The Lost Clan 4


A/N: Sorry my friends I've been really busy with work and hunting but I've worked hard to get this chapter to you. So enjoy!

Don't own Fruits Basket.


Natalya went to hide out in her apartment while she waited for the shift to her human form overcome her. She was going to have some words with Akito. That foolish moron didn't know what he was doing. That was the problem with the Sohma family. They failed to see the answers to breaking the curse was sitting right in front of them in the form of the orange cat of the zodiac. What he didn't realize that their clan realized that the one member that was supposed to break the curse was treasured by her clan's Goddess. Well if they'd had one after the last one died another hadn't come along as far as she'd known. That led her mind to those of the clan that had passed on taking their animal spirits with them. Seven had passed on leaving six of them remaining. Once she became an assassin she lost track of her family.

Her eyes shot open as she felt the shift wash over her dragging her from her darkened thoughts. Her topaz eyes hardened to glittering stones. It was about time someone knocked this so called 'God' of the Sohma family down from the high horse he sat on. Getting up she went to shower allowing the dried blood to wash from her skin. Her thoughts turned from vengeance for a moment. For the first time in a long time she was grateful that someone had stopped her from killing someone. The last person hadn't faired so well, but they didn't have half the strength that a tiger two times the size of a normal tiger had. A hiss escaped her lips as the hot water hit the claw marks running down her sides and the back of her neck. That left her to leave a mental note to pay that damned tiger forward.

Getting out and getting dressed was a bit of a task after she dressed her wounds. Her fingers brushed over several claw like marks that ran over her sides and frowned but shook her head at the old thoughts. Now wasn't the time for reminiscing. She had a clan head to knock some sense into or kill. Killing was leaning into her heart right now considering whom he'd sent her after. There was no mistaking Tohru for what she was, the beloved of the cat. Even though the Cat ignored it she could see the kind of love blooming that would last forever. She wasn't a hopeless romantic by any means but some things could be seen like that for those who knew how to look. In her memory there was only one other time than this she'd saved her target and she hadn't won that time. Shaking her head she directed her thoughts from that. The wolf didn't know why she kept thinking about older memories. Natalya wasn't one to dwell on past memories even of her family.

While she'd stalked Tohru she also did her homework on the Sohma Clan. She knew things the family didn't want to know, the good and the bad. How many Zodiac members had to grow up without their parents because they couldn't handle having a child born of the Zodiac. In their clan a child that was born that could shift was welcomed into open arms and if the parent couldn't handle it other members took the child in and treated it like their own. Most families that bulked at having a cursed child normally ran away from the Clan never to be seen again. She'd been lucky her mother had been the Cougar. Her older sister the Lynx and her youngest sister Dawn the caribou. How her father had been able to cope with all of them like that she never understood but her mother did tell her that it took that one special person to understand. None of them were left feeling unwanted or treated like some alien creature that needed to be kept at a distance. Shaking her head she knew she had to get going or she'd miss her opportunity to teach the Sohma Clan head how he should treat people.

Her feet lead her out the door and down the street. Even as a human her steps made very little noise. Her long black hair was up in a pony tail and swished back and forth as she walked. People would glance at her for a moment before their eyes would jerk away. Normal people didn't even know they did it. It was the reaction prey had in the face of a predator. It was an ingrained instinct that most people couldn't ignore. Even though she wore human skin her soul was that of a wolf, a predator. Her stance and aura reflected that. When she was almost to Sohma house she ran into someone. Instead of him catching her from falling it was her catching him. A familiar tingling feeling ran up her arm at the contact. She fought the urge to let out a growl of agitation. Something in his eyes made her let him go once he had his balance. His eyes reflected a kind of sadness of one who has lost a great deal in life and yet continued on as if nothing were wrong.

"Have we met before?" he asked her.

"No, if you'll excuse me I have somewhere to be."

He couldn't say anything before she was briskly walking away. Something about him was familiar, but she couldn't place it and just shrugged it off to think on it later. She had more important things to take care of. It didn't take her long to gain entrance to the manor. The urge to shift kept creeping up on her, but she promised her darker half that soon she'd be free to roam but not at that moment. Sitting on the roof she waited for the coming darkness. As the sun set the moon rose in her full glory.

"How cliché," she tisked before she dropped down on the balcony.

Akito looked at her dispassionately from the window seat where he sat. That look made something inside of her twist in anger. He was on a pedestal in his mind that was so high no one was good enough. She pitied the fool that would fall and love and marry this idiot.

"You don't seemed to surprised to see me."

