Disclaimer: As much as I might like to, I do not own Fruits Basket or the
characters, although I do have a Kyo plushie.
A/N: First off, I posted chapters 10 and 11 today, too. This chapter will make a lot more sense if you read those first, so please do so if you haven't. This is now officially the longest fic I have written. And it's still got a bit left. So, I hope you all enjoy and continue to read.
Roses of Glass
Chapter 12
Shigure lead the group back to the room he and Yuki were sharing. Once everyone was comfortably seated, he began his explanation, "I suppose I should start by informing you that curses are never truly without loopholes. That applies to the Sohma curse as well. While the curse has not been broken, there are instances where the zodiac members have seen the curse...temporarily put on hold, let's say. Now I'll give you an example. You might remember that Kazuma's grandfather was the cat of his generation. Yet to be a grandparent, he had to first be a parent. Being the age you all are I'm sure you know how that comes about. But Kazuma's grandfather is not the only cursed member to have children, either. So, how exactly do you think that happens?"
The other three all exchanged glances. It was Yuki who eventually answered, "Well, I guess I never really thought about it. But if I had to guess, I would say that both parents were zodiac members."
"Granted that is the case sometimes," Shigure continued, "But think about this currently there are 10 cursed males in the family and 3 cursed females. In some generations it has been reversed, in others all the members have been male, or all were female, with the exception of the cat, which has always been male. The other thing about curses is they don't allow themselves to be destroyed. There always had to be 13 cursed members of the Sohma family. And for the family to continue, the Sohma's and the curse could not always count on the zodiac member to propagate with each other. And yet, the family continues to grow today. So, how do you explain that?"
Once again, the three younger people looked to each other for answers. This time, it was Tohru who spoke, "The loophole?"
"Bingo. The curse has always made allowances; because what good would the curse be if there were no more Sohmas. That is why the loophole was created. While, in general, the zodiac members cannot hug or be hugged my con-cursed members of the opposite sex, if the two people were to share a bed, they might be able to touch however they wanted as long as they remained in that bed. This does not work with just any couple though. They have to have a strong sense or vow of commitment to each other."
Kyo and Tohru were blushing furiously at this point at the implications of what Shigure had just told them. Yuki's eyes clouded over for a moment for although he had given up on Tohru and knew already that they had shared a bed the previous night, the none to subtle implications by Shigure didn't exactly make him feel better about the idea.
"B-but," stammered Tohru, "we didn't do anything. I mean, we just slept."
"But you did share a bed, didn't you?" affirmed Shigure, "That's all you really need to do, if you have that commitment."
Now it was Kyo's turn to speak, "Um, we've shared a bed before, though, and this is the first time this has happened."
Yuki gave them a disgusted look as Shigure raised and eyebrow and said, "Oh, really? That's very interesting. Well, I could guess why it never happened before."
A look of understanding passed over Tohru's face, "Because I always transformed Kyo before getting into bed."
Then it seemed that Kyo suddenly realized something as he turned back to Shigure and said, through gritted teeth, "Wait a minute. You mean to tell me you knew that all along this would happen? That's why you put us in that room? You did that on purpose?"
"Not at all, not at all," Shigure replied, "Okay, well, I did put you in that room on purpose, but I didn't know for sure that this would happen. I had no idea you two would actually get up the nerve to share a bed. Then again, I had no idea that you two had shared a bed before, even if Kyo was in cat form. Ha! Ha!"
That upset Kyo even more. However, instead of blowing up at Shigure like Tohru feared he might, he merely stood up and stormed out of the room. She stood up and excused herself to Shigure and Yuki before chasing after Kyo. She followed him back to the room they shared.
When she opened the door to the room, she found him already lying on his side, on the bed, with his back towards the door. She moved around to stand in front of him. As she expected, he was staring moodily out the window. She sat down by his knees. They sat in silence for a short while. Tohru knew that if she gave him the chance, Kyo would start talking without prodding.
After what seemed like an eternity, he said, "Why would Shigure do that? It was a horrible thing to do."
Tohru glanced at him in surprise, but he refused to look back at her.
He continued, "I mean, I might be a cursed Sohma, but I'm still human. I still have desires and needs. Putting us in here together, without telling me about what would happen, it just makes me so.... Last night was torture. But, at the same time, I wouldn't trade it. But I'm still so angry. And something else; I don't know."
Kyo felt Tohru get up and heard her footsteps. He thought what he said might offended or disgusted, or maybe even scared her. He closed his eyes, now angry at himself for driving her away. His eyes flew open again a moment later as her felt her lay down behind him and wrap her arms around him.
He opened his mouth to say something but, before he got a chance, she spoke quietly into his ear, "Ssh. You don't need to say anything else. For now, while I can, just let me hold you. It will be alright."
