Work Text:
Tohru walked down the road. It was getting dark, and she wanted to get home quickly. As she went, she encountered a strange man walking past her. As she passed, she felt dizzy, faint, and tired. Immediately, she passed out. When she awoke, she found herself handcuffed to a chair in an old dark room. She struggled quietly, until the strange man eventually returned. He coldly grabbed her and dragged her out into the hallway. It was a dank, dirty place, buzzing with activity like a beaten hornets' nest. Soon she was conducted into a large elevator. They descended down into the hive, deeper and deeper. The doors opened to a small mezzanine jutting into a dim room filled with gold and jewels. On it stood an attractive blonde man in an expensive suit, accompanied by a pair of twin gamecocks, glaring with manlike faces. Tohru was shoved out of the elevator, quaking in fear.
"So, Tohru Honda is it?" the man asked.
"Y-yes" Tohru squeaked.
"Good" the man replied, and called into the darkness. The monstrous cocks stretched their handy tails and ambled sidewards on mannish feet. Tohru's eyes darted fearfully, until she fell at the sight of a great horrid beast out of the dark. It had a face like a fish or serpent, wearing sharp scaly antlers on its brows and a thick mane downs its back. Framing the face a frill of gill-stalks sprouting from its neck. Its serpentine form hung in the air, lizardly talons as arms and small spiny wings on its back. Tohru immediately knew what she had gotten herself into.
"This is Hakrerhe, my employer" the man spoke, "I will be acting as a translator on his behalf". Once Tohru regained her composure, the dragon inflated its froggy throat and let out a raspy croaking growl, warbling out of its throat.
"According to our records, you have taken a loan from us" the man began.
"Huh?" Tohru exclaimed, "I never got a loan!". The man relayed it back to the serpent, who pulled a gilded file out of the dark. It scrutinized the document, before giving up and handing it to the man.
"Hmm.. It seems this loan is for Kyoko Honda" he said.
"Oh, t-that's my mother" Tohru said.
"Well then" the man said, "I guess you'll have to deal with the debt".
"Oh" Tohru said. The man spoke with the dragon, and turned back to Tohru.
"So, let's talk about your repayment" the man said, "We've been going through a little profit dip, so we would prefer if you could pay sooner rather than later. Ideally within the month".
"H-how much do I have to repay?" Tohru asked. The man showed Tohru the values on the contract.
"W-w-what?" Tohru exclaimed.
"At this point there's about a 350% interest" the man added. Tohru felt faint.
"I-I don't have any money" Tohru stuttered.
"Come on" the man said coldly, "You must have something of value to give".
"W-w-well" Tohru mumbled, "W-well, I have some special recipes I could give you".
"Is- is that it?" the man replied, almost a little sad for Tohru.
"I, uh, well" Tohru sputtered, "I don-". She was interrupted by the floating beast, enquiring with a horrid call. The man responded, and there was a heated discussion between them. Eventually the matter was settled, and the man turned back with a groan, palming his face.
"Hakrerhe has agreed to hear your recipes" the man sighed. What followed was a few hours of Tohru sharing many secret family recipes with the serpent. He seemed to prefer clams and shellfish, which Tohru luckily had many recipes for.
"W-well, that's it" Tohru said, once she had exhausted her knowledge. The man consulted the dragon, and turned to Tohru with a sigh.
"So" he began, "We've agreed to forgive one fifth of your debt".
"Oh! Thank you!" Tohru exclaimed.
"Anyway" the man continued, "We've discussed all we needed to discuss". Tohru was swiftly escorted out to the surface by the fowl and led out of the building.
When she woke up the next day, the reality of the situation hit her. She curled up in her bed, freaking out. Her breakdown was interrupted by Kyo's voice: "Hey, you OK?".
"Oh, yes, definitely, yep!" Tohru hurriedly lied.
"Well" Kyo replied, "OK". She managed to drag herself out of her bedroom, and went through the day. While she was out shopping, she noticed a bright 'HELP WANTED' sign sat in the window of a local fast-food joint. Near the end of the day, Tohru snuck back out to the restaurant.
"Hey, uh" the employee said as Tohru entered, "We're almost closed".
"Oh, sorry" Tohru said, "I just wanted to ask about any jobs you might have".
"Great" the employee replied, "Though, we've only got temporary openings to fill".
"That's fine" Tohru said, "I won't be needing this job for long".
"I guess it's all worked out for you" the employee said. Given the severe understaffing that the establishment was suffering, Tohru quite soon managed to get herself a quick extra job, starting at the weekend. She went home, and went to bed. Once the weekend came, Tohru set out for the restaurant. She was going in early to get in some training in the quieter parts of the day. It was going quite well, until the place fell silent. Tohru glanced around in worry. When she looked back, she was greeted by a monstrous crocodilic glare.
