Records of Time
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Stressed
Within the walls of this estate, time itself resided. It was here where everything began, and where everything was thought to have ended. Hatori sighed as he gazed that books upon the shelf. It was here where the Sohma history rested and would remain. There was nothing, but records of the curse that was sent upon their family. Hatori reached out and ran his fingers along the cracked leather of the book. He grasped the book and pulled it out from among the others. It was something that drove him to know the truth. Maybe it had to do with Akito's dying whisper.
"She knows; she will always carry our burden."
Hatori frowned as he glared at the book. The curse was supposed to be a myth of the family. It was a truth that he had always known, but he didn't know why it felt so false. Akito had lain on her deathbed and smiled up at the ceiling as her body weakened. She whispered a tale of a young girl that strived to save the family. Hatori thought she was disillusioned by her approaching death, but the dying woman had told him she was real. Akito had then told him to search for her. Hatori had promised knowing that this fabled girl was not real.
Yet, he continued to search for the fabled girl with no name. He blamed his search on the memory that was missing. Since that day, he had woken up with no clue to what was going on. No one ever talked about the day that was lost. Hatori often wondered if that day even existed. He had woken up in his office and all his files were scattered. It was the first time he had woken up to a mess and in his office. The surprise was that he couldn't remember what happened the day before. He remembered his family, his loss of Kanna.
Hatori pulled the book off the shelf and wiped the dust from its cover. He opened it with a determined glare. Hatori had forgotten why him and Kanna had broken up. Every time he walked through his memories, there was always a blank spot. The blank spot appeared often enough and gave him a migraine. Hatori began his reading of the family curse. His eyes widened as he flipped through the history of his family.
'Why can't I remember this?' Hatori questioned.
Each page revealed something about their family that he couldn't remember. He flipped the next page and an aged photo fell from page. It floated to the ground and landed upside down. Hatori kneeled and his fingers hesitated above the photo. It was turning yellow and brown from the years. He carefully picked it up and dropped it back to the ground. Hatori backed away from the photo and leaned against the wall. He stared down at the photo and ran his hand through his hair. This was something that he had to tell the family.
Tohru nervously knocked on the door to the main manor. Kureno had already let her in through the gate. The door creaked open and Tohru hid her happy smile. Kureno stared down at her and she bowed to him.
"I'm Honda Tohru and I'm here to see Sohma Hatori," Tohru quickly said.
"It's nice to meet, Hatori is in the library," Kureno said.
"May I ask your name?" Tohru questioned.
His red-copper eyes turned to her and she offered another smile. It had been awhile since she had been around Kureno, more like years. Akito had never allowed him out of main house. The poor man knew almost next to nothing about the real world. He brushed his short red hair out of his eyes and smiled.
"You may call me Kureno," Kureno simply said. His hair and eye color reminded her of his zodiac animal, the spirit that he used to carry. The reddish colors were exact in her opinion.
"It's nice to meet you too Kureno-san," Tohru replied. His face blanked before he chuckled.
"There's no need for formalities…I'm not that important," Kureno softly said.
"You're important…everyone in the world is important," Tohru firmly said.
"Eh?" Kureno mumbled.
"Everyone in the world is important because each person has a purpose no matter good or bad," Tohru explained.
"Then my purpose of guiding you to the library is almost over," Kureno sighed.
"You have a better purpose then just guiding me," Tohru assured.
Tohru ran a hand through her hair and her ribbon fell out. Her eyes widened and they both bent down to pick it up. Their heads hit and both grabbed their heads and muttered 'ow'. Hatori stepped out of the library and softly smiled as he watched the scene.
"I'm so sorry Kureno-san!" Tohru apologized.
"No, it was my fault," Kureno stated.
"I should have watched out," Tohru simply said with a sorry look. Kureno waived his hands in front of him as he began to worry.
"No, no, no, it was entirely my fault and I apologize," Kureno worriedly said with a smile.
"Then I apologize just as much," Tohru firmly said.
"Honda-san," Hatori interrupted.
"Hello Hatori-san," Tohru greeted as she bowed to him.
"My purpose is over," Kureno sighed as he nodded his head and left down the hall.
Tohru watched as he disappeared down the long hallway. She then turned her attention to Hatori. He wore a brown vest with a white dress shirt underneath it. He still had the same colored blue tie on with brown slacks. Hatori turned around and walked back into the library. Tohru raised an eyebrow at this but followed him. He took a seat at a small table. Tohru noticed another seat and a book in front of him. His elbows rested on the table as he had his hands crossed in front of him. His green eye gazed at her as she sat down. Tohru could see out the window behind him and the sun was setting. The fading light still provided enough light in the library.
