Author Notes: Hello again, here's another chapter in my little tale of love, hatred, and odd magical orbs. Once again, I'm still not Japanese, so I can't be the owner of Fruits Basket. I should also note that this side story about he Dragon and Rat fighting at the banquet is something I made up; I didn't base it off any Chinese and Japanese folktale, it just sounded like a good explanation for Hatori's position within the family ranks.
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Akito didn't seem hampered in any way. He marched over to Tohru and said "Yes, it does believe that she can break the curse. It's seen what happened to the Zodiac members who she interacts with. And it's getting scared and thinking that the end of its existence could be near. That's why it wants Tohru as leader. I've managed to subdue it for now, but it may awaken at anytime. Before I did, I heard it say that unless it gets what it wants, it will start to hurt the members of the Zodiac. It will cause great pain to them until Tohru agrees to become its host. I have no control over it anymore. I'm sorry. I wish I could do more, but I can't. I believed its lies one to many times" And with no explanation for that cryptic comment, Akito walked out of the clinic, with Hatori behind him. Yuki looked at Tohru and the look on his face made him angry. The girl was terrified, and looked like she was on the verge of crying. It's not surprising really, after all, what kind of decision as this to make? Do nothing and watch the people you love be tormented. Take the orb and be simply a host for the thing that's caused these people so much pain and heartache. Yuki never wanted to give Tohru a hug more than he did right then, and Kyo felt the same. The best they could do was taking her hand and try to show that they were with her. Kisa couldn't take the tension anymore and she ran over to Tohru and hugged her, tears flowing down her little face. Momiji followed right behind and embraced her, turning into a rabbit. At that point everyone seemed to want to be near Tohru, to try to comfort her in this dark time. Even Hiro and Rin, the two Sohmas who were the least close to Tohru, tried to show their support for the girl. As the clock in the room struck midnight, Tohru looked up at the sky and said "Oh Mom, what am I going to do?"
It seemed like days had gone by, but it had only been minutes, if that. Eventually Hatori returned to the room where everyone was and watched as they all seemed to huddle around Tohru, as if they were trying to protect the girl from the world and the choice she would have to make. All he could do was curse and wish there was another way. But there wasn't and he knew it. He had known it from the beginning
The Rat is the favored of God, yet it was not always so. The legends says that when the banquet began the Rat and the Dragon got into an argument about which of them deserved to be the favored of god. It was believed the position would go to the Rat for he had been first entering the banquet. But the Dragon claimed that he was the wisest and smartest of the animals and thus it was his right to be God's chosen. The Rat claimed he had earned the right by giving God the greatest respect of arriving first. This caused a stir of anger from the cow but none seemed to hear or acknowledge it and the cow never spoke again. But God was unsure of what to do. Suddenly he closed his eyes. Then he opened them and looked down upon the two animals at his feet. He then spoke in a loud booming voice "My decision is this. The Rat has earned the right to be my Chosen. He did indeed do me great honor by arriving first for the banquet. I know that the cat is nowhere to be seen. For this transgression he shall be an outcast. I foresee great conflict between the cat and the Rat for eternity. I also foresee that the Dragon will not give birth to a mortal kin. He shall be known to Men in legend only. For this I grant him position as my advisor. The Rat shall be my Chosen, but I shall be in need of the Dragons wisdom for all time. Let us eat and honor this new pact, my children. I ask you to agree to work together, for the betterment of the world. I have spoken" And he watched as the Rat and the Dragon shook, in agreement of their new positions. The Rat would have the support of God in the foreseen conflict with the cat. And the Dragon would be God's source of wisdom and knowledge. It happened as was foreseen. The cat, in anger of being tricked, struck back at the Rat. And thus the eternal conflict began. And also as foreseen, the Dragon had no kin on earth. He was the lone spirit. For this, God began to visit him more and more. And the Dragon began valuable to God, for his advice and foresight were of great value, as was his company. And so it turned out that while God named the Rat Chosen, the Dragon became the one who truly knew his master.
It was for that reason that those cursed by the Dragon are of great importance to the House Head. He is placed in a position to advise the head on important matters, and he is privy to things no one else knows. Hatori knows things about Akito none of the other Junnishi do. He knew of the orb from the day of Akito's coronation. And now, as he watched Tohru and the Shomas trying to comfort her, he cursed that knowledge. He knew he should have told about the orb before, but something stopped him. He always figured that it would move on to another host as it always had. But when Tohru arrived, things started being different. He realized that the orb had been controlling Akito at certain times. He could tell the difference between Akito when he was himself and Akito under possession. He knew it had been the orb that attacked Kana. He knew that Akito was not truly the monster the other Junnishi thought him to be, but was ordered to keep silence on what he knew. It was tradition that no one but the Dragon know the truth about the Curse. But right now all he wanted to damm tradition and rules and relive the guilt he felt. He knew that they would never forgive him for keeping silent on this. Once the curse revealed itself, he should have come right out and spoken up. But he hadn't and if he did now, it would accomplish nothing. And so he kept silent, and watched. He watched as the family tried to give Tohru Honda the support they could so she could make a choice so person should have to make. It was a horrible choice and it hurt him that it should have to be made by someone as caring and loving as Tohru, who's only crime was wanting the Sohmas to have happy lives, free of the curse.
He must have gotten lost in his thoughts, because he was taken off guard when Tohru suddenly stood up, and with Yuki and Kyo on either side, hand in hand, she walked towards the room where Akito slept. She looked at Hatori and all she said was" I will speak with it"
He knew what she was referring to. All he could say was "Are you sure?" But even as he spoke, the look in her eyes told him what he needed to know. Her eyes were stern, almost fierce. She was also stoned face, which came as a shock considering she always was so lively. But her eyes were the true sing. She looked…..angry. He had never seen her angry He had only even heard her raise her voice or swear once, and that all took place earlier. She looked at him and smiled. Her smile could make anyone feel better and at that moment Hatori knew that she was doing what she felt was best. "I know it's probably not the smartest thing to do" she said "But I have to do this. Will you please take me to it?" Hatori nodded. She looked at Yuki and then she looked at Kyo, and smiled at both of them. And then she followed Hatori down the hall. Hatori opened a door at the end of the hallway and said "Please be careful Tohru. We'll be in the other room if you need us please don't hesitate to yell if something happens" All he could think was Please God, please don't let it hurt her. Pleas answer this prayer of your faithful servant and advisor, the Dragon" He hoped that maybe one time being cursed buy the Zodiac would be of use. She smiled at him and opened the door and walked in, closing it behind her. All he could do was walk back to where the family waited. He went back into the foyer in front of his office where everyone was waiting. He looked around and all he could say was "I just sent her in there as a sacrificial lamb, didn't I?" No one responded. The only sound in that room came from Kisa and Momiji's crying.