Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Dancing Rain ❯ Rain's Lullaby ( Chapter 5 )

Dancing Rain

By Hatori's AnGeL

A/N: Special thanks to all my reviewers! YAY! You all have no idea how relieved I am to know that people actually like and read my fic. Reviews and reviewers help inspire me to write! Thank you (100x) so very very much TSUKITANI-san *hugs Tsukitani-san tight* TY also for lending Gure-san to me. . . sorry if he returned to you all battered up and exhausted *blush* I'm sure you remedied the situation. . . oh and please tell him, I welcome his INPUT anytime! *grin*)

FOR MM readers: TY so much FAITH, DRAGONEYES, and MARGARET for taking time to read and review me! *smiles blissfully* You really have no idea how your comments mean to me! Anyway, I hope this chappie will satisfy your cravings for more of Hatori/Akito interaction. . .

ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I know, I know . . . we all wish we owned each a Fruits Basket character… unfortunately, we don't *sobs*. . . They all belong to Natsuki Takaya. . . I'm just borrowing them for this fic! Please don't sue, it's not worth it! Believe me!

Chapter 5: Rain's Lullaby

Hatori was lying on his bed, trying to fall back to sleep. The rain had woken him up at 2 a.m. He had closed his eyes immediately and had waited for sleep to take him back to the arms of Morpheus but here he was, 30 minutes since then, still awake.

Drip drop. Drip drop.

Hatori sighed and opened his eyes. The sound of the rain falling was what was keeping him awake! He turned and laid on his other side. He shut his eyes tight, wishing fervently that he'd black out.

Drip drip drip. . .

Hatori grabbed a pillow and tried to shut the damn dripping noise with it. But he could still hear the dripping sound in his mind. He wondered if he was now really going insane.

Drip drip drip drip drip drip drip. . .

Like a persistent drumbeat, the sound of the rain falling continued to reverberate within him. He let go of his tight grip on the pillow, letting it fall to the side. He turned his head and glared at the rain hitting his windowpane. The hypnotic rhythm of it falling and splattering on his window reminded him of Akito. Hatori gave a bittersweet smile. . . Akito. Damn. He was thinking of Akito again!

Fine! Maybe if he thought about Akito, he'd bore himself to death and finally fall back to sleep. Hatori groaned. . . he could definitely hear Shigure snort a "You Wish!" at him with that thought. Who was he kidding? Hatori tossed and turned his back from the falling rain window scene. Well, at least a small part of him now accepts the fact of his "obsession" (as he had labeled it) with Akito thanks to his two friends. Now he only felt like he was going *mildly* insane. Hatori gave a rare smile as he remembered his cousins' thoughtfulness.

Ever since that night where he broke down and cried, Shigure and Ayame had been very kind and understanding. They had immediately asked permission from Akito (sparing him the torture of interacting with him when he was still in an emotional state) if they could take him out for a 2-day vacation at the Sohma villa/resort at the mountains. Surprisingly, the clan head agreed to the vacation. Apparently, Akito felt well enough to not need the constant supervision from Hatori (which he constantly thanked Kami for during his vacation).

The vacation was indeed a God-sent. It gave him the much-needed time to relax and reflect. It also gave him time to analyze and understand his feelings. The two tried very hard to be on their best behavior. Ayame and Shigure acted normally but in a subdued sort of way. In reality, the two hadn't been able to really help him with his *problem* (seriously, how could they really help him in that area except give suggestions that border to perversion!) But their emotional support was enough for Hatori. And before they parted, Shigure reminded him that if Hatori needed any help or someone to talk to or share his *feelings* to-Hatori need only just to call him or Ayame up. Hatori wasn't entirely sure if Shigure was sincere or sarcastic but he nodded his thanks to them anyway. Now here he was, back at his home, trying to go back to sleep and stop worrying about meeting Akito again.

Hatori yawned and let his eyes droop. He could feel himself slowly. . . slowly . . drifting. . . finally. . . going . . . back to . . . sleep . . .

Knock. Knock.

Hatori burrowed his head deeper in his pillow, ignoring all the noise around him.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

ARGH!!!! Hatori threw his pillow on the floor. Great, just great! Everybody was against him! Why now, of all times, would someone wake him up just as he was falling back to sleep? He stood up and stormed towards his front door, and threw it wide open and barked a sharp "WHAT!" in the face of the person in front of him. A servant stuttered in front of him.

"S-s-sir! We-we-we've been t-t-trying to c-c-call you up b-b-but y-y-your phone. . ."

"I unplug the phone when I don't want to be disturbed in my sleep!" he tersely replied. "Why were you trying to contact me?"

"I-i-its Akito s-s-sir. He's s-s-sick. . . t-t-they s-s-said to inform y-y-you. . ."

Hatori paled. He had given specific instructions to the servants to contact him immediately if Akito was sick. Very sick.

He gave a curt "I'll be right there." and slammed the door shut and raced to his room. He changed his clothes in a flurry and grabbed the medicine bag that was specifically for Akito's use only. He didn't notice that he had slipped into "doctor" mode as he mentally ticked off the list of the things he needed. Satisfied that he had everything he needed, he rushed outside to the main house not even stopping to shut the front door properly and locking it.

