Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Honda constellations ❯ Virgo ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7: Virgo

 

The next constellation marks the changing of the seasons. Persephone was a beautiful maiden and the earth goddess' beloved daughter. The god of the underworld, Hades, fell in love with the beautiful maiden and kidnapped her. Demeter was distraught and searched everywhere for her daughter, neglecting her duties to make sure the crops grew. Zeus saw this and sent his messenger to Hades, demanding that he give Demeter her daughter back. Persephone went with the messenger and was reunited with her mother, but told her that she had fallen in love with Hades while she was down there. Demeter mourned when she heard the news. Zeus saw that his fellow goddess was unhappy and proposed a compromise: Persephone would spend half of the year with her husband Hades, and the other half of the year with her mother. Every fall when Persephone went back with her husband, Demeter became depressed and the crops stopped growing. When her daughter was returned every spring, Demeter rejoiced, bringing all the crops back to life. The constellation Virgo can also be called the constellation Persephone, because she disappears for half of the year.

 

(O)

 

The rest of the week went relatively stress-free and Tohru started to relax into a slightly different schedule that consisted with talking with the twins a few minutes before and after school, avoiding her `little' sister, and working on her bike to get it to work again. Apparently, the gasoline in the tank and along the lines had completely gummed up the engine. True to his word, Yuki had helped clean out the muffler by turning into his mouse form (courtesy of Tohru) and pulling out the nest one section at a time. Afterward, he had to take a long shower to get the grease out of his hair.

 

After dinner and homework, they all settled down for Tohru's home movies. Half… scratch that… most of the time Tohru wondered if it was possible to die from embarrassment. The videos included clips from the sisters having a major cat fight to Tohru practicing cartwheels in a large room that with a stage built into one wall.

 

On this particular film clip, the introduction was printed over a picture of red stage curtains that pulled away to show a darkened auditorium. Tohru was about twelve in this scene, dressed in a pastel pink princess costume opposite of one of the twins in a bright blue prince costume sword fighting the other twin, who was in a black costume that included a cape, mask and wide brimmed hat.

 

“Ooh, no!” Tohru squealed, diving for the remote to turn the television off. Kyo, used to this by now, grabbed the remote that was lying beside him and tossed it to Yuki, who was across the room. Tohru landed on Kyo and transformed him before scrabbling after the remote that Yuki held.

 

Shigure spoke up before all three Sohma ended up in their animal forms and Tohru turning off the entertainment. “Hey To-to, do you think you can get us some snacks if you don't want to… watch… this?” Shigure withered under Tohru's glare.

 

“If you ever call me that again, you fill die from food poisoning…slowly.” She hissed out, emanating Hana, and walked into the kitchen to fulfill Shigure's request. Shigure whimpered, earning sympathetic glances from the boys, who were equally scared of Tohru's attitude.

 

Coming back into the television room, Tohru set down three glasses of tea and sat down on the couch with it. Kyo had transformed unnoticed (nearly forgetting to get dressed in the process), and was sitting on the opposite end of the couch, furthest away from Tohru. “Uh, Honda-san… why don't you like `To-to'?” Yuki worked up enough courage to ask, wondering if he really wanted to know.

 

“Have you ever seen The Wizard of Oz?” Tohru asked dryly, sipping from her peppermint tea. Shigure nodded, wondering why she was wondering about the old American movie. “Dorothy's dog, what was its name?”

 

“Toto…oh!” Shigure cracked up laughing, ignoring Tohru's sour look.

 

“And now you see why I don't like that name!” Tohru huffed, looking away. “You should start the clip again if you want to watch it tonight, but it's a little longer than the others.” Tohru warned sullenly, leaning her head against the arm of the couch and propping her feet up beside her on the cushions.

 

“What does a dog from a movie have to do with anything?” Yuki asked, confused. Tohru looked over at Shigure, silently giving him the go-ahead.

 

“Toto the dog was the main character's dog from the movie The Wizard of Oz and didn't have a really big part. He was basically Dorothy's lapdog that she carried around in a picnic basket and was the reason that they went to Oz in the first place.”

 

“One year after watching the movie,” Tohru picked up the story, “we, the twins, Jyou and I, decided to dress up like the characters. They were the tin man, the lion, and the scarecrow. I was Dorothy and I spent the longest time making a stuffed Toto since I couldn't find one in the stores.” Tohru smiled gently, “I still have Toto somewhere. He was the first stuffed animal that I ever made. I carried that thing everywhere for the longest time.”

 

“That why they still call you Toto?” Kyo asked.

