I'm finally updating

I'm finally updating!!

I'm so sorry I took so long. School is so demanding…

On with the story and keep reviewing!!

From the Dragon's Eyes

Life with Tohru was interesting… almost more interesting than it should be…

Even though she lived a lot closer to the clinic, she still got up rather early every morning. She was generally ready for the day before the dragon even stumbled out of bed after murdering his alarm clock.

As the dragon became accustomed to Tohru's infamous cooking, the smell of her food began to help snap him out of it in the morning, knowing her food would be waiting for him when he finished getting ready.

It was unusual to hear such normal and happy sounds in the doctor's house, but he was glad nonetheless. He liked the sounds of Tohru getting ready, cooking, or even doing some light cleaning. When she did any of this, she was usually humming, or talking or fighting with Hatori. Hatori enjoyed having a conversation with someone who wasn't a patient or his perverted friends. Speaking of perverted, he was beginning to enjoy the sight of Tohru a bit too much lately. He was afraid he was finally succumbing to Ayame and Shigure's dirty influence. It took all that he had not to stare when she reached for things, leaned or heaven forbid bent over. And even though Tohru had become bolder since she left, she still retained her modesty, in action and in dress. Though, if one went by Hatori's increasingly over active libido, she may as well been dressed like Rin, based on the way he reacted to way the clothes regularly showed off some part of her figure. Parts that Hatori would have preferred to stay blissfully ignorant about.

They occasionally argued over the housework. Since Hatori really only slept and occasionally ate (pre-Tohru) in his house, it was never really that dirty. But the handsome doctor never made his bed, deeming it a pointless endeavor since it was only going to get messed up again anyway. Tohru, naturally, didn't see it that way, so often times while he was having breakfast, she would go and fix it for him. Hatori told her over and over that it was unnecessary for her to do that and her regular response was to blow past him with a duster on her way to attack something dusty.

Well, one day, Tohru decide she would start fixing his bed when he was in the shower. He was always guaranteed to take thirty minutes and she'd be able to hear him get out of the shower and leave before he could come out of the bathroom and catch her. This worked (more or less) for about a week. He still tried to get her to stop and she'd pretend to listen. Around the middle of the second week, Hatori, in a sleep-induced haze, forgot to take his clothes with him. So upon discovering his folly after getting out of the shower, he went to his room for his clothes in a towel, not thinking he would find Tohru in his room. Tohru, meanwhile paid little attention to the sound of the shower cutting off, other than to note she had about ten good minutes before Hatori came out of the bathroom, completely missing the sight of his clothes hanging on his armoire door.

As he approached the doorway to his room, Hatori made to grab the towel around his waist, intending to finish drying off. He came to an abrupt halt upon the sight of Tohru sprawled in his half messy bed, attempting to get the fitted sheet on the corner of his bed that rested against the wall. His mind blanked out for several seconds before he began trying to regain control of himself before he embarrassed them both, realizing that he couldn't hide much under a towel.

The situation became a bit more difficult for the floundering seahorse when Tohru rolled over to find her captive audience. She came to a squeaking halt, the serene look upon her face quickly became distressed and flushed. Hatori had little other choice but to take in the new sight before him: Tohru, her clothes every so slightly disheveled, her hair a touch messy, breathing rather deeply in her distress, her hands unknowingly clenching the pillows, her cheeks flushed as if… as if she had taken a completely different tumble in the sheets…

no, no, NO…that train of thought is not conducive to this situation…I need to do something before these 'dog'-like thoughts continue…Damn that writer for giving me every copy of his books…lazy hack…

The dragon sprang into action, quickly going to his armoire to retrieve his clothes, effectively shielding Tohru from the tent that those annoying Boy Scouts were trying to erect in her honor with his towel.

"I think the coffee's ready…"

"Oh!! Right!" came her hasty reply, flying out of the room, pulling the door closed behind her.

He gave a small, relieved sigh once she was gone.

