Chapter Text
Basket 15: Moonlight and Shochu
Waves crashed on the beach and Sakura’s violet eyes took in the ocean in the orange-red rush of the sunset. Below Tohru frolicked in the waves with Momiji while Kyo and Yuki watched from the beach. They would be coming back soon as Sakura firmly instructed them to return before it got to full dark since ocean swimming at night was dangerous—and Tohru admitted on the way over that she’d never actually been to the beach.
Sakura watched them from the topmost balcony of her parents’ beachside estate in silence. Her gaze strayed to the cell phone resting on the glass table lying next to a vase with a single orange rose. Since the night it was turned off, the phone had been oddly silent generating a feeling of unease in Sakura’s stomach that she tried to ignore for the moment.
When she’d checked the messages the day after the house was painted—after obediently following Hatori’s ‘doctor’s orders’—she’d found the messages she expected and one she didn’t expect. Her father’s solicitor called to let her know that the contract with the company that did maintenance on the beach house was up this year and wondered if she’d like to renew the contract or sell the property. After some thought, Sakura made plans to visit the beach house the following weekend. Sakura elected to renew the contract then made plans to for an extended stay at the beach house during Golden Week to relax and maybe see if she could let a few more bad things go.
Sakura then discovered that Tohru’s birthday actually fell just after Golden Week ended and, on a whim, invited Tohru to come with her. Sakura knew she was traipsing a thin line between being a teacher and her growing maternal affection for the girl. She all at once wanted to spoil her and protect her from the Sohmas, but still allow her to spread her wings and her smiles to those around her who desperately needed them. Sakura wanted to make sure Tohru had a life where she no longer worried about every little thing and needed to count every penny that escaped her wallet. Sakura wanted Tohru to experience as many good things as she could to offset the roiling storm that hovered over the Sohma compound and all of those who bore the curse of the zodiac.
Tohru was first stunned and then ecstatic as she told Sakura that she’d never been to a beach house before and that it was an amazing birthday present. Yuki and Kyo just happened to overhear and practically fell over themselves demanding why Tohru never told them when her birthday was and Sakura’s eyes flew to Shigure who was hovering in the doorway when she made the announcement. The Dog gave her an embarrassed smile that said that even he hadn’t known when Tohru’s birthday fell. He also latched onto the idea that they should all go with Tohru and Sakura to make sure that Tohru’s seventeenth birthday was celebrated in style since they missed her sixteenth birthday entirely. Sakura suspected he may be trying to dodge some deadlines more than he wanted to go to the beach house.
Tohru did ask that they not leave until after the 1st of May which puzzled Sakura at first until she found out that it was the anniversary of Kyoko’s death. She agreed and made arrangements with Shigure and Hatori about taking the Sohmas with her and then was floored when Hatori offered to go with them as well. He said he would drive himself in case he had to get back to the Sohma compound, but he wouldn’t mind a few days away as well. Sakura agreed and found herself prepping for six guests, not just the one she intended, but she didn’t actually mind. Ayame was quite disappointed when he found out about their plans as he had another obligation that would keep him from coming.
A shout and a giggle before jarred Sakura out of her contemplation and her eyes flashed back to the younger people on the beach. Kyo apparently decided that he was going to try and drown Momiji before they came back for dinner and found himself instead kicked coolly into the water by Yuki who stood on the beach and watched him struggle to get his feet back under him after the waves knocked him down again. Sakura chuckled and turned to go inside coming face-to-face with Hatori as he emerged through the sliding glass door with two tall, cold drinks.
“This brings back some memories,” Sakura observed quietly as he handed her one of the drinks.
“Yes it does,” Hatori agreed. “The last time we were here was three weeks and two days before you disappeared to America.”
“I did not disappear,” Sakura said indignantly. “I left a note!”
“All it said was ‘Sayonara’—nothing else,” he said, “and it was just after Akito ordered you to visit. It’s only logical we would worry.”
Sakura’s back burned at the memory and she opened her mouth to say something, but Hatori placed a finger on her lips. “I didn’t come out here to start an argument,” he said. “I thought that maybe we could enjoy the sunset together since Shigure is still sleeping.”
