Love Spell – Part IX

A deep sigh escaped her lips as Rin's eyes fluttered open, a hand going to her head. She looked over and saw Haru sitting beside her, a warm smile on his face.

"Hey…you're finally awake…" He gently reached out, caressing her hair.

She groaned, sitting up suddenly and noticing the needle in her arm.

"Haru…why am I in a hospital?!"

"You were too sick to bring home…so I brought you here. It's a private hospital and none of the other Souma know that we're here…so relax. It…it wouldn't be good for both you…and the baby…" With that being said, he gently reached down and cupped a hand around her growing belly, caressing her affectionately.

Rin closed her eyes, her hand gently covering his.

"I was going to tell you…"

He smiled.

"I know…"

"S-so…I…what are we going to do?"

Haru sighed, standing up and sitting on the edge of her bed before scooting in, his arms wrapping around her expanding belly.

"We're going to move into that beach house, I'm going to graduate from high school, go to college, well…you'll be graduating from college as well…and we'll raise our child together."

Rin smiled.

"You forgot something…"

"Hm? I did…?"

"You and I are going to get married…"

Haru grinned sheepishly before caressing her cheek, placing a tender and loving kiss upon her lips.

"Of course I'm gonna marry you…I already promised I would. Don't worry Rin…we're going to make it. We're going to be just fine, all three of us…"

Rin smiled, touching the white bangs that fell into his face as he nuzzled her gently.

"Yeah…we're going to be…alright…"

Rin left the hospital a week later, healthier than she had been in a very long time. The summer sun shone brightly as Haru led her over to his recently purchased car.

"Well, since you're pregnant and all, we can't really ride around on my motorcycle anymore…" He grinned as she questioned him about it.

"Well since I had no clue as to where you were for two months, I had a lot of free time…so I went and got a job. It was hard work, but it paid really well." He smiled then, opening the door for her and tucking her in before going around to the driver's seat.

"Haru…"

"Now then…where are my keys…?"

"Haru…"

"Hm, I'm pretty sure I just had them…"

"Haru!"

"Yeah?" He then looked up at her innocently.

"Do you have a license?"

"Um…"

"Haru…you do have a license…don't you?"

"Yeah…I'm just messing with you…after all, I am eighteen…" Haru started the engine as Rin sat back in her seat, glad to finally be going home after such a long time.

Once they arrived at the house, Rin smiled as the salty sea breeze drafted over her, gently playing with her hair.

"Don't worry…we'll take a nice long walk after you've had a bath, some food, and a good night's sleep…okay?" Haru smiled warmly as he helped her out of the car before scooping her up and into his arms.

"H-Haru…I can walk you know…"

"I know…"

"So…you can put me down now…" Rin looked up at him, her cheeks pink.

He chuckled, nuzzling his face into her ebony black hair.

"I don't ever want to let go of you again…relax Rin…I'll take care of you…"

As she opened her mouth to argue, she closed it, not wanting to spoil the moment.

"Okay…just don't drop me…"

Haru laughed, kissing her forehead.

"Now why would I do that when I have more than just you and I to worry about?" He stepped through the door and kicked it shut with his boot clad foot.

"We're home!"

Rin stared at him for a moment before laughing and following suit.

"We're home! Haru…"

She laughed again.

"Haru you know there's no one else here besides us…right?"

"Well…"

Rin's eyes suddenly went wide as a swarm of people came at them. Shouts of 'surprise!' and 'congratulations!' filling the air.

He set her down gently, his arm around her waist as Tohru, Kisa and Kagura came rushing up.

"Rin-chan we need to get you cleaned up…that hospital smell is so not for you…"

"Ah…Isuzu-san, I'm so glad to see you looking so well!" Tohru beamed as Kisa smiled shyly up at her.

"Welcome come ane-san…" Kisa smiled once more, taking her hand gently and leading her upstairs.

"Oh my god, Rin what happened to your hair?" Kagura looked at the choppy black locks in horror.

"Um, I tried to cut it myself…it was in the way of the examinations and…"

"Don't worry…I'll fix it for you…"

Tohru then turned to Haru while Kisa and Kagura began leading Rin upstairs to the bathroom.

"Hatsuharu-san, you don't mind if we go and clean her up, do you?"

He smiled, shaking the bangs from his eyes.

"Clean her up good…"

Tohru smiled and nodded before heading upstairs after Kisa, Kagura and Rin.

He turned and greeted everyone before going into the kitchen to start setting out dinner.

"Need help?"

Haru turned to see Yuki standing in the doorway, a smile on his face.

"Oh…sure. Hey, thanks for getting everyone here so fast…I stopped at the store on the way to buy you guys some time…"

His cousin only smiled, grabbing some cutlery and napkins.

