Fruits Basket: Legend of the Zodiac
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. Slight TB/Fruba X-over.
Chapter 3: A Long Awaited Attack
Previously, on Fruits Basket: Legend of the Zodiac…
"Hey, Tohru," Kyo said, "About those carvings on the gate…"
Tohru smiled. "Those carving represent the duties of those born to the Sumeragi Clan. One of them is the maintaining of the Zodiac. In other words, very seven years, everyone from every branch of the Sumeragi family gathers in the fourteen estates and the fourteen animals of the previous seven years hands off the title to another person, and that person is that animal for the next seven years. If a bearer dies before the seven years is up, the title gets passed to the next of kin. If mother was alive this year, she'd be passing off the Phoenix to someone else, but since she died last year, and I'm the next of kin, so I'm the Phoenix. So this year, I'm handing my mother's title off, so I have to attend."
"One last Question, Honda-san," Yuki said.
Tohru laughed. "The Sumeragi clan believes in a less well known story about the Zodiac, in which the cat and the Phoenix are more obscure members of the Zodiac."
The sun was just beginning to set when the group arrived at Shigure's house, and Tohru vanished into the kitchen. "What do you want for dinner?" she called.
"Anything you make will be fine, Tohru!" Shigure said as he entered his office.
"As long as there are no leeks," Kyo added before going up to the roof.
"Whatever you make will be wonderful, Honda-san," Yuki smiled before going to his room.
Inside the kitchen, Tohru smiled to herself. She had managed to fend off the questions without telling them about the Omnyoujitsu and the true meaning behind the Sohma's Zodiac curse. Now the only problem was to protect them from being dragged into Omnyoujitsu business and to keep the last of the fourteen Zodiac families alive…
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Two weeks after the Sohmas had their interview with Honda Kotori, Tohru was on the phone again. This time, it was for something much more urgent then a trip to Kyoto. Shigure, who had happened to pick up the phone with the intention of calling the main house to bug Hatori, found himself eavesdropping on an interesting conversation between the Thirteenth Head of Sumeragi and Tohru.
"What do you mean I can't pass the Phoenix!"
"Calm down. I'm just saying that you've been given the blessings of the Phoenix, so you can't pass the title at the ceremony on New Years."
"That's even worse, You baka!"
"Watch it, you might be Thirteenth Head of Honda, but I'm Thirteenth Head of Sumeragi."
"All right, back to Enishi. When will he be arriving?" Tohru asked.
"Unknown. All we know is that he wants to destroy the Zodiac. There is only one Zodiac family left, not counting us. We have to make sure they're not harmed, or all humans on this planet will pay the price."
"I understand, Subaru-sama. I'll make sure Enishi won't lay a finger on them, at least until I die, and even after then."
"You realize that will only work if you don't get fed to the Raven first."
Tohru shuddered, "Don't even joke about that. Not even the Thirteenth Head of Honda can escape the Raven, even if I am the reincarnation of the original Phoenix."
"You're right, I'm sorry. I know it's difficult to hide a ceremonial kodachi as is, but you'll have to carry it with you at all times from this point on. It may seem a bit excessive, but there's no point in taking risks."
"No shit."
"Such language; whatever happened to the sweet Tohru I used to know?"
"She got pissed off."
"Not my fault."
"You're the one who brought up bad news."
"Alright, let's stop this here before we get completely off topic."
"So kodachi, I keep two with me at all times, not to mention four daggers and our ever unlimited supply of ofuda that we never seem to run out of even though we do tend to run out when we need them most. Did I miss anything?"
"The tobeikunai."
"Right, tobeikunai, and lockpicks. Those always come in handy."
"Where did that come from?"
"One word, Phoenix."
"Oh. Anyway, with the Phoenix's memories and such, you should be able to fend off the Sakurazukamori on you own just fine. Just don't get hugged by a male or vice versa. We don't need you to turn into a Phoenix in public. As good as Megumi may be, I doubt that she'd be able to explain that away."
"Ok, one question, why today and why now?"
"Fate."
"I'm beginning to hate that word."
