Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Amor Del Dragon ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

I do not own the beautiful creation known as Fruits Basket…what do I own? *ponders this question over*

That night Hatori had a restful sleep and when he woke up felt like he had been asleep for ages and felt fully refreshed.

“I should go to bed earlier.” Hatori commented as he got out of his bed.

* * * * * * * *

When Hatori arrived at his office the phone was ringing.

“Dr. Sohma.” Hatori answered.

“How was your date?!” Shigure enthusiastically chimed over the phone as Hatori hung it up.

“1...2...3” Hatori said and the phone rang again. Hatori smiled as he answered the phone.

“Haa-” Shigure began to say but once again Hatori hung up the phone.

“1...2” The phone rang again and Hatori answered it. “Dr. Sohma.”

“Haa-san before you-” Hatori hung it up again. This time Shigure was prepared and dialed the phone number in record time. Hatori didn’t have a chance to count and answered it. “You’ve beaten you dialing record.” Hatori commented.

“Haa-san. You’re cruel.” Shigure cried into the phone.

“Yes. And you are too. You set me up on that date.” Hatori said.

“Yes. And wasn’t it a brilliant plan. I knew you would go to that restaurant. You’re curious at heart Haa-san.” Shigure said.

“Or I’m going crazy. Listening to dogs.” Hatori smiled. “Next thing I know you’ll tell me to start killing couples.” (A/N: For all those who don’t get this. In New York there was a serial killer called Son of Sam. When he was arrested he insisted that a dog told him to kill all the couples. His real name was David Berkwoitz.)

“Please don’t remind me of my failed plans.” Shigure said hanging his head low. (A/N: O.O)

“Anyway. Back to your date-” Hatori hung up the phone.

When it rang again Hatori answered it. (A/N: Why do you keep answering it?)

“Haa-san. Stop that!” Shigure said sternly.

“Excuse me? Stop what?” Hatori asked.

“…” Was Shigure’s answer.

“Okay. I’ll stop.” Hatori said. “Why do you even want to hear about it?” Hatori asked. He didn’t need to clarify on the ‘it’.

“Because! This is the first time my dear old friend has gone on a date in such a long time. And with a very pretty woman I might add. Mii-chan introduced me to her and I told her about you and then it’s all history from there. Now did you like her?” Shigure retold how his plan came about.

“She was very nice.” Hatori said.

“That’s all you could come up with? Is Haa-san losing his touch?!” Shigure mocked surprise.

“What touch are you talking about? And besides, it was a one time thing. I’m probably never going to see her again. I met her once and then she’ll never appear in my life again.” Hatori said.

“You’re so negative Haa-san.” Shigure stated.

“No. I just think logically.” Hatori answered.

“But logic is no fun.” Shigure said. “And that’s why you are the way you are.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Hatori asked.

“SENSEII!!!!!!” Hatori looked at the phone.

“Ah! Mii! You didn’t say you were coming over.” Shigure stated nervously.

“That’s because I knew you would run away! Now I need that manuscript!”

“I’ll have to call you back Haa-san.” Shigure said and started to run way forgetting to hang up the phone.

“SENSEI!!! Come back here!” Mii yelled.

“Never!” Shigure said from far away.

Hatori sighed and hung up the phone.

“When will that woman learn that she will never get a manuscript from Shigure on time or early even if she surprises him? Not even torture would work. He’d twist it so it was on his side.” Hatori muttered to himself.

* * * * * * * *

“Ha ha ha!”

Keiko and Holly turned a corner on the street laughing.

“Oh wait. I have to drop something off here.” Keiko said. Holly looked up at the building in front of her.

“At a doctor’s office?” Holly asked.

“Yea. Yumi ordered a system upgrade. She said they weren’t busy today and told me to drop it off around now.” Keiko said holding up a computer chip. (A/N: Surprisingly enough Keiko-chan works with computers.)

“Yumi-san? Who’s that?” Holly asked.

“Oh! You two haven’t met! Well now you will. She’s an old friend from high school.”

