FRUITS BASKET: WHAT MUST BE DONE
by Vashkoda
Disclaimer: This work of fiction uses characters belonging to Takaya Natsuki and Hakusensha without their permission. I am getting no profit from it. I only do it because I think Fruits Basket is a great story, and I want to help keep it alive!
Author's Note: This is it--the end! *sniff* It was fun while it lasted. Thanks for all the encouragement, especially considering my limited knowledge of the series and Japanese in general. Hope you all enjoyed it!
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EPILOGUE:
Tohru looked up into the brightening sky, clutching her schoolbooks tightly in front of her as a shield against the autumn breeze. The chill she felt in her bones was from more than just the wind, she realized. There was an unnatural stir in the air, a restless presence that she had only felt once before--the morning the juunishi spirits had materialized at the Pearl Shrine.
"Okasan...?"
Tohru didn't know why she had called out her mother's name, but afterwards she began to sense a change in the air. It grew suddenly warmer, and the playful breeze that had tugged at her dress now occupied itself with scattering away the golden leaves at her feet.
"Okasan," she gasped, more in awe than fear. Could it really be her mother's spirit? Yuki would probably say she was being foolish, but...
"I'm happy you're here," she said cheerfully, deciding that she had nothing to lose by believing. "I have so much to tell you, but then, maybe you already know?"
Tohru watched the dust devil spinning lazily beside her, and chose to interpret that as an invitation to speak.
"Do you remember Sohma Yuki and Sohma Kyo? They came to visit you last year, and the year before. They were very nice, weren't they, Okasan?" Tohru grew suddenly nervous, and the fingers of her right hand began fidgeting with the string tying her books together.
"They are very nice, and I care for them deeply," she said, staring at her hands. A golden ring glistened on one finger, and she reflexively covered it up with her other hand.
"I...I don't know how you feel about this, but I...uh, I...."
Tohru bit her lip as she tried to compose herself and think of a way to make her mother understand. But wouldn't her mother already know about all the things she had done? Wasn't she always watching over her? Tohru had spoken to her many times since the wedding, but only about small, everyday things. She had never actually taken the time to explain anything. Tohru cringed as she felt suddenly very guilty and ashamed.
"Okasan, I'm sorry I haven't spoken about this sooner. But so many things were happening all of a sudden, and most of the time I didn't even know what was coming, and those things I did know made me afraid. I wish you could have been there to help me, Okasan. I really needed you." Tohru at once felt bad for having spoken those words. It wasn't her mother's fault that she couldn't be there. Tohru knew that all her life, her mother had tried very hard to do all she could for Tohru. It was unfair for Tohru to make her mother feel guilty about what she couldn't control.
"Forgive me," said Tohru slowly. She looked up and realized in dismay that the dust devil had vanished. Had her mother felt insulted and left? Or was she merely sitting still, waiting for her daughter to resume the story?
Tohru put down her pile of books and knelt against the ground. Hoping that her mother could still hear her, she continued.
"I fell in love. It was the strangest thing, Okasan, because I didn't realize it at first. But Yuki and Kyo are special. I was very honored that they cared so much about me, and helped me with so many things. I wanted to help them too, but nothing I did felt important enough. Then when I learned their curse was going to kill them, I understood that this was my chance. I had to find a way to stop it."
Tohru took a deep breath. The story was about to get much more difficult.
"When I found out what I needed to do, I was afraid, Okasan. I wasn't sure I could do it." Color began to creep into Tohru's cheeks. "I..I think Shigure-san could see this, and that's why he told me the lie. He said that Kureno-san had told Akito-san about my visits to the library, and that I was about to get in big trouble unless I went through with the plan. I should have known better, though. Kureno-san wouldn't have betrayed me. After all, he's the one who helped show me what to do."
Tohru went on to explain how on her last visit to the library, she had seen a scroll left rolled open on Kureno's table. It was not the one with her name on it; rather, it was the yellowed old parchment that had previously been sealed with a black ribbon. Kureno had once told her that it was the first record of their family's history.
A new quill rested on the parchment, its bright tip directing Tohru's gaze to a particular name. It took a few moments for Tohru to realize its significance as she traced the name's ancestry and interpreted the dates and notes scribbled alongside it.
