Previous on Fruits Basket; Akito's Heir:
"It's obvious that you all have chosen Tohru Honda over me. That's fine. You want to be near her as much as possible. That's fine. You can be near Miss Honda for al long as you like now. Because after I die, she will take possession of the Zodiac Core, and will be your new leader. Tohru Honda, I am choosing you as my heir to lead the Sohma Family."
Chapter 3:
The chamber had suddenly become so quiet, that if a pin had dropped, it would have sounded as loud as a bomb. It was a stunned silence, as Akito's audience tried to comprehend what he had just told them. It was probably the last thing that they had expected their esteem leader to say. And given his nature, there was an air of suspicion about his motives. It was only a matter of time before one of them spoke, and questioned his decision. He knew one of them would. The very idea of making the girl family head was so ridiculous that it had to be explained. If for no other reason, the fact that she would be the carrier of the Core would have to be addressed. Now which would it be? The cat? No he was using all his willpower to not run over there and pound Akito's face in. Perhaps someplace deep down, the monster thought he might have a shot at head, since the only stipulation was that it had to be a non-cursed Sohma family member. Since coming to live with Shigure, Tohru's legal status had been passed over to the good dog. She didn't know this, but it was obviously done to ensure that no one would try to take their precious monster away from them. And seeing as how she didn't transform into an animal when hugged, she fit both criteria for acceptance. What about the rat? No he was very quiet, simply looking at his precious creature, making sure she was ok. The girl for her own part seemed to be in her own world. "Akito" came a voice from the crowd. He looked over, and noticed it came from the good doctor. Going to try to protect her like you tried to protect Kanna huh Dragon? We know how well that worked out.
"Why?" It was a simple question. "Why not? Is that not a good enough answer? Am I not allowed to choose my successor anymore?" "Of course Akito. But why her? You cannot possibly believe she can lead the Sohma family" Shigure said looking over a Tohru with a look that seemed to say please don't be upset but the girl didn't seem to notice She didn't seem to even be awake. The shock of what she had just heard seemed to overwhelm her. "Miss Honda" Akito said, looking straight at her. "what do you think about this" The room seemed to have quieted down as everyone waited to hear the girls answer. She was very careful when she spoke, afraid of saying the wrong thing " Well I guess, I um… well…. I guess I". She continued to stutter for about a minute or so. The other Junnishi looked sad for her, they knew she was scared, afraid to say the wrong thing to Akito. The man had a infamous temper and was strong, surprisingly for someone in his shape health wise. After a minute or so, the girl seemed to gather her nerve and said " Akito-san, I don't know how to reply. I've never been offered anything like this before. I'm honored that you think I can lead your family. But I'm afraid I must decline. I know that there are others who are better qualified. Hatori for example. He understands your family rules and customs much better than I ever will. Don't get me wrong. I love the Sohmas. They took me in and took care of me when I needed it most. That's why I must decline. I'm afraid to be in a position where I may do something that could hurt them"
The girl had to take a few breaths after all that. It seemed like she had simply said everything she could think to say in one setting afraid that if she stopped she would never start up again.
"My dear, I understand. What I am offering is a great responsibility. But it is also an amazing opportunity. You would never have to worry about having to leave your friends. You could finally be a full member of the Sohma family. You would have whatever you needed for money, and not have to worry about that job of yours anymore. Finish high school, and then who knows? And with friends like Yuki and Shigure, you'll have all the help you could want when it comes to making tough decisions."
"What about IT" came a voice from the back. Sure enough, the monster had decided to speak up. I have to remember to cage that bastard up before I go
Unfortunately this made everyone look back to him. . Yuki spoke up" You know Akito that if she agrees to this, that she will probably won't live to see 35"
"And I won't live to see 18. It's a nature of what we are, But there's no reason not to use proper names Yuki. We all know what you're talking about. The Core, the great black sphere that keeps you alive. And I, who hold the Core, like the heads before me, am the physical embodiment of the Zodiac Curse. PERHAPS IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO SEE THE CROSS I BEAR!" And without warning, Akito grabbed At his chest, and appeared to push his hands through his skin into his flesh. Then with a great cry pulled them out, and with them a large black orb. The orb swirled around in his hands and if you looked close to it, the interior appeared to form images of the 12 Zodiac Animals. The entire room was quiet, in shock and awe of what Akito had just done. They had never seen the Core, it was something passed on in secret, only those required to do the procedure saw it. But Akito had done his research and knew ways to control the orb. He looked out on the others and walked towards them with the orb in one hand and his other stretched out in a dramatic position. "Friends do not be afraid. This is what I have held for you for the last 16 years. It is the embodiment of the curse….."
