Standard Disclaimer applies.
A/N: Second to last chapter. SPOILERS (ahem, Akito), if you haven't read the whole series. But if you've been reading the SSHR from the start, it should be no surprise.
Hatori's Remedy presents:
Chapter 57: Meant to Be
(._.)
This was his last chance. He opened his bedroom window and scrambled out. His knees were weak, having stood so still in front of her. She would have left through the gap in the fence. No sign of her on the property. He ducked under the loose-cut wires and ran through the unmaintained trail to the roads.
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Deep in her throat, the skin seemed to have cracked. Drawing in air was painful. It felt thick. What had she hoped to accomplish by coming here? Had she thought about the consequences of her actions if he didn't feel the same way? It would be liking begging someone for a place in their heart when they had already erased you in their mind.
After what felt like an hour, she sat down by the roadside, shrouded by a stout pine tree. She folded her legs close to her chest and rested her head atop her shaking knees. The last thing she remembered was feeling very cold...
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She woke up. In damp darkness. The white... cloak on her legs was comforting, but...
Tohru inched back immediately, throwing off the cloak. She looked away hastily, afraid. She saw the unmoving figure across from her. Reflective dark eyes gazed at her, probing. Their eyes met. Focused. Stared. She crossed her arms and stroked her forearms roughly. How did he find me?
"I can't forget you." He enunciated each word clearly. Through the spaces between his teeth, gruff. Each word made her shiver. Their was a long pregnant pause scattered with cricket chirping.
"Well, do you love me?" The words sounded harsh, desperate.
"Yes." He wiped the lower half of his face, muffling his voice.
But you don't want to lose everything to be with me. The risk is too high.
"Then say it." It was a petty question. Only someone childish would need it. She was a child, dammit! She was a greedy, needy girl! She desperately needed to hear the 3 words. She needed the reaffirmation. Because these past few months, she had nearly forgotten what it sounded like. And when he had turned her away this afternoon, it was though her soul had died a little.
"Iloveyou." Gulp. The words came out like a newborn's first cry. Urgent and potent. "This afternoon, Akito was watching me. Like she has everyday. I tried to find you that morning. I went to the train station, your friend's house, your grandfather's house, your workplace. No one knew anything. I had broken you beyond repair I realized much to late, because I was nursing my own broken heart. I was selfish. I couldn't stand --"
"Then come with me. Don't ask any questions." She was close to him. Offering a chance for redemption. His life was in front of him. Her fingers pried his away from blocking access to his body. She crawled toward him. "Trust me."
Fuck Akito. That's what Shigure would say in a moment of blind rage. She could scream, pound, scratch, whip, but she couldn't control his heart. This was his destiny. To be with her. This delicate, passionate, loving woman who did not give up. Put her heart on a stake, shoved it in his face, to show him the truth. He ought to do the same. He would protect her from the jaded world, fulfill her every wishes, tend to her tender body when she was ill, make sweet love to her, make her smile. She saw the slideshow of emotions play across his moonlit face - a span as short as a firework, but as beautiful and unforgettable. She pulled his head to her chest, holding it firmly.
Forgiveness is the final form of love.
"I don't want to go back," he said, muffled against the loud thump of her heart. Give me the rest of our lives to make it up to you. I will. I promise.
The warm timbre of his voice and the cold breath of the surroundings rendered her speechless.
"We won't." She whispered later.
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Tohru bought 2 one-way tickets to Asahi. They had many emotional landmines to walk over, but also a love that could not be undermined. Hatori took her hand and placed it on his thigh. He covered it with his hand and rubbed his thumb in small, comforting circles over her pinky. He noticed the heart-shaped watch he had bought her for her birthday. She was so precious. Still wearing it even though so many bad things had happened between them. His. He remembered the speech he had gave her about the inscription:
"It says Ad vitam aeternam, which means: To life everlasting in Latin. I care so much about you Tohru. I want you to live forever, to share your passion and love for life with everyone. I also want remember that our love and time is forever. That is the reason for the watch. The time we spend together is everlasting, eternal, ageless. We are immortal when we are together. If I am not by your side for some reason, you will have this to think of me. Please don't forget me and remember that I love you so much. So much. I will remember you forever – I have learned so much from you. The ability to care for life and for another person; you have breathed air into my lungs and my heart."
