Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Tainted Choices ❯ Poison Ivy Slumber ( Chapter 2 )

Tainted Choices

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or its characters. They belong to Takaya Natsuki.

Chapter 2

Poison Ivy Slumber

 

Tohru shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She itched all over and red welts started to rise on her cheeks, arms and neck. She tried not to scratch and draw attention to herself. But, it was useless.

“Tohru-kun? Are you okay? You look like you are getting a rash…should I call Ha-san?”

“Oh no, no! I am fine. No need to call anyone on my behalf! Enjoy your dinner…I must have used too much detergent when I washed the clothes….” She said waving her hands in front of her in her usually comical manner.

“Honda-san? Are you sure that isn't a poison ivy rash? It looks like one. I should know because I go one last year…it grows all around the Secret Base.” Yuki said curiously.

“Yeah, that does look like poison ivy rash. I've had one too. You're sure you haven't been touching any bushes?” Kyou asked seriously.

“Well, I might have touched one earlier, on my way home…” she said guiltily.

Everyone finished up the meal and admired the bright yellow sunflowers that Yuki had brought from his garden as a centerpiece. Tohru cleaned up the dishes and sat down with a cup of tea.

“Tohru-kun, I think we have to call Ha-san. You look like you are having a rather bad reaction. Your cheeks have swelled like a chipmunk's!”

She reached up to her face and felt the round and swollen contour and she started to sob.

“I-I am s-orry…I g-guess I need Hatori-san's help. I am so..rry…” she stammered.

“It is no problem Tohru-kun. I will go call Ha-san right away. You should lay down here and rest.”

Shigure walked into the hallway to make the call.

Yuki walked up to him and whispered, “I heard someone in the bushes while I was picking strawberries earlier…I wonder if it was her? I feel so horrible about her getting poison ivy. I should've warned her about it.”

Shigure placed a comforting hand on Yuki's shoulder and said, “Yuki, you had no way of knowing that she would be rolling around in the bushes without you…don't worry about it. I am calling Ha-san over because she is having a very bad reaction. Can you go in there and sit with her while I am on the phone? She needs someone to comfort her…”

 

Yuki pulled a cushion over to where Tohru lay on the tatami and sat down.

“Tohru?” he whispered. “Are you awake?”

Tohru stirred and rolled over to face him, her face twice its normal width. “Yeah…I am awake…I don't fell too well, Yuki-kun…” she slurred.

“Well, when you roll around in poison ivy you generally don't.” Yuki said, trying to get her to laugh.

Tohru tried to chuckle and said, “Yuki, you have a beautiful singing voice…”

Yuki's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed. “You heard me? Honda-san…I-Honda-san? Are you okay?” Yuki said with concern as Tohru's eyes rolled back and her head lolled to the side.

Yuki slapped the side of her cheek and there was no response.

“Tohru! Tohru, can you hear me? Tohru! Shigure…Hurry! There is something wrong with Tohru! I can't wake her up!”

 

Tohru was confused. She could hear voices in the distance. It sounded like she was listening to them from underwater. She opened her eyes trying to find where the voices were coming from but she couldn't see. Everything was pitch black. She listened hard and she could make out what the voices were saying…

“She has had an extremely rare reaction to the poison ivy…I don't know how long it will take her to recover.”

And then another voice…

“Do you think she will be okay? It is my fault. I should have warned her about the bushes…”

The voices seem to fade away like they were walking into the distance…

“No…no…it is not your fault. It is my fault. I was spying on you. Oh, Yuki I am so sorry…” she tried to mouth but her lips wouldn't move.

She was getting scared. Was she paralyzed and blind? She tried her hardest but she could not get her arms and legs to move. At least she didn't think they were moving, she didn't feel them if they were. After about two hours of trying in vain she gave up and fell into a deep and dreamless slumber.

 

Yuki sat by Tohru's bedside. He looked at her mottled face and delicate fingers which now were grotesquely distorted by the swelling. Her breath came in short whooshes as the ventilator helped her to breathe. He caressed the side of her face and swept an errant hair from her eyes. A single tear rolled from the amethyst eyes as he surveyed the damage the poison had done to her.

“Why? Why does the world always have to be so painful? Why do I always have to end up hurting everything I love?” he sobbed.

It had been two weeks since she had been laying here. Attached to a multitude of wires and tubes, fighting for her life. Hatori was worried about her prognosis and though he tried to hide it from Yuki and the others, line etched into Hatori's weary face told his true feelings.

“Honda-san? Just open your eyes…we are all waiting for you to come home. The house just isn't the same without you. I love you. Just please, open your eyes…” he pleaded.

Her eyelids fluttered once in a while but other than that there was no reaction to his request. He unzipped his backpack and reached inside, pulling out a single strawberry. He held the fruit to her lips hoping she would smell it and react. She didn't. Yuki heard footfalls behind him and Haru knelt next to Yuki and rubbed his back comfortingly.

“Yuki, you can't keep sitting vigil. You are going to make yourself ill. At least go outside and get some fresh air. I will stay with her while you are away. If she stirs I will call you. Come on, I am worried about you. She wouldn't be happy if she knew you were making yourself sick with worry over her. You know that.”

Yuki smiled, remembering how Tohru always wanted other people to be happy. Even at her own expense.

“I guess you are right. Okay, if you will stay with her I will go get some rest and some fresh air.”

