I'm back with the final chapter of Hato in a Fruits Basket. : trumpets sounding in background: Well, I can tell you all it's been much fun making up this story and I'm so glad that so many people enjoyed it. I know I enjoyed sharing this story that I've had in my mind for years, so please, sit back, relax and read the last chapter before the spanking new sequel!

Chapter 14: Remembrance

It took a while for the Sohma family to realize that Hitoshi had died, but when they did, each one of them was in tears. They looked at the bruised and damaged body of Hitoshi and tears erupted out from their eyes. Each of them touched Hitoshi's face and cried over it splashing her calm smiling face with tears. Tsubasha was kneeling beside her student huddled into a ball and grabbing her hair as though she was suffering from a great pain. When she lifted her head up, her face was drenched with tears and even thought her body was injured as well, she refused to get up and wash her wounds, she stayed beside her student looking at the body and wishing that Hitoshi would get up and smile saying,

"Just kidding!" but that never happened. After a day of staying beside Hitoshi, Tsubasha finally got up and allowed Shigure to treat her injuries. By now, her tears had dried out and her face was grief-stricken. Her eyes had lost their emotion and her face was stained from the tears. Shigure could only look in agony as he wrapped bandages around Tsubasha's wounds. Finally Shigure asked Tsubasha a question,

"How long had you known Hitoshi-chan?" Tsubasha looked at him with sorrow in her eyes, but she slowly calmed down.

"When she was about six. This was after her mother and father died. She was a strong person, she hadn't cried once around me about her parents. Sometimes, I felt that she was hiding so much pain, but she assured me that she was fine… but when I came to see my student here, I could see the pain was finally exposed, but she became happier here. I had never seen a true smile on her face until I came here and saw her here… it was wondrous," said Tsubasha looking to the side and smiling sadly. Shigure nodded and answered back to Tsubasha,

"Kyo definitely was happier when Hitoshi-chan was around. Since he failed his last year in high school, he's been a wreck, absolutely showing no emotion except anger and when Yuki and Tohru-kun left, it became worse, but with Hitoshi-chan, he smiled again, how are we to tell Kyo about this?" Tsubasha stopped smiling and looked down,

"I have no idea."

(in Hitoshi's old room)

Kyo had finally woken up. He was slightly sore from the battle against Hinomi but he was fine altogether. He got up out of bed expecting to hear Hitoshi cooking and Shigure getting beat up because he was leering at Tsubasha in an odd manner, but instead he heard utter silence. The Sohma family had left to their respective houses including Akito who had left to the main house. The whole house had been cleaned as thought nothing had happened until Kyo advanced onto the living room. The living room had blood splattered all over it from both Tsubasha and Hitoshi (you know, they lost a lot of blood when that demon thing blasted them with the light) and there was a white sheet covering something in the middle of the room (the Sohma family covered Hitoshi with a white sheet until they had found a proper burial ground for her, out of respect if you will). Kyo slowly advanced onto the sheet frightened yet curious of what he was going to find out, but he flung the sheet away from the object and found Hitoshi beat up and dead. As the sheet fell to the ground, Kyo's eyes grew blank with horror. Suddenly, out of anger, he got up and ran towards Shigure's room where Shigure was still bandaging Tsubasha and he yelled at him asking,

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO HITOSHI? IS THAT HER IN THE LIVING ROOM? WHAT HAPPENED DAMNIT!" Shigure and Tsubasha looked at each other sadly and then Tsubasha got up and moved to Kyo saying,

"Yes, that person in the living room was Hitoshi-chan." Kyo's eyes grew blank with horror yet again and he spoke out frantically,

"No! That can't be true! I saw her! She was helping me and now this? What caused this?" Tsubasha looked down trying to control her tears and replied in a very shaky voice,

"She died while freeing the Sohma family and the Kawakami family of their curses." Kyo collapsed to the ground and murmured,

"She's dead? She died because of the Sohma curse? She died because of me?" Tsubasha looked at Kyo distraught and replied,

"No no! She didn't die because of you! She died because the curse on this family was too strong, you had no part in it."

"But she died because I was one of the people cursed right?" questioned Kyo.

"No no! She didn't die because of that…" replied Tsubasha with her voice getting quieter.

"Yes she did, she died because our family's curse was too strong right? Well, I am part of this family, so I've killed her," said Kyo.

"She didn't die because of you damnit!" yelled Tsubasha at the top of her lungs. The room was filled with silence for a minute until Tsubasha spoke up again saying,

"Kyo-san, listen to me, she fulfilled her purpose, she's done what she came to do, I could see her happiness from her smile. That was a true smile, she wasn't sad that she was dying, she was happy that she had died freeing the people she loved from a curse that had troubled them for centuries, she was happy that she could be the person to free them from the burden." Kyo by now had broken into tears and was crying into Tsubasha's coat. Tsubasha gently patted Kyo with tears in her eyes but eventually lifted his head up and told him,

"Hey, why don't you go see her off? She gets buried this evening." Kyo controlled his impulse to cry and nodded quietly. He then quickly went back to the living room and sat beside Hitoshi. For a while, all he did was stare at her, but gently, he lifted a shaking hand to her cheek and gently placed it there. For a while, he was happy with that, but soon, he shifted his hand to her waist and lifted her up and gave her a large hug. Kyo silently cried on her shoulder as he tightened the grip around her.

