Part One

"Just a little bit more!" the doctor encouraged the woman lying on the hospital bed screaming in pain. Of course, part of him did not want this child to come out. He was one of the many Sohma family doctors, trained specifically for these situations.

Premature births.

Every time a seven-month pregnant woman was called in, his heart stopped. Not that every such incident was one of those, but often, ninety-nine percent of the time at least, it was. He had delivered the Dragon as well those forty-two years ago, his first Zodiac child, and many more after that. But never...never had he delivered a Cat.

Nervously, he held his hands just under the baby's head as it was pushed out. In spite of all his years, he still believed that an animal was going to come out of this woman and not a child. He knew that, for some reason, they were always born human until they were first held.

Behind him, the very Dragon he had delivered now stood, calm and unaffected by this event. The baby came out a little more and he had no choice but to touch it. Holding it as lightly as he could, the baby came out with a final yell from the mother.

"Congratulations," he announced, trying to sound cheerful so the parents of the crea-baby wouldn't worry. They rarely knew beforehand, and he had been warned that these two certainly didn't. "It's a boy."

The father laughed and leaned down to kiss his wife's cheek. Her own face was streaked with tears but she, too, smiled. A pain ripped through the doctor's heart and he wished that there was something he could do. It wouldn't have been hard to sabotage the birth, but the Dragon was watching. Such betrayal to his duty and the family would not go unpunished.

The nurse came over and took the baby into his arms, cleaning him with a warm towel. As soon as the damp cloth touched him, the baby began to wail. Both parents looked up, startled. It was the first noise the child had made since leaving the womb, even during such a violent birth.

Before anyone else could react, the nurse took the child and wrapped it in a blanket until it..he...it was almost completely covered. He paused a moment, then took the bundle over to the mother's open arms. The doctor noticed the Dragon tense behind him, but he didn't move from his spot at the wall.

As soon as the child was placed in its mother's arms, its wails increased in volume. The blanket shifted as it screeched and both sets of eyes that had looked on it so lovingly just a moment ago turned into a wide-eyed, terrified stare.

"Oh god..." the mother hissed, horrified. "What is it!?"

That was when the Dragon made his move. He strode toward the couple quickly, just as the woman threw the bundle from her. He caught it easily, and the doctor caught sight of leather-brown skin and a small, clawed hand. Not a moment later, a rotten smell filled the room, causing the nurse to run to the corner of the room and vomit violently.

"Get it away from me!" the woman screamed, her horror melting into hysteria as she cried. "Get it away!"

"Uncle..." the man murmured, almost drowned out by his wife's yells. "What...what is that..?"

The Dragon's dark eyes regarded him coolly. "It is our curse."

"But our son.."

"This is your son." he replied.

"No!" the wife screeched. "It is not! It's a monster! It took my baby! I don't ever want to see that...thing again!"

"Very well." the Dragon replied, tucking the loose blanket around the Cat once more. Without another word he left the hospital room and the doctor was left to sedate the hysterical woman and explain to the husband the curse of the Sohma family.

At least I will not live to deliver another. the doctor thought, closing his eyes.

---

"Is that it?"

The Dragon didn't even look up at the young man leaning against the wall. "You're not supposed to be here." was all he replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a red and white beaded bracelet.

The young man's eyes widened. "It is!" he exclaimed. "You're going to let that thing live?!"

"Lower your voice," the Dragon hissed as he slipped the bracelet onto the newborn's tiny wrist. "Why all horses have to have such grating voices, and then use them so often-"

"It killed her!" the Horse cried, ignoring the older man's words.

"No, he did not. This child is not connected to either of them, aside from the fact that he is also cursed."

The Horse shook his head, gritting his teeth to stop the tears that were in his eyes. "It's not fair."

"Of course it isn't," he sighed, lifting his gaze to the Horse's. "But it happened, and you must move on. The Rat was not yours, and she never could be."

A heavy silence fell between them, and finally the Horse pointed to the child. "What are we going to do with it?"

The Dragon held the child closer to his body. "I will take care of him," he announced. "It's my duty, as I'm his closest relative. I'll have to erase his mother's memories though, and his father's. From the reaction of the nurse, it may be best if I took his, too."

"How troublesome." he muttered.

Dark eyes locked on the deep brown of the Horse. "In case you've forgotten, I had to do the same to your mother."

A bitter expression settled over the Horse's face. "How couldn't I remember? You never gave me such peace of mind." he spat and walked away, disappearing down the hallway.

The squirming baby in his arms caught the Dragon's attention. Where the Cat spirit's horrifying form had once been was now a small, pink-skinned baby boy. The light orange fuzz atop the child's head stood out easily.

"I will try my best to take care of you," the Dragon murmured. "That you may not end up as your previous incarnation did."