The Sohma Institute
By Lady of the Ink
Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, but you knew that. I hope. I do own this story, and all the plot twists it contains.
Chapter Nine
Newly Opened Eyes
1. For various reasons, all four are visited by a doctor at least once a week.
2. These visits are, unlike similar ones with patients on other floors, not required to be supervised.
3. All checkups are performed only by Dr. Hatori Sohma.
4. All reports are filed with only Dr. Hatori Sohma.
Tohru carefully read over the list she had just finished. Though it was rather short, each item alone was an important clue. All of them together fairly screamed of a conspiracy. What kind of conspiracy remained to be seen, of course. Even though she was unclear on exactly what they were hiding, she felt a few steps closer to the answers thanks to her new information.
Her biggest clue so far was Dr. Hatori Sohma. He was marked as the only medical contact for all four twelfth floor patients. That meant that he, who was listed as the medical staff administrator, had to be in one the secret of the twelfth floor.
Was he the one behind it all? Was Hatori Sohma carrying out some secret study that he wanted no one to know about? Had he somehow managed to arrange everything without his superiors knowing about it?
Or were they in on it too?
Whatever the reasons or purpose behind keeping Yuki and the others hidden, she was beginning to think it might be more physical than mental. Although they had similar counseling sessions to what she had been taught to expect, the secrecy surrounding the medical exams was more than a little suspicious. The extremely detailed and unbending orders about precisely who was to be involved were another factor in the conclusions she was drawing.
Tohru sighed as her gaze drifted towards the clock at the front of the room. This calls, her final one of the day, would soon be over. Then it would be time for her to report to work. They surprised her, her feelings about returning there. A large part of her wanted to bolt and not look back. It was the safe, sensible thing to do.
It wasn't, however, what she was going to do. Even though there was no logical reason behind it, she felt as though she would be deserting Yuki, Hatsuharu, Kyou, and Momiji if she left now. She had to even meet three of the four, but the connection was still there.
How could she ever live with herself if she ran off just because she was feeling unsure? What if, by running, she was passing up her one chance at figuring out the mystery? Or worse yet, the four boys' chance at a life containing more than what they currently had?
The end of class came at the same time as that last thought. The sounds of her fellow students slamming closed their books and notebooks seemed to almost punctuate her decision.
She would continue working at the Institute for as long as she could be of help to the people who resided within it. Exactly what kind of help that would be had yet to be determined. It might be something as big as completely changing a life, or as small as offering a hand to hold in a time of need. One thing was certain, though. Starting from that point on, she was going to keep her eyes and ears open and find some answers.
The bus trip to work afforded Tohru a bit more time to go over the files. She sat close to the window, her tote bag, containing the folders and both rulebooks, tight against her side. She had taken no chances on getting caught with the other book. It was carefully wrapped in a scarf and tucked beneath everything else in the bag.
The papers she held in her hand were less informative than the others had been. They basically contained technical information such as procedures for emergencies, the proper way to fill out forms and who to turn said forms in to, and the chain of command.
While she filed the information away, it also raised some of her earlier questions back to the surface. She found herself wondering how her files differed from those that other staff members received. Were there missing sections in there, too? Or perhaps she had more things than the others in this case.
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts and worries that she almost missed her stop. Only the driver's throat clearing brought her back to her surroundings. Hurriedly gathering her things, Tohru could feel a hot blush creeping up her neck and sliding into her cheeks. As she rushed up the aisle she managed to flash a grateful smile at the old man before stumbling down the steps and onto the sidewalk.
She paused to collect herself as the large vehicle hissed away, continuing its route. Today was going to be a busy day and the last thing she needed was to start if off shaken and feeling out of sorts.
When she was feeling reasonably better, Tohru headed to the towering building where she'd spend a good part of her afternoon and evening. As it loomed larger and larger, she found the starkness of its construction to be a very fitting exterior to what she now knew it contained. The metal and glass hid its secrets just as well as the employees within hid theirs.
Pushing open the door, she saw the same secretary as always at the front desk. But today, she couldn't help but regard the woman with a bit of suspicion. How much did she know about the goings-on in this building? If she didn't know about the people on the twelfth floor, what reason had she been given about the new aide's arrival?
Tohru remembered the woman's absence on her first day, when Ms. Almont had met her in the lobby instead. Had she really just taken a late lunch, or was it a setup to keep her from learning too much?
