Circle Game 5: We're not in Kansas Anymore Are We Gure?

A/N: Ah yes. Here's the chapter where Gure and Chris make things official. As usual, things go slightly strangely, but in the end, that's normal in the Sohma household. And anyway, having too firm a grasp on reality can get boring.

As usual I do not own Fruits Basket

Gure Wakes Chris (Lemon)

The next morning, I woke with the absolute assurance that it was time to see Kureno to ask his permission for Chris and I to get married. Chris was sleeping beside me quietly. For the first time since I realized I was falling for him I was starting to feel comfortable with the depth of my emotion; I knew that I wouldn't be drowned or pulled suddenly from the warmth of his love. Remembering the sweet kiss he had given me the night before, I kissed him softly. His bright blue eyes fluttered open and he smiled at me sweetly and said,

"Good morning Gure. it is Gure right?"

He looked suddenly nervous so I couldn't help teasing and said in my best imitation of Inu,

"Gure slumbers. Worship me while you still have the chance!"

I got a slight headache for my effort and Chris didn't believe me as I apparently hadn't achieved true divinity. He slapped me playfully and said,

"Gure! That's not funny."
"You have to admit it was a bit funny."
"Oh ha. I'm glad you can find my terror funny."
"I'm sorry, you just looked so worried."
"Well, I'm sorry I'm just not as accustomed to being kissed by a Demi God. By the way, you seem to ok about what happened. You don't feel jealous about last night?"
"A bit. But that's something we can talk about later. Today we need to go to see Kureno. It's time."

I gathered him to me and kissed him deeply, saying.

"But not right this minute."

Chris

Tracing my body with soft touches, he rested his hand on me and massaged me. Soon my need for him grew. His eyes, perfectly normal but beautiful gray eyes, were filled with such love. After a few minutes of foreplay, we moved together languidly and I whispered,

"Darling, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I love you and will continue to do so even when you're not part divine. For one thing I won't have to wonder if you're going to make love to me or make me your dinner."

He chuckled and began to sing Sam Sham's "Little Red Riding Hood" to me,

"Hey there little red riding hood! You sure are looking good! You're everything a big bad wolf could want."

He the howled and nipped me on the neck, well below my collar line. I heard a chuckle in my head that filled me with warmth. Gure was invoking the Demi God whether he wanted to or not.

Gure is Very Serious

Inu's voice sounded in my head. While he was still amused there was a bit of a bite to his words.

"Impertinent pup. You have something to do before we play."
"If we play." I added.
"Hmmmmmmm….well we'll talk about that."

He then strode away, leaving Chris to me. After cresting, we rose, took a shower together, enjoying each other's company and dressed. Chris called out pleading the belly and, after a quick call to Kureno to be sure he was in and to Haa-san to tell him I was fine, we were on our way. We stopped by Haa-sans and I talked my way into one of his suits, as I didn't have a clean kimono at Chris' and there was no way I was going to perform a walk of shame in front of a God. It occurred to me I should probably just have asked before but my mind was on other things. I promised to Mayu I'd explain later and asked her to send Haa-San to my house when he got home. I must have looked really earnest as she didn't argue.

When we got to the car, Chris said,

"I really wish you wore suits more often. You're absolutely gorgeous. Not that you aren't stunning in your kimono, but tailored suits really show off your body to good measure. They're also a lot easier to get off you when I want to get you off.".

"What, do you have the hots for Haa-san? Because generally people can't tell us apart when I do."

He said in a joking voice,

"Do you blame me? He is the quintessential hot doctor. Talk about McDreamy. Hey! Watch the gel!"

He ducked out of the way of my noogie, preserving his hair from being mussed. I had only heard that line a million times. When I relented he kissed me and said,

"What? Are you ten? Play nice Gure."

"Ok, ok, I'll be serious. I'm wearing Haa-San's suit. I will channel Haa-San and become one with the seriousness. I am the serious, and the serious is me."
"Mmmhmmm. So believable."
"Sorry, I'm really nervous. I feel like so much is riding on me right now and part of me is terrified and wants to bolt. But the other half wants this so very much.

He took me in his arms and kissed me and I felt his calm bathe me.

Chris is FREAKED!

As Gure was jittery again I drove to the compound. I was incredibly nervous too. I had no idea what I was getting into when I met Gure. He was from a different world. Very different. But I was willing to do whatever it took to be with him.

We arrived at Kureno's house and stood in front of the door. Gure whispered,

"You don't need to do anything but bow to him. He's less traditional than most heads of family."

"Thank goodness."

