Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ A Recurring Dream ❯ Chapter 2

A/N: As I said in the summary, this will be a Mabudachi-trio fanfic. Obviously more focused on Hatori than the others, but it is definitely not a Hatori-san fic. This chapter sums up the torture the two other friends endured during the time Ha-san played dead. Warning: A pretty nasty spoiler. Don't read if you are not up-to-date with Akito…

Ahem.

Enough with the rambling, on to the ficcie. Enjoy.

Diclaimer: Fruits Basket is not mine. Never was and never will be. The orignal series characters belong to Natsuki Takaya and Hakushensha (am I spelling that right?) Anyhow...

Mon reve familier, part II Wretched be the fruit of thy womb.

When the news came out that Kana was in the final weeks of her pregnancy, I knew it would be the beginning of troubled times. Ha-san did not seem to remember, and I recall thinking that it was probably for the best. After all, he did not need to remember that she was still in love with a woman who could not possibly be his. Images of the only tears ever shed by the hassenchi come up to my mind. Kana had been his Spring, and as such, her presence had been all too ephemeral.

In a way, it seems that Hatori's oblivion made everything worse. He had been busy at the Honke for a while; less because of Akito than due to the paperwork required in managing a very-private family practice. I must have been on a bad guessing streak, because it appears now obvious that whether or not Hatori did burry himself consciously into his work, the nervous strain of this exertion left him unprepared for the shock of finding out that his soul mate had found someone. And now, Kana had a baby that was not his either.

>---

She had called my house on a sunny afternoon, right when the sun started its final descent behind the horizon. It is strange how nature can fool us into thinking that everything is perfect when in fact it isn't. The kids were still at school, probably taking care of the homeroom chores. I was in the editing phase of a short story in which A particularly temperamental character was giving me trouble, and since the piece of work was not due for another month, I decided to go for a cigarette break, when the phone's shrill ring took me out of my reverie. I welcomed the call as it offered one more distraction to the project at hand. I had not been expecting Ayame's call, but who could ever expect Ayaa to do anything normal?

"Moshi moshi. Sohma Shigure speaking."

Instead of the snake's buoyant voice, Mayuko's slightly annoyed tone arose from the other end of the line. "Shigure, it's me, Mayu." she said briskly.

Mayuko-chan! That was a surprise! A nice one to boot! I always liked this woman. She was almost as fun to play with as Mitt-chan.

"Ha? Mayu-chan? Mayu as in Mayuko? My my, did you finally realize that we are meant for each other? I am glad to hear that my irresistible charm has finally thawed your icy heart! So tell me Mayu-rin, what took you so lo…?"

"Cut the crap Shigure. I am calling about Kana."

Mayu-chan always knew how to shut me up.

"Kana? Ah. I see. So, the beautiful boy arrived, didn't he?"

"Yes. He came this yesterday. He's a beautiful four-pounder. You should see Kana, she's elated."

"Thank you for the invitation but I don't think that would be a good idea. Nevertheless, we're getting lost, dear Mayu-tin. I am guessing that you are not just calling to let me know of the good news."

She remains silent for a couple of seconds before she sighs and continues. Her voice is now strained and it almost sounds as if it's taking her everything she's got not to hung up the phone.

"You're still the same Shigure. No, I am not calling you to share the news. The truth is that Kana asked me for Hatori's phone number, and…" she hesitated.

"And…? What did you do, Mayuko-kajin?"

"What do you think? I gave it to her, obviously!" Her voice had a nervous edge in it that made me think that maybe this situation was stressing more people than I thought. Poor Mayu-chan, she's had to chose between her friend and her love after all. I guess she has had more than her share of worries.

"Maa, don't worry Mayu-chin, there is nothing wrong in those two having a conversation after all. They are responsible adults you know. Don't worry and trust Gure-nichan, he can fix anything after all!"

"Stop giving me weird names Shigure! Can't you see this is serious! You said it yourself; Kana-chan and Hatori-san should not keep contact. They had a messy break-up after all. I am more worried about her than about him. He's the one who dumped her after all, the damn bastard! She did not even seem to know what had happened. You know, I don't think she ever really got over him."

Of course she did not know. Aya and I just told her that the both of them had fallen out of love and did not want to talk about their relationship anymore; she bought it and probably avoided mentioning Ha-san to her best friend until now.

"Don't worry Mayu-chan. I don't think it's bad. Just when did she ask you his phone number?"

"About a week ago. But I doubt she planned to use it until after the baby was born. And now that it is done…"

"You are not sure if you made the right decision, so you called papa-Gure…. Haaa! Youth!"

