Summery; Warning; Disclaimer: See First Chapter.
Warning: Some rougher language and scenes ahead, just so ya know.
DancinStarlight; moon-dragon91011; ultimadragoon3000: Thanks for your reviews! It was so nice...no one's reviewed anything for so long, except moon-dragon91011, who's kept my spirits alive! I hope you like it!
Well, we meet again, Luke Skywalker...oh, sorry, wrong story! Her mother appears again, we meet her brother for the first time, and I hope my "twist" isn't too cliche. I don't think it is, because I didn't see it coming until I saw it on the screen! Hope you enjoy it!
Please review if you read. Comments, helpful criticism, ideas, and suggestions are welcome. No flames..
Going to my mother's house was the last thing I expected to do – on any day, much less on Valentine's Day. Oh my – well, I won't spoil any of the gory little details for you, I suppose. Just read on, and you'll see what I mean.
any
"Hatsuharu…I don't think this is a good idea," Rayne said nervously, as he pushed her up the walk, a bag sitting on her lap. "Shouldn't we wait for Hatori or Shigure?"
"Might as well get it over with," he said shortly, but was beginning to regret his decision. It had been a spur-of-the-moment idea, and Haru wasn't so sure he could pull it off.
"I guess…" she sighed, and shrank into her chair. Haru braced himself as he rang the bell, and snuck a quick glance at Rayne. She had turned pale, and looked anything but happy.
"Oh, it's you, sis!" her younger brother, Leo, greeted her with a grin. Rayne tousled his hair – she had a fine relationship with her brother, it was her mom that was the problem.
"Hey, kid. This is Hatsuharu, a friend of mine," she explained, as she was wheeled into the house, "Is mom home?"
"No, she went out," Leo said, and Rayne frowned.
"And left you alone?" she asked, regarding her eleven year-old brother.
"I'm old enough!" he said defensively, "And she's always home by dark."
"Hrm," Rayne snorted, and then looked around. "Hey, can you help me out? I came to pick up some of my stuff. Where is it?"
"In there," Leo pointed to the closet. Haru, opening the door, found a stack of boxes.
"All of it?" Rayne asked in despair, and he nodded.
"Yep."
"Damn," Haru muttered, "It'll take forever to go through these. None of 'em are marked, and I can't carry all these."
"I don't expect you to," Rayne interrupted quickly, "Haru, why don't you go and wait for the others to come back, and then pick me up? Leo and I can go through the boxes easily enough, right kid?"
"Yeah!" he cheered, but Haru looked sullen.
"I'll be fine – Leo's a good helper," Rayne said, exchanging a stubborn glance with the Sohma. "And there's a phone, okay?"
"I guess," he nodded reluctantly, and stalked out the door.
"Okay – do you have any idea what's in what, Leo?" Rayne asked suddenly, as she propelled herself closer to the closer.
"Kinda," he shrugged, and dragged out the first box, "Yeah! This is gonna be fun!"
"Whew – I think that's all I need," Rayne heaved a sigh almost two hours later, after she and Leo had unpacked, sorted through, and repacked all the boxes. Glancing in despair at the remainder of her stuff, she groaned. "I wish I could take it all, but that's asking too much of the Sohmas…"
"Mom!" Leo called, running to the door. Her mother swept in, followed by a taller man. Rayne shifted around, and almost fainted when she saw who the man was.
"D-Dad?" she whispered, and glanced at Leo. Obviously, he had been too young when their father left to remember him at all.
"Rayne?" her mother paused for a moment, and then looked at Leo. "Leo, hun, can you go to your room for a while? I'm sure there's homework you forgot to do, isn't there?"
"Aww…can Adrian help me?" he asked, pouting. Her father had seen her by that time, and shook his head slowly.
"Sorry, you're on your own tonight," her mother shoved him gently down the hall. Still complaining, the boy rushed into his room, leaving the three others alone.
"Rayne…" her father took a step toward her, but she pushed the chair back.
"Don't come near me," she whispered, clutching her stuffed bag to her chest. "Haru, please come soon! I need someone!"
"Is this what happened to you?" he persisted, but Rayne's mother, Carla, held him back.
"You didn't do this, Aaron," she assured him, and turned on Rayne. "What are you doing in this? How did you get here?"
"I'm taking some of my stuff with me," Rayne said defensively, not taking her eyes off her father. "What is he doing here?" she demanded.
"That's none of your concern."
"None of my concern?" she repeated, raising her voice, "He's my father! The person that did this to me!" Finished, Rayne lifted her skirt slightly to reveal the many puncture scars. Her father winced, but his eyes still met hers.
"Tell me it wasn't worth it," he began, "Tell me you don't appreciate having your gifts. You like them, isn't that right?"
"No!" Rayne shook her head vigorously, close to tears. "No, I don't like them! How can you ask that, after what you did to me? Your own daughter!"
"This is unseemly," Clara began sharply, but Rayne ignored her.
"Unseemly? How could you let him do this to your child?" she persisted, her voice almost at a shriek. "That bastard mutilated me! He experimented with me, and then ran off!"
