Standard disclaimers apply. La la la . . . . I don't own Fruits Basket or Harry Potter . . . .
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
After several long moments, Haru decided that he hated the Forbidden Forest. Not only had he gotten lost right away, but he had also gotten separated from everyone else in the group of pursuers he had been part of.
"Hello!" he called out, but no one answered him. "Damn," he muttered. He picked a direction and slowly marched into the thicket. "I guess I'll go this way . . . ."
"Hey, aren't those women's undergarments? Yeah, they are, and they're Kisa's at that! Honestly, don't you have any decency at all? Hand them over right away, you stupid Gryfindor - " he suddenly heard Hiro's voice call out hotly from the dark trees.
"S-s-s-sorry," he heard an unfamiliar voice stammer.
"You better be!" Crabble shouted. There was a crashing of shrubs. Obviously the large Slytherin was advancing foreword in a menacing fashion.
"I didn't tell you to attack him!" Hiro's voice came again, this time irritated. "I want him to give me Kisa's bra and tell me how - and where - he got it from. If he took from her body then - Goyle, what the hell are you doing? Get your finger out of your nose! That's an appalling, disgusting habit that I don't ever want to see -ugh, don't eat your own boogers!" Hiro shouted hotly.
Haru finally orientated on them. "Hey, Hiro do you know where Kisa is?" he asked. "She was . . . . uhm . . . . in the library and then she . . . uhmmmmmmmm - "
"I know!" Hiro exclaimed. "I saw, unlike you I have eyes and they work. What are you doing out here? Following Akito's orders, no doubt! However, I'd be willing to bet anything that you are completely lost. Only a dope like you could - "
While Hiro ranted, Ron began to meekly slip away into the trees, hiding his Kisa's bra with one hand and hobbling slightly due to the cut on his knee. He was spotted almost instantly.
"Just where do you think that you're going? I didn't give you permission to leave you stupid Gryfindor. You're supposed to be telling me - "
"Hey, yours is bigger then mine!" Goyle suddenly exclaimed.
Hiro, Ron, and Haru glanced at Crabble and Goyle. Each of them had a large booger on their right index finger. They looked ready to eat them.
"Control your pets," Haru suggested. "They're being gross. Anyway, we gotta find Kisa before something happens to her. And I guess that - "
A sudden chittering filled the forest air, like the sound of millions of feet clicking against the ground. Ron's face paled. "Spiders," he whispered, his voice harsh. "There're going to eat us!" he croaked.
"Spiders don't eat people. They eat flies and other bugs. And besides that, they don't really eat them. They just suck their body fluids from their bodies. Leaving dried up corpses behind. They're really too small to eat people - "
"What about poisonous spiders?" Goyle suggested brightly.
"Not even poisonous spiders can eat people. At the very best, their venom might be strong enough - and I stress the word 'might' - to cause mild discomfort in humans. Well, in your case, I suppose the term 'large mammals would suffice - "
"Oh yeah, I think they look big enough to me!" a petrified Ron gasped as a large black spider came over a small dirt mound.
"What's that?" Hiro asked, for once just asking one question and not adding a billion statements to it.
"SPIDER!" Ron screamed, his fear overcoming his immobility. "RUN!"
Hiro spotted the spiders. "What the - " he began, pulling his wand out and starting to cast immobilizing spells. "What are they?" he demanded, hurrying towards Ron.
"SPIDERS!" Ron bellowed again.
"AGHHHHHHHHHH!" Crabble and Goyle screamed at the same time. "What are they?"
"I - I- I d-don't know," Hiro said nervously. "Do you think that they took Kisa?" He glanced at Haru only to find a wickedly happy smirk gracing the young cow's face. "Haru?" he questioned. Then, when he didn't get an answer, "Black Haru?"
"Hell yeah!" the youth exclaimed. He ran foreword, fists swing. Spiders went flying in every direction. But for as many as he clobbered, still more came to attempt to overcome him.
Hiro, Ron, Crabble, and Goyle all clutched at each other and decided fleeing was the best and only course of action. "Come one Haru!" Hiro shouted, and they ran.
Haru, on the other hand, ignored them. He was submerged in the joy of battle and refused to be torn away. For too long he had been restraining himself from going Black in classes and general hallway fights. It was time to have some fun!
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Yuki and Kyou walked beside each other. In front of them, in the middle, strolled Tohru. Soundlessly they picked their way through the thick foliage. All of them were lost deep within their own thoughts.
Kyou sighed heavily. Tohru looked cheerful, humming softly to herself. She was obviously enjoying her stay at Hogwarts. He sighed again. So far he wasn't. Things were different from back home. He wasn't able to see her everyday and when he did, they were usually just passing by in the halls. He was getting the feeling that he was losing touch with her.
"Tohru?" he called out.
The brunette stopped and glanced back at him. "What is it, Kyo-kun?" she asked politely.
The neko's face turned as orange as his hair. "It's nothing," he murmured shyly. "I just . . . . . . "
"Baka," Yuki murmured softly as Tohru turned back to center.
"What'd you say?" Kyou demanded, temper flaring at the merest word from Yuki's mouth. "You got a problem with me?!" he demanded.
Yuki glanced away swiftly. "Besides the fact that you're a worthless cat?" he inquired superiority. He looked away from Kyou distastefully.
"That's it!" Kyou shouted. "I'll take you on right now, you shitty rat!" he dropped into a fighting stance, an angry scowl on his face.
"Anytime, bakaneko!" Yuki responded, falling into a fighting stance of his own. Unlike Kyou's stance, he merely prepared himself mentally and shifted his weight to the balls of his feet to allow for greater maneuverable. The neko had both hands up and one leg back in a traditional fighting posture.
