Chapter 2: Nostalgic home

"What am I doing?" Kana asked herself as she continued on walking down the road.  "I must be crazy to be doing this. Sigh. It's getting colder." The wind grew fiercer as Kana walked closer towards her destination. Moments later she reached the very road that she sought out. "The Souma household." Pain struck her heart once more. "Just a little further…." As she took one more step, her body weakened and she fell to the ground. Her body grew weak and she could no longer move. "Heh, are you really that resistant? Do you really not want me to find ou…."

Just then Hatori and Mayuko were on their way back from lunch and were walking their way back to the Souma territory. They were walking in a faster pace as more snow came down. As they reached the corner,  Hatori became the first to notice someone on the ground and quickly ran towards the person. Mayuko then noticed and ran behind Hatori. Hatori quickly knelt down to check on the person's pulse. As he brushed the hair to the side to get a clear feel of the unconscious person's pulse, he was shocked. It was Kana.

                "It's Kana! What is she doing out here? Is she okay?" Mayuko asked as she became even more worried to know that it was her best friend that fainted out in the cold.

                "There's a pulse, but her temperature seems cold." Hatori responded.

                "No doubt. The snow is coming down hard. The silly girl. Let's get her in quick. I'll carry her."

                "Thank you, Mayuko."

                "No problem. You'll just have to pay for lunch next time we have a lunch date", Mayuko smiled as she carried Kana into the Souma home where Hatori lived. Hatori could only smile, but he couldn't help but gravely worry about Kana's sudden appearance and condition. He noticed as they hurried into his home that Kana had her hand on her chest. 'Could it be a heart problem?'  Hatori thought to himself, but he couldn't think anymore because all he was concerned at that moment was making sure Kana was okay.

Mayuko settled Kana down on Hatori's bed and removed her snow-covered coat and replaced it with a comforter to keep her warm. Hatori quickly came in with a bowl of warm water and a cloth. He sat by Kana's side and wiped her face to remove any remains of snowflakes on her face. He then placed the cloth on top of her forehead. Mayuko couldn't help but notice the concern that Hatori had on his face and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Do you think she's okay?" Mayuko asked.

"I think so, she looks somewhat exhausted."

"Why do you think she came here?"

"Maybe to see someone in the household."

"You maybe?"

Hatori laughed. "I highly doubt that. We haven't seen each other for a couple of years now."

                "That's true." Mayuko replied. "Well I have to go now I have to head back to school to do some work, so I'll talk to you later. When Kana wakes up, tell her I said hi okay?" She gave his shoulder a soft squeeze. Hatori touched her hand and squeezed it back before Mayuko left.

                As Hatori sat there next to Kana he couldn't help but wonder what led her to come back to the Souma household. 'Would it be because she was looking for me? It's impossible. I should probably be the last person she should be thinking about now that she's married.' He couldn't help but touch the side of her face as he watched her sleep.

                "Mmmm….Hatori…" Kana murmured. Hatori froze.

                "What did she just say?"

                "I'm sorry, Hatori." Kana said again.

                "Kana? Are you awake?" Hatori's eyes turned confused as he tried to figure out what was going on. "Kana, what's going on?"

                "Hatori, please don't be afraid. Don't leave…me." Kana silenced once more. Hatori got up and walked towards the window to watch the snow continuing to fall. Hatori realized that what was going on.

                "She's beginning to remember that time." He looked out the window again and noticed that the snowfall had stopped and the sun came out.

                Kana slowly came to and slowly opened her eyes towards the sunlight. There she also saw a familiar face from her past.

                "Hatori."

To be continued….

Note: I'm thinking of several drama storylines for this story, from super long to short. I guess it'll depend on mood. But so far, I'm enjoying writing this story. My other fic, "The Day I Loved Another" is really hard for me to write right due to the unknown dilemma within the current issues of furuba. That or I'm just lazy ^^ Anyways, stay tuned for more Kana as she finally meets Hatori face to face. What's going to happen now? Oh yah, for those of you who don't know Mayuko, check out the manga for character background on her.