Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Revelations ❯ Acceptance ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

shadowcat15 - Thanks! Yeah, I know it's not that original. Luckily I wasn't aiming for that! Heh. This started as a writing exercise at least partly to see if I could keep `em each in character, and play in somebody else's world without making it unrecognizable or completely re-writing the history (AU stories are OK, but this wasn't supposed to be one). It's been fun to do!

JaguarKitty - ::double blush:: I never meant for it to take so long, but that pesky `real life' stuff keeps getting in the way! My mother and I are starting a business, and boy does it take up the time when combined with my regular-type job...

eponine-in-training- O.O Wow!::locating a big stick in the back yard, to be ready to beat down self's suddenly burgeoning ego as it threatens to get too big::

Melissa - ::doesn't think the stick's big enough now...:: Okay, I'm officially inspired to finish this thing ASAP. Wheee!

Maybe I should polish up a couple other fanfics I have laying around, and post them as well...though they're variously based off series like Ranma 1/2, the A-Team (hey--I like some of the fanfics on the A-Team more than I liked the show!), Star Wars, and DC's Teen Titans (NOT the new TV series). All but the Ranma ones were started because I was annoyed as heck at the current writers on those series, and seriously needed to see certain things happen--or NOT happen!--to certain characters. My Ranma fics came about after reading about fifty gazillion Ranma fanfics, both good and...not so good. The amazing potential for character development in that series lured me in to start a couple of my own.

I saw the Fruits Basket anime before I found the manga, so that's what influenced me the most--and I tend to watch sub-titled versions over English versions, mostly, or at least have the sub-titles on with the English voices, because I've noticed that sometimes translators will “dumb down” the whole plot and everything in the dubbed versions. Depends on the company doing the translation.

Though Fruits Basket seems to have a dang good English version; I didn't catch but a few differences between the sub-titles and the spoken English when I conned my mother into watching all four DVDs at one sitting with me. The manga and the anime have a lot more differences between them in this series, though, with Yuki chasing with Tohru after Kyo's monster-cursed self being a biggie. When Kagura's talking to Yuki in the anime, is one other spot I noticed a decided difference between the sub-titles and the English voiced words--I think the difference was something like, “And who decided that?” in the sub-titles, while “Why does that have to be?” is spoken, if I remember right. I thought the sub-title there opened up a lot more possibilities as far as alluded meanings and such subtlety, as opposed to the spoken words' rather straight-out plea.

`Sides, I usually like the voices of the original voice cast better...'specially Kyo's. Heh! The English voice actor just doesn't quite get that slightly rough edge of aggressive anger in his voice, that the Japanese actor has! :=}

DISCLAIMER--Don't bother suing me; I not only don't own Fruits Basket, but I ain't got diddly-squat else. ::depressed sigh:: Well, not yet anyway...I am in the Lotto pool at work these days!`,=]

Chapter 12 - Acceptance

Kyo slept for two days straight, only waking partially for very brief periods to attend to the demands of his exhausted body. Tohru and Yuki took turns watching over him; others could sit with them as Hatori allowed, but one or the other of those two was always at the neko's side.

His appetite was reassuringly hearty, after a first failed attempt to get him to eat--he'd fallen back asleep after three mouthfuls, scaring Yuki into an immediate panicked yell for Hatori. Kyo's strength seemed normal whenever he woke; he just seemed extremely tired, falling back asleep within a half hour at the most, despite his best efforts to keep awake.

Hatori was concerned at first, until an irritated neko grumbled that it was perfectly normal; and did a doctor, of all people, think that much healing could take place without draining energy reserves of some kind?!

“Now shut up an' lemme sleep, already!”

The dragon had leveled a flat-eyed stare at the neko; who ignored him in favor of a drawn-out, bone-cracking stretch, yawning fit to break his jaw--then promptly curled up on his side and flipped the covers up over his head. A tentative lifting of one corner a moment later showed him already fast asleep. Hatori had tossed a rather amused look towards Tohru, on the neko's other side, who was trying very hard not to giggle; then sighed and shook his head.

