Based on the ballet, The Nutcracker and The Mouse King, and other adaptations.
I hope you all enjoy, and have a Merry Christmas! :)
Oh! And if you're gonna have eggnog, remember to drink responsibly.
The Nutcracker
Twas a Christmas Eve night when Tohru's friends, Haru, and Momiji all gathered at Shigure's for a party that would last into Christmas morning. All had made plans to bunk here and stay long enough to open presents and grab a bite to eat before going their separate ways. Only to reconvene for the New Year's banquet that was mandatory for all zodiac.
The fire crackled, the lights twinkled, and the eggnog was popping.
It eventually had Momiji bouncing off the walls with how much sugary sweetness had been implemented in the iconic beverage. To the point that he hadn't been watching where he was going and stumbled, falling back against the end table and knocking the present Uo gave Tohru right off. It was something seen in a store window and purchased due to Tohru's love for the ballet. The same one her mother took her to before she died, and the subject of that ballet now lays on the floor with a broken arm.
"I'm sorry Tohru," Momiji says, guilty of damaging such a priceless gift as that particular nutcracker. He felt as if he'd broken a memory of her mother. And that killed him.
"Its fine..." she murmurs, sniffling as she picks it up, assessing how cracked it was. "All that matters is that you're okay." She walks to the couch, speaking as if reading a line that she'd rehearsed thousands of time. If she were to remain in character, she would have to put him before herself. Even though it was upsetting, it wasn't irreparable. And he hadn't done so on purpose.
"I'll pay to get him repaired," he says instead, deflecting her question. "It really was an accident, and I promise not to play around him again."
Tohru flashes him a small smile, hoping to erase whatever remorse he'd felt. "It really is okay, Momiji. I understand. I don't want you to stop enjoying yourself because of a little mishap like this."
He quietly nods, before leaning in to give her an apologetic embrace, though continuing to formulate plans to call in a favor and have it good as new by morning.
...
Tohru sits up on the leather couch and it dips under her weight, closing her eyes as she stretches to relieve the crook in her neck before gradually rising to her feet. The soft coos of the ticking clock sounds as she pads her way over to the holiday table, uncovering the swan bowl of egg nog to spoon another cupful. It wasn't the most viable fix for thirst, but it was rich and sprinkled with gingerbread and she'd always had a sweet tooth. Sometimes it got her in trouble when it came time for weigh ins, but her Achilles heel always won out in the end. And hey- it was Christmas.
She brings the red paper cup to her lips, admiring the Christmas tree on it for a moment or two before trading it for a glimpse of the boy sleeping peacefully on the floor beside the fireplace. She smiles over the lip of the cup, amused at how he's curled up like the cat he is, sleeping soundlessly as his hair color upstages the fire light.
Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong.
Tohru jumps, spinning around to survey the clock's face as it strikes midnight. The clock's chime can not only be heard, but felt in her chest, like that of a drumline storming down the streets as they march to the beat they create. She hurriedly sets down her drink to check the faces of friends for any signs of stirring, silently praying that not one of them did wake.
She gets more than she bargained for as she takes in the formerly crowded room, now aware of its barrenness save for the furniture they once occupied. Not even the cat is lying on the rug beside the warmth, for he too has disappeared without a trace as the clock continues singing the song of the new hour.
"Kyo?" She squeaks, timidly searching the room. "Yuki? S-Shigure?"
Just where was everybody?
She'd heard of people vanishing but had written it off as an old fairy tale. Something only superheroes and the Divine could accomplish. But the friends that she defined as family had abandoned her, and it left her feeling something she hadn't felt in a long time. Cold. Hollow. Empty.
Forgotten.
"Hello?" She calls again, blinking back tears as she drops to the rug, feeling around for a presence she must not be seeing.
But that soon becomes the least of her worries. Because all of a sudden, the rug is so much closer and broader and larger than life. Soon she can make out the faintest threads, the frayed multicolored design that swirled beneath her in intricate design. Her baffled blues widen as she looks up, realizing how much grander the room is and how she's...so...small.
Like a mouse.
Maybe even smaller.
She gives a surprised squeal, scrambling to her feet and comparing her now tiny frame to the scale of her surroundings. She pats her hands all over her body and her face, squeezing her cheeks as if trying to determine the size of her own face from just sensation alone, struck with the confusion of being shrunk to that of a defenseless doll.
"Oh mom, I'm scared. Please tell me this is just a dream," Tohru laments, clasping her hands together as her eyes frantically bounce around the room. "Now I know how Yuki must feel when he transforms."
She trembles as the clock finally silences, a strange ethereal beam of light wrapping itself around the nutcracker that sat on the coffee table with its broken arm. Tohru's lips part to allow an amazed noise to pass them, watching as the nutcracker glows with blinding white light until she's left with no choice but to shield her eyes from its luminosity.
A shuddering gasp tumbles past her lips unbidden, followed by her taking staggering steps forward.
"Kyo? Y-You're m-my nutcracker?" She asks the changed figure, certain that its the boy she loves despite his wooden features. The nutcracker she'd been given had white hair, a white mustache, and eyes that matched the shade of her own. This one had hair the color of the flame that kept them toasty in the winter, accentuated by startling red eyes and the most stunning fact of all - he was a living breathing creature. Her nutcracker was real.