"Anou," Tohru called out in a worried voice. "We should be looking for Kisa-chan. Now isn't the time to be fighting."
Yuki switched to a harmless pose. "You're right," he concurred.
"Don't back out, rat boy!" Kyou hollered. He launched himself foreword with a punch. Misjudging the terrain, he tripped and cracked Tohru in the forehead.
Swirls in her eyes, the overly helpful girl toppled over muttered incomprehensibly to herself.
"Miss Honda!" Yuki exclaimed. He shot foreword to catch her before she fell. POOF! purple smoke billowed out around him as his body changed forms. His clothes fell around his small white rat form. Then Tohru fell on his clothes and him.
Yuki let out a squeak of surprise. Kyou let out a shout of horror. "Tohru!" they both shouted for different reasons.
"I'm all right, I'm O.K.," Tohru announced in a foggy voice. She sat up abruptly and smiled. "We should keep moving, ne?"
"Don't be stupid," Kyou said. "You're hurt. I - " he looked away, shame coloring his cheeks. "I'm sorr- "
"Uhmmm, Miss Honda do you suppose that you could carry me for a short while? I don't want to get eaten," Yuki announced, drawing Kyou and Tohru's attention toward him.
Slightly squashed, the white rat was fending off several small creatures. "A little help . . . ?" he requested.
Tohru smiled and gently picked him up. "Of course," she said, pressing him to her cheek. "I promise I won't let you get eaten."
Kyou sighed heavily. "Why does he get hugged?" he muttered jealously and to himself.
Tohru, upon hearing him, flung her arms out and engulfed him in a happy hug. "I'll hug you too, Kyou!" There was a POOF of orange smoke and he assumed his zodiac form.
Tohru's face blanked suddenly. "Ara . . . . I, uhmmm, sorry I uh, guess I - "
"It's okay," Kyou said. "I asked for it, didn't I? I'll just walk."
"I'm sorry," Tohru apologized once again.
Kyou sighed. "Don't be. You couldn't help it. And I don't want to here another apology out of you."
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Akito was amazed at himself. Long after the cow had gotten lost and everyone else had fallen behind, he was still going. He could see the tail of the black dog in the distance and he knew that Kisa wasn't that far ahead of it. Briefly, he wondered if the dog was Shigure.
Then he tripped over a root and hit his head, passing out right away.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Kagura glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Akito face plant. "Snappie-poo!" she shouted, flying foreword and knocking the potions master over with a sailing kick. "Akito-sama has passed out."
Snape quickly pulled himself to his feet, irritated that Kagura had followed him. "Take him back to the castle and don't come into the forest again. It's forbidden for a reason - "
"But I can't carry him!" Kagura protested. She grabbed Snape by his ankles, spilling him foreword.
"Fine!" Snape shouted. He sprang to his feet, darted back to where Akito lay and hoisted him onto his shoulders. "Now hurry!" he ordered.
They continued to pursue Black and Kisa.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
"Ha'ri, do you suppose that Kisa is scared?" Momiji asked, a skip in his step. "Do you think that she got caught by anyone? I hope that Professor Snape didn't catch her. I'll bet you couldn't erase his memory if you tried!"
Hatori glanced at Momiji. The young bunny had gotten lost and - of all things - stuck in a giant spider web. Hearing him whimpering, the dragon had made his way over to the noises and released him.
"It'll work on anyone with the exception of Akito-sama," he answered after a long moment.
"Kay!" Momiji exclaimed brightly. "I hope that you're right!"
"Are we close yet?" Momiji asked after several long moments.
"No, we'd hear them if they were closer," Hatori answered. As if in time with his words, they heard a loud POOF! Without hesitation, they both broke into a run, heading straight for the commotion.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Akito was horrible to carry, he squirmed constantly. Within seconds, Snape realized that he wouldn't be able to maintain his close proximity chase with Black. He spun on heel, coming to an abrupt halt facing Kagura.
"Drag him if you must, but take him back to Hogwarts!" he exclaimed. Then he threw the head of the Souma family directly at Kagura.
The young boar did the only thing she could do - she moved, dodging to the left and avoiding contact with the unconscious man by inches. "Hey! What do you think you're doing!" she roared.
Snape didn't answer, he had continued running.
"DAMN YOU, DON'T IGNORE ME!" she screamed. Then she launched herself foreword, giving Snape a Kyou-style beating. First she rained millions of punches down on him - snapping his wand by accident. Then she was stomping on him before attempting to crack his back.
When he was lying senselessly - or perhaps sensibly - motionless, she ceased her enraged attack. "Oh Snappie-poo, who did this to you?" he asked, cradling his head gently in her arms.
"You did!" Snape managed to accuse.
"I'd never hurt you! I love you too much!" Kagura declared. To prove her declaration, she flung her arms around him, embracing him in a rib crushing hug.
POOF! Colored smoke burst out, secreting her from view. The pressure died off, and when the smoke cleared, Snape noted that he had a pig hugging his hips.
"AGH!" he couldn't help but shout. Thoughts of pursuing Black vanished, replaced by thoughts on Kagura's transformation. He was sharp enough to know what happened in spite of not knowing why.
He pulled her back, a look of distaste curling his thin lips. "Miss Souma - a pig?" he hissed. "I never would have guessed it." The sarcasm was thick in his voice. "Disgusting," he added under his breath.
"DAMMIT!" Kagura bellowed. "Don't talk about ME THAT WAY!" And her piggy hoof smashed into his face just as Hatori and Momiji stepped through the bushes.