"I hear she's still breathing. That's disappointing."

Natalya cracked her knuckles. He turned his gaze away back to the moon bathed Zen garden. And her eyes starting glowing dangerously as her anger spiked. She knew his type he didn't care who he hurt to get his way. There was something that this girl had done that had drove him to the point that he hired someone to kill her, but she was kinda curious about what his reasoning was.

"What did she ever do to you?"

"That's not any of your concern. I paid you to kill her."

"That's not a good enough answer. You sent me after an innocent."

Akito snorted at her words. Then she realized something that made her hate him even more. He simply didn't care. Most hits were in some form of vengeance or another but this boy hated her because of something he thought she represented.

"I wouldn't think that mattered to one such as yourself," he replied listlessly.

The wolf smirked as she stalked towards him much like her darker half. The shift was calling to her again to show this upstart what it meant to really fear those he thought inferior. "She's in my way."

Natalya arched her brow at his words. This girl was harmless and didn't go out of her way to make others worry about her and that was her charm in the long run. Now she saw Akito for what he was, a scared little boy that was pushed into a position that he wasn't ready for or wanted. And Tohru was taking the affection of the zodiac members from him. Now she felt it was necessary to drop the hint that he was about to get some payback. He made a huge mistake hiring her in the first place and she'd relish in making him regret it.

"I assure you innocent blood is something I refuse to touch especially if that innocent is the light in the darkness of the 'Cat's' life."

He whipped around to look at her closely trying to figure out how she knew about the Cat. A smirk crossed her features at the shock in his eyes at the mention of the cat. It was dumb to assume that she wouldn't figure out about the curse if she hadn't known. Now that she thought about it was pretty damned stupid for him to hire someone to rid him of Tohru because of the risk of the secret revealed. The that stupid dragon would have to go to work and erase the memories of those involved.

"What did you just say?"

"Tohru Honda is what keeps the Cat from going insane. The one called Kyo is stepping on a knife's edge of a blade. One slip either way and he'd be lost. Because of that girl the pathway that is being paved is starting to widen towards the light."

Her looked turned more feral. She cracked her fingers by curling them. Her muscles curled knowing he was about ready to do something stupid. Her muscles were bunching ready for the fight that was bound to come.

"Hat…!"

She was on him quicker than he could get the name of the dragon out. Her hand wrapped around his throat so his scream came out as a gargle. Her nails dug into his fragile skin but didn't puncture the skin even though it would've given her some sick sense of satisfaction for all the wrong he'd done. He was the main reason the curse was never broken him and those before him. They were all the same in her minds eye if Akito was like that.

"Scream again Akito and I assure you the proverbial 'God' of the Sohma Clan will cease to exist. I can end your suffering and maybe in the next life you'll be more humble when you meet your other half and break the curse."

"What are you?"

"That's an interesting question. You automatically ask me what I am instead of who I am."

She let him go and backed up a bit. He tried to look tough by not rubbing his sore throat. His skin was starting to darken a bit with bruising. If her words didn't give him reason to remember her, the bruise on his neck would. She paced back and forth with a malicious smirk. The look in his eyes was bringing out the darker side of her.

"You wanna know what I am? I'll show you what I am."

In a flash she was standing in her wolf form growling darkly at him. Her lips curled and her fangs were bared. Her eyes were glowing. The one thing she'd learned about her family's side of the curse they were more intoned with their animal side. Something in his eyes flashed as if he'd thought of something, and she had the feeling that it was about to piss her off even more. A wolf could only be pushed so far before it snapped and attacked.

"You should bow before your God!"

That snapped the something inside of her. Her Goddess wasn't around and this man was a poor excuse for her other half. It would probably be best to put him down quickly like some rabid dog. His days were numbered and she would be his executioner. It might pain her later but it was for the best that the Zodiac didn't have to suffer this brat anymore.

"I bow to no man," she snarled. "I only bow before the Goddess."

"Akito?" a feminine voice called.

Rage had blinded her so much she leapt for Akito without thinking or hearing the woman that had called out to him. When her jaws clamped down on an arm the feminine gasp made her freeze. The taste of the blood on her tongue made her jerk back and start trying to spit it out. Looking up her eyes met the frightened eyes of Kaela. Realization dawned on her then. Her entire body when down in the submissive position of an omega wolf. Her tail was tucked between her legs and her ears were laid back. A soft whimpering whine escaped her.

"Mistress," she whimpered.

