Disclaimer: Fruits Basket and all its characters are properties of Takaya Natsuki-sensei and Hana to Yume comics. Everything else in this fanfic are figments of my imagination. Any similarities to name, places, yada yada yada are simply examples of the world's many coincidental mysteries. It's advisable to read the earlier chapters before reading this one. They are both available in fanfiction.net and mediaminer.org

Jyuunishi no Enkei Monogatari

12th Zodiac: Inoshishi (Chapter 6)

by Ina-chan

It was family tradition.

"YUKINO-CHAN! YUKINO-CHAN! Oh God! The blood won't stop! Where's the Meishu!?!"

His great great great great grandfather was a slave rescued from his bitter fate by the Mizugawa family's heir apparent.

"Tatsu-san, do something!! She can't breathe!!"

Since then, it had became family tradition for his side of the family to act as protectors of the heirs of the Head of the Mizugawa Family House.

"I'm sorry. I can't do anything…"

He and his younger brother are the last of his great great great grandfather's direct descendants.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING!?!?"

He and his younger brother took it upon themselves to accept that traditional role.

"You're a healer. Please, Tatsu-san… help her breathe!!!"

He and his younger brother vowed to protect the twin Mizugawa heirs with their very lives.

"There's nothing I can do. Her wound…"

He and his younger brother trained themselves to prevent situations like this.

"She's drowning in her own blood. I'm sorry…"

He and his younger brother failed…

"I have to tend to the wounded who have a chance of surviving… I'm sorry… Yukino-san…"

The words seemed to have managed to pierce through the young woman's clouded consciousness, as he watched the Ice Princess focus her blank eyes on the Meishu bending over her. Despite of herself, she gave the older man a small smile and weakly raised a hand to him. He caught her delicate hand in his own before her strength finally failed her. Her lips moved inaudibly, so he bent even lower to let her speak directly in his ear.

It was the first time in his life that he saw that expression on the Healer's face. Before, it was always either a look of stoic authority, or a controlled scowl of disparagement. But as he watched the healer's face crease with grief and sorrow as he bent down to give their Princess' forehead a soft paternal kiss, Mizugawa Nagusami knew at once… that the pained anguish etched on the older man's face was identically imprinted on his.

The younger man could only turn his head away, to clench his hands and grind his teeth in frustration, at the hopelessness of the situation in front of him.

"Meishu! Help! Izumi-san!" Setsuta burst through their hiding place, fear and panic evident on his face

The young man spun around towards the young apprentice's voice at the sound of his younger brother's name, "Setsuta? What happened?"

"Izumi-san! Izumi-san's badly wounded. But he won't stop fighting! He's gone berserk! He won't stop!" The younger boy reported frantically, close to bursting into tears

With his heart beating loudly in his ears, Nagusami's hands immediately flew to the sword on his side as he started to rise to his feet… only to be stopped by a heavy restraining hand suddenly resting on his shoulder. The young man looked up and saw the healer's more familiar stern look, "Leave this to us."

"But…" Nagusami protested

"Leave this to us. This is our duty. You have your own duty to fulfill," The Meishu stated again, more firmly, "Don't let anyone get to her."

The young man slumped his shoulders and accepted the older man's heavy words. With that, the Meishu and his apprentice walked back into the battle around them. The younger man's slowly sat on his heels beside the young woman, holding his weapon in front of him. His eyes silently strayed back to their fallen princess, as his ears picked a noticeable change in the young woman's breathing pattern. He blinked his eyes, trying to hold back the flood in his eyes. He reached out to wipe traces of liquid scarlet on her pallid face as a result of her body's violent instinctive attempts to survive as the very life-giving fluid her body needed filled her lungs to drown her.

It was just a matter of time now. Her desperate wheezing had already fallen into faint gurgles. Even the seditious fire in her eyes, died down to barely glowing embers... her mind seemed to be finally accepting the hopelessness of her situation.

He had seen this happen once, many years ago.

When he the sound of women's sorrowful wailing filled the great halls of the Mizugawa household.

When he found a little girl huddled in the corner of a dark room, like a frightened little mouse.

When he saw the lifeless orbs that refused to respond to their calls and comfort.

When he vowed that he would never allow it to happen again.

"Yukino-chan…" He remembered his younger self, whispering, as he sat beside the unresponsive little girl, "Yukino-chan… it's alright. It's okay to be scared. It's okay to cry. Nagisa-san won't disappointed in you if you do."

Nagisa-san was the pillar of strength of the Mizugawa household. Her young daughter was the one affected by her death the worst. She knew that. She asked for him when she sensed her death approaching. He vowed by her deathbed that he would watch over her two young children, as a guardian of the Mizugawa heir apparent.

