*Animal Guardians*

Chapter One

The Pursuit and the Rescue

Author's Note: I guess this was inspired by "Episode 17" of the Fruits Basket anime, as well as several Tsubasa Chronicle fanfictions with Fai Flourite as a victim of sexual assault. It was also inspired by Volumes 20 and 21 of The Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles in which I found out how bad Fai's childhood was. I suppose after that, I started to think something like, "If he only he had met someone as sweet and as kind as Tohru Honda." And that's where I got the idea for this crossover. Also, this was rated "M" because of hints of adult themes. But since nothing too, erm, detailed occurred, yet, I've switched it to "T" for now. If it starts to get a little too mature for "T," please let me know and I'll switch it back to "M". Please, review!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fruits Basket. It is owned by Natsuki Takaya. I do NOT own The Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. It is owned by CLAMP.

"You little…Get back here!"

The screams only urged the boy to run faster, trying to put more distance between himself…and his lustful pursuer. The heavy footsteps and panting behind him started to sound more and more distant. Then the boy heard the sound of his predator falling onto the ground. It wasn't until a few seconds later after more running, that the small blonde boy chanced a glance back from which he came. But…

Don't look back, child!

Instead of searching around for the source of the "voice," boy focused his attention once more into the direction he was running. More "voices" sounded as he ran deeper into the woods.

That's right! Keep running!

Don't stop now!

Run, child!

As the boy scrambled past the trees, eyes watched him. Not the eyes of men, but the eyes of creatures that were accustomed to both the woods and the dark. Several of the small animals, mostly rabbits and rats, ran alongside the young human, shouting out small cries of encouragement.

The boy and his small companions passed a tree, where on top of a high branch sat a tabby cat. The feline's eyes narrowed as it glanced at the second human. The man had already picked himself up and was continuing his chase for the boy. Scowling in revulsion, the cat sent a thought to two dogs, at the base of the tree. In reply, one grunted in understanding while the other bristled as the adult human stumbled closer towards them. He had barely reached the tree when the cat launched itself onto the man, causing him to yell out and curse as the animal scratched at his face. Taking that as their cue, the dogs charged up to the man, snarling and snapping as the human fought to get animals off of him. Finally, the man, all scratched and bloodied, threw the cat off of him and ran back to where he came from. The dogs took chase, and didn't stop until the man was almost at his backyard.

The man glared at the two canines and they glared back, their fur still bristled as they growled. Finally, he called out to the woods, "Go ahead and run, you piece of shit! You can't hide forever! Your boss-man is going to find you and then there'll be Hell to pay!"

Satisfied with his outburst, he gave both the dogs a smirk and went inside.


Hatori Sohma sighed, exhausted. Nearly two hours ago, he had received a frantic call from Momiji, saying that his father had slipped on the wet stairs and hit his head. Of course, Momiji had probably been making a much bigger deal of it than it needed to be. Nevertheless, Hatori had faithfully packed his medic's bag and drove to the hotel, at which Momiji's father, Kaoru, worked (1).

Suffice to say, the said patient was perfectly fine, save for a slight bump on his forehead. Still, for safety's sake (and to calm a hysterical teenager), Hatori had recommended that Kaoru Sohma go to the hospital to get his injury checked.

"I guess Honda-san does too good a job around here." Kaoru had chuckled. He had meant it as a light-hearted joke. Unfortunately, for both him and the family doctor, his son had taken it the wrong way.

"You won't to fire Tohru, will you, Papa?!" Momiji had cried out in dismay. "You won't, right?! Don't fire Tohru!"

"Momiji, he's not going to fire Tohru." Hatori had said, with a partially dark look toward the young blonde's father.

Now, well into the night, Hatori was driving home through the woods, looking forward to a nice hot shower and a welcoming warm bed. It was at that moment that the yellow beams from his headlights fell upon a small animal. Abruptly, Hatori spun the wheel, swerving the car to the right, off the raod, and nearly colliding head-on with a tree. Cursing, he swung open the door and glared at the cause of the accident. The animal turned out to be a wild dog, and for a moment, he was glad he didn't hit it. If Shigure had heard that Hatori had crashed into a dog, stray or not, the moronic novelist would never let it go. However, that feeling of relief quickly dissipated when he saw that the animal was not moving an inch off the road. It just stood there, staring at him.

"Go on!" He called out. "Get out of here!"

The dog still didn't move. Hatori grumbled as he turned back to his car, wondering if dogs were naturally idiotic. But as he began to climb back into his seat, he caught sight of a small blonde-haired figure just within the beams of his headlights. Immediately, he rushed out to the small form, fearing the worst. Was that Momiji? No, there was no way that Momiji could have come all this way so fast. But who was it then? Were they hurt?

Crouching down, Hatori gingerly moved the unconscious figure onto their back and quickly examined them in the headlights. It was a boy, obviously much younger and smaller than Momiji. While the doctor was glad that his cousin wasn't harmed, he was utterly horrified by the boy's condition. The small blonde was skinny, and it seemed to be to the point of malnutrition. His clothes were much too baggy, and they were full of holes and stained with dried blood. But what shocked Hatori most of all, was the number of cuts and bruises that covered the boy's pale skin. He had a black eye, his lip was split, and large purple bruises were splotched on his arms. At once, Hatori placed his fingers on the boy's wrist and waited a few seconds before determining the child's pulse. He sighed in relief; the boy was still alive. He then put his hand on the boy's forehead and frowned. A fever…and a very high one at that.

Making up his mind, Hatori picked the boy up as gently as he could and quickly carried him to his car. Within two seconds, he was behind the wheel and driving off. He didn't notice that the dog had long moved off the road.


Author's Note: Again, I'm sure if I wrote this very well. Please, review and tell me what you think.

(1) I didn't know the name of Momiji's father. So, I just decided to call him Kaoru in this fanfiction.