It had watched and it had waited. Patience, it mused, was a virtue even for a demon in times like these. Now, the angel girl had purged the Sohma house of nine of the lesser demons. At first, it had howled in dismay, frustrated by the knowledge that it would take more than mere possessions to beat her out. It watched in even bigger disgust as Akito himself was drawn to her light. But then, oh, yes, it realized it was all it could to do hold its own against her. Having the others around had been a liability, it mused. Without them, it didn't have to share. And it liked that…
The girl had been weakened considerably by the last one. Barely over Shigure's exorcism, she was forced to free Hiro as well and the consequences were not easily undone this time. It lurked in the shadows as she'd passed out in the car, unaware of its presence. Akito's fear had been obvious, but it was clear that the boy was fighting to keep the faith in what she had said just the same. It was not her time, he repeated to himself, so she would eventually get better.
Oh yes, Akito, you keep thinking that. You keep thinking that right up to the end. Wrap that blanket of optimism so tightly around you that you asphyxiate from the pressure.
Melody's consciousness was present, though her body was rendered inert for the time being. She saw it and scowled.
"You have no place here," she'd said, though Akito could not hear, for it was telepathic, "you should get out while you can. It's going to get ugly."
"Ugly is my specialty, my dear. And you would do well to remember that. You love that pathetic little sack of mortal meat? Love him while you can. Either way, you don't get to keep him. Your precious Father won't let you. How fair is that, really? If He loved you so much, He'd let you stay."
"That's not true," Melody said bravely, "and you know it. He'll do what's best for all of us. You're just bitter because you know you've lost already. How does the Lake of Fire sound? Not exactly a vacation home, is it?"
It hissed menacingly at her, but for the time being, it could not truly touch her. The time was coming, it mused, that it would pit its power against her and it would win.
"I don't understand," Hatori sighed, "why won't she come out of it?"
He kept his features carefully arranged into that neutral professional face that Akito really despised, especially in times like this. He, on the other hand, made no attempt to hide his frustrations.
"It's all those damn demons' faults! They know it hurts her so they make her sick!"
He was pacing around behind Hatori, so Hatori didn't see what crashed violently into the wall, but he definitely heard it.
"Akito, breaking things isn't going to help. If anything, you're blowing my concentration and I could be coming up with something useful instead of worrying about you, too."
Akito's "rage-filled" face appeared at his elbow, but the furious young man didn't do anything else destructive. Eventually, his teeth-bared wild-eyed expression melted and he let out a big sigh. Hiro had woken up.
"Stupid girl," Hiro muttered, referring to Melody.
Akito cleared his throat, but Hiro remained unapologetic.
"How can you stand her? She's nauseating. She's as bad as Tohru if not worse. And she's always getting herself into trouble."
Akito walked very calmly, very deliberately over to the side of his bed. He felt a vein pulsing in his forehead, but reigned in the desire to punch Hiro in the face.
"Yeah? She may be all those things," he muttered, "but she healed you. You almost didn't make it, Hiro. So a little bit of gratitude for pulling your sorry butt out of the river would be nice."
Hiro, properly chastened, bowed his head.
"You say you love Kisa," Akito said, his tone gentling a little bit, "but you haven't experienced real love yet. Real love is when they piss you off and you don't do anything about it. Instead, you remember all those times that they made you laugh. Real love is when being right all the time ceases to be important. And it's when you wake up and you appreciate everything they've done for you without asking anything in return and you try to do the same for them. You're young. I get that. You'll learn, though. And I'll bet when she's gone, you'll miss her just like the rest of us do."
Hatori's eyes widened.
"Get some rest, kid. You owe it to that poor passed-out woman over there who can't even fight the fever off because she's given all her strength to you."
Akito returned to the bed. Melody's cheeks were almost purple. Her heartbeat was rapid and weak as her temperature continued to climb.
"This was the same bed I was laying in when you first came here, remember?" he asked quietly, "This was where you began your great crusade to annoy me into letting you stay. And it's where I realized I didn't want you to ever leave me. I've had a lot of time to think in here…I just never dreamed it would be me in this position."
He brushed his palm against her face.
"When I found out that you, all this time, had been my pet dove…you can't imagine how angry I was. But animals don't talk, so it's not exactly as if you lied to me…"
He chuckled lightly.
