I AM SOOOO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING EARLIER! I ave been very busy with exams and rushing deadlines for my subjects (and i still am) and stuff that needed to be done and submitted to my student org. plus with my university turning 400 years (if you're in the Philippines thes now you know where I'm studying ^^) there was a whole lot of activities and events that happened that took my time which is why I was not able to write chapter 3 until last...Wednesday I think? (breathes) I'm kinda losing track of time recently...

ANYWAY

Author's notes:

Hmmm, nothing much to say, except that I had a really hard time writing the beginning of this chapter. It just wouldn't cooperate for some reason which is why it took a longer time to finish... oh, and if there are stuff here that you think doesn't seem accurate, well, that's where fiction comes in! XD Anyway, you guys probably wanna read now so I'll leave you guys to it. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Momiji was anxious, no, anxious was an understatement. He couldn't find the words to explain how he was feeling. After getting hit by a truck in the middle of the street and waking up in the hospital only to find himself completely blind, Momiji was in utter panic. He felt so scared not being able to see anything and it scared him even more not knowing why it was happening. Hatori had calmed him down before going off to call the doctor.

After Hatori had left the room, it was only then that he felt the presence of another person. When he asked who else was in the room, he didn't really expect to hear his mother's voice coming from the right side of the bed. It wasn't that he didn't expect her to not come and visit him. It would actually hurt if she didn't visit at all. He was happy, truthfully, to know that she was there beside him but it somehow felt a little awkward. After all, to her, he was just another kid from the Sohma clan. And they only met a few times and it was usually by accident. So he was really caught by surprise knowing she was there.

Hatori returned later on together with the doctor and after checking Momiji's condition, he began to examine Momiji's eyes.

"Well," Doctor Kazuya began "it your eyes are perfectly fine Momiji." He stated calmly as he received confused and puzzled looks from the other three. "What do you mean by that? His eyes are perfectly fine?" Maiko asked the doctor. "Yes, there were no signs of injury or damage inflicted on his eyes." The doctor answered. "Then, how come I can't see?" Momiji asked.

"It's a little complicated to explain, but I'll try to make it as simple as possible." The doctor started "The head trauma you experience from the accident must have affected the optical nerves in your brain. As a result, they can't function like they normally do causing you to lose your sight." He explained. A short moment of silence fell on the three other occupants of the room as they let the information sink in. It was Hatori who was the first to break the silence

"So, what you're saying is that even though his eyes are completely unharmed, he can't see because his optic nerves are not functioning properly because of the trauma, like its being choked." He said. "Yes, I suppose choked is a good way of saying it." The doctor nodded. Maiko, who had been listening for most of the time looked towards Momiji who seemed to be in deep thought. "Um, doctor," she began, "it's not that I'm questioning your findings, but how can you be so sure that that is exactly what happened to Momiji-kun?" she asked. "Well, I've handled similar cases before with former patients who were also victims of car accidents that had problems with their sight. Although the damage inflicted to their sight varies from blurred vision to blindness." The doctor explained. "So I assure you madam, my findings about your son is accurate" he finished

Maiko looked surprised at what the doctor said "Oh, no. I'm afraid you got it wrong doctor." Maiko quickly reacted "I'm not his mother. I'm just a relative…" she explained. "Oh, I apologize. It's just that you two look alike so I just assumed…." the doctor apologized. Hatori sent a quick glance towards Momiji who had an unreadable expression on his face.

A few seconds of silence passed by before Momiji spoke "Is it permanent? Will I be blind forever?" he asked. The doctor smiled reassuringly "No, the blindness you are experiencing right now is caused by damaged to the optical nerves. Given time, it will heal. Although the length of time it will take to heal depends on how affected the sight is." The doctor explained "For patients that experience almost complete blindness like you Momiji, I highly recommend that you undergo therapy."

"Will it help him recover his sight better?" Hatori asked "Yes, most of the patients I had handled that underwent therapy had recovered their sight completely." The doctor told them. A sudden beeping sounded in the room, and Momiji blinked in surprise. "What was that?" he asked. "Oh, excuse me. It's my beeper." the doctor said taking out a small beeper from his coat pocket and looked at the screenand then put it back in his coat pocket. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I have to go. I'll come back later to check on Momiji, but for now, I have to go see another patient." After saying this, the doctor swiftly left the room.