Sakura subsided and his finger dropped. “I wasn’t going to argue,” she said lamely.
A slight smile flickered across his features. “Of course not,” he replied.
Sakura puffed her cheeks out in a display of annoyance she picked up from her maternal grandmother and then took a sip from her drink. Her gaze strayed to the table and her phone and she realized that the orange rose matched the color of the sunset. The rose was a gift from Hatori for inviting them to the beach house and this time he made no secret of it. She moved across the balcony and touched her fingers to the petals just as her phone lit up with an incoming call.
Her eyes widened at the number and she reached out to grab it. Hatori gently caught her wrist. “Sakura…” he said reproachfully.
“It’s not them,” she assured him. “I have to take it. Please excuse me.”
Without waiting for his answer, Sakura pulled away and hit the button to receive the call. “Hello Joshua, give me just a moment to get somewhere I can hear.”
Hatori watched her leave with a frozen expression, his hand clenching around the condensation slick glass in his hand. He took a deep breath and turned his attention back out to the beach where he saw Tohru herding the boys back towards the house. Momiji was chattering happily at Tohru while Kyo and Yuki trailed along behind with inscrutable looks on their faces. Sipping his drink he watched the sun fall below the horizon and dusk quickly swallowed the land.
There was no light turned on for the patio and Hatori hovered in silence though he could hear the laughter echoing from the inside telling him the children made it back. He heard Sakura’s familiar laugh and realized that she’d finished the phone call, but hadn’t come back out to join him. He knew that sooner or later Sakura would talk to them about what’s going on sooner or later, but the mysterious caller named Josh who was not ‘one of them’ was a new mystery he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to.
He finished off his drink and grabbed Sakura’s partially filled glass off the table where she left it when she picked up the phone and went back inside. By the time he entered the kitchen to put the glasses in the sink Sakura and Tohru were getting food on the table and Shigure emerged from his room. Realizing that the chances of getting any kind of answers from Sakura were slim to none while the children were around, Hatori simply stepped in and started helping get the rest of the meal on the table.
By the end of the meal, Momiji was drowsing and, while they hid it better, he could tell that the long day of travel and sunshine was also catching up to Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo. Momiji actually fell asleep practically in his food and Sakura chuckled softly. “I think this one needs to be in bed,” she said ruffling Momiji’s curls.
The Rabbit did not stir and Sakura glanced over at Hatori. “I know he’s fifteen going on sixteen, but he’s still so little…do you think…”
Hatori nodded and silently scooped the young man up in his arms and followed Sakura up to the guest rooms and she opened the door designated for Momiji’s room and she turned down the covers. Hatori placed Momiji in the crisp sheets and Sakura tucked him in. Touching his hair lightly one more time she led the way out of the room and flipped the light switch off. “I didn’t want to turn him into a rabbit to get him up here,” Sakura said unnecessarily.
“I figured as much,” Hatori said.
Sakura glanced up at him sharply and cocked her head for a moment. “Oh, the call,” she said.
She seemed to hesitate and then nodded as if in answer to an unspoken question. “If you’d like there is a bottle of shochu chilling in the fridge, if you want to grab glasses and the shohu. If you can get Shigure onto the porch I’ll elaborate on it for both of you.”
Hatori was startled at her sudden willingness to talk and she chuckled. “I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes or so. I want to change into something a little more comfortable. I also have some plans to discuss with you and Shigure about the sailing expedition tomorrow. Give me a little bit?”
Hatori nodded and headed downstairs and saw Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo putting on light jackets and shoes in the entryway.
“We’re going to go for a walk tonight,” Tohru informed him with a warm smile. “I want to go see what the stars look like over an ocean and Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun were kind enough to agree to escort me. Tell Sakura-san we promise not to go into the ocean while it’s nighttime.”
Hatori nodded. “Don’t stay out too late. Sakura has plans for tomorrow and you’ll likely need to be up early for it,” he said.
Tohru nodded. “We won’t be gone too long, Hatori-san,” she assured him.