With that the two walked into the building.

“Oh! Keiko-chan. Did you bring the system upgrade?” A lady behind the counter asked.

“Yea. It’s right here. I can’t believe you two have never met before. This is Holly Pauner.” Keiko introduced her.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Holly bowed.

“Like wise. I’m Yumi Saguchi. We just had the floors waxed so you might want to watch your step.” The woman responded bowing. She looked out the window. “Seems like it’ll storm later. It’s awfully windy out there.” Keiko went around the desk and brought out the computer chip telling Yumi what she was doing.

Holly wandered away from the two and looked at the office. It was very professional looking. Holly was examining some of the art work that hung on the walls when a door on the right of the waiting area opened.

“Yumi-san, could you put in this patients data? I just updated it.” Hatori said and looked up from the papers he was holding. He took in his surroundings.

“Holly-san?” Hatori asked.

“Oh. Sohma-san. The computer is being upgraded right now but you can just leave the files here and I’ll get to them after the upgrade is finished.” Yumi said and turned her attention back to the computer screen.

“Uh, yes.” Hatori said and put down the files.

“Hatori-san! Um…I was walking with Keiko-chan when she needed to upgrade your computers. She works with computers. I didn’t know you worked here.” Holly explained.

“You’re not at work?” Hatori asked.

“Oh. It’s my day off.” Holly answered.

Keiko was listening to the conversation between the two and looked over Hatori.

‘Well, she wasn’t lying about his looks. He seems nice enough. Though there’s something about him…’ She thought. ‘Come on. Keep talking.’

“Do I look like a doctor today?” Hatori asked sarcastically.

“Yes.” Holly said laughing. A snap was heard.

“Agghh!” Holly screamed falling.

“Holly-san!” Hatori shouted.

* * * * * * * *

“I’m so sorry.” Holly said with her head bent low. Her eyes were watering because of the pain and humiliation. Of course her heel had to snap off, of course she had to slip on the waxed floor, and of course she had to sprain her ankle.

“It’s not your fault.” Hatori said trying to comfort her while wrapping her ankle. “It’s not a serious sprain but you should keep you’re weight off it for at least 2 days.” He said.

“I’m such a klutz. I don’t even know why I was wearing heels. I usually trip with them on anyway.” Holly replied with her head still bent low.

Hatori laughed to himself. He never did understand why women wore heels. Especially the ones that had 10 centimeters of heel on them. It seemed that women were trying to fool the laws of gravity (A/N: Which always wins in the long run, so why bother?).

“Then I’d have to advice that you wear a smaller heel.” Hatori said.

“Don’t worry. Those were a gift and that’s about the second time I’ve ever worn them.” Holly smiled.

Hatori finished wrapping her ankle. He pulled out some painkillers that he always kept in his bag (A/N: His man bag!) “Here are some pain killers. This usually last for about twelve hours. You can take one every twelve hours if it wears off.” He scribbled down something on a piece of paper and handed it to Holly. “If you run out here is the prescription.” Hatori walked over to a little closet and retrieved a pair of crutches. Holly stood up and Hatori adjusted the height setting.

“You shouldn’t put any weight on it for at least 2 days. You can bathe your ankle in cold water for one minute, followed by hot water for three minutes. Repeat this cycle for about 15 minutes. The swelling and discomfort should begin to subside after about two days. You can start to put some weight on it after two days. You should remove the bandages when you start to walk on it. If your foot is stiff for being immobile for so long just move your foot in a circular motion or up and down. Taking a warm bath or massaging the area can help with the healing. You shouldn’t do this before the two days. Just follow that and you should be good in no time.” Hatori said.

“Thank you so much.”

“No problem. We don’t have any patients for awhile. Why don’t I drive you home?” Hatori said getting his keys from his pocket.

“Oh no-!” Holly began to say but was cut off.

“That would be great thanks!” Keiko said before Holly could decline the offer. She knew Holly was too polite but this was a chance for her and Hatori.

Hatori, Holly, and Keiko walked out. When they got to the car Keiko gasped.

