Hello and welcome to chapter 5. I really have nothing to say actually…just hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you will have a fantastic New Years Eve when 2006 comes around the corner. With all that taken care of, I suppose I should start writing. Sayonara until later.

Chapter 5 "Assail Part II"

Those huge sapphire eyes that anyone could have recognized pinned the dragon's orbs; seeing something hidden deep within that no one could surely sense what it was thinking. Why did it seem as though she and the dragon were the only ones outside and that everyone else around them was all but forgotten? Was this part of the dragon's doing? Was this some kind of trick the dragon wanted her to believe? No…it couldn't be because why would it concentrate on her and not Kaxa? Kaxa was the one who was trying her hardest to get everyone to safety and preventing the Zodiacs from entering their territory. Did the dragon know that she was the princess? What importance did the princess have besides being…a princess to Mortals? Maybe her powers possibly, but Kaxa was far beyond powerful then she could have ever been.

Something then clicked inside her head as everything around her surrounding started becoming back to her senses. Those screams from every single human behind her echoed near distant paths as a strong yet elegant static sound sizzled in front of Kaxa that seemed to be coming from the palm of her hands. Her body felt heavier then it did before, but that wasn't going to stop her from standing.

Even if she had a worried appearance that caught the dragon's eye, she immediately dashed up the stairs with her head transfixed down to the stairs, breaking the strange eye contact. But only seconds after she ignored the dragon was when she felt its presence move, but she didn't bother to look back and see where it was going. Maybe it was going to do the same ritual it did the night the Zodiacs have left the castle? Were they going to break the barrier again? There was no fact that they were going to commit something just like that, and Tohru knew that Kaxa alone could not face that event again.

Hearing the groaning frustration coming from Kaxa as warriors continued to plead that she should just give up and flee while they still have a chance, they quickly stood back when taking notice upon Tohru as she stood besides Kaxa. Her head seemed to be knocked deadly by something for she couldn't even bring herself to look up at Kaxa as her one black eye scanned her angrily yet fearfully. She knew that she was making Kaxa furious because she didn't listen to her command and all she wanted was safety for her, but Tohru also wanted to bring protection to everyone else as well. She didn't want to make people bow down to her and let her walk all over them. She had to take care of things in her own hands and she was going to do that…literally.

"Tohru-kun…what the hell are you doing up here!" shouted Kaxa angrily, gritting her teeth as she concentrated on the barrier. "I told you to go with Ghanjan-kun!"

"But Kaxa-san you can't stay out here like this," pleaded Tohru as she looked up from strands of brown hair dangling in front of her face. "They might go and break the barrier again like they did last time! They-!"

"Don't you think I know that?" she stammered, finally having the guts to actually face the princess who seemed to be exhausted. It almost seemed as though she were going to collapse. "Why do you think I told you and the others to leave? You think that I was just simply following orders? I know they want to break through the barrier…and I know they will. But I'm here so I can protect others, not let others protect me nor loose courage to something."

Tohru just couldn't bear seeing Kaxa like this. She was only a few years older then Tohru and yet she was protecting everyone as though they were all her children. So much courage for one woman such as her…she deeply felt grateful to have a friend such as her. She may not look like a woman, but in the inside she was a full lady who would one day make a difference…just like any other person. That's what she thought.

With her lips tightly pressed together, she inhaled a great amount of air while clenching and unclenching her hands. Tohru noticed that Kaxa now completely ignored her, but she knew that Kaxa had to contemplate on the green wavy barricade. Tohru's hands started to glimmer just like the barrier, and without further to do she threw them out in front of her just like Kaxa did as she sent a huge wave of her power at the blockade, and together they strengthen the barrier as much as they could.

Tohru expected that maybe Kaxa might talk back at her and order her to leave while she still had a chance, but instead she noticed a light smirk on her face while she flipped her black night bangs away form her eyes. Tohru couldn't help but smile at Kaxa's strange behavior. She and her were working together, doing the same thing even though they were very different. But Tohru enjoyed being with others who were different from her. It gave her another piece of them to put together within herself. Others made her complete, not just her herself.

