*****
"Unspoken"
a Fruits Basket fragment by Ysabet MacFarlane <ba087@chebucto.ns.ca>
original release date September 4, 2005

Contains spoilers for chapter 114.
*****

Isuzu's eyes are dark and unfocused the first time Kagura sees her after being
told that the younger girl will be sharing her home permanently.  They've seen
each other through the window of Kazuma's house over the last few weeks, as
Kagura goes to and from her karate lessons, but there was never time to stop to
talk to a cousin she barely knew.  And now Isuzu stands in the doorway, long
hair loose to her elbows, showing no sign of interest in her new surroundings.

She stays in her room for the first week, and Kagura watches her mother set
aside a tray of food at every meal.  "Why doesn't Isuzu eat with us?"

"She's afraid, Kagura."

The words make no sense.  The house is safe, on the outskirts of the Main House;
sunlight pours in through all the windows, obscuring the family's darkness.  The
whispers have been there all her life, but Kagura has learned to tune them out. 
Even the mystery of the Cat has been buried in her heart; from time to time she
touches it lightly, remembering, but Kyo is different than they are.

She remembers that Isuzu has come from living with Kyo and Kazuma, and wonders
if the other girl has any idea of their family's secrets.

"I'm just glad she's eating," her mother is saying, and Kagura nods unthinking
agreement.

Three days later, as she walks down the hallway, Isuzu's door is open and there
are voices inside.

"I'm not hungry today."

"Let me know if you change your mind."

Kagura stops and looks in.  Isuzu sits by the window, staring out at the first
hint of sunset on the horizon, holding a robe around herself as if it were
winter.  She doesn't look up at Kagura's mother, who is nodding and turning away
with an untouched tray of food in her hands.  Kagura looks at her mother's
weariness and Isuzu's indifference, and her temper flares as she enters the
room.

"At least say 'thank you'," she says.  Isuzu ignores her, eyes fixed on the
sky's shifting color.  Kagura ducks past her mother's cautioning hand and
touches the other girl's shoulder.  "Hey--"

"Kagura, don't--" her mother begins, but Isuzu has turned from the window,
wide-eyed and silent.  She tugs against Kagura's grip, and the robe slips a
little.  Kagura tightens her hand, and Isuzu pulls harder.  "Kagura!"  Her
mother has her by the arm, tray forgotten on the floor, and Kagura twists away,
her free hand clenching for balance.

Isuzu makes a horrible sound like a crushed scream and wrenches loose; Kagura
turns to look at her, the edge of the robe sliding out her hand.  Her cousin is
pressed back against the wall, shaking too violently to secure the robe. 
Neither the fabric nor her hair are enough to cover the bandages around her
ribs; in the soft golden light, her arms and face gleam, but the uncovered skin
above and below the bandages is mottled with old bruises.  Kagura gapes, her
mother's restraining hand forgotten, and watches Isuzu's head shake back and
forth, soundless words spilling from her lips as she stares at Kagura's
still-clenched fist.

They are still staring at each other when Kagura's mother propels her out of the
room.  Another week passes before Isuzu ventures out for longer than it takes to
bathe, and when they meet in the hall Kagura wants to apologize, but Isuzu's
eyes are blank and forbidding.

"She's afraid," her mother says again, kissing her goodnight, and Kagura closes
her eyes and tries not to think of what causes bruises that last for a month.

***

It is almost nine years later when Kagura finally does apologize--nine years of
the family's murmurs about Isuzu's repeated hospitalizations, of Isuzu's eyes
hardening with icy anger.  Enough time for Kagura to almost forget the sick
terror in her cousin's choked-off voice, a whimper lost under years of shouting
and frigid silences.

She remembers it when Tohru crumples.  Isuzu is screaming, her eyes distorted
with irrational rage as her hands close on Kagura's shirt, and they touch each
other for the first time in . . . Kagura can't remember.  She barely hears the
words Isuzu is shrieking at her, too caught up in the memory of a swallowed cry
of fear.

Isuzu falls silent when Kagura hugs her, stiffening with surprise; Kagura closes
her eyes to take in the feel of her cousin's rigid body--so often on display, so
rarely touched.  A startled indrawn breath pushes Isuzu's shoulderblade and the
vicious edge of her scar against Kagura's hand; her body is as insubstantial as
a kitten.

Kagura whispers into the silence left by the screaming.  "I'm sorry."  And for a
moment Isuzu goes limp in her arms.

[fin]

*****

Fruits Basket is the creation of Takaya Natsuki, and is licensed in North
America by FUNimation (anime) and Tokyopop (manga).  Used without permission or
the intention of making a profit.  Please support the original work!

"Unspoken" © 2005 by Ysabet MacFarlane (ba087@chebucto.ns.ca).

Comments and criticism welcomed at the above address.

This story may be reproduced and archived so long as the original text is
preserved and the author's name and contact information remain attached. 
Notifying the author of any such use is an appreciated courtesy.  NO CHANGES OF
ANY KIND ARE PERMITTED.