Bad Medicine

Shigure was not the first to notice the effect the extra ingredients in the food were having on them all. No. That honor went to Hiro. He was seated almost kitty-corner from Kisa at the dinner table. But he found himself staring at her as if he was going to come apart if he couldn’t touch her. He started noticing every time she placed a piece of food on her lips. When she licked them to get a trace of soy sauce that had dribbled, he felt a need to leap across the table toward her.

‘The Hell?!’ he thought. ‘I know I love her – I know I want her. But… I feel out of control…’ He stared at the food. Then he stared at Akito. Akito who, for once looked… lovely. ‘Lovely? Akito?!?’

He pushed himself back from the table and groggily watched the others at the table. It was obvious they were all feeling it. Yuki was leaning toward Tohru, and licking his lips. Shigure had his hand stroking Kagura’s knee, and she wasn’t smacking him. She was giggling. Hatori was staring up at the head of the table, groggily. Haru was leaning back, and outright leering at Rin, who was grinning at him through her bangs – even though they were practically the length of the table apart. Ayame was playing with Rin’s hair and laughing. Ritsu was calm and almost peaceful looking. Kureno had his eyes closed, and was obviously in the middle of fantasizing about… someone not present. Momiji was giggling and bouncing in place. Okay, so that was pretty much normal. But still.

He looked at Akito and said, “What did you do?”

Upon his exclamation, everything stopped. They all looked at Hiro, who was staring at Akito. Then, they all turned toward Akito, and looked at her questioningly.

Akito smiled as the previously happy jyuunishi turned toward her, and their faces turned to fear. “Well. I suppose that it *is* now time to move on to dessert.”

She clapped her hands, and servants came in and removed the trays of mostly eaten food, and all the dirty dishes from the table. They replaced it all with spiced fruit as the dessert.

After the servants had removed the last of the dishes, Akito reached forward across the table, and brought two strawberries back with her. She placed one in Tohru’s hand, and the other, she brought to Tohru’s lips. Tohru leaned forward and sensuously bit down into the juicy fruit. A trail of juice dribbled down her chin. Akito leaned toward her and licked the juice off her face. As she finished, Tohru then placed the strawberry she held up to Akito’s lips, who also leaned forward to bite down on the delectable treat. A touch of juice leaked down her chin as well. Tohru returned the favor.

By this moment, they had all come to realize that *something* wasn’t normal. This odd display of sensuality. Akito accepting Tohru. The sensations filling their bodies. This time, it was Hatori who voiced the question, “Akito, what did you do?”

“You must partake of the fruit. As you can see, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Both Tohru and I are enjoying it. Once dessert is finished, then the real ending of the banquet can begin.”

They all just stared at Tohru and Akito. Not a single one of them moved. Tohru smiled at them all and said, “Please. Please. Eat. It’s all okay. I promise.”

They looked at her unbelievingly. But one by one, they saw the pleading look on her face and they dug in. As they finished the last of the fruit, Akito stood, and held her hand out to Tohru.

It was at this time that they noticed the haze in the room. Incense had been burning in the dining room the entire evening – and had been replaced as the food was brought in and out.

Tohru stood up, and walked behind Akito. Akito turned to face her and kissed her fully on the lips. Then she spun and faced the table.

“Tonight!” Akito announced. “Tonight, we will attempt to be able to break the curse.”

The Jyuunishi all gasped.

Akito smiled at them all. “You’re shocked. I know. It never seemed like I was interested in breaking the curse before. That’s because I knew that *I* could never break the curse. From the time I learned of a cure, it was too late.” She glared at Shigure. Then she smiled at the rest of them.

“But Tohru has agreed to act as my proxy.” She kissed Tohru’s palm. “It may not work, but she has agreed to try.”

Tohru interrupted her, “No, Akito-sama. I want everyone to be clear on this. I did not just *agree* to try. I *requested* that you allow me to try.” She faced the zodiac. “Akito-sama did not truly want to share the burden. I, alone, am responsible for my participation.”

Akito smiled at her. “Thank you, Tohru. Let’s just say that together, we agreed to try. After all, my time on this earth is almost up, as it currently stands. And,” she grimaced at them all, “what do I have to lose?”

She faced the jyuunishi. “Now, we must ask you, will you help us try to break the curse? You must either agree now, or leave. If you leave, you are accepting the curse, and dooming the next generation to the same fate that you have lived. If you agree, you must agree to see this through – regardless of what that might mean.”

The cursed Sohmas looked at each other, then up at Tohru, beaming with hope, and they as a unit nodded. “We will stay,” Yuki stated.

Akito clapped, and they heard the doors lock. She smiled sadly at them. “This will not be easy on you, my children. But please, bear with us, and try to at least derive some pleasure through the difficulty that this night will bring.

“And,” she murmured quietly, “I hope one day you will all forgive me.” But the only one who heard that was Tohru – who squeezed her hand, and kissed the back of it.

She turned to Tohru and pulled out a knife. Tohru pushed Akito’s sleeve back, so that Akito’s left forearm was exposed.

“We must do this three times, Tohru-chan.” Tohru nodded. “Here,” she touched her left forearm. “Here,” she touched her right forearm. “And here,” she touched her left breast. Tohru nodded again and smiled at the deity.