They both noticed that the dragons who were circling the barrier narrowed their dazzling scale brows at both the girls whenever they passed by; curious yet intimidated by their strange power that only came from mere mortals. Tohru would always have the tendency to wince when one of the dragon's orbs came tumbling towards her. They were so huge compare to her and yet so bright it would seem like a moon was shining in daytime. The same green eyes that once transfixed her didn't look at her this time whenever it passed by, but instead it stared nastily at Kaxa who couldn't help but keep that silly smirk. Tohru giggled as she felt her strength somewhat weakening, but she knew that things might actually turn out to be good.

And if it was just her or simply a blurry moment coming from her eyes, she could have sworn that she saw a dragon that contained green eyes and yellow pupils…

Unfortunately, Kaxa's sneer quickly frowned into an aggravated snarl as she flinched slightly. Tohru looked back at the barrier, only to find the static going crazy around the outer shell; almost as if it would explode like dynamite. She could sense that all the energy she thought would hold out everything wasn't enough as she felt her body become weaker and weaker by the second. Again her vision was fuzzy for a moment, but she didn't want to show Kaxa how she really felt inside. The barrier just began to lessen, but it did not disappear. The mortals were forced to flee inside the castle to where the guards informed them to follow, and Tohru noticed King Yishanu's assistant becoming very apprehensive.

"Kaxa-san…" she glanced nervously at the short black haired girl. "It is too much…you think we'll make it?"

Kaxa gritted her teeth harder, almost as if she wanted to shatter them. "I don't know. I'm afraid they will attack after this, as we are either all dead, or inside the castle." It seemed that she took a moment of silence to think through her thoughts. "This is not working. Go inside, gather everyone that is not able or necessary to fight and make sure they leave the castle. You are right; this may go very, very wrong."

"B-but…I have to help you!" Tohru looked with wide eyes at the barrier that was slowly dissolving as the dragon's body started becoming transparent through the naked eye.

Kaxa swiftly glared at Tohru with steamy eyes that rose in flames. "No, Tohru! You leave the castle, together with the others!" Kaxa suddenly noticed that Tohru was petrified by the frightening Kaxa who didn't act this way. Biting her lip and closing her eyes, she gave a warm yet cold smile at the princess. "I promise, if it gets too dangerous, I will pull back. Just go, and be safe. Please?"

Tohru felt the hotness liquid forming in her eyes as it then trickled down her pale cheeks that still held a light blush, but Tohru forced herself to turn and run into the castle after she gave Kaxa a massive hug that almost knocked her out of her own two feet. She had known, just after she woke up, that this would be different then other times. And as usual, she was right. How she hated it. Couldn't she be wrong at least once in her life! But who was she to say? There was a thing call destiny, and if destiny had decided to place this event on the world, then it shall occur.

But…was it right to change destiny's ways?

Just before she entered the castle, she glanced over her shoulder once more and watched Kaxa continue to push back the barrier, though no progress was actually showing as the haunting images of the dragons kept coming to her view. She noticed King Yishanu far from the other side of where she was; gathering his warriors and preparing them to fight; saw every soldier looking rather frightened, standing at their positions, becoming a bit more visible through the tears that once fell. They stared at the wall, the only solid thing that now stood between them and their enemies. Had they gather all the warriors; or where there more to be collected? But Tohru didn't want any more warriors joining that army. That wall in front of them is still standing tall…

The question was; how much longer would they stand?

Zodiac Army

The grand ruler of the Zodiacs merely stood at the plains of the entrance to Mortal Castle as he transfixed his eyes on the woman who was trying her hardest to keep the barrier standing. What were the mortals doing on the other side anyway? Were they actually going to fight back against them even though it was just short notice? How pathetic, he thought. The dragons who continued circling around the barrier seemed to be thinking the same thing and Akito could surely tell that his assumptions would surely come to a precise accuracy.

Behind the leader stood all the other warrior Zodiacs who waited until the first task was completed. Some chitter chatter took place once in a while, but all of them stood quite still and rummaged through their heads; thinking of this and that and what to do once inside. They were still in their rows; completely lined up in perfect position; no man or woman out of place. Some of the Zodiacs had already prepared themselves for the happening. Wherever the entire cat Zodiacs was located, they were holding on to their bracelet very cautiously, clenching their teeth as they focused on the timing of when the first assignment was accomplished.