He trains those beautiful eyes on her, hopping down from the table and cornering her with stiff, robotic movements. He backs her into the wooden peg of the couch, his decorated chest just touching hers as he stares passively back at her. Her heartbeat is practically in her throat by the time he extends a gloved hand, offering her a handshake with no tender recognition in his face.
"Are you her? Are you Clara?"
"Um..."
Crash.
Sounds a broken ornament, forcing them to snap their heads in the direction of the noise. Its then that they become aware of the unwanted house guests that had wormed their way through the mouse hole. Tohru yelps, attaching herself to Kyo's back like a clingy starfish as an army of mice swarm the living room floor. Kyo narrows his eyes when the silouhette of a much larger mouse appears, donning a crown and a scepter that clearly spoke of his status as the monarch among them.
"The rat king," Kyo growls, gently detaching Tohru from him to charge forward with his sworn drawn from its sheath.
Tohru claps a hand over her mouth upon closer inspection, somehow knowing this rat king by a different name. She wasn't sure how she knew considering he was a rat with dark fur and beady onyx eyes. But it could be no one but Akito. She was sure of it.
Kyo brings his fingers to his lips in a whistle, calling upon an army of cats in an attempt to outnumber the rat militia that heavily opposed them. With both sides distracted, Kyo and Akito clash swords, undoubtedly trying to cut the head off the snake in order to cease the battle.
"Go!" He shouts over his shoulder at Tohru, his sword clanging against Akito's scepter once more. "Get to safety!"
His command throws her into action, forcing her feet to move as she seeks higher ground, somewhere she can get away from the crossfire. The distant sound of dueling metal reaches her ears as she shimmies up the garland wrapped around the tree, sneezing when the silver material tickles her nose.
"I come to bring you to the room I have made for you, cat," Akito taunts, parrying his own scepter with its two jewels. "Its got everything in it that a banished prince could desire. Four walls and a floor."
"Go shove a hunk of cheese up your snout, rat king," Kyo throws back, leaping to miss a brush with disembowelment before elbowing the table leg behind him and creating an earthquake. The bowl of eggnog teeters and careens forward, smashing to the floor in a million fragments that scatter everywhere.
"Ah! Kureno," Akito hisses, his lip disappearing behind his buck teeth as he fights the urge to dislodge the foreign object plunged into his shin.
An auburn rat lunges over Kyo for the sake of reaching his master, standing on all fours to examine the wound and weigh the risk of its removal to leaving it in. Finding it difficult to work under the pressure of an able-bodied nutcracker and a girl with abilities unknown, Kureno opts to pick up Akito by slipping his arms under his, and dragging him back towards the mouse hole with him.
Unsatisfied with the turn of events, Kyo is quick to scuttle after them, stepping over the fallen cats and half-devoured mice that lay to waste on the parlor floors.
Tohru peers down at the action taking place, wanting desperately to aid the boy she loves and to end it all before it truly become a bloodbath befitting of barbarians. She squeezes her eyes shut tight, terrified to see the result of what was to come, swinging her leg high to send her satin slipper sailing through the air until it meets its target.
"Oh," Akito groans, his head spinning as imaginary birds circle him. "I do love those Christmas parties," he murmurs before falling prey to unconsciousness.
Kureno looks from the shucked footwear to his king, deciding that now was no time to dilly dally, for they had much to do and he needed to be nursed back to health so that it could be done. Hoisting Akito upon his broad furry shoulders and onto his back, he wastes no time ducking beneath the covering of the mouse hole and vanishing out of sight.
"Oh dear," Tohru says, swaying back and forth on garland and kicking her feet in hopes of finding a steady branch somewhere. "Um...Kyo- I mean...Nutcracker? Please. Help me," she calls, getting an unwanted view of the ground from the height she's at, fearing the nasty fall it would lead to.
"Help me, Nutcracker. Please!"
"Right," Kyo says, slipping his sword back into its sheath up to the hilt, before springing into action to reach this Clara girl he was searching for.
He gives a small tug of an ornament-free branch, before beginning his ascent as if climbing the golden mane of Rapaunzel herself, not once allowing his eyes to waver from the girl. It was strange how magnetizing she was to him that he couldn't stomach not staring at her now. She had this way about her. Maybe it was her innocence that was so striking to him. Or the brunette tresses that cascaded down her back like a waterfall he'd only seen in his dreams. And those blue eyes of hers...the ones he could drink in like the finest wine in the country...it made her a true knockout, even as pure as she was.
There wasn't a chance that she couldn't be the girl he'd been looking for.
She had to be Clara.
"You alright?" Kyo asks, offering her a hand from just one branch away.
"Yes," she replies, her cheeks rosy. "Thank you..."
"Don't mention it," he replies, bringing her to his waist while keeping one hand secured to the garland. "Hold onto me, this could get crazy."
"Uh...what?" She stammers out, before screaming as they slide down the rope quicker than her mind can keep up with. She doesn't stop shaking or embracing him until her bare toes kiss the ground, and she feels its safe to breathe again.