"That's enough!" Hatori said sharply. His green eyes lingered for a moment on Akito and then switched to Snape. "You're not to give away the family secrete!" he said sternly, his gaze switching to a slightly humbled pig.
"Gomen nasai," Kagura murmured, truly sorry for her misstep. She looked woefully at Snape.
"I guess we'll find out if it works!" Momiji said brightly.
Snape struggled to his feet, pulling his broken wand in the process. He aimed it at Kagura and the tip fell off along with half of the handle. Snarling, he reached for a spare.
"Relax," Hatori said in a soothing voice.
"I will not relax! That," and he spit the word out, "heathen! attacked me!"
Kagura gave a visible sigh of relief.
While Hatori attempted to calm Snape, Momiji glanced at her. "Why so happy?" he asked innocently.
"Snappie-poo's just upset because I accidentally beat him up and broke his wand. He doesn't mind that I'm a pig at all!" Kagura said brightly.
Momiji looked skeptical.
"Now close your eyes for a moment," Hatori said. "This will make all the pain go away," he fibbed lightly. There was a flash of light and then - "
Snape shot to his feet, a wild look in his black eyes. "He's getting away!" he exclaimed. "Take these errant students back to the castle and stay there!" he ordered Hatori. Then he raced off, straining his ears for the tell-tale sounds of people running.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Rin was so upset she could have screamed. Aya and Shigure, both of them grown men, were clinging to her legs, making it impossible to walk normally. "Stop it!" she snapped coldly, eyes flashing. It didn't do any good, both of them were scared witless.
"D-d-d-do you think the mutant p-p-ponies will return?" Aya stammered, burying his face in Rin's butt.
Rin's eyes narrowed in fury and she pried him loose, dumping him angrily on the ground. "Don't even think about it!" she snapped.
"I d-d-don't know!" Shigure answered. He buried his face in Rin's butt, following Aya's poor example.
Rin knocked him loose and stepped on his chest. "Don't do that again, Shigure," she ordered calmly.
"But I'm scared," the writer objected.
"Hentai," Rin corrected with the Japanese word for pervert.
"Scared!" Shigure said defensively.
"And who wouldn't be s-s-scared of mutant horses?" Aya demanded, not heeding her warning and clinging to her again. The centaurs of the forest had been pursuing them for some time. They had just lost them.
"Let's keep going," Rin suggested. "We'll get out of the forest before they return." Aya reluctantly let go of her leg and took her hand. Shigure took her other hand and they started walking.
Several seconds later, Aya was clutching mindlessly at her leg again. "I think," he whispered melodramatically, "That we're being followed."
Rin, on the verge of denying it, suddenly sensed the centaurs. "Damn, you're right!" she exclaimed.
Shigure and Aya screamed like girls and several centaur's leapt from the bushes with nets in their hands. "Catch the woman and kill the men!" the lead centaur bellowed.
Aya and Shigure screamed and grabbed each other. "I guess this is the end dearest Shigure!" Aya sobbed.
"I'll miss you so much!" Shigure responded.
"The times we spent together were unreal, my love!"
"I'll always cherish the bitter sweet memory of - " Shigure began only to be cut off by Rin.
"You're not dead yet!" Rin snarled, grabbing both of them out of the way as a rain of arrows showered down around them.
"Do you have a plan on how we can outrun a pack of mutant horses?!" Shigure screamed shrilly in her ear.
Rin pulled her mouth into a tight line. "We'll think of something!" she finally declared. In time with her words, a pack of wild unicorns burst from the trees, nickering for her to get on.
Rin could have cheered - and cursed. Now it was apparent why they were being chased. She was the horse of the zodiac and that meant that horses were drawn to her. Centaur's were half horse and unicorns were all horse.
"Come on!" she exclaimed, deciding to trust the unicorns. She swung herself onto one silken back and hauled Shigure and Aya onto separate ones. "Hold on to their manes!" she ordered.
Mentally she finished her argument about letting two boys ride the unicorns. They submitted and promised not to dump them at their nearest convenience.
The silvery white horse burst into a gallop, turning the trees into a green and black blur. Their tails and manes blew back freely, mingling with Rin's dark hair and Aya's silver hair. Shigure, however, merely got a face full of unicorn hair in his face.
They lost the centaur's near the exit to the forest. Rin didn't look back as they shot out of the trees.
They were safe on school grounds again. Hagrid's cabin to their left, they dismounted. "Go back now," Rin said firmly and completely in vain. "I gave you an order!" she snapped. "Now obey!"
"Uh, Rin, perhaps you could help Aya?" Shigure suggested mildly. "He has a slight problem."
Rin whirled, dark eyes flashing. "So do . . . . I," she started furiously and ended on the verge of laughter. "Aya, when did you," she restrained a couple of giggles, "Get shot?"
"This isn't funny!" Aya protested the laughter. He had two arrows protruding from his butt. He was also walking as if he were still on the horse, his legs out to the side.
"We'll take you to Hagrid's," Rin decided. "And perhaps he'll know what to do about the unicorns. He is the Care of Magical Creatures teacher after all."
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Kisa finally stopped running. Her breath was tearing through her orange striped form, and she was too tired to move another inch. She looked around, not seeing any pursuit, but not knowing where she was either.
She spit her clothes out of her mouth, lying down on top of them and waiting to transform back to her human form. She was in the process of hoping that she hadn't really been spotted when she changed back.
Her eyes fell on the black dog's and she sighed in relief. "Phew, you're just a puppy," she murmured. She picked up her clothes and froze. It wasn't all there. Of all of her clothes, the only pieces still remaining were her panties and shirt. She pulled them on quickly and reached out to pet the dog absently.
