Chapter 15

Anzu was in the middle of her piano lessons when the door flew open. The sudden action startled her so much that she had to stand up. The housekeeper just kept looking at her with such sad eyes and shook her head solemnly. Finally, she spoke up about what was going on.

"Sweetheart, your mother is in the hospital. I know you're not supposed to leave, but I think you should see her."

From that moment on, everything seemed to play fast forward. Apparently she was too shocked to move as the housekeeper kept ushering her towards the family car. One moment they were at her house, the next they were at this massive white building. She had to wear a hoodie, mask, and gloves to conceal her identity and the housekeeper snuck her in from around back.

Sango's assistant saw the two and immediately stormed over to try and get them to leave. As the housekeeper argued with her, Anzu quietly looked around at the unfamiliar place and slid into the half open door of the hospital room. Inside, machines beeped frequently and a body laid motionless on the bed.

"...Mom?" Anzu slowly approached the bedside. Her mother looked very pale under the hospital lights and there were so many wires and bandages. She was never told what happened to her mother for her to be like this, but seeing her in this state was enough to worry her immensely. She carefully took off one of her gloves and held onto Sango's hand as tears flooded her eyes. "You have to get better, okay? We have to go see Dad together."

Sango slowly opened her eyes and looked at her daughter beside her. She heard her voice and as much as she was surprised to see her standing there, she was very happy as it was her final wish. "I'm sorry, Anzu. There was a little accident, and the time got away from me."

"What did you say?" The younger female asked as the oxygen mask had jumbled up whatever her mother was mumbling. Suddenly, the machines started beeping loudly and her mother closed her eyes.

"Mom? Mom!"

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Anzu rushed through the doors of the hospital with Momiji on her heels. A million and one things were running through her mind, but right now, she was praying that Kureno was okay. If she lost him too, she wouldn't know what to do. Her mind eased a little knowing that she didn't have to go to the intensive care ward, but the emergency room didn't seem that much better.

"Oh, Fukushima-san. You came a lot quicker than I expected." Shigure stood up as he spotted her coming down the hallway. The female was on a mission though as she figured Kureno must be behind the room door he was sitting next to. Shigure grabbed her arm before she could run in and sat her down.

"W-What happened? Is Kureno okay?" Anzu asked breathlessly. She kept looking towards the door, but every time she wanted to get up, she wasn't able to.

"It was the most terrible accident." Shigure frowned. "Luckily, we didn't have to call an ambulance and-"

"Cut the crap, Shigure." Hatori walked over. "Can't you see she's in distress?"

Momiji's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to comfort his girlfriend who was on the verge of a panic attack. She'd already been so antsy in the car and her pulse was racing.

Anzu started to zone out as she tried to level her breathing. All she could hear was her mother saying 'in due time' and it was drowning everyone else out. Clasping her hands, she put her head down as she couldn't stop tapping her foot. It was at this moment that she realized she never fully dealt with her mother's death. She kept phasing between coming to the hospital for her mother and coming for Kureno, which was making her feel a little dizzy.

Suddenly, the door opened and out came Kureno, who was surprised to see the newcomers. The only reason why Shigure was there was because he happened to be around and knew how to drive. He thought, with their relationship, that he would've left immediately afterwards. Hearing the door open, Anzu snapped out of her thoughts and immediately engulfed him in a hug, burying her head in his chest and not even caring that she would transform.

"What's going on?" Kureno asked after the smoke cleared, concerned with the sobbing hen in his arms.

"Aren't you the one who's checked into the hospital, Kureno-san?" Momiji questioned, just as confused, as he picked up Anzu's clothes. Luckily there was no one in the hallway to see what just happened, but now they were going to have to move their party into the room.

"No, my mother is. She fell at home."

Hatori and Momiji turned to Shigure, who had now opened his fan to cover his mouth and was avoiding all eye contact. It took every ounce of willpower in Hatori's mind not to wring his supposed friend's neck.

"My wording may have been an honest mistake, Haa-san. To be fair, she didn't let me finish explaining the situation." Shigure shrugged. Glancing over at Hatori, he frowned deeply. "Don't look at me like that."

