Title: 私の 救済者天使 のよ/Watashi no Kyuusaisha Tenshi Noyō/My Angelic Savior
Author: 私の 秘密愛/高橋三知子/Watashi no Himitsu Ai/My Secret Love/Takahashi Michiko
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the ふるば characters. All I own is Shaloub Annelise and the plot.
Warning: My computer is not very good and every time I try to slip any Japanese in, it shows as the Hiragana/Kanji forms. In order to add the Romaji form, I h a v e t o w r i t e t h e w o r d s l i k e t h i s. So if there isn't a Romaji form for the Japanese word, ignore it.
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Chapter Three: アンネリセの 秘密/Annelise no Himitsu/Annelise's Secret
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--NOTE--
Sorry for skipping around so much! This chapter just skips ahead to the Festival. Also, I'm going to say that the Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, and the Festival are in the same month – October. I don't know when the Festival really is, but that's okay.
--END OF NOTE--
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"Wow," Annelise sighed. "My booth's gotten a lot of business…"
It was the day of the Festival. Everyone had little booths and were selling various things. Tohru's class had one main booth (the お握り onigiri rice ball booth) and a few smaller ones. One of them was Annelise's personal booth.
"So your chador (the scarf a young Arab girl wears around her head) sales are going well?" Tohru asked happily.
"Look around!" Kyo told her, stuffing a rice ball in his mouth. "Every girl has one!"
It was true. Even female teachers stopped by for one. They were bright colors and very intricate. Many of them looked like they were made from the light from the moon. Yet, it was nothing compared to Annelise's full Arabic outfit. It was the Ramadan and, even though she wasn't Muslim, she got permission to when a traditional Arabic outfit for the month. She practiced many Muslim and Jewish holidays even though she was Christian because her father had been Muslim and her mother had been Jewish and she feels as though she would be paying respect to them if she did so.
"Sadly, they don't look as well on Japanese people as they do on Arabs like you," Hana-chan said softly.
"That's because chadors are Arabic!" Uo-chan laughed. "It's logical that an Arab garment would look best on an Arab person!"
"YUKI!"
The sound was piercing as Yuki, currently clothed in a fancy dress that the 先輩 senpai seniors at their school had requested for him to do, was surrounded by large groups of girls and boys.
"Dear," Annelise laughed. "Yuki doesn't look too happy!"
"I wouldn't be too happy with being in dress either, quite honestly," Kyo admitted quietly.
There was a loud crash as a small boy dressed in frilly German clothing and blond hair ran in and jumped on Yuki's shoulder.
"Oi, Yuki!" he said. "You realize you look like a girl?"
Kyo jumped up coughing heavily. He looked absolutely surprised and angered. He jumped as a tall man in a white doctor's coat walked in. He had straight black hair, one part covering his left eye.
"Momiji, off Yuki's shoulders," he said.
The man stopped dead in his tracks as the boy, Momiji, jumped off his shoulder.
"You do realize that you look like a girl, right?"
"AH! YOU KNOW YUKI?" a girl squealed loudly.
"ええ! Ee! Yes! We're relatives of his. I'm Sohma Momiji and this is Sohma Hatori!" Momiji said, removing his hat.
"Ha!" Uo-chan laughed. "They act like they've never seen a Sohma before!"
"You know, you're actually right about something!" Kyo gasped, pretending to be amazed.
"What do you mean, Kyon-Kyon? I'm constantly right about things you're wrong about!" she snapped back.
"Don't call me that!"
"MOMIJI, NO!" Yuki cried as Momiji bounced around Annelise's abandoned, empty booth.
Annelise rushed up behind him, tugging at his sleeve, saying, "Momiji, no! Come down! You'll break the booth! I worked hard on – ARGH!"
Momiji fell down backwards on top of Annelise. Yuki, Kyo, Hatori, and Tohru rushed up to catch Momiji before he would even touch Annelise. Yet, it was too late. Momiji and Annelise collided and hit the ground with a loud thud.
