Yuki Sohma/Relationships

This page contains the relationships of Yuki Sohma, including family, friends and others.

Family

Mother

Yuki’s abuse at the hands of his mother.

Yuki’s mother sold him off to Akito Sohma when he was young—a decision which lead to Yuki being abused by Akito for years. His mother holds little love for Yuki and only uses him as a tool for her own benefit and to achieve a higher status within the Sohma family. She was also physically abusive towards Yuki and never checked up on him when he was sick or was continually abused by Akito. Additionally, she refused to let Yuki’s words get to her and eventually let them die, which is why Yuki stopped putting his own emotions into words.

Even after moving out from the Sohma estate, his mother controls his life and make decisions about him without his own consent, which upsets Yuki greatly. However, as time goes on, Yuki is able to stand up to her and expresses that he will not let her interfere in his own life. He also admits to himself that he does not find her as intimidating as he did when he was a child. Even though Yuki used to view his mother as an antagonist at one point, he does not hold any hate towards her, since he does not like to blame his misfortune on other people. In fact, he is somewhat happy and surprised when when his mother tells him to not use his cell phone wastefully, thinking that it was the first time she said anything so motherly.

Ayame Sohma

Yuki was rejected by Ayame.

Yuki and his older brother, Ayame, have had a strained relationship ever since Yuki was young. Not only are they ten years apart, but because of Yuki’s poor health, he would often be separated from his family for long periods of time, to the point where Ayame almost forgot he had a younger brother. The rift between the two was cemented when a young Yuki tried to reach out to Ayame during the time he was being abused by Akito, but Ayame merely responded by pulling away. While Ayame deeply regrets this and wishes to reconcile with his younger brother, Yuki has shown downright hatred towards Ayame ever since then. He is usually annoyed at his antics and refuses to get to know him or let Ayame get to know him. Despite this, he seems to admire Ayame for the positive traits he himself lacks.

Ayame’s attempts to mend his relationship with Yuki.

With prompting from Tohru, Yuki attempts to learn more about his brother by visiting his store, which despite resulting in a large amount of disgust and shock from Yuki, gives the brothers time to be honest with each other, and Yuki realizes how much he can actually see himself in his brother. Ayame encourages Yuki by telling him that he is his own person and that only he can decide what he wants to do with his life. When Ayame interrupts Yuki’s parent-teacher conference with their domineering mother, he gives Yuki the confidence to reject his mother’s control. Even when their mother calls Ayame a “good for nothing”, Yuki defends him by saying that Ayame is a good brother. After this event, the relationship between the two improve greatly. Yuki, although he is still greatly annoyed by Ayame, begins to trust and rely on him more and tries to understand him better.

Machi Kuragi

“	Actually, I don’t care “how many” people would notice if I disappeared. If just “one person” noticed, that’s all I’d need. Having “one person” is an incredible thing. After all, it’s totally different than “zero.” I was happy then too. I was so happy, it was almost embarrassing. Out of all the people, she found me. Me alone. And now too, someone other than myself is thinking about me. She’s looking for me. That’s not something I’ll ever take for granted.	”
—Yuki about his relationship with Machi.

Yuki and Machi's first meeting.

Yuki initially viewed Machi as a weird person, though not to the same degree as Kakeru. However, as they continue interacting with one another, Yuki becomes curious about the things Machi normally thinks about, such as her favorite color and in which way she views the world around her. Yuki genuinely enjoys her company and invites her to events despite her introverted personality. They are also comfortable enough to quarrel in public over a simple thing as Machi turning Yuki’s maple leaf gift into a bookmark, though Yuki mentions that her stubbornness endears to him. Yuki becomes increasingly interested in her when he overhears her admitting that that despite him being labeled as a perfect prince and despite being surrounded by people, she does not see him as anything like that at all—she sees him as a very lonely person.

Yuki promises to make footprints in the snow with Machi.

Because they are fundamentally alike and Yuki can see himself in Machi, he is quick on the uptake that she has a lot of insecurities and self-hatred, and easily deduces that she is bothered by “perfection”. He also always tries to reach out to Machi with patience and understanding even though other people judge her for her destructive behavior. Furthermore, Yuki has shown that he understands her very well on many occasions; he promises to make footprints in the snow with her knowing about her hatred towards perfection and tendency to walk through newly-fallen snow, and he quietly breaks a piece of chalk and thus creates an imperfection in the room to make her comfortable. Aside from that, he understands trivial things about her without words; giving her Mogeta figurines knowing she likes them on two different occasions, and recognizing that Machi likes something if she lifts it up in the air. Because of this, Machi eventually develops feelings for Yuki.

