Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket blah blah blah.. no one reads this stuff anyway. Read and Review!

AN: Well I hope to help your suspence.. if you have any.. Again, I am over thinking of myself -sighs- I am so lonely. ANyways, This will be more of a fighting chapter, but nothing rating over pg-13 ;; By the way, I ahve nothing against Yuki, or any of the other Fruits Basket characters. I just try to fit their personallity the best I can.. even if they are OOC. I tried giving Ritsu some... control over his 'GOMEN NASAI!' ness.. and he snaps which made me laugh.. Thanks for the reveiws everyone! On with the chapter!

Tainted Angel Feathers

Chapter 3

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"Wha?" Tohru stared at the orange haired male in confusion, yes that was her name but.. How did he know? She would remember meeting a boy with orange hair, let alone see him before. Not only that, but she wasn't famous at all so.. how did he know her name? She felt the urge to check her chest, maybe she left her name tag on.. 'No..' she stopped, 'It's the other job, the janitor job, where I have to wear my name tag.. So how--'

"Nevermind" He stated gruffly, interrupting the questions swirling in her head, and he started to walk away. Tohru hesitated to follow him.

DIIING DOONG!

Tohru looked up at the Church clock, The massive structure read 7:00pm right on the dime.

Tohru gasped, "Oh no! I'm late for work!" She looked back to where she last saw the stranger stand.. to see he was completly gone. 'I don't have time to thank him-- I have to hurry!' With that thought in mind she jogged on to work, two blocks away, passing people being focused on getting to work.

In the shadows near the church, however, a shadowy figure watched her dash by.

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"Tohru!"

Tohru bent over gasping for breath when she arrived by the locker room door. Hearing the door open, she had looked up was met with the gaze of one of her freindly workers, Amaya.

"Ah, Amaya-chan.. Sorry.. I'm late.. I bumped into someone on the way here... " Tohru gave her a nervous smile.

"Hey, hey..." Amaya started waving a hand up and slinging her bag over her shoulder, "You don't need to explain yourself, I lost track of time too." Tohru sweatdropped.

"Well I better get home, Kitzu's probably hungry."

"Ah, is your fox doing okay?" Tohru frowned remembering when Amaya's fox, Kitzu, wandered into traffic.

"He's much better." Amaya smiled, then she frowned looking behind Tohru, "I wonder who that is.."

Tohru turned around to see the familiar man with dark hair that gave her chills, "It's him.." She muttered to herself as the mysterious man walked down the hall toward them before turning a corner and walking off in that direction.,

"Hey Tohru?"

Tohru looked back at Amaya, "Y-Yes?"

"Watch out when you're walking home tonight.. I heard from my neighbor, Umi, that there was a shadowy figure around town. I also heard there have been a handful of cases caused by a serial killer. He's been known to rape young women like us and kill them. Keep your eyes out.. okay?"

Tohru stiffened at the thought or the poor girls being raped and slautered, she nodded, "Alright!"

"Cause I know you, and spacing out has become a hobby...." Amaya trailed off.

Tohru smiled abit and blushed in embarrasment. Amaya patted her back and waved before walking down the hall to the elevator with her hands in her pockets, "Ja ne Tohru-chan!"

"Ja ne!"

Tohru walked into the locker room after her freind's footsteps were heard no longer. She dressed in her janitor's uniform and went off to clean one of the many offices. Sure it wasn't the best job in the world, but that and working at her more 'buisnessy job' it let ends meet.

"Tohru!" Another one of the workers waved to her, Tohru rushed over to her, "Yes?"

The worked pointed down the hall, "If you can cover that section, we can take care of the other two. With a nod, Tohru grabbed a broom and a cleaning equipment cart and rushed to work her hardest. The worker grinned and looked at another worker beside her, "Well Sakura, Seems that since she started to work, things are easier for us." The other worker nodded, "Yeah, you're right Latium, I'm sure she'll make a wonderful wife to a lucky man." The first worker sighed, "She's got the optimistic to give Scrooge a smile." Giggling, the two workers went on to their own work.

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Letting out a sigh,. Tohru closed and locked her small locker door, "That's all for today. I can't wait to get home." She trugged out the locker room with her head up and a smile on her face, 'I can already taste the salmon I made last night.. Oh well, leftover salmon will hit the spot tonight!' A grumble escaped her stomach as the elevator closed on her. Tohru giggled, "Besides, Kyoko loves salmon!" As the elevator door opened, Tohru pictured her orange and yellow tabby, Kyoko, inhaling salmon and let out another happy giggle.

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Yuki arrived at his cousin's house and sighed, 'I have to be desprete to ask this dirty old man advice...' He knocked three times and the door opened revealing a handsome man with dark hair and a freindly grin, "Why hello there Yuki! What brings you here? Interested in any of my award winning novels?"

Yuki's eye twitched, "No you pervert, I was going to ask you a riddle I can't figure out. I have no interest in your filthy ..what you call 'books'"

Shigure's face faltered abit and he cluches his chect gripping the clock coering his heart, "Yuki! That hurt me!"

Yuki's eyes flashed of impatience and Shigure sighed opening the door and stepping aside to let him enter, "Come in..." 'He never lets me have any fun...'

Yuki walked in stiffly and looked around the formal room. "I see you redecorated."

"Yes." Shigure smiled, "It gives it the 'novelist' look."

"To bad it doesn't cover up your perverted intentions."

Shigure stumbled to the side teary eyes and reached out at Yuki, "Twice in a row?!"

After Shigure was seated at his table, Yuki joined him. "So, what's the riddle?"

