DISCLAIMER: Much as I hate to admit it, I DUN OWN FRUITS BASKET. But Aimi is my own creation, so HAH. XD

Chapter 2:

Kyo came sprinting back with a wet washcloth. Hatori seized it and used it to apply pressure to the wound, while the cat crouched down, panting.

"Take her to the clinic." Shigure offered.

"The clinic's closed, remember? Because of this ridiculous little get together." Kyo spat.

Aimi was so pale she looked almost dead. Yuffie and Tatsuki had finally caught up with the group and were staring at Aimi with silent tears rolling down their cheeks. "Shigure, get Aya and find Akito before she can hurt anyone else. I'm taking her to the emergency room." Hatori declared, lifting the half-conscious girl into his arms and standing up.

Shigure frowned, "Why do we need Aya-"

"Because she has a knife." Hatori said flatly. Shigure didn't argue and sprinted back towards the party. Hatori started to walk in the direction of his car and motioned for Kyo to follow. He handed Aimi to Kyo, "Sit in the back seat with her and make sure you keep applying pressure to her wound. Tell me if she starts getting worse." He said, though quite frankly, he couldn't see how she could get any worse. Hatori helped Kyo get into the backseat and then buckled his own seatbelt. He put the keys in the ignition and sped off in the direction of the nearest hospital.

-------------------

Hours later, after he had driven Kyo back home, Hatori stood pacing the waiting room. Relief washed over his face when a doctor finally came out to see him.

"How is she?" Hatori asked quietly.

"We stopped the bleeding and gave her some pain medication. She'll be out in a few minutes, she's getting her stitches right now. It'll heal, but there's gonna be a pretty nasty scar..what happened to her, anyway?" the Doctor said, looking suspiciously at the dragon.

"She uh, fell on a knife. In the kitchen. She was cooking." Hatori said off the top of his head. The doctor studied Hatori for a moment before speaking.

"You look familiar...Dr. Sohma, right? I've heard great things about you..I'm Dr. Motomori." He shook Hatori's hand, "I'm placing Aimi in your care. She lives alone, but she needs someone to care for her. I trust you are up to the challenge?" Hatori nodded. "Be sure to change her twice daily and call us if profuse bleeding occurs." Dr. Motomori turned and left the room without another word.

Hatori let out sigh of relief and sat down in a chair, soaking in the silence of the room. He nearly jumped out of his chair when his cell phone rang. It was Shigure.

"We found her." Shigure began without waiting for any confirmation that Hatori had picked up. Hatori let out another relieved sigh.

"Were is she?"

"We found her out by your fountain after everybody had run out. She uh...killed a couple of your fish, sorry." Shigure snorted on the other line. Hatori rolled his eyes.

"Shigure, where is she now? Is she okay?" Hatori was starting to get nervous again.

"Oh, she's fine. We managed to get her locked in her room, but we couldn't manage much more than that. She nearly gutted Aya. She's in her room breaking things right now. Expensive things." Shigure said in a pouty sort of voice, "How's Aimi?"

"She'll live. They're stitching her up right now." Hatori almost smiled, "You'll have your little girlfriend back soon enough."

"Oh, good." There was a particularly loud crash on the other line. "Ha-san, I have to go. I think Akito just broke a mirror." And he hung up. Hatori smiled to himself. Shigure always found a way to make the most stressful times just a little less awful.

At that moment, the recovery room door swung open and a black-haired nurse wheeled Aimi out into the waiting room. Hatori immediately stood. "Why is she in a wheelchair..?"

The nurse cocked an eyebrow. "She lost a lot of blood, sir. I don't think she's up to walking at present. She should be up and about in a day or two..just make sure she gets plenty of rest."

Hatori nodded silently. Aimi still looked deathly pale, and only vaguely aware of her surroundings. But at least she's not spouting blood anymore, the doctor thought to himself.

After checking her out of the hospital, Hatori helped Aimi to the car, which was a difficult task, considering she was only half awake and he was trying to hold onto an armful of prescriptions at the same time. Once Aimi was situated in the passenger seat, Hatori drove out of the parking lot. Aimi fell asleep on the drive home.

----------------------------

Hatori laid the sleeping girl on his couch while he pondered where she would stay for the night. He didn't have a guest room, and she would definitely be there a few days...the wound wouldn't have been that bad if it weren't for the fact that it was right over her heart. The dragon sighed as he headed up the stairs to get the spare sleeping mat out of the attic. After much tugging, the thin mattress was free from the clutter of his attic, and in a few minutes he had it in the middle of his living room floor, complete with blankets and a pillow. He transferred Aimi to the bed and covered her up. She moaned in pain and scrunched her eyes tightly shut. Seeing her like that tore at the dragon's heartstrings.

"It's okay, go to sleep Aimi." Hatori whispered, patting her forehead and smoothing her hair across the pillow. Her expression softened and she relaxed. She's out like a light, Hatori thought. Then again, she'd been stabbed, stitched and drugged all in the space of about four hours. And she's seen Shigure dance. That was enough to put anyone out of commission for a few days. He smiled to himself.

The more he looked at her sleeping form, the more he was reminded of Kana. Aimi looked just like her..but with slightly longer hair. Her eyes were different too, but that didn't matter. There was just something about her..the dragon blinked back the tears that had formed in his eyes, and went into the kitchen, shutting the doors behind him.

Hatori decided to see exactly what drugs Dr. Motomori had prescribed for Aimi, taking them out of the bag one by one. Some painkillers, iron for her blood (or lack there of), ointment for the wound, and a small supply of bandages and medical tape. He put it all back in the bag, and walked over to the answering machine, and pressed the flashing button. It was Ayame.

CRASH.

"Ha-san! I uh..we've got it all under control here...(boom)..Ah, never mind. Shigure wants to talk to you."

"I can't talk long..just wanted to let you know that Tohru offered to take care of Aimi tomorrow while you make your rounds. You leave at about noon, right? She'll be over then. I'm sure her (smash) home cooking will do Aimi lots of good. (crash). I've got to go, I don't think Akito plans on sleeping tonight. Sayonara!" The dog hung up the phone with a click.

Just the sound of Akito's name made Hatori frown in anger. He wasn't looking forward to dealing with her tomorrow. The doctor sighed and went up the stairs to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. No wonder he'd gotten some suspicious looks from the people in the hospital. He was covered in blood and his shirt was ripped at the bottom. He disrobed and stepped into the shower, letting the warm water soothe his aching muscles. Waiting room chairs were not the most comfortable things to sit in for hours at a time. Hatori dried his hair and changed into his nightshirt. Before getting into bed, he made sure his door was open, so he could hear if Aimi needed anything in the night. At long last, the dragon laid down on his mattress and closed his tired eyes, letting sleep and dreams of Kana consume him.

--------------------------------------

A/N: Poor tired Hatori. Hehe.. I don't really have much to say..I hope you enjoyed this chapter. yawns I think I need to rest my tired eyes. Don't forget to review!

-Claire