Chapter 15

I sat on the top of my island counter (which was in the kitchen). A few tears had found their way down my face, but I had just let them fall. Hatori was in the bathroom, dressing himself, and he couldn't see me cry anyway. When I heard the door open, however, I quickly wiped my cheeks. I heard him walking into the kitchen, and I pretended to busy myself with my hair.

"All dressed?" I asked, my voice sqeaking. I let my hair out of its tight ponytail, running my hand through it as if it were a brush. When he didn't respond, I turned to look at him. I blushed when he was looking right back at me. "What?"

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head. He made his way over to me. "Listen, Mayuko-chan... I'm sorry."

"For what?" I asked. He was now standing in front of me as I played with the strands of my hair.

"For telling you... like this," Hatori replied. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I suppose it wasn't the greatest way to tell you, but... for me, it just couldn't wait."

I paused, trying to say something in a way that would tell him that it was alright. "I'm glad that you told me." I looked down at my long hair, then decided that this was something I needed to tell him while looking in his eyes. So I did. "I'm happy that I met you, and I'm more than happy to be considered your friend. It's more than I deserve. The fact that you told me your deepest, darkest secret makes me wonder what I did to make you trust me so much. But, still... Thank you for telling me. I'll keep your secret... and I won't ever regret meeting you." I could have said something else, but honestly, I could think of nothing.

"Are you going to be alright?" Hatori asked me hesitantly

I blinked. "You're the one with the curse. Are you going to be alright?"

He let a smile break through, and had to look away form me. He ran a hand through his hair. "To be quite truthfull, I don't know." That was when I stopped trying to put my hair back into its ponytail. Before I could ask, he sighed, looking troubled. "I... don't know if I'm going to lose you..."

This made my stomach drop. "W-what do you mean?"

Hatori looked into my eyes. "I have to tell the head of the family about you finding out. Aktio... tends to be a cruel person..." It was then that I caught sight of his eye. The one that Kana wanted to protect, and the one that Hatori could barely see out of.

"Yeah... I've noticed," I mumbled. Unconciously, my hand moved to softly touch the skin near the hurt eye. Hatori just gave me that smile again. That god damn smile that was always Kana's, but he would give it to me for some cosmic reason. He took my hand in his, softly playing with my fingers. For a second, I couldn't move. I tried to look away from his gaze, but he just cupped my face with his free hand.

I felt my face burn. Why wouldn't he stop staring at me? This was getting insanely uncomfortable.

"I don't mean to make you feel awkward," he told me, a strange look in his eyes. "But I wanted to thank you for being so kind to me."

I couldn't even breathe. "W-well... you're welcome." I really should have thought about the next question before I asked it. "Hey... the weatherman says its supposed to be great tomorrow. Want to have lunch or something?"

Hatori just wouldn't wipe that stupid smile off his face. "Yes. I was actually hopingthat you would make an agreement with me to meet and have lunch on days when the weather is nice anyway."

I threw back my head and laughed a bit, feeling the best that I had in a long, long time. Hatori looked confused.

"Alright," I agreed. "I'll have lunch with you on days when the weather is nice... on one condition." He raised an eyebrow. I suddenly became a little more hesitant to ask the question. "... Can you... start calling me 'Mayu' again?"

Hatori's smile grew, and I saw a distantly familiar spark in his eyes that I hadn't seen since Kana's time. He nodded, stepping back so I could slide off of the counter. Both of our hands were to ourselves now, and, although it was nice having his play with my fingers, it was also nice to just be as we were. Right then, at that moment in time. Contently shaking hands.

"Deal," he said.

Even though that day was one of the most memorable, I have to admit that it wasn't my favorite. It was ONE of my favorites, but not my favorite.

My personal favorite was the day the curse was broken. Hatori came running into the book shop, breathless, only to scoop me up into a hug, twirl me around in circles, and set me down. He told me everything. About Aktio's strange, but wonderful turn-around. About the meeting where all the animals, including the cat, were gathered and told the news. About the different members and how they were rejoicing (AKA: Tohru and Kyo, Yuki and Machi, Kureno and Arisa...).

Then he kissed me.

But that's not the point.

I can't really say that Hatori and I lived 'happily ever after', because happily ever after hasn't happened yet. Sure, I cut my hair, he began calling me Mayu again, and we would go out on days when the weather was nice, but that doesn't mean that it's a happily ever after. It's just a life being happily lived. Happily ever after won't come for a long, long time.

And you know something? I'm ok with that. All I can do for now is keep living my life as I do. Day by day.

THE END

A/N: I just want to thank all of you guys who read and/or reviewed this story. It's not a lot, to say for me, but it's enough to make me happy. I never expected this story to be so popular to those who read it, and... yeah, I just wanted to thank you doing so. I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed Day by Day.