Title: Tohru's Task
Summary: Tohru made a pact with a god to save haru's soul, but what consequence does the onigiri have to pay? Sequel to Demon Days, the adventures of the afterlife abound, but somehow she has to keep up with a normal life. What's a messenger of the dead to do?
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, but I do think I own the idea of Tohru becoming a reaper! Just think about her ushering souls into the afterlife! Oh and Remi and almost any reaper in the future...
Chapter 7
"Hey, Tohru, how's that new Job coming?" Haru asked turning to her, "They say you've spent a lot of time there."
The four of them in were at the grocery store. And by they Haru meant Kyo and Yuki.
"Oh, fine," Tohru said, as she studied the contents on the shelf, nervously she answered the second question, "and I hadn't noticed."
At the end of the aisle a figure peered behind it to watch them.
"So, you have you made any new friends?" Yuki asked politely.
"Well, I've only met my boss and one other person there," Tohru sighed thinking of the Egyptian, "and I'm afraid he doesn't like me."
"Your boss?" Yuki asked calmly.
"No, my coworker," Tohru sighed, Remi really did seem to hate her.
"Really?" Haru asked pretty shocked although it wasn't evident, his eyes and tone were as placid as ever, how could anyone not like Tohru.
She nodded in sad reply.
"Well, what is he like?" Haru asked plainly, he was probably a Jackass.
Kyo bristled, "Do you mind!" he yelled at the guy who had been watching them.
They turned to see who Kyo was yelling at. Tohru eyes got huge when she saw him... it was Remi.
"Remi!" she asked surprised.
Remi sighed and decided to walk over anyway. His arms crossed over his chest and his eyes staring intently right at Tohru.
"You know this guy?" Kyo spat becoming very protective.
"Oh, yes!" Tohru blushed as he approached, "this is Remi Ishuzu!"
"Ishuzu? Yuki asked.
"He's Egyptian," Tohru pointed at him quickly and Remi stared back at her blankly, but a little annoyed his hands shifted and folded behind his back.
"So you know him from where?" Kyo asked still not taking his eyes off Remi.
"Work," Tohru said shyly.
All three boys looked so surprised.
"Remi, are you mad at me?" Tohru asked quickly.
Remi shrugged his feelings on the whole pretty indifferent, for the moment.
"Tohru said you don't like her," Haru accused.
Remi stared squarely at him, and shrugged again.
"What can't talk?" Kyo asked him getting angrier.
Remi just followed his present mood and shrugged again only making Kyo angrier.
"Remi, are you okay?" Tohru asked, having been quiet used to his big mouth. But then again if he didn't feel the need to talk then he wouldn't she thought.
"Fine," Remi sighed, finally getting a word out of him.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Tohru asked him.
"Nothing," Remi said a little more annoyed.
"You weren't spying on Tohru were you!" the cat demanded angrily.
"Fuck, why would I spy on some damn girl," Remi told him annoyance increasing tenfold, that was exactly what he'd been doing too.
"Damn girl!" Yuki yelled at him, taking a step closer to Remi, "Tohru's not some damn girl. Have some respect!"
"Umm... Yuki I don't think you want to do that!" Tohru told him worriedly; she was used to Remi's insults and was quite happy to hear of full sentence from him.
"Respect!" Remi snarled almost laughing.
"Yeah, respect!" Kyo joined in angrily glaring at Remi.
"Hmm..." Remi laughed.
"Stop," she told Kyo, Haru, and Yuki, pleading Remi's case, "he doesn't really mean it!"
Remi turned to stare at her, how can she say that like she just knows, "And you fucking know this how!"
"Well... you would of quit on me already if you really hated me," Tohru sighed turning red, she meant the time he saved her from the evil spirit.
Damn she was right, as annoying as she as he really had started to like her, against his own protests.
"Fuck no!" he yelled back at her instead, "did you really fucking think Ju... our boss would like it if I hadn't fucking gotten you out of trouble. That's the only damn reason I work with you to save your sorry ass! And I do fucking hate you!"
That was it Yuki was now officially pissed off at this guy. He clenched his fists and made to punch Remi. Remi easily blocked swiftly stepping back and then catching Yuki's guard down knocked him flat on his ass with one punch. He skidded back and crashed into the shelf knocking several cans off. Thankfully known of the cans didn't hurt him too badly. Yuki clumsily got up grabbing the shelf to steady him. He had a large bruise on his cheek and his lip was bleeding.
