Let's see... I'm pretty sure this is the right section... Ah! Here it is!
''Fiery Spirit: The Inner Life of the
Martial Artist''... Sounds exciting.


My master put me through hell up there in the mountains... but... those were some of the best days of my life!
It's like every day was an adventure, right?
I'd wake up every morning and ask myself...
''How much stronger am I gonna get today?''
Just talking about it gets me pumped up!


Okay, next stop... Gardening! Hmm...
Oh, hey. This looks like a good one.
''Twelve Steps To A Happy Home Garden''


Ah, the base! Those leeks we picked were delicious.
Are you planting something new?

Yes, strawberries.

Really? I can't wait! I love strawberries!

I thought you might....
That's why I'm planting them.

I'm glad I've gotten to know
Yuki and Kyo as well as I have.
But I'd still like to get to know them even better.
I think I can, little by little.
And learning more about the things they like seems like a good way to start.
''One Hundred Family Recipes''. I'll bet there are some great dinner ideas in here.

I'd like to check these out, please.

Ah, Miss Honda.
I've been looking for you.

Oh?

You have a phone call waiting in the staff office. Come with me, please?

Yes sir...

This is Tohru...
Grandpa! Hi!


I just found out the renovations are done.
I uh, I got a phone call from my grandfather up at the school...
He told me.

Ah, I see...
And if memory serves, you were planning to move back into the house once the work was done, is that right?

What renovations?

Oh, I guess we never told you, Kyo...

So what? Tell me now.

Well, you see...
After mom died, I went to stay with my grandfather, on my father's side.
But then I found out my aunt and her husband were gonna move into the house with us, and grandpa decided it would be a good idea to have some remodeling done, you know, to make more room for everyone.
So he went away to stay with my aunt while the work was going on, and I stayed here so I wouldn't miss school.
Well, I didn't stay here, here not at first, I mean. I was living in a tent for a while...
But anyway, now that they've finished with all the construction, it looks like I can go back and I...

Okay! Enough already! I get it..

I'm sorry, I just thought that... eh...

Don't mind him.
I think we caught him a little off-guard with the news is all...
We've just witnessed a classic example of what I like to call ''misdirected rage''.
I believe the technical term is ''being an ass''?

You are so full of it!

I guess I can understand.
This does seem sudden.

I suppose I should go ahead and get my things packed while I still have the rest of the afternoon.
I'll try to be out of your way by this evening.

Please, don't hurry on our account.
Feel free to take as much time as you need.


Thanks, but I'm sure they could use my help straightening up and everything.
And like the saying goes: ''never put off 'til tomorrow what you can do today!''
So then, I'll be right upstairs if you need me.

Oh, Yuki... Thank you so much for everything you've done for me...

Uh... any time...

A thousand perfectly lovely things you could have said, but what poetry spews from your mouth?
''Any time.'' Really, Yuki.
I think that must be the most unsentimental thing I've ever heard, or at the very least insensitive.
How do you expect to sustain any sort of,
I don't know, meaningful relationship...

Aren't you going to try?
To stop her I mean.

Why would I?
We've known from the start that she was only staying here until the remodeling was finished...

Hmm. Well, even so... It does seem stuffy in here, doesn't it?

Let her go...
We should have never allowed an outsider in this house to begin with...

I really had it wrong this time.
I don't know why I thought I'd be able to go on living here with everyone, like a family.
Oh, Mom... I can be such a fool sometimes. Can't I?
You know, this reminds me of something that happened when I was little.
There was this game all the kids used to play. ''Fruits Basket.''

You're an apple.
You're a banana.
You're an orange.
You're a watermelon.
Cherry.
Pear.
Peach.
Tohru, you get to be the rice ball!

The rice ball! Ooh, that's sounds yummy!

I guess they were only trying to tease me a little bit, the way kids do sometimes...

--Okay, here goes! Apple!
--But I didn't know that then.
--Peach!
--The game went on, and all the other kids were called, one by one.
--Orange!
--Everyone was running, and laughing...
And the whole time I sat there, smiling, hoping one of them would shout out ''Rice Ball'' so I could play too...

Yeah... Even since back then,
I've never been very good about thinking things through...
I should have known. There was no way I could have joined the others.
A ''rice ball'' doesn't belong in a ''fruits basket''.


There's some fish left in the refrigerator.
Eat it soon, so it doesn't go bad, okay?
And you're almost out of soy sauce, so you'll need to pick some up at the store...
Oh! And don't forget, they changed the day they pick up the garbage, so be sure you put it out on time...
What else...?
Oh... Here! I wrote down my grandfather's address and everything.
So if there's anything you can't figure out, you know where to find me!