Then before her honey brown eyes, it turned into a man with his eyes closed. "Are you dressed yet?" the man asked, his voice gruff.
Kisa nodded her head in fearful confusion. She recognized the man as Sirius Black, a dangerous and wanted criminal. But how had he turned into a dog?
He opened his eyes, appraising her closer. "You're just a kid!" he said in surprise. "You're not with the Ministry, are you?" It was more of a statement then a question, so Kisa didn't answer.
He dropped down beside her, handing her his cloak.
"How'd you get your clothes back?" Kisa demanded suddenly suspicious.
"You transfigu - aw, nevermind," he said. He sat silently for several minutes. "Do you know who I am?" he asked.
Kisa nodded. "You're Sirius Black, a supporter of Boldermort, right?"
Sirius frowned. "Boldermort?" he echoed. "Don't you mean You-Know-Who?" He tilted his head curiously at her.
"Yeah, isn't his real name Lord Boldermort?" Kisa asked.
Sirius didn't answer. Instead he laughed wholeheartedly. "Muggle born, are you?" he guessed. "To think his name could be slaughtered so effortlessly."
Kisa cringed at his laugher.
Sirius noticed. "I ain't laughing at you . . . not really. You got his name right except for the first letter. It starts with a 'V', not a 'B'," he explained quickly.
Kisa's face turned red. "So then it's Lord Vol - "
"Yeah," Sirius said sobering slightly. "But you should keep calling him Boldermort . . . . I know I will," he said in a greatly amused tone.
Kisa smiled hesitantly. "But don't you work for him?"
"Lies. A set up. I'm anti-Boldermort," he said simply.
"Oh, did you see what happened in the library?" Kisa asked. "When I transformed?"
"Not clearly, but I got an eyeful out here," Sirius said truthfully. "The way I figure it is like this; you keep my secret and I'll keep yours."
"Can anyone do what you did?" Kisa inquired.
"Yeah, but I do it illegally. I'm an Animagus - you won't have covered them yet - and you have to be registered at the Ministry. No one knows that I'm what I am. It makes keeping out of prison a lot easier. Although . . . come to think about it - you're an Anima - "
Kisa stood up and bowed politely. "I'm Kisa Souma," she told him. "I'm from Japan. I promise I won't tell a soul about you're secret - not even if you tell about mine!"
Sirius stood up. "I won't tell anyone your secrete, no matter what Miss Kisa," he said with a bow of his own. "Now, just out of curiosity, how long have you been an Animagus?"
"A what?" Kisa asked.
"How did you transform?" he rephrased.
Kisa glanced down and then back up. "You hugged me . . . or at least the curse thought so . . . . . " Deciding to trust him, she told him everything.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
"Kisa!" Harry exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing out here?" It was sometime later when she ran into her two friends.
"Harry, turn around," Hermione said sternly.
"But why?" Harry started to ask, but the witch spun him on heel.
"Now, put on my cloak and hold it tight. What happened to your clothes?" Hermione inquired lightly. "You're barely dressed, you know."
"Hermione, don't you think she'd know that?" Harry asked, face slightly red as he realized why he was facing the bushes.
"Thank-you Hermione," Kisa said softly. She gave the older girl a hug and smiled shyly. "Can we not talk about this anymore. I'd like to get back to school before we lose a billion points for our house . . . . . . "
"Sure," Harry and Hermione said together, spotting Sirius giving them a thumbs up sign from the foliage. "Let's go."
Fifteen minutes later, they came across the Weasely's flying car. "Do you think we could get a ride?" Hermione inquired.
"Do you think it still runs?" Kisa murmured. She pulled open a door and climbed inside.
The engine roared to a start and the lights came on. All the doors opened at the same time.
Harry shrugged. "Looks like it," he said. He climbed in and Hermione followed. Then, slowly at first the car surged foreword.
"Ron and I used this car to get to school in our second year . . . . . " Harry began to tell Kisa.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
"HEADLIGHTS! WE'RE SAVED!" Ron screamed in relief.
Crabble, Hiro, Goyle, and Ron stopped running and started waving for the car to stop. "Save us!" Crabble shouted.
The car stopped. "Get it!" Hermione ordered, blasting at the closest spiders. "Hurry up!"
They all piled into the car and roared away from the spiders and onto the lawn near the Whommping Willow. Then the car ejected them and rolled back into the forest.
"Wild," Kisa breathed in amazement.
Hiro raised his hand in greetings, for once, unable to say anything at all.
"Wild doesn't come close!" Ron objected. Then he shuttered. "I'm never going in there again!"
"Truly a wise decision," Professor Dumbledore's wizened voice announced. "I believe that you all have detention. Please see Madam Pomfrey and turn into your beds. You'll be informed of you punishments tomorrow."
No one objected.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
McGonagall tripped, the hem of her robe accidentally stepped on. Her hat fell askew and she grunted in irritation, barely checking her tongue in the hopes that nothing would be said of the incident.
She hoped in vain.
"I'M SO SORRY!" Ritsu bellowed, loud enough to dislodge bark from a nearby tree. "I'M SUCH A CLUTZ THAT I DON'T EVEN DESERVE TO LIVE!" He fell to his feet, clutching at her robes. "PLEAAASSSSSSEEEEEEEE FORGIVE ME! IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN!"
McGonagall rolled her eyes. He had promised that it wouldn't happen again more times then she could count. She massaged her temples and wished the exit would come quicker.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
And off course, Haru and Snape were still completely lost somewhere near the middle of the forest. :)
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Author's notes; How's this for quick?! I did this chapter as quick as possible, staying up late to finish it and everything. As always, let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading,
Kissa-chan
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
After several long moments, Haru decided that he hated the Forbidden Forest. Not only had he gotten lost right away, but he had also gotten separated from everyone else in the group of pursuers he had been part of.