 

Tohru shook her head, “no, my name in the family starts with T-o and my street name starts with T-o. Mom, Kyoko, thought it was cute, especially after seeing me in my Dorothy costume. She would do that to people she met: give them nicknames. The twins are Yo-yo, and Jyou is Jo-jo. Mom was Ko-ko.” Tohru laughed slightly. “I wonder what names she would call you? Something with your other forms probably.” Tohru mused, looking each one over. “Or not. Sohma-kun would still be the Prince. And Kyo-kun would probably be Orangey… or something else.” Tohru half-laughed, seeing Kyo's face reddening and glaring at the same time.

 

Tohru had no clue how close she was to his nickname from Kyoko. It had been so long ago since he had met the charismatic woman. He had begged her to not tell her daughter about their meetings, but here was Kyoko's pride and joy anyway, sitting next to him on the couch. There was more than once when it had been a near-miss to meet Tohru before her mother died. He could tell that the two of them had a connection that very few had. The day of the crash… that was the worst day ever. Kyo was actually on his way to Kyoko's apartment to talk to her. He had finally worked up enough courage to meet her daughter and maybe even celebrate with her on her birthday. Kyo heard the crash, recognized the driver that was hit, and watched the other car pull away without a care. The car that was hit stopped as it crashed against a wall on the opposite side of the sidewalk, knocking a few pedestrians out of the way in the meanwhile.

 

“Kyoko!” he called, running across the street, nearly getting hit by a passing vehicle. “Kyoko, you'd better be alive!” Kyo said as he reached her smashed car. The other car had hit right in her door, so it was jammed shut. Trying to open the door, Kyo quickly realized it was stuck and reached in the smashed window to stroke her cheek.

 

“Tohru?” she asked deliriously, turning her head to the person outside her window.

 

Kyo shook his head and continued to try to wipe blood off her face gently. “No, it's Kyo. Where were you going?”

 

Kyoko smiled gently and closed her eyes. “Toto-chan's birthday is coming up and I was going to surprise her. I got her the prettiest new costume for her dance recital also. She's going to like it, don't you think?” Kyo nodded absently and tried to open the door again.

 

“You're stuck Kyoko-san.” Kyo said, frustrated but trying to stay calm.

 

“I am, aren't I?” she asked in a daze, her eyes starting to glaze over. “Can you promise me one thing, Kyo-kun?” Kyo nodded, but she didn't notice. “Make sure that Tohru-chan gets her present, okay?” Kyo nodded and Kyoko closed her eyes, her breathing becoming shallower until it was almost imperceptible.

 

Soon after that, everything became a blur with sirens and emergency personnel pushing him out of the way and questioning him and his involvement in the accident. That's what it was: an accident. There was no way he could prove that the other car went after Kyoko on purpose.

 

“…Kyo? Are you okay?” Kyo nodded and stood up, stretching. Younger Tohru, the twins and a few other people on stage were taking a final bow.

 

“Yeah, I'm fine. I'm going to bed.”

 

Tohru nodded in agreement. “It's getting pretty late; we should probably go to bed now. Shigure, if you want you can watch ahead.”

 

Shigure shook his head and stood up also. “I think I will retire for the night also. That was a wonderful performance of Zorro on stage and maybe one of these days you and your cousins can perform a scene on stage, ne?”

 

Tohru shrugged. “Maybe. I'll see if they'd be interested to ignore swearing off tights for a short scene or two.” Tohru and Shigure laughed before heading their separate directions. Tohru and the boys upstairs, while Shigure went to bed in the war zone… otherwise known as his bedroom.

 

(O)

 

Later that night, Kyo was half asleep gazing at the stars when he heard a twig snap. Sitting up, he looked around until he saw where the twig snapped. A black-clothed figure was standing still, looking around to see if anyone had heard the sound. After a few seconds, the figure walked off, careful of where they put their foot on the path. Curiosity got the best of him and he took the quick way off the roof by jumping. Landing on his hands and feet like the cat that he was, he took off after the mysterious figure, shaking the tingling sensation out of his hands and ankles in the meanwhile.

 

Once or twice, the mysterious figure looked over their shoulder to see if they were being followed, but Kyo hid by staying off the path the entire time. It was more cumbersome, but he could hide easier when he had to. The figure stood up straight and took a deep breath when the house was out of sight. Shaking its head slightly, the figure dashed into the forest at a dead sprint, Kyo following. When they got to the clearing, Kyo lunged for what he was sure was a guy and sent them rolling. When they came to a stop, Kyo `poofed' and transformed into a cat, much to his shock. The mysterious figure sat up and shook their head, taking off the dark ski mask. What Kyo now knew was a girl had her hair up in a simple braided bun and he stared for a second before grabbing his clothes, intent to run into the bushes before he was caught.

 

“Why were you following me?” a soft voice floated from the girl's lips, “Kyo?” The girl took down her hair and it tumbled down to almost her waste. Kyo stopped and looked at the girl.

