God's Menagerie
Chapter 4: Dangerous Tides
When they arrived back at Shigure's, the Dog was in his study, furiously typing away, trying to remember those lost pages from the night before. And this time, he made sure to save as he went. Lost in his world, Shigure failed to hear the front door open as his cousins entered, walking past his study and into the main room. Everyone gathered around the table, and much to Kyo's disappointment, Tohru finally broke her hand free, turning to the kitchen. By keeping busy and gathering snacks for everyone, she could try to rid her mind of the Cat House. Kyo hesitated, his eyes on Tohru's back as she walked away before finally deciding to follow her.
"Okay," Yuki started, bending over to pick up the game, which was still turned upside down on the floor. Setting the board onto the table, he continued, "This is going to sound completely crazy, but you have to bare with me, Kagura. Don't get mad, it will just make things more complicated."
Kagura stood, arms crossed, waiting for his explanation. She'd keep her cool. Well, she'd try to. Since he was going to tell her, she owed him that much. She watched silently as he knelt down, picking up stray pieces off the floor. Momiji and Haru walked past her, seating themselves, but she stayed standing. As Yuki carefully put the small figurines on the table, she realized that they were the zodiac animals. Yuki lined them into a neat little row, so she could get a clear view of them all. There were four missing, however. She didn't see the dog, rat, rabbit, or ox. Her eyes searched the table, then found them on the game board Yuki had picked up. And then she noticed the cat.
Momiji patted the seat next to him with a smile. "Here, come sit by me."
Kagura sat herself down, confused as to why she was sitting in front of some board game. Picking up the tiny boar statue, she rolled the figurine between her fingers, feeling the carved texture of the fur and the smoother hooves. "What does this have anything to do with the Main House?" Pinching the boar between her thumb and index finger, she held it up to her eyes. It was kind of cute, actually, with it's little ears and tail. As she was setting it back down on the table, it slipped from her fingers, clattering against the wood. Bouncing, the boar rolled onto the game's surface before finally settling to a stop, innocently sitting right side up.
Kagura heard Yuki let out a soft groan, before muttering, "Well I guess it wasn't avoidable."
"What?" Kagura asked mildly, bringing her hands to rest on her hips. "I didn't break anything." Pointing, she defended herself, "The table's not even nicked!"
"Look Yuki, it conveniently stopped at the start." Haru smirked, propping his head up with his hand.
Yuki frowned at his cousin's amusement. "Don't push me," Yuki warned. More and more this game unnerved him, to the point where his headache was returning. Rubbing at his forehead, he explained how her boar was most likely stuck to the board. Then pointing to the path, he explained how when rolled, the animals move on their own without the assistance of magnets or electronics, and that a message appears in the glass oval afterwards.
Kagura had settled back into her seat during the explanation and gingerly reached for her boar, trying to pick it up. And when she couldn't, she looked to Yuki. "Great, so I'm supposedly stuck in this stupid game now? I didn't even put that boar on the game, it fell! How is that fair?" She crossed her arms, upset. "I don't want to play. And I don't care about any of this! You aren't telling me why this is connected to the Main House or why you were in the..." she trailed off, Tohru and Kyo walking in from the kitchen.
The Cat carried a plate of assorted snacks, and Tohru took it from him and placed it on the table next to the game. She seated herself next to Haru as Kyo sat by her at the head of the table. Kyo's eyes narrowed, spying the boar at the starting area on the game, but remained silent.
"Well", Yuki started, "This game, it... There is something very not right about it. It is connected to us, bound to us, and we were just trying to figure out if there were any clues left behind." He gestured with his hands, "Why is it here? Who made it?"
Kagura frowned, not liking Yuki's answer Scanning her cousins, she idly tugged at the boar, "So how do I get this off? I don't want to play," she repeated.
"You can't," Haru said with a shrug. "The animals don't come off unless the game is completed, I guess."
"Well that's dumb..." she complained. Squinting, Kagura studied her little boar again. While she knew it was only a figurine, she swore the two little black depths were staring right back. It didn't look so cute anymore.
Yuki sighed, nodding. "I think the best way to get out of this situation is to just have us finish this. If no one else comes near this game and puts their animal on, everything should be okay."
Hinges creaked as a door opened, and Shigure stepped into the hallway. His eyes widened, surprised to see everyone back so soon, and with Kagura, too! The crowd just kept getting larger and larger... As he walked into the main room, his eyes slowly dropped to the game. All he had wanted was a drink of water, but... water could wait. He felt that familiar urge to play nagging at him. Saying his hello to Kagura, he wedged himself between Momiji and Yuki. "Ah, another round? I'm in!" he chimed.
Kagura looked at him in surprise. "You know about this, too?" Then she remembered as he nodded that the dog was already in play.
"So," Momiji asked, his eyes slowly sweeping across the group, "Who's going to roll?"
"I guess I will," Kagura said, reaching for the dice. "I kind of want to see this happen for myself."
