Fate

Hi everybody. Yes, I admit that this chapter is a bit late. I meant to write it last week but I'm afraid I got caught up in doing other stuff. A friend of mine came up from Brisbane and I wanted to spend some time catching up with her. Incidentally, I'm dedicating this chapter to YanYan though I don't know if she'll ever actually read this. Hmm….

Anyhoo, other things to note. I finally got my Ps so I've also been busy driving around town. Yay! The best news however is that I got my OP last Saturday. I'm very proud to say I received a 2! Hell yeah! Lol.

Back to the story, I'm sad to say that this is the final chapter of Fate. I hope you guys like the ending. It's a bit cliché but hey. I think any other ending would have been weird.

I am considering doing an epilogue though so if there's anything you think I should elaborate on or include in this story, tell me and I'll stick it in the epilogue. Well, I think that's about all. Merry Christmas and a happy new year everyone. Ja ne!

Big thanks to Trinity Tomoe, Hiyami, AznVKai, DaughterofDeath, seethingkitsune, animeraven259 and Sakurabound for reviewing. Cheers guys!

Chapter 14: The End

I was so happy you were smiling

With a smile that melts everything away.

Spring is still far away in side the cold earth,

Waiting for the time to sprout.

For instance, even if today is painful,

And yesterday's wounds remain,

I want to believe that I can free my heart and go on.

I cannot be reborn,

But I can change as I go on, so

Let's stay together, always!

Smile only at me and touch me with those fingers.

This simple desire is everlasting.

I want things to be simple.

Let's finally get across this sea of mournful sorrow.

For instance, even if today is painful,

Some day it will become a warm memory,

If you leave everything up to your heart.

I understand the meaning of our living here,

It is to know the joy of having been born.

Let's stay together always!

-Fruits Basket Opening Theme (For Fruits Basket by Ritsuko Okazaki)

(Kai's POV)

I watched in horrified fascination as Akito suddenly ripped Takao's bracelet from his wrist. For a brief moment, nothing happened but from the look in Takao's eyes, I could tell this wasn't going to last. Then the moment was over and the air seemed to warp as his metamorphosis began to take place. I bit back the urge to gag as the nauseating stench of death and decay filled the air. This was soon followed by the horrible sound of bones popping out of their joints.

Kenny and Max who were standing next to me quickly averted their gaze as Takao's limbs began to stretch sickeningly but I continued to watch, unable to look away even for an instant.

As I continued to witness Takao's transformation, it suddenly hit me that Takao was Cursed. I hadn't understood what that had actually meant until this moment. Before, when I had l been told about the Zodiac Curse, I had just thought 'So Takao will turn into the Cat if he's exhausted or hugged by a member of the opposite sex. No big deal'

But it was a big deal. Takao had suffered so much both mentally and physically because of the Curse and I had been a fool to think otherwise.

I had known that Takao had some pretty dark secrets but I had never expected anything like this. It didn't seem right that the cheerful, forgiving bluenette who had helped so many people in his life had to suffer in such a way. It just wasn't fair.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Takao's transformation ended. I gazed at the creature before me noticing that he was as tense as a bowstring and that faint tremors were racking his body. Takao took a deep breath and opened his eyes, gauging the reactions of the room's occupants. He seemed to have been expecting the reactions of his family and was obviously put at ease. Then his body became taut again as he finally looked towards the Rei, Kenny, Max and I.

We finally got to have a good look at the creature that was Takao and I felt the guys next to me stiffen even more. There was no denying that he was a hideous beast but for some reason, what shocked me most were Takao's eyes. No longer were they the brilliant, stormy blues that he was famous for. His eyes were now a foul purple shade with a thin black slit for a pupil. Fear, hopelessness and sorrow shone forth from his eyes, making my heart momentarily freeze. They were the eyes of someone who knew nothing but pain.

"…Takao?" I murmured uncertainly, as I looked down at the beast before me.

I kicked myself as his name left my mouth. Even I could hear how unsure I sounded. I wasn't surprised when he immediately fled from the room after that. It was obvious I had hurt him.

