Kyo Sohma

Kyo Sohma
Fruits Basket character
Kyo as he appears in the anime with two cats on his shoulders.
Created by	Natsuki Takaya
Voiced by	Tomokazu Seki (Japanese) Kyosuke Ikeda (child) (Japanese) Jerry Jewell (English) Avery Rice-Williams (child) (English)
Profile
Relatives	Tohru Honda (wife) Kyoko Honda (mother-in-law) Katsuya Honda (father-in-law) Tohru's Grandfather (grandfather-in-law) Kazuma Sohma (adoptive father) Saki Hanajima (adoptive mother) Hajime Sohma (son) Unnamed daughter-in-law Granddaughter Great-grandfather (Kazuma's grandfather)
Zodiac spirit	Cat

Kyo Sohma (草摩 夾, Sōma Kyo^?) is a character in the manga and anime series Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya. He transforms into an orange cat whenever he is hugged by a person of the opposite gender or when his body comes under a great deal of stress. This animal is not in the Chinese zodiac, but legend says would have been if it had not been tricked by the Rat into missing the induction feast. Also, this could be and probably is why he and Yuki (the Rat) do not get along very well. As part of his curse, Kyo transforms into a "monster", resembling a reptilian creature, whenever his Juzu beads bracelet are taken off.

Kyo is usually short-tempered, impulsive, and rude, but that is only one side to this complex character. He doesn't like to show his feelings and is very protective of those he cares for. He is also sometimes called "Kyon Kyon" (by classmates in episode three of the anime, which makes him angry) (Shigure Sohma and Ayame Sohma enjoy teasing him.) He also appears to have a strong dislike for leeks, the smell and taste make him feel sick.

According to Natsuki Takaya, when she was developing the series, he is 15 years of age, Kyo was one of the first three characters she developed and was "based on a real person who really transformed into a cat and had to wear a bracelet or would turn into a monster...without any hesitation." She has also stated she deliberately gave Yuki and Kyo different tastes in clothing to distinguish them. Kyo's clothes are always open-collared or loose because he hates having the tightness around his neck (like cats hate wearing collars). Kyo was made as a person with anger issues to give the story a little comedy. In mostly every episode he loses his temper, and always fights with Yuki, but always fails. Although the author claimed no names in Fruits Basket other than the 12 canonical zodiac members have any significance, the Japanese word kyō has several meanings that apply to Kyo Sohma. The kanji used to write his name (夾) means "insert between"; other meanings of kyō, written with other kanji, include "ill fortune" (凶^?), reflecting the Sohma's attitudes toward the cat, "ginger" (姜^?), referring to his hair, and "turmoil" (匈^?) relating to his conflicts within himself and with others. However, Kyo is very popular with girls. In the 13th book, a girl asks him out. He is considered to be very attractive, however he is extremely reluctant to form any sort of relationship for fear of harming others. Kyo is also very mean but at sometimes he can be very nice to Tohru and control his temper. Kyo learns more about Tohru and discovers that he really loves her a lot and that Tohru's been the one who Kyo needs most. In episode 26 the very last thing Kyo asks is, "How are you the one who can be by my side crying for me? How could you give me the words I've been wanting?" Kyo is very kind in ways, except with Yuki, who he always fights, though they eventually come to a truce.