Love Revealed

By Shin Sankai

Author's Notes: My very first and probably my only Hatori and Mayu centric story. I'm not sure if they are in character and really don't care if they aren't. I love these two together and there just wasn't enough in the manga for me, so after a long…very long time, I decided to create my own ending for them. Oh, in this, the curse is broken, which it is mentioned, but just in case someone skips over that part…now you know.

[One Spring Afternoon]

"Mayu-chan?" The light brown haired woman in her twenties placed down the book she had been reading, got up from her seated position and pulled open the shoji to her bedroom.

"Hai?"

"Mayu-chan, can you help me in the store?" The young sensei removed herself from her bedroom, shuffled down the hallway in her casual afternoon clothing and entered the back of the bookstore her parents owned. "I need for these to be placed on the shelves." Mayu's mother asked her lovingly as she handed over a hefty stack.

"Where is Otousan?"

"He had to make some deliveries. It's too much of a nice day for you to be couped up in your room Mayu-chan. It's not good for you."

"School has closed and I deserve a break as much as the students."

"Yes, yes, but not to spend every waking moment in your room. Go out and enjoy the spring air once in awhile."

"I go out." Mayu grumbled lightly.

"When you do it's very rare…and not for very long. Why not go out with a man every now and then?"

"Here we go again…" Mayu voiced in exasperation as she strolled into the bookstore, her mother close on her heels as usual when it came to this topic.

"I'm worried about you Mayu-chan, when was the last time you…"

"Do we really need to have this conversation when a customer may walk in any second?" Mayu voiced quickly, having interrupted her mother from going any further as she knew exactly where this conversation was headed. She started to place the books on the shelves, weaving her way around the aisles, trying to out walk her mother.

"Demo, Mayu-chan, your father and I aren't getting any younger and we want to see our only child married and giving us grandchildren." Mayu cringed as she climbed a ladder, using one hand as leverage while the other held books. She so hated those crocodile tears her mother could spring on her in three seconds flat. The young sensei was saved when the door chimed and in walked a customer. Her mother had rushed off to welcome the potential shopper though Mayu was too busy trying to keep her balance and several shelves were blocking the customer from her view point anyway.

"Konnichiwa, is Mayuko around?" Mayu's shoulders jerked straight at the sound of that voice. It couldn't be…could it? Mayu slammed a book into place on the top shelf, her right hand gripping some of the spines of the books as she leaned to her left to see if her ears were deceiving her.

"Mayu-chan?" Her mother repeated as she blinked up at the man requesting to see her child. She could not question who he was as her sensei daughter interrupted her.

"Hatori-san!?!" Two pairs of eyes looked over at Mayu and when her brown one's connected with smoky green orbs her knees buckled beneath her. She instantly made a noise between a scream and a snort, both equally embarrassing in front of the man who occupied her thoughts on a daily basis. Her hands tried to grip books but many dropped off the shelves as Mayu fell backwards, eyes squeezed tightly shut knowing how much this was going to hurt. She was certain her mother screamed her name in worry, but for some reason the hard wooden floors of the bookstore never connected with her back.

"Are you alright Mayuko?"

"Eh?" Mayu peeled her eyes open and they instantly widened as she was gazing up into the extremely handsome face of one Sohma Hatori.

"Mou, Mayu-chan, don't scare me like that."

"Okaasan…"

"Are you going to lie on the customer all day Mayu-chan?"

"Eh?" It was then Mayu realised the position she was currently sprawled in, albeit slightly protected by the Sohma household doctor. Instantly she scrambled off Hatori and placed out her hands to help the man up. "Gomen nasai Hatori-san, I must have been heavy." She hated being flustered in front of him, it made her babble like an idiot…and she hated looking like an idiot in front of him.

"On the contrary…" Hatori responded, his hands clasping Mayu's as he stood to his feet, dusting off his black trousers with his hands.

"Ah, you have a gash on your hand." Mayu watched her short mother cradle Hatori's right hand as though it were made of glass.

"I'm fine really, it's but a scratch."

"Nonsense, it could get infected." Mayu's eyes widened as her short plump mother began to drag the doctor towards the back room and no doubt into their home. "It needs to be treated. Mayu-chan, clean up the mess you made."

"What?" Mayu watched in disbelief as Hatori quietly glanced back at her before disappearing into her home. She gazed her eyes down at the books littering the floorboards and sighed in defeat. There had to be at least 30, maybe more and there was no way she could dump them back on the shelf in any order or else her mother would give her a clip over the head for confusing potential buyers looking for certain books.

"Are you sure Mayuko will be alright?" Hatori voiced to her short mother who was currently somewhere down the hallway getting out the first aid kit while she had asked him to take a seat at the kotatsu.

