T . i . t . l . e :: The Banquet.
Authoress:Thea Rea
R . a . t . i . n . g :: Teen, a slim chance of changing.
Paring: Leaning towards Kyo and Tohru.

W . a . r . n . i . n . g . s :: Uhm.. I think there is like one swear word.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that relates to Fruits Basket in anyway. The plot line is mine, but if you find a story similar, please remember that I did not steal it. I do not write for money, I write for fun.

N . o . t . e . s :: Chapter Two already, huh? Well, I hope I get more reviews this time around. It's a bit longer then the last one, like two hundred words or something like that. Hopefully you'll enjoy it, and I won't be smitted for my poor writing skills. Remember to review.

• Chapter Two •
.Connection xx

Tohru's eyes widened in shock, her pretty features turned alarmed by the sudden news. Her head jerked away at the words that touched her ears, that smooth touch of Akito's finger tips leaving her face, also leaving a nick on her cheek where they had lain themselves. A small dab of crimson lingered upon her milky cheek. She grasped her nicked cheek, and stared into Akito's empty eyes, emotions no longer churning within those dark navy gems. Tohru looked away; her eyes not able to withstand the lack of emotion were inside those navy orbs. She squeezed her eyes shut, and she let her fingers fall from her sides, only to tighten a grip upon her own waist. She felt the fear lurch in her stomach.

Akito wasn't serious . . . was she?

Tohru's fingers drew away from the cloth that hung close to her body, straying to be put upon her knees. And Akito's cold fingers over lapped hers, dark eyes looking into her own. Tohru's mouth went dry as she looked into those eyes, and realized that this was no joke. In some part of her she was over joyed. She would be going to the banquet! She was going to be with all of her friends for New Years! And then the other part of her wanted it to be some sick joke. She wanted Akito to tear away and then slap her in the face. She wanted it to all be fake, because she was afraid of the emotions that those navy gems held. They had begun to squirm with emotion the minute Tohru tore her eyes away from her sides. Akito wanted something from her, plain and simple. She was afraid, the feeling of joy ebbing away. What could she want? Tohru's breath grew shaky as she clamped her eyes shut again.

"Tohru-san, do you accept?"

As the words fell into her ears, and registered in her brain, all she could do was numbly nod. Warnings blared out at her the minute she did such a thing, and the initial shock of such things made her jump. Her body was rejecting the decision so quickly. Tohru immediately knew that nothing good was going to come out of this. Her eyes cracked open, Akito's smile made her shiver. And again her mind registered such a smile as information for later use. Yes, Akito wanted something. But what could Tohru possibly have that Akito wanted?

"I-I accept, Akito-san," Tohru spoke softly, bowing her head to the floor as she did so. The Goddess let the brown-eyed woman's hand go, the warmth of them escaping her grasp as she did so. She smirked deeply, and then arose from her position in front of her audience. Tohru looked up at the beautiful woman as she arose, and flinched as she lowered her hand down towards her. Tohru glanced at the hand, the palm which held the lines of life, many of them running thin. The strange way her palm was a sickly shade of white. All of those things stunned Tohru for a moment, before reaching her own hand up.

And as they grasped each others hands, Akito smirked deeper as she pulled the quaking Tohru to her feet.

The connection was made.

x•x•x•x•x

The moment Tohru was outside of Akito's room, she fell to the floor with the shock that still dared to rumble inside of her body. She was breaking down from just being next to the woman for such a short period of time. She could feel her soul begin to deteriorate at the sound of the Goddess's words. And she remembered the shattering sound in the back of her mind as she invited her to the banquet. The shattering sounded like that of strong glass, as if a barrier was broken. And how the alarms blared in the back of her mind when she accepted such an invitation. And she remembered how she squirmed under the gaze of those dark gems, unlike any other time before. Before, she had been strong, this time she could only avert her eyes and shake. She was truly becoming pathetic.

Tohru rose from her position upon the ground, her limbs shaking as she did so. She couldn't take it at the moment, her enthralling ocean hued eyes turned towards the side, and then to the other. She needed to find a way out of the Main House, and quick. She didn't want to run into Shigure at the moment either. At any other time, she would have immediately gone to where Shigure was and left, but now, she felt to weak to be going even to the car. She stumbled, groping the wall for support as she moved. She needed to get out of the House, but she also wanted to stay away from all contact with people. She couldn't let them see her like this; she couldn't let them see her in such a pathetic position. It would make them laugh.

Trembling, the ocean-eyed girl turned the corner, brown hair flooding her sight for a moment, before she heard words from the other side, soft, but audible words.

"It's her Shigure," Hatori's voice rang through the hall way in a quiet manner that made Tohru shudder. The sound of his edging cold voice made her freeze in her position. Sometime while she was listening to his ice of a voice, she had gone rigid.

"Hatori, she can't be," the voice belonged to Shigure, she knew it. She pressed herself up against the wall that hid herself from both Hatori and Shigure. Her ears were strained to hear, and her fingers were attempting clenching the wall at her fingertips. She felt like she was going to fall again, but she did not let herself collapse and fall into darkness, not yet, anyway. She needed to know what those two were talking about, it seemed like something rather important, and it was about her anyway. Well, she thought it was.

"Shigure, Akito has chosen who she wants, and I know that she wants Tohru," Hatori's words were gentle, but trembling to the slightest degree. If Tohru was not trying to listen so hard, she probably wouldn't have heard the slight shudder that passed his tone. "But, Akito has another plan up her sleeve," he spoke, and his purple eyes narrowed. "She is planning on using Kyo instead of the New Year Member." She heard silence for a moment, and then footsteps retreating, luckily in the other way. She guessed that Shigure was shocked over something or another for she had heard no response.

She sighed, and was about to pull away, but she felt her legs stiffen. She felt her knees buckle beneath her, and her fingers lose their grip upon the wall's corner. Her ocean blue orbs were wide with surprise. She was going to fall.

"S-someone, help," she spoke aloud, hoping that Hatori would hear her. Her head came in contact with the floor, and she groaned inwardly. Trying to reach up her hand to rub it, she found the appendage numb. Fear shot through her body, and her left arm groped for the feel of her other arm. It came, but her right arm felt nothing. She squeaked as she began to slip into unconsciousness. The feeling in her right arm was still faded as her eyes fell closed, the sight of shoes were the last thing she saw before darkness overtook.

x•x•x•x•x

The world had become black around her, her eyes wouldn't open. There was no light, and nothing of color danced beneath her eyelids. She couldn't see anything, and she hoped that she wasn't blind. She groped for an end, a floor, but there was nothing beneath her finger tips. She could not feel the wind brushing past her, telling her that she was not falling either. She felt nothing and heard nothing. Not even the breath that came from her throat made a sound. She was trapped within a cloud of darkness. She was trapped, and useless.

"Tohru."

Her eyes opened immediately at the sound of her name being called, ocean colored eyes staring into completely soot hued optics. She was frightened at first, and tried to pull away, her fear taking the best of her. But as she moved back, a rush of nausea enveloped her. And the eyes in front of her narrowed with mirth, a laugh vibrated in her ears. The thing was laughing at her. And then everything became silent again, and she finally had the right mind to take in the full appearance of the thing before her.

Ocean tinted orbs took in a child's head first, a head of black hair met her eyes, and then those same black eyes, before the nose, and then the mouth that was curved into an almost sadistic smile. Next, her eyes came upon the girl's neck, and it was adorned with jewels and crosses. A flicker of light tormented her vision as she glanced at the jewels and pendants. The apparel of the girl was nothing familiar in Tohru's eyes. She seemed to be wearing a night gown or something, the thin material a pale white, with flowers seamed into the fabric here and there.

"Tohru, you have done something today that will change your life."

Tohru's eyes fell to the girl's face once more, taking a glance at those lips that moved as each word was formed. The girl's teeth were the perfect shade of white, a believable one. And then ocean eyes fell upon the sight of fangs, the glinting objects graced the young girls mouth. She looked like a vampire, and the predatory gleam in her eyes told Tohru that she might be the young girl's next victim. She gulped.

"You are now bound by fate."

Blue green gems glittered with confusion as she still watched the child. Suddenly, those soot eyes turned green, and the fangs that were like those of a vampire disappeared. A sad smile graced the new face, and Tohru tilted her head to the side with confusion. Now standing before her was another black haired female, but this one was a woman. Tohru took a guess that she was at least twenty. And the once hanging down black hair was tied up in a tight bun on the back of her head. Tohru was thoroughly confused.

"You are next in line. You are the next for the Banquet."

Tohru's expression was completely baffled, her eyes blinking in that way that told everyone that she didn't understand. A frown creased her lips, and her eyebrows formed together to make a complete confused expression. Her blunt teeth were tugging at her bottom lip, biting it in confusion. Tohru's ears noticed the silence was trailing on, and guessed that it was her time to speak. But she didn't have much to say.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to be asking this, but I don't know what you are talking about."

