Chapter 1: Summer
August 8th, 2002
It was hot.
The station was still and stagnant.
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. The air conditioner must have broke again. He wiped the sweat that formed on his brow as he scanned through all the papers scattered across his desk. He should probably use the down time to get some organization done.
As he organized the papers on his desk he knocked over one of the photos he had on his desk, sending it clattering to the floor. "Shit." He swore, leaning down to pick it up.
He frowned at the sight of the cracked glass. He liked this photo. His eyes glanced over Erin's happy face in the photo. He sighed. Now he'd have to buy a new frame.
"White!" A familiar voice called, pulling him from his thoughts.
He looked up quickly. "What's up?" He questioned.
"There's been a call. Apparently there's been a child assault, the neighbors called and reported it. I'm sending you and Yamamoto over there now."
He nodded. Finally, something to do.
He gathered his things as Yamamoto walked up behind him. "You ready?" She asked, looking at him up and down.
He nodded, slinging his bag over his shoulder. As they walked down to the car She looked at him. "White-san-" She started but he cut her off.
"Please. Just call me Jirou. I hate being called by my last name." He said, glancing at his phone.
She sighed. "Alright Jirou, I know your new so I have to ask, can you handle this? I mean things can get pretty ugly in some cases. I've known a lot of new recruits that quit the police force after their first year." She said looking over at him.
He gave her a questionable look. "Maybe it was because you have so little faith in your new recruits." He said with a small laugh.
She looked at him. "You know what I mean."
He opened the car and got in the driver's seat. "Don't worry. I know exactly what I'm getting into. Don't worry about me." He said before driving off.
"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you." She said going through the papers on her clipboard.
"Wouldn't dream of it." He said plainly.
They finally arrived and Jirou noticed another group of cops already there.
"Great, they must've heard the call from the scanner. Just my luck it's Ito and his partner. Fuck, I hate dealing with these guys." Yamamoto sighed as she hid her face behind her clipboard.
Jirou looked at her questioningly, but didn't want to pry.
"I'll handle it, don't worry." He said as they exited the car.
"What are you two doing here?" Ito asked, looking over the two of them.
"Chief asked us to come. So if anything, we should be asking you that question." Jirou said, crossing his arms.
"Well given the nature of the reports we had to be here. We've been looking into this suspect for a while. He was just taken into custody. He could be looking at serious jail time. The child needs to be questioned and-"
"If anyone is questioning the child it will be Yamamoto or me. We will let you know what we find out. Now where is the child?" Jirou said sternly, cutting him off.
Ito gave him a look and pointed to the house. "Suspect said the child was in the house, but there's no one else in there. We already did a walk through."
Jirou nodded before he left him behind and walked towards the house.
"White! I said we already checked it out!" Ito called after him, but Jirou waved him off.
Yamamoto caught up to him."Thanks for handling that." She sighed.
Jirou nodded. "All good." He said opening the front door.
"Ito is many things, but he isn't a liar. Well at least not when it comes to work. If they say she's not in here, then she's not. Now there is a possibility she ran off. If that's the case then Ito and his partner are really gonna be involved." She said, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"She didn't run off. She's here, they just don't know where to look." He said looking around the cluttered house.
"Where to look?" She asked, confused.
He nodded. "Just let me handle this." He said walking into the house.
He stood still listening carefully. "Hello? It's okay, you can come out. I'm here to help." He called gently.
He heard a small shuffling noise coming from the one closet.
He smiled slightly before walking over and crouching in front of the closed closet door.
"Hey, it's alright. You don't have to be scared. I'm here to help you. You can come out." He said softly.
Before long he heard the closet door open and the girl looked out at him. She looked at him with her big dark brown eyes. She had to be 10, maybe 11 years old.
Jirou saw she was shaking.
He smiled at her. "It's alright. You don't have to be scared. My name's Jirou. What's your name?" He asked.
She stared at him before speaking. "I-Ichiro. M-my name's Ichiro."
"It's very nice to meet you Ichiro." He said happily.
She studied him a while longer.
"Please don't hurt me." She said, quivering in fear.
"I promise I won't. Like I said, I'm here to help you. Did someone hurt you?" He asked looking over her.
