Hey everyone! Long time no see! My writers block is officially DONE! New stories are in progress my friends! Old stories will be updated! Woo! Make sure you enjoy this next one! ;)

Summary: The former zodiac have two choices: Either they leave Yuki for dead, or they somehow try and regain their curse, and use the "bond" to their advantage to find the missing heir. Time is running out. With Akito's illness rapidly taking effect, they need to find Yuki fast, or else the Sohma clan will be in an uproar. The problem is, how do they regain the curse? (kind of a T+ rating)

Rating: T+ish, more so in the later chapters.

Pairings: Yet to be decided/ revealed -_-

Author: kayjaylew

Disclaimer: I hope it's obvious by now that I don't own Fruits Basket. Support the real owners, or I'm screwed.


Eye of the Storm


A young maid at the Sohma compound paused in her work. She had been cleaning a ridiculously long hallway in the estate, this particular hallway being in the home of one Sohma Akito, head of the Sohma family. Her unusually large ears picked up the distant echo of several fast-paced footsteps.

Elsewhere in the home, Hatori Sohma, the family doctor, could be seen running to Akito's room, and although Akito Sohma was no longer the 'god' that she once was, she still kept her astounding aura of command. Only minutes earlier had he been summoned to her room. The message he had received from her stated that the situation was fairly urgent.

Hatori and his beloved fiancee, Mayuko, were in the process of discussing their upcoming wedding. The young doctor was watching Mayu with an amused expression, for he had never seen her talk about something that had caused her to be this animated, at least for a while. The pain that he had used to feel whenever he thought of Kana had been replaced with the feelings that one receives when they relive a fond memory. The teacher had been on the topic of which color theme would be best, when an almost surreal wave of despair and regret ran through Hatori's heart. "-because I honestly that it's too dark for a... Hatori? Are you okay?" Oh. His mask slipped.

The doctor narrowed his eyes. As he neared the young leader's doors, he slowed his running, not wanting to agitate the frail woman, or her flickering temper. Hesitantly, he respectfully knocked on the large oak doors. "Come in." came her voice. Opening the door as quietly as possible, he bowed before entering. "Akito, is there something wrong?" "I have a feeling that you can answer this for yourself." Her answer was dry. Hatori nodded stiffly, with a neutral expression. Her black hair, hanging loosely by her shoulders -rather then the usual bun- framed her pail and pallid face. This did nothing to deteriorate her suffocating presence. Her perfect posture and set expression remained strong. After a pause, she bluntly spoke. "I am dying, Hatori." The doctor's eyes flickered. This did not go unnoticed by Akito. She spared him a small glance before continuing. "Maybe in an hour, in a few months, I don't know. All I know is that it is happening faster than before. I had thought that the presence of "God" within me had been the source of my health's deterioration, but now I am forced to accept that the illness is my own." She scowled. "Apparently, the spirit was slowing my death down." Her eyes were bitter. "When this problem arose, so did another." On her next words, she seemed to soften. "I have no current heir."

Hatori's head snapped up. He had not thought too deeply on this matter before. "I revealed this problem to Shigure. We decided to try to have a child, but this didn't work. Whether it is because I am too weak, or because I am naturally barren, again, I don't know, but the situation is the same. Of course, as it stands, that woman will never be allowed to choose the heir she deems worthy for the Sohma clan, tradition or not." Although Akito had spoken of her mother, Ren, her voice remained surprisingly steady and calm. "So arose my decision."

The woman stood up from her place on the floor. She walked unsteadily, but nonetheless graceful, to Hatori's side. "Yuki." was all she said. Words of protest rose to the young doctor's mouth, but the former god silenced him with a look. "I already know what you want to say." "Akito, you can't possibly be serious! Yuki is far too young to-" "Hatori I am aware of this. Do not interrupt."He was quiet. Akito merely sighed. "If you remember, I became the head of this clan at six years old, and we all know how that turned out, so I realize that his age is a slight issue. Understand that I have his, as well as the Sohma clan's best interest at heart." Hatori said nothing, bowing his head. "That is why I called you down here, Hatori. I would like you to guide him. Teach him how to act as he should. I don't want the elders near him. They will surely corrupt him." The man looked up at his master. "I doubt that I am qualified to do so, Akito." "You were the one who was constantly near me. It's not like it's just you who will have to teach him. I am placing you as his guardian, in a way. His own parents aren't fit for even that task. Hire tutors, and such. It's not like he isn't smart, so I'm not talking about taking him from Shigure's and his silly school. He's doing fine academically. I'm talking about business tutors and the like." "I-I see. Thank you. When should I start?" Akito smiled. "I want to live the rest of my life with Shigure peacefully, without stress. The elders aren't very happy with my decisions, but they can't do much. Yuki, as soon as I speak with him, with be the head of the Sohma clan effective immediately. You are excused. Please, call Shigure, and have him bring Yuki here." Hatori nodded, and left the large room.

As he closed the door behind him, he heard a small noise of surprise. He turned, and saw a servant run past him. She was fairly tall, and had large ears for a woman. He turned around indifferently, and returned to his office. He set down his bag, and ran his hands through his hair, sighing. How on earth am I supposed to pull this off? He quickly picked up the phone and dialed Shigure's number. I rang for a while, and then played the dial tone. Frowning, he tried again. The same result occurred. He tried a third time. After the dial tone again, he gave up. He picked up his keys, and, cursing his long-time friend the entire way, he made his way down to Shigure's.

It took a good fifteen minutes to get there, but he eventually made it. As he neared the porch, he heard loud shuffling, and banging noises. Somewhat cautious, as though expecting Kyou to fly through the door, he knocked on the door. An out of breath Tohru answered the door. "Ha-Hatori! What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" The tall man merely stared at her. "Tohru, that is what I should be asking you." "Huh? Oh! Uh, yes, no, we're just looking for... um, are you here for Shigure?" "Yes, I am here to bring him and Yuki to the main house." The housekeeper squeaked nervously. "I see! Um, well, ahh..." She trailed off. "I, um, I'll bring you to Shigure now." With that, she went back inside, beckoning him to follow her. "Shigure! Hatori is here, and he's looking for... Yuki..." "Wah! Ha-san! Do you mind if I take a rain check, perhaps? Maybe coming, tomorrow, say?" Hatori gave him a deadpanned expression. "Shigure, what did you do?" "Hatori! What makes you think I did something! You wound me so!" The dog entered the living room. "That's enough. What happened?" Shigure sighed. "Well, Yuki is kind of missing... as of a few hours ago."


Okay, this was the trial chapter! Any good? Should I continue? If not, don't read, 'cause I'm gonna do it anyway. Yeah, I realize that some people might consider Akito to be OOC, but I think that she really matured in the end. Yeah, I also prefer Akito to generally be male, but I'm sticking to the manga on this one. I also promise to make chapters much longer, but this was just a trial chapter. Updates will be made every other Saturday, and I'm sticking to that! I swear on my tickets to the 1D concert! (Don't judge me, I think that One Direction is adorably hilarious._.) Make sure to review, or I'll become discouraged. Raise my ego to at least a D+! See you later!