Machi breaks down the door for Yuki.

It is proven that Machi understands Yuki as well, as she breaks down a door with a chair because she thought he would not like being trapped in a dark room. She also wears herself out running around the whole school just to say hi to him and give him a paper flower knowing that he was all alone. Yuki later mentions that he was used to being admired from afar and being idolized to such an extent that he felt lonely, so the fact that Machi always looked for no one else but him and always thought of him specifically, made him very happy.

Yuki and Machi share their first kiss after Yuki's curse broke.

Over time, Yuki and Machi learn more about each other and grow much closer, and Yuki eventually begins developing feelings for her. He mentions that her support has helped him many times. After finding a person who embraces both his weakness and kindness and who he can give to as much as he can receive from, Yuki expresses a desire to tell her the Sohma family's curse. Whether he would be accepted or not, he thought it was a risk he had to take, because he wanted to be with her forever. When he was about to tell Machi about the curse, his curse broke unexpectedly, so he instead hugs and kisses her. Towards the end, Yuki and Machi begin dating he also gives her the key to the apartment he will be living in while attending college so she can visit him anytime, and tells her that he will be waiting for her.

Yuki and Machi with their son, Mutsuki.

In Fruits Basket Another, Yuki and Machi are married and have a son named Mutsuki Sohma. Mutsuki describes Yuki and Machi as very loving parents whose happiness is contagious. They also have a family tradition of making footprints in the snow every time the snow piles up; fulfilling Yuki's promise to Machi to make footprints in the snow.

Mutsuki Sohma

“	I'm glad you're my parents. I'm glad I live in this house, with you and mom. It's warm. And fun. This house will always be the place I want to come home to.	”
—Mutsuki about his parents, Yuki and Machi.

Yuki crying after hearing Mutsuki's confession.

Although there haven't been any on-screen interactions between the two, Yuki loves Mutsuki dearly. Yuki and Machi made sure that their son grew up in a warm and loving household. He is supportive of him and wishes for him to pursue his own path in life. Yuki also trusts Musuki, evident by the fact that he told him about the curse and his own history as the Rat. When Yuki was met with acceptance, understanding, and love from him, he was very happy. Furthermore, when Mutsuki expressed how he was glad that he had Yuki and Machi as his parents, that he is happy he gets to live together with them and described their home as the place he always wants to come home to, Yuki broke down in tears of happiness.

Friends

Tohru Honda

Tohru asks Yuki to be her friend again if her memories are erased.

At the beginning, Yuki did not pay much attention to Tohru and only viewed her as a strange classmate. Inviting her to live with him and Shigure was mostly because she was in need, but also because he wanted to be rebellious against the Sohma family. However, when Tohru begins reaching out to him and offers him friendship, a listening ear, and unconditional support without expecting something in return, Yuki grows very fond of her and develops a protective attitude towards her. He also holds great trust in her, since she is able to awaken his desires to be himself and helps him admit his inner insecurities.

Yuki becomes well-aware from the early stages of their friendship that he loves Tohru deeply, especially after finding out that she had unknowingly helped him when he was young and had given him the hope to live on, as well as after she had reappeared in his life when he once again had become “weak”. However, he also knew what he felt wasn’t romantic love. Since Yuki never had a functioning relationship with his mother, the thing he craved most was unconditional love, support, and acceptance from someone that would never reject him. This is what he found in Tohru, as she had been giving him everything his mother did not.

Yuki admits to himself that Tohru is very dear to him.

However, flustered by his childish longings and feeling like it was weird to see a “mother-figure” in a girl the same age as him, Yuki tried to persuade himself that he was love with Tohru; he flirts with her on several occasions and even confesses his “love” for her at one point. However, Yuki is later able to come to accept his real feelings. While Kakeru mentions that some people like having motherly girlfriends and think that it is an excuse from Yuki’s side to give up on Tohru, Yuki denies this, saying that a relationship where he only gets to receive will only make him lonely. He vows to find an equal relationship where he gets to receive as much as he can give, and wants to use the maternal love, warmth, and gentleness Tohru has given him as a base to truly find himself and a relationship that will make him feel complete.

Yuki admits that he loves Tohru platonically.

After this, the weight on Yuki’s shoulders is lifted, and he acknowledges that Tohru is precious to him in his own way, and wishes for her to be happier than anyone else. Even though Yuki slowly starts distancing himself from Tohru due to joining the student council and finding his own friendship group, he remains just as protective of her. For this reason, Yuki often scolds Kyo when he unintentionally treats Tohru coldly or hurts her. At the same time, Yuki becomes very supportive of her relationship with Kyo, and he even beats him up for not visiting Tohru in the hospital.