She paused before nodding slightly. "I… I didn't want him to. It hurts. I'm hiding." She said, tears falling down her face. "It hurts really bad. I'm scared!"
At her words, Jirou was reminded of an old memory.
"Please help me, I'm scared."
He looked at Ichiro and extended his hand. "It'll be alright now. He won't hurt you anymore. I promise. Come with me, I can help you."
She looked at his extended hand, blinking. Tears filled her eyes as she quickly left the closet and clung to him. He held her close. "It's alright. You're safe now. I promise. Where are you hurt, can you tell me?" He asked, pulling away.
She shakily looked down at her pajama pants that were stained with blood. "I- it hurts really bad." She said holding back her tears.
"It's alright. I'm going to help you." He said, resting his hand on her head.
She was eventually picked up by an ambulance and taken to the hospital. Jirou and Yamamoto went as well to make sure everything was settled.
"It's obvious this is a sexual assault case. The bleeding stopped, but she's pretty swollen. The poor thing must be in so much pain." The doctor said, frowning. "Luckily she's sleeping now, after all the tests we did I'm sure she's exhausted."
"Alright, we will let her rest and come back for her tomorrow so we can check up on her and ask her our questions." Jirou said, adjusting his tie.
The doctor nodded and wished them well before they left.
As they walked to the car Yamamoto looked over him. "Okay, I'm sorry I underestimated you. You did good." She said.
He looked over at her and smiled slightly before getting in the car. As they drove back, she spoke again. "How'd you know? How'd you know she'd be hiding in the house and didn't run off?" She questioned.
Jirou inhaled sharply, pushing away unwanted memories. "Lucky guess. I just…didn't think she would be running if she was hurt is all."
"Well you did good. I can see why the chief was so excited to gain you, and right out of training no doubt." She said, leaning back.
He nodded but didn't say anything.
Once they got back to the station, Jirou filled out the report he had to do, and finished organizing his papers.
"Your picture is cracked." Yamamoto said leaning against her neighboring desk.
He looked over at her. "Yeah I knocked it over." He said looking over at the picture of him and Erin.
"Is that your girlfriend?" She asked, sitting atop her desk.
He laughed slightly. "No, she's my sister. She's engaged actually. Since April."
"Oh, that's nice. I'm surprised you keep a photo of her like that, most guys wouldn't." She said plainly.
He shrugged. "I keep her photo there so I remember why I'm doing this… That and she means the world to me."
Yamamoto took in the almost sad look on his face. "Well regardless, you did good today, we'll follow up tomorrow, go home." She said, going back to her papers.
Jirou looked at the late afternoon summer sky. He nodded.
As he packed up his bag he thought of Ichiro. He was glad he could help her. He would continue to help her and anyone else he could.
He wanted to help.
It was all he ever wanted.
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"So, if the rice is 585 yen, and the fish and vegetables are 2367 yen so that's… that's… um." Erin whispered to herself trying to add the numbers in her head. She frowned.
She only had 3000 on her, and she needed this stuff for dinner tonight. Hatori shouldn't have to cook or worry about shopping after his busy day at work.
She frowned, before mustering up all of her determination.
"You can do this Erin. Just focus." She whispered.
She closed her eyes, trying to add the numbers in her head.
"Okay seven and five is twelve, carry the one… six plus eight is…" She whispered, counting on her fingers. "Eight, nine, ten… t-ten…" She said shakily, completely losing her train of thought.
Why was she so stupid?
She couldn't figure anything out for the life of her.
She clenched her fists. Whatever, she would just risk it and have the cashier do the math.
She walked to the register and plopped the various items on the counter.
"Find everything you need today?" The woman asked, scanning the items.
"I believe so." She said quietly, staring down at her hands.
She nervously gulped as she awaited the total.
"That'll be 2,952 yen please." The lady said, and Erin sighed in relief.
She reached into her bag and handed her the money. The cashier took the payment as her eyes glanced to the ring she wore.
"Oh my goodness, your ring is beautiful." She said with a smile.
Erin's eyes widened as she looked to the oval diamond on her finger. "Oh, thank you." She said with a smile.
"When's the wedding?" She asked, bagging up the groceries.
"In spring. May, actually." Erin said, twirling the ring nervously.
