Tohru's Demons

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Demon's Past

Artemis stared open-mouthed at his bell. The Sohmas stared in wide-eyed surprise at Tohru, the wheels turning in their minds as they began to comprehend what had just happened. The shocked silence was finally broken when Valery started raucously laughing her head off, her finger pointed at Artemis.

"When did you...?" he said, completely taken aback, after she had regained control of herself.

"When you broke the fence. I grabbed it just before I fell," Tohru informed him cheerfully.

"It's not possible..."

"Not probable, you mean," she corrected and jingled the bell, her smile widening. He stared at it, as if he did not believe what he was seeing. She giggled.

"Really, Artemis, I would have expected more of a challenge from you," she teased.

"...What?" he asked, leveling his gaze at her.

"I'm surprised you haven't seen it yet. Shall I illuminate you?" she asked.

"Please do," he said shortly, folding his arms across his chest.

"Well, first off, I had to lure you into a state of false-comfort. That would be easy, I didn't even have to act. I knew my rusty martial arts skills would be no match for yours, so naturally I knew you would drop your guard. I did not try to take your bell, but instead I attacked you with out any apparent reason or motive, supposedly to disable you long enough to take the bell. But I had to drag it out long enough to make you impatient to end it. Read me so far?"

"Yes. You're saying I'm predictable."

"Exactly." Tohru answered. Valery, Haru, and Kyo snickered, and Yuki smirked slightly. Artemis snorted and Tohru continued with her narrative.

"Then, all I had to do was wait for the perfect time to make my move. When Yuki and Kyo yelled encouragement, that was just enough incentive for me to be distracted, which was the ideal time for you to do the very thing I knew you would. You smashed the fence, and under the cover of your eagerness to win, I took your victory. And here it is."

With that, Tohru flicked a finger against the bell and the soft chime reverberated through the air and disappeared on invisible wings, its small voice lingering on the wind as it was swept away.

"That's check and mate," she said, grinning.

"You... clever... little..." Artemis growled, closing his eyes and raising a fist. Whatever else he had in mind to say, though, was cut off by the roar of voices that erupted from the caravan. The Sohmas whirled to see about fifty people, most of them boys between the ages of eight and eighteen, standing next to or sitting on the wagons, waving and cheering. All of them were dark skinned, well-kempt in clean clothes, and smiling, flashing pearly white teeth. Several boys ran over and surrounded Tohru, all talking very fast at once in Spanish, laughing and clapping her on the back.

"¡Eso era impresionante, Ren de Dama!"

"¡Usted pateó totalmente Señor a Artemis' extremo des!"

"¡Supe que usted ganaría, yo lo supe!"

"¡No, usted hizo no! ¡Usted apostaba en el Señor Artemis!"

"¡Mentiroso! ¡No era!"

"¡Estaba a!"

"¡Usted asió su campana tan rápido, Ren de Dama, Yo ni sabe que usted lo tuvo hasta que usted lo mostrara! ¿Cómo hizo usted eso?"

"¡Yo lo pensé fue hecho para, seguramente! ¡Pero entonces—BAM! —usted lo obtuvo!"

"Gracias, los tipos," Tohru replied, her cheeks flushing red, one hand scratching the back of her head as she grinned around at them awkwardly. "Pero, realmente, no era que gran..."

"¡Amelio! ¡Pacha! ¡Josè! ¡Todo usted, vuelve para trabajar! ¡Ahora!" Grumman barked. The boys scowled at him and loudly proclaimed their displeasure, but they gave Tohru a few more words of congratulations and went back to the caravan, grumbling half-heartedly. Tohru covered her grin and turned to Grumman.

"So... how'd I do?"

"Fair."

"Just fair?" Tohru cried in exasperation. "I beat him, didn't I?"

"You only just beat Artemis, and through the use of trickery and deception. Though these skills are useful, and even essential to survival, you cannot always rely on them. Artemis was correct in his evaluation; you are out of practice. Tomorrow, we will start your real training." Grumman said, his tone indicating that he would not tolerate any complaints or excuses. Tohru bowed in submission.

"Yes, sir," she said quietly. Then, looking up, she asked, "For how long?"

"...I don't know. Until the first Angel shows up, and that..."

"Won't be very long at all, I know," Tohru said.

"No, we don't have very much time. You'll probably end up training on the fly, but that isn't something you can't handle, right? After all, you've done stuff like that before."

"Of course... so there's nothing to worry about!" Tohru said, smiling widely as she straightened up. Then she turned that bright smile on the Sohmas.

"So, who's up for lunch?" she asked.

As they made their way back towards the castle, Tohru walking up front with Yuki and the others, Shigure turned towards Valery, who had for some reason opted to walk near him, Hatori, and Ayame.

"Say, Valery-san..." he said. Valery turned to look at him, smiling politely.

"Yeah? You're... Shigure right? You can just call me Val, by the way, I could never get used to all those Japanese formalities."

