"How are you feeling Arisa?" Hana asked.
"I'm fine." It has been an hour since Taro's appearance. Hatori treated Arisa as Tohru thought she was lucky to come out of the fight with just a concussion, cuts, and a bleeding lip; Taro has done worse. They were now in Akito's main room, the same room Tohru confronted him in. The Sohmas surrounded the four Tanaka's as they sat in the middle, Tohru infront of the three.
You all have a lot of explaining to do. Especially you." Akito said, glaring at Tohru.
"Yes." Tohru knew this was going to happen; she was ready.
"Tohru, why didn't you tell us?" Yuki asked, still shocked that Tohru was a part of the Zodiac, and the rat.
"I'm sorry, even though I broke away, I was still held to secrecy. I panicked when I found out you were the other family Haruki talked about."
"We all were held against secrecy, even if we changed our names." Hana added.
"Who's Haruki?" Shigure asked.
"He's the head of our Zodiac, the god." Rin answered. "I'm the dragon, Arisa is the boar, Hana's the rabbit, and Tohru is the rat. Also as you heard, Taro is the cat."
"What were with his hands? And you Tohru, you flew off the ground and purple stuff came out your hand." Kyo said, remembering the two's almost battle.
"Our Zodiac allows a certain power to each of the members based on characteristics. Since Taro's the cat, he can extend his nails into large blades. And I can use a sort of magic, only knowing basic spells." Torhu turned to the others and gestured with her hand to each girl. "As the dragon, Rin can erase people's minds, like Hatori. Hana senses electric waves, which most of you know already. And Arisa has strength and speed, helping her fight."
The Sohmas were amazed at the new information. Akito was right, this family was dangerous. "Why did you all leave?"
The girls sighed, not really wanting to talk about it. "Haruki is tough when it comes to rules and punishments. He's a brutal man who enjoys pain and despises weakness. Most of our family stays in fear of him, but a few like us, who has parents who are not a part of the Zodiac, take us away and move us, mostly to Japan, our homeland, to get away from him." Hana answered as Arisa sighed with frustration. "Yet we can't escape, now that Taro's here and knows evreything, he will for sure tell Haruki and that will make his decision to be decided faster." The girls frowned.
"What decision?" Akito asked.
Rin looked at him. "He wants to move the family back here." All the Sohmas were in panic mode. Two Zodiac families in the same place? How would this turn out? "It's very easy for him. He only allows members of our family to be from Japan."
"And if he comes here, we have to either keep Tohru away from him or move her out of the country." Everyone looked confused at Hana's words. Tohru looked at her as well, a bit worried if she should have said that.
"Why would sissy have to leave?" Kisa asked. Everyone turned to Tohru.
"Haruki is after me."
"What, why?" Yuki demanded.
Tohru sighed, looking at him with sad eyes. "For being the rat."
Everyone, mostly Kyo and Yuki, were confused with why Tohru would have to worry about death. The cat was the one that was left out. "That doesn't make any sense." Kyo said.
Rin spoke for Tohru. "Our family is different, they take a different perspective on the story. They take pity on the cat and are angry at the rat for his trickery. In our family, it is the rat who is shunned."
Kyo of all looked at Tohru with sympathy; she knew how he felt, but, there seemed to be something else.
"Wait, Tohru, if that's the case, why was Taro talking as if you were important in the family. He asked why you went against your family?" Hatsuharu asked.
"Tohru is important in the family as the rat, which just shows how sick our family is." Arisa growled in disgust. Tohru looked back at her. "It's OK Arisa." But at the same time, Tohru was silently agreeing with her.
"No it's not, our family is cruel to each other. You heard Taro, he is here for you Tohru. Haruki broke his promise and now is bringing it back again. The Battle is still on Tohru." Arisa cried, feeling ashamed to be a part of the Tanaka family, and sorrow for her cousin.
"What are you talking about? What battle? What are you talking about?" Yuki and Kyo were demanding.
"The battle between the cat and the rat. Our family has them everytime the cat and the rat appear. It's a horrible battle, especially now." Rin yelled, tearing up.
Tohru turned away, she hated her cousins looking like this about her, she had come to terms with it. She didn't want them to feel sorry for her.
"Why now?" Hatori asked.
Tohru had to cough to stop her from tearing up as well. "Because, Taro and I are brother and sister, twins to be exact." Again, The Sohmas's faces grew shock, sad, and amused. The cat and the rat, were twins. Yuki and Kyo couldn't help but look at each other. Sure they were family but they were cousins, Taro and Tohru were twins. Hatsuharu couldn't help but think about how his theory was right; the two did look alike. "That's not it." Tohru said, about to lay something else on them. "Haruki, he's our father."
"What the hell." Kyo yelled, not believing what he was hearing. So when Rin said he was her uncle, she meant it. "Miss Honda?"
"Yes, the one I talked about was my mother's second husband whom she met when she was little. They married after mom moved here but he died a few months later, and then my mom passed a year later, I took my mother's maiden name of Honda." Tohru explained.
"So what's the battle between the cat and the rat?" Akito asked, still interested in that.
"Kyo, might I ask, what goes on between you and Yuki, being the cat and rat of the family? It's obvious you don't get a long, but does something happen to you or Yuki?" Rin asked suddenly.
Kyo glanced at Akito. "Nothing truly happens, other than he is not accepted in the Sohmas' main house, but he did make a bet that if he doesn't beat Yuki, I'll lock him up." Akito answered.
Arisa shook her head. "If only that was it right Tohru, if you lost, we could have just busted you out." Arisa chuckled with no funny thought. Akito was taken back but yet more interested. "The battle?"
"It's when the cat and rat face off in a duel. It can go on for hours, even days. The longest battle was 60 years ago and lasted for three days before the cat fell. With our family, neither the cat nor the rat are accepted as a part of the family until this battle, whoever wins, becomes a part of the family." Tohru answered.
"When do these battles take place?"
Rin spoke up, having calmed down. "The head of the Zodiac decides when, and they can only decide once. Some have fought when they were in their 80s, other in their early 20s. Tohru and Taro's battle will be the youngest, as they are not even 18 yet."
"But Haruki broke his promise as they were supposed to fight when the two were 13. Kyoko took Tohru and fled, therefore, ending the battle. The result should have been that there would be no battle and no winner, but whatever was going through his mind, Haruki broke the sacred promise, changing the age to now." Arisa's hands clenched in fists with anger. "He really wants to rid of Tohru any way possible."
She still didn't say' Tohru thought, knowing that the Sohmas will be interested in one detail.
And sure enough. "What happens to the loser, will they be exiled?" Ayame asked.
The girls shook their head, not really wanting to answer. "Then what is it?"
Hana decided to answer. "The Battle between the cat and the rat is not based on who passes out or who gives up first. It's a fight to the death."