Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Broken ❯ If Wishes Were Fishes... ( Chapter 13 )

OMG! Is that 2 new chappies I see? I hope they were worth the wait…

I want to thank EVERYONE that reviews for me, your kind words at my paltry efforts keep me writing…even when you don't believe I am writing.

Broken Angel… if you want to back edit, be my guest… I'll be happy to re upload the re-done chapters… I really should do it myself ,

I would like to thank Sahira for beta-ing these two chaps for me.

This story is very dark, angsty and full of a lot of mature themes. If you are too young to see a "R" rated movie, you are too young to read this. IF you choose to read it, regardless of the rating, remember you have been warned. Don't go running to Mom and Dad saying I've ruined your illusion of a happy shiny world. :)

Kyou: Is it true? Tohru and I don't even show up in this chapter…

NK: Yep, absolutely true.

Kyou: But I wanted to hurt Akito some more…

NK: Too bad, you've been whining since I started this story, you have to go to Time Out now.

Kyou: *gives the Koneko sweet innocent kitty cat eyes* But… I wanted to hurt him some more.

NK: No, sometimes we have to give other people attention, like Shigure-sensei and Hatori-sama, and Haru-kun

Kyou: *growls* Fine… just tell them so we can get to a chapter with me in it.

Koneko no own Fruits Basket… but she does own her copies of Vol. 1-5 of the English translations of the Manga… looks at Kyou and sighs…"Time Out, Kyou, go."

Broken Chapter 13 - If Wishes Were Fishes…

Sohma Hatori looked at the three men standing on the opposite side of the bed as he put the last stitch into Akito's forehead and cut the remainder of the thread free. He could hear the music filtering through the walls from the New Year's Celebration down the hall. Most of the family was blissfully unaware of what had happened tonight. Thank Kami Sama for that small blessing.

"That should do it." Hatori said softly.

The three opposite him nodded as he stood and arched his back, trying to stretch the muscles that had become cramped as he'd bent over Akito to do his work. He picked up his medical bag and nodded toward the door. The others followed as he led them out the door and into the private living quarters of the man lying within the bedchamber.

"Let's go back to my rooms. I need a drink and a cigarette, not necessarily in that order."

Ayame looked at the Dragon questioningly. Normally the Dragon wouldn't have left an injured person unwatched. "Is that safe? Shouldn't someone be here if he awakens?

"He won't," Hatori answered wryly. "The sedative I gave him will keep him out for several more hours. Trust me; I doubled the normal dosage, just to be sure on that."

Ayame arched an eyebrow. "Very well, lead on then." He shot a look at, eyes wide and questioning. Shigure just smiled in return. It would seem the Dragon was no longer simply sleeping.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at Hatori's rooms. The Dragon peeled out of his jacket and loosened the tie as they entered and watched as the others did the same. The jackets were all tossed onto a chair near the door.

Hatori walked to the small wet bar in the corner as he pulled out his pack of cigarettes and shook one out. He brought the whole pack to his lips wrapping his lips around the one that was standing out from the others and brought his lighter to the end as he breathed in deeply. Smoke wafted up around his face as he closed his eyes, reveling in the taste of the tobacco on his tongue. He pocketed both the lighter and the cigarette pack as he approached the bar. Once at the bar, he picked up a glass, turning it upright and looked at the drink selection. He lifted a flask that contained a tawny colored liquid and poured a double shot into the glass before turning to the other three standing at the doorway to the deck with the flask lifted toward them.

Shigure and Ayame nodded their assent and Kazuma shook his to indicate that he did not care to partake. Hatori repeated his earlier actions pouring two more glasses of the liquid and then stoppered the flask. He picked up all three glasses; his cigarette clenched between his lips and met them at the door. Ayame and Shigure took their glasses and they all stepped out into chill air of the night.

Once they had all gotten settled, Hatori and Shigure sitting against the posts that held up the roof and Ayame and Kazuma against the walls of the house, Shigure broke the silence.

"Exciting night." His words were filled with volumes of sarcasm.