“Oh! I almost forgot! I have another errand to run. It’s just down this street. Holly I’ll meet you at the apartment. Bye!” Keiko said and walked off.

Holly stared after her. She knew Keiko just made that up. Holly sighed inwardly. This was going to be a little awkward.

Hatori opened the door for Holly.

“Oh. Thank you.” Holly said and got in.

Hatori got in on the other side and started the car. He remembered the way to her apartment and drove off.

The car ride was awkward. Holly was too embarrassed to say anything and Hatori didn’t know what to say so the ride was in silence except for the whistling wind.

Hatori pulled up to her complex and stopped the car. Then he realized that she lived on the third floor. She couldn’t make it up the steps by herself when she had just gotten a new pair of crutches. She wouldn’t be used to them. He would have to help her up them!

It’s not that Hatori didn’t mind helping a patient, and he definitely didn’t mind helping this patient, but he would have to make bodily contact (A/N: Not the dirty way!) to help her up. What if he transformed! But he couldn’t just leave her to go up by herself! What was he supposed to do?!

All of this ran through Hatori’s mind in half a second. Another half a second later he turned to Holly. Holly was beginning to get out of the car.

“Here. I’ll help you up the steps.” Hatori said and got out of the car.

“What?! Oh no! You don’t have to do that. I’ll be fine. It’s not that many steps.”

“It’s three floors.”

“…” Was Holly’s response. What could she say?

An idea popped into Hatori’s head. It was windy.

“Here. It’s chilly.” Hatori said and pulled out a blanket from the trunk of the car. It was thick and heavy so he draped it around her shoulders. He put her arm around his neck and put his hand on her waist. Then started helping her up the stairs. (A/N: Holly carried the crutches in her other hand) Occasionally her body pressed against his but the thickness of the blanket kept the curse at bay for now. Hatori sighed inwardly with relief.

Holly didn’t now what to say. Hatori had draped her arm around his neck and now they were going up the stairs together. She almost shrieked when her side connected with his stomach. Through the blanket she could feel that it was firm and strong.

‘Great.’ Holly thought to herself. ‘I already like him and now he has the one physical thing in guys that I can’t resist. (A/N: she can’t resist abs if nobody else got what I was implying) He’s already tall so he probably has long, slender legs… Stop!’ Holly shouted at herself. She was being a pervert for thinking of his body. Holly shook her head trying to get the image of him out of her mind.

“Are you okay?” Hatori asked.

“Oh. Uh, yes. My hair was in my face.” She lied. ‘That was pathetic.’ Unfortunately she made the mistake of looking at Hatori when he spoke and couldn’t get him out of her mind anyway.

Hatori was half way up the second flight when he realized what he had just done. His hand was on her waist!

‘Crap! What if she thinks I’m trying to take advantage of her?!’ Hatori thought. ‘She does have a slim waist… Hm. It really is small. Maybe she works out. I can feel her stomach too. It’s firm. She must work out…Stop! I can’t believe it! I was just feeling her up! Hatori was trying his hardest to not touch her while trying to support her so she wouldn’t fall down the stairs. (A/N: They’re both perverts.)

They safely made it to Holly’s floor with out incident. (A/N: Well, with out incident outside their heads.) Holly produced her keys and opened the door. They walked in together.

Holly set down her keys on the table right by the door. Hatori still had a hold of her waist.

“Um…You can let go now.” Holly said blushing.

“Oh!” Hatori immediately snapped out from her embarrassed.

“Thank you. For walking me up here.” Holly said to break the silence.

“Your welcome. It was nothing.” Hatori said professionally.

“Why don’t you have some tea?” Holly said. “I’ll just be a minute.” She hobbled off on her crutches to the kitchen before Hatori could respond.

Hatori stood there not knowing what to do. He decided to find the living room and sat down at the table.

‘How did I get into this situation?’ Hatori thought to himself. ‘Before I thought I would never see her again. That was mainly why I agreed on the date. Well, I didn’t really have a choice… But here I am. Sitting at her table… Well, the curse is still under wraps. That’s a plus.’

