Fruits Basket: Legend of the Zodiac
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. Slight TB/Fruba X-over.
A/N: For those of you, who want to know, Megumi is the rabbit, Kotori is obviously the dragon, Kaoru is the snake, and Haruka is the cat, and Tohru is a Phoenix.
Sakurazuka Enishi is the Raven, and next in line to become Sakurazukamori, so even though he hasn't killed Seishiro Sakurazuka yet, the Hondas call him Sakurazukamori. Enishi's grudge is mainly against Kotori, since she killed his brother, which is why he's always eager to fight a Honda.
Note: Subaru told Tohru to avoid getting hugged by a male and vice versa, because he knew that she'd be on high alert. This means that her concentration would be focused on not getting caught off guard by Enishi, and her focus on the spell that keeps her from transforming at contact with the opposite sex or when her body is under stress would be weaker. This is also a precaution, because only high level Omnyouji are allowed to know about the Phoenix's existence in the Zodiac.
It is important to note that this is not a curse. The Hondas are descendants of a Tenn'yo (Heavenly maiden) and a Sumeragi Head, and the animal forms are the lingering marks of the union between their divine blood and Omnyoujitsu powers.
Chapter 5: Serenade
Previously, on Fruits Basket: Legend of the Zodiac…
"I still can't believe that in three years, Subaru-sama will have to go to Tokyo to fight beside Kamui as a Ten no Ryu," Tohru murmured. "I pray they win, because I have no intention of preserving the Zodiac for all our hard work to be for nothing because the Ten no Ryu lost to the Chi no Ryu."
"That, my dear, is for the future to decide," Kotori said. "For now, we fourteen Guardians must protect against the Renegade. Our opponent is the Raven. Let's concentrate on our battle, and leave the future battles to the ones who will come after us."
"Aa. We will defeat the Raven and save this earth!" Tohru murmured as she fell once more into the oblivion of sleep.
Kotori left Shigure's house half an hour later to find Haruka waiting for here nearby.
"How is she?" Haruka said quietly.
"Fine." Kotori said. "She should be up and about tomorrow. Tohru is a strong girl."
"Aa."
XoXoXoXoXoXoXoX
A dark haired man with onyx eyes dressed in a black shikifuku stood in front of a fiery haired girl with gold eyes, her white shikifuku stained with her blood.
"Now the Raven can take your place in the Zodiac, Phoenix," the man said.
"A position in the Zodiac is not so easy to gain," the woman said.
"Shut up!" the man yelled. "I've won, you've lost! Your place in the Zodiac is mine! This battle was determined by the law of survival. If you're strong, you live. If you're weak, you die. I'm not blind. You're dying from bloodloss. I've won!"
"Do you really think you've won, Raven?" the phoenix said, her violet eyes flashing. "This is the true meaning of being a part of the Zodiac! To die for the sake of protecting the weak, to become food for the weak so they can live, and to guard the coming era! My predecessors died for the future, and as will I, and my successors after me. Raven, it is not you who is the victor, but I!" With that said, her eyes dimmed and she fell forward, dead.
Tohru woke to the sound of rain falling, and for a moment, her eyes were a deep amethyst and her hair was a fiery red. She sat up and her hair returned to the usual brown and her eyes returned to the usual blue. Slowly, she got up and got dressed for school, wondering about the dream.
XoXoXoXoXoXoXoX
A red haired girl with amber eyes, a boy with messy black hair and silver eyes, and twin girls with blue black hair and red eyes stood in front of the class. Neither Momiji nor Hatsuharu missed the resemblance between those four and Tohru. They were obviously related to her.
The red haired girl bowed and said, "My name is Honda Misao. Pleased to meet you."
The boy inclined his head and said dryly, "I am Honda Tatsumi. You boys better stay away from my cousins. If not, you had better be prepared to go flying."
One of the twins, standing on the right smiled and said, "I'm Honda Kaoru, you can tell it's me since I'll always have a purple ribbon around my wrist," and held up her wrist to show the class.
The other twin smiled and said, "I'm Honda Midori. I'm the one with the magenta ribbon," and held up her wrist to display the ribbon.
Class D-2…
Yuki and Kyo stared at the four new students standing in front of the class. They all looked so much like Tohru, it was almost uncanny. Tohru, Hana and Uo, however, didn't seem to notice, and were chatting with the two girls and two guys casually, almost unconcernedly. The bell rang, and Tohru, Uo, and Hana took their seats as the teacher entered the class.
"As you can see," the teacher said, "we have some new students. Please, introduce yourselves to the class."
The boy with black hair and green eyes said calmly, "I am Sumeragi Subaru."
The girl next to him with dusty brown hair and gold eyes smirked and said, "Honda Haruka, and if you want to live, stay away from my cousins."
The boy beside her grinned and flipped his shoulder length green black hair over his shoulder, his amber eyes glittering and said, "Honda Matsuo."
The red haired girl next to him grinned, her grey eyes flashing in amusement and said, "I'm Honda Aya, pleased to meet you."
The teacher pointed the four to the four empty seats near Tohru, and Subaru took the seat behind her while Aya sat between Subaru and the window, Matsuo behind Hana, and Haruka behind Uo.
Tohru smiled coolly and thought, 'If Enishi were to attack at this particular moment, Subaru would be in the safest position. Plus, Yuki and Kyo would also be protected, another perk of having so many Guardians in this one class.'
The day went by easily and all too soon, the bell rang, and the students filed out of their classes for lunch. The Hondas met on the roof, Subaru, Uo and Hana with them, and Matsuo, Tatsumi, Midori, and Misao pulled out several lunch bags and passed the packages out to each person. The eleven friends smiled and began to eat. Five minutes later, the lunches were finished, and Subaru spoke.
"So, Tohru, Uo, Hana, have you found the Zodiac yet?" he asked, his voice calm.
"Iie," Uo said, "But we know they're here somewhere."
"The fact that we're so close but so far away from our goal rather irks me," Hana said.
"It's odd that they would be able to evade me," Tohru said, her face and eyes blank, "But they're here. I don't know where they're hiding, but I know they're here."
"The Sohmas are listening," Hana said quietly.
"Let them listen," Subaru said. "Tohru can always wipe their memories later."
"Provided that they don't go to Hatori first," Tohru said, "My powers never work properly on someone born under Kotori. I'd hate to wipe his memories only to find out that I've turned him into a vegetable because I'd accidentally wiped out his entire memory bank."
"What do they think Hatori is, a computer?" Haru muttered.
"I think the Sohmas may know where the Zodiac is hidden," Megumi said.
All eyes turned to her. "What do you mean?" Uo said.
"That tempermental boy, Kyo, when Kotori said that we didn't expect Enishi to attack as late as he did, he yelled, "You knew about this and didn't tell us?" Besides, his aura is similar to Haruka's," Megumi said.
"Good point," Haruka said. "That Momiji kid in our class had an aura similar to your's Megumi, and that Haru's aura was similar to Misao's."
"Then perhaps the Sohmas are the Zodiac?" Misao said. "It might be possible that Tohru missed it because they were at such close proximity, and because Uo, Hana, and Tohru were looking in the wrong place."
"That's right," Tatsumi commented, "Even the Pheonix, Dog, and Rat can miss things if it's hidden right in front of them."
"No," Tohru said calmly, her voice and eyes firm, "I've already checked. The Sohmas have nothing to do with the Zodiac. If we waste time watching them instead of looking for the Zodiac, we'll put the fate of this entire planet at risk. As Phoenix and Thirteenth Head of Honda, I cannot allow that."
Near the door, all four Sohmas sighed in relief, then Momiji said, "did she say Thirteenth Head of Honda?"
The bell rang and the Sohmas left for class, and five minutes later, the eleven people on the roof left as well.