Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Amor Del Dragon ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

I still do not own Fruits Basket *still ponders over what she really owns*

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

* * * * * * * *

Holly screamed and landed on the coffee table. Luckily, she landed on her hands and was able to keep her ankle from further injury. Holly looked around and noticed that a fine mist was evaporating from around her.

‘Where did this mist come from?’ She thought. She picked herself up and dusted off her pants. Holly hobbled over to his side of the table and looked down. There were clothes lying in a small pile. Holly bent down to inspect them. This was getting very strange. Hatori was missing in a split second, apparently with no clothes on.

“Hatori-san?” Holly called out. She noticed movement out of the corner of her eye by the teapot. She moved it aside and discovered: a seahorse!

“Uwah! Where did you come from?!” Holly jumped back in surprise.

“Water!!” She shouted a second later and grabbed the seahorse, dashing into the bathroom. She turned on the water and placed the tiny seahorse in the sink. Once it was full, she shut the water off.

Holly stared at the seahorse. Was she dreaming? Holly turned around and leaned against the sink. Calm down. She splashed some water on her face. What was happening? A second later and the bathroom was filled with mist again. Holly coughed and shut her eyes. She felt something touch her back. Holly whirled around and saw Hatori standing there… naked! Holly took a step back, on her bad ankle, and slipped on the floor that was wet for some reason. Holly felt herself falling and remembered a sharp pain at the back of her head before she blacked out.

* * * * * * * *

Hatori was at a loss for words. He was standing, naked, in Holly’s bathroom with Holly lying on the floor unconscious. (A/N: He couldn’t catch her because he couldn’t see through the mist.) Hatori bent down to inspect her. Nothing was wrong, other than her ankle and a slight bump on her head. He got dressed and gingerly picked up Holly. He went into her bedroom and laid her across the bed.

What was he going to do when she woke up?

An idea popped into his head. Hatori left Holly and exited the room.

* * * * * * * *

‘It’s cold.’ Holly thought. ‘Cold?’ Holly opened her eyes slowly. She saw that she was in her room lying on her bed. There was a cool washcloth on her forehead. ‘So that’s why it was cold.’ Holly took it off and looked around. Then Hatori came into the room. (A/N: fully dressed).

“Hatori-san?” Holly asked. “What happened?” She couldn’t remember anything.

“You fell and hit your head on the table and blacked out.” Hatori said. (A/N: Liar). “I put you in your bed. Nothing’s wrong. You might have a bump on your head and a slight headache. Your arm was burnt too but it should heal quickly. Other than that you’re fine.”

Holly looked down. There was a cool cloth on her forearm. She removed it and saw an angry burn marking her skin. It wasn’t very big. Only the size of her pinky finger but twice the width. She hadn’t even noticed that she had burnt her arm, until now. The pain was ebbing its way into her consciousness.

Holly looked questioningly at Hatori.

“Is there a problem?” Hatori asked nervously.

“Well…” Holly started out hesitantly, “I remember a seahorse. And I put him in the sink. But then there was this mist and you were there…” Holly’s voice faded to a whisper. It sounded so absurd and stupid out loud.

“It was probably just a dream. Just a chain of events that went through your mind.” Hatori said while his heart beat like a drum.

‘Bu why would Hatori-san be naked?’ Holly thought. ‘I have heard that dreams are what goes on in your unconscious mind. Maybe that’s what it was…I think of a nude Hatori-san?!’ Holly decided to stop thinking and turned her attention to Hatori.

“Thank you. I seem to be hurting myself today.” Holly laughed her heart beating fast.

“It was nothing.” Hatori said.

An awkward silence followed. It was interrupted as something hard was blown into the window with a loud BANG.

Holly squealed in surprise and Hatori barely kept himself from laughing. Hatori looked at Holly.

‘She’s cute. She wears her emotions on her sleeve. Like Honda-kun. Or Kana…’ Hatori stopped. He hadn’t thought about her in awhile. He wondered how she was doing…

Holly looked up at Hatori and noticed that his eyes seemed to have glazed over. She wondered what he was thinking when she noticed that his eyes not only seemed far away, but that there was longing and sadness in them. She didn’t like how he was looking so sad right then.

“Hatori-san?” Holly carefully said. Hatori jerked back to the present.

