Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ The Cousin of Death... ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter 8:

 

Blue eyes slowly drifted open within the darkness of her recovery room. For a moment, she didn't know where she was, causing her body to tense, however, that all changed when she looked down to see the mop of dark hair resting next to her left hand. Glancing over to the clock, she saw that it was already past one in the morning.

 

A sleepy smile graced her lips as she willed her body to move. Her limbs felt heavy and numb and she couldn't turn her body to face him. Regaining some control of her drugged body, Tohru lifted her small hand and gently rubbed the cheek of the man who had saved her life and the man that she loved. Her throat was dry and sore, so she remained silent as he began to stir.

 

o-o

 

Hatori was pulled from the darkness of sleep by something soft brushing against his cheek. For a moment, he thought it was Shigure or Ayame coming to check on them as they did only hours before, but when the strained and very quiet giggle reached his sensitive ears, hazel eyes opened to see the tiny hand that was stroking his lightly stubbly cheek.

 

A wave of relief washed over him as his hand came up to wrap around hers. He sat up with a wince, his muscles protesting angrily at the position he had been sleeping in, but that was ignored. The doctor stared into the heavy-lidded blue eyes that he had come to love so much as he brought the palm of her hand to his lips. He kissed the soft skin before moving his lips away and rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

 

“Hey Tohru…how are you feeling?” He asked quietly, watching as she tried to speak but winced instead.

 

He was immediately up and at the water cooler in the corner, filling a cup with a very small amount of the cold liquid and grabbing a straw from the box on the top of the tank. Once back at her bedside, he lifted the oxygen mask, making sure to be careful of the orange feeding tube in her nose, and placed the straw to her lips. “Drink slowly…I wish I could give you more, but you won't be able to eat or drink anything for a few days.” He said quietly and saw her nod as she took long, slow sips from the cup, almost looking disappointed when it was gone.

 

Once the cup was empty, he sat it on the bedside table as she licked her parched lips and smiled down at her. “Better?”

 

“Much.” She whispered and returned his smile. “How are you Hatori-san? Are you feeling okay?”

 

He chuckled aloud and shook his head. “You're the one that's injured and you're asking me how I am doing. I'm fine, my dear, just a little stiff. I was just…very worried about you.” His hand came up and gently pushed the brown locks away from her face. “Are you in any pain?” He asked as he pulled her blankets down. He slipped the sheet beneath her gown to cover her pelvis before lifting her the gown to check her wound.

 

Tohru shook her head, not missing the look of guilt and sadness in his eyes. “None. My body feels a little numb though.” She said.

 

“That's an effect from the anesthesia and the painkillers I've been gave you. The numbness should wear of soon but we're going to have to manage your pain.” He said with a nod as he checked the incision and sutures. The area was a bit red, but there were no signs of infection. Guilt welled down in his chest when she bit her lip.

 

“Hatori…I hope you don't blame yourself.” He looked as if he was going to protest, but she shook her head, causing him to remain silent. “It's not your fault. It's no ones fault.” She reached over and clasped his hand tightly.

 

“I know that each head of the Sohma family has gone mad before they died of illness.” She watched as his eyes widened, but continued. “I know that the head of the family bears the weight of the juunishi curse and over time, they begin to lash out and their behavior becomes unexplainable and violent…for Akito…it simply started at a younger age than the previous heads…”

 

Hatori sat stunned as he listened to her speak. He had been the only one who knew the true reason behind Akito's madness. Sure, Ayame and Shigure knew that the madness occurred, but they didn't know nowhere near as much as Tohru was telling him right now.

 

“…And that's why I blame no one.” She said as she finished speaking of the juunishi curse that Akito suffered under. “I have forgiven Akito already…and I know that his soul is at peace now.” She smiled at the memory of the warmth he gave off when they embraced. Her face flushed hotly as she met the doragon's eyes, trying to push out the words that she wanted to say. “Ano...”

 

`Come on Tohru! You can do this!' She cheered herself on, steeling herself for the confession she was about to make to the handsome doctor.

 

“Hatori…I don't blame you and never will. You saved my life…and I could never fault the man…the man I love for something that he wasn't responsible for.” He face was blazing red but her blue eyes never wavered from his hazel ones. “I'm glad that I'm in love with Hatori…because he is a wonderful, caring person who deserves to be loved. I only hope he'll let me love him…” She said in a quite but confident tone.