Unsure of what to do, I turned to my team mates only to find that they were still all in various states of shock. Realising they would be no help whatsoever, I turned to regard Takao's family. They were just standing there, some looking at the door, which Takao had raced out of, others staring at the ground near their feet. Nobody moved.

"Why aren't you guys doing anything? It's clear you all knew about this aspect of the Cat's Curse. Isn't their anything that you can do?" I demanded.

My question snapped everyone out of their daze, their eyes swivelling to face me. I shivered as I felt Akito's dark gaze on me but disregarded it as I focused my attention on Kagura who had opened her mouth to answer my question.

"No," she stated sadly. "There's nothing that we can do."

"What…?" I began.

"Wait!" Kagura stopped me. "Please hear me out." Taking a deep breath she continued. "Do you remember when Takao and I were telling you about how the joke about me being his fiancée started? Takao told you that my motives for loving him back then weren't always pure and he was right. When I first came across Takao, I found him by himself drawing pictures in a sandbox. I had never seen him before then but like every other member of the Zodiac, I knew who he was. I knew he was the Cat.

He tried to run away when I went over and introduced myself but I stopped him and asked him why. He told me that his Mum didn't want him to talk to anyone else and that's why he always played alone. I was so happy when he said this. I started to ask him questions about himself such as what his favourite TV show was and he told me that his Mum didn't allow him to watch television either. My initial feeling of happiness grew when he told me this."

Tears formed in her eyes as she met my questioning gaze.

"Isn't it despicable?" she wondered aloud. "Do you see how cruel and disgusting a person I was back then? I was so happy when I met Takao because I was relieved to finally find someone who was suffering even more than I was. I was always so insecure when the spirit of the Boar burdened me and I hated myself so much. It even affected my parents who would always argue over me to the point where my Mother would cry herself to sleep. But Takao gave me a way to be free of those thoughts. Compared to his life, I wasn't ostracised at all. I wasn't lonely. I wasn't a freak compared to him. So I became his friend with that ulterior motive always on my mind.

That was the true reason why I stayed by his side. He was my escape route. One day however, I stubbornly removed the bracelet from his wrist so I could have a look at it and he transformed just as he did today.

I ran from him. I was so afraid of him that I rejected him completely. Afterwards, I felt so dirty. I couldn't stand it," she sobbed as her voice cracked. "I became convinced that if I could fall in love with Takao, if I could learn to accept this monstrous aspect of Takao, then I would be pure and beautiful again. If I pretended that it never had happened and was able to love him with all my heart, I truly believed that I would be able to erase that dirty, cowardly side of me…" she finished, to overcome with tears to continue.(1)

"Though we have not all been through the same experience," Shigure uttered, "all of us former Zodiac members are guilty of using Takao to ease our own torment."

"That's why none of us has the right to go after Takao at the moment," Momiji confessed sadly.

"But you guys do," Hatsuharu pointed out, staring at Kenny, Rei, Max and I.

"You are the only ones who could possibly save him." Takao's Grandpa stated." You know now that Takao was planning to kill himself before Akito could put him into isolation. If you don't go after him, I'm afraid he may really go through with it."

"The question is do you want to? Can you accept Takao as he truly is? After everything you've learnt, do you still want to be his friend?" Yuki queried seriously.

My fists clenched as I met his searching gaze squarely.

"Takao is still Takao," I stated matter-of-factly. "Nothing will ever change this."

Kenny, Max and Rei each nodded their heads in agreement. It was time we saved Takao for a change.

(Takao's POV)

NO! I didn't want them to see me like this! I didn't want them to know! It's all over! There's no hope now!

These thoughts repeated over and over in my head as I fled from the locker room and away from the disgusted looks of my friends.

I ran without looking back letting my instincts guide me through the twisting labyrinth of corridors, uncaring where I ended up. All I knew was that I had to put as much distance between myself and everyone else as quickly as possible.

I focused all my attention on putting one leg in front of the other, not allowing myself to dwell on what had just happened. I knew what I was doing was cowardly but I just couldn't bear the pain any more. All I wanted was to forget everything that had happened.

