I just wanted to tell you that reading all of your character analyses has made it a lot easier to adjust to college life because it makes me happy when I'm feeling lonely. I love Fruits Basket so much and it's really nice to read more about the characters from the perspective of someone who has a wonderful grasp of their thoughts and motivations. I want to know everything you have to say about Shigure and Yuki's dynamic, especially around the time Shigure took him in. Keep up the good work!
/ UM ??? HELLO ???? YOU ARE SO KIND !!!! Thank you so much for saying such kind words, and I am elated that my little ramblings could help you through something as trying as adjusting to college life!!!
Yuki and Gure’s dynamic is one that I’ve talked about a lot and one that is so important to me. I could link some previous posts but at this point, after archiving I cannot tell if the posts are on my Yuki blog or here on Gure .... so I guess I’ll just TL;DR
A lot of my thoughts and feelings are shared with and better articulated by my dear friend who has been writing a YukiKyo fic with this really great Shigure pov chapter that is a pretty in depth look at this dynamic specifically! (plugplugplug I guess). I have to give credit where credit is due, because her headcanons are 2 good.
ANYWAY, it was undoubtedly incredibly awkward for the two of them when Yuki first moved in. Yuki and Shigure barely knew each other. Interestingly enough, the three closest people to Shigure, Ayame, Hatori, and Akito all have such distinct relationships with Yuki. The younger brother, a huge source of regret, and of course the God’s favorite little zodiac. Shigure really only would have been able to see Yuki through their eyes until getting to know the rat himself. Yuki likely shared a similar indifference about the dog --- he’s his brother’s and Hatori’s best friend, and he would often see him with Akito. So needless to say, Shigure and Yuki weren’t close.
By the time Yuki moves in with Gure in canon, Shigure has already been living in his house off the estate and I have the mightiest gut feeling that Haru asking for Yuki to live with him was the greatest opportunity that he could have been granted, because now he could take the rat away from God, too. So like ... I’m not saying that Gure deciding to let Yuki live with him was a completely selfish gesture but I’m just saying ... he got something out of it other than a new, awkward housemate. And, like I said, I think it was a good while before they were comfortable around each other. It’s easy to see Yuki keeping to himself and barely leaving his bedroom, or if he ever did, managing to do so when Shigure was too busy to spot him.
What broke the ice was most likely the fact that Yuki could live how he wanted to with Shigure. He wasn’t being coddled or treated like some porcelain trophy child, he was staying up late in his trashed bedroom eating junk food. I’ve mentioned before entertaining the concept of an AU where Hatori basically pulls a Shishou and takes Yuki in himself (because I also adore their relationship & that is a separate topic altogether) but in all honesty Shigure was the perfect person for Yuki to live with. Yeah, Shigure is still a zodiac Sohma so it’s not like Yuki was completely out of the cage. But, Shigure was one of the few who doesn't fear Akito. He has such an independence about him when it comes to the zodiac’s relationship to God and Yuki needed that figure in his life. Someone who could revere Akito in a way that wasn’t this big scary monster sitting on a throne of entitlement. So, despite being in another Sohma home, there was an element of disconnect there under Shigure’s roof. Shigure is a very realistic guy who is arguably one of the most grounded characters in Fruits Basket. He wasn’t looking to coddle or smother Yuki as some newfound parental figure, he was just ... living with his housemate respectfully and treating him like an adult.
I probably could have phrased this better, but yeah. Shigure was the best possible person Yuki could have lived with before meeting Tohru Honda and learning how to spread his wings (or lil rat arms, I guess).
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