Okay, this is the first part of my Twice Cursed series. This piece and the next one are just backstory really for the last two parts.
Ihope you enjoy this part of the story, even though not much really happens.
I don't own Fruits Basket. Enjoy!
The Zodiac Twins
Always there will be a single set of twins within the Sohma family. These twins shall be the Twice Cursed of the Zodiac.
It is a common mistake to think the Cat is the most cursed within the family, for the ledged of the Twice Cursed has been forgotten by many who still live. Not even the "God" is aware of the Prophesised birth of the Zodiac Twins.
I digress, the knowledge of the Twins identities is reserved for only the Prophesised ones, those who are destined to follow in the steps of the ancient ancestors and break the curse of the Zodiac.
Without the Twins the curse will continue onwards endlessly, for only the Prophesised Ones, the Twins and their soul mates, can ever put an end to the Zodiac Curse.
Feared by the Clan any who bear twins are considered evil and demonic, leading the parents of the Zodiac's Cursed to protect the Twins by separating them at all cost. If that means that one must be given up or thrown from the family then the parents of the Twins will do so.
This method of protecting the Twins had worked for centuries, the Twice Cursed Twins constantly cycling through the animal spirits.
All good things must come to an end, however. And come to an end this method of protecting the Twins did.
Here the story begins. A tale of tragedy, of fear, love and compassion. The story of the Twice Cursed Zodiac Twins.
The sun is high in the sky as a very young girl was led towards the house of the head of her family, a child only a few years older than she herself was. The girls black tipped, red/brown hair brushed against her elbows as she stumbled along the pebbled pathway, the man who was leading her frowned down at her, grabbing a handful of her hair roughly in one of his hands, revealing more clearly the black roots of the young girls hair, he continued down the path. The girl winced at the tugging on her hair but other wise ignored it and continued to stumble her way along the path.
Even at the age of three she knew not to make any sound when she was hurt, that any sign of weakness would lead to her being harmed more. So she pushed back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes with a strong will and hid the pain of her hair being tugged with every step the man took with a faintly irritated frown upon her lips.
This young girl was Sohma Maiyari, the current Horse of the Zodiac Curse. And her life hasn't been easy, for she is one of the Twice Cursed. Her parents had wanted neither she nor her brother so both had been sent to separate parts of the Sohma Estate to be taken in by other members of the Clan. Maiyari, as the stronger of the two, had been sent to a loyal man who followed only the family head. It was there that she had learned that it was better just to be silent and still when she was in pain, that drawing the attention of anyone in the house would mean that she would be punished.
With a final rough jerk of the man's hand, the two arrived at the house of the family head, Sohma Akito.
Waiting at the door was a young servant girl, looking to be only twelve or thirteen, with long brown hair pulled up into a bun at the back of her head and cold grey eyes without even a small glint of friendliness within them. Maiyari knew immediately that this wasn't a person that she wanted to be near.
"Akito-sama is waiting for you." The serving girl stated, her tone as cold as her eyes.
While the teenager refused to so much as glance in Maiyari's direction the three year old knew that she was the one being addressed and hurried after the older girl, smoothing out her kimono as she went.
The serving girl's strides were long and swift, forcing Maiyari to run to keep up with her. Neither girl spoke another word until they reached a door with elaborate sakura trees printed across the traditional paper. "The Horse is here, Akito-sama." The serving girl stated, gently touching her knuckles to the door twice.
In the instant the door was opened the serving girl bowed and took off down the hall again, leaving Maiyari standing on one side of the door and a child with short black hair with bangs that fell longer than the rest standing on the other side. Swallowing as much of her fear as she could, Maiyari bowed. "You summoned me, Sohma-sama?" She questioned, using a form of address that those of the outer house would have, distancing herself from the family head. The older child slapped her face in response.
For years, Maiyari would suffer such treatment from the God of her generation, meeting her brother only briefly on the few occasions that she was allowed to leave the confines that were the family head's quarters.
The younger of the Twice Cursed was living a life not dissimilar to his sister. The couple that were raising him disliked him almost as much as the ones who brought him into the world. Always confined to the house and forever being told to do things that he didn't wish to. He woman was slightly insane, constantly checking to make sure the string of beads around his wrist and dragging him away from the windows whenever he tried to see outside. The man, on the other hand, ignored him at every chance, and when he was forced, by either his wife or a member of the family visiting, he would treat the boy with as much respect as one would use when addressing dirt.
As confined as his sister the three year old boy would read the few books he was allowed and huddle in the corners, trying his best to keep unnoticed by either of his 'parents'. His hair was a vibrant shade of orange and his eyes a glimmering red, the boy knew he would have been feared by the rest of the house even if he were as normal looking and ordinary as the rest of them, for he was possessed by the Cat of the Zodiac. His name was Sohma Kyonkinchi; his only friend was his sister when she was able to visit him.
On one rainy night there was a gentle tapping on the boy's window, his crimson eyes immediately noticed the slightly damp form of Maiyari and opened the window as silently as he could, thankful that the couple who were raising him didn't have the sharpened senses tat those possessed by the Zodiac spirits did. His sister managed to easily pull herself into the room and the two five year olds had a quiet conversation until the sun began to peek through the darkness, the rain having stopped sometime in the middle of the babble of two lonely children with no-one else to turn to. With hurried goodbyes the two parted ways, Maiyari quickly disappearing out the window and across the ground towards the inner house, leaving Kyonkinchi alone in his room with only his thoughts and the distant sound of bird song to fill the space that his sister had vanished from.
Three gueses who the little Horse is. I'll even give you a hint, it's not anyone from Fuits Basket. Get it right and I might just answer a question.
And yes, Kyonkinchi is indeed Kyo.
Bye~