"I know. This is useless, but remember, be on alert. We don't want the Sakurazukamori killing the last Zodiac family in Japan. Remember, the Zodiac is absolutely vital in maintaining human life on earth."
"You've said that at least thirty times since this conversation started Subaru."
"And I'll say it again…"
Tohru grimaced and interrupted, "Please don't. I promise I won't let anything happen to the last Zodiac family in Japan. I swear on my honor as a Honda, an Omnyouji, and a Knight of the Zodiac. Happy yet?"
"Very."
"Then I'll see you at the New Years Banquet."
"Ja ne, Tohru."
"Ja ne, Subaru-sama."
Shigure blinked as the two family heads hung up simultaneously and lowered the phone. He slipped into his office, wondering about what he'd just heard.
Tohru slipped her hand into her pocket, fingering one of the ever present ofuda that she had always kept with her for the majority of her life. Sohma Shigure had overheard an important conversation, and had discovered a secret that, if released, could destroy the entire world. Mankind would collapse and cease to exist. Despite all that, Tohru was fighting the urge to trust Shigure and the other Sohmas as the Sohmas had trusted her. She was in front of Shigure's office now. Quickly, Tohru squashed the wish to trust Shigure to keep what he had overheard a secret, and tapped lightly on the door. She had a duty to her family, no one can discover the Honda secret, no one could know, and not pay the price. The secret of the second branch of Sumeragi could only be known to those born in the first and second branches. It was the law of the Sumeragi and Hondas, just as Aku Soku Zan was the law that the Guardians of the Zodiac followed. Those who could potentially harm the Zodiac, and in so doing, harm mankind, were evil and evil must be slain immediately. But Shigure was a member of the Zodiac, and the knowledge of the true nature of their existence could be fatal for these people. She had to erase Shigure's memory, even if she wished otherwise; there was no other course of action she could take.
Shigure opened the door, and Tohru smiled as a mariboshi surrounded them. "Hello, Shigure. I'm sorry, but for the sake of all who are involved, you cannot know the true nature of the Zodiac. This is for your sake, as well as for the sake of mankind."
With that, she whipped an ofuda from her pocket and flicked it at Shigure who collapsed with a thud. The ofuda faded, its task done, and Tohru allowed the mariboshi to fade from existence. Quickly, she made sure that Shigure was slumped over his desk, giving the impression that he'd fallen asleep. That done, quickly and quietly, she vanished up the stairs and into her room.
XoXoXoXoXoXoXoX
Two months later…
It had been two months since Tohru had received the call about Enishi from Subaru, and she had been on alert ever since. The slightest noise in the middle of the night was enough to wake her and she had taken to sleeping sitting against the wall beside the door, her katana against her left shoulder. She had even begun waking before the sun rose to give her more time to dress and hide her weapons. Add that to exams and her nerves were stretched to the breaking point. She had already collapsed twice from the stress, scaring any of the Sohmas who happened to be nearby both times.
For everyday that passed without word on Enishi's movements, Tohru became more jumpy, which also resulted in the Sohmas watching her more closely in fear that she would collapse. The ending of the exams had been a relief for her, taking off a lot of the stress from her shoulders. Of course, Shigure had planned a picnic for Yuki, Kyo, Tohru, Momiji, and Haru to celebrate the ending of exams and had even talked Hatori into going with them, most likely to make sure that a doctor would be nearby if Tohru collapsed again.
Tohru left with the Sohmas the next day, dressed in a less conspicuous variation of her training shikifuku. The black tank top was loose enough to hide her twin Kodachis under, but closefitting enough that it wouldn't hinder her movement, the red sleeves were less wide, but wide enough that she could hide her tobeikunai in them, along with her ofuda. She also wore a black cotton skirt with slits up the sides to her waist, under which she wore a pair of red flare pants of satin. She wore a pair of black combat boots and a pair of black satin gloves on her hands. The golden embroidery on her outfit formed the phoenix, wings outstretched, and on both sleeves were embroidered the words, 'Aku Soku Zan,' the Honda motto in silver. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a high ponytail.
