Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Dancing Rain ❯ The Gathering of the Clouds ( Chapter 2 )

A/N: Thanks to all those who took time to read my fic! Arigato! I'm really thrilled that you took time to read or scan it eventhough you didn't review. Though it wouldn't hurt to get some feedback. This is my very first fic… so I'm a bit greedy for reviews. ^.^ By the way, special thanks to my one and only reviewer and fave authoress Tsukitani-san (who has a fic here called Forces of Destiny! Plug!) *hugs!!! ^.^* Its kinda funny getting a review from you for a change.. Anyway, I'm just glad to hear from ya. Thanks for pointing out that the main house doesn't have Western glass windows… gomenasai!!! Ok so let's all just pretend instead that renovations were made in the main house (also Shigure's house) and they have added several modern western furniture/fixture/stuff…

Dancing Rain

By Hatori's AnGeL

Disclaimer: I don't own Hatori or Akito *sigh* or any of the other Fruits Basket characters for that matter *sob.* I would die happy though if I do get to own any of the male members of the Sohma clan… *sigh* How I Wish!!!!

Chapter 2: The Gathering of the Clouds

Hatori was in his clinic, finishing the last of the paperwork that needed to be checked and signed. With a flourish of his hand, he signed the last one. Then he placed his fountain pen on a wooden container that had this cute colorful seahorse design (A/N: a gift from Shigure… who else? ^.^;;) that contrasted greatly to the otherwise plain and serious looking room. Hatori leaned back on his chair and stretched. At last, he was finally done with all the possible paperwork that a doctor needed to sign up & finish and best of all, he had no patients to check up on today. He glanced at his watch. It looks like he has spare time for the first time in days. He could go out and watch a movie or he could go home, rest, and get some much-needed additional sleep. After all, he deserved it. He had been working real hard this week.

Hatori closed his eyes as he thoughts drifted to that bizarre afternoon with Akito four days ago. He tried to remember all the details during that particular checkup. He remembered the cryptic conversation he had with Akito… something about rain… dancing??? He also remembered having strange thoughts about Akito… that he found Akito appealing, innocent looking, and…*gulp* sensual??? Heck, where did that come from? Hatori wondered if what he felt or *saw* was all just a dream… or a hallucination. Perhaps *this* was all because of fatigue and lack of sleep? He had visited Akito twice since that afternoon, and Akito acted like his old self… as if nothing unusual happened between them. He didn't know whether to be irritated or relieved. He chose the latter. But then, if all that he remembered to have sensed or seen wasn't "real"… would that mean that he was harboring some secret sensual/sexual feelings for Akito? Horrified at the thought, Hatori jumped up and rushed to the nearest sink and splashed water on his face. Damn and I'm even thinking about him right now!!! Hatori deliberately pushed all thoughts of Akito and *that afternoon* out of his head while he furiously rubbed his face dry with a towel. Suddenly…

"TORI-SAN!!!!!! WHERE IS MY BELOVED TORI-SAN???" shouted Ayame as he dramatically appeared out of nowhere in the room. Upon spying Hatori slowly walking out of the room, Ayame followed him and continued to shout…

"AHA!!!! FINALLY I HAVE FOUND MY BROODING DASHING COUSIN WHO LOOKS LIKE HE HAS BEEN LOCKED UP IN A COLD, DAMP, & DARK ROOM SINCE THE MIDDLE AGES…. BUT NEVER FEAR!!!! YOUR WONDERFUL, AWESOME, ALSO DASHING AND SUPER DUPER EXTREMELY HANDSOME COUSIN HAS COME TO SAVE YOU FROM THIS COLD AND DREARY LIFE…. HAHAHAHA!!!!!"

Ayame must of course do everything dramatically and spectacularly. Indeed Hatori's life would have been extremely dull and boring if it weren't for Ayame and Shigure… but sometimes, he could take only just enough nonsense from the two. He stopped walking and gave a pointed look at Ayame.

"You know that I strictly impose peace and quiet here in my clinic Ayame since we do not want to disturb the occupants of the nearby house…"

"Hai Hatori! Gomen, it's just I have missed Tori-san so much and Tori-san has been busy this week and I haven't thanked Tori-san enough for taking care of me and I wanted to do something special for Tori-san and I thought it would be nice for us to go out and…"

"What is it that you want to really do Ayame?" asked Hatori patiently. Hatori must always be patient and understanding when talking to this particular hyperactive artistic cousin of his.

"Well… I was wondering if it is convenient for Tori-san if we could go drop by Gure's place… and visit Yuki and his beautiful princess Tohru-san… BUT if Tori-san is too tired… we could go watch the latest movie that Tori-san instead or stay here…"

Hatori quickly thought about his options. A movie with Ayame… that could be dangerous. Ayame attracts women like honey attracts bees. Scratch the movie. Home alone with only Ayame as company… would drive him crazy with his nonstop chattering. He'd rather visit Shigure. Well, he could keep an eye on Ayame and at the same time, keep Yuki from killing his own brother. If he got sleepy-well, he could always sleep for a few hours at Shigure's study.

"We'll go visit Shigure. But Aya, you'll behave alright?" Hatori now always had to remind Ayame to behave. The last time the both of them visited Shigure's, Hatori had to tend to Aya's numerous cuts, bruises, and wounds inflicted on him by their younger cousins.

"Hai! I promise Tori-san!" Aya said humbly.

- * - Shigure's House - * -

Hatori was in Shigure's study resting on the couch there. He turned to his side and tried to block out all the noise that his cousins were making that could be heard clearly in the room. Turn and shift as he did, he could still hear their outraged cries…

"Kuso Nezumi! Why don't you get rid of your brother so we can all live in peace!"

"Baka Neko! If I could, I would have done that ages ago!"