Kaela dropped to the floor on her rear holding her arm and tried to scramble away from the wolf. She stopped when her back hit the wall next to Akito. Fear coated her scent and it made the wolf uneasy. Natalya stayed put so her Mistress wouldn't struggle and freak out more. The body could only lose so much blood. She was riled up because of the attack and that sent the blood flowing faster. Thankfully she hadn't hit a major artery.

"What? What just!" Kaela whimpered.

Natalya snarled at Akito as he moved towards her Mistress. If there was one thing she wouldn't condone it was Akito near her newly found Goddess.

"This is all your fault you stupid…" Akito snarled.

The door crashed open and Hatori and the man she'd run into on the street rushed into the room. They pulled and injured Kaela away from Akito and that set off some protective instinct in Natalya that she couldn't fight back. She went for Hatori only to be slammed into by the other man. His weight didn't even faze her considering she had at least a hundred pounds on him if not more. He clung to her neck like a leech.

"Stop please!" the man said softly.

"Kureno you can't reason with a beast," Akito snapped.

A deep rumbling growl escaped her. How dare this man who hurt everything he touched. The zodiac were so pathetic it was sad to her.

"You are the beast here Akito. You hired me to go after Tohru Honda like she's some threat to the Clan. When you're afraid that she'll steal all the zodiac away. That girl is the light in the darkest time of this Clan and you want to darken it like the heartless bastard you are. Not only that, but I've seen the way you treat people."

"Please stop," Kaela whimpered. "I want my sisters."

"Hatori take her out of here and call her sisters," Kureno suggested.

"Touch my Mistress, and I'll kill you Zodiac curse or not dragon," she snarled. "I know about your ability to make people forget."

Kureno and Hatori looked at her in complete shock. She shouldn't know anything about Clan doings.

"How…"

"I did my homework and I listen. The rabbit and yourself mentioned erasing memories of people. You can't touch her because she is the Goddess of my Clan."

"Please I just want my sisters," Kaela whimpered.

Tears were running down her face as she sat there. Hatori was quickly working on stopping the bleeding on her arm. Natalya flinched knowing that would probably leave a scar on her arm. She'd find some way to make it up to her for this. A maid came rushing in.

"Master Hatori there's a woman here claiming she's here for her sister."

Hatori and Kureno looked at each other in confusion. Natalya just smirked inwardly. They'd never known the feeling of being connected to their God by anything but fear.

"When our Goddess hurts we feel it. So no doubt her sisters are cursed also. So she felt the Goddess's need."

Natalya shoved Kureno away from her and moved towards the porch. "I'll deal with you another day Akito mark my words."

She moved towards the porch only to be stopped in the yard by the one called Shigure. A threatening growl escaped her lips. As a dog he would kind of understand and know she wasn't in the mood to play. Shigure flinched and backed up. With a few swift leaps she was over the wall and darting into the woods. Natalya ran and ran until her feet stopped before a familiar small house. Tohru was humming as she washed the dishes. The Cat was helping her. She sat there watching the two of them. When their brush their hands together one of them would turn their heads with a blush blazing across their cheeks. Her mind was drawn from her musings about the finding of her Goddess and everything when Tohru stepped out on the porch and sighed softly. The girl stared up at the stars with a wistful expression on her face as she sat on the porch. Moving forward she stepped out so Tohru could see her. The girl gasped and moved to rise.

"Please don't run Miss Honda. I wanted to come and beg your forgiveness."

Tohru turned and looked at the wolf quietly for a moment and sat back down. Natalya took that as her cue to move towards her. The wolf sat down in front of the girl in touching distance. They sat in silence observing each other carefully. Finally the girl spoke;

"Beg my forgiveness?"

"Yes. I have tried to hurt you under the orders of the head of the Sohma Clan."

"Akito sent you?"

"He did."

"But why?"

"He is a person that doesn't care who he hurts to get what he wants."

A light huff escaped her. This girl was so innocent and that's what drew the Zodiac to her.

"Tohru!"

The Cat and the Rat rushed to drag the girl back away from the huge wolf standing before them. Natalya tilted her head to the side watching them.

"Guys its okay. She's not here to hurt us."

They looked at each other for a moment before letting Tohru go. She looked the Cat in the eyes.

"Know your fortune Cat. People don't find something like this by happenstance."

With a snort she rose and started heading home. This entire thing mentally exhausted her. The other cursed of her clan would probably come demanded retribution for what she'd done. A deep breath escaped her in a heavy sigh.

"What a mess," she murmured softly into the night.

The chirping of crickets and the hooting of owls was her only echo to her words.