Disclaimer: Hello... umm none of us own FB at all... we own nothing more save the characters, plot, story idea, and umm... Amber-chan owns the Dark Zodiac.
Once upon a time, long long ago, there lived an Emperor. He ruled over his land benevolently and cherished every living creature in it. As he was taking a quiet stroll through the forest one afternoon, a very philosophical question plagued his mind,
"How can we tell how long we've been on this world, or how long we have left on it? We live our lives day by day, but we don't really keep count well..." After some thought, the Emperor decided to use the yearly calendar; only, he would change it to include twelve animals to represent a cycle.
"Now, which animals should I choose... there are so many..." The emperor said in apprehension. That night, in his chambers, he posed the question to his wife. After some thought, she smiled and said,
"Why don't you hold a competition, dear? I know you love all the creatures of this world, but perhaps you should only use the first twelve that complete a competition to represent your years." The emperor smiled, his wife had a good point; he would hold a race through the toughest part of his kingdom. The next day, the Emperor went through the wilds of his forests and the towns and villages, telling all the animals about the race that was to take place the next day.
One of the town cats looked up in interest at the Emperors words but sighed in dismay, "I would love to participate... but I'm so small, and I hate water. I've hunted in that forest and I know of the huge river that courses through it."
A nearby rat, who also heard the news, scurried up to the distraught feline timidly, "It is true, both you and I are small, but I know a way we can get through the race fairly quickly; I'll agree to share my secret with you if you promise not to eat me."
Curiosity had this cat's ears pricked forward, prepared to listen, "I won't eat you, how can we get through the race with so many other animals to contend with?"
The small rat grinned, "I'm sure the ox has heard the news by now; he's normally up with the rising sun, we might be able to convince him to allow us to ride on his back for part of the race."
The cat purred in delight, "Good idea, rat. Let's go ask the Ox to wake us for the race!" Together, the two animals raced off to the pasture where Ox was grazing to ask for his help.
Ox looked up from eating as he noticed the little cat racing towards him with a rat on it's head, "Well, that's something I've never seen before..."
When they reached the big creature, rat spoke up, "Hello, Ox, have you heard the news?"
"I have, the emperor plans to test us of our worth by holding a race tomorrow." The ox replied.
The cat's whiskers twitched nervously, "Do you, uh; do you think you could wake us up tomorrow when you wake?"
"We wish to get a head start on some of the larger animals, but I fear we won't be able to keep up well with such short legs..." Rat echoed, a sneaky grin in his mind.
"Sure... I have no problem waking the two of you up, and to solve the problem of short legs, I shall let you ride on my back when your legs grow tired. We'll travel together." The Ox nodded. The next morning, as promised, Ox woke both the cat and the rat up and together they headed for the forest. They were up before the sun had risen and as such, Cat was rather drowsy. While picking their way carefully through the dark forest, they saw, smelled, and heard other animals awaking and beginning their journey in the race.
Eventually the trio made it to the raging river to find animals already on the other side with the emperor.
"Oh no... I hate water, there's no way I can swim across," The cat meowed fearfully.
"Do not worry, you and rat may ride on my back, I can swim across" Ox knelt down for the two creatures to climb on; "We need to hurry if we want to have a place in the zodiac." The cat and the rat did as they were told and were soon floating across the water on the ox's back. The rat looked uneasily at the number of
animals already on the opposite bank and decided he needed to knock off some competition for a place in the zodiac.
"Hey, look at all the tasty fish swimming below us!" He said slyly to the feline beside him.
The cat looked into the water hungrily, "My, they do look tasty; I haven't eaten since last night..." The rat took this opportunity to bite down on the poor cat's tail hard, causing her to jump in pain and fall off the Ox.
Splashing and sputtering in the churning water of the river Cat yowled, "What'd you do that for, Rat?!" Rat didn't hear her, for he had set his sights on the far bank of the river. Already assembled on the other side of the river were a few animals that lived in the forest already and had a head start. Rat could tell that a Ferret had claimed first place, a water buffalo behind her for second. Lazily sleeping nearby was a lion, who had claimed third place. As the rat silently urged the determined ox to swim faster, a small weasel darted across the finish line to claim fourth place.
"Ox, we'll never make it in time, 4 places have already been won!" The Rat complained.
"I'm swimming as fast as I can, the current here is very strong." The Ox grunted. As he spoke, his hooves were nudged by something below the water's surface. As he faltered in his swimming, the form swam quickly away from him and towards the bank. Poking its head out of the water as it reached the shallow waters, a small freshwater shark called to the Emperor,
"I cannot make it to shore, but I have swam so far, can I still claim a spot?"
The emperor smiled and nodded, pleased to see his plan working. He had 5 animals for his zodiac cycle so far and more were coming. Meanwhile, the cat struggled in the strong current to swim to the finish line; pitiful mews came from her mouth as wave after wave of water crashed over her head. As she struggled a small lizard crossed the finish line, running at full speed on his hind legs.