"Ano… please don't fight!!! I'm sure Ayame-san is only thinking for you Sohma-kun!"

"Ohhh Aya-san, my flower has such a kind and understanding heart doesn't she? She'd make the perfect wife!"

"I am touched that the beautiful princess Tohru-san knows exactly how I feel… how Yuki-kun feels!!!"

Everybody stopped and fell silent as Hatori appeared and coughed loudly in the hallway where everyone was arguing. He had come just in time to stop World War III from erupting. He looked at each and every one of the present Jyunishi silently-making them all uncomfortable.

"If you intend to have blood shed, have pity on Tohru who would end up cleaning it and do it OUTSIDE and as far away from here as possible. And also, don't expect me to patch it up because I only take care of accidents-not intentional violence." He stated casually.

Hatori then nodded to Tohru and walked out of the room and back to the study. He sat on the couch, closed his eyes, and leaned back… waiting for the explosion down the hall.

- * - The Hallway - * -

"Ha-san is sooo scary! What's wrong with him?" whispered Shigure a bit loudly.

"I don't know Gure-san! Maybe because he had a very busy time these past few days. I dropped by his clinic this morning and he was already like that… I thought that perhaps a day out of the main house could help cheer him up." whispered Ayame quite seriously. Hatori was Ayame's friend and cousin, and he couldn't stand seeing Hatori like that… all uptight and too serious.

The cat and the mouse already disappeared from the hallway after mumbling their apologies to Tohru. They had left immediately after Hatori left. The dragon's words pricked their conscience and thought it wise to avoid each other and their older cousins to avoid war and bloodshed.

Tohru was still standing there and had heard Ayame and Shigure's whispers. Poor Hatori, he must be tired. Tohru suddenly smiled. She remembered Hatori's fondness for coffee. She slipped out silently towards the kitchen and busied herself in preparing the doctor's snack.

- * - The Study - * -

Hatori let a small smile of satisfaction appear on his lips. Finally after a long time, he had rendered them speechless. He could still hear the inu and the hebi's whispers. Oh so they think that he was overworked ey… His smile faded as he thought about his snappish mood and actions. He buried his face in his hands. What was wrong with him? He has always worked long and hard before but he has never reacted like this.

Hatori didn't need some intense soul searching to find the reason why he was acting like this. He already knows… deep down inside him, the answer called-cried out to him. But Hatori wouldn't admit it. He ignored it. He closed his ears and his mind. He just couldn't bring himself to admit it because it was silly, stupid, and utterly preposterous. Damn, he had come here to rest… not think. Thinking… thinking could be dangerous. Dangerous because forbidden thoughts and desires slowly, gradually surface. He forced himself and his mind to keep silent. Hatori groaned silently. He felt like his head would explode.

Hatori's head jerked up at the sound of the door sliding open. Tohru appeared with a tray in her hands and placed it at a nearby table. She removed and placed the contents of the tray on the table. A thermos, a coffee mug, and a slice of strawberry cake on a small plate was arranged neatly on the table. Then a shiny black ashtray was thoughtfully included in the arrangement. Tohru thought of everything. She then poured some coffee and offered it to Hatori.

Hatori gave Tohru one of his rare sweet smiles in thanks. He took the cup and Tohru smiled back at him happily. It was nice to see Hatori smile again. Pleased that her service was appreciated, Tohru asked if there was anything else she could do for Hatori.

"This is sufficient. Arigato Tohru. Please don't trouble yourself too much for me ok?"

"Okey. But if Hatori-san needs anything, please don't hesitate to call me! Oh and I'll try to keep the others quiet so that you can rest properly."

With those last words, Tohru bowed and walked out of the room. Hatori took out his cigarette case and extracted one long slim cigarette and lighted it. He took a drag then watched the smoke slowly spiral and disperse across the room and eventually float into nothingness across the half-opened door that led out to the woods. A breeze softly filtered in the room, caressing Hatori's hair, soothing and relaxing him. The fresh air had a hint of rain, indicating that it could pour real soon. He looked at the clouds and noticed that it was gray and looked heavy and full. The dark clouds were gathering to rain. He closed his eyes and let the breeze, which was picking up, continue to ease him. He found himself remembering the last time it rained… it was on *that* day. Odd that it stopped raining after that day… he remembered because he remembered waking up to a warm day with the sun filtering through the window. He frowned. Curiously, the thought of rain made him feel uneasy and elicited a feeling of dislike. Hatori shrugged, closed his eyes, and tried to empty all his thoughts and just enjoy the balmy breeze and sweet silence while he alternately sipped his coffee and smoked.

Gomenasai!!! I'm sorry it took so long… I have been busy this past few days and have been sleeping over at some place for a week that has no PC… *sob* I will be staying there for a total of three weeks *T,T* against my will… No, unfortunately it wasn't Hatori who kidnapped me… I wouldn't be complaining if he did *hint hint!* It's a school thing, requirement whatever… ugh.. so I can't get out of it. Plus I screwed up my laptop… *wah!!!* I tried to play a cd and it just went blank on me… I rushed it over to an expert and they said that it's a hopeless case… *sob* I think they are all against me in doing this fic… but I won't let them conquer me! I will finish this! ^,^

Actually this chappie should have been longer…but since I can only near to a PC when I go home for the weekends, I wasn't able to finish it. x,x Which would mean that my next update would be 7 days from now… T,T gomen…

Anyway, Tsukitani-san, you are not the only one who is beset by problems… you know the worst part of being away from the PC is that I wasn't able to read the update from your fic and my other fave authors… >,< so im sorry if I might be lousy in my reviewing...

Anyway, that's it for now. I swear the next chapter is going to have some lime… ^,^ Mina, please don't forget to review! Arigato! Ciao!