't hate their company.

"I think moving has had a positive impact on you," he said after a time.

Suzu scoffed at the comment. "Well, I think moving was a mistake."

"Why, because you're getting close with the others? That's not a bad thing, Suzu."

"It is," she retorted, expression tense.

Hatori looked almost sympathetic as he asked, "Why would that be bad?"

She didn't answer for a time because he knew, he had to know why. He had to get it. Suzu was doing what was best for everyone by staying away, keeping her distance, or trying to. Moving here had just messed up that plan.

Tearing her gaze away, she watched people walk by. That's what she wanted, to be normal, to get away from the Sohma curses and name. She just wanted to be able to walk down the street and not worry about passing out or running into some random guy. She wanted to have normal, everyday problems, not ones that lead back generations.

She wanted to go to school, become someone away from the fox spirit, have a life that meant something. Suzu wanted to be someone, but she was going to die too soon. She didn't have the time, and if she tried it would only lead to pain, she'd leave too much behind. So she needed to have nothing. She needed to know that when, not if, she died, everyone could move on without a problem.

She needed to do that for everyone's benefit, even if that meant cutting herself off from people. So that's why she wouldn't go out with Kagura again, why she wouldn't try and patch things up with Haru, and why she wouldn't join the rhythm of Shigure's house but merely stand just on the outside.

She needed to protect them because God, Akito, hadn't been the God they deserved. The fox loved them, and Suzu liked to think she did too outside of the spirit's feelings because even though she didn't get along with all of them, she knew they were good people. Even Rin, who was just getting desperate at this point.

They all deserved to win for once, and Suzu wasn't going to let her death become a loss. They didn't deserve any more losses.

"I know what I'm doing," she said as she just watched the people outside with a frown on her face; it was all she could muster.

As the silence stretched on, she thought she had brought an end to their exchange, that Hatori had nothing more to say. However, he just had to prove her wrong, as usual. "And what are you doing?"

Now he was just acting like some psychologist, even though he wasn't even that kind of doctor. She didn't look away from the window, though her lips did press together tightly at his question.

She let out a sigh as she glanced down, finally noticing that their things had been taken away, probably when she'd been lost in thought. Suzu didn't hesitate to stand, though Hatori didn't do the same as she finally looked down at him.

"I'm doing what's best," she said, finality in her tone, before she left him there.

They weren't that far from Shigure's; she could just walk back, and he surely knew the same as well. Once outside she passed by the window she'd just been looking out, and she could see him still sitting inside. With just a glance she could see his expression had become solemn as he stared at his interlocked hands on the table.

She'd upset him, or worried him, but it was fine. He had been the one to bring everything up, and now he had to accept the consequences.

However, even with that thought in mind as she walked, she couldn't help but feel guilty. She never liked hurting people, but that just seemed to be her purpose, her and the fox's.

Her and Hatori had been getting too close anyway, she mused. The distance this small dispute would bring would be for the best.

…For the best….

That's what she was doing, right?

Shaking her head slightly, she pushed that question aside. She was doing what was best; she had to be sure of that. She was sure of that.

It just sucked that it had to hurt so much to work….