Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Strawberries and Skinny-Dipping: Hatori's Remedy ❯ A Birthday to Remember, Part One ( Chapter 30 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: bugaboo107
Hatori thought to himself: Don¡¯t underestimate her. You underestimate too many people. Maybe you would be more satisfied if you just took life as it came, instead of over-thinking, criticizing everything. If you trust her with your heart, you can trust her to help you up the side of a stream.

Anime/Manga: Fruits Basket Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.08.2008 | Pages: 4 | Words: 6.4K | Visits: 305 | Status: Work In Progress

Standard Disclaimer applies.
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Pre-A/N: Thank you Jen for looking this one over.
Hatori's Remedy presents
Chapter 30 A Birthday to Remember, Part One
Tohru woke up to the bright lights flooding in from the windows. She stretched like a cat, before snapping her leg close to her torso. Her feet touched someone's muscular thigh.
Her eye cracked open just enough to see a man holding a tray with two steaming bowls of rice porridge with fluffy yellow eggs and bits of pink ham, two pretty sunflower-shaped pastry, freshly-picked juicy strawberries (with their stems still on!), and two tall glass of orange juice.
Tohru rubbed her eyes and gaped at the man. He looked domestic in his frilly pink polka-dotted apron; hers, mind you. Underneath that, he was dressed casually, like a dapper college student—in his cargo khaki shorts (showing off his very, very attractive legs), white polo shirt, and leather loafers.
“Happy Birthday, Tohru,” he said with a grin.
Tohru crawled on all fours over to the man sitting at the foot of her bed and planted a kiss on his clean-shaven cheek. “Thank you so much. You didn't have to do this. It's beautiful.”
She eyed the pretty pastry. “Is that from the bakery near my workplace?”
“Yep, I stopped there. Let's eat, while I tell you about today's plans. I picked this pastry out just for you. It has a sweet pumpkin filling.”
“Ooo, it also has pumpkin seeds! Yummy! Today's plans?” Tohru inquired innocently picked off the seeds before nibbling on the semi-sweet pastry filled with the light paste.
“First, we are going to visit your mom. I bought her a little something; it's downstairs. Then we are going somewhere special, which I think you will really like. There's a hint on the tray. Then, we are going to have lunch wherever you want. I made reservations for an early dinner. Lastly, we are going on a hike to watch the sunset.”
Tohru's cheeks were flushed with excitement. “I can't wait!” She wondered what the `surprise' place was going to be—a delectable orange-picking adventure in the country-side? Or maybe they were going to see the sun rise, after all, the sun looked like an orange. Wait… the sun was already up; oh darn. Maybe sunset? Where they going to the rice paddies? She always wanted to wear one of those broad straw hats and stand in the ankle-high water. Whatever it was, she couldn't wait!
“Hmm, this porridge is really yummy. It's better than mine. Yuki and Kyo are going to like it.”
“I doubt that it is better than your porridge. Plus, it's time you take a break from cooking and working. I've left a message on the whiteboard saying that you won't be home for the day. We should get going before the imps wake up.”
“Teehee, imps. (Me: Rhymes with pimps!) Okay. Let me get dressed, I'll be down in ten minutes.”
Hatori nodded and gathered the remains of their breakfast (which wasn't much, as they were both ravenous from last night's, or rather this morning's glorious swim) onto the tray to bring downstairs. He scrubbed the bowls with an ardent fervor.
Tohru finished and went downstairs.
Hatori looked over his shoulder when he heard her `ahem' behind him. His jaw dropped. Had he been holding a plate: that would have dropped too. He was speechless.
Tohru said softly, “Ready?”
Hatori stammered like a flabbergasted teenager on his first date (one could call him that), “You-you look beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
Tohru looked down at her toes. She was glad he did. She had picked it out just for him. She wanted them to look like a true couple when they were together, not an immature child.
This past week, she had stopped at the mall. For just a bit. She had saved up enough money to buy a pretty blouse, jeans, and flats. It was a gauzy silk charcoal camisole. It had contrasting satin detailing and cloth-covered buttons in the front. The back added a little surprise—crisscrossed!
Today was the perfect occasion. Tohru looked absolutely delectable in her silk number, straight-leg dark jeans, and red patent-leather ballet flats. She had done her up in a neat bun (like a ballerina's bun!). She looked like she meant business. She looked like a young student teacher, and Hatori felt like a naughtly little seventeen-year-old with a crush) Tohru had touched up her face with a bit of mascara and eyeliner (nothing smoky or cat-eyed; too dramatic). She had also put on a hint of nude lip gloss.
