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Kisa Sohma (草摩 杞紗 Sōma Kisa) is a fictional character in manga and anime series entitled Fruits Basket, transforming into the tiger of the Chinese Zodiac whenever she is hugged by the opposite sex or her body comes under a great deal of stress.
Kisa is the second youngest Sohma under the curse, losing to Hiro Sohma by one year. Of all the cursed Sohmas, Kisa is probably the most gentle and least confrontational.
Role in the story
Background
Kisa is extremely shy and introverted. This is due in great part to the teasing she received at her school. Like many of the cursed Sohmas, Kisa
has some unique physical features, noticeably her yellow-orange hair and golden eyes. At the beginning of the teasing, Kisa remained strong and ignored the mockery. In the story, Momiji Sohma reveals that when the first insults failed, Kisa's classmates began to ignore her. Eventually, they would stop ignoring her
just long enough to laugh at anything she said. As a result, Kisa withdrew into herself and locked away her words, refusing
to speak. Tohru Honda was able to understand Kisa's problem and heal her emotionally. Her favorite food is nira-tama and she seems to enjoy sweets
in general (including crepes). Throughout the series, she seeks advice and guidance from Hiro. In one instance, she is proud
to tell him that she is able to properly greet someone. Whenever they meet, Tohru and Kisa hug with many hearts.
Relationships
One of three girls afflicted by the Sohma family curse, Kisa is able to hug or be hugged by the opposite gender if they
are also under the curse. Before Tohru came to be involved with the members of the Sohma family, there were two main people
in Kisa's life. Kisa is most often seen with Hiro Sohma, representing the ram of the zodiac. Hiro loved Kisa, but made the mistake of telling Akito Sohma. Akito ended up beating Kisa, inflicting wounds that took almost two full weeks to heal. As a result, Hiro, not wanting anymore
to be the cause of her pain, distanced himself from Kisa just as Kisa's school torment initiated. After Tohru won over Kisa's
heart and loyalties, Hiro became extremely jealous. Kisa, loving them both, was confused by his behavior but still believed in him. Though it is not overly pronounced in either
the series or manga, Kisa is also close to Hatsuharu Sohma (Haru). They have a very close brother-sister relationship. When Kisa finally ran away from home, it was Haru, along with her mother, who searched for her. Yuki Sohma also feels a connection with Kisa, as Yuki, like Kisa, went through a stage when he refused to speak as a result of Akito's
actions.
Breakthrough
Kisa was having trouble at school when she finally met Tohru at Shigure Sohma's house, where Haru brought Kisa when he found her away from home. On edge, the minute Tohru tried to pet her in tiger form,
Kisa bit her. But after Tohru revealed not only the problem to Kisa's mother in Kisa's presence, but also that she understood
what Kisa was feeling, as Tohru was also teased when she was younger, Kisa attached herself to Tohru's side. Kisa sees Tohru
as her "onee-chan", literally meaning "big sister". After the few days that Kisa stayed with Tohru at Shigure's house, she realized that people did love her for who she was, and she was able to start speaking again. She realized that she had to be strong and face her problems
instead of evading them.