"For years, nothing changed. I got up. I yelled at a few people. Had my breakfast or argued about it. Stalked around the gardens. Studied for school because I was bored rather than actually wanting to learn. Yelled at more people. Sometimes hurt them…and then Tohru came along and changed everything. In fact, you showed up right around the same time she did. And you were always on my finger like you'd been landing there from the beginning of my life. Now it's unthinkable that I would ever not have you around."
Kana came in.
"How is she?" she asked.
"Bad," Hatori didn't beat around the bush, "but I'm sure she'll wake once the fever breaks. Where is our daughter?"
"Haru and Isuzu volunteered to watch her. They said they needed the practice," Kana said with a slight smile, "and Tianshi just loves them both for it. Last I heard, she was out with her thumb in her mouth. Why she won't do that for us is beyond me."
It felt good to slide into Hatori's arms without fear that he'd suddenly shrink into a seahorse or that Akito would throw something or pitch a fit. Akito merely smiled at them, still holding onto Melody's limp hand.
"How are you doing, Sweetie?" Kana asked.
He shrugged.
"All right, I guess, now that I'm out of those wet clothes. I'll be glad when she wakes up, though."
Much to everyone's surprise including hers, Kana hugged him.
"She's a tough woman. She'll get through this just fine and soon this will all be nothing more than a memory," she assured him, "let us know if you need anything."
"Thank you," Akito said gratefully. Yawning, he stretched out on his side and lay his head on Melody's chest. Being careful not to disturb the tubes and wires, he wrapped one arm around her and closed his eyes for a nap. It was promising to be a long night. Kana retrieved a nearby blanket and spread it over him, carefully tucking in the edges so that it wouldn't slip off if he moved. Hatori watched with a swelling sense of pride and sweetness in his heart—if anyone would have said this would happen a couple of years back, he'd have told them to go get their head examined. Melody had brought them all closer together.
"I hope she doesn't die," Hiro mumbled, rolling over so that he didn't have to look at this mushy stuff.
"Why don't you go and get some sleep? I'll stay with them," Kana told her exhausted husband, "and before you say anything, I am a doctor, too. Though my last husband didn't want me working, I did finish the training."
"Just an hour or two," he said, rubbing his eyes, "then you come and get me."
"All right," she said softly, though she had absolutely no intention of doing so. Settling down with a book, she remembered all those days of university and later months of residency. Always, there had been a pervasive sense of something missing. She was forever grateful that the feeling was gone. Akito, she mused, was not as terrible as he'd presented himself to be. She remembered that fateful day that he'd pitched the vase at Hatori without even thinking and the glass had shattered and injured Hatori's eye. Akito had been so freaked out by this that he'd gotten hysterical. Though she would never consider him blameless for his rage-filled act, she could vaguely understand why he'd been so quick to blame her. Horrified that he'd caused such a terrible injury to the one person he'd loved the most back then, he simply couldn't face the guilt and had placed the blame on her instead. If she hadn't been so terrified herself, she would have seen the frightened little boy in the man's eyes.
He was breathing slowly and deeply. Melody's heart rate seemed to have dropped slightly now that he was there—she'd always been a firm believer in the power of human touch. She often encouraged the patients' relatives to hold their hands, hug them, or stroke their hair simply because of how the person, even unconscious, responded. Having him here with her would probably make her heal faster. If only she could understand what the problem was…
Kana rose from her chair and moved as silently as a shadow towards the sleeping couple.
Not everything has a scientific explanation, she remembered. Melody had prayed for her when poor little Tianshi had been in distress, still thrashing around and struggling for oxygen inside her womb. Perhaps now, she could return the favor. There was certainly no harm in praying. Placing one hand on Melody's arm, she whispered the words to the mysterious Father that she had come to believe more in since meeting Melody. She didn't pray out loud for long, as she was afraid she'd wake Akito up, and her words seemed to be stumbling and awkward anyway. But her heart knew what it wanted to say. That was all that mattered. Content that everything had been done that was possible, she settled back in her chair with her book. It was quite a story—Akito had bought this book some time ago at the coffee shop that he and Melody had gotten attached to. The story featured a blue-eyed hero who was less than perfect, a crazy blonde woman, a dark lady who could send lightning through her fingers, and a man with a somewhat overdeveloped ego but otherwise friendly personality. And a white dragon. The four of them had gone on many adventures and sought to defeat a man with skin as black as his heart who fancied himself a god. About halfway through the book, she decided she'd have to borrow books from him more often. She grinned, knowing Hatori was actually a sucker for dragon stories though he vehemently denied enjoying fictional works.