Even though he was the rat, he was the rat leader, and therefore he was ahead of plenty of Zodiacs. Alas, since it was Akito's rules, he had to be partner up with Kyo, the cat leader, for the two of them had been trapped in the castle that they now wanted to conquer. Akito basically assumed that the two of them could roam around the place and find the mortals and possibly make them servants and give out clues on how to get on the other side of Mortal Castle to where other humans laid their hearts to the warriors, or to simply kill them. But just because he was teamed up with Kyo, that doesn't mean he had to stand side by side with him. Only a few feet away—say about twenty feet; minimum—and he could still hear Kyo muttering something to himself. How pitiable. That cat could never keep himself quiet.

But Yuki wasn't entirely thinking about the cat leader or what to do once inside. There was another problem that he just couldn't exactly solve. Why didn't Akito use this method in the first place? They had enough dragons to do this task, and yet Akito chose the time to do this now? Was it because Akito thought that he, Kyo and Jekou had enough time to know the castle? He was certain that Zeknui reported every little detail to Akito, so there was no excuse to say that he was locked up for four months straight. That seemed like a reasonable answer…but even so; even if they didn't know the areas around the castle, they could just dash inside and find whatever they needed. They had enough 'critters' to find hidden places.

"What is his true reason?" thought Yuki.

Mortal Castle

"Be careful, you could fall! Come on, I know you're tired but we have to hurry!"

Hundreds of people were hurrying through a tunnel, not quite running but still walking at a quick pace. Some torches were lit because the tunnel was very dark and dreary as some might say. They created rather scary shadows on the walls that only darkened the mood, and this kind of mood wasn't needed at all for a day like this.

Tohru was walking somewhere in the middle. Others who had a semi-close relationship with the princess had been with her. But not so long ago separated by others. It was all women, children, and elderly people. Only those who fought in their army had to stay behind, and just thinking about this caused a horrible pain in Tohru's stomach. She didn't know if Ghanjan or Uotani were with that army, but there was a likely chance that they were; especially Ghanjan. His former senses were slowly coming back to him…and Tohru felt obliged yet remorse about it. Hanajima and Megumi were no where to be seen which frightened her, but she knew that they were somewhere in this crowd and she would see them again when they all escaped the tunnel.

These secret passageways had been made not too long ago, but it did lack of age, when the castle was first built. Although the humans didn't compete in this kind of war that often, as they were rather peaceful people, they still thought a lot about their safety, and they weren't foolish. Someone clearly came upon the idea that maybe, in the future, they would need a way to escape, and Tohru was surely content that this person spoken out his or her thoughts. The tunnel led to the other side of where the castle was located. The other side was where all other mortals remained at, depending on the people at Mortal Castle to do what they had to do. Some might think that there was another castle just like theirs on the other side of the world, but surely they were wrong for only an ocean can be seen. Dragons and sea horses had tried to swim across, but their Zodiac form can only stay for an amount of time.

"Tohru-kun!" shouted a voice through the crowd. Tohru glanced up from staring at the ground as someone called out her name once again. It sounded familiar… Her name was called out again, and this it was clear.

"Ghanjan-kun!"

An arm rose in the air, waving harshly as some little pestering started to form around it. Even though she knew it was rude, Tohru pushed herself through the crowd as she tried to find the person who owned that arm. It continued to wave in the air, remaining at the same spot as sometimes it would move slightly to the right or the left or forward. Sometimes she bumped into people as they gave her evil glares, but they immediately bowed to the princess and gave her a slight smile. Tohru couldn't tell if this was causing trouble for everyone. She was the princess but still the other mortals needed protection. And others might think that she was trying to leave the tunnel and head towards the danger…

Immediately someone grabbed her arm and tugged her away from the crowd that only seemed to be following the same path as others in front of them took. Tohru found herself at the side of the pathway where two arms embraced her tightly; her hands pressed firmly on the figure's chest. Barely able to breathe by both tiredness and possibly by the lack of oxygen the squeeze caused, she shifted her little body through the arms as she looked up at the person, only to see his hair as his head was over her shoulder.

"Ghanjan-kun?" questioned Tohru confused yet surprised.

He slightly pulled her away from him, but held her shoulders firmly. "I'm so glad that you're in here Tohru-kun. I thought you were still out there with Kaxa-san…"

"I-I thought you were with the warriors outside!" her sapphire eyes reached out to him so tenderly, he couldn't help himself but chuckle. "Is Uo-chan in here too?"