The other three nodded.

"So, what are we going to do now? Ayame asked, voicing the question that they had all been asking themselves since they'd broken into the room where Kyou had seemed to be bent on making Akito's head a part of the floor tiles.

"I was hoping that one of you had an idea." Hatori responded. "I'm all out of ideas at the moment."

"Well, we are going to have to do something; there's no telling what Akito will do when he wakes up in the morning." Kazuma spoke up.

"Should we do anything at all? Ayame questioned. "We are not the ones that have been wronged. Should we even interfere? We have done nothing to turn Akito's eyes on us. Though, I have a feeling that the dirty secret of Tohru's attacker's identity is out in the open, whether we wanted it to be or not. Most likely, the Younger ones are already planning something for our `beloved' clan head."

The Snake's smile had become almost evil as the blinking colored lights that had been strung around the house gave his features an almost mottled sheen.

"The moment that we pulled them apart we became involved Aye." Shigure answered. "The fact that we did nothing to punish Kyou for his actions will be viewed as traitorous by Akito. Every Juunishi there, chose sides, whether they wanted to or not."

"That's only if he remembers." Hatori said; his green eyes watching the lights blink above his head. "We can hope that the concussion he sustained will be enough to at least dim his memories of what happened tonight."

"Speaking of which," Kazuma looked at the Dragon, "Aren't you supposed to keep people with concussions awake, not put them to sleep?"

Hatori shrugged. "He was struggling so much I couldn't put in the stitches. I had to do something. It was either let him keep bleeding or put him out, which decision would you have made? Besides, if he's out, he's not in pain and he's not sending me out to take Tohru's memories because he's upset."

Hatori's voice had grown decidedly bitter by the time that he finished speaking. He lifted the glass in his hand to his lips and took a long drink of its contents. He grimaced as the liquid ran down his throat. There truly was nothing like American bourbon.

He stood up and walked back into the house to refill his glass, pausing only to take Shigure and Ayame's glasses from them on his way in.

Shigure watched the Dragon as he moved away, sensing that there was more to it than that. The Dragon seemed to be growing weary of his nearly indentured service to their clan head. Hatori was a man of great integrity and every time one of the children came to him injured from an "interview" with the man or he had to deal with their emotional scars, the feelings of loyalty he had at one time felt were strained. But, he also knew that Hatori would never admit such feelings, so it would be up to him to do so.

Shigure's own loyalties had begun to shift in the time that the Cat and Mouse had come to live with him. The rest of the group was over often to see one or both of them, and to see Tohru. He'd overheard their discussions on things that Akito had done to each of them, when they thought Shigure wasn't around. It was as if the entire younger group had kind of consolidated their ranks. From Kagura to Kisa, they had become inseparable.

"I, for one, am tired of watching him torment the kids," he spoke out of the blue. "Since Yuki, Kyo and Tohru have lived with me; I have spent a lot of time with all of them. I never knew how crazed the man was becoming until they began trading stories of their "interviews" with him." Ayame nodded, having been kept informed by Shigure, since Yuki was his brother.

"So then what do we do?" Kazuma asked.

Hatori walked back through the doorway, drinks in hand, at that point. He was framed by the light of the room within.

"We do the only thing we can do," Hatori answered quietly, as he leaned down. "We keep Akito as in the dark as we can about what they might be planning. If they come to us for help, we give it. And…"

The dragon looked over to Shigure, his eyes almost seeming to glow from within. The look on his face was dangerous. Shigure took in a breath. He had never, ever, seen Hatori look like this. It was as if he was finally allowing himself to feel the anger he'd bottled so long after his loss of Kana because of the clan head's actions.

Hatori's voice took on a growling tone "When the time comes and they act, we stay the hell out of the way. This isn't our fight, it's theirs. No matter what they do to him, we turn a blind eye. He has more than earned any justice they might seek. Once they are done, we will take whatever actions are necessary to ensure that he has no way to get retribution."

