Categories > Anime/Manga > Fruits Basket > The Prince of Snows
A figure stood on a rooftop, watching a woman jostling her way through the crowded, lamp-lit street. The woman was dressed in a loose gown made of a gray material that reflected the colors around her so that at times she seemed to disappear into her surroundings. Her hat was equally strange, conical and woven of dried reeds but swathed with more gray cloth that covered her face, and for someone who seemed determined to pass through without being noticed, the hat was a decided step in the wrong direction. Fortunately, the street was teeming with people who had long gotten used to seeing costumes of every kind and nationality to bother with a woman who appeared to be wearing a mosquito net over her head.
Her path veered erratically, but the figure knew where she was headed. To the courtyard of central market, where the scaffold had been hastily repaired and cordoned off by guards earlier that day. The courtyard was empty when she came upon it; the nearby taverns were as noisy as ever, but their denizens were keeping themselves indoors with unusual conscientiousness. She circled the place, coming to a stop in front of the platform, and stretched out a hand, palm outward, remaining that way for several moments.
Sensing, the figure realized. Faint traces of magic still lingered in the air, offering clues to anyone sensitive enough to detect them. The woman was not without some skill.
The shadows shifted, but the figure did not turn. "What is it?"
"That woman," the newcomer muttered. "We've been watching her since she came on the caravans. Think she's up to something. She made contact with Sohma a while back and left him a package but damned if we know what it was."
"It was a key."
"A key?"
"A key that opens no door. Leave her be, Megumi. Her mission poses no threat to our objectives. She may even be of help. For now, ensuring the princess' escape is our highest priority. Tell the others to get ready. It is time."
"Yes, Lady." Megumi bowed and left.
The figure continued to watch the enfolding scene in the courtyard below. Several guards staggered out of a tavern, laughing raucously and singing some bawdy song. Startled, woman darted behind a post, and her gray gown immediately melted against the shadows, rendering her practically invisible. The guards stumbled past her and disappeared down the street. When the woman came out from her hiding place, she was dressed as a sailor, complete with smartly pressed pants, striped vest and a jaunty cap on her head. She tossed her thick, chin-length braids back, pushed her glasses up her nose, and strutted away into the crowd.
The figure smiled. The woman was obviously still an apprentice, but what she lacked in magical skills she certainly made up for in, well, fashion savvy. A silhouette of a man appeared and moved down the street after the woman as casually as only a tracker could. Interesting. Sohma-san's agents were remarkably efficient in their own right. Sohma-san's talent for telepathy at a distance, however, was rivaled only by his predilection for pretty, nubile young girls. The figure's smile faded. The handsome, flippant lecher would soon find himself in deeper trouble than even he estimated. He would be besieged on all sides...
But he would not be without allies. The figure shook her head. Things have come to a pretty pass if someone such as she would be thinking about aiding her people's greatest enemies. But it would break the princess' heart if anything happened to the ones she loved, and the princess' welfare took precedence over ancient tribal grudges.
Megumi returned. "The princess and her companions have emerged. They've taken to the back streets but we're pretty sure they're headed toward the caravans at the edge of west market."
"Good. The caravans are still open. If they had fled to the pier they would have been captured."
"There's a troop of guards tailing them. What should we do, Lady?"
Dark eyes regarded him evenly. "Whatever we have to do, Megumi."
He bowed and left. Shouts drifted from somewhere in the distance, and the suddenly the damp, salty air was crackling with magic waiting to be unleashed. The same magic that flowed through the city's veins despite its inhabitants' ruthless determination to stamp it down.
The prophecy /would /be fulfilled, no matter what it took. The figure tilted her face toward the sky, where the sharp sliver of moon stabbed through the clouds. "The Goddess protect us all," she prayed, then turned and vanished into the darkness.
Her path veered erratically, but the figure knew where she was headed. To the courtyard of central market, where the scaffold had been hastily repaired and cordoned off by guards earlier that day. The courtyard was empty when she came upon it; the nearby taverns were as noisy as ever, but their denizens were keeping themselves indoors with unusual conscientiousness. She circled the place, coming to a stop in front of the platform, and stretched out a hand, palm outward, remaining that way for several moments.
Sensing, the figure realized. Faint traces of magic still lingered in the air, offering clues to anyone sensitive enough to detect them. The woman was not without some skill.
The shadows shifted, but the figure did not turn. "What is it?"
"That woman," the newcomer muttered. "We've been watching her since she came on the caravans. Think she's up to something. She made contact with Sohma a while back and left him a package but damned if we know what it was."
"It was a key."
"A key?"
"A key that opens no door. Leave her be, Megumi. Her mission poses no threat to our objectives. She may even be of help. For now, ensuring the princess' escape is our highest priority. Tell the others to get ready. It is time."
"Yes, Lady." Megumi bowed and left.
The figure continued to watch the enfolding scene in the courtyard below. Several guards staggered out of a tavern, laughing raucously and singing some bawdy song. Startled, woman darted behind a post, and her gray gown immediately melted against the shadows, rendering her practically invisible. The guards stumbled past her and disappeared down the street. When the woman came out from her hiding place, she was dressed as a sailor, complete with smartly pressed pants, striped vest and a jaunty cap on her head. She tossed her thick, chin-length braids back, pushed her glasses up her nose, and strutted away into the crowd.
The figure smiled. The woman was obviously still an apprentice, but what she lacked in magical skills she certainly made up for in, well, fashion savvy. A silhouette of a man appeared and moved down the street after the woman as casually as only a tracker could. Interesting. Sohma-san's agents were remarkably efficient in their own right. Sohma-san's talent for telepathy at a distance, however, was rivaled only by his predilection for pretty, nubile young girls. The figure's smile faded. The handsome, flippant lecher would soon find himself in deeper trouble than even he estimated. He would be besieged on all sides...
But he would not be without allies. The figure shook her head. Things have come to a pretty pass if someone such as she would be thinking about aiding her people's greatest enemies. But it would break the princess' heart if anything happened to the ones she loved, and the princess' welfare took precedence over ancient tribal grudges.
Megumi returned. "The princess and her companions have emerged. They've taken to the back streets but we're pretty sure they're headed toward the caravans at the edge of west market."
"Good. The caravans are still open. If they had fled to the pier they would have been captured."
"There's a troop of guards tailing them. What should we do, Lady?"
Dark eyes regarded him evenly. "Whatever we have to do, Megumi."
He bowed and left. Shouts drifted from somewhere in the distance, and the suddenly the damp, salty air was crackling with magic waiting to be unleashed. The same magic that flowed through the city's veins despite its inhabitants' ruthless determination to stamp it down.
The prophecy /would /be fulfilled, no matter what it took. The figure tilted her face toward the sky, where the sharp sliver of moon stabbed through the clouds. "The Goddess protect us all," she prayed, then turned and vanished into the darkness.
Sign up to rate and review this story