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...
All right PLEASE review! I like reviews it tells me people actually like this story, or at least care enough to review. At this point even if have lots of critism I don't mind. But not flames, they make me sad.
Chapter 23-
Tohru shivered from the early morning frost. Wrapping her arms around herself for warmth, she trudged on.
The sun hadn't even peeked over the horizon and it was still quiet dark out. Nervously she checked her watch. If she didn't hurry it'd be too late.
No one was about as she entered the gate. It seemed that it was too early for even anyone here to be up and about. She rubbed her frozen fingers together as much as for warmth, than because she was nervous. She was glad that no one seemed to be up. They'd just get in her way.
She wandered around nervously looking for her destination, the cat house. It took forever to find and she desperately worried she'd be too late. But finally she spied the small shack. Tohru had memorized what it had looked like so she could find it. She was glad she had, otherwise she wouldn't have believed this small hut was it.
She silently withdrew her hammer and swung it over head. With one mighty stroke it crashed down on the lock that imprisoned the cat house. The lock broke busting open. She dropped the hammer, taking off the lock, and letting it too fall to the ground.
The cat house was small and dark, the air inside it was colder than the air outside.
"Yes, that's right you know what I'm here for and it's almost time, isn't it?" She voiced, sitting in the middle of the small shack. She took off her backpack and set it on the ground in front of her. She took out several contents; they looked like little jars with the lids tightly fastened. In actuality there were thirteen of them, the thirteenth being a little bigger than the rest.
She once again thought back to her conversation with Jullen.
"This is how it has to be done. There is no other way. No matter what you think. That is why Rin failed," Jullen had explained.
"Yes, but how?" She had wanting to know, she should have figured out by then that no one really wants to hear the truth.
"You really want to know?" Jullen asked her quiet seriously.
She nodded in anticipation.
"Then it would seem you'll be seeing me sooner than you think," he muttered.
She frowned but ignored his comment, waiting for the god to continue.
"First of all, it has to happen on the real day that all the zodiac's once got ready for the banquet. Second, the person wanting to break the curse has to love and care about every one of them. Third, it cannot someone who is actually related, let alone is part of the zodiac. Fourth, this person has to willing to do anything for them. For that is what they will be doing. So, it goes something like this… On the Day of October 1, the one that loves them most (unrelated) needs to offer up a sacrifice to the very gods that wield the zodiac curse," he told her.
"How?" she asked worriedly, "it can't be just to kill yourself, right?"
"The details are up to you," he stated.
She had sorrowfully thanked him and left.
As she sat there now she thought about the details she drawn in. It had all started with the cat. The cat house had been the best place she thought. She inwardly thought that she'd been right as she felt out the place.
She removed her clothes and started on her task.
She opened the first jar and smeared the contents on her face. The red crimson liquid was cold. Emptying the contents of the jar she hoped it was enough. She repeated the action eleven more times until she was covered in the blood of all the different zodiacs. Then she picked up the jar that was bigger than the others; the cat's jar. Once she smeared that on she was finished, ready to go on.
"Zodiac animals, I willingly sacrifice myself onto you. Covered in the blood of your predecessors, take me the final victim. Take me as the willing sacrifice and never again bother the Sohmas. I beseech you! I'm here take me now!" She yelled.
The chill in the room became amplified; it dropped at least ten degrees in two seconds. She shivered slightly but didn't move.
She felt sharp claws ripping into her leg but didn't turn around to look. Tohru knew that no matter what she mustn't move an inch. Soon she felt other sets of claws in other places. The claws were coming at all angles and she could little sharp teeth now as well. Still she couldn't see anything, so she closed her eyes. Something swatted at her knocking her aside. She didn't move from spot on the ground.
Yuki had just barely gotten up when the phone rang. Not willing to get it he passed it letting Shigure get after the infernal noise maker.
"Oh, hel-" Shigure stopped dead sentence, "What's the matter?! Oh, you want to talk to Yuki? Sure."
He sighed and tried to hand the phone to the rat.
"I don't want to talk to him," Yuki sighed as he lay on the table.
"It sounds important," Shigure said quickly.
"No," Yuki muttered.
"Has anyone seen Tohru this morning?" Kyo asked casually.
Yuki and Shigure shook their heads.
"See what he wants," Yuki told Shigure.
"Yuki wants to know what's this about?" Shigure asked Hatori. "Oh."
"Well?" Yuki asked unconcerned.
"Tohru," Shigure told him softly.
With that simple word Yuki grabbed the phone from Shigure. As he listened to Hatori he dropped the phone in total shock.
He dropped to his knees and started to whimper, "NO!"
"What's wrong?" Kyo asked.
"Hatori… said… that he… found her— dead!" Yuki whimpered loudly.
"DEAD!" Kyo and Shigure yelled their shock almost mirroring Yuki's.
Yuki nodded.
Shigure picked up the phone off the ground. He listened as Hatori explained it to him.
"Some maid's found her in the cat's house," Shigure told them repeating Hatori's words. "He thought you should know."
"What happened to her?" Kyo asked quickly, thinking that some how Akito had gotten to her.
"What happened to her?" Shigure asked Hatori, "hmmm… He says that he really doesn't know but she was pretty cold but it didn't look like she froze. She was naked and covered in blood, a lot of it was hers but there's some that Hatori thinks isn't even human. Plus there were broken jars everywhere."
"So, then they don't know if it was Akito?" Yuki asked angrily.
"I doubt that," Shigure sighed, "It doesn't sound like something he'd do."
Just then there was a beep on the phone.
"Oh, call waiting, hold on Hari," Shigure said, as clicked the receiver, "Oh, Aya!"
"Hang up!" Yuki hissed.
Shigure listened to the snake for several moments, "Really, I think I'm starting to see how… Tohru's dead. I think it must have something to do with that."
The dog clicked back over to Hatori, "Hari, guess who that was?... Oh, you're no fun… Guess what… No, he said that the curse is gone… Isn't that odd."
"The curse is gone?" Kyo asked incredulously.
End
Well... it wasn't as good as I'd hoped it been I've been meaning to fix it but I've been so busy lately... So I propose a project if anyone has any helpful suggestions about this chapter please tell me and I consider it... and eventually re-write when I have the time... or maybe you like it and it should remain the same? Please tell me...