Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ In order to remember ❯ Fever ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

As a note, this takes place after the last three episodes of the anime, just in case anyone gets lost!It started as any normal day at the home of Shigure Sohma, at least as normally as any day can for a family cursed by the Chinese Zodiac. Shigure was absently singing to himself about breakfast time. Kyo was sulking on the stairs. Yuki was just coming into the house after checking on his secret base and its garden. But there was one thing missing, the sound of Tohru’s voice or the clattering of dishes from the kitchen as she prepared breakfast. Yuki looked at Shigure sitting almost blissfully at the table, his long legs folded as he hummed to himself. Kyo cursed his shoelaces as they refused to unknot so that he could put them on. Someone had knotted them over and over again. It had been two weeks since Tohru Honda had confronted Akito at the Sohma House, slightly longer since she’d learned about Kyo’s “original” form, a grotesque creature of incredible strength that easily caused fear in any who looked upon it. And it had been just about that long since she’d accepted him despite his form, something no one had done before, especially one who was not a member of the Zodiac. Yuki leaned against one of the walls, near the doorway that led to the kitchen. So many things had changed, and yet some things were still the same. He laughed slightly to himself as Kyo cursed loudly then threw his shoes. Shigure seemed completely unaware of his behavior, continually humming his odd tune to himself, eyes closed as he anticipated some delectable concoction of Tohru’s for breakfast. Yuki checked his watch. Tohru was usually never late, unless something was wrong or she’d gone off daydreaming. He went into the kitchen to check on her but found the room empty. “Shigure,” he said as he looked into the dining area, “have you seen Miss Honda?”Shigure looked up from his humming, stopping in mild surprise.
“Why no. Now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve seen her all morning. I wonder where she could be.” Yuki walked towards the stairs, across the room, having to circle around the low dining table on his way.
“I should see if she’s still in her room.”“I’ll do it,” Kyo said abruptly from the stairs and quickly ran up them. More than anything, he wanted to be the one to find her, not the stupid rat.Shigure shook his head as Yuki clenched his fist.
“One way or another, Yuki,” he reminded gently with a smile. “After all, he was closer. But while you’re up, why don’t you see if there’s anything left over from last night. Those wantons that Tohru made were quite delicious.”Yuki sighed but headed back into the kitchen.Kyo stopped himself at the top of the stairs and took a deep breath before going to Tohru’s door. It was closed. He hesitated a moment, then knocked.
“Tohru, you in there?” There was no answer so he knocked louder. “Tohru, I’m coming in.” He slid the door open and stepped into her room.Just as he might have expected, Tohru’s room was clean. As usual, the picture of her mom was sitting on the small desk in the corner. He saw the light from the hall reflecting off of it, but was surprised that the windows hadn’t been opened. Not even the overhead light was on. He flipped the switch and saw that Tohru hadn’t made her bed. There was a large twist of bedding in the middle and he might have dismissed it if he hadn’t heard a slight groan coming from it.
“Tohru,” he said almost cautiously, “you in here?” He walked over to the bed and saw her in what he’d thought was a twist of bedding.
“Tohru, time to get up,” he said a little more grumpily. “It’s a bit late to be sleeping, don’tcha think?”Her face was turned towards the wall so he couldn’t see it, but he thought he heard her breath and it sounded funny. He nudged her shoulder with a finger.
“Hey, sleepy head, wake up.” She didn’t respond to him. Some of her hair had fallen down over her face and he went to tenderly brush it away, touching her forehead as he did. It was hot, very hot.
“Tohru!” He felt panic starting to well up in him. He ran from the room, to the stairs, yelling as he went. “Shigure! Shigure!”
He pounded down the stairs, almost tripping at the turning.Shigure looked up, a wanton in his chopsticks.
“What’s wrong,” he asked as Kyo pounded into the room. “Find something scary up there?”Kyo wanted to pound Shigure for sounding so…smugly himself.