After the first few days, Kyo was able to stay awake for several hours at a time, before having to take a four-hour nap. By the end of a week, his sleeping habits had mostly returned to normal--“cat-naps” taken sporadically throughout the day, which he had always taken pains before to make sure went mostly unobserved, and a solid eight hours at night. True nekos usually slept a good sixteen hours a day, so Hatori was satisfied by Kyo's grouchy assurances that he was perfectly fine again.

Other than one tentative foray up onto the roof late in that first week, which nearly sent Yuki into fits when he discovered the neko missing from his bed when the nezumi had been convinced to actually leave the neko alone long enough to go get him a sandwich, Kyo stayed mainly in his room. Yuki had been nearly beside himself with worry by the time he found Kyo up there, and had pretty much clung to the neko like an especially annoying leech for two days straight, afterwards.

They never could figure out how the neko always got himself up there, without ever using a ladder! Kyo would never tell; he'd just roll his eyes in exasperation, like he thought it should be obvious, then change the subject.

Kyo didn't try stunts like that when Tohru was with him. As badly as Yuki took it, he was afraid Tohru would outright have a stroke if he snuck off on her! And after nearly scaring Yuki into a heart attack by slipping up to the roof a second time, Kyo humored him enough to promise to not go up there until after Hatori had checked him out.

Yuki had still been too upset to realize, until much later, that Kyo hadn't promised to stay down off the kuso roof if Hatori did notdeclare him fit.

The ensuing fight had been spoiled when Kyo couldn't suppress his laughter any longer. After staring at the snickering neko for a full minute, even Yuki's mouth had started twitching towards a smile. It was good to see Kyo laughing like that.

If Yuki had witnessed it before, it must have been one of the memories Hatori had taken from him. The sadness of that thought cooled the rest of his temper the rest of the way.

It was rather humorous, after all. Just a few months previous, it would've been unthinkable that the nezumi,of all people, would be fussing over the neko,like the proverbial hen with one sickly chick.

Tohru had been confused but pleased to find them, some fifteen minutes later, with arms wrapped about each others' shoulders and foreheads nearly touching, laughing almost hysterically. Then Kyo had nearly taken a suddenly mortified Yuki to the floor with him when he'd fallen over sideways, clutching at his laughter-sore stomach; as she'd asked with those too-innocent, wide brown eyes, just what was going on...?

That next checkup by Hatori failed to find a single remaining physical effect of Kyo's ordeal. While Hatori's back was turned, Kyo made sure to smirk and stick his tongue out at Yuki, at that. The nezumi took several calming breaths, before noticing that Hatori's back was still conveniently turned...so he promptly bopped the neko over the head with a pillow, his face never breaking its calm façade. If Hatori hadn't turned back just then, there likely would have been goose feathers flying all about the room in short order.

The psychological effects, however, were difficult for Kyo to mask...especially with everyone watching him so closely. Always before, he'd had time off by himself to work through his reactions before having to worry about dealing with others; he'd never been under a proverbial microscope immediately afterwards.

He'd also never been--hurt--so badly, before.

Certain things made the neko flinch, uncontrollably. Mainly, anything approaching his eyes... That usually triggered his body into an instinctive dodge or block, and sometimes triggered an outright attack.

Those with martial arts training who saw him actually able to catch himself and redirect those lightning-fast, instinctive blows were impressed, and suddenly much more inclined to believe Yuki's claims that the neko had been holding back in their fights. They knew how hard it was to pull back a trained-to-instinct reaction like that--and those blows had been so fast, it had been hard tracking them at all! The blurred movements had been much faster than they'd ever seen Kyo move before.

Sometimes a simple scent, or the sight of some item--like a kitchen knife--would set off a reaction in the neko; usually, frozen immobility, often with uncontrollable trembling. He'd break out in cold sweats at odd moments, as memories of pain broke the flow of his thoughts at random times, threatening his grasp on what was real and now.

