𝐀𝐙𝐔𝐑𝐄'𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄 | Fruits Basket FF

(41)

unrevised.
/ chapter 41 /

When Ichika came to, she realised she was in between someone's legs. Their large hand remained covering her mouth where not a word could be emitted from it.

She was caught. This was bad news for her. Her heart slammed into her chest so hard that she was afraid it was going to thrust itself out.

The blue-haired Sohma begun to struggle with all her might, tossing and turning and kicking her legs all while her cries were being silent.

"Shh, Ichika. It's me." The person whispered into her ear, and she immediately halted her movements. She tilted her head back and her heart skipped a beat when she met two familiar purple eyes staring down at her. Her feelings of worry and fear quickly dispersed.

"Hat-mmnggh-sanngh?" (Hatori-san?) She questioned in surprise from under his hand.

He slowly let go of her mouth and pulled an index finger to his lips in a gesture to hush her. Not understanding why, she nodded anyway and they were enveloped in silence.

Ichika could feel her heart beating rapidly, and with her back laying so close to the Doctor's chest, she was almost sure he could feel it. Her cheeks flamed at the thought and she was embarrassed in the position they were in. She snuck a glance up at him to see his eyes trained on the paper doors.

After a couple of moments, the sound of footsteps passed by and both Hatori and Ichika held their breaths. Once they were sure whoever was patrolling were gone, they both let out their breaths in relief.

Hatori stood to his feet and helped the blue-haired Sohma up.

"That was a close call. Are you alright?" He asked her, and she nodded in response.

"How did you know I was here?" She questioned, stunned. She was supposed to be the one finding him, not the other way around.

"Well—" Hatori started, remembering the call he received from Shigure not too long ago.

"Ichika-chan snuck in to the Estate." His friend had told him.

"...What? You let her come here.. by herself ...?" Hatori uttered in shock.

"She's gone to find you. That's all, bye for now bestie!~" The Dog Spirit replied cheerfully.

"Wait—" Before Hatori could finish his sentence, his eardrums were met with the sound of beeping, indicating the call had already ended. He stared down at the screen on his phone dumbfounded.

"— Shigure had given me a call. I was concerned so I went to go find you but it seems you already made your way into the Main House." The Doctor responded before sighing. "Sneaking into the Main House like that, what would you have done if Akito caught you?"

Hearing Hatori's scolding tone, Ichika felt sheepish. "I-I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking straight." She trailed off.

Hatori instantly felt guilty for telling her off. He let out a sigh once again and ran hand through his neatly styled hair, messing it up slightly in the process. Although Ichika's actions were careless, what would have happened to her if Akito found her before him? He knew Akito's room was in the other section of the Main House, yet the anxiety he felt and the way his heart almost dropped when he heard Ichika was here made him panic. He, Hatori Sohma, was afraid of having her anywhere near their God.

Akito hated all of the Zodiac members, yet loved all of them. It was a fact that each member has had their fair share of trauma when it came to Akito. But one thing Hatori was certain is that Akito especially pays too much attention to Ichika for reasons unknown. He didn't know what to describe it. It was unhealthy, twisted even. Akito at least had some sort of self-restraint of his madness when it came to the others, he would even try to shower them with affection as long as they didn't anger him. But it wasn't like that for the blue-haired Sohma. There was something absolutely twisted regarding the relation between the two.

Their relation was on par with Rin's relation with Akito, but it also wasn't either, and Hatori knew how much Akito hated Rin.

There was something deeper, and he had a feeling Shigure knew something.

"Hatori-san?" Her melodic voice called out to him and it shook him out of his trance.

He shifted his gaze to her. His thoughts begun to wander again as he watched her stare up at him with a questioning expression.

He will have to deal with squeezing information out of Shigure later, right now he needed to focus on the current situation.

"I could have driven directly to you if you needed me to. You wouldn't have needed to sneak in like that." He continued.

He knew the Estate was a dark and traumatising place for her. He didn't expect her to come straight here, especially after all that has happened. And just for him. To see him. Why? Hatori didn't understand why he was so upset with that.

"I just.. I felt an urgent need to see you." She answered sheepishly.

Perhaps he didn't see himself as important when it came to her. He placed her before himself. He wasn't worth all the trouble, was he?

He clenched his fist. "But what if you got—"

"I know." She cut him off with a weak smile. "But I couldn't seem to stop myself. Before I knew it, I found myself here rushing with adrenaline and all that was on my mind was finding you."

The Doctor was silent as his mind went to a blank. Ichika met his silence and continued to explain.

"I want to apologise to you, Hatori-san." She dropped her gaze down to her hands as she mindlessly fidgeted. "T-The truth is.. my mother called the home phone a while ago. I'm not sure how she got the number but she.." She hesitated.

Feeling warm finger tips under her chin, her head was gently tilted up so that she would meet his gaze.

"What did she do?" Hatori asked softly.

And Ichika answered within a moment. "She threatened me, and I was afraid of what she would do so I distanced myself from everyone as a reaction. I came to apologise, I owe you that. I'm sorry, Hatori-san. I knew you had driven all the way there several times to see me only for me to refuse."

"What were you so afraid of? You're surrounded by people who would lend you a supporting hand. I, included." He stated.

"Yes bur," She hesitated for a moment. Then she shook her head, the weak smile returning to her face. "I thought it would be best to hear the truth straight from me."

He looked at her with a question mark written all over his face. She gently clasped her hand on his that held her chin. Her hand lingered there for a moment before she took a step back and let him go as she dropped her hand to her side.

"I'm sure you heard the rumours at my brother's funeral, Hatori-san." 

The Doctor knitted his eyebrows. Rumours?

"Nee, nee. Did you hear? The youngest from that family passed away. Don't you think it's weird? No one knows the reason why. They haven't said anything." One whispered among their friends.

Another whisper replied, "You're right, it's a little suspicious. You don't think that—"

Ah. His purple eyes widened slightly when it clicked to him. He turned his gaze to her and watched her silently, noticing the distance that was between them now. She held her arm tightly, staring directly into his eyes. What replaced her weak smile was now a sad one.

"That's right. The secret my mother threatened to tell everyone. You were the last person I didn't want to hear..." Ichika spoke softly. She tucked her hands behind her.

"...I did kill my brother, Hatori-san.."