Or
How to Mary Sue Yourself and Your Friend into Fruits Basket
by secretjuunishi
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Fandom: Fruits Basket
Spoilers: for the anime only, although I do mention the name of a Juunishi that is mentioned in the manga
Rating: R
Pairing: Mary x Hatori, Sue x Shigure
Genre: Humor/Romance/Angst/Drama
Disclaimer: I don't own them...I'm just borrowing them. Hail to Takaya Natsuki.
Summary: Mary Smith and Sue Jones end up in the Fruits Basket universe and they have secrets. spooky music Mary/Hatori, Sue/Shigure.
Author's Note: Eeee, sorry for the lack of update. I meant to post this way back when I wrote it but it just never happened. Warning, gloss-over smut.
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Chapter 14 of ?
Shigure returned to Hatori's room and found the doctor with his head bowed. He said nothing but coughed a little to announce his presence.
Hatori looked up, eyes red, and propped his chin up with his hand.
Shigure raised his eyebrows in surprise. He'd never seen Hatori so emotionally bare. Not even when Akito had forbidden his love with Kana.
"How is she?" Shigure asked, striding forward to kneel beside Hatori.
"Battered and bruised," Hatori replied. "She has some cuts, but thankfully nothing major."
"How are you?" Shigure gave Hatori a kind smile.
"I've...been better."
"You're remarkably calm, given the circumstances," Shigure noted.
"Had you walked in 2 minutes sooner you would have seen that is not the case," Hatori said, deliberately formal.
Shigure let it go.
"How is Sue-san?" Hatori asked. He vaguely recalled Shigure carrying the girl out of the room.
"She's in one of the guest rooms, resting," Shigure replied, eyes closed. "She had to be sedated."
Hatori frowned. "Sedated? By who?"
"By me."
Hatori's heart nearly leapt out of his chest at the sound of an unexpected voice. There, in the doorway, stood the one person Hatori never thought he would see again.
Kana.
"Kana-kun..." Hatori breathed.
"Hello, Hatori-san, it's been a long time," Kana smiled.
Hatori felt like he was suffocating as he sat there and dumbly stared at Kana. Memories flooded through his mind, some happy, some painful. She looked the same now as she did the day she walked out of his life. He gave Shigure a sharp look. The other man had the courtesy of giving Hatori an apologetic smile.
Akito.
It had to be Akito's doing. To bring Kana back to the main house, now...
The sound of a sharp breath broke Hatori's concentration and he glanced down. Mary was stirring.
Shigure stood and headed out of the room, ushering Kana ahead of him. "We should leave them alone for now," he murmured.
Kana looked up at Shigure, somewhat confused, but complied.
"Thank you for your help earlier, Kana-kun," Shigure said.
"It was no trouble," she said. "I don't exactly understand what's happening, but I'm a doctor after all."
"Ah," Shigure answered, distracted.
"I'm going to check on Sue-san," he said and left before she answered.
"Well, that was...odd," Kana murmured aloud.
The first thing that came to Mary's mind when she regained consciousness was something along the lines of, "Ow." She groaned and tried to sit up, knowing instinctively that it was a bad idea yet wanting to do so nonetheless.
"Don't try to move," Hatori's soft voice said in her ear. She felt instantly at ease.
"Hatori," she whispered.
Memory slowly returned and Mary frowned. Her throat felt scratchy and she recalled screaming. And then she felt the pain.
"Ohhhhhh," Mary groaned. "That's...not feeling good at all."
"Where does it hurt?" Hatori asked.
"Um, everywhere."
Hatori grimaced.
"Just...give me a minute," Mary said through clenched teeth.
"I'm going to give you a stronger pain killer," Hatori said, reaching for his bag. He'd given her a light one for the pain she'd likely feel from the cut, but was reluctant to give her a heavier one as he didn't know how she'd react to it.
"No, it's ok," Mary insisted. "I just have to get used to it."
The tone in her voice made Hatori pause. Used to it? How could anyone be used to pain?
"I don't want to see you in pain," Hatori said, continuing to search through his things. "It's my fault you're hurting, anyway."
