Disclaimer: Neither Fruits Basket or Buffy the Vampire Slayer are mine.
Chapter 2: Single Japanese Girl with Super Cool Powers.
"Tohru, you should sit down for a moment." Hatori helped her lower herself and knelt beside her. "You've probably noticed all the strange things that have been happening to you lately. Kyo certainly has. He told me about the knife."
Tohru covered her face with her hands. "Slay? I couldn't slay anything! And what do you mean by powers of darkness? There's no such thing!"
"I know this is hard to accept, but you'll have to, to survive. I want you to carry these items with you, wherever you go."
He handed her a necklace with a cross on it, and a short piece of pointed wood.
"What are these for?" she asked as she took them. The piece of wood seemed almost to jump into her hand, and she hugged it to herself instinctively.
"You'll need to be able to defend yourself in case you run into vampires. Promise me you'll wear the cross at all times and keep the stake with you always. Keep it in your book bag, around your waist, wherever, but keep them with you at all times."
"Bu-"
"Promise," Hatori cut in. "This is for your safety, and don't invite any people who 'feel' odd to you after sundown inside the house. If you do and they attack you, stake them in the heart. I'm sorry I can't help you more but I can't be with you everywhere and right now is no time to show you. I want you to come to the Main House after work tomorrow. Promise me."
"I… promise."
"Good. Don't go anywhere by yourself after sundown, and put the necklace on. I have to leave now, but first I have to discuss something with Kyo."
Tohru tugged the cross on over her head and Hatori started to leave, but then stopped and turned around.
"Don't tell anyone about this, not even your friends or Shigure, Yuki, and the rest, okay?"
Then he left.
…
Kyo was lying on his stomach on the floor, watching cartoons, when Hatori came in and turned off the TV.
"Hey! You can't—"
"I want you to train Tohru in the martial arts."
"What!"
"Come by the Main House tomorrow around nine and I'll explain everything. This is neither the time nor the place. I'll wait outside for you. Akito needn't know"
Hatori switched the TV back on and left.
Kyo just shook his head. "Hatori is so weird."
…
"Boy, Mom, work was hard, and then there's all this 'Slayer' stuff. I'm so confused. What am I going to do? I haven't told Uo or Hana, but I think they were suspicious that something was different."
Tohru was walking home from work. It was dark and she was tired, but when she noticed someone on the road ahead she stopped. She felt strange 'vibes' from the person.
"Excuse me, can I help you?" Tohru asked.
"So you're one of those 'newbie' Slayers. You don't look so tough. This will be an easy kill." The voice was decidedly female.
What?
As the woman walked closer, Tohru saw her in better light and gasped. The woman's features were distorted: her eyes were as yellow as a cat's, her ridged brow protruded, and she bared fanged teeth in a snarl. Then she charged with alarming speed.
Tohru would never be able to fully describe that first vampire kill if her life depended on it. It just happened too fast.
The stake that Hatori asked her to carry sprang into her hand, and she remembered spinning to dodge the vamp's punch and coming around to stake the vamp in the back. It was a lucky hit, and the vampire exploded into a cloud of dust.
"Wow…oh, wow." When she looked down at the pile of ashes she panicked, her stomach clenching as she tried not to vomit. There was no way that that could have happened. It had to be a trick of light. Yes, yes, the women never existed, she never staked her. There was NO WAY THIS COULD BE REAL! Vampire Slayers…forces of darkness…demons…vampires…magic…no way they could exist.
Right?
Right?
Maybe…but there was no way she could be a Slayer. There had to be a mistake. She could never kill anything. Sure, she had freaked out on the fly, and killed that vampire, but she couldn't do this. Kill demons and vampires and flies. It just wasn't her. Sure, they might be evil, but she was Tohru! Despite her doubts, she had felt an odd sense of well-being when she staked that vampire that this was right, and this was what she was meant to do. She had been feeling stronger, more confident. Maybe…just maybe…she could.
"Um, well I came to walk you home, but… what the hell just happened" Kyo stepped out from the shadows into the circle of light from the street lamp.
Tohru jumped. "I didn't know you were there!"
"So, I guess all that crap Hatori told me about vampires was true. Well, come on, Hatori wants us to meet him at some diner. It's nearby."
···
Hatori's car was parked outside the diner when Tohru and Kyo arrived. Inside, the place was still busy even though it was late. They found Hatori sitting in the back, away from any windows and nobody seemed to be paying any attention to him.