“I’m sorry. Did you say something?” Hatori asked recovering quickly. But a little to well. He seemed to have gone back into his business mode.

Holly looked at him and he seemed to have shut himself away from her. Holly wondered if he was shutting himself from her or just from everyone.

“Ano…we should go back into the living room…” Holly started to move off the bed.

“You should rest.” Hatori said placing a firm hand on her shoulder to keep her down.

“I’m fine. Really.” Holly said and waved his hand off. She grabbed her crutches and hobbled off down the hallway. Hatori followed her. Holly looked at the clock. It was 6:30. So she hadn’t been asleep for too long.

The storm was still raging as the two settled onto the living room couch. The high-pitched note of the teakettle could be heard.

“I made some tea while you slept. One moment please.” Hatori went into the kitchen.

“I wonder where Keiko-chan is.” Holly thought aloud. It had been awhile since they had gone their separate ways. Holly was hoping she wasn’t trying to come home in this weather.

Just then, the telephone rang surprising Holly. She jumped and made a sound of surprise. Hatori hid his laugh by coughing into his fist. (A/N: Yes. He heard it from the kitchen. The rooms are right next to each other in my mind.) Holly answered the phone.

“Moshi moshi.” (A/N: I love this! It’s how the Japanese answer the telephone. It’s so much fun to say. Go on, say it again!…*cough cough*…Sorry…) Holly said into the receiver.

“Hey Holly-chan.” Keiko’s voice came through the receiver.

“Keiko-chan! I was just thinking about you! You’re not coming home, are you?!” Holly started to get nervous. Keiko was an “out there” kind of person, but surely, she wouldn’t try coming home in this weather!

“Of course I’m not. Would I do something like that?” Keiko asked Holly.

‘Sure you would.’ Holly thought. “Where are you?” Holly asked out loud.

“Lucky me, Katsuya happened to run into me just when the weather started to get bad. Now I’m stuck at this guy’s house.” Keiko said annoyed.

“Hey! It’s not that bad!” Holly heard Katsuya say in the background. Holly laughed to herself. Katsuya was a nice guy. She didn’t understand why Keiko had broken up with him.

“The tea’s ready.” Hatori said and laid the tray down on the coffee table.

“Oh, thank you.” Holly said to Hatori.

“Who’s there?” Keiko asked slyly.

“What, oh…eto…no one.” Holly said. Keiko would tease her for having a man stay the night.

“You were talking to someone.” Keiko said.

“No I wasn’t.” Holly said looking nervously at Hatori. He gave her an inquisitive look.

“You’re nervous. I can hear it in your voice.” Keiko said.

“Is something wrong?” Hatori said standing next to Holly. Keiko could clearly hear him.

“Ah ha! It’s a man! Who is he?!” Keiko asked anxiously.

“Hatori Sohma.” Holly muttered into the mouthpiece.

“IT’S HIM!” Keiko managed to scream in delight before Holly could hang up the phone.

“What was that?” Hatori asked.

“Oh, nothing.” Holly said. Her face was crimson. She knew what was going on through Keiko’s mind right now.

The phone rang. Holly yanked the plug out of the socket. The ringing died.

Hatori had a surprised look on his face. What was that all about?

“He he… Oh! Let’s have some tea!” Holly said as she hobbled over to the teapot. She poured out some tea into two cups and handed one to Hatori. He took it and they settled down onto the couch again.

There was an awkward silence…

‘Ughh! He probably thinks I’m so weird now. I hung up the telephone and then unplugged it! But what was I supposed to do?! Keiko-chan would have kept calling me… *sigh*…’ Went through Holly’s mind.

But in Hatori’s…

‘Did I do something wrong? She seemed frustrated when she was on the phone. Maybe it wasn’t me… But what am I supposed to do now?’

The awkward silence continued…

But right then it was broken by a ringing. The sudden sound made both Hatori and Holly jump. Then Hatori realized it was his cell phone.

“Excuse me.” Hatori said and went over to his bag. (A/N: His man bag again!) He pulled out the tiny device and hit a button holding it up to his ear.

“Moshi moshi” (A/N: Heheh…) Hatori said.

“Haa-san!!!!” A very loud and flamboyant voice came through the speaker.

“Ayame-” Hatori started to say.