Hatori moved through the quiet little house. Though it was connected on to the main house, it was its own separate little entity. Kana had moved in, of course, once they were married. Though it was pitch-black in here, he didn't feel intimidated by the shadows. Little memories filled his mind. The first time Kana had ever accidentally hugged him and made him transform, the times after that where she couldn't stand not hugging him and had cradled him as a seahorse in her arms, the late-night talks they'd had on the couch. He glimpsed Tianshi's empty crib, knowing that their baby would be home shortly. Sometimes in the morning just to let Kana sleep, he'd tend to her and had really come to enjoy those times together. She was not yet old enough for solid food, but they'd sit together at the table. He'd have his coffee and he'd lean her against his chest and belly and hold her bottle for her with the other hand. Then, sometimes Kana would make breakfast for both of them and they'd all eat together. Hatori was amused by how fast he'd come to appreciate having toys always laying around and little hair bows and sparkly dresses. He never once dreamed he'd have a daughter or a wife that he'd be able to hold without poofing into an animal. Laying down on the bed fully clothed except for his shoes, he curled around Kana's pillow, comforted by her scent. Within seconds, he was fast asleep.
When he woke again, the pale golden sun was pouring through the window. An adrenaline rush pulsed through his veins as he hurriedly straightened his clothes and put his shoes on. Sprinting towards the hospital wing, he feared that the worst had happened. But all he found was Kana singing to Tianshi as she changed her diaper.
"You were supposed to come and get me hours ago!" he scolded her.
"What for? I had this. I set the alarm and gave Melody the medicine every four hours like you said. I learned from the best, after all."
Tianshi cooed, wiggling her chubby little fists and smiling adorably at her father. Kana closed the tapes on the diaper and tugged her little purple dress back into place. She swung Tianshi up in the air and she shrieked with laughter before being placed in Hatori's arms. He pecked her on the forehead.
"When did you get back? I missed you."
He turned around, suddenly remembering that the others might be sleeping, but they weren't. One of the tables that had wheels on it was parked between two beds. Kisa sat on Hiro's bed eagerly spooning in breakfast while Hiro commented on how dumb the anime was that they were watching. Akito and Melody were in the other bed, of course. Melody was deathly pale, but her eyes were open. Akito was trying to persuade her to eat something, but she didn't have an appetite. Hatori checked her temperature. It was still higher than he was comfortable with, but it wasn't as bad as last night. That was something at least. He gave Melody's shoulder a sympathetic squeeze.
"Iced coffee," he whispered in Akito's ear, "load it with sugar. I bet you anything she drinks it."
He hadn't thought of that. With a grateful smile, he slipped off the bed and kissed Melody's cheek. The poor girl seemed stuck in some sort of daze and her smile was distant, but things would get better. When Kyoko returned, she'd brought more food in.
"Are you trying to fatten us all up?" Kana asked playfully.
"Of course not. But there has to be something to keep you all going," she said warmly, "besides, I've heard my jelly rolls were a big hit."
"The rice is amazing, too," Kisa said.
Akito returned with the coffee cup. Mint and chocolate seemed to be one of Melody's favorite combinations, as he'd seen her use those the most. Besides, he figured those would go the best with the cold coffee. True to Hatori's prediction, she thanked him in a faint voice and sipped at it. At least something was going in…
"The weather report says there's another storm heading in," Kana said, her eyes panning down the laptop screen, "it's a good thing everyone's in here and safe and sound. And that we got another generator in case the first one fails."
It had been a costly investment, but Akito had been glad to make it. Failure of the hospital equipment would be a serious liability.
"How soon?" he asked.
"Within the next day or two," Kana answered, "but I'll bet all the children will be happy. They won't have to worry about school."
Melody's faint smile grew.
"I have to teach them about laundry-basket sledding," she said, "and Snow Wars."
Akito raised an eyebrow.
"Laundry basket sledding?" he asked, curious.
"It was one of the few memories of my previous life I held onto," she answered, "I was at a college campus around this time of year. North America if I'm not mistaken…we didn't have actual sleds so we gathered up a bunch of other stuff. Laundry baskets worked the best if they were big enough, but we also had those big plastic storage bins. Somebody else had a suitcase. We even all slid down the hill in one big bunch on an old mattress that the campus was going to trash because it was ripped in the bottom. And we coated everything with nonstick cooking spray to make our 'sleds' go faster."
