Title: The Onigiri Slayer

Summary: When Dawn is sent to Japan to be the Watcher of a very special girl, she doesn't realise this girl is perhaps the strangest Slayer she'll ever meet.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Mizuno Kyoko, and the vamps, lol.

Author's Note: Just a little idea that popped into my head one day. I am taking all my Furuba info from the anime only.

Unless otherwise noted, assume the conversations are in Japanese.

----------------------

Things were going well. If Tohru wasn't the BEST Slayer that ever lived, she was at least dedicated to learning all she was supposed to learn, which was nice. Still, Dawn couldn't figure out how to bring the Slayer out of the girl. Tohru was incessantly cheerful about it, but definitely worried all the same.

"Let's go shopping," Dawn sighed, yet another training session over. She didn't feel like working on Tohru's stake tonight, it would bring up too many memories of Sunnydale. It all seemed so hard, and she had to wonder why. Where were the much-vaunted Slayer instincts? Where were the graceful fighting, the delicate steps, and the fierce bloodlust? Where were all the things that came out so willingly when the Japanese girl danced? Why couldn't she tap into that power?

"What for?" Tohru panted, her pale skin shiny with perspiration, aqua eyes wide and frightened.

"I dunno. Clothes." The Key shrugged miserably, trying not to let Tohru see how disheartened she was.

"I'm sorry. I...uh...I'm not very good, I know."

"That's not the problem." Swiftly, Dawn gave the Slayer a hug. "Never mind any of it," she dismissed quickly when Tohru's face fell. "Let's go. You need some proper workout stuff, anyway. And...I think a baton."

"Huh?"

"Well, you need to learn to toss. Batons have perfect balance, and aren't going to take out an eye if you conk yourself in the face," the Key said, as though she'd been thinking about it for a while, when she'd only gotten the idea then. It happened to her sometimes, these random flashes of inspiration. Often, they fizzled into nothing, ultimate failures. But sometimes there were gems, and this idea felt like one of them.

"Oh...all right." Tohru accepted this straight up, unlike the Scoobies, who would have told her to stop talking out her ass. That was a nice perk, actually being listened to for a change.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

----------------------

They were in the sports department, looking at sneakers.

"No, Tohr. The ones you use for sport are falling apart," Dawn told the lithe Slayer. "You need new ones, yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Tohru frowned. "I...I do not understand."

Dawn laughed. "Don't worry. What size are you?"

They managed to find a pair of decent sneakers that fit, and were just paying for them, when...

"Tohru, Tohru!" A tall, slender young man with sparkling amber eyes ran up, dragging behind him another man, this one with rather interesting two-toned hair.

"Momiji! Haru! How are you?" Tohru exclaimed, smiling at the pair and moving away from the counter to let the person behind her get their shoes.

"I'm great! And you, Tohru? How are you?!" Momiji bounced up and down, the actions more suited to a 10 year old than the obvious sixteen or seventeen he actually was.

"I'm good..."

Haru merely smiled slightly, his limpid eyes roaming the store.

Dawn giggled, he reminded her so much of Oz with his crazy hair and lack of facial expression.

"Hi!" The blonde turned his attention to Dawn, making her freeze in her tracks. "I'm Momiji Sohma, and this is my cousin, Hatsuharu Sohma! Who're you?"

The Key smiled awkwardly, struggling to hold onto her composure. "I'm Dawn Summers." She sketched a bow. "I go to school with Tohru."

"Cool! So how come I haven't seen you there?" A frown settled over his face.

"Uh...I don't participate in extra curriculars so much?" she suggested.

"And I haven't actually seen you lately, Momiji. How's your dad?" Tohru asked gently.

Dawn filed that away. There seemed to be a hidden message behind the seemingly innocuous question, and she intended to find out what that message was.

"He's good." Momiji's entire face lit up, while his companion's darkened with every word. "Momo and Mama are good, too! She can play so well, I saw her in her school concert at the end of last year, and she was so talented!"

"We're suppose to see Hatori," Hatsuharu – Haru must be a nickname – uttered bluntly.

"Oh yeah! See ya, Tohru! Bye, Miss Summers!"

"Call me Dawn," she requested, waving goodbye cheerfully as the pair walked away.

"Wow, I didn't expect to see them here," Tohru chattered happily, picking up her bag and leaving the store.

"Mmm hmm," Dawn agreed. "So...how do you know them?" She figured they were cousins of the people Tohru lived with, since they had the same last name.

"Well, they go to our school, but that's not how I met them. They're Yuki and Kyo's cousins. And Momiji's father owns the building we work in," the dark haired Slayer replied.

Dawn's eyebrows arched. That was an interesting titbit of news. "Let's have something to eat," she proposed, knowing that while eating Tohru would be less guarded - if that were possible, Tohru being the most guileless person she'd ever met - all her concentration focussed on fuelling her high metabolism.

"Okay!"

They decided on soba noodles, since they were cheap and filling, and were soon seated with their bowls. After ten minutes of small talk, Dawn decided to broach the subject that was bothering her.

"So," she began, struggling with her chopsticks before giving up and using a spoon. "Why is Momiji so...hyper?"

"I don't know. He's always been like that." Tohru shrugged. "Until recently he was very short, he looked like a little kid," she confided. "And when I say little kid, I mean he looked barely out of elementary school. He hit his growth spurt during the holidays, and he doesn't look so young anymore."

No, he definitely didn't look young. In fact, Momiji was a nice hunk of salty manflesh, as Dawn's hormones were intent on pointing out to her. "So he still behaves like the little kid he used to appear to be?"

"I suppose so...I think it's kind of cute."

"It is. It's very endearing," Dawn admitted, "if slightly creepy."

"Creepy? Why?" Tohru frowned at her noodles.

Recognising the beginnings of a Slayer tantrum - lesson numero uno, don't insult the friends - Dawn hastened to explain.

"Well, he's acting like the child he used to be, instead of the man he is. It can be adorable, if not taken to extremes, but I get the feeling Momiji very well could."

"He's not really as hyper as he seems," was all Tohru would say on the matter, her large eyes thoughtful.

Dawn didn't respond, knowing that whatever she said would not be taken well. Instead, she awkwardly ate her noodles, finishing long after Tohru. "Let's get you home."

----------------------

"Do you have anything to report, Kureno?" Akito asked lazily, one long-fingered hand caressing a canary.

"Tohru Honda has a new friend, Akito."

"What that girl does is of no consequence."

"I find it intriguing to note that her friend spends a lot of time with Miss Honda at Shigure's house, and is more frequently seen in Miss Honda's company than either Miss Hanajima or Ari-Miss Uotani."

"Hmm...go on..."

"The girl's name is Dawn Summers, and she is from America. She transferred to Kaibara High School this year, and is employed at the same Sohma building as Miss Honda. It seems suspicious to me."

"Yes, I agree with you. Very well, Kureno. Make sure it is clear to Shigure that I wish to see this Dawn Summers as soon as possible. And have Tohru Honda come too." A cruel smile twisted the young man's lips. "It is time she learned of the penalties that arise from ignoring me."

End Chapter 6