Authors note: A huge thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted, or favorited this story!! I'm sorry for being so slow on updating, but I'll have more time for that now that school's over.
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Hanajima turned in her bed, cold sweating. She couldn't shake off the feeling that something horrible was about to happen.
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Chapter 3: Face of the sea
The big oak grandfather-clock had barely struck 6 chimes, but the little rabbit saw no reason to waste a beautiful morning sleeping. With pans and pots in his hands, he bounced through the corridor, banging loudly.
His awakening was little appreciated by the others, especially those who had been up past 12 the previous night, playing cards. As they all stappled out to find the source of the noise, Kyo had a murderous look on his face, and Hiro was holding something that looked mysteriously much like an axe. Momiji jumped in fear. He turned to his younger female cousin. "Kisa! Save me!" He glomped her, and a second later stood a rabbit and a tiger. Tohru quickly picked them up and gathered their clothes before heading towards the kitchen to make them all some breakfast.
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At the beach the sun had just rised, and the temperature was still low. Waiting for it to rise, so they could swim again (seemingly their main goal for the trip), they decided to kill some time just hanging around, chatting.
Hiro glanced over at Kisa, where she was building a sand-castle with her Onee-chan. He wasn't sure why, but it bothered him, a lot, to see them two togheter. He frowned. Couldn't that stupid riceball get friends her own age? In a desperate attempt to spread his annoyance to someone else, he walked over to the seaside, where Hanajima and Uotani were having an argument with Kyo and Yuki.
"Yo, alien girl!" The sheep interrupted them.His mission to bug them seemed to have worked on Kyo and Uotani, but the "alien"girl, used to being called strange names, just looked up in acknowledgement. "I've heard you can see the future. Look into mine!" He kicked the sand around him, and found an empty beer bottle. "You can use that as a scrying bowl."
Hanajima let her gaze fall on the bottle before nailing it at Hiro's. "Death." She said in her monotone voice. "I see death in your future."
"Seriously?" Uotani looked amused, almost cheerful.
"No. I'm just joking." She said in the same tone, not a trace of a smile on her lips.
Hiro just sighed and walked away from the two high school freaks. Were there no normal people to talk to in this place? Only had he thought that, when he heard a shout of happiness. It was Momiji, just coming back from a walk with the ox of the zodiac. "Tohru, Kisa!" the rabbit ran over to them, and pointed at a small building some hundred meters away. "They've built a canoe rental! Tohru, let's rent a canoe!" He was almost pulling at her arm. Kisa was still sitting on her knees by the castle. "Can I come too?" she asked silently. Hiro had just opened his mouth to offer to share a canoe with her, but the riceball beat him to it.
"Of course Kisa-chan! The canoes are big enough for three. And let's go ask Sohma-kun and the others if they want to join us!" she said in the chipper voice she solely used towards Kisa.
He felt like an invisible hand had reached in and squized his heart. That stupid, ditzy blonde. He blinked to keep the tears away. Did she do it on purpose? Was she trying to ruin his every chance to talk to her?
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"O-kee! You kids ready?" Shigure was standing behind the canoes, ready to push them into the water. Uotani and Hanajima were sharing a boat with Yuki; Hatsuharu, Kyo and a cloudy Hiro was in the one next to them, and the last one was shared by Momiji, Kisa and Tohru.
Strange though. He thought to himself. There was no canoe-rental there last summer.
But he shrugged, and pushed the first canoe in the water. Uo and Hana paddled strong and even.
Next into the water were the three Sohma boys, when Tohru suddenly realized what time it was. "Ano, Shigure-san. If we're not back for lunch, there's some ramen left in the fridge, and you can warm them in the micro and…
"Don't worry about me Tohru-kun." He stopped her gently. "Just have fun." He added as he got her canoe into the sea. As their boat hit the water, it smoothly floated down without a sound, and a small breeze of wind hit them. But the little naïve girl was completely oblivious as she waved to her friends.
But the wind grew, and half an hour later not even Honda could ignore it. She turned to Momiji, concerned. "I think it's starting to blow… maybe we ought to turn around?"