"Hello!" he called out, but no one answered him. "Damn," he muttered. He picked a direction and slowly marched into the thicket. "I guess I'll go this way . . . ."
"Hey, aren't those women's undergarments? Yeah, they are, and they're Kisa's at that! Honestly, don't you have any decency at all? Hand them over right away, you stupid Gryfindor - " he suddenly heard Hiro's voice call out hotly from the dark trees.
"S-s-s-sorry," he heard an unfamiliar voice stammer.
"You better be!" Crabble shouted. There was a crashing of shrubs. Obviously the large Slytherin was advancing foreword in a menacing fashion.
"I didn't tell you to attack him!" Hiro's voice came again, this time irritated. "I want him to give me Kisa's bra and tell me how - and where - he got it from. If he took from her body then - Goyle, what the hell are you doing? Get your finger out of your nose! That's an appalling, disgusting habit that I don't ever want to see -ugh, don't eat your own boogers!" Hiro shouted hotly.
Haru finally orientated on them. "Hey, Hiro do you know where Kisa is?" he asked. "She was . . . . uhm . . . . in the library and then she . . . uhmmmmmmmm - "
"I know!" Hiro exclaimed. "I saw, unlike you I have eyes and they work. What are you doing out here? Following Akito's orders, no doubt! However, I'd be willing to bet anything that you are completely lost. Only a dope like you could - "
While Hiro ranted, Ron began to meekly slip away into the trees, hiding his Kisa's bra with one hand and hobbling slightly due to the cut on his knee. He was spotted almost instantly.
"Just where do you think that you're going? I didn't give you permission to leave you stupid Gryfindor. You're supposed to be telling me - "
"Hey, yours is bigger then mine!" Goyle suddenly exclaimed.
Hiro, Ron, and Haru glanced at Crabble and Goyle. Each of them had a large booger on their right index finger. They looked ready to eat them.
"Control your pets," Haru suggested. "They're being gross. Anyway, we gotta find Kisa before something happens to her. And I guess that - "
A sudden chittering filled the forest air, like the sound of millions of feet clicking against the ground. Ron's face paled. "Spiders," he whispered, his voice harsh. "There're going to eat us!" he croaked.
"Spiders don't eat people. They eat flies and other bugs. And besides that, they don't really eat them. They just suck their body fluids from their bodies. Leaving dried up corpses behind. They're really too small to eat people - "
"What about poisonous spiders?" Goyle suggested brightly.
"Not even poisonous spiders can eat people. At the very best, their venom might be strong enough - and I stress the word 'might' - to cause mild discomfort in humans. Well, in your case, I suppose the term 'large mammals would suffice - "
"Oh yeah, I think they look big enough to me!" a petrified Ron gasped as a large black spider came over a small dirt mound.
"What's that?" Hiro asked, for once just asking one question and not adding a billion statements to it.
"SPIDER!" Ron screamed, his fear overcoming his immobility. "RUN!"
Hiro spotted the spiders. "What the - " he began, pulling his wand out and starting to cast immobilizing spells. "What are they?" he demanded, hurrying towards Ron.
"SPIDERS!" Ron bellowed again.
"AGHHHHHHHHHH!" Crabble and Goyle screamed at the same time. "What are they?"
"I - I- I d-don't know," Hiro said nervously. "Do you think that they took Kisa?" He glanced at Haru only to find a wickedly happy smirk gracing the young cow's face. "Haru?" he questioned. Then, when he didn't get an answer, "Black Haru?"
"Hell yeah!" the youth exclaimed. He ran foreword, fists swing. Spiders went flying in every direction. But for as many as he clobbered, still more came to attempt to overcome him.
Hiro, Ron, Crabble, and Goyle all clutched at each other and decided fleeing was the best and only course of action. "Come one Haru!" Hiro shouted, and they ran.
Haru, on the other hand, ignored them. He was submerged in the joy of battle and refused to be torn away. For too long he had been restraining himself from going Black in classes and general hallway fights. It was time to have some fun!
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Yuki and Kyou walked beside each other. In front of them, in the middle, strolled Tohru. Soundlessly they picked their way through the thick foliage. All of them were lost deep within their own thoughts.
Kyou sighed heavily. Tohru looked cheerful, humming softly to herself. She was obviously enjoying her stay at Hogwarts. He sighed again. So far he wasn't. Things were different from back home. He wasn't able to see her everyday and when he did, they were usually just passing by in the halls. He was getting the feeling that he was losing touch with her.
"Tohru?" he called out.
The brunette stopped and glanced back at him. "What is it, Kyo-kun?" she asked politely.
The neko's face turned as orange as his hair. "It's nothing," he murmured shyly. "I just . . . . . . "
"Baka," Yuki murmured softly as Tohru turned back to center.
"What'd you say?" Kyou demanded, temper flaring at the merest word from Yuki's mouth. "You got a problem with me?!" he demanded.
Yuki glanced away swiftly. "Besides the fact that you're a worthless cat?" he inquired superiority. He looked away from Kyou distastefully.
"That's it!" Kyou shouted. "I'll take you on right now, you shitty rat!" he dropped into a fighting stance, an angry scowl on his face.
"Anytime, bakaneko!" Yuki responded, falling into a fighting stance of his own. Unlike Kyou's stance, he merely prepared himself mentally and shifted his weight to the balls of his feet to allow for greater maneuverable. The neko had both hands up and one leg back in a traditional fighting posture.