"Enough!" Aaron said darkly, and strode forward. He grasped Rayne by the wrist, and pulled her up out of the chair. The bag dropped to the floor, and she whimpered in pain, her resolve quickly fading in the face of her oldest nightmare.
"I'll let you two sort this out," Clara said calmly, and headed toward the kitchen. Rayne looked after her desperately, almost wishing she would stay.
"You little ungrateful bitch," he growled, and tossed her to the ground. "After what I did for you –"
"For yourself!" Rayne spat back, "For yourself you did it! For your own damn pride and ego!"
"Watch your mouth," he threatened her, "What do you think you're doing, speaking to me that way? And moving out!"
"I'm moving out because I hate it here," she informed him as calmly as she could, from her defenseless position on the floor, "I hate her, and I hate you. I always have – I just never realized it until someone opened my eyes to the truth."
"The truth?" he laughed, "The truth is, sweetie, is that the only thing you were good for was experimenting with! Nothing else."
Rayne paled even more at this stinging blow, but didn't say anything else.
"You're going to move back in with your mother and I, and you're going to drop this little victim act," he whispered harshly, bending down so his mouth was by her ear, "And you're going to do it now."
With the last word, he yanked her up by the shoulder, and she let out a cry of pain as he arm felt like it was on fire. She grabbed onto a small end table nearby for support, but her legs predictably collapsed underneath her, and the table came crashing down as well.
"Rayne!" Haru yelled, as he burst into the room. She couldn't respond, as her father still held her painfully by the same shoulder, and tears ran down her face.
"Get your hands off my patient," a voice said from behind Haru, and Rayne realized that it was Hatori. The tall doctor strode in, and his good eye flashed darkly at seeing the scene in front of him.
"Let her go," Shigure repeated, and held Haru's arm to keep him from attacking the man.
"She's my daughter – you have no right to tell me what to do with her," Aaron growled, and gave another tug on Rayne. Her knees pressed together for support, and she whimpered at the pain.
Hatori's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly moved forward faster than she thought a person could move. With a quick hit, Hatori landed an uppercut on Aaron's jaw. The man stumbled back, and Hatori caught Rayne as she fell.
She went limp in his arms, and the two Sohma adults exchanged a glance. Clara suddenly came in, and gasped.
"How dare you!" she began, "You have no right to break in, and assault my husband! I'll have the police on you!"
"Go ahead and try," Shigure said cheerfully, and Haru waved the cut phone line at her with an evil smirk. She backed up, her eyes focusing on her now-stirring husband.
"Mom, what's going on?" Leo called, and stopped in the archway as he saw the scene. "Haru?" he blinked, recognizing the boy, "Mom, who're these people? What happened to Rayne? And Aaron? Mom!"
"Be quiet," she said sharply, "Go back to your room – I'll explain later."
Rayne winced in her sleep, and Hatori held her closer. To his surprise, there was no transformation. Holding her tightly, he began to back up toward the door, but Aaron suddenly lunged at him.
Hatori was forced to drop Rayne to defend himself from the bulk of the older man, and fell underneath him with a slam.
"Hatori!" Haru stepped forward, but Shigure grabbed him.
"Take Rayne and get in the car," he ordered, heading toward the spot where both men were now rolling on the floor. "I'll take care of this."
Haru rushed toward the unconscious girl, and swept her up. Running out the door, he sighed in relief as he heard Shigure and Hatori's footsteps behind him moments later.
"I've never seen a fight broken up so fast. What'd you do?" he asked curiously, as he started the car. Hatori held Rayne in his lap, and Shigure grinned.
"Oh, I learned a thing or two in college," he said proudly, and swung her bag. "I managed to grab this as well." Finished, he turned around in his seat to glance at Rayne. Hatori was doing the best he could to examine her in the backseat, and was holding her right arm with a frown.
"Broken?"
"Dislocated, I think," he told them, "I can't be sure until I have more room. But she's got some blood on her head – probably was thrown out of the chair and hit her head. Might be some broken bones in her wrist where he grabbed her as well."
"Bastard," Haru muttered, and then swerved sharply to avoid the oncoming car.
"I think I better drive now," Shigure said primly, after they had caught their breath. Grumbling, Haru switched seats with Shigure, and they fell silent for the rest of the drive.
"What the hell happened?" Kyo demanded, as Hatori carried her into the house.
"Tohru, can you please get some hot water and towels for me?" Hatori asked calmly, ignoring the others, "And Ritsu – some bandages will be necessary."
"Of course!" Tohru nodded, and the two ran off.
"Hatori, what happened to your eye?" Ayame asked in shock, seeing the black eye.
"Just a punch," Shigure reassured them, "He's fine. Where are the others?"
"I sent Yuki and Momiji to pick up some dinner," Ayame told them, "I assumed it was necessary, since the stove is still broken. What happened to Rayne?"
"I'll tell you later," Hatori said sharply, carrying her upstairs. Haru slumped onto the floor, and the two remaining Sohmas looked at him curiously.