Saying that, it was as if she'd pressed a button. The wind mutated to a raging storm, hitting the water and turned it into a meadow of black whirlpools. Tohru choked on her breath. She didn't have to look back to know she was far from the beach. But even if she'd been close, she could not have reached it, she had completely lost control of the paddle. Kisa screamed with fright. Momiji tried to calm her down, but Tohru could tell by his voice that he was pretty scared too.
This can't be normal, can it?
They were not standing still anymore. The storm was picking up speed every minute, and was now strong enough to push the canoe. All they could see was the deep black sea and the darkening sea. Kisa was crying in Momiji's lap, and Honda was trying her best to stay positive. "Maybe it's just Akito-san having a really bad rage." She tried to convince herself, but she knew it was ridiculous. Even though she was a god, she did not have that much power.
I can't give in. Mother wouldn't have wanted it.
She was still struggling with the paddle; she had a bad feeling about where the water was taking them. It was still May, and it was about to get dark soon. She turned around to see how the sobbing Kisa was doing. She halfly regretted bringing the little girl, especially since they had not had any life jackets. Then her gaze stuck on something 200 feet behind them, and her blood froze. Kyo's canoe had been blown in the same direction as theirs, but had now stopped. There was something behind it, a shadow-like being.
Momiji sensed Tohru's fear and looked up. He followed her fixated gaze, and together they saw the shadow torn up over their heads and drag the whole boat down to the hungring water. Seeing Kyo's red hair disappear under the surface, Tohru broke out of her paralysis. She tried to scream but the storm swallowed her voice. Desperate, she climbed to the back, to jump in, to save him. She could not think clearly, the images of Kyo was blocking her mind. She didn't know what to do, but she had to do something.
A pair of strong arms held her back. She tried to fight him but it was useless. He was too strong. "It's too late" he whispered. She knew he was trying to calm her down, but there was a deep strain of sorrow in his voice. Fighting back her tears, she deeply admired his emotional strength. She knew he was right. They had lost three loved ones, and three others were missing, maybe dead too, but they could not collaps now, then the water would feast on them as well. Her knees, her whole body was shaking, from fear, sorrow and cold. "We couldn't save them." She whispered. It was more a pledge, for understanding, and forgiveness, than an actual statement. Momiji nodded silently. "There was nothing we could do."
They had to sit down again, the canoe was rocking violently. If this continued, it was turn over soon, and they'd all be dead. All three of them knew it, but none of them dared saying it. Being in a situation like that, speaking of the disaster makes it more real. They were sitting close togheter in the front row, trying to keep the heat up. None of them were wearing more than a T-shirt; if the boat against all odds wouldn't turn, they would still die from the cold. This struck Tohru as an ice-beam in the chest. Her mind was spinning, trying desperately to focus. There had to be a way, there just had to. A sudden anger stroke her. An anger at no one in particular. Was this how they were going to die?! Cold, exhausted and all alone somewhere in a deserted sea? She had always believed in a god, a higher power. But she just couldn't accept this.
Then it hit her. Her pulse rised, it all became so clear. There was only one way. She slowly turned her head to the boy. "Momiji-kun…" she whispered. "You… YOU can be saved!" Her eyes glowed with newborn hope. If only she could turn him into a rabbit, then she could keep him in her shirt, and he'd be warm. And in the morning he could turn back and he'd be able to swim, there had to be some land around there! She knew that was going to kill her, but she was going to die anyway, this way he wouldn't! She stretched out her arms to hug him, but he stopped her half ways.
"Tohru, I can't let you do this. I can't lose you too. And what about Kisa?" But the protest in his voice was weak. He knew it was their only choice. Kisa seemed to have realized what they were doing, and she sat watching under dead silence. Then she saw it. It was the same shadow. Unable to speak, she poked Momiji-kun, and pointed, without taking her eyes off it. It was so close now, they could almost see the contours of a face.
The next second the canoe flipped.
Authors note: Okay, this chapter is about as long as the other two togheter, but It was so fun to write Anyway, this story has taken an unexpected turn into J-horror, and I've got more of it planned for the next chapter. But if you don't like it, please tell me. Please review