"That's a wonderful time to have a wedding. Whoever you're marrying is very lucky to have such a beautiful girl such as yourself." She said happily, handing her the bag.
Erin's face turned red. "Oh no, I'm lucky to have him… but… but thank you." She said bowing, and taking the groceries.
"Well good luck with everything. Getting married is a very special event for a young girl such as herself. If you ever come back you will have to let me know how it's going."
"Thank you, and I will. Thank you for everything." Erin said with a smile, before walking out of the store.
She squinted her eyes as the hot August sun shone down on her.
She frowned at the heat. It was a particularly hot day. She could see the heat waves radiating off the cars and street. She sighed. Having to lug the groceries all the way home didn't sound fun at all, but she had to hurry or they would spoil in this heat.
She picked up her pace, and hurried home. Luckily their house was only a 10 minute walk from the store.
When she finally arrived she thought she was going to pass out. She wiped the sweat off her forehead as she unceremoniously shoved the groceries in the fridge.
She shut the fridge door and leaned against it, sliding down to the floor. She exhaled shakily. How on earth could summer get so hot?
She sat there for a while, rolling her necklace between her fingers.
When she finally cooled off she stood up and looked at the time. It was almost noon.
She sighed knowing she'd have to go back out in the disgusting heat.
She grabbed the lunches she had made and packed them in her backpack. She grabbed her iPod and put the earbuds in, putting on her music and heading back out.
Luckily she had ice packs to keep the lunches cool so she wasn't in a big rush. However, the walk was still tiresome. Even with her sticking to the shady side of the road she still broke a sweat.
She walked along the curb like a balance beam, her arms extended.
"Cause there is no time to wait. And I need you, no no no no, cause we're one step closer." She sang softly to herself as she walked.
The summer breeze blew past her, rustling the ribbons she had tied in her hair. She held onto them, afraid they would blow away if she wasn't careful.
When she finally arrived she sighed in relief. All her walking was finally done.
As she attempted to catch her breath, she stared up at the familiar fancy brick building with its fountain and colorful flowers. She stared at the fountain, longingly wanting to sit in it to cool off. She shook the thought from her head, remembering why she came.
She walked up to the door and stared at the familiar words on the door.
Sohma Medical Clinic
Est. February 2001
Dr. Hatori Sohma
General Practitioner
Dr. Hirokazu Yanagi
Physician Assistant
She opened the front door, running inside excitedly. She flew past the front desk. "Good afternoon Erin-san." The secretary called.
Erin waved before making her way back into the office area. She excitedly ran into Hatori's office only to find it empty. She frowned. Hatori must've been with a patient.
She looked down the hallway to see Kazu at his desk, typing on his computer. She removed her earbuds and poked her head in. "Kazu where's Hatori?" She asked, clearly out of breath.
He looked up at her and smiled. "He's in with a patient at the moment."
"Aw okay, how much longer?" She asked, attempting to push the piece of hair out of her eyes, but failing.
He shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine." He perked up upon seeing her backpack. "Did you bring lunch?" He asked, taking off his glasses to rub his eye.
She smiled. "Yeah, of course I did." She said, reaching in and passing him the lunch box
He smiled wide, putting his glasses back on and accepting the lunch.
"You're the best Erin." He said opening the box.
Erin laughed, tucking her hair behind her ears. "It's just lunch. Nothing special."
"Anything for me?" A familiar deep voice came from behind her, causing her heart to skip.
She turned to see Hatori leaning against the doorframe, closing the file he was looking at. As he looked at her a smile tugged at his lips.
Butterflies raced through her as she felt her cheeks warm. Would she ever get used to how absolutely perfect he was? How could anyone who looked like that ever find any interest in her? Her brown eyes met his blue violet ones for a moment. She could tell by his expression that he knew of the effect he had on her in that moment. His smile grew.
She laughed slightly in an attempt to regain her composure. She dropped his gaze quickly, staring down at her bag in hopes of hiding her red face. "Of course you dope. Why would you even ask?" She said matter of factly, holding out a lunch box.
He gladly accepted it.
"Alright, I'm starving. I'm gonna go eat mine." Erin said, bowing slightly towards Kazu and quickly walking out.