“Gure-san told me! You went on a date! How long has it been Tori! How was it?! What did she look like? I need to know Tori!” Ayame interrupted Hatori.

“Ayame, this isn’t a good time.”

“Why ever not?” Ayame said, surprise in his voice.

“I’m not at my house.” Hatori said. Maybe Ayame wouldn’t pry him too much and he wouldn’t have to say where he was. If he did, he knew Ayame would report it to Shigure and the two would talk about all night long. Then they would call him and talk to him about it for hours…

“Well where are you?” Ayame asked, dashing Hatori’s hopes.

“No where.” Hatori said.

“Of course you’re some where-”Ayame said but heard something in the background.

“Is everything okay Hatori-san?” Holly said from the living room.

Hatori put a hand over his eyes. Ayame had to have heard that.

“Was that a woman?” Ayame asked.

“I really have to go.” Hatori said hurriedly.

“Is it the one you went on a date with?! Ah! Tori now you have to tell-” Ayame was cut off as Hatori cut the call. He had sense enough to turn off his cell phone though.

He went back into the living room and settled down on the sofa. He put a hand over his eyes and rubbed his temples.

“Are you alright?” Holly looked at Hatori concernedly.

“Yes. Just exhausted. He is very tiring.” Hatori said with his eyes still closed.

“Who was it?” Holly asked.

“An insane cousin.” Hatori put down his hand. “We went to high school together with another of my cousin’s. Since then they’ve stuck to me like glue.”

“So they’re your friends.” Holly said. She understood. Her friends could be tiring too. Especially Keiko-chan.

“Is that what they are?” Hatori asked seriously.

“Ha ha!” Holly laughed. Hatori smiled.

“Well, what’s your friend like. The one you just talked to. What does he do for work?” Holly asked.

“Umm…He makes clothing.” Hatori answered. It was the truth. Though his shop was a little more queer than just that.

“Oh!” Holly said interestedly.

“The only plus to him is that he listens to me. He’ll do anything if I tell him to do it.” Hatori said.

“He must admire you a lot.” Holly smiled. “What about the other one. You said you went to high school with him also?” Holly asked.

“How to explain him. He’s an author.” Hatori said.

“Is his last name also Sohma?” Holly asked.

“Yes?” Hatori said uncertainly. Could she know Shigure?

“Shigure Sohma?!” Holly asked brightening up.

“Yes. How do you-” Hatori began to ask.

“I love his books! I’ve read almost all of them! I love how he writes. I know his editor. Mii-chan but I’ve never met him. Wow. I can’t believe you’re related.”

There was two things in common. Hatori couldn’t believe she read his books. Also, he couldn’t believe he was related to Shigure. Then Hatori turned the tables off of him. He never really liked to talk about himself or family. (A/N: For obvious reasons.)

“You said you know Mii-san. Shigure’s editor.” Hatori said.

“Oh! Yes! We went to college together!” Holly said brightly. “She’s very nice, though she can get very dramatic…” Holly left the sentence hanging. One time Holly had had the misfortune of walking with Mii-san when she received a phone call from Shigure-san saying he was running away without finishing his manuscript. It took an hour and a few strong male bystanders to keep her from killing herself while she screamed about how Shigure was always doing this kind of thing and this time she wouldn’t live to take the blame or the humility.

“And you’ve met Keiko-chan!” Holly said wiping off the frown, she had worn when remembering the incident.

“Yes. She seems…spur of the moment.” Hatori said.

“Hah ha! Yes. That would be Keiko-chan.” Holly laughed.

Hatori looked at her and smiled. She was radiant when she was happy. As if she was glowing with her emotions. And it seemed to rub off onto Hatori. Then he remembered… He looked away from her with a stony face until Holly gasped. He turned around to see her surprised face looking at the wall opposite.

“It’s that late?! You must be hungry! I’m so sorry. I’ll make something quick.” Holly got up and went into the kitchen. Hatori looked at the clock and saw that it was 7:00. It really wasn’t that late, but Holly had already gone to make something for him before he could get a word in.

Hatori looked around her living room. There was a bookcase against one of the walls. He decided to look at what books she liked. Not surprised yet surprised, he saw that she owned some of Shigure’s works. He ignored those. He noted that she had some more complicated books. They were not only thick but when he opened a few the Kanji was a difficult level. (A/N: Hatori understood it all, but not everyone would. Hope that clears it up. I’m not saying Hatori-san is stupid!) He replaced the book he was holding. He scanned the rows of books when one in particular jumped out at him. The title read Anatomy and Workings of the Mind when Holly popped out of the doorway.