"She'll be fine. Mayu-chan has always been a strong girl." Hatori watched Mayu's mother come back into the room, her hands clutching the family's first aid kit. The elder woman sat at his side, clicking open the box. "She never was a girl to show weakness, never one to cry in front of others. She's been this way since high school. Do you know why she changed Hatori-san?"

"I'm sorry? What makes you think…?"

"You called her Mayuko; clearly you must be close to my daughter." She gestured for Hatori to show her his hand and he silently did so. Just like his own mother did when he was a young boy when he gained scrapes of his own, Mayu's mother rolled up the sleeve on his white shirt and began to inspect his wound.

"Mayuko and I went to school together. She was friends with two of my relatives which is in actual fact how we ended up meeting, through my relatives."

"Your relatives?"

"Hai, Sohma Shigure and Sohma Ayame, the four of us went to school together. Shigure was the one who introduced Mayuko to me." Mayu's mother dabbed a cotton ball with disinfectant and began wiping it lightly over the blemished skin.

"Where have I heard that name before?" Mayu's mother pondered lightly as she placed soft gauze over Hatori's injury since it had been lightly bleeding from taking a slide on the floorboards so Mayu would not become injured.

"He has purchased many books from your store."

"Ah!" Hatori quietly starred at Mayu's mother. "Mayu-chan's boyfriend!"

"Boyfriend?"

"Hai, Mayu-chan and Shigure are dating!" Hatori said nothing in return as Mayu's mother wrapped his hand. He knew she was being a little extreme with his injury, considering he was a doctor, but who was he to be rude to an elderly woman who seemed to like doting not only on her daughter, but whoever knew her only child.

"I thought the two of them had gone their separate ways."

"Sou desu ka? Hmm, maybe that is why Mayu-chan has been so depressed lately."

"Mayuko has been depressed?"

"Hai, she stays in her room all the time, locked in her own thoughts."

"I see…"

"She rarely goes out…and when she does it's not for very long. Her father and I don't like to pry too much, but we want Mayu-chan to get a nice boyfriend that treats her right."

"I'm sure Mayuko is doing fine."

"Perhaps Mayu-chan was the one to end the relationship? She usually does after a short period of time. It seems as though no one can match up to the man she's been in love with for years." Hatori did not know what to say to this and instead felt it best to remain quiet. "Her father and I aren't getting any younger you see…and I really do want to see Mayu-chan settled down and grandchildren on the way."

"Okaasan!" Hatori and Mayu's mother both turned to look at the horrified Mayu who was standing in the door way of their living room. "What in gods name are you talking to Hatori-san about?"

"We were only having a small conversation. Ah, forgive my rudeness Hatori-san; I have yet to offer you any tea."

"You needn't bother Okaasan, Hatori-san and I are heading out now."

"We are?" Hatori questioned and at Mayu's pointed stare he got to his feet. "Yes, we are indeed." He quickly reiterated to Mayu's mother.

"Let's get going Hatori-san; we can talk at the café just down the block from the store." Mayu had begun to drag the ever quiet doctor out of her family's bookstore and just as she was pushing him out the door, her mother grabbed hold of her arm.

"Ne, ne, Mayu-chan, is Hatori-san your new boyfriend?" Hatori quickly looked back to catch Mayu's flustered expression.

"Okaasan, don't say such embarrassing things! That will never happen!" It did not take Hatori long, with his long strides, to catch up with the fleeing Mayu.

"Would it be so awful to have someone like me as your boyfriend?"

"Eh?" Mayu stopped in her strides, turning slightly to gaze up at the pensive doctor with wide disbelieving eyes. Hatori waited patiently for Mayu to register in her head what she said and how he could have perceived it. "Ah, I didn't mean it like that, well…not really…" Mayu began to fumble in her explanation. "I'm not good for you Hatori-san, I'm not very ladylike, as you clearly saw back in the bookstore and I'm not pretty at all. Plus, like I've told you before, I really don't look good in a bathing suit."

"The three of us thought you looked good in high school." Mayu's eyes were still wide as the 'three of us' meant Shigure, Ayame and Hatori, the mabudachi trio, though Hatori would like to think he was not part of it most of the time.

"T-That was so long ago, it's so disappointing that I've still got no breasts after all this time!" Mayu missed the ghost of a smile snake over Hatori's lips as she picked up her walking speed, something she did when she was fretting over unnecessary things.

The two of them made their way to the café, which conveniently for them was devoid of people so it would be nice and peaceful. As gentlemanly as Hatori always is, he without a single thought, pulled out a chair for Mayu to sit in and then took one himself. It wasn't long before they had ordered some drinks and Hatori's eyes fell upon Mayu's fidgeting hands.