"She's gotten big Haru…"

The Ox shook his head, a chuckle rising from his lips.

"Better not let her catch you saying that…she'll get you Yuki…"

Yuki laughed, grabbing a tray of apple, peach, and grapefruit gelatin (Rin's absolute favorite food) that Tohru had prepared from the refrigerator.

"All too true…"

"So you got Matchi-chan to come with you eh?"

At the mention of his girlfriend Yuki couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah…she helped me pick out something for Rin as well…so of course I was going to bring her…"

Haru chuckled, adding two tea bags to Rin's favorite mug.

"Alright, well I'm going to start setting the food out…" Yuki turned to go, his hands full of various food items.

"Hey…Yuki…?"

The Rat turned to look at his cousin.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks…for everything…for helping me find her…helping me organize this…I- Rin and I really appreciate it."

Yuki smiled.

"Don't thank me…I wanted to help. And I know that if I were in the same position, you'd do just the same if not more. You know…" Yuki then set the plates down, his arms crossing as he looked at Haru.

"I'm glad you and Rin are together. Because I get the feeling that if you weren't…you'd both just be two more people who are completely lost. I was lucky to find Matchi…Kyo has Tohru, Kagura has Roi…and Kisa has Hiro. I guess, we were all looking for someone to share our loneliness with, except now, that darkness is getting brighter, and maybe someday we'll be able to be rid of our demons and calamities. In the end, Haru, you're the only one who could save her. And that's definitely something worth living for…right? So there's no need to thank me…go out there and make a name for yourself, take care of Rin, and raise that child to the best of your abilities. Now hurry up with the rest of that food. I think Rin's coming downstairs and we're all eager for you guys to open the gifts we brought…" With that, he picked the up the plates of food, cutlery and napkins before turning and exiting the kitchen leaving Haru with an admirable expression on his face.

Once everything was settled, Rin found herself with Haru beside her and what seemed to be a mountain of gifts before her.

"Oh wow…I don't know where to start…" She turned and looked at Haru who reached for a small box covered in happy little duckling wrapping paper.

"How about we start with what's at our feet and work our way around?" He looked at Tohru, a secretive smile passing between them as he handed it to her with a smile on his face.

She took the small parcel, staring at it before opening it. Her breath caught in her throat as a pair of yellow and white duckling booties rested within the box. Rin took them out carefully, gently running her fingers over the velvet soft fabric, her eyes wide.

"Something wrong?"

"Eh…? No…it's just…I don't know what to say…they're…so small…" Her eyes suddenly filled with tears as an overwhelming emotion washed over her.

A chuckle ran through the group of guests as Haru kissed her cheek.

"It's alright…here…open this one…"

She nodded and hastily wiped the tears from her eyes, a smile on her face. As he handed her the next parcel, she couldn't help but smile with the one he handed her after that, and the next one too.

After all the gifts had been opened, Haru pulled a box out of his back pocket.

"There's still…one more…just one more…" he murmured to himself before turning to Rin who was watching him, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Haru…what…?"

He turned to look at the group of people who had come to celebrate with them. Kisa and Hiro sat beside each other on the love seat, Kyo and Tohru sat on the floor, beside them sat Yuki and Matchi, Kagura and her boyfriend Roi sat in chairs.

A warm smile spread across his lips as he cleared his throat.

"Everyone…I have something to say…" Haru took a deep breath as all pairs of eyes looked upon them. He then turned to Rin, taking her hand gently.

"First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone for coming…it means a lot to the both of us…and thank you for all the gifts. I'm sure…" The smile on his face suddenly grew bigger.

"I'm sure our child will love them…" He squeezed Rin's hand gently.

"Now then…there's one more thing we have to do before we go and stuff ourselves silly. Rin…" Haru gazed into her eyes lovingly, his hand caressing her hair and cheek.

"You should know more than anyone how much I love you…from the moment we met, I knew that there was something about you…that there was someone I wanted to become closer to. Ever since that day I found you…I've just come to want to love you even more…and now…you've given me just one more happiness that I will cherish forever…" With this, his hand gently caressed her belly, the other hand wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Rin…we've been through hell and back…and this journey is far from over, I'm sure…but one day, I won't be here for you…and you won't be here for me. So…I want to be with you until death tears us apart and even then…I'll fight any demons I have to and I'll find you again. Even if we have to journey through hell and back a thousand times Rin…it's only you…I want to be with you and only you…" With this, he shifted so that he was on one knee, the small black box in his hand while the other held onto hers.

"Isuzu Souma…will you marry me?"

Rin sat there, speechless. Her heart beat frantically within her chest as she comprehended his words, more tears welling in her eyes. She then nodded, too overcome with emotion to answer him with words.