Thank you, Tohru.
You really are too good to us.

Not at all! I'm the one who should say that to you!
Uh... And don't worry. I won't tell anyone about your family curse!
Cross my heart and hope to die!

Speaking of which... Where's that cat?

I'd think you know by now.
After all, sulking on the roof does seem to be one of the strange little ways Kyo shows he cares...
Anyway, good luck settling into your new home.

Thanks.



Well, as far as goodbyes go, that felt pretty good, I guess... Huh?

Although I'd be lying if I didn't say it left me feeling a little bit, sad, too...


It's nice to see you again.

I didn't expect to see you so soon...
You certainly don't waste any time.

Ah, Tohru! Welcome home!

Hi, Grandpa. It's good to be back.

I hope they found everything.
I probably should have stayed to make sure they had their dinner, at least.

Hey! Are you done putting your junk away or what?

I'm sorry! I'm, uh, I'm almost finished!

I swear. What's the point of moving into a bigger house if I'm gonna get stuck sharing a room with someone?
Just put that stuff somewhere I can't see it.


Tohru... I'm starving! What's for breakfast?

I forgot... Our dear, sweet Tohru has gone, gone away...

That sounded like you 'forgot' on purpose.

No, of course not! That would be pretty despicable, don't you think?
But you know, without Tohru here, it does feel like all the fire's gone out of this kitchen, doesn't it?
Suddenly it seems so cold and dreary.

Dammit! You are saying that on purpose, aren't you?!

In any event, consumed by grief though we are,
I suppose we can't help but get hungry at some point...
Which reminds me, Tohru left us a pot of her delicious beef stew in the refrigerator. Yes?

Perfect. Now why don't you heat that up for us, Yuki?

You're joking, right?

Ah, of course. You're not too handy in the kitchen, are you...
Well, Kyo, I guess that leaves you!

Why do I gotta do it?!


No, no, it's all right.
If you don't mind letting the last of the wonderful beef stew that Tohru put her heart and soul into preparing for us get burned to a crisp, then neither do I.
After all, I suppose burnt beef stew will be just as satisfying as burnt miso soup, or burnt rice, or burnt eggs, or any of the fine burnt dishes Yuki used to make for us before Tohru fell into our lives...
Ah, yes, we all seemed to do quite well on our charcoal-rich diet.
I'm sure there's no reason we won't grow accustomed to it again-huh?


I'd have to rate your presentation a zero.

Fine! So do it yourself next time!


We thank you for this stew, Tohru, wherever you are.

I'm in heaven.

And to think, two bright, handsome young men like you couldn't even find a way to keep the girl who cooked this delicious stew from leaving.
Oh, the tragedy...

If she can go back to her grandfather's house, there's no reason for her to stay here, is there?

I'm afraid only our sorrow will tell us, as the long lonely hours without her pass us by.
And our only solace will be the few scattered traces of Tohru's presence left about the house.
Like this cute little strawberry towel, for instance.
I found it still hanging in the shower.
I have but to press it against my face...
...and the sweet scent of Tohru reminds me of happier days!

You sick bastard!


Say, I found these socks in my drawer. You put them there?

Oh... is that not right?

Do these really look like something I'd wear?

I-I'm sorry. I must have thought they were yours...

Oh, I swear, what's the use?
Make a note: these are grandpa socks. Remember that.

Tohru, could you spare a moment?

Coming!

Could you bring me one of the big serving plates, please?

Uh... Sure. Okay.

For future reference, we keep the serving plates over here.

I didn't know it was a full moon tonight. It's beautiful. I wonder if Yuki and
Kyo can see this right now.
Maybe we're all looking at the moon together.


Well, hi there! Good morning!

Uh... Yeah, hi.

Miss Honda. Good morning.

And a good morning to you.

So. How is life at grandfather's house?

Oh, fine I guess. Everyone's been really nice to me so far.
They're making me feel right at home!

That's good. Sounds like you're fitting right in.

Uh, huh.

In 1687, the Animal Protection Act was introduced.
This is, of course, noteworthy, as it marks the first time anything of this sort was attempted.
Now, the APA, as I'll call it, came up once again in 1770...

So. That's it...
From now on, I guess I shouldn't expect things to be the same between me and Yuki and Kyo.

Ah, welcome home!

''Hi Shigure. It's good to be home.'' Is that too much to ask?

I've always liked the cat from the Zodiac!
Right straight!

Really? I can't wait!
I love strawberries!
You can erase my memory.
But afterwards, promise you'll still be my friend?


Oh, hello. I'm back for the day.

Tohru, could you spare a moment?

Sure...

It's my understanding that you've been living in a house with three men, is that right?

