A/N: Here you go! Read up! You're improving your reading skills and
scores! School is brainwashing. So I hope you enjoy and thank you
everyone for the reviews! I love you all! Our school's football team
sucks! So does our Pep Squad! Wow. Random. Look what Pep Rallies do to
you. Enjoy reading my story, I guess. That sounded awkward. Scratch
that. Here ya go! Enjoy! Much better.
Disclaimer: I won't be writing these disclaimers if I owned Fruits Basket! Think about it.
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~~Rising Gracefully~~
Hatori came, quietly, to find to his surprise that Shigure as holding Mari against himself.
"Shigure! What are you-" He was cut short when he saw Mari turn he head slightly to face him.
"Uncle. Uncle Hatori." Mari whispered and smiled weakly. Hatori stumbled over to where Shigure's side and looked over at Mari.
"Mari?"
She nodded, before coughing. Shigure helped her sit up and hold her as she coughed. Each cough shook Mari; shook her so much that by the time she was done, she was trembling.
"Don't push yourself baby," Shigure repeated. "Take your time. We're all here for you." Mari looked up at her father, rubbing one eye with the back of her hand and the smiled. She nodded, before looking over at Hatori and having Hatori take her. He held her against his chest and smiled slightly.
"I'm so happy you're awake Mari."
He laid Mari back down on the bed and stuck his head out the door to see if the doctor was coming. Sure enough she was.
She came into the room and sat down beside Mari.
"Mari Sohma?"
Mari nodded.
"I'm Doctor Aya. It's so nice that you finally woke up." She smiled at the girl and gently touched her cheek. "Everyone was telling me that you had the most beautiful blue eyes and I wanted to see them for myself."
Mari smiled. She liked this doctor.
"Well, we're going to run a check a few things right now okay? I just want to make sure that everything is working fine." She looked over at Hatori and Shigure. "I know this may be hard, but could you leave us alone for a few minutes? Hospital rules."
"Of course." Hatori got up and stepped outside.
Shigure kissed his daughter's forehead. "You want me to call Kyou now? I'm sure he'd be glad to rush over here."
Mari shook her head no.
"No?" Shigure raised his eyebrows in surprise. Then he laughed at his daughter. "You want to surprise him don't you?"
Mari smiled and nodded.
"Of course, of course. You always love messing with him." Shigure laughed again and smiled at his daughter before walking out of the room.
"Your father sure is nice, isn't he?" Aya started checking the information on Mari's machines.
Mari nodded and smiled.
"Could you do me a favor? Could you try saying a full sentence for me? I want to hear you voice. One of the girls who came to visit you said you had a song-like voice."
Mari put her lips into a thin line.
Aya smiled at Mari. "Don't worry. I just want to make sure you still have a strong voice." (A/N: I highly doubt doctors actually do this, but bear with me. I just wanted to throw this in)
Mari still didn't talk.
"Are you afraid you can't say a full sentence?"
Mari nodded yes.
"Of course you can. Just start word by word. Take as much time as you need."
Mari opened her mouth. "Ari~gato. Arigato for taking care. Of. Me." (A/N: Err, did you follow that? I tried to show Mari struggling for words)
"You're welcome dearie. You have such a pretty little voice." Aya smiled at the girl. Mari smiled back. Aya forgot for a moment that she was helping someone else's little girl, and saw her own little girl smiling back at her. Aya blinked and told herself to stop. Her girl was gone and all she could do was help other people's.
"Here, I'm going to call your father and uncle back into the room. It was nice talking to you Mari." She got up to leave.
"Wait," Mari called in a weak voice.
"Yes?" Aya was surprised to have Mari call her back.
"How much. Longer?"
"How much longer what?"
"Do I have to. Wear this mask?" Mari looked up at Aya with longing eyes.
Aya sat down beside Mari. "To tell you the truth, I really don't know." She gently touched the mask. "But we'll try to get you off of it as soon as possible. I can promise you that."
"Arigato." Mari smiled happily.
As Aya walked out the door, she turned to Shigure. "You have a really incredible daughter Shigure. She's nothing like I've ever seen. I guess she must get it for her father." She started heading down the hallway, leaving Shigure slightly blushing before going back into the room to spend time with his little girl.