"What?" Mary said and frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"If I'd realized that Akito meant to harm you, I never would have arranged a meeting," Hatori said.
Mary studied his face for a moment. "There's something else that's bothering you. Please...Hatori...tell me."
He stopped his rummaging and sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"I...didn't do anything."
"What?" Mary frowned further.
"I couldn't stop Akito," Hatori confessed. "I didn't even try. I'm...I'm so sorry."
She saw guilt in Hatori's eyes and her heart went out to him. And that's when she noticed he'd been crying.
Hatori had been crying for her.
Mary bit her lip and tried not to cry. She reached a hand out and grasped his.
"I couldn't protect you," Hatori whispered. "I couldn't keep you safe."
"Hatori...you don't have to," Mary pleaded.
"I want to," he responded. "I want to protect you, because I love you and you mean everything to me."
Hot tears spilled down Mary's cheeks.
Shigure poked his head into the spare room in which Sue was resting. He smiled when he saw her sitting up by the window, gazing at the moon.
"Are you feeling better?" he said softly, not wanting to startle her too much.
She turned quickly, eyes wide. "Is she ok?"
Shigure walked into the room and shut the door behind him. "Ah, she's fine, but bruised. Ha-san will take good care of her."
"Not likely," Sue muttered under her breath.
Shigure frowned, his sharp ears having picked up the words. He shrugged and decided to pass by the subject.
"I'm sorry about before," Shigure said, sitting next to her. "You were so incoherent I didn't know what to do."
"It's ok," Sue said, looking up at him. She smiled, he really was quite cute. "At least it was just a mild sedative."
"So are you feeling better?" he asked again.
"Uhn," Sue replied. But she was staring at the moon again and Shigure could see sadness and worry in her eyes.
"Hey," Shigure said, nudging her arm with his. "It'll be ok."
"I hope so," Sue said, her voice soft. "Shigure...Mary means a lot to me. She's always been there for me. I don't know what would happen if I lost her."
Sue closed her eyes and saw the moment when Akito could have ended Mary's life. She pressed her lips together.
"I could have lost her tonight," she whispered.
"But you didn't," Shigure pointed out. "Thanks to you, she's ok, now."
"I should have done something sooner."
"That was my fault," Shigure admitted.
"Why did you stop me, Shigure?" Sue wondered.
"I...didn't realize that Akito was capable of such cruelty," Shigure answered. "Stupid, I know, but there it is."
"That doesn't answer my question," Sue pressed.
"Akito is not someone that should be taken lightly," Shigure started. "It's hard to explain, but his decisions affect the entire family. It's never a good thing when Akito is mad."
"Shigure?"
"Hmm?" He turned to look at Sue.
And received a huge slap in the face.
Shigure sat back in surprise but he didn't have time to think before an angry Sue was on him. Literally.
"What?" Shigure tried.
"Are you stupid?" Sue snarled. She sat on Shigure's lap, feet braced on the floor, and used her leverage to keep him off balance.
"Akito is a man just like you. What could he possibly do that wasn't worth my trying to save my cousin's life?"
"I-"
"He could have killed her, Shigure! Killed her!" she shouted in his face. "And you wanted to stop me because he's the leader of the house? Nothing, no position, gives a person the right to decide when someone else dies."
"It's not that simple," Shigure tried.
"Yes, it is," Sue retorted. "It is exactly that simple. If Akito were some kind of god then maybe we'd have something to talk about. But he's not."
"Wait just one minute," Shigure said. He was beginning to get upset, too. He moved suddenly and then Sue was the one off balance, nearly falling off his lap. Shigure wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her closer so they were still on eye level.
"No, Akito is not a god, but he is the leader of our family. We must respect that."
"So respect it," Sue snapped. "Don't live your life by it."
"I don't expect you to understand-"
"Oh, stop with the patronizing crap, Shigure. You know I'm right."
Shigure searched Sue's eyes. She wasn't angry anymore, but determined, and stubborn. And correct.
Slowly, Shigure nodded. "I...ok. You're right. But it's still not that easy."
"Why not?" she challenged.
"The...psychological and emotional part of it can't be measured tangibly," he said.
