Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ A ship in the fog ❯ Tears and rain ( Chapter 10 )

A/N I would love to know what you think, if anyone bothers to read my story!

 

Thanks again to BakaDenfor editing this chapter!

 

 

 

Chapter 10 - Tears and rain

 

Leaning overboard, Hatsuharu emptied his stomach into the dark sea. The rain was still pouring down. His black and white hair was plastered to his skull and so were his clothes to his body. He closed his eyes and rested his pale forehead on the ship's cold rail. 'God, I can't believe I ran like a craven. I'm such a coward. What happened? I've seen plenty of blood before, most of it my own. Why is this any different?'

 

He didn't know how much time he had spent retching, with images shooting through his brain, when he heard his name called over the pounding raindrops.

 

"Haru!" Yuki was walking towards him under a blanket to stay dry. His reproachful gaze settled on his soaking wet cousin. "What are you doing here?" The two-toned boy didn't move. "Are you feeling all right?"

 

Haru grunted. He didn't trust himself enough to open his mouth.

 

Yuki stood beside him, rain running down the brown fabric over his head. "We were waiting for you to start eating…" Bile raised in Haru's throat at the mere mention of food. Shooting up his head, he threw up the bitter and greenish liquid into the waves.

 

Frowning with concern, Yuki took another step forward. "Uh, Haru… What's going on with you?" Since he got no answer, he tried to formulate his question differently. "What happened downstairs?"

 

"Nnn… I don't want to talk about it now. Please?" Haru's voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper.

 

"Don't you want to come inside?"

 

"…Need to go back to Hatori's room."

 

"Are you sure? I can take you to your bedroom if you want to lie down. And maybe Kagura could bring you—"

 

"No!" Haru's stomach tightened and protested at that possibility. He took in a few deep breaths until it calmed down again.

 

"Um, okay."

 

Yuki came closer, and for a moment he seemed to dither over something. Then he wrapped the blanket around Haru's shoulders, hugging him briefly as he did so. "Here. I don't want you to catch a cold."

 

The two-toned boy stared at him with perplexity in his eyes. "Yuki, why are you doing this?" Haru wasn't talking about the blanket only; he was also talking about everything else.

 

"What?" The older teen asked innocently. "Come, or we will both catch a cold."

 

Haru dropped the issue, but took a mental note to bring it up again some time later. Right now, he needed to put on dry clothes and go back to Hatori… and Kyo. So this was exactly what he did, with Yuki's help. The purple haired boy didn't try anything more and left his cousin in front of the doctor's door.

 

Haru breathed in deeply before he knocked on the door. His stomach was still whirling and he felt slightly dizzy.

 

"Oh. I didn't think you would come back this soon," Hatori said, once he saw just who was there. To the two-toned boy's relief, the doctor had put on a clean shirt and his entire persona was devoid of any sign of what had happened earlier.

 

"Well, yeah." Haru smile was sheepish as he walked in. "Sorry to have fled and… left you with the mess."

 

"It's my job. You shouldn't have been here in the first place." The doctor shrugged. "I'm impressed though. You acted with an incredible composure and did everything I told you to. To tell the truth," Hatori lit a cigarette and took a long drag, "I didn't think you would make it." He dropped into a comfy armchair with a groan and rested his long legs on the coffee table. He was exhausted, otherwise he would never have allowed himself to do such a thing in front of a third party, as young as he might be.

 

Haru shrugged in turn. "What else could I do? I couldn't possibly leave him like that, while you… you…" Frowning, he looked pointedly at the other man. "Why didn't you tell me what you were about to do?"

 

"Anticipation makes things worse than they are," the doctor explained.

 

"Maybe. But I would have liked to know nonetheless. Though I was stupid; I should have guessed Akito wouldn't have sent me here for a picnic." Haru dropped the subject and asked the other thing that was on his mind. "Can I stay here tonight?"

 

"Why? Wouldn't it be better for you to have a good sleep and come back in the morning? Kyo probably won't wake up before tomorrow, at least."

 

Haru didn't want to give his reasons. He wasn't even sure if he could, because he didn't really know himself what he wanted to stay. "Please?"

 

"I don't mind." Hatori removed his feet and crushed his cigarette butt in the ashtray. "You will have to sleep in this chair though, because I don't have a spare bed."

 

The doctor rose and lifted the armchair. "I guess you want it near Kyo's bedside."

 

"Yeah, that would be nice. Thank you, Hatori."

 

"You're welcome. There are a few blankets in that closet if you want them. Come get me if you notice any change in his condition."