"Yeah," replied Ghanjan. "King Yishanu ordered both of us to make sure everyone who wasn't capable of fighting were to be evacuated from the castle immediately. Other warriors were given the job as well… But God…Tohru…you gave me a heart attack when you went to Kaxa-san. Not that I trust her…but those dragons…"

"I think they're going to break in," said Tohru as Ghanjan's hands caressed her arms easily. "Like that one time when Kyo-kun, Yuki-kun and Momiji-kun escaped the castle to retreat to Zodiac Castle? They might do that again."

"Kaxa-san is still out there?" he saw how still Tohru stood for a moment, but she easily nodded.

"I promise you, if it gets too dangerous, I will pull back."

She couldn't exactly tell if it was her or not, but something inside of her chest just wanted to explode as a strange tingling sensation started to form. Almost like the same kind of feeling when she exposes her powers…but she didn't give off any wave of her powers… She looked up at Ghanjan who was watching others passing by, sometimes giving them orders to watch where they were going. Tohru didn't see Kaxa come by yet… Could she still be out there? But she did say that if things get too dangerous, she would come into the tunnel and escape. But…did she really mean that? Or…was she trying to find an excuse to make Tohru leave so she could protect her? She would always do things like that…

Looking up at Ghanjan-kun, her voice caught his attention. "Ghanjan-kun I… I'm going to go to the back and make sure Kaxa-san passed through, okay?"

"But Toh-!"

"I'll see if she passed by!" interrupted Tohru quickly, though she felt her cheeks burn up by being so rude like that. "I'll ask others if they seen her go through the tunnel. And if she did, then I'll turn back and find you. If she didn't…I'll wait by the back. But as soon as I feel or see something unusual, I'll put a powerful barrier around the tunnel entrance. Please, Ghanjan-kun?"

She could see the frustration in his eyes dwelling up once again. He started to shake his head while looking down at the ground; squeezing Tohru's arms harshly. She did make a tiny wince, but not loud enough for him to hear since the crowd passing by blocked out all sounds. His bangs hid his beautiful eyes that were now thunderous and under pressure at the moment. However, she saw the side of his lip tug as he then grabbed her in his arms once again, pulling her into a hug. Tohru never really thought of this…but Ghanjan really never hugged her. Why was he suddenly hugging her continuously now?

He rested his cheek on top of her head. "Go to the back and make sure you ask others if Kaxa-san had gone by. If she didn't, wait at the entrance of the tunnel for her. If you see something unusual, put the barrier up immediately. Keep your words?"

Again, that knife stabbing pain went through her chest as she tightened her eyes, wanting to fight the pain because she was actually going to lie to her friend…her 'brother'. Clenching his shirt lightly, she nodded. Ghanjan made a 'defeat' exhale as he then pressed his lips against the top of her head. The he finally released her. Tohru made a gloomy yet somehow comfortable smile as she then turned her back on him, going the opposite way where the crowd was storming after her. Ghanjan felt the urge to run after her again, but she said that she would keep her words…and he would believe her.

But…just to be on the safe side, he didn't move forward with the crowd. Instead he remained where he was; at the side of the tunnel where the torch was almost above his head, but slightly plastered over to the right. He knew that people were looking at him uneasy, wondering why he wasn't going through the mob to escape. But they didn't have time to stop themselves for others just kept piling up.

"Keep your words…"

Tohru continued to push herself through everyone in the most mannerism way, not wanting to bother anyone that wanted to save their own life. She didn't have any trouble with that whatsoever; they wanted to continue their life in a peaceful matter. Even Tohru wanted to continue her life, but she wanted to continue it with someone who had given her so much. If Kaxa wasn't there with her, what would life be?

"Everything will be fine," thought Tohru to herself. "…I'll find Kaxa-san and everything will be fine."

She ran through the tunnel as the people went the opposite direction. Fewer people came through her eyes, and once every ten seconds one person would stop her and order her to turn back and go to safety. But Tohru would make an excuse saying that King Yishanu had order her to make sure every single person unable to fight came through the tunnel, and once that was done she would place the barrier up. Others listen to her and gave their deepest sanction that she would return safely with them. Some of them even offered to keep her company since she was after all the princess—and it would be a deadly day if King Yishanu found out something happened to his daughter—but Tohru, as hard as she could, changed their thoughts and assured them that she was strong enough.