By all means, Tohru did not need makeup; nevertheless Hatori couldn't take his eyes off his golden vixen. (Actually, he never could.) He eyes trailed down hungrily to her bosom. Perfect.
He gently took her hand in his. “Ready for a day in the city, birthday girl?”
“Absolutely.”
He opened the passenger-side door for her, and she gracefully sat down. Not without a `thank you' of course. He got into the driver's seat. They started for the cemetery.
Hatori thought that it was a slightly odd way to start the morning; death, mourning on a birthday? Plus, it was only six-thirty. Would it be open?
The gates into the cemetery were closed. He parked on the street and they got out. Hatori opened the truck of his car to make sure the fresh flowers he had bought at the small boutique across from the bakery were safe; he had bought two fresh bouquets of golden daisies.
“I guess we'll just have to wait until it opens,” Hatori said.
They walked around the perimeter of the burial grounds. This place was old and unkempt. However, it gave her a serene feeling, a homely touch. The grass knolls looked like seaweed, swaying to the gentle zephyr. They actually looked like they were dancing. Oh utterly adorable, especially when a squirrel paused on a small knoll and sniffed the ground, probably looking for hidden treasure—buried acorns.
“Isn't it peaceful here?”
It was indeed. It gave Hatori an uneasy feeling; he had never been good with the mourning stuff. His mother…
He tried not to think about her. It pained him. Very much.
She had been one of the three women he loved.
Yet she was so…
Weak. Powerless. Meek.
The ever-dutiful wife. More than a mother.
“Hey, is that a stream over there?” Tohru asked, as she balanced herself on the edge of the yellow curb.
Hatori squinted his eyes. “Let's go.”
They walked over to the trickling stream, low, due to the heat from the past few weeks. Tohru impulsively jumped onto a stone in the middle of the stream. Hatori leaped forward, afraid for her as she teetered on the crooked rock. “Be careful!”
“I'm fine, Worry-san. Come over here,” she stretched her hand out to him as she moved onto another stone. He carefully stepped onto the rock, wiggled it to back sure it was stable enough for his weight before allowing the other leg to step onto the platform. He wobbled, feeling his heart lurch forward. “Whoo.”
Tohru steadied him with her hand on the small of his back. “Careful, Ha'ri.”
When he steadied, she said, “Look, there's a trail running along the stream. Do you want to follow it for awhile?”
“Okay, but how are we going to get onto the ground? It's a bit far.”
“Here, step here.” Tohru pointed to a large rock for Hatori to stand up on. “I will grab onto that root and pull myself up first. Then I'll help you up.”
“Help me up? Don't you think I'm too heavy?”
Tohru merely shook her head, hiding the small smile on her face. “Not at all.” She pulled herself up, without too much help from Hatori. He looked hesitantly at the protruding root. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely Tori-san. Trust me.”
Hatori thought to himself:Don't underestimate her. You underestimate too many people. Maybe you would be more satisfied if you just took life as it came, instead of over-thinking, criticizing everything. If you trust her with your heart, you can trust her to help you up the side of a stream.
“Here goes,” Hatori whispered under his breath. He looked like a child who had gotten half-way up a cliff, and realized that he didn't want to go to the top; oops, a little too late. He grabbed onto the root for dear life, one leg sprawled over the edge of the raised-ground. He was in a very… awkward position. Tohru knelt down over his leg, straddling his thigh to make sure it didn't go anywhere while she reached for his hand.
“Here,” she offered. He reached for her hand and she pulled him up.
He collapsed on a surface, not caring that his butt was on a dirt-encrusted log. “Phew. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
“Apparently jogging doesn't prepare you for that kind of adventure.”
Tohru patted down the leg of her pants before she went over to Hatori to do the same. Hatori felt his stiff member harden when she gave him a close pat-down. Yikes!
He got up. “Where to now?”
“Look over there. It looks like a clearing.”
They strolled over to a clearing in the dense forest. It looked like something out of a picturesque fairytale— serpentine vines, slender branches, peeling birches, overgrown emerald tufts of grass, smooth rocks-- creating an illusion of an orb surrounding the people in the open area. The dew on the grass sparkled like small diamonds. The wispy scattering of leaves overhead created a gauzy, fine web, enclosing them inside this natural palace. The soft morning light shone down on the two new `inhabitants'. Tohru swirled around, tendrils of hair coming undone from the bun. “It's beautiful in here,” she said, her voice soft and gentle. Her face was illuminated by the panel of light. Her sun-kissed cheeks were rosy with color.
This place was plainly beautiful in its desolation—unknown to man.