Aya stopped halfway down the hallway. She closed her eyes and saw her own daughter looking up at her. "Don't worry mommy. I'll be fine. And I love you!" That's the last thing she heard her daughter say before she died. She gently started crying. Every time she helped a small girl that resembled her daughter, she always cried. She couldn't even help her own daughter, so now it was her life's duty to save young girls of others.
Back in Mari's room, Shigure was baby-talking his daughter. Words could not express how happy and relieved he was by Mari's sudden awakening. Hatori was sitting in his usual spot, the couch, and just watching this small family rejoin together after a month of hardships. Hatori smiled a bit. Shigure was back to his old self and the air in the room had changed dramatically.
"Mari, Uo-chan brought you something quite awhile back. I promised her I'd give it to you as soon as you woke up." Shigure opened a drawer near-by and pulled out the small navy blue dog.
Mari's eyes widened with excitement and she reached out for the dog. Shigure handed it to his little girl.
"Remember to thank her when you see her."
Mari nodded and started playing with the dog.
"You going to name it?"
Mari nodded again. She put her lips into a pout and thought about a name. After a few minutes, she smiled.
"Chico."
"Chico?" Shigure repeated, confused. "Since when have you known Spanish Mari? Did you learn it while you were sleeping?" Shigure smiled at his daughter. He knew that Mari had gotten the name after hearing it one of her television shows. "I think it's a wonderful name, don't you Ha-chan?"
"Hmmm."
Mari beamed at her father and uncle. She hugged the dog close. She still didn't like talking much; it just felt all too weird.
Shigure brushed the bangs away from his daughter's face and kissed her forehead. Everything felt so much better that she was awake. He could breathe again.
"Look Mari, I brought you Kyuri and Kagura." He pulled out the black- haired doll and orange cat.
"Arigato daddy." Mari smiled happily as she cuddled with her three favorite toys. She then put her toys down and reached out to her father. Shigure's eyes softened and he sat on the bed beside her and let her rest against him. Mari placed her face against his chest, not before frowning at the mask she was wearing on her face. Shigure wrapped his arms around her and started stroking the tips of her hair. He started humming a bit to his daughter and Mari smiled. She knew that her father hummed when he was very happy.
"Daddy?"
"Hmm?"
"Can you sing that song?"
"Which one?"
"The one when I can't sleep. I dreameded you sang it to me."
"Of course baby." Shigure felt a tear slip down his face. She had heard him sing it to her earlier.
"Jari michi ni saku hana ga; Asatsu yu ni hika ateru wa; Dare ni mo kizukarezu ni; Demo sukoshi hokorashige ni; Sekai ga o-okisugite; Jibun ga chi-isasugite; Mirai ga to-osugiru to; Yu-ube naita kedo; Mune wo hate miyo- o ka; Ima ikiteru koto ni; Me no mae no hataru wo; Ito tsutoru no to- ni; Mune wo hato- wo yo-" (A/N: Translation in chapter 11 in case you forgot the song.)
When Shigure finished the song, he looked over at Mari, who was looking back up at her father, smiling. Shigure kissed the top of his little girl's head. Mari hugged closer to her father and felt his heartbeat. She loved listening to it. It was proof he was alive and would never leave alone.
"Daddy?"
"Yes Mari?"
"I love you."
"I love you too."
It's then, when Shigure looked up, he noticed for the first time Kyou standing in the doorway.
Shigure smiled softly at Kyou, who look like he was on the verge of tears. Mari hadn't noticed that Kyou was there yet; she facing the other way. Shigure nodded at Kyou.
"Mari?"
Mari turned around and locked her eyes on Kyou.
"Kyou?"
Kyou let his tears fall freely from his eyes and ran over to her bedside. "You're awake. I can't believe it."
Mari rubbed her eye a bit. She smiled at Kyou.
"How you doing?"
"Fine. Just fine." Kyou's tears started falling harder. He took Mari in his arms and held her close. "I'm fine now that you're awake." He kissed the top of her head before running his hand along the side of her cheek.
Shigure felt his own tears escape and wiped them away before anyone noticed. He had seen this coming. The bond between the two of the zodiac was like no other. He stayed seated on the bed, just watching the two cats embrace.
Kyou let go of Mari and smiled at her. "It's been too quiet without you running around. You better come home soon squirt." Mari nodded at Kyou.
"Baby. Kyou was here everyday with you after school. Did you know that? I think you should thank him for that."
Mari looked at Kyou, who wore a slight smile on his face.
