𝐀𝐙𝐔𝐑𝐄'𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄 | Fruits Basket FF

(26)

Because she was a monster. She answered in her head.

"Ichika-chan!" Tohru exclaimed.

She was then suddenly embraced by the brunette which stunned her. She felt Tohru's shaking arms around her and guilt ate at her even more.

She didn't realise how scared she was.

"Please don't apologise. It's not your fault." She stated.

Why wouldn't it be?

Look at all those torn expressions she put on their faces.

"May I speak to Ichika alone?" Hatori broke his silence.

The Sohma's shared a look, before nodding. Tohru slowly let go of her hold and was guided away by Kyo. They followed after the others who silently walked away and kept their distance from the bearers of the Dragon Spirits.

When they were alone, Hatori checked her pulse through her wrist. His touch was light-handed, but that was when she noticed that he was shaking.

After checking her pulse, his hand remained holding her wrist as if he had forgotten to let go.

"We should be the ones apologising." He trembled.

"H-Hatori-san, no, it's my fa—" Ichika started in a hurry, only to be swiftly cut off.

"No. It's not." He stated adamantly. "I'm sorry we didn't realise how awful you've been feeling."

She parted her lips as she tried to think of words that could refute that statement. But she couldn't think of any.

He added. "It must have been hard on you."

Her eyes widened slightly at the sentence.

Ichika stared at him in silence. Once again, her eyes stung and she felt everything inside her begin to spill out. The frame she used to hold herself up the entire time was collapsing.

"You'll make me cry if you say that, Hatori-san." She broke her silence and sniffed.

But it was already too late. The warm stream down her face had already escaped the corner of her right eye.

She used the back of her hand to roughly wipe it away, but more just kept flowing out.

Please, she begged her tears. Please stop coming out.

Why wouldn't it stop?

Her skin on her cheeks, closer to her eyes, was becoming raw from the roughness of her rubs.

Two large warm hands shot out and grabbed a hold of her own, halting her.

Hatori moved her hands her away from her face and replaced them with his own. His fingertips of his thumb lightly wiped the area that was stained with her tears.

"I-I'm sorry, Hatori-san," She said through her cries. "I'm sorry I tried to leave. I won't do it anymore, I promise. So please don't be angry with me, I promise I won't do it anymore. I didn't mean to make you, or the others sad. I—"

Hatori cut off her painful rambling and pulled her in close. He wrapped his slender arms around her body and guided her head forward into his chest.

It had surprised her to realise that she was in his arms. He was hugging her. She had never been so close to him like this before, though it was quite a nice feeling. She could feel him breathing and could hear the pretty sound of his heartbeat.

He's so warm. She wanted to stay there forever.

"I'm glad you're still here. We all are." He murmured.

Her cheeks flared with a flush, but her body slowly begun to relax. She let out a quiet breath, almost as if releasing the tension she was holding in.

She lifted her arms and gripped the back of his button-up. Then she closed her eyes.

Maybe Kami-sama had given her another chance.

Looking back to a couple years prior, she would have never thought she would have escaped the Estate. Yet look at where she was. Away from her perpetrator. Away from her unloving parents.

And it was all because of this man before her, with his hold so tight around her and whom said nothing but words her inner child needed to hear.

***

Wow. Not me crying while writing this chapter. Ichika's been through one hell of a rollercoaster D: