Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Set Fire to the Rain ❯ What Hurts The Most ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter Four
What Hurts The Most


Hatori was on his way back to Shigure’s house when he decided that if he was going to tell Kyo and Yuki that afternoon, there was one person that deserved to know about the situation first. Ayame. After all this affected him too. His decision made he turned his car towards Ayame’s shop to tell the silver haired Sohma what was going on.  

The three men that formed the Mabudachi trio had been together for a very long time. As members of the zodiac, normal relationships were complicated even before Akito came into the picture, it was relatively normal for the possessed Sohma’s to become involved with each other. It was not an even distribution of males to females, that along with age concerns, paved the way for the three similarly aged cursed men to enter into a long standing arrangement together. It may have only been for convenience sake if it weren’t for the horrible events that happened to the trio in their youth allowing them to cement their bond with love.

There was no denying that the three would occasionally look elsewhere for partners, and this was allowed within the group. They had so little freedom, taking away even that small pleasure was too cruel to do to each other. When Hatori met Kana, he found in her a match to the love he had for the other two, and he chose her to tell his secrets to. She had listened to him talk with ever growing horror and compassion. He just kept speaking and speaking, the past was like a poison being purged from his body. She listened to every word and still loved him. That was the deciding factor in getting engaged to her, an outsider had understood and accepted him. Than Akito attacked, he was convinced to erase Kana’s memories, and his male lovers reminded him how good it felt to be comforted by someone who could hold you and remain human at the same time.

The human heart is capable of holding many loves, and the cursed zodiac members are no different. He had loved Kana, and if things had worked out just a little different they would have been happy together. That things didn’t work out still hurt, but that didn’t mean he had settled for Ayame and Shigure, they reminded him again and again that it was alright to mourn Kana and still love them too. He was allowed to do both without anyone being a replacement.

The child Hatori now carried could have just as easily been Shigure’s, but the dog had been correct when he confronted him. It had been too long for it to be Shigure’s. This one was definitely Ayame’s and Hatori wondered how the flamboyant man would handle the difficult and dangerous situation their actions had put many people in.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Yuki knew something was wrong the moment they got home from school. Hatori was there for the third day in a row, and that could never be good news, the doctor was normally kept busy at the main house for long periods of time. His first thought was that something had happened to Haru, even though he had peaked in that morning and saw him resting comfortably.

“Why is Hatori here again?” Kyo mirrored his thoughts as they both raced towards the house. Glad for once that Tohru was at work and wouldn’t worry herself sick again if there was something wrong with Haru.

They were admittedly surprised to see Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame sitting at the table, untouched tea cups in front of them, looking more serious than either Yuki or Kyo had ever seen them.

“What’s going on?” Kyo was the quicker one to speak, hackles rising at seeing the additional man there. Ayame always adored teasing him.

“Sit down both of you, there are several things we need to talk about.” Hatori took control of the conversation and ordered the boys to sit, this would be difficult enough without them hovering in the doorway the whole time.

Sitting at opposite sides of the table, the cat and rat looked uncomfortable being there, but settled in to listen anyway. “You three look far too serious, what’s happened? Is it Haru?” Yuki asked in concern for the ox.

“Haru is fine, this is something different. I have a request to make of the two of you, but you will need more information than you currently have to make a solid decision.” Hatori thought there was much worse ways this conversation could have started, at least the two of them hadn’t come home in a fighting mood.

“Go ahead and start talking.” Yuki encouraged, finding Hatori’s reluctance to speak just as odd as the silence of his brother and Shigure. Whatever this was it was big, and Hatori was the one calling the shots on it.

“What do you two know about the Dragon spirit of the zodiac?” Hatori asked, curious to know how much those two had picked up of the other animals sharing in the curse.

“Not much, only that you are the only zodiac member to have a transformed shape that is a completely different species from your vengeful spirit.” Yuki answered before Kyo.

“The dragon is the only mythical creature in the zodiac,” Kyo added, “I thought that was why you had a different form, you can’t change into something that doesn’t exist.”

“Ok, that is as good a place as any to start. You are both right, but Kyo take your observation a step deeper, you only answered part of the question. If it is indeed true that I can’t change into something that doesn’t exist, than what reason is there for me to turn into the specific shape I do?” Hatori couldn’t have hoped for a better opening, this would ease them into the harder to handle information.

“You are asking us why we think you turn into a Seahorse and not something more reptilian or capable of flight?” At Hatori’s nod, Yuki kept talking, “I never thought about it. That was just another part of the curse to me.”

“You wouldn’t ask us the question if there wasn’t something important about it,” Kyo started after Yuki admitted to not knowing. “So something about seahorses is important to the curse and is affecting you. It’s something big enough it even has those two idiots acting nervous. So I doubt that living in the ocean is the point you were trying to make, it’s gotta be something else.”

As Kyo thought out loud the answer came to Yuki, and he paled. “Wait a second, there is something unusual about seahorses, in that species the males are the ones who give birth to the young.”

Both Kyo and Yuki stared at Hatori with their eyes wide as saucers and their mouths hanging open in shock as the eldest living zodiac member nodded his head in confirmation. “But how? I mean you are human, that can’t be, there’s no way!” Kyo was beginning to think this might be an elaborate prank that Shigure and Ayame had pressed Hatori into helping them with, but the Dragon’s next words cut him off.

“I am human yes, but never forget we are all cursed, I have a physical curse as well as the psychological one.” Here Hatori had to press on quickly, he always hated to admit the next part, “All the Dragon’s that are born appear male on the outside, but are internally female. The curse has made me a near perfect hermaphrodite. There are some differences between my condition that is brought on by a curse, and the one brought on by genetics, but it is the easiest explanation there is for my current predicament.” He braced himself for the laughter that he assumed would come after hearing that. Superficially his condition could be called humorous, that was until the reality of what it meant had a chance to hit.  

Hatori was lucky the two younger men were too shocked to laugh. This was not something they had ever even thought about happening. Yuki was the first to find his voice again. “Why are you telling us this now? This doesn’t sound like something you would admit to unless you have to.”

“I already mentioned I have something to ask from you two, and the sooner I ask the better.” Hatori reminded him.

“So why don’t you just ask already?” Kyo was shocked, but still wasn’t sure how all this fit together and that irritated him.

Hatori knew with the way things were headed it was best to ask his questions first and explain himself after that. “I need the two of you to work together to kill Akito before this child is born.”

Yuki was so stunned all he could stutter out was, “Why? How do you expect us to manage that?”

Kyo was so angry he couldn’t get the words out before Hatori started answering Yuki.

“This is where those differences I mentioned about my condition versus a genetic one come into the equation. If it was purely genetic than I would either be able to carry any child or none at all. That is not the case with me. I can only carry a child possessed by the spirit of the God. There can be no two people alive possessed by the same spirit, so either Akito dies or this one does.” Hatori wasn’t sure if he wanted to reveal absolutely everything, but he felt Ayame cover his right hand with his own, while Shigure did the same with his left.

“Hatori, you need to tell them all of it. They deserve to know just what their actions mean.” Shigure spoke, startling the boys enough to keep them quiet while they listened.

“I agree,” Ayame also spoke up, “You have carried the secret long enough, it will do you some good to let go of it.”

“What are they talking about Hatori? You have trusted us this far, we can handle the rest.” Yuki assured, sending a glare at Kyo, that stupid cat had better not do anything to interrupt Hatori.

Yuki didn’t have to worry because Kyo was too caught up in listening to Hatori’s response after the Dragon laughed darkly, “Be careful what you wish for. What these two are trying to get me to tell is that this is not the first time this has happened. I was much younger, too young, when it happened. It was the most horrifyingly painful thing I have ever experienced. It all comes down to one principle, the Dragon can only carry the God, but it also means the God can only be born from the Dragon.”

“You mean?” Hatori wasn’t sure whether the barely whispered question was from Yuki or Kyo, but he answered anyway.

He took in a deep cleansing breath before starting the tale he had only told to one other person that wasn‘t sitting in the room with them. “Yes, Akito is my firstborn. I was not quite twelve when the previous God became fatally ill, and I was brought to a special room where they injected my body with hormones and stimulants to jumpstart my cycles. When it was confirmed that I was ready to conceive I was inseminated with the seed of the previous Ram. Another facet to the curse is the other parent must be in the zodiac as well. I wasn’t old enough to appreciate it at the time, but from my current standpoint I am glad it was handled in a lab and not more, well directly would be the delicate way of putting it. I conceived only a few weeks before the previous God died. I knew when that happened that there was going to be no stopping what was happening to me.

My youth both helped and hindered my condition. I was strong, and my skin and muscles were more resilient so there was limited damage done with the added weight and girth. I paid for that relief because with my still small stature and male bone structure the pain I went through for my hips to loosen and widen to allow delivery got to point I could barely walk at all towards the end. Akito was and still is prone to illness partially due to the fact he was carried in a not fully mature body.

When Akito was finally born I was only able to hold him for a few minutes before he was taken away from me. He was raised to be the head of the family, and as the God he was born with the full knowledge of the curse and its mechanics. I could do nothing but watch as my son was changed into someone so cold and cruel. The only contact I was allowed with him as he grew up before I finally became the family doctor was when my ability to erase memories was needed. Though at that point I would rather no one remember him at all, rather than have all their memories be tainted by his cruelty. As the God Akito was born with a limited lifespan, and he knows it. He only has about another eight years to live even without this complication.

Yuki I know you don’t want to hear this, because Akito has hurt you deeply and I know that, but he is actually younger than you by a few months. His actions towards you were done out of jealousy and rage, they don’t excuse him but it might explain them.” Hatori had run out of things to say for the moment, but he was sure there would be questions.

Yuki had been handed so many shocks today he didn’t know how to process them all, his horror about Hatori’s past mingled with his anger at Akito. He understood about the rage part, but what did Akito have to be jealous about? It couldn’t be his family, after what they had done, no family was better than a family that betrayed you so deeply. He listed his head up slightly from where he had been staring at the table. “Does Akito know that you are his father? Do many people know?”

“Yes Akito knows, that is one of the main causes of his jealousy. He was raised to think I willingly abandoned him, not the truth that he was taken from me against my will. After all what person would believe a twelve year old would want to take on the responsibility of raising a child unless they knew what was done to me. I was kept isolated from people during the whole thing, no one knew the truth. I can imagine with my disappearance being timed the way it was someone may have guessed the truth, but no one else has confronted me about it. I told Ayame and Shigure once I was finally released because I knew I could never hide anything that big from them.”

Kyo had been silent for once, thinking both about the story and the request Hatori had made. “What happens if we agree to your request?”

“Than each of my children has a fair chance at life. I will not force you to do this, or make you choose right away. This can only come from you two, just please hear out the plan first and consider it fully.”

Cat and Rat nodded in unknowing unison, glaring a bit once they noticed the copied reaction. “Alright what is the plan? We are all unable to attack Akito without permission, and even if there was a way to fight, killing him is impossible.” Yuki chose his words carefully  

“For a member of the zodiac this is true but, there is one who may be able to and that is the Cat. Cursed but not in the zodiac the same rules may not apply to him.” Hatori explained, getting some enjoyment out of the steamrolled expression on Kyo’s face and the look of disbelief on Yuki’s. He must have been pushing himself too hard lately if it only took that much to increase his happiness Hatori thought curiously.


Meanwhile as Hatori started going through the plan for the second time, Haru lay in the bed upstairs, the room was directly above the table where everyone had been talking. Haru had woken up when Hatori had arrived, Hatori coming to check his wounds once more while he had the chance. Haru suspected he was assumed to be asleep again as he doubted the conversation he was listening to was meant to be overheard.

As it was he could only lay there and hope someone asked the questions that the story brought up in his head. There was still some missing pieces, but Haru thought he had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Enough that if Kyo and Yuki refused to do this just because they were too stubborn to work together he was considering forcing the issue personally. Hatori had been there for him forever it seemed like. He would not let the older man down if there was anything he could possibly do to help. Even if it was only bashing some sense into Yuki and Kyo as Black Haru.




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