DISCLAIMER - I do not own Fruits Basket or any of its characters
Here we are, back at the start. Since 2008 I have re-edited and completed this story, so I am now re-releasing it chapter by chapter.
Enjoy it as if it's the first time all over again!
Chapter One - Breaking Point
"Hatori." Akito's soft alluring voice purred. Hatori looked up, the left side of his face obscured by his long dark fringe. He knelt on the tatami floor in the plain, empty room facing the open doors that led to the wintry gardens where everything was covered with snow. His white doctor's coat fanned out across the hard floor behind him. Akito lay sprawled by the sliding door in long flowing white robes looking at Hatori with a cruel glint in her eye that Hatori had become accustomed to and also learned to dread. "Ah, Hatori. You would never disobey me, would you?" She hummed in an almost masculine tone as she stood and stalked towards Hatori until she stood in front of him, one hand reaching down and caressing his black silk tie.
"No." Hatori replied obediently as Akito smirked, tightening her grip on the tie and pulling Hatori closer. The knot tightened almost painfully around his neck, but the taller man showed no discomfort as he was pulled forward.
"Good, because I have a task for you Hatori…" She replied absently as she dropped the tie and walked away almost boredly. Hatori watched, trying to keep the fear from showing in his good eye. "The time has come…Tohru Honda. You shall erase her memory of ever having met the Sohmas." She continued, turning to look at the grimace on Hatori's face as he fought against the pain.
"Akito…" He said stiffly, not looking up at the head of the family, who was leaning on the wall while running a hand through her boyishly short ebony locks. At the mention of her name she paused. Her eyes sharpened as she took in the reluctance on the dragon's pale face. "I beg you to reconsider." Hatori pleaded as he bowed his head low, already knowing what the answer would be.
"Are you questioning me?" Akito asked sharply with a warning bite in her voice, her lithe form quivering with pent up rage. Hatori bowed down further until his forehead touched the floor, his chest tightening as he realised Akito's mood was rapidly beginning to sour. It wasn't good for the fragile god's health. He had to appease her before she hurt herself.
"No Akito. If that is your wish, it shall be done." Hatori replied mechanically. He felt a hand grab his hair and gritted his teeth as Akito yanked his head up roughly, locking her brown eyes to Hatori's pale amber one for a moment. She held his gaze as she assessed him, apparently satisfied with what she found.
"Good. Never question me again." Akito replied in warning as she released Hatori's hair from her death grip. Hatori stayed when he was for what seemed like an eternity until he heard the words he longed to hear. "Leave me now." The god sighed dismissively as she turned away to stare at the cold gardens once more.
Hatori got to his feet and left, quietly shutting the door behind him. He felt his heart sink as he thought of Tohru, Yuki and Kyo. The three of them were inseparable. The boys were just starting to open up after all this time. They were happy. They were a family. How could Akito do this? How can I do this? Hatori wondered with a hint of self-loathing as he walked through the long echoing halls of the main house. Once he was at the front doors he walked down the steps towards his own home, not even registering the young blonde boy who skipped along at his side, crunching the fresh snow under his feet happily.
"Ha'ri, are you alright?" The small half German boy asked worriedly as they reached the door. Hatori didn't answer as he opened it and went inside. Why? Why do I have to hurt people? Why do I have to do this? Hatori thought despairingly as he stood in the hall.
Hatori looked down at the young trembling girl in front of him. She couldn't have been more than seven years old. Her brown eyes were wide with terror as Hatori lowered his hand to her eyes gently, his expression as soothing as he could manage.
"Don't worry. You won't feel a thing." He assured, though this didn't offer much comfort to the small brunette, who was quivering. Hatori concentrated as he always did until there was a flash and the girl fell back to the floor unconscious. Hatori heard a clapping sound and looked at the wall to see a very young Akito smiling maliciously.
"Well done Hatori, my ice king. Now for the rest." She said smugly as she looked at Hatori's calm expression, but knowing the pain and guilt he felt twisting his insides as it ate away at him. A young woman quickly carried the girl away to another room where she could recover from the memory wipe and in the doorway, hidden from Akito's view, he saw Yuki looking at him accusingly with watery violet eyes.
"Please send the next in." Hatori called tonelessly, ignoring both Akito and Yuki as the next child entered. This one was a young boy with light brown hair, who looked around curiously. He even smiled at Akito, who smiled back in amusement.
"Will this hurt?" The boy asked as he looked up at Hatori, who knelt down and put a comforting smile on his face, though his eyes showed nothing but pain and regret.
"Not at all." Hatori replied, his voice almost breaking as he raised his hand again. "Just stay still and you won't feel a thing." He added as a flash lit the room and the small boy fell down to the floor unconscious.
"Why? Why did you do it Hatori? They were my friends! Why?" A very young Yuki cried as he sat leaning on Hatori's knee as he crouched on the grass by the main house. Hatori, still in his dark school uniform, looked down at the silver haired boy with a heavy weight in his chest. He was exhausted, barely able to lift his arm to comfort his small cousin. Using his powers always took a hefty toll on his body.
"Yuki…You know we cannot allow the secret to become known to outsiders." He replied, leaving out the fact that Akito had demanded that he do it, after all, it wasn't Akito's fault. Rules were rules. Akito wasn't wrong for being cautious. Akito was doing her job, keeping them safe.