She relinquishes her hold on him after a minute more, sheepishly dusting off her nightgown and muttering gibberish as Kyo takes stock of the battlefield. He shakes his head in deep grief at the sight of his fellowmen, though they'd made a decent midnight snack out of the rat army. There was much to be said about those that had fallen back or had never entered the fight at all. There could be hundreds more...maybe tens of thousands within their legion.
It isn't until an owl neither of them had noticed swoops down from the grandfather clock that something other than their sorrow and embarrassment captures their attention. Tohru bites back another squeal as she ducks behind the safety of her wooden soldier, met with the knowing glassy eyes of a plush owl.
"Nutcracker. Clara." She looks at both of them respectfully. Though Tohru finds her voice is the most intriguing thing about her being a talking stuffed animal. And it floods her with a warmth that mingles with the confusion whirling inside of her.
"Uo...? Is that you?"
The owl spares a glance in her direction, nothing in her expression revealing that she registers this name, and it deeply saddens Tohru as she remembers that technically they weren't her friends. This had to be some eggnog induced dream or something. But...then, this could really be her chance at an exciting adventure. A chance to live out her favorite ballet. At this prospect, Tohru brightens, bouncing on her feet with renewed anticipation.
"Forgive me, Herr Drosselmeyer," she amends, bowing out of deep respect for the creature before her. "Do you know what we are to do next? Are we supposed to defeat the mouse king and save the land?"
That's what happened in the story, anyway.
"Mm," Uo makes a non-committal sound, holding out her wing to brandish a trinket. "This is for you, doll face. Make sure you wear it and never take it off. Unless...you're ready to handle the consequences."
"Consequences?" Tohru echoes, taking in the black and white beads.
"I don't make the rules, toots. Don't shoot the messenger." Uo observes Tohru as she slips the bracelet onto her small wrist, cooing as the beads twirl upon her before continuing. "You are to head straight to that rat hole and it'll lead ya to Parthenia. From there, the rest is up to you. If you so choose to remove the bracelet at any point in time, it'll require a great sacrifice. So...let's not and say we did, capisce?"
"Huh. That's different from what I remember," Tohru remarks, her curious eyes darting in Kyo's direction. "Are we trying to defeat the mouse king or find the Sugar Plum Fairy?"
On the one hand, fending off Akito sounded terrifying. But on the other, discovering the Sugar Plum Fairy sounded majestic and straight out of a bedtime story from her childhood. Both held their own sense of a thrill that she'd been lacking all her life. It was time to stop being the unwanted, pathetic, onigirl. It was time to be Clara.
"What you seek...shall be revealed to you with time..." Uo says, turning her nose up to the ceiling like a snooty old woman. "At least, that's what I'd tell you if I wanted to give you both a hard time. But I'm gonna give it to you straight up. That nutcracker of yours is cursed in more ways than one. The only way you can remedy that is to find some broad that's a real dime from what I hear. Though its a total pain to find her, ya feel me?"
"Um..."
"Anyways, that's the basic rubdown of the situation. As for what your role is, I promised the dame I wouldn't tell you and I'd let you figure that one out on your own. But you have to go on this journey together. I'm not busting ya chops. You ain't got a choice. You got me?"
"We get it," Kyo answers for the both of them, grabbing Tohru's hand and tugging her into motion. "We gotta get moving. That rat has done enough damage to last us a lifetime. I can't let this continue."
"Okay!" Tohru cheers, pumping her free fist in the air.
That's right. She can do this. As long as she had Kyo by her side, she knew they could handle whatever came their way. But how interesting was it...Tohru can't help but muse, her eyes drawn to the thread that holds the two worlds together. The bracelet that merged whatever this was to her real life. It was the same one that stopped Kyo from becoming a beast. How strange that it was now upon her wrist instead of his.
...
It had been a vortex that catapulted them into a long and chilly night in a wintry cave. But it was through that same medium that they were lead and ventured into Parthenia, a land where the snow melted with each step you took and breathed of candy canes and everything festive.
Tohru stuck close to Kyo as they stepped over powdery logs, keeping their hands locked the closer they got to suspicious territory and further exposed themselves to a land they did not know. But there was a tension in her nutcracker's soldiers, shame that riddled his form and broke her heart. She was oblivious as to why this version of Kyo was just as embittered as the one from reality. But if it was anything like the old tale, it was sure to involve politics of the kingdom and a temporary transfer of powers gone wrong.
But she only had a second more to speculate before getting knocked to the ground by that of a little boy, his hands pinning down her scrawny shoulders as his legs came to straddle her waist.
"Hey! Unhand her, you scoundrel!" Kyo shouts, bending down to snatch the boy off of his traveling partner.
"Whose side are you on? The rat's or our's?" The boy barks, his nails attempting to sink into Kyo's hands though failing to realize a nutcracker is a stranger to physical pain.
Hiro?
Tohru clutches her head, a headache born of the impact of being knocked to the snowy ground as she tried to figure out who he was in this...in this dream.
"I...I am on your side," Tohru says, weakly standing to her feet. "We have come to take on the rat king and claim something from the Sugar Plum Fairy."
Hiro snorts, his hands folding across his chest. "The Sugar Plum Fairy?" He repeats, his tone drenched in mockery. "She's nothing but a myth. A lie. Something told to give suckers like you false hope that are gullible and stupid enough to fall for it."