"I never knew so many people are worried about my safety," thought Tohru, a huge amount of sorrow going through her throat.

Surprisingly, one person who was a mere servant passed by her heading in the direction where protection was read all over, Tohru found the entrance to the tunnel where the door was still slightly opened. A bit of happiness leaped through her heart, but she didn't take a chance to stop herself as she rushed out the door. Besides guarding the door like she said, she instead slowly strolled through the skinny monotonous foyer. Finding another door that was left open, she rushed through it as then cellars could be seen on either side of her. There wasn't anyone locked up inside this place, so passing by that she rushed up the mini stairs that were only about five steps as she grasped a door that was closed. And once opening it, she stood in the hallways that were once filled with smiles of people. It was quiet in here…nothing could be heard except the soft echoes coming from her shoes. The castle felt deserted… It was an uncomfortable feeling for her.

Looking back and forth between the hallways, she thought, "Maybe everyone escaped?"

It had been quite awhile before her ears picked up the sound of feet moving and silent talking. She made a curious glower, but then her eyes immediately shifted into a surprised mode. Of course; all the other warriors! But that would mean…no…that couldn't be the answer. Was their castle taken! Of course not! Maybe they were fetching more weapons!

As she spotted a niche not so far away from her, she quickly hid in it, and with fear rummaging through her eyes and chilling around her body, she noticed rows of warriors passing by. This was not a few warriors like she thought. This was almost the entire army passing by and none of them even noticed their presence! Their face held terror yet dullness while each passed by Tohru's hiding place. She looked around, wondering if she would spot a woman with short black hair and pure night eyes, but her appearance didn't even come across her eyes. She couldn't possibly be out there still! King Yishanu was somewhere near the back as he held his right arm slightly, but Tohru couldn't exactly tell why. He wasn't injured, was he? Tohru did not call out to them and she did not follow them, No…the fact that their castle was probably taken made her only stronger in her belief that she would find Kaxa. She did get herself into this mess in the first place.

Not long after that, when she knew that all the others had left her surroundings, she slowly moved out of her hiding place and made sure that she was alone once again. The warriors were abandoning the castle…but Kaxa was no where to be seen among the group! What did this mean? She…she couldn't possibly be captured! Or worst…

"No she's probably still producing the barrier!" thought Tohru, biting her lip. Then yet again, why did all the warriors suddenly passed by her heading towards the cellars. And only going through the cellars was where the tunnel was placed at...

Tunnel

Ghanjan kept looking up from his dark brown boots, wondering if he would spot Tohru and Kaxa rushing up to him. But as the time went by, only ten or eleven people passed by until no one else came across his being. Thinking that he probably missed a glance at them, he sprinted through the crowds, this time keeping his eyes focus on two people. The princess of Mortal Castle and King Yishanu's assistant. With so many people passing by, it was obvious that he just missed them passing by. Tohru also did the same as well, knowing how clueless she could be at times.

"Where are they?"

Quickly someone grabbed the belt that was secured around his waist as he was tugged backwards, almost loosing his balance. Turning around and making sure that his weapon didn't fall out of place his eyes came upon two dark hazel ones that glared at him angrily. He was relieved yet disappointed because he was so certain that the person who had grabbed him was Kaxa. But it had to be Uotani…but wasn't Uotani suppose to be in the front?

"Aren't you suppose to be in the front?" he questioned, fixing his belt.

"Yeah I was…" spoke Uotani in a louder tone since everyone else's voice kept overpowering hers. "But…hey Ghan where's Tohru-kun?"

Ghanjan parted his lips slightly, but it took him a moment before words actually came out. "She went to the back to make sure Kaxa-san came."

"…But…Kaxa-san is in the front…" Uotani was actually directing this to herself, but it somehow came through Ghanjan's ears. Did he actually hear her correctly? Was Kaxa-san in the front?

"Ghan!" snapped Uotani, bringing his focus back to her. "Kaxa-san sent me back here to find Tohru-kun! She wanted to know if she was all right! And you said that Tohru went out to find her?"

"Yeah but-." Wait…maybe what Tohru told him wasn't the truth. The Princess of Mortal Castle would never lie, but after what had happened for the past six months, things have changed around this area. The Zodiacs were charging in, yes, but…what if Tohru wasn't looking for Kaxa? What if…instead…she went to find him?

