Title: The Chosen Ones

Author: landofthekwt

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: Riceball (fb_fics Week 6)

Warning None

Summary: Torhu organizes one last banquest for the members of the zodiac.

Akito had thought that it was a terrible idea at first. She had suffered through the meeting with the Sohma children in order to end the curse. To meet for a last banquet seemed ludicrous. Why remind the Sohmas of the all the pain that they had endured? Better to get on with their lives

But Torhu would not be deterred. She still remembered the story of the god and his last banquet. Why not recreate it one more time? Akito knew better than to stand in Torhu's way. When that girl got an idea in her head nothing could stand in her way.

The invitations were sent out. The RSVPs began to arrive. Akito was surprised, but Torhu was beside herself. Not a single person had turned down their invitation. Torhu had made it clear that the banquet was not just for Sohma family members, but their significant others. No one must be excluded.

When day of the banquet finally came, Torhu and Akito were there to greet everyone. Yuki was with Machi, Hatori with Shiraki, Ayame with Mina, Kureno with Uotani, Kazuma with Hana, Hatsuharu with Rin, Kisa with Hiro, Ritsu and Momiji. There were to be no exclusions. Tonight all were to be together. All would be family. They would share the bond one last time.

The last to arrive was Shigure who took Akito's arm and Kyou who took Torhu's arm. There was no more god set apart from the other Sohmas. There was no cat excluded from the banquet. Tonight they were all chosen, all accepted. No matter what their parents had done to them, they could share the bond to which they had been born.

Even though the curse had been broken, it did not mean that they had to give up the people that they had known all of their lives. It simply meant that they had lives outside of the bond. They all could now have friends, lovers, wives, husbands that they could all openly care for. No one need be abandoned any longer because of the curse. All of them were free to love for the first time.

Torhu smiled at the gathering. She had been the rice ball. The person who had never been picked. Now she had a husband and a child on the way. Each of Sohmas had found someone to love. No one was excluded any longer. In her mind this was the true end to the banquet. Although, Akito had freed them to move on with their lives, they needed to know that they would always be Sohmas and that they would never be excluded from the family. No one need ever be the rice ball again.