Hatori leaned in the chair he was sitting in "Are you okay Momiji?" he asked "…yeah, I'm fine" Momiji answered seemingly in deep thought. Of course he's glad to know that he wasn't going to be permanently blind but, he wasn't exactly happy either. He won't be able to see anything for probably a long time, and truthfully, he just didn't like it.

Seeing nothing but darkness is a scary thing. He won't be able to tell time, to move around and do things he wanted to. He knows he won't be able to live alone in his house anymore since no one was actually there. Another thing that won't leave his mind was what he was going to do about school. He decided to keep that in mind and ask Hatori later.

The sound of a phone ringing brought him out of his thoughts "Oh, sorry it's my phone." Maiko said excusing herself as she went outside to answer her phone. She came back in moments later. "I know it's sudden, but I also have to go now." She said her tone a slightly apologetic "I forgot I had an appointment with a friend and I'm running a little late. I didn't realize that it's nearly noon time." She finished. "Thank you for visiting me, Maiko-san." Momiji said. Maiko smiled "I'll come visit again tomorrow" she said and a cheerful smile crept onto Momiji's face "Okay!" he happily replied. After grabbing her bag, she bid her farewell and left the room.

"You seem to be in high spirits" Hatori noted. "Yeah, I am." Momiji smiled. Despite being blind and not knowing how long he will be like that, he was still happy. After all, his mother came to the hospital just to visit him. She even stayed throughout his examination. And even though they didn't really get to talk that much, knowing that she was there beside him was enough to make him happy.

"Well then, you should probably try to get some sleep. You must still be tired from all that's happened." Hatori said as he sat up. "Where are you going?" Momiji slightly tilted his head towards Hatori's direction. The sound he heard from the movement of the chair was enough to let him know that Hatori was going somewhere. "I'm just going outside. I need to call your father and tell him about what we just talked about with the doctor." Hatori told him "Don't worry, I'll come back afterwards. So for the time being, go to sleep." He reassured Momiji. "Oh, okay." Momiji replied. Now that Hatori mentioned it, he was starting to feel sleepy. So he tried to move into a position he was most comfortable with as slow and careful as he could so as not to cause too much pain, and when he was finally comfortable enough, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

He didn't know how long he had been sleeping, nor did he know what time it was since he couldn't see. But the first thing that he did notice was that he wasn't alone in the room. He could hear the faint sound of pages being turned and a shuffling sound from the other side of the room.

"…Hatori?" he called out.

"Ah! Momiji, you're awake!" came a cheerful voice. The page turning also stopped.

"Tohru?" Momiji wasn't able to hide his surprise as he heard Tohru's cheerful greeting and smiled. "How long have you been here? Where's Hatori?" He cheerfully asked despite still feeling a little groggy from just waking up.

"We've been here since Hatori left earlier."

A voice from his left spoke up and Momiji blinked in surprise "Kyo? You're here too?" Momiji was now fully awake. "No, I'm not here. Of course I'm here you stupid rabbit!" Kyo said sarcastically. "Aww, and here I thought I could have Tohru all to myself." As he said this he could feel almost literally feel the glare Kyo was sending him and he couldn't help but chuckle although he hissed as he felt the pain in his ribs. "Are you okay?" Tohru asked worriedly "…I'm fine." He replied trying not to move too much.

"That's what he gets for saying things like that." Kyo grumpily said crossing his arms over his chest. Momiji pouted "How mean! Tohru, Kyo's being mean again!" he said cutely knowing it would annoy Kyo more. Tohru could only smile and watch as the two continued to bicker until she had to remin Kyo that they were in the hospital and that they can't make a lot of noise.

Kyo sat leaned back in his chair again after adjusting Momiji's bed into a slightly upright position, since Momiji still can't sit up because of his injuries, and picked up the magazine that fell earlier when they were bickering. "Anyway, if you're looking for Hatori, he left a little later after we arrived, saying he had to get some stuff from the main house. He'll be back later." He finished and leaned back on the chair when he noticed that Momiji was looking in his direction but not exactly looking at him.

