And all at once the crowd begins to sing

Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same

- The Fray -

"All At Once"

-/-

Without You

By Ricchan

-/-

- Chapter 3 -

"Hatori..." Yuki panted. "Did you...did you erase Honda-san's memories!"
Hatori was silent, and did not look up.

Yuki grew angrier.

"Well, did you! Answer me!" he demanded.
Hatori finally looked up, unruffled, as usual.

"Yuki, what does this matter to you?" he asked. "Tohru-san is no longer with us. She's been gone for 6 years now."
"You talk about her like she's dead...she's still here, Hatori!" Yuki said disgustedly. "I saw her today!"

Hatori diverted his attention to his desk.

"...really, now?" he said casually.

"Hatori, stop it!" Yuki said. "She doesn't remember a thing. She doesn't remember me!"

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Yuki stood fuming in the doorway. Hatori sat thoughtfully at his desk.

"Just tell me now, Hatori. Did you do it!" Yuki stated, each word shooting from his mouth like a bullet. Hatori sat in rumination, then opened his mouth, and spoke.

"I...sincerely wished that it would not come to this," he said, and sighed, before looking Yuki straight in the eyes.

"Yes, Yuki, I did erase her memories."

Yuki, needless to say, was beside himself.
"WHY DID YOU DO IT! WHO MADE YOU, AKITO! TELL ME!"

"Calm down! This kind of stress is horrible for you," Hatori said sternly, and Yuki glowered, but calmed down a little.

"Akito isn't behind this. Tohru came to me herself and asked to have her memory erased."

Yuki was silent with shock.

"What...what did you say?" he said, breathless.

"She came and asked me to erase her memories, Yuki. Akito isn't the one to blame here," Hatori said.
"You're...you're lying..." Yuki stuttered, holding his head in disbelief.
"I am not, Yuki. She wanted it herself."

"Then why didn't you stop her?" Yuki demanded, glaring intensely in Hatori's direction. "If you're telling the truth, then why didn't you stop her? Well, you obviously didn't, did you?"
"I honestly tried, Yuki, I did," Hatori said. "I reasoned with her as best I could, but she was set on it. So...I had to comply."

Yuki sank to his knees, weak; not only were Tohru's memories gone, she had chosen to forget! She had chosen this! Why would she do such a thing?

"Why...why would she do this?" he said, vocalizing his thoughts.
"That's been on my mind for 6 years..." Hatori said quietly. "I tried to ask her while I was trying to dissuade her, but the only reason she gave was that 'It's the best choice for everyone.' I don't understand what she meant, Yuki, but that's all she said."

Yuki said nothing, staring dejectedly at the tatami floor.

"Yuki...do you know what she did before I erased us from her?" Hatori asked. Still no answer.
"She said...'Hatori...please tell Yuki...Kyo...everyone...that I'm very sorry...'," he continued. "She was crying as she said it, but...there was a smile on her face, like she was completely at peace with herself for that one moment."

"Don't. Say. Any. More," Yuki said, saying each word slowly and deliberately. "Don't."
Hatori looked at him mournfully.

"Yuki, I'm sorry, I really am. Tohru...was something unique to us, and she can never be replaced," he said softly. "Erasing her memory was...as hard as it was for me to erase Kana's memories of myself."

Yuki looked up, and glared at him.

"You can't say that," he said. "You don't understand."
"I do, Yuki," Hatori retorted. "You're acting like a child. What has been done has been done. I'm sorry."

Yuki glared at him, then stormed out of the Main House as quickly as he came.

Hatori fingered his engagement band for a moment, then returned to his work, but took a small handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his eyes after a few minutes.

Meanwhile, Tohru knocked on the door of a small house just a short while away from the Main House of Sohma, cheerfully holding her box of cookies.
"Oh, it must be her!" a familiar voice called from behind. "Coming, coming!"
The door opened, and there stood Saki Hanajima, her beloved friend from school.

"Tohru-chan!" she cried, and gave Tohru an immense hug. Tohru hugged her back, holding the cookies in one hand.

"Hana-chan, I've missed you so much!" she said. "It's so wonderful to see you!"
Saki smiled widely and nodded.
"Well, come on in, come in! Kazu-kun's been waiting to see you all day," she laughed.

"Oh, of course! I brought these for you," Tohru said, giving Saki the package of cookies and taking off her shoes, replacing them with the guest's slippers.
"Thank you very much, I bet they're delicious," Saki said. "I just finished the tea."
"Oh, wonderful!" Tohru said, following her down the hallway. She took a moment to observe her friend, whom she hadn't seen in person for about 6 years.
Her hair hung sleek and black at her waist, althought it wasn't wavy that day, for she hadn't pleated it. She wore a black dress with sleeves cut at the elbows and a skirt cut at the mid-calves, and her slippers were a dark violet. Her face still retained the somber paleness of a gothic beauty, and her eyes were as deep and black as ever. However, finding a man who loved her dearly had made her more softened, in a way, and when you looked at her, you saw not coldness, but warmth behind her gaze.