"That does it Shigure! I just wanted to let you know so it would not come as a surprise if Kana calls. But I see you are just stupid, insensitive and immature as ever! Goodb…"

"Mayuko-san. Thank you for calling."

She's caught off-guard and stammers "Ha? Wha...?"

"Yes, thank you for letting me know. You know, you really are a good person."

I can almost see her blush as she nervously blurts, "arg Shigure, cut the crap!" before hanging up the phone.

"Awww, Mayu-pin is so meaaan!" I almost call her back, but I resist the temptation of teasing her and decide that I need to get back to work. Surely nothing bad can happen on such a lovely evening. .

Half an hour later, Ryo-kun still did not know how to express his feelings for Yumiko-chan and I think he may be on strike for a while. Ah… what can you do about opinionated characters…?

>----

Maybe I should give Ha-san a call.

It's almost been a week since Hatori has not given any sign of life. Shigure called his office, and I went to visit him, a couple of times. He does not seem to be anywhere within reach. He's still alive though, as reported by Shigure who says he still attends Akito, but she must be the only one to have seen him in days. The servants can't provide any kind of information, and Akito does not seem like the only thing she has to say is that his mutism is annoying. She doesn't look like she would be willing to help.
By the end of the sixth day, I begin to be seriously worried. Shigure told me about Kana, and if Hatori was half as shocked as I was, he must be in a pretty bad shape right now. I really wish he would let us help him. His voicemail has reached its recording limit, he does not return my calls, and last time I went to his office, the place had a deadly aura that I thought Kana's memories had taken away with them. Obviously her darn baby had brought it back.

She even had the nerve to call the twerp like Tori-san. I probably should not be calling him that; he has nothing to do with this after all. Still… My poor Tori-san.

The last client of the day finally leaves the shop with a packet contently tucked under his arm. Minne-chan escorts him to the door and bids him farewell, before locking the door and getting ready for close-up. It's been a while since I actually met and helped a customer, but it's alright. Minne-chan is a capable person, without whom I am sure this place would have closed a long time ago.

A deep green fabric catches my attention at the far end of the shop. It is the same color as Hatori's eyes. The same eyes he almost lost when Akito....
I must have zoned out because Minne-chan's hand flies before my face while she stares at me with a weird look.

"Oi, Tencho-san! Can you hear me?"

"HA HA HA! Always, Minne-chan; always! Why this strange question!?"

Unsatisfied, she glares at me with concern "Tencho-san, you have not quite been yourself lately. Maybe you need a vacation."

"HA HA! Nonsense Minne-chan! A vendor must never rest! To infinity and beyond, I shall reach for the customers' satisfaction even if it is the last thing I do! This last client was a difficult one, ne? He could not decide between the Mermaid Secret Emerald Nurse costume and the Spring Cherry Blossom Maid one! If it is indubitable that he has good taste, being so irresolute is never a good thing when you are to make this kind of choice, ne? I would have been him, I would have taken both costumes and gotten over with it! What do you think Minne-chan!? Brilliant idea, n'est-ce pas?"

"Sou ka…If you say so, Tencho-san" Her eyes are sad when she smiles at me and bids me goodnight before exiting through the back door.

I should try calling him one last time. Maybe he'll pick up the phone.

Spending the week-end alone was hard, but by the end of the second week I know I need to stay at Shigure's place in order to keep my sanity. Otherwise I know I might end up doing something stupid to Kana, her husband and their little twerp. All of them are scoundrels prying on my poor Tori-san! Why couldn't they just leave him alone? He was not asking for anything, just to be left alone. Nevertheless, that was too much with Miss I-am-too-happy-to-give-a-piss-about-other-people's-feelings. She had to point her face and ruin my poor Tori-san's life, yet again!

I did not want to ask Shigure to live with him, considering how Yuki is still uncomfortable around me, but he is the one who made the proposition.

"Ayaa, you know you can come live to my place. While we wait for Ha-san to show up."

He must have sensed my distress and have decided that thinking that I might do something stupid, and I can't say that he was wrong. The day after, I brought a couple of personal items and installed myself.

"Hahaha! Yuki! Your wonderfully dear brother decided to strengthen the links of our brotherly love by electing domicile here, next to your heart. Soon, we shall be inseparable! Oui Oui Toujours l'amour, toujours!!"

Surprisingly enough, Yuki did not react to the tirade, and simply let me in without a word. Sure, he had not spoken to me ever since, but I suspect that he might have been slightly worried too.

Ah well, one can only dream.

Meanwhile, I still don't know what Hatori-san is doing.

Later that week, I was contemplating the dark sky from Shigure's patio when the shoji door slided open.

"Ayaa? Still not sleeping?"

