IT BLOSSOMS, hatori sohma [Fruits Basket]

Chapter Twenty Five

As Ryu hurriedly dressed herself, her frustration spilled out in muttered curses. She acknowledged the blame lying entirely on her own shoulders. In her inattentive state while jogging, she had neglected to pay mind to her surroundings and, unsurprisingly, collided with another runner.

Thankfully, Kyo's presence had spared her from dealing with the aftermath with the male runner alone.

When transformed into her cursed form, she didn't have the luxury of easily evading prying gazes like some of the others. Fortunately, Kyo had intervened, diverting the runner's attention to allow her some privacy in reverting back to her human form.

Ryu grumbled as she finished zipping up her jacket, "You know, I sometimes wonder how the hell does Hatori manage it?"

"What do you mean?" Kyo inquired, pushing himself off the tree and approaching her now that she had zipped up her jacket, taking it as a signal that they were in the clear.

Ryu clarified her earlier statement, "I meant, he visits the Sohma hospital, right? And while the facility is exclusive to the family, there are still risks of younger ones, admitted patients, encountering him—or even adults or teens."

Kyo looked at her, a contemplative expression on his face as he listened to her ramblings.

Ryu sighed, "Look, I'm just saying, you can't tell me not a single soul ever runs into him."

Kyo's smirk widened as he responded, "Well, Hatori is no one like you. He's always mindful of his surroundings, so I doubt he has to deal with this kind of situation."

Ryu retorted, "I get your point, but let's face it, the odds are still there. It's not as if it's entirely unavoidable."

"Well, to be honest, I wouldn't know either, since I've never personally witnessed Hatori transformed," Kyo admitted.

Ryu's eyes widened in surprise, exclaiming, "Really? Never?"

Kyo replied with a shake of his head, "You make it sound like the others frequently transform. It doesn't happen as much as you might think."

"Right, so you, Shigure, and Yuki are just the odd ones out who make transforming a common occurrence." Ryu teased, her grin widening, "I mean, I could probably count on both hands the number of times you guys have transformed."

Kyo chuckled, referring to the various occasions, "Well, sometimes, it was unavoidable. Like bumping into Tohru, or that one time when all of us got sick."

Ryu chuckled and patted his back, then walked ahead," Again, thank you for quite literally saving my ass this time. You know, I swear I almost saw the light—that guy almost stepped right onto me!"

Kyo contemplated for a moment before posing a question, "When you... transformed in the past, how did you handle it?"

Ryu paused her step and stayed silent for a moment, fixing him with a serious expression. She eventually turned to face him, her voice carrying a tinge of melancholy as she spoke.

"There was a time when I didn't transform," she confessed, her gaze fixed on the ground.

Kyo furrowed his brow, genuinely taken aback by her words, questioning incredulously, "What? Why?"

Ryu continued her narration, her voice filled with a mixture of reflection and disbelief.

"It wasn't until I moved into Kazuma's friend's house and encountered his son bumping into me that I realized I hadn't transformed," she reminisced.

"Initially, I thought it was a fluke, perhaps a stroke of fortune. But then, when an elderly male farmer nearly stumbled while tending to the rice paddies, I instinctively stretched out my hand to catch him without even thinking about it."

Ryu's head tilted upward as she recounted her memories, her words laced with hope and regret.

"Again, I didn't transform, so I thought maybe, just maybe, I had been freed from the curse," she explained.

"However, once Himawari was able to walk and feed herself around the age of four, I fell ill again, and the transformation returned."

Kyo unknowingly stepped closer to her, his voice laced with urgency as he inquired, "So, it stopped for a brief moment before returning. Did you do anything specifically that caused the temporary suppression?"

There was a tinge of apology in Ryu's voice as she addressed Kyo, her head bowed down.

"I am sorry, Kyo. I didn't want to tell you about this because I didn't want you to have false hope."

Kyo's immediate reaction was a step back, a flicker of offense registering in his eyes. But as he watched her body language, his irritation subsided, replaced by a mix of understanding and resignation.

Ryu's voice held a resigned note as she spoke, her eyes lacking their usual spark but her lips pressed into a tight line.

"In the end, I'm not a Sohma bound by the curse of the zodiac. So, even if I did do something, the chances of it being meaningful are pretty slim."

She met Kyo's gaze, her eyes dull but determined. She continued with a note of regret, "I'm sorry, Kyo. I can't offer you any answers until I figure out why I'm even cursed in the first place."

Kyo grumbled and dismissively waved his hand, trying to downplay the situation, "Alright, alright, just stop stressing about it, okay?"

Before Ryu could say anything else, Kyo cut her off and continued walking, "It's fine, let's just forget about it and get back to running, cool?"

Ryu nodded silently and followed behind him.

The conversation fell silent, but the impact of the information shared couldn't be ignored. A subtle shift took place, creating a small distance between them. Despite the attempt to move past it, the new information had left its mark, planting a seed of doubt.

The silence lingered as they continued their run, each lost in their own thoughts about the implications of what had been discussed.

Ryu kept her worry and guilt hidden, but her thoughts were consumed by them. Her desire to find answers about her own predicament was coupled with the hope that she might be able to offer some help to the cursed Sohmas, although right now, she was left without any substantial information to provide.

The years when she hadn't transformed were undoubtedly the most nerve-wracking for her. Despite a lingering doubt that the curse had lifted, she lived in constant fear of suddenly transforming in front of people she knew.

Despite having the ability to erase the memories of those who witnessed her transformation, Ryu had refrained from using it since the encounter with Hatori, Ayame, and Shigure.

She was fortunate that the curse had yet to manifest in such a way, sparing her from having to make such a difficult decision again. The recent incident served as a stark reminder of the reality of her situation.

The truth was undeniable—she couldn't hide from her fate forever. The weight of her abilities and the path she was on loomed over her, inescapable and ever-present.