At one point, the overheard sound of Akito's voice through the telephone sent his back hard against a wall, red eyes wide, dilated, and fastened on the phone; short of breath, and sweating heavily. Shigure had been lying through his teeth to the Clan Head, delicately asking after Kyo's welfare; wondering how the neko was doing, since being locked up...all the things he would have said if he still believed Kyo to be `safely' locked away. Keeping Akito from discovering where Kyo was had become a priority for all of them, especially as Akito wasn't saying anything about Kyo having slipped through his fingers, though everyone had seen how his temper had taken a decidedly black turn.

It had taken the inu a good half hour to rouse Kyo after that phone call; the neko had slumped down and curled in on himself in a tight, head-tucked ball, refusing to acknowledge anything--not even the hug a suddenly distraught and apologizing Shigure pulled him into.

If the inu had known Kyo was likely to come within hearing range, he'd have held off on making that call. He'd had a feeling Akito's voice would be a main trigger that would cause Kyo problems, though he hadn't imagined it would be this bad. The boy's reaction was enough to make Shigure drop his usual scatter-witted hentai act completely, in his worry.

Shigure had finally just picked Kyo up and awkwardly carried the still tightly-curled neko upstairs to settle him in his futon, where the neko stayed curled about himself under the covers, shivering uncontrollably. The inu settled down right next to him on the futon, rubbing the boy's back gently, eyes dark and worried. He kept apologizing softly, assuring Kyo that they would never let Akito get his hands on him again.

The inu had been too relieved for words when Yuki and Tohru had finally gotten home from their shopping trip, anxiously calling them upstairs as soon as he heard the front door. He'd lurked in the hallway as the two had slowly managed to bring Kyo out of his shocked state, all the masks stripped from his face as his expression plainly showed his concern.

They were going to have to do something, and quickly. Shigure desperately wished he had a clear idea of just what.

-.-.-.-.-.-

What Akito had done was more than even Kureno could ignore. He'd accompanied the Clan Head on several of his visits to the caged neko, and even from his spot outside the door he had seen--and heard--more than he could possibly ignore, or excuse. He'd knocked on Hatori's door the night after Kyo's rescue, begging the dragon to tell him that Kyo had been saved, and was all right. He'd wanted to know if any of the other Jyuunishi-cursed knew what had been going on--and what they could do about Akito's escalating madness.

He'd stated in a determined voice that if they did nothing, he would do something, all by himself if necessary.

Hatori had insisted on treating the nasty bruise covering one entire side of Kureno's face before he would answer any of the rooster's questions. A quick physical caught two cracked ribs, along with some serious bruising of Kureno's torso. Apparently, upon finding the neko missing from confinement, Akito had taken out his terrified rage on the nearest available target--which happened to be the Rooster-cursed Sohma.

Kureno was impatient with Hatori's exam, considering his injuries ignorable--which led Hatori to wondering just how many of the Jyuunishi-cursed Akito had been seriously abusing, who had neglected to come to him for treatment.

If Akito was left unchecked, Kureno was afraid for the whole clan. He'd justified to himself his sudden choice to defy Akito with the sure knowledge that the Clan Head was going to self-destruct, if he wasn't treated. To save Akito, he had to defy him.

And so, the final Jyuunishi-cursed Sohma chose to defy “the reprehensible one,” as the kami-onna had called Akito.

Hatori, knowing the minds of the others, felt a trembling, too-fragile spark of hope kindle in his heart as he called the others with the news of Kureno's decision, setting a meeting of them all at Shigure's house. Maybe--after the horrible price Kyo had paid--maybe the Sohma family curse could finally end!