Her warm brown eyes peered into his, searching for his response. She was thinking: Does he think this place is as beautiful as I think it is? He crossed over to her in one great stride, and held her head close to his chest, stroking her hair delicately. She clung onto him, her hands wrapped tightly around his neck, with just enough room as to not initiate the curse. He could feel her tremble in his light embrace.
“Are you okay?” He asked sincerely.
“I'm fine. Just a morning chill.”
He tipped her chin up and looked into her affectionate eyes, glazed with sheen of water. He placed a light kiss on her mouth. “Good.” He held her close to the side of his body. He ran his warm hands up and down her arms, to warm her up.
---
Hatori growled inwardly when she finally removed herself from him. His member had found a position close to Tohru's belly, but she had moved. At least she didn't make a big deal about it; it would make him more embarrassed than he already was. He was very self-conscious.
“Ooo, are those mulberries?”
Tohru pointed to a small dollop of dark-blue-colored berries tall plant. She crawled over to the setting and ran her hands over the small globes near the ground. She picked one and delicately sniffed at it. She wiggled her nose. Hatori looked at her amusement; she reminded him of a rabbit. “Are you sure about that?”
“It's perfectly fine. My mom and I used to pick wild berries in the forest. I can probably identify the most common ones.”
“Uh-hmm,” Hatori said, tilting his head. She was so captivating, in all her innocence and unbridled beauty. He crouched down beside her. “So Mother Nature, tell me how to identify what's edible and what's… poison.”
“Well, that's easy. First, they are only grown in the summer. The leaves are lobed, not serrated. This black one is mature, and if you open it, like this, and take a smell, you can tell it isn't poisonous. Here, try. It is really quite yummy, really sweet.” She offered the dripping berry to Hatori. He took a whiff.
“I see. Can I share an interesting fact about mulberries with you?”
“Of course.”
“Mulberries, like many other berries produce a natural chemical in the skin that protects itself from bacteria and fungi. It is very good for the body.” As good as you are for my heart, Tohru. I am entranced evermore. Please don't ever give up on me. I may be stubborn and hopeless sometimes, but I love you. I love you with all my heart. You have changed me. You have showed me all that I was missing out on. You have proven to be that I can love again, and be loved again.
“Interesting,” Tohru said, putting her index finger and thumb on her chin, in the shape of an L. She looked like a detective, deep in thought. She said, “Would you like the try one?”
“Okay,” Hatori said optimistically. Tohru picked a plump dark berry off the nearest branch and gave it to Hatori, before taking another one and eating it herself. It was as good as she said it would be. It was sweet. The small kernels in the berry were juicy and the skin gave it texture. “Not bad.”
Tohru had an `I-told-you-so look' on her face—sincerely smug, of course.
Tohru moved to sit on a smooth rock. She patted the area beside her. Hatori went to sit by her side.
“I just wanted to say thank you so much for this wonderful surprise, Hatori.”
“Don't thank me just yet. We have not even done any of the things I planned yet.”
“Any time spent with you, anywhere—at the garden, swimming hole, supermarket makes me so happy. You make me so happy. How can I ever repay you?”
Hatori looked mock-horrified at Tohru as he clutched his chest. “Repay me?”
Tohru nodded innocently.
Kami, how can you say that! I am the one who should repay you. You have made me love again. Be able to feel love. You've pumped life into me with a bicycle pump, and now I'm brimming with passion and love for you! I've become a puddle of sappy love! Forgive me you being so impossible sometimes, but I…
“This is your birthday, and I'm doing this for you because I want to. You don't have to repay me for anything, except being happy and having a good time, and telling me if you are not—that is `payment'. I never want you to think you owe me. Tohru, remember what I told you yesterday? I don't want you to ever forget that. I may not be able to say that everyday, but I mean it in everything I do. I want you to know that and never doubt it. I am not one of the boys. They may love you, but they do to show it enough. I want to. I need to.”
Tohru recalled what he said last night. He loved her.
“I'm sorry.”
“Don't be. Love is not meant to be full of apologies. I am sorry for many things—like never being able to hug you, and not always being there for you—but I don't want that to be the premise for our relationship. We should get going. I still have lots of plans for us.”
Oh goodie!!
They hopped over the rocks to the other side of the stream. Hatori held her hand, making sure she didn't fall in. A birthday suit was not a way to send the morning, in public. If they decided to stay indoors, it would be a totally different issue…
When they arrived at the entrance of the cemetery, the guard was in his office. “How may I help you kids?”
Kids?, on any other day, he would be insulted by such a word, but today it made him feel good. He was young.
Tohru said, “We're here to visit my mom.”
The old man nodded and allowed the mechanical gates to open.
