This week Kyo gets up on the wrong side of the bed. At Shigure’s suggestion that he take the opportunity to get to know Yuki a bit better on their date (a double date between Kyo and Kagura, Yuki and Tohru, not the two boys! That’d be quite the development, huh?) he completely flips his lid. Tohru must intervene for him to regain his composure. Meanwhile, while the quartet are out and about on their date, Shigure pays the Sohma compound another visit. During a conversation that takes place between him and Hatori, Shigure reflects on a dream that he once had. He says that he doesn’t care who he has to hurt to make this dream a reality. Firstly, why would Kyo get quite so upset at the suggestion that he try to get along with Yuki? And, secondly, what is the exact nature of Shigure’s dream? And what would it mean for the other characters were it to be realised? Since this episode never explicitly answers these questions, now’s as good a time as any to churn out some wacky fan theories!
You can see why Kyo would be less than thrilled to go on that double date… Not only does he have to be on his guard against Kagura’s advances attacks, but he also has to rub shoulders with his sworn enemy for the duration of their outing! Kyo’s hatred of Yuki is by no means a secret… If it were, it’d be the world’s worst kept secret! The two can’t even be civil towards each other… His dislike of Yuki runs so deep that, during this week’s episode, Tohru, our plucky, persistent Tohru, finally gives up on wishing that they’d get along, even going so far as to tell Kyo that she would understand if he just has to hate Yuki. But why would Kyo have to hate Yuki? I’ve already touched upon his jealousy towards Yuki during a previous post (which I’d encourage you to check out if you haven’t already). It makes sense that Kyo would continue to be jealous of Yuki for as long as his ostracisation at the hands of the other Sohmas continues (just the other episode he was excluded from the Sohma’s special New Year’s banquet). But could there be another reason for his dislike of Yuki?
Given that I’ve (still) not finished the Furuba manga, this is merely speculation, but were Kyo to get to know Yuki and find that, actually, he’s not so bad after all (as Shigure speculates), he would have to admit that he’d been wrong about Yuki all along. And I don’t think his pride would allow that! Not only that, but he’d also lose the only outlet that he has for his anger. This could be the thing that he’s so “desperately protecting”, as Tohru put it. His ostracisation aside, Kyo has plenty of reasons to be angry at the world (all of which will come tumbling out in due course). If not for his outbursts at Yuki, where else would he direct that anger? Towards whoever’s unlucky enough to be around him when he loses it? Like Tohru? I’m sure that the thought of that must scare the poor boy half to death!
10 episodes in and Shigure continues to be an enigma… Heck, I’m over halfway through the manga and I still don’t know what he’s up to! But I can certainly make a good stab at it! We know that there’s something Shigure wants to achieve, a dream that he wants realised. And we know, from what he himself said this episode, that it involves love. Maybe it’s a relationship that he wants to see come to fruition? A relationship that cannot be as things currently stand? This seems likely given that 1) we know that Hatori and another person called A-ya also shared this dream, 2) it was something that turned “painful” for them later on, and 3) in keeping with the above points, Hatori’s relationship with Kana tragically fell apart, because of Akito’s interference, causing them both immense pain. We also know that Shigure is prepared to use, even to hurt, anybody if it means achieving that dream. Who do I think he could be referring to here? Akito and Tohru. Akito is the one person standing between the Sohmas and finding love, happiness, and independence, therefore, it seems likely that Shigure will continue to pit Tohru, who’s like a vaccine against his insidious evil, against him, even if it puts her in danger. And the intimacy that he shares with Akito is probably just a ploy to get close to him, earn his trust, and learn what his weaknesses are. That’s what I think, anyway… At any rate, Shigure is one complex and fascinating character!
Thanks for joining me again this week! Tell me, what do you think Shigure’s up to? How do your theories compare to mine? I look forward to hearing from you!
Watashi Wa Bucho!! 