Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, although I would love to own Hatori and Akito. I do own Saya.

"blah"-talking

blah-thinking

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Your Curse, My Cure

Chapter Two

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"What's wrong, Ha'ri?" Shigure asked, his glasses drooping down his nose.

"Saki-chan..." he said and sat in front of the dark-haired man. "She..."

"What?" he asked while pushing the glassed with his middle finger.

"She fell into my arms and I didn't transform," he said, his eyes still wide.

"What!" he said.

"I know," Hatori replied and rubbed his temples.

"Should we tell Akito about this?" Shigure asked.

"I think we might have to," he replied and rested his elbows on the desk before they heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," Shigure said and the door slid open to reveal Hana who stared at Hatori in confusion. She walked in and closed the door behind her and sat down next to them.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop but what did you mean when you said 'transform'?" she asked.

"We might as well tell her," Shigure said and turned to the confused girl. "The Souma's have a curse that if they're hugged by a member of the opposite sex they'll transfer into an animal of the Chinese Zodiac. Kyo's the exception, he transforms into the cat."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes, but for some reason when we embraced, I didn't transform," Hatori said with a confused gaze.

"When you came to visit for the first time, we all transformed even when you hugged us so this is very baffling," Shigure said with a small smile. "We'll have to inform Akito-san, the head of the Souma family about this and you will most likely have to meet with him."

"I understand," she said with a small nod, a smile on her lips. "I always suspected you all of hiding something, I'm relieved to know it's not dangerous."

"It can be dangerous to us if anyone knows about it, so you must keep this secret, Saki-chan," Shigure said and smiled at her smile.

"Hatori-san, are you all right?" she asked the quiet man, watching him turn to her.

"Yes, I'm fine," he replied while rubbing his eyes. "You should probably get some sleep though, you'll have to meet with Akito tomorrow morning."

She nodded and left the room, walking up the stairs and slipping back into bed with Tohru. She feel asleep thinking about the secret and Hatori's kiss.

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Hana sat up and stretched while yawning before sliding her legs over the side of the bed and standing. She slipped her feet into her black slippers and walked out of the room, enjoying the breeze on her bare legs. She walked into the sitting room and sat down beside Yuki as Tohru began placing breakfast on the table. She sat on the other side of Hana and smiled at her, then looked over to her left and saw Hatori.

"I'm glad to see you stayed for breakfast, Hatori-san," she said with a grin. "I thought you were going to leave last night."

"I figured I'd stay a little longer since Saki-chan and I have some business with Akito," he replied and placed a piece of fish in his mouth. Everyone turned their gaze to Hana and stared at her curiously.

"What business, Hatori?" Yuki asked and looked back over to the silent man.

"It seems Hatori doesn't transform when Hana hugs him but we do," Shigure said while sipping his tea. "She overheard us talking about the transformation so we had no choice but to tell her our secret, there was no other way to explain it."

"This is another reason why we were to meet with Akito," Hatori said as he finished his coffee.

"Is this true, Hana-chan? You can really hug Hatori-san?" Tohru asked with large, curious eyes.

Hana nodded and scooted over to him, wrapping her arms around his slim waist and pulled herself closer. She inhaled his scent before pulling away and scooting back to her spot on the other side of Tohru. She finished her breakfast and stood, walking back into Tohru's room and grabbing a pair of jeans and a black tank-top. She showered and put her clothes on, walking back downstairs and slipped her shoes on. "Are we ready to go?" she asked Hatori and Shigure, who stood by the door.

"I believe we are, Saki-chan," Shigure replied with a smile and they got into Hatori's car. She sat in the back and stared out of the window, resting her cheek in the palm of her hand.

"Saki-chan," Hatori said and looked at her in his rearview mirror. "I'm sorry about last night, I was very forward."

Hana blushed and looked at him. "I-It's okay, I d-didn't mind...Hato...kun," she said while whispering the last part and tried to hide her scarlet face with her hair. Shigure looked back at her and then at his cousin with a large smile at seeing the small blush across the man's cheeks.

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Hana heaved a large sigh as she walked into the Main House and down the halls to Akito's room. She stared over at the handsome boy she stood before, her heart thumping in her chest at his terrible vibes.

"Hello, Hanajima Saki," he said, lifting his head to look up at her face. "Hatori told me to go easy on you, I think he might be developing feelings for you like Kyo and Yuki have for Tohru."

Hana looked back at Hatori who kept his gaze on the boy in front of her. "Akito-san, I'd like to say first that your secret is safe with me. I know what it feels like to be rejected for who you are and I'll take this secret to my grave."

"You know what is like to 'be rejected for who you are'?" he asked in amusement. "How, pray tell, would you know that?"

"I have psychic powers that allow me to read other peoples vibes and I can tell what kind of person they are," she said with a smooth facade. "I can also harm people with my powers, I accidentally killed a young boy when I was little. This is the reason people are afraid of me and don't talk to me, all except Tohru-chan and Uo-chan."

Akito looked thoughtful for a moment before asking, "What are my vibes telling you?"

"You're vibes are mixed, one minute their comforting then the next the frighten me terribly," she replied honestly and looked to the floor. Akito stood and walked over to her, lifting her chin with two fingers and looking down into her eyes. He leaned his face down to her neck and sniffed slightly, pulling his back to her ear.