He handed Shigure and Ayame their glasses and strode over to where he had been sitting. Pulling another cigarette out as he leaned heavily into the post he was against, he lit it, the flame of the lighter amplifying the angry lines of his features. The Dragon leaned his head back, and stared into space as he exhaled the smoke from his lungs. Ayame and Shigure looked at one another as they each took a drink of the liquid in their glasses, as an oddly comfortable silence descended on the four men.

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From their places in the shadows, four sets of eyes widened as they heard Hatori's words. None of them had ever heard the Dragon speak in such a way. They looked at one another, each seeing the shock they felt emblazoned on the others faces. Yuki jerked his head away from the Dragon's house, signaling it was time to go. The other three nodded and followed him, careful to make as little noise as possible.

They walked in silence to their pre arranged destination, Haru's rooms, each lost in their own thoughts. The Ox moved up to unlock the door once they arrived. He opened it, letting them inside. Kisa and Hiro looked up from their places in the center of the floor and the anime they'd been watching as they awaited the group's arrival. The box blinked off as Hiro hit the power button on the remote.

"Well," Hiro said. "Did Kyou and Tohru get out ok?" His tone sounded bored, but his eyes told another story.

Kagura nodded as she slipped off her shoes and moved to sit down on the couch on the far side of the room.

Kisa breathed an audible sigh of relief. "I was worried for Nee-san and Kyou-san. I thought for sure that somebody'd keep them from leaving."

Haru looked at the younger girl from his where he stood, leaning against the wall as he his boots from his feet. "You worry too much. Given the state Kyou was in, I'd have pitied anyone that tried getting in his way." He dropped the boots on the floor and rubbed his shoulder as he took a place opposite Kagura in a chair. He should know; he was one of the ones that had gotten in the Cat's way.

Yuki nodded as he sat down next to Kagura after removing his shoes at the door. "What was more interesting was the `Blossom Trio's' reaction to the whole episode."[Author ID1: at Wed Nov 3 22:10:00 2004 ]

"Yeah, Hatori seemed angry." Momiji agreed as he scooted onto the couch, effectively wedging Kagura between himself and Yuki.

"What did they say?" Kisa asked, turning her body so she could see the Rabbit. She might have been young, but she wasn't stupid. Kyou's actions tonight could have gotten him into a lot of trouble.

"That they weren't going to get involved." Momiji answered.

Kisa's eyes went wide. "Then they aren't going to do anything to stop Akito from hurting her again?"

Momiji shook his head as he brought his legs up to wrap his arms around them, as Haru answered her question, "No, they aren't going to interfere in any way in with what we decide to do to him. In fact, most likely as long as we don't come out and tell them that we need help with something to hurt Akito, they will probably aid us." Kisa's eyes, if possible, went wider.

"However," Yuki's voice chimed in, "If he tries to hurt us once we've taken action, they are going to stop it." To be honest, the Mouse had been blown away by the discussion they'd overheard. For years now, they had all believed that the "Trio" didn't care one bit what Akito did to them. It appeared they had all been very wrong.

"Then why was Hatori so angry?" Hiro asked, a confused expression crossing his face.

"Because, like the rest of us, he believes that what Akito did to Tohru was beyond horrible. And I think, that maybe, he's finally allowing himself to be angry over loosing Kana as well." Kagura answered softly.

Haru nodded at her words. "You guys want something to drink?" He asked as he stood, moving to the kitchenette that stood off of the room they were. At their nods he pulled out six cans of soda and carried them into the main room, handing them one at a time to Kisa, who passed them on to the others.

Yuki looked at Haru closely. He was louder than usual tonight, but at the same time he was definitely in control. It seemed like he was stuck someplace between his personalities. Everything that had happened seemed to have brought him to a state that was neither one nor the other but a blending of both. Was this what he would be like, if his personalities weren't so severely split?

"So, do you know if we've got any kind of plan for dealing with this yet? Haru asked, looking at Yuki as he spoke.