Kyo shut his eyes again as he felt them fill with tears.
A/N: First off, I posted chapters 10 and 11 today, too. This chapter will make a lot more sense if you read those first, so please do so if you haven't. This is now officially the longest fic I have written. And it's still got a bit left. So, I hope you all enjoy and continue to read.
Roses of Glass
Chapter 12
Shigure lead the group back to the room he and Yuki were sharing. Once everyone was comfortably seated, he began his explanation, "I suppose I should start by informing you that curses are never truly without loopholes. That applies to the Sohma curse as well. While the curse has not been broken, there are instances where the zodiac members have seen the curse...temporarily put on hold, let's say. Now I'll give you an example. You might remember that Kazuma's grandfather was the cat of his generation. Yet to be a grandparent, he had to first be a parent. Being the age you all are I'm sure you know how that comes about. But Kazuma's grandfather is not the only cursed member to have children, either. So, how exactly do you think that happens?"
The other three all exchanged glances. It was Yuki who eventually answered, "Well, I guess I never really thought about it. But if I had to guess, I would say that both parents were zodiac members."
"Granted that is the case sometimes," Shigure continued, "But think about this currently there are 10 cursed males in the family and 3 cursed females. In some generations it has been reversed, in others all the members have been male, or all were female, with the exception of the cat, which has always been male. The other thing about curses is they don't allow themselves to be destroyed. There always had to be 13 cursed members of the Sohma family. And for the family to continue, the Sohma's and the curse could not always count on the zodiac member to propagate with each other. And yet, the family continues to grow today. So, how do you explain that?"
Once again, the three younger people looked to each other for answers. This time, it was Tohru who spoke, "The loophole?"
"Bingo. The curse has always made allowances; because what good would the curse be if there were no more Sohmas. That is why the loophole was created. While, in general, the zodiac members cannot hug or be hugged my con-cursed members of the opposite sex, if the two people were to share a bed, they might be able to touch however they wanted as long as they remained in that bed. This does not work with just any couple though. They have to have a strong sense or vow of commitment to each other."
Kyo and Tohru were blushing furiously at this point at the implications of what Shigure had just told them. Yuki's eyes clouded over for a moment for although he had given up on Tohru and knew already that they had shared a bed the previous night, the none to subtle implications by Shigure didn't exactly make him feel better about the idea.
"B-but," stammered Tohru, "we didn't do anything. I mean, we just slept."
"But you did share a bed, didn't you?" affirmed Shigure, "That's all you really need to do, if you have that commitment."
Now it was Kyo's turn to speak, "Um, we've shared a bed before, though, and this is the first time this has happened."
Yuki gave them a disgusted look as Shigure raised and eyebrow and said, "Oh, really? That's very interesting. Well, I could guess why it never happened before."
A look of understanding passed over Tohru's face, "Because I always transformed Kyo before getting into bed."
Then it seemed that Kyo suddenly realized something as he turned back to Shigure and said, through gritted teeth, "Wait a minute. You mean to tell me you knew that all along this would happen? That's why you put us in that room? You did that on purpose?"
"Not at all, not at all," Shigure replied, "Okay, well, I did put you in that room on purpose, but I didn't know for sure that this would happen. I had no idea you two would actually get up the nerve to share a bed. Then again, I had no idea that you two had shared a bed before, even if Kyo was in cat form. Ha! Ha!"
That upset Kyo even more. However, instead of blowing up at Shigure like Tohru feared he might, he merely stood up and stormed out of the room. She stood up and excused herself to Shigure and Yuki before chasing after Kyo. She followed him back to the room they shared.
When she opened the door to the room, she found him already lying on his side, on the bed, with his back towards the door. She moved around to stand in front of him. As she expected, he was staring moodily out the window. She sat down by his knees. They sat in silence for a short while. Tohru knew that if she gave him the chance, Kyo would start talking without prodding.
After what seemed like an eternity, he said, "Why would Shigure do that? It was a horrible thing to do."
Tohru glanced at him in surprise, but he refused to look back at her.
He continued, "I mean, I might be a cursed Sohma, but I'm still human. I still have desires and needs. Putting us in here together, without telling me about what would happen, it just makes me so.... Last night was torture. But, at the same time, I wouldn't trade it. But I'm still so angry. And something else; I don't know."
Kyo felt Tohru get up and heard her footsteps. He thought what he said might offended or disgusted, or maybe even scared her. He closed his eyes, now angry at himself for driving her away. His eyes flew open again a moment later as her felt her lay down behind him and wrap her arms around him.
He opened his mouth to say something but, before he got a chance, she spoke quietly into his ear, "Ssh. You don't need to say anything else. For now, while I can, just let me hold you. It will be alright."
Kyo shut his eyes again as he felt them fill with tears.