"You have a lovely scent, it's a mixture of jasmine and Hatori," he whispered and turned away from her. "She can keep her memory, but if she slips up you know what to do Hatori."

"Akito, do you know why she can hug Hatori?" Shigure asked.

"I have a theory, since Hatori has a different power along with the curse maybe that gives him immunity along with her dempa," he said and sat down. He watched as Hatori led Hana out of the room and Shigure leave behind them.

"Do you think Akito's theory is possible?" Shigure asked.

"Most likely," Hatori replied.

Hana thought back to Akito's words. A mixture of jasmine and Hatori, she thought, I was in his car so that could've been it. I couldn't possibly still smell like Hatori after sleeping in Tohru's room all night.

"Are you all right, Saki-chan?" Hatori asked and opened the car door for her.

"Yes, thank you," she replied and slide in, staring at his face as he shut the door. She sighed inaudibly as he got in the front seat and buckled her seatbelt. She leaned her head back against the seat, closing her dark eyes. The car came to a stop and she stepped out of it, walking into the Souma house with a frown on her face. Why can't I get this man out of my head, she asked herself walking up the stairs, he's invading my mind.

"Hana-chan!" Tohru yelled and ran up the stairs and into her room, sitting next to the dark-haired girl. "How'd it go?"

"It was all right, he wasn't as bad as you all said he'd be," she replied and fell back onto the bed.

"He never is on the first meeting," she replied with a small smile, it faltered. "Why do you seem so drained? What's on your mind?"

"Tohru-chan, what's it like to be in love?" she asked, her eyes staring into the brown depths. "I know how you feel about Yuki-chan, what does it feel like?"

Tohru blushed with a small smile. "Well, it makes me feel happy. Whenever I'm around Souma-kun I feel giddy and happy, he just makes me smile," she said softly, twiddling her fingers. "Souma-kun is the only who ever made my heart beat so fast, like it'll break through my chest. Whenever we're close, I just feel like I'll faint. I enjoy his company and his kindness, he makes me feel safe and comforted. I just like the feeling, I would give my life to keep it."

"So that's love?" she asked, sitting up.

"I think so, I believe that I love Souma-kun and that's enough for me," Tohru replied with one of her sweer smiles. "Well, I've got to prepare dinner so we'll chat later, okay?"

"Tohru-chan?" Hana called out as the girl was leaving.

"Yes?" she asked in reply.

"Can I help you?" she asked with a soft pleading in her eyes. "I'd like to try a new recipe and I heard the way to a mans' heart is through his stomach."

Tohru giggled. "Sure," she said and motioned her along.

Hana hopped up and followed after her friend, down the stairs and into the kitchen where she tied an apron onto her body. She heaved a sigh and filled a pot with water and placed it on the eye of the stove, turning it on. She began chopping up carrots and other vegetables as Tohru chopped of the beef. They talked and laughed as they prepared dinner, teasing eachothers' cooking skills.

"Hana-chan, can I ask you a question?" Tohru asked while mixing up the dough batter Hana had put together.

"You just did," Hana said with a small smile before nodding and taking the large bowl from her friend.

"Well, it's about earlier," she said as she watched her friend roll the dough around cubes of meat. "What did you ask me about Souma-kun?"

Hana froze and looked over to her friend, her eyes slightly widened, she gave a soft sigh. "I think I'm beginning to develop feelings for Hato-kun," she said softly, just above a whisper and placed the balls of dough in the oven. She then flattened pieces of dough and dabbed a spoonful of jelly in the middled, folding them over. "It's just that ever since I've gotten here, I can't shake the feelings in my stomach around him," she said and made slits on the edges of the dough.

"That's so cute, Hana-chan," Tohru replied with another smile as she watched her friend put those in the oven as well.

"I'm afraid though," she added. "I'm afraid I'm only suffering from infatuation and fooling myself. I don't want to do that because I like the way I feel and I want it to be something true, not just an imitation."

"Hana-chan, the heart works in mysterious ways and love takes hold of the unlikeliest people," Tohru said. "Not once did I think I'd fall in love with Souma-kun, but I did. I believe you're experiencing the first stages of what can become something more. Don't forget, Hana-chan, only you can realize what your heart is telling you. Only you know the truth."

Hana stared at her friend, seeing her in a whole new light. It was then she realized, Tohru could be very dense at times but she wasn't stupid, she was one of the smartest people she had ever met. She smiled at her friend and pulled the pastries out of the oven, putting funny designs on the jelly ones and letting them cool on the oven. "Come, let's feed these hungry men in the other room," she said with a small smile, carrying plates of food.

They sat at the table munching on Hana's pastries for a while in silence before Shigure sighed in content.

"These pastries are delicious, Tohru-chan," he said with a large grin, getting several nods of agreement.

"Oh, I didn't make them," Tohru giggled. "Hana-chan did."

Hana placed the rest of her pastry in her mouth before excusing herself and leaving the table. She walked into Tohru's room and sighed, falling onto the comfortable bed. What's wrong with me?

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Hope you enjoyed, please review.

Yoko Touma