Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ What It Took To Tell You ❯ What It Took To Tell You ( One-Shot )

What It Took To Tell You

By, Jamie1317kast

 

Ayame and Hatori, Shigure's pov. I swear, you will not guess what happens to bring these two together. A Madabuchi high school fic.

 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

 

Rated PG-13 for language.

 

What It Took To Tell You:

 

“ Aren't you going to tell Ha-san that you love him?” I asked Aya, our heads resting together as we walk down the hallway to Sociology class. Aya shakes his head, beautiful silver hair falling into his eyes.

He puffs out his cheeks and blows the strands out of his way. “ Of course not. Tori-san's not gay. What if he laughs at me, or something? You know I couldn't stand that.”

I smile sadly. “ Yes,” I acquiesce. “ I know. But still…”

“ Just drop it, Gure-san. I'm happy loving him from afar, that's…all I need.” We pull apart as we near the classroom and Aya promptly glomps Hatori.

“ Nice to see you too, Ayame.” Hatori nods to me and un-latches Aya from around his neck. “ Now get to class you two, I'll see you after English.”

Aya smiles stupidly, trying to hide all the emotions from Hatori that he thinks the other boy can never see. “ You have a vocabulary test today, right?”

“ Hai. Now I'd better get going. Shigure, you're going to be late.” He heads back toward the stairs, taking them two at a time. Most of the students are already in their classes and I'm sure that the bell had already rung.

“ Is it my fault I had to clean up the paint I spilled in the Art room?” I call to Hatori's retreating back. He doesn't answer but simply smiles and waves as he rounds the landing and continues up.

Aya and I shuffle into class, avoiding the teacher's gaze. I sigh, slumping down in my seat, we're safe. We exchange a smile and Aya takes out his Game boy. I look over, wondering if he's still between the same rock and hard place that he was in Art.

“ Still on the same battle?” I ask.

He nods, already totally absorbed.

I shrug and turn back to the teacher. Lougee-sensei starts off talking about how we use symbols in society. The talk turns to babies using sign language to communicate their needs far long before they can talk. Aya scoffs next to me. “ Children can just learn naturally, like they always have. People are stupid.” I wonder if he is thinking about having children with Hatori. I really wish that Hatori would notice him, Aya made me promise not to tell.

They can both be so stubborn sometimes.

The lights go off and we watch a short program about babies using sign language, and after that is a quick/jilted opportunity for lunch. Hatori doesn't have our lunch. I grab a cheese pizza that's practically oozing grease.

Aya looks at my lunch. “ That thing is a heart attack waiting to happen.”

“ Mmm.” I reply, biting into it. I notice that Aya's brought his Game boy to lunch, as per usual. “ What are you playing?”

“ Final Fantasy.”

“ Ah.”

The others join us, coconspirators that help us wreck havoc on our poor, poor school. There's Mine-chan, Kazuma-san, Mayuko-san, and Kana-chan. I briefly note that Aya's eating an equally greasy hamburger before becoming totally enraptured in our latest plot to sneak into Mine-chan's ex-boyfriends house and castrate him in his sleep for breaking up with her.

As third years, we can leave the lunch room before the bell rings, so I get up, waving to Aya, who stays entranced, and leave the cafeteria. I pass by some fellow third years in the hallway eating their lunch and they ask me questions like who I'm taking to prom, who gave me my latest hair cut, are Aya and I going out yet, you know, those sorts of questions. They're all preps, so I just continue walking. The bell rings and I can hear the frantic rush to get back to class and not be marked tardy since the new attendance policy was instated.

Once we're all settled, Lougee-san talks more with us about sign language. I try to ignore him, after all, he made me put away the book I was reading, Take Big Bites by Linda Elerbee. It was a really good book too! Sometimes teachers can be so stuffy! Honestly! Aya continues playing his Game boy, though I have no idea how he gets away with it.

We're going to watch another short video, but I can't even remember what it was now. The lights go off again, plunging the room into darkness. Anni-chan on my left leans over and whispers.

“ Hey, Shigure-san!”

“ Yeah?” I whisper back taking my eyes off of Aya's, the golden orbs concentrating intensely on the small figures on the Game boy screen.

“ Did you know that Ja-chan likes you?” She points to the boy behind Aya, I furtively glance over, Ja-chan seems not to notice.

“ You're kidding!”

“ No,” She replies. “ But don't tell him I told you, he'll kill me if you do.” I nod sagely, understanding, high school politics are strange indeed.

I try to concentrate on the video again when I hear a clatter. ` Ah,' I think. ` Aya's dropped his Game boy.' I hear the chair scraping against the floor and I conclude that he's bending over to pick it up.

The sounds and hesitations that happen in the next second are barely even registered in my mind. Then, Ja-chan's slightly raised voice.

