The New Moon
Disclaimer: All the basic characters you know and love are owned by, obviously, Natsuki Takaya, the beloved creator of Furuba. We simply own Kimi, Mika, Cho, Gina, all other original characters later revealed, and the plot along with all minor out of character changes added to fit the plot better (mind you, not many. We wouldn't want to kill the story, would we?). Enjoy.
Chapter One: Goodbye Sohma Estate
"Lord Akito," called a young lady as she walked briskly into the room. As she neared the throne-like front of the room, she kneeled down on one knee, bowing her head so she stared at the floor, her waist-long black hair falling in her face. She felt slightly awkward for wearing such casual and masculine attire as she was wearing something similar to a writer's kimono. "You summoned me, Akito-dono?"
"Ah, yes. You're here. What are you wearing?" Akito asked sitting up.
"Writer's kimono, sir."
"Well, you look like a long haired Shigure."
"With respect, sire, why did you call me here?"
"I have been informed that your mother was killed in a train wreck while she was in England on business, correct?"
"Yes, Lord. I received the news yesterday." Her eyes watered.
"Well, you don't seem too broken up about it."
"I have mourned and am beyond crying." She refused to cry more like it.
"Which, I assume, is why your kimono is water stained, but anyway, on with the point. Since your mother, who was rather useful to me, is now gone, the question becomes what do we do with you?"
The girl clamped her eyes shut in fear, then timidly asked, "Lord Akito, you're not going to erase my memories, are you?"
"I considered it, but that would be cruel. After all, it would be erasing your whole life, the knowledge of your parents, and who your father really was, now wouldn't it? No, Mika," he said gazing at the fair skinned girl in front of him, daring to utter her name for the first time. Suddenly, he was right in front of her. He lifted her chin in a surprisingly strong grip so they were forced to lock eyes. His cold black eyes bore into her crystal blue ones as if he were trying to get to her soul. A malevolent smile formed on his face before he spoke again. "no, I've got a much better plan for you."
"I have to give you a check up before you leave; Akito's orders," muttered a tall, thin man with pale skin and short black hair. Mika noticed that is left eye seemed glazed over as if it were watching something no one else could see. It took all she had not to grimace at the memory of what happened. She had been tending to Akito's meal right before he hit the poor doctor. She had watched it happen, the result being two things: she became terrified and hateful toward Akito, and she and the doctor became closer, as much as he tried to stop it from happening after Kana……..
"Hatori," Mika said in a barely audible whisper.
The medic stopped his observation and looked up at her from where he was kneeling, a bit worried. It had been a long time since she had called him 'Hatori'. It was usually 'Ha'ri' or 'Tori-kun'.
"Mika, are you alright? What did Akito do?" he asked in his normal calm monotone voice despite the worry in his eyes.
"He's having me move out," she said after a while. "He wants me to take the offer my friend made about moving in with her and her sister so he can use me to spy on Yuki and the others. He even wants me to gather information on this Tohru Honda everyone keeps talking about…. I'll never see you or Kagura or Haru-kun again…," she trailed off. There was obviously still fear in her voice from her visit to Akito.
"Of course you'll see me again. You have the same bronchial problems as Yuki. You'll have to come for a monthly physical. As for Kagura and Haru, Haru will be attending your school next year, and if you maintain your friendship with Kyou, you're bound to see Kagura. We all know how much she loves him."
Mika laughed slightly remembering how abusive Kagura could show love. The smile put Hatori at ease enough to continue his examination of her.
"All done," Hatori said moving back. "You've grown a bit. You're now 165.4 cm tall (5'5" for those of you who can't convert). You've grown almost two centimeters."
"Yay! " Mika liked when she grew taller. She didn't want to be too much shorter than Yuki and Kyou because she got made fun of by the other children that she was too short to play with her own cousins, however distant they may be, when they were younger. She looked over at Hatori with a wistful smile. He had become almost like a father to her since his accident, and he had certainly become one of her best friends, even if they were eleven years apart. She was going to miss seeing him everyday when she brought Akito his dinner up from the kitchens. "Goodbye, Ha'ri. Guess I'll see you in a month, eh?" She hopped off the stool she had been on and started toward the door. Suddenly, however, she was spun around to face Hatori. Then, without warning, he pulled her to him and hugged her. A moment later, in a large puff of smoke, Hatori changed into his jyuunishi counterpart, the 'dragon' seahorse.