Hatori was quickly walking towards Akito's room, at the same time rapidly firing questions concerning Akito's condition. He barked out instructions and handled the situation very much like a general calmly ordering and executing a long previously developed plan. Hatori was in his element here. He exuded the aura of a confident, controlled, and the "perfect" doctor. But in truth, Hatori felt nothing like perfect. He felt downright scared.

While all of this was happening. . . while Hatori was doing all of this, a part of him stepped back and detached from his real self. He could see everything he was doing. . . In fact, he had acknowledged the gravity of the situation and that's why he had "detached" to let "Dr. Hatori" take charge. But this other part of him, also realized the fact that he was now going to face Akito again. And this is what scared him. Seeing Akito. These feelings he had for Akito, he could not stop it. He hadn't wanted it but it was there. Now he had no idea on what to do with it *now* that he knew. . . This part of him had already tried to imagine how they would first meet, but never like this. Never with one that had Akito sick . . . in pain . . . He should have known better, being Akito's doctor. Now he felt unprepared . . . on how to act towards him. Should he just be plain old Dr. Hatori, slightly concerned yet detached? Or should he show how much he was *really* concerned about Akito's well being? His other self shuddered at the thought of Akito's possible reaction.

Hatori gathered himself and shook his head to clear it up from all other thoughts. This was not the time to analyze. He must concentrate on getting Akito well. THAT and only that was his main concern. For the moment anyway.

Hatori opened the door to Akito's room and strode in. Upon seeing Akito, he gave a short exclamation and immediately knelt near Akito's bed, and placed his hand on Akito's forehead. Akito was feverish and burning up real bad. Akito moaned and moved closer to the cool hand on his forehead, seeking its soothing coolness. Hatori's hand trembled in reply. Akito . . . Akito must be seriously in pain. Then suddenly, Akito started to cough violently and his body shuddered in pain because of the effort it took for him to cough. Hatori paled even more as he saw the blood on Akito's hand that had covered his mouth when he was coughing. Akito was sick. Really sick. He silently prayed to the gods as he took out his medicine and called out to the other servants to help him administer the medicine and alleviate Akito's pain.

-- * 3 hours later *--

Hatori sighed and sank into a nearby chair in relief. He was so very much tired. Tired but relieved. Thank Kami that the medicine worked. If he had administered it too late or if he hadn't thought of buying that medicine "just in case" . . . Akito could have . . . Hatori shuddered, unable to finish the thought.

Amazing. He, who had wished Akito to be gone before, now strongly wishes Akito to live. This harrowing experience he had just went through made him realize how much Akito was suffering for them-the Jyunishi. No wonder he must have hated us all. To go through all this pain and suffering for what? He mused. For a bunch of cursed people who avoided him, was scared to death of him, and in fact, also hated him? Hatori turned to look at the clan head. His face softened as his eyes slowly caressed the tired and the now somewhat relaxed face of his patient. He was glad, very much glad that he at least was able to take away or alleviate some of Akito's pain.

Hatori's eyes went to the window. It was nearly sunrise now. Yet, it was still dark. Looks like it would be raining for quite some time, he surmised. He watched the raindrops harshly hurl themselves at the windowpane . . . Akito called it dancing. Kami, it seemed like years since that odd conversation he had with him. And his feelings for Akito had fully blossomed since then. But there was nothing he could do about *that* . . . Hatori ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. He looked back to the object of his musings, sleeping peacefully. He stood up and dragged the armchair near the bed and settled down near him just in case he woke up and needed more medicine or something. Hatori yawned and closed his eyes. He'll just rest his eyes a bit . . . just rest them . . . for a . . . little *yawn* while . . .

And with that, Hatori fell finally back to sleep . . . with the rain softly singing its lullaby to the two occupants of the room.

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AnGeL-san: O,O eh, I can't believe I just did that!

Shigure: *yawns* Did what?

AnGeL-san: Made this chappie real short. *scratches head* I had a different story all lined-up and then this appeared. *sighs in frustration* My muse won't cooperate with me! Wah!

Shigure: *snorts* Yeah, this chappie is dull! *whines* I thought you said that there'll be Hatori-Akito action here! I came all the way here just to have a front-row seat and this is what you give me!!! *pouts* I want my money back!

AnGeL-san: *rolls eyes* I didn't ask you to come way over here and watch them from here! I only said that I hope that this chappie would satisfy the cravings for Hatori-Akito interaction! Hatori taking care of Akito is interaction . . . right?

Shigure: *sniff* But where's the hot stuff? The scorching looks? The *interaction*? *whimper* Do you know how much trouble I went to come here?

AnGeL-san: *cringes* Sumimasen! (100x) *Looks sorrowfully at readers and reviewers* I really really swear that I had intended Hatori and Akito to have a more meatier scene than this. But it just doesn't seem right plunging into an "interaction" without arranging the "meeting" first. So I promise, really, I swear, in the next chapter that there will be more "interactions" *whispers: but I can't entirely promise that it would be the kind of "interaction" that Gure-san has in mind!*

Shigure: What? What was that? *looks suspiciously at AnGeL-san*

AnGeL-san: *grins mischievously* Oh nothing. I was telling them how lucky I am to have Gure-san here to inspire me . . . *winks, then looks back to readers* Anyway, don't forget to R&R! I promise to post my next chappie ASAP! *walks away then posts message to Tsukitani-san saying that a certain inu has wondered at her place and is creating havoc. Requests immediate pick-up before Hatori gets mad. . .*