The Curses' Cold Touch
Disclaimer: If I owned Fruits Basket, this would not be a fanfic, now would it? I didn't think so.
Summary: It's one of the breaks during Tohru's second year of high school and she's already been through a lot with the Sohmas. What happens when an old friend returns to reveal a similar curse? A relationship between the Sohmas and the other cursed family?
In the last chapter, Kristi has taken her true form as Castor's incarnation and flew off. As Alexis was about to chase Shigure who'd rushed after her, Hatori shows up and tells her not to go. Meanwhile, Shigure, hesitant over Kristi's new appearance, encounters Leigh who explains what must occur in engaging in battle. ... Wait... What the hell? Leigh's a good guy!
20.:.The Flood Rushes Back.:.20
"Tii-chan! You can't be in this fight!" "Yes, she can," Leigh cooly said as she'd managed to land a punch in return for the previous day's blow. As Kristi fell back to the ground, Leigh pushed the heel of her hand into the younger sister's shoulder, pinning her down as she fixed her other hand over her throat. Kristi choked for a second or two, but pushed her older sister off of her by forcing her fist to rise and collide with the woman's chest. When the Libra gracefully got up, the Gemini scrambled to her feet and rammed her shoulder into Leigh's stomach, forcing her to the ground. With Leigh pinned, the tables had turned, and Kristi pulled her free hand back, curling it into a tight fist. "It's finally time for Castor to do what Pollux never could!"
"So, K-chan..." "She can never fall in love," Hatori nodded. "But why not?" "Love is something of the light," Mao-Lin explained, "And Kristi has to be dark. If Gemini was to fall in love, then Gemini would be of the light." "That's the reason I had to suppress her memories the last time. She was happy. She'd found the man she truly loved and she thought that the curse would have never gotten in the way of that, but it was because of the curse that I had to do it." "But even if you suppress her memories, K-chan will still be in love with this man, won't she?" "Despite what society portrays," Kelly started, "Love is merely an idea formed in the mind. It has nothing to do with the heart. It's just another mental sentiment like fear or anger. You know, it's the same thing as how people will use hypnotism to suppress their fears. They forget about it." "Apparently," Alexis continued, "the suppression of the memories on us curséd members doesn't work as well." "So you'll just have to suppress those same memories again, right?"
I know I'm not supposed to interfere, but... "Tii-chan, you can't!" Shigure exclaimed as he made his way over and pulled Kristi up and off of Leigh. "And why the hell not!" I'm really not supposed to be doing this... "Because..."
I don't want to have to say...
"I love you."
Kristi's eyes widened at those words, but softened, adopting their normal color as Shigure tilted her chin up and gave her a kiss. Within but a moment, four months, two weeks, six days, and seventeen hours worth of memories flooded back into her mind. Dizziless circles on the dance floor, babysitting the young Sohmas, the Ferris wheel at the carnival, and even her first kiss. They were all there. She could even remember how the Sohmas found out about her family's curse that fateful day in her old apartment. "You and me," Kristi began as they parted, "I remember. We were..." It was then that the final wave of memories came back. A slightly younger Shigure -- around 24 years of age -- was down on one knee, holding Kristi (who was standing in front of him wuth the signature blush on her face) by the hand. "After I finished med-school, we were supposed to have gotten married," Kristi recalled, "But neither of our curses would allow it, so Tori-kun had to erase my memory..." It was the curses' cold touch...