"Anou," Tohru called out in a worried voice. "We should be looking for Kisa-chan. Now isn't the time to be fighting."
Yuki switched to a harmless pose. "You're right," he concurred.
"Don't back out, rat boy!" Kyou hollered. He launched himself foreword with a punch. Misjudging the terrain, he tripped and cracked Tohru in the forehead.
Swirls in her eyes, the overly helpful girl toppled over muttered incomprehensibly to herself.
"Miss Honda!" Yuki exclaimed. He shot foreword to catch her before she fell. POOF! purple smoke billowed out around him as his body changed forms. His clothes fell around his small white rat form. Then Tohru fell on his clothes and him.
Yuki let out a squeak of surprise. Kyou let out a shout of horror. "Tohru!" they both shouted for different reasons.
"I'm all right, I'm O.K.," Tohru announced in a foggy voice. She sat up abruptly and smiled. "We should keep moving, ne?"
"Don't be stupid," Kyou said. "You're hurt. I - " he looked away, shame coloring his cheeks. "I'm sorr- "
"Uhmmm, Miss Honda do you suppose that you could carry me for a short while? I don't want to get eaten," Yuki announced, drawing Kyou and Tohru's attention toward him.
Slightly squashed, the white rat was fending off several small creatures. "A little help . . . ?" he requested.
Tohru smiled and gently picked him up. "Of course," she said, pressing him to her cheek. "I promise I won't let you get eaten."
Kyou sighed heavily. "Why does he get hugged?" he muttered jealously and to himself.
Tohru, upon hearing him, flung her arms out and engulfed him in a happy hug. "I'll hug you too, Kyou!" There was a POOF of orange smoke and he assumed his zodiac form.
Tohru's face blanked suddenly. "Ara . . . . I, uhmmm, sorry I uh, guess I - "
"It's okay," Kyou said. "I asked for it, didn't I? I'll just walk."
"I'm sorry," Tohru apologized once again.
Kyou sighed. "Don't be. You couldn't help it. And I don't want to here another apology out of you."
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Akito was amazed at himself. Long after the cow had gotten lost and everyone else had fallen behind, he was still going. He could see the tail of the black dog in the distance and he knew that Kisa wasn't that far ahead of it. Briefly, he wondered if the dog was Shigure.
Then he tripped over a root and hit his head, passing out right away.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Kagura glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Akito face plant. "Snappie-poo!" she shouted, flying foreword and knocking the potions master over with a sailing kick. "Akito-sama has passed out."
Snape quickly pulled himself to his feet, irritated that Kagura had followed him. "Take him back to the castle and don't come into the forest again. It's forbidden for a reason - "
"But I can't carry him!" Kagura protested. She grabbed Snape by his ankles, spilling him foreword.
"Fine!" Snape shouted. He sprang to his feet, darted back to where Akito lay and hoisted him onto his shoulders. "Now hurry!" he ordered.
They continued to pursue Black and Kisa.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
"Ha'ri, do you suppose that Kisa is scared?" Momiji asked, a skip in his step. "Do you think that she got caught by anyone? I hope that Professor Snape didn't catch her. I'll bet you couldn't erase his memory if you tried!"
Hatori glanced at Momiji. The young bunny had gotten lost and - of all things - stuck in a giant spider web. Hearing him whimpering, the dragon had made his way over to the noises and released him.
"It'll work on anyone with the exception of Akito-sama," he answered after a long moment.
"Kay!" Momiji exclaimed brightly. "I hope that you're right!"
"Are we close yet?" Momiji asked after several long moments.
"No, we'd hear them if they were closer," Hatori answered. As if in time with his words, they heard a loud POOF! Without hesitation, they both broke into a run, heading straight for the commotion.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Akito was horrible to carry, he squirmed constantly. Within seconds, Snape realized that he wouldn't be able to maintain his close proximity chase with Black. He spun on heel, coming to an abrupt halt facing Kagura.
"Drag him if you must, but take him back to Hogwarts!" he exclaimed. Then he threw the head of the Souma family directly at Kagura.
The young boar did the only thing she could do - she moved, dodging to the left and avoiding contact with the unconscious man by inches. "Hey! What do you think you're doing!" she roared.
Snape didn't answer, he had continued running.
"DAMN YOU, DON'T IGNORE ME!" she screamed. Then she launched herself foreword, giving Snape a Kyou-style beating. First she rained millions of punches down on him - snapping his wand by accident. Then she was stomping on him before attempting to crack his back.
When he was lying senselessly - or perhaps sensibly - motionless, she ceased her enraged attack. "Oh Snappie-poo, who did this to you?" he asked, cradling his head gently in her arms.
"You did!" Snape managed to accuse.
"I'd never hurt you! I love you too much!" Kagura declared. To prove her declaration, she flung her arms around him, embracing him in a rib crushing hug.
POOF! Colored smoke burst out, secreting her from view. The pressure died off, and when the smoke cleared, Snape noted that he had a pig hugging his hips.
"AGH!" he couldn't help but shout. Thoughts of pursuing Black vanished, replaced by thoughts on Kagura's transformation. He was sharp enough to know what happened in spite of not knowing why.
He pulled her back, a look of distaste curling his thin lips. "Miss Souma - a pig?" he hissed. "I never would have guessed it." The sarcasm was thick in his voice. "Disgusting," he added under his breath.
"DAMMIT!" Kagura bellowed. "Don't talk about ME THAT WAY!" And her piggy hoof smashed into his face just as Hatori and Momiji stepped through the bushes.