Immediately he turned around at the balls of his feet and pushed his way through the crowd, leaving everything behind. That couldn't be possible…she wouldn't have done something like that! Not in a million years would she say or do something this crazy! Was she that desperate to actually find him! She lied to him! Him! Ghanjan! Others who came across him backed away quickly, noticing how heated his eyes seemed to produce through his whole body. He wasn't the type of person to talk to at the moment…

But that couldn't stop a certain someone from locking both of his hands behind his back as her other arm swung around his neck, tightening him against her as he struggled to be free. Uotani clenched Ghanjan's hands together as hard as she could, but she couldn't prevent herself from tightening her arm that was around Ghanjan's neck. Surprisingly, this didn't stop Ghanjan from the struggle to be set free. He broke one of his arms free, but Uotani had a tight grip against him. She wasn't going to let him go that easily…and even though she wanted to so badly, she knew that it wouldn't be right.

"What the hell are you doing!" shouted Ghanjan. He really wanted to elbow Uotani right at the stomach, but it wasn't like him to hit a girl. But Uotani… "She's out there!"

"The Zodiacs have broken in Ghan!" she harshly whispered so that people who were slowly passing by didn't hear. "Kaxa told me! The Zodiacs broke through Kaxa-san's barrier so we're all retreating to the other side! They're roaming the castle Ghan! You can't go out there!"

"But she's out there!" he bellowed, not caring of what others thought. "You expect me to leave her out there!"

"This time, yes!" she shouted, becoming very frustrated with Ghan's behavior. "The warriors are coming into the tunnel, so they probably found her and took her back with them! They wouldn't let her go around the castle!"

Grinding his teeth harshly, he couldn't find another excuse to chase after Tohru. The warriors were coming into the tunnel to escape since the Zodiacs had broken in. It was very possible that they spotted Tohru and took her with them. With King Yishanu with them, there was no way that he would let her go around the place. But what if they didn't see her? Could that be feasible? But what if it wasn't… King Yishanu would surely find a cold place to fit him in his heart. But that really didn't concern him… It was Tohru's safety that ran through his mind. If she wasn't with him when they escaped… She said she would keep her words…she said she would…

Uotani held on tighter and tried her hardest to pull him with the crowd as he started to struggle, wanting to be free. Couldn't he see that she wanted to go out there and look for her too? Did he think that Uotani didn't care for the princess as much as she did? Well…she was making it look like it. But what else could she do? If they both went back there, they would surely run into the warriors. And besides, those warriors probably caught Tohru. And as the minutes went by, she was coming closer to the both of them.

"Those warriors better have Tohru with them," thought Uotani, forming a v shape with her brows. "If they don't…"

Hallways

Suddenly a light squeak made her flinch as she was about to gasp, but she quickly covered her mouth as she looked around the hallways, wondering where it came from. It sounded like an animal…a small critter. But in Mortal Castle, no animals were allowed. Only animals on the other side of where Mortal Castle was protecting could produce meat since no Zodiac could possibly go on their side. Once or twice a week they would ship out the food for them; no regrets with loosing such delicacy.

"Maybe that was just my shoes," thought Tohru as a nervous smile crossed her face.

But the squeak just echoed again, and this time more and more of those light small peeps filled the once hushed vestibule. She looked around the place; hands still clasped over her mouth so that she wouldn't produce a loud noise when it wasn't necessary. Her heart started to race as that uncomfortable feeling went through her stomach; butterflies that wanted to come out of her throat and escape that sore feeling. She hadn't felt this way in a long time…

Looking down at the ground, carefully positing her feet incase something abruptly popped out, she caught something out of the corner of her eyes. Two eyes watching her every move… She glanced up slowly at a small crack on a wall that she never knew was there. But hidden inside the crack were two cold lavender eyes, glaring at her intensely. But not a single person could fit through that crack and contain small eyes such as those…

Eyes of a rat…

Inhaling a huge amount of air, she quickly turned around and saw two more rats looking up at her; one containing red eyes with grayish fur and the other with smoky eyes and the same color hair. She didn't take a moment to figure out what they were as she then left off into a sprint. Her first intentions was to go back to the tunnel and escape while she still had a chance, but that would only leave the rats to follow her and then the mortal's secret getaway would be revealed. She found herself in a tight position. She couldn't go back now, not if she wanted to put her people in danger.

