𝐀𝐙𝐔𝐑𝐄'𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄 | Fruits Basket FF

(3)

unrevised.

/ chapter 3 /

"Ichika."

She instantly looked up at the sound of the familiar voice to meet the eyes the navy eyes she had inherited from. Standing be the doorway was her mother and standing was her father. Their tired faces stared at her.

Her mother gave Hatori a bow and thanked him in which he responded with a silent nod.

"We were looking for you everywhere. How could you just run off like that? What if you got lost or hurt?" Her mother worriedly said, stepping closer to her.

This confused her. Was her mother actually worried, or was she acting like it because Hatori was here?

The latter sounded right.

Ichika stared holes into the bed covers that she was sitting under. How was she supposed to respond? Her mother's acting wasn't anything new, but it made it difficult for her to know what to respond with. It wasn't like she wanted to play along with her.

"Your mother is right, you need to stop doing these kind of things. We don't have all the time in the world to look for you—" Her father commented, before he was nudged by her mother who gave him a stern look. He straightened his back and quickly glanced at Hatori before looking back at Ichika and continued. "W-What I mean to say, is that we were very worried and spent a long time looking for you."

Ichika's insides churned and she fiddled with her fingers.

Hatori watched them silently on the side. Something was wrong, he could tell that much, but what could he possibly do? He barely knew the girl and had little to no interaction with their family. Who was he to say something? It wasn't his place.

Yet that being said, he seemed to notice how uncomfortable she looked with the presence of her parents. The barely noticeable pleading in her eyes as if trying to tell them to go away.

"Ichika? Are you listening?" Her mother called pressingly. She placed both of her hands on each side of Ichika where she immediately tensed at the touch.

"Let's go home, okay?"

The air became heavy. Hatori watched as Ichika's head stayed lowered down, just like how she looked like at her brother's funeral. She didn't utter a single word as her mother pulled her out from the bed and placed a hand on her shoulder and gripped it tightly.

Her mother turned to him and her lips curved up into a friendly smile. It was almost sickening.

"Thank you for taking care of her, Doctor. We'll take her home now." She bowed, and then turned away to guide her daughter towards the door.

Hatori watched them leave as a feeling began to crawl up from his stomach to his heart. The blue haired girl finally lifted her head and she gave him one last look. His eyes widened slightly as the three figures disappeared from sight. Then he sat atop of the bed she had just be laying at and rubbed his face.

He couldn't shake off the feeling of guilt.

A few hours had gone by. He had been checking the entire time. He didn't know why he was so restless, but for some reason he couldn't erase the hint of sadness in the blue-haired girl's eyes before she'd left.