"That's enough!" Hatori said sharply. His green eyes lingered for a moment on Akito and then switched to Snape. "You're not to give away the family secrete!" he said sternly, his gaze switching to a slightly humbled pig.
"Gomen nasai," Kagura murmured, truly sorry for her misstep. She looked woefully at Snape.
"I guess we'll find out if it works!" Momiji said brightly.
Snape struggled to his feet, pulling his broken wand in the process. He aimed it at Kagura and the tip fell off along with half of the handle. Snarling, he reached for a spare.
"Relax," Hatori said in a soothing voice.
"I will not relax! That," and he spit the word out, "heathen! attacked me!"
Kagura gave a visible sigh of relief.
While Hatori attempted to calm Snape, Momiji glanced at her. "Why so happy?" he asked innocently.
"Snappie-poo's just upset because I accidentally beat him up and broke his wand. He doesn't mind that I'm a pig at all!" Kagura said brightly.
Momiji looked skeptical.
"Now close your eyes for a moment," Hatori said. "This will make all the pain go away," he fibbed lightly. There was a flash of light and then - "
Snape shot to his feet, a wild look in his black eyes. "He's getting away!" he exclaimed. "Take these errant students back to the castle and stay there!" he ordered Hatori. Then he raced off, straining his ears for the tell-tale sounds of people running.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Rin was so upset she could have screamed. Aya and Shigure, both of them grown men, were clinging to her legs, making it impossible to walk normally. "Stop it!" she snapped coldly, eyes flashing. It didn't do any good, both of them were scared witless.
"D-d-d-do you think the mutant p-p-ponies will return?" Aya stammered, burying his face in Rin's butt.
Rin's eyes narrowed in fury and she pried him loose, dumping him angrily on the ground. "Don't even think about it!" she snapped.
"I d-d-don't know!" Shigure answered. He buried his face in Rin's butt, following Aya's poor example.
Rin knocked him loose and stepped on his chest. "Don't do that again, Shigure," she ordered calmly.
"But I'm scared," the writer objected.
"Hentai," Rin corrected with the Japanese word for pervert.
"Scared!" Shigure said defensively.
"And who wouldn't be s-s-scared of mutant horses?" Aya demanded, not heeding her warning and clinging to her again. The centaurs of the forest had been pursuing them for some time. They had just lost them.
"Let's keep going," Rin suggested. "We'll get out of the forest before they return." Aya reluctantly let go of her leg and took her hand. Shigure took her other hand and they started walking.
Several seconds later, Aya was clutching mindlessly at her leg again. "I think," he whispered melodramatically, "That we're being followed."
Rin, on the verge of denying it, suddenly sensed the centaurs. "Damn, you're right!" she exclaimed.
Shigure and Aya screamed like girls and several centaur's leapt from the bushes with nets in their hands. "Catch the woman and kill the men!" the lead centaur bellowed.
Aya and Shigure screamed and grabbed each other. "I guess this is the end dearest Shigure!" Aya sobbed.
"I'll miss you so much!" Shigure responded.
"The times we spent together were unreal, my love!"
"I'll always cherish the bitter sweet memory of - " Shigure began only to be cut off by Rin.
"You're not dead yet!" Rin snarled, grabbing both of them out of the way as a rain of arrows showered down around them.
"Do you have a plan on how we can outrun a pack of mutant horses?!" Shigure screamed shrilly in her ear.
Rin pulled her mouth into a tight line. "We'll think of something!" she finally declared. In time with her words, a pack of wild unicorns burst from the trees, nickering for her to get on.
Rin could have cheered - and cursed. Now it was apparent why they were being chased. She was the horse of the zodiac and that meant that horses were drawn to her. Centaur's were half horse and unicorns were all horse.
"Come on!" she exclaimed, deciding to trust the unicorns. She swung herself onto one silken back and hauled Shigure and Aya onto separate ones. "Hold on to their manes!" she ordered.
Mentally she finished her argument about letting two boys ride the unicorns. They submitted and promised not to dump them at their nearest convenience.
The silvery white horse burst into a gallop, turning the trees into a green and black blur. Their tails and manes blew back freely, mingling with Rin's dark hair and Aya's silver hair. Shigure, however, merely got a face full of unicorn hair in his face.
They lost the centaur's near the exit to the forest. Rin didn't look back as they shot out of the trees.
They were safe on school grounds again. Hagrid's cabin to their left, they dismounted. "Go back now," Rin said firmly and completely in vain. "I gave you an order!" she snapped. "Now obey!"
"Uh, Rin, perhaps you could help Aya?" Shigure suggested mildly. "He has a slight problem."
Rin whirled, dark eyes flashing. "So do . . . . I," she started furiously and ended on the verge of laughter. "Aya, when did you," she restrained a couple of giggles, "Get shot?"
"This isn't funny!" Aya protested the laughter. He had two arrows protruding from his butt. He was also walking as if he were still on the horse, his legs out to the side.
"We'll take you to Hagrid's," Rin decided. "And perhaps he'll know what to do about the unicorns. He is the Care of Magical Creatures teacher after all."
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Kisa finally stopped running. Her breath was tearing through her orange striped form, and she was too tired to move another inch. She looked around, not seeing any pursuit, but not knowing where she was either.
She spit her clothes out of her mouth, lying down on top of them and waiting to transform back to her human form. She was in the process of hoping that she hadn't really been spotted when she changed back.
Her eyes fell on the black dog's and she sighed in relief. "Phew, you're just a puppy," she murmured. She picked up her clothes and froze. It wasn't all there. Of all of her clothes, the only pieces still remaining were her panties and shirt. She pulled them on quickly and reached out to pet the dog absently.
