Heal Me (Akito Sohma Love Story)

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You left Akito's place late that night, watched him succumb to a peaceful sleep beside you, and tucked him in. O-Ren had stopped you by the door.

"You're leaving?" She asked, eyes shifting over your face.

You nodded, shrugging. "I'll be back, y'know. I'm always going to come back for him..."

She at last stopped wringing her hands together and gave a short smile. "You do care for him, don't you?"

"I do." You assured. She brought a hand up to point to the stack of your blankets lingering in the hall. "Keep 'em." You smiled. O-Ren nodded curtly but remained blocking the door.
"..Do you know me, O-Ren?" You asked. The woman had never looked familiar to you, but she seemed to regard you as if she read a diary you never kept.

"Of course. I've served this family for generations. It's hard to forget the (L/n) betrayal." She spoke, looking through you. You narrowed your brows at the sting of her words and she noticed, correcting herself. "Well.. Not betrayal... That's gossip that's been over for a long time. But yes, I-I.. do remember you."

"What did I do to you?" You asked finally, wondering why the woman had treated you with such suspicion. When you first arrived, you thought it was because you were simply a new presence, an outsider, as Momiji had said. But she knew you, remembered you, and she didn't like what she saw. "What did I do to Akito?"

O-Ren gave a great sigh through her nose and stepped away from the door. "You left."

After standing in the silence for some time, you walked out of the door, figuring you weren't going to get anything out of her besides vague answers that led to nothing. If you wanted truth you had to go to the source. The person who held your memories once and ripped them away. It had been another gray day, and you felt the cool sprinkles of rain sink through your clothes. They came from the blackest night sky you'd ever seen, and when you looked up into it you felt incredibly small, incredibly lost.

You passed through the village, pulling your drenched cotton sweater closer to your trembling body. Hatori's home was suddenly right in front of you, and you couldn't begin to think of what to say, or how to approach the situation rationally. You kicked your muddy shoes off by his door and entered without knocking. Walking the few steps through the hall, you found the doctor sitting back against his sofa, eyes focused on some television program. Your eyes caught the TV as well and saw that it looked like a home video. A cute girl, short brown hair, frolicking through a field. She turned the camera on the man holding it and you saw that it was a blushing Hatori. The screen paused abruptly and you looked back at the real Hatori.

He stood up quick, scanning you from head to toe. "Y-You must be freezing." He said awkwardly and pulled the knit blanket off of the back of the couch. When he approached you, you back away.

"Don't touch me." You whispered.

You were overwhelmed by emotions but kept your breathing steady. Hatori's eye grew sad and he stretched his arm out to hand you the blanket instead.

"When were you going to tell me?" You asked, pain present in your voice as you accepted his offer.

He watched you wrap the blanket around yourself. "I.. I wasn't going to tell you. I didn't want it to come from me, I wanted it to come from you..." He retreated to the couch and flipped off the television. "Please," he directed a hand to the spot beside him, "sit."

You stood for a moment longer, evaluating your options. You came here for answers and you were going to get them. You couldn't risk Hatori erasing any more of you. Entering the living room, you took the remote from the table and turned the TV on again. Hatori's smiling face reappeared and you pressed play.