Kazu looked over at Hatori and smirked. "You know, there is a lock on your office door."
Hatori's smile vanished as he gave him a look.
Kazu laughed, shaking his head. "Hey, I wouldn't judge. I would do the same thing if I had an adorable fiancé like that." Kazu said laughing.
"Yes well, why do you think your office door doesn't lock?" Hatori deadpanned.
Kazu smiled. "Alright, alright. Go eat your lunch with her. I'm sure she misses you. You've been busy as of late." Kazu said, breaking his chopsticks.
Hatori paused, thinking. Had he not been paying enough attention to her? Sure he had been staying at the clinic late most days, but she didn't mind. Did she?
Hatori sighed. "Alright. But then it's back to work." He deadpanned, walking out.
Hatori was lost in thought as he entered his office. He looked up to see Erin looking out the window, eating a rice ball. He inwardly sighed.
She was beautiful…. What if he really had been too busy? They weren't getting married till spring, but he was already messing up.
"I apologize." He said walking up next to her.
She looked up at him questioningly. "For what?"
Hatori paused as he looked at her up and down.
He noted the way she wheezed slightly when she breathed, and the way her cheeks were flushed.
She had been overworking herself in this heat. She shouldn't have walked all the way to the clinic from their house. It was a long walk. Her asthma was getting triggered and he knew it.
Guilt filled him. Staying late, letting her over work herself? This wasn't how he planned on taking care of her.
"Sit down." He said sternly, taking the stethoscope from around his neck and placing the ends in his ears.
Erin sat down, giving him an odd look.
He placed the stethoscope against her chest, listening to her breathing. He frowned at the sound of her constricted lungs. "Erin, why didn't you tell me you were having trouble breathing?" He said removing the ear pieces.
"I'm fine Hatori. It's just from the heat." She said, trying to placate him.
"You're not fine. Erin, you know you have sickness induced asthma. You're also just getting over that summer cold. Why would you walk here from the house?"
Erin looked at him like it was obvious. "To bring you lunch? I also had to go to the grocery store this morning to get stuff for dinner. You shouldn't have to worry about it after working all day."
Hatori pinched the bridge of his nose and let out the sigh he was holding in. "You walked to the store?"
"Yeah? Like I said I needed stuff for dinner." She said plainly.
"Erin." He said exasperated. He mentally kicked himself. He wasn't keeping his promise.
"You're doing a nebulizer treatment before we go, and you're not walking." He said sternly.
She made a face. "Oh come on I hate the nebulizer. It makes my heart race and I get all shaky." She whined.
"Erin, I'm not arguing with you. Not about your health." He said matter of factly getting up to get the nebulizer.
She rolled her eyes. "No Hatori, I'm not doing it." She said crossing her arms.
He crouched down so he was eye level with her. "Well, if you don't want the nebulizer treatment I can always give you a steroid injection to open your airways."
At the word 'injection' Erin's eyes widened. "Fine, I'll do the dumb nebulizer. Can I at least finish my lunch first?" She asked, gesturing to her food.
He nodded, standing up so he could eat his lunch as well.
"About before when I was apologizing… I realized I haven't been paying attention to you like I should. I've been letting work distract me. So, I apologize." He said looking down at her.
She looked confused. "Hatori, I'm an adult, remember? I don't need you to babysit me and coddle me."
"I know you don't need to. I just want to be able to take care of you. I promised I would." He said softly.
She sighed. "Alright. Maybe I've been a little lonely. But Jirou's been busy with work and so have you… But I'm not mad at you for it like you think."
"I'll try to not stay late. I apologize. However, you do well to be more careful. Asthma is not something to take lightly. Even if yours isn't bad. No more walking long distances in this heat, understand?" He asked.
She nodded and he patted her head. "Good. Now eat up." He said pointing to her lunch.
"Alright, alright." She said exasperated.
He was always so bossy. Erin wondered if he would ever change.
She looked at her ring. Well she was going to spend her whole life with him.
'I guess I'll find out.' She thought to herself, smiling slightly.
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"Come on Erin, don't you trust me?" Jirou questioned.
"I do trust you. It's my swimming ability, I don't trust." She said, looking at him in the water.
She held her hands close to her chest, trying to curb the anxiety she had.
