It had been over a week since Hatori found Tohru lying, half-naked, half-conscious in a ditch filled with disgusting bacteria-filled water.
The results for all her tests came in the other day; Hatori didn't know what to do with the information:
She was raped, but the doer wore a condom; there were no signs of semen anywhere. However, they managed to give her the Morning After pill just in case. But only time would tell with that.
Whoever raped her bit her several times; however, she had been submerged in water for so long that any DNA was washed away.
She was covered in scratches and cuts—and she was stabbed.
Whoever raped her had shallowly stabbed her three times in the stomach, once in the left shoulder, twice in the right, and she had a large, deep cut going from her upper inner thigh down to her knee on the right.
Pretty much all her stab wounds, deep scratches, and cuts had to be flushed out and cleaned because they were all infected.
Luckily enough, she didn't have any broken or fractured bones or any sprains.
She was severely dehydrated, had blood pressure was low, and her heartbeats were slow.
She was negative for any STDs, but she did have a UTI.
She was negative for meningitis and anything deadly or too serious. However, she did have a severe case of pneumonia and had a fever of 101.3.
She was still in a coma.
Whoever raped and stabbed her was smart: he left no traces of DNA.
Also, police and doctors agree: Tohru was stabbed and dumped roughly eighteen hours ago. And with how many times she'd been stabbed—and how shallow the wounds were; she knew her attacker.
It could be a person who hated her, which there weren't too many. There were a few, but not many—and most of them were girls.
It could be a person who was jealous of her. But again, most who fall into that category are female.
It could be a stalker. If she had one and knew about it, she didn't say anything.
Or it could be someone so close to her that Tohru trusts with her life.
Police ruled out the first two options and are going with someone she trusts—the stalker was close behind that.
Tohru's grandpa visited every day. He informed Hatori that the last time he saw Tohru, she was distraught. She had told him that she walked in on Kyo and Arisa having adult relations against Arisa's counter.
Now it made sense to Hatori why Kyo and Arisa sounded strange or distant when he called to let them know what was going on.
After that, Hatori wasn't surprised when neither Kyo nor Arisa came to visit Tohru. Well, he was, and he wasn't:
He wasn't because they did go behind her back to have an affair.
He was because Arisa was her best friend, and Kyo did love her at one point.
Everyone was shocked when they found out and Kyo and Arisa.
Out of everyone, Kazuma was the most shocked by what he learned; he swore when he saw Kyo, he'd have a stern talking with him.
However, Hatori knew Kazuma and his love for Kyo all too well.
He knew Kazuma's version of a stern talking to Kyo about this would be him lecturing Kyo about cheating before telling him he wants to be happy with whoever he's with.
When Kureno found out, he was shocked, but now it made sense as to why she broke up with him when she did—and how she did. Arisa had sent Kureno a text saying she wanted to break up.
As of two days ago, Tohru was allowed to have visitors:
Kisa, Momiji, and Hiro have visited the most. If it weren't for Hatori telling them to go home, he was pretty sure they'd never leave.
Shigure and Akito, and Haru and Rin, all visited a few times, stayed for a few hours at a time.
Kagura visited three times. Once to see Tohru and the second time was to yell at Hatori, saying there was no way in hell that Kyo would ever cheat on her. The final time was to apologize because she witnessed it herself.
Kureno visited twice: once to apologize and once to see how Tohru was doing. He felt so ashamed by what Arisa did—but mainly that he didn't see this coming and let Tohru know.
Ritsu only visited once—however, he was only allowed to visit once. When he first arrived, all was fine, but after half an hour, he was asked too much noise for making a scene and disrupting patients and staff by apologizing too much and far too loud.
Ayame and Mine, and Yuki and Machi have not visited.
Ayame and Mine had just married three weeks ago and were now on their honeymoon in Paris. Tohru wouldn't want them to miss their honeymoon because of her; they went, making someone promise to let them know with updates. They'd be back tomorrow.
Yuki and Machi were on vacation in the Bahamas; they left the morning Hatori found Tohru and would be back in three days.
"Come on, Tohru; wake up. Wake up." Hatori told a comatose Tohru, trying to will her awake.
It wasn't working.
"Tohru… Tohru… Please, wake up soon." Hatori pleaded with Tohru, holding her hand in his.
It was a good thing they graduated two months ago.
"How is she?" Momiji asked, walking in with Kisa and Hiro.
"The same. Shouldn't you all be in school?" Hatori answered and then asked.
"School ended an hour ago. Kisa wanted to come visit, but she had homework to do first. I waited for her and Hiro." Momiji answered, causing Hatori to look up at a clock: it read 4:33 PM.
"Do you think she'll ever wake up?" Kisa asked, upset.
"Yes, I'm sure she will. Ms. Honda is stronger than people give her credit." Hatori stated with a small smile, reassuring Kisa.
But the truth was, he honestly didn't know. However, Hatori wasn't that mean—or tough enough to tell Kisa what he really thought—in a sense. Yes, Hatori strongly believed Tohru would once again wake, but he didn't know when:
It could be today, in a few hours.
It could be tomorrow or the next day.
I could be in a week or a month.
It could even be a year or longer.
Nobody knew—not even Hatori, nor any of the other doctors.
The only one who could even remotely know was in a coma; it was up to Tohru when she wanted to wake up.
As far as anyone knew, she could be spending time with her deceased parents and/or Saki Hanajima.
That's if you believe in that; many people do, but others do not.
As serious as he was, Hatori was one of those people who believed in that. The entire Sohma family believed in that.
How could they not? They were, after all, cursed as the twelve animals plus the cat of the Zodiac.
They knew that God and all sorts of otherworldly things exist.
