Tohru's Demons
Chapter Fifteen: Into Hell They Go!
Ayame was so flattered and pleased by the kiss, that if the enchantment had not still been in affect, he would have transformed back into a human then and there. As it were, a little shiver of joy ran down the entire length of his spine.
"You're very welcome!" he replied over-joyously, saw her wide smile and the blush creeping over her cheeks, and pulled back to once again settle himself around her neck.
Over the hill, Artemis was waiting for them, still in his wolf form, and Tohru clambered onto his back. Before he started off, Artemis turned his head to look at her.
"Tohru, you don't have to grip me so hard. And don't sit so stiffly. You've never fallen off before, and I'm not going to let you start now."
"I-I'm sorry, Artemis. But I haven't done this for over a year. I wasn't hurting you was I?"
"No. And quit apologizing. It makes me twitch every time you say it." Tohru nodded, loosening her hold and relaxing. Ayame felt her tense up slightly as Artemis began to trot down the road, but this time the demon kept his pace slow and even, until he felt Tohru relax into it before picking up more speed. He never did go as fast as he had in coming, though, as they were trailing the horses. Nonetheless, it was all too soon for Ayame when they reached the place where they had left the others, thankfully without meeting anyone on the way, just as the sun was sinking behind the horizon.
Yuki looked up as they came over the hill. The past two hours had been absolute hell. His nerves were totally shot with the presence of Akito in their midst. The dark haired boy had not done anything in particular; on the contrary he had chosen a tree to put his back to and closed his eyes.
The uncomfortable silence that followed had been broken when Kyo and Kagura had begun to fight. Yuki had told Kyo to be quiet, Kyo had yelled at him to shut up, and Yuki had knocked him flat. Unfortunately, the Rat hadn't been paying attention because he was so nervous about Akito, so had literally thrown Kyo right on top of Ritsu. The Monkey had begun screaming apologies about getting in the way, which made Hiro snap at him. Ritsu had jumped back and accidentally stepped on Kisa. This made Hiro leap up and start shouting, while Momiji scolded him for it, saying it wasn't Ritsu's fault. During that time, Isuzu had gotten into a heated argument with Kyo, and within five seconds they were screaming at one another.
In fact, the only ones that seemed completely unfazed were Hatori, Hatsuharu, Kureno, Shigure, and Akito. Hatori and Haru were watching everyone else with looks of flat irritation, while Akito seemingly dozed, watching the chaos unfold before him through his lashes. Kureno was seated beside him, observing everything that was going on around him without a word. Shigure just looked amused.
So when Yuki finally spotted Tohru and Artemis he was more than relieved to run and greet them. Kyo, who had escaped up a tree, immediately jumped down from his sanctuary, as the other Jyuunishi looked up hopefully. The two boys hurried to Tohru's side as she slid off of Artemis's back.
"Tohru!"
"Honda-san!"
Tohru looked up at their cries and grinned at them. They both skidded to a halt in front of her, panting faintly, and for a moment no one spoke.
"Well?" Kyo finally demanded. "Tell me what happened!"
"Oh, er, nothing really. We got the horses, that's about it."
"Hello, Yuki! Did you miss me as much as I missed you?" Ayame exclaimed, popping his head out to greet his little brother. Yuki and Kyo stared at him blankly, then Yuki seized the Snake's head between thumb and forefinger and, resisting the urge to squish the wriggling serpent, pulled him deftly out of Tohru's shirt.
"Ah! Yuki, it's cold out here!"
"Then perhaps you should warm up in the fire," Yuki said icily, walking towards the small fire Hatori had managed to start, with the help of Kisa, who had fetched the wood while Hiro was screaming at Ritsu.
"Oh, Y-Yuki-kun...!" Tohru cried, starting towards the quietly enraged Rat, but Shigure reached him first and hastily took Ayame out of his hands.
"Yuki-kun, you shouldn't joke around in this most serious situation!" Shigure reprimanded lightheartedly with a cheery little laugh. Yuki turned a cold, flat look on him and he retreated hastily as the Snake hid himself in his kimono. Tohru sighed in relief and took the reins of the lead horse, gently urging them forward.
"Okay, um, we should get going now. There's a horse here for each of you, and an extra one here for when Ayame transforms back. Those three ponies are for Hiro-kun, Kisa-chan, and Momiji-kun," She said, motioning towards three sturdy ponies.
"Aw, why do I have to have a pony?" Momiji mock-whined.