Haru chuckled, slipping the simple silver engagement ring onto her finger, the diamond glittering proudly. He wrapped his arms around her, gently caressing her hair as she sobbed.

"Now friends…eat, drink, and behave yourselves!" He smiled as their friends and family laughed, getting up and making their way to the dining room.

"Rin…are you okay? You're not…upset or anything are you?"

She shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"It's just…when my mother came to the hospital that day, and said that she didn't need me anymore…I remember it was like someone had taken my heart and crushed it beneath their foot. I was so lost after that…I didn't know what to do with myself…and then one day you appeared, and it was like someone had heard my prayers and sent my guardian angel to save me…" She reached up, gently caressing his face.

"I thought…that because I had come to love you so much, that it would crush you…that a love so twisted and obsessive would someday smother you. And…the more I thought about it, the more fearful I became that you were going to go away. After Akito attacked me…I felt that nothing I did would amount to anything, so I distanced myself from you…hoping that it would be better for the both of us. And when I was locked up, I felt like I'd never be happy again. Every time I felt my stomach move or twitch, it only made me sink deeper into the darkness because I felt that I'd never see you again. Haru, every time I thought of ending it all… every time I thought of just stepping over the edge and never looking back…you came and saved me. Everything that I've always dreamed of having…someone to love who loved me back…a home to share with the person I loved…a-a family of my own…you've given me so much…" Rin suddenly sniffled, a hand reaching up to wipe the tears from her face once more. Her deep brown eyes gazing into his lovingly as she reached up and cupped a hand to his face.

"It's only fair that I return the favor…" She smiled, leaning up and kissing him softly.

"We should go get some food before it's all gone…" her lips were barely a millimeter from his as she whispered to him, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Haru grinned kissing her back, his arm circling around her back, pulling her close while the other rested on her growing belly.

"We should…"

"Okay…then let's go join everyone else in the dining room…" She went to get up but Haru's embrace only tightened.

"Haru…don't start…"

He grinned playfully, giving her a light kiss on the neck.

"You started it…" He kissed her neck once more which made her shiver.

"Haru…"

"Don't start something you have no intention to finish…" His tongue darted out and licked at her skin.

"Unless you want our child to be an only child I suggest you stop it before I kick you in a place you really don't want to be kicked…"

Haru chuckled.

"I know you're not going to kick me Rin…"

"Do you really want to test me?"

He stopped.

"…"

She glared.

"On second thought…that gelatin is starting to sound rather good right now…"

"That's what I thought…besides…" She suddenly leaned in, giving him a rather quick but sultry kiss.

"We'll have plenty of time for that when everyone leaves…" With that, Rin got up and went to join the party in the dining room.

Haru stared after her before shaking his head.

"Damn…she's swelling up like a balloon but she's still hot…"

"I HEARD THAT HATSUHARU SOUMA!"

He laughed.

"Ah, but ya gotta love her…" And with that, he too went to join his friends, family, and soon to be wife, feeling happier than he had felt in a very long time.

Uber Special Blah Blah Blah

Konnichi-wa everyone! It's Aku-chan. Sorry for not updating in awhile. My teachers seem to love piling on work these days. And we might be moving. Blagh. Oh well. Now then, there are a couple of spoilers in this fan fiction if no one's noticed. Here's a re-cap:

Akito is a woman.

Rin gets locked up in the Cat's chambers.

Akito cuts her hair. (Nuuu! T-T)

Haru saves her from Akito's wrath. (Hooray for Haru!)

Yuki and Matchi get together. (Aw. Kawaii desu.)

Kyo and Tohru end up together. (I knew all along they would. Smirk.)

Those are some of them. I can't remember all the ones which appear in Love Spell. Wow, part IX…can you believe that we're almost ten chapters into Love Spell? Sigh I remember when I first started writing. But my writing style's changed a lot since I began writing Love Spell. Anywho…there are a lot of humorous things that happen in this chapter. I figured after a couple of not so happy chapters I'd make this one as light, fluffy, and humorous as possible. Well that's all I really have to say. Oh! Just in case some of you were wondering…in the Fruits Basket manga/anime, when Tohru begins cleaning the ultra messy kitchen of Shigure's house, she says that instead of looking at what's infront of you, start with what's at your feet. That explains the little secretive smile thing between Haru and Tohru. I just thought of it and said: Hey! That'd be kinda cool to put in there… so I did. Hopefully I'll start writing part X soon. And again, I'm sorry that this one took so long to update. Along with mountains of work, I caught the Writer's Block! Le GASP! But as you can see, I've recovered. Until next time!

Akusuru ;3