It was a Saturday. A day Erin always looked forward to. Saturdays were days Jirou always tried to reserve for her.
He wanted to make sure he at least saw her once a week. He also wanted to prove to her that even though things were different and they were busy, he was still able to see her.
He knew he was stretching the limits of her composure by asking her to the pool, but it had been so hot lately. She would appreciate it once she got in.
Well, that was if she got in.
She shuffled her weight and whined slightly. She looked back at Hatori who looked up from the book he was reading. He smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry Erin, you'll do fine." He said.
She sighed, stomping her feet on the wet concrete. "Jirou…." She whined.
"Erin I'm gonna catch you. When have I ever lied to you?" He said, holding out his arms.
"I don't know, probably a lot." She mumbled.
"No. I don't. Just jump. I wouldn't ask you to do it if you would get hurt." He said, trying to placate her.
She stared down at the blue water. She knew Jirou wasn't going to give this up. He was too stubborn.
She held her breath and jumped.
As she went under the cold water, she was pulled back up again.
She rubbed her eyes, and cleared the water from her nose. "Am I dead?" She asked looking up at Jirou.
He laughed. "No you dope, you did it."
She perked up. "I did it?"
He nodded and she smiled. She looked over to Hatori. "Hatori! I did it! I did it!" She said happily.
He smiled and walked over to the edge of the pool, kneeling down. "I saw."
She clung to the side of the pool, afraid to go out any farther.
"You should swim more, the practice will help you." Hatori said.
"Yeah Erin, come and swim over to me." Jirou said, holding his arms out once more.
She looked at Hatori who rested his hand on her head. "Go, I'll watch."
"Are you not gonna swim? You're so good at it." Erin said looking up at him.
He shrugged. "Not today, but you have fun."
She nodded before she turned towards Jirou, and slowly attempted to swim over to him. Why was this so hard? The water was deep and she struggled to keep her head above water. Her head started to go under, as she quickly sank like a rock.
That was when someone pulled her back up quickly.
Surprised, she looked behind her to see Hatori holding her. She wiped the water from her eyes once more. "I thought you weren't coming in?" She asked, surprised he swam over here so fast.
"Yeah well, you worried me." He said letting her go.
"I was doing fine, I didn't need help." She said, attempting to push the wet hair out of her eyes.
He noticed and did it for her, before Jirou swam over. He looked down at her. "All good?"
She looked between the two of them. She'd never need a lifeguard with the way they hovered over her.
"I'm fine, let's practice some more." She said happily.
The three of them swam together in the pool.
They taught her easy swim motions, like how to use your arms and kick your feet.
She was starting to get the hang of it, although Hatori knew it would be a while till he trusted her to swim without him keeping watch. If he even ever would. Which he probably wouldn't.
He watched her happily splash water at Jirou, who laughed and splashed her back.
He smiled at how happy she looked. She had grown so much in the past few months. She had been working so hard on working on her anxiety.
He was so proud of her, and so happy she was finally able to find some peace of mind.
Hatori thought of her uncle being locked away. The thought gave him peace. Although, of course even jail wasn't enough of a punishment in Hatori's mind. After all the things he did to Erin… well there was no punishment that could make up for what he did.
He shook his head, chasing the thoughts away. He shouldn't dwell on that. It was over, and Erin was doing good.
He just had to keep her busy, less her mind wandered. Which was easy considering they had a wedding to plan, school, work, and keeping up with her therapy. However, she only went once a week.
She had been asking and asking, so after some time passed from the trial he allowed it.
She was happy to have the extra free time, and he was happy too. He was glad she could only go once a week and still be alright.
He looked back over at her and Jirou playing happily in the water. He smiled again. He couldn't help it. Erin had a contagious smile. Every time he saw her smile he couldn't help but smile too.
Hatori was glad Jirou visited often. Even though there was a small stubborn part of him that didn't want to admit it, Erin had made so much progress because she has Jirou in her life.
Hatori knew if Jirou wasn't around, that Erin wouldn't be doing as well as she is.
His relationship with Jirou had improved a lot since he first met him. Which Hatori was thankful for. Of course Jirou had good reason to dislike him at first, but he was glad he was finally able to trust him.
Hatori knew he would never give him reason to not trust him again. He would keep his promise he made.