 

Hatsuharu sat himself in the armchair, elbows on his knees and chin in his hands, looking down at the redhead lying before him.

 

"Sure. Good night Hatori."

 

"Good night. See you tomorrow." Hatori left the door half-open behind him and soon the light went off on his side.

 

Haru watched the chest of Kyo move lightly up and down. Shifting, he put his pale hand over the redhead's remaining one that lay on the sheets and rested his head against the chair's back, his gaze never leaving the injured. His mind was blank and he didn't speak or move as the hours went by.

 

 

OXOXOXOXOXO

 

 

"Have you slept at all?" Hatori asked, buttoning his shirt cuffs as he came out of his bedroom the next morning.

 

"I don't think so." Haru answered, cracking his back in an almost lascivious way. "Do you think he will wake up soon?"

 

"Maybe. Though I wouldn't be surprised if he sleeps until tonight or tomorrow."

 

"Oh. I see." The two-toned boy was disappointed, but he could wait some more.

 

"Hatsuharu…" Hatori was concerned about the teen, but he didn't know how to phrase his advice. Dealing with Haru's darker side so early in the morning wasn't something the doctor looked forward to. "I would suggest you have some rest now. I promise I'll wake you up if there is any change in Kyo."

 

"I'm not tired yet. Maybe later," the two-toned boy answered after some time, and gave the doctor a small smile. He knew the doctor only meant good, but he didn't want to sleep, not now.

 

Haru truly looked exhausted, but Hatori didn't insist. He rather asked him to remove his shirt so he could look at his wound and change his bandages. The teen obliged without a word, his gaze never leaving the redhead.

 

"Good," the doctor stated, once the new bandages were in place. "Would you mind now going down to the kitchen and seeing if Kagura could cook us three some breakfast while I'm checking on Kyo?"

 

"Three?" Haru looked like someone who had just missed something.

 

"I don't know if he will wake up soon, but if he does, he might want something else other than water." Hatori was already pulling the sheet down and exposing the bloodied bandages around Kyo's stump.

 

Haru's stomach protested as he paused in the doorway. "Oh. Okay, sure. But I don't think I can actually eat."

 

"You are already underweight Hatsuharu, so make it three." The doctor had let go on the lack of sleep; he obviously wasn't going to accept a negotiation about food.

 

"Hatori?"

 

"Hm?"

 

"Thank you for caring." The two-toned boy said with another small smile before exiting the room.

 

When the door sounded shut behind Haru, Kyo's eye shot open. It was closed tight a moment later, the redhead's face screwing up in pain. Powerful waves of suffering irradiated his body, making him regret leaving the blissful hands of unconsciousness.

 

Kyo kept his eye shut, and slowly the pain lessened. It regressed from unbearable, the I-want-to-die-now type, to barely tolerable, and the crimson eye opened again, though more cautiously this time. Hatori watched worriedly as the seaman became more and more agitated. The boy almost jumped when the doctor touched his shoulder.

 

"Kyo, please don't move. You have been seriously injured." Hatori said in his low, reassuring, professional voice.

 

Still a bit unfocused, the redhead gave him a confused look.

 

"Do you remember the accident?" The doctor asked, wondering suddenly if there might have been some brain damage that he had overlooked.

 

'Accident?… What… ' A metallic tasted filled Kyo's mouth as he remembered. He remembered his fall, how time had stopped as he felt his body travel downward. In a detached manner, he remembered how his arm had gotten caught in the dangling ropes, the resistance as his body weight pulled him down, and the crack it made when the bones finally gave up. Most of all, he remembered the peace. The silent peace of the thin air, the liberty he'd felt when he'd been weightless… before he had crashed down and the darkness had surrounded him. And, of course, he remembered… something else. A certain two-toned boy's laugh mixed with Yuki's.

 

Kyo closed his eye and raised his hand to rub at his aching head, or so he thought he did. He opened it again when he felt nothing on his face. Somehow, the connection that the arm had been snapped didn't occur.

 

"What the hell is wrong with my arm?!" The redhead whispered, trying to sit up. It wasn't a good idea. Nausea and dizziness came first, followed shortly thereafter by a growing, burning pain that stemmed from his arm and quickly spread throughout his entire body.

 

Hatori watched him deal with the suffering a few feet away, his teeth clenched and face contorted. After some time, the redhead's features smoothed over. When his eye opened again, the doctor decided it was time for the shocking truth.

