Fruits Basket (フルーツバスケット)

I was so happy when you smiled,

Your smile breaks through the clouds of grey,

Far from the sunny days that lie in sleep.

Waiting with patience for the Spring,

when the flowers will bloom renewed again,

knowing there's more beyond the pain of today.

Although the scars of yesterday remain,

You can go on living as much as your heart believes.

You can't be born again although you can change.

Let's stay together always.

Look at that beautiful sky!

See you later, Mom! Take care of the house while I'm gone, okay?

I'll be back!

Hello! My name is Tohru Honda. I haven't always lived in a tent.

Up until last May, I lived with my Mom.

It was just the two of us. But then the accident...

After I lost Mom, I began secretly living here, on my own.

It's not exactly comfortable, but it's alright.

And it's what I have to do.

Like my motto says: "Never give up!"

Look at this, Mom. Did you know there was a house here?

It seems so peaceful. Must be nice.

How cute! The twelve animals of the Zodiac!

My word...

Do my eyes deceive me,

or is there a strange young girl standing on my porch?

Ah, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I was just looking!

I didn't mean to barge in without permission.

It's all right...

I'd just set them out to dry... No harm done.

But, I find it hard to believe that

these silly little things could attract your interest...

No, I really like them. I don't think they're silly at all!

Yes, well... I must admit,

I'm particularly fond of them myself.

Oh. But I should have known... You left out the cat.

The cat? Ahhh...

I take it you're referring to the old folktale

of the Chinese Zodiac?

Uh huh... My mom told it to me when I was little.

A long, long time ago,

God decided to invite all of the animals to a banquet...

He sent out word for all of them

to come to his house the following evening...

"and don't be late!" he said.

When the mischievous rat heard the news,

he decided to play a trick on his neighbor, the cat.

He told the cat that the party was the day after tomorrow.

The very next day,

all of the animals lined up for the celebration.

And the rat led the way,

riding all the way there on the back of the cow.

Everyone had a wonderful time.

Except for the foolish cat. Who missed the whole thing.

Hey, why are you crying?

Because... that poor cat... he must be so lonely.

I know, I won't be a dog anymore! I'll be a cat, too!

Funny... I wonder what he'll say when he hears he has a fan.

H-He?

You were born in the Year of the Dog?

I knew there was something I liked about you,

aside from your pretty fa--

Please forgive my cousin, Miss Honda.

He's a bit of a flirt, but he's harmless...

In general, it's usually best to just ignore him.

Ah, Yuki Sohma!

Oh, Mom, I don't believe it!

The prince of my high school,

Yuki Sohma is standing right here, before my very eyes!

-- And I'm standing in front of his house! --Ow, what do you have in that bag? A dictionary?

No. I have two of them.

So- you're one of Yuki's classmates from school.

Let's start again. I'm Shigure,

his older and much less violent cousin.

Hi, it's very nice to meet you!

And what brings you to our home this morning, Miss Honda?

Well, you know I live... nearby...

You do? Where at?

Uhh, right!

Okay, I think I'll just be going now. It was nice to meet you-

Wait, Miss Honda!

Since you're here, why don't we walk together?

L - O - V - E! We- love- Yu-ki!

Yuki! Yuki!

Yuki?!

Okay. Start Talking.

What was that all about, Miss Tohru?

Why were you walking to school with Prince Yuki?

Details! And they better be good.

It... It was just a coincidence...

Well for your sake, I hope that's all it was!

Every girl at Kaiwaia High, Class 1-D knows

Yuki Sohma's the best looking boy in school!

And he's intelligent!

And great at sports!

And for your info we are the Prince Yuki Fan Club!

We've got first dibs, sister, so you better stay clear!

Hey!

What?!

She said it was a coincidence.

Now get lost... before those big noses of yours get bruised...

Now, hold it, Yankee!

You're not gonna scare us with that 'street thug' talk!

One more word, and you'll all get...

...with electric shocks.

Thanks, I didn't think they'd ever leave!

Were those catty little girls bothering you? Aww.

Hana, don't actually shock anyone, okay?

You know the truth is,

I was so nervous walking with Yuki this morning.

I couldn't talk to him- no, I couldn't even look at him.

I sense strange electric signals coming from that boy.

Here we go again, Hana's Electric Report.

Strange how?

I don't know. He's different.

Well, I admit

he does seem to have an air of mystery about him...

And there are some weird stories floating around, too...

I hear one of those Fan Club girls tried to ask him out once,

but he just pushed her away...

And I mean that literally. Right in the hall.

Then he left her on the floor and ran off.

Like I said, I sense strange electric signals.

Let's talk about something else?

How's that job of yours going?

Oh, fine I guess. Why?

I don't know...

You've been putting in a lot of hours lately.

A lot more than usual.

Uhh... Yeah. Sure.

You're having trouble saving up for your tuition, aren't you?

No it's just... well... yeah.

That's odd... I didn't think tuition here was that expensive.

And I don't remember you having to work this hard before.

Unless, something else has changed?

No... everything's the sa--

So what is it? You in some kind of trouble? You owe somebody?

Your grandfather's giving you enough to eat, right?

He isn't taking your money?

Mm, mm!

I know, I worry too much...

But seriously, if you need me to rough someone up for you,

you just say the word. Got it?

Okay.

Uo's going to kill me when she finds out...

But how can I tell my two best friends that I live in a tent?

--Don't worry, Tohru. We're going to be okay... --I can still remember how tough it was on Mom after Dad died.

--We'll get through this together... --She had to work so hard just to make ends meet.

--Our first paycheck! We're rich! --But she never seemed to mind.

She always had a smile!

It's hard to believe that someone so smart and so strong

could be taken away by an accident...

After it happened,

there were a lot of people I could have stayed with, I guess.

I chose to live with my paternal grandfather.

He was always so nice to me.

But he's retired now, and living on his savings.

I didn't want to be a burden,

so I promised him I would work to pay for my tuition myself!

After four months...

The house needed some renovations, and Grandfather

went to stay with his daughter and her family

until the work was done.

He asked me if I had a friend here I could stay with.

I told him yes, but Uo lives in a one-room apartment,

and Hana's got such a large family...

I couldn't ask them.

They've got enough to worry about.

I'd just be in the way...

That's when it hit me!

If I could somehow live on my own for a while,

then everyone would be happy!

Oh! Yuki! It's you! I mean, it's... Hi.

It seems we're beginning to make a habit

of bumping into each other.

It was nice meeting your cousin this morning. He was funny.

And those little Zodiac figurines

he made were really cute...

Ah, yes... but I thought I overheard you saying something

about how you wished there was a Year of the Cat?

It's an idea I had when I was a kid... Silly.

Cats... useless, foolish creatures.

Tell me, Miss Honda.

How familiar would you say you are

with the history of the Chinese Zodiac?

I know the stories my mom used to tell me...

Did you know that it was originally

nothing more than a simple calendar?

A mathematical system to mark the passage of time.

Only later did people begin to use it for things like

astrology and fortune-telling...

Oh. I guess the story about the animals isn't true then...

No... I'm not really sure how

or when the animals first came to represent the years.

But I don't believe they were there from the beginning.

What I do know is at no time in the history of the Zodiac

has the cat ever been included.

So you see, the cat has been shunned by society

for thousands of years.

But as the story is told, it still yearns to be accepted...