"That sounds kind of dangerous," he remarked.
She grinned.
"Just a little. We had to learn how to steer to keep from running into the tree, but the only other one was the spinning and wiping out aspect. But nobody got hurt—we had too many layers of clothes on to bruise or break anything. I don't even remember my friends' names, but I do remember we were out there for at least six hours and we only took a break to attend a church service."
She lay her head back on the pillow, lost in her reverie.
"How long ago did that happen?" he asked, curious.
"Twenty or thirty years…maybe more. I've lost count."
He felt sorry for her then, wondering what it would be like if he woke up tomorrow with that sort of amnesia. But at the same time, any hurts or pains or trials she'd experienced would be gone, too. Maybe it wasn't so bad. His insides squirmed when he realized that she would eventually come to forget him, too.
"Akito, are you feeling all right? You look a little pale," Hatori commented.
"Fine," he muttered, "just…thinking."
He kissed his wife's burning cheek.
"I'll be back shortly," he told her, "there's a few things I need to check on."
"All right," she sighed contentedly. He smoothed the covers over her, knowing she would probably fall asleep again despite the coffee.
Restlessly prowling the halls, Akito watched the sky. It was clear for now, but it wouldn't be long before the snow clouds rolled in.
"Does she really have to forget me, Father? I could live with knowing we're not going to be together, but…"
He sighed. He didn't know what to say or how to express it. And the realization of just how hard he'd made things on Hatori before struck him like a blow to the gut. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. Now was not the time, he reminded himself. He truly hated that Melody was sick today, but she had provided him with a window of opportunity. When she was well again, she'd get her massive snowball fight—besides, he owed Shigure for the last time one of those had broken out. Shigure had dropped a big handful of snow down his back to distract him. Akito grinned mischievously. Melody had said he couldn't hurt anyone—she never said he couldn't tease them in some ways.
Melody stayed in her feverish state for the better part of four days. There were times she'd be awake, but her fever made things hazy and muddled. One minute, she would see either Hatori or Kana sitting in the office next to a lamp at night and then the bright lights would hurt her eyes. She vaguely remembered the rotation of visitors and Akito trying to persuade her to eat. At the most, she'd take two or three bites before she had to quit—her stomach was either feeling heavy like someone had filled it with concrete or she was full-blown nauseated. Food had no appeal to her. The hot, sweet coffees and teas that they gave her were the only things she wanted. At around six in the evening, the fever finally vanished during a nap and she woke feeling more alert than she had in ages.
"Melody, you're awake!" Momiji exclaimed. Before she could say a word, he threw his arms around her and promptly poofed into his rabbit form. Tianshi, who had been in Kana's lap, clapped her little hands together and giggled.
"What are you doing here?" Melody asked, surprised.
Everyone else is at dinner, he said, but we've all been here. We've been—
Before he could say anything else, Kyo snatched him off the bed.
"Not now, you little idiot!" he hissed in Momiji's ear.
Wahhhhhhh Kyo's shaking me!
Melody giggled.
"Hi, Kyo. It's been a while. How are you and Tohru and Shigure and Yuki doing?"
Plopping Momiji down on a bed across from them and drawing the curtains around him, Kyo replied bluntly, "Better than you by the looks of it. It was all I could do to keep Tohru from moving in here. Akito's been unbearable lately and I didn't really want things to get worse."
"Unbearable how? He hasn't been…you know…has he?"
"No. Not towards us. He's been very temperamental, but no violence," Kyo said, crossing his arms over his chest, "he goes off on his own a lot now. Hatori worries he'll get sick being in the cold so much."
Melody nodded.
"I didn't mean to scare him. It seems like I do that a lot."
Tohru poked her head in the door.
"I found him," Kyo told her.
"Where did he go?" she asked, confused.
"Over there. The little idiot hugged her and transformed. I'll be so glad when he can't get himself into trouble anymore."
Melody giggled.
"I don't care that he turns into a rabbit," she said.
"Maybe you don't, but the girls at school will," he growled.
Melody watched the subtle way his fingers curled around Tohru's when she placed her small hand in his. Kyo would never be the type to be openly affectionate, but the way his gaze softened slightly was enough.
"We should probably tell Akito that you're awake," Tohru said gently, "he's been very worried though he tries not to show it."
POOF!
A second later, Momiji appeared, fully dressed.
"I'll do it! I can run the fastest!"
