Three

A lovely breeze picked up in the warmth of the day, twirling about stranded leaves that once laid lifeless on the paved ground. Tooru's long, brown locks treaded with the strong gusts of wind merrily, as it flittered and spinned about as though dancing to an unwonted song. Ah, she loved this feeling.

Sighing, she tilted her head to the left as she watched a few children running about the park, chasing each other. Smiling dreamily to herself, she thought of how nice it would have been if she had a few friends during her short-lived childhood. It would have been so exciting if she had someone to play games with, run with, and laugh with.

"Ah, there you are!"

Tooru looked up, squinting as the sun's rays stung her sensitive eyes. It was Mrs. Souma. Although she had not seen her, she knew it was her for she recognized that kind yet teasing voice of hers. So opposite from her son's...

"Mrs. Souma! I'm sorry for any inconvience that I may have caused you!" Tooru stood up, bowing to the plump woman standing before her.

"Oh, I have plenty of timeon my hands, Ms. Honda," the older woman laughed, guestering for her to return to her seat. "Now, let's get straight to the point. What is it you wish to speak with me?"

Tooru's mouth went dry and she became suddenly nervous. She had practiced for hours in front of the mirror of what she had wanted to say to this dear lady that she had grown to like. Yet, she had to do what she had to do. Nodding in conviction, she faced the woman who was looking rather curiously at her.

"I-It's about your son," Tooru stammered dryly as she tried to swallow the large lump at her throat.

"Don't tell me he's done something vicious to you!" Mrs. Hatori cried out in horror, her eyes wide with shock.

"No, no! It's nothing like that," Tooru replied quickly. "I-It's er...very difficult for me to say this...I don't even know how to put this into words, actually. I mean, you'll probably hate me after I say this and I know I deserve it but, I really don't want you to hate me because it will be awful but, then I'll understand because I'm sure I would have felt the same way! I like you, Mrs. Sou--"

"Auntie," the older woman interrupted with a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Auntie," Tooru corrected, smiling faintly as she tried to calm her nerves. " Mr. Souma is a very kind and generous gentleman and I know he means well. But, I fear that I do not understand him. I...I see no future with him."

There. She said it. She hastily looked up at the older woman, who sat eerily silent next to her with a glazed look over her face as though her thoughts were very far away...Was she being too harsh? Did she upset her? Did she say something wrong? Was she being too forward? Tooru felt as though she was going to burst into little bits and pieces if she wasn't going to respond.

"Auntie?" Tooru asked quietly, unsure of what to say.

"I have been very selfish," the woman said at last, looking down at her palms as her grey hair tossed about in the fierce wind. "I suppose I should have asked you if you were happy; if you were interested. I know how my son is and I am afraid."

Tooru's ears picked up as she heard the last word andshe leaned in closer. "What are you afraid of? I mean, you don't have to answer that question if you don't want to! I know it was rude of me to ask and I truly apologize if I caused you any heart ache..."

"You're not rude," Mrs. Souma replied softly. "I think there's something I have to tell you about my Hatori. He's a good boy...ever since he was a child he was very eager to learn and also very obidient. But, I am afraid. I wasn't much of a mother when he was a child.His father was unemployed for a long period of time during his childhood, you see, so I was gone most of the time. I never knew what went on in that house until it was too late."

"Too late..." Tooru murmured softly, concentrating on what was being said to her.

"I still don't know all the details," she continued, calmly. "Ithink it was after his sixteenth birthday that I came to realize on what was going on. He came home...crazed with anger...a different man. When I walked towards him, he pushed me away and began to scream at his father, sobbing. I had never seen him this way before and it frightened me. But I do know that that husband of mine did something to him that left him in a state of distraught. I always found it odd that he never wanted to play with other children and I felt that in the back of my mind that something was wrong. But I always pushed it away...dismissing the thought."

"What happened to your husband?" Tooru asked after a moment of silence, "I thought he was at the restaurant at our first meeting."

"Oh, no...that was a cousin of mine. I felt a bit ackward that your aunt and uncle was going to be there while I only have myself. Hmm, but my ex-husband moved out right away that very night. I never heard from him again until he sent me the divorce papers, which I was happy to sign.Hm...I thought that the tension at home would have dwindled a bit, but it only increased. It was as if he turned into stone...Whenever I tried to get Hatori to open up, he would just grunt and turn away. I'm afraid that he won't ever be happy. That he will never expierence what life is really like and I felt as though...you were the right one for him. The right person to open up his heart...to show him the goodness of this world. But, then again...it was selfish of me to think so. I did this for my own selfish needs while not even consulting you."

Tooru looked at her tearfully as she looked at the woman forlornly. She had so many questions she wanted to ask, yet knew that they could not be answered for Mrs. Souma herself didn't know. What did his father do? How long did it go on? Why was he so angry that night? Why does he hold so much doubt and distrust? Should she sacrifice her own happiness for another's?

She sat upon the cold bench, contemplating about this new discovery. She was curious of the pain that Hatori had hidden for so long and she yearned to heal it. She didn't know how or if she even had the poweror influence to do so; but the thought of bringing comfort into one's troubled life eased her somehow.

"I'll marry your son," Tooru said softly as she looked up intothe sky with a new goal in mind. With new hopes and aspirations to live up to."I will try to make your son happy...I shall try my very best."

Mrs. Souma smiled at her kindly, color returning back to her slackened face. "Well, now...how about some dinner?"

Tooru jumped at the sudden change of topic and quietly nodded. When they both raised themselves up from the bench, they both headed out towards the busy street with their arms entertwined with one another.

Please forgive me, Tooru...for my selfishness. I hope that in the end, you will be happy.

The dark thoughts were fading with them as their smiles widened while they chatted merrily with each positive step they took, leading them both somewhere they had least expected.

I decided to let everyone have a small peek into Hatori's secret, dark past. Of course, more will unravel in the near future! This was very short but I hope everyone is liking it so far despite it's lack of humor and/or cuteness :P Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!

. Hae-jang Lee .

Maya- Aww, thank you! Hatori is going to be a pain in the ass for a bit, but good things are bound to come :)

Haritori­- Heehee! Thank you :) I'm glad you felt the tension between the characters because I would really, really like everyone to feel what they are feeling (If that makes sense?) It makes me smile like this :D!

Stardust Katrina- Thank you ! I actually cried when I saw the Snow episode...it actually made Hatori one of my favorite characters :) And thank you so much for your compliments.

Just call me Blue- I know what you mean ;.; I hate it when others make Tooru so very dumb or very hostile and/or loud. Erm, I can't think of the right word, but I'm sure you know what I mean :P Hee hee!

Kitsunedemon- Yay: ) Thank you!

Slow Motion Runner- It was torture not having my computer around...but don't worry, Hatori will come to his senses soon :P

FrubaFreak- I did ;)

Chiisana-inori- Thank you! Um, I don't really know what to say about Tooru. I guess the first thing that comes to mind is that she's very selfless. She's also very kind and always puts others before herself, but she's also a bit feather-brained and clumsy and yet very wise. I hope that made a bit of sense for you:)

Firewindgurl- I'm glad you like it! I hope you also enjoyed this chapter as well, although it didn't have much action in it ;

KyouFan17- Thank you for reading :) I hope to hear more from you soon!