In the kingdom of Fiore, magic has been around for many centuries- some say it has been around since the dawn of time. The world of Earthland has always had magic, but there was one magic that was older than time and that would be the one from the stars. Most people know the stories of the legendary golden celestial keys that home the twelve zodiac spirits, but what most people don't know is a story older than that.

A story of the the Chinese Zodiac.

There are only a handful of people who know the real story of the Chinese Zodiac still alive today. As told in a true fashion of the zodiac legend there was once a man who had always been alone for as long as he could remember. This man held no name but would later be known as "God" to those who would come to know him. One day when he was feeling particularly alone a friendly cat has came by to visit the lonely man and confessed that he couldn't help but feel drawn to the loneliness that surrounded the man. The cat had expressed his desire to stay by the lonely man's side, and in return the man became very happy for the first time in his life.

As time slowly went by the lonely man couldn't help but yearn for even more connections than what the cat could offer, and therefore he held fun banquets for the other animal to join in one. These animals came one by one the each banquet, and it was when the twelfth animal- the rat, finally joined that the man decided he never wanted their friendship or the banquet to end. He wanted them to stay by his side for the rest of eternity. The yearning he felt to make his bond with his friends, the thirteen animals, had grown so much that he created a spell with a forbidden magic forged by a magic so absolute.

This man had a rare magic that came from the stars and moon. He had begged for many nights to the celestial beings from above to bless him with a spell to keep those he cared for together until the end of time itself. He offered anything they could ever want that would appease them above, and yet no one ever answered his desperate pleas.

Yet there was one who answered his cries and prayers, a woman that the village always warned to stay away from. Some said she was a witch who dealt with the devil himself, but she had taken pity on the lonely man. She understood how it felt to be so alone, so she gave him the spell he yearn for so long- but not without warning.

The spell itself came from a Celestial Spirit mage who was banished from the sky, for immortality was frowned upon. The spell itself would come with a price not only the man would have to pay, but so would the others involved. There was loops holes in every spell, and this mage had made it so Celestial Magic could undo it.

The man had asked one thing, "Why give this to me? What do you gain?"

The witch merely smiled the cruelest smile he'd ever seen, "I give this not for free. I was stripped of my magic for this spell and my lover was killed in front of my eyes as punishment. I want to punish the celestial spirits. I require you to kill the Celestial Spirit mages as time goes on. You live without worry and I get my revenge of them staying forever in their realm."

It was a price the lonely man was willing to pay.

By drawing a circle in a cup of water with his blood from his finger, he made sure that every single one of the thirteen animals drank from the cup. This spell would ensure that every single one of them would be reborn and that no matter how many times they were reborn their bonds would remain.

The man and the thirteen animals had become God and the Chinese Zodiac, cursed to live bonded through a promise of one. The God had made a promise that the Zodiac members had to live by. It was a long, long time ago. Hundreds of years and more to be together for eternity. No matter how many times they were all reborn, the spirits would go to the God's side and never leave. Bound by a promise that none could change.

Over time God had kept his promise to the witch, killing Celestial Spirit mages until they were on the verge of extinction and for a while God believed he had done what had been requested. Over time the story of the Chinese Zodiac changed, as did the legend behind them. Over time God forgotten his promise, as did the others and things changed.

All good things came to an end. Centuries proved to be enough time to change memories and feelings. The blood of the Zodiac spirits remember the promise to be by God's side even if the person themself wanted to be else were. The bond had become a burden to those involved.

It was a curse of the Chinese Zodiac.

Yet it was written in the stars that one who is one with the spirits in the night sky, whom said to be touched by starlight themselves would be the one to free the zodiac spirits of their prisons. It is one who is alone that will free the ones bound together.

This has been a story idea I had for a while, or been wanting to write for a long time. I always thought that Fairy Tail and Fruit Basket would be an amazing crossover to do but could never really bridge it together in a way that makes sense until now. I hope the story isn't confusing so far since I changed (and will be changing) things to make this story work and flow better.

To clear some things, one thing I always had an issue with figuring out was how to get these two universes to mix and the only way I could do this was with bringing the Fruit Basket world into Fairy Tail's world. Society is a little different but will be explained.

I hope you like this idea! Let me know if I should continue this or if it doesn't makes sense!