"How did you know my name?" Shigure asked in surprise.

"Your robe. You're the only one that wears traditional Japanese clothes, so you kind of stand out."

"I do stand out, don't I?" Shigure said with a debonair smile. "Has Tohru-kun been talking about me?"

"Uh-huh. She speaks very highly of you, actually."

"Does she! Oh, I'm so flattered!"

"Stop acting like a fool," Hatori said. "Knowing Tohru-kun, she speaks highly of everyone."

"But of course she would say especially wonderful things about me." Shigure replied. Hatori looked beseechingly up at the sky and didn't answer.

"Anyway," Shigure said, turning back to Valery. "You said a demon could be summoned if their Angel was still alive, so does that mean Artemis's Angel is still around somewhere?"

"Asrielle..."

"Pardon?"

"That was her name. His Angel."

"Was...?"

"Yeah. But no one calls her that anymore now. They call her the Angel of Death."

"Angel of Death!"

"Because she doesn't have a soul. And she's killed thousands and thousands of demons, and people for that matter... But, I guess Artemis was no better. He was unstoppable, a ruthless killer, and he cut down everyone that got in his way be it Angel, demon, man, or god. Anyway, back in those days, they were bitter enemies. Every time their paths crossed, they fought. But in the end, Asrielle killed him. That was in the Great Dogma War, fought between the Angels and demons for possession of Hirofuriae, three hundred years ago."

"Who won?" asked Hatori.

"No one, really, they're still fighting. About a year ago, Ren found a way to turn the Angels back into people, except we've pretty much just found out it only lasts a little while, about a year or so. That... or someone has found a way to change them back. So now the Angels are all awakening."

"So, now Tohru has to put them back to sleep again."

"Right, but first we have to find them."

After a few silent moments, Valery gave a small chuckle, watching Tohru and Artemis begin to bicker over why he should pay her the money he'd betted during their scrap.

"You know... He and Asrielle are legends now. He used to be so... cruel. But he changed, once he met Ren."

"I think she has that affect on a lot of people," said Shigure.

"Val, you said Artemis was life-bound to Tohru-kun... so does that mean he's like a familiar?" asked Ayame.

"No, Artemis is his own person. Ren doesn't have any control over him, like she does with Raha. But... I guess, in a way, she's his Angel now..."

"Huh...?"

"Oh, nothing! Just thinking out loud," Valery replied with a smile. "Now I have to get back to work. Nice talking to you!" And with that, Valery scampered away.

"Nice talking to you to..." Shigure said.

"You Sohmas..." Grumman said slowly, catching the Zodiac members' attention. "I have been meaning to ask... who among you here knows how to fight?"

Surprised stares met his question for several moments before Yuki replied softly, "I am a black belt in martial arts."

"So am I!" Kagura sang brightly.

"I can fight." Haru muttered.

"Me, too!" said Kyo with fervor.

"...Why do you ask?" Tohru queried, eyeing Grumman sidelong. Her carefree expression and smile didn't show it, but there was a cold undertone beneath her voice that made the Sohmas falter slightly.

"You surprise me, Ren," said Grumman smoothly, unfazed. "It's not like you to be suspicious."

"Well...?"

"If they can fight, and if I think they're good enough, then they'll be coming with you to confront the Angels." Grumman said, carefully punctuating every syllable, with deathly seriousness. The Sohmas and Tohru stopped in their tracks.

"Really! We get to go with Tohru? Great!" Kagura said excitedly, finally breaking the stunned silence.

"Well, I was gonna go with her anyway, so this doesn't make much of a difference," said Kyo nonchalantly.

"Okay, I'll come," said Haru.

"But... does that mean I can't go?" Momiji cried in dismay. "Because I can't fight? Das ist nicht gerecht!"

"NO. That's out of the question." The Sohmas looked up in surprise at Artemis, who glared right back, his arms folded across his chest.

"Oh, yeah! Well, who died and made you emperor?" Kyo demanded.

"Yeah, you can't tell us what to do!" Kagura added indignantly.

Artemis ignored her, his eyes locking in on Kyo.

"I'll tell you why not. You are slow, in more ways than one, soft, city-bred, whiny, snot-nosed brats with the endurance and constitutions of baby mice. And what you vermin will do is slow us down, eat our food, and complain. None of you knows the first thing about combat, and if the boys are any indication I'd guess the lady isn't much better. All you're good for is to run home, crying for your mothers with your tail between your legs."

With every word, Artemis drove a butcher knife deeper and deeper into the four Sohmas' skulls. The bit about "crying home to his mother" particularly stung Kyo, and being called a "baby mouse" didn't help much either. Yuki's pride wasn't in much better shape, and lay shattered on the ground at his feet. Being referred to as "vermin" was especially upsetting for the Rat. The barb about not being as good as the boys had Kagura ready to snap and of course being called various connotations of "slow" was quickly bringing out Black Haru.

Yuki was the first one to recover from the verbal assault.

