Fruits Basket (フルーツバスケット)

I love Yuki.

I love his hair and the way it gleams,

silver in the sunlight.

His dusky lashes and the shadows they cast on his cheeks.

His dignified, penetrating voice.

Everything about Yuki is everything to me.

But...

She came out of nowhere.

An interfering interloper

determined to confound all my plans.

Absolutely unacceptable.

I will not allow other women free access to Yuki.

They must all be kept at bay.

Hello again! Tohru Honda here!

Almost a year has passed

since I came to stay at Shigure Soma's house,

and it's been pretty eventful.

I'd lost my mom.

I was living on my own in a tent, which was okay,

but then the Somas found me and offered to take me in.

The family has a secret, though.

They transform into zodiac animals

when hugged by the opposite sex.

Living here has been an adventure

from the very beginning.

I've met a lotta the Somas now, and they're all so different.

Some are loud, some are shy,

but they're all so kind in their own way.

Still, I can feel the sadness they carry

wherever they go, buried deep inside their hearts.

Especially Kyo.

He's possessed by the spirit of the Cat,

who was shunned by the other zodiac animals.

Even among the Somas, he's special.

I'm not sure what someone like me can do,

but I wanna help them all in whatever way I can.

If I keep trying, maybe someday I'll understand...

...the true nature of the curse.

Summer break approaches.

You children are so lucky.

Adulthood offers no such reprieve.

Better enjoy it while you can.

You've gotta be kidding. What are you whining about?

Your whole life's a freaking vacation.

Ha. Alas, not true.

This paltry freedom we adults have

can't compare to a society- sanctioned summer break.

Yeah, whatever.

You'll understand all too well

once you've got a job of your own, trust me.

But you know,

I'm sure we'll have lots of homework to do over the break.

So, I'll have to try hard.

It breaks my heart to see you this worried, Tohru,

so let me give you a piece of advice.

Talk to our faultless Yuki and ask very politely

if you can copy his homework.

Huh?! No, no! I could never do something like that!

Right. Because he's so perfect.

More like boring and robotic. The guy's just lame.

-- -- Kyo!

Better than being stupid.

Uh, is he--?

Never fear. It'll take far more than that to kill Kyo.

Unfortunately.

Bastard!

There, see? He's still breathing.

If you're gonna attack, do it head-on. Dirty cheater!

You'd have known I was there if you weren't so stupid.

Stop calling me stupid!

Please! Don't fight, you guys! I don't want you getting hurt!

Then watch what you're doing!

Heading out now, Yuki? It's early.

Yeah. I've got student council business.

So, see ya later?

Right. Have a good day.

Well, I suppose I do have

one consolation this summer.

I'll get the pleasure of watching things play out

between you crazy kids.

What do you mean by that?

I can't wait!

You three have gotten so close. I can almost taste the drama!

Seriously, you've lost me.

You should be ashamed!

I've seen rocks that are less dense than this.

The summer dream is utterly wasted on the likes of you!

Either start making sense or stop talking!

It's no use. Sorry. I'm afraid Kyo is a lost cause.

The poor fool has no potential whatsoever!

All I know right now is you're messing with me

and I don't like it.

The guy's just lame.

Yeah, well... I knew that already.

Makoto!

You should know, I've come prepared

to drag the information out of you.

Give me the names of the new board members

Yuki will be leading next year as student council president.

Hmph. You're like a dog with a bone, Motoko.

Why on earth would I tell you when your reasons for asking

are so obviously personal ones?

Are there any females among the new members?

That's all we care about.

Tell us and we'll leave you in peace.

Have you considered the repercussions?

Suppose one of them turns out to be a devious temptress

who works her wiles on our unsuspecting Yuki?

With all due respect, my sole concern

is that the board members capably support Yuki.

Gender is irrelevant.

Indeed! If I could, I'd ask to be held back a grade!

I would remain here to offer our new president

the unquestionable loyalty and unwavering devotion

that is his due!

And if possible, I would have Yuki skip a grade

so we could experience college life together,

venturing hand in hand into the great unknown!

And there they go.

They'll probably keep at it right up until graduation day.

President Takei didn't give up a single name.

What do we do now?

Maybe we should sneak into the student council room

and find the list ourselves.

We must consider carefully. He refused to reveal anything.

Could that be a clue in and of itself?

Should we take it as proof that there is a rogue female

among the new members?

Uotani! There you are!

Oh, no! Motoko- senpai !

Jeez. You're here again?

Stop wandering around other people's schools.

Have you at least been going to classes?

Of course we have...

Minami, who are they?

I don't know.

By the way they're acting,

they must be Uotani's underlings or something.

Will someone please tell me what's going on?!

This school's been invaded by a witch, a demon queen,

and a flock of delinquents!

How many vile horrors must our sweet, innocent Yuki

--be exposed to?! --It's so lively out here.

Hey, check it out. I'm tryin' something new with my brows.

I almost dyed my hair.

Huh?

What's that about?

I don't know.

I wonder why we're meeting in the counselor's office

instead of the student council room.

I'm sorry. I'll clean it up.

Hey, are you all right? If you're not feeling well--

I'm fine.

Hold on.

Manabe, get up.

Somebody's here.

If it's not an alien, I'll keep sleeping.

It's Yuki Soma.

Huh?

Why didn't you wake me up sooner?!

Now he knows I was slacking off!

Which I wasn't. I'd never do something like that.

I was just deep in thought, with my eyes closed.

Are you--?

Whoa, what a mess!

Aw, man. Are you at it again, Machi?

You'd better start cleanin' this up.

I'm Kakeru!

Kakeru Manabe, if you wanna know the whole name.

And it's nice to meet you.

People call me all sorts of things.

"Manabe," of course, or "Kakeru."

Those are the obvious ones.

Then there's "Nabe," or "Hey, you."

Anyway, call me whatever you want.

Actually, scratch that. I'd prefer if you called me "Sho."

I could use a change of pace.

-- Uh. --Nope! Stop right there!

There's no need for you to introduce yourself, Yuki Soma.

By the way, I'm a second-year. Class A, if you're interested.

And that's Machi Kuragi. She's a first-year.

Oh! I forgot!

Now listen, I want black.

Uh. I'm sorry, um, like, coffee? I don't understand.

No, I won't budge!

It's the one thing that I will never give up!

You're cool with that, right? Cool.

Then I've said my piece and there's a couch callin' my name.

Look, before you go anywhere,

could actually tell me who you are?

Huh? Like I said, I'm Manabe.

That's not what I meant!

Manabe.

You never told him why we're here.

That we're board members.

Oh, I forgot that part, huh?

I'm the VP, and over here, we have the new class treasurer.

So, we'll be working under you,

our student council president extraordinaire.

Yep. It's gonna be all kinds of fun.