Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Strawberries and Skinny-Dipping: Hatori's Remedy ❯ Fallen Angel ( Chapter 21 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: bugaboo107
Hatori thought: Would this be the end of it? Would she return to her ¡®boys¡¯? Forget about the cold, bitter doctor, who had taken so long to open up? Hatori knew that he wasn¡¯t an easy person to deal with, but Tohru had taken up the challenge. She had blown warmth into his heart, and now he needed her to survive.

Anime/Manga: Fruits Basket Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.08.2008 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.3K | Visits: 307 | Status: Work In Progress

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Hatori's Remedy presents:
Chapter 21 Fallen Angel
Hatori was the first to break away from the half embrace. The longer he held on to her, the harder it would be to leave tonight, or rather, this morning.
A tear threatened to tumble down her face, but Tohru blinked it back. She also dared not look at Hatori.
… Would this be the end?
“Tohru? You should get some sleep. I will see you in the morning.”
Hatori started to stand, but Tohru grasped his shirt frantically. She absolutely didn't want him to leave. If this was going to be there last night together without the `others', then she wanted Hatori to be with her.
He turned back painfully to look into her clouded eyes. His own blood-shot from the lack of sleep.
“H-Ha-san, can you stay with me tonight?”
That was all he needed. He fell back onto the bed and put an arm under her head and held her close to his chest, inhaling the sweet lavender scent of her hair. They didn't say anything more to each other.
She fell asleep snuggled against him.
She looked so delicate and innocent. He put a strand of hair behind her ear, and ran his fingers through her soft hair. He cradled her head against his heart.
Hatori thought: Would this be the end of it? Would she return to her `boys'? Forget about the cold, bitter doctor, who had taken so long to open up? Hatori knew that he wasn't an easy person to deal with, but Tohru had taken up the challenge. She had blown warmth into his heart, and now he needed her to survive.
He whispered, “Tohru, I want to be by your side. I want you to understand how much I care about you. Please don't forget me. I want to be by your side, if you will allow me. I will never let you go.”
Tohru moaned in her sleep. Hatori slyly took that has a yes. Hatori looked at the wistful smile that encompassed her face. A tightness filled his chest as he finally closed his eyes, both of his hands holding hers.
---
His mind drifted to thoughts of them at a beach. He looked so happy, wearing swim trucks (half-naked! Woot!) with Tohru in a black one-piece, that accentuated every curve, plane. She was lathering on sun lotion all over his torso, as he sat under a large polka-dotted umbrella. She said, “Stop fidgeting Hatori Sohma!”
She dabbed a bit on the bridge of his nose and said, “There, perfect.” He smiled, and gave her a quick peck on the lips. She blushed.
Some things never changed.
Hatori looked at her. She was beautiful. Her breasts seemed rounder and fuller than before, but she looked the same: Stunning. Time had not ravished anything. Her hair fluttered in the sea breeze as she giggled at something Hatori was saying.
Her straw hat was suddenly swept away by a strong gust of wind.
Then, two children—clad in matching blue swim suits entered the scene. They chased the hat, until finally the boy grabbed it. “Ah ha! We've caught the culprit, Zuki.”
A young boy and girl, smiling and holding hands. Twins if he wasn't mistaken. He looked closer, squinting his eyes. They approached their parents and handed over the `culprit' before flitting away like tree nymphs. The boy and the girl both had sable brown hair, but their eye colors were different. The boy's were teal, like his mom's, and the girl's were dark green, like his. Before he could enjoy the sight, his mind screamed:
Ahhhh, you've born two cursed children who will never be able to live `normal' lives! You've ruined their lives!!
A comforting hand clasped his and he heard the words, “Don't worry, Ha'ri.”
He didn't know if that was his dream, or reality.
Then, the beach scene dissipated.
---
Tohru woke up to the warm sun pouring in through the window.
She stretched her legs and arms and then remembered: Hatori!
He wasn't in bed.
Gone.
Her bright mood suddenly turned gloomy. He probably thought that it was time to return her to Shigure and the boys. He had just been `there' to watch over her so that she didn't cause any trouble.
She got up from the bed stiffly and went to the bathroom upstairs. When she lifted her blanket off the bed, a note fell to the ground and was swept under the bed before she saw it.