"Watch your mouth, you're talking to a lady," Kyo chides, slapping the boy upside the head. "And tell your friend to come out of hiding. She's not fooling anyone."
Hiro's mouth falls open in shock, wondering how it could be possible that he could have detected such a quiet presence. But he recovers quickly enough, his lips curling up into a snarl, as he takes steps backward.
"Leave her be! She's none of your concern."
"Please," Tohru pleads, kneeling in the snow with her hands raised. "We only wish to you help you people, and in return, we only ask that you will point us in the right direction."
"You've got another thing coming if you think I'll tell you anything," Hiro counters, shaking his fist and refusing to cower under Kyo's threatening stare.
"Wanna say that again, a little louder?" Kyo challenges, only to find the answer cut short by a gentle, soft voice.
"D-Don't...fight over me..."
Three heads swivel in the direction of fear manifested in the body of a young girl, the same age as her angrier counterpart. She's clothed in a red and white striped dress, like she's been picked right off a Christmas tree, her auburn hair and tawny eyes standing out against those bright colors. And its with unrivaled relief that Tohru sees its Kisa, and is certain that even this Kisa is worth trusting. No matter what role she played.
"Kisa, go back inside," Hiro commands, his tone torn between tender and firm. "Its not safe for you out here. I don't want you getting hurt like last time."
"N-No Hiro," she says, shaking her head as she makes careful strides towards Tohru and Kyo. "The rat king cannot hurt me anymore. I won't let him."
"Don't be ridiculous! I can't afford to lose you to him because of some burst of bravery."
"I have to help," She says again, this time more exasperated for all the times she's sat on the sidelines. He had to understand that she could no longer let herself be damaged by their ruler. He was wicked, cruel, and wasn't afraid to rob their people blind if it meant feeding into his lust for money and power. Their quaint Gingerbread village had been desolate as families migrated North of trouble, leaving these two refuges behind among the ruins in hopes of finding someone to save them. Someone that could rescue these lands from darkness.
Maybe, just maybe...they were it.
"Fine," Hiro bites out, starting for the stone trail. "You take us towards the rest of our villagers and we'll show you someone that can get you to that rat. Take it or leave it."
Kyo and Tohru exchange a brief glance, only for them to decide that only good could come from it. And worst case scenario, they'd find a way out of hot water. They were good together.
"We'll take it," he says, marching ahead of Hiro and taking point as Tohru offers Kisa her hand. The shy girl eyes it as if deciphering what this gesture meant. But a kind smile from the sunshine and she decides that there was something about Tohru that made her...secure. Motherly. Or, something like a sister. It was a strange feeling that she desperately thought to shake off, learning to distrust all strangers after the havoc wrought on their once loving village.
But it was a feeling that couldn't be ignored.
It was far too surreal.
With a tentative small smile of her own, Kisa accepts the brunette's hand as they bring up the rear of their four person group. Hopefully something ahead would be just the thing to help them strategize their next move.
...
Their journey to the North took a day's worth of trekking, their path being created for them by snowflakes whom illuminated all things when they found it too dark to see.
In the end, they all arrived at a hut suspended between a bridge and another dwelling that resembled it. The glow of lamplights announced the arrival of 'intruders' and it made the four stop dead in their tracks. Because it wasn't exactly a welcoming comittee that greeted them. In fact, they were the epitome of hositle as they all surrounded them, wary eyes and tight lips creased in frowns as they sized them up.
"My, my. What is the meaning of all this?" A voice calls from somewhere within the circle, his voice playful in a stark contrast to the expressions on everyone else. "Everyone knows I need at least twelve hours of beauty sleep. Who is disturbing my rest?"
Tohru and Kyo look up at the source of the dramatic monologue, a short gasp escaping her at the sight of him. He had raven tresses and dark brown eyes full of open mischief. His lips were drawn up into a smirk that spelled for a childish nature, despite his more regal clothing. The collar of his shirt nearly touched his ears, tapering off into slacks that ended at deep red loafers with brass buttons.
But the two gentlemen that stood on either side of him were far more striking than he. One was a man with silver hair that reached his waist, his lime green orbs narrowed into a permanent fixture of sultriness, in an attire that boasted of his impressive fashion-sense. The other was a Major General, his black hair concealing one of his shrewd emerald eyes, adorned in his military garb and clean-cut from head to toe. He appeared to be the most stoic of the holly jolly duo that was Ayame and Shigure.
Shigure. Ayame. Hatori.
The Mabudachi Trio were all here.
"We have come to find out where the Sugar Plum Fairy is and to prepare to vanquish the rat king. It will require more than just our efforts to put a stop to him," Kyo explains, courageously stepping in front of Tohru to protect her from their gazes.
And it stunned them both to watch how those words sobered up the most joyous pair, and made the Major stand up that much straighter. Apparently they'd suffered their own effects of Akito having control over the kingdom that once rightfully belonged to the prince.
"Yes," Ayame begins, his hands falling to his hips, "He has taken from me my own brother; his blood has dyed the rat king's hands for more than a decade now. As for my friends here..." he nods his head in their direction. "He has stolen the Major's sight and Shigure's heart. Shigure's love affair with a maiden was forcefully brought to a close just as the Major's was."