Not wanting to get bogged down any further by her mounting number of unanswerable questions, Tohru quickened her steps to the hall. She was surprised to find her hands shaking just a little as she slid her passkey through the slot and punched in her code. It felt almost like she was breaking in to a place she wasn't meant to be. She shivered at the thought.
The short elevator ride gave her just enough time to double check the position of the rulebook she wasn't meant to have. She wanted to be very sure that it was out of sight and stayed that way until she was ready to replace it on Ms. Almont's desk, hopefully without being seen.
It was that action that was on her mind as she stepped from the elevator. There was really no way to plan out how it would happen. There were just too many variables to forge a solid, complete plan. She would just have to keep an eye open for any chance that might arise and take it when it came.
Tohru had only taken a few steps down the hall when a loud noise from somewhere on her right caused her to jump. She stopped in her tracks, off put by the out-of-place sound on the normally silent floor. Her head tilted slightly to the side as she listened, waiting to see if it would repeat itself.
It did. Since she was paying such close attention, this time she was able to make out more details about the sound. There were actually two of them, one coming directly after the other. The first was something of a heavy sounding thud, like someone tossing a thick book onto the floor. After that came a thunk that reminded her of someone pushing in a chair too hard and fast so that it slammed against the edge of the table.
Unable to disregard her curiosity even long enough to take her things to her office, Tohru began to investigate. She was fairly certain that the ruckus was coming from the first closed door on the right.
Mentally running through the tour she had received on her first day, she listed the rooms in her mind, starting at the far end. There was the office, a small storage room, the four patient rooms, an activity room, and a lunchroom. The one she was standing outside of was the lunchroom.
Which answered the where, but not the who, what, or why of the situation. Obviously, more investigating was required. Gathering her nerve, she went to the door and grabbed the cool metal of the knob. Turning it, she pulled the door open just enough to pop her head through . . .
And was immediately smacked right between the eyes with something hard.
A high-pitched gasp was wrung from her as she lost her balance and tumbled forward into the room. She got the vague impression of startled eyes and shocked faces before she plunged to the floor. All the air in her lungs whooshed out on impact, while at the same time she felt her bag settle heavily against her leg.
A moment passed when nothing moved. There was absolute silence and stillness. Then everything seemed to begin again at once.
"Tohru!" cried a familiar voice, accompanied by two hands on her upper arms helping her into a sitting position. When she managed to flip her hair behind her ears to clear her vision, she was faced with Ms. Almont kneeling in front of her, wearing a worried expression.
Forcing an embarrassed laugh at making a fool of herself for the second time that day, Tohru finished straightening her hair and clothes. Once that was done, she raised a hand to gently probe at the smarting spot between her eyes. It stung a bit, but she didn't think it would do more than turn red for a while. At least she wouldn't be sporting twin bumps on the head.
"Are you okay?" Ms. Almont asked, rising and offering her hand. Occupied with getting to her feet without her skirt hiking up, Tohru just nodded. It was all the answer the other woman needed before she continued. "That was a one in a million accident. For you to stick your head in at the exact moment that he threw that tray . . ." She trailed off, shaking her head.
Tohru wondered who "he" was, but didn't bother to ask. She was sure Ms. Almont would get to that soon enough. At that moment, she more concerned with regaining her grip on her tote bag before things started spilling out of it.
When Ms. Almont spoke again, it wasn't directed at her, but to the person or people behind her. "Since Miss Honda is here, I guess we can begin. If you all would just take a seat, we can get this over with as quickly and as painlessly as possible."
There was a disbelieving huff followed by the sounds of chairs scraping against the floor. Turning back to Tohru, Ms. Almont caught the slightly confused look on the younger girl's face and began clearing up some things.
"You do remember that I said I'd introduce you to the others today? Well, I thought it would be easier to bring them to you rather than have you go to them this first time. Might speed the process up a bit, if you know what I'm getting at.
"And before you ask, I thought meeting in here would be better than meeting in the activity room," she explained, then muttered something under her breath that sounded like "fewer heavy objects". Then she smiled brightly and grabbed Tohru by the shoulders. "Tohru Honda, I'd like you to meet Kyou, Haru, and Momiji. Yuki, of course, you've already met."
Feeling more nervous than she could ever remember being, Tohru slowly turned to face the three named but until then unknown patients and the one she felt like she knew all too well.