The green eyed woman nodded sadly, and her smile was the same. One green eyes turned black, and her face changed as the eye did, forming the pale complexion of the young girl once more. A smirk was crawling atop the two parts of the lips that the young girl owned, and the other was still drawn in a sad smile. And then, as the silence hung to long, they both spoke, their voices sounding as one, though completely different.

"You have made the connection, now suffer the consequences."

And with that, the two faced female pounced towards her. Tohru, caught off guard, stumbled back in the blankness. The solid mass under her feet beginning to loosen as she glanced at the two faced female once more. Still, their expressions did not match. Sad, yet sadistic. Tohru was confused, but did not have much time to ponder, for the minute she was caught off guard; she was pushed from the cliff by the female. A laugh bellowed from the girl's side, as the woman's side gasped.

What was happening?

x•x•x•x•x

How Hatori had gotten the thrashing Tohru into his arms without transforming was certainly a mystery. But, he had done it, despite the difficulty, and now was carrying her unconscious form to his home. There really was no wrong doing in his actions, though it might have seemed a little weird to see Hatori carrying around an unconscious girl through the hallways. He swore he heard whispering from passing maids, their giggles hidden behind clothed arms. Hatori wasn't sure what they saw amusing in this, it certainly was amusing for his arms.

When he looked down at Tohru, could see the restless movements of her eyes beneath her eyelids, and whimpers passing through her lips. Hatori's face was drawn with seriousness. He was afraid of what she might have heard from around that corner. But he was also flinching at the fact that she had seen Akito seconds before she had collapsed. It could be possible that Akito drugged or poisoned Tohru, but for other reasons, that seemed highly unlikely as well. Akito had a use for Tohru now. Had it been any other season, Hatori wouldn't have given the thought a second chance.

Tohru thrashed again, her fingers coming in contact with his face, and he flinched noticeably. Her finger tips were freezing, and he shuddered at the small amount contact. He needed to get her to his house immediately. She had left a small scratch upon his face, much to his discomfort, one that matched her own little scratch against her cheek. Suddenly, her hands were clenching and unclenching, as if angry, before she threw one of her arms around his neck. What in hells name was she dreaming of?

She groaned, and he sighed. Where was that damned exit! This girl was getting tiring, not that he didn't like Tohru.

Suddenly, as if on cue, he felt the rush of frozen air bite his face as a door opened from the side. He wondered who it could be, but before he could question, Kureno stepped in from outside, his amber eyes watching Hatori with little curiosity. Hatori, not bothering to supply a suitable answer, practically shoved Tohru out for him to see. Kureno shrugged his shoulders and walked off, leaving the door open for him. Hatori sighed before walking out into the middle of the storm.

Now he had one last problem.

He had to walk through the courtyard to get to his place across from the Main House. He really wondered sometimes why he didn't just stay at the Main House in the first place.

x•x•x•x•x

The sky outside was a dense grey, the clouds rushing over the winter sky as a blizzard decided to step in upon them. The wind brushed up the snow, sending it into a swirl before successfully landing it upon the ground again. Ice clung to the shingles of the house like a desperate widow clinging to a dieing husband. The wind brushed through again, lifting more snow up from the ground, floating it a ways off, and then releasing it. The clouds were growing thicker as the moments passed, and the trees seemed to bend in as if trying to conceal warmth. Cruel branches stuck out from their trunks, tearing at the sky. When the wind blew, the branches creaked, and released the snow that had settled upon their branches. The groan of the branches consumed the garden, before complete silence once more was over taking everything.

Pale hands clung to the sheets, the body within wrapped inside a cocoon of warmth that the blankets offered. Dark gems gave a stoic glance towards the glass the concealed her from the disgusting winter. The snow was very thick now, and she could hardly see anything through the glass. But she did catch the form of a man, carrying something, trudging through the storm. Akito snorted, was he a fool? But then she recognized him as Hatori, and the something was Tohru. A smirk reclaimed her lips. So it had already happened, eh? What more could she expect from a weak child like Tohru Honda.

The connection was made, and already the aftershock had set in on Tohru Honda. Well, only the first degree of it.

And as the snow danced from the sky, the wind blowing a little harder, and the creaking of the branches rising, Akito stifled a laugh. Her dark gems carrying little worry for her dancer. The aftershock had never killed before. But then again, no one had weakened the barrier of the curse so much before either. The must have made the pains harder upon her next dancer. It would be amusing to see how Tohru's body adjusted to the aftermath of the her own decision.

Akito could only watch.