Fruits Basket- The Zodiac Demon

The Truth is Out

Tohru coughed as the smoke drifted around the room. She could barely see! The scuttling of claws on wood reached the girl's ears as well as the sound of the front door being slammed opened.

"What the hell?!" Kyo coughed.

"What in the world just happened?!" Yuki gasped.

Hatori and Shigure were standing looking out the door with disbelief written all over their faces.

"He really is her son, isn't he?" Shigure asked sadly.

Tohru stumbled to her feet and grabbed her shoes.

"Miss Honda, wait!"

"Tohru what are you-?!"

She was out the door and into the trees before another word was said. She ran, following the barely visible trail that she knew Ren had left. She had to find him. She had to make sure he was okay. After was while, Tohru stopped to try and catch her breath. The faint sound of crying reached her ears, making her walking in the direction of it. She passed the lake where she and Yuki had calmed Kyo down when his true form had been revealed, before coming to a halt in front of an iron fence.

"The Sohma family cemetery?" She read out loud.

The Sohma's had their own cemetery? It made sense now that Tohru thought about it.

"Please pardon the intrusion." She said quietly before walking through the open gate.

She could still here someone crying, and it sounded like it was coming from some where in the back row. When she reached it, Tohru saw what she couldn't believe. Ren was on his hands and knees in front of a gravestone with tears streaming down his face. He didn't seem to notice her yet.

"I-I couldn't do it. I can't! I don't want to be a Tsukino anymore!" He cried.

Tohru looked at the name on the gravestone. Hayami Sohma it read.

But why would Ren be here, crying over a gravestone for a Sohma? Shigure told me that the Tsukino family and the Sohma family bitterly hated each other. So why-

Then it clicked in her mind.

"Your mother was a Sohma, wasn't she?" Tohru asked quietly.

Ren didn't look up at her.

"Yes. Yes, she was. Hayami Sohma was my mother and Akira Tsukino is my father. I'm living proof that hatred can be beaten by love. However, it also marked me as a halfbreed in the eyes of my father's family. My father was taken away from us when I was four, and my mother died in a violent car accident a few years later. After that, I lived with the Tsukino family. And as hard as they tried to make me hate my mother and her side of the family, I just couldn't. It just wasn't in my nature. So, I masked my true emotions and went from school to school, repeatedly getting expelled for being violent and destructive. My grandfather wanted me to go to an all boys academy because I shared the Sohma family curse; only, my transformation depends on the girl who hugs me. If they're the year of the dog, I become a large, black wolf-like shepherd. If they're the year of the tiger, I become a full grown black one with dark markings. Whatever year the girl's Zodiac sign is, that's the animal I become."

Tohru covered her mouth in shock. So that was why, in all his time of being in her class, he never let any girl get anywhere near him.

"It's different for other members of the Zodiac, when I come in contact with them nothing happens."

"So.....what part of the Zodiac are you?" Tohru asked.

Ren's face grew dark.

"I'm the darkness of the Zodiac, the thing that is feared the most. The one creature in the story that all of the animals tremble in fear of. If you want to see a true monster, look no further than Ren Tsukino Sohma."

Tohru tilted her head a bit, confused. What did he mean, darkness of the Zodiac? She'd never heard of a being like that even roughly being mention in the story. It almost sounded like he was talking about a demon.

"Ren."

Tohru and Ren looked up to see Hatori standing not too far away.

"You really haven't changed, but you should get a haircut, Ren." Hatori said.

Tohru saw Ren smile.

"My mask never did work on you at all did it?"

Hatori had a small smile on his face. But a frown soon replaced it.

"Ren, where does your grandfather think you are right now?"

Ren looked at the ground.

"He knows I'm somewhere in this city, but he doesn't know my exact location. I managed to change a few things in his plans of where he was planning to send me."

A silence filled the air as Tohru looked from Ren to Hatori, waiting for the one of them to say something.

"Miss Honda, do you think anyone would mind if I stayed with you guys?" Ren asked meekly.

Tohru smiled.

"Of course, we have an extra room in the house that isn't being used. And please, just call me Tohru."

"Then, can you keep calling me Ren, please?"