Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Set Fire to the Rain ❯ Te Amo ( Chapter 5 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter Five
Te Amo

Tohru stepped out of work exhausted after yet another night of pushing herself as hard as she could. Looking around outside for her usual nightly escort she noticed that the person picking her up wasn’t Yuki or Kyo, but Shigure. “Hello Shigure, did you have business in town tonight?” She asked thinking he might have been coming anyway and decided to pick her up on his way home.

“Why yes I did in fact, and she is standing in front of me,” Shigure teased as they headed for home. “Yuki and Kyo are a little preoccupied right now, so I offered to come get you instead.”

“Oh, what happened to them?” She asked worried they had managed to hurt each other in another fight.

Shigure glanced over at her, wondering just how much of the story she would be able to handle. Hatori had given permission for Tohru to know if the boys agreed to help, stating that she was part of the family, and living with them meant she would figure out something was wrong fairly quickly. For now though he settled with, “They aren’t hurt or anything, they just have an important decision to make, once they do you can know more.”

“Alright, I won’t press then. How is Haru today?” She changed the subject away from Kyo and Yuki, otherwise her curiosity would get the better of her and she would start badgering Shigure about it.

“He is doing well, he is getting stronger, and was able to stay awake for most of the afternoon and evening. He will be healed up in no time. Well physically anyway.” Shigure reported obediently, glad for the subject change.

“He still hasn’t talked about it has he?” Tohru guessed.

“No he hasn’t, he will need time to open up and talk to us. We are going to keep him with us until we get things figured out, it might be too dangerous to send him back to the main house until we know more.” Shigure responded.

“I hope things work out well for him, he didn’t deserve that, not at all.” Tohru shook her head sadly, thinking of all the loss and pain her adoptive family and herself had gone through in their lives. It really wasn’t a surprise that the Sohma’s had accepted her as they had, they were very similar in background, she was an outsider that could relate to the isolation the cursed members felt around normal people.

“You are very kind Tohru, I’m sure Haru would appreciate what you just said. He acts tough, but that is mainly to protect himself, he could use a person like you around him while he recovers.” Shigure spoke with a warm smile, Tohru’s kindness was a welcome respite from the tension Hatori’s news had caused.

“I will do what I can.” Tohru assured, determined to help everyone that needed her.  

As they neared their home they realized the peaceful night was being shattered by the occasional yell and loud crashing noise. With a horrified glance at each other Tohru and Shigure rushed the last few feet to the house.

Realizing the noises were coming from upstairs Shigure leaped up them two at a time, wondering if Haru had another nightmare. Though as he reached to slide the door open the crashing stopped and he heard Black Haru’s voice echo menacingly in the room, addressing what sounded like both Kyo and Yuki. “You are both idiots! You are so selfish that you are willing to put your petty anger ahead of Hatori! Do you two have any idea what it took for him to ask you that?! He is asking you to try to kill one of his children to save the other! This is Hatori we are talking about, the one that patches us up from fights, and treats us when we’re sick, and he has to watch as his firstborn treats us with cruelty and hatred unable to do anything because his curse binds him against it! He treats all of us like we’re his kids or little brothers, just imagine what that means for him to have no choice but to watch one of his real flesh and blood children die? Think about what he said, he is the only one of us that can bare the god, which means if you don’t do this and Akito lives now, when Akito does die in a few years Hatori will have to go through all of this again! You will make him loose two children instead of one! This plan is going to kill a part of Hatori that he can never get back, but he asked you anyway, and you two wont get off your high horse long enough to help him? You’re pathetic!”

Shigure slid the door open just enough to view the spectacle inside the room, Yuki had Haru’s left side pinned, while Kyo was on the right, both straining to restrain the rage filled ox. The words coming from Black Haru hurting them worse than any punch the boy could ever throw and he was no lightweight. Haru was right and they knew it, the shame they felt at themselves was tremendous.

Glancing at each other across Haru’s still struggling body they caught similar expressions of guilt. “Alright Haru, we’ll do it.” They said together, gritting their teeth and avoiding each other’s glare as they did so. They would try doing this, but that didn’t mean they had to like it. Too many years of nothing but hate would take more than a single lecture to remove. Something much more drastic would have to happen for that. Though they were grateful when Black Haru started to calm down and revert to his normal self after hearing their reply.

The fight was over, the need for his Black personality gone, it left him smoothly. Haru’s eyes fluttered closed soon after Kyo and Yuki had let go, he was still healing and that had taken a lot out of him. He did have to hide the small smile that wanted to emerge at their response to his lecture. It had worked, which made the effort worth it. He didn’t deliberately call out his darker personality very often, he made enough of a ruckus with just his accidental changes, he wasn’t even positive anyone other than possibly Akito knew he even could call an episode on purpose.  

“So I hear you two have made a decision?” Shigure asked slyly, opening the door fully and stepping inside.

“Yes, we’ll do it, for Hatori.” Yuki agreed quietly. Haru talking about Hatori taking care of them while they were sick reminded him of all the times Hatori had gently cared for him during his Asthma attacks. There was the additional fact that the child Hatori was carrying now was his brother’s child too. His brother had rejected him when he had needed it most, that had hurt so badly, he wouldn’t fail this new member of their family in the same way.  

“Yeah, for Hatori.” Kyo grumbled, knowing a lot would be riding on him to learn fast enough to have a chance against Akito. Though he hadn’t failed to notice, and he doubted Yuki had either, that no one had mentioned the possibility of the theory behind all this being wrong and that the Cat couldn’t touch the God any more than the animals within the zodiac.  