“	I’m so glad I met you. I’m so glad you were here. Thank you, thank you, thank you… Tohru.	”
—Yuki expresses his gratitude towards Tohru.

Yuki thanks Tohru for always being there for him.

Towards the end, Yuki finally confesses to Tohru that she has been like a “mother” for him. Although he is a bit embarrassed about his true feelings, he expresses immense gratitude towards her for granting his wishes without asking for anything in return and helping him grow as a person. In fact, Yuki states that it is thanks to her coming into his life that he was able to become the man he is. Lastly, he finally calls her “Tohru” as opposed to his usual “Honda-san”, moving Tohru to tears. In adulthood, Yuki and Tohru are still close friends, as it is known that they occasionally meet up with their respective spouses despite living in different cities, and since their respective sons are as close as brothers.

Kakeru Manabe

Yuki and Kakeru try to understand one another.

When they first met, Yuki strongly disliked Kakeru since he reminded him of Ayame. Nevertheless, during one of their first interactions, Kakeru tells Yuki that he thinks he is an interesting person, which makes Yuki happy since no one had said something like that to him before. Although Yuki is regularly frustated with or dumbfounded by Kakeru’s antics, he is also envious of him, since he finds him similar to Kyo in the sense that he is able to socialize and make friends easily. They also argue sometimes due to their clashing personalities and ideals. However, when Kakeru explains that he has his own issues too and makes an effort to reach out to Yuki so he can understand him, Yuki is deeply touched and begins viewing Kakeru in a new light, thinking that spending time with him isn’t so bad.

Yuki starts to accept Kakeru’s friendship.

As time goes on, Yuki and Kakeru develop a deep friendship. Yuki opens up to Kakeru about his relationship with his parents and his true feelings for Tohru, something he has not been able to confide in to anyone else. Kakeru manages to take his worry, relate to it, and be supportive of it. Likewise, Kakeru opens up about his family situation, and it is through Yuki that Kakeru learns about truly feeling alone. Kakeru is able to confide in Yuki how he struggles to understand other peoples’ perspectives, in particular when those he loves have ideas that differ from his. Because of this, the two boys earn much more respect for one another and see eye-to-eye. Even though Kakeru often teases Yuki, he is always looking out for him and making sure he is alright, which Yuki appreciates. Tohru notes that meeting Kakeru has helped Yuki become a happier person. Over the course of the year they spent together, they came to know each other very well and Yuki describes Kakeru’s endless support as something that has helped him immensely.

It is known that they spend much time together as adults as well, since Kakeru ends up becoming Yuki’s brother-in-law and since their children, Mutsuki and Michi, were basically raised as siblings.

Sohma Family

Kyo Sohma

Yuki and Kyo's first meeting.

Originally, Yuki did not hate Kyo, but since Kyo expressed his downright hatred towards him during their first meeting, Yuki began disliking Kyo as well. At the beginning of the story, they appear to share a rivarly and a mutual hatred towards one another. Whenever they interact, they are always at odds and at each other's throats. At the same time, Yuki is envious of how Kyo has the ability to easily make friends and fit into normal social settings, and is annoyed by the fact that Kyo wants to be part of the Zodiac while Yuki himself wants to escape from the Sohma family and its curse. Kyo is also envious of Yuki, as in how he is "perfect", always able to take advantage of a situation as one should, and how he is accepted into the zodiac family.

Yuki admits he just wanted to be friends with Kyo.

Their relationships begin to improve slightly after they meet Tohru. Because of her kindness and both of them caring deeply about her, they begin to soften their attitudes toward each other and are able to cooperate when Tohru is in trouble. Although Kyo frequently expresses his hatred towards Yuki throughout the series, Yuki refuses to engage in any more fights with Kyo and rejects the animosity between them, and eventually adopts neutral attitude towards him. Yuki also admits to himself that he always just wanted to Kyo to like him, and for them to be friends.

Yuki and Kyo confess their true feelings about one another.

When Tohru is hospitalized and Kyo refuses to go see because he thinks that she would be better off with Yuki, Yuki is enraged. He consequently beats Kyo up and is the first one to make him realize that he is the only one who can make Tohru happy and that he is more capable than anyone else. Kyo, in return, confesses how he has always wanted to be like Yuki, which struck a chord in Yuki as he has always idolized Kyo as well. After this event, they began to understand and respect each other. Eventually, their arguments and fights mellow down into a gentler air between them and light-hearted teasing from Yuki's side. At the very end, Kyo and Yuki smile while walking past each other, calling each other the usual "stupid cat" and "damn rat".