Then before her honey brown eyes, it turned into a man with his eyes closed. "Are you dressed yet?" the man asked, his voice gruff.
Kisa nodded her head in fearful confusion. She recognized the man as Sirius Black, a dangerous and wanted criminal. But how had he turned into a dog?
He opened his eyes, appraising her closer. "You're just a kid!" he said in surprise. "You're not with the Ministry, are you?" It was more of a statement then a question, so Kisa didn't answer.
He dropped down beside her, handing her his cloak.
"How'd you get your clothes back?" Kisa demanded suddenly suspicious.
"You transfigu - aw, nevermind," he said. He sat silently for several minutes. "Do you know who I am?" he asked.
Kisa nodded. "You're Sirius Black, a supporter of Boldermort, right?"
Sirius frowned. "Boldermort?" he echoed. "Don't you mean You-Know-Who?" He tilted his head curiously at her.
"Yeah, isn't his real name Lord Boldermort?" Kisa asked.
Sirius didn't answer. Instead he laughed wholeheartedly. "Muggle born, are you?" he guessed. "To think his name could be slaughtered so effortlessly."
Kisa cringed at his laugher.
Sirius noticed. "I ain't laughing at you . . . not really. You got his name right except for the first letter. It starts with a 'V', not a 'B'," he explained quickly.
Kisa's face turned red. "So then it's Lord Vol - "
"Yeah," Sirius said sobering slightly. "But you should keep calling him Boldermort . . . . I know I will," he said in a greatly amused tone.
Kisa smiled hesitantly. "But don't you work for him?"
"Lies. A set up. I'm anti-Boldermort," he said simply.
"Oh, did you see what happened in the library?" Kisa asked. "When I transformed?"
"Not clearly, but I got an eyeful out here," Sirius said truthfully. "The way I figure it is like this; you keep my secret and I'll keep yours."
"Can anyone do what you did?" Kisa inquired.
"Yeah, but I do it illegally. I'm an Animagus - you won't have covered them yet - and you have to be registered at the Ministry. No one knows that I'm what I am. It makes keeping out of prison a lot easier. Although . . . come to think about it - you're an Anima - "
Kisa stood up and bowed politely. "I'm Kisa Souma," she told him. "I'm from Japan. I promise I won't tell a soul about you're secret - not even if you tell about mine!"
Sirius stood up. "I won't tell anyone your secrete, no matter what Miss Kisa," he said with a bow of his own. "Now, just out of curiosity, how long have you been an Animagus?"
"A what?" Kisa asked.
"How did you transform?" he rephrased.
Kisa glanced down and then back up. "You hugged me . . . or at least the curse thought so . . . . . " Deciding to trust him, she told him everything.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
"Kisa!" Harry exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing out here?" It was sometime later when she ran into her two friends.
"Harry, turn around," Hermione said sternly.
"But why?" Harry started to ask, but the witch spun him on heel.
"Now, put on my cloak and hold it tight. What happened to your clothes?" Hermione inquired lightly. "You're barely dressed, you know."
"Hermione, don't you think she'd know that?" Harry asked, face slightly red as he realized why he was facing the bushes.
"Thank-you Hermione," Kisa said softly. She gave the older girl a hug and smiled shyly. "Can we not talk about this anymore. I'd like to get back to school before we lose a billion points for our house . . . . . . "
"Sure," Harry and Hermione said together, spotting Sirius giving them a thumbs up sign from the foliage. "Let's go."
Fifteen minutes later, they came across the Weasely's flying car. "Do you think we could get a ride?" Hermione inquired.
"Do you think it still runs?" Kisa murmured. She pulled open a door and climbed inside.
The engine roared to a start and the lights came on. All the doors opened at the same time.
Harry shrugged. "Looks like it," he said. He climbed in and Hermione followed. Then, slowly at first the car surged foreword.
"Ron and I used this car to get to school in our second year . . . . . " Harry began to tell Kisa.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
"HEADLIGHTS! WE'RE SAVED!" Ron screamed in relief.
Crabble, Hiro, Goyle, and Ron stopped running and started waving for the car to stop. "Save us!" Crabble shouted.
The car stopped. "Get it!" Hermione ordered, blasting at the closest spiders. "Hurry up!"
They all piled into the car and roared away from the spiders and onto the lawn near the Whommping Willow. Then the car ejected them and rolled back into the forest.
"Wild," Kisa breathed in amazement.
Hiro raised his hand in greetings, for once, unable to say anything at all.
"Wild doesn't come close!" Ron objected. Then he shuttered. "I'm never going in there again!"
"Truly a wise decision," Professor Dumbledore's wizened voice announced. "I believe that you all have detention. Please see Madam Pomfrey and turn into your beds. You'll be informed of you punishments tomorrow."
No one objected.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
McGonagall tripped, the hem of her robe accidentally stepped on. Her hat fell askew and she grunted in irritation, barely checking her tongue in the hopes that nothing would be said of the incident.
She hoped in vain.
"I'M SO SORRY!" Ritsu bellowed, loud enough to dislodge bark from a nearby tree. "I'M SUCH A CLUTZ THAT I DON'T EVEN DESERVE TO LIVE!" He fell to his feet, clutching at her robes. "PLEAAASSSSSSEEEEEEEE FORGIVE ME! IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN!"
McGonagall rolled her eyes. He had promised that it wouldn't happen again more times then she could count. She massaged her temples and wished the exit would come quicker.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
And off course, Haru and Snape were still completely lost somewhere near the middle of the forest. :)
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Author's notes; How's this for quick?! I did this chapter as quick as possible, staying up late to finish it and everything. As always, let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading,
Kissa-chan