"Because you're short," said Artemis flatly. Momiji stuck his tongue out at him when the demon wasn't looking.
"It's okay, Momiji-kun, the ponies here might as well be stallions with all the spunk they have. You and that little yellow one should get along fine," assured Tohru, pointing out the creamy yellow pony that was looking around itself with bright, lively eyes. Momiji giggled, watching it, and ran over to make friends. Tohru noticed Isuzu staring strangely at her, and turned cheerfully to Yuki.
"Yuki-kun, see that gray appaloosa over there? I picked that one out especially with you in mind. She sort of looks like you, doesn't she?" Tohru said laughing, leading the Rat over to the horse. Yuki eyed it hesitantly.
"I don't know, Honda-san..." he murmured.
"Come on, Yuki-kun! Blow in her nose, that's how horses get acquainted with one another." Yuki looked at her incredulously.
"Blow in her nose?"
"Yes, and don't worry, she won't bite you." Tohru reassured him.
"You aren't scared are you?" mocked Kyo with a smirk, having walked over to a reddish-brown Arabian, which was staring him down challengingly. Kyo glared back at it and blew into its nose, running a gentle hand over its muzzle. The horse raised a hoof, half thinking it was going to kick him, but it caught the warning look in Tohru's eyes and the hoof slowly lowered again. Now Tohru noticed that Isuzu was looking at her very suspiciously, and Haru was beginning to suspect something was going on.
"Onee-chan?" asked Kisa's tiny voice, and Tohru felt a tug at the hem of her dress. She looked down to see the Tiger's wide eyes staring up at her and smiled warmly.
"I picked out the perfect pony for you, Kisa-chan!" she told the little girl cheerfully, took her hand, and led her towards a little buck-skinned creature, that looked down at Kisa with soft eyes.
"I'm told he's good with kids, and his name's Tigger." A huge smile spread across Kisa's face at that, and she quickly raised her hands to hide it, her eyes closed with silent mirth. After Tohru helped her up she turned to find Hiro standing behind her.
"I suppose that last pony is mine?" he said bluntly, looking at the other buckskin pony, which was much lighter in color than Kisa's. Tohru nodded, and reading the unasked question in his eyes, added softly, "His name's Gunsmoke."
"Who asked you?" Hiro snapped, and walked towards his mount without another word.
"Where's my horse, Tohru-kun?" Shigure chirped.
"That black gelding near the back." Tohru replied, pointing out the solid black horse that was staring off into space dreamily.
"What, I don't get a stallion? A stud for a stud, you know!" Shigure said with a debonair smile. Kyo and Yuki both gave him looks of disgust, while Artemis snorted with laughter, which was rather interesting to watch as he was still currently in wolf form.
"Actually, Shigure-san, there aren't any stallions here. They'd cause problems because they wouldn't leave the mares alone..."
"Sounds just like Shigure..." Kyo muttered. "Maybe you should have left him behind as well." Yuki mutely agreed with him, though it wouldn't admit it out loud. Shigure, if he had heard, pretended to ignore the comment and walked over to the gelding, which turned towards him in a generally friendly, but serious, manner.
"Hmmm, Shigure-san, there's a problem..." said Tohru suddenly.
"What?" he asked in an overly cheerful voice.
"Your kimono." Artemis interposed. "You can't rightly ride him in that. Guess you'll have to ride sidesaddle for now, until we can get you some breeches." Shigure looked horrified.
"Breeches? How can you possibly believe that I would even wear those horrible things?" he moaned pathetically.
"Come to think of it, Ayame and Ritsu will also have to wear breeches..." said Tohru thoughtfully.
"Oh, okay... If you think I should..." said Ritsu timorously. But Ayame stuck his head out of Shigure's clothes, looking even more appalled than Shigure had.
"I'll never!" he cried vehemently. "You will never make me! I won't wear those awful rags people have the gall to call clothes!"
"Ayame-san..." sighed Tohru.
"You will if you don't want to run around in dirty clothes," said Artemis brusquely.
"Alright, after much deliberation, I have decided that breeches are not so bad," said the Snake at once. Artemis let out a derisive snort and Ayame quickly changed the subject. "Tohru-kun, where is my horse? Wait let me guess! It's that white one second to last, right?" Tohru shook her head.
"No, it's the one two horses up from Shigure's, right ahead of Hatori's. The white one is for... Akito."