"You owe her an apology."

"But-"

"I can handle it from here." Kureno took the clothes from Momiji. "Thank you for bringing her. We'll go home together afterwards." With that, he brought Anzu into the room and placed her down in the bathroom.

It took some time before she transformed back into a human, but her eyes were still red and puffy from crying. She was more than overjoyed to find out that Kureno wasn't hurt and wouldn't leave her behind, however she felt like she'd caused a scene.

"Are you okay now?" Kureno knocked on the bathroom door to see if she was dressed.

Anzu opened the door and peeked out of it with a frown. "I'm sorry…"

"What are you sorry for?" He asked gently. "Being here must bring up a lot of unpleasant memories."

"I never got to say goodbye to my mother. I didn't even hear her last words." She confessed, opening the door all the way. "She coded and her assistant had her body cremated. I didn't want my last sight of you to be in a hospital bed too."

Kureno placed his hand on top of her head and leaned down so their foreheads were touching. "I'll try my best to make sure that doesn't happen." Standing up straight, he glanced into the main room before looking back at Anzu. "Would you like to meet your grandmother? She could tell you more about your parents."

Cautiously following behind her uncle, Anzu came to the bedside of a small, elderly woman with graying hair. Although she was in the hospital, she looked very lively and was currently in the middle of crocheting a hat. Looking up at the female, she tilted her head in confusion before her eyes lit up in surprise.

"Kureno, when did you-"

"Kohaku-nii-san did. This is his daughter, Anzu."

The woman eyed Anzu from the features on her face to her brick red hair in astonishment. Slowly, she put her crochet needles down and took Anzu's hand in hers. "Kohaku and Sango's daughter… You look like a pleasant mix of them both."

"You know my mother?"

She laughed. "Of course I do. I helped plan the wedding, dear. Sango was such a beautiful, sweet-hearted daughter to me. We had a family picnic one day for the in-laws to meet and she made the best onigiri I've ever had."

Her mother had never cooked at home because she didn't have time to, but it was nice to know some new things outside of her mother's profession. Anzu smiled gratefully. "It's always been just me and my mom. Did you know her before she became an actress?"

"Well I have plenty of stories to tell. Sit down, please." She patted the space next to her with a smile. "Had I known your mother had you, I would've asked her to come back or raise you myself."

"Why?"

"Because you also have the disease."

Anzu was taken aback by this. "…the disease?"

"Yes. Why else would your hair be so red?" The older woman sighed. "I never thought it would come back so soon after my son had been cured. To curse my family twice… it's embarrassing."

Anzu looked back at Kureno's less than enthused face before turning back to her grandmother. Judging by that alone, she figured this wasn't the first time the Sohma Curse had been referred as such.

It was hours before Kureno and Anzu left to go home. Kureno knew his mother could talk as long as they would let her, but he also knew Anzu might have wanted to hear about her parents. As they walked down the lamp lit street, he couldn't help but look over at her to judge her reaction.

"Your mother is a very nice woman." Anzu clasped her hands together behind herself. "She stayed by your side even though she couldn't hold you. It must've been nice to finally be able to hold you in her arms."

"You can call her your grandmother." Kureno reminded her. "When my brother died, she was so heartbroken. She'll want to try and be as close to you as she can."

Anzu pursed her lips together in thought. "It's kind of weird to have an outside family. If it's okay… I just want to stick with you right now. No offense to her! I just-"

"We can do whatever's comfortable to you."

The young female smiled at this and happily continued walking home with him. She was glad that she had such a caring uncle in her life. Maybe one day, she'd be able to withstand having a caring grandmother as well. When they got home, Anzu waited until she was in her room before she checked her phone. Of course, there was a message from Momiji waiting for her.

'Let's spend New Years together, Lola.'

Smiling to herself, she instantly agreed. As she was typing back a message, she thought to herself about Christmas. Was he going to spend it with his family? The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she didn't know much about his family at all.

'Are you spending Christmas with your family?'

She waited for a reply, even as she got ready to go to bed, but alas, it was never received.