Forgotten Fruits Chapter 04

A few notes. :D

Before I begin the chapter, I'll answer a couple of questions that were asked:

Why would Yuki want to live with his parents? He's more likely to live with Ayame than his parents.

Does Yuki have a worse relationship with his parents than he does with Ayame?… If he does then I didn't know… so far there's just ONE episode of the series I haven't seen, so maybe it explains it in that ep, or maybe I was just dumb and missed something. Either way, I don't really care much. :B

And why didn't you include Yuki's last conversation with Tohru?

I don't like him. Therefore, I didn't want to write much about him. XD Plus the chapter was already too long for my liking when I finished it and I didn't want to add any more in. I don't like chapters that are too long. However, is there anyone who would really like me to go back and add Tohru's last conversation with him? I'll do it if people really want me to (and if they ask nicely #^___^#).

Oh. And yes, those who guessed this was a Gureru were right. ~_^ Now, on with the story…

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The car trip to the train station had been incredibly long and uncomfortable for Hatori. Neither Kyou nor Yuki spoke at all on the way there. Hatori felt as though he was in a vehicle with nothing but two corpses for passengers. The atmosphere was so tense it could have easily been sliced with a knife.

After dropping off the boys, who didn't even thank him for the ride, Hatori headed straight back to the Sohma main house. When he arrived it had already been around an hour since he had erased Tohru's memory. He still felt sick from it. Having to do that to Tohru was bringing back horrible memories of the day he erased Kana's memory. How often would he be forced to erase the memories of people he loved? How often would he be forced into taking something precious from people he cared about?

He wanted to go to his house and lie down for a long time, doing nothing but thinking. However, he had to visit Akito first, so he headed off towards the building in which Akito lived.

The room was as cold as, if not colder than it had been the last time Hatori visited his young cousin. It hit him like a block of concrete falling onto his chest as he slid open the fusuma and stepped inside. Akito was sitting in his usual manner; below one of the round, curtained windows, a mere shadow in the dark room. Hatori bowed respectively to him before kneeling on the floor.

"It's been done, Akito-san." He said, not feeling the least bit proud of his actions. "Her memory has been erased. It's over." There was silence, and even though Hatori could not see his cousins face, he knew he was grinning.

"Good work, Hatori…" Akito whispered in that voice thick with calm malice. "I knew I could count on you…"

"Hai, Akito-san."

"And Shigure understands what he must do when she awakens? That he must send her away?"

Hatori nodded. "Hai, Akito-san."

"Very good." Akito chuckled softly. "You may leave, Hatori."

Hatori got up and left without another word. His heart felt heavy, like somebody had filled it up with icy water, and it was weighing down his chest. It made him feel awful and like he might topple over at any minute. He walked quickly back to his house and once he was inside he went straight to the couch. He needed to lie down. He wasn't sure if his body could handle the weight of his heart any longer. The pain in his legs was relieved as he gently set himself down upon the soft, comfortable couch, and he closed his eyes, wishing that somehow when he woke up it would all turn out to be a dream.

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Hatori was woken by the sound of his phone ringing some hours later. He groggily hoisted himself from the couch and stumbled towards the phone that hung on the wall. Its ringing was shattering his eardrums, so he grabbed it as quickly as possible to shut it up.

"Moshimoshi," he mumbled drowsily into the mouthpiece. "Sohma Hatori speaking."

"Ha-san," came the dull voice from the other end of the line.

"Shigure?!" Hatori recognised the voice instantly and his tiredness seemed to dissolve. "Is everything okay?"

"I think you'd better come over, Ha-san." Shigure replied tonelessly. Hatori was suddenly confused at the way Shigure was speaking. It was so expressionless; so unlike his usual self. And what was he talking about? Had something gone wrong?

"What's the matter?" Hatori asked quietly. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was 5pm already. He had slept for two hours without realising it. He knew Tohru would have woken up by now, so he asked, "Did you send Tohru-kun away yet?"

