Tohru's Demons

Chapter Eleven: Familiar Cages


"Did you just curse again?" said Kyo, arching an eyebrow. Tohru shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably.

"I have a good reason..." she answered, and stiffened, hearing the eerie wailing become louder and closer.

"Artemis, do you have—" Artemis pulled a six-shot, long muzzled pistol from a pocket and threw it to Tohru. She grabbed it easily from the air, cocked it, and turned towards the front door.

"All of you, go through the door! Hurry!" she cried.

"Tohru, what—?"

"There's no time! GO!" Tohru yelled, pushing Kisa and Hiro through the door, trying to be heard over the horrible screams rising in the air.

Hatori felt something dark crawling around the edges of his mind. It was hard to move, hard to think about anything but that all encompassing fear swirling like fog around him... Suddenly everything went black, he couldn't hear, he couldn't breath, and he felt like he was drowning, suffocating, dying...

Something struck him hard in the back. He gasped and staggered forward, his eyes snapping open. He realized he had his hands pressed over his ears, and he slowly lowered them, hearing the wails and screams become louder, and something dark was crawling at the edge of his mind...

"Hatori!"

He knew that voice. That was Tohru.

"HATORI!" He looked around, and saw Tohru staring up at him with wide eyes, her hands gripping his shoulders. She shook him again.

"Hatori, listen to me. Don't shut your eyes, Hatori! Now listen, I need your help!"

"Help...?" He heard himself say. He felt himself slipping again, felt something horrible wrapping itself around his soul... Something struck his face. He gasped again and reached up to touch his stinging cheek, staring incredulously at Tohru.

"...sorry about that," she was saying. "Dr. Sohma, I need your help!" Something clicked in Hatori's mind. Nurses called him that a lot, and it usually meant that someone was in trouble.

"What do you need help with?" he said automatically, his mind focusing solely on the task at hand, and ignored the keening cries that surrounded them.

"Get those people through that door in the air," said Tohru, motioning to the other people in the room. Some were on their knees, but most were still standing. Their mouths were open in silent screams, their hands pressed tightly over their ears. "Make those people move. Don't let them close their eyes or stop breathing, Hatori! I don't care how you do it, hit them, scream at them, push them, just make them move through that window!"

Hatori nodded and went to the closest person on the ground. He gripped his shoulders and pulled him up, shaking him.

"Get up, sir. On your feet, now. What's your name?" Hatori asked, trying to make the man respond. The man just stared at him uncomprehendingly, his eyes dull. He wasn't breathing. Hatori slapped him and the man jumped, heaving for air. "What's your name, sir?" Hatori asked again.

"Sh-Shigure..." murmured the man. He sagged against Hatori, his eyes hooded. Hatori shoved him towards the door.

"Where do you live, Shigure?"

"H-here, in this h-house..."

"Where are we going Shigure?" Hatori said. He didn't know why he had asked such a silly question, but for some reason he knew he had to keep Shigure talking.

"I-I don't know..."

"Think. You must know where we're going."

"To hell..."

"Yeah, we all will someday. What do you do for a living?"

"I... I... I write. I'm a novelist." Something seemed to awaken in the man. His eyes cleared and he straightened himself. By now they had reached the door and Hatori pushed Shigure through. Shigure stood in the sand and looked around unseeingly, lost in his own world. Hatori went back for another person. There was one not a few steps to his right. He was standing up, eyes shut, jaws clenched tightly, ears covered. Hatori shook him and began pulling him towards the window, but he wouldn't move.

"Sir, what's your name?" The boy wouldn't answer. Hatori hit him and shook him, but still the boy wouldn't respond. Suddenly, he dropped to his knees, his mouth opening in a wordless shriek. Hatori sent his foot flying into the boy's stomach. The boy grunted, and instinctively put out a hand to steady himself, his eyes snapping open. He glared up at Hatori, panting hard, and began coughing. Hatori pulled him to his feet and pushed him towards the door.

"What is your name, sir?" he repeated. The boy's cough escalated as he shot an annoyed look at Hatori.

"Akito... Sohma..." he gasped finally.

"You're in good hands now, Akito. Just a few more steps..." Akito staggered through the door and lurched to his hands and knees in the sand, fighting now for breath. Hatori fought the urge to assist him further and turned away. He had a job to do, and he felt that, somehow, this was far more important, even though he didn't understand why.

One by one, Hatori got the rest, Ayame, Ritsu, Kyo, Kagura, Isuzu, Yuki, Kureno, Momiji, and Hatsuharu, through to the other world, just as Tohru returned and pushed him in as well.

"Every one's in. Make sure they stay here, Hatori. I'll be right back!" said Tohru, and the door closed. Hatori immediately snapped back to reality. Everything came back into focus as he looked around to find himself suddenly on a strange beach. He remembered what had happened as his eyes slowly scanned his surroundings. Akito was the first person he noticed. He was on his hands and knees, coughing hard now, and clutching his midriff. Hatori uneasily approached him and knelt down next to the boy, wondering vaguely if Akito's memory was as sharp as his.