"Oh! Mr. Lagerde!" Tohru cried, relieved, "May I take your order?".
"Large fish wrap, chicken strips, and black coffee" Lagerde barked, "And bring it to my table".
"Anything else?" Tohru said, inputting his orders to the system. "If I wanted more, I'd ask for it" Lagerde grunted, as he threw some change on the counter and hopped away on his toadly feet. Once his meal was contrived, Tohru was tasked with delivering the food. When Tohru came over, Lagerde spoke: "So, I see you've gotten a new job".
"Uh, yeah" Tohru said.
"It won't help that much, y'know" Lagerde continued.
"Huh?" Tohru spoke, confused.
"Y'know" Lagerde whispered "Your debt".
"What?" Tohru exclaimed, "Y-you're part of th-the mob".
"Are you serious?" Lagerde asked, "You can't be that dumb!". He sighed.
"Don't you have a job to be doing?" he continued.
"Oh! Right" Tohru said, returning to the register. The day continued, and the customers built up. Tohru could see why they needed the extra help here. After hours of constant work, the queues were starting to die down, and the end of Tohru's shift had come. She left the store and trudged home. Once she returned she ascended to her bedroom and collapsed into bed, consumed by exhaustion. There was a knock at her door.
"Hey" Kyo said, "Where've you been?".
"Huh? Oh! I got a new job" Tohru said, "B-but it's not because I need money or anything, though".
"OK" Kyo replied, and left. The next day was near the same as the first, with the added benefit to Tohru of getting her paycheck. Once the hard day was over and Tohru had the check, she quickly sped away to cash it, before returning home.
Once home, she went through the work of piling her savings together. She did some calculations, and soon realized there was absolutely no way to pay off her debt. At this point, she broke into tears. As she cried, she heard the door creak out.
"You OK?" Kyo asked, as he entered her room. Tohru sighed.
"W-well" she began, "I really need some money..". She proceeded to explain the situation she had found herself in.
"Well" Kyo said, "I'm not sure what we can do. Let's have dinner; I'll get some takeout". At dinner, Tohru was feeling rather grim.
"Y'know" Shigure began, "Bone and his gang can find a whole lot of cool things".
"What are you going on about now?" Kyo demanded.
"I just thought it's interesting" Shigure continued, "I mean, just a few weeks out one of the wolves spotted a cache of precious stones in the cave".
"W-what?" Tohru blurted out.
"Maybe one of you lot could check it out some time" Shigure said, "It's in that big crack near the open end of the cave, just been dug up". After the dinner, Tohru considered the new information.
"It's still rather light out" she thought, "And the sky is pretty clear..". So she decided to prepare herself and sneak out to the cave. It was a short walk to the dark maw of the small cave. With her small torch it was quite trivial to locate this new crevice. Going inside, she saw a beautiful box full of wonderful glittering jewels. She walked over, and reached for the box' handle. She was stopped by the familiar sight of a two-fingered claw. Tohru yelled and fell to the floor, as the horrid man-fish slithered out of the dank hole under the chest. Tohru froze under the creature's grisly sneer, watching up in fear. Then she realized something: The monster couldn't see her. She stayed entirely still, as the thing snorted and flapped its gills. Soon, it gave up and retreated into the cracks. Tohru was safe, for the time being. She slowly climbed to her feet.
"Now, how can I get these jewels?" Tohru muttered. She thought silently, until she decided to simply move the chest. Tohru slowly leaned over and lifted up the chest. It was heavy, though a little lighter than she expected. She slowly stepped out of the crack, and out of the cave's mouth. Finally, she got out of the cave and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. She then noticed a police officer walking up the path. Predictably, she was immediately arrested for theft. It was a short trip being escorted out to the police station. She sat in the holding cell, pale and quaking in fear. After a long sleepless night, Tohru was conducted to the interrogation room.
"Hello, miss Honda" the investigator said as Tohru sat down. Tohru squeaked out a quiet greeting to the officer.
"So, could you explain what were you doing the previous night?" the investigator asked Tohru.
"W-w-well I, uh.." Tohru began, "I w-was going through the cave, and I, uh, j-just wanted to explore".
"Really?" the investigator asked, "Is that it?".
"Y-yes" Tohru stuttered, "I guess s-so. I w-".
"Look" the investigator interrupted, "We have a police officer witnessing you hauling a crate full of gems out of a cave. You need to explain that".
"W-well" Tohru stuttered, "I, uh, didn't t-think they belonged to anyone".
"You didn't think it belonged to anyone?" the investigator demanded.
"W-well, no" Tohru squeaked, "T-the man who lives in the cave di-".
"There was someone living in the cave?" The investigator interjected, "You didn't think he could own the gems?".
"H-he, well, he d-doesn't seem like the type to own gems" Tohru stammered.