Spotting a door up ahead, I yanked it open and found myself outside. Breathing a sigh of relief, I raced off into the nearest thicket of trees, knowing that it would be difficult for anyone to find me out in the wilderness.

The sky was an ominous mass of swirling black clouds above me. The cool air soothed my muscles as I continued to rush through the forest. Soon after, I wasn't even able to see the massive stadium any more through the dense spray of trees around me.

By now, my muscles were sore from my exertion so I slowed down to a light jog as I looked for somewhere comfortable I could rest.

Spotting a stream up ahead, I headed towards it just as rain began to fall. Seating myself on a rock outcrop, I turned my face skyward, allowing the fat drops of rain to mingle with my tears.

Unbidden, the faces of my team mates appeared in my mind's eye. Truth be told I really didn't mind that they had been afraid of me. I didn't even really mind the faint feelings of disgust and pity in their eyes either. What truly hurt me was the fact that they all looked at me as if I was a stranger. When Kai had called my name, he had been so unsure that it was still me. Of everything in the world, that was the one thing I feared the most. The thought of someone never truly seeing me terrified me.

This inevitably led to thoughts of my Mother. She had always made sure that I was kept away from other people. She was so ashamed of me that she couldn't bear the idea of others knowing the truth about me. She was so afraid of me, that every minute of the day she would check to make sure my bracelet was still firmly fixed on my wrist and all the times she did this, she would tell me that she was unafraid. She would repeatedly say that she loved me despite me being a monster, as if she were bound by duty to do so. I hated that. I loathed how she used to say that she loved me so much she would die for me. I hated how she was too cowardly to ever really see me. I wouldn't have minded if she was afraid of me or if she couldn't love that monstrous side of me. If she did admit to such things than it would have meant that she did see me but she couldn't find the courage to do so and it ended up costing her life. She killed herself because she couldn't bear the thought of living such a lie any more and I was once more left alone. (2)

That's how it will always be, won't it? No one will ever be willing to stay by my side when I am such a monster. Why bother living any more if this is what my life will always be like. Death can't be that much worse and it will be an end to all this pain, all this sorrow.

With these morose thoughts running through my head, I turned to regard the stream before me. The constant rain had made the body of water swell alarmingly. It writhed against the sharp boulders littering the side of the stream.

It would be so easy to end it all. All I would have to do is lean forward. Gravity will force my body to fall into the water and after a few moments of cold and wetness, the current will shove me into one of those big rocks with enough impact to finish me. So simple and I wouldn't even have to do a thing.

I gazed at the turbulent water; mesmerised by the promise of escape it offered me. In the background, I could hear great bursts of thunder boom as lightning lit up the sky but I paid it no heed. The darkened water before me was calling out to me and I couldn't resist its lure. With a sad smile and a grateful sigh I leaned forward and let gravity do its magic…

A/N: I was planning to end it here just to annoy you all but I decided to be nice and keep going. Consider it your Christmas present. Lol.

I pitched headfirst into the rough water, narrowly avoiding banging my head against the rock I had been perched on. The murky water instantly claimed my body, dragging me along in a tumbling ride. Soon, I was littered in scratches and grazes but the freezing cold water made my body numb to such inconsequential pain.

The fierce tug of the current continued to drag me along, flinging my body carelessly against whatever it came across but my toughened skin protected me against any serious damage. My lungs began to burn from lack of oxygen and I had to forcefully restrain myself from acting on instinct and kicking towards the surface. It wouldn't be long. Even now I could feel myself growing weaker, my mind becoming cloudy, the pain in my heart beginning to dull. Freedom was almost within reach…

Suddenly, I felt something hard clamp onto my arm. Before I could blink, I was yanked free from the water's hold and dragged slowly onto the shore. Overcome with exhaustion and lack of oxygen, I blacked out.

When I came around, it was to find a pair of lips pressed firmly against my own, two hands pumping rhythmically against my chest. I began to cough up water and I was grateful when someone tilted my body to the side to ease my spluttering. I was surprised to see how much water I had actually swallowed. When I was done, I was eased onto my back with my head resting comfortably against someone's leg.