This man had not been born a Sohma. Yet he had married into the family on the same day as the death of juunishi, and the curse had still passed onto him.
"I knew this was important, but I didn't understand why. Not until the dream I had that night. I had ones like it before-" Tohru shivered as she recalled the frightful visions, "-and this one was almost worse. I was in the woods again, and it was raining."
She again saw Kyo dying on the muddy ground, with Hatori and Yuki standing close by, watching her. Remembering what happened last time, Tohru was afraid to approach the red-haired teen.
"Who do you choose?" cawed the raven in the branches above her.
"I...I can't do this," whimpered Tohru, backing away.
"If you really are their friend, you will help them," the bird said.
"But I don't want Kyo to die!"
Hatori stood up then and walked towards Tohru. As he approached, his form seemed to flicker, sometimes taking the shape of a large serpent.
"Do you trust me, Tohru-chan?"
"Hai, of course...but-"
"Then do not worry about Kyo-kun. I will bring him back."
"But why does he have to die?" cried Tohru, shaking.
"Because the curse has been with him too long. He will never be able to forgive Yuki, nor will Yuki ever learn to forgive him."
It was not Hatori who had spoken. Tohru looked down in surprise at a pool of rainwater, in which an image of the cat's true form had appeared.
"We are trapped in this cycle until someone decides to free us. Until someone else takes his place who can earn and bestow that forgiveness."
"But...."
And that was when it had all fallen into place. That was when Tohru realized the meaning of Kureno's clue, and the significance of the cat's reflection.
The moment she awoke, she got up to find Shigure. He was waiting for her.
"I told him what I needed to do. He didn't ask any questions or seem at all surprised. He took me to the costume shop where Ayame gave me a beautiful dress--'for my new sister', he said. Then we went to see Kazuma-san to make arrangements for the ceremony. I also had to write notes for Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun. I wished I could tell them the truth, but Shigure-san told me they couldn't know or they would try to stop it."
As she described the morning's ceremony to her mother, Tohru rushed through the details, still traumatized by the events of Kyo's death, her subsequent transformation, and her confrontation with the spirits.
"I love them, Okasan. I would do anything to break their curse. And in the end, everything worked out for the best." Tohru finally uncovered the hand with her wedding band, letting it glitter in the sunlight. Against the other hand dangled a bracelet of black and white beads.
"I've graduated high school, Okasan, just like you always wanted. Ojiisan told me he was very proud, and said you would be too. But that's not all-"
Tohru leaned over to pick up her books, then climbed to her feet. Quickly checking her watch, she was relieved to see that she still had plenty of time to make it to class.
"You see, Okasan, because I'm now a juunishi-" Tohru's mouth curved into a smile at the thought, "-Akito-san said that he would pay for my education. That means I can go to college with Yuki-kun, Kyo-kun, Kagura-chan and Hana-chan! Uo-chan said she has to work this year, but next year she'll try to take classes, and then Momiji-chan and Haru-kun will be there with us, too!"
Tohru hugged her books tightly and laughed as she was filled with bright thoughts about the future. The wind immediately picked up again, as if in response to her mood.
"What's so funny?"
Yuki and Kyo gave her odd looks as they exited their classroom and joined her outside.
"I'm just happy we're all still together!" she squealed, reaching out to embrace both of them. Kyo blushed awkwardly and coughed.
"Uh...yeah. Well, shouldn't we get going? Our next lecture is all the way across campus, after all."
Yuki reached out to take Tohru's books, offering to carry them for her. She smiled in return, then grabbed them both by the hand and raced down the path with the two startled teens in tow.
The dust devil continued to dance in place until the trio disappeared from view. Then the wind died down, and everything was still.
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reviewer responses: Again, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed (and for saying such nice things about the fic), and for making me feel welcome in the FB fandom. ^_^
friend of shippou Hatori never died. I read somewhere that Hatori wouldn't become a true dragon until he had proven himself worthy. Therefore, his sacrifice at the end allowed him to finally transform into a dragon (which can fly), and so instead of falling to his death, he was able to carry Kyo to a hospital so that he could be quickly operated on and resuscitated.