"Ha-san. Something's not right. Please come over," Shigure said calmly. Hatori wasn't sure, but he thought he had heard anger in his friend's voice, only for a fleeting moment. But he really wasn't sure. He couldn't read the expression in Shigure's voice, because there was none. He was almost speaking in monotone.

"Okay. I'll be there soon." He replied, and he heard a sudden click in his ear. Shigure had hung up.

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Hatori pulled up outside Shigure's house and slowly got out of his car, grabbing his handy medical suitcase just in case there was something wrong with Tohru that he needed to check on. He approached the door, slowly sliding it open and peering inside.

"Shigure?" He called out.

"We're in here," came Shigure's voice from the living room. Hatori walked down the hallway towards it and turned inside. His eyes had only just fallen upon a wide-eyed Tohru, who was sitting on a futon on the opposite side of the room, when suddenly Shigure seemed to appear from nowhere, grabbing him fiercely by the collar and throwing him up against the hard wall. The suitcase fell from Hatori's fingers with a clatter and he gasped in surprise. He stared into Shigure's dark eyes and could feel his friend trembling in anger.

"What did you do to her?!" Shigure hissed in such a malicious tone that it reminded Hatori of Akito, which struck fear into his heart. "Did Akito tell you to do this?!"

"What are you talking about?" Hatori asked, trying to stay calm. Shigure growled and slammed him against the wall again.

"You know what I'm talking about!! You did something wrong! Her entire memory is gone!!" Shigure stared intensely at Hatori. His eyes looked almost insane. All Hatori could do was stare back, as he had suddenly forgotten how to speak. He was moving his mouth as if to say something, but no words came. Had he just heard Shigure correctly?

Hatori's eyes wandered from Shigure to Tohru, who was still sitting on the opposite side of the room. She had pushed herself up against the far wall and was staring at them both with wide, fear-filled eyes.

"A-ano…" she stammered. "P-please don't fight! Please!"

Shigure sighed, closing his eyes. He could feel the anger pulsating through him, coursing through his veins. He could hardly believe what was going on... his best friend had erased Tohru's entire memory. Her entire memory. Would she ever be able to get those precious memories back? She was practically a different person now.

"Please stop," Tohru said quietly, sounding as though she was on the verge of tears. Shigure opened his eyes again and stared up into Hatori's. Then after a few moments he released his grip and moved away from his cousin. Frustrated, he sat down on the floor next to Tohru's fusuma and ran a hand through his messy hair.

"I'm sorry Tohru-kun," he apologised to her. "You must be very confused right now." All she did was nod nervously in reply. Shigure turned to Hatori, who was looking puzzled. "Ha-san… she doesn't remember who she is." Shigure still sounded angry, but much calmer now. This made Hatori feel a lot better.

"I don't understand… how?" He asked, more to himself than anyone else. "I erased her memory the way I erase everyone's memories… I did it exactly the same way as I did with Kana…"

Tohru was extremely confused. A thousand questions were swirling around inside her head, wanting to be asked all at once. Who was Kana? What was all this talk of erasing memories? She felt as though she was a character in a science fiction movie. For the meantime she refrained from voicing her confusion, however, deciding it would be best just to be quiet and listen for now.

"Are you sure? There wasn't anything else you did that was different?" Shigure asked suspiciously.

"I swear I did it the way I always do. I swear, Shigure. I didn't do this intentionally."

Shigure closed his eyes. "How could this have happened?" he murmured.

"I'm don't know." Hatori replied thoughtfully. "Although I suppose it is possible for some people to have a different reaction than others when parts of their minds are erased like that…"

"Different reactions?"

"Hai. Like in Tohru-kun's case, her mind must have reacted badly to what was happening and in turn caused all of her memories to be wiped, not just the ones I chose."

Shigure tried hard to keep up with what Hatori was saying. Since he himself didn't have any special powers other than what came with being the dog juunishi, he couldn't understand Hatori's mind-erasing ability.

"But why would that happen?" Shigure asked. "It doesn't make sense. Was there something she did at the exact moment you used your power on her, or what?"

Hatori shook his head. "I really don't know. This is the first time something like this has happened. I don't know what could cause her to lose her entire memory."