Well, that was not the best situation, but it certainly could have been worse…thank goodness I moved to the armoire before she saw anything…saw anything? She almost saw EVRYTHING!! I'd almost undone my towel before I saw her in my-- making my bed. On the plus side, I don't think I'll need to talk to her about making my bed…talk…hmm, there probably won't be much of that today. Just as well, I wouldn't know what to say. Perhaps I should do her--do US a favor and have another nurse assist me, just for today.

Riceball's POV

Life with Hatori was delightfully surprising and pleasant….and increasingly awkward all at once.

They talked quite a bit since she had moved in with him. She found out that despite his cold demeanor, he was rather charming, not surprising since all the male Juunishi were charming, in their own ways. He also had a dry wit that reminded her of Hana-chan. She thought the two of them might make good friends. They had a number of things in common, such as their demeanor and both are tormented by the powers they possess. Tohru thought it might be nice if they could have somebody they could talk to that would understand what they were feeling.

Even though he was normally calm, cool, collected personality, he was still a little shy and awkward. He was a little unsure what to do the first few days, coming into the kitchen to find Tohru cooking various meals. It was like watching a child in an unfamiliar house, not sure what or if they can touch anything. Tohru, being the same friendly person she's always been, just gave him a friendly greeting and invited him to sit and eat in his own house. It still made her laugh to think about it.

Almost as amusing was Hatori in the morning. Simply put, he was an adult Yuki. He all but murdered his alarm clock every morning and ran into at least two walls or doors on his way to the bathroom. This stopped being quite so funny when she caught sight of him wearing a poorly buttoned pajama shirt, which exposed a good bit of his softly chiseled chest. And even less amusing was the day he scratched his stomach, flashing a bit of said area. It became completely unfunny a few days ago when he wasn't wearing a shirt at all. Later, she thought it fitting that he should have the softly muscled build of a swimmer, considering he was the seadragon. It took several minutes before she could stop blushing and she all but leaped at the opportunity to doing the filing that day at the clinic. She learned to stay away from the doorway until he was safely in the shower.

She thought she was safe. But she doomed herself when she began to fix his bed while he was in the shower. She knew he wasn't completely alert in the morning; he was bound to forget things eventually. She brought the whole thing on herself…not that she was really complaining.

There she was, sprawled in the middle of his bed, fighting with the fitted sheet. When she rolled over to get the flat sheet, she never expected to see what she found: an almost naked, wet Hatori eyeing her from the door. Her brain refused to function: she couldn't move, couldn't speak, nor avert her eyes like she should have, given the circumstances. All she could do was burn the image of rivulets and drops racing down his body to the edge of the towel… where… something she really didn't what to think about was happening.

The downside to doing a photo shoot in a men's magazine meant getting a crash course in the facts of life. Like figuring out several years too late what Haru meant about proving how his hair was naturally black and white. She still shuddered to think what she had almost gotten herself into that time.

Hatori started to break the spell, when he moved towards his armoire… but then she saw the back of him, coupled with a mild side view and she simply stopped.

Until he spoke.

He may as well have yelled at her or thrown a chair, the way she ran out so fast.

Somehow she got through breakfast and made it to work without knowing how she did it. She spent the entire day trading assignments with the other nurses, claiming she wanted a change in scenery when she was really trying to stay away from Hatori. She was so flustered and focused on seeing and speaking to Hatori as little as possible, she all but forgot that Yuki was coming over for their almost weekly lunch date. She knew she must have acted so weird; Yuki kept looking at her with concern. Even though he really wanted to ask her what was wrong, he knew she wouldn't talk about it until she was good and ready. So he left it alone and tried to forget about it. That worked right up until the end of lunch, when something must have occurred to Tohru because her eyes got a little big.

"Is everything okay, Tohru?"

"Oh, um, yes!! I just remembered there's a phone call I need to make before I go back on the clock."