Yuki and Kyo closed their eyes, expecting to hear a bang and open their eyes to see smoke swirling around them. However, there was no bang…
"Ah! I'm glad you're okay, Momiji-kun!" Annelise said hurriedly, setting Momiji back up on his feet. "Don't do that again okay!"
"Eh…Annelise," Kyo said slowly. "Can you –"
"Remind me why I have to wear this?" Yuki asked desperately, acting a diversion for Hatori, Kyo, Tohru, and Momiji to find out what exactly happened.
The entire body of students rushed to Yuki, squealing about how cute he looked in the dress and how jealous they were of him. This allowed Hatori, Kyo, Tohru, Momiji, and Annelise just enough time to get to the roof…
"Why can I hug Annie-chan but not Tohru-kun?" Momiji asked, flinging his arms around Annelise's neck. "I don't understand!"
"Neither do I, but Yuki has the right to know, so we'll wait for him," Hatori sighed. "He should be here –"
"Who should be here?" Yuki asked as he glided next to Tohru.
"Annelise," Hatori said strictly. "What do you know about the Sohma family?"
"何? Nani? What?" Annelise gasped. "I-I don't know what you're talki-"
"Yes you do… Your comment after Momiji touch revealed everything… How do you know?" Hatori demanded.
Annelise looked from person to person – Kyo to Tohru to Momiji to Yuki to Hatori and then to her feet. She inhaled deeply.
"I saw Yuki transform when Tohru accidentally ran into him," she admitted. "I didn't tell anyone I knew because…I didn't want you to tell until you wanted to tell me…"
"Okay, now why didn't Momiji transform?" Hatori asked slowly.
Annelise looked up harshly into Hatori's eyes. For the first time ever, they thought they actually saw anger behind her eyes.
"I have a curse," she whispered. "A more terrible curse than the entire Sohma curse." She glanced at Kyo.
Does she know about…? He grabbed his bracelet as he thought deeper into the subject.
"My curse has given me a terrible purpose and I do not tend to fulfill it… But…I'm not sure if the Moon's power can be argued with…"
The group looked to the sky. The Moon was shining through the blue sky, brighter than the Sun.
"Annie-chan, how did you –" Momiji began to say, but stopped.
Annelise was gone, nowhere to be seen…
Hatori's expression was as if he had seen a ghost. He was in shock and his face was pasty.
"I must go speak to Akito," Hatori finally said.
Kyo and Yuki looked at Hatori with fierce eyes.
"Or…search for her!" Hatori said, looking half pleased, half still shocked. "I have a better idea."
Kyo nodded and pulled Momiji back into the school with him. The building felt warm than outside where the temperature was dropping dramatically.
"Momiji, you look on this side of the school and I'll look in the other," Kyo ordered. "If you find her, find me."
"But why did Annie-chan run away?" Momiji whined.
"Hey! Don't whine to me about everything!" Kyo barked. "Look!"
He turned and began to search the school for Annelise. He looked inside of every classroom and in every hallway. Maybe she's not inside, Kyo thought. If I were Annelise where would I be?
"Right here," a soft voice from behind him whispered.
Kyo spun around to see Annelise, still dressed in her Arabic clothing, leaning again the window. She didn't look very happy.
"But…I'm not sure if the Moon's power can be argued with…" Kyo looked out the window. The Moon was still out there, bright and shiny. He looked back at Annelise. She was glaring at the Moon as if she was going to do something evil to it.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"What?" Kyo asked interestedly.
"I don't know if I can break away… The Moon isn't ready to change it's plans," she explained. "You don't understand. You think your true form is a bad thing…you haven't seen anything…"
Kyo looked at Annelise with wide eyes. A curse worse than my true form? How…? It didn't seem possible.
"Look, Annelise," Kyo interrupted the silence. "Hatori…she's going to take you to Akito –"
"Eh? Ah, Akito… The Moon will be please when I met him," she whispered.
"Annelise?"
She banged herself against the window and slid slowly down the wall and onto the ground. Kyo stared at her few second and then decided that the polite thing to do would be to help her up. Then he heard her crying…
"ANNIE-CHAN! KYO-KUN!" Momiji cried, running towards the two of them. "I found you!"
He grabbed Annelise's arm and began to pull her arm up. She looked up at him.
