Cold as the Frozen Snow

Prologue: The Sohma Family Secret

The Sohma family has a dark secret that affects the lives of many. The curse of the Sohma family is based on the Chinese Zodiac. Children born with the curse transform into their Zodiac animal if hugged by the opposite sex. With this curse, life is difficult for the Sohma family and the people around them. When an outsider (or someone who does not know of the Sohma curse) discovers this secret, the head of the family, Akito Sohma, gives the order for his or her memory to be erased. The process is like hypnosis, and it will make the outsider forget ever meeting that Sohma Zodiac member. The person in charge of this cruel task is the enigma Hatori Sohma. Hatori is the Sohma family doctor who specializes in treating the Sohma family; Akito being his top priority. There are many other members in the Zodiac to be to be spoken of, but alas that is for another time, perhaps even another story.

Today's tale revolves around the mysterious Hatori Sohma. This story takes place during chapter twelve of the Fruits Basket Manga Books, and also a little after episode eight of the anime itself. Now this tale will include information from the manga that was not used in the anime series and if you do not like spoilers (if you wish to read the manga one day) I would advise to not read this story until you do. In my version of Fruits Basket there will a new character, Saiyoko Segumi (a character of my making). She will find herself in a situation quite similar to Miss Tohru Honda found herself in when she met Yuki, Shigure, and Kyo Sohma. Perhaps Hatori's past will catch up with him and remind him that sometimes being as cold as the frozen snow sometimes will preserve your memories, but not contribute to making new memories. Thank you for choosing to read this tale of a family and its curse, and even if you don't read it, thank you for coming and giving me the time to explain myself.

Part of the first chapter will have some quoting from chapter twelve of the manga and those will be in italics. Also, (I am editing this as I write chapter one) in the manga books Hatori meets Tohru instead Saiyoko in the park. When you read the first chapter, you will understand what I mean. Oh and when I restate those lines from the manga...they might not be in order as said; just the order that I thought best for the story. After the recitation of the manga italics will stand for thoughts. The recitation is only lines 5-9 of chapter one. There are a few more towards the end of the first chapter in bold italics. But for the rest of the chapters, bold italics will be used for flashbacks that mostly Hatori makes. (That are not in the series/manga at all just my overactive imagination) Some phrases with asterisks (x2) at the end means that I couldn't find the correct spelling for it.

I would like to elaborate on one more subject: I have stopped reading the manga due to money issues. For the rest of my story, I am taking an extreme chance by manipulating Natsuki Takaya's characters and storyline. Then again, that is the whole reason why fanfiction exists, correct? So please do not be offended by the inaccuracies in character histories, original story plot, and any other subject. Thank you.

Sincerely, Midori Mizu

Fruits Basket is (c)Natsuki Takaya
Saiyoko Segumi is (c)Midori Mizu