So they've all been crushed by the oppression of the rodent dictator, and in some of the most painful methods of torment. The loss of family, a vital function, a love.
And it impassioned Tohru to personally see to the defeat of the rat king if it meant saving them all. She wasn't so sure that this was something that could be solved by talking things out. He didn't want to listen to reason.
"The fault is mine," Kyo admits, his shoulders pressing into his crafted ears. "I was impeached the moment they found the cat spirit within me. People hate the idea of the ruler being different from them...a monster. And the law of what they do to creatures like us holds true. We cannot lead anyone. And I've been turned into a nutcracker for deceiving them of who I really am. And I can't be changed back until I'm redeemed. But, I know that's impossible."
Unthinkingly, Tohru caresses his arm, concern etched into her kind face as her heart ricochets around her chest when something more than his character looks back at her. Like...the true Kyo was reaching to her thorough his eyes. And that little glimpse of him is enough. And his beads on her wrist would serve as a promise to him, a vow to all of them.
She would be the one to save them.
Everyone she loved depended on it.
"Idiots," Hiro grumbles, shaking his head in disgust. "They're all a load of idiots if they'd rather have a tyrant than a cat as the head of us all. So what if you aren't completely human? Neither am I. And neither is Kisa or Hatori or those morons," he points at the pair, their arms wrapped around one another.
"How astute of you, little boy," Shigure remarks, pinching his cheeks only to be slapped away by the vicious ram. "You must have a keen sense of zodiacs as well."
"We can all sense fellow junishi," Hatori mutters, massaging his temples. "Though the idea of exacting revenge contains some semblance of appeal, I concur with the cat. It is well beyond our reach. It is pointless to even idealize about such a thing."
"Oh nonsense, 'Tori," Ayame cuts in, waving that away. "You need to stop being so cynical about everything. Where there's a will, there is a way. And if we all band together...I'm sure we can take him on no problem."
"You want to join us?" Kyo asks, practically gaping at such a suggestion. He'd never expected anyone else to jump on such an insane and ill-conceived plan as following the trail of a rumor and attempting to conquer the most powerful being in the land.
"Of course, lad," Shigure declares, clapping a hand on his and Tohru's shoulders. "Five heads are better than two. We'll do far more together than divided."
"And to think, I figured you were doing it out of loyalty to me," Kyo mumbles under his breath, restraining himself from shrugging the unwanted hand from his shoulder.
"Hey! What about us?" Hiro pipes up, scowling. "We want to go too."
"No," Hatori says, his voice carrying its own weight of discipline. "You stay here and look after Kisa. If you wish to do something more, keep watch for the rat king's army passing through and send a report to us. We will be journeying through the sea of storms in order to find this fabled girl."
Tohru beams, more than content with having extra hands on deck. "Wonderful! We should all go to bed and leave first thing in the morning."
...
Even in Tohru's wildest dreams - and she had a great imagination - she had never pictured a place quite like this one. One where rocks defied gravity as they hovered over a chasm, perhaps floating over a magnetic field that kept them there. And as each one of them stepped onto one, it began to lower itself under their weight, which only made her cling more fiercely to Kyo out of fright. She was never one for heights and felt her knees buckle every time she recalled dangling from their Christmas tree a few days before.
Ayame and Shigure engaged in singing Christmas tunes like their very own human jukebox, disregarding the orders to shut up from Kyo and each sigh that left Hatori. It wasn't until they came across an abandoned shipyard smothered in fog that they silenced their rendition of Silent Night, uncertain of any pirates lying in wait to drum up trouble. For it wasn't uncommon for them to hitchhike on someone else's voyage.
"The coast is clear. Sort of," Shigure comments, pleased when Ayame giggles at his joke.
Kyo rolls his eyes, walking alongside Tohru towards the nearest ship that looked to be lacking a captain for months based on the algae accumulated beneath it and the rusted anchor keeping it in place. Hatori takes initiative in scoping out the mast and the durability of the sail, finding it passes his inspection before settling into the room downstairs and sliding the door shut.
Tohru can't help but smile at how even this Hatori doesn't want to be bothered by the merriment of his best friends. It was rather uncanny how their personalities measured up to those from her reality.
"I suppose he wishes to be cargo considering he's sleeping in the hold," Ayame purrs, delicately seating himself on one of the wooden benches behind the steering wheel. "On the bright side, I can give my feet a break. They aren't cut out for such a harsh excursion."
"Oh Aya," Shigure coos, coming to crouch before him. "Would you like a foot rub? You know I'm good for it."
"Absolutely," he answers with equal fervor, kicking his foot so that his expensive shoe clops to the floor before them. "What do I owe the privilege of experiencing such...masterful hands?"
"You know you deserve it, my dearest Aya."
"'Gure."
"Aya."
"If I could, I'd barf," Kyo gripes, raising the anchor by unraveling the chain connected to it.
Tohru simply shakes her head, slipping her pack from her shoulders to divest it of the apple she'd packed before they left. It was coated in sugary candy, glittering and sticky. The candy apples from the annual Tokyo fair couldn't compare to the morsel in her hands. It was unlike any she'd ever had the opportunity to taste and it was as filling as a three course meal.
It left her stuffed, sleepy, and satisfied.
She wondered if it had tryptophan. That would explain why she felt like she'd just partaken of a Thanksgiving gobbler.
