Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or Black Butler. They, and their characters, belong to their respective creators.

Chapter 16 - Attack

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"I can hear at least half a dozen humans inside. And I sense another dozen more," Sebastian commented as he pressed his ear against the door, "Though I'm sure there are more hiding. Quite a number to have snared. What a clever demon we're dealing with. Well, there's nothing for it. Young Master, please stay back until it's safe."

Ciel nodded, fingering his pistol. Sebastian knocked the door in and he and Kyo entered, both on their guard.

"They're here!" A chorus of male voices called out, shouting. They jumped out as the two intruders stepped in. "Get em!"

Kyo yelled as he karate chopped the first person that confronted him. He imagined Yuki's face as he made contact with the next.

Sebastian skillfully jumped and knocked over several men before they were aware of what they were up against. He smirked. When would the real fun start, he wondered. He paused at the sound of gunfire, narrowly missing being hit by the bullet. So that was how they wanted to play was it?

Kyo heard the gunshot and it reminded him of the gun he had been given by Ciel. He pulled it out. How did one use this thing, he wondered, then decided not to even worry about it as he chucked it at the first person he saw with a raised rifle. It made contact, sending the man flying backwards into the wall. "Yes!"

Sebastian dispatched another set of men who had taken up firing positions against them. He deftly caught their bullets, sending them sailing back at their respective owners, ending that threat.

Kyo karate kicked another man and lurched as another moved to intercept him with a gun. A shot rang out and the man fell. The boy looked back over at the door to see Ciel holding a smoking gun. "Thanks," he yelled before another attacker took up his attention.

Sebastian took a moment to check his watch. Too long. This was taking too long. "We'd better wrap things up," he said calmly as he kneed another man in the face.

Kyo agreed as he sent a spinning kick at another assailant. "Let's go!"

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Short and Tall dumped the two girls in the far room. Tohru grunted from the short fall, not realizing that her bonds were being removed.

Lizzy stirred. "Ugh Tohru? What's going on?" She shrunk back as she realized they were in a different room. Ahead of her, the corpse of a woman stared blankly at her. She screamed.

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Ciel whirled at the sound of Lizzy's scream. "Elizabeth!" He ran into the room without thinking.

"Young Master!" Sebastian called out a warning as an unseen foe tried to come up behind the boy with a knife. But before he could do anything to rescue his master, Kyo flew in with a vicious kick to the man's throat that left him crumbled.

Ciel didn't seem to notice, only moving forward. "They're doing something to the girls," he yelled behind him. "We have to hurry!"

Sebastian and Kyo easily overtook the earl and ran ahead. "From here, we won't be fighting humans," the butler warned. "You'd best let me take things from here, master Kyo."

Kyo growled as he ran down the corridor. "Like hell I will! I'm going to be the one to save her! Don't underestimate me!"

Ciel was soon wheezing and Sebastian checked his speed, looking at his young charge as he stopped. "Young Master, don't push yourself. Why don't you rest here while I go on ahead?"

The boy shook his head. "No, I too will go forward. I want to be there, no matter what happens. This is an order you. Do not let those girls die no matter what happens and don't stop me from going with you."

Sebastian bowed on one knee as he looked into his master's eyes. "Yes, My Lord. It shall be as you command."

Kyo took that opportunity to catch his breath as well. "Well, looks like we need to go in guns blazing." It was now or never, he thought, his heart pounding, though not from running.

Both master and servant looked at him with some confusion. "I don't see how we can go in 'with guns blazing,' as you put it. You threw your gun away," Ciel reminded but Kyo cut him off as he pulled his sleeve away from his wrist to display his carefully guarded beads.

Determination shown in his face, a grim expression. "I told you that I'm going all the way, that you don't have to look out for me. These beads are the reason why."

Ciel blinked in disbelief. "Beads? You're secret weapon is a string of beads?"