"Arigato Kyou." Mari nuzzled against Kyou. He placed his hand on her back and closed his eyes and let a solitary tear escape. Shigure smiled at the two.
When Mari pulled away, she went back to resting against her father, who starting stroking her hair again.
"Why didn't you call me earlier?" Kyou asked. "She's been up for awhile, hasn't she?"
"It was Mari's idea, wasn't it baby?" Shigure looked down at his daughter who enthusiastically nodded her head yes.
"Mari? Really?" Kyou was surprised. He was almost certain that it would have been Shigure's doing.
"You wanted to surprise Kyou-kun, didn't you?" Mari smiled at Kyou before what appeared to be a giggle behind that mask she was wearing.
Kyou smiled. "You're just a little trouble maker, aren't you?" Kyou poked Mari in the stomach and caused her to giggle a bit.
Shigure laughed.
Kyou laughed.
Mari laughed.
All three laughed from the heart for the first time in weeks.
Life was starting to turn around.
It was starting to become clear and was starting to make sense.
No one cared about what the past told them to do.
For the first time, they wanted to make it to the future smiling and filled with hope.
A change that was definitely worth the wait.
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A/N: I know! Don't yell at me for this being so damn short! I figured I should just post a shorter chapter than usual than waiting who knows how long to post a longer chapter! I hope you guys don't mind! I have schoolwork coming out of my ears and should actually be doing my homework right now since I have such a busy weekend, but I love you all so much I just had to post this! HA! My drawing and painting class isn't actually all that bad-except for still life. I hate still life when it's the main focus of the drawing. I mean, I don't mind drawing background but drawing a stupid fruits basket (no pun intended) gets boring after about three times. But I found some of my friends in that class so we hang and sneak our drawings of comic and anime characters. Just to note, Blue Monday rocks! Everyone should read it! My friend is going to let me borrow hers so I can read more! Anyway, our Cartooning Club is running fine in case anyone cares and we have Club Rush coming up next week, so stressing about that! And about getting new members to the club and making our presentation! School is crazy. But the dance class I take through the school isn't all that bad. It's pretty cool. And the classes at school aren't horrible; it's just all the homework. So I can't promise a really speedy update, but I'll try. I'll try. Until I swipe Kare Kano volume four from Amanda, Blue Monday from Liz, and obsess more over the Domo-kun donation boxes Jaci made for the club, D-Yai.
Disclaimer: I won't be writing these disclaimers if I owned Fruits Basket! Think about it.
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~~Rising Gracefully~~
Hatori came, quietly, to find to his surprise that Shigure as holding Mari against himself.
"Shigure! What are you-" He was cut short when he saw Mari turn he head slightly to face him.
"Uncle. Uncle Hatori." Mari whispered and smiled weakly. Hatori stumbled over to where Shigure's side and looked over at Mari.
"Mari?"
She nodded, before coughing. Shigure helped her sit up and hold her as she coughed. Each cough shook Mari; shook her so much that by the time she was done, she was trembling.
"Don't push yourself baby," Shigure repeated. "Take your time. We're all here for you." Mari looked up at her father, rubbing one eye with the back of her hand and the smiled. She nodded, before looking over at Hatori and having Hatori take her. He held her against his chest and smiled slightly.
"I'm so happy you're awake Mari."
He laid Mari back down on the bed and stuck his head out the door to see if the doctor was coming. Sure enough she was.
She came into the room and sat down beside Mari.
"Mari Sohma?"
Mari nodded.
"I'm Doctor Aya. It's so nice that you finally woke up." She smiled at the girl and gently touched her cheek. "Everyone was telling me that you had the most beautiful blue eyes and I wanted to see them for myself."
Mari smiled. She liked this doctor.
"Well, we're going to run a check a few things right now okay? I just want to make sure that everything is working fine." She looked over at Hatori and Shigure. "I know this may be hard, but could you leave us alone for a few minutes? Hospital rules."
"Of course." Hatori got up and stepped outside.
Shigure kissed his daughter's forehead. "You want me to call Kyou now? I'm sure he'd be glad to rush over here."
Mari shook her head no.
"No?" Shigure raised his eyebrows in surprise. Then he laughed at his daughter. "You want to surprise him don't you?"
Mari smiled and nodded.
"Of course, of course. You always love messing with him." Shigure laughed again and smiled at his daughter before walking out of the room.