 

"Kyo, gangrene settled in the wound. I had to amputate before—"

 

"You…you…" Kyo stammered. The meaning of what the doctor had said began to sink in, and he moved his stump frantically to see—still hoping it was some kind of sick joke.

 

"Calm down." Worry was growing in Hatori's mind. The redhead was going to take it very hard. Of course, no one would want this to happen, but for some unknown reason, the doctor hadn't thought it would be this bad. Kyo was on the verge of hyperventilation and risked reopening his wounds. "Kyo, calm down now." Hatori repeated with more force, holding the boy's shoulders against the bed.

 

"You also have a broken leg, a stab in the shoulder, and a wound on the head. Your eye is all right, though it might take a few days before your sight will come back entirely."

 

"I don't care!" Kyo snapped back, before he actually thought. The hurt look in Hatori's good eye made him feel bad and he stopped struggling. It wasn't the doctor's fault; Hatori had done the best he could, like always. And he should be grateful to have both of his eyes, because the doctor didn't anymore.

 

" 'Didn't mean that. Sorry." The redhead mumbled through his teeth.

 

Hatori nodded. If he had been surprised by the boy's volte-face, he didn't show anything.

 

Kyo turned his face to the wall. He felt washed out. Empty. He didn't want to talk anymore; he needed some time off. Even if he remembered all too well Haru's laugh melted with Yuki's, he had somehow thought that maybe… maybe a tiny little chance remained for him to be happy. When there is life, there is hope, right? Well, not anymore, not for him. Hatori's words had just smashed it down, and Kyo felt like somebody somewhere was jumping on it with both feet to make sure it would never come back again, ever. What would Haru do with a fucking one-armed boyfriend when he could have the pretty-girl perfect Yuki?

 

He closed his eye, and as his anger vanished, a burning tear made its way down his cheek and disappearing into the soft white sheet.

 

A few seconds later, Haru re-entered the room with a large tray. "Sorry, I got lost on my way back," he said, putting the dishes on the nearby table. "I know you prefer coffee Hatori, but Kagura told me that Kyo liked tea, so…" He added, handing the slightly disappointed doctor a fuming cup of tea.

 

Looking down at the redhead now facing the wall, he made a step forward and raised a questioning eyebrow at Hatori. Understanding the question, the doctor nodded. A hearty smile lightened the pale face, and a pale hand lightly touched the back facing him.

 

"Kyo…"

 

Slowly, because it still hurt like hell, the redhead flipped onto his back, his heart tightening at the sound of the other teen's voice. He wished he'd had more time to prepare himself before facing him again.

 

The red bangs were covering Kyo's only available eye, so Haru pushed them away carefully and stroked the tanned forehead at the same time. The harsh look he got a moment later made him remove his hand quickly.

 

"Sorry," the two-toned boy apologized with a sheepish smile. He couldn't help it. He'd been worried, and now that the redhead was awake (and hopefully safe), he felt like he wanted to hug him tight.

 

But the crimson eye looking at Haru was angry… and shining a little too much. Time went still, and Kyo saw something strange in the gray eyes looking down at him. Something he'd never seen in eyes looking at him before. It was a strange mix of expectation, happiness… and tenderness.

 

'He doesn't know yet. That's why he is looking at me this way,' the redhead thought bitterly. 'He doesn't know he's looking at a fucking handicapped!'

 

The crimson eye hardened. "Get out!" Kyo tried to shout with a voice that was hoarse, due to it not having been used for days. He wanted Haru out of there before the shameful tears slipped from his eye. Too late; another shinning pearl made its way down his cheek.

 

"Get out, please, get out," the redhead repeated. He could see that the other was hurt, but what else could he say?

 

"Kyo…" Hatori was tired, which might have been why, even though he thought he was helping, he only ended up adding more fuel to the redhead's mind that was already in flames. "You know, Haru helped me to look after you."

 

"Oh god, this is just fucking perfect now! Why are you still here?” He asked the two-toned boy. “Haven't you seen enough? Or you are feeling sorry for me?" Kyo wasn't trying to shout this time. His tone was an equal mix of anger and sadness. "I don't need your pity. Get out. Both of you." This being said, the redhead went back to facing the wall and stayed still and silent.

 

"But…" Haru bit his lower lip and shook his head. He knew of nothing that he could say right now to bring the redhead to a better state of mind.

 

"He will need some time to get used to his new condition. Let him be for now, he will come around," Hatori told him as he held the door open for the teen.

 

Haru nodded. He understood, and he would be patient. But it hurt nonetheless.

 

 

 

 

To be continued…