"Akito-sama...?" Akito pushed him away, catching his breath, and stood shakily.

"I'm fine. No thanks to you." So he does remember... Hatori thought ruefully.

"I... apologize, Akito-sama... for hurting you." he said quietly, and waited for Akito's explosion. But it never came. Akito didn't say a word. He looked irritated, but all he did was sit back and shut his eyes. Hatori wasn't sure what to think, but he was fairly sure he had been dismissed. Slowly he stepped away, wondering if Akito would call him back. When he didn't, Hatori went to check on his friends.

Shigure was sitting in the sand, staring dazedly out over the waves. Ayame was next to him, and was perched uncomfortably on a rock, having refused to get his clothes messed up by sitting on the ground, with a look of mortified distaste.

"All this sand is going to ruin my shoes, I just know it... Ha'ri! There you are! I was looking for you!" Ayame called, and beckoned him over.

"I've been here the whole time," said Hatori in his usual phlegmatic tone. Ayame ignored this and grasped his hands. Hatori raised his eyebrows, resisting the urge to blanch, and tried to back away, but Ayame wouldn't have it.

"Hatori, I want to thank you," Ayame said seriously, which made Hatori pause. "You saved my life back there. I thought I was going to die, but then there you were, and somehow you got me out of there. So thank you."

"Me too, Ha'ri, thanks." said Shigure, looking up at him with a fond smile.

The other Sohmas, excluding Akito, Kisa, and Hiro, looked at Hatori, opening their mouths to thank him as well, but he waved his hands, saying, "You should all save your thanks for Tohru-san. Without her help I wouldn't have been able to do anything at all." They all looked around.

"Where is Tohru...?" said Momiji.

"She said she would be here, and that we should wait for her return." Hatori informed him coolly.

"What if she doesn't come...?" said Momiji. "What if we're stuck in another universe forever? What if—"

"That's enough, Momiji. Don't worry, she'll come ba—" Yuki broke off because a door opened and Tohru tumbled through, and whipped around, her gun pointed back into their world. Something stepped through. Something that made the Sohmas freeze in horror. It was a skeletal creature, human looking, but not quite. It had no eyes, just blank and empty sockets, but somehow it seemed to stare at Tohru with frightening intensity. It sucked in air through a wide, gaping hole lined with jagged, silver teeth. Flesh was hanging off its body in strips, revealing a mechanical skeleton beneath.

Hatori felt his heart squeeze. There, in the thing's ribcage, was a small girl no older than Kisa. She wore no clothes, so Hatori could see clearly the blood that covered her small body. She was impaled on one of the ribs, her legs hanging down and swaying uselessly back and forth as the thing walked. She was so thin that her skin was stretched tightly over her bones, so that she hardly even looked human anymore. Suddenly, her wide, bloodshot eyes snapped open, making the Sohmas reel back in horror; they had been sure that she was dead. Those eyes didn't belong to a child. Perhaps once they had, but not anymore. The girl slowly raised its head and stared through the cage, reaching out a spider-like hand towards Tohru through the ribs.

"Mama...?" it asked. Tohru shook, her gun pointed straight at the girl's head. It isn't human anymore... she thought frantically. It's not even alive... that child doesn't want to be trapped in there... she doesn't want to do this...

"Mama?" said the girl again, her eyes boring into Tohru's, her walking cage staggering closer. Just shoot her... it won't hurt her very long... just shoot, and get it over with... Now the thing was only a few steps away, the girl's outstretched fingers inches from Tohru's face.

"Ren, what are you doing?!" screamed Artemis, his voice tight with fear.

"Mama?!"

Free her... Tohru closed her eyes, and pulled the trigger. The girl was blown back against the cage's spine, and began to thrash, screaming and screaming and screaming... Tohru staggered towards the girl and fired into her again and again until the child's cries ceased. Tohru fell back onto her knees, watching as the girl sagged back and closed her eyes with a sigh. Her body dissolved into dust that was blown away in the wind, leaving only the cage, which was quietly falling apart in the sand. Tohru rose unsteadily to her feet. Artemis jumped down in front of her, his eyes snapping furiously.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, LETTING IT GET SO CLOSE TO YOU?!" he bellowed in her face, making her reel back in surprise. "DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN, DO YOU HEAR ME?"

"Hey! Back off!" yelled Kyo angrily. "You aren't helping by yelling at her!" Artemis let out a wordless snarl and stormed away to disappear among the trees.

"It's okay, Kyo-kun," said Tohru when Kyo began to go after the demon, in mind of breaking a few of his bones. "I just scared him. And he's right, I shouldn't have let it get so close..." She paused and swayed slightly. "E- excuse me..." she murmured and tottered off into the trees to throw up. The Sohmas didn't say a word until she returned. Tohru paused, noticing all their eyes upon her, and felt obligated to say something.