"Hatori!" Erin called, pulling him from his thoughts.
He looked down to see her slowly swimming over to him. He extended his arms and she grabbed on.
"I'm swimming! And I didn't die!" She said happily.
He laughed. "Well I'm glad. Although be careful. Don't overdo it." He said looking down at her.
"Hatori's right Erin, you don't want to over exert yourself." Jirou said, lifting himself out of the pool. "Why don't we eat lunch. I packed sandwiches." He said, shaking the water from his dark hair.
Erin smiled. "Well I am hungry."
Jirou returned the smile, and helped her out of the pool. "Then it's settled."
Erin sat shivering under her towel as she rang out her wet hair. She looked down at her hands. "Ew, my fingers look like raisins." She said staring at them.
She showed Hatori and he examined them. Jirou looked over his shoulder. "Oh no. We definitely will have to amputate them, wouldn't you agree doc?"
Hatori smiled and nodded. "I'm afraid so."
Erin made a face. "Ha. Ha. You two are hilarious." She said, grabbing her sandwich.
Jirou laughed and Hatori did too. She sighed, but she laughed as well. Those two.
After Erin ate she felt much better. She was drying off from the hot summer air. She laid back on her chair, and contently listened to Hatori and Jirou talk. Jirou was talking amicably about his job and mods he was making on his bike.
Hatori looked down at the golden police badge, Jirou showed him. "It is very impressive." He said, handing it back to him.
"Impressive? It's awesome! You know what this means? Now if you hurt my sister I can beat your ass, and haul you off to jail." Jirou laughed, putting the badge back in his bag.
Hatori laughed as well and shook his head. "So work is going well I assume?" Hatori asked, finishing up his lunch.
Jirou smiled. "Yeah. It's hard work but… it's definitely worth it." He perked up slightly as if remembering something. "Oh yeah Erin, do you have another picture frame?" He asked looking over at her, but stopped at what he saw. He smiled.
"Is she asleep?" Hatori asked.
"Yeah, guess all that swimming wore her out. She sleeps like a kid." Jirou said laughing slightly, before looking back at Hatori. "Is she still doing alright? I know it's been a couple months since the trial and all."
"She's doing good. Going to bed is much easier for her. She doesn't pace every night either." Hatori said, smiling at the sight of her asleep.
"That's really good. I'm glad. Hopefully one day it'll all just be a distant memory for her." Jirou said, resting his chin on his hands. "Wedding planning going well? She keeps talking about how excited she is about it. It's cute."
Hatori chuckled slightly. "It's getting there. All though I can't say I'm much help. I've been pretty busy lately with work, and I've never been to a wedding before. I can't say I know what you need for one. I'm just going with whatever she wants." He said.
Jirou laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Ah so he's figured out the secrets to marriage already. You know what they say 'happy wife, happy life.'"
"Is that the secret?" Hatori asked, giving him a look. Jirou was starting to sound like Kazu.
"You guys still want it to happen in May?" Jirou asked.
Hatori sighed. "Erin is pretty dead set on the end of May. I just hope we can get it all together by then. I mean we have help…" Hatori's mind wandered to his family, holding back the want to sigh again. "Actually scratch that. I don't think May will be an issue. If anything, reigning in my cousins will be the issue."
Jirou leaned back and tried to imagine what Hatori's family was like, he'd never met any of them. He imagined other versions of Hatori, serious and cold.
Jirou paused as he realized he knew absolutely nothing about Hatori's family. Only that they were super rich and Erin said most of them disapproved of their relationship.
Jirou furrowed his brows. They had another thing coming if any of them would say something cross to her. He wouldn't have it.
"Wait. How many people from your family are you inviting? Isn't your family like huge?" Jirou asked.
"Well the Sohma's aren't technically a family. We're not all related. We're a clan. We came together generations ago. Combining to establish wealth and accumulate power, all under the Sohma name." Hatori said, peeling an orange from the cooler.
"Wait, wait. A clan?! Like from ancient Japan? That kind of clan? They still exist?" Jirou questioned sitting up.