Shigure ran a hand through his hair, feeling anxious. This was not good. Not good at all. This was quite possibly the worse thing that had happened to him or anyone close to him in his life.

"Will she regain her lost memories?" Shigure asked quietly. Hatori once again shook his head.

"I don't know."

With a heavy sigh, Shigure continued, "Well, Ha-san… you can go back home. I need some time to talk about this with Tohru-kun. I'll call you later… okay?"

Hatori stared at his friend solemnly for what seemed like an eternity. Finally he released Shigure from his gaze and turned slowly towards the hallway. "Alright. Call me when you need me, Shigure." He said quietly.

"Arigatou, Ha-san." Shigure said, giving a small smile.

Though it was hesitantly, Hatori left his best friend alone to sort things out. And even though Shigure had smiled to him a few minutes ago, Hatori felt more alone than he had ever been in his entire life as he walked out towards his car. His cousins hated him now, he was sure of it.

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Shigure calmly sat down at the living room table, opposite Tohru, and gave a friendly smile. She looked back at him nervously, fiddling with the end of her skirt and biting her lip.

"Well… I guess I should explain some things to you." Shigure sighed. "First things first… your name is Honda Tohru."

"Honda… Tohru…" Tohru whispered, repeating her name to herself. She felt strange. She felt like she had just learned someone else's name for the first time, only the name was actually her own.

Shigure nodded and smiled kindly. "That's right. I call you Tohru-kun. As for me, I'm Sohma Shigure. You often called me Shigure-san… before you lost your memory." Sadness flashed in his dark eyes for a moment, but it was already gone before Tohru could be sure she had seen it.

"Ahh.. Pleased to meet you, Shigure-san," Tohru stammered politely, bowing her head towards the older man. Shigure smiled and raised a hand.

"You don't have to do that. I've already met you."

"Ah… s-sumimasen," she replied nervously. Shigure couldn't help but chuckle at this response. Despite losing her memories, it seemed she was still the same Tohru after all. Relief washed over him.

"It's okay. Anyway, before you lost your memory, you were living here in this house, with me, and two of my cousins.. Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun." He explained, watching her closely for any reactions she might have to Kyou and Yuki's names. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no reaction. Tohru looked as though she was learning these things for the first time.

"Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun? I was living here, with you and them? But…" Tohru looked around. "Where are they now?"

Shigure smiled sadly. "They… had to leave, to take care of some things. They will be back though." He said, hoping the last statement would eventually be true.

"Oh. Okay." Tohru replied, blinking her large brown eyes. "A-ano… why was I living here with you? We don't have the same surname so I don't think we're related…"

"A-ahh.." Shigure stammered. "Well, the thing is…" his eyes flicked to the framed photograph of Tohru's mother, which was still on the floor where he had left it not long ago. He carefully picked it up and placed it on the table, facing Tohru. "This woman… she was your mother. Unfortunately, she… w-well.." He stared into Tohru's eyes. Those pretty, innocent eyes. Why did he have to be the bearer of bad news? "She was killed in an accident last year… shortly before you came to live here…"

A look of shocked disbelief swept over Tohru's face and Shigure felt as though he deserved to be having his head smashed with a sledgehammer for it. She stared at him for a few moments, saying nothing. He stared back at her, worried and also saying nothing. He didn't know what he could say. Finally Tohru managed to whisper, "My mother… is dead?" Her voice was small and so vulnerable-sounding. Shigure stared into her eyes sorrowfully and nodded.

"I'm sorry, Tohru-kun…" he apologised.

Despite the news she had just been told, Tohru smiled, though Shigure could still see the obvious sadness she was failing to hide. "P-please, don't be sorry, Shigure-san… it's not like it was your fault…"

"It wasn't, but I'm still sorry it happened.. and I'm sorry for you."

Tohru looked at him sadly, wondering. This man seemed like a very caring person. She assumed that he must have been a very close friend of hers before she lost her memory. After all, he had said they lived in the this house together. He must have been her guardian.

"Ano… Shigure-san?" Tohru said, looking down at the floor.

"Mm?"