-.-.-.-.-.-

Twenty days after Kyo's rescue, all twelve of the Jyuunishi-cursed Sohmas were gathered at Shigure's house, with Tohru flitting about making sure everyone was comfortable. Seeing Yuki hovering about a resigned-looking Kyo like he was made of glass that was just about to break, along with the way Kyo suffered the unusual attention with barely even a tired growl, caught everyone's immediate curiosity. Most of them had not had much opportunity to see the neko since just after his rescue, and hadn't had a chance to see his changed behavior.

Seeing Kyo finally roll his eyes, sigh, then reach out an arm to yank Yuki down to sit on the couch with him; then actually hug the nezumi about the shoulders, like a brother--that seriously upset several of their world-views. Ayame was even too shocked to start pontificating about the wonders of re-discovered friendship--for a whole record-making five seconds!

Hatori grabbed his Snake-cursed cousin by the ear the moment Ayame's mouth finally started moving, to preserve the relative peace of the meeting. One cold-eyed glare from the good doctor and the snake suddenly more resembled a severely chastised puppy.

Hatori snorted, not buying Ayame's puppy-dog eyes, even if he was slightly better at them than Shigure, who completely lacked the necessary air of innocence. He settled next to the snake, one hand resting lightly on Aya's shoulder, ready to grab that ear again the moment he showed signs of talking.

Then Shigure stood and, with a concise bluntness that was surprising, coming from the normally over-eloquent inu, quickly established that they were all in agreement that Akito had to be stopped. Their only problem was, what exactly they should do? As the rest of them listened intently, Hatori and Shigure both started closely questioning Kyo and Yuki about the kami-onna's visitation, hoping for some clue about just when, and possibly where, they must express their agreed rebellion; as well as how.

The only thing they could think of, after several hours of mixed questions and sometimes rather heated discussion as the others variously joined in, was that they all--including, as Yuki suddenly reminded them, Tohru, their “catalyst”--must directly confront Akito, likely in his own home. Not something any one of them could look forward to; no few of them broke out in cold sweat at the mere thought.

The kami had stated they must “rise in unanimous support...going against the reprehensible one's will...” They were certainly in unanimous support of Kyo never going back to Akito, and confronting Akito directly about Kyo's freedom would definitely be going against the Clan Head's will! The only thing that had them truly worried was discovering the “proper ages” for Akito and Kyo. Did that just mean that the two had been born at the right times in relation to each other, or did the Jyuunishi-cursed need to wait on the confrontation until one or the other had a particular birthday?!

None of them were certain there would be any sort of immediate reaction as far as their individual curses went, either; the kami hadn't promised anything other than that the curse would be broken, after all. Did that mean the curse would vanish instantly? They knew their curses were still functioning just then--Momiji had promptly used the excuse to get a hug from Tohru, and predictably went usagi; that was partially why they thought a direct confrontation of Akito was necessary, to prove without a doubt that they were all going directly against his will.

But...had the kami meant that when they died, there would be no more Sohmas born under their individual Jyuunishi Curses? Or would the curses just slowly fade, requiring longer and longer contacts to transform them?

It was so frustrating, not knowing! How would they know when they had done what the kamis wanted them to do?!

They all agreed, though, that whether the curse was affected, or not--they had to do this. Akito had gone too far; they could no longer just blindly follow him. The consequences of blind obedience had become much too great.

They had all been stunned to realize, after a couple casual comments from Kyo, that their neko really didn't think much of what he'd sacrificed for Yuki's sake, even just by merely facing his fear of being locked up. Not only that; he'd chosen to face all of his worst fears, plus all of the pain he'd known Akito wanted to inflict on him; just to save the nezumi from a single beating!

Hatsuharu had voiced their collective shock at Kyo's matter-of-fact attitude. The sideways, level stare Kyo had given a suddenly hunkered-down Kureno at the word “beating” wasn't noticed by most of his cousins--just Yuki, Hatori, and Shigure...and Hatsuharu. The ox was more perceptive than most gave him credit for; his normally methodical nature, when not Black, led people to the mistaken conclusion that he was slow of mind, as well as action.