"What do you have to talk to me about?" Tohru calmly questioned.
"The character you auditioned for is in our family books," Hatori calmly said. Tohru raised an eyebrow and figured she better play dumb.
"Really? I thought she was only fictional." Tohru questioned with a look of confusion.
"She was real in our family line," Hatori carefully responded.
"What a coincidence," Tohru sighed hoping to end it there.
"Did you have trouble finding the main house?" Hatori questioned as he opened the book.
"Not much," Tohru carefully said.
"I know…it's easy to find familiar places," Hatori sighed as he flipped a page.
"I know," Tohru whispered as he smirked in a bit of triumph.
Hatori turned the book around and showed her a picture of a family member. Her eyes widened in shock as she noticed the same Juzu bracelet in the picture. Tohru pulled her wrist away from the picture and made sure to push her bracelet fully under her sleeve.
"That was the so called cat of the family," Hatori responded.
Tohru nervously looked from the Hatori and then back to the picture. The man looked a bit like Kazuma. Hatori flipped a few pages back where an old picture of a painting was. Tohru reached out and ran her fingers along the picture. The woman in it was beautiful. Her long brown hair was pulled up in a bun that still had hair flowing down to her lower back. The woman was gazing up at the moon and her purple kimono flowed in the imaginary wind. Tohru then noticed her jade colored eyes.
"Who is she?" Tohru softly questioned.
"That is Sohma Yuriko," Hatori answered.
"She's beautiful," Tohru whispered in awe.
Hatori nodded in agreement and his eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the bracelet on Tohru's wrist. Tohru reached to the top of the book to pull it closer. Hatori's hand snapped out and grabbed the wrist with the bracelet. Her eyes darted to the bracelet and then to him. He reached out with his other hand and flipped to the end of the book. Tohru followed his gaze to the book and she felt the tears well up. A younger picture of Kyou resided in the photo with the bracelet showing. Below him, there was a fading picture of the cat's true form.
"All this time I believed that Akito was disillusioned on her deathbed," Hatori whispered.
"I don't understand," Tohru whispered.
"She always talked about a girl that saved the family, a girl we forgot," Hatori explained as his fingers wrapped around the bracelet.
"I still don't understand," Tohru kept playing innocent.
"I only need to see one thing to know that you are the one Akito spoke of," Hatori whispered as he tugged at the bracelet.
"No!" Tohru pleaded as she grasped the bracelet.
"I know you are her," Hatori firmly whispered.
"I am nothing!" Tohru growled as she clawed his hand.
"You must be the reason my mind is missing time," Hatori stated as he pulled the bracelet.
"I can show you that I'm the girl! Just please…" Tohru began to cry as he ceased pulling the bracelet. "Don't take it off."
"How?" Hatori whispered.
"Don't take it off…just leave it," Tohru cried as she turned her gaze to him.
Hatori released his grip on the bracelet as he gazed into her eyes. They were watery from her tears, but they were filled with fear and pain. Tohru stood up quickly crossed the distance between them. His eyes widened as she embraced him.
Poof
Smoke erupted in the room and he coughed. The smoke cleared and he took a step back. Her clothes were in a pile on the floor, but he didn't see anything stage. He kneeled to the ground with slow movements. He pulled away her shirt and watched as a brown seahorse tumbled onto her skirt. Hatori's pupils were wide as he gazed at the small animal. He heard a dry whisper for water. He scooped up the small aquatic creature and ran for the bathroom. Hatori plugged the sink and ran the water. Tohru took a deep breath and sighed in relief.
"I'll…go get your clothes," Hatori responded as he left the bathroom.
Hatori stepped inside the library and stared at her clothes on the ground. The Juzu beads were lying in the pile of clothing. This proved that there was a curse, but he wondered why it was on her. He picked up the beads and sighed. If she was the year of the dragon, then where were the other zodiac and why did she wear the bracelet? This was only leaving him more confused. It was definitely time to call Shigure.
Author's Note:
My update might be a little slower because I have finals coming up for college and I have to work a lot. I don't think it will take more then a month to update, but incase it takes a month here is a warning. It sucks, because as I was reading this I got a hit by an idea of inspiration (and my brother's football…)