"Oh...?" said Akito's sleek voice, the silken smile touching his lips never quite reaching his eyes. Tohru nodded, smiling, slightly nervously, in return. Akito noticed, that though she was a bit unsettled, there was no real fear in that smile or in her eyes, and his own eyes narrowed because of it.
"Yes, I put you there so you may keep an eye on everyone." For some reason, this seemed to calm him, and he relaxed slightly as he mounted up. He, unlike the Dog and the Snake, was wearing normal clothing instead of his usual kimonos, and so had no problems.
As he watched her position everyone else, however, his irritation returned. He had realized that between himself and everyone else were first Shigure, Hatori, Ayame, and Kureno. Then came Ritsu, Kisa, Hiro, Isuzu, Hatsuharu, Kyo, Momiji, Kagura, and finally Yuki. Right behind him was Artemis, trotting next to his own horse, having finished untying the horses from each other, which was reserved for when he transformed back, and in the lead was Tohru herself. She had separated him from her friends, to protect them.
While Akito seethed, Shigure marveled at her brilliance. She'd placed him closest to Akito, suspecting that he had a relatively good relationship with the Head Sohma, or in the least relying on his carefree nature to balance against Akito's. She'd kept Hatori close, in case Akito had any health problems, but had placed him between his friends for comfort, or a distraction, Shigure couldn't decide on what. She'd also kept Kureno reasonably close to Akito, but with a distance between the two. Shigure knew she was trying to give Kureno a sort of break from being with Akito all the time. She'd kept Kyo and Yuki as far away from Akito as possible, separating them with Momiji and Kagura, and further separating the Cat and the Boar to keep her from killing him.
Kisa was attached to Hiro, Hiro was protective of both Kisa and Isuzu, Isuzu was in love with Haru, Haru was in love with Isuzu, and Kyo and Haru were on current friendly terms, despite the fact that Haru was trying to beat Kyo in a fight, so that all worked out. Plus Ritsu wouldn't get too upset as he was between the soft-spoken Kureno and Kisa. He knew Akito couldn't hurt Artemis, and assumed that the demon would act as a rearguard.
As it looked from Shigure's point of view, it seemed Tohru had made it so that there would be almost no fighting at all. The only flaw was placing Momiji in front of Kyo, but since Kyo couldn't reach the Rabbit to hit him, there was minimal yelling and whining from either side respectively. It was going to be a relatively calm voyage, and Shigure was thankful for that. With all that had been happening, he needed a little peace to think things through. And he knew everyone else did as well.
"Is everyone ready?" Tohru called back. Everyone nodded, some looking excited and some apprehensive. "Then let's go!" she said, and opened a door into Hell.
To be continued…
Disclaimer: I'm going to stop whining about how boring, repetitive, tedious, mind-numbing, dull, stupid, and infuriating saying this is. From now on, I'm just going to say it and get it over with. No more squirming around. No more beating my head against a brick wall. I'm just going to say it... just say it... just...just...
Shigure: Say the disclaimer and quite stalling. You'll feel better.
Raha: ...fine. Idon'townFruitsBasket.
Shigure: Slowly this time.
Raha: FINE! I DON'T OWN FRUITS BASKET!!! Oh, and I also don't own Winnie the Pooh either...
Shigure: There now, doesn't that feel better?
Raha: ...
I just thought of something. I wonder how Ayame can communicate with people in snake form? Snakes can't hear, so how does he know what people are saying? I seem to remember him holding conversations with Yuki as a snake in the anime, but how does he? I guess he isn't quite a snake. And I suspect Hatori isn't quite a seahorse, as he seems to be able to survive out of water. (Remember when Tohru in the manga trips and he catches her, hits his head, and transforms? She moves him somewhere, but she never had to put him in water.) I also suspect Natsuki Takaya didn't know what to do with them, so she may have just cheated a little...
Anyway, tell me what you think of Chapter Fifteen! I want to hear your wonderful comments, even if they are flames! Opposing views help to clear my head and put me on the right track, or just make me work harder on it. But don't flame just to inspire me. Only flame if you actually have something constructive to say. "This is STUPID!!!" doesn't count. Not that anyone would flame me (and no one has!), because that's how awesome I am! Okay, sorry, I'll stop acting like Ayame...
By the way, I am back from Louisiana! I'm back to using Microsoft Word, instead of word pad, so I should have less spelling errors. I know they're there, I just haven't found them yet... Probably in the earlier chapters, I'll bet...
Later!
-Raha-