"Okay… Well, arigato for lunch. It was delicious."

"You always say that… My cooking isn't all that good…"

"It certainly is and I'm not the only one that thinks so."

"Oh…" she said with a small blush. "Well, I have to go. We'll do this again soon, okay?"

"Of course. Bye, Tohru."

"Bye Yuki!" she waited until he turned the corner, the longest minute of her life so far before whipping out her cell and calling her friends. Towards the end of lunch, she realized what day it was: Friday. The prospect of a whole weekend of trying to avoid someone in a relatively small house and not thinking about that morning was too much. She was hoping to go out with her friends, dance and forget just for a few hours… or at least dance away most of her nerves before she saw him in that house again.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Hana-chan…"

"Your waves are in chaos…"

"ah, heh heh… um, what are you guys doing tonight?"

"There are a few clubs that want Arisa to make an appearance tonight… we aren't sure if we're going to make the rounds or pick a spot for the night."

"Oh, sounds like fun… mind if I tag along?"

"Never. Where would you like to meet?"

"Can you meet me in front of the Sohma compound? It's too confusing for you to come inside, the Sohma compound is just huge.

"What time?"

"Hmm..." she gave it some thought. By the time she made a quick dinner, changed and added the walk to the front of the compound… "How's 7:30?

"Excellent. I shall alert Arisa."

"Great. Bye!"

"Fair well, Tohru…"

Time for Hana-chan's wave report!!

Hana contemplated her cell after she closed it, as she analyzed the reading she got off of Tohru. Hmm, her waves are definitely in turmoil…I can't quite pin down what's causing the disturbance. Perhaps I'll get a better reading when we pick her up. What ever it is, it does not require our assistance at this time. I shall keep watch regardless, for Tohru's waves have never resembled the disturbed waves oft times found in a Sohma so much.

With that, she left for the kitchen to find a snack, rather than sharing her thoughts with Arisa. She thought it best that Arisa see and hear it for herself before sharing what she had.

Return of the Dragon

Hatori knew immediately that Tohru wasn't home. It was quiet, like it was before she moved in and for once, it bothered him. Though he didn't dare think about why it did.

He saw the note on the fridge:

Hatori-san--

I'm going out with my friends tonight. If it gets to be very late, I'll just stay with them for the night. Your dinner is in the stove.

Tohru

Somehow, dinner just didn't taste the same when he was by himself. Rather than think about that, he thought about doing some work. That was quickly dismissed because there was none to do, not since Tohru started working at the clinic. He tried to read for pleasure, something he rarely got to do, but couldn't focus on the story. The clock said it was a touch early for bed. He considered calling Aya, but he was not in the mood to play babysitter or think, as interacting with Aya tended to do. So he finally settled on calling the dog: Shigure was never serious on the phone, with the exception of someone being hurt. Then he generally got dramatic and over the top.

Flashback--

Phone rings—

"Hello?"

"Tori it's horrible!! You have to get here quick. Our beloved Tohru has taken a horrific fall down the stairs! Please hurry and save her!! Her life force pooling on the floor…I'll commence with mouth to mouth until you get here…"

Loud slamming sound followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor.

"Baka inu…"

"What the hell do you think you're pulling?!"

"She only sprained her wrist…"

"Damn pervert…"

Hatori hung up with a sigh before grabbing his medical bag, vaguely hoping he won't have to treat the dog as well by the time he gets there.

End flashback

He could talk to Shigure just long enough to make him tired and probably get a mild headache. And it worked, except he couldn't sleep. He tried everything he knew and thought might work… but none of it did. So all he did was pace and drink warm tea, hoping it would help shut his system down enough to sleep. He was almost unaware that he kept glancing at the door and peeking out of the window.

It never occurred to him that he couldn't sleep because Tohru wasn't home.

Shortly after his third trip to the bathroom (he drank a lot of tea) the front door opened.

Sleep was very much out of the question.