"I was not aware that this was your decision to make, Artemis. By the way, isn't that a girl's name?"

"I suppose you're referring to Artemis, Greek Goddess of the Hunt, correct? Yes, it is a female name, but every now and then a male will prove himself worthy, in mind and in body, of the Goddess's name. Of course... for you, being honored with such a name wouldn't be very difficult. You wouldn't even have to try, all you'd have to do was dress up a bit and your looks would fool people quite easily."

Did he just say what I think he said? Kyo thought as he quietly took a few steps back from Yuki. The expression on the Rat's face was nothing short of petrifying. He looked like he wanted to skin Artemis alive, dip him in mercury, flay him into little bloody strips, barbeque him and feed him to the fishes. Of course, he had good reason to. Artemis had just thrown his jibe back in his face by calling him a girl. The Cat had to hand it to him; Artemis was pretty smart. Kyo would have laughed if he hadn't been so fearful for his welfare just then.

"What... did... you... just... say?"

"Yuki-kun!" Tohru cried, jumping in front of Yuki. "Just ignore him, he's not worth it." Yuki looked a bit surprised to see Tohru standing in front of him, then glared furiously at Artemis.

"Yeah, you aren't worth it. And you really have no right to tell us what we can and cannot do. Also... didn't you just get beat by a girl?"

Everyone but Artemis sniggered into his or her hands, and Yuki smirked. Artemis's expression darkened considerably.

"He's right, Artemis. You owe me money, by the way." Tohru said.

"Anyway," said Yuki. "I'm going, whether you like it or not. If that is alright with Honda-san, of course." He added, smiling at Tohru. She didn't smile back. To Yuki's chagrin, she sighed, and gave him a regretful look.

"I would love to have your company, believe me, but I'd rather you not come," she said quietly. Again.

"What? Why!" cried Kyo.

"I... see." Yuki said softly. "So... you agree with Artemis."

"Yes, and no. I agree that you shouldn't come, but not for the same reasons." At that, she shot Artemis a loaded look, reproach in both barrels. "I'm not telling you not to come, but where we're going will be very dangerous. I want you to know what you're getting into, then you can decide for yourselves."

"No, I believe you misunderstand me," Grumman interjected. "They don't have a choice in the matter. They're going, and they're going to fight, whether you or Artemis want them to or not."

To be continued...

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, but I own something just as good: Artemis, Malacoda, Lucifer, Ren (Not Tohru), Raha, Grumman, Val Halla, and the bad guys that STILL have not shown up.

Translations:

Spanish

Amelio, Pacha, and Jos

Eso era impresionante, Ren de Dama—That was awesome, Lady Ren!

Usted pateó totalmente Señor a Artemis' extremo des—You totally kicked Lord Artemis's butt!

Supe que usted ganaría, yo lo supe—I knew you would win, I knew it!

No, usted hizo no! ¡Usted apostaba en el Señor Artemis—No, you didn't! You were betting on Lord Artemis!

Mentiroso! ¡No era—Liar! Was not!

Estaba a—Was to!

Usted asió su campana tan rápido, Ren de Dama, Yo ni sabe que usted lo tuvo hasta que usted lo mostrara! ¿Cómo hizo usted eso—You grabbed his bell so fast, Lady Ren, I didn't even know you had it until you showed it! How did you do that?

Yo lo pensé fue hecho para, seguramente! ¡Pero entonces—BAM! —usted lo obtuvo—I thought you were done for, for sure! But then—BAM!—you got him!

Tohru

Gracias, los tipos, Pero, realmente, no era que gran—Thanks, guys, but, really, it wasn't that great...

Grumman

Todo usted, vuelve para trabajar! ¡Ahora—All of you, get back to work! Now!

German

Momiji

Das ist nicht gerecht—That's not fair

Well, this one was really talky, wasn't it? The next one will be better, and I think the story will pick up the pace. In the next few chapters you might get to see the Angels. Yay! Finally, right? I know you've been dying. That's like twenty-six chapters, and the bad guys haven't even shown up! Sorry it's taking them so long. Y'see, their car broke down in a traffic jam so that's why they're so late... so, uh... yeah.

Thank you to every one that has answered all my questions! I got like twenty reviews on just that! It was awesome!

Also, I didn't explain in the last chapter but machas are small golden bars about an inch long, and shakus are copper coins. They're Hirofuriaen money.

And yes, Artemis is a bit more vicious in this chapter and the last, but trust me, there's a reason that will be explained next chapter. His explanation for his name actually came from Artemis Fowl, which is originally where I got the name in the first place, so here I am giving due credit.

And about the original book, I've been encountering technical difficulties with the computer it's located on (DAMN YOU COMPUTERS!) but that's theoretically all fixed now, so I may be posting it soon. First, I have to work out a few minor story bugs, and then I'm going to try and turn it into a manga. I think it might work well as a manga, but that won't be for a while yet.

So, until I continue...

-Raha-