She opened the door to the first floor and the floorboard creaked as she closed the door behind her.
“Hello.” Tohru spun around and smacked right into her lovely cousin: Matsu.
“Good morning Matsu,” she said warmly, giving him a small smile, her mind too fuzzy to say much.
Matsu leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “So, where is lover boy?”
“Hatori?”
“Duh, you nitwit.”
“He left last night.”
Matsu mumbled something under his breath and then said aloud, “Oh well, I'm going to get some water. By the way, your eyes are puffy. You look like a zombie. Get some makeup. Or borrow it from Riyo. We all know that you're an orphan and you can't afford that kind of stuff.”
Tohru covered her face with her hands when he left. His last words sent shivers to her toes.
She locked the bathroom door behind her and slumped to the ground. The coldness of the tiles matching the coldness of her fingers. She buried her head in her knees and cried.
Was she just an orphan? A stupid stray who flitted from house to house?
---
The note, now under the bed mixed with the dust and spiders, read:
Tohru,
I'm sorry I had to leave so early. Duties call. Can you meet me for lunch at the café two blocks to the right of your Grandfather's house? 2.00?
I will be waiting for you. Don't worry about Shigure and the boys, we'll find a way.
Hatori
Hatori had also embellished the note with a little manga drawing of Tohru and himself, holding hands.
He never doodled.
Things change, when you're in love.
---
After Tohru cleaned herself up (she didn't even bother to change into anything for the day), she buried herself in chores. She even gave Riyo a pedicure and cleaned the whole girl's messy room.
Tohru vacuumed, scrubbed (months of grub off the kitchen counters), dusted, watered, scrapped, washed, ironed…
At one o'clock, she served a feast. She had put her energy into preparing enough food fit for an imperial palace family.
A nice beef and radish stew (oden), among other things.
Everyone sat down for lunch, but Tohru couldn't eat. She stared blankly into her bowl piled high with noodles. She stirred the noodles, but then let them slip off her chopsticks. Limp and cold.
“Tohru, eat up,” her grandpa said cheerfully, “you're all skin and bones. Those boys aren't eating all the food, are they?”
Tohru immediately looked up at her grandpa and smiled wearily. “No, of course not.”
“Good.”
Dinner finished, and Tohru washed the dishes in the kitchen alone. She didn't mind the chores. That way she could occupy her mind.
But it wasn't exactly working. She still thought of him. Her knight.
Her mind drifted off to the night before. Washing dishes together.
So domestic.
She cherished every moment that she spent with Hatori.
She was so devastated.
Someone had carved away her heart and left a handful of pebbles there. Kyo was returning, and Hatori had left without a word.
Tohru's grandpa came into the kitchen. “Tohru?”
She jumped up. “Yes, grandpa?”
“You seem a bit jumpy today. Are you okay?”
“Hai.”
“I was wondering if you'd like to plant some squash and turnips with me outside. I've been asking Riyo, but she's feeling under the weather.”
“Of course. Let me change into something first. I'll be right out.”
Tohru finished the dishes and went into her lovely lair.
She changed into a pair of linen shorts and put on a sunny yellow pullover sweater. It was hot out, but Tohru felt cold all over.
She went to the side of the house and met her smiling grandpa. He gave her a pair of gardening gloves. “So, today we are going to plant these little seedlings that I purchased on sale. It seems that not too many people like turnips and squash. What a pity.”
“I agree. They are both delicious.”
---
Meanwhile Hatori finished up the last of his check-ups. Rin was exceptionally stubborn. Not wanting to get her `mane' checked for lice. Word was out that Hiro had gotten it from his camp.
Hatori put away his tools and tidied up his office. He felt giddy all over.
In the past few hours, he had planned what Tohru and he would do with the boys returning.
They could still meet whenever, right?
They just had to keep everything under-wraps.
He drove over to the café, all the while tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. Odd.
He parked in the lot behind the café and went to the café. It was 1:47. Hatori was always punctual.
A busty waitress came over to Hatori and asked, “What would you like, hon?”
“Can I have a cup of oolong tea?”
“Sure. Anything else?”
“Eh, I am waiting for my girl—a guest.”
“Okay.”