In other cases Kyo would have laughed to see that damn rat get knocked to the ground but not right now. To see this Remi person so easily knock down Yuki Kyo knew that it was a bad idea to even try to get in a fight with him himself.
"Does the fucking Ki..." Remi started to call him Kitten but Tohru jumped on him and covered his mouth before he could say it.
Remi pushed her off completely surprised by her actions.
"Remi!" she protested shaking her head pleading.
"What?" Haru asked seeing that there was something that Tohru didn't want Remi to tell them.
Tohru gave Remi a they're-not-supposed-to-know-you-know look.
"Nothing," Remi hissed and stared defiantly at Tohru, "just what I was going to say to Kyo that's all."
Tohru's head looked like it was going to explode. The three boys took it as a sign she hadn't wanted them to know that she talked to him about them. Tohru was actually just happy.
"What'd you tell him about me," Kyo asked her quickly as he turned to face her.
"Nothing," Remi teased him.
"I didn't ask you," Kyo yelled at him.
"Temper, temper, sheesh," Remi sighed waving his hands an evil grin on his face.
"I told him you had a temper, that's all," Tohru said, blushing.
"Well I don't like you," Kyo yelled at turning back Remi's way and pointing at him.
"Well, fuck you, I didn't ask for your fucking approval," Remi told him, and started to walk off, muttering, "can't believe I spent my fucking break with her and her damn company. What a fucking waste a time."
"That guy swears a lot," Haru said, after Remi had disappeared around the corner.
"I didn't think that anyone could swear more than Kyo," Yuki sighed, then turned to Tohru, "is he always like that?"
"Yeah," she said, "he likes to say... that word a lot."
She meant to say the F word, but she couldn't even manage that.
"And he swears in every sentence?" Haru asked.
"It doesn't have to be a sentence," Tohru sighed and started to clean up the fallen cans off the floor to avoid any further questioning.
Tohru and Remi were hard at work again and once again Remi was being just as nice as ever. They were just about to leave on their next assignment when something caught Remi's eye.
"Hold on a sec.," he told and eyed the man a crossed the street.
The man was advertising a new Egyptian Exhibit at the local museum.
"See mummies..." the man went on handing out pamphlets to passerbyers.
"Remi, what are you going to do?" Tohru asked very concerned about the look Remi was giving the man, he growled and gritted his teeth.
Within seconds he was standing right by the guy.
"Real ancient Egyptian artifacts," the man called as some passerbyers took pamphlets.
"I'll teach you not to defile the Valley of the Kings!" Remi hissed and grabbed the pamphlets from his hands.
The man screamed out in terror as his pamphlets were wrenched out of his hands by some unseen force. He cried out in horror and made to run but Remi wasn't done yet. Remi grabbed the man and shook him.
"Remi, stop!" Tohru cried out begging him.
Remi's cold blue eyes turned to face her the man still twisting to get out of his hands. "I will punish this fucking bastard. He, that fat bastard, that is in leagues with those that fucking debase, defile, and ruin the tombs of my Egyptian brethren."
"Please, Remi, put him down!" Tohru shouted and started to cry.
Seeing the desperate look in Tohru's eye and the tears she was crying he put the man down and he ran off screaming something about ghosts.
"Fuck, I'm sorry Tohru," He saw watching the short bald man run, "I just get really angry. I hate Egyptians Exhibits, and archeologists. They go and defile sacred things and sacred lands and then put them on display. Especially mummies; that's no way treat the dead, like some doll put up in a show."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Remi," she said consoling the angry Egyptian.
"Hey, Tohru, you coming with us to the museum or not?" Kyo asked as he got ready. Yuki, Haru, and Shigure were already ready and waiting.
"No," Tohru said flatly watching him, no matter how much she wanted to know about Remi she wouldn't go. She couldn't help but remember how mad he'd been. Even though she'd only known him for a little while she knew that he'd been madder than she'd ever seen him and hopefully will ever see him again. To just ignore that... well she just couldn't. He really did make a good argument too. If she wanted to know more about Remi she'd either have to ask him or look it up in a book or something.
"But..." Yuki asked, in surprise and confusion, "I thought you really wanted to go?"
"I cannot entangle myself within such dirty businesses," Tohru replied simply, starting to go upstairs.
"What?" Kyo asked not understanding her correctly.
"I don't condone it, so I won't go," she said simply.