Hatori nodded. "Yes. The Sohmas have stayed together for hundreds of years. Although there were extenuating circumstances that played a role in that. Most people didn't have a choice to leave." Hatori said plainly. "Other people work desperately to climb up the ranks of the family, and they'll do just about anything." Hatori looked up at the blue sky, thinking about all the zodiac parents who basically sold their child to the family. "My family is sectioned in two parts. Insiders and outsiders. Everyone basically has a given rank in the family. It's like a pyramid I guess."
Jirou looked at him questioningly, taking in everything he just said. "Hatori, that sounds like a cult. Oh my god are you some kind of cult leader or mafia lord?!" He exclaimed.
Hatori laughed and waved his hands. "I promise I'm not, and I think you watch too much TV."
Jirou shrugged and crossed his arms. "I don't know it sounds suspicious."
"I guess from an outsider's perspective it is. Not that it matters. I've separated myself from all that. I don't want to live like that anymore. But to answer your question, no I'm not inviting my whole family." Hatori said.
"Alright… should be interesting." Jirou said, looking over at Erin once more. "The head of your family… The one that hurt her. They won't be there right?" Jirou asked, looking back at him.
Hatori had a weird expression on his face as he chewed on his words. "No, I don't think so."
"Good. Because they'd get an earful from me." Jirou said plainly.
Hatori smiled slightly. "I'm sure they would." He said, looking down at his watch. "Why don't we head home? She's clearly beat."
Jirou nodded. "Alright, I'll pack up the stuff. You can wake her, I don't want to startle her." He said packing up the stuff.
Hatori walked over to her and knelt in front of her. He smiled at the way she slept. She looked so relaxed, he didn't want to wake her.
He brushed the damp hair from her face and a sleepy smile showed on her face. "Come on Erin, we're going home." He whispered.
"Home." She mumbled sleepily, but didn't get up.
He chuckled. "Come on." He said, gently picking her up. She stirred as he held her close, before resting her head against his shoulder and falling back asleep.
Jirou looked over at them, grabbing the bags. He smiled at how relaxed she looked. He noticed the way Hatori looked at her. It was obvious he loved her more than anything in the world.
How could he not? Erin had a way about her. If someone didn't like her, they were crazy.
"See? What did I tell you? She sleeps like a kid." Jirou said, walking up to them.
Hatori nodded. "Yes, and she's not easy to wake up once she's out."
Jirou laughed. "Yeah you got that right."
They continued to talk as they walked to the car.
Erin stirred slightly. What was going on? Her anxiety rose slightly, before hearing Hatori's familiar deep voice. She heard Jirou's voice as well, and she knew she was safe.
She snuggled her face into Hatori's shoulder and smiled before closing her eyes, feeling completely at peace.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Yay! It's finally time to post this! I have been so excited! The start of the final book. Ah I cant't believe I'm almost done! Iv'e been working on this story for a little over two years now. Once I finish it I don't know what I'm gonna do with myself lol.
Now since this is the last book I wanted to do something fun in these commentary sections. Does anyone read these? I don't know lolol.
I always liked in the tokyopop manga of fruits basket how Takaya did the little side columns of all the characters. Just listing little side facts about them that she couldn't fit into the main story. So fuck it, I have a bunch of characters I've made writing this. So at the end of my chapters I'm gonna have a little paragraph about a character I've made. Just some stuff and facts about them that never make it into the story.
So here we go!
Kai
Kai is Erin's closest friend in high school. Even though they are friends their not "close". They never really talked about their personal lives or problems. Kai only vaguely knew about Erin's family, and only went over to her house a handful of times. And even then it was just passing through. Ever since she first met him Kai has had a huge crush on Jirou. She thinks he's gorgeous, even though she only saw him 2 or 3 times.
Kai was not a good student and would often ditch school. She would always convince Erin to go with her, and started her on the bad habit. She was a big partier and would drag Erin to all different parties, despite her protests. These parties were where Erin discovered she's a lightweight. Erin definitely had a rebellious phase during high school where she was always lashing out and getting into trouble. I feel Kai was a big influence on that as well. Even if she might not of been the best influence she still cares about Erin a lot. She always watches jeer back and will stick up for her if need be. Erin trusts her a lot and values their friendship, because at a time it was all Erin had.
I hope you enjoyed! I'll see you next week for chapter 2! Love you guys!