Fruits Basket Kyo x Reader 2

Chapter 15

Katsuo had decided to stay with the tree spirit, whom he affectionately called Pine. Of course, that involved suicide, but he did eventually fade into the tree, along with her.

Pine had been on Earth for a long, long time. She had died right under where the tree would be, but of course, the tree wasn't there at the time of her death. But her spirit was. After she died, a hardy pine tree sprung up, allowing her to bind her spirit to it.

Pine wasn't her name originally. But, as she explained to Katsuo, "I had been dead for so long that I forgot it." When Katsuo met her for the first time, he called her Pine, and she thought that was good enough for a name.

Eventually, the Kinoshita family stopped searching for Katsuo. He became a memory, a story, a fairytale to tell children. A lesson.

Then, disaster struck the Kinoshita family. A feud broke out between families that evolved into a full-on war, involving militia and death. They were enslaved by other clans, forcing them to change their name, remarry, and lose all of their wealth.

The last Kinoshita remaining was Katsuo, and he wasn't even alive. He was deeply saddened by this. No matter how much he hated living with the Kinoshita family, he never would have wished death upon them. They were of his blood. Blood was very important back then.

But he remained, watching the mansions and castles fall into a state of abandon.

One night, a visitor approached the main mansion – Katsuo's old home. Katsuo didn't like this. It was his home, and he didn't want it anymore wrecked than it was. He confronted the visitor in a rude manner.

"H-hey you! Go away!" I demanded, my translucent being catching her attention.

"So he DOES exist!" She drew closer, inspecting my spirit in a way that made me want to go hide. As if I were some circus animal.

"What?" I stepped back, surprised.

She chuckled, resting her index finger on her chin, like she was thinking. She had long hair, and I noticed that her attire was strange. A very long white dress. Part of it trailed in the back, but there were no dirt stains where it should have dragged across the dusty trail leading up to the mansion. She was very pretty, but a little 'too' pretty. Something you'd see in a drawing or painting. Surreal.

"The legends are true. A spirit really does reside in this forest. I was starting to think that I was being hoaxed. But now I'm here, and you're here." She nodded.

"Legends?"

"What my," she coughed. "colleagues told me. Aren't you a lonely spirit? You shouldn't be on Earth still."

I started to realize that this may not be a normal visitor. Regular people can't see me, though I try to get their attention. Some do have a special gift for it, but very few. I did. That's why I could see Pine when no one else could. I couldn't help but wonder.

Is she a spirit?

"Are you a spirit?" I asked.

"No, I'm sort of what they call a 'psychopomp'. A little different, though." She informed me.

A psychopomp, aren't those the people who guide dead people to heaven? I read about them once.

"I don't want to go anywhere. I want to stay here."

"Suit yourself, I can't make you go anywhere without your will. Nevertheless, may I ask why exactly are you here still? Obviously, you should have left with one of us long ago. What is holding you up here?" She asked, gesturing to the caved in mansion.

I scowled at her. She would never understand. I hated her already. She spoke to me in a sort of condescending voice, as if I were just a child. Maybe I am, to her. But I don't like to be treated like one. I've been existing for a long time now, I should treated with some respect.

"I... have such things I need to stay with." Truthfully, the mansion wasn't the biggest reason I was still here. Pine was. Her soul was so beautiful, I just couldn't stand to leave her. And she didn't want to leave here, where her beautiful, extensive tree was. She was the tree. Such a beautiful pine tree. I was sure it would last for years and years to come. A part of me wished others would visit and see how beautiful this pine tree is. The other wanted to keep her to myself.

"An example?" She asked. She was really getting nosy. I didn't want to tell her about Pine because I knew she would be on Pine's case too, about getting her to the right afterlife. Maybe even more than me, because she's been alive for so long. I needed to protect her from this nosy psychopomp.

Could this psychopomp make both of us leave? I didn't think she could force us, but she would really try.

"I need to make sure that nothing around here gets hurt more than it already is." I replied quietly. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth. I did want to make sure the mansion would not be knocked down, but Pine was first in my heart at all times.

"That's still important to you?" She crossed her arms and her eyebrows went up in surprise. "It's been so long. You must have an extremely loyal heart." I nodded, looking down.

"Very well, I can't compel you to anything. But when you're ready, one of us will be here to escort you," I sighed in relief; she was finally leaving.

"I have one warning of caution for you. No, actually, I have two. First, if you stay here too much longer, your energy as a life force, a spirit-- will begin to, shall I say, settle. It will be much harder to project yourself into your being as you are now. Since that energy has to go somewhere, since you can't just get rid of energy, it will begin to move into different beings, like animals. It's a curse. The curse of the being that is tired, the being that needs a resting place. Those animals will bind your kin's blood for as long as you stay here. Think hard about where you need to go when that happens, or if it happens. Only happens to some. That brings me to my next warning.

"It's not wise to lie to a psychopomp. We determine where you will rest for eternity. That being said, I can sense a spirit from a very long ways away. I know there is another spirit here, and I know that she is much, much older than you-- she will not help your situation if it rises to your attention. That is my final address to you, I am leaving. May luck be with all of your choices, spirit." Her visage began to fade into a shimmer that rose to the stars.

Am I going to leave a curse upon all those who have my blood? I refuse to believe it. I paced around for a long while, thinking. Then Pine's call led me to the forest again, just like it always had. I wasn't going to think about her warnings again.

A/N; It's short, it's been forever and the writing is horrible--An autobiography of me. Sorry, this chapter took forever because the plot is so complex in my mind now. Hopefully, you can all forgive me. Bai.