The ship gives a protesting creak before it slowly kicks into motion, gradually treading water as the crashing waves and the wind in their sail propel it to increase in speed. Tohru lays back on the bench, using her pack as a pillow as she allows the lull of water to rock her into a peaceful state of mind. Easing the worries that said she was in over her head and that she didn't stand a chance against such a formidable foe. But she longed to restore balance to the land and knew finding the Sugar Plum Fairy was the route the must take. No matter how daunting it may seem.
She could only hope this was the right way.
...
She'd wondered why a mostly calm sea would be dubbed the sea of storms. The skies were only concealed by the veil of condensation that hung above them. But there was nothing that explained what could have earned it such a name.
That is...until now.
Kyo grunts, his hands gripping the wheel as it began to give way to larger waves and stormy skies. He was beginning to lose control as if some force was driving them to their deaths. And it was something even he feared. He had no idea what awaited a cat after this life. And he wasn't eager to find out.
"One of you needs to help me steer and the other needs to get the Major," he shouts over the boisterous crash of lightning in the distance, followed by the roaring applause of thunder. "I'm not sure how much longer I can hold on, here."
"I'm afraid this will have to be continued," Shigure says, releasing Ayame's foot and standing. "I'll go get 'Tori. You help out the cat."
"Uh...but-"
"Gotta go," Shigure sings, scrambling downstairs to escape being subjected to anything more laborious than being a wake-up call, leaving the two men to wrestle with the storm waging around them.
Tohru rubs the sleep out of her eyes, swinging her legs over the bench to see what was happening. But was finding it more difficult the thicker the fog became, and she could no longer see her own hands in front of her, let alone her shipmates.
"Guys?" She says, trying to swat away the heaviness that obscured her vision. "W-What's going-"
Her question is interrupted by the groan of the ship, the entire vessel leaning towards the left and sending barrels sliding across the ship's hull, the sheer force of it making her feet practically slip out from under her.
"Whoa," she cries, wasting no time to hug the bench and avoid all the hurtling objects tumbling over the edge of the boat and taking its wine into the sea with it. She shuts her eyes as the boom of thunder sounds much closer than before, high-strung from all the indistinguishable chaos that permeated the space around them.
"Hold on! Come on," Kyo shouts, gritting his teeth as the ship begins to flip further onto its side.
"I'm...trying..." Ayame says, giving a yelp when he flies back and darkness bares down on them. The ship capsizes, the torrent of freezing cold water challenging them all to hold on to one another as its murky bottomless depths wait to collect them.
"Clara," Kyo gurgles, his hand straining to latch onto hers as terror brims her beautiful eyes. She doggy paddles under water, maddened by her need to obtain the sanctuary of his hand. Just as their fingertips brush against one another and she thinks this nightmare will meet its conclusion, she's dragged backward by the pull of the current and smacks her head onto the side of the ship.
The last thing she hears before losing consciousness is a name she never expected to hear from lips composed of timber.
"Tohru!"
...
She wakes to the coolness of being fanned, drowsily cracking an eye open only to be faced with the bubbly countenance of a boy with curly blond hair and a red, white, and blue sailor getup. The gears in her brain begin to whir to life as it catches up with the rest of her, pushing away the grogginess to acknowledge the fact that Momiji was here and trying to snap her out of it.
"Oh thank goodness!" He breathes, sitting back on his heels. "I was wondering if you'd ever wake up, sleepyhead."
With shaking hands she places them on either side of her, demanding that her wobbly arms support her as she tries to sit up as well, offering words of gratitude when he helps her to complete such an excruciating task for her unstable limbs.
"Where am I?" More thoughts fall in like quicksand, worry stirring with the rest of her weakened body. "Where are my friends?"
He laughs at how much she looks like a chicken running around with its head cut off, squawking with questions that he was perfectly happy to answer, but finding himself too amused to explain immediately.
"Your friends have gone to battle the rat king. You are here in the Sugar Plum Fairy's tower for she has information to pass along to you before you go." He bows his head, his hands curling under the hem of his shorts in order to hide his nerves. "She already knows you long to be with them. No matter how dangerous it is for someone like you. You've never seen the wars that they have. I tried to tell her that you should stay back because you're too pure for this." He steadily meets her eyes, the humor washed away in the wake of his pertubation. "Please turn back, while you still can. Change your mind."
Tohru bites her lip, always hating to give no for an answer. But keeping in mind all the lives of her friends that are at stake in this perilous situation.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. I am here on a mission to help everyone. I just couldn't turn my back on what I came here to do. You're all far too important."
"How can you say that?" Momiji whimpers, his lip trembling. "You don't know us and yet...you want to rescue us creatures. Even though we host animal spirits that everyone else wouldn't hesitate to betray or run from. Why?"
"Because I love you all," Tohru says, taking his hands in her own. "And no one deserves to spend their lives sad or lonely. It hurts me to think of everything you have all been through. I have to do this."
"That you do, sweet Tohru," A familiar even voice pours into the room, the light clacking of heels growing louder the closer the person draws near.