Sue thought on that sentiment for a moment. "That's pretty weak, Shigure."
He shrugged. "But that's what it is."
Sue stared at him.
Shigure squirmed.
Sue continued staring at him.
"Look, take it or leave it, that's just the way it-"
Shigure suddenly found himself flat on his back with Sue's arms around him, her lips against his. Her tongue found his and stroked it so sensuously Shigure couldn't contain a moan. She pulled away and looked down at him.
"Your words make no sense, so stop talking," she growled before kissing him again.
Sue stretched out atop Shigure, loving the feel of his body beneath hers. She ground her hips against his, grinning as he gasped.
"You're cruel," Shigure managed.
"Me?" Sue asked, incredulously. "You didn't notice that you were pressed up against me the whole time we were talking?"
"I was too busy saying senseless things," he retorted, consciously pressing up against Sue.
"Didn't I tell you to stop talking?" Sue wondered before kissing Shigure again.
Shigure wound his arms around Sue, smoothing them up and down her back. He slid his hands down further and caressed her bottom, pulling her against him. His movements stopped as he felt Sue's hand snake between them.
Shigure moaned and pressed against her again.
"My, aren't we the sensitive one?" Sue teased. She'd managed to slip her hand in the folds of his kimono robes.
Shigure whimpered.
But he wasn't idle. Hands under skirt. Panties off.
"You're good at that," Sue murmured.
Shigure opened his mouth to reply.
"Ah ah," Sue scolded. "No talking."
Shigure shut up. Almost. But, the things he was saying in the next several minutes didn't really qualify as words anyway.
Mary stared out Hatori's doorway trying to focus on the bright, morning sunshine and not the stinging pain on her back. Wrapped only in a blanket, she waited patiently as Hatori cleaned the cut down her back and reapplied healing ointment.
"Am I hurting you?" he asked, voice ever soft.
"No," Mary said. "But that antiseptic you're using stings something awful."
Hatori grimaced. "I'm sorry."
Mary turned and gave Hatori a sad smile. "You have no need to be."
He merely nodded. Applying the last of the bandages, he pulled the edge of the blanket up over Mary's shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze.
"I don't think you'll have any scarring," Hatori murmured.
Hatori turned and began putting his things away. He was surprised to feel her arms wrap around him a moment later, her warm breath in his ear.
"Hatori," Mary whispered. "When are you going to stop feeling guilty?"
Dropping his hands in his lap, Hatori sighed. Mary pulled her arms tighter and offered her support.
"Probably not for a while, if ever," he admitted. "There are just...too many things I should have done. Should have said."
He took one of Mary's hands in his and rubbed his thumb across the back. She gripped his hand with hers.
"I'm-"
"Sorry, I know," Mary finished for him.
"Hatori, what's done is done. What happened is in the past," Mary pleaded. "Please don't dwell on the past. Nothing good will come of it."
"I can't forget it," Hatori said.
"Ah, I know," Mary agreed. "But don't let the actions of the past consume you. What you do now, and in the future, is what matters the most."
Hatori was silent, thinking on Mary's words.
"Learn from what happened," she continued. "Don't drown in it. I'd miss you."
Mary leaned forward and rested her head against Hatori's.
"I miss you already."
Hatori's head snapped up and his eyes widened in shock.
"You didn't notice, did you?" Mary asked, her voice gentle.
"I...I don't know," Hatori murmured.
"Ever since you told me Akito wanted to meet us, you've been distancing yourself from us. From me. It was like you were trying to detach yourself from the situation so you wouldn't get hurt."
Mary turned Hatori's head toward her so she could look him in the face.
"But, Hatori," she said. "Don't you see? By doing that, you pretty much guaranteed that Akito could do anything to hurt you. It was the exact opposite of what you wanted."
He searched her eyes, so filled with warmth and kindness. He didn't know what to say.
"Running only makes it worse," she finished.
Mary pressed her forehead to Hatori's and held him closer. "Please don't run from me," she whispered, voice wavering with emotion.
Hatori wrapped his arms carefully around Mary. "Never again," he promised.
Mary sniffled.
Lifting her chin with a finger, Hatori gazed into Mary's now tear-streaked face.
