Another fantasy from me, of course! HA HA HA! I will have to warn you that Tohru will have moments of OOC because I want her to so deal with it! Don't worry I won't change her too much, I promise . please R&R for my sake! I looove hearing from you all, including flames, but I can't guarantee I won't get mad and kick your ass….Just Kidding I'm too sweet to do that! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any characters in this story.
Birds of Paradise
1
It was quiet, almost too quiet for this time of night. The moon glowed brilliantly into the forests and surrounding fields, highlighting a visible pathway for the people that stalked it. They were nervous; anxious. Their eyes bounced back and forth looking from one shadow to the other.
No one would even care to stare at the beautiful clear night sky; the stars dancing in the light of the moon. A rustle from the trees above made half of the group gasp in terror, until they realized it was only the wind; a sigh of relief.
Just as they relaxed and continued on their trek, a blood curdling scream echoed through the forest behind the group. They were afraid to look. Then suddenly something swooped down onto the group and snatched a group member. His screams reached the others' hearts and they beat faster and faster, a panic spread throughout the crowd.
"Everyone, get low on the ground and find a hiding place!" they all immediately listened to the brave command and dropped to the dirt path. A boy of maybe nineteen ran to where the screams came from. His hair was a bright orange and eyes of a deep garnet; they had a ferocity not spoken of. "It's the birds!" He informed the crowd and a few other people joined him closely; they all pulled out either arrows or katanas.
A horrible call was heard loud right above them in the sky, but their eyes could not match the speed of the attacker. "Damn, Kyo you're supposed to lead us so do it already!" a younger boy of fifteen demanded, making Kyo angry.
"It's calling more of its tribe, so be prepared and stay hidden in the dark…and don't get yourselves killed." Kyo then ran into the woods, disappearing. His group that was there also split up into the woods, some stood protecting the civilians while others searched the sky, and hid in the shadows as their leader informed them.
Another horrible squawk called into the night, then another followed, and another. "Sounds like backup is here," Cried one of Kyo's men. He was tall with dark black hair and he almost always wore a wry smile, this time was no exception.
"Shigure, how many of them can you hear?" Kyo asked in a whisper. This man had ears and a nose like a dog and could hear the wings flapping from a mile.
"Hmm, about seven I'd say; less than usual." he licked his lips menacingly and jumped into the air, swinging his blade into a silhouette; it screamed and blood spewed into the sky. "Finally, something interesting."
"Shigure, be serious." Kyo commanded and ran ahead of his comrade. His sharp eyes scanned the skies and the tree lines. His ears heard the shuffling of many pairs of wings. Kyo put his dagger into his mouth and jumped up, his hands grabbing a low branch.
He perched himself on the limb and waited. A silhouette passed above him, then another and another. He grabbed his little blade and pounced onto one of the "birds" slicing it and stabbing it over and over. It screamed and writhed in pain and they both fell to the forest floor.
"Got you, you damn pheasant." He smirked as the being stood up, warm blood dripping to the ground. It made an abhorring sound that hurt Kyo's ears intensely, making him drop to his knees. The bird continued his cry for fifteen seconds before collapsing to the ground, lifeless.
The younger boy from earlier was running towards Kyo with his fingers about to release the arrow from his bow. Kyo's eyes widened and he ducked as the speeding dart passed him and stabbed one of the beasts through its head, sticking to the trunk of a tree.
"Are you stupid Hiro!" Kyo yelled at the young boy.
"Psht, you're the stupid one, you didn't even hear that thing sneak up behind you." He remarked in a smart way before running off to kill more birds.
After maybe half an hour they had killed five birds and the birds killed ten people. Kyo and his men led the civilians safely through the rest of the woods to the village. He sighed in disappointment and walked into the only large sized hut right outside the path of the woods.
He plopped down on a futon that lie on the floor near a small fire pit that was cut through the bottom of the floor. He wiped the sweat from his brow.
"I got two kills, how about you Kyo?" Kyo flinched at the sound of his rival's voice.
"Who cares, I stopped counting because I've killed so many of those damned things." He jealously rolled over to his side so he wouldn't have to look at his cousin's face.
"Yuki-kun, you did amazing out there!" a village girl cuddled up close to the boy and gave him a sultry look, "Thanks for saving me." She kissed him and winked before giggling and leaving the hut. Yuki was an amazingly handsome nineteen year old, just like Kyo, but much more ven tempered. He was as tall as Kyo and had silver hair that just barely covered his violet colored eyes.
"Aw is Kyo upset he didn't kill as many as you again?" Shigure cooed as he sat across from Kyo, putting his hands near the warm fire.
"I'm not upset!" Kyo roared. "I'm pissed we didn't get everyone back here safe like commander Akito ordered!" Both Yuki and Shigure stopped with the teasing and looked around awkwardly.
"You should go see her Kyo-kun, don't waste any time." Shigure pulled a small white stick from his robes and lit the end of it, creating a smoke that he inhaled. Kyo nodded and pushed passed his rival and walked out of the hut.
As he trudged to the middle of the village many passerby's "thanked" him and "god blessed him" he nodded with no smile to each and every person. Finally he reached a hut; it was much larger than his and his roommate's hut. It was also reinforced with brick on the other side of the bamboo walls. He cleared his throat nervously and knocked on the door.