"So that's why you took them?" the investigator demanded.
"W-well when you put it like that.." Tohru muttered.
"So" the investigator continued, "What was this man's name?".
"I, uh, don't think he has one" Tohru admitted.
"Then what does he look like?" the investigator asked.
"Oh!" Tohru said, "He's like a snake, but their head is like a tadpole, and their nose is really long".
"Are you sure this is a person?" the investigator querried, "Because to me it sounds like a fish".
"Y-yeah, I guess he is a fish" Tohru mused.
"Then why did you tell me he was a person?" the investigator demanded, "It doesn't even help your case! Why?".
"I-I'm sorry!" Tohru exclaimed, "I w-wasn't sure about it".
"Anyways" the investigator replied, "You though these gems were abandoned, right?".
"Yes" Tohru replied, "I guess so".
"So" the investigator began, "Why didn't you alert the police?".
"W-well, uh, I-I, well" Tohru babbled, before she fainted to the floor. When she came to, she found herself back in the holding cell, laid on the bench. Eventually, a new officer came to check on her.
"Are you OK?" they asked Tohru.
"Yes" Tohru squeaked.
"Good" the officer replied, "Come with me". Soon, Tohru was brought to a car and driven back home. She went up the path and was greeted by Kyo.
"Tohru!" he exclaimed, "What happened?".
"W-well, uh" Tohru stammered, "I got arrested".
"Oh, right" Kyo replied, "Let's go home". They headed up the path back to the house.
"So why did you go out in the first place?" Kyo asked.
"Well, uh, I was looking for those gems" Tohru said.
"What?" Kyo exclaimed, "What about the monster?".
"I, well, forgot" Tohru said. Kyo facepalmed.
"At least you're OK" he sighed. They continued onwards.
"So" Tohru began, "Why was I let out?".
"As far as I know, Shigure pulled some strings to get you out".
"What?" Tohru spoke, "Wh- He shouldn't do that!".
"Well, he has" Kyo said. As they continued, Tohru saw a colourful glint hidden in the underbrush.
"Oh!" Tohru exclaimed, hopping over, "The gems!". She cleared the foliage and dragged the trunk back onto the path.
"You're still stealing them?" Kyo smirked.
"W-well" Tohru said, "It's not like anyone else wants them..".
"I guess" Kyo replied, "Need some help?". Soon, they got back to the house.
The next day, Tohru was looking through the newspaper to check for any extra income sources. Her eyes fell on what looked like a simple babysitting job with a ridiculous pay rate, exactly when she had some free time to use. She raced down to the phone and called the number. Almost miraculously, she was offered the job. Eventually when the time of the job came, Tohru got ready and sped away to the location of her task. As she walked up she saw a serpentine woman wearing an expensive dress, waiting outside of the house. She was leaning tiredly on the wall, her long forked tongue hanging from her mouth. Her face, though obscured by her horns and shelled scalp, showed a tired, dull expression. Swiftly, she drew in her tongue and looked to Tohru.
"Are you Tohru Honda?" she asked Tohru.
"Yes" Tohru replied.
"Gyood, gyood" the woman replied, nervously wringing her flipperish hands, "Cyome with me". She and Tohru went into the house, to find three children sat in the living room.
"Let me introduce you" the woman said.
"That's Nereus" she began, gesturing to the eldest child. He was a large kid, whose body was adorned with horns, claws, and armours like a turtle.
"That's Tethys" the woman continued, gesturing at the middle child, a girl equipped with an eely tail and fin-like wings under her arms. Her horns were small, and her forehead bore a long upturned crest like a knife.
"And that's Phorcyus" the woman finished, refering to the youngest child. He was small, and oddly fish-like: his body had a covering of scales, with a sail on his back and flippers as arms. His piscine face had a long, saw-like chin crest.
"Those are interesting names!" Tohru stated.
"Well, it's not like normal names will help them" the woman mused, "Anyway, let me show you where everythinyg is, then I'll gyive a proper introduchyion". Tohru followed a short tour and got introduced to the kids, and then woman then had to leave.
"Okyay, I gyotta gyo now" the woman said, "Cyall if you really need me". Then she left. Tohru turned and went to the living room, and was greeted by Nereus.
"Oh, hello!" Tohru said brightly, "What's up?".
"I'm bored" Nereus stated.
"Maybe we could play a game?" Tohru suggested, "How about.. Hide and seek?". The other two piped up at this suggestion.
"OK" Nereus said, "Let's go!". Tohru went to count up, while the kids scattered to go hide. When she counted down, she quickly set to looking for the kids. As she looked and looked, her cheery attitude faded to panic as the children were nowhere to be seen.
"OK" she yelled, "You can come out now". There was no reply. She fervently searched high and low, until she looked up to the high electrolier in the hall: Stood atop it was Tethys.