"Why did you have to go?" question Kyo silently even though he knew that her smiling lips wouldn't move to give him the answer. Slowly, he put her down and stared at her face sadly brushing the hair away.

"Why did you have to leave me hear all alone Hitoshi… why?" questioned Kyo as he kissed her forehead.

(limbo)

Hitoshi was walking next to Hinomi for what seemed to be a long time to her but to Hinomi, it seemed like this was a daily journey for her. As Hitoshi continued, she could see someone coming out the fog (apparently, limbo is really foggy, near heaven). As she concentrated, her eyes widened in happiness as she gasped,

"Mother!" Just as true as Hitoshi's outburst, a middle-aged woman walked out of the fog smiling gently. She looked exactly like Hitoshi except her hair was shorter and her eyes a deep brown. Then the woman whispered,

"My Hitoshi, I've missed you so much." Hitoshi rushed towards her mother and hugged her tightly. Her mother hugged her back, crying into Hitoshi's dark black hair. With much difficulty, they pulled away from each other and looked at each other's faces.

"My Hitoshi, I didn't expect to see you this young, what happened?" questioned Hitoshi's mother. Hitoshi looked to her right sadly but still seemed to smile as she said,

"I've freed this family of the curse mother." Her mother looked at her happily and smiled brightly, but Hitoshi only gave back a small smile. Hinomi seemed to notice this and tapped on Hitoshi's shoulder asking,

"Do you wish to see the Sohma residence once more?" Hitoshi's face lit up with happiness as she nodded violently. Hinomi laughed and pushed away the fog with her hand. As soon as Hinomi completely cleared away the fog, Hitoshi saw her body and Kyo sitting beside it. Hitoshi could only look at him in sorrow as he begged the dead body to come back to life. Hinomi motioned Hitoshi to go down to the image of sorrow and she did without any waiting. In a matter of seconds she was sitting beside Kyo in traditional Japanese style and smiling at him. She looked at Kyo's tearstained face in utter sorrow as Kyo was talking to Hitoshi's body as though it would come back to life. Hitoshi started to bite her lip as she let the tears flow steadily from the corner of her eyes. She reached for Kyo's face and tried to wipe away his tears, but her finger wasn't able to touch him. She heard him cry out her name in pain and saw him grasp her dead body tightly and heard his wish for her to be with him once more. Hitoshi looked at him in pain and whispered to him even though he wouldn't hear it,

"I can't come back Kyo. I'm sorry, but I'm never gonna come back." She cradled his face in her hand even though she couldn't feel the tears he was crying and then she tried to hug him but without any success. Then, she stood up, wiped away her tears and went back up to where Hinomi and her mother were. Hitoshi smiled at them both and said,

"I'm ready." Hinomi looked at her sadly and said,

"No you aren't dear." Hitoshi looked at Hinomi absolutely distressed and replied,

"Of course I am! I'm finished! I'm done with what I've come down on this earth for! There's no need for me to exist anymore!"

"But there is," replied Hinomi as she looked at Hitoshi and then Kyo. Then her mother came and placed her hands on Hitoshi's shoulders and spoke to her saying,

"I can see that this boy means a lot to you and it would be very selfish of me to take him away from me. I've been waiting a long time and seeing your face will make the wait worth it. Please, go down to him. He needs you as you need him." Hitoshi looked at her mother's face in surprise as her mother's hands moved towards Hitoshi's cheek.

"You are capable of making your own decisions and making your own destiny, so I give you the option. Plot your own destiny and decide," said Hitoshi's mother as she stepped away from her daughter and stood beside Hinomi. Hitoshi looked at both of them with a sad smile, but she looked at Kyo and lingered on him for a while until she said,

"Hinomi-san, mother, I'm going to him. I wanna be by his side." Hitoshi looked sadly at both Hinomi and her mother. She waved to both of them a goodbye and turned to face Kyo. She smiled gently and jumped to meet her body. She gently lowered herself into the body, all the while, smiling at Kyo, Hinomi and her mother.

(back in the Shigure house living room thing)

By now, it was almost time for Hitoshi's body to be taken away for burial and Kyo was still sitting beside it weeping into it and embracing it. Tsubasha and Shigure looked at the grief-stricken Kyo sadly and pried him away from Hitoshi, but Kyo fought back and was back at Hitoshi's side once more, but it looked like he was getting ready to give up.

"Hey, Hitoshi," said Kyo as he placed his head on Hitoshi's chest as though he was listening to a heart beat, "I've always wanted to tell you something." Kyo closed his tear filled eyes and let the tears drop onto Hitoshi's body. He was about to say something, but he stopped cold in his tracks. His eyes widened and he grabbed Hitoshi's body and brought her chest closer to his ear.