"Nagisa-san simply wants Yukino-chan to be happy," he continued to whisper in a tone that only the two of them could hear, "So when Yukino-chan finishes crying, she has to promise to start smiling and laughing again. All of us need to see Yukino-chan smile again. Most specially Yukino-chan's oniichan…"

"…sami… chan…" Her voice was almost inaudible. He didn't know how, but it somehow filtered through his thoughts, bringing him back to the present.

Nagusami looked at his charge. Her eyes already had a blank glassy consistency on them as she stared at no particular point in space. But her lips continued to move soundlessly, desperately trying to push whatever breath left in her to say her last words. He bent down to put his ear near her and caught her hand as she weakly brought it up to touch his cheek.

"…cry…ing…?" She whispered breathlessly

"No, I'm not. Don't be silly," Nagusami scolded her gently as he wiped the moisture in his eyes and forced a smile on his lips

"…pro…mise…"

"Promise what?"

"sami…chan…smile… a…gain… af…ter…"

"Yes," The young man whispered as he tightened his grasp on her ice-cold hand. The sharp edges of his weapon's sheath cutting into the fingers of his other hand, "Yes… I promise."

"…pro…tect… on…nii…chan…"

"Yes," Nagusami said firmly, now allowing the tears to generously flow down his face

"…pro…mise…"

"Yes… I promise I'll protect Kaji to my very last breath."

With that, a faint smile touched the young woman's lips, just before the embers in her eyes finally faded and her long-suffering lungs finally released its last sigh. Despite of himself, the young man allowed his weapon to fall lifelessly from his hand as he cradled the young woman's lifeless body in his arms. He didn't bother to choke back the sobs finally escaping from his throat as he rocked the Ice Princess comfortingly, just as he had when she found her curled up in fright in a corner of a room many years ago.

He didn't know how long he stayed like that. But the sound of silence in the battlefield… the enemy's footsteps… and their voices… as he sensed someone approaching their hiding place… He knew all at once that the battle had been lost. He knew all at once, that he was the only one left.

He laid the young woman on the ground, affectionately closing her eyes and brushing the stray strands of hair from her face, almost giving the illusion that she was simply in a deep slumber. He picked his katana from the ground as he stood, unsheathing its deadly beauty as he waited for the enemy's arrival. His hand gripped the hilt of his weapon firmly as he launched himself toward a surprised enemy that broke through the bushes that hid them.

He was the last of the protectors of the Mizugawa Family's heir apparent. Just as his father, his grandfather, and his great great great grandfather have done before him…

He vowed to protect their young master with his last breath.

A blade flashed quickly in the light. It was too quick to dodge as the enemy's reinforcements arrived behind him, piercing him fatally from the back. He stumbled forward, ignoring the strong metallic taste in his mouth, and the numbing pain that was overpowering his senses. He made another valiant swipe at the enemy and spat out the crimson fluid filling his mouth, watching the other soldier fall with great satisfaction.

He was going to protect Kaji with his last breath, just as he promised… and if it were possible… he was going to protect him even beyond death.

*******

[And so… in respect to God's orders…

One after the other they arrived to the banquet that God prepared for them….

...the revered chosen twelve…

The cunning mouse, followed by the loyal ox, the brave tiger, the cheerful rabbit, the resolute dragon, the diligent snake, the righteous horse, the derisive sheep, the good-natured monkey, the earnest rooster, the scholarly dog, and the kind-hearted boar…

One after the other, they fell…

…the scorned fallen twelve…

Their deaths commenced the end of the bloodline of the one family… and a curse that will haunt another until the earth is purged of Souma blood…]

End of 12th Zodiac (Chapter 6)

To be concluded on 13th Zodiac: Neko…

Author's squawk:

This chapter was hard to write! It's very difficult to kill off your creations, y'know! ^_^. But I've been playing around with this dark version of the Jyuunishi storyline. That is, the order of the zodiac animals' arrival to the banquet was actually the order of the original 12's deaths. So this part is essential for the story to continue. I know I skipped a lot of animals along the way. But when I was writing their storylines, they were sorta starting to stray away from the main story. So I figured that I'll skip them and maybe… eventually… write them in as "side stories".

Well… one more storyline chapter to go before I wrap it up in with a short epilogue. The last chapter is gonna be Kaji's. AND we're going to meet Souma Akki for the first and only time.

Well then, comments, criticisms, bricks… you know where to send them! ina_chan@yahoo.com

Ja!

Ina-chan