We walked through the door, but instead of stepping into an office as I expected, we seemed to have been transported into another world. We were both pulled through something that felt like walking through a cut in a tissue-thin piece of fabric. After we had arrived on the other side Gure encouraged me to sit as if attending a tea ceremony. I immediately thought,

"So much for less traditional greetings!"

And then I said,

"We're not in Kansas anymore are we Gure?"

"Nope. We're not even in Japan."

And then it hit me. We were likely not on the planet Earth. And then my mind froze and I started to babble.

Gure and Chris in Spiritland

I recognized the forest we sat in from the dreams that occasionally filled my nights with the half-remembered scenes from someone else's memories. A beautiful pool stood nearby and a calm breeze gently rippled the water. Chris and I knelt in the soft grass holding hands. He looked at me like he was going to completely freak out. I held his hand tightly and whispered,

"It's ok my love. We're likely in a deep state of meditation. Unless of course the God of all things has transported us through time and space. I'm not precisely sure which of the two options it is as both are entirely possible. But what can you do? You must go where the spirit takes you."

I shrugged and Chris couldn't help but chuckle at my nonchalant manner.

"Ok, I get it, go with the flow."
"Well we really don't have much choice do we?"

I then kissed his hand and he looked a little less pale.

As we sat, we became aware of two figures walking towards us. One was a beautiful woman the other, a radiant man. They approached us and stood before us. As I knew who they were, I prostrated myself and Chris followed suit. I said to myself,

"So much for less traditional greetings."

When we rose, the God of all things said,

"Welcome Shigure Sohma. Welcome Christian Girard. Welcome to our endgame. While I would not have predicted our game to end this way, I am quite satisfied with this particular roll of the dice. What do you say Katoha?"

The goddess kept her head bowed, hiding her emotion. She clearly was angered and only held her tongue as she was in the presence of the God of all things. After shaking his head, he then turned to me, but looked through me, alerting me to the fact he was not going to address me

"Well Tonosama Inu, you have come a long way. You've guided hundreds of souls through time without success but you've finally been victorious. Someone has fallen in love with this Sohma child despite your presence. Please, step forward."

I felt a stirring in me, and soon I felt strong hands rest on my shoulders. Looking up I saw the face I often saw reflected in my mirror, especially on nights when my inhibitions were low after heavy drinking. He was of course beautiful. While I knew for a fact that he could have chosen any form he wanted as he was mostly made from water, he had chosen, (likely for Chris's sake,) a form rather in keeping with conventions from anime and manga art. He looked like a beautiful man with dog's ears. I knew for a fact he could be much more animalistic, as he often appeared to me that way. He saved that particular transformation when he was particularly displeased with me and wanted to let me know how displeased he was. He smiled down at me, and I felt his love. He turned to Chris who nearly melted under his glance. He then stepped forward to meet the Goddess and the God. He sank down and paid obeisance to them. He then kneeled before them.

"Tonosama Inu," The God said, "You have helped me win my wager. You have brought an end to this game and you have led this Sohma to true love. Your mother, Katoha has lost and she knows the stakes for her loss."

The Goddess' head bowed lower, and anger radiated from her. She was the personification of one who has lost everything to a roll of the dice. The God looked at her for a moment, took in her anger and defeat and then broke out into a radiant smile and said,

"But, as I have had quite a shift in mood after all these years, I am willing to give the choice of her fate to you Tonosama Inu as one of the twelve who suffered at the hands of your mother."

Inu looked at her, and pain entered his eyes. Prostrating himself to her, he politely said,

"Honorable Mother, please honor this humble spirit with permission to address you."

She sneered at him but did not say no. God of all things nodded, he continued.

"Mother, I know you are in pain from your ill treatment. I feel I may have come to understand a fraction of your pain as I have spent hundreds of years being denied love. Even in this life, I experienced great loss. Yet I have known great love as well, and that love is all the more beautiful as it shines against the backdrop of seemingly endless pain. While over the years I pushed my hosts towards love. As was my task I spoke of the possibilities of love. But I was never successful as I stood back and watched the events unfold after putting a bug in their ears, only interacting when the curse was triggered, only interjecting when love was imminent. I was finally successful because I was allowed to take a more active role by showing Shigure that he is worthy of love by helping him to love himself."

He then paused and smiled at her and said,

"So mother, I would not see you banished to the outer regions as you would not learn anything there. But rather, I would charge you with watching this love story to the end, for you will see that love can prevail even in the darkness. And perhaps you will be better for it as it could lead you to hope that there is love for you yet. That is what I think, what do you think Shigure?"