" HOW THE HELL DID YOU REMOVE IT?" The cat yelled out. Angrily, Akito turned to the cat and said "You will be quiet now beast, otherwise I will see to it you never talk again once my strength returnes." He then turned back to the others. "As I was saying, yes this is the Core. It was passed to me at birth by the previous head. I have studied it for the last ten years, not intent to simply die ignorant like so many other heads. I accepted the pain this thing caused me, knowing I was doing my duty to my family. Then SHE showed up and my family stopped doing their duty to me. So I immersed myself more in my research. I learned many things about this thing. It connects us. Me and the Junishhi, connected on an almost spiritual level. Perhaps I am meant to be God from the Legend" At this Akito began to laugh. Then he said "Anyway I learned many things. I know that if I leave it out for more than six hours, I nearly die. I tried once, and found that once about 5 hours and 50 minutes pass, I am practically dead. Luckily I was able to shove it back in before any permanent damage was done. Sadly I cannot simply remove it and live. And If I keep it in it will kill me. I also learned that my emotions can sometimes travel across the orb and affect the rest of you. I'm sure we all remember the incident from last year" At this, the rest of the Zodiac cursed either turned their heads away or looked towards the ground, as if embarrassed. Tohru looked like she was going to ask a question, but Akito raised his hand and said "I don't think we need to go into detail, but I'm sure you all remember judging from your responses. Anyway, this is something I have learned many things about, and it will help me get what I want. I want Miss Honda to be the next family head. It is my final demand. Miss Honda, do you accept?"
"I'm sorry Akito-san. I wish I could but I'm simply not worthy of such a responsibility" And then Yuki spoke up "Let's cut the crap Akito. The reason you want Miss Honda to be family head is because she'll die from the Core and it will cause pain for us. You want to hurt us even from beyond the grave."
The others seemed to agree with Yuki's assessment. Those near Tohru put their hands on his in support of her decision. Akito couldn't help but snicker. All right Miss Honda, I tried to be nice and you made me play my hand. The rest is your fault
"Very well than. You've all done exactly what I expected you to do, right down to Yuki making a defiant stand. Well it's not going to matter much in a minute. We'll see how much Miss Honda loves you all, or if she's as fake as I've always said she is." And with that he grabbed the orb, raised it over his head and squeezed. Suddenly a great yell of pain came from the room. It was from Kyo. "Kyo what's wrong?" asked Tohru in her usual worried tone "I don't know, I hurt dammit, I just hurt but I don't know from…. ARGHHHHHHH" SAID Kyo, unable to complete his sentence. Suddenly he stopped screaming, but was still breathing heavily. Tohru and Shigure helped him to his feet, while Yuki glared at Akito. Akito smirked and simply squeezed again. Yuki started yelling and then stopped. "That's what you get for giving me that look Yuki. As for the rest of you, I'm sure by know you figured out what I'm doing. As I said, the core is connected to all of you, and I control it. Meaning I can give you pain anytime I choose. I knew I couldn't do it to often, lest my little secret become known. So I waited until it would be to my benefit to reveal it. And now it has come." He then looked directly at Tohru.
"My dear, as I said I get what you want. I warned you to forget the Sohmas, and you choose to ignore me. I told you I will make you suffer, and this time I will get my desire. You will become family head.. You will watch as they swear fealty to you only to forget you when some new toy gets their attention, You will suffer great pains, knowing that your only solace is the fact that those ungrateful creatures are alive, only you will be forced to live hear because you will not be able to move without being in great pain. And you will die alone and afraid, simply to be discarded and replaced. You will do this, otherwise I will kill them all right here." As he finished speaking, he raised the orb for a third time and squeezed as hard as he had.