"What a peculiar creature..." The Emperor admired the small animal.
While admiring the lizard, a timid deer emerged from the thick brush to finish as 7th.
"Welcome, gentle creature!" The Emperor smiled upon seeing it.
Back in the river, Rat was practically pulling out his fur, "We'll never make it in time!"
"Be patient little rat, I'm almost there!" Ox reassured, getting a little weary himself. Farther downstream, running along the river on the far side was a lone wolf who had apparently crossed at a more shallow part of the river; he was followed by a smaller dog. Dog was barking like a lunatic as she raced at the wolf's heels. As Ox thought he would make it to the other side a log suddenly slammed into him, having been washed down with the current. Rat was almost knocked off but held on as ox floundered in the water. During this time Goat used the log to jump onto and bridge the gap to the next stone. He jumped from that one to shore and took 8th place. While all this was going on, a lemur was launching itself from one tree to another as he crossed the river. He dropped from his tree and sat before the emperor in 9th place.
"Wow... 9 animals already, only 3 more to go!" The emperor exclaimed.
Cat swam vigorously, managing to climb onto the log. She looked at the shore sadly as the river's current washed the log downstream. She passed the wolf and dog as the wolf had turned to snap at the annoying mutt. While dodging the sharp teeth of the wolf, Dog caught sight of cat sailing by helplessly on the log and dashed off the way she came to help her. When wolf resumed running, he saw a hawk swoop down to take 10th place in this race. Not willing to be outdone by any other animals, he made sure he had 11th place. Just when Ox finally had the pebbles of the shore beneath his hooves, a bear ambled across the finish line. Sadly, ox dropped his head, and rat cursed at their horrid luck. Behind them, and around them, other animals had gathered; all too late to take a place in the zodiac. Tiger, Boar, Monkey, Snake, rabbit, rooster, horse, sheep, and dragon gathered around the emperor, exhausted from their journey. Downstream, dog came bounding towards the group, cat dangling from her jaws. After setting her down, dog barked out excitedly.
"Look, look! I found a cat; did we make it to the zodiac??"
Shaking his head, the Emperor replied, "I'm sorry, loyal dog, but the twelve positions have already been filled. Thank you all for trying; Ferret, Water Buffalo, Lion, Weasel, Shark, Lizard, Deer, Goat, Lemur, Hawk, Wolf, and Bear will all represent one year in the 12 year cycle."
An angry roar erupted from the tree branch above as a panther dropped down, glaring at the emperor, "Ridiculous! We've all traveled long and hard and played your game, we should all have a year named after us!"
"But then we would have a 26 year cycle, that's way too long to keep track of!" The emperor protested, made uneasy by the gleaming golden eyes amidst the dark fur.
"This is stupid! I travel from my calm jungle to please you, and I don't get anything in return for my efforts!?" Panther hissed with rage.
"It was not just you who lost out, Panther. We all failed to make it in time..." Cat stated in a sad mew.
"I am sorry, there's nothing I can do.... These twelve creatures were the first to cross my finish line; I must honor them with the zodiac years." The Emperor bowed his head in apology.
"Quit complaining already; just take the fact that you lost and go home!" Wolf snarled irritated.
"That was very rude, Wolf." Ferret squeaked, "Why don't we all have a party to celebrate the success of our great journeys?" She turned to the other 14 animals, "You are free to come and play with us."
Rat smiled in gratitude, "Thank you for your kind offer, I will accept."
Ox nodded, "So will I."
Cat agreed as well, so did the other animals present... except the Panther.
"I don't have time to waste on a victory party that really isn't in my name," Glaring at the emperor, he padded back into the forest he came from. He decided he'd wait till tomorrow to leave, and that he needed rest. Later that night, in a small clearing in the woods, the 25 animals partied and had a great time. The panther lay nearby, trying to sleep. Before it got too late, rat realized that the zodiac winners of the race had no intentions of sleeping anytime soon and a plan soon formulated in his mind. He privately spoke with each of the losing animals and a half hour later, they all started to leave, each talking about what they would have to do the next day. The cat seemed to be the only one against the plan, she hissed at the rat.
"Leave me out of your cunning scheming you traitorous rodent... I should have eaten you before I made my promise." With that, she turned and bounded off into the underbrush.
"Well good... at least we won't have to explain to the emperor why we brought 13 animals instead of 12..." The rat grinned.