The Goddess looked at me with angry eyes but quickly lowered her gaze. Clearly it would take some time for her to hope as she seemed far from being receptive to any love that might find her. I thought about Inu's words, and came to the conclusion that I agreed with him. While I had often wished her banished for the pain she had caused me and my family, as I looked into her beautiful face I realized I was looking at someone who was in pain. I turned to Inu and said,

"I will do my best to provide her with a love story to give her hope, but I can't promise it will be epic. At any rate it might be an entertaining story. I know I'm not a great Casanova as I am at heart a goofball, but I'm a goofball in love."

I kissed Chris then and Inu smiled down at us. We heard a crack as the final links of the final chains started to break. And as that crack sounded, the forest around us began to disappear. In the final moments, the God smiled and Katoha raised her head to face me. And while she didn't precisely smile, she gave me a quizzical look as if she was at least interested to see how my life would unfold. Perhaps my comment about being a goofball differed enough from the words her unfaithful lover had used to described himself that she wondered if the former arrogance of the family was fading. Well that certainly wasn't true. And it wasn't exactly true of me all the time. But in that moment, I was a goofball in the presence of deities holding on to the love of his life just hoping that the Gods would smile on his relationship. I had a feeling I had not seen the last of them. I gave a silent prayer that they'd only observe my life going forward as their game was complete. I felt Inu return to me. His presence was even fainter and I knew he would not be there for much longer. I felt sad that I was about to say goodbye to an old friend.

Gure and Chris Return to Reality

Gure

As the final traces of the forest vanished we found ourselves sitting in Kureno's office. He was sitting back comfortably in his chair as clearly the "formal stuff" had already happened, A slight glow still surrounded him and looking at myself I saw I had my own healthy glow. He smiled at us and said,

"Needless to say I accept your plea to get married. Although I know I don't need to tell you the facts are somewhat grim. But, the lawyers and I have looked into your situation, and there are documents that you can sign to help during tragedies. It isn't marriage, but it is protection.
But, let's leave off the legalese today. Marriage isn't only about patient rights and estate law. Or at least in your case it isn't."

He smiled at us.

"You will of course want and need to "join as one" as the old tale says, to finally bring the curse down. The auspicious date for this is July 7th as the stars will be in perfect alignment."

"But that's….."

"Yes that's the date of the Tanabata Festival. The God chose this date for that very reason. For the final links of the curse were destined to be broken by a pair of star crossed lovers who had even more to overcome than the rest of the 12."

"Aya is going to flip."

"I'm sure your brother will be very happy to help prepare for this sacred ritual. I personally cannot wait. And I'm sure neither can Inu. We're both tired and it's time for us to have some rest. We've been following this family for ages."

"If I may," I asked, "what will happen to Inu when the curse is broken. Will he disappear?"

"No, Inu is a Demi God. He's nearly immortal. His mortal side makes his spirit form less strong and because of this weakness, there are ways to bring his end, but he's pretty hard to kill. No, when the curse is broken he will be able to go free. He'll regain his strength and he, as well as the God will be allowed to roam wherever and whenever they will. Inu can rejoin his brothers and sisters and live out his days in the grand style that should have been theirs from the start."

I felt better. It would be difficult not to have him beside me, as I had come accustomed to him. However, I was also pleased to know that he would be free.

I looked at Chris, who looked completely exhausted. He had had another fright and was clearly a bit winded. I turned to him and said,

"Dear one, I have some business to take care of and many conversations to hold. Why don't I take you home, you've had quite a day."
"Yes. I think that might be a good idea.."

So I took him home and tucked him in. I kissed him, letting him know I'd call later to check in. I then got a call from Aya who requested my presence. Kissing him once again I left.

Chris Is Baffled

As usual Gure thoroughly surprised me. We had completely changed places. Gure was cool as a cucumber while I sat in the car with my head spinning. To be fair, Gure was far more used to the whole spirit realm thing given that he lived night and day with a divine upstairs neighbor. My Grandmother of course had told me stories about the Spirits and Goddesses and Gods of her homeland. But I saw them as bedtime stories and I never expected to meet and/or bed one. So when Gure brought me home and tucked me in I felt ever grateful to have a bit of time when the walls didn't suddenly become thin as sheer fabric; when dog men didn't give me many interesting thoughts; and when the Gods and Goddesses stayed secured between the pages of books.

A/N: So one more link in the chain is broken. That leaves just one more and the entire curse will fall. Inu definitely needs a break. He's had a lot to put up with this time around. Thank goodness for patient people like him and Chris. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. We are approaching the end of the curse, although there is a bit to go before that. Please R and R and as always I remain Acta!