Chapter 11

Saving a Friend

"MOMIJI! WHERE ARE YOU?! MOMIJI!" I called desperately as the current continued to whip past me. The Dojo had long ago gone from my sight and I must have been carried for miles before I got free. Slowly I walked the shore shouting for him praying that he was okay. My cries were interrupted by a sound not too far away. My hope rose and I ran toward the sound.

"MOMIJI?" I called as I ran and turned a small bend. Momiji!

He came into view and my heart constricted at the condition he was in. His rather fluffy hair was matted and filled with sticks. His rather custom uniform was torn and his hat was gone. But what scared me most was his predicament. The current had dragged him like a rather wet bunny into a clump of branches in the water. But they seemed rather weak and Momiji was hanging on for dear life as the current tried to pull him away.

"Momiji! I'm here and I'm going to get you out so keep holding on!" I called desperately as I ran to him. His head rose slowly and he gave me a weak smile as he continued to hold on.

Quickly I surveyed my possibilities. #1 Jump in the water, swim over to him, and to use the current to get to shore. #2 Climb up the tree, pull him into the tree, and climb to the ground. #3 Go and get help. #4 Get in the water and use the branches of the tree to pull him to shore. Realizing that the last one was the safest I went with it and ran quickly into the water.

Grabbing the branches I was relieved to find that the one that Momiji clung to was close to me. Getting a hold of it I called out to Momiji,

"Momiji, I need you to hold on as tight as you can't that branch because I'm going to pull you to the shore. Ok?" He raised his head and nodded at me as I started to pull. Surprisingly it was easy and Momiji was soon in my reach. Letting go of the branch I grabbed his hands and pulled him to the shore. We both collapsed and I lost consciousness.

When I woke the sun was starting to set and night time calls started to sound. Sitting up I found that Momiji was curled into a small ball beside me. Shakily I surveyed myself. The archery clothes that I wore were now covered in mud and were filled with holes. My hair still in its ponytail had rocks and sticks stuck in it. While my finger tips were starting to turn a light blue due to the bitter cold but luckily we had collapsed in a patch of ground that wasn't covered in snow.

Shifting and standing I lightly nudged Momiji. His light brown eyes opened and blinked lightly as he sat up sleepily. What had happened must have reemerged because Momiji gasped and quickly turned me.

"Raelyn! I'm so sorry. Are you okay? You saved me!" He exclaimed with huge eyes as I chuckled lightly. Now fully standing I helped the tired and rather ragged looking boy stand.

"Come on let's get home." I said cheerfully as we started the trek back to the Dojo. By the time we found our way back to civilization the sun had completely sunk and we were lost. Great… just great.

We wandered rather aimlessly looking for something we recognized. Unfortunately I really don't know my way around the town and Momiji has only a little bit better sense of direction than Haru. So very soon we were lost. As we walked I got the eerie feeling of being fallowed. Momiji must have sensed it as well because his grip on my hand tightened and he stepped closer to me. I gave him an affectionate squeeze to reassure him, though I wasn't that sure myself.

"Momiji," I whispered lightly, "We need to find somewhere to sleep, okay?"

"Okay, Raelyn but where are we go?"

"We don't have any money but we can find a nice tree to stay in." Momiji gave me a look that said your-kidding-me-right-because-you-can't-be-serious-and-if-you-are,-you-are-crazy. Shaking my head I turned us round and headed back to a park we had passed earlier. Momiji turned out to be a horrible tree climber.

So we opted for a little burrow we made in the cover of the branches of a large bent tree. After gathering sticks and other fire making materials I built a small fire to keep us from freezing to death. We settled down and a small whimper uttered from Momiji. I hugged him tightly as I asked what was wrong.

"I miss my mama." He whispered.

"You'll see her tomorrow I promise."

"Well she won't remember me so it won't really matter." He muttered sadly as I stared at him utterly confused. With a rather large sigh Momiji told me what had happened to his mom. My heart ached for him and I couldn't seem to put into words how sorry I was. So instead I just tightened my grip on him and we sat in a comfortable silence. Soon I fell into a deep sleep with a small smile on my lips.

I woke to the blinding sun raining on my face from between some branches. Luckily the fire was still burning strong or we would have frozen to death. Laughing lightly at what could have been our possible demise, I looked down at Momiji who was still sleeping comfortably in my arms. Yawning I started to dose off but I realized something that I should have figured out long ago. Momiji has hugged me many times and I haven't transformed. But why?

I sat up quickly, panicking, causing Momiji to jumble awake.

"Whaz… gon… on?" Momiji mumbled sleepily.

"Momiji…" I paused not knowing how to ask him without giving away my secret.

"Momiji, do you believe in the zodiac animals?"

"Yes, why?"

"Never mind," I said as I decided to change my tactics from just asking to have him transform if he was a zodiac, "Momiji do you have a girlfriend or a crush on anyone?" The effect was immediate and he was no longer sleepy. Momiji's face turned bright red and he looked down out of embarrassment. And he tried to stutter something but it didn't come out right. With a small smirk I pried.

"Oh come on Momiji there has to someone. I bet she is really pretty." Momiji's blush deepened and he just sat there super embarrassed but it wasn't enough.

"So… Have you had your first kiss yet?" That did it. The stress and embarrassment were too much and… POOF the little burrow instantly filled with yellow smoke. As it cleared a pile of clothes sat where Momiji once sat and on top of the clothes was a small yellow bunny. The bunny looked up at me fear written clearly in its' ruby colored eyes. The conversation from before was completely forgotten as I stared at Momiji's bunny form.

So I guess I'm not as alone as I thought. Maybe the Sohma's are the other cursed. So if they are then the Sohma's plus a Curse equals they are the Zodiacs which also equals they're just like me. I smirked slightly at my discovery.

"Momiji?" I asked hesitantly. The bunny sighed and looked down sadly.

"Yah, it's me." The bunny said sounding less like himself and more like a depressed Haru.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I picked up the bunny and set it down in my lap while petting its' soft head.

"Wait you're not scared of me?"

"Momiji, why would I be afraid of you?"

"Because I'm not exactly human." He admitted sounding ashamed. Gathering up my courage I decided to do the thing that I promised never to do. I was going to tell someone the secret that has haunted me since before I can remember.

"Well you know what Momiji I'm not exactly human either." The bunny looked up at me shocked and was about to say something but… POOF! The burrow was again filled with yellow smoke. When it cleared a rather unclothed boy was sitting in my lap. Momiji's face turned bright red and he scrambled to get his clothes as I turned in the opposite direction equally as red.

Once he was clothed we both stood and left the burrow. As we left the park Momiji grabbed my arm, stopping me.

"What did you mean when you said you weren't exactly human?"

"I mean that I'm just like you but I don't want anyone to know yet so if you wouldn't tell anyone that would be great." He looked disappointed but he soon recovered and grinned happily.

"Alright I won't tell anyone but let's get home 'cause I'm hungry." We laughed and headed home. And as we walked around we realized that we were only a few blocks from the Sohma main house. At our stupidity huge sweat drop appeared on our heads but we shook them off and raced one another to the main house.