Stalking through the greenery, tail twitching behind her quite irritably, the cat left to vent somewhere. 'I must get revenge on that damn rat...He's trying to trick animals again... but how?' lost in these incoherent thoughts, Cat didn't realize that she had stumbled upon Panther, growling slightly at the sleep he couldn't receive because of all the racket the other animals were making. Hearing the brush nearby move as some animal made its way through it; Panther sprang to his paws, pouncing at the unfortunate creature. Cat immediately surfaced from her thinking with a hiss of surprise as the huge feline was suddenly upon her. Her eyes widened at the gleaming white fangs that were bared. Panther blinked at the cat, but got up seeing as she was no threat to him,
"So, have enough partying?" He snarled with resentment.
"No, not really... a certain rat killed my partying fun though." Cat replied, still a little ticked off from Rat's plans.
"What'd the rodent do to you, and why didn't you just eat him?" Panther asked. Cat told Panther all about the deal she and rat made and how he double crossed her and was trying to take victory from the zodiac winners.
"Well... as much as I resent the other animals for winning...it's not their fault the emperor couldn't bless us all...We've got to make sure the zodiac animals make it to the banquet tomorrow!" Panther growled.
"Right...are we going to wake them tomorrow and make sure they make it on time?" Cat asked unsurely.
Panther grinned, "Of course dear cat!" 'Then maybe we'll get the reward we deserve for participating in this stupid event...' he thought darkly to himself.
The two felines slept side by side that night, prepared to wake up bright and early to drag the other animals to their paws/hooves/hands for the banquet. Before the sun rose the next morning, Rat and Ox were up and about, rounding up all the other animals to attend the banquet in place of the ones who would surely be asleep. All twelve animals had already begun their parade to the Emperor's palace when Panther and Cat woke up.
"Grr... We're late, hurry up cat!" Panther rumbled as he sprinted to the site of the party the night before. Cat followed obediently and together they roused the zodiac group. Meanwhile, as the animals were let into the banquet hall, the Emperor had a very perplexed look on his face. The animals lined up in front of him; Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar.
"W-what's the meaning of this," The Emperor spoke at last, "You are not the 12 animals that won my race!"
Rat smiled apologetically, "That we are not, but try as we might, sir, we could not wake them from their slumber this morning. They partied late into the night, disturbing the peaceful rest of the animals around them without shame. And now they lazily sleep the day away; I'm afraid they have forgotten your banquet."
The Emperor seemed to be irritated by this, "So you decided to take it upon yourselves to come in their places?"
Rat looked taken back by the accusing tone in his voice, "Sir, we were just making sure you had animals to present to your people for the calendar cycle... We tried to wake up the zodiac winners, but we couldn't!"
The Emperor's face was red with anger, but his voice came out clear and controlled, "Very well then... you 12 animals will represent my 12 year cycle... But do not think you will be getting off without punishment." He stopped to force a smile, "Please, help yourselves to the food I have had prepared for you all."
Rat was a little frightened by the emperor's words; what sort of punishment would be given? He joined the other 11 animals and gladly took the food offered and mingled with everyone else. It was during this that the zodiac animals burst into the hall. Rat looked up in shock to see Cat pounce upon him.
"W-what are you doing here?! I thought you hated my plan!" Rat sputtered, looking into the golden eyes of the cat upon him.
"I do, with a passion do I hate it... that's why I've brought the rightful winners of this banquet with me." Cat replied icily, baring her fangs at the trapped rat. Dog, seeing the wolf from the day before, happily began barking and ran up to him. Wolf snarled in return and lashed out at the stupid dog; earning a frightened yelp. Ferret climbed up Cat's back to glare at Rat,
"How could you steal this victory from us?! Cat was right, you are a cheat!"
Rat looked around in shock as the animals began fighting with one another.
Monkey and lemur were using the lovely food that the emperor had laid out for them as projectile weapons; Wolf lunged at dog, snapping powerful jaws that would surely crush bones if they found their target; Goat and sheep were butting heads; Deer was powerfully ramming his antlers into Horse's ribs and neck; Dragon was uninterestedly sitting by and watching as shark flopped about in front of him; Snake and lizard were trading blows, lizard having the upper hand with legs; Bear was angrily chasing Boar around the room; Tiger and Lion were fighting viciously; Hawk was swooping down upon Rooster, slicing at it with furious talons; Weasel and Rabbit were squeaking their differences as painful teeth bit into one another; and Ox and Water Buffalo were head butting each other with dangerous force and power. During all this commotion, Panther sat back and watched, a cunning gleam in his narrowed eyes. The Emperor, upon hearing the commotion, burst into the room to behold its destruction by these warring animals.
Wrathfully, he bellowed,
"Stop your fighting, this instant!"
Immediately, several pairs of eyes looked in his direction... a mixture of feeling portrayed in each of them.
"I am very disappointed in this behavior! My 12-year cycle models, and my zodiac winners; I am fed up with the both of you. All the deceit and irresponsibility will stop... and I will punish all of you for destroying my beautiful dining hall and banquet!" He growled. Cat looked around fearfully, 'What have we done?' She thought in panic. Scowling, Panther decided it was time for him to leave and turned to slip into the shadows; unfortunately, the Emperor caught this motion and ceased his movement.