No way! You were shacked up!? Nice going!

I had a detective agency do some checking up on you.

Yeah? No kidding! So those kinds of things still exist nowadays?

I don't understand. Why would you go to all that trouble?

On account of our oldest son.
It's his dream to become a policeman.
So you can see how it might cause a problem for him were anyone in his family to have a criminal record...

At first, I did think hiring a detective agency seemed a bit extreme.
Until I remembered how wild Kyoko was in her youth...
''Like mother, like daughter,'' as they say. Or so I feared.
Now... as long as you are living in this house, I have to ask you not to do anything so reckless in the future...

Tell us Tohru...
Living in a house with three guys?
I'll bet you had all sorts of fun, didn't you?


Grandpa, what did you...?

Don't you know how to do anything besides ridicule others?

Tohru, I apologize...

Please don't think poorly of them...
They're just disagreeable folks by nature.

--Grandpa! What is gotten into you?

--You can't say that!


Tohru?
Please understand, this family is dear to me.
And this is where I live.
Even if they do say a few thoughtless things, I can tolerate it.
However, there's no reason for you to put up with it to keep living here.

Y- you want me to-

Ah, it's not like that. I'm not trying to chase you out of here.
It's just that it wasn't like Kyoko to put up with anything, and you are her daughter.
Do you understand?
Kyoko would be more vivacious living in a place where she could spread her arms wide.
Your father would have said so as well.

My father? Really?

Mm-hm. So, if there's somewhere you'd rather be, Darling, you can go.

But, that wouldn't be right!
How could I be anything less than grateful for what I have?
I've been blessed with a mother who loved me, two wonderful friends, Hana and Uo.
What more could I possibly want when I have people in my life who care about me as much as they do?
There are so many people who've been kind to me.
Yuki and the others... and you!
You've given me a place at your table, a roof over my head...
I should feel like the luckiest girl in the world...
I have so much to be thankful for, right here.
So... where else would I rather be...?
Except... I didn't think that leaving Yuki and the others would make me feel so... so lonely.
There was still so much I hoped to learn about all of them...
I wanted us to go on eating our meals together, like a family... where I could to talk to them about so many things... everything.
The truth of it is, I didn't want to leave them at all.
I felt like I belonged there...
I wanted to stay in that house with Yuki, and Kyo, and Shigure...
I wanted to stay.

In that case... ...why not come home?

Yuki-

Who is this?

C'mon. Let's go.

Kyo? You're here too? But then...
Uh... No wait, Kyo... I...

I hope you don't mind. The door was unlocked so we let ourselves in...
Can I find Miss Honda's things upstairs?

Now, just a moment. Who are you? What is going on here?

Don't worry. We'll be out of your way before you know it.

Ahh... I get it now.
These must be two of the guys the little tramp was shackin' up with.

Don't you ever talk about Miss Honda that way again.
You low-life.

Uh... um... wait...
Kyo, how did you get here?

What do you mean, 'how'?
You left the directions!
And what kind of a stupid map was that anyway?
I got stuck having to walk around half this city looking for you with that damn Yuki!

I told you we're going the wrong way! Now gimme that map!

Uh-uh.

They must have been fighting the whole way, and they still came to find me...

What the hell are you smiling about?!

Oh, I uh-I'm sorry.

Uh... That's not what I meant to say. I uh...
What I mean is... I just... you know I- I don't even know why I'm doing this!
It's just, for some reason, ever since you left,
I've been getting pissed off about everything!
And I couldn't figure out why, so it just pissed me off even more.
And, really!
If you didn't wanna leave, you could've said so from the beginning!
You ever think about that?!

Wha- but how do you-

We heard you. Every word.
Ya' know... You can tell people what you want.
I mean, it's annoying if you do it all the time...
but I'd say in your case...
You could stand to speak up for yourself a little more.
Complain a little, get upset or something.
Let people know what's on your mind.
It's what you gotta do sometimes.

Oh, come on! What did I say?
Why are you crying?!

Can we go? Please, I... I wanna...
I wanna go home... Take me back to the house now, okay?

So walk, already. I'm not gonna drag you the whole way there.

Rice Ball!

It's true, Mom... I really must be the luckiest girl in the world.
I think... I'm where I belong...
Here. In this house. With my new family.
It's so good to be home!




Perhaps we should have them invite us over.
I'd like to see for myself whether or not, this is a suitable environment for you to be living.

Hey, great idea.
Let's check it out right now.

Wait. If we show up unexpectedly they may not serve snacks.

Ooh! Another good point.
Your two-for-two.

Wait...

Okay then, we'll stay over tomorrow night.

Uh, okay.