Tohru's Demons

Chapter Nine: Enter Shigure's Editor or The Beginning Of The Zodiac Curse


Akito stared at Tohru in stunned shock, swayed slightly, and sank down in his chair. No one said a word for an unbearably long time, until-

"Akito-sama, may I see that paper?" Shigure asked carefully, half afraid the boy would start yelling again. Akito looked at the Dog uncomprehendingly and then held out the letter with trembling hands. Shigure scanned it and his eyebrows snapped together with an almost audible click.

"Read it out loud, Shii-chan!" Momiji begged, trying to look over Shigure's shoulder without moving from where he was sitting, which was about three feet to the Dog's right. Shigure looked up in surprise and smiled nervously.

"Oh, right!" he said, shook out the paper with a flourish, and read steadily: "...experiments have gone wrong. It was not supposed to end up this way. They were not supposed to escape. But they did, and we must now pay the price... It started two months ago, at approximately three A.M. on a Monday morning, when Niko Sohma, who ultimately proved to be the most troublesome member of the Zodiac Projects, broke out of her cage and proceeded to free the rest, who then escaped into the ventilation shafts.

"But, when our people arrived on the scene, there were only three children left in the room: Akira Sohma, Rei Sohma, and Niko herself. We knew they would be escaping, for we had contacts with Rei. But when we arrived, Niko pushed Akira into the shaft, and then turned to fight us off, her close companion, Rei, at her side. What power they possessed! Far stronger than they should have been at twelve years of age, they fought off five men. But they must have known they were fighting a losing battle. Just before we managed to capture her, Niko shoved Rei into the ventilation shaft and he, like all the others, was never seen again.

"You must bear in mind that these children were very special. And dangerous. They had gained extraordinary powers during the experiments. Thirteen could turn into a different animal of the Zodiac: the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Ram, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog, the Boar, and the Cat. This was why the experiment was dubbed 'The Zodiac Project'.

Each possessed inhuman powers, though these powers had drawbacks, as each Zodiac member would turn into their animal whenever they were embraced by a personage of the opposite gender that was not of the Zodiac, or whenever their bodies underwent severe stress. But they would be capable of awesome and terrible things once they were finally focused. And the most powerful one, though she could not transform, was the Focus of all that energy and the key to Immortality itself.

"When the Angels arrived, they could not allow Niko to go unpunished. So-"

Shigure stopped, his face oddly serious and thoughtful.

"Well?! Go on!" Ayame cried with eager impatience. Shigure shook his head and handed him the page.

"That's all there is. It just stops in the middle of the page. See? The ink trails off down the paper, almost as if the author was pulled away while he was still writing..." Shigure answered, pointing to the long, jerky line that ran down the page.

"But what does it mean? Who are all these people? They can't possibly be—"

"The first members of the Zodiac Curse?" Tohru finished quietly. The Sohmas froze and stared at her in bewilderment.

"Don't be stupid," snorted Kyo derisively. "That's impossible." Yuki gave him a disgusted look.

"Oh...? And how is it that you know this...?" he asked scathingly.

"Shut up!" Kyo snarled furiously. "Don't give me any of your high-and- mighty crap, you damn Rat! It doesn't fit the legend, because the Cat's there and she saves them all!"

"The Cat... You're talking about this Niko aren't you...?" said Shigure, watching Kyo with interest. He nodded shortly.

"You don't think that maybe Rei could be the Cat...?" suggested Akito softly, his words cutting deep into Kyo, who froze, the color draining from his face. Finally he spoke in a tight and angry voice.

"The legend never said the Cat betrayed them all..." he whispered, rising slowly to his feet, his red eyes burning with rage as he stared at Akito.

"Rei was not the Cat," Tohru said suddenly, grabbing Kyo's hand and pulling him down next to her. She knew what Akito was trying to do, and the last thing she wanted was for Kyo to get angry and say something to the Head Sohma that would definitely get himself hurt later. "I looked into it," she continued hurriedly. "Rei was just another kid there, it seems. He wasn't even part of the Zodiac." Kyo looked at her and then nodded, his anger ebbing away.