"Oh, my God, Ha'ri. You hugged me," Mika gasped.
"You looked like you needed it," Hatori said squirming slightly.
"But you never hug anyone. You only let Kana hug you once, and that was an accident. You didn't have to do that." She pulled his coat over the twitching sea horse, preparing for when he turned back.
"Yes, but you've become very important to me as a dear friend, and you already knew about the secret." In another poof and smoke, Hatori appeared under his coat. Mika turned away while Hatori dressed.
"it's because I remind you of her, isn't it?"
"What?"
"Momiji once told me that the reason you're so nice to me is because my personality is like Kana's. I'm like her to you, aren't I?"
"No, no. I don't know why I'm so close to you, but I am; and while you do remind me slightly of Kana, that's not the only reason you're important to me." He stood up and took Mika's hands. "I must say that you're one of my favorite relatives."
"You are one of my best friends, Ha'ri. I guess I'll see you in a month or so, eh? Bye, Tori-sama." She smiled at him and left to pack away all of her things.
"Mika!" Came the call from a gorgeous lass with long strawberry blonde hair as she ran toward Mika. Her deep sapphire eyes and pale skin were accented by the black and crimson dress designed as if it were from the European Renaissance. Mika remembered her mother had brought it back for a birthday present to the blonde.
"Kimi?" Mika asked a bit confused. "What are you doing here?"
"What did Akito say? He's not going to erase your memories is he? God, my father says so few people in the family got their memories erased before Akito took over. That's terrible," Kimi rambled.
"Kimi, calm down. I get to keep my life intact, but…."
"What happened? What'd he say?"
"He's making me move in with Gina and Cho so I can spy on Yuki and Kyou for him."
"He's making you move! But-but, we've been living next door to each other all our lives. He can't do that!"
"Kimi, it really doesn't matter. Nothing can be done about it. Everyone knows that Akito's word is law. Don't worry, I'll be back once a month for my check up with Ha'ri. I'll be sure to visit everybody when I come."
"But we've never been away for more than a day. What's this going to be like being away from each other for so long?"
"I don't know. Right now, I've pretty much lost everything but yeah. Oh well." She hugged Kimi tightly to her. "I'm going to miss you, Kimi. I promise I'll be back, okay? You're my best friend, Kimi. I won't abandon you completely if I have any say in it. I will see you again," she said, still clutching her cousin.
"I'll miss you, Mika-chan."
"I'll miss you, too, Kimi-chan."
"Alright, you passed your entrance exams!" cried an ecstatic young man with long silver hair as he jumped up and down. His silvery green eyes shone with pride as he patted Mika on the shoulder. "That means you'll be going to school with Yuki! Oh, please do try to get him to speak with me."
"Of course, Ayame. I'll do my best," Mika mumbled unsurely. Yuki had never listened to her much. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to help patch up the broken brotherhood.
"Oh, sweet maiden, thank you kindly," Ayame said in his musical voice before hugging her and poofing into the snake that he is. He curled up on her shoulder and around her neck.
"Ayame, you really should learn not to do that. It creeps most women out," said a tall man with short black hair who sat reading in a nearby chair, clothed in a writer's kimono looking almost exactly like the one Mika had worn the day prior.
"Oh, Shii-chan, What's wrong? It's not like Mika-chan doesn't know the secret of the zodiac," the silver snake said moving down the inside of Mika's arm.
"It's not so much that as it is-" Shigure started before he heard a thud against the wall behind him. "when you try to go down their shirts." He glanced above his book at the rather freaked-out-looking Mika as she stood in the same position as when she had released Ayame. Finally, she sighed and began moving again.
"Why must you two be such perverts and go after high school girls like all the other middle-aged men in the world?" she asked disgusted.