"Why did I come to live here? Where is my father?"

Shigure bit his lip and shifted uncomfortably. "I don't actually know… you never mentioned your father to me, but I got the impression he had passed away before you could remember him…"

"Oh." Tohru replied sadly. "I see."

"After your mother passed away, you lived with your grandad. But later he decided to go and live with some of your father's family, and because you didn't want to be a burden on anyone you decided to live in a tent instead of staying with your friends." A smile came to Shigure's face as he thought back to the first time he met Tohru. "Your tent was near this house, in the forest.. Yuki-kun and I saw you going into it one night while we were taking a walk, so we brought you back to this house and offered to let you have a room if you cooked and cleaned for us."

Tohru looked up at him and he saw tears in her eyes.

"T-tohru-kun?" He said worriedly.

"That's embarassing," Tohru said shakily, wiping her eyes. "I hope… that I wasn't in your way, living here…"

"Iie, Tohru-kun!" Shigure exclaimed. "Tohru-kun was never a bother. Everyone was happy living here with you."

Tohru sniffed as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I-I'm sorry, Shigure-san -- I'm so confused right now -- all that you're telling me, it's so much…" She lowered her head.

"Hey." Shigure said gently, frowning. "It's okay. Don't apologise. Do you want to go and lie down? Your bedroom is upstairs. Or if you're hungry, we could have some dinner…" Shigure looked up at a clock on the wall. "It's almost six-thirty, so it's not too early."

"A-ano…" Tohru looked up at him again with eyes shining with tears. "I am getting hungry…"

Shigure smiled warmly. "Okay. I can't cook, so I'll order us some pizza. How's that?"

Tohru nodded. "Okay." Shigure got up slowly and went to the kitchen to use the phone there.

Tohru wiped hot tears from her eyes and stared at the framed photograph of the woman who was her mother. "What was her name?" She whispered to herself. Shigure hadn't told her. Slowly she reached out and took the photo in her hands, bringing it closer so she could study her mother's face. It was familiar. She could only slightly remember it, which made her feel frustrated. Why couldn't she remember more of her mother? The woman who had brought her up since she was a baby. Yes, the face in the photo looked familiar, but Tohru couldn't remember any events with her mother in them. There were no actual memories of time she had spent with her mother. Frowning, she pulled the photo close and hugged it to her chest, bowing her head. "I'm sorry, okaasan…" she whispered.

Still holding onto the photo, she stood from the living room table and walked over to a fusuma and slid it open. She stared out into a grassy yard. Slowly she walked out onto the varanda and down onto the soft green grass. She stared up at the pinky-orange evening sky and sighed. She felt very alone and afraid. Shigure had seemed like a very nice person, and even though he told her they knew eachother before she lost her memory, she felt as though she was living with a stranger. It wasn't uncomfortable, and she wasn't scared of Shigure, but she did feel scared. She was scared because she couldn't remember much of her past and she didn't have a familiar face to turn to. It was almost as if she hadn't existed before now, and was suddenly given life.

Slowly she sunk down until she was sitting in the grass, hugging the photo of her mother and crying quietly. Warm, salty tears slid down her cheeks as she closed her eyes and fell onto her skirt and the grass below.

Shigure, who had finished ordering the pizza, stepped out onto the varanda when he saw Tohru wasn't in the room anymore and spotted her sitting in the grass, hunched over. "Tohru-kun?" He said uncertainly. He heard her sniff and noticed her shoulders jerking as she cried. He slowly stepped off the varanda and walked towards her, frowning. "Tohru-kun… please don't cry… it breaks this old man's heart…" Though he said it lightheartedly, it wasn't untrue. He hated seeing her like this. Why couldn't Yuki and Kyou be here right now to help her out? She needed them, and they had run away.

"I'm sorry, Shigure-san…" Tohru said, sobbing and hugging her mother's photo tightly. "M-maybe I should leave…"

Shigure crouched down next to her, and in a bold movement gently put his hand under her chin to lift her face so he could look in her eyes. She blinked in surprise, letting another tear fall, and Shigure delicately wiped it away. "You don't have to leave, Tohru-kun. This is your home, you're welcome here. Besides, if I were to let you go, that would make me a horrible person. You're vulnerable right now."