“No, you numbskull! It’s Tohru! She’d got a fever! I gotta call Hatori.” He ran for the phone but stopped as Shigure grabbed his ankle, almost falling over before stopping. “Slow down, Kyo,” Shigure instructed. “Let’s not jump farther than we have to.” “Miss Honda’s sick,” Yuki asked with concern. “What did I tell you,” Kyo yelled. “She’s got a fever!”Shigure put his chopsticks down and calmly stood up, heading for the cupboard where they kept the thermometer.
“Well, I suppose we should just go see,” he said, turning around with the thermometer in his hand. Both Kyo and Yuki followed him up the stairs and into Tohru’s room. Kyo stalked most of the way, hands in his pockets, his expression totally pissed. “Tohru,” Shigure said gently, shaking her lightly. “Tohru, I need you to stick this under your tongue please.”Tohru groaned slightly but didn’t wake up. “You see,” Kyo said in panic. “You see! And I can’t wake her!”Shigure turned her onto her back and stuck the thermometer in her mouth.
“Yuki, do you mind getting a cold cloth please?” Yuki left to get one while Kyo danced around the room, his arms flying out in an agitated manner.
“I’m telling you we should call Hatori,” he accused. “This is not good. Can’t you hear the funny way she’s breathing?”Shigure continued to hold the thermometer as Yuki returned with a damp cloth, which he put across her forehead.
“Shigure,” he said. “She feels really warm. Maybe we should call Hatori.”Shigure took out the thermometer and looked at it a moment, his own brows furrowing with concern.
“Maybe you’re right. She has a really high fever, higher than I’ve ever seen.” Before he could finish speaking, Kyo was running down the stairs again, practically wrenching the phone free from its cradle to call Hatori. “You’d better not be breaking anything,” Shigure called after him.Kyo ignored him, impatiently pounding the numbers and cursing every ring before Hari picked up the phone. He swore it took ten rings for him to answer.
“Hatori, you gotta come down here right away!” Kyo said as soon as Hatori picked up the line. “Kyo, calm down,” Hatori’s gentle, lower voice answered. “Tell me what’s wrong.”Kyo started talking so fast that it was hard to follow.
“It’s Tohru, she’s really sick. You gotta come now. I couldn’t wake her and she’s burning up.” “Kyo, I can barely understand what you’re saying. You need to slow down.”
Kyo growled in frustration but tried again.
“Tohru’s sick, really sick. You have to come now!” “Kyo, I can’t just drop everything,” Hatori tried to reason. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” “You gotta come now,” Kyo tried again. “She’s breathing really funny. She may be dying. Please.” He hated begging but he couldn’t let Hatori just sit back while Tohru suffered.There was silence on the line, then Hatori sighed deeply.
“All right, Kyo. I’m on my way.”“Good,” Kyo said as he hung up the phone with enough force to make it clang in protest. He ran back up the stairs, puffing slightly as he reentered Tohru’s room. Both Yuki and Shigure looked up.
“He’s coming,” Kyo said gruffly in response to their unspoken question.“You know,” Shigure spoke up, “It’s kind of funny. She seemed fine last night.”“But didn’t she look a little pale,” Yuki asked no one in particular.
“Now that I think about it, it seems that she’s been a bit out of sorts since she confronted Akito.”Shigure thought about that a moment.
‘I think you’re right,” he confessed. “She has been taking a lot of medicine lately, hasn’t she? Probably didn’t want to bother us.”“Well she darn well should have,” Kyo added angrily. “What was she thinking?” Yuki looked at his watch.
“I should be going to school,” he said pointedly. “I’m already late.” He looked over at Kyo with a slightly accusatory expression.Kyo didn’t miss the look. He folded his arms.
“Go ahead and go. I’m not going until I know how Tohru’s doing,” he said stubbornly. “All right,” Yuki said. “I have student council duties I must attend to. I’ll see about having you excused for being late.”Kyo stopped up short and stared at Yuki in surprise.
“You’d do that… for me?”“For Miss Honda,” Yuki corrected and headed out the door, picking up his book bag from his room on the way down the stairs.Hatori strode into the room a minute or so later, his long legs taking him quickly to Tohru’s bed, his doctor’s bag in hand, white lab coat going down to his knees, dark hair covering his left eye, as usual. “Shigure,” he said in greeting, then knelt down by the bed.