"Kyo-kun is that you?" a woman's sultry voice answered. "Come in." He did as told and opened the wooden door. The inside was luxurious. Beautiful satin rugs, blankets, and pillows covered the whole floor. Just like all the huts, the whole in the middle of the floor shone brightly with a red and orange flame.
She was wearing a large red and black kimono that was falling off of her shoulders. Kyo got on his knees and bowed his head.
"Do you have news for me?" she brushed her long black hair with a diamond in crested comb, her eyes stabbed him, making Kyo bead sweat.
"Yes commander. We were successful at bringing home fifty percent of the group that went to the neighboring village. We managed to wipe out five out of seven of the birds of paradise that arrived." He swallowed hard.
"It's okay Kyo-kun, you may relax. Are you thirsty?" He sat Indian style and shook his head. A very tall man with deep auburn hair came into the room and poured Akito a hot cup of green tea. "Thank you Kureno," she kissed him on the lips and he walked away without a word.
"Well then, good work Kyo-kun. I'm proud of your teams' efforts. We will have to have a ceremony for the lost, have Kagura make that happen. You may leave." She waved him away with her hand, not bothering to look at him.
He bowed and stood. "I'll tell her immediately and thank you mistress." He bowed once more before he closed the door to her hut. He sighed in relief and walked slowly back to his hut.
The next morning, as the sun is rising.
Kyo opened his mouth into a big "O" shaped as he yawned and stretched. He took a deep breath of the crisp air and smiled.
"Mor-morning Kyo-kun." A girl of seventeen bowed and looked up at him with her deep brown eyes.
"Oh, morning Kagura. Did you get the orders from Akito-san?" Kyo didn't mind Kagura but she could definitely be a pain in his ass and hated to deal with her mood swings.
"Yes I've already began preparations. I came here to ask if any of the victims' bodies were found." She fiddled with her thumbs anxiously.
He stared at her for a moment, "yes, we were unable to bring them home last night so Shigure, Hiro, and I will be retrieving the corpses after breakfast. Should we drop them by your hut?" Kyo sounded bored.
"Yes, that's fine." She smiled and bowed.
"Okay, later." She waved at him but a glare shown through her eyes, a killing glare but she walked off before Kyo could really suspect anything. After the three of them were dressed and had breakfast they saddled their horses and rode out onto the pathway where the bodies should still be.
It only took ten minutes before they saw the red coated ground. "Alright guys, hurry up and collect the bodies and let's get out of here before we run into trouble." They nodded and they all tied their horses to a tree as they scavenged for remains.
Hiro found two and Shigure had found five so far. Kyo had split from them and looked further from the site of the first attack. He went to the exact area he had killed the bird but the body was gone. 'Did they come back for their fallen as well?' he thought to himself. He laughed, 'as if those savages had any kind of remorse or brains to even knew what happened.' A sudden flap of wings snapped him from his thoughts.
Kyo glanced back to where his comrades were then back to the source of the sound. He quietly snuck through the forest, managing to miss every fallen branches or limbs. He could smell water and felt the heat from it as well. He continued his curious journey deeper into the woods; he could now see a clearing through the trees.
He got down on all fours and put his dagger in his mouth as he crawled closer to the edge of the tree line. His garnet eyes widened at the beauty of the clearing, it was amazing that it was here this whole time. A tall clear waterfall splashed into a pool of hot water and a few rocks below its base. The steam floated like clouds from the water's surface. It was almost euphoric. Tropical birds chirped beautifully and a bright green lizard slithered across Kyo's shoe.
His trance was broken at the sound of the wings again; quickly ducking down under the brush he glowered at the sky, looking all over to find where he had heard the wings flap from. They flapped again and they were much closer to him now. He blinked in astonishment when his eyes caught the sight of her.
She had long brown hair that was slicked back from the water she had just jumped out of. Her eyes an enchanting dark as well, her lips were soft and pink, her cheeks slightly blushed. Kyo's pants tightened uncomfortably and he quietly tried to resituate himself. The girl was naked and the beads of water glistened off her porcelain skin, steam floated off her body.
The thing that really had caught his eyes and intrigued him was the two large, astonishingly beautiful wings that were sprouting from her smooth back. They had so many colors and hues of colors that flickered when the sun hit the feathers. Yellow greens, royal blues, pinks, purples and reds all flashed as she spread her feathers wide so the sun could dry them.
Kyo blushed, he could see the front of her now that she laid back and rested on her elbows. She was blessed with a beautifully filled out body. Kyo suddenly then felt a warm liquid run from his nose he wiped it with his hand and realized his nose was bleeding. "Ah Shit!" he cursed loudly.
The girl turned her head towards him and her eyes glared menacingly at him. Her eyebrows furrowed in anger and she stood up, flapped her wings violently, and flew up into the sky; quickly disappearing into the heavens.
He wiped his nose and cursed once again, he felt his heart pounding violently as he walked back to Shigure and Hiro. He looked back into the sky where she had flown off and he blushed a deep red.
Sooooo how was it? I really really like it so far! Please R&R! I can't wait to hear from you all reading!