A woman with flowing gorgeous black hair and dark eyes approaches, her body robed in the most royal shade of purple she'd ever witnessed, with an empire waist and a train that trailed her by an unimaginable amount of feet. Her feet were cloaked in amethyst flats, that very gem attached to the toes of her shoes and perfectly cut to suit her status.
"You...you know my name?"
"Of course," Hana confirms, snapping her fingers so that Tohru is instantly standing directly in front of her. She inhales sharply at the weird invasive tingle that came with being teleported. And its in that single moment that it dawns on her. Her best friend was the Sugar Plum Fairy. And...she knew who she really was.
"Please! Tell me what I need to do," Tohru requests, bowing several times. "Only you know what it will take."
Hana shakes her head, holding out a hand that ceases her bowing like a marionette yielding to its puppeteer. "Now, now...there's no need for all of that. As for what you need to do, that's the easiest part. Everything in this world created in your dreams revolves around that heart of yours, bursting at the seams."
Tohru's eyebrows draw together, marking her confoundment at this cryptic response.
"My heart? How could that bring an end to all of their pain and suffering?"
It really made no sense.
Could the heartbeat of a non-judgmental soul make man and beasts lay down their swords? Could it be the same rhythm to launch a thousand ships and sink a thousand more? Could something that she found to be a burden truly be the salve for all their wounds, physical and emotional?
She did not understand.
"You have been brought here for the one purpose of freeing Kyo from his bondage, Tohru. He is the key to rebuilding this world into what it was always intended to be. All you have to do is be yourself. Everything else will occur just as naturally."
"But-"
"No," Hana breaks in, putting a finger to her lips. "Don't speak wrongly of yourself. You only sap yourself of your strength when you speak death. The nutcracker has a hollow center. Normally, there would be nothing there but a void. But this world and the one you'll go home to are one. Kyo's heart is within the confines of that ungainly exterior. For him to experience love...you just have to love him. Like you already do."
That's how to free him of his curse.
"Go now," she says, bringing her hands up to the ceiling and causing the tower walls to disintegrate into pebbles around them, only protected by the Sugar Plum Fairy that enables her and Momiji to stand on air. "They've gone headlong into a fight that only you can stop. Two of them are already gravely wounded. You must hurry."
Tohru keeps her eyes locked on Hana's purple ones, transfixed by the kinship that she'd ached for all this time. Grounded by the stability only she can give.
"Thank you," Tohru whispers, her voice lost to the wind as the environment around her blurs into grey.
"Don't lose faith. And you will succeed."
That's the last word of advice she receives before being transported in the cumbersome midst of battle, the air stale with blood spatter and lives spilled on the ground around them. It reeked with the overbearing stench of morbidity that passed between the rematch of sword against golden scepter, the test of the century of whether the rat could stand against the predator that was the cat.
Tohru ducks in the nick of time, a dagger whistling past her ear and landing in the wall behind her, narrowly missing her. She claps a hand over her chest in order to calm her racing heart, her eyes scouting the castle grounds for which of the two were mortally injured.
And in canvasing the creatures that littered the ground, she finds Shigure and Ayame propping themselves up with one another's backs, though Ayame was more like dead weight as his form was slumped due to his lack of consciousness. Blood seeped through Shigure's laceration in his ribs, his hand applying pressure to staunch the blood flow, though he paled with how much he'd already lost.
Hatori was caught between two rats, being ganged up on by them and others that rushed over to aid their comrades in the fight against the battle hardened general.
Tohru's attention is torn between the dying and the main event taking place in the middle of the pavilion. It took every fiber of strength she could muster to go to Kyo and Akito, fearing for her life and prioritizing finishing things once and for all in the same instance.
Kyo raises his blade high to block and cushion the blow of Akito's staff, metal grinding against precious metal, their eyes full of hatred for their opponent as they grappled for victory.
"Surrender fool, and I may give you a position among my ranks," Akito joshes, his buck teeth drawing the taste of copper from his lips with the brunt of the offense. "I might even let you have the honor of waiting on me hand and foot when you're not locked up in your room."
"You must be stupider than you look if you think I'd ever serve you," Kyo throws back, pushing back a fraction more until the tip of his sword slices a light red trail down his throat, though too shallow to kill him. "I will have my throne back or I won't have anything at all."
Akito cackles, a crazed look befalling him. "As if anyone would ever wish to see a filthy, wretched monstrosity as their king. You're worthless. No one will ever be able to look past the swine you truly are."
"You're wrong!" Tohru cries, her sudden appearance dominating their focus. "He's more than that!"
"Clara!" Kyo bellows, taken by surprise when Akito uses the distraction to his advantage and kicks him to the ground, knocking the wind out of him as his head smacks against the rock hard floors.
"Kyo!" She flanks to his side, her hand coming down to rest on his chest, panicking at the way light has long faded from his fiery eyes and is replaced with that of doubt.
"Well, isn't this just touching?" Akito jeers, resting his elbow on his scepter. "The ugly girl and the beast care for one another. Well isn't that just the richest thing you ever did see?"
"Clara...g-go," Kyo says, hating that her virgin eyes have been exposed to this nasty massacre. "You need to get out of here before he hurts you."
"I can't do that," she replies, her hand tracing his beaten face, tears welling up in her eyes at the mere thought of losing him. "I...love you."