“ Hey! I think something's wrong with Ayame!”

I turn, and his rigid posture sends up red flags in my mind immediately. His left arm is sticking out above his head, he's stiffly slumped in his chair and he's twitching.

I jump to my feet, kicking my chair away.

“ AYAME!” I yell, my arms going under him, trying to support his weight and barely succeeding. “ AYAME!!” His eyes are rolling back in his head and he feels cold and comatose. “ AYAME!!!”

The teacher finally notices, and he rushes over. “ AYAME!!!!” I feel like crying, shaking him, anything! But he doesn't notice or hear me. A dozen-million things rush into my mind unconsciously and I fear for his life.

Then, it hits me.

He's having a seizure.

I remember.

 

Aya ripping up a slip of paper that Hatori gave him. “ Tori-san said that I need to see a doctor.”

“ What for?” I ask.

“ He said that Yuki called him a few weeks ago to say that I was having a seizure and Tori-san says that I should go get tested.” He scoffed. “ I was only sleepwalking. And you know how stupid Tori-san can be sometimes.”

I nodded. “ Of course, you were only sleepwalking.”

“ Of course. I don't NEED to get tested for likelihood of a seizure, because I didn't have one. Bakas!”

We laughed then.

 

But now, it's all that I can do to be strong and not break down in front of the entire classroom.

Lougee-sensei yells at everyone else. “ GET OUT!” They scatter like mice. “ Take that chair out from under him!” I do. “ Somebody get that desk away!” Anni-chan rushes to drag it away. Gently, although he's still twitching rigidly, we lower Aya to the floor.

“ What's happening?!” She cries.

“ He's having a seizure!” My voice is raised, I'm practically in a state of panic myself. “ Ayame, I'm here for you. I'm here! I'M HERE!”

The class files out and I dimly am aware that the stupid school nurse has been sent for. I don't remember, I have eyes only for the twitching man on the floor. He calms and seems to slowly be sinking into a sleep-like state. His breathing is ragged and it sort of gurgles in his throat.

His golden eyes flicker closed and my eyes catch on the thick Mardi Gars beads that he was wearing that day. They're all bunched up around his neck. I put my fingers in between the beads and his pale, cold skin, giving him room to breathe comfortably. Lougee-sensei gets a small pair of scissors and kneels down next to us. Aya's head is resting on his Kuro-Neko backpack. “ I'm sorry Aya, but we have to cut off your Mardi Gars beads.” I whisper. “ We'll get you some other ones, okay?”

He says nothing, and I gently wipe away the spittle that slipped from his mouth. ` I'm here.' I say silently. ` I'm right next to you.' The tears hang back, I can't cry yet, Aya needs me. And he needs me NOW.

The nurse comes in and asks him a lot of questions but I know that he can't hear her. His eyes open and he looks like he's painting with an invisible paintbrush, arms moving randomly, but with a tired, post-surgery look. He keeps brushing his hair back from his face, messing it up. I replace the bangs, but his hand keeps pushing them back again. The nurse, Penny-san, says to him, “ Do you know who this person is?” She points to me. Aya looks at me, but then, like his eyes can't rest too long on just one thing, they flicker away. He makes odd mumbling noises and Penny-san keeps trying to talk to him. I can see him look slightly annoyed despite the fact that I know he cannot really see any of us.

“ I know what you mean.” I say out loud. The teachers look at me oddly but I ignore them, THEY are NOT important. “ It sucks, I know. I understand.” He has his classic, `I'm Ayame Sohma and you have annoyed me'-look. This is degrading, but still terribly frightening. Still, I can see through his expressions that these stupid grownups should just leave him alone.

The nurse turns to me and asks me to get her blood pressure machine from her office. ` That's too far away!' I think frantically, loathe to leave my best friend's side. But I must get it, so I squeeze his hand and tell him that I'll go as fast as I can and that I'll be back in just minute.

“ So quick that you won't even know that I was gone, okay?” He saying nothing but his pained, distraught golden eyes makes confetti out of my heart.

I wrench open the door and I run down the hallway. Our entire class is serving as the world's biggest roadblock, hanging around on the floor when Gods-know-what has just happened to my dearest friend. I ignore their questions about Aya's health and mine and continue running, jumping over their outstretched legs.

“ Is he okay?”

“ Are you crying?”

“ What happened?”

I leave their questions behind.

Someone might have yelled at me for running but I can't remember. I dash into the nurse's office and there are a bunch of not even sick students hanging around waiting for the woman to get back. They all look at me, wide-eyed. I suppose that I must be in a terrible state too. My eyes are all wide and bloodshot, my hands are shaking and I can barely speak for the lump in my throat.