"Oi," he started, his voice getting serious "is what Hatori said true? I mean, about your eyes?" he asked.

Tohru, who had sat on the opposite side of the bed, also turned to Momiji. A short moment of silence passed before Momiji answered a little less cheerful than he had been earlier. "Ah, that… yeah, it's true. I can't see anything ever since I woke up." He hears a faint sound of movement from his right "But you won't be blind forever, right?" Tohru's worried voice came. Momiji smiled reassuringly "No, I won't. The doctor said I'll be able to see again after some time, though I think I have to go through therapy." He told them.

"Oh, I see. That's good then." Tohru said relief evident in her voice.

"By the way, what did really happen?" Kyo asked "I mean, we know that you got into an accident, but we never really got a chance to ask Hatori exactly what happened since he was about to leave when we arrived, so he was only able to tell us about your sight." He explained.

Momiji blinked "Oh…" So Hatori didn't tell them the details of the accident. Momiji figured as much since his mother was involved. Hatori probably thought it'd be better if he was the one to talk about it. Momiji's train of thought was cut as he sensed the curious, expectant gazes the two were sending him.

Tohru seemed to think that his silence meant that he didn't want to talk about it when she spoke again. "Um, but if you don't feel comfortable talking about it then it's okay if you don't want to-"

"It was mother."

"Huh?" "Eh?" both Kyo and Tohru said at the same time.

"I was on the way home when I saw mother." Momiji started. A thoughtful look in his eyes as he tried to recall what happened. "She looked really distraught so I approached her and she told me someone stole her bag." He paused a little "I asked her if she remembered what the man looked like and which way he went. Then I chased after him and when I finally caught him, I tried to reach for the bag but he pushed me away then I got hit… and you know the rest." He told them. Both Kyo and Tohru remained silent for some time, letting everything sink in. It was Tohru who spoke first, breaking the silence.

"What about your mother? Is she alright?" she asked.

"She didn't get hurt, although she was probably shaken after what happened, but she's fine now. She was actually here when I woke up and she even stayed with me and Hatori until after the doctor had examined my eyes." Momiji cheerfully replied.

"I see." Tohru sighed. She was glad to know that even though Momiji's mother had forgotten him, she still cares for him. "You must be really happy then, to be able to spend some time with her." She happily said.

"Yup!" Momiji said with a big grin on his face.

Tohru smile. Seeing how Momiji could smile and laugh so freely right now, she thought how terrible it must have been to go through what he did and wake up only to see nothing but darkness. Momiji must have been scared. To be unable to see anything, especially the ones you love, is a sad and scary thing to experience. The thought stilled Tohru for a moment. And she looked up, not realizing she had lowered her head slightly, and looked at Momiji who was currently enjoying another round of bickering with Kyo. And for some reason, tears built up around her eyes, blurring her vision a little, and slowly fell down her cheeks.

Kyo immediately noticed Tohru crying and stopped bickering with Momiji, turning his focus completely on her.

"Oy! Why are you suddenly crying?" he asked, his voice sounding worried and for some reason slightly annoyed.

"Huh? Tohru's crying?" Momiji asked as he turned towards Tohru. "Why?"

Tohru brought both of her hands up and tried to wipe away the tears "I-I'm sorry… It's j-just…. I thought that…. to be unable to see, is such a sad thing…" she tried to explain through the tears.

Momiji couldn't understand what Tohru meant. Sad? Well, of course he was sad to be unable to see. He was also scared. And he still is. So why was Tohru crying?

The sudden sound of the chair moving had Momiji assuming that Kyo had moved from his left to his right where Tohru was sitting "Hey, what are you talking about?" he asked, his voice giving off a more gentle tone than earlier.

"Tohru?" Momiji called out, he didn't know what was wrong that would make Tohru cry. Just a moment ago they were having a fun time and now Tohru was crying and neither he nor Kyo knows why.