So why shouldn't someone who is near death or just in a coma not be able to see their deceased loved ones?
Tohru being no exception to such a privilege.
"Tohru, please come back to us. Please." Kisa softly pleaded with Tohru, taking the hand Hatori was previously holding.
Even Hiro, who wasn't the biggest Tohru fan, was concerned and wanted her to wake up—for Kisa's sake.
Yep. He's only there for Kisa. He wants Tohru to wake up for Kisa so that she wouldn't be sad anymore.
Yep. That's it.
However, everyone, including Kisa, sees he cares and is worried.
Five Minutes Later:
Kisa was still holding Tohru's hand.
Momiji was sitting in a chair, watching Tohru and Kisa.
Hiro was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed and arms crossed.
Hatori was changing Tohru's saline and medicine bags. He grew impatient with the other doctors, used his ability, and took over as her main care physician.
"Huh!" Kisa gasped, getting everyone's attention.
"What is it?" Hatori asked, concerned.
"Tohru's hand—it twitched; she moved her fingers." Kisa replied with a slight smile and tears.
"Let me see. Please step back." Hatori calmly instructed, switching places with Kisa, kneeling to look at Tohru's fingers.
Sure enough, they were slightly moving.
"Tohru, can you hear me? It's Hatori. Momiji, Kisa, and Hiro are here as well." Hatori spoke to Tohru.
She didn't say anything or open her eyes; she just laid still aside from her fingers moving.
"Tohru, I'm going to hold your hand. Ok? When I take your hand, if you can hear me, try to squeeze my hand—or at least tap your fingers." Hatori calmly instructed just before taking her hand.
Nothing.
After about two minutes, Hatori was going to set her hand down, but Tohru curled her fingers on his hand. It wasn't quite squeezing, but she was trying; she could hear them.
"Ok. Don't try to push yourself, but can you open your eyes? Open your eyes if you can or squeeze my hand if you can't or aren't ready yet." Hatori calmly told Tohru, giving her the option for herself.
Once again, she curled her fingers, indicating she either couldn't or wasn't ready to open her eyes just yet.
"Ok. Please wake up soon, though. Ok? We'd all like it if you'd wake up soon. Uh. Please don't be upset about this or let it deter you from wake up, but we heard about what Kyo and Arisa did. We want to let you know that what they did was deplorable, but you still have everyone else. Just about everyone has been here to visit you. Ayame, Mine, Yuki, and Machi haven't been here, but I'm sure they would've visited you as well. Your grandpa's been here every day, waiting for you to wake up; he's very worried. He had to go home a few hours ago, but he promised to be back tomorrow. You are very loved by your grandpa and everyone here—everyone in the family. And Kyo's an idiot and lost a great girl. Can you squeeze my hand if you got all that?" Hatori explained and then asked.
It took a minute or two, but Tohru curled her fingers again.
"Good." Hatori sighed in relief. However, he was dreading calling everyone to let them know; half of them don't shut up and let him talk.
"Tohru, it's Momiji. Can you hear me?!" Momiji asked, practically yelling behind Hatori.
"Momiji, not so loud. And yes, she can hear you." Hatori scolded right away but then told him after Tohru curled her fingers again.
"Oh, yay! Feel better soon, Tohru." Momiji happily exclaimed again.
"Feel better soon. Kisa misses you." Hiro told Tohru, looking toward the window, away from the others so they wouldn't see him blushing.
"Can I hold Tohru's hand again?" Kisa softly asked Hatori.
Tohru curled her fingers against Hatori's.
"I think she would like that." Hatori told Kisa with a smile, letting her take Tohru's hand again.
"Tohru, can you hear me too?" Kisa softly asked, worried.
It took a few seconds, but Tohru curled her fingers.
"Can you see your mom or dad? Or your friend?" Kisa softly, sadly asked.
Tohru curled her fingers three times.
"Do they want you to stay with them?" Kisa asked, upset, trying to hold her tears back.
Tohru didn't move an inch—except for her fingers shaking a little.
"Do they want you to come back here? Are you going to come back if they do?" Kisa asked, hearing that sometimes—most of the time, loved ones want their family members or friends to stay alive with who they have alive on Earth.
This took a few minutes, causing Kisa to doubt whether she was staying in a coma or, worse—going to die. However, after a few minutes, Tohru did more than just curl her fingers. She managed to grip Kisa's hand, reassuring her—reassuring everyone there that she'd be back.
However, nobody knew when.
But this was a good sign.
"It shouldn't be to terribly long now." Hatori sighed, looking at the ceiling, running his hand through his hair—relief washing over him.
"Take your time, but please come back soon." Kisa told Tohru.
Tohru responded by lightly squeezing her hand. But then she went limp and stopped moving.
However, her breathing was even, her blood pressure and pulse rose a little. And her heart was beating at a normal pace.
Five Hours Later:
Hatori called everyone four hours ago and talked for a good hour and a half.
Two hours ago, he sent Momiji, Kisa, and Hiro home.
Every now and then, Tohru's hand would move—and eventually, her other hand started moving a little as well.
At one point, her face scrunched up, but she didn't wake. Momiji, who was holding her hand at the time, asked if she was in any pain. Tohru squeezed his hand, so Hatori checked her chart—checking for when she last had any pain medication. It had been several hours, so he injected something for her pain into her medication tubing.
Hatori was becoming antsy just sitting in the chair next to Tohru's bed, so he stood up and started pacing around the room.
Eventually, he left the room for a few minutes to take a smoke break and grab a coffee.
When he got back, he couldn't believe his good eye; he had to rely on his ears.
"Hatori?" Tohru softly asked, looking at him as she lay in bed…