Kyo's face went hard. "Just wait. But I do need you to look after these for a while," he said as he began to slide the beads off. "I just hope that whatever it is you've seen in the past prepares you for this. It's not going to be pretty. Make sure I get those back when it's over or Tohru won't ever be able to look me in the face again."

Ciel looked up at Kyo in confusion as he pressed the beads into his hands. What was he talking about?

With the beads removed, it didn't take long for things to start happening. Kyo suddenly hunched over as if in great pain and began to make gagging noises. Steam started to roll off of him as his skin and bones stretched, ripping his shirt. "G'AH!"

Ciel backed up in shock and Sebastian could only stare as the boy's eyes changed from his usual to a larger, purple cat iris, a rather pungent stench rolling off of his morphing flesh. The earl had to turn away to gag, covering his mouth with one hand, the beads held in the other.

It only took a minute, but when it was over, Sebastian blinked at the unexpected form Kyo had taken. It looked like the transformation had been quite painful, but he now understood why the boy had insisted he could handle himself. He wondered just how well such a form would work. This was a most unusual form, not human, but not necessarily animal either, and not demon. He'd never seen such a form before and it intrigued him. He'd have to remember to look into it later.

The transformation finished with the steam clearing, Kyo's now greenish skin stretched tightly over elongated bones and muscles, his face becoming unrecognizable. He looked like a creature from someone's nightmare, something that might be conceivably found in the demon world. He let out a roar of rage, his jagged teeth gnashing. Within a blink of an eye, he was running towards Tohru's scent like the wind, leaving the others to follow behind.

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Elizabeth had fainted. It was probably just as well, Tohru thought as her own knees trembled. She kind of wished she could faint as well. "Who are you," she asked, her voice quaking as a dark clad man stalked towards her. She noticed the other two men had fled the room the moment they'd undone the cords.

The demon laughed. "I am the bringer of bliss, the ender of pain. I am the granter of wishes. I will send you to a place beyond any you have ever experienced."

Her heart pounded. Something about this being sounded so false to her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She had to be strong! Lizzy needed someone to protect her! "Please, let us go," she begged. "Neither one of us want what you have to offer."

The demon laughed louder, his fangs showing. "What I have to offer? Who said you had a choice in the matter?"

Tohru let out a small sort of strangled sound, then ran to the far end of the room to get away from the approaching man. "Stay back!" She tried to remember the karate moves Kyo had taught her but her mind came up blank.

The demon smiled eagerly as he moved towards her again. "Don't struggle. It will only take a moment, an ecstasy beyond any you've ever experienced before! Of course, if you prefer, I could prolong it just a little."

Tohru felt herself being lifted off the ground, then pushed against the wall. Her body shivered with fear, her eyes wide at the man-like creature in front of her, holding her up. His eyes burned crimson, almost like a cat's but much more sinister. For a moment, she forgot how to breathe.

The demon smiled maliciously at her frightened expression. This one would be just as sweet as he'd hoped she would be. He could tell just from the expression on her face. He pinned her to the wall with one hand, her feet dangling as the fear washed through her.

He moved in closer. He would not be able to enjoy her as slowly as he'd have liked, not with company in the same building, but he could still have the satisfaction of a tasty meal before they broke into his sanctuary. He crushed his mouth against hers in his haste to consume her before being interrupted.

Realizing that this demon creature was violating her in some way, Tohru's instincts kicked in and she struggled, hitting him with her fists and kicking out as much as she was able. Her eyes were wide and she felt a bit dizzy from not breathing before she realized she was out of air and tried to gasp.

The moment her lips parted, intense pain engulfed her and she screamed, though the sound was strangled and cut off by the mouth over her own. She tried to struggle all the more as the pain increased, her eyes blinded by that pain so that she couldn't even see that the demon had his own eyes closed in the closest proximity of joy he would ever feel.

Her only reward for struggling was that he pressed more firmly against her, increasing the pain, bruising her face. She began to see black blotches swim before her eyes. A pounding sound filled her ears, but whether it was the pounding of her own heart or something else, she couldn't tell. She tried to suck in air one more time before blacking out.