Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Withheld Curses ❯ 02 - Red Butterfly ( Chapter 2 )

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

“You’re leaving?! What?! Why? Haven’t you ever heard of the Yankee’s Curse?”

The red-haired woman held one hand over her bulging stomach, the other arm carrying a virbrant red coat. At the tender age of sixteen, she was pregnant with a child. She spoke through the characteristic white mask over her mouth. “What do you mean?”

“The story that once you are in the gang, you can never come out. Aren’t you worried about your child?”

“No, of course not. I can leave whenever I want. I always could.”

“You know what happens to those who leave, don’t you?”

“I’ve heard some tales before, but I figured that they exist to scare people into staying,” Kyoko said logically, but a part of her sounded a little uncertain of her own rationale.

“Well, there are lots of stories. Members are hunted down, attacked by their former allies, their own sempai! Or they are killed by strange methods which can easily be mistaken as accidents. Like...poisoned with food that has expired, or doused in a bath tub and held underwater, or even motor vehicle accidents. Isn’t it nice that you never hear about these things until after you have been a member too long to escape?”

Kyoko scoffed. “I’m sure this is just a rumour. I don’t understand why I have to worry.”

“You wouldn’t,” she said with a laugh. Her voice turned serious. “The curse doesn’t play out immediately though, otherwise it would be avoidable. It’s said that it usually happens years later during a stable time of your life. When you least expect your life to change drastically. You’re too carefree!”

“Is that always a bad thing?” she grinned in response. “Besides, Rina, I won’t believe it. I’m going to have a child to worry about eventually, and I surely don’t want to live my life in fear of some looming curse. I’ll be fine. I’ll take life at my own pace, and I’ll give that advice to my daughter.” She held up a peace sign with her fingers.

Rina shook her head. “I thought that you didn’t want to know the baby’s gender? When did you find out, Kyoko?”

“Oh, I didn’t. I decided for myself.”

“You can’t just go and decide it yourself!”

“I know.” Kyoko stuck out her tongue playfully. “But I can feel it! For sure, I’ll name her Tohru. And I’m sure that she’ll be a nice playmate for your little daughter Arisa. She’s only six months old right now, right?”

“Yeah, that’d be nice.” Rina smiled. “Are you really ready to become a mother? You don’t have a husband to finance you.”

“No, but my boyfriend is very supportive of me financially. It’ll be fine.”

“I guess that’s better than my situation. Even if he’s not the father.” Rina scowled a little.

“So is your situation really because of the so-called curse? That you want to leave, but you cannot admit it because of fear?”

“What?! Kyoko!” she cried out in surprise. “I don’t fear the curse. I don’t want to leave.”

Kyoko raised an eyebrow.

“...I don’t want to leave,” she repeated, shaking her head. Finding her strength, she continued in a firm voice, “that’s right! My daughter will be raised into this society, thinking it is the way that life is supposed to be! A group that is always there for you and will stand up for you no matter what, unlike the friendship that most people partake in where people leave you behind and - ” Rina’s had voice dropped to a whisper by the end before she cut herself off, realizing what she was saying about her own best friend: She’s leaving me behind by leaving our close-knit society.

Kyoko didn’t take the words personally. Instead, she continued with a rebuttal: “No betrayal? Do you think that is what this really is? If anything, the betrayal factor is much larger! You are basically threatened into helping the others, whether you are involved or not.”

“Kyoko.”
“I will treasure my time as a Yankee, but I won’t be restricted by their so-called rules. Otherwise, why did I leave home in the first place?”

“Kyoko.” A worried face.

“I chose this lifestyle for myself. And I will choose to leave of my own free will. If my daughter ever wants to have this sort of life, I am willing to let her do things her own way, just like I did. Except I will support her decision, rather than desert her like my parents did.”

“Kyoko.” Again, the name was repeated, muffled behind Rina’s hands. By the look in her eyes, she was obviously fearing for Kyoko’s safety. However, Rina’s posture remained aloof and uncaring, for she was underwatch by a powerful sempai, who stood behind the emotional Kyoko. Rina gave a subtle indication that they were being watched by tilting her head towards the side.

Kyoko stopped speaking and glanced behind her. “Ah, Kokuri-sempai!”

“Kyoko, nice to see you.” The manner in which this older girl spoke made it clear that she did not feel it was nice at all.

“Well, Kokuri-sempai, I’ve got to tell you, I’m getting away from this place.” She patted her belly. “Gotta have my baby sometime, you know!” Kyoko heard several subdued gasps, indicating that this ‘confrontation’, so to speak, was being watched by others as well. Ah, the life in a gang, nothing is a secret for long.

A deep, feminine whisper carried through the hallway. “How can she speak so casually about such a thing? Does she not realize what this will mean?”

She continued on, ignoring the fear of her fellow members. Girls she had become close with, girls who she had hated, girls whose names she had never gotten a chance to learn; all of them would soon know that she was turning against the gang life. She smiled. She was going to leave in style.

“I believe this means goodbye.” Kyoko slowly pulled off her face mask and allowed it to fall to the ground. She tossed the coat she had in her arms her shoulder and threw her left arm through the hole in one motion. Wearing her favourite coat, which she hadn’t been able to wear in years because of their stuffy uniform, felt great. She was thankful that she had never had the heart to throw it away.

“I will see you later in life, most likely.” She spoke as she walked down the hallway. “When some of you follow this same path out this door, I will be there to greet you. Don’t lose touch, ne?” Right, Rina? I’ll wait for you.

Her footsteps echoed eerily in the hall, punctuating her words. Suddenly more steps could be heard from a pair of black high heeled boots. Hands grabbed onto her shoulders.

“Kokuri,” Kyoko said simply, losing the sempai suffix. A blow to Kokuri’s power in front of the others.

“Don’t think that fate is that easygoing. We won’t let you walk away so easily; no one ever does. Watch out, because tragedy is in your future!”

Kyoko rolled her shoulders abruptly, causing Kokuri to lose her grip. She turned around and smiled vibrantly. “I don’t believe in curses.” She held up two fingers. “Peace.”

Her long, crimson coat rustled in the wind as she mounted her motorcycle. She drove away from everything: her harsh upbringing under her parents’ rule, her stagnation by belonging to such an aristocracy, the rules and the people who looked down on her carefree nature. Driving toward a new future with her daughter, her taillights blinked rhythmically with her spirits.

The Legendary Red Butterfly.

Not until the day that metal would stumble into the metal of another vehicle would Kyoko believe in curses.