"Wh-What were you doing at the bookstore? I never saw a book order from you, nor was there one from Shigure." At the mention of his cousin's name, Hatori's question left his lips before his brain could register it.

"Are you in love with Shigure?" Mayu nearly spat out her drink and instead coughed heavily, eyes watering as she did so.

"Where the hell did that come from?"

"Your mother was saying…" Hatori began, but stopped when Mayu shook her head repeatedly.

"Please do not pay attention to the ramblings of my mother." Mayu took a deep breath, her eyes lifting, but only to stare out the window and not over the table at Hatori. "There is nothing between Shigure and I. Isn't he and Akito-san still going strong?"

"Yes, they are; which is why I became confused when your mother mentioned you and Shigure were dating."

"We weren't ever truly dating. It was more out of convenience."

"Out of convenience?" Hatori questioned Mayu as Shigure had never told him a single bit of information while he had dated Mayu. He had kept it under lock and key, something very unlike Shigure to do.

"I at the time was in love with someone who I could never have." Mayu could have sworn Hatori's eyes had widened slightly behind his long bangs, but she continued to tell him about it while swirling her ice tea with a straw. "The ever insightful Shigure found out who it was and jokingly he suggested we date. I thought he had lost his mind, but for that short time, even though it was a false relationship, I was able to forget how miserable and lovelorn I had been for years. Though it truly didn't last long for I knew Shigure was also in love with another and really before it even started, the relationship ended, but we have managed to remain friends which I am thankful for."

"Your mother was telling me that you are still in love with a man from your past. Why not find out where he is and confess to him?"

"You really are stupid Hatori-san."

"I beg your pardon?" Hatori's lips had turned into a slight frown, his eyebrows crinkling slightly at Mayu's forlorn response to his previous question.

"The man I was in love with, he was already dating someone else and then it wasn't long before I knew he had fallen in love with that person. Shigure knew this; he saw my loneliness, my frustration and my guilt in loving a man who was already with another, so he wanted to at least for a short time take my mind off of it…and his own for loving someone who was also unattainable."

"I see…" Hatori paused for a moment. "I apologise as I don't know what to say at such a time, for I've never been in this sort of experience. It must be tough Mayuko, being in love with someone who is already with another person." Hatori blinked and sat back in his chair in slight surprise when Mayu had risen from her seat, fists banging on the table, rattling her ice tea and his coffee cup set.

"It's you stupid! I'm in love with you!" Hatori watched Mayu storm out of the café, the waitress watching her leave. It didn't take long before the Doctor was out of his own chair, placing money on the table, apologising for their behaviour and with his long strides he was slowly catching up with Mayu who was quickly heading back to her parents bookstore.

"Mayuko, wait…" Just at the sound of Hatori's deep sensual voice calling her name instantly made Mayu freeze in her footsteps.

"Is what you said…true?" Smoky green eyes watched the lean sensei stretch her arms above her head, her simple black button down top rising and allowing porcelain white skin to peek out from beneath it. Her simple black jeans hung snugly upon her hips, showing off a figure beneath her clothing no matter what Mayu thought of her tall slender frame. As Hatori quietly stared at Mayu's back, he knew she was not as ladylike as many women he had been associated with both professionally and personally. She wasn't a shy woman, wasn't softly spoken like many he knew and yet Hatori was fine with this. Throughout the past year Hatori had found his own eyes wondering to wherever Mayu was and if she was not around then he was constantly thinking about her. The handsome doctor was finally coming to terms as his mind and body began to react to Mayu and look upon her in a completely new light then the close friend she had been to him for years.

"I feel better now." Mayu responded, not actually giving Hatori an exact answer to his question. "For once that perverted novelist was right; telling you my feelings has lifted a weight off my shoulders."

"I am not confident that I would be a good choice for you Mayuko." Finally Hatori found brown eyes starring quizzically over at him. "I have many dark secrets, ones I never wish to share." He watched a sad expression fall upon Mayu's face, his own heart clenching slightly at this sudden look. He had always known Mayu to be such a happy woman no matter what she was going through and to this expression on her now was extremely disheartening.

"I am certain you shared them with Kana-chan." Hatori stared at Mayu, lips parting at her words but nothing would come out as Mayu continued on. "I know about the curse placed on you and your relatives."

"What did you say?" This time Mayu was certain that Hatori's eyes were wide open in shock.

"Kana-chan told me about it. The day after she found out about you, she had rung me to meet. She said you had transformed into a seahorse. Kana-chan said it was the baby version of the Chinese zodiac symbol for the dragon. She said she completely freaked out, not sure whether to place you in seawater or not. She said you were really cute."

