Kage: Oh are you gonna love the stuff I packed into this chapter! Sorry it took so long to get it up, I was on vacation last week, ;;;
DISCLAIMER: Yeah yeah.... I own nothing other than the plot and Kurai.... -sobs!-
WARNING: Mentions of shonen-ai in this chapter, confusing parts, Kage not knowing who the head of the family before Akito is
Chapter 7- Kurai's Mystery
Second Person POV
Momiji came running out of the kitchen in his usual hyperactive mood, only to run smack into Kurai who was carrying two large bowls. Everyone looked up in horror as a small POOF was heard, along with the shattering of glass.
Tohru and Yuki came running out of the kitchen while Kyo just looked up dazedly from the table. Hatori and Shigure stood up quickly as the light green smoke died down....
Only to reveal Momiji, still as a boy, sitting on his backside looking stunned. Tohru gasped as the smoke disappeared entirely, revealing a small sleeping animal.
It looked like a cross between a dragon and a snake, to put it simply. The body was long and green, except for the underside which was light yellow. It had four legs and big wings on its back. It was currently curled up, its tail curled around its neck, sleeping soundly.
Everyone stared at it for a few moments in total shock.
"Is that..... Kurai-kun?" asked Tohru hesitantly.
Hatori stared at it, unsure. "It can't be..... a Zodiac member....."
Shigure nodded seriously, "The spirits of the snake and dragon are both currently in separate bodies.... so.... what is this?"
Yuki shook his head, "It looks like a cross between the two.... but.... is that even possible?"
"Maybe we should just ask Kurai-kun when she wakes up?" Tohru asked slowly.
Hatori straightened, regaining his composure, "I think we need to take her to Akito immediately."
"Haa-kun! It's storming outside!" Shigure protested loudly as Hatori turned to glare at him.
"This a serious matter Shigure," Hatori said sharply, "This strange girl has just transformed into an animal."
"Is it...." Tohru interrupted, "Could there be another family with a curse like the Sohma's?"
Hatori closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, "It doesn't seem possible....."
"I still don't think there's any reason to take her to the main house," Shigure protested.
"There are lots of reasons," Hatori said slowly, still with his eyes closed, "She could possibly be a member of a family with a curse much like our own.... But that wouldn't make sense! Why would the angry Zodiac spirits take over the bodies of more than one family?"
He sighed in frustration as Yuki stared a hole into the floor.
"Yuki-kun?" Tohru asked.
"Hatori...." he said suddenly, ignoring Tohru, "I once heard some adults talking at the main house. They were talking about the woman who had been possessed with the spirit of the dragon before you?"
Hatori nodded, "Yes, her name was Hikaru I believe."
Shigure cocked his head to the side, "That name sounds... familiar...."
"It should," Hatori looked over at him, "She's the woman who defied the Sohma head of the time, Shuhan, and ran away from the family with Kuro."
Shigure's eyes went wide, contrasting to Yuki's narrowed one's. Tohru looked at them in confusion, then focused on Hatori's expressionless face, "Someone defied the head of the Sohma family?"
Kyo looked up through half- lidded eyes, "I remember hearing a story about that from Master...." he muttered as Momiji frowned in thought.
"It's a complicated story..." Hatori sighed as he sat down, everyone else following his suit. "I only know what I've heard, so I'll make it brief. Hikaru Sohma was cursed with the spirit of the dragon under the head of the Sohma family at that time, Shuhan. She fell in love with the spirit of the snake, Kuro Sohma. It was strange relationship, because the two were complete opposites. The story tells that Kuro was wild and untamed, while Hikaru was collected and serious."
"Kinda like Hatori and Ayame!" Momiji chirped.
"Yes well," Hatori brushed off the interruption, "Shuhan didn't agree with there relationship, and ordered them never to see each other again. Kuro naturally objected, and Hikaru did as well, going against her normal nature. A few Sohma's think Kuro's attitude affected Hikaru towards this decision, but its unsure. Kuro and Hikaru kept seeing each other, kept loving each other, despite Shuhan's wishes. A few years later, Shuhan got wind of how serious their relationship was, and attacked Kuro."