 

“Why are you out here so late Tohru?” Kyo asked back, dropping his clothes. She looked tired and the rising moon was making her look paler that usual.

 

“I came out to watch the moon.” She even sounded tired as she sat up and leaned against the cliff face.

 

“Be careful, that cliff'll-“

 

“Does it hurt?” Tohru asked, cutting him off. Kyo did nothing but cock his head to the side as Tohru stared up at the moon's outline behind the cloud bank. “Transforming, I mean. Does it hurt to turn into the cat?”

 

Kyo shook his head, “N-no, not really. It hurts when I lose my beads and transform that way though.” Tohru nodded as the moon came out behind the clouds. Gripping her stomach, Tohru curled in on herself and beads of sweat formed on her brow. “Tohru!” Kyo called, racing forward. He placed a paw on her knee and tried to see into her eyes. Seeing her grimace in pain, Kyo turned around, “don't worry Tohru, I'll get Shigure to call Hatori!” Tohru's eyes snapped open and she grabbed Kyo's tail, much to his protest.

 

“N-no, don't call Hatori-san…Please.” Tohru grimaced again as another spasm hit her. Kyo transformed back into his human form as the moon went behind another cloud. Tohru sighed in relief and uncurled slightly, lying on her side against the cliff wall.

 

“You sure you don't want Hatori to come and take a look at you?” Kyo asked after getting dressed. After nearly two years of living with the boys, their state of dress didn't really affect her much anymore. He put his hand on her shoulder and felt how cold Tohru was.

 

She shook her head, “I'll be fine. This just happens sometimes Kyo, so don't worry about me.” Tohru gave a smile, but it turned into another grimace as the moon came out again. She gouged the soft earth with her fingers and gave a low moan.

 

“No, not fine. Tohru I'm going to call Hatori now.” Tohru grabbed his ankle as he stood up with amazing strength.

 

“Trust me, don't call Hatori.” Tohru cringed, “I guess you could call this a secret of my past.”

 

“Was this what you meant by getting hurt?” Tohru shook her head as she got a respite because of the clouds.

 

“No, that's something different. This happens every spring to me.”

 

“Like allergies.”

 

Tohru laughed through her wince, “you could say that. It's like how you're allergic to being hugged, if that's what you mean by that.” A questioning look lit upon his face. “I don't exactly go `poof' though, but your family and my family are very much the same.”

 

“Then how come you don't transform every time one of us hug you then?” Kyo asked, trying to put pieces of the puzzle together. The moon came out, cutting off Tohru's ability to speak. There was not another cloud blocking the moon for the next half an hour. Feeling helpless, Kyo rubbed Tohru's back gently in what he hoped was a soothing manner.

 

The moon finally dipped behind a relatively large cloud bank and Tohru nearly passed out, breathing hard as if she had run a marathon. “Now, what was your question?” Tohru asked, trying to lighten the mood.

 

“If you're like us, why didn't you transform when you hugged us?” Kyo reiterated for Tohru as she sat up.

 

“Because I said `like,' not `exactly the same.' For us, it's only during our month of the year and we have two triggers: a touch from another of the same sex with our curse, or an extreme emotion of some sort. Mine is extreme anger, `seeing red' basically. That's why Cyg-Sylvia is always trying to irk me. That's one reason she's lucky…” the moon peeked out briefly, “she doesn't have to go through this crap twice a year!” Tohru ground out. Kyo backed away a pace while Tohru settled down a bit. “Since she's in the lower ring, she can choose when to transform most times, and she's able to do it year-round. None of this rising and lowering like the tides that I'm stuck with.”

 

“Lower ring? Tides?”

 

“Yeah. The star constellations… how to put it? It's like Sohma-kun being in the higher ring, and you being in the lower ring. You can transform, but you're not officially part of the circle…see?” Tohru saw his darkening face and decided to interject before he went off on a tangent. “It's not that great being part of the higher ring. I can only transform at one part of the year and it hurts like nothing else I can think of at the moment.” Kyo went back to rubbing her back, but not as gently as before.

 

“You still belong to something. You're not an outcast at least.” Kyo grouched, looking around.

 

Tohru shook her head. “Think of it this way, do you prefer control or being controlled? Control, right?” Kyo nodded stiffly, “that's one thing I don't have right now. Even within your family, you and Sohma-kun decided to stay with me during the New Year when you clearly didn't have to.”

 

“What does New Year have to do with this?” Kyo asked gruffly.

 

“Nothing really, it's just an example. Speaking of, I'll probably be gone the next month or so because of this. It's `required' of me to stay at my family's… ranch while I'm like this. Since I have practically no control, they feel like it's safer… and to punish me,” Tohru whispered to herself.

 

“What about the promise to your mom?” Tohru shrugged.

