03x06 - It Was So Foolish

[bunniefuu]

Good for you.

You made a true friend--
one who really cares about you.

You must be so happy.

Stop crying!

Sorry!

Definitely happy.

I can tell from the
way you're blushing.

Well, you seem to be unusually
energetic today, Isuzu.

Master!

I suppose that it
must lift your spirits,

a friend visiting.

Oh. Did you say "a friend"?

They get along so well.

Yeah.

Minus the v*olence, maybe.

Will she be staying
here to recuperate, then?

For a while.

She prefers it to the hospital
or the main estate.

She was locked up
by Akito, wasn't she?

Rin doesn't want us to
tell Honda what happened.

And the thought of
having anything more

to do with Akito frightens her.

Me, too. I want them kept apart.

Okay.

Awful. Poor girl.

Can you tell me, Hatsuharu,
where Isuzu was being held?

The Cat's room.

I see.

The same cage that's
meant to hold Kyo soon.

Don't know for sure,
but I get the feeling Master's

gonna let Isuzu
move in with him.

You have nothing to worry about!

You're still number one
in Master's book!

He lives for you, Kyo!

I'm not worried about it at all,
so quit sayin' weird stuff.

Plus, to be honest,

I think her staying there's
actually a good idea.

With someone else
around the place,

he's less likely to get lonely.

Miss Honda?

What's up?

The anniversary of
your mom's death is this week.

Could I come with you
to the gravesite?

Of course. I would love that!

I'm going on Saturday morning
with Uo-chan and Hana-chan.

Sorry. I can't go.

Oh... 'Kay.

Well, that was a disaster.

Not only did your search for
a way to break the curse fail,

you wound up in
trouble, as well.

You acted recklessly
and paid the price.

I talked to Ren.

She said that she would tell
me how it could be done.

She promised.

Yeah, about that...
she lied to you.

Huh?

Ren has no idea how to break it.

Smart money says
she was using you.

Another pawn in her
feud with Akito.

And you were desperate
enough to fall for it.

You're wrong.

I don't blame you for being
less than willing to trust me.

But I promise, I know Ren
much better than you do.

She and I are close,
you see. Very close.

Rin, the thing is, the zodiac
curse is going to break.

On its own, without help.

It will break.

No need to work yourself
to death over it.

Things are already in motion.

Those ancient ties
have begun to fray.

Eventually, all of
us will be free.

We are the generation invited
to the final banquet.

What? Don't just make stuff up!

What do you
mean... "eventually"?

How long is that?
When will it finally happen?

Years from now? Decades?
That's not good enough.

It has to be broken
by next spring, or...

Or Kyo will--!

Wait, Shigure. All this time...
did you know it would break?

You give me too much credit.
I didn't know for sure.

I simply had a feeling that
we might be nearing the end.

Apparently, this is the first
time the whole zodiac

has been alive at once.

Such a momentous occurrence.

The attendants were
positively thrilled.

But I came up with
my own theory.

It's all about the
banquet, remember.

What if everyone's attending
because this is the last one?

Would you like further proof?
Take a look at good old Kureno.

His curse broke without
him even trying.

What? So, you mean he--?

Shall I spell
it out further for you?

Very well. Simply put,
Kureno isn't one of us anymore.

And his thinking
aligns with mine.

He says he also believes
the end is drawing near.

One change follows another,
and before you know it,

it all comes tumbling down.

Of course, as things stand,
Kyo will still be locked up.

Oh, yes, Tohru, we know.

Every member of the zodiac knows
just what will happen to him.

And in the not-too-distant
future, at that.

But we won't do or say anything.
He'll get no help from us.

Why not?

Because... he's serving
his purpose as the Cat.

We zodiac members are monsters.

So, it's a relief to
know there's someone

more monstrous out there.

"Thank God," we think.
"At least I'm not like him."

The Cat is a gift to the
rest of us, you see--

an other creature
for us to exclude.

You may not have realized,
but Kyo knows--

Shigure!

Mad at me?

The Cat's burden will end,
too. Sooner or later.

It's not that I believe Kureno's
story without question,

but it matches what
my gut tells me.

However, you said "eventually"
isn't good enough.

Are you hoping to save him?

Do-Do you love--?

Kyo? Does she really?

What is it that's
most precious to you?

Tell me.

That question.

I should've said my mom
without even thinking,

but I couldn't.

What came to mind instead was...

Why? Why?

That day... I made a
promise and I meant it.

Tohru, dear.

You ready to go?
Anything else to pack?

It was like...
I could feel her disappearing.

She'd been there so recently,
bright and alive.

Looking at me, smiling
that smile of hers,

warm and comforting.

But that, too, was
starting to fade.

Kyoko, dear, it's time to go.

So I swore to myself,
no matter what happened,

no matter how much time passed,

I would always put
Mom first in my heart.

I believed as long
as I did that,

I could keep holding
on to all of it.

My memories of her...
The promise we made....

"Always together."

I had to believe,
because if I didn't,

I knew I would collapse.

And now... she's going again.

Someplace far away.

It feels so wrong, but...

Tohru?

What's wrong?
Why are you crying?

Because I...
I don't know what to do.

I'm lost!

Well, in that case...
just don't do anything.

Give yourself time.

Wait until you have to do
something, then act.

And, uh, well,
it's okay, you know.

You can cry.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, I know it's selfish,

but I wanna stay here
just a little longer.

Because eventually I really will

have to do something.

And when that time comes,

I think... I know
what I'll let go of.

Oh, my! I know you.

You're that boy.
I remember your hair!

You're Tohru's--

That's right.

I'm Kyoko's--I mean,
Tohru's grandfather.

She's been living at your
place for some time now.

I don't mean to be rude,
but why are you sitting here?

It's quite all right.

I was walking along,
and wouldn't you know it,

I strained my back again.

Huh? Are you okay?

I'll be fine.
I'm just waiting for my ride.

I suppose you came out here

to pay your respects
to Kyoko, as well.

Thank you for that.

Kyoko--I mean, Tohru is
doing well these days, I hope.

Hey, um, do you always
call her "Kyoko"?

Hm? Yes, I do.

You don't think that's
a little messed-up?

Yes, perhaps.

But you see, I wanted
to keep her alive.

There had to be some way
to tie them together.

Some sort of reminder
or proof I could offer

that Kyoko really had existed,
even if she was gone now.

Without that, I feared
Tohru would break

in a way that could
never be mended.

I'm curious, young man,

do you have any idea
why my granddaughter

talks the way she does?

Uh. No, I don't.

She's imitating Katsuya.
Uh, that's her father.

Started doing it when she
was still a little girl.

It was after his funeral.

Some nasty relatives
had said nasty things.

"She doesn't look a bit
like Katsuya," they said.

"Are we even sure
that she's his?"

"Such a child won't be of any
comfort at all. What a pity