"Wait," Shigure stopped her just before she picked up the dice. Turning to Yuki, he asked, "Should we tell Kagura what the game said already?" Untucking the pencil that was planted behind his ear, he twirled it between his fingers, "Or perhaps write the messages down?"
"Writing them down couldn't hurt," Yuki agreed.
Tohru immediately jumped to her feet, happy to be of use. She spoke fast, her voice shrill, "I'll go get some paper!"
Kyo bowed his head, knowing she was just all too eager to escape the room. Ever since her outburst, she was trying so hard to act normal, but she was upset. His hand rested in his lap, fingers clenched into a fist. She shouldn't have seen that house. Hearing the padding of her footsteps, he glanced up in time to see Tohru reenter the room with the tablet of paper she used for her shopping lists. Relaxing his fist, he took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling, resting his hand on the tabletop.
Sitting herself back down, Tohru handed the paper to Shigure. Now with nothing to do, she fidgeted slightly with the hem of her dress. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she spied Kyo zoned out, staring off into space. Her attention was brought back when Momiji bounced excitedly in his seat.
"I went first!" Momiji exclaimed, raising his hand, then paused in thought. "Well, actually Tohru went first, but it didn't really count so..."
"Momiji was first," Yuki interrupted, ignoring the Rabbit's hurt expression. "It was a rhyme. It said..."
Kyo snorted, one hand propping up his chin, the other drumming his fingers on the tabletop. This game was so stupid. And yet, he couldn't force himself to move, to go to his room or the roof. His eyes landed on the dice, and he felt fixated on them. The conversation around him became a low drone, the words all buzzing together. Then, in a whisper, he heard his name.
Kyo...
The voice sounded hollow, and it echoed in his mind. Eyes locked on the dice, all else faded away around him, and the whisper called him, steadily increasing in volume. His fingers drummed more rapidly, sweat starting to trickle down his forehead and stinging his eyes. Then, the voice overtook all of his senses; there was no going back.
The small sanity left in the back of his mind screamed for him to stop, to pull back, but his hand had already found the dice. He didn't see Kagura flinch at his abrupt movements, he didn't hear Yuki's condescending remarks, and he didn't feel the low, almost feral rumble in his throat as he let the dice drop onto the table.
"Hey!" Haru shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the Cat. "You just rolled last time! You little cheater! Take your turn!"
Snapping back into reality, Kyo's breath hitched, before calming down and waving off the Cow. "Like this game cares about turns," he grumbled, looking away. "It's a race."
Kagura sat wide eyed as the little cat scooted on its own past the leading rat into a forested area. Looking around, she saw everyone leaning forward in anticipation, when suddenly the oval emitted a bright flash, momentarily blinding her. Rubbing her eyes, Kagura squinted them open just in time to see the next part of the story appear through the fog...
"Into the forest the Cat flew, and it's be wise to move, or the trees might come down on you."
Shigure quickly jotted down the message, rereading it. "The trees might come down on you? What do you suppose that means...?" he asked, tapping his pencil against the table.
It started off low, a rumbling noise echoing outside in the distance, but with each passing second, the sound grew louder. Soon, the house was shaking, and Tohru found herself clutching onto the table for support. She winced, hearing crashes in the kitchen as dishes fell, shattering on the floor. "Wh-what's happening?"
Kagura huddled down in fear, "It feels like an earthquake!"
As the rumbling increased in volume, they could hear the crunching and cracking of...wood? Momiji watched the left over animal pieces rapidly jitter up and down on the table, eventually falling over the edge. As they clinked to the floor, the Rabbit stood on shaky feet and looked out the window. Eyes widened in fear, his knuckles grasped the windowsill. Spinning, Momiji screamed, stuttering, "L-landslide!"
Everyone sat erect, staring in horror at each other as they heard the hills around the Sohma house shudder and groan, the ground sliding in massive waves, the trees ripping from their roots.
"Get away from the window!" Shigure hollered, snapping out of it and grabbing the game. "Quickly, to the center of the house!"
As they scrambled to their feet, mud slammed into the house, a tree ripping through the walls. Kagura glimpsed quickly over her shoulder just as the tree crushed the very table they were sitting at, the fear forcing her legs to move faster. Glass shattered, showering Momiji before he could get away, a shard ripping into his arm, tearing away the skin. Ignoring the pain, he forced himself to move, running with the others to the stairwell. Another tree crashed into the house and with a scream, Tohru got thrown from her feet from the impact. Kyo skidded to a halt and spun around, gasping in horror as the debris and mud rose like a wave, ready to crash down on her. Tohru scrambled on her hands and knees, trying to rise to her feet, but kept losing her balance as the floor continued to shake. Half turning, her face twisted into terror as the wave of earth began to tumble down. She squeezed her eyes shut, but then suddenly was jerked to the side as the debris crashed to the floor.