"H-how did you get up there?" Tohru asked the girl.
"I flew" Tethys said, hopping off the electrolier and floating down to the ground.
"Do you know where the others are?" Tohru asked, some of her panic subsiding.
"Phorcus will be by the fish pond" Tethys informed, "But I don't know where Nereus is".
"Great" Tohru mumbled, heading out to the pond. She looked around, wandering about the rim of the pond. Phorcus was nowhere to be seen. Panic rised, as she surveyed the whole garden. It was at this point she noticed what looked like a sawfish swimming in the pond. Looking closer, it turned out to be Phorcus.
"Phorcus!" Tohru yelled, "I found you! Please get out!". The fish-boy huffed and recultantly climbed out of the pond.
"Now I just need Nereus" Tohru said, trying to calm herself. She walked through the grand house, seeing no signs of the child. As her will started to fail, she heard a muted giggle behind a great dresser.
"He's in the wall" Tohru mused. So, having found the boy, she grabbed the dresser and tried to shift it. However, even with all her strength the dresser sat unmoved. As she stood, panting from exertion, the dresser was shifted aside by the scaly form of Nereus.
"Could you not find me?" the boy asked.
"I-I guess not" Tohru replied. She was feeling pretty relieved now that all the kids were present and accounted for.
"Let's play again" Nereus suggested.
"L-let's not play again!" Tohru exclaimed, "We should, uh, play another game".
"Fine" Nereus said, before walking off. As he walked, he stopped and turned back to Tohru.
"I thought of something to play" he said.
"OK" Tohru replied. Nereus went to set up the game with the other two, while Tohru followed behind.
"Hey, Tohru!" Nereus yelled as he grabbed chair, "Sit down here".
"So, uh, what's this game?" Tohru asked as she walked over.
"Just wait" Tethys said. Tohru sat down in the chair, and was immediately tied down with a scarf around her waist.
"Hey!" Tohru said, as she reached to untie the scarf. She soon realized this was a mistake as she felt a roll of duct tape being wrapped around her wrists and hands.
"Stop!" Tohru cried, "Let m-". She was silenced by a gag being forced into her mouth and tied around her head. Tohru squirmed and mumbled against her restraints, while the kids giggled at her.
"Now the fun begins" Nereus said darkly. Tohru blanched, as the kids dragged over a sinister toy trunk.
"So" Tethys smirked, "Where should we start?".
"Tickle!" Phorcus spluttered.
"Good idea!" Tethys said, withdrawing a long fluffy feather from the box. She then peeled Tohru's socks off, and gently teased Tohru's feet with the soft plume. Tohru let out a muffled laugh. As the tickling ramped up Tohru squirmed and giggled into her gag, feeling like she was about to pass out. Eventually the tickling stopped, and a new torment was drawn from the box. This terror continued, on and on, until Tohru saw the glint of a knife in the box. In a spring of panic-induced strength, Tohru leapt back and snapped through the scarf's knot. Now free, Tohru ran away into the house. Suddenly she was struck in the back, knocking her to the ground. Tethys, having flown over, now stood above a bound, crying Tohru. Tethys slowly walked towards her, but at the last moment tripped and fell to the floor. With the knife dropped Tohru reached out with her feet, and managed to cut her hands free. She ungagged herself, and ran away into a nearby closet.
"Now what" she murmured to herself. She was facing a dilemma: Run away and lose out on her payment, or stay and risk her life. Her considerations were cut short by Nereus' armoured paw bursting through the wall. Tohru jumped and fell out the door, only managing to stumble to her feet before running into the garden and immediately faceplanting into the pond. She managed to scramble back to the edge, until she was dragged back by a familiar ichthyoid. She fell back into the pool, and watched helplessly as Phorcus cut through the water and brandished his serrated crest. Tohru resigned herself to her fate, but just then something interrupted the boy's attack. With a concerned expression, he paddled over and helped Tohru out of the water. Tohru inhaled deeply and coughed down into the grass. Then a voice cut through into her mind: "Tohru? You gyood? What happened?". Tohru looked up to see the children's mother standing before her, with the other two kids looking in mock concern.
"I-I'm fine" Tohru said weakly.
"Gyreat" the woman said, "Most sitters just run off halfway through! Anyway, let me get my purse". Soon, Tohru was payed and sent home. Once home, she washed herself and counted her earnings. Finally she had enough to pay her debts.
A few days later, Tohru received a note in the mail, asking for the repayment of her debt. With a quaking heart, she gathered up her funds and headed out to the required location. As she waited she grew dizzy and passed out. When she woke up, the bag with her money was gone. In its place she was left with a card noting that her debt was no more. Reading that card, she got up and released a sigh. Then she made her way home.