“Kyo. I came over as soon as I could. Now tell me what the problem is.” He opened his bag and pulled out a stethoscope and pressed it to Tohru’s chest as Shigure answered. “I’ve got to tell you, Hatori, I’m relieved you came so quickly. It doesn’t look good. I just took her temperature; it’s way too high, a hundred and five.” He sounded worried as he spoke, glancing at Hatori’s face for any clues as he continued his examination, listening to her breathe through the stethoscope. Tohru coughed slightly but did not wake up. “How long has she been like this,” Hari asked as he stood up and put his instrument away. “I don’t know,” Shigure answered truthfully. “She seemed fine last night, but then she has been taking a lot of medication lately, for headaches and a sore throat. She said she’d just caught a cold and not to worry about it. She seemed to be all right so I let matters lie.”Hari shook his head sadly, then looked at the floor, contemplating what do to. Kyo paced the room, wondering why he wasn’t saying anything.
“So,” he asked very pointedly. “What’s she got?”Hari ran a hand through his hair. “It looks like pneumonia,” he said almost tiredly. “And from the sound of it, she’s had it for a while now. It’s probably partly from stress and exposure. But she’s also dehydrated.”
He turned to Shigure. “You have three options, we can leave her here and bring in special equipment to treat this, but I really don’t advise that. Something like this requires a lot of care. Or we can take her to the hospital where there will always be someone there to watch her.”“And?” Kyo bounced impatiently. “What’s the third option?”Hatori sighed. “We can take her to my house where I can keep a closer eye on her. There’s a spare room near the laboratory.”“What about Akito,” Kyo burst out.“You let me worry about Akito,” Hari said almost grimly, looking at Kyo. He turned back to Shigure.
“As the unofficial head of this particular house, and as acting legal guardian, it’s your decision.”Shigure looked at Hari, then at Kyo.
“Is it really that bad?” Hari nodded in response. He fiddled with his hands a moment, looking at Tohru’s face, seeing the red highpoints on her cheeks, signs of a high fever.
“We’ll take her to your house,” he said tiredly. “I’d rather not trust her care to anyone else.”Hari nodded and picked up his bag.
“I’ll bring the car around front.” He left the room.Kyo gave Shigure a nasty look.
“And just how do you expect us to carry her down the stairs, smarty pants? Even if she is light, we’d have a real fun time carrying her as a cat and a dog.”Shigure cringed sheepishly as he realized Kyo was right. He looked around.
“We can carry her in one of her blankets,” he said, “like a large sack of rice. I’ll carry one end and you carry the other.”Kyo groaned but agreed since he couldn’t come up with any better idea. Shigure would, of course, come up with some idea related to food.
“All right, but I get the side with her head. I don’t want you shaking her up.”They pulled out one of her blankets, removing the quilting from around her, then rolled her onto the blanket. Shigure held the ends with her feet and Kyo took the end with her head. They lifted and Kyo groaned with the strain.“Sure you don’t want to trade places,” Shigure said almost mockingly.Kyo grunted but kept his place.
“Just don’t knock her into any walls,” he warned. “You go first so we can keep her head up.”Shigure went out into the hallway first, Kyo following him, trying very hard not to grunt as he strained slightly with her weight. Maneuvering her around the stairs was a little harder because they had to turn around a corner or two to do so.Hatori came back into the house. He looked up the stairs in surprise as they came down the turning, both straining slightly with the effort of trying to keep her from scraping against the stairs or hitting into the walls. They made it down the stairs though.“Here,” Hari offered to Kyo, “let me.” Kyo gladly let him take over carrying his end, puffing and slightly red in the face.
“You wouldn’t think she’d be so heavy,” he complained but followed them outside.
“Hey, be careful,” he yelled as Shigure almost missed a step down from the porch. “You drop her and you’ll be sorry.”Shigure just ignored him as he strained to get Tohru through the back door of Hari’s car and onto the backseat. “Just think, we get to do this all over again once we get there,” he said as brightly as he could. “Mind closing the door, Kyo?”Kyo clenched his fists but closed the door behind them and climbed into the car as Shigure sat in the front seat.“Shouldn’t you be going to school now,” Shigure asked.“I already told everyone, I’m not going ‘til I know how she’s doing,” Kyo said stubbornly.
