Disclaimer: I do not own anything Furuba, besides the DVDs and all the manga currently released… but I did not create them. So I can't do much to them outside of my fanfics ;.;

Kyo- THANK GOD FOR THAT!

TT I hate you so much right now…

Last time:

Akito smirked and turned from the innocent girl, walking to the nurses at the front desk. He made sure to put on his most convincing face as he looked to the nurse. "Hello…" He drawled out suavely. "I'm here about Honda Tohru-san…"

"Ah, are you part of the family?" The nurse asked, tilting her head.

"Yes, I am the head of the family," Akito replied easily; the nurse had not specified which family he was the head of. "We have all discussed… and decided that it is time to let go…"

Now:

The head of the Sohma family stared down at the high school girl, a smirk growing upon his face. "You will not have them questioning my authority any longer," He whispered to her, awaiting the nurse's arrival. Once she came in, Akito did not turn to look at her, and instead continued to glare to the onigiri.

"Isn't anyone else from the family coming to see her?" She asked sweetly, looking to Akito. "Or are you the only one since it's so late?" Akito's eyes darted to the clock and he smirked once more… an excuse… perfect.

"All of the others are at home in their beds… I doubt they'd want to see this anyways. Of course I was so close to Tohru, I couldn't go without seeing her one last time…" Akito pitied the nurse for not understanding the truth… wait… no, he really didn't. The woman would probably get fired. He turned back to look at Tohru Honda. "Goodbye, Tohru," He whispered, his voice projecting a sad tone. The nurse sighed out in pity for him. "I just can't watch you pull it…please, excuse me," He then hurried out of the room, his hand over his mouth as if he were going to cry. Hah… as if Akito would ever cry for another human being.

A half an hour or so earlier, a call awoke Shigure, causing him to shoot out of bed. He groggily crawled out of his room and into the hall, picking up the phone. "Hello?" He croaked out.

"Shigure…"

"Hatori!" Shigure exclaimed, hopping up and putting on a suave voice, "Did you miss me, dear Hatori?"

"This is no time to joke, Shigure," Hatori interrupted, "Akito has gone missing, and I just received a voice mail from the hospital. It's Tohru."

Shigure stopped and listened to Hatori speak, coming to full awareness as he heard Akito and Tohru's names together in such a tone. "Hatori, what's going on?" Shigure asked slowly then, staring to Kyo and Yuki as they both blearily exited their rooms, probably about to yell at him for being so loud.

Hatori hesitated for a moment, not sure whether to tell them or … well, he had to… "The nurse said Akito is there… and he told her to pull the plug…"

The dog's jaw dropped and he stuttered for a moment. "They're pulling Tohru's plug?" Now the other two zodiac members stiffened, staring at their elder in complete shock. "Yes…" He nodded as Hatori continued to speak, "Yes, we'll meet you there…" Shigure then hung up the phone and looked to Kyo and Yuki. "Get changed, we're going to the hospital." And for once, the two didn't fight about it…

The road was not safe for anyone that night; Hatori was driving like a bat out of hell, passing everyone, going through red lights… hell, he almost ran over two dogs… although that could just have been him picturing them as Shigure.

'Why did this all have to happen?' He asked himself angrily, 'I was trying to protect her… and still, for some reason, God finds it hilarious to make me lose her completely anyways. Damn it!' He turned the wheel sharply then, pulling into the parking lot of the hospital. He didn't bother to check if his car was parked correctly before he just grabbed his keys and ran inside. He pushed past the nurses quickly, ignoring their questions of whom or what he was looking for and needed (and one who had the audacity to ask if he was seeing anyone). Damn, with his luck, he knew that he would be too late… would he be able to take seeing the corpse of the small girl? ... No, no, no! She couldn't die! God had already taken so much from him!

"I won't let you take her…" He muttered to himself as he sprinted down the hall. "I won't let you take her just like you took Kana… I won't!" With that final declaration, he stumbled into the door of her room… only to find the nurse's hand tugging upon the plug. "NO!" He cried out, reaching his arm out towards her… but it was too late. The plug had been pulled… and the signal went flat, a loud, long beep filling the room. "Toh…ru…" He muttered out weakly. The soul seemingly drained from his eyes as he trudged over to the side of her bed. "Tohru," He whispered again, "Oh god, you can't be dead…" The doctor felt his knees weaken, and despite his best efforts, he fell to them, feeble from the sudden huge weight of emotion falling upon him. He could just barely feel tears pouring down his cheeks, not a wet spot upon them.

His hand reached up, wiping at his eyes, the hot, salty liquid falling over his digits. "-to…ri…" He could barely register the sounds, but he felt his ear twitch lightly at it. "Hatori…" It was so quiet… what was it? Was he imagining things? "Hato...ri…san…" The dragon moved to look then, at the seemingly dead girl… and a gasp escaped his parted lips.

"Tohru!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms around the young girl, who's eyes were now wide open. He did not care for the consequence… he was so happy that she was alive. He dimly heard the pop sounding throughout the room as he changed… but Tohru's hands caught him steadily, and quickly dipped him into a glass of water that sat beside her bed.

"Hatori… you have to be careful," She said quietly, her voice weak. She hadn't used it for such a long time... and it truly showed. Her tone of voice held a croak in it, and when she spoke, she almost felt as if she were going to pass out. She stared at the doctor as he floated within the water. Tohru was too weak to be surprised… even when he popped back, right out of the glass and unclothed. She just handed him his clothes and turned away. "Why are you here, Hatori-san?"