"Condone what!" Yuki asked, "You make it sound as if some crimes been committed?'
"And it has," she replied staring back at them near the top step, "all those Egyptians artifacts were taken from where they belong and the archeologist's tread on sacred ground. That's a crime to me."
With that she spoke nothing more of the matter and went to her room.
"Where she get that weird idea from?" Shigure asked completely bewildered.
"Here's betting it was 'Ishuzu-san'," Kyo said bitterly arms crossing glaring at nothing in particular.
"Ishuzu-san?" Shigure asked oblivious.
"I think for once, Kyo's idea is right," Yuki agreed with Kyo, "and Ishuzu-san, or Remi as Tohru says is Tohru's Egyptian coworker."
"We met him at the grocery store the other day," Kyo growled.
"I take it the two of you didn't like him?" Shigure said seeing the more than angry looks plastered on both boys' faces.
"He wasn't nice to Tohru," Haru said, that said was enough to explain why Kyo and Yuki didn't like Remi. "And he swears ten times more than Kyo does."
"Really!" Shigure asked surprised.
"Oh, c'mon! I don't swear a lot!" Kyo hissed angrily turning away from them.
"Yes, you do," Shigure corrected and jumped back as he evaded an attack from Kyo.
"Shut up, you damn dog!" Kyo yelled angrily, turning and facing him.
"Oh, look you just swore," Yuki teased.
"You too, damn rat!" Kyo growled pointing at Yuki.
"Hmm, just because he swears whenever he's mad doesn't mean he swears a lot," Haru said, and then after a second continued. "Oh, wait. He gets mad a lot so it does; never mind."
"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side!" Kyo yelled at Haru.
"I tried," he said and then smiled, "but I can't help that it's the truth."
"Never mind," Kyo said bitterly, snorting and crossing his arms. He turned away from them once more, "let's just go, already."
"Yuki, are you still going to go?" Haru asked turning to the rat.
"Yeah," Yuki sighed and glanced upstairs to where Tohru had retired to, "I wish she'd change her mind."
"But she wouldn't," Haru said as he latched onto Kyo, said neko blushed but didn't push him away.
"I know," Yuki sighed, "let's go."
"Hey, Tohru!" Uo called out as she ran to catch up with the brunette.
"Oh, Uo! Hana!" Tohru said as she stopped to wait for them, "I was just going to go up on the roof to eat lunch, you two coming?"
"Actually we wanted to talk to you alone," Hana sighed as she approached.
"Oh, okay," Tohru said, and she, Hana, and Uo found a deserted classroom to talk in.
"So, how's that new job coming?" Uo asked as she sat down on a desk.
"Oh, it's good," Tohru said.
"Just good? What's the problem?" Hana asked.
"You having trouble with coworkers?" Uo asked getting that look on her face.
"No!" she shouted hurriedly, too hurriedly.
"You are, aren't you?" Hana asked in a mysterious voice.
"I just have some misunderstandings with one of them, that's all," she said, she didn't want Uo to get into a fight with Remi. There was no way she could win. "It'll work itself out! So please don't worry. I can handle it." she added resolutely.
"Are you sure?" Uo asked concerned.
"You don't think I can handle it?" Tohru asked getting a sad look on her face. Both Uo and Hana nodded right away. "Of course you can!"
"Oh, good," Tohru sighed, "for a minute there I thought you've lost faith in me to sort out my own problems!"
It was vaguely aware to her two best friends that sweet little Tohru had just manipulated them. It felt weird to say the least.
End chapter 7-
I know there was much down time in between Tohru's reaping job. But everything's not worth repeating. You know all the boring everyday stuff, I guess. Or maybe you didn't notice. If you didn't just ignore this paragraph then, just ignore it.
Another thing that occurred to me was that I use the grocery store scenes a lot. Tohru goes to the grocery store every week right? Anyway, so then I thought I'll use the lunch time scene. But after I wrote it I realized that the last time I wrote in Ou and Hana it was pretty much the same scene and them asking more on Tohru's new job. Ehhh. Can't work everything out. Sometimes its best to just do what's easy. Know what I mean?
And I know Tohru's kind of OOC. Or maybe Remi's having an effect on her. Oh well, in later chapters he's just big ball of bad influence.
And the last three chapters had no reviews! SO for this to go on then I'd like at least five reviews! It would really make me sad to not go on… I worked real hard to write this! So come on criticisms, say you like it, feedback please!