Trembling, Tohru looked up finding Kyo. He shouted at her, but the words were lost over the noise. He yanked her violently to her feet, dragging her down the hall to the stairwell where everyone was waiting. Kagura took the shaking girl out of Kyo's hands, hugging her close.
When the mud finally slowed to a stop, silence hung in the air, the only noise being their ragged breathing. Tohru felt her legs wobbling in Kagura's arms, and knew that if she weren't supported, she would have fallen over. The Boar sat Tohru down, looking her over. Tohru looked okay, only a few minor scrapes; the girl was just in shock. Momiji, on the other hand, had a huge gash on his left arm where blood flowed freely from the wound, along with other cuts on his face.
"We have to call Hatori! Momiji is losing too much blood!" Haru cried. Removing his shirt, the Ox gently wrapped it over the wound, but was hesitant to add any pressure in case glass was embedded inside.
Without wasting any time, Shigure carefully picked his way back into what was left of the main room, wadding through the mud and climbing over the fallen trees, trying to reach the phone. Attaining his goal, he took a deep breath, lifting the receiver...
Beeeee-
Shigure sighed in relief. The phone line was still intact. Dialing from memory, Shigure prayed with each ring that the doctor would pick up...
Mind numb, Kagura plodded down the few steps to stand in the middle of the hallway. Surveying the remnants of the house with wide eyes, the Boar felt like she was suddenly pulled into something that was greatly out of anyone's control. Was this truly the magic of the game?
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
"Hello?"
"Hari! Come quick, Momiji's hurt, the house is a wreck, the trees-"
Hartori winced, holding the phone away from his ear, Shigure's shouting still very audible. Then, "Shigure, stop, calm down, slow down. What happened to Momiji?" The Dragon listened for a few more minutes before, "I'll be right over."
As Hatori pulled up to the house, he sat frozen in shock, his lit cigarette almost falling from his lips. Trees were uprooted and thick piles of mud and brush were piled all against the side of the house, the walls ripped apart. Luckily, the landslide only hit the back and partial siding of the home, as for the front was relatively undamaged. He put the car in park and grabbed his medical bag from the passenger's seat.
The house felt...different. Hatori couldn't place it, but he felt as if all of his senses grew stronger as he stepped through the door. It felt as if something were trying to pull him closer... Shaking it off, he walked down the hall and heard footsteps above him, so he turned to climb the stairs. Pausing at the bottom, he stared in awe at the massive destruction of the living room. Was the storm last night truly that bad, enough to shake the ground?
As the Dragon reached the top of the stairs, he could hear chattering coming from Yuki's room. Without hesitation, he strode towards the door, not bothering to knock before he pushed it open. Tohru, Kagura, Shigure, Haru, and Yuki were all crowded around the edge of the bed. Hatori absently wondered when Kagura got there, but he pushed the thought aside. Hearing the door open, Tohru had turned to greet him, but he ignored her, pushing her gently aside so he could get a better look at Momiji. "Tohru?" The Dragon looked to the brunette.
"Yes?" she asked, wringing her hands together nervously.
Returning his gaze to the Rabbit, he continued, "Would you mind getting me a bowl of warm water and some towels?" Out of the corner of his eye he saw the girl nod before exiting the room in a hurry. Placing a hand on Momiji's forehead, he asked, "How do you feel? Dizzy at all?"
Momiji shook his head. "Not dizzy. My arm stings a lot though."
Hatori nodded. Good. If the boy wasn't dizzy, then he hadn't lost too much blood. That, and he was still in human form. The wound was still oozing and had to be stopped soon, though. But to do that he had to make sure no glass was inside. Gently, Hatori removed the cloth that covered the Rabbit's arm and eyed the gash. He didn't think any shards were there, but he had to make sure.
Tohru returned with water and clean dish towels. Placing them on the night stand next to the bed, she asked if there was anything else she could do.
The Dragon smiled at the girl. "No, that will be all, thank you, Tohru." Taking one of the towels, he dipped it in the water before gently rubbing it over the wound. Momiji hissed at the contact, but remained silent.
Shigure watched Hatori clean the wound for a minute before turning to the others in the room. "Well, now that Hari is here, I'm sure Momitchi will be just fine. We better give the doctor some space, huh?" Shigure smiled, gesturing towards the door. Tohru, Kagura, and Yuki nodded and left. Hatsuharu, on the other hand, stayed firmly planted where he stood.
"I'd like to stay here with Momiji, if you don't mind," the Cow's voice was soft.
With a nod, Shigure made his way into the hallway. Taking a deep breath, he started downstairs. Now that Momiji was taken care of, what to do about his poor house...?
Yuki didn't know where to go. Kagura was with Tohru in her room. Kyo was missing. The downstairs was a mess and his room was occupied. He stood in the center of the hallway, thinking. That landslide, it happened so fast, but it had been hours since the rain stopped so it didn't make any sense - the ground should have been drying! Sighing, he walked to the wall and slumped down, not really knowing what else to do.