The Mouse shook his head. "No idea. Kyou's been so busy taking care of Tohru; I haven't had a chance to discuss it with him." He looked down at the two kids that were sitting on the floor, and then back up to the Ox. "Whatever he comes up with, I'm sure it's not going to be pleasant."

Kagura looked at Yuki, her eyes widening. While she knew that the Cat didn't return her affections, she couldn't just turn off her own. "You don't think he'll do something stupid do you? There's no way he can deal with this alone."

Yuki shrugged. "I'm not sure what he's thinking, but I don't see him doing it alone. We've all got a stake in this and he knows it. Tohru means a lot to all of us. We all have the right to participate in making sure Akito's paid for what he's done to her. Not only that, given what they were saying tonight, the "Trio" even believes that he deserves some come-uppance for how he's treated all of us. This isn't only about Tohru, anymore, it's about making Akito understand that we are not his pawns. It's about getting back our lives."

The entire group nodded at those words. "So was there anything else we missed?" Kisa asked.

"Not really," Kagura said after she took a drink of her soda. "When we left, Shigure, Ayame, and Hatori looked like they were planning on settling in and having a few drinks. Kazuma was with them, but I think he was just there to make sure they didn't get too drunk and do anything stupid."

Kisa nodded.

The room became silent as each of the Juunishi fell into their own thoughts.

After a few minutes, Haru broke the silence. "So we've got a long way to go til sunrise, what did you guys want to do to kill some time?"

They all looked at one another and then back at Haru, "Do you have any games? We could play a game." Momiji said.

Haru nodded and left the room, only to return a few minutes later with a stack of board games in his arms. They all climbed down to the floor, settling into a rough circle as he sat the stack on the floor. "Ok, what do we play first?"

---------

Sohma Shigure cracked an eye open from his place on Hatori's sofa. He wondered momentarily what had awoken him; the sun hadn't even risen yet. He could have sworn he heard something. Maybe it was only the drum pounding in his head. He moved slightly and found Hatori standing at the door to the covered deck his head leaning against the coolness of the glass. Hatori moving around must have been what awakened him. He looked across the room to the recliner where Ayame had finally passed out last night. The Snake was snoring softly. It didn't appear that he would be waking anytime soon.

Kazuma had left them somewhere around their fourth or fifth drinks. He'd made them go in the house and promise to stay there before for he left. So they'd each settled down on a piece of furniture in the living room, reminiscing about days gone by until one by one they'd passed out.

Shigure rolled into a seated position and stood. He walked over to the door standing beside the Dragon as he watched the sun rise in the east. Hatori's expression seemed haunted as he stood there beside him. Shigure watched the Dragon's eyes slide shut and he seemed to be whispering under his breath.

Shigure then looked out the door as well. He hadn't realized that Hatori still observed this particular rite and he searched his mind for an appropriate wish of his own. `I wish…' he mumbled just under his breath, `to be free and happy.' It was his wish from his childhood, almost forgotten over the years that had taken place between then and now.

He reached over to Hatori and put a hand on the man's shoulder and squeezed lightly. The Dragon looked toward him an oddly sad expression on his face.

"What were you wishing for Ha-san?" Shigure said quietly, to avoid waking Ayame.

The Dragon moved his head back toward the door, and in a voice that Shigure almost didn't hear, he answered.

"Spring."

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Kagura and Yuki sat on the sofa watching Momiji and Haru battling on Haru's play station. Kisa and Hiro had long since lost their battles with sleep and each was lying under a blanket on the floor near by. Kagura looked out the window. She could just make out the first light of sunrise in the distance. She turned back toward the action in front of her. "Sun's coming up."

Haru punched the pause button on the controller he held and looked out the window himself. He nodded his head and crawled over to where Kisa lay sprawled on his floor. "Kisa-nee, it's time," he whispered into her ear softly as he touched her shoulder. Her eyes opened, still fogged with sleep. "Really, Haru?" He pointed to the window. Her eyes moved sluggishly following his finger, and then widened as she realized that it really was almost dawn. She sat up and then slid to where Hiro lay sleeping, shaking him gently.

