Eternal Bonds: A Fruits Basket story

The Cat and the Serpent Bearer

It was another beautiful day. The sun was out, the leaves were turning, and the wind was slightly blowing leaving a chill in the autumn air. However, while it may have been a beautiful day, the Sohma Estate however, was in a moment of dreariness. Victoria felt that dreariness settle over her skin as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She never thought she would see herself in a black dress again ever since her mother passed when she was young. It always made her feel uncomfortable. She tied her hair into a messy low bun since her hair was quite short now, and placed the small strands of hair around her face behind her hair. That was short-lasted as they quickly came back to the side of her face. She let out a huff as she decided to not worry about it.
"For the record, I think I did a pretty good job putting you together."
Victoria turned around to see Alana, the holder of the twins spirit Gemini, staring at Victoria with a proud smirk on her face. "That you did. I just wish it was for a different occasion."
"Remind me again what you're doing?"
"Well, you know that Kyo's mom passed away recently, and her funeral's today. As the leaders of the Elsher Family, Rory and I are going to pay our respects." Victoria replied. She placed her hand on her chin in thought. "I didn't know the woman that well, but from what I saw, she seemed nice. It truly is a shame."
"Kyo? You mean the vessel for the cat spirit?"
Victoria could hear the disgust in Alana's voice. She walked over to Alana and placed a hand on her shoulder. "He may have the cat spirit dwelling inside him, but remember he is still a human being like the rest of us. He didn't ask to be possessed by the cat. Remember that." If there was one thing she hated most, it was that the others treated Kyo like he was some monster. They alienated him and it broke Victoria's heart. She had only met him a few times, and she was one of few who would go around him. She pitied the boy, greatly.
Before the two girls could say anything else, a knock sounded at the door. After a few seconds, it opened to reveal Rory on the other side. He was wearing a dark suit with his hair neatly combed back.
"Hey, are you ready to go," he asked.
Victoria nodded and grabbed her purse before heading out the door with Rory.
"Tell the others we'll be back in a few hours!" Rory called out to Alana.
"I will!"
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Kyo hated this. He wanted to run away. He sat in the tree looking up at the sun as it peaked in the sky. He needed to be alone right now. He couldn't stand to listen to people whisper about him any longer; whispers of him being blamed for his mother's death. He still heard them repeating in his head. He gritted his teeth in anger as he clenched his fist on his lap.
"Shut up!!! I didn't do it!! It's not my fault!! It's not my fault!!" Kyo shouted into the air.
"What's not your fault?"
Kyo's eyes widened as he looked down towards the bottom of the tree where the voice came from. Standing at the bottom of the tree with a confused look was a girl who looked about his age. What stood out to him was her pink hair pulled back in a messy ponytail.
"You just said that it wasn't your fault. What wasn't your fault," she asked.
"It's none of your business!!!"
"Ouch. That's hurtful." The girl began to climb the tree towards Kyo. Once she got up to him, she sat down on the branch next to him. "Did you do something wrong?"
Kyo was confused. Why is she so curious? He looked down at his hands as he replied, "Yeah. I guess I did."
"And what is that?"
He clenched his fists. "I was born." Anger crawled into his voice. "My mother is gone now. And my dad is blaming me for it. He keeps saying that I killed her. I'm used to it though. He's always hated me since I was born. And it's because I have the spirit of the cat." He turned his head away from her slightly. "Now that you know that, you should probably go away too."
The girl's eyes widened at his story. It almost felt...familiar to her. She reached out her hand and placed it on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, truly. In fact, I kind of understand how you feel."
Kyo looked at the girl skeptically. She knew how he felt? How?
"My name is Evelyn. Evelyn Elsher. You see, I'm possessed by the spirit of Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer." Evelyn revealed.
Kyo's eyes widened at her statement. This girl sitting beside him had a spirit just like him. She was an outsider too. "I'm Kyo," he greeted.
Evelyn smiled. "Nice to meet you, Kyo. You know what? The Zodiac Legend says that the cat and Ophiuchus were pretty close, and you and I met today, so, maybe this wasn't a coincidence that I happened to be walking by while you were sitting miserably in this tree."
Kyo felt a tick mark appear on his forehead after she said he was miserable in this tree. He kind of was, but the way she said it annoyed him.
"Hey, Kyo?"
He looked over at Evelyn as she had a small smile on her face.
"What do you say that we stick together? I mean, if our spirits were friends, who's to say that we can be friends?"
Kyo stayed silent at her proposal. He had never had any friends before and this girl sitting next to him was wanting to become his friend. Just how strange is she?
"There you are, Evelyn! I heard that you were hanging around here."
The two kids looked down to see Victoria standing at the bottom of the tree waving at them.
"Oh hey, Victoria!" Evelyn waved.
Victoria noticed that Kyo was sitting in the tree beside her. "Hello, Kyo," she greeted with a kind smile. "It's good to see you again. Also, Kazuma is looking for you."
The two of them began to climb out of the tree and landed beside the woman.
"Come on, Evelyn. Rory's waiting in the car. We'll give you a ride." Victoria said walking away.
"Ok," she replied beginning to walk away. "It was nice to meet you, Kyo. I'll see you later." Evelyn waved and left with Victoria.
Kyo stood there in shock as he stared at the spot where Evelyn was. He felt something foreign tug at his chest as he watched her leave. It felt like he didn't want her to leave. He wanted her to stay and keep talking to her. Is this what having a friend is like?
"There you are, Kyo."
Kyo looked up to see Kazuma standing at the gate. Kazuma met Kyo at the funeral and promised to take him in when his father abandoned him.
"Are you ready to go," asked Kazuma.
Kyo nodded and began to walk with Kazuma. As they were walking, Kazuma noticed the boy was acting strange.
"Is everything alright?" Kazuma asked.
Kyo looked up at him. "Yeah. It's just I met a girl earlier."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Her name was Evelyn. She wanted to be my friend. So strange." Kyo muttered turning away from the man.
"Oh. I know of Evelyn. She's a sweet girl." Kazuma looked down at Kyo and noticed the small smile etched on the boy's face. He let a soft smile form on his face as he looked ahead. Maybe this girl will be good for Kyo. I have a feeling.

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Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have been waiting to write this chapter for such a long time. I absolutely loved creating Evelyn and her relationship with Kyo. The two have a lot in common considering they are both outsiders of the zodiac wheels. I have so many plans for these two and I can't wait to share them with you. Love you guys and I'll see you next Monday!!!