He took Kyo's look to mean that a simple beating was the least of what Akito had been planning for Yuki. A glance at Yuki's pale face as the nezumi stared intently at the floor, obviously struggling for composure, told Haru he probably didn't really want to know any more details--or he'd likely be going Black right then and there, and rushing off to confront the Clan Head all on his own.

The ox kept his eyes fixed on Kyo, desperately trying not to think about it. There would be time for him to go Black later, when it would count. Until then, he needed to stay in control!

Kyo seemed to have even less of a sense of self-worth than Ritsu did--and that was really saying something! None of them had suspected what was hidden behind all the overly-loud `anger' the neko was always projecting. None of them had ever suspected it was all a mask. The more details they coaxed out of the now somewhat flustered neko, the worse they felt for how badly they'd misjudged him.

For his part, Kyo was completely overwhelmed at finally being considered one of them; the shock of being considered someone worth protecting--no longer the outcast, the exile that no one wanted to put up with for any longer than they had to. A slightly hysterical chuckle echoed in his mind; he hadn't even beaten Yuki, to earn it! He was unnaturally quiet for most of their discussion, eyes bearing a slight sheen of moisture, as he tried to deal with their suddenly protective attitudes--towards him.

Towards the outcast Monster of the family. The unworthy one...

As things went on, he couldn't seem to help just looking at each of them, an un-Kyo-like look of wide-eyed wonder on his face. He just couldn't shake the sense of unreality, and kept waiting to wake up from the dream, even as he desperately wished it would never end.

By the end of the meeting, each and every one of his gathered Jyuunishi-cursed kin had managed at one point or another to come up with an excuse to pass near enough to give the shocked neko either a hug, a pat on the shoulder, or some other such physical sign of affection. Kisa had started it by suddenly latching herself to his waist, before leaving the room to go to the bathroom; small arms wrapped tightly about him, hugging for all she was worth, nearly making his eyes bug out from the shock.

Haru kept himself to a comradely pat on a far shoulder, not quite a hug, while passing by; as did Hatori--which once again caused Kyo's eyes to get very, very large as he stared after them. Shigure tried for a full-out hug of his own, starting to wrap both arms about Kyo's shoulders to pull him close, but the (admittedly humor-laced) level glare the neko turned on him reminded the inu to behave himself. Even if Kyo's lips were twitching with as much suppressed laughter as the inu's own.

Even Jiro had managed to bring himself to lay a small hand on Kyo's shoulder, a flitter-quick pat, as he passed behind. Kyo nearly missed the fleeting touch, though not Kisa's approving smile at the boy afterwards.

Ayame couldn't get close enough--Kyo's hackles clearly rose when Ayame did, and a returning Hatori took a couple quick steps to slip between the two. It had been on his return to the room that Aya managed to sneak up behind Kyo and quickly drape himself over the boy's back, his chin resting over one of the neko's shoulders and one arm draped cross-wise down his front. As a chagrined Hatori sprang up to pry him loose, and Yuki--who'd cringed sideways at his brother's unexpected, too-sudden presence--gathered himself to fling his brother across the room, Ayame merely smiled his most beatific, thousand-watt smile and squeezed a stiff-backed Kyo in a gentle hug. Then he stood and moved back to his spot on the floor, by a nervously staring Shigure's feet.

Hatori and Yuki stared at the snake's unusual lack of highly vocal antics. Most everyone shared a look of confusion over Ayame's unheard-of self-restraint, as the dragon and the nezumi settled themselves back in their seats.

The meeting had crawled to a close, eventually being replaced with gossip--it was rare indeed that all of the Jyuunishi-cursed were together in one place like that, outside of the New Year's celebration, and it never happened in a private setting. As annoyed as some of them got with certain others, they all enjoyed the unaccustomed socialization too much to let it end too soon.

They needed more information before they could decide just when they were going to confront--and defy--the family god.

-.-.-.-.-.-