"We were all so worried, Tohru…" Hatori whispered as he finished dressing. He slowly put his hand upon her shoulder. "You almost died… they… they pulled your cord. I thought you were dead…" Tohru's eyes widened considerably at what he said… and she turned to stare up at him. "Thank god, you're alive…"

"You worried about me, Hatori-san?" She asked softly.

"Of course I did, Tohru-kun… I'm sorry that I acted … so poorly to you. I'm so sorry… I just didn't want the past to repeat itself. Do you understand? Could you forgive me, Tohru? Would you ever forgive me?"

"Oh… Hatori-san," she whispered softly. A soft smile came upon her dry lips, cracked lips and she closed her eyes lightly. "I forgive you… of course I forgive you. I … I truly meant it when I said I love you."

Hatori stared at her then, his mind practically blank from joy that she would forgive him. And then what she said sank in… and he smiled softly. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, ever so lightly, then leaned his own forehead against hers. "I care for you," He replied carefully then, determined not to raise her hopes too much. If anything was to happen, he wanted to take it slow, and he wanted to make sure that she knew what may happen with Akito. His hand ran back through her hair as he closed his eyes. "But for now, I want you to focus on regaining your strength…"

Tohru smiled softly and nodded. "All right, Hatori-san…" She whispered.

"I'll tell you what," his voice softly sounded within her ears, "When we're together and not around Akito… just call me Hatori…" Tohru blushed softly and blinked, then smiled more widely, feeling happiness overcome her being.

"All right… Hatori," She whispered out, the joy evident in her voice. The doctor leaned down then and kissed her forehead lightly before pulling back.

"WHERE IS SHE?" The voice that rang down the hall was loud and familiar, and Hatori couldn't help but groan out and shake his head. That damned Kyo; he was disturbing all of the other patients…

Yuki walked in only a moment later, a sigh escaping his lips, his eyes closed. "That stupid cat," He muttered out.

Tohru bit her lip and smiled lightly. "Yuki, you shouldn't call Kyo stupid," She instructed softly.

"Yes, yes, Ms. Honda, I'll make sure to be more accept…" Yuki stopped speaking then, and his eyes flew open, directing his surprised and happy stare to the young girl. "Tohru!" He cried out, seeing her awake and seemingly well. "Oh god, Tohru, we were told that you… that you died." The rat moved towards her quickly and leaned down, placing his hands on her shoulders, looking directly into her eyes. "I'm so happy you're okay."

"Well… truthfully, I think I did die for a little while," She whispered lightly, biting her lip. "I think… well… my mother…" She muttered softly, a blush coming to her cheeks. She worried that she was rambling without cause. Luckily she was saved as Kyo and Shigure stormed into the room, Kyo looking around the room wildly before his eyes landed on Tohru.

"You're… you're all right?" He asked softly.

Before Kyo could continue on, Shigure pushed in front of him and pranced over to her bedside, doing a little dance. "Ah, our little flower is okay!" He cried out in joy as he twirled in place. "Tres bien!" Tohru laughed weakly and leaned back into the pillows, staring around at the people who had come for her… her family.

"All right, all right," Hatori spoke up then, "Everyone out… she only just woke up, and now she needs her strength to get better. Let's give Tohru time to rest. I'll tell the nurse what's going on…" He smiled to Tohru prior to giving a short nod and turning to walk out of the room.

"But why do we have to leave? We just freaking got here!" Kyo grunted out, crossing her arms across the chest. "I don't want to go."

"Stop being a baby," Yuki ordered, and then turned to Tohru. "Tohru… we'll come to visit you tomorrow and we'll find out when you can come back home, all right? Stay strong."

"I promise I'll be fine," Tohru insisted, both to Kyo and to Yuki. Her gaze moved to Shigure then, "Thank you for coming… I will see you all tomorrow." The men then left her room, and she gave a soft smile in attempt to put them at ease. "And now, to sleep," She whispered, laying back down and curling up on her side. She was cold; the hospital kept most of their rooms surprisingly chilly, though she didn't know why. Still, despite the cold air circulating throughout her room, Tohru soon drifted off to sleep, nestled under the covers.

The next day was filled with tests; CAT scans, physicals, and some physical therapy. Tohru didn't mind though, really; it wasn't that hard, and the sooner she got all of this done, the sooner she could go home. The examinations did not end until late that night, around ten, and the young girl found herself falling asleep as Hatori came to pick her up. She could barely feel it when he put her into the passenger seat of the car and started it up, heading back home. Her eyes closed after a few moments, and soon after, she fell to sleep.

Hatori stared over to Tohru, a small, relieved smile on his lips. "You'll be okay," He whispered softly, reaching one hand over and running it through her hair.

When Tohru woke up, she felt out of sorts. Her eyes opened and closed a few times, trying to adjust to being awake. She reached up and rubbed them softly, yawning. "Ah…" She muttered out, finally looking around. Her expression became confused as she saw where she was. They were parked in front of Hatori's complex within the main house.

There we go! Another chapter FINALLY done. Argh... Wow, this holiday rush is really stressing me out, but I've been in a great mood lately since I've gotten to talk to my best friend from my hometown, Toki. She found her new cell phone, gave me the number, and now I'm going to call just about every day. WOOT! HUZZAH FOR PHONEBILLS!

Anyways, I hope you liked it. PLEASE, PLEASE comment! More comments make me make chapters faster . I may even put in some goodness, hehe. Well, see you later

Yuki