Fruits Basket: Legend of the Zodiac
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
Hey! Kamui Gaia 07 here! Sorry it took so long to update, but life has been really hectic lately, and I'm afraid my muse, Arashi, is currently comatose from the Ayashi no Yuugi thing, so I'm borrowing my cousin's muse, Yume.
And horror of horrors, I'm going to be a Senior soon! I've gotten a lot of invitations from various colleges and universities so far. Mostly from the Dominican University, but I still am not quite sure how I'll pay for all my needs, from tuition and housing, I mean, damn, that's a lot of forms to fill out! Hell, I'm not even completely sure what my major is going to be! I know I want to be in publishing, and my current choice is Journalism, but I'm starting to have second thoughts, and god only knows that I'm too lazy to go for law or medical.
Damn, time moves fast. It feels like only yesterday that I was entering at MKHS for the first time as a freshman. (:Sighs:) Any way, I'm really nervous about the upcoming year, and I'm seriously low on credits. Serves me right for fooling around in freshman and sophomore year. I've been looking at the total for my Senior Packages, and damn, it's a lot of money! Then again, it's supposed to be worth it, especially since you're only ever a Senior once in your life, but still, I can think of better things to spend all that money on, say, my college tuition?
(Sigh.) If you thought my updates were slow now, they're about to get even slower.
Sorry!
Senior year is supposed to be easy, but it's also supposed to be hectic as hell.
Now, Read on!
Chapter 8: Clue
Night had fallen, and within one hour, the weeklong New Years celebration would come to an end for the seven branches of the Sumeragi clan. Tohru and her fellow Head of Houses sat calmly in the Great Hall of the Honda Estate. Each family head was tired, more than one was eager to end everything and go home; especially the ones who had sustained injuries from the multitudes of battles that had taken place throughout the course of the week.
The large grandfather clock in the corner began to chime, counting down the seconds till midnight…
One stroke…
Two strokes…
Three strokes…
Four strokes…
Something was wrong…
Five…
It was obvious that the other Guardians felt the same way…
Six…
The hands of each of the Seven Heads were on their daisho…
Seven…
They knew something was coming…
Eight…
They could feel it…
Nine…
The daisho were swiftly slipped into the obi of their shikifukus…
Ten…
Almost time…
Eleven…
It was getting closer…
Twelve!
The lights went out, and the shoji door flew open, and the nineteen people in the room were instantly on their feet, katanas drawn. The magical auras of the nineteen Omnyouji pulsed through the air, and a dark cloud of cold black mist billowed into the room.
Tohru raised her katana and drew the blade lightly over her wrist, drawing a small trickle of blood. Each drop glowed and as they hit the tatami flooring, released bright flashes of crimson light, chasing away the dark mists. Seven drops fell, and the skin and flesh mended itself, knitting together to form a pale white scar, which faded altogether in mere seconds.
The moment the seventh drop of blood hit the tatami, the seven drops flared and floated into the air, glowing brightly, releasing a warm but pale crimson light. The mist vanished, fleeing the light and warmth, revealing thirty hairless creatures that seemed a mixture between starved human, gaunt alley dogs and wild boars. Their pink flesh was free of blemishes and looked soft, glistening in the pale, crimson light of Tohru's blood, and their fingers were curled into claws, their nails and tusks and teeth were long and deadly sharp, their onyx eyes were small and seemed to absorb all light.
"What the hell are they?" Tenshi whispered.
"They are obviously some kind of demon," Haruka said quietly, her voice level, "but not any type that I know of."
"This reeks of sakura," the Natsume Head said.
"Iie, Natsume-san" Tohru said calmly, her eyes glowing eerily in the light, "malign creatures they may be, but they are not Sakurazuka summoned."
"Tohru is right," Subaru said, "They do not answer to the sakura. This must be the work of an entirely different enemy."
The Takayanagi Head grinned coldly and placed his hand on the hilt of his katana. "Then let us send them a warning about attacking the Seven Branches of Sumeragi on our ground, Sumeragi-sama."
"You seem rather eager to get yourself killed, Takayanagi-san," the Natsume Head murmured, her voice unusually calm.
"We are born of the Sumeragi Clan, Makihara-san," the Yamato head said coolly, "And there are nineteen of us here in the Great Hall, seven of whom are the Heads of our Branches, and the other twelve are the Guardians of the Zodiac. Surely you cannot be implying that our training is so woefully inadequate that we would be unable to defend ourselves against thirty demons?"
"That is enough, Yamato-san," Tohru said, "We do not know what these creatures are, and what they are capable of. We should not take them so lightly."
There was a sudden yell outside the hall, and a body crashed into the rice paper wall, knocking it down. A demon which resembled a gangly dog on its hind legs leapt through, and the Sumeragi on the floor ran it through before leaping out of the Great Hall to join in the fighting.
"There goes any hope of getting help from the others," Kotori said glumly.
"We're on our own," Aya said, her eyes narrowing, "We must do all we can to protect the Seven Heads."
Tenshi nodded. "We must proceed with the utmost of caution. The last thing we need is for one of the Seven Heads to be injured so soon after the New Years celebration."
"Take down as many as possible, and stay close to a Guardian," Haruka said firmly.
"Don't get too close, and don't stray too far," Tohru said, "but please stay together and for goodness sake, do try to stay alive." This last part was directed toward the Yamato Head who glared at her but said nothing.
One of the demons moved forward, and a kunai buried itself into its hide. It yelped in pain and a quick downward slash of Tohru's katana drove it back. The demon snarled and plucked the kunai from its side and lunged forward once more, this time it used its claws to counter the sword. Tohru drew her wakizashi and countered the demon's attack, and with two quick slashes, lopped off its claws and a final trust to the heart and a slash of the sword to behead the creature revealed the expected results. The demon vanished in wisps of dark mist that faded into the darkness outside. What was unexpected was that another three demons came loping back into the Great Hall through the wall accompanied by a dozen tengu.
Tohru and Subaru exchanged looks, and there was no more playing around, and Subaru nodded. The nearly undetectable motion was a signal, and the Sumeragis threw themselves wholeheartedly into the masses of demons. It wasn't long before blood, ofuda, hair, even bits of flesh, and the sounds of battle filled the air.
The entire Honda compound was under attack by an unknown enemy.
To make things worse, a red sun was rising.
A red sun… an omen of death…