The three were out the door and Hatori headed to pick up the shochu and the glasses and moved to the patio. Shigure was already there in his yukata taking a deep drag of a cigarette as he leaned on the patio railing. He glanced up from the book in his hand when Hatori stepped out. “You’ll destroy your eyesight like that, Shigure,” Hatori stated.
“Perhaps,” Shigure murmured and his hand dipped inside his sleeve an emerged with a pack of cigarettes that he offered to the doctor.
Hatori set the glasses and the sake on the table and accepted his friend’s offer. He lit the cigarette with his own lighter and put it back in his pocket as he took a drag.
“They’re going for a walk this late?” Shigure murmured.
Hatori followed Shigure’s gaze and spotted three shadows moving along the beach. “Tohru wanted to see the stars over the ocean,” Hatori said leaning on the railing.
“They are truly hopeless when it comes to her aren’t they?” Shigure asked, amusement threading through his tone. “They hate each other’s guts, but yet neither of them will turn Tohru-kun down for anything she asks.”
“I’m not sure they hate each other as much as they want to think,” Sakura said.
Hatori’s good eye moved to monitor her progress as she exited the sliding door. She had a pitcher of ice water and three more glasses that she set up on the table before crossing to rest her arms on the on the rail between the two elder Sohmas. She fell silent and the three adults watched the young people’s shadows until they passed from view.
“I heard quite an interesting call when I woke up this evening,” Shigure murmured, “something about a bargain and situations escalating?”
Sakura sighed and leaned on the railing. “Believe it or not, I was actually going to talk to you two about it,” she said.
“Well that’s going to be a novelty,” Shigure said a tinge of bitterness in his tone.
“The phone call was from Joshua Hardell,” Sakura said. “You may not recognize the name right off hand, but he’s the editor of the magazine I worked for when I lived in New York. He’s my boss.”
A knot Hatori didn’t even realize had tightened in his chest loosened as she spoke, her tone when she spoke of Joshua Hardell was brisk and businesslike. “After I heard about my parents’ deaths, I left pretty abruptly. His boss actually threatened to sue me for a violation of my contract,” Sakura said. “I’d signed an agreement to do either a set amount of stories or work for the company for ten years whichever came first. I promised five stories, when I left I’d only delivered four and I still have another five years on the contract to fulfill the ten year requirement. Joshua stepped up to the plate for me and told his boss that before I left I promised to finish the last assignment at a point of their choosing after a year if I didn’t return. I didn’t even tell Joshua anything about what happened, I just packed my desk and told him I was leaving.”
“And now the bill is coming due?” Shigure asked knowingly.
“Soon,” Sakura said. “There are three situations they’re monitoring and figuring out what best suits what the magazine needs and my capabilities. Joshua is pretty sure they’ll have an assignment for me by midsummer, but I probably won’t have to leave until later than that. I have to do some research into whatever the situation is to figure out the best way to go about getting the story they need in as little time as I can manage.”
“So you’ll be leaving again?” Hatori asked.
Sakura nodded. “Not for ten years this time though,” she assured him. “Two maybe three months at most depending on where I wind up. They have to give me time to make arrangements with the school and figure out who will be keeping an eye on things for while I’m gone. I will be talking to you two about it before I go as I have to discuss something else with you—well likely mostly Shigure—related to Tohru, but not tonight. It’s too beautiful of a night for grim discussions.”
She pushed away from the railing as they finished their cigarettes and moved to the table to set out the glasses. She poured a glass for each of them and then Hatori requisitioned the bottle from her and poured hers. The three settled on the chairs and a soft night wind ruffled through their hair as they took their first drinks in silence.
“This is a very nice shochu,” Shigure observed after taking a few appreciative sips.
“It came with high recommendations,” Sakura said. “I’m glad it’s living up to the glowing review.”
“So what did you wish to discuss about the sailing excursion tomorrow?” Shigure asked.
“I mostly just wanted to finalize the details and see if there was anything I’d forgotten,” Sakura said. “They’re supposed to be pulling up to the dock tomorrow morning around seven and I’ve chartered it until about nine tomorrow night…”