Hatori closed his eyes in the booth and dreamed of a certain auburn-haired girl.
---
They were in a cornfield. The sky was cerulean blue. Cloudless. Tohru was running ahead of him. She giggled sweetly, taunting him. His legs pumped faster, and faster.
He finally reached her, put a gentle hand on her shoulder and said, “Wait up.”
She spun around, her face rosy. She gave him a smile that reached her eyes. He pulled her to his chest and planted a firm kiss on her lips. He said gutturally, “I love you, Tohru Honda.”
“I love you too, Hatori Sohma.”
He hugged her tightly.
---
“Sir?”
He snapped back. “Sorry, yes?”
“Here is your tea. Would you like to order an appetizer for you and your guest? We have our famous mildly sweet tea cakes.”
“Okay.”
The lady sauntered away, leaving Hatori to reminisce. The dream: he hadn't been plagued with the damn curse! Yay!
He sipped his tea.
He checked his watch. It was 2:10. Where was Tohru?
Wasn't she punctual, like him? He thought back to the times where they met each other at exactly the right time.
Hmmm.
Half an hour passed. The cup was empty except for a few bitter leaves. The tea cakes were cold.
Thoughts ran though his head.
Caught up in chores at home? He knew he should have helped out the night before. Curse him for being so lazy! The girl was so overworked and he was a hypocrite!
Had she been side-tracked on the way to the café? Met… not the convict from the news?! No. The `convict' had been spotted in Tokyo or something.
Hatori whipped out his cell-phone and called her on her cell-phone. No one answered. Where was she? His heart was starting to pound hard.
If she had read his letter, he was sure she'd be here or at least given him a call. Unless… she didn't get the note.
He quickly paid the bill and ran out of the café. He jogged the two blocks to her residence and was ready to knock when he heart shoveling at the side of the house.
He peered behind the fence and saw Tohru and her grandfather. He felt a bit of jealousy. Family was important.
He had never truly had one. How would he understand? His father had died when he was in high school, at the most important chapter of his life. Not that the man had been an exceptional father, either. The man was cursed with the `memory-ridding' thing too. The man was weak and bitter. Hatori had no siblings. No woman figure… his mother had died too…
He turned and returned to his car. Sullen.
---
At three-thirty, Tohru said good-bye to her grandfather, and made her way to Shigure's house. She walked through the bustling streets (stopped at the market for some poultry) filled with students and families until she reached the edge of the forest.
She made her way to the garden and picked a few dinner ingredients.
She went to the house, found the extra key under the flower-pot next to the backdoor and went in. It was stifling inside.
She opened the window. She took out the chopping board and pans and started preparing dinner. Another feast, this time for one person.
Kitsune udon. Deep-fried pork cutlet (tonkatsu). Vegetable tempura. Freshly made gyoza (Chinese dumplings) filled with pork, mushrooms, and Napa cabbage. A nice traditional miso soup. Salmon cavier for the rice porridge. A mixed vegetables (Mother Hen Tohru takes very good care of her children) dish—squash, mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, bok choy, water chestnuts. And nitsuke: fish poached in sweet soy. Kyo had a thing for fish.
She finished setting the table, just as the doorbell rang.
“Coming!”
She wiped her hands on her apron and went to the door. She plastered a big grin on her face and swung open the door.
The color from her face drained. The person she least expected.
The person was swathed in black.
One of his eyes was covered with a block of black hair.
“Can I come in?” was the only greeting.
---
A/N: By now, I'm sure you all know who the unexpected visitor is.
There might have been OOC-ness in this chapter. Tohru is so gullible. Didn't they both confess that they cared about each other last night? I would definitely give Hatori a second chance. I know Tohru's always happy and all, but hey, she's heartbroken. Stupid wind.
This is just foreshadowing all the bumps along the way…
Oh, by the way, does anyone recommend any mangas? I especially like (no, LOVE) mangas that have really beautiful drawings (hence Furuba!) and hot guys (I'm vain, I know). I enjoyed Hana Kimi too...
Sabre-chan: Hello dear. It's great to hear from you. How's life? Of course I haven't forgotten the one who drew me the cute pics of Arisa and Kureno. I just updated that, so check it out! I'm glad you are enjoying the story.