It is implied that they still remain friends and frequently contact each other in their adult lives, as their sons were raised like brothers.

Akito Sohma

Yuki crying when he met Akito for the first time.

Yuki has a twisted relationship of love and hatred with Akito. Being the Rat of the Zodiac, it placed Yuki at the top of the Zodiac, making him the closest to "God". However, Yuki was emotionally, mentally, and psychologically abused by Akito throughout his childhood, leaving him heavily scarred and traumatized. In fact, most of Yuki's present issues stem from his abuse from Akito.

Yuki's fear of Akito.

In the present time, Akito is a source of fear and trauma for Yuki. However, Yuki is gradually able to grow out of his fear for Akito. He even forgives her despite everything she has put him through, simply because he wants to move on with his life—unbound by the pain of the past. Even when Akito reacts violently, Yuki is able to stand up to her with his dedication unscathed, showing that Akito is no longer able control Yuki with fear. It is unknown if they ever truly reconciled, but Akito does apologize to all the zodiacs, including Yuki, at the end.

Hatsuharu Sohma

Yuki and Hatsuharu's first meeting.

As children, Yuki was hated by Hatsuharu because the Sohma adults called him stupid based on the fact that the Ox was deceived by the Rat in the old Zodiac legend. However, Yuki did not hold this against him and even rejected the notion that he was stupid. Because Yuki believed him and was the only one able to ease his distress, Hatsuharu refers to Yuki as his first love. After this event, Hatsuharu developed a very protective and selfless attitude towards Yuki. He used to sneak in to visit Yuki when he was locked up in Akito's room even if it meant that he could get in trouble. He was also responsible for convincing Shigure to get Yuki out of the main house entirely.

Yuki and Hatsuharu.

In the present time, the two share a deep bond and Hatsuharu is one of Yuki's closest friends. Although Yuki is frequently annoyed by Hatsuharu's 'flirting' and dual personality, he deeply cares about him and appreciates the fact that he is always looking out for him. While Yuki does not seem to have the same level of understanding of Hatsuharu as Hatsuharu has of him, Yuki is always ready to lend him a listening ear and comfort him if he senses that he needs to. They regularly keep in touch despite dealing with their own issues, and Hatsuharu always makes sure to check that Yuki is doing fine. After the curse breaks, Yuki expresses that he is glad that they all seem to still feel comfortable together despite the bond being gone. In response, Haru reassures him that he will always love him.

Shigure Sohma

Yuki advising Hiro and Kisa to ignore Shigure's antics.

Although they live under the same roof, Shigure and Yuki share a casual relationship. Even though Yuki sometimes mistrusts Shigure's intentions and he regularly gets on his nerves, he is grateful towards Shigure for freeing him from the main estate and allowing him to live with him.

Kisa Sohma

Yuki encourages Kisa.

Yuki and Kisa have both been bullied and isolated and become mute as a result of that trauma, and they are thus able to empathize with one another. Yuki is one of the few people who were able to encourage Kisa to start speaking again and to face her fears. Because they are similar, they find strength in another to face their fears and grow from their weaknessess together. Yuki cares deeply for Kisa and praises her for her good work. In turn, Kisa looks up to him as an older brother type of figure.

Hatori Sohma

Hatori affectionately tousles Yuki's head.

When Yuki was young, he restented Hatori for erasing the memories of his first friends. In the present, although they are on civil terms and Hatori fulfills the role as his doctor, Yuki does not particularly trust Hatori nor does he willingly want to be near him. Eventually, Yuki leaves his feelings of resentment for Hatori behind and stops blaming him for what happened in the past, acknowledging that Hatori was suffering too and was only following the orders given to him. Yuki and Hatori apologize to each other, and their relationship starts to improve.

Isuzu Sohma

Rin jealous of Yuki when Haru declares his love for him.

Yuki and Rin share a rather complicated relationship. Rin is seen lashing out on Yuki on several occasions, going as far calling him "Akito's toy", and berating him for not being able to do anything by his own strength. Despite such things, Yuki does not take it to heart and uses these remarks to acknowledge his flaws and grow stronger. He continues reaching out to Rin, regularly reminding her that Hatsuharu loves her and that she should not have to shoulder all of her burdens alone. Towards the end, they seem to be able to tolerate each other.