 

Hatori's heart felt as if it were going to burst within his chest as happiness welled within in. This was something that he thought that he'd never get a chance to experience. Hearing the strong, beautiful girl before him speak of the love she had had for him with such confidence and strength mad him love her even more.

 

The love that he had for her shone in his eyes, and he knew that the young onigri could see it, but inwardly he cursed himself. As much as he did love her and care for her, those three words would not spill from his lips. It was as if they were locked somewhere deep within him…in the same place he locked them away when he had to free Kana of her love for him.

 

After that experience, he had hidden them away, thinking that those words could only bring pain and suffering. And he had done such a good job of hiding from those words, now when he needed them and wanted to say them, he couldn't even say them.

 

Hatori took her hand on his and brought it to his lips. A kiss was placed against each digit and her palm before bringing it to rest over his heart. “Tohru…I care for you deeply…in a way I haven't cared for anyone since Kana…more than that actually.” He admitted, a hit of red also flooding his cheeks. “I wish I could say those words but I-“

 

He was silenced when a she shook her head softly, a tear sliding down her smiling face. “Hatori, you don't have to say it. As long as you keep looking at me with your eyes showing me like they are now, I'll always know!”

 

He couldn't help the small chuckle of happiness that escaped his lips from the lilting tone of her voice. There was one thing though that they had to think about. “Tohru, what about the difference in our age? I know my family will accept it, but will yours?” He said, having heard the stories of her family from Kyo and Yuki.

 

Her smile widened even more. “I don't care what they think. I know that jiichan will be accepting and happy for us and that's all that matters to me. I don't care what the others think. They will most likely not accept it, but that doesn't matter to me. They'll be jealous that I've found such a handsome doctor to love and that I have someone that cares for me, while their relationships are in shambles.” She said, her smirk turning evil as she thought about her last conversation with her grandfather. He had told her that her cousin's boyfriend had just left her and her aunt's recent engagement had been called off. Her male cousins had also been striking out with the ladies as well.

 

A tired yawn escaped her lips causing a warm smile to grace his lips. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Tohru, you need more rest…you've been through a lot and your body needs to heal.” He said, pulling the blanket back up to cover her, then quickly changed the nearly empty IV bags. “Everyone is here waiting to see you, but they can do that first thing in the morning.''

 

“Hatori?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Will you stay here with me tonight.” She asked shyly.

 

He gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “Of course I will.” He said and walked to a closet door. After moving a few monitors out of the way, he emerged pushing a rollaway bed and carrying a pillow.

 

He made short work of setting up the bed, and pulled back the blanket. He lowered the hospital bed she was laying in before moving to lay on the bed he had just set up. The doragon rolled onto his side and took her hand in his. “Goodnight Tohru-chan.” He said quietly. “We'll figure everything out in the morning.”

 

She nodded and squeezed his hand as her eyes began to drift shut. “G'night…Tori..” She murmured as sleep took her once more, with the young doctor following soon after.

 

o-o

 

A smile traced Yuki's lips as he stood outside of Tohru's room. He had heard everything Tohru had said about how she felt about his cousin, and everything he had said in return. He hadn't meant to be eavesdropping on their conversation; he just couldn't sleep and had come to check on his injured friend.

 

As he walked away, he couldn't help the happiness he felt in his chest for the doragon and the onigri. The nezumi reentered his room and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

 

-o-o-o-Authors Notes-o-o-o-

 

Happy Birthday to me!!! I wanted to put out a new chapter today, so I did! It's a little gift to myself I guess…pathetic huh? -shrugs and grins cus she doesn't care if it is or not-

 

It has been horribly difficult trying to even access my stories. There is something with my ms word program to the point where I can't open ANY of my .doc, .rtf etc files. I'm just lucky I had this chapter saved on a disk, but everything else is not accessible. I'm trying to get chapters done, but since I can't even VIEW them to see where I left off, I'm at a standstill until I can reformat my computer.

 

Thank you to everyone for their support of my story and I wish I had time to thank you all, but I don't. It's seems my 24 years are finally catching up to me….

 

Just kidding. Thank you all for reading and don't forget to review.

 

07132005

edited 6/30/06