"Annie-chan!" Momiji whispered, letting go of Annelise's arm and falling back on top of Kyo's lap.
"Get OFF!" Kyo yelled, pushing Momiji off him. "What's wrong with Annel-"
Kyo's anger immediately died out. Annelise was crying, but…it wasn't normal. Her tears were made out of the dust of stars and the Moon. A small "puddle" of star and Moon dust sitting where her head had hung over. She quickly rubbed her tears away as if it would make it like she never cried.
"I was j-just –"
"Crying," Kyo whispered softly. "Why…?"
"I-I can't-t –"
"Kyo, Momiji, Annelise!"
Hatori rushed up to the three of them, Yuki following behind and in his school uniform.
"Why are you all on the floor?" Hatori asked, looking at them skeptically.
"Oh, nothing!" Annelise forced a laugh, jumping up. "I just slipped! Momiji and Kyo were being kind enough to help me up!"
"Annie-chan?" Tohru had gone to quickly check on the rice ball stand and had come back to them. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, fine, fine!" she laughed.
"We're leaving," Hatori said strictly to Momiji. "I must go speak to Akito… It appears that my plan won't work as well as I thought it would."
"No, it will," Annelise whispered. "Just do it…"
Hatori's only visible eye grew large. How does she do that?
"First, we'll stop by Shigure's house," Hatori told them. "Follow me…"
The five of them followed Hatori out of the senior high school and into the guest parking lot. There was a small black car parked in the farthest spot from the school.
"We'll be a bit squished, but that's okay," Hatori informed them. "It would be best in Tohru and I will sit in the front. The four of you will sit in the back… We don't want anyone to transform right, now…"
The short car ride to the first stop had been short. It took only a few minutes to get there and only a few minutes for Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki to get changed out of their uniforms and into casual dress. Annelise was able to met the get Shigure, a funny man with a great personality. He said that he would met them at the Main House while they took Annelise to get something important supposedly, but she was acting funny about it.
"Oh no, Hatori-san! It's fine! I don't think it's necessary!" she laughed as she hesitantly gave directions to her home.
"No… Annelise," Hatori said, sounding rather strict. "You must…"
"Oh! Stop here!" Annelise shouted.
A large wooden area was dense and dark was sitting next to the car.
"My home's behind these trees," she told them, opening the door. "I'll be right back!"
"Maybe someone should go with you," Tohru suggested politely.
"I'll go," Kyo said quietly. "I'll scare away perverts simply with my presence…"
"Keep talking," Yuki groaned.
"If you want, they'll just wanna molest you, too!" Kyo growled.
"Kyo-kun, that's mean!" Momiji laughed.
"Come on," Annelise said quietly. "We have to hurry…"
She broke into a slight jog, gliding between trees, fallen logs, and bushes perfectly. Kyo jogged after her. A small, rather rundown cabin came into very. It was actually more like a shack…not fit for living in.
Annelise kicked open the door and squeezed through it's small opening. Kyo peaked through the door to see a moderately organized room. A small cot was to a corner with a small desk that served as a nightstand and a table. There was no electricity at all. There wasn't a closet or anything! Not even a dresser. Her clothes were neatly hung near the window on a hook. Nearby it, there was a large stack of books in many different languages. She was rummaging through them until she found the oldest and most destroyed one out of the stack. It looked particularly heavy.
She picked it up and turned. Kyo was simply staring at her. She had no idea that he had been standing there watching her.
"Let's go," she muttered.
Kyo nodded and followed her out of the shack. She was walking much slower, now, and was very quiet.
"That's a good collection of books," Kyo said, trying to start a conversation. "Also in a lot of different languages."
"A lot?" she asked. "Really?"
"Yah," he laughed. "Not very many people can read a bunch of different languages! What languages were they?"
"Oh… Some Arabic, some Japanese, English, German, French, Welsh, Korean, Chinese," she said casually. "I think I have an Italian book and I'm saving my money for a new Gaelic book."
Kyo's eyes grew.
"You speak and read all of those languages?" he asked incredulously.