While Hatori was pondering the situation over Holly was preparing the tea.

‘Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!! He’s in my house! What am I supposed to do?! I can’t believe I asked if he wanted tea! Well I did. And it was the courteous thing to do. *sigh* I’ll just have to make it the best I can. Hmm… Which tea would he like the most? How about chamomile tea, it’s supposed to be relaxing and he looks like he could have a moment to himself once in awhile.’

A few minutes later Holly brought out a kettle and two tea cups. She set them down and poured some tea into each of them.

“It’s Chamomile. I hope you like it.” Holly said and sat down across from him.

“Thank you.” Hatori picked up the cup and couldn’t help but letting out a surprised laugh.

“Is something wrong?” Holly said looking at the tea.

“No. I just noticed. Your tea set has the twelve Chinese Zodiac animals on it.” Hatori said. He currently had the cup with a picture of a dragon on it. ‘Ironic coincidence.’ The tea pot had all the animals going around the pot in order of arriving at the banquet.

“Actually it’s thirteen. I was so happy when I found this tea set because it included the Cat.” Holly turned the kettle around to show the lone Cat on the other side at the end of the animal chain. It was set farther than the others to appear as if it wasn’t included with the rest. This made Hatori a little sad seeing this is how Kyo must feel.

“I’ve always felt sorry for the Cat. Being tricked by the Rat and being cursed for it. Though I still do like the Rat. It was just in his nature I guess.” Holly smiled and sipped her tea quietly.

“What’s your favorite animal out of all of them?” Holly inquired.

“I’d have to say the dragon. (A/N: teehee). It symbolizes polar opposites. Creation and destruction, light and dark, male and female, and can just be taken either way in every case depending on the holder of the opinion.” Hatori stated. ‘Just like me…’

Holly just stared at him. “Wow.”

“Excuse me?” Hatori felt uneasy with the way she was starring at him.

“Oh, sorry. It’s just, that was really deep.” Holly said.

“Oh. Well…W-what’s your favorite out of the Zodiac?” Hatori redirected the attention on him.

“I’d have to agree with on the dragon. I’ve always loved the dragon ever since I was a little girl. It always seemed so strong and protective to me. And so wise. Hmm… You know, you remind me of a dragon.” Holly said looking at him. She had thought this when she had first met him, seemed wise, protective, a little distant but eventually became very friendly.
Hatori froze. ‘She couldn’t suspect anything,’ Hatori rationalized and calmed down. He knew he seemed to be like a dragon. Cold and distant.

“When I first met you, your stature screamed wisdom. You’re also friendly and protective. You helped up the stairs just now.” Holly said.

Hatori looked at her. She said all the positive qualities of a dragon. All he could think of himself were negatives. She seemed to be able to see the positive in everybody…

CRASH!!!

Hatori and Holly whipped around as the window in the living room was blown open, the curtains fluttering every where. Rain and leaves were being blown into the living room spraying the two occupants. Hatori raced over to the window to latch it shut. The wind was so strong he couldn’t get the window to stay closed long enough for him to latch it. Holly came over and the two struggled to lock the window. It finally locked in place with a snap. Hatori looked outside and saw that it was storming.

“It’s a rainstorm. I didn’t even notice it come up.” Hatori said.

“Neither did I.” Holly said brushing her hair back in place.

“Here.” Hatori said walking over and plucked out a few leaves that gotten entangled with her hair.

‘Her hair smells great. Jasmine I think. It’s soft too…Aaagghh!’ Hatori stopped thinking.

Holly’s heart started pounding. She could feel the warmth of his body due to their proximity.

“Thank you.” Holly said with a faint blush across her cheeks. Holly looked down with nowhere else to look at.

“Oh! I’m soaked.” Holly said. Water was dripping off her clothes.

Hatori looked down at himself and saw that he was also worse for wear.

“Hmm. I might have some clothes for you…” Holly thought. She hobbled off on her crutches and motioned for Hatori to follow her.