They leave Shigure's house, Momiji chattering to Haru all the while and Kyo and Yuki trying to kill each other, Shigure is trying to annoy Hatori while Tohru scans the area around her for enemies.
Suddenly, a rain of black feathers fell on them and the group finds themselves inside a desolate wasteland, standing on the edge of a precipice.
"Well, it should seem we have some uninvited guests," a cool voice said. A man appears out of the darkness beyond the precipice.
"The only uninvited guest here is you, Raven of Kigai, thirteenth head of Kigai, second branch of Sakurazuka!" Tohru says in a bored tone. The Sohmas look from the stranger to Tohru in a confused way.
"But it has been so long since I've had an assignment, and as I set out to complete it, I find the second most powerful Omnyouji is in the way. So, to complete my assignment, I must kill the Phoenix of Honda, thirteenth head of Honda, second branch of Sumeragi," says Enishi. The Sohmas can now see clearly their attacker. He has black hair, is tall, and wears a three piece black Armani suit with a black trench coat and a pair of stylish sunglasses.
"You can try," Tohru says, a smile on her face, "I'm not afraid of someone who imitates their head because they're terrified of him."
The man smiles in return, and the two leap into the air, ofuda flying from their hands.
Tohru clasps her hands together, middle and index fingers and thumbs pressed together and points at Enishi.
"Shukuyendo!" she yells. The ofuda turn into white birds, the five pointed star on their backs. "Attack!"
The birds fly toward Enishi, who takes his cigarette and draws an inverted five pointed star in the air. The birds slam into the shield in bursts of blood, some of which splashes onto his still smiling face.
Suddenly, Tohru draws one of the kodachis and six shikkis form a line and fly toward the shield, the one in front moving into the back, the one in the middle moving to the back, switching back and forth. Half way through, three break away and begin moving in the same fashion. Ahead of them, the first two scatter, and take part in the same move, while the sixth slams through the shield, and cuts into Enishi who reels backward in shock. The shikkis continue this, slicing up the Enishi, until only one remains.
The last Shikki flies back to Tohru and changes into a phoenix with Gold, red, yellow, and orange feathers, with tail feathers the length of Tohru's arm, and seven gold feathers each the length of Tohru's palm, with golden beak and feet and amber eyes that changed to silver to blue and back to amber. Tohru holds out her arm and the phoenix lands on it, taloned feet gripping her forearm firmly but lightly as to not break the skin.
Enishi smiles at her and said, "You, who cannot normally match me in power, broke through my shield, a feat that not even Kyoko, who was my equal, could have hoped to accomplish. I'm impressed."
Tohru laughs bitterly and says, "Mother never spent two months on high alert, nerves stretched taut, having to act as natural as possible without giving away the fact that her life could be in danger simply by being in close proximity with certain people. Those two months of wariness was enough to enhance my senses, sharpening my sight and hearing, my sense of touch and smell. There was also enough strain on me to triple my reflexes and magical powers, making my level higher than that of our clan heads, Subaru Sumeragi and Seishiro Sakurazuka. The only side effect was that it wore down my already fragile health, raising the chances of my having a fatal attack and weakening my immune system, resulting in my two collapses from exhaustion and stress." Her smile became one of exhaustion and she continued, "Let's finish this. Just seeing you is enough to irritate me, Raven of Kigai."
Enishi smiled as his body vanished in a storm of black feathers. "No. I want to fight you again when you're not about to collapse from exhaustion, Phoenix of Honda. I want to see your precious Knights squirm when I feed your soul to the Raven, then I will destroy your precious Zodiac, and purge this earth of her tormentors, Humankind!"
"Keep dreaming, Enishi!" Tohru yelled, "As long as the Phoenix exists, the Knights of the Zodiac will not allow you to destroy mankind! Until the Phoenix ceases to exist, mankind will continue to flourish!"
The mariboshi disappears and Tohru falls on one knee, supporting herself with the kodachi, breathing heavily. "Kuso," she gasped and fell forward.
The last thing she remembered before falling into darkness was Yuki's worried cry of, "Honda-san!" and Hatori's worried face as he caught her before she smashed into the ground…