"Yah," she sighed. "My father and I used to travel the world quite a lot… I was born in the United States but soon moved to the Middle East. After that, we moved around quite a bit within Europe. Then we moved here after living in South Korea and German for a little…"
"What about your mother?" he asked.
"My mother," she asked hesitantly. "Oh, we lost her back in Wales…"
"I'm so sorry," Kyo whispered, wishing he didn't ask.
"Doesn't matter!" Annelise said cheerfully. "People die everyday! Three people are born and three people die every second!"
"Really?" Kyo asked. "Neat. So, what language is that book in?"
"This one?" She held the book up. "An ancient language… You'll see…"
The car came into view. Kyo opened Hatori's door.
"Call Shigure," he commanded.
"Why?" Hatori asked.
"Because we have someone else moving in," Kyo said simply, but anger seeping through.
"何。 Nani? What?" Annelise asked loudly. "No! No, I couldn't!"
"I'm not going to let you live there!" Kyo yelled at her.
Yuki, Momiji, Hatori, and Tohru looked at Kyo suspiciously.
"It's dangerous!" Kyo made up as an excuse.
"We'll talk to Akito," Hatori said. "He'll decide."
"Whatever…"
Kyo and Annelise pulled themselves back into the car for another quick few moments. Shigure was standing in front of the Main Sohma House's gates.
"Hurry," Shigure whispered seriously. "He's waiting…"
Yuki, Shigure, Tohru, Kyo, Hatori, and Annelise rushed into the largest building behind the Sohma gates. There was a large room with a fabulous chair at the head – like a king's throne… And there was Akito…waiting…
The six of them bowed to him.
"着席。Chakuseki. Sit."
The kneeled onto the ground.
"So, Shaloub Annelise-san," Akito said softly. "Do you know what the Sohma dilemma is?"
"はいさん。 Hai san. Yes, sir," she admitted. "We a member of the Sohma is huggled by a member of the opposite gender, they transform into their Jyuunishi animal…"
"Yes," he said. "So, how did you find out?"
"I saw Tohru accidentally bump into Yuki and he transform into the rat," she whispered.
"Now, why are you here? Hatori could have just come to explain to me that you found out…"
"I don't cause the Sohma to transform…"
"Is that so?" Akito asked interestedly. "Why is that?"
Annelise simply held up her book. Akito jumped out of his seat and rushed to Annelise. He examined her carefully.
"So…you are one of the Angel?" he asked. "Which race?"
"I-I'm…an Angel of the Moon," she whispered tearfully.
"Why do you cry?" Akito asked calmly.
"My purpose," she gasped. "Do you not know?"
Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki had no idea what they were talking. Angels? The Moon? Her purpose? All of the elements were causing their heads to spin.
"Akito-san," Shigure said strictly. "Take it easy on her! She's only a teenager."
"She'll be fine…"
"Akito!" Hatori gasped. "Don't do it!"
"What is done will be done!" Akito yelled. "Do not question me!"
Annelise gasped. "Are you going to –"
"Forget about your purpose," Akito said grandly. "Overcome the power of the Moon… Your purpose means nothing. We now need you…the Sohma family does…"
A few tears slipped from Annelise's eyes. Finally, Kyo jumped up and yelled angrily, "WHY DOESN'T ANYONE EXPLAIN WHAT IS HAPPENING?"
Akito, Hatori, and Shigure glared at him.
"Do you wish for them to know?" Akito asked Annelise.
"If t-they want to know…"
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This is where the story gets weird and where you see Annelise's many different sides… To those who commented, 有難う! Arigatou! Thanks! If you had a question, look for you username and my answer/thanks' right next to it:
Lise Icali - Thanks! After writing this, I realized that there are quite a few stories out there with the other-cursed one. I hope I can make mine better than those, but I can only try my best!
Animaniac247 - Thanks! Your story was really good! I (heart) it! Yes, I'm Japanese and I hate it... It is so boring... Osaka is a nice city, though. I don't live in the city, but a bit farther in a small town call Uenoshiba about 20 to 30 kilometers from Osaka and about one to five kilometers from Osaka-wan.
- TAKAHASHI OUT!