Hatori acknowledged their presence with a nod. "Tohru. Kyo. Sit down. I'll order some drinks if you want. I know I told you, Tohru, to come to the Main House but I decided that this would be a better place. No one will pay any attention to us here. Any questions?"
"Yeah," Kyo started before Tohru could even open her mouth, "What the hell is going on? I saw Tohru stab someone with a piece of wood, who then exploded into a pile of dust, and then there's you blabbing on about 'Slayers' and the 'powers of darkness'! I want some damn answers!"
Hatori turned to Tohru.
"You've already staked your first vampire and without any help from anyone? You are a very lucky Slayer. Well, Kyo, it's just like I told you, there are vampires and demons, and there is the Slayer, a girl who, until recently, stood alone against the forces of darkness gifted with immense strength and skill. Previously there was only one Slayer, but some American changed that and made anyone with the Potential become a Slayer so she could stop an Apocalypse."
"Okay, how do you know all of this?" Again, Kyo.
"Two Sohma family members were once attacked by a vampire, and they were saved by a Slayer who then brought them to me. I saved one from blood loss, but I didn't learn what the Slayer really was until later, when I stumbled upon a chat room and found some very interesting things about this world. I also made contact with the Watcher's Council and have been working with them for a while. The two who were attacked forgot about it, chalking it up to some nightmare they had. I didn't convince them otherwise. This was all a long time ago."
Tohru started to say something but Kyo beat her to it.
"So, who else knows about all this?"
"Just you and I."
Tohru tried to speak again, but Kyo asked another question before she could even open her mouth.
"So what's this got to do with me?"
"I want you to train Tohru in the martial arts, just like I told you. I don't know where Kazuma is currently, and I cannot teach her, and there are no trained Watchers available."
Tohru sighed and raised her hand.
"Yes, Tohru?"
"What if I don't want to do this? What if I can't?"
"You're going to have to. You're the only Slayer in this part of Japan. The vampires will sense that you are here and many will come, especially since you're new. They will kill and terrorize the streets and you are the only one who will be able to stop the slaughter. You won't stand idly by while people are in dire need, will you?"
Tohru lowered her head.
"No," she whispered. "But I can't do this alone."
"Kyo will help you, and I have a feeling that others will, too."
A waitress brought Kyo and Tohru their drinks, steam rising out of the mugs. Kyo dumped a few packets of sugar into his, stirred, and then asked, "Hatori, since when do you go online?"
"I've been frequenting various message boards and chat rooms for years, now. They can be excellent sources for information, if you go to the right ones."
Tohru looked up from her mug. "What do you get if you go to the wrong ones?"
Kyo blushed, causing Tohru a great deal of concern, but she didn't press the matter any further.
Hatori brought the conversation back to the original topic. "Tohru, we can't always choose our destinies. I didn't want to be a doctor, but for the sake of my family, I followed in my father's footsteps. I didn't want to erase Kana's memories, either, but I had to. None of the Zodiac wanted to be cursed, but here we all are, unable to ever have a physical relationship outside of the jyuunishi."
"Unless you're Shigure," muttered Kyo as he stacked containers of jelly into a haphazardly constructed pyramid.
Hatori just looked at Kyo.
"Speaking of Shigure, you and Tohru are going to train at his house, after you finish work. I'll be there, too, to teach you more about vampires and so forth. I wish we could start now but it's getting late and you both should get on home to bed. I'll drive you. And Tohru? You might have strange dreams occasionally. Make sure to tell me when you do."
Hatori picked up his coat, which was on the chair next to him and stood up.
"What if you get attacked after you drop us off?" This was Kyo.
"Don't worry, vampires can't get into cars, and demons don't really bother. Just in case, however, I have some stakes and holy water."
They arrived home after everyone else was asleep, and Tohru 'felt' that both Rin and Haru were in the house, but in different rooms.
Huh, that's strange.
Tohru said goodnight to Kyo and walked into her room to find that Rin was in a sleeping bag on the floor.
I wonder why she's here; I'll have to ask her in the morning. Tohru slipped under the pink comforter of her bed and was fast asleep.
(End Chapter 2)
Author Note: Chapter 2 done, chapter 3 coming soon. As an American, I have little knowledge of Japanese culture, so nearly everything in here is Americanized, unless it isn't. Also, for the sake of the story, Rin and Haru have moved into la casa de Tohru and company. The reason for this (besides my utter fangirliness) will probably become apparent within the next few chapters.