Disclaimer: Come on, now. If I owned Fruits Basket, I wouldn't be writing this fanfic. But I am writing it. So guess what. I don't own Fruits Basket.
A/N: I'm sorry you guys. The curse does end in this chapter but I don't really explain how. I will explain it in the next chapter, I promise (though some of you have probably figured it out). I meant to explain in this chapter, but when I started writing it as I originally planned, I really didn't like it, so I went back and changed the whole chapter, leaving out the explanation (but trust me, the chapter is better than it was).
Roses of Glass Chapter 25Kyo and Yuki reached the main hall just in time to see Akito toss Tohru towards the ground. Kyo yelled out he name and ran forward to catch her. As it became obvious that he would not reach her in time, Kyo saw someone else step in and break Tohru's fall (A/N: bet you weren't expecting that). Everything in the room seemed to stop as the occupants watched Hatori's arms wrap around Tohru. There was a collective gasp in the room as…nothing happened!
Once Tohru had regained her balance, Hatori let go of her and she ran over to Kyo. Hatori then turned his gaze to Akito and, to everyone's surprise, spoke up to him, "I am not going to let you do this. Not anymore. For years I've stood silently by and watched, or even helped, as you've hurt just about every member of this family. Repeatedly. But I refuse to stand by any longer. And I certainly refuse to continue being used by you to inflict pain on others. I will not allow you to do to these two, or any other members of this family, what you did to Kana and me. They deserve better than that. And, I think perhaps, you've just officially lost you power over the rest of us. But even if that is somehow not true, you've lost the ability to manipulate me. I don't care what the consequences to myself are, if you still have any power in this family, I will not be part of your evil plans anymore."
As the other members of the family stared at Hatori in shock, an equally stunned Akito asked, in and unusually small voice, "Why? Why were you able to hold her? Why didn't you transform?"
"Because," answered Yuki, stepping around Kyo and Tohru, "Hatori was right. You just lost your power over the zodiac members. We are not members of the zodiac any longer. The curse is broken. None of us ever has to worry about transforming ever again. We're all free to live normal lives. And that includes you, as well, Akito. I think you will find that your curse has also been broken."
A murmur stared to go through the crowd. Could the curse seriously be broken? Hatori had just held Tohru, but what if it was just a fluke? It was certainly hard to believe that the curse they had lived with for their entire lives could suddenly be gone.
"I don't believe you! It's a lie!"
At Akito's outburst, Yuki nodded at Tohru. She reached down and gently grabbed Kyo's left hand, then moved her own hand up to his wrist. As her fingers brushed against the beads he wore, he started to jerk his hand away. But he glanced down and met Tohru's eyes, which were pleading with him to trust her. Kyo agonized over this decision for a moment. Making up his mind, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slowly nodded. Time stretched out for him as he prepared to become the monster. Tohru took hold of the beads and pulled them off Kyo's wrist. Kyo's eyes squeezed more tightly shut, only to fly open a moment later, when he realized he wasn't transforming. He gazed down at Tohru, who was smiling back up at him. He hesitantly reached his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace. Still nothing happened. Kyo let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and tightened his grip on Tohru.
The murmuring of the crowd returned, but this time there was and added element of cheer. It was true. These were no mere flukes. If the removal of Kyo's beads wasn't enough proof, the fact that he was still holding Tohru, and was not a cat, certainly backed up the idea. And if anyone needed still further proof, Momiji happily supplied it. He rushed over and threw his arms around Tohru, from behind as Kyo was also still holding her.
At Tohru's small gasp of pain, both boys released her and Kyo turned to face Akito with narrowed eyes, "I don't know exactly what you did, but you made a big mistaking in telling me that you hurt Tohru. Everything Hatori said applies to me, too. I won't let you control a second longer. And if you EVER come after Tohru again, I will pay back on you every pain you have ever inflicted on anyone in this family!"
When he finished his speech, Kyo grabbed Tohru's hand and turned and stocked out of the building, dragging her along behind him. Akito, angered by Kyo's defiance, tried to follow after him and make him pay. He had not taken two steps, however, when Hatori stepped in front of him. Yuki and Shigure joined Hatori. One by one, the others followed until all of the formerly cursed family members had moved to create a barrier to cut short his pursuit.
Realizing that he had truly lost all power over the now ex-zodiac members of the family, Akito flew into a rage. When his short fit was over, he went completely blank, as if stuck in a trance. Without saying a word, he left the hall through a back entrance and retreated back to his own quarters.
Meanwhile, at the house they were staying in, Kyo sat with Tohru in her room. Despite the complete privacy, he sat some distance away from her, his head bent, looking at the floor. He let out a sigh, "Akito told me he was the one who cut off your hair."
Tohru tensed, but nodded, "Um, yeah."
"He also hinted that he did more to you than that."
When Tohru didn't answer, Kyo continued, "What did he do to your back? I want to see it."
Tohru bit her lower lip and began to cry as Kyo came around behind her, but when he placed his hand over hers on the floor, she gave a small nod and moved to lift up the back of her sweater. She closed her eyes as she heard his sharp intake of air. She, herself, had not seen the damage done to her back, but she could imagine, from what she had felt, what it must look like.
When Kyo grabbed the hand holding up the sweater and lowered it back down, Tohru's tears started to come faster. Kyo then placed his hands on her shoulders and carefully guided her around to face him. He pulled he into his arms again, letting her cry on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "Tohru, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I'm sorry. You did it for me, didn't you? You were trying to help break the curse? And Akito must have found out?"
Tohru wiped a hand across her eyes, "I WAS trying to help break the curse. That's why I didn't tell you what really happened. But Akito didn't know. He did this to me because I stood up to him. I yelled at him."
"You did?!" Kyo asked in surprise, "What did you say?"
"He was talking about locking you up and I told him that id he did that, he would have to lock me up, too, because I wouldn't break my promise to you."
For a moment, Kyo just stared at her. Then he grabbed her hand; fingering the ring he had given her. His expression turned suddenly shy as he asked, "What would you think about upgrading this then?"
Tohru looked confused for a minute, then her eyes widened in understanding. Kyo nodded, turning bright red, "Tohru, when we finish high school, would you, maybe, wanna get married?"
Tohru's face broke into the brightest smile Kyo had ever seen. Her answer was, "Yes!"