"Ah? It's you Gure-kun. No, I have not quite been able to sleep lately. I think it's because Yuki-kun does not react too well to me sleeping in his room."

"Lousy liar, as usual. Here, drink this, it'll make you feel better." He shoves a hot cup of tea in my hands. The warmth from the cup feels good in my hands, since the night is chilly. Shigure and I have been going back and forth to the Honke to check on Ha-san, but no progress was made.

"Tea? My my, Gure-nii, you did not spike it to have unsolicited side-effects did you?"

He grins, and thenhas a mock shocked expression on his face and replies "Why, Ayaa, this hurts my feelings! You know I don't need anything but my irresistible charm, especially with you!"

"Always Shigure-nii!"

He grins mischievously and we both crack up silently in the night. Like in old times.

"All-right!"

We both chuckle, but the laughter quickly fades away as soon as we realize that something is missing to the tableau.

"It was funnier when Hatori-san was here, wasn't it?"

The sad edge in Shigure's whisper is so uncharacteristic of him that for one minute I think he knows something that I don't.

"Hai. I am worried Gure-san. Even when she left he did not shun us out of his life like that. What if…?"

"There are no 'if-s' Ayaa. None at all, you hear? Ha-san has always been one to like his privacy, and he might need it more than ever right now. He is not selfish enough to do anything stupid, don't worry so much."

"Mh. Are you convincing me, or yourself Gure-nii? Because it sounds to me that you are just as scared as I am. You are the one who made the tea, remember?"

A heavy silence dawns on us as neither seems to find the right words. My eyes wander to Shigure's, who have been staring at me for a while now with an awkward seriousness.

"Shigure, I don't want to lose him" I whisper weakly.

"No one does. Listen. If it can make you feel better, we are going to wait a couple more days. If by Thursday Hatori does not answer phone calls or answer the door, then we'll call the police."

"The what? We can't call the police! What would we tell them? That our friend, a respected member of the Sohma has disappeared because his long-lost love, to whom he erased the memory long ago because of a family curse, has asked him to be her son's godfather! Come on Shigure, that's insane! What about Akito, and the family, and…?"

I don't realize I am yelling until Shigure seizes me by the shoulders and whispers hoarsely, almost too softly for me to hear him
"Calm down Ayaa, calm down. It's just a suggestion. I am sure Ha-san will show up before we have to resort to such drastic measures. Think of it as a back-up plan. You'll see that everything will turn out just fine."

The conviction in his voice, the confidence in his eyes, almost convince me that he is right. He has to be right.

"Hai. You…You must be right Shigure-san. You're right."

Slowly, he unfastens his hold on my shoulders and holds me in a tight embrace. The concern I can feel in this simple gesture reminds me of how dependant I've become of my friends, and I return the hold, unsure at first.

"Don't worry Ayaa, he's going to be alright. You're going to be just alright."

For some reason, hot, heavy tears pour down my face as I hold him as tight as I can. AsI feel the weight of the past weeks' sleep deprivation finally sinking in, I still don't know if they are tears of relief or utter fear.

Yes, Hatori-san will be just alright.

Grieving has no schedule, no pattern or set pace,
Everyone's grief is different but it's written on each face.
The smile covers the ache that throbs within the chest.
We see through a veil of sadness, from grief there is no rest.
Tears on my pillow, crying in dreams, become our familiar friend.
We're on a journey of healing, may we hear "Well done" in the end.

A/N: So here it is minna-san. The second chapter of this story. The next chapter will also be the last, it will also be much longer than the others, because I still need to add a couple of stuff I wanted to add here, but they somehow did not seem to fit to the overall mood of the chapter.

Some explanations…

Shigure-san's teasing comes from Tsubasa RC character Fye who keeps calling people with honorifics that do not make sense just to annoy them. I thought Shigure was the kind of guy who would definitely do this kind of things… O I know it's annoying, it's made to be so. Lol

Unmarked spoilers on Akito. Sorry for the bummer, but I tried adding some 'explanation' on her sex but it broke the flow. It is already not terrible as is, so imagine how it would have been.

Also, I know Ayaa is not exactly the type to curse, but I figured he would if he was put under the right amount of pressure. He was lots of fun to write, even though I was really scared he would be harder to impersonate… he's so much fun! O

The colors of the outfits are completely imaginary (Did I really need to mention that?) but I figured Ayaa would be the kind of people to give weird names to colors.

The poem in the end is from Elizabeth Dent. The complete poem can be found on a website titled Broken Hearts, Living Hope. Please googl-ize it, because I can't post the link.

I hope you enjoyed!

Please review minna-san, you know you want to.