Disclaimer: Fruits Basket, the Souma Clan and Honda Tohru belong to Natsuki Takaya-sama. I live only to glorify Furuba.
Ore no Haru
Ikatlong Kabanata
By hitokiri-tomoe
The incessant ringing of the alarm clock jolted Hatori awake.
For the first time in ages, he actually felt refreshed. He had long treated sleep as just another way to pass the time, but now it seemed to have done its purpose, so that Hatori felt that he could face this long day ahead of him. He glanced around the room until… 10:00?
He looked at the clock accusingly and sighed in sudden irritation. Who else could have done it?
He placed his feet on the carpeted floor and stood up. And although he was still irritated, he couldn't help but smile a nostalgic smile.
She used to do this randomly, too, he thought as he opened the shower faucet and let the warm water wake him up.
She would sneak into his house, adjust his alarm clock to a later time, get breakfast ready and wait for him to wake up. When he goes down, she would be sitting at the table, reading the paper, a mug of steaming coffee beside her. He would find the windows he normally kept shut open, letting the sunlight in. Then she would look up from her paper and smile at him innocently. No, she never looked apologetic for letting him sleep in at all. She would then greet him, inform him that she was the one who adjusted the alarm. She would say that he looked particularly stressed the night before so she thought he needed the rest. Then she'd tell—command—him to sit and she would serve him breakfast, all the while smiling that innocent smile of hers.
"Now, don't we look just like husband and wife?" she would quip, making him blush. Then she would laugh. At Souma Hatori. And he didn't mind.
That was one thing about Kana. She was the only one who can make him blush and laugh at him and actually get away with it.
He turned off the faucet and reached for a towel. He wrapped the towel around his waist and went to his closet.
I wonder, he though as he pulled on a shirt, When I go downstairs, would she be reading the paper, and would she look up and smile at me the same way as before?
He finished dressing and went out the door. He couldn't help smiling to himself.
Only one way to find out.
oOo
When he saw her it almost seemed as it was before.
He saw the prepared breakfast on the kitchen counter. The late morning light from the open windows played with her hair, forming a halo around her head. The steaming mug of coffee was right there at her elbow. But it was not the morning paper she was reading.
"Ara?" she looked up from the bridal magazine she was flipping through and smiled that innocent smile.
"Good morning, Hatori-sensei," she put down the magazine.
The smile instantly faded from his face. Her smile… it was the same, but now it all just seemed so wrong.
Idiot, he berated himself, You had no right to expect that it would be the same.
Kana's smile wavered a little when she saw the doctor's sudden change of expression. One minute he was smiling and the next he looked forbidding. Nevertheless, she put the smile back on her face, secretly daring him to be angry.
"I adjusted your alarm," she addressed the now frozen Hatori, "I thought it would refresh you if you slept in a little. Besides, no one's bound to get sick this time. It's spring."
Spring. The word succeeded in animating him. He forced himself to maintain a passive expression. He went to the table and sat down opposite her, all the while fighting the urge to take the magazine in his hands and tear it apart.
Meanwhile, Kana had already put his breakfast in front of him and sat looking at him with an expectant expression.
He tore his eyes off the magazine and picked up his chopsticks.
"Let's eat."
He took one bite then suddenly realized he didn't feel like eating. Kana watched him pick at his food with a mournful expression.
"It isn't any good, is it?" she pouted.
He looked up from his meal. He realized he didn't feel like reassuring her either.
He shrugged, "It's okay."
"Shinbo tells me I'm no good at cooking," she said with an amused smile.
"I'm done," he put down his chopsticks. He realized his hands were trembling. He stood up and went to the door.
"Kana-san."
She had been following him with her gaze, an unreadable expression evident on her face.
"Yes?"
"We're going to the clinic now."
oOo
Kana stole glances at Hatori the whole time he was mending the Souma child's wound. The boy had fallen off a tree while playing and although nothing was broken, his wound was pretty deep. The child couldn't stop crying.
Hatori, oblivious to the child's pain, expertly wrapped gauze on the child's left leg.