"What did you just say, girl?" Akito snarls, all fun laying forgotten for the sake of words he couldn't have heard. He had to have been hallucinating. Those three words were never to be intended for such a putrid animal as the cat.
"I said...that I love him," she repeats, conviction honing her words like a finely crafted katana. She forces her gaze to clash with Akito's beady eyes, fortifying her. "I love him."
"Shut up," Akito howls, slamming his scepter down hard enough that the end of it fractures. "Don't utter such vile nonsense. He is the cat! He changes into a beast when you least expect it. And he'll only murder you. He'd murder us all if he had it his way."
"No he wouldn't," she argues, finding her way to her feet. "He may not have the best temper. And he hates leeks and the rain. He sometimes says the wrong things, even though he never means them. But underneath all of that...he is caring. He would never hurt me. The Kyo I know isn't a nutcracker at all. He loves just as deeply as any of us. Who are we to look down on him for who he is?"
"Poppycock! Blasphemy!" Akito screeches, clawing at his face. "Stop it! Stop it before I kill you myself, you peasant!"
"I love Kyo," Tohru says one final time, raw honesty lacing her words. "I love him with all of my heart, and I don't care that he is a cat. None of that matters to me...because I know that he has one of the biggest hearts out of all of us. And I will spend the rest of my life trying to convince him of that. But whatever form he's in - a cat, a human, a nutcracker - it will never change how I feel about him."
"You...you have ruined everything!" Akito rasps, the earth shaking terribly as he morphs back and forth between his true human countenance and this rat persona he'd adopted. "You were never supposed to break it!"
A jagged and painful screech is ripped from his lips, pain felt in every orface of his body and cutting past his bones into the marrow. He flashes between the two sides of him in rapid succession as a hazy rainbow of light drowns him and casts an unbearably bright light over them.
And in a burst of confetti that rains down from that light...he is no more.
Their world erupts in cheers as they all are changed, not a single person untouched by their chains breaking off them, leaving them to be free and unbound.
Hatori's militia gear is altered into his normal doctor's coat, black slacks, and loafers. He blinks as if clearing up the befuddlement that had once shone through his one good eye, watching as Shigure and Ayame are brought back into existence without a scratch on them, clothed in their usual kimono and traditional apparel.
One by one, the remainder of the former zodiac pop into the castle, all resembling their normal selves. Kisa and Hiro stand together hand-in-hand. An unharmed and alive Yuki is beside his brother, thankful to have rejoined the living and no longer having to be anxious of his visits from Akito. Haru, Rin, and Kagura show up along with Ritsu, all twelve together and relieved of their hardship.
But the moment that takes Tohru's breath away is when the nutcracker glows, his splendor outshining and putting the rest of their transformations to shame. As his bright orange hair and sienna eyes appear on that of the boy she knows and feels everything for, she allows happy tears to slide down her cheeks.
The beads on her wrist scatter to the ground as he materializes fully, a smile on his face unlike any that had ever been there before. One that only she'd been gifted with.
"Tohru..." he says, his voice somehow far away and close all at the same time. "Thank you," he finishes, growing more distant as she parts from them, only the ghost of his lips on her forehead lingering as it all falls away.
...
"Tohru? Its time to open presents," Hana says, gingerly shaking her shoulders to draw her from her deep sleep.
"Sugar Plum Fairy!" Tohru blurts out, shooting upright and encountering one amused and confused expression after another. "Y-You're all here? And...its still Christmas?" She asks, stumped as to how nearly four days passed in her dream while only six hours had gone by in this lifetime.
"Of course, silly," Momiji says, bursting into a fit of giggles. "Where else would we be?"
But...how was any of this possible?
Tohru quickly flings the blanket off of her, checking her wrist for any signs of a bracelet ever being there. Much to her puzzlement, there were only sleep marks from laying on her arm through the night. She glances down at her body and is hit with the realization that she's her normal size again. And that she was still in the same nightgown as she'd been in during her night adventure.
"Come on, everyone else is waiting," Momiji adds, bounding into the other room with Hana not far behind. Tohru is the only one in the otherwise empty room, though blankets and pillows are strewn haphazardly over the floor and couch like they were before everyone had disappeared.
Was it really just a dream?
With a quick glance at the table, she saw that it was still bare.
Her nutcracker was nowhere to be found.
"Hey, slowpoke. What's keeping you?" Kyo inquires, stepping into view with his mussed up locks and his black shirt and sweatpants from the night before. "The brat's already finished opening all of his gifts and is trying to open everyone else's."
"Kyo..."
"Let's go," he says, holding out his hand for her to take. And its with wide eyes that she notices the lack of beads on his wrist. The very same he'd never not wear without changing into his other form.
Her gaze collides with his, and she's rendered speechless when he winks at her, a smile dangling from his lips that reminded her of the one she'd caught before coming out of her sleep.
"You already gave me a present. But I want to give you yours," he says, his grin broadening when her hand interlaces with his and she stands.
And with that, he brings her to the only free space of the living room floor to give her that waltz she'd been fantasizing about since the Christmas season began. The very same Clara and her nutcracker prince danced to in order to celebrate freedom for the both of them. And even though its clumsy and they trip over one another's feet, it doesn't wreck the ballet they dance together.
Because he loves her.
She loves him.
And he remembers.
The End