“Dinner is ready!” She said smiling. “It’s spaghetti.” She went back into the kitchen and started laying out the food as Hatori sat down at the table.

“You didn’t have to do this.” Hatori said as she served him first.

“Of course! It’s a way to thank you and I know all you doctors never eat regularly. So this way I know you’re not going to eat some instant ramen or something when you get home.” Holly said. (A/N: Okay. I had to put the instant ramen thing because Hatori probably does eat that for meals. But I honestly love Ramen Noodles! Heck yes, I’ll eat ‘em all day!)

Hatori smiled weakly. He did eat that very often. He ate some of the dinner and was instantly surprised. It was delicious! Not that he didn’t think she was a good cook but he was thinking about noodles and then suddenly had the surprising taste of spaghetti.

“This is delicious.” He said and ate some more.

“Thank you. Are you sure the sauce is alright. Not too much seasoning?” Holly asked concernedly. She had made it herself and she wasn’t sure what kind of tastes Hatori had.

“No. It’s wonderful.” Hatori had never had sauce like this before. Tohru-kun made it a little differently but it was also as delicious as this. Just different flavors.

“Oh, good. I wasn’t sure if you would like it.” Holly said relieved.

An awkward silence followed…again… Both finished quickly and when Holly started clearing the table Hatori started to help.

“Oh. You don’t have to.” Holly said moving to collect the plates Hatori had grabbed.

“No, I’ll help. To thank you for the dinner.” Hatori gathered the rest of the plates and followed Holly into the kitchen.

‘He’s very nice.’ Holly thought to herself, a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks. She set the dishes into the sink and filled it with water. Hatori had rolled up his sleeves and dried the dishes as she handed them to him.

It was silent.

‘What am I supposed to say!’ Holly thought in her head. She was very uncomfortable and didn’t know what to do.

They washed the remaining dishes in silence. There wasn’t much to wash though so the awkward silence wasn’t prolonged.

“Thank you again. For everything.” Hatori said. He felt so stupid that he had to stay the night. Damn his car. That’s the last time he buys a western one. (A/N: Lol. He does have a western car though. In the manga and anime.)

“Oh! Really it’s no problem! And it’s thanks to you that I haven’t really hurt myself tonight. I seem to keep falling…” Holly said embarrassed. It was true. She was clumsy but she usually wasn’t this clumsy!

They settled back down in the living room.

“We should bathe your foot.” Hatori said getting up and going down the hall.

“Bathe my..? Oh yea…” Holly remembered what he had said when they were at his doctor’s office.

Hatori returned with to two small tubs (A/N: He got them from the hall closet) filled with water. He set them down in front of her and gently removed the wrappings from her foot and lowered it into the cold water.

“Thank you.” Holly said as Hatori sat on the couch again.

“It’s no problem. Soak in that for a minute, then switch to the other tub and soak your foot for 3 minutes.” Hatori instructed.

“Right.” Holly said. She started counting in her head. Hatori laughed and she looked around at him with a confused expression on her face.

“Sorry. It’s just that your face was so set on concentrating. It doesn’t have to be exactly a minute.” Hatori chortled. (A/N: I love that word. Chortle. Heheh…)

“Oh. Right.” Holly said. She just seemed to be embarrassing herself this evening.

Hatori looked over by the window. You could still hear the storm raging.

“It’s still storming.” Hatori said to no one in particular. “Kyo-kun must be having a hard time.” Hatori muttered unconsciously.

“Oh. Who’s Kyo-san?” Holly asked.

“Oh. Uh… just a distant cousin. He gets a little put out during storms. It’s just how he is.” Hatori said.

* * * * * * * *

What an understatement. Down by Shigure’s house the storm was much worse. At that moment Kyo was lying on the floor half-dead.

“Ah Kyo-kun, do you want some tea?” Tohru asked. Maybe some hot tea would help.

Kyo grunted.

“Lazy cat. He can’t even answer Honda-san.” Yuki said walking by.

“Shut up…” Kyo said, not very threateningly.