"I resent that!" yelled Shigure suddenly putting his book down. "I am not middle-age! And frankly, I'm hurt you said it."
"Fine," Mika sighed. "I'm sorry, but you haven't addressed my point."
"And I don't intend to, my dear. That middle-age crack was far too painful."
Mika sighed again. It was no use. Nothing she did would ever change Shigure or Ayame, and that was one thing for which she was eternally grateful. Despite their flaws and disturbing nature, they were the funnest of her cousins, and she loved them dearly.
"But congratulations on passing your exams, Mika-chan," Shigure said, once again turning to his book.
"Oh, but you guys can't tell Yuki or Kyou or anybody else. I want to surprise them."
"You mean you want to scare the shit out of them by befriending Tohru before they know you're there. We all know that Akito uses you to send messages to us, and those lovely little updates from Akito are never good news."
"Well, yeah. Buddha knows I hate giving bad news, but if I can unnecessarily scare someone, I'm all for it. I may not be cruel or anywhere near as mean as Akito is, but that's not to say I'm not as twisted as you, Shigure. After all, you helped warp me, now didn't you, Shii-chan?" XD
"Of course, darling. Who else but your favorite cousins Yame-kun and Shii-chan could have possibly made you as fun as you are?"
"I love you, too, Shigure."
POOF Ayame finally turned back and stood up in a place entirely different from where Mika had thrown him. He stood facing the wall behind the couch, stretching. He yawned happily as if he had just woken up from a nap rather than got thrown across the room and into a wall.
"Morning sunshine," Mika chimed with mock-enthusiasm as she threw his cloak he had been wearing at him. "Please put some pants on."
"Oh, alright," Ayame said as he slumped into the office of his store from the dressing and hemming room. He had let Mine have the day off as an act of extreme generosity, or so he says. Truth be known, it was because he didn't feel like even opening the shop today. He returned moments later in tight black leather pants; only tight black leather pants.
"You know, I'm glad to find you aren't wearing your maid outfit which is what I half expected," Shigure laughed. He turned and hit Mika in the arm with his book. "And you should learn not to drool over your cousins."
"Okay, first of all, I wasn't drooling. I was slightly disturbed that he has no shirt. Second, you guys aren't exactly close cousins-" Mika began, moving again after staying completely still for so long.
"You're only saying that so you can guilt-freely admit you like-" Ayame started before getting cut off by Mika whose glare looked like it could start fires from across the room.
"Ayame, I'm warning you. If you utter another word, so help me, I will do everything in my power to dissuade Yuki from ever paying attention to you again and force you into the obscurity of an ordinary, everyday office job. I'm sure Mine would absolutely love wearing a pantsuit everyday, eh?"
"There'll be no need for that now, dear. I-I was only, only joking," Ayame stuttered nervously.
"Oooo. Mika-chan has a crush, eh?" Shigure asked laughing. "Which of our dear cousins is it?"
"And to think," Mika sighed. "I was about to pay you boys a compliment. Oh well though."
"Oh, go on then."
"Anyway, I should probably get going. My friend will be at the outside of Sohma Estate in a few hours. I've got to get Kimi to help me move my boxes to the entrance so Akito doesn't spaz about an outsider being on Sohma property. I'll see you guys later. Oh, and Shigure, remember, I never saw you, okay?"
"Okay. I'll help you play your trick."
"Hey, don't you want to buy something?" Ayame asked hopefully.
"Sorry, Yame-kun. I can't today, but I promise I'll bring my friend one day, okay? Anyway, I gotta go. I'll see you later. Bye!" Before anyone else could distract her, Mika walked out the door, waving as she left.
Mika pulled the last item out of her final box of unpacking and placed the small porcelain lamb on the writing desk that had been brought from Sohma property for her. She looked at the zodiac alarm clock (AN: a small, round, ordinary alarm clock with pictures of the twelve animals of the zodiac one the numbers) on her side table and realized it was almost midnight. She sighed, thankful that tomorrow was Sunday and that she would have time to wash her new uniforms before she started at her new school on Monday.