"Your father sure is nice, isn't he?" Aya started checking the information on Mari's machines.
Mari nodded and smiled.
"Could you do me a favor? Could you try saying a full sentence for me? I want to hear you voice. One of the girls who came to visit you said you had a song-like voice."
Mari put her lips into a thin line.
Aya smiled at Mari. "Don't worry. I just want to make sure you still have a strong voice." (A/N: I highly doubt doctors actually do this, but bear with me. I just wanted to throw this in)
Mari still didn't talk.
"Are you afraid you can't say a full sentence?"
Mari nodded yes.
"Of course you can. Just start word by word. Take as much time as you need."
Mari opened her mouth. "Ari~gato. Arigato for taking care. Of. Me." (A/N: Err, did you follow that? I tried to show Mari struggling for words)
"You're welcome dearie. You have such a pretty little voice." Aya smiled at the girl. Mari smiled back. Aya forgot for a moment that she was helping someone else's little girl, and saw her own little girl smiling back at her. Aya blinked and told herself to stop. Her girl was gone and all she could do was help other people's.
"Here, I'm going to call your father and uncle back into the room. It was nice talking to you Mari." She got up to leave.
"Wait," Mari called in a weak voice.
"Yes?" Aya was surprised to have Mari call her back.
"How much. Longer?"
"How much longer what?"
"Do I have to. Wear this mask?" Mari looked up at Aya with longing eyes.
Aya sat down beside Mari. "To tell you the truth, I really don't know." She gently touched the mask. "But we'll try to get you off of it as soon as possible. I can promise you that."
"Arigato." Mari smiled happily.
As Aya walked out the door, she turned to Shigure. "You have a really incredible daughter Shigure. She's nothing like I've ever seen. I guess she must get it for her father." She started heading down the hallway, leaving Shigure slightly blushing before going back into the room to spend time with his little girl.
Aya stopped halfway down the hallway. She closed her eyes and saw her own daughter looking up at her. "Don't worry mommy. I'll be fine. And I love you!" That's the last thing she heard her daughter say before she died. She gently started crying. Every time she helped a small girl that resembled her daughter, she always cried. She couldn't even help her own daughter, so now it was her life's duty to save young girls of others.
Back in Mari's room, Shigure was baby-talking his daughter. Words could not express how happy and relieved he was by Mari's sudden awakening. Hatori was sitting in his usual spot, the couch, and just watching this small family rejoin together after a month of hardships. Hatori smiled a bit. Shigure was back to his old self and the air in the room had changed dramatically.
"Mari, Uo-chan brought you something quite awhile back. I promised her I'd give it to you as soon as you woke up." Shigure opened a drawer near-by and pulled out the small navy blue dog.
Mari's eyes widened with excitement and she reached out for the dog. Shigure handed it to his little girl.
"Remember to thank her when you see her."
Mari nodded and started playing with the dog.
"You going to name it?"
Mari nodded again. She put her lips into a pout and thought about a name. After a few minutes, she smiled.
"Chico."
"Chico?" Shigure repeated, confused. "Since when have you known Spanish Mari? Did you learn it while you were sleeping?" Shigure smiled at his daughter. He knew that Mari had gotten the name after hearing it one of her television shows. "I think it's a wonderful name, don't you Ha-chan?"
"Hmmm."
Mari beamed at her father and uncle. She hugged the dog close. She still didn't like talking much; it just felt all too weird.
Shigure brushed the bangs away from his daughter's face and kissed her forehead. Everything felt so much better that she was awake. He could breathe again.
"Look Mari, I brought you Kyuri and Kagura." He pulled out the black- haired doll and orange cat.
"Arigato daddy." Mari smiled happily as she cuddled with her three favorite toys. She then put her toys down and reached out to her father. Shigure's eyes softened and he sat on the bed beside her and let her rest against him. Mari placed her face against his chest, not before frowning at the mask she was wearing on her face. Shigure wrapped his arms around her and started stroking the tips of her hair. He started humming a bit to his daughter and Mari smiled. She knew that her father hummed when he was very happy.
"Daddy?"
"Hmm?"
"Can you sing that song?"
"Which one?"
"The one when I can't sleep. I dreameded you sang it to me."
"Of course baby." Shigure felt a tear slip down his face. She had heard him sing it to her earlier.