"It was not cute." Mayu watched Hatori fist his hands, flashes of his curse probably spiralling within his mind. It was then she blinked several times at the past tense used. And then it suddenly clicked into place when she had been protected by him back at the bookstore. The curse…was broken.

"Kana-chan had been confused as to why you were the seahorse, but when she told me, I immediately understood why this was so." Hatori raised his questioning eyes to Mayu's smiling face. "The dragon is a truly powerful and sometimes frightening creature. Hatori-san would never allow others to witness his full strength or allow others to witness his frightening abilities. The only ones to ever see such sides to Hatori-san are those that he wholeheartedly trusts, someone like Kana-chan, whom he trusted with his family's secret was worthy enough to remain at his side. Kana-chan was someone special to Hatori-san, someone like her was truly right for you."

"Whether I trusted Kana or not is no longer relevant. She betrayed my trust when she spoke of the family curse to you."

"Ah, gomen nasai!" Mayu watched Hatori shake his head negatively.

"It no longer matters. I could not protect her and neither could she do the same for me. For a brief moment our lives were connected, but as I have now come to accept, we were just not meant to be as one."

"I have always felt guilty towards Kana-chan." Hatori took a step forward when Mayu wrapped her arms around herself. "I was meant to be her best friend…and yet I loved her own boyfriend! How does one repent for that?" Hatori gulped down the lump in his throat. "All this time, my advice to Kana-chan was contradictive. I could speak to her about courage and strength, about telling her to stay strong, to stand by the man she loved and be the support he needed in order to live with his burden, live with his curse, but for years, ever since the moment I met you, I couldn't even confess my feelings for you."

"You…have loved me for that long?" There was surprise in Hatori's voice

"It's almost pathetic, being as I am a sensei and worrying for my students, teaching them about life, guiding them into their futures and yet I could never get my own life in order. When Kana-chan told me how she felt about you, I locked my heart away and tried to support her as much as I could. In the end, my pushing Kana-chan to remain strong, to accept you as you were, it ended up destroying the both of you when I told her to face your family. I knew she was not a strong person, I knew this, but I wanted Hatori-san to be happy!"

"No matter what has unfolded, we can never change the past."

"I know this!" Mayu felt eyes upon her and quietened down. "I know this…"

"Did you tell anyone of my curse?"

"Iie, I would never!" Mayu shouted and once more several passersby starred at the both of them before continuing on. Mayu blushed lightly and apologised to Hatori for her outburst.

"Mayu truly is a strong woman."

"Eh?" Hatori began walking; Mayu's heart all a flutter as she watched the handsome Sohma leave her side. She let out a shaky breath and placed a clenched fist against her heart as for the longest of time she had been waiting for Hatori to call her Mayu again. Her brown eyes watched him stop in his casual stroll down the footpath, he looking off into the cloudy afternoon sky, his long hair blowing in the breeze, the wind wrinkling his crisp white and surprisingly enough, untucked shirt.

"Hatori!" Mayu had heard herself yell as she began to run after the doctor. She too had not called him by just his name for so long that it had seemed to even surprise him as he had half turned around to look back at her, wisps of his jet black hair brushing across his chiselled features. Mayu clasped both hands over his left one; her head bowed before she took a deep breath and raised her expressive eyes to glance upon his own smouldering gaze. Her lips had parted, wishing for something to come out, but it appeared her voice became stuck somewhere in the pit of her stomach.

"Arigatou Mayu." Her eyes widen at his words and more so at the soft smile which had fallen upon usually hardened lips. "For loving someone like me, throughout all that has happened, thank you."

"Eh, ah, iie…" Hatori could sense Mayu was terribly embarrassed, not only for the redness within her cheeks, but for the slight shake in which her hands gave off as they remained clasped around his larger one. Hatori's once closed off heart thumped heavily, but happily within his chest at the woman before him. It was an amazing discovery for Hatori as he very much enjoyed the embarrassment in which Mayu was showing as clear as day in front of him. He could not help but make her feel a little more embarrassed as he clasped her right hand and began dragging her back to the bookstore.

"Your mother will be pleased."

"Eh?"

"She will one day get those grandchildren she so desires."

"Hatori! Mou!" By now Mayu was beetroot red as she finally got in step with Hatori's long strides, her right forearm and his left touching ever so slightly.

Unfortunately for Mayu, as she was too preoccupied with what Hatori had said, plus she was busy gazing down upon their linked hands that she had completely missed the deep sensual chuckle that had fallen from the handsome Sohma's lips as he walked beside her, Hatori knowing full well he would continue to do so for as long as Mayu allowed him to.

The End.