"You okay, Mika?" called a tall young woman with short, spiky pink hair from where she stood in the doorway. "You're getting settled in here, alright, aren't you?"
"Yeah. Thanks Cho. I'm gonna go to bed, okay? I've just finished unpacking and I'm kinda tired."
"Okay. Night honey." Cho walked out, shutting the door behind her. Before going to sleep, however, Mika sat down at her desk and began writing about her experiences the past few days. It was the fist time she had been alone with her thoughts since she'd found out about her mom, so she wrote what she thought. And when she fell asleep that night, she dreamed of jyuunishi lambs and Japanese women who could speak any language spoken in Western Europe.
Authoress' Note (written by Cavca) : Okay, so what'd you think? This is my first Furuba fic and I hope I did it well. If you continue reading the story, the Original Characters such as Mika, Kimi, Cho, and Gina will be introduced and explained more in later chapters. You'll find out why Mika and Kimi know the secret because Buddha knows that Akito is anal about that sort of thing. But for now, at the end of the chapters, you get a little mini story to better understand the OCs a little better. You'll find as you go along that Kimi and Mika have always been rather bright for their ages, despite how young they may be, but I'm not sure how normal they could be in the Sohma family. So here's how Mika saw Kyou's true form. Hope you like it. Keep reading and don't forget about the next chapter. Enjoy.
"Daddy!" Mika called skipping into the study her family had always kept filled with books. It was her favorite place in her entire house. Her father was a writer, and he spent most of his time there. "Daddy! I'm home, Daddy!"
"Mika!" Yelled the tall pale man with stunning green eyes and the darkest of black hair. He stood up and, grabbing her beneath the arms, spun her around the room. He collapsed on his overstuffed armchair, letting her fall into a hug on top of him. POOF! Mika sat clutching a large fuzzy black sheep.
"Daddy, you're so cute when you're jyuunishi." She giggled happily. She loved her daddy so much. She was his star.
"Mika, we've been called to visit the head of the household today," he said once he'd changed back and dressed. "Akito wishes to meet you."
"Okay." Mika was very nervous. She had never met Akito before. She was only five. He was only four years older than her, but he ruled over the family with an iron fist. Even though she'd never even seen him, Akito scared her.
"So, Kane, this is your daughter then?" spoke a harsh voice. The speaker was a young boy with short black hair and cold black eyes. "I'm impressed. She seems so…normal," he sneered.
"Hello, Akito-dono," Mika said in an honored tone. "I am happy to have the privilege to meet you."
"Ah, I see you've told her so much about me, eh, Kane? Well, child, to help you a bit, I've summoned a friend of yours. Come with me to the garden to see him." Akito gingerly offered her his hand. After glancing at her father's nervous, though approving, look, Mika took it and let him help her up. Still holding her hand, Akito pulled her through a door that led to the outdoor garden in the back of the 'inner' estate. It was sunset and autumn so the light hitting the trees was magnificent. Sitting rather stiffly in a chair nearby was Kyou.
"Kyou-kun!" Mika cheered delighted.
"Yes," Akito laughed lightly. "I thought we could have a nice chat. You know, learn new things about each other." Akito smiled rather warmly. "Now, Kyou-kun. It's impolite to not greet our newest guests."
"Hello, Mika-chan. Hello, Kane-san," Kyou muttered in monotone. This slightly scared Mika. She could tell Kyou was frightened. He never sat that still when he wasn't.
"Tsk, tsk. Stupid cat." Akito walked from his place by Mika to Kyou's side. He wrenched up Kyou's wrist and dug his nails into the flesh surrounding the small ring of beads. Kyou winced in pain and gritted his teeth so as not to snatch his arm free. "Kane, you've become insolent!" Akito's voice managed to roar while his volume actually decreased. "You've let your daughter grow to be good friends with this pitiful beast."
"Leave Kyou-kun alone!" Mika yelled, unable to control herself.
"Mika!" Kane hushed her.