"Jari michi ni saku hana ga; Asatsu yu ni hika ateru wa; Dare ni mo kizukarezu ni; Demo sukoshi hokorashige ni; Sekai ga o-okisugite; Jibun ga chi-isasugite; Mirai ga to-osugiru to; Yu-ube naita kedo; Mune wo hate miyo- o ka; Ima ikiteru koto ni; Me no mae no hataru wo; Ito tsutoru no to- ni; Mune wo hato- wo yo-" (A/N: Translation in chapter 11 in case you forgot the song.)
When Shigure finished the song, he looked over at Mari, who was looking back up at her father, smiling. Shigure kissed the top of his little girl's head. Mari hugged closer to her father and felt his heartbeat. She loved listening to it. It was proof he was alive and would never leave alone.
"Daddy?"
"Yes Mari?"
"I love you."
"I love you too."
It's then, when Shigure looked up, he noticed for the first time Kyou standing in the doorway.
Shigure smiled softly at Kyou, who look like he was on the verge of tears. Mari hadn't noticed that Kyou was there yet; she facing the other way. Shigure nodded at Kyou.
"Mari?"
Mari turned around and locked her eyes on Kyou.
"Kyou?"
Kyou let his tears fall freely from his eyes and ran over to her bedside. "You're awake. I can't believe it."
Mari rubbed her eye a bit. She smiled at Kyou.
"How you doing?"
"Fine. Just fine." Kyou's tears started falling harder. He took Mari in his arms and held her close. "I'm fine now that you're awake." He kissed the top of her head before running his hand along the side of her cheek.
Shigure felt his own tears escape and wiped them away before anyone noticed. He had seen this coming. The bond between the two of the zodiac was like no other. He stayed seated on the bed, just watching the two cats embrace.
Kyou let go of Mari and smiled at her. "It's been too quiet without you running around. You better come home soon squirt." Mari nodded at Kyou.
"Baby. Kyou was here everyday with you after school. Did you know that? I think you should thank him for that."
Mari looked at Kyou, who wore a slight smile on his face.
"Arigato Kyou." Mari nuzzled against Kyou. He placed his hand on her back and closed his eyes and let a solitary tear escape. Shigure smiled at the two.
When Mari pulled away, she went back to resting against her father, who starting stroking her hair again.
"Why didn't you call me earlier?" Kyou asked. "She's been up for awhile, hasn't she?"
"It was Mari's idea, wasn't it baby?" Shigure looked down at his daughter who enthusiastically nodded her head yes.
"Mari? Really?" Kyou was surprised. He was almost certain that it would have been Shigure's doing.
"You wanted to surprise Kyou-kun, didn't you?" Mari smiled at Kyou before what appeared to be a giggle behind that mask she was wearing.
Kyou smiled. "You're just a little trouble maker, aren't you?" Kyou poked Mari in the stomach and caused her to giggle a bit.
Shigure laughed.
Kyou laughed.
Mari laughed.
All three laughed from the heart for the first time in weeks.
Life was starting to turn around.
It was starting to become clear and was starting to make sense.
No one cared about what the past told them to do.
For the first time, they wanted to make it to the future smiling and filled with hope.
A change that was definitely worth the wait.
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A/N: I know! Don't yell at me for this being so damn short! I figured I should just post a shorter chapter than usual than waiting who knows how long to post a longer chapter! I hope you guys don't mind! I have schoolwork coming out of my ears and should actually be doing my homework right now since I have such a busy weekend, but I love you all so much I just had to post this! HA! My drawing and painting class isn't actually all that bad-except for still life. I hate still life when it's the main focus of the drawing. I mean, I don't mind drawing background but drawing a stupid fruits basket (no pun intended) gets boring after about three times. But I found some of my friends in that class so we hang and sneak our drawings of comic and anime characters. Just to note, Blue Monday rocks! Everyone should read it! My friend is going to let me borrow hers so I can read more! Anyway, our Cartooning Club is running fine in case anyone cares and we have Club Rush coming up next week, so stressing about that! And about getting new members to the club and making our presentation! School is crazy. But the dance class I take through the school isn't all that bad. It's pretty cool. And the classes at school aren't horrible; it's just all the homework. So I can't promise a really speedy update, but I'll try. I'll try. Until I swipe Kare Kano volume four from Amanda, Blue Monday from Liz, and obsess more over the Domo-kun donation boxes Jaci made for the club, D-Yai.