Chapter 1 (There's No Comfort In The Waiting Room)
Kita twirled her long, violet hair between her fingers as she yawned for the one-hundredth time today. It was a nervous habit she had developed when she couldn't find anything else to do with her hands. She didn't have any actual vices so this was a lot better but she didn't even like having this habit because she thought it made her look like an airhead. Nonetheless, she couldn't control it.
The sterile smell in the air made her stomach churn, threatening her to have a basket handy in case it decided to turn on her completely. She wondered if the cafeteria downstairs was open but came to the conclusion that it didn't matter. If she were to eat something, she would probably involuntarily vomit it up anyway.
She crossed her ankles and heard her car keys collide with the metal on her studded belt. That was the first sound she had heard in what felt like hours. Whether this was because it was a particularly slow day at the hospital or because she couldn't think clearly enough to process sound, she did not know.
The room contained no other occupants and was very plainly decorated. There were two couches and two chairs made of the same scratchy, cheap fabric randomly scattered around a coffee table adorned with magazines that catered to very specific interests, none of which appealed to Kita. In the corner there was a tall, dreary-looking plant of some sort that had many rusty brown colored leaves. Its stem had a sickly lean and it looked as if it desperately needed water. It looked as bad as Kita felt.
In order to distract herself, she picked up the empty plastic cup a nurse had given her, saying that she needed to at least stay hydrated even if she was too fidgety to eat, and walked down the hall to the water fountain.
Physicians of all sorts walked past her pushing complex-looking equipment. They all smiled amiably at her as they wheeled by. None seemed to be in too much of a hurry. What kind of hospital is this? Shouldn't the patients be receiving care, stat?
Kita pushed the button on the fountain, allowing her cup to be filled to the brim and then walked back to the waiting room. She approached the drooping miniature tree and poured a steady stream of water into its base until her cup was empty again. She didn't need a drink anyway.
"Excuse me, Miss Sohma?" said a raspy, female voice behind her.
Kita turned around fearfully.
"Yes?"
The nurse had short black hair intertwined with strands of gray. She was holding a clipboard and a morose expression that spelled distress. There was something motherly about her appearance that worried Kita. She must be the bad news lady.
"I'm your father's nurse and I have something important to tell you. You might want to take a seat."
Take a seat. Those were infamous last words if she's ever heard them. Kita lowered herself into her chair trying to brace herself for whatever news this woman had to drop on her, even though she somehow already knew what was up.
"H-how is he?" she asked weakly, looking into the nurse's warm, amber eyes.
The nurse sighed and put her hand on Kita's leg. She really wanted to slap her hand away. She didn't like sympathy from strangers, in spite of how sincere this woman looked.
"He's dead, dear."
Kita looked away from the nurse and focused her gaze on the blank, white wall in front of her. How could he die? He's only forty-nine years old. That's still young. Her father: her rock, her protector, her savior. He was all she had left after her mom passed away twelve years ago and now he was gone too.
She felt the tears start to form behind her closed lids. She bit her lip and refused to open her eyes. She didn't want to cry with the nurse still in the room.
"Are you okay?" she asked Kita, with pity.
Of course, she wasn't okay. She has just been informed that her father is dead.
Instead of snapping at the kind woman, Kita nodded.
"I'll live." she said almost incredulously.
"Well, I just want you to know that you probably shouldn't spend tonight alone. I'm not sure if you have a roommate or something but you should probably go somewhere safe tonight. You drove here on your own?"
"Yes. I did." she replied, fingering the keys on her belt loop. Apparently, this nurse thought she was older than she actually was. She was only seventeen, eighteen in a little more than a month, and she had nowhere to go. She lived with her father and she knew going back home would not be a good idea. It would only make things harder. She didn't have any living grandparents or any aunts and uncles. The only family she really had now were the other Sohmas and they were pretty distant relatives at that.
After her mom died, Kita stopped going to New Year's and all the other family gatherings. An invitation was never officially extended to her personally so she figured that she was in exile like her father by default. She still saw the other Sohmas, just very infrequently. Some of them even attended her school, but they weren't in her class.
"Will you be okay for tonight?" The nurse asked.
"Yes. I will be fine." Kita answered, knowing fully well that was a boldfaced lie. "Could you give me some time alone?"
"Sure, dear."
Kita watched the nurse's squeaky white shoes exit the room and then rested her head in her hands, allowing the tears to flow freely. It's been so long since she last cried.
What was she going to do? She needed a residence for two months at least or else the school would get suspicious. She only needed a place and guardian for two months, then she would graduate, get an apartment, and attend a university. Orphans get discounts, right?
"I'm an orphan." she said to herself, trying to wrap her mind around it.
The tears were so abundant, Kita's eyes started to burn. Where could she go? What would happen to her father's house and possessions? Who would have custody of her? She only needed someone to sign permission slips and such for the next two months. Was that too much to ask? After losing her father, that should be nothing.
"Kita?"
A deep male voice startled Kita, as she slowly lifted her head and looked towards the doorway. Much to her surprise, Hatori was standing before her holding a large box in one arm and his jacket in the other.
"Hello Hatori. What are you doing here?" said Kita. Her voice sounded weepy and quiet; nothing like her usual tone around people she knew which was welcoming and entertained.
"I was just about to ask you the same thing. I came by here because some of my supplies were shipped to this hospital by accident. I saw on the patient board that there was a Sohma here and I wanted to see who. How is Jiro?"
Kita wiped a few tears from her eyes, thankful her nose wasn't running also.
"Dead." she answered solemnly.
"I'm sorry." Hatori said. Kita marveled at the fact that his voice remained monotonous and professional even after hearing such news.
She bit her lips again to subdue the new tears forming.
"I'm alone. I'm parentless and guardianless and I don't even think I'm allowed to go home tonight so I'm homeless also. The only family I have left are the other Sohmas who are so distant, it's like we aren't even in the same family." Kita said, not totally sure if she was talking to Hatori or sorting out her thoughts out-loud.
Hatori was silent for a moment, allowing Kita to cry a few more tears. Once she calmed down again, he spoke.
"Kita, I think you should come home with me tonight. Then tomorrow, I will help you sort out this whole ordeal and find you a suitable place to live." he said, unchanging voice, unchanging position. What other option did she have?
Kita stared at Hatori like a deer in headlights, baffled by his generosity. This was what she was asking for, a place to stay and someone to help her.
"Thank you, Hari." she said. She had always thought he wasn't as cold as he appeared.
"Would you like to leave now?" he asked, thinking a change of atmosphere would make her feel better.
Kita resisted the urge to jump from her seat and say, 'yes, please, get me out of here.'
"I would but I think I may have some papers or something to deal with here. I'll check with the nurse and drive there myself. I brought my own car." she said, holding up the keys.
Hatori gave her a confused look. She's seventeen so she must be driving without a license. He figured it was best to just ignore that fact.
"I will see you later then. Good-bye."
She watched him walk away before going to find her father's nurse.
Once again, Kita thought, Hatori has managed to save me.