Title: A Look Into the Future
Summary: A look into the possible future (10 years) of our favorite cursed family. Chapter 3: Kagura
Rating: G
Warnings: Possible manga spoilers (up to book 13)
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. Enjoy!
Note: If I continue this, each outcome will be different. For example, if you absolutely love Kyo/Tohru, but one chapter is Yuki/Tohru, swing by another time and there will probably be various pairings and such.
You may have noticed I have the same general pairings in every chapter, such as Hiro/Kisa. That's just because I love that couple and can't think of anyone else to put them with….Feel free to request something!

XxXxX

Dear Kagura-san,

I'm in love with my childhood friend, "Matt". However, "Matt" doesn't seem to return my feelings though we were once childhood sweethearts. There's a girl he just met, whom I think is very nice, but all the same, I'm jealous of her.

I've expressed my feelings about him often enough, but he just keeps pushing me away. What should I do?

Hopelessly Devoted

Kagura leaned back in her chair, contemplating "Hopelessly Devoted's" desperate letter. She smiled sadly, remembering how once she too had been in a similar situation, except much more complicated. After all, Kagura and her "Matt" were members of a cursed family and "Matt" was technically an outcast. Complications, right?

She glanced over to the large picture hanging on the wall in the hall outside of her office. It wasn't picture-perfect by any means, but it was the favorite of the Zodiac's. It had been taken outside in the woods during the spring, so everything was green and in blossom. In the very center was Tohru, beaming happily as if nothing could be better. To her left, was Yuki, smiling politely as if he was amused by it all. On Yuki's other side was little Kisa, looking up at Tohru smiling as well. Hatsuharu was next to Kisa with his usual neutral expression, giving a peace sign. Next to the ox was Hiro, glaring at no one in particular and on the very end was Momiji, poised in the air in the middle of a jump.

To Tohru's right was a disgruntled Kyo, standing with his arms crossed and scowling, partially because a beaming Kagura was leaning on him. Shigure and Ayame stood on either side of Hatori, each with one arm around the dragon and the other one extended in a thumbs-up sign. Both were winking at the camera and even Hatori smiled, just barely, in his own way.

It was a terrific picture, and reminded them all of the fun days. Before Kyo ran away when Akito was looking to confine him permanently. Kagura had cried the day they told her Kyo was gone, but she was happy for him. He was able to escape when the others didn't have the courage to.

When Kyo ran off, Kagura decided to do something with her life. To have a purpose, a cause for living. She had taken a psychology class in high school and loved it, so she choose to take some more in-depth ones at a local college. To make money for herself, she had started an email advice service, and with the help of Ayame's advertising expertise, more and more people flocked to it. Mostly women, mostly love problems, but Kagura loved dealing with problems like that. She took a job as an advice columnist for a local paper, using what she had learned in psychology to help her clients.

Being a counselor doesn't hurt either. She reflected, gazing at the filing cabinet of folders. She also took a counseling job, as the advice columnists didn't get paid much. Marriage counseling, and couple counseling were her primary topics, but she occasionally took in troubled teens as well. Her office was at home, but she tended to go to her client's home because it made them feel more comfortable if they were in a familiar environment. On top of the cabinet was a propped up photo of a young girl about eight years old with distinctive shoulder-length orange hair. Kagura smiled at the photo, recalling the memory of how she had found herself taking care of the young girl.

The phone had rung shrilly, making her jump at the unexpected noise. "Hello and thank you for calling, this is Sohma Kagura." She had answered automatically, expecting a client.

"It's Hatori."

"Oh! Hatori-niisan I didn't expect you to call. Is something wrong?" On the other end of the line, she could hear him sigh.

"How would you feel about--about raising a child?"

"A child? What do you mean?" At that point, Kagura had been quite lost. She couldn't be pregnant, that was impossible. She heard Hatori take a deep breath in before replying.

"The Cat has been born." He had responded simply, waiting patiently for her to take that in. Kagura had dropped the phone, trembling. That meant that Kyo was…dead. Picking up the phone, she had redialed Hatori's number, as the connection had been lost when she dropped it.

"I'll—I'll do it." She had answered, her voice no more than a shaky whisper.