Kana sighed to herself. What went wrong again?
When Hatori came down for breakfast, she could have sworn she saw him smiling out of the corner of her eye, but when she did look at him, she saw only coldness in those eyes. And just now, when they took the three minute walk to the clinic, he said not one word to her. She though that after last night's episode, the doctor would actually try to be nicer. Apparently not.
She saw the Souma child hobbling out the door, his tear-stained face still red and puffy. She went to the boy and gave him her most winning smile. She offered him a hand.
"I'm Souma Kana. What's your name?"
The boy looked at Kana, puzzled, then offered a shy smile, "Akira."
"Ne, Akira-kun, I'll help you out of the clinic."
Akira took Kana's hand and she helped him limp out of the clinic. When they were outside the boy let go of her hand and looked up at her, still smiling shyly.
"Oneesan."
"Yes?" Kana kneeled before the boy so that they were almost the same height.
"Hatori-san must be really lucky, always being around you."
"Huh?" Kana was taken aback by that.
The boy now beamed at her, "If I were Hatori-san, I would marry you!"
She couldn't help but laugh at this unabashed declaration. On impulse, she embraced the boy.
"Thanks for making me feel better about myself," she let go of the boy who was now blushing madly, "Now go home and take care of your wound."
Regaining his composure, the boy once again beamed at her and started for home.
She stood up and turned towards the clinic, a smile on her face. The smile suddenly disappeared when she saw that Hatori was leaning on the doorframe. He had clearly seen the exchange, though his expression was as usual, cold.
"Get new bandages in the cabinet," was all he said as he turned to go inside.
She sighed, closed her eyes, and a hand through her short ash-blond hair. When she opened her light brown eyes, there was a spark of determination in them.
Hatori-sensei might be cold now, she thought as she entered the clinic and went to the cabinets, But I have to befriend him. I'm not giving up just yet.
She opened one cabinet and she didn't know what exactly happened, but everything just went down. All the cabinet's contents—medicine bottles, bandage boxes, cotton—and her.
I can't believe it! Now what would Hatori-sensei say now?
"Are you alright?" Hatori's concerned voice made its way to her consciousness.
Ah! It's all over now! She couldn't face Hatori now! It would just be too mortifying! She can imagine the stern reprimanding tone his voice would assume while he tells her how incompetent she was. And here she was trying—
Wait. Didn't I hear Hatori-sensei speak just now?
"Kana-san," and she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.
And he didn't sound angry… at all.
Slowly, she turned her face to meet his.
To her complete surprise, he didn't look forbidding at all. He was, in fact, smiling. It was a gentle, loving smile, the kind of smile that a person reserves for a sweetheart.
Kana! What are you thinking!
She felt her face growing hot but she couldn't turn away from him. It was the first time she saw him smile like this but oddly, that expression was somehow familiar.
And so right.
"Still clumsy, as usual," he said in that quiet voice of his, not taking his eyes off her.
"As… usual?" she managed to whisper.
That seemed to break the spell.
Abruptly, the doctor stood up, and his impassive expression returned. And although nothing registered on his face, his stance seemed to convey that he was displeased about something.
"Pick those up," he ordered curtly before walking out of the room.
Kana looked at the spot where, only a few seconds before, quite a different Hatori had shown himself to her.
She smiled to herself and got up.
If he has a side like that, she thought as she began picking up the things she dropped, Then it won't be that hard to make him like me.
oOo
Kana yawned as she flipped through pages of possible wedding gown styles. For some reason, she hadn't really felt like planning her wedding since a week ago, when she had met Akira and had decided that she wasn't going to give up on Hatori.
Well, not that he has anything to do with my lack of interest.
She closed the magazine she was trying to read, leaned back on her chair and rested her cheek on her hand. Her eyes rested on the doctor, who was sitting across from her, a paperback novel on one hand, a cigarette on the other. He seemed to have forgotten about his cigarette, though, as it was slowly burning up between his fingers. She allowed herself a small smile. When he was absorbed in something, he didn't look scary at all.