“Besides, Yuki’s going to clear it with the school.” He closed the car door.“Leave him be,” Hari said as he climbed in behind the wheel and started the car. “We could use the help once we get there.”The drive was rather uneventful. Kyo wished it had gone faster as he listened to Tohru breathe funny, like she couldn’t quite get enough air.
“She’s going to be okay, right,” he asked Hari worriedly.“We’ll have to wait and see,” Hari responded.Once they got to Sohma House, they repeated the same process of carrying Tohru inside where they gently placed her on a spare bed in the spare room off of Hari’s laboratory. The two rooms were separated by a corridor that also led to Hari’s own living area. Hari went to find more pillows.“Here, prop her up with these,” he instructed once he’d returned. “We need to keep her head higher than her heart.”Kyo and Shigure placed the pillows behind Tohru’s head and back, propping her up until she was almost sitting. Kyo gently pulled the cover up to her chest while Hari left the room to make a phone call. He returned a moment later.
“My friends at the hospital are going to bring over some equipment,” he explained when Shigure gave him a questioning look.“I hope she’ll be okay,” Kyo said as Hari went to get something. “She sure doesn’t look too good.”“Don’t worry,” Shigure said too brightly. “Hari’s a wonderful doctor. If anyone can cure her, he can.”“Thank you for your words of encouragement,” Hari said as he returned again, with some syringes and some phials. He put on a pair of sterile gloves and tied a tourniquet around Tohru’s left arm, pushing up the sleeve of her pajamas to do so. He inserted a long needle after sterilizing the skin.“What’re you doing,” Kyo asked in surprise.“I have to take some blood samples,” Hari explained, “to figure out what triggered all of this. Pneumonia is usually caused by something else. I need to know what it was if I’m going to correctly treat it.” He filled several phials before removing the needle and band around her arm. “I’m going to have to start her on an I.V. to try and rehydrate her,” he warned. He took the blood samples to his lab and returned with an I.V. bag and tubing. He set the bag on a stand and connected the tubing, then rubbed at a spot on her wrist with an alcohol swab before inserting the needle into her skin. Shigure cringed away as he did so.“That’s a really long needle,” he said with almost a whimper, throwing his arm up to his forehead dramatically. “Almost as long as the one you used on me.”“Cut it out, Shigure,” Hari said without humor. “Shouldn’t you be working on your manuscript?”“I…” Shigure looked blankly at Hatori, then his face filled with comprehension.
“I suppose, but you must call me the moment you learn anything,” he finished dramatically as he headed for the door.
“I don’t know if I could live without knowing how poor Tohru fairs. It would be a torment too great to bear.”Hari folded his arms and tapped his foot, his expression less than amused.“All right, all right,” Shigure said. ‘I can see when I’m not wanted.” He left.Hari turned to Kyo, his expression not changing.“I’m not leaving, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he said before Hari had a chance to open his mouth. “And I don’t care if Akito finds out.”“No, I wouldn’t expect you to,” came the reply, almost thoughtfully. “There are some cloths in the laboratory. You should probably try to get her temperature to come down if you can.”Kyo looked up at him with surprise. “You mean you’re not going to kick me out?”“No,” Hari replied with almost a hint of a smile. “Someone has to watch Tohru while I’m in the lab. But you are not allowed to wander around where he might see you. The last thing Tohru needs is a full on battle played out in front of her. Call me if you need me.”He looked gratefully at Hari’s retreating back, wondering why he was allowing him to stay. It couldn’t have anything to do with his feelings for her, surely. But then everyone else seemed to know or guess. Even Kagura knew, love crazy Kagura who couldn’t leave him alone. It was late by the time Yuki got home. The stars had come out in the sky and the sun had said goodnight. He’d stopped by the secret base to look at his and Tohru’s garden, taking a moment to remember the day they’d discovered she’d been living in a tent on their land. He smiled at the memory. She’d had a fever that night too.“I’m home,” he called as he entered the house, sliding the door closed behind him. Shigure came out of a back room. He looked tired or like he’d been worrying all day long.