"Yeah…that's a good idea," Kyo muttered, grateful to be rid of the hyperactive little boy. He shot through the door like a bullet and let it slam, making them all wince.
"I miss that energy," Melody remarked.
She felt the dampness of her gown and made a face.
"If he's coming down here, I'm going to step into the shower," she mumbled.
"You really shouldn't," Kana said, "you might get chilled."
"That wasn't my issue," Melody reminded her, half-joking, "being chilled might be a good thing now."
Seeing that she wasn't going to change Melody's mind, she took out the IV line and brought her some clean pajamas. Once they heard the sound of water running, everyone grinned.
"She has no idea what she's in for," Kana said smugly, "she just made it easier."
"Now if we could just get Shigure to leave the mistletoe alone," Kyo muttered irritably. The dog-spirited man had been making excuses to peck every girl he passed on the cheek.
"She'll be so happy," Tohru said warmly, glad she'd gotten to be a part of the big secret.
Melody scrubbed her hair vigorously. She still felt weak and thin and had to sit down before her legs gave, but she was determined to get clean. Being this sick always made her feel terribly self-conscious about the build-up of sweat. The hot water felt good on her skin and seemed to restore a little of her strength. When she had toweled off and dressed, she felt much better. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find everyone gone.
"Huh?" she asked, confused. Poking her head into the office, she'd wondered if they'd all gone in there.
"Shame on you for keeping me waiting," the cool, dark voice said as the chair swiveled around. To anyone else, this would have sounded intimidating, but Melody knew he was only kidding with her. She slid into his lap, contented. His cool cheek pressed into her warm one.
"Where'd they all go?" she asked.
"The same place we're going. To dinner."
"But I'm in my jammies," she objected.
"You look fine. Come on. You haven't had any solid food in four days. More than that and you'll start looking like me."
"I wouldn't say that's a terrible thing," she said mushily.
"I would," he said, dragging her out the door, "a Melody should look like a Melody."
She couldn't understand why the hallways were so dark.
"Why's it so dark in here? I know the electricity's still on," she said, puzzled.
"Why waste it when no one's around?" he asked evasively.
She stopped in surprise, causing him to bump into her the second she opened the door. The whole dining room was filled with lights and Christmas decorations.
"Goodness…"
"We had to do something while you were out," Kyoko piped up.
Melody giggled.
"I didn't figure you for a Christmas person, Akito," she admitted.
"Neither did I."
It had been a very confusing and somewhat annoying experience. After all the millions of shining balls and angel figurines and lights and icicles, he'd emphatically announced that the girls were in charge of all this stuff and they'd all jumped right in. The boys had just tried to keep out of the way—except for Shigure. He was having too much fun trying to coax Kyo and Yuki into helping. When being nice didn't work, he pulled his "melodramatic puppy" act, which made Squishie join in with her big, dark watery eyes and begging position. Isuzu's morning sickness was abating, but now that she had a bit more energy, she was in "nesting mode" as Tohru called it and Haru had been making every excuse that he could to escape it. Having her in on this project had been a great relief to him, as she finally had something to do with all that energy. Akito had merely stayed out of the way and given his approval on things, though it was only at Tohru's insistence for feedback. And, of course, Momiji had been right there in the way, sometimes a big help but often a big distraction as well. Unknown to his angelic bride, Akito had the entire house done. They were going to show her the rest of it after dinner.
Melody still didn't eat much, but she rearranged the food on her plate so that they wouldn't worry and it looked like she'd eaten more than she had. There was just enough there that the weakness was fading, but not enough to jar her tender stomach. Then, all of them bundled up against the cold.
"Do you really think she should be out here?" Hatori asked cautiously.
"It's just going to take a minute. Goodness…you worry about her like she's Tianshi," Akito responded. Hatori shrugged. Though he was physically only a few years older, it sort of felt like he'd adopted her along with Akito.
"It's snowing!" Melody exclaimed, rushing out to touch the falling flakes with her hands.
"Yes, it's winter, it does that," Akito teased.
"You just wait until there's enough for snowballs," she challenged, "I'm coming after you first."
"I'm sure you will."
He gave a wave to someone inside. For a second, nobody moved. Then, all the lights came on. Sohma House was bathed in lights as the trees, the fences, and the eaves of the buildings themselves began to glow with various colors. It was such a simple thing, but Melody let out an awed gasp.
"Oh my gosh! It's so pretty!" she breathed, stunned.
"Like it?" he asked.
"It reminds me of Home."