"Why did you—" Shigure started to say but he was suddenly cut off, though, for at that moment a bloodcurdling scream rent the air. Tohru leapt to her feet and ran outside, followed closely by Shigure, Yuki, Kyo, and Kagura. Ritsu ran to hide in a corner, while Hiro jumped up, determined to protect Kisa. Akito rose halfway out of his chair, but Hatori shook his head, and he sank back down. Once he was sure that Akito was not going to put himself an any sort of danger by stepping outside, Hatori followed after Tohru and the others to find Shigure's editor on the front porch, screaming her head off and struggling to get away from Artemis, who had her by the front of her shirt and was yelling at her to shut up so he could explain.

"Artemis!" Tohru scolded, sounding like she was berating a dog. "Drop her right now!" Artemis released the woman, who fell into a sobbing heap on the ground, and rounded defensively on Tohru, who apparently was torn between being livid or being amused.

"It's not my fault!" he protested desperately. "She just showed up out of nowhere, saw the roach, saw me, and started hitting me with her purse, screaming about monsters! I didn't do anything to her, I SWEAR!!!"

"That sounds like Micchan, alright..." Shigure muttered sagely.

"Okay, Artemis, I believe you. Now could you take care of that thing, before anyone else sees it and has a fit? Miss? Come on, I'll get you a cup of tea," Tohru said kindly, helping the woman to her feet.

"But-! But-! But-!" Micchan protested, pointing wildly towards the gigantic cockroach and Artemis, who scowled at her behind Tohru's back.

"Yes, yes, realistic looking, isn't it? Almost like a real gigantic roach! It's no wonder you were scared, but you needn't worry... We're using it in a school project on insects. It's so big so that everyone can see all the details and stuff. And don't worry about Artemis, he's just crazy... Never takes off that ridiculous costume..." Tohru and Shigure's editor disappeared into the house, and it was a good thing they did because Artemis had suddenly got a very violent glint in his eyes.

"I'll kill her... I'll kill her... I'll kill her..." he muttered murderously as he stumped over to the roach and looked at. "And how the hell am I supposed to get rid of this?!" he burst out furiously. The Sohmas decided it was better to go back inside and leave Artemis to fume.

After Micchan had drunk her tea, she seemed a bit calmer.

"Thank you, Tohru-kun," she said with a bow towards Tohru, who smiled cheerfully. Then Micchan turned on Shigure.

"Sensei, do you have—" she started and then stopped with a gasp. Shigure was holding up the last thirty pages of his latest novel and smiling innocently. Micchan couldn't believe what she was seeing, so she just stared at him in dumbfounded shock, her jaw on the floor. There was no fight. No hide and seek games. No lies that he had accidentally set it on fire and had to start all over again. He didn't even pretend that he hadn't heard her.

"Micchan, you're drooling all over my floor..." said Shigure, pushing the pages into his editors hands and then steering her gently towards the door. "Now, I'm quite busy at the moment, so see you later!"

"Yeah... Yeah, see you..." said Micchan dazedly and wandered away down the path. She didn't even notice that Artemis was in the process of tearing off the roach's legs, or that he was frozen in place and watching her apprehensively, as if he were wondering how to explain himself. But she left without a word, and Artemis continued what he was doing with a shrug. Shigure turned away from the door after watching the demon wrench the roach to pieces for a moment.

"Well, that was fairly painless..." he said with a smile.

"Did you actually just turn something in before the deadline?" Kyo asked, smirking. Shigure ignored him and walked back into the living room. Tohru was already back in her seat, and rubbing her temples, feeling the beginnings of a headache. Shigure gave her an encouraging smile.

"Now, I was going to ask you something before we were interrupted," said the Dog cheerfully. "Why did you bring this to us?"

"That's a good question." said Tohru after a moments thought.

"Why, thank you! It is rather good isn't it?" bubbled Shigure.

"Shut up and listen," said Hatori impatiently and Shigure fell quiet and waited for Tohru, who was trying not to smile, to continue.

"I suppose I should start from the beginning, when I left three days ago. I'm sure you all saw the door in the sky. That was an uninhabited world. When I closed the window, I opened a new one into Hell. If I had opened it here, a demon might have slipped through and wreaked havoc in the city-"

"Now just wait one minute here!" cried Shigure. "Are you telling me you went into Hell?! That it actually exists?"

"Uh... Yeah?"

"Hell? The place with all the fire and brimstone and tortured souls? That Hell?"