"Hiro, wake up. It's time to make our wishes." Hiro stirred almost immediately under her hand. His eyes popped open and he looked around for a moment as if trying to figure out where he was. When he found her face looking down at him, he immediately calmed. "Hiro-kun, it's time to make our wishes." She smiled at him wistfully. He smiled back as he sat up, shaking the last of the cobwebs from his brain.

In the time that they'd been waking the rest had gone to get their coats. "Put on your coat Kisa-chan, its cold outside," Momiji said as he handed her jacket. Kisa smiled and took it from him.

"Where are we going to go to see the sunrise?" The more she woke up the more excited the little tigress seemed to become.

"Haru `borrowed' a ladder from one of the people decorating yesterday. We're going up to the top of the roof." Something in Yuki's tone when he'd said borrowed made Momiji's head turn toward him.

"What do you mean by that?" Momiji asked, not really sure he wanted an answer.

"The guy was still using it when it got borrowed. He was hanging some decorations up on the eaves of the roof and had gone to the roof of the porch to hang them. Haru took the ladder, when the man climbed onto the porch of the deck."

Kagura's eyes went wide, and she looked from Haru to Yuki. Haru just smiled at her, his wicked grin, almost contagious. Yuki looked like he was the most put upon person on the planet. "Yuki-kun, if you knew he was doing this why didn't you stop him?"

"I didn't know," Yuki said as he held open the door for the little group, giving the Ox a little extra help out the door, as he continued to speak. "For some reason, once it was all said and done, someone had to come and tell me all about it, because it was just that cool."

The group climbed the "borrowed" ladder up to the roof of Haru's section of the main house and settled down very close to one another, all holding hands and reveling in one another's warmth. They could not hug other people without changing. But here within this tight circle, they had no fear of that or anything else. Their minds drifted to the two that were missing from the group. If they'd been here, the little circle would have been complete. Then they turned their faces toward the east, each making their own wish.

Haru looked down at the little beside him, just as he saw her lips stop moving. He reached out and gently tugged at her pigtail. "So, Kisa-nee, what did you wish for?"

She looked up at him, smiling as she hugged him. "I can't tell you Haru-chan. But, I hope it comes true."

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Sohma Akito woke slowly, his head throbbing slightly. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked around the room, finding no one in his bedchamber with him. He reached his hand up to the source of his pain and felt the stitches that Hatori must have put in the night before. His memories of the prior evening were foggy, but he remembered how he'd gotten the injury that had brought on the stitches.

He moved slowly toward the edge of the bed and carefully levered himself upward. He stood shakily as his head floated and throbbed at the same time. Hatori must have given him some of the really good drugs the night before. The clan head walked to the window of his bedroom and pushed it open, squinting his eyes as the first light of dawn came shining back at him over the horizon.

He slid down onto his knees and rested his head on his arms on the base of the window. The chill breeze lifted his hair slightly as it entered the room. He ignored it as he watched the first day of the New Year begin.

He was supposed to make a wish now, but he really couldn't bring himself to do so. Thus far in his life, he'd never had an actual wish come true, he didn't see the point in adding another to the list. When he wanted things to happen, he simply commanded them to happen, and however they did it, the family made sure that his commands came to be.

His eyes grew distant as he looked out across the Sohma compound. Had he done the right thing? Was he prepared for the consequences? He swallowed as he thought of all the ways this plan of his could end. He nodded to himself as he found that he could live with any of the things his morbid imagination brought to him. Sometimes always living on the edge of dying had its benefits. When one always has to consider that he may not wake up the next day, one tends to cease caring about ones mortality.

And he was growing tired. Weary in fact of this warring within. One part of him wanted only what was best for his Juunishi, the other only wanted them, all of them. That part of him wanted to never release the stranglehold it had placed upon them. It was the side that won more often than not, its childish tantrums and hateful words caused more damage than he could ever hope to heal.

He looked back toward the east. This year he would make a wish, a wish and a prayer. "Kami Sama, please, just let this work."'