"Her parents were informed about the Zodiac right after the birth and initial transformation." Hatori had filled her in as Kagura calmed herself down. "They didn't mind the cat so much, but they couldn't deal with the monster. I told them I would find someone to take care of their baby and they left after signing the papers authorizing us to take care of her."

"Her? It's a girl?" Kagura had exclaimed, standing up and smiling, for a moment forgetting Kyo.

"Yes."

Since then, little Chiyo had lived with Kagura in her apartment on the outside. Kagura was determined to raise her like a normal child without the difficulties Kyo had faced growing up.

Chiyo reminded her of Kyo more every day. She was spunky, adventurous, stubborn, but she could also be caring and protective of others. However, she didn't fight with Yuki. She loved all of the other Zodiac members, especially Kagura, even the absent Kureno who she had only seen once.

"Kaa-chan?" Chiyo hovered by the doorway, using her nickname for Kagura that she had invented when she couldn't pronouce her 'g's properly. Kagura refused to let her call her 'mother' or 'mom'. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course you can, sweetheart."

"Who's that?" Little Chiyo pointed to the picture on the wall. Kagura was puzzled for a moment; after all, she knew everybody in that picture. Well, everybody except…

"Who honey?" Kagura came up beside the young girl in the hall and gazed at her beloved picture. It was a rather pointless question, but Kagura felt like she had to ask anyway. She hoped—prayed—that Chiyo just hadn't recognized a younger Hiro or perhaps Kisa.

"Him! The one who looks like me!" Chiyo jabbed her finger in the general direction of Kyo. Kagura was about to say, "He doesn't look like you," before she realized that not many Japanese people had orange hair.

Instead she replied as calmly as she could, "That's Kyo. Sohma Kyo."

"Oh." Chiyo brow furrowed in concentration. "He was the cat before me, wasn't he?" Kagura blinked and looked down at the little girl who wore an calm expression, unaware of Kagura's inner turmoil. Kagura scooped her up so she would be able to see the picture better and felt an odd sense of reality; Chiyo had always seemed so light and now she was getting bigger, it seemed, by the day.

"Yes, but how-how did you know that?"

"Shigure oji-chan said something about Kyo-kun the one time. But then Yun-chan made him be quiet." Chiyo said with a shrug. She had picked up Kagura's nickname for Yuki (Yun-chan) but Yuki didn't seem to mind. "You must have liked him a lot, right, Kaa-san?" She pointed to where Kagura stood beaming next to Kyo for emphasis.

"Yep. We always used to play together." Kagura answered, smiling fondly. She also sensed that Chiyo would want to hear stories about him so she added, "If you talk to Shishou, I'll bet he has tons of things he could tell you about Kyo-kun." Kazuma often baby-sitted for her and was quite attached to the young cat. Chiyo, of course, adored him as well.

"Yay!" Chiyo jumped down from Kagura's arms. She would be seeing Kazuma tomorrow; Kagura made a mental note to herself to give him a heads-up.

"Now, you go outside and play, alright? I've got some stuff I need to finish." Kagura told Chiyo, gently pushing her in the direction of the door to the backyard. Chiyo loved being outdoors more than anything thing else, unless it was raining.

"'Kay!" And without another word, Chiyo ran off, not bothering to put on any shoes as she flew out the door.

Kagura chuckled and smiled, hugging herself a little. Who'd have ever thought that she'd become a mother? But then again, who'd have thought Hatori would be a good father? After all, he was the one who took care of Momiji and Hatsuharu (and Ayame, but he didn't really count as a 'child') most of the time. Members of the Zodiac always assumed that they would not have offspring, partially because of the little complication that came with the curse, and partially because they didn't want anyone close to them to get hurt. But when they did, it was always a joy and pleasure.

Kagura sat back down at her computer, contemplating the letter from 'Hopelessly Devoted' on the screen. She glanced over at the Zodiac portrait (her usual source of inspiration) and noticed something she hadn't seen after all these years of looking at it.

Kyo was smiling.

Leaning over her keyboard, she began typing out a response to not only the letter, but also to her own heart….

Dear Hopelessly Devoted…

A/N: I know a lot of you might say that Kagura was OOC, but my response to that would be: she grew up. Sorry for the cheesy advice column letter, romance is not my thing.
-I'm sure I butchered any and all Japanese in this. Sorry 'bout that.
-Yun-chan: What Kagura calls Yuki