"Where do you think you're going, Panther? Are you not the one who initiated this chaos?" He accused.
Panther, knowing he had been caught, turned and sent a defiant gaze into the Emperor's eyes, "Yes... It was my idea, and it worked quite well, don't you think?"
The Emperor growled furiously, "For your impudence, you shall be punished worst of all... And you, cat! For joining up with this rogue... you shall receive a more severe punishment as well." Outside of the palace, dark storm clouds had begun to gather; rain soon pouring heavily from them. It was into this storm that the 26 animals were released after having a curse placed on each one of them.
They were confused at first when nothing happened to them; they figured the emperor was just trying to scare them. However, when the years drug on and one by one, they all met the end of their animal lives, they found themselves alive yet... caught in some sort of limbo. When finally, the last animal perished, the emperor appeared before the group of unrested spirits and spoke,
"You remember, quite some years ago, that I had placed a curse on you, do you not?" Various animals looked at each other before nodding to the Emperor.
"It's time for that curse to take place. You will never know true death; I will prolong your lives, but from this time on. You will be forced to live as humans."
This statement did not phase most of the animals. Immortality didn't sound too bad; and they had never before been human, so they looked at it as a new opportunity.
"Not only will you be human, there is a catch to all this. I will place upon you the curse of your animal forms... years down the line you will grow tired and weary of constant reincarnation. You will never truly be able to fulfill the human emotion of love, for you will become the animal of your past every time you hug one of the opposite sex." He continued, his voice monotone and unfeeling; he turned to the twelve animals who deceived him and stole the privilege of the banquet from the zodiac winners,
"This part of the curse will be the only part that applies to you. Rat, you were sneaky and used trickery to get what you desired... but even if your motives were not in the right place, your reasoning was. You will keep your human knowledge and voice during your time spent transformed into an animal; that way you will remember the looks of disgust written on the face of every normal human who transforms you." He looked to the Zodiac group next,
"For you... I will make the punishment worse. You were the winners of my race, but disregarding the feelings of the other animals around you; you carried on noisily late into the night. The next morning, you failed to make it to the banquet I had generously prepared for you on time. You instead slept in and therefore also failed to carry out the duties life had given you for the day. For this, not only will you transform whenever hugged, but you will revert to a beastly form of your animal heritage if ever you loose the pendant created to conceal your spirit form. This could cause damage to anything around you as I will also strip away your human thought. The only thing human that shall remain will be your feelings and memories; all else that you do whilst in your true forms will be dictated upon simplistic animal urges." Finally, the Emperor turned to the spirits of the Cat and the Panther,
"You two will have it worst of all. Cat will live among the spirits of the tricksters, yet shall never be accepted in their family. She will have the same curse as them plus one other truly horrific beast lurking within. This beast will also have a charmed object to keep it concealed and will keep all human thoughts, emotions, and memories whilst transformed." He paused,
"Panther, for your rude and defiant behavior towards me in my own house, and for pitting these two groups of animals against one another, and for tricking cat into helping you; you will have the worst punishment of all. You will live with the zodiac group, but your beastly transformation upon loss of your pendant will most definitely mean destruction and pain for those near you. In that form you will be nothing but a raging beast. I will strip away any coherent thought, and all emotions except rage. All that you will be left with are the memories of the destruction you caused while in that form."
With that said, the emperor vanished from their sight and all 26 of them were sent plunging towards earth again, each spirit possessing the body of a human baby, just beginning its growth in it's mother's womb; 13 in two separate families with no knowledge of one another. Unknown to those spirits, the spirit of the Emperor split in two, half possessing the body of one more baby in both families.
Well, that was the Prologue to Juunishi no Daaku. I hope you enjoyed it - Now I'll tell you a little about this fic. First of all, yes it will have OC inserts and some romance in it, but we do not plan to focus this fic specifically on romance. If all goes well, this story will end up having just about every story genre in it... except maybe mystery XD or is that called...what is it... I dunno, the genre most detective stories are written in -;; sorry... I'm not sure what it's called at the moment. Anyway, this fic will also be a group project. 4 of us in total will be writing on this together, each writing a chapter in turn. To keep from running into conflicts with having the fic on just one Authoress's account, we made a separate account. Also, We hope to have an update every week too. We figure a week is long enough to whip out a chapter, right? So yes! Hope some of you find this fic entertaining and leave nice reviews for us! - Byers!
-Furea / Toshi Ishimi
Billy: sneaks in Hey! Hey...Can I say it now? Please? Ah, forget you...PWN'D! Okay I'm done...sneaks out
Authoresses writing this fic (in order of chapter assignments):
Furea / Toshi Ishimi
Callie Wilson
No Chichiri Da
Takara Arashi