“You’re home late,” he commented.“How’s Miss Honda,” Yuki asked quietly, wondering if he should go upstairs and see for himself.“We took her to Hatori’s,” Shigure said. He noted that Yuki went rigid.
“It was either that or the hospital.”“What?” Yuki let his bag drop to the floor, next to Kyo’s forgotten shoe from that morning, the laces still hopelessly knotted.“Apparently she has pneumonia,” Shigure continued.
“We’re not sure yet what caused it but Hari’s working on it.”“I have to see her,” Yuki said, turning to leave.“No,” Shigure said, coming up behind him and placing a hand on his shoulder. “She’ll be all right with Hatori. We can drop in before you have to be to school tomorrow.”Yuki picked up his bag with a sigh.
“You’re right.” He started up the stairs. “It’s quiet tonight,” he commented, pausing on his way up. “
Too quiet. Where’s Kyo? On the roof again?”Shigure headed towards the kitchen. “He’s probably still at Hari’s.”If Shigure thought Yuki had been rigid before, he was definitely not prepared for the reaction his statement would cause. “Still?!” Yuki couldn’t believe it. How had that stupid cat weaseled that one? Not only was it stupid (what if Akito caught him?) but it possibly put Miss Honda in danger by his being there.“I guess he refused to leave.” Shigure started rummaging in the refrigerator, looking for something to eat.
“Too bad we left out the wantons this morning. I had to throw them all away,” he said with a dramatic sigh.“I’m going over there right now,” Yuki said determinedly.“Yuki, let him be. He’s causing no harm by being there. I’m sure Hatori will send him home soon enough. I doubt he’ll let him stay the night.”“He’d better not,” Yuki said quietly.Shigure pulled something out of the fridge with a dramatically happy sigh. “Look, leftover leek soup that Tohru made. I could die happy.”Hatori stretched, running a hand across the back of his neck. The muscles were stiff from bending over a microscope, a sample of Tohru’s blood smeared on a slide. He checked his watch, surprised at how late it had gotten. He’d had to put off running tests due to yet another member of the Sohma household who had cut his hand open while trying to cut something or other. He hadn’t asked questions, just stitched up the wounded appendage and prescribed something in case of infection. He’d also taken time to check in on Tohru. It amused him that Kyo refused to leave her side.His friend from the hospital had brought over the requested equipment, a monitor along with a few other things he knew he’d need. He rubbed at his forehead, his stomach telling him he should probably eat something. There had just been so many small interrupts throughout the day that he hadn’t had a chance to really get anything done. Even Akito had demanded some of his time.He went into the spare room to check on Tohru and saw Kyo asleep on the chair he’d brought for him. He smiled slightly. At least Akito hadn’t had a fit about Tohru being here. He didn’t know about Kyo. Perhaps he’d decided to simply let things be, for the time being. Hari didn’t have the heart to wake Kyo and send him home, though he’d likely be very hungry in the morning.Sure that things were at least stable, for the moment, he went in search of something for his own stomach, brewing some tea to wash down the sticky rice he’d started earlier in the day. He certainly hoped Kyo would have the sense to sneak away during the night so that Akito didn’t find out he’d been there.Yuki waited impatiently at the door for Shigure to hurry up. Kyo, to his knowledge, had never come home the night before. He wanted to know why, as well as finding out how Tohru was doing.“I’m coming. I’m coming,” Shigure said, recognizing the expression on Yuki’s face.
“I really don’t think they’re going anyway though.” He smiled his usual amused smile as he closed the door and followed Yuki to Sohma House.“I won’t have another chance to see her today,” Yuki said by way of explanation as they walked.
“I have another student council meeting tonight. We have the senior trip to finish planning, as well as the next school-wide activity to put together.”Shigure only paid partial attention, humming to himself as they walked. His expression remained amused.“I don’t know why I’m telling you this,” Yuki said abruptly. “You’re not even listening.”“Of course I am,” Shigure said cheerfully.