Yuki explained to Shigure his assaignment paper to gaurd a girl on Earth, ignoring Shigure's questions of if she was cute or not, and losing the paper on his way home. He also explained his conversation with the Father, and the answers he received from everyone he asked so far.

"And?" Shigure asked when Yuki finished his story.

"And I decided to ask you, since you're always making hard riddles and getting on our last nerves with them."

Shigure sighed, "I see.." his ego got the better of him, "So I take it you we're so stumped you decided to ask me, the genius of riddles to answer it so you could fly on to Earth and take back your place of gaurding the delicate flower whom the Father, Himself, assigned you to take care of."

Yuki's vein throbbed, "That's not what I said. Stop thinking you're so great at riddles. You still haven't figured out when the end of the world is.. And you had the wrong date of then the dinosaurs would be extinct."

Shigure ignored the two sentences, "But you know I'm right.."

Yuki looked down, ".......No, I just want to make sure that the girl stays safe, and she's not in the hands of some insane or perverted angel.."

"You know He wouldn't allow that to happen."

"I suppose... But..."

Shigure sighed, "Tut tut tut, well Yuki, tell me the riddle."

Yuki recited, "You haven't talked to him for a long time, and yet you don't know him."

Shigure scrutched his face in thought, he tapped his chin and mumbled the riddle a few times to himself.. His eyes searched the room for a clue for a few moments untill they fell upon a small statue of an orange cat. Shigure grinned widley and Yuki noticed. He frowned, "Do you have the answer?"

Shigure grinned in glee and waved his finger, "You bet I do!"

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"You know very well what! Fess up! Who is it?"

"Ah ah ah!" SHigure waved his finger side to side, "I need something in return."

Yuki frowned, 'I knew this would happen, the little prick.' "What is it?"

Shigure grinned and chuckled, "A Human Elixer."

Yuki frowned more, "Those are very rare, Shigure."

"But I know you own one yourself."

"Yes, it was a gift from Kagura for my birthday."

"Well, you give me the elixer, and I'll tell you who it is."

Yuki stood up and noded, "I'll be back soon." With that, he exited Shigure's home and in a swoop, he was hovering in the air. "But if you're wrong.." Yuki said glaring at Shigure who was standing at the door, "I keep the elixer and get to keep those ingraved ivory chopsticks." Shigure sighed knowing this would happen, "Deal." Yuki smirked inwardly and few away.

Shigure smiled when he was out of earshot, "I know I'm right, and you will hate me for it."

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Walking home, Tohru started walking down the sidewalk. Her gaurd was up remembering what Amaya told her earlier. 'I hope I don't run into him..' she thought to herself, darting her eyes left and right. Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. 'Oh no. Hold it in Tohru, don't turn back. Just keep walking.'

Tohru's face stiffened and she stared straight ahead. The footsteps we're heard louder. She started walking faster, shadows moving across the empty street and the sounds of dogs barking. Her breathing grew faster and stressed, her feet moved beneath her pulling her down the street. Her mind darted back and forth as the footsteps grew louder and louder, closer and closer behind her.

'Oh no, oh no, Gaurdian angel, please hear me! I need you! Please help me! Mom, give me strength!' She started moving and thinking in different directions, before she knew it, she was runnng down the rough, dirty pavement on the sidewalk. Her shadows under the street lights the only comforting signs she saw so far. She couldn't hear anything but her rapid breathing and the sounds of heavy footsteps behind her. She prayed under her breath but dared not turd back. her only hope was that he wasn't going to cause her harm.

See passed the musty gloomy colored buildings, her eyes widening with fear that seemed to be fed by the thoughts of being slaughtered like those poor innocent girls.. Each second felt like forever.. She felt as if she would never reach the end of the block. 'Oh no!' Her mind raced as a gust of cold wind blew past her side.

She saw the building down the block she was to turn to get to her house. 'Four more blocks to go.. oh I hope I make it there.. feet move faster!' Tohru's breath was caught and she backed against the brick building around the corner. Picking up an empty bottle, she clutched it in her hand. Her raspy breathing was the only sound to be heard. The footsteps grew louder and louder.. The feet hitting rock pavement at a slow and casual pace.

She gulped wating for whoever it was to turn the corner.. Waiting in fear.

Before she knew it though, the foot steps stopped. Her eyes widened, 'I'll bet he's waiting for me to look beyond this corner.. he's probably waiting for me to move..' Gulping when a cool breeze brushes behind her, she used all her strength the peek past the wall to where she was running from before she hid behind this building.

Gasping, no one was there.

'So it was.. my imagination then?' Tohru nervously thought, doubt didn't leave though, she was still terrified. 'No..' She thought and her eyes searched for any signs of movement, 'I couldn't have imagined that. Maybe..'

Her thoughts were interrupted when a hand smacked over her mouth and an arm slide infront of her arms behind her back, keeping them in a firm grip.

Tohru screamed against the hand clucthing her, but it was muffled.. no one could hear her...

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Ah yes, I am evil. Well this was much longer than the other two, right? This is my first cliffy but I promise I won't let you suffer TOO long. I hope you enjoyed it though. I enjoyed writing the last scene. I hope you liked it. Again sorry for my spelling of grammer errors, I don't have Microsoft Word and sometimes when I re-read the chapters for mistakes, I over look some of them. Oh.. and I knwo it's very self centerd of me to put a character named 'Amaya' in the story but-- I can't help it! I LOVE THAT NAME! It's soo kawaii! .. That and I didn't want to go through research and find another name to use.... eh.. lazy me. Well, Review please.

Ja ne!

-Amaya