Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ The Cherry Blossoms Will Bloom Again ❯ A Lengthy Explanation ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket is owned and copywrited by TokyoPop and Natsuki Takaya. I do not own any of the characters, main themes, or original places. I do own the original characters and the original storyline.

Author Note: So this chapter took a while, and I'm sorry. =[ But I really love where I'm getting with it, so I'll be working on it more. =] I hope you enjoy this chapter.

The Cherry Blossoms Will Bloom Again

Chapter Two~ A Lengthy Explanation

Shock.

That was about the only thing that could be read on Tohru's face.

Kagura tried hard from across the table to snap her out of it. While Ayumi gently ran her fingers across the back of Tohru's hand.

“Is she breathing?” Momiji asked worriedly.

“I think so,” Yuki responded. He moved closer and tried to think of a way to jolt her out of her shock.

Kyo was really worried. It felt like hours since she had moved or shown any sign of life. Her face was set cold. She hadn't even blinked.

Ayumi's eyes began to form tears. Another one of her well-known mood shifts was coming.

“I d-didn't mean to shock her so badly,” she stated tearfully. “She just lead up to the subject so well, that I just went ahead and said it.”

Hatsuharu sat next to her and consoled her. “Don't worry too much Ten-chan,” he told her. “Tohru can be like this sometimes.”

“She didn't know what else to do, Kyo confirmed. “So she froze. It's her way of allowing herself to process what you said.”

Ayumi nodded, and Haru wiped the tears off her face. He then gave her a hug from behind.

“Thank you Haru,” she whispered. She leaned forward and looked at Tohru intently. “Tohru? Tohru-kun?”

Yuki gently placed his hand on her shoulder. She screamed, wrapping her arms around herself. She quickly realized that nothing was wrong and loosened the grip to her arms.

“I'm sorry,” Yuki said gently. “I was just trying to snap you out of that black stare you had.”

Tohru looked around, surveying the room. “S-s-orr-ry,” she said suddenly, hanging her head.

Yuki patted her back. “It's okay, Honda-san,” he told her. “We were just worried, that's all.”

Tohru looked over at Ayumi. “I'm sorry Ayumi-san…for overreacting.”

Ayumi grasped and ungrasped her forgotten hand, the one that had been holding onto Tohru's. She smiled. “Its's alright,” was her answer. “I wasn't expecting you to except it without shock.”

The group all smiled; they had excepted that confession a long time ago. But for them, hearing that she was an angel wasn't a shock. For them, it was salvation; for they now knew that there was someone who was there to help them and understood the feeling of being “different”.

“Ayumi is an angel Tohru,” Kagura said warmly.

“So…” Tohru started, her eyes darting around and her hands fidgeting.

“Yes Tohru-kun?” Ayumi asked with a small smile.

“If you're an angel, Ayumi-san; where are your wings?”

The Sohma girl's smile broadened. “They're hiding. I do have them though. They are the symbol of who I am. The only people that can see them are the people that trust that they exist. And if I will them to appear.”

“So have you been an angel forever?” the other girl asked. “How are you…an angel?”

“Looks like it's time to tell the Sohma Angel Legend,” Kyo said. “It's the easiest way to explain it to her.”

Everyone nodded. Kagura and Ayumi stood up. The boar took Yuki's plate to the kitchen and Ayumi sat down in the empty space next to Tohru.

“Alright,” she said. “Time for the second family story.”

The whole room took their seats comfortably. Ayumi and Tohru sat facing each other. Yuki sat down behind Tohru, Kyo to her side, and Hatsuharu behind Ayumi. Momiji crawled around and sat next to Kyo, as Kagura returned and sat next to Ayumi. They created a cluttered semi-circle with the table as the straight edge.

With everyone settled, Ayumi began the story.

“So the Sohma Angel Legend begins back to when the first reincarnated zodiac member was born. The young child was born, and when held by his mother for the first time, he transformed into a puppy. The mother was so frightened, that she immediately handed the child to the midwife and demanded the family priest to come and inspect the child. She cried while waiting for the priest, continually mumbling about the devil and remarking `why me?'.

“The priest arrived and was stunned to see a little puppy lying in the basket that a child would have been lain in. After getting passed his initial shock, he told the mother that it couldn't be the devil or any evil being causing this. As if God agreed with him, the young boy was then engulfed in smoke as he transformed back into a baby. The priest lifted the baby up and declared `This boy has been sent by the Gods to teach a lesson. What this lesson is, I cannot say. But he shall be treated with dignity and respect until the lesson is learned.'

