Kyo's Mother

She is a minor character of the Fruits Basket series. She is the late mother of Kyo Sohma, who despite being a minor character, plays an important role in Kyo's and her husband's lives.

Appearance

A fair-skinned woman in her middle age, she had a pair of light brown eyes with a tired but calm look. She had straight, upper-back-length, brown hair with long bangs covering her right eye and framing her face. She was usually seen in simple clothes with light colors, such as long skirts and blouses.

Personality

She appeared to be a kind and overprotective mother towards Kyo. Despite Kyo being cursed by the Cat and being ostracized by the Sohma family and her husband for it, and despite suffering from mental illness and being very lonely— having no one to depend on or no one to help her— she took it in stride, showered Kyo in motherly love, and raised him the best she could, despite her fears of his true form.^[1]

Story Overview

History

At an unknown point, she married her husband and eventually gave birth to Kyo.

Due to Kyo being born as the Cat, she was very overprotective of him. Although she claimed to love him, she was, in fact, afraid of Kyo's true form, though she always tried to cover up this fact by displaying her motherly love. She always tried her best to raise him and encouraged herself by saying that he always turned back into a human no matter what he transformed into. After Kagura Sohma "accidentally" made Kyo turn into his true form, Kyo's mother very rarely let him out anymore and didn't let Kyo watch TV shows out of fear. According to Kyo, she would check that his Juzu Beads were intact dozens of times every day.^[2]

She was ostracized by the Sohma Family and verbally and emotionally abused by her husband for giving birth to Kyo and "ruining" his life. Eventually, the abuse she received along with the pressure of protecting Kyo, led to her committing suicide by jumping in front of a train.

Many people in the Sohma family blamed Kyo for her suicide, though it was later revealed that there were many factors that lead to her suicide, including her husband's abuse. Despite that, Kyo felt guilty about his mother's death and occasionally had nightmares about her.^[1][3]

Kyo later comes to realize the hardships she had to endure all on her own and sympathized with the loneliness she must have felt, but he also expresses that he wishes that she would keep living and keep trying for his sake. His mother is one of the reasons that Kyo decides to live on and never go to the Cat's Room.^[4]

Relationships

Unnamed Husband

It was initially implied that they had a loving relationship, as her husband was devastated by her death and couldn't forgive Kyo for apparently driving her to suicide. However, it is later revealed that she was verbally and emotionally abused by her husband over and over, often seeking comfort in Kyo during these moments. It is implied that she couldn't deal with her husband's abuse, so she committed suicide.^[4]

Kyo Sohma

She was mentioned to love Kyo more than anything else in the world. She was afraid of Kyo's true form, was overprotective, and didn't let him do much out of fear, but she still always tried her best for his sake nonetheless. She would cover up her fear for him by displaying motherly love, and she would often tell Kyo that she loved him, how he made her proud, wouldn't let anyone see him because "he is too cute", and that she would die for him if necessary.

Although Kyo mentions she didn't truly accept him, it is implied that she genuinely loved Kyo and was only afraid of his true form. They were both victims of her husband's abuse, and she often took comfort in Kyo during these moments. Eventually, the strain of being unable to protect Kyo led to her committing suicide.^[1][4]

Trivia

• Her name is never mentioned.

References

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