It had made her cry. But they were "happy tears" (a term Shigure liked to associate with all tears that were a result of him). T
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hey arrived late in the night. The smell of the heavenly sea permeated their senses.
"Let's get something to eat." The neighboring noodle house gave large portions they were grateful for. The last noodle flicked the tip of her nose when she slurped. Hatori cracked a smile. She was truly his beacon. Without her, his world was dark and unable to navigable.
"Are you sure this alright? The money you are spending? Your living conditions are okay, right?" His ever-worrying, rational mind was at work again, churning. She silenced him with a single look.
"I've saved up plenty. I'm frugal like my grandpa, but this celebration calls for some special attention."
I agree, we are hungry for love, he thought.
Outside, meat-scented smoke wafted. Behind the meat kiosk was a hip dessert shop "Animal Crackers". Many teenagers wrapped in fashionable layers and wearing the latest hairstyle, sat on the whimsical chairs (shaped like animals!) drinking hot drinks, fruity frozen yogurts, and small, delicate cakes. "I'm in the mood for mochi. You?"
He nodded, licking his lower lip. Tohru used her hands to eat the "jumbo" soft, sticky-sweet dessert in her sweet red bean (asuki bean) soup in her case, while Hatori used a fork and knife with sheer determination to slice of a perfect segment of his Ichigo daifuku, a variation of mochi, sweet and strawberry-filled. It was the perfect reflection of their personalities too. She, lost-in-the-moment and dreaming, him, ever-methodical and patient. Both, happy. Hatori's filling squirted out and Hatori made a dramatic effort to look ashamed. Lowering her head and making a frown, but Tohru leaned over the table and placed a surprising sweet kiss on his brow. "Never in my presence," she whispered. The soft buttery warmth of her breath lingered. Sweet and heavenly.
He was uninhibited. And in love.
"Where are we staying tonight? It's already 11."
"Hotel," she offered. He pouted.
"Something more adventurous."
"I hope you're not thinking the park bench. Or -the horror- a love hotel?!" He didn't know his Tohru had such a devious, far-from-innocent mind! So many surprises.
"No, how about a capsule hotel?" He said, pointing.
"Hmm-mmm. Sounds fantastic. But aren't there men and women's floors? We won't be together."
He put his index finger to his lip.
"Okay." She said softly, with a wide grin.
A capsule hotel was a very, very tiny "room" with the ground as the bed and basic amenities - alarm clock, TV, A/C, heat, radio. Communal bathrooms. Inexpensive place to stay for the budget traveler. One person in each extra-large coffin type deal.
It took them a while to adjust to the cramped conditions. Wiggling, bumping knees, elbowing. As they lay together, his arm tucked under her head to bring her close to him. It was comfortable. Meant to be. He gave her a soft kiss on the side of her face. She tilted her face up to him to kiss his lips. He responded frantically, hungrily like a madman. His senses in overdrive. Her scent of pine and honey drifted to his nostrils; it was heady. A wonderful, dizzying sensation that ran from his toes to his groin to his heart.
He said "Thank you" before they fell asleep. His mind churned with happy thoughts, the first (and move time-consuming) of which was: how will I propose to her?
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A/N:
Forgiveness is the final form of love. ...Reinhold Niebuhr
Copy and paste the url, without the [ ]... smelly uploader wouldn't allow me to do whole www. --- for extra info!
Pic of what Hatori is eating: e n. wikipedia .
[org]/wiki/File:Daifuku_
(no spaces!)
Here is a good description of a capsule hotel with pictures! So cool!
yesicanusechopsticks.[com]/capsule/
Anyone who knows how to do the clickable link with the document uploader, please share! Thank you.
Three years I've been writing this story. I appreciate those who have stuck with me and the newbies who managed to find my story under all the good writing!!! Thank you!!! The last chapter is done. It will be up soon! Keep an eye out! AND REVIEW! Or else I will... overly dramatic... die.
Muw, muw!
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