---
The two visitors made there way toward the gravestone, both with a boutique of daisies. He didn't know which flowers to choose at the flower-shop, but thought that roses were too romantic and daisies were happy and cheerful. A daisy was a perfect symbol of the woman beside him.
They arrived at the black marble headstone. Tohru knelt down in front of it and started speaking.
“Mom, today is my birthday. Hatori wanted to do something special for my birthday and decided to buy flowers for us to bring here. I wish I could spend it with you mom,” she said, before her voice began cracking and her nose became runny.
“I-I miss you so much, mom. I will never forgive myself for not being there to save you.”
Save you?—what did she mean by that? It wasn't her fault that her mom was the victim of a car accident. Why did she say that?
It wasn't her fault.
But he stayed silent, not wanting to break the mournful atmosphere.
Tohru set her flowers on the side of the stone and ran her fingers along the engraved words.
Her mom died so young, Hatori thought.
He did the same. Hatori wrapped a comforting arm around her backside and pulled her close to him. “I'm sorry I'm such a sniffling mess.”
“No need to apologize.”
---
As Hatori held her, he looked past the rows of gravestones, to the edge of the enclosed graveyard. He saw two large headstones, five feet high, five feet wide.
His parents'.
He squeezed his eyes shut. No, don't let the emotion set in. They don't deserve your sympathy or mercy. Your father was abusive. He wanted you to use your power to bury people's memories. Your mother was weak. You loved her, yet she could never look into your eyes and tell you the same thing. She did not stand up to him. She did not stand up for her offspring, you. And the occasions that she did, she begged, implored like a common animal. She should have stood up for herself!
Tohru was perceptive. What is he looking at? She did not know much about his relations, but she ventured that he was looking at someone-important's gravestone. He had that distant look in his eyes—they were cloudy, misty.
“Hatori, are you okay?”
“Yes,” he said before coughing, “I'm sorry. My eyes must be acting up. It must be the eye-drops.” What an excuse that was. He had indeed put eye-drops in his eyes this morning, but that was not the reason for his watery, opaque orbs. He focused his eyes on the tombstone in front of him, but the words made no sense. He was still thinking out his parents. Since Tohru had got involved in his life, his views had changed. She loved her parents so much, did his deserve at least a little love from their only son?
He stifled back any emotion and told himself today was Tohru's birthday, not some pity party for himself. He plastered a plastic smile on his face, but his eyes were detached.
“Let's go, Ha'ri.”
They both got up and moved toward the gates. Tohru asked the old man, who was reading a worn book, “I'm sorry to bother you, but is there I bathroom around here?”
“Yes, back there, behind the ceremony arena.”
Tohru looked were he pointed to and bowed several times. “I'll be right back Hatori. I had too much orange juice this morning.”
He smiled forlornly at her and said, “I'll wait here.”
As she ran off, his eyes returned to the gravestones.
Of his parents.
Of a life he had hated. Despised; that he cried many nights, and covered it up during school hours by looking down at his feet and wearing a baseball cap. He felt like the scum of the world. No love. No words. No trust. The girls thought he was wearing some kind of dark eye makeup and liked it (“Hatori Sohma is gorgeous! He has such pretty eyes! They remind me of emeralds! Is my cleavage showing?”). They flaunted their assets at him, lecherously. The guys, on the other hand, followed this new `fad' with eyeliner. Oh odd. Something so negative would attract so much positive attention. Even with all this attention, he had no friends. Or maybe because it was so difficult for him to make friends. Everyone thought of him as this `God' or `Hero' an Apollo, Paris, Hercules. He was far from it. He was weak, submissive, and despondent… he was the true rebel teen.
That single skeleton in his closet.
That one thing that made had made him so… difficult. Prone to hiding his emotions from others.
Especially love.
---
A/N: This was a longer chapter. Hope you liked it. Sorry to end everything on a sad, cliffy(!) note. We will be looking into Hatori's past…
How is this birthday coming along? I hope everyone finds it satisfying. I am thinking the Birthday will be Three Parts. Time passes so slow in this story… Does anyone have any comments about that? Is the speed okay? Thank you for being so supportive; it means so much to me. If it weren't for the review, I doubt I would have continued this story. Thank you.
A big shout-out to my reviewers for the last two chapters:EatTheMoon, Marshi, Nikki-4, Kiwadoi Seiitsu, Fox-Zodiac, Tohru Daihikashousha, TatianaSaphira (!!!), the-only-english-rose, Rayn Lake, lorreta537, devilgrl1, BlobBl0b, Through the Silence, midnight 1987, RandomObsessivePsychoFangirl… THANK YOU!