Fruits Basket ch.93

June 11, 2004 | 9 Comments

Attempted suicide! Feeling of abandonment! Horror! It seems this chapter almost has it all. And yet somehow the chapter still manages to tell a harrowing story that I think only Fruits Basket can do so well. It's amazing how one little drawing of a character in this manga is more than enough to describe the situation and feeling that the character feels at that time. Anyway, this particular chapter continues the story of Kyoko's life after Katsuya's death and it is finally confirmed that Kyoko has not always been the model mother that we've been lead to believe. The chapter also adds a rather new subplot, depending on how one looks at it. This means that it doesn't look as if the series is going to end anytime soon.

The chapter begins with a bunch of sentences which I think come from Kyoko's thought. She basically wonders why the night turns into day, why other people look happy, and why the TV forecasts tomorrow's weather. Kyoko even wondered why the world did not perish the day Katsuya died. In other words, she's bitter about her husband's death. Kyoko's luck was not getting any better because one day her father rang her to let her know that even if she comes back to his house with Tohru, she would not be welcomed at the house. Frustrated by the sudden turn of events, Kyoko fell deep into depression, starting to believe that no one is needed in this world and since Katsuya is not in her life anymore, she has no one that she needs and who needs her.

In her grief, Kyoko did not realise that she has completely neglected Tohru. Judging from the last chapter as well as this one, it seems that Tohru often had to take care of herself ever since her father's death because Kyoko hasn't had the time to pay attention to her own daughter. Tohru is often seen watching television on her own with blank eyes and observed her mother with sadness in her eyes. Despite all of these, Kyoko never seemed to be aware of the situation and continued to fall into her own downward spirals. One day she came to the conclusion that if she kills herself, she maybe able to see her husband again. So, she left the house in a hurry without even realising that she has left Tohru on her own inside the house.

Kyoko then walked over to a ledge, seemingly ready to throw herself off into the sea. Thankfully before she can commit the stupidity, she overheard a conversation between a mother and her daughter who were on their way to catch a train. Upon hearing their conversation, Kyoko immediately remembered that she hasn't been paying any attention to Tohru, let alone talk to her daughter back then. She also remembered that Tohru's grandpa has been visiting a lot lately, presumably to take care of Tohru whenever he has the chance. Horrified at the fact that she's completely neglected her daughter, Kyoko ran back to the house.

When she finally arrived at the house, she found Tohru sleeping in a sitting position near the front door. It is obvious that Tohru had been waiting for her mother to come home for a long time. Despite this, upon sensing her mother's presence, Tohru immediately opened her eyes and happily greeted her mother. Kyoko ended up sobbing and apologising profusely to Tohru while hugging her close and telling her daughter that she's sorry for making her waiting for so long. The chapter then shows Kyoko talking to Kyou about the above story so it seems the retelling of this story did come from Kyou's memory. Anyway, Kyoko tells Kyou that even if the world doesn't need her, she will continue living for the people who need her.

She then jokingly asks Kyou if he thinks Tohru is cute or not. Kyou, however, decides to ask Kyoko if she want to see Katsuya again. In response, Kyoko does not answer the question and instead smiles and tells Kyou that he and others will probably get lost trying to find their way many times and wonders if it'll also be a while before he can find the answers for himself. The scene then changes into a self-reflective mood on Kyou's part, who wonders if back then Kyoko told him all of those words because he was still a child or if it was because there are more to it. Kyou, for some reason, believes that the reason for his existence is to be despised by others and to hurt them as well and this is why both her mother and Kyoko died.

Kyou also believes that even though Kyoko smiled to him back then, she probably hate him now. Suddenly the scene shifts to what looks like Kyou's horrific nightmare. She finds Kyoko lying in a pool of blood and he then starts to see a her mother telling him that it was not his fault but there are a lot of bad things outside the house so he should always stay inside the house with her. Kyou then sees a zombie-looking Kyoko standing behind him telling him that she will never forgive him. Kyoko's words is then followed by his mother's words, telling him that she'll be waiting for him in death so Kyou should ensure that he'll come. She also adds that more horrible things will happen otherwise. Upon hearing this, Kyou finds Tohru laying on the ground in her own pool of blood.

This last imagery awakens him from his sleep. Kyou then goes out of his room and finds Tohru in the middle of a cooking session with Momiji and Yuki. Upon seeing Kyou emerging from his room, Momiji immediately greets him but is then surprised to see Kyou's face looking a bit pale. Tohru immediately worries that Kyou has actually got sick but Kyou assures her that he is okay and that he's just awaken from his sleep. Momiji immediately deduces that Kyou just had a nightmare and proceeds to ask him if that is true. Upon hearing this, Tohru happily tells Kyou that she hears that scary dreams will go away if he talks to other people about it. Because of this, she wonders what sort of dream did Kyou experienced.

When Kyou refuses to tell the nightmare, Yuki tries to force him to spit it out so that he doesn't put Tohru in a difficult position. Kyou angrily tells him that he's awake now so it doesn't matter anymore. While he's being quiet, however, he wonders if the nightmare came to him because he's being too confident of himself. So he tries to convince himself once again that Tohru can't possibly have feelings for him as well. He tells himself that even without the nightmare, he already know that he doesn't have the right to think about Tohru that way so he promises to himself that he'll try not to get more closer to Tohru. Just when he's thinking about this though, Tohru suddenly tells him that they'll be having hamburger steak this afternoon and proceeds to show him the cat-shaped steak that she's created. However, since Kyou is in a bad mood, she wonders if he prefers something lighter.

Kyou is caught of-guard by her comment and can only pat her on her head and tells her not to treat him as a patient because he's okay. Kyou then continues the effort to convince himself that Tohru can't possibly be interested in him and that he should forget his foolish thinking. Unknown to him though, once she's away from him, Tohru also sadly looks up to the sky while telling herself to forget about 'it' as well. She is then distracted from her brief disappointment by Kyou and Momiji's conversation about the heat (of the stove, presumably) being too high. As Tohru, Kyou, Momiji, and Yuki gathers around for lunch, there is a voice over from Kyoko telling Kyou that sometimes she has to lose her way once before she can find the answer. The chapter ends with discussions about Momiji and Haru's upcoming New Year's dance.

Impression:

I can't help but feeling really sorry for Tohru after reading this chapter. The expression on her face when she fell asleep while waiting for her mother to come home is really sad. Top that with the knowledge that if Kyoko had proceed with her plan to kill herself, Tohru will be waiting for days and never finding out why her mother never comes home. I don't know how she manages to keep smiling even when it's obvious that she feels sad and lonely. I think this is the part of Tohru's memory about her mother that she refuses to acknowledge. It seems to me that Tohru has always seen her mother as a saint while deep down she realises that there were times when her mother is very far from that description.

I am not sure where the author will go with the Kyoko, Tohru, and Kyou story. But it seems to me the story sort of build the relationship between Tohru and Kyou. Although if they end up being in a relationship, it looks like it'll be one that is filled with lots of obstacles and will likely join the ranks of angsty shoujo couple such as Sana and Akito (Kodomo no Omocha) or Miki and Yuu (Marmalade Boy). And in some ways, it already starts with Kyou thinking that Tohru can't possibly like someone like him while Tohru seem to think that Kyou can't possibly be interested in her. Then there is the fact that Kyou may have something to do with the death of Tohru's mother. And if that's not enough angst, the author will probably also toss in the part where Kyou is about to be imprisoned.

© memento 2003