“It’s fine. I’ll just go home now.” Hatori made for his coat.

“You can’t go home in that kind of weather!” Holly exclaimed.

“I’ll be fine. It‘ll lighten up soon enough.” Hatori reassured her and walked outside.

Holly stared after him. She couldn’t help but worry. What if he got in an accident! Or his car broke down and he had to walk all the way home or to a repair shop. He get could pneumonia. Or a serial-killer could shot him in the-. The door bell rang. Holly squealed as she was violently jerked out of her illogical thoughts and answered the door. Hatori was standing there drenched.

“My car won’t start.” Hatori stated. Holly smiled smugly. Now she knew he wouldn’t get hurt in the storm.

“You can stay the night. I might have some clothes for you…” Holly said walking towards her bedroom. She motioned for Hatori to follow her. Hatori was a little hesitant but eventually followed her.

‘I’m going into her bedroom…’ Was all Hatori could think of. Holly was searching through the closet. Hatori was trying hard not to look around at his surroundings. He didn’t belong there.

“Aha!” Holly said holding up some clothes. Gut clothing.

“Where did you get these?” Hatori asked kicking himself a second later for being blunt. They were probably her last boyfriend’s. He didn’t need to know that.

“They’re Hiroshi’s. He was Keiko’s last boyfriend.” Holly said and started to walk out of the room.

“You have your friend’s old boyfriend’s clothes in your closet?” Hatori said, again being blunt.

“This is Keiko’s room.” Holly said.

“I thought this was your apartment.” Hatori said.

“Oh. It is. We live together and share the rent.” Holly explained. “The bathroom is right there. I’ll just be in my room.” Holly went into a room a little ways down the hall and closed the door. Hatori went into the bathroom to change.

‘Well, that’s a little bit of a relief. I wasn’t in her room.’ Hatori thought taking off his wet clothes and putting on the dry ones. ‘This fit perfectly.’ Hatori thought looking at himself in the mirror. It wasn’t really his style though. He had on a pair of dark jeans and a plain green shirt. Hatori folded his wet clothes and walked out of the bathroom.

Holly stood outside the door. “Here. I’ll wash these.” Holly said and took the clothes from him. She walked down the hall and Hatori followed. He noticed that she had changed into a pair of dark jeans and a tan shirt. It accented her auburn hair nicely. Holly turned into a room that was supposedly the laundry room. Hatori went back into the living room and sat down pouring out another cup of tea. Holly returned quickly sitting down across from Hatori.

“Thank you.” Hatori said. “For letting me say the night.”

“It’s no problem. You had no where else to go.” Holly said and drank her tea. It felt nice. Knowing it was windy and cold outside but nice and warm inside with a nice cup of tea. And Hatori.

Just then a crack f lightning lit up the room. Holly screamed. She dropped her tea burning her arm. She jolted up but forgot about her ankle. A shot of pain went up her leg and she started to fall.

“Holly!” Hatori said grabbing onto her before she fell. Holly grabbed Hatori and hugged him tightly. There was a loud Poof! And Hatori disappeared.

* * * * * * * *

Author’s Gabbing:

Well. There it is. Finally! I’m so sorry to all of those who have been waiting for this to come out for so long. I made it extra long just for you! Actually I didn’t. I had so many ideas popping into my head that it took 9 pages to write it all down on! Well I guess that’s good for those who like long chapters. I had a little writer’s block when Hatori got to her apartment. It took me 3 months to finally get this all out how I wanted it. I didn’t intend for Hatori to transform so soon so I left it as a cliffhanger! Muahahaha! Sorry. It’s very evil, but doesn’t it make it fun too? Ah well. Hopefully the next chapter won’t take so long to come out. If any of you are Inuyasha fan’s please read my friend’s fic! Her name is Minerva32. Great writing style! Also if you like the romance/comedy theme, I advise you read Hana-kimi and Kare Kano. Great manga. And as always Stay Happy!

Hmm… what do I own?…*ponders this over some more*