“Two days later, another child was born. This young girl transformed into a sheep when her father held her. The priest was called again and he made a discovery. Both children transformed when being held by the opposite sex. He also realized that both children turned into animals of the zodiac.

“Feeling as if God himself had something to do with it, the priest went to the holy Sohma Family Shrine. He prayed for some help in understanding what was going on.

“After a few hours of meditating prayer, God answered the priest.

“He said `Child, I have made a promise to these animal spirits, and promises should be kept. Please keep watch over these Sohma family members, and protect them from harm. One day, when all of the member of the zodiac and I are reincarnated into the Sohma family, this promise will be fulfilled, and no one will become animals anymore.'

“The priest then asked, `Father, is there anyone who could help us? Someone who could tell us when the promise will be fulfilled?'

“God responded, `I will send an angel. She will be granted with wings and powers not of this world. She will have an inhuman bond with these zodiac members. She will be able to embrace male members without transformation, and sense when something is wrong with a member. She will be able to read the future and understand what the zodiac member want to say without speech. She will know when a new zodiac member is about to be born and know when the time is right to have the promise fulfilled.'

“The priest said, `How will we know when this girl is born?'

“'You will know,' God responded `And she will give any other answers you seek.'

“God's presence vanished and the priest went to tell the family of this news.

“That night, a Sohma woman conceived the first Sohma angel. She was everything God said she would be. And when she died, a new angel was born the same day.

“The Sohma Angel is continually reincarnated until the promise is fulfilled.”

Tohru sat still when the story was over She was still a little confused about a few things.

“Do you have a question Tohru?” Ayumi asked gently.

Tohru nodded. “H-How did God talk to them when he also was to be reincarnated?”

“Well, he spoke to them to explain what was going on. Also, there's only a part of him that is reincarnated,” the Sohma girl answered her.

The other girl nodded. “A-And were you born with your wings?”

“Yes and no,” Tenshi-chan replied. “For the first two weeks, I didn't have them yet. Then they appeared without warning when the soul of the angel came forth. The wings were big and grand. They then hid themselves and now only come out when I will them to.”

Tohru nodded again. She seemed spacey. Ayumi looked worried about her, so Yuki spoke up.

“Do you understand everything now, Honda-san?” he asked.

“I-I think so,” she answered.

Kagura chimed in. “It's hard to grasp that angels exist and that one is sitting in front of you.” Once again, the Honda girl nodded. “It was hard for those of us in the zodiac, too. To believe that someone knows how we feel and can help us through all of the hard times was definitely a shock.”

“W-wait,” Tohru said unexpectedly, looking around at everybody.

“What Tohru-kun?” Momiji asked.

Tohru was suddenly nervous. She didn't know how to word what she was thinking, so she just asked the best way possible.

“You d-didn't know Ayumi-san growing up?”

Everyone shut down a bit. Ayumi's eyes became sad and distant. The Honda girl began to freak out. Kyo reached over and touched her shoulder. She turned toward him and he gave her a small smile.

Momiji was the one to speak up. “We did Tohru-kun, but not for a while…” He gazed over at Ayumi, who was being held by Hatsuharu again. She was snuggled up to his shoulder; his left arm snacked around her waist. The ox's right hand was petting her hair. The young woman nodded for Momiji to continue. “…but the reasons for that weren't our decision.”

Yuki got up and moved to sit on the low table. “You see Honda-san, we didn't know about Ayumi until we were around the age of 5. Kagura was 7. Shigure and the other older zodiac members were in high school.”

Tohru was confused. Why would such an important member of the family be separated from the people she was born to help?

Shigure walked into the room. “Our family isn't always what it seems, Tohru-kun,” he said. “The family on the inside is very cruel. They sent Ayumi-chan away, because of her parents.”

Everyone looked at Ayumi again. She sat up a bit and sighed.

“Tohru-kun,” she started. “My mother is a Japanese-American. The inner family was angry with my father for marrying outside of the family. So when I was born, they said to either leave the family or suffer severe consequences…”

That was when Tohru understood. She then understood the reason why everyone cared so much about Ayumi. She knew why Ayumi didn't really grow up with everyone else.

Tohru got up and hugged the Sohma girl. Ayumi could feel that Tohru knew the same type of pain. She hugged back and the rest of the room remained silent.

A new friendship was blooming.

Author Note: So, I've got chapter 2 now! =] For some reason this story is keeping my focus very well. I hope I can set something up for my other stories that I have for this one, because it seems to be working. XD lol

Please R & R! I really appreciate it. =]]