Tohru stared at him and sniffled, more tears welling up in her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. "But… I feel…" she looked at him and stopped herself.

"What is it?" Shigure asked softly.

"I'm scared… I don't know who I am, I feel like I have no past… I feel like I have nowhere where I belong.."

"Then discard that feeling," Shigure smiled, "Because you do have somewhere where you belong. You belong right here, in my house, with me. Like I said, this is your home. You've lived happily with Yuki-kun, Kyou-kun and I for over a year now. Please. You're more than welcome here. I almost feel as though I don't deserve to be living in a house alongside such a great young woman."

"I-iie," Tohru stammered, blushing and looking away. "That's not true."

Shigure smiled caringly. "I think it is."

Tohru's entire face went red and she looked down at the ground again in embarassment. "Sh-Shigure-san is t-too kind…" she stuttered, feeling overcome with emotion. She began to cry again. Shigure felt sadness wash through him again. He was about to say something reassuring again, when suddenly Tohru leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his middle.

"A-ah!" he exclaimed, startled. He didn't have enough time to stop her. She hugged him tightly, and in the swift moment before he turned into his dog-form he felt his heart give a few funny little beats.

Tohru gasped in surprise at the poofing sound and the smoke that appeared momentarily after she hugged Shigure. When the smoke cleared she found herself hugging a large black dog. She screamed, letting him go, and moved backwards quickly.

"Sh-Sh-Sh-Shigure-san?!" She squealed in shock.

Shigure sighed. "It's okay, that's supposed to happen." He said calmly, looking straight into her eyes. "It seems you've discovered my secret for a second time, Tohru-kun." And he laughed jovially.

Tohru trembled, stared at him with wide eyes for a moment, and then fainted suddenly onto the grass. Shigure blinked.

"That didn't happen last time…"

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"So… you're cursed? For your whole life?" Tohru asked in amazement.

Shigure nodded slowly. "Unfortunately, yes. Or at least until someone breaks the curse, if that will ever happen." He was in his human-form again now, and fully clothed. Fortunately for him, Tohru had still been unconcious when he transformed back into a person, so it saved him some embarassment. He pulled a slice of pizza from a box on the table before him and placed it on a plate, which he handed to his young friend.

"But that's… so unfair." Tohru said sympathetically, frowning sadly and taking the plate. "You can't hug or get close to anyone…"

"Nope," Shigure replied, pulling a pizza slice out of the box for himself. "But what is, is. I can't do anything about it." He went to smile at her but saw the sad look on her face. "A-ah, don't be sad," he said quickly, feeling his heart beating quickly again as she gazed at him, "I'm not sad. Really. I'm used to it, so…"

"But wouldn't it have taken you a long time to become used to it?" She asked, still frowning. "If I were in the same situation, I don't think I'd be able handle it as well as you seem to…" Then she stopped and looked down at the table, blushing. "I-I'm sorry I … I hugged you, before. I feel so embarassed."

Shigure laughed softly and waved her remark off. "It's fine. You didn't know. Besides, I kind of liked it." He said jokingly, giving her a wink. She blushed more, and Shigure laughed again. "Tohru-kun always makes me smile. Won't Tohru-kun smile too?"

Silence filled the room as Tohru looked up slowly and stared at Shigure for a few moments. Then, slowly, a small but loving smile appeared on her lips and lit up her entire face. She looked just like the Tohru Shigure knew and loved, and as he watched her, his heart beat quickly inside his chest for the third time in half an hour. Like the other two times, it didn't go unnoticed by Shigure. "There… now I get to see such a lovely Tohru-kun." He grinned, but was only masking the discomfort that was now creeping up from inside him. His heart sure was acting weirdly, and he knew all too well why, though he didn't want it to be true.

"Arigatou, Shigure-san." Tohru said politely from across the table.

"Hmm? What for?"

"For making me feel better." She replied with a smile.

Shigure smiled warmly. "Anything for Tohru-kun."