"…it must be hard for Momiji-kun, to not be able to… see… them… anymore…" she spoke in between sobs. Momiji blinked, digesting the words Tohru had said. To not be able to see… them. His eyes slightly widened as he understood what she meant.

Although the situation with his mother was already known by the junishi, it was only Hatori who knew that he was secretly watching his mother and sister from afar; and Tohru was the only one he had shared his secret with. To be unable to be with them for most of his life, and he was unable to even watch them from afar. It was painful. He knew. It wasn't the first time the thought has passed through his mind. He had realized this after the realization that he was blind had sunk in, and, honestly, if it wasn't for his mother being there in the room as well, he would have cried his heart out if it meant doing so would ease his pain. But he couldn't do it. Not with his mother there. So kept it hidden inside like he always does, bearing all the pain alone. He was used to it after all.

But Tohru, she was always able to see through these things. She was always the first to find out. And she would always cry, because she knew that he couldn't. She always does, not only for him, but for Kyo and Yuki and the rest of the junishi. She was always there to share their pain. And he has always been grateful to her for doing so. To know that someone loved him enough to cry and share his pain was enough to ease his pain, enough for him to keep smiling and move on.

Using his uninjured right hand, he tried to reach out to Tohru, estimating the distance between them. He was unsure of how far Tohru was actually from him or if he was reaching too high or too low, but when his fingers finally felt her hair, he inwardly sighed and slowly began to reach toward Tohru's face. She was still wiping tears from her face; she finally stopped crying, when she felt Momiji's hand on her cheek.

"Thank you"

The gentle, soothing voice made Tohru stop and look at Momiji, who had a small smile on his face.

"Momiji-kun…" she said as Momiji attempted to wipe a few tears away.

"Thank you Tohru, but I'm okay now." He smiled gently "Besides, she said she would come and visit again. We'll be able to spend more time together!" he happily said. "So, you shouldn't be sad, okay?" "Momiji-kun…" Tohru wiped away the last remaining tears from her eyes and smiled "Okay!"

Kyo silently watched the two from where he was standing. He didn't really understand what they were talking about so he decided he'd just watch and wait.

The somber atmosphere was suddenly interrupted as Momiji's stomach growled followed by an awkward silence and the sound of Kyo's attempts to stop laughing. "I should get you something to eat. Is there something you want?" Tohru asked. "No, anything's fine." Momiji said, looking slightly embarrassed. He remembered he hadn't had anything to eat since he woke up. "How about you Kyo, do you want anything?" she asked Kyo who had finally regained his composure "No, I'm good." He answered "Okay. I'll be back shortly." Tohru said as she stood up and headed for the door.

After a few minutes of silence Kyo turned towards Momiji "So," Kyo started "what was that about?" he asked. "Hm? About what Tohru said?" Momiji asked in return before smiling coyly "It's a secret." he said before snickering knowing that not telling would irk Kyo. "Fine, whatever." Kyo said, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back in the chair. Momiji just smiled back. It's been a while since he's been able to spend time with Tohru and Kyo like this and he was already having a fun time. Leaning his head back into the pillow, he wondered if he'll be able to spend time like this with his mother the next time she visits and he couldn't help but smiled in excitement.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Kyo asked, still slightly irritated.

"It's a secret." Momiji happily replied not holding back his laughter as he heard Kyo make an irritated noise.

Authors notes:

And that's chapter 3! Although to be honest it was supposed to be a little bit longer. But I figured it would seem too much to put it all in one chapter so I decided to end it here. So, tell me what you guys think and review! I really wanna know what you guys think about the story so far, like, seriously, review you guys! ^^

Oh, and if you're wondering about Momiji's blindness, I actually had to research that, although I already knew that vision can be affected in a car accident, I just didn't know up to what extent and how a person can recover from it.

Ah! Another thing I wanted to say was that I'm not sure if I can update regularly or as fast as I did in chapters 1 and 2, since I'm struggling to find time to write because I have a lot of homework (i actually have a report tomorrow) waiting to be done and I have this musical production in my org. in about two weeks so things are gonna be a bit hectic and I might not be able to update for some time.

So... that's it. hope you enjoyed reading this. ^^