"But why couldn't we still be friends?" Yuki sobbed. Hatori raised a shaky hand and laid it on the young boy's shoulder, but he knew it offered little comfort.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked the beautiful blonde woman, who sat opposite him in his office at the Sohma estate. She looked at him with large blood shot eyes and a manic grin. She was almost out of her mind.
"My only regret is that that thing came out of my body." She replied in a mad quivering voice. Hatori glanced towards the doorway, where he saw a very young Momiji peering round the door with large brown eyes that shed tears as Hatori raised his hand and blanked him from the woman's mind.
"Why?" The small boy asked from the doorway. Hatori looked at him pityingly as he looked at the unconscious woman sadly. "Why couldn't you hold on?" He whispered as he buried his face in his hands.
"Erase his memory of us Hatori. It is your duty as a Sohma." Twelve year old Akito ordered as she looked down at Hatori's kneeling form. Hatori bowed and got to his feet, looking at the cowering teen.
"No! Please! I beg you!" He cried fearfully as he raised his hands over his head. Hatori knelt down to his level and gently put his hand under the boy's raised arms to rest on his forehead.
"I am sorry." Hatori whispered before there was a flash and the boy was unconscious.
"Momiji, I told you to be careful." Hatori said in a serious tone as he looked down at the young blonde boy, who looked up at him innocently.
"But she won't tell anyone!" He mumbled imploringly, grabbing his lab coat pleadingly as Hatori opened the door to his office where a small girl sat in a middle school uniform. She looked at him like a rabbit caught in headlights.
"You know the rules Momiji." Hatori replied firmly as he walked towards the quivering young girl and placed a hand on her forehead.
"I-it would have been better…if we had never met." Kana cried as they stood in his office. He felt his heart break again as he saw her tears and raised his hand, placing it over her eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm so sorry." She whispered before the flash erased her memories of him and she fell to the floor, where two young maids helped her to her feet and led her away to recover. They left Hatori in his office with tears streaming down his face as he watched her retreating form, her light brown hair hiding her face as they turned the corner at the end of the hall.
"Ha'ri? Hey, wake up!" Momiji called cheerfully in a singsong voice as he hopped around Hatori, who was still standing in the hallway feeling strangely numb. The boy paused at the look on Hatori's face. It was one he had never seen before, full of self-loathing and rage. For as long as he could remember Hatori had held his emotions on the inside, showing only the occasional smile now and then.
"Momiji. Go out." Hatori ordered, his voice low, harsh and quivering as he stepped further into the house and yanked off his white coat roughly, throwing it on the floor with a loud rustle. His steps were loud as he stomped across the wooden floor, something Momiji had never seen him do.
"But Ha'ri…You want Shii-chan? Or Aya-chan?" The rabbit asked worriedly as Hatori's hands clenched into fists and started to shake, making the young boy step back fearfully. What's going on? Why is Ha'ri so scary all of a sudden? Momiji wondered fearfully. The dragon wouldn't even look at him.
"Just get out." Hatori replied coldly, but the boy made no move to leave, seemingly frozen to the spot in fear. Hatori felt something snap and punched the wall as hard as he could, splintering a picture frame and cutting his hand on the glass. "Get out!" He roared angrily, not feeling anything but his own rage as the boy ran out the door crying in terror.
Hatori looked at the blood on his hand, savouring the pain and release of his outburst. What good am I? All I do is hurt people! I'm useless! After all of the things I've done I don't deserve to live like this! He thought as he picked up a vase and threw it at the wall roughly, shattering it into hundreds of tiny pieces. Next to go was the coffee table in the living room, which knocked the television onto the floor. It fell apart, littering the floor with glass and shards of plastic. He worked his way up to the bedroom, where he collapsed on the floor beside his medical bag crying. How can I do that to Tohru?
"Look Hatori, it's snowing…Funny how I'm seeing the first snow of the year with you, isn't it?" She added sweetly as they stood in the street, her cute face looking up to the sky with a bright smile, her long brown hair tossing in the wind. He stood beside her, just watching her innocent joy as the snowflakes fell into her out stretched hands.
"When snow melts what does it become?" Hatori asked as he stood up from the bench, careful not to slip on the snowy ground. He looked at Tohru, who smiled brightly through her dark brown bangs.
"It becomes spring, doesn't it?" She replied cheerfully, her smile so bright that Hatori felt his chest warm just a little bit...
"Haa-san, I brought you some Valentine's Day chocolate." Shigure said in his usual sing-song voice as Hatori opened the front door. Hatori closed it roughly with a bang and turned away, listening as it slid open behind him and Shigure sighed. "Alright, it's not from me, it's from Tohru." He replied sheepishly as he entered the office.
"Oh! Hatori, what do I owe you?" Tohru asked as she sat up in bed, her face slightly red from a fever, almost matching the pink of her pyjamas.
"Get well soon." Hatori replied with a slight smile as he left her with Momiji and Kisa, the small girl clutching her arm worriedly as her golden eyes looked closely at the girl she had come to see as an older sister.
"I can't do it…I won't do it…and I'm the only one who can do it." He mumbled firmly as he pulled his medical bag onto his lap and searched through it, pushing aside the stethoscope and bandages until he came to a small black case. If something happens to me Akito will no longer be able to erase Tohru's memory…and this family will be so much better off with Tohru than with me. He thought as opened the box and examined his small collection of surgical instruments, selecting one of the delicate silver scalpels.