From what was once silence, came a sound Tohru would never forget. The sound of all 13 Junishii screaming in pain. Some were holding their head, others their sides. Tohru ran over to Yuki, and tried to get him to tell what was going on " I don't know Miss Honda. It must be from that orb. He's never done anything like this before…" and that was she could get out of him before he started screaming again. She ran up Akito and screamed in between crying " WHY! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!" Akito laughed and said "As I said Miss Honda, I get what I want. I suppose I'm taking a risk alienating all of my Junishii all at once, but it matters not, for I will dead within days. Right now I'd be more concerned about them than myself. They will die, mark my words, unless you do what I say. Say you'll accept the position of head and I will return to the orb to my body. Refuse me again, and they will die. The choice is yours"
She looked back at the others. She tried to see if any of them had heard what Akito had said, but they were trying to concentrate on resisting the pain. She could see Kagura shrieking in agony trying to get close to Kyo and Kyo trying to get away even while screaming himself. Somewhere else in the room she could hear the moans of agony coming from Hiro and Kisa, trying to holds onto each other in an attempt to ignore the pain. Haru was holding onto Rin, and Momiji just rolled into a ball, weeping. Ayame Shigure and Hatori were together in a group, trying to have a conversation about old days, trying to think of something other than the pain. Yuki simply laid on the ground trying not to yell. It was obvious he wanted to but he tried his best to control himself. He wouldn't want to show weakness in front of Akito. She could hear him yelling to her "PLEASE MISS HONAD DON'T DO IT. WE'LL BE OK, HE NEEDS US. HE NEEDS HIS POWER AND WE ARE IT. HE WILL ABUSE US TILL HE DIES, BUT YOU CAN ESCAPE. RUN NOW PLEASE" The end of his plea sounded almost like he was begging. But she couldn't do it. "I'm sorry Yuki" she said "I won't leave you like this, I can't leave any of you like this" and with that she ran up to Akito and dropped to her knees screaming "PLEASE STOP IT I'LL DO IT. I'LL BE THE NEXT HEAD, AND TAKEN THE GODDAM CORE YOU BASTARD. I'LL DO IT, JUST DON'T HURT THEM ANYMORE" and with that she collapsed crying.
Akito smiled and slammed the orb back into his chest as he walked towards the porch to watch the birds. It went in and suddenly the screaming stopped as quickly as it had begun. All that could be heard was heavy breathing as the Sohmas tried to get their composure. That and the sound of a crying girl. She was laying on the ground. Yuki rushed up to her and rolled her over. She wasn't hurt but she was crying nonetheless.
"Miss Honda, please stop crying. We're all ok now, he stopped." Yuki said as the others walked over to see if Tohru was ok. But she wouldn't stop. She looked up at him and said "Oh Yuki, I'm sorry. Please forgive me, I'm so so sorry. I tried to get him to stop but he wouldn't unless I accepted his offer. He said he would kill all of you if I didn't. I know you told me not to do it Yuki and that he wouldn't actually go ahead with his threat, but I couldn't take that chance. I love you all so much that I was terrified when he started doing whatever he did. So I accepted the offer, like he demanded. He got what he wanted after all. I'm sorry" and she started to cry again. The other Sohmas could only watch in horror at the girl on the floor, crying for them. Then they heard Kyo yelling "You call me a monster but you're the real monster here Akito!" and with no warning he started running at full speed towards Akito. All the Sohma head did was press on a spot on his chest, and with a scream Kyo went down. The rest of the family gasped in shock. Akito turned back to them and said "Lovely little trick isn't it. Like I said it's connected to all of you. And I've learned how to manipulate it to cause pain to whoever I please. I can even do it with the orb still inside me. I decided this would be the best place for the grand reveling. Keep that in mind. Until I die, I can cause pain to anyone of you. Now get out off my chambers, and take this trash with you" he said as he looked ay Kyo, who was slowly getting up off the floor. The others were slowly getting out of there, with Yuki and Shigure helping out the emotionally distraught Tohru. Before she could get out though Akito turned to her and said" Oh and Miss Honda? Keep in mind that the transfer ceremony will be in several days. I would advise you to enjoy what time you have left. After that your days are no longer your own" and with a laugh, he turned his back to the door. All Yuki Kyo and Shigure could do was grimace as they helped get Tohru out of that terrible place.
Author Notes: Quite an evil little man isn't he. This chapter was fun because i was basically making up rules as i went along. I know that theres nothing in the anime to suggest that the Core of the curse could be used as a weapon, but it made sense to me. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and please review, it means a lot ot me. Many Thanks