"Oh, Kane-kun, don't tel me you haven't told the brat yet. Don't tell me you don't know about Kyou's true form. Well, then I think it's high time we enlighten you."
"NO! Don't!" Kyou screamed as he was pulled from the chair and hurled to the ground. Akito grinned, a look of malice in his eyes, as he tore the bracelet from Kyou's wrist. Mika watched, unable to speak, as Kyou transformed into something so unbelievably strange looking, most people would be sick. "How's your beloved kitty now, eh Mika!"
"Don't look at me!" the creature cried in a voice that sounded like metal grating against metal; so low and high at the same time. "DON'T LOOK AT ME!" He took off into the trees as nighttime set in.
"Very mature, Akito," Kane grumbled.
"Best she know of the sad excuse for life now," Akito grimaced, glaring at Kane. "Oh, look, the baby's going to be sick like everyone else. I guess he doesn't have a real friend."
Mika turned to her father. "Daddy, was that Kyou-kun?" she asked solemnly.
"Yes, dear," he replied sadly. "That was Kyou."
"Why did he run away from me?" Tears were now falling from her crystal blue eyes.
"He's scared, Mika."
"Of me?"
"Of what you'll think, yes."
"But Kyou-kun shouldn't be left to be scared alone." Without waiting for her father's response, she took off running as fast as she could after Kyou. She followed the broken trail where Kyou must have passed through until she reached a small circular clearing where she found the being howling in torment.
"Kyou-kun?" she asked slowly.
"DON'T LOOK!" he shouted when he saw her. "Why did you have to fallow me! GET AWAY FROM ME!"
"Kyou, please don't leave." Though she was bawling now, she managed to keep her voice from cracking. "Am I that horrible that you have to run away form me? I'm sorry."
"Dammit! Why do you always think you've done something wrong!" Kyou bellowed. "Can you not see what a vile disgusting horror I am? Stay away from me! You think it too! You thin kI'm just some appalling, lurid, loathsome monster, DON'T YOU!"
"Kyou-kun, I could never see you like that. I'm sorry if I ever gave the impression I did." She fell to the ground, her chin to her chest, her sobs coming in full now.
"Fine! If you can't see it, look at me. LOOK AT ME! See it with your own eyes! See me as I am!"
"No…"
"What!"
"I said no! This is not who you are, Kyou. This may be part of the cat spirit or even part of you, but it is not you!"
"This is all I'll ever be! The stupid revolting cat! That's all they'll ever see. My mother's afraid of me; my father hates me; Akito makes it so that everyone else will despise me too! Nobody wants me, and no one will ever love me!"
"That's not true, Kyou. You're my friend. I want you. I love you."
"HOW! How can you possibly want a hideous fiend as a friend?"
"Because I see past all of that to the kind, caring, nice boy I befriended. That's the real you, Kyou. Not this, not what Akito or your parents think but what you are everyday. Every day, you have to deal with the curse more than any of the others, and after all that stress and pressure, you still have the most amazing heart. That's who you really are, Kyou! You are my friend! Your outside doesn't matter so long as you'll stay my friend!"
Mika woke up in her own bed. She feared that all had been a dream before she noticed her clothes were drenched from tears and mud. Kane and Maemi sat on the end of her bed, watching her. She jolted up.
"Where's Kyou? Is he alright?" she asked looking between her parents.
"Go look," Maemi smiled. "He's in the living room."
Mika jumped from her bed and bolted down the hall. She hoped her speech had made a difference. She hoped to God that he wouldn't hate her for chasing after him. She stopped suddenly in the doorway. Kyou was sleeping peacefully on the couch. The doctor and his son, Hatori, were at his side.
"We've decided to leave him here for the night as Akito would further torment him were he to remain in my office," the doctor said upon her entry.
"Thank you," she said after the two left. They hadn't waited for a response. "Thank you, Kyou. I hope you know that nothing will drive me away from being your friend." She touched his beads and the marks from Akito's fingernails before clasping his hand in hers. "Nothing." She hugged his arm tightly and leaned against the couch, determined to hold his hand and make him know that he was loved until he woke up.
