Even as Isuzu copes with her history of abuse in unhealthy, self-sacrificing ways, such as pushing herself to the point of physical collapse and pushing Haru away despite his wishes, she continues to search for a way to break the curse.
Haru, in turn, accepts and values Isuzu as a unique individual, and at the end of the manga defies Akito because of his love for her. Haru and Isuzu both struggle and sometimes hurt each other, but they face each other on a level playing field, challenging the power of the Zodiac curse over their lives. In this way, they represent the possibility of a successful romantic relationship for members of the Zodiac.
Sex is crucial to this dynamic, as sex for Haru and Isuzu is about intimacy, desire, and acceptance. This depiction of a sexual relationship with a balanced power dynamic has especially significant implications for Shigure and Akito, as they struggle to act on their genuine love for one another in the face of trauma, stubbornness, and fear.
When the curse breaks at the end of the manga, Akito can love Shigure and be loved by him in return because she is finally able to see Shigure as an equal rather than as a vessel for her own desire to be loved, which puts the two on level ground for the first time.
The dissolution of the curse also liberates Kureno from Akito and vice versa. Because the structure which so strictly defined their lives has been broken, Kureno is able to move away from the Sohma compound and make a life with someone of his own choosing. Shigure goes to speak with Akito in private, and what results is perhaps the steamiest scene in Fruits Basket we're still thinking about that tie removal before their kiss.
That the two of them have an intensely complicated love-hate relationship has been built up for a while now, but now viewers get the juicy details on just how vindictive and manipulative both the Dog and "God" are. It turns out Akito slept with Kureno to spite Shigure for sleeping with Akito's mom. Akito also banished Shigure from the main Sohma compound for this act of cheating, explaining why he, Yuki and Kyo have been living separately from the rest of the family.
Shigure has never been a trustworthy character, but this episode's dramatic reveals show just how twisted he can truly be. As a child and teenager, Ayame does not see the issues and problems of the people around him, he is remarkably self-centered a trait he eventually begins to grow out of and does not understand well the needs of others.
This also makes Akito dislike him and so a relationship does not form. One relationship I tend to think people often misread but one that is key to understanding Shigure and Akito, is the relationship between Kureno and Akito.
It is often inferred or believed that Kureno was not in love with Akito— I think that is a faulty interpretation of the text. I think that Kureno was, like Shigure, in love with Akito as a child. He found her endearing and wanted to spoil her, though unlike Shigure he is not nearly as possessive or manipulative. Not only does he stay, but he absolutely dedicates his life to her in a way no other Zodiac member does.
One does not do that without love; though not necessarily a healthy love. Kureno also sleeps with Akito. They have an ongoing, sexual relationship. Mind you, Akito is anyway between five and six years younger than Kureno and seven to eight years younger than Shigure. I sincerely doubt her first sexual experience, as a young girl who has been raised away from feminine ideals, was initiated by her.
With Shigure also being known for his promiscuity, it is likely he initiated a sexual relationship with Akito. That being said, Akito uses sex as a way to keep Kureno complacent as her companion. Shigure has a very complicated relationship with Akito. He first fell in love with her before she was even born through a dream he had foretelling her conception when he was around 5 or 6 years old.
He, along with Hatori and Ayame, went to greet her with tears running down their cheeks. Although Hatori and Ayame never felt more than brotherly affection for Akito, Shigure's feelings grew past that. He confessed his feelings for her when they were both still children, and according to Akito was very kind and gentle to her. Yuki remembers seeing Shigure comforting a crying Akito in his arms many times when he was small.
When years later, Akito sleeps with Kureno as a way to keep Kureno close to her through a physical bond because the zodiac bond Is no longer there, a jilted Shigure slept with her mother, Ren, as revenge, knowing that that would hurt her more than anything, which lead to the heartbroken Akito furiously expelling Shigure from the main house.
Shigure left the main house without protest and was deeply embittered by the event, he later makes in different moments clear his bitterness at the fact that, to his eyes, Akito had chosen Kureno Instead of him. Shigure's feelings for Akito are a mixture of intense affection and hatred, unable to let go of his love for her and continuing to endeavor to save her and have her to himself by breaking the curse so as to free Akito from the burden of having to be the God, all his actions geared towards this goal, but treating her very coldly, no longer coddling her when she was feeling down and antagonizing her without hesitation whenever she shows anger towards him, so much so that both Hatori and Kureno are unnerved by how he treats her compared to when they were children, Hatori stating that it looked as if Shigure hated Akito and Kureno begging Shigure to treat Akito more kindly, which naturally only made Akito more bitter and angry towards him, but Shigure purposefully acted so unsympathetically in order to harshly show Akito the truth and pull her out of her delusions, wishing to save her through the blunt truth.
Shigure explains to Hatori that he doesn't use nor will use him and Kureno's methods to treat Akito because he doesn't want to paternalise her. This is also done in order to not be seen as if he was mimicking Akira Sohma, as he tells Hatori "[he doesn't] want to become Akito's father".
This has a double meaning: aside from wanting Akito to see him as a man, he also does not want to play the role Akito's father Akira played in her life, telling her over and over how special she is and that the zodiac live to love her, ultimately isolating her from the outside world in the same way the original God from the myth himself lived, willingly isolated from the world with only the zodiac to keep him company.
Shigure recalling his words to Kureno explaining his deep and passionate mixed feelings for Akito. It was also later on revealed that his detached attitude was also out of the emotional hurt he felt over their past, to where he even stated that had he not remained calm, he would have exploded on Akito and he also didn't want to believe that she was finally his until it was really true, unwilling to feel the same pain he felt when Akito slept with Kureno.
As he says to Kureno, "Don't get me wrong. I love Akito. I love her too much. So much that I want to spoil her rotten. So much that I want to crush her to a pulp. Shigure states that he'll continue to pursue his goals even if it ends up hurting others along the way. Shigure himself states he doesn't care how many people that has to be hurt for him to achieve his goals. However, like with the other zodiacs, meeting Tohru has changed Shigure and it reflects itself on his views on his relationship with Akito.
He begins to see that while being a member of the zodiac has never bothered or held him back the way it has the other members, he feels that he may be the most cursed of all the zodiac animals because of the strong obsession he feels for Akito that has driven him since day one.
Although remaining as detached and cold as ever around her, Tohru's influence has allowed him to start showing her more kindness: In chapter , Shigure coldly and bitterly reminds Akito that she had slept with Kureno first so he slept with Ren out of revenge and when Akito quickly rejects the blame and rails that as the god of the zodiac she has the right to do as she pleases, he looks coldly furious and is about to leave but when Akito kisses him to stop him from leaving he immediately softens and holds her.
Although their history drew a wedge between them, he can't resist the pull he feels to her. Shigure gives Akito the chance to reject him and run away from their obsessive love but warns her that if she returns to him he will not let her go.
After hurting each other out of fear and jealousy for years, Shigure and Akito finally confess their feelings and commit to a new life together. When the curse is broken and Shigure gets his wish, Shigure has finally changed and learned fully from the entire endeavor to where he even states he would have let Akito go if she doesn't want him. With Akito having decided to try to atone for her sins, they reconcile though at least once she does throw a tantrum on him that resembles her old ones , and Akito decides to fully take on her responsibility as the head of the Sohma family.
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