"Please don't cry," he whispered. "I hate seeing you cry. I feel so helpless."
Mary could only hug Hatori tighter, burying her face in his chest.
The sound of the sliding door banging open startled both of them.
"What the-?" Mary exclaimed, sitting back and clutching the blanket close to her body. "Sue?"
Sue stood in the doorway and she looked royally pissed off. She took one look at Mary and immediately felt relieved that her cousin at least appeared to not be in pain. And then she looked at Hatori. Who looked at her with the same, semi-blank expression he always did. Sue ground her teeth.
Wordlessly, Sue strode forward, stood right in front of Hatori, and slapped him as hard as she could.
"Sue!" Mary exclaimed in horror. "What the Hell are you doing?!"
"You didn't do a damn thing and Mary got hurt," Sue said to Hatori through clenched teeth. "Not. A. Damn. Thing!"
Hatori turned his head back to face the wrath of Sue, a large, red imprint of her hand on his cheek.
"You are so not worth it!" Sue spat.
"Sue, stop it!" Mary interjected. Now, she was upset.
"No, it's ok, Mary," Hatori finally spoke. "I deserve it."
Sue, who was mad when she came in, was angrier now. The fact that Hatori wasn't even going to fight for himself just pissed her off. "Your behavior makes me sick!"
Sue leapt forward, intent on beating the crap out of the man. But then Mary moved. Right into the path of Sue's fists. And Sue didn't have time to change her course.
Mary was positively angry at her cousin and her decision to stop Sue from harming Hatori outweighed the knowledge that she was already injured.
Hatori stared at the women in a daze, part of his mind not believing what he was seeing.
"What you do now, and in the future, is what matters the most."
Mary's words echoed through his mind and Hatori was moving before he knew what he was doing.
Time slowed down and as if in a dream, Hatori wrapped an arm around Mary's waist and pulled her out of the way. Unfortunately it put him right in the path of Sue's fist.
smack
The impact of Sue's fist with Hatori's jaw made his head snap back. The floor rushed up to meet him, but not before he was able to shift Mary around. Hatori's body absorbed most of the shock of falling to the floor and he was glad he could cushion Mary's fall with him. But the force of Hatori's head also hitting the mats was too great and he descended quickly into unconsciousness.
The room was abnormally quiet for several moments. Mary finally sat up and scrambled off of Hatori, checking to see if he was ok. The fact that he was unconscious worried her more than the split lip he'd suffered.
"Er," Sue spoke. "That wasn't quite how it was supposed to happen."
"Get out."
Mary did not raise her voice, but to Sue, the quiet timbre of her voice was a thousand times more terrifying.
"Mary-" Sue started.
"Please," Mary cut her off. She refused to look at the other woman. "I don't want to yell at you. But I'm angry right now. Please. Leave."
"Hff!" Sue sniffed before storming out of the room.
Mary sighed and rested her forehead in the palm of her hand. Things were going from bad to worse quickly. After a long moment, she began looking around for the supplies she'd need to clean the blood off Hatori's face. Other than that, she could only wait for him to wake up.
The spare room was empty when Sue re-entered it and part of her was relieved. She really wasn't in the mood to face Shigure at the moment. For several moments, she fumed and prowled around the room.
"They're both being so stupid," she muttered to herself.
Sue couldn't understand how her cousin could like a person as weak-willed as Hatori. And what was worse, it looked like Mary was even supporting the man.
"He is definitely not good enough for her," Sue growled aloud. "I don't care what issues he has...if he wants to be with her, he's going to have to prove it."
The door slid open and Sue's thoughts were interrupted by the reappearance of Shigure.
Slightly damp and wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.
Before Shigure could say a word, Sue had crossed the room and pulled him into a frenzied kiss. A moment later they were on the floor and Shigure had lost his towel. The next several moments flew by in a blur and later Shigure would recall he enjoyed it immensely, brief as it was. But the next thing he knew, Shigure was staring at the ceiling, eyes wide with shock. Sue had fled the room again, and Shigure wondered what the Hell just happened.