"This way, I set up the tea here," Saki said, showing Tohru to the dining room.
"Oh, speaking of tea!" Tohru said cheerily, entering the room. "You'll never guess who asked me to coffee today! I'll have to tell you all about it!"

"Oh? Your waves are such a lovely shade of lavender right now, you're obviously happy about it," Saki noted, smiling. "Why don't you tell us when we're at tea? I suppose Kazuma would love to hear about it as well."

Tohru laughed. "Yes, yes, of course!"

She took her seat at the kotatsu, smiling as Saki poured her a cup of tea and opened the package of cookies.

"Kazuma! Come on out, you don't want to keep Tohru-kun waiting, do you?" she called.

"Ahaha, I'm sorry, I was taking care of something," her husband replied, entering the room.
Kazuma Sohma, Saki's fiance, was a young-looking man, even in his mid-40's. Tohru knew him only in passing; she knew he was Kyo's father, and was mentioned often in the letters and phone calls she got from Saki; after all, she was one of the few people she was able to keep in touch with after she moved to Kyoto, other than her grandfather. Shortly after graduating from high school (Saki had passed with flying colors, to everyone's surprise), she approached him and professed her affections for him. Kazuma gently smiled and replied that he always wanted a wife. Saki, sensing he wasn't being truthful, left without saying a word, but always came by his house day after day to help out with random chores and be close to the man she loved.
Despite the fact that his reply was tongue-in-cheek, Kazuma began to fall in love with the gothic young woman who went to his dojo every day and proposed after 2 years of courtship, not even caring about the 20-year age difference. They planned to wed on Halloween, which was, unsurpisingly, Saki's favorite holiday. Saki had invited Tohru to come and be the Maid of Honor at the ceremony (along with Arisa; although they weren't sure if she could make it, since she was on the road quite often and they couldn't contact her often). Tohru was more than happy to oblige, and arranged to stay at her home with Kazuma before the wedding occured so she could help with the preparations and be generally helpful. A relative of Kazuma's was creating the bridesmaids' dresses and Saki's own bridal gown in a project he was very enthusiastic about, although Tohru was oblivious that the eccentric dressmaker was a man she once knew quite well.

"So, Tohru-san, it's wonderful you were able to make it here all right," Kazuma smiled, taking his place at the kotatsu and helping himself to a cookie. "Now, who did you meet today that you were so enthusiastic about in the hall? You were so loud, I could hear you."

Tohru began giggling at the absurdity of the tale she was going to tell.
"You wouldn't believe this, but Sohma Yuki-san from school actually met me in the grocery store today! Sohma Yuki!" she laughed. "He asked me out for a meal and we had a coffee together, it was all so strange!"
"Yuki? He's my step-nephew, actually," Kazuma said thoughtfully, touching his chin.

"You two are related?" Tohru said, then smacked herself in the head, laughing. "Oh, wait! Haha, I should have known, what with the both of you having 'Sohma' for your last name. Hahaha!"

"So, you did see him today?" Saki asked.
"Yes, I did," Tohru said, quieting down, but still laughing a bit. "It was all rather...surreal, though. I have no idea why it happened!"
"How...was that strange?" she asked, looking at her with her deep black eyes.

"Huh...?" said Tohru. "Strange? Well, I guess it's because he never paid me any attention at school, and now, well..."
Tohru began to laugh again, fragments of words resembling "funny" and "now" coming out her mouth, but Saki looked at her, analyzing the strange, confused waves coming off her.

"...you don't remember a thing, do you?" she said.

"Huh? Remember what?" Tohru asked, a bit taken aback by the unusual question.
"Tohru, you-" Saki began, but Kazuma gently nudged her and she stopped.
"Oh, nevermind," she smiled. "Was Yuki-kun kind to you?"
"Oh yes! We had a really interesting conversation about our school days," said Tohru, completly forgetting the earlier part of their conversation. "Something about his cousins, and Kyo-kun."
"My son and those two?" Kazuma chuckled. "An interesting subject."
Tohru nodded with a laugh.

"Speaking of Kyo-kun, how is he?" she asked.

"Well enough," Kazuma said. "He likes...to keep to himself these days, mostly."
"Really, huh? That's what Yuki-san said, I think," Tohru replied. "It seems unlike him, almost. Wasn't he really outgoing back then?"
"Not so much nowadays, but yes," Kazuma said, and chuckled a little. "And I thought that he was going to sulk as a teen and be outgoing as an adult! Ironic how it turned out...opposite than what I expected."
He ended the sentence thoughtfully, and Tohru looked at him curiously. Before she could say anything, the phone rang.
"I'll get it," he announced, and got up. Tohru and Saki began talking about the upcoming wedding while he made his way to the phone and picked it up.
"Hello, this is Kazuma speaking," he said. "Who is it?"
"Kazuma, it's me."