“I am proud of you two,” Shigure replied seriously, a state which wasn’t quite as shocking to the boys, they knew he had both his playful side and serious side, it seems Hatori held a spot in the serious side. “Now Tohru is home as well, and there is no doubt in my mind she heard what Haru was yelling at you two, are you ready to go tell her the whole story?”

“Might as well get it over with.” Kyo agreed, needing to be up and moving now that his mind was made up, sitting still was never a thing he liked doing unless he was deep in thought.

Yuki nodded but didn’t speak as they followed Hatori down to the kitchen where a still speechless Tohru was cooking in order to keep from flipping out at the new information she had overheard. This was going to be a long conversation once again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Akito how are you feeling tonight?” Hatori asked the zodiac god quietly. Giving him a basic checkup to make sure the sedatives had cleared his system smoothly and there would be no lingering aftereffects. Akito’s health was very important at this stage, if Hatori wanted to be able to slip away and take care of his own needs than he couldn’t be tending to a sick Akito every moment of the day like he sometimes did.

The room was dark and cool, Akito was wrapped in his favorite red robe, lounging back on his futon watching as Hatori took his vitals before replying. “I feel refreshed, but where have you been going? So many days in a row, what could be the problem? Why haven’t I heard about it if it is bad enough to pull your attention elsewhere?” His tone demanded the truth, and quickly, it was cold and smooth, the edge of anger that never quite left his voice sharpened to a point as he spoke.

Hatori paused for only a second before taking the safest path. “Haru has gotten himself into another scrape. It looks like he went on a rampage and was harmed before someone could get him stopped. He is healing up smoothly now, but it was a bit touch and go at the beginning.” Hatori had decided that with three days missing from Akito’s side his basic explanation was not going to cut it. He only hoped his instinct that Akito hadn’t done the damage inflicted on Haru was correct. Akito may have had something to do with it, but someone else had hurt him. Akito’s rages were violent but quick, not like the methodical torture that Haru had undergone, that was too far even for Akito’s tantrums that were very childlike despite their ferocity.

“Ah, that Ox was bound to get himself in trouble at some point.” Akito seemed willing to accept the explanation, to which Hatori breathed a sigh of relief.

“Any nausea or headaches tonight?” Hatori changed the subject smoothly while Akito was in a willing mood, though the question was valid. The weight of the curse caused many physical side effects on Akito that were viciously unpleasant. Hatori’s biggest regret was not being able to comfort Akito when he was a child, his son had been raised by the elder members of the zodiac to be the God of the Zodiac and head of the family, not as a little boy who was in pain. It was no surprise that Akito had never really matured, still throwing tantrums and holding onto jealousy so tightly it affected everyone, and as he aged the rage inside just got worse and worse.   

“A minor headache, no nausea, but I had a nosebleed soon after I woke up.” Akito reported as he relaxed backwards, laying down fully. It seemed like the older he got the more sleep he needed, and the more pain he was in. The zodiac members under his control had no idea how good they had it, even dealing with their own private curses. Glancing at Hatori out of the corner of his eye he watched the man mixing together a tea to help ease the pain he was feeling. He knew this man was his father, but the one time Hatori had tried to bring it up he had thrown a tantrum directed at the man who had abandoned him as soon as he was born, during it he had ordered Hatori to never speak to him about it again.

“Drink this, it should help. Anything else you need?” Hatori handed Akito the steaming cup of herbal tea, not liking to give him narcotics too often unless absolutely necessary. Akito knew when to ask for them and when to make do with the teas instead.

“No, I do not require anything else.” Akito replied dismissively, not in the mood for talking with Hatori, or anyone really. He just wanted to sleep, despite the fact that seemed to be all he was doing lately.

“Goodnight Akito,” Hatori responded, bowing slightly in respect before gathering his supplies, ready to leave his son in peace.

“Goodnight Hatori.” Akito whispered, sipping his tea and watching the man leave, idly wondering what it would have been like to be raised by him. Those thoughts had come to him every now and again since he had learned the truth, but they never lasted long.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Saki Hanajima couldn’t sleep. Her bed was too cold and empty without Tohru next to her. She smiled slightly at the thought. In all her years being alone before meeting Tohru, and even after that with the occasional sleepover, she had never felt like her bed was inadequate. Now though, just a relatively short time with Tohru and nothing felt right without her presence next to her.

Something had been bothering Tohru in the last few days. Saki knew she had been on the verge of telling her something over and over again but managed to hold herself back time after time. Tohru was such an honest person that Saki knew if she asked than Tohru would eventually end up telling her, but if Tohru felt it deserved that much effort to protect it, than Saki would not force her to tell.

Rolling over again she felt a warm patch in the bed where she had laid just a few moments earlier in her tossing and turning, she curled into that warmth trying to fool herself into believing Tohru had created the warm spot.

Saki didn’t know how much longer she could take being away from Tohru. The sweet girl, and Arisa to a lesser degree, had become her rock in an ever increasing torrent of power. She had always been sensitive to people, knowing when they were angry or happy, without seeing their expressions, being accurate enough to frighten even her family. As she aged the power she had just grew stronger and stronger, never having a name, it just was what it was. She had learned not just how to sense people, but how to affect them in return, either with calming waves or a quick jab of pain. Once she had something to protect the ability to hurt people sharpened and increased to the point she rarely had to go further than threats anymore. The best weapon was the one you didn’t have to use.

She gave a vocal sigh as she realized sleep would be alluding her for yet another night. She would just have to wait for Tohru to come back to her. That was the only solution to her predicament. She didn’t know how long she could hold on, but she would give Tohru as much time as she possibly could. Her family was already getting suspicious of the time she spent with the brunette girl, a few days away wasn’t entirely a bad thing, but at night when no one could see Saki let herself yearn for her rock in the ocean.Converting /tmp/phpwDIySU to /dev/stdout