"I shouldn't have left," Haru mumbled, and Kyo rolled his eyes.
"Don't get all pity-party on us," he warned his cousin, and Haru glared back. In an instant, the two were trying to kill each other again, and Ayame sighed as they crashed through a wall into the yard.
"At least they're occupied," he murmured thoughtfully, "I almost believe Kyo did that on purpose…"
"Tohru, soak the towels in the hot water," Hatori ordered, and turned to Ritsu and Shigure. "Thank you for the bandages, Ritsu. Can you and Shigure please leave now – I'll call if I need any help."
"Of course!" Ritsu nodded, and obediently left. Shigure stayed a moment longer, but then reluctantly exited the room.
"What are you doing, Hatori?" Tohru asked, and he replied without looking up.
"I need to undress her to see what other injuries she may have," he told her, "You can get a nightgown, if you will, for when I'm finished."
Tohru nodded, and returned moments later with the gown. Haru had finished his examination, and looked grim.
"Get Shigure for me," he ordered, "I'll dress her while you're gone."
"All right," Tohru cast a fearful glance at Rayne, and then rushed down the stairs. Hatori gently dressed Rayne in the nightgown, and noticed with approval that it was sleeveless.
"Good girl, Tohru," he silently praised her, and then looked up as Shigure entered.
"Tohru said you needed me?" he asked, as Tohru left them alone. Hatori nodded silently, and lifted Rayne up slightly.
"I need you to support her from behind while I reconnect her shoulder," he informed the other adult, "She'll probably wake up when I do it."
"Sure," Shigure nodded, and sat down behind Rayne on the bed. He sat so his legs went to the side, and her back was against his chest. Shigure held her firmly by the waist and collarbone, and noticed the limply-hanging arm. "Is it bad?"
"Simply dislocated – easily fixed," Hatori answered shortly, and gritted his teeth as he grasped her just above the shoulder with one hand, and just below with the other.
With a swift twist, Hatori pushed the bones back together, and Rayne woke with a shriek from the sudden pain.
"Calm down…it's just Hatori," Shigure said soothingly, "Nothing to be frightened of…it's done now."
"What was that?" Yuki blinked, and the group looked at the ceiling as they heard the shriek.
"I think Hatori reconnected her arm," Ritsu offered, and Tohru nodded.
"Damn it…" Haru muttered, clenching his fist.
"Just as I suspected, the bones in your left wrist were broken," Hatori told Rayne, as she leaned against Shigure, who held her comfortingly.
"I know," she said quietly, and avoided his gaze.
"It's not your fault," Hatori told her suddenly, leaving her wrist for the moment and turning his attention to the blow to her head, "You couldn't have done anything to stop him, and it wasn't foolish for going to the house. Rash, yes, but not foolish. You had no way of knowing that he was back."
Rayne remained silent as Hatori bent her head forward to clean the wound with one of the towels Tohru had brought up, and Shigure sighed.
"She'll call the police eventually," Shigure said, as Hatori sat back, satisfied that the wound wasn't in need of further examination besides a bandage.
"I know," he said shortly, "But they won't have anything on us. We were acting in her best interest, and one look at her will convince them."
"They can claim we did it," Shigure pointed out.
"Her brother," Hatori replied, "He saw. Rayne, would he take your side in this?"
"I…I don't know," she shook her head, and then winced, "Maybe? But I don't know."
"Hm," Hatori's face remained grim as he lifted up her limp wrist gently, and began to wrap a bandage around it. "The break isn't serious enough for a cast," he explained, "Just a tight bandage to keep it in place to heal, and no movement for a while, and it'll be fine again."
"Thank you," she said suddenly, looking down at her lap, "There's no reason for you to have done this – to risk the law and injuries for me."
"Nonsense," Shigure shook his head firmly, his expression growing serious, "You're like family now, Rayne. None of us are going to let anything happen to you."
Rayne waited in silence until Hatori was done bandaging her wrist, and then suddenly threw herself into his arms. As she buried her face into his chest, he heard a faint "thank you", and attempted to regain his composure as Shigure quickly received the same tight embrace.
"Take this with some water, and I'll send some food up for you later," Hatori told her, handing her a pill and a glass. "This will help you sleep – without dreams," he added, seeing her face, "Don't worry."
Shigure climbed off the mattress, and helped Rayne settle herself before following Hatori out of the room.
"It's imperative we find out two things quickly," Hatori said under his breath, stopping Shigure in the hallway.
"What?" he asked, in the same tone.
"Why she was in the woods that day – and why we were just able to touch her without transforming," Hatori told him grimly.
Did anyone see that coming? If so, I wish they had warned me. While I was passed out, thanks to Hatori's meds, he and Shigure got right to work on figuring out what was going on with me. I would have helped – but I didn't know either. I guess it's up to my parents on what happens legally. I'm not looking forward to that, either.
This is still HaruXOC, don't worry! I just love Hatori and Shigure...I had to put 'em in there somewhere! Please review!