Mary stared out Hatori's door again, her fingers lightly brushing through the still unconscious man's hair. She'd cleaned up his split lip and now sat with his head in her lap.
A part of her mind wanted to shut down and not think about anything. The other...didn't. And it was winning.
She sighed heavily and thought back on the events of the day; more specifically, on her cousin's behavior. Mary knew Sue was extremely protective of her since it was part of her personality, but it went far beyond her character traits as a wolf.
And, although she didn't want to admit it, Mary wondered if Sue felt a little threatened by Hatori's presence in her life. She knew Sue wanted her to be happy and loved, but at the same time, if she was, she would not be spending as much time with Sue. After all, they'd been together as much as possible for most of their lives due to who they were. Or rather, what they were.
But things were different now. They'd found other people who really understood what they had gone through.
Mary felt Hatori stir and looked down at him, watching his eye lashes flutter against his cheek as he opened his eyes. She smoothed her hand down his cheek and he covered it with his own, looking up at her.
"Hi," he whispered.
"Hi," she smiled. "I fixed up your lip, but I'm not sure how well."
Hatori lifted his other hand and gingerly ran a finger across his lip. "Perfect," he replied and smiled as far as he dared. "So..."
"I haven't talked to Sue," Mary said, looking outside again. "And I don't really know what to do to...fix this." She waved a hand in the air.
"I'm not sure there's anything I can do to help," Hatori mused.
Mary gave Hatori a warm look. "It'll be ok. We'll just have a knock-down drag-out fight and get everything out onto the table," she said.
Hatori's eyes widened. "I hope not."
"Like I said, it'll be ok," Mary reassured.
"I believe you," Hatori remarked.
Slowly, he sat up and faced her, tired of seeing her from upside down. For a moment, they stared at each other, an awkward lull falling between them.
Mary looked outside again, her eyes kept straying to the peaceful surroundings that seemed to calm her chaotic thoughts.
Hatori studied her profile, his eyes tracing the line of her chin, her jaw, and her neck. She was still wrapped in only a blanket and he found himself following the edge of the blanket as it dipped down her body and crossed just above her breasts. He shook his head sharply before his thoughts could wander more.
Too late.
And Mary had noticed.
But she wasn't exactly looking at him. Instead, she had ducked her head a little and was blushing prettily. Hatori was about to speak, to say something, anything, to dispel the awkward situation, when Mary did something completely unexpected.
She let go of the blanket and it slowly slid down her body to pool around her.
Hatori's mouth went dry.
Mary's heart was beating so fast she thought it would pound right out of her chest. She didn't know why she dropped the blanket but at that point it was a little too late to take it back. And she was a little afraid to look at him. She sucked in a quick breath, though, when she felt his finger on her shoulder. She closed her eyes as Hatori dragged his finger down her arm and rested his hand on top of hers.
And then he slipped his arms around her very bare waist and pulled her to him.
Hatori folded Mary into his arms and held her tight. She was warm and real and there. He never wanted to let her go. He ran a hand up and down her back, carefully avoiding the long line of bandages, in a comforting motion, although he wasn't quite sure who he was comforting.
"Hatori?" Mary asked, confused.
"I keep thinking about what happened," he murmured, voice low. "I keep thinking how Sue almost lost you...how I almost lost you."
Mary bit her lip at the mention of her cousin's name but said nothing.
"Never again," Hatori whispered.
"Hmm?" Mary asked.
"Never again will I hesitate when an opportunity arises...there's too much of a chance that it will never happen again," he continued.
Hatori sat back a little and stared into Mary's eyes for a long moment.
"I love you, Mary," he said. "I always want to be with you."
Silence hung in the air but it wasn't an awkward silence. Mary and Hatori stared at each other. Time slowed down. Mary moved closer to Hatori and he folded her to him again. He threaded his fingers through her hair and kissed her softly, ignoring the pain in his lip. She responded in kind and soon they lay together on the tatami mats.
"You know," Mary sighed against Hatori.
"Hmm?"
"You're wearing way too much clothing..."
She giggled when he laughed against her skin, the vibrations of his voice tickling her.
"That can be remedied easily," he murmured.
"Mmmm, let's."
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End Chapter 14