She had always been quite the person who put others first.

But the more she ran, more small rat eyes caught her sapphire orbs as she would quickly look away, not wanting to glance upon them. The Zodiacs had broken in…they really had broken in. Tohru had no idea where to go now. She wanted to produce a barrier around herself, but the problem was that so much trepidation had gone throughout her body she didn't even have the smallest amount of potency to do something such as that. She continued to hear the rats squeaking calls as this brought frisson through her spine.

Quickly turning a corner of a hallway that would lead to a three-way hall, she bumped into someone as a huge purple smoke erupted right in front of her. She couldn't prevent herself from falling backwards as the shivers continued to play with her body. Once that smoke vanished, a small rat stood in front of her, only to glare angrily at her sight. Clothes laid besides it while it slowly backed away, but not because of apprehension for the dissimilarity of their height was surely different. It had a hoary fur with lilac eyes, but the rat didn't look familiar to her at all. There was one that she knew…

She scrambled herself away from the rat as she then stood on her two feet, but that's when other figures started becoming visible to her. Their strange hair and eye color fixed her directly as rapidly she backed away little by little, finding herself in true foremost jeopardy. They eyed her vigilantly, studying her movements and the breathing that seemed to come out insensitively. Out of the blue the figures sprinted straight at her, forcing her to turn around and run.

But there were others behind her as they were also coming straight for her. She looked hesitantly back and forth, wondering where to go. She couldn't go left or right unless she wanted to run straight into the wall. Sometimes she took a step forward and sometimes a step backwards, but there really wasn't a way to escape. And that barrier she wanted to produce so badly wasn't strong enough to come out from its shell. What was going on?

Seeing that the one coming in front of her was closer to her being, she turned around to only find herself trapped in the hands of Zodiacs, and sadly they were females. Only a few males stood away, not wanting themselves to transform because their intruder was a mere girl. Tohru somewhat struggled, but her knees buckled together and soon she knew that the Zodiacs were keeping her on her two legs. The figure she bumped into earlier was suddenly surrounded by smoke again as Tohru stared at it surprised. She noticed swift movement coming from the figure and as soon as the smoke vanished, she saw a male who only wore the tight leather pants; shirtless since he had just transformed back. He eyed the princess angrily in a cold way while slowly putting the rest of his uniform back on.

"Where did all the mortals go girl?" ordered one of the females, grasping her neck with her cold hands.

Even if Tohru wanted to say something, she couldn't help but keep her mouth shut. This was too much. Her life was at risk and with one wrong move, she could end it all. All she wanted to do was to see if Kaxa had returned like she said, but maybe she was still out there. She could have possibly been captured by the Zodiacs as well! And she was more civilized with knowing what to do and say…

"Answer girl!" another female ordered, reaching slowly for her weapon.

She shut her eyes, wondering what to do. She didn't want to reveal where her people were at! If she did, then hundreds, thousands of lives would be at stake because of her. All because of her selfish desire that she should live and that she was afraid of death. But if she kept her mouth shut, then her people would be saved and only her life would be lost. That was better then thousands dying because of a single answer. If Kaxa were in this kind of position, she would have kept her mouth tightly shut no matter what the consequences were. Tohru wanted to be like Kaxa; filled with courage and no ounce of fear. That was who she wanted to be. And so she did not answer.

She was expecting another order from one of the Zodiacs or maybe a hit and she knew that she wasn't the kind of person who could take these things. But nothing happened. The Zodiac females still held her tightly, but they didn't do anything. Tohru slowly lifted her head, her heart continuing to pound like a thunder storm. She looked through her coffee brown bangs to see what had stopped all the Zodiacs. But what her sapphire orbs found was something she did not tend to see ever again.

"…Lord Yuki," she spoke softly in a raspy whisper.

YAY! I finish this chapter! I had NO idea that this would go this long because there was something else I wanted to put in here, but then that would make the chapter at least…four more pages or something. And that would go over my limit. I think halfway down the chapter wasn't my best because I was trying to finish this by today since I feel like I'm on a roll with writing. So please, feel mad if it didn't sound good. But I do hope that you all enjoyed the chapter as much as I wrote it! And I wrote it in two days nevertheless! I suppose this could be my News Years Gift for everyone! So hope you enjoyed this! Please repeat the three r's! Read, Review, Repeat.

DarkKyo