As if sensing her eyes on him, he looked up from his novel. Kana's gaze and smile didn't even waver. They looked at each other for a few seconds.
"What?" Hatori finally asked, small frown creasing his forehead.
"Nothing," she replied without missing a single beat, not taking her eyes off him.
"GOOOOD MOOORNING!" Shigure suddenly called out as he entered the room.
Kana suddenly blushed as she realized how the scene must look to an outsider. Hatori had already assumed that poker faced expression.
Shigure snickered as he surveyed the two. He clasped his hands together and gave a dreamy sigh, "Now, don't you just look like husband and wife?"
Kana couldn't help it. She grew a deeper shade of red.
"This looks like a scene from Winter of Love (now available on paperback)," Shigure gushed as he scuttled over to Hatori and nudged him with his elbow, "Ne, Ha-san, was I interrupting, you know, something?"
"I will not even honor that with a reply," Hatori said, putting down his paperback on the coffee table. A vein visibly throbbed on his forehead.
"Ano, Shigure-san…"
"Ah, Kana-san! You are still so pretty, it's a wonder Ha-san hasn't—"
"Shigure," now Hatori's voice sounded positively threatening.
"Shigure-san," Kana tried again.
"How did he even get here?" Hatori spoke loudly to himself.
"Ah, Ha-san," Shigure began dramatically, "I was on my way to see Akito on your account when I saw your house and I thought that I simply could not resist taking a peek at you two lovebirds and see how you, Ha-san, are taking domestic bliss, with such a cute wife as Kana-san—"
"Eh?" Kana exclaimed with widened eyes.
"Moron."
"—and so I came here and I found that the door was unlocked so…"
He paused.
"Here I am."
"What was that pause for?" Kana couldn't help asking.
"Ne, Ha-san, how have you been faring?"
"I was faring well until you came along."
"Shigure-san."
"Yes, Kana-san?" Shigure answered sweetly.
"Ano… would you like some tea?"
He grinned at her, "Why yes, I would love that!"
Kana stepped out of the living room. As soon as she was out of hearing, Shigure turned serious.
"You seem to be taking it well," he remarked as he sat down near Hatori.
Hatori only shrugged as he crushed his cigarette, and lit another one.
"You know, I was really on my way to see Akito. I wanted to ask him… why… he is doing this to you."
His childhood friend just blew out smoke and still didn't say anything.
"But… I was also thinking… maybe Akito's giving you… an opportunity?"
"That's impossible," Hatori stated flatly.
Shigure hung his head, "Ah, I guess you're right. But still…"
His voice trailed off.
"What is it, Shigure?"
He looked up then, determination in his eyes, "No matter what happens, don't let her go now. It doesn't matter that she's getting married! This is your chance, Ha-san, and it may be your last chance to be truly happy! Don't waste it! Don't. Let her. Go."
Shigure was breathing hard. He had spoken with such intensity, that Hatori himself was surprised.
"Shigure," he addressed his cousin, his gaze wandering to the kitchen, where Kana was preparing tea, "It isn't my happiness that counts. If she isn't happy, I'm not going to be. And that's that."
Shigure gave his cousin and childhood friend a despairing look. He sighed, shook his head and stood up.
"Well, I'm off to find you what Akito's up to," he walked towards the door.
"What about tea?"
He paused and turned his head to look at Hatori.
"You drink it. She's your wife, not mine," he joked with a wan smile before stepping out the room, and closing the door behind him.
oOo
Shigure had been kneeling on the floor for a good thirty minutes now. The Master of the House had yet to acknowledge his presence. Right now, his back was turned to hi, and he seemed to be more preoccupied with making friends with the birds.
"So, Shigure… what did you come to see me for?" he asked in a slow drawl, his back still turned.
"I wanted to know why you sent Kana-san back," he replied without ado, his gaze steely.
Akito laughed his harsh laugh, "It's a secret."
He turned to face his visitor.
"Relax… I didn't do it to hurt him… although… he may get hurt in the process…"
He gave another laugh, stood up and waved Shigure away, telling him that his audience was over.
"I just want to find out something."
To be continued…
