𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙁𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 -𝘼 𝙃𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞 𝙁𝙖𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙘-

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐

By the time my taxi pulls up to the gates of the Sohma Estate, the rain has slacked off immensely. But I still have to walk a bit to get to Hanako's parents' house, which is where I'll be staying until the wedding. It's not too much of a hassle because then I get to take my time getting there.

Hanako still hasn't returned my calls. But that's fine, I don't need him to. I figured things out, without the help of anyone. This isn't surprising at this rate, since I left home, I've had to do everything on my own.

I guess there is one thing I do like about being back at the Estate. How beautiful it is. There are few places that make me feel as much awe as I do at the estate. The trees, flowers, architecture. It's truly an art. A sigh leaves my mouth as I turn a corner getting closer to the house. The thought of spending my whole life here takes the beauty away, it drains the little life that this compound provided. I'm once again, feeling hollow.

I pass a tall man, who I can feel staring oddly at me. And rightly so, who makes a girl drag a suitcase and a backpack down these stupid cobbled streets? My fiancé does, apparently. "Excuse me?"

I turn slowly, trying not to bust my black heels anymore. "Are you talking to me?"

Slightly rolling his eyes, he replies, "Who else would I be talking to? Yes, you."

"Can I help you?" I shift my weight from one foot to another. He's a Sohma, he's probably safe.

"I should be the one asking you that. Do you need help with that suitcase of yours?"

"Oh no," I chuckle, trying to play it off. "Don't worry about it, I'm near to my location."

"Are you staying here, with a Sohma member?"

"Yes, I'm staying with Hanako Sohma's parents. So I'll be fine, the house is just a block further."

"It gets pretty bad on that street. Let me help you." He comes up and takes the suitcase handle out of my hand. The warmth from them feels nice on this cold night. Especially since I feel frozen.

"I'm Yuihiso Sohma, by the way," I tell him as we continue down the street.

"Dr. Hatori Sohma." He's a doctor? Wow, even in medical school all the guys I knew were bland looking, or if they did look good, they were already married or something. He's probably married with his looks.

"It's nice to meet you, Dr. Sohma." I can't just say that, I need to say something else. "I'm in medical school myself, or I was."

The agreement Hanako and I had had was that, I'd go to medical school and finish it, then we'd get married. But when my mother died, it was for some reason decided that I had to cut medical school short and get married. Maybe one day I'll finish it. "What do you mean, was?"

"Oh, well I've moved back to the Sohma Estate because I'm getting married. And I told my fiancé that after we were married, I'd stop school to be just a normal stay at home wife like he wants." I explain. It feels weird telling just a random stranger this, but we are family. To some extent...

"I see." We're quiet for the rest of the way to the house. But I am very glad he's here to take my suitcase because he was right, the road got worse and we had to climb the flight of steps.

"Well, this is me!" I gesture to the cold house that is my new home for the next who knows how long. "Thank you for walking me here, you really didn't have to do that."

"It was getting late, so I just wanted to make sure you made it to your destination safely." He begins to turn to leave but pauses. "Yuihiso, I hope that things get better with your fiancé."