Yuki's tummy grumbled and he looked up sheepishly, “Oh, and a bite to eat. I will be right back Tohru!” and he walked slowly out of the room.

Haru leaned over to Tohru and said, “You better get better young lady. You don't want to make Yuki ill do you? He is worried sick over you…you need to get better. I know you have it in you! Besides, how am I going to hook you up with my first love if you are lying in a hospital bed all the time?” he said with a chuckle.

 

Kyou peeked into Tohru's room at Hatori's clinic. He didn't usually like to come this close to the Main House and Akito but he needed to see her. Yuki sat next to her with his head lying on the bed, snoring quietly. He tiptoed over to the bed opposite Yuki and sat down in a chair. Reaching up to Tohru's face he felt her forehead for fever and was relieved that was cool to the touch.

“Tohru, I don't know if you can hear me…but I just wanted you to know I am here for you. I made you something. I know you can't see it now but I will put it on your bedside table so that you can see it when you wake up. And that better be soon!” he whispered in sort of stage whisper.

Then he gingerly stood up, being careful not to disturb the sleeping Yuki, very surprised that he managed to do so.

“Hmm…Kuso Nezumi…you must be exhausted for me to get one up on you…”he thought to himself.

And, he placed his carving on the table and backed out of the room.

 

Yuki opened his eyes wearily. “How long had he been in this awkward sleeping position?” he thought as he rubbed his stiff neck and sat up.

Looking around for the clock his eyes lit on a piece of wood. He couldn't really tell what it was from this angle, so curious, he go up and rounded the bed. He picked up the object and turned it around in his hands. It was an onigiri with a kitten curled protectively around it. It was carved from maple, the same kind of tree that grew in the forest near Shigure's house. Given the subject matter it had to be Kyou who had carved the little figurine.

“Hmm? I never knew Kyou was so talented. It is very cute. Tohru will love it.”

He said with a grin and set the little statue down. He tidied the room up the best he could with his limited housekeeping skills.

“Honda-san, I will be right back. I need to go home and get some more supplies and check in on the student council. I will only be gone for around an hour…I will have Hatori come in and keep you company. Okay?” Yuki asked, secretly hoping she would open her eyes and reply but she just lay still.

The click of the ventilator and the beep of the heart monitor the only sounds in the room. He picked up his backpack and sadly walked out of the room. “Will she ever smile at me again?” his only thought.

 

Hatori entered Tohru's room and summarily checked her over. He suctioned out her vent tube and turned her so she wouldn't get bedsores. Normally he would have a nurse do these menial tasks but he wanted to make sure she got the best care possible. And he was one of those people who would rather do it himself so he could make sure it was done correctly. He was a little surprised that Yuki had kept Tohru's room so clean. Yuki was not known for neatness but it seemed he was trying extraordinarily hard to make sure when Tohru woke up she would be in the best environment. He had eve made sure he kept fresh flowers from his garden next to her bedside at all times. Hatori studied the bouquet of purple foxgloves that now graced her table. “Hmmm…digitalis…the purple reminds me of Yuki's eyes…I'm sure Tohru would find them very pretty...”

Hatori turned as Shigure poked his head through the door.

“Ha-san…how is she doing? Any improvement?” Shigure asked with concern in his normally jovial voice.

Hatori sat down, his brow furrowed and he rubbed his brow with frustration.

“I don't know Shi…I am trying to turn her around. But ultimately only Tohru has the power to get herself out of this. I hope Yuki and Kyo realize that she may never be the same Tohru again. She may have some limited brain damage. But I just can't tell until she wakes up. I think she will pull through…but it will be a long journey.”

Shigure pulled the chair around from the other side of the bed and sat down next to Hatori.

“Ha-san, when do you think she will wake up? Do you have any idea? I miss our little flower…” he said quietly and sadly as he hugged the doctor around the shoulders.

“It should be soon Shi…if she is ever to wake up…it should be soon…” Hatori said as he stood and left the room.

 

She felt as if her body were floating in a sea of warm water. She could just make out a slight, pleasant rumbling of someone's voice. Its rhythm seemed familiar, but she didn't know why. A point of light appeared in front of her and gradually grew larger as she approached. She squinted her eyes at the brightness…and then she heard it…Yuki's voice. He was singing to her. It wasn't the song she had heard him sing in the garden. This song was a sad and melancholy melody. She felt like she could almost hold the fear and despair in her hands it was so apparent.

Yuki's voice trembled and shook with each note, “Tohru-kun, Tohru-kun…please return to us this day. I can't live without you this way…Aishteru Tohru-kun.”

Tohru really fought to open her eyelids. She wanted him to know she was alive and could hear his beautiful song. That she wasn't going to leave them. She struggled and finally one lid tremulously opened and she saw him lying across her legs sobbing into her bed sheets. She tried to talk but there was something in her throat and as she reach her had up to feel what it was Yuki suddenly looked up and realized she had moved.

“No, Hon-I mean Tohru-kun. Don't touch that tube. It is helping you breathe. I will go get Hatori.”

Tohru of course tried to keep him from getting Hatori with a look in her eyes that said, “No! Don't bother him…he is probably busy with other patients.”

And she shook her head back in forth.

“Tohru-kun, don't be silly. You are no bother to him. He is your doctor and he is going to be happy you are awake…I'll be right back.”

And Yuki ran off to get Hatori.