“At least my house doesn’t have to go through torture today.” Shigure said sipping his tea.

Kyo picked up his fist and broke the table in half and then lay passed out on the floor while Shigure cried and Tohru went into frenzy.

* * * * * * * *

Hatori sweat dropped. He could just imagine what was going on at Shigure’s house.

“You said distant cousin. Just how distant?” Holly asked. She removed her foot from the cold water into the warm water. It felt nice.

“About my 15th cousin and so and so times removed.” Hatori said. (A/N: I have no clue how distant the Jyuunishi are. I totally made up the number. Please don’t sue!)

“Wow. I know, like my third cousin, and I’ve never met them either. That’s all I know. After that I have no clue. You really do have a large family.” Holly said.

“Yes. It is rather large.” Hatori said, almost tiredly. It was a large family but the main source of his exhaustion was caring for Akito. She was always unstable and called for constant attention. Not only was she medically taking up his time but also when she had occasional outbursts. When she was riled up it usually took him to calm her down but sometimes Yuki or Kureno or Shigure (though not Shigure lately) would have to help him to bring her back to thinking logically and settle down.

Holly looked at him. He had closed his eyes and seemed to be thinking but she couldn’t help but stare. His appearance didn’t change but she could see how tired he was. His eyes seemed to be rejoicing that they were closed, shutting out all sight that may be sore for him to see. But his body was relaxing too. He was sitting against the back of the couch and seemed to let every muscle let slack. She liked this. He was comfortable even in this very uncomfortable situation.

‘He just seems so tired. I’m glad he can relax. Even at a time like this. Before it seemed so uncomfortable and awkward but now it’s just peaceful. He looks like he could use time to relax. Maybe he could come over another time. Oh! What am I thinking?! I’ve only just met him! This is the second time I’ve ever seen him! Though it is only the second time and he seems comfortable around me. Oh please! It’s not me! He’s just probably like his any other time at his home and he’s just here because of this situation! I’m so stupid! Thinking all this nonsense! Oh…’ Holly stopped her train of thought. Just then she felt a pressure on her shoulder. She looked over and saw Hatori leaning against her.

‘Aaaaaaggghhhh!’ Holly silently screamed in her head. He was leaning on her!

‘I can’t move though. He might wake up and if he fell asleep on the couch then he must be really tired. Well of course he is. He’s a doctor. Aren’t they like always on call or something?’ Holly thought.

Hatori let out a low sigh. Holly looked at him. He seemed nice and content.

They stayed that way for about 10 minutes with Holly only moving to switch her foot into each of the two tubs until Holly decided he was asleep enough to move fully. She gently lowered his head down on the couch. He was so tall. When she laid him out he covered the full length of the couch with his feet propped up on the armrest. She smiled and locked up the house. She went into the hall closet and pulled out a thick blanket she had made. She laid it across him. It was a little small so she got a second one. Man he was tall.

She went down the hall and closed the door to her bedroom behind her. She crawled into bed and flicked off the light. The whole house was dark, warm, and at ease with only the sound of the finally subsiding storm outside to be heard.

* * * * * * *



Author’s Blanching: Man! That took forever to write! I’m so sorry it took so long to get out! Please forgive me! I had some serious writer’s block and just didn’t know how to end this! But now another chapter has ended and all of you have read it. I hope you have enjoyed it so far! I hope the slow updating isn’t turning you off! I promise I will finish this fic! You know I’ve been thinking about it. I am going to finish this fic but if I end it, a certain way then there could end up being a sequel and maybe one after that. That is if I get over writer’s block, laziness, and I remember all the ideas that seem to have hit me this evening. Also, it seems that I do my best writing at night. I should be studying for my History test on Wednesday…Oh well! It’s on WWI. Who doesn’t know the main jest of that?! Plus I do very well in History though I really don’t like the subject. I find it boring. I’m into art and math. Yes, I know. It’s a weird combination but my Mom says it makes me balanced. Artistic yet logical. Well. My friend says I’m romantic because of all the romantic fics I’ve written so I’m a little bit of everything. I’m a sucker for romance really. My friend got me interested in InuYasha mainly because of the romance. It’s so cute! I heart fluff! Okay. I think that’s enough blanching. Hope you enjoyed this update. Keep reading please and Stay Happy!

Yasu-san.