"I... I'm sorry you had to see that..." she said softly and fell silent, her eyes on the cage. Kyo took one look at her and could see that she was about to break. He took her chin in his hand and turned her face so that she was looking him straight in the eye.

"You didn't do anything wrong, understand? If you hadn't killed it, I'm sure we all would have died. You did what you had to do, so stop tearing yourself up about it." He said firmly, in a voice that said he would tolerate no arguments. Tohru, blushing, nodded and followed him back to join the others. She sank down tiredly next to Yuki, Kyo seating himself on her other side. It was awhile before she would say anything and they didn't push it. Tohru clenched her fists in her lap, her eyes drifting back towards the cage.

"I hate killing them..." she said softly.

"Didn't I just tell you not to tear yourself up about it?!" Kyo reprimanded. Tohru let out a hollow laugh.

"You're right. I can't help it, though. I've killed them before, and I always feel the same afterwards..."

"You've... killed them before...?" whispered Momiji.

"Yeah... It's the only way to make them stop... The Angels create them, and send them out to hunt down certain people. They're quite efficient at killing people, Angels," said Tohru, her eyes growing hard. "It doesn't matter who. I wouldn't be surprised if they killed that familiar's Companion..."

"What's a Companion?" asked Kisa, edging closer to Tohru, who put an arm around her comfortingly.

"Me. I'm a Companion. That's a person who has a familiar, like Rahallion. But... when a familiar's Companion dies... the familiar becomes what is called a poltergeist. They're incredibly powerful. They can induce nightmares in anyone they touch, and can even cause them to go mad. I've seen people who..." Tohru stopped and shook her head, as if shaking away some dark memory. "Anyway, a while ago, the Angels figured out a way to harness that power. They do something to the poltergeist's mind, and then put them in those... living imprisonments... called Familiar Cages. Then the poltergeist will hunt for one particular person forever until they kill that person, or until they are killed themselves."

"What happens to the poltergeists if they complete their mission?" asked Shigure in hushed voice.

"Don't know. The Angels do something to them, because no one poltergeist is ever seen twice. The Angels have been trying to remedy that for years, now. Last time I checked, they hadn't succeeded. Yet."

"Three days ago..." said Haru slowly, changing the subject. "Rahallion had said that more than three had returned... They were Angels, weren't they?" Tohru gave him a faintly surprised look and nodded.

"That's right. They've actually been defeated before."

"How?"

"Oh... um, well, I was the one that figured out how to eradicate them in the first place," said Tohru, and all the Sohmas looked at her with renewed awe. She blushed and continued, "We had to cut off their wings last time. Then they turned back into humans..."

"Ren, we ought to move out now. If we're already being attacked by the Cages, then the Angels aren't far behind." Tohru looked up to see Artemis standing a few feet away from them, his ears flat against his skull. He wouldn't look at her.

"Artemis, my name isn't Ren anymore. It's Tohru. If we're going back to Hirofuriae, then you'd best start using it. 'Ren' calls too much attention to itself." A strange look passed over Artemis's face. His ears fell even lower for a second and then perked back up.

"Tohru..." he said, rolling it on his tongue.

"Tohru Honda."

"Right. I'll remember that."

To be continued...


Disclaimer: Look to the chapter prior to the previous chapter before this one

Thanks to everyone that reviewed!!!! I'll love you forever!!!! And yes, this chapter was a little earlier than I told you it would be. I didn't really expect to get another one out for a few days yet. Ah, well, such is the cost of inspiration... This was a bit more morbid than the others, though, wouldn't you say? Don't worry, the next chapter will be along the same lines, but the story will brighten up after that. I'm usually not so dark. And I'm sorry that Tohru was cursing in the previous chapter. I don't believe anyone is mad at me, but it is a little out of character. But as you can see, she did have a good reason.

Thanks again to Cor-chan for giving me helpful bits of advice on Isuzu! I've updated chapter 10! If there's anything else I will be sure to tell you!

On a completely different note that every one should really disregard, except Gliere who in reality is my best friend, unless they want to be completely confused:

MOMMY! Thanks so much for reading; it makes me absolutely happy and wonderful! I miss you a lot. Tear. Tell me more of what you think of it! And also tell me who you think I should pair Tohru with, Kyo or Yuki. I've actually already made up my mind, but I want your opinion.

What's my present??? Tell me, tell me, tell me!!! TELL MEEEEEE!!!! jumps up and down I'll be dying from curiosity if you don't, you know I will. I'm going to be very put out with you if you don't tell me. Tries to look threatening

Anyway, have fun at D&D. You'll probably die without me there, though. Oh well...

I'm fine here. Hope your face gets better. (I hope you don't take that the wrong way... but then again... heh, heh.)

Until I am much inspired once more!

-Raha-

P.S. Gone Fishing