 

“Better to control me with, my dear,” Tohru imitated a witch cackle, “with me not graduating, I don't have the chance to do anything but come work at the ranch for the rest of my life. And besides, what future does someone who's set to be a bargain bride have?”

 

Kyo coughed, “'bargain bride'?”

 

“What are you, a parrot?” Tohru asked dryly. “According to my dad's will, either Sylvia or I are set to get married as this sort of contract between our family and another big family. I haven't even met the guy before, but he's supposed to be really sickly… at least, that's what I've been told.” The moon came out again and Tohru fell over, biting off screams as fire seemed to ignite under her skin.

 

While Tohru fought for her sanity, it left Kyo to reflect on what Tohru had said. It was nearing the treetops before the clouds hid the moon's face from sight again. “You said transform… like…?” Kyo asked, partially afraid of the answer. Tohru was very pale from her last round and grinned in suppressed laughter.

 

“Moo…” Tohru imitated a cow perfectly.

 

Kyo groaned, “You mean…”

 

“Yep. Taurus the white bull incarnation of the king of the gods. Golden horns and all. Problem is… I'm russet instead of white… with this nice black blob across my back that the twins say look like a hawk.”

 

“The twins…?”

 

“Gemini. They don't transform, but they're psychic… to a point. Lucky them.” Tohru sat up and tried unsuccessfully to stand.

 

“What about last year, did you transform last year?” Tohru shook her head and tried to stand up again, this time with Kyo's help.

 

“No, but you remember me passing out on you, right? There's this one-time thing that I took that stopped it for activating for the month. Problem is, I got sicker than usual because of it.”

 

“Why don't you use it again if it stops you from transforming?” Kyo asked, looping Tohru's arm around his neck to help her walk back home.

 

“You kidding? I said it was one-time and one time only. It could kill me if I tried that stunt again.” Tohru stopped the two of them and grabbed her ski mask. “I didn't really want to try it in the first place, but I felt like I had to.” Tohru caught Kyo's questioning glance. “Think of it this way: my powers activate and I start to light up like a beacon to psychically powerful people. Like Hana-chan says, my waves become erratic. The first year when mom… left… I didn't transform because of the shock, and last year I didn't want to because I was becoming too… comfortable with you and the other Sohma. I didn't want to `spill' unless I could trust you… I guess that was unfair on my part, wasn't it?” Kyo nodded in grim agreement. They had invited her into their family, their circle and their circle, and she still didn't trust them with hers?

 

“I guess it's like a quote that I once heard from a movie: how can you know to trust me with your secrets if I can't even keep mine?” Kyo nodded again. That was an acceptable excuse, right?

 

“If you're a cow, does that mean that you have split personalities like Haru?” he asked, steering Tohru onto the path back home.

 

Tohru bobbed her head in circles, trying to make up her mind how to answer that question. “K…inda. The only real difference is how passive I am in situations. I don't exactly get mad or have wild emotions at times, but sometimes I can be a bit `bull-headed'…like around Sylvia… Cygnus I should say around you now, huh? She can choose to be a swan at times.” That explained so many of the arguments between the girls, Kyo thought, rolling his eyes.

 

“Can you walk now?” Kyo asked, seeing the house in view.

 

“Yes. I'm glad that the moon finally set though.” Tohru commented, stuffing the ski mask in a pocket of her dark sweatpants.

 

“So it was the moon then?” Tohru nodded.

 

“That's the activator and the ender. From one full moon to another is my `time.'” Tohru explained, staring up at the stars. “The weird thing is, there are thirteen moons in a year. I only count twelve that I'm aware of. I wonder if there is a thirteenth one that the counsel keeps hidden-“

 

“Like mine.” Kyo concluded, opening the shoji for Tohru to enter.

 

“Well, well, where were the two lovebirds this entire time? Out for a romp in the woods? Tohru-kun looks a little peaked, but what about dear Kyo? He seems as healthy as always.” Both teens turned red, Kyo out of anger and Tohru out of embarrassment. “Speaking of health,” Shigure dodged a swipe from Kyo, “Haa-san called earlier for you Tohru and I forgot until now. Apparently you're on the Sohma Health Plan and he wants to see you for your yearly check-up tomorrow afternoon. Walk with Momichi and Haa-kun tomorrow after school, okay?” Tohru nodded and headed to bed, yawning. It was nearing midnight and she had a full day tomorrow, apparently.

 

The boys watched Tohru head upstairs and close her door before Shigure turned to Kyo with a knowing grin. “Shut up!” the cat yelled, swiping at Shigure again before following Tohru's suit.

 

(O)

 

Not bad if I do say so myself! Hopefully this answered some questions for you. But will Kyo tell the other Sohma about the Onigiri's little secret? Later! Dark