“Student council meeting and planning a school-wide activity. I understand, but you don’t have to walk quite so fast. You’ll only wear yourself out, you know.”
Inside, he was wondering if Yuki would mind too terribly if he followed him all the way to school, under the guise of picking up homework.Before too long, they were walking into Hatori’s place.
“Hatori!” Shigure called out in singsong. “We’re here!”Hatori walked in from his lab.
“Of course. I could hear you coming up the path,” he said humorlessly, but Shigure wasn’t to be put down. They followed him into the spare room where Tohru lay.“How is our little Tohru today,” Shigure asked, looking at her.“Her fever came down a little,” Hari said, “by two degrees. It’s not as low as I’d like, but at least it’s lower than it was. She’s still asleep though. To be fair, it may be partially caused by the medication I’ve put her on.”Yuki looked at Tohru’s pale face, noting the I.V. and monitor. Kyo wasn’t in the room.
“So you know what--”“Yes,” Hari answered before he could finish the question. “It’s called streptococcal pneumonia.”“Strepto what,” Kyo asked as he entered the room. He looked like he’d slept in the same clothes he was wearing, and there were faint circles under his eyes.“It’s pneumonia caused by strep throat,” Hari explained. “And a bad case of strep throat at that. I wish we’d caught it sooner.”“Strep throat,” Shigure said with drama. “Our poor Tohru!”“I suggest you each take things easy for a while,” Hari continued as though Shigure hadn’t opened his mouth.
“It’s not something to fool around with, and can be highly contagious.” He looked at Yuki. “You especially need to be careful, what with your previous trouble with your bronchial tubes. But you should all call me immediately if you should have any dizzy spells, run a slight fever, or have a sore throat. This strain of strep is not something to fool around with.”Yuki nodded solemnly, then went to Tohru’s bedside and gently touched her hand.
“I have to go to school but I’ll visit again when I can,” he said gently, hoping she could hear him. Turning to Kyo, he added, “and you should be going to school as well.”Kyo snorted, arms folded.
“Fat chance. I’m staying here, with Tohru.”“Now, now,” Shigure started cheerfully. “Let’s not argue.”“I’m not going and that’s final,” Kyo said firmly. “You can tell them I’m sick or something. I don’t care what.”“Mentally,” Yuki said under his breath.“What was that, you stupid rat!?” Kyo clenched his fists at Yuki, ready to pull a punch. Yuki clenched his own fist, bringing the other ready for a karate chop.“Now boys,” Shigure interrupted, “not in front of Tohru.”They stopped mid-swing and looked from Hari to Shigure to Tohru’s still form, then both backed down.
“Fine,” Yuki said resignedly. “I’ll tell them you’re sick, but any more days and you’ll need a note.”“Speaking of notes,” Hari said, “I should provide one for Tohru.”
He went to get some paper and a pen.
“You might think about what to tell her friends, as well,” he continued. “Having Tohru in the house is one thing, but I’m sure Akito wouldn’t appreciate her friends running around as well.”Yuki nodded slowly.
“I hadn’t thought about that,” he admitted. “What should I tell them?”Shigure made an exaggerated gesture.
“Oh why is it always me who has to come up with the good stories? All right, I know. You needn’t tell me. I’m the best you have at the moment and I will certainly do my best to make sure you have a good story to tell them.”“Just tell them she’s sick and can’t have visitors right now,” Kyo spoke up aggressively. “It ain’t that hard!”Before Yuki could say anything, Hari had returned with a signed note.
“This should take care of any problems with Tohru’s attendance. I’ve stated that Tohru is under my care for an undetermined amount of time due to extreme illness. Let’s hope I won’t have to write any for the two of you.”
He handed the note to Yuki but looked at Kyo as he spoke.
“And Yuki, the next time you visit you might want to wear a face mask, just to be on the safe side.”
Yuki inclined his head, though he was very tempted to ask why Kyo wasn’t required to wear one.Shigure seemed only slightly put out by the interruptions.
“Well, Yuki, it looks like it’s time for you to head off to school. You wouldn’t want to be late now, would you?”