"She's got a heartbeat… SHE'S GOT A HEARTBEAT!" exclaimed Kyo happily. Tsubasha and Shigure looked as if God blessed them. They rushed to Hitoshi's side as Kyo listened to Hitoshi's heartbeat get stronger and stronger by the second. Kyo was clasping Hitoshi's body tightly listening closer and closer to hear the beat better and he was smiling brightly all throughout this. Suddenly, a voice came into the picture that said,

" God Kyo, you pervert." Kyo released his grip from Hitoshi and looked at where the voice came from. Hitoshi's body was sitting up straight and Hitoshi's body was smiling back at Kyo with her bright green eyes as she said,

"Hey." Tsubasha and Shigure pounced onto Hitoshi hugging her tightly and covering her face (minus the lips) with kisses. Kyo just stood behind and watched Hitoshi's face gleam with happiness. After Tsubasha and Shigure stepped out of the room (to leave Hitoshi alone with Kyo ) leaving Hitoshi alone with Kyo. Kyo looked at Hitoshi who was now examining her wounds (no magic healing in this situation, another note, Kyo is sitting far away from Hitoshi) but he slowly started to go closer towards her. Eventually, he was beside Hitoshi and he managed to stammer out,

"Th, Th.. thanks, for saving the whole family, and freeing the whole family from the whole curse thing." Hitoshi looked at him and replied while smiling,

"No problem. Besides, it was my duty."

"But you didn't have to go and die like that," replied Kyo very darkly.

"Huh?" replied Hitoshi obviously not paying attention to Kyo.

"I said you didn't have to go die, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO DIE DAMNIT!" yelled Kyo looking at Hitoshi very fiercely.

"I'm back now, it's all ok. I'm not going anywhere," said Hitoshi looking at Kyo reassuringly.

"Then let me do this Hitoshi," said Kyo grabbing Hitoshi's hands. Hitoshi blushed a little but she concentrated on what Kyo was saying although her cheeks got redder and redder by the minute.

"When you helped me get over that monster, I had hurt you so much," said Kyo looking down, very ashamed of himself.

"But…" interrupted Hitoshi looking desperate and flustered. Suddenly, Kyo moved his finger towards Hitoshi's mouth to silence her,

"Let me finish, please," said Kyo as he smiled at her. Hitoshi blushed yet again and nodded.

"I had caused you so much pain and I didn't want to cause you any more by associating myself with you, so I pushed you away, but you kept on coming and you insisted and you helped me and I would like to thank you for that," said Kyo looking at Hitoshi and smiling. Hitoshi blushed and looked to the side, nodding. Kyo continued,

"But when I found out you had died, it was like my heart had been ripped out. You meant so much to me, I couldn't possibly live with it, but I didn't understand why. Then finally, it dawned on me, I was so stupid… it was because, Hitoshi, I love you," said Kyo as he moved his hand up to her cheek. Hitoshi looked utterly astonished as Kyo smiled at her.

"Sorry," said Kyo roughly as he turned the other direction removing his hand from Hitoshi's face.

"I knew I should've just shut up, sorry," said Kyo looking to the ground and blushing.

"Please don't be," said Hitoshi blushing madly and trying to comfort Kyo, "because, I love you too," said Hitoshi finishing her sentence and looking at the ground turning as red as a tomato. Kyo turned to face her blushing madly as well and questioned shyly

"Really?" Hitoshi nodded happily,

"I couldn't bear to be without you. It was so hard, and it was because I loved you, I love you so much." Hitoshi then embraced Kyo tightly. At first, Kyo was a little taken aback, but he returned the embrace holding her tightly. After they let go of each other, Hitoshi got up and said brightly,

"Well, I need to treat these wounds before I die again!" But as soon she got up, Kyo grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the ground pinning her down.

"I've been able to control myself for a long time now, but now, I don't think I'm going to be able to," said Kyo as he began kissing her forehead, and advancing downward to her lips. When he reached her lips, he gently pressed his lips onto hers, but soon, the kiss got deeper. They both embraced each other for a long time kissing deeper and deeper by the second, but suddenly both Kyo and Hitoshi stopped. They both formed sweatdrops on their heads as they turned to the corner and found Shigure and Tsubasha videotaping what their every move was. Kyo asked Shigure,

"What are you doing?" Then Shigure answered still looking through the camera lens with Tsubasha,

"We're getting more info for my next romance novel… keep it coming Kyo!" Kyo looked at Hitoshi smiling with much difficulty (btw, Hitoshi is trying hard to keep a happy face as well) and asked her,

"Shall we kill them?" Hitoshi then stopped trying to act nice and grinned menacingly at Shigure and Tsubasha and said,

"With pleasure." And with that, Kyo and Hitoshi ran towards Shigure and Tsubasha throwing anything that came to their hands at both Shigure and Tsubasha.

THE END

Author's Note

Well, well, this story is finally done. But remember, this is only the first part… I'm making a sequel! Read it if you like this story! I know I was supposed to say something else, but I don't feel like it. Mata ne :waves madly:

YukiMatsuzaka