"Well, um, it's not quite so dramatic. It's actually a very dull place once you get used to all the demons walking around... and the Bible here sort of exaggerates on some points. There are actually no tortured souls, there's no fire and brimstone, unless you count that one dormant volcano, and Lucifer's castle was a bit run down the last time I visited..."

"LUCIFER?!?" everyone shouted.

"You mean like Satan?" Kyo demanded incredulously.

"Look," said Tohru crossly, and everyone quieted at once. "The Bible in this world is completely wrong on all points that include Lucifer. In that universe, he is the unconscience of the First Angel. In other words, he is that Angel's familiar. Angels, in that universe, were once humans who had had their unconsciences totally severed from their bodies, turning them into very dangerous and powerful beings. To fight an Angel is almost certain death. Well… for most people at any rate, but that's beside the point.

"Anyway, that's probably what happened to Niko. Who ever wrote that paper spoke of focusing. That's what it's called when they sever a familiar. Whoever was experimenting on those children, on your ancestors, was trying to create even stronger Angels." Tohru's tone suddenly became very serious and deliberate.

"Now listen, this is very important. Whoever wrote that paper spoke of one particular child that held the key to Immortality itself. If they get a hold of that child's ancestor, and if they should focus that person, they will be able to take over every universe in existence. I cannot let that happen. And that person is sitting in this room right now, and believe me, they're looking very hard for him."

"And who is this person?" asked Akito, his voice very quiet. The other Sohmas didn't dare speak.

"You already know who it is, don't you?" Tohru asked gently, looking at Akito with compassion and empathy. "He's the direct descendant of Akira, and his name is Akito Sohma. Do you understand? If the Angels get their hands on you and the other Sohmas, and they need all of you, they'll destroy the world as we know it. And they're coming for you, right now, at this very moment."

Akito then did something very uncharacteristic. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. "I don't need this right now..." he muttered. Tohru waited for a moment, watching him with sympathetic eyes.

"Look, Akito-san, I—" she started, but Akito cut her off.

"SHUT UP!" he snarled viciously, his head snapping up to glare at her. "You were going to tell me that it's all going to be okay, is that it? Of course you were! Sweet, innocent, little Tohru, who knows all our problems! So, what words of wisdom can you give me this time? What can you possibly say that's going to make it all better and make all my problems disappear? How are you going to save us all this time, eh?"

"She won't."

Akito looked up to see Artemis standing in the doorway, staring at him. The demons ears were flat against his head as he made his slow, deliberate way into the room. He looked down at Akito with an unreadable expression. It was then that Akito noticed the gun in his hand. Artemis smiled and cocked his head, then raised the gun and pointed it straight at Akito's heart.

"Because we came here to kill you."

To be continued...


Disclaimer: Must I do this every single friggin time...? Maybe... Oh, wait, I know! clears throat THIS IS A PREIMPTIVE DISCLAIMER DISCLAIMING ALL FRUITS BASKET MATERIAL BY NATSUKI TAKAYA FROM THIS CHAPTER ONWARD!!!!! NOW ON WITH THE SHOW! WOO-HOO!

I'm in the Sulfur Port in Louisiana, now, and tomorrow I'm going crabbing! That means, to those of you who have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, that I will be wandering along the beach and catching crabs in crab traps so that we can cook them and eat them later. Sounds fun, huh? I think so. Anyway, THANK YOU ALL FOR REVIEWING! And if you haven't reviewed... REVIEW!!! Okay, enough of that. Hope you liked the eighth chapter of Tohru's Demons. I brought in Shigure's editor because someone mentioned it and I thought, 'Sure! Why not?' And yes, I have heard of Eddie Izzard... as you may have no-ticed. I love him, he's so great! And if you haven't heard of him, I suggest that you do, because he is my hero.

Now, a question for readers! Does anyone know who the Horse and the Rooster are, the ones created by Natsuki Takaya, not any created in fanfictions. If you do I need their names, their ages, and a quick description of their personality, otherwise I'm just going to make stuff up. Because that's what I do. I've actually seen all of the anime, up to the twenty-sixth episode, apparently it ends there (GRRRR!), and read all the books that are currently out, and if I remember correctly, neither the Horse or the Rooster ever show up. Sucks, doesn't it? Anyway, help would be appreciated!

Until the urge to write is no longer bearable!

-Raha-