"Hatori?" Kazuma said, mildly surprised. "To what do I owe this call?"
"You are aware of Tohru-san's return, are you not?" Hatori asked immediately. "I thought I would contact you first about it, being that you are Kyo's guardian and you knew her personally."
"And I'm also aware that you altered her memory, Hatori-san," Kazuma replied quietly. "She's staying at my house, didn't you know? My fiancee was a friend of hers in high school."
"That seems to have slipped my mind," Hatori said, a bit coldly.

"Well, it seems she met Yuki today, judging by what she's told us so far," said Kazuma. "I'm guessing he came to you for answers?"
"Exactly. He's a bit torn up about it," Hatori replied.

"I thought as much," Kazuma said, and sighed. "Do you think you should let her know she's staying here? Or anyone else?"
"I don't know," said Hatori. "You'll probably find out if I told him or not, depending on if you get any phone calls from Yuki in the near future."

Kazuma chuckled softly.
"Your sense of humor is as dry as ever, I see," he said. "It's your decision, Hatori-san. What about the others? Are you going to tell them Tohru's come back?"
"If anyone else should be told, I think Yuki would be the one spreading the news," he replied.

"Ah, I see," Kazuma said, and smiled. "Well, at the moment, I have a guest I must attend to. Thank you for the notice."
"Of course," said Hatori, and hung up. Kazuma put down the phone and stood there for a moment, then rejoined the two women in the dining room, where they were laughing together.

Yuki sat in his garden, sulking and pulling weeds.
The day's events had been simply too much for him to handle, so he took his stress out on some unfortunate weeds that were invading his soil. Lots of things bounced about in his head; Tohru, her memories, Hatori...he hated Hatori for a second, then felt sorry for him, then felt angry once more, Tohru again, her smile, Kyo, Akito, Tohru...

He laughed bitterly when a thought occured to him that he hadn't been this angsty since he was a teenager, then he promptly ripped an entire weed out the grounds, roots and all.

When the phone rang, he didn't bother to pick it up, and went on his buisiness of weed-pulling. Since the answering machine was in the hallway near the courtyard, and the doors were open, he could hear the message.
"Hi, this is Yuki Sohma. I can't come to the phone right now, so please leave a message with your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Have a nice day!"

There was a beep.
"Yuki, it's Hatori."
He ground his teeth for a moment in annoyance.
"I know you're probably mad at me, but I have something to tell you."

"Huh, you think?" Yuki said bitterly, tearing at the ground.

"Tohru is at Kazuma's house; if you want to speak to her, then you could try and get a hold of her there. It's up to you if you want to see her or not."

The machine turned itself off as Hatori hung up, and Yuki sat there, a bit speechless. At Kazuma's house? What was she doing there?

However, those questions proved to be rather inferior in the situation as he took off his gloves and raced to the phone, dialing Kazuma's number.

As the phone rang, his heart raced. Then, somebody picked up, and the voice was so familiar it made him smile involuntarily.

"Hello! Sohma residence, this is Tohru speaking."

"Oh, hello! Honda-san? It's me, Yuki."
"Ah, Yuki-san?" Tohru said, a note of pleasant suprise in her voice. "What a coincidence! Why are you calling here? Do you need to get a hold of Kazuma-san?"
"No, actually," said Yuki. "I was calling for you."
"M-me?" Tohru said, her voice a bit flustered and embarrased. "How did you know I was staying here?"
"One of my relatives called me and told me," Yuki said. "Much more convenient than your cell phone, huh?"
Tohru laughed. "Ahaha, I bet they know Kazuma-san...yes, I suppose!"
"Anyways, umm..." Yuki said. "I was wondering...are you doing anything this Wednesday?"
"Wednesday? Hum..." said Tohru. "No, I don't think so. Why?"
"Would you be up for a lunch with me? A real one this time?" Yuki said, and laughed. Tohru laughed as well.

"A lunch? I'd be delighted," she said. "When would you like me to come?"
"Oh, I'd say around 11:45, perhaps in front of the bus station. We can walk from there," Yuki said.
"Ah, that sounds lovely," said Tohru. "Where do you plan on going?"
"That's a suprise," Yuki said mischeviously. Tohru laughed.
"Yuki-san, you're just something else."
"Ah-ah-ah, just Yuki, remember?" Yuki said.
"Yuki? Haha, I'm sorry, I just speak so formally, forgive me," Tohru said sheepishly.

"That's okay. Oh, and I hope you don't mind if I perhaps bring a relative of mine with me," Yuki said. "I think he'd like to meet you."
"Ah, who?" Tohru said.
"That's a suprise too," Yuki laughed, and Tohru joined him.
"All right then, Yuki. Wednesday, 11:45, at the bus station, right?" she said.

"That's right, I can't wait to see you."

Tohru laughed.
"All right, then. I'll see you then, Yuki. Goodbye!"
"Until then," Yuki ended, and Tohru hung up.

He stood there, feeling like he could fly, then quickly dialed another number. As the dial tone sounded, he thought Hatori the most benevolent man in the world and considered how to repay him, before the person on the other line picked up.

"Hey, Momiji! Listen, um, I got something to ask you: you got anything going on this Wednesday?" he asked.