"It was a horrible act from Shuhan," Shigure cut in, "Just like Ayame, Kuro was weakened during the winter, and that was when Shuhan had attacked him. People say that Shuhan had almost beaten him into unconsciousness before Hikaru arrived on the scene to help. And I quote from the version I heard, 'Kuro cringed in expectation as he saw Shuhan raise his hand, only to hear a slap, and feel nothing. Looking up, he saw Hikaru a few feet away from him, getting up slowly and breathing hard. Shuhan sneered, then raised his hand to strike Kuro again, only to have Hikaru dive in and take the blow again. Shuhan growled and walked over to Hikaru, grabbing a fistful of her long, dark hair and dragging her to the corner of the room.' Obviously, Shuhan had more strength than Akito." he said grimly.
Hatori nodded sadly, "He just might've killed them, but the man possessed by the spirit of the rat at that time, Nezu, came in and held back Shuhan while the boar, Shingi, and the ox, Oushi, helped Hikaru and Kuro out of the room. ((AN: Confused yet?)) Kuro managed to escape with a broken arm, and Hikaru was physically unharmed. As soon as they could walk, they ran away."
"They couldn't have been 25 when they left," Shigure said sadly, "They wrote frequent letters to their closest friend, Shingi of the Boar, who in turn kept their secret from Shuhan. The letters Shingi got told him that they had gone to America. The last letter they sent was from Kuro, saying that they had both caught a deathly disease in America, the same time Hikaru was pregnant. The last letter sent to the Sohma house regarding them, was a letter from the hospital saying that they both had died almost immediately after Hikaru gave birth to their daughter at the beginning of February. The hospital wrote, asking if the Sohma family would take in the child. Shingi confronted Shuhan and told him everything, and Shuhan actually agreed. However, when the child arrived in the hands of an American worker, Shuhan took the child himself, only to put it on the road after the American had left. He forbade anyone from going to get it, under penalty of being locked away."
"Shuhan left a child out on the road?!" Tohru asked, mortified.
"It still doesn't make sense," Momiji cut in with a frown, "When a spirit of the Zodiac possesses a member of the Sohma family, they normally have to skip a generation, since the spirit can't leave the body until that body has died."
Hatori nodded, "This is where it gets strange: The same day the girl was born, Ayame and myself were also born."
"So...." Yuki said slowly, "Is it possible that the dragon spirit split two ways, one part going to America while the other part went to Hatori?"
"Is that why Hatori turns into a seahorse instead of a dragon?" Tohru asked.
"That still does not explain why she looks like both the snake and the dragon." Hatori cut in.
"Duh!" Kyo cut in, lifting his head to set on his arms, looking aggravated, "The spirits originated in China right? Well, their New Year is around February 1st, while the American New Years is the first of January. So if their child was born on that day, in America,it's possible that the spirits got confused and split from the two year changes."
Everyone stared at Kyo, only to receive a lazy glare, "So, if someone was born on the 1st in America, depending on the year, they'd be the spirit of the snake in America, while in China they'd be the spirit of the dragon. Since we're talking about actual spirits they probably got mixed up, parts of both splitting and going to both Japan and America. Hatori ended up lookin' like a seahorse while the girl got more dragon- like features. She doesn't have a lotta 'snake' in her, so most of that spirit probably went to Ayame."
Yuki leaned back, looking slightly surprised, "And thus, we discover Kyo actually has a brain."
Kyo growled weakly and buried his head in the crook of his arm again, muttering, "I'll kick your ass later, since the storm's stopping...."
True to Kyo's word, the steady pounding of the rain eased up slowly and went to being a light spring rain.
Hatori stood up, "I'm taking her to Akito now."
Shigure sighed and stood with him, "I'll go as well. Hold down the fort Tohru," he said winking as Hatori scooped up Kurai gently in his hands.
Tohru smiled and nodded, "I will. Come home safe," she called as they disappeared through the door.
Authors Note:
(1)The whole Chinese new year thing I said, might be untrue. My dad told me their New Year changes every year, but stayed around the beginning of February. I'm sure the splitting of the snake and dragon is accurate though, since I'm like that. I was born on February 3rd of 1989, so if I was in China I would be the dragon, but in America I'm the snake. ((Thus the idea for this story.))
(2) I don't know ANY of the name's of the Sohma's before the one's we know now, I just made them up. If someone is aware of their true name's, give them to me and I'll edit the story immediately.
(3)That it might take me a little longer to get the next chapter up, because I'll be starting school in about a week and have to get read. ((School sucks.))
Please review!!!!!!!