“ Wh-where is-”

“ Calm down, Shigure-san.”

“ What happened?”

These questions can wait. “ Where is-where is-where is- b-b-blood p-press-ure mach-chine?” They all give me confused and worried looks. A girl approaches and I back away, shaking my head and starting to sift through the desk drawers. I find it and, clutching it to my chest like a life-preserver, I leave and run back.

I slow down as I reach the classroom, I don't want the noise of my boots to bother Aya. He looks up as I enter, still half-conscious. My heart is instantly flooded by relief and I hand the machine over, falling to my knees next to him. “ I'm back, I'm back. See, I told you I wouldn't be long.”

He tries to get up and they all attempt to restrain him. I am trying to keep my hand on him at all times, it seems to keep him calm. The teachers are trying to tell me that people who have seizure disorders can go on to live relatively normal lives. I want to punch them right then, what do THEY KNOW ABOUT NORMAL?!

I see Kazuma-san in his classroom across the hall and he mouths `what happened?', I shakily shake my head and turn back to Aya.

They sit him down and the paramedics get there and load him into the stretcher. Suddenly, I feel a large prick of guilt.

Hatori!

I should get Hatori!

But I can't just leave Aya! I decide to stay with him. Besides, Hatori would want me to stay by him. Yeah, that's it. But it doesn't make me feel any less guilty.

“ I will follow him in my car.” It's actually Hatori's, but I have the keys today. THANK GOD FOR SMALL FAVORS.

They nod and I wave to Aya. “ I'll see you there.” I tell him. “ I'll meet you there at the Hospital.” He lifts up a hand and flops it around. I smile and feel my heart breaking again, he just waved back!

I grab his stuff and I rush out. I get to Hatori's car and throw the backpacks in, thrusting the key into the ignition and slamming down hard on the gas pedal. Yanking the wheel violently, I pull out of the parking space with a squeal of rubber on pavement. “ I'M COMING AYA!” I yell.

The ambulance pulls away from the courtyard and I hit the gas. I sing to him the whole way, peering through the hard rain as I go. Whenever we get to a stoplight, I wave at him. He doesn't wave back and I sob, barely able to see where I'm going much less drive the damn car properly.

I call Hatori. Three times. He doesn't pick up. Then I text him.

PICK UP!

I say. But he doesn't. A moment later the phone vibrates. “ Hello?”

“ I-I heard.” His voice sounds choked.

“ I took your car.”

“ Yeah.”

“ Yeah.”

“ S'Okay.”

“ He's alive.”

“ Yeah. Keep me posted, I'm trying to get a ride.”

“ Yeah.” I hang up.

I wave at Aya again through the glass and the grey sheets of rain. “ I'm here.” I whisper. “ I'm right behind you, just like I said I'd be.” I cry. It dawns on me that Hatori was crying too.

Brothers of tears.

Finally we turn into the Hospital parking lot. I quickly and badly park the car, grabbing my wallet and jumping out of the still-cooling vehicle. “ AYAME!” I yell, sprinting across the pavement, trying to keep up with the ambulance.

I get there just as they're unloading him. He didn't transform, amazing. He looks at me and smiles. “ You're all wet.” He murmurs and taps my nose.

I smile through me tears. ` He's all right.'

As they wheel him to the triage ward, I tell him that I let Hatori know. He scoffs softly. “ Tori-san doesn't really care about me.” He looks away and I think that I want to curl up and die right there on the linoleum floor.

“ I love you.” I whisper.

“ I love you too, Gure.” That name tears not just my heart but my soul to tatters. They get him all situated and then I settle down next to him. This place looks like the triage ward I woke up in when I got my tonsils out in sixth grade. I tell Aya this, he smiles. We talk softly, ignoring the cold, sterile world around us.

“ I waved.”

“ I couldn't see you.”

“ I sang.”

“ Did you now?”

“ Hai.” I reply“ You scared the crap out of me!”

“ I'm sorry.” He chuckles, gently. “ I'll never do it again.”

“ Well, you'd better not.” I huff, brushing the hair out of his eyes. I manage some shaky smiles now that the immediate danger has passed.

Hatori's voice floats to my ears.

“ Shigure? Shigure?”

I stick my head out of the room. “ In here.”

Hatori rushes to Aya's side and flings his arms around the Snake. “ You had me worried sick!” He growls good-naturedly and I laugh.

“ T-Tori-sa-”

He puts a finger over the boy's lips, silencing him. He follows up with a kiss, light and chaste, but it certainly delivers his message. “ I love you, Ayame!”

Aya's eyes grow wide and he closes them and starts to cry softly. But they are happy tears. I know this, and that is why I leave.

Aya's in good hands, the best. The hands of the man who loves him: Hatori.

 

THE END.