My vision soon began to focus and I became aware of my surroundings once more. The first thing I noticed was that I was once more in my human form. At this thought, I felt a familiar weight on my wrist and knew that someone had put my bracelet back on me. Looking up, I noticed four pairs of concerned eyes watching me.

"Takao…" Max sobbed brokenly before he latched onto me in a tight hug.

"Don't ever do that again!" Kenny cried, as he gripped my arm and refused to let go.

"Why…" I whispered croakily. "Why are you guys here? Why did you save me?"

"You're our friend, Takao," Rei responded quietly. "You've helped us through so much and we all love you so much. We couldn't just stand by and let you k-kill yourself. We didn't want to lose you."

I looked down at the dark red and white prayer bead bracelet adorning my wrist and sighed.

"What about…?" I began only to be cut off by Kai, whose leg I was lying against.

"You are still you, Takao. Even if you wear a different form that doesn't change who you are. We can't promise you that we're not scared shitless by some of your secrets but that doesn't mean we don't want you to still be our friend," he declared, his fiery red eyes fervent.

I blinked, unable to believe what I was hearing.

They didn't hate me? They still wanted to stay by my side despite what a monster I am?

As the feeling of acceptance and camaraderie blanketed my soul, I felt something inside me snap.

"This is the final goodbye…" a soft voice whispered in my mind as the image of a beautiful, kimono-wearing male appeared in his mind. A soft, saddened smile graced the man's mouth as his long hair swirled around him in imaginary breeze. "Farewell."

Tears formed in eyes as my hand unconsciously reached towards my bracelet. Grasping it firmly, I pulled it from my wrist ignoring the panicked exclamations of my friends. The string snapped, flinging the prayer beads into the air. I stared at my now bare left arm. Tears flowed ceaselessly down my cheeks, as I comprehended what had just happened. The Curse was over! It was gone!

"I'M FREE!" I screamed at the heavens. As if to match my mood, the dark clouds had parted slightly, revealing a small but heart warming beam of sunlight. Laughter burst from my sore throat even as tears continued falling from my eyes. The initial shock of my outburst wearing off, I was soon engulfed in my friend's embraces. I clung to them, basking in their warmth and comfort. I was free!

I steeled myself as I approached the door to the locker room. Kai squeezed my shoulder reassuringly as he continued to support me as we walked. The injuries I had sustained in the river had been more extensive than I had realised. I don't think anything was broken but I was thoroughly bruised. Furthermore, I was bleeding from a myriad of cuts and gashes and based on my coughing and fever, it was also highly likely that I was suffering from a mild case of pneumonia as well. Add to that my sheer emotional and physical exhaustion and I wasn't able to even walk by myself. Hence, I was now leaning rather heavily against Kai. The guys had wanted to take me straight to a hospital but there was something I needed to do first.

When Rei opened the door and we walked into the room, we were all immediately inundated with questions about what had happened. I ignored these in favour of meeting Akito's dark glittering eyes. Her face was formed into a mask of indifference but I knew instinctively that she had been waiting for me. Pulling my arm free from Kai's support, I hobbled over to where she was standing distanced from the rest of the room's occupants.

Silence filled the air as everyone waited with bated breath to see what happened.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, traces of tears still marring my face. I held out my hand and placed my broken bracelet in her waiting hand. "I can't stay by your side any more."

That said, I turned my back on her and began to walk shakily back towards my friends.

"Farewell," Akito whispered in reply. I glanced over my shoulder and for a second the image of the sad kimono wearing man was superimposed over Akito then that vision faded and in his spot was a dark haired young woman with a single tear running down her cheek. I nodded once in acceptance before continuing to make my way towards my friends. It was finally over.

The End.

A/N: This is the end of my first ever fan fic so I really would appreciate a review. How do you guys think I went? Also remember; if there's anything you want me to put in the epilogue make sure you tell me. If I don't get many ideas from you guys, I won't end up doing one…

1 Based on chapter 68, Volume 12 of Fruits Basket.

2 Based on chapter 32, volume 6 of Fruits Basket.