Tarja stalked through the forest. They were close behind her, she could hear them. She came upon a gate and leapt over it deftly. She found herself inside an intricate complex of houses.
She made her way towards one that was darkened, sliding into the shadows. The furred figures that had been chasing her ran past, not sensing her at all. She sniffed the air, and caught the scent of many different animals.
"What the hell?" she asked aloud. Wincing, she clutched her side. The blood was seeping through her jacket now and the pain was starting to come through.
She steadied her breath, hoping the animals wouldn't come back to find her. Before too long, she'd lost consciousness.
Hatori slowly awoke from sleep and climbed out of his bed. He went through his morning routine of getting dressed and waking Momiji up for school.
"Good morning, Hari!" Momiji jumped. The little boy was always hyper and full of energy and Hatori wished some days he could borrow even a small amount of it. Yawning, he pulled open the door and frowned.
A young woman lay at the front step. Her short red hair was tangled, and her pale skin was dirtied. Her clothes had been torn and bloodstained.
Hatori knelt next to her to see if she was breathing. To his surprise, she was, but barely.
"Momiji," Hatori addressed the boy beside him. "Get me a sheet and some water." The little boy raced off into the house to do as commanded, while Hatori gently picked the girl up, praying to the gods he wouldn't transform in the process.
Bringing her inside, he laid her down gently on the couch, where the sheet had been laid.
"I'll be a bit late seeing Akito," he mumbled to himself. Momiji arrived with a bowl of water and a cloth.
Slowly, Hatori peeled away her clothing to reveal a nasty gash in her side. "Only a large animal could have done this," he said. "And there's nothing around here that powerful."
"Hari, I'm going to be late for school," Momiji said. "Do you need me to stay?" Hatori shook his head and told the youth to leave. Once he was safely out of the house and trudging down the road, did Hatori try to wake the girl.
She grimaced and forced her chocolate brown eyes open. "Where am I?" She spoke Japanese, but her accent was foreign.
"I'm a doctor, don't worry," Hatori said gently. The girl pushed herself up, gasping at the pain that seared her abdomen. She looked down at the bandages that had been wrapped around her.
"You did this?" she asked. Seeing his nod, she went on. "I'll be going now, since I'll be fine in a day or two. Sorry to trouble you."
"It was no trouble," Hatori commented. "And I need to keep you here to make sure those wounds don't get infected. Do you know what caused them?"
The girl looked away. After a moment's hesitation, she looked back up to him. "I'm Tarja. I came here from Russia."
"Russia?" Hatori noted that she didn't look Asian, but he'd guessed European. "What brings you here?"
"Just passing through," she said nonchalantly.
"My name is Hatori Sohma, and if you need anything, just let me know." He stood up. "I have to go now, but I'll be back to check on you later."
She lay back down and closed her eyes, and he made sure she was asleep before leaving his house. Something was off about her, he just knew it.
"What took you so long?" Akito mumbled through the haze of medications he was receiving. "I was in so much pain, Hatori. Don't you care about me?"
The doctor mentally sighed. "Yes, Akito, I love you very much and I apologize for being late."
Akito's eyes swept up to the doctors face, noting the distracted expression in his eyes. "What kept you anyway?"
"I found a girl on my front step this morning. She was badly injured, so I treated her. Nothing more, for she's gone now."
Akito briefly wondered how someone could have gotten past the main gate, but brushed it off as a headache hit him. "Go now, Hatori, I want it quiet."
The doctor nodded and packed up his briefcase. He had lied to about the girl leaving, but he had a feeling she would try to run as soon as she could. He worried that she'd reopen the wound, and need stitches.
He opened his door and found her sitting on the couch. A blank look on her face, she stared silently on the wall. Upon his entering, her eyes focused on him, and she put on a mask of happiness.
"Thank you for treating me!" she exclaimed. "I am so sorry to impose, so now I will be leaving."
"You are in no condition to be moving around," he said sternly. "If you reopen that wound you'll have to go to a hospital."
She turned to him grinning. "Really, I'll be careful. And it's fine now anyway." Hatori glanced down at his coffee table and noticed the red-stained bandages tossed there.
He looked back up at her. "You took them off?" She nodded and lifted her shirt to reveal a nearly faded scab. "Unbelievable," he shook his head. "How can it have healed so fast…I could barely stop the bleeding only hours ago."
"I told you I'd be fine," she said quietly. Picking up her black coat she frowned. "It's stained…and had a nasty tear in it. Guess I'll have to get a new one. And I liked this one so much." With a pout on her face, she donned the ruined garment and made to leave.
Hatori watched as she began to fall, and tried to grab her. She fell onto him and they both collapsed onto the floor. After a few moments of silence, Tarja lifted her head weakly and smirked.
"Sorry," she mumbled. Hatori was rendered speechless. A woman had just embraced him and he'd not transformed.
"What are you?" came his soft reply. Tarja pulled herself off him and dragged her weak body to door.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," she whispered. He stood and straightened his clothing, wondering if he should tell her of the curse. It might get her to release her secret.
Tarja tried to stand and immediately lost consciousness. Hatori scooped her up and set her down on the couch. She had lost more blood than he realized.
Leaving the house, he searched for a trail of blood, which might lead him to some answers. It led him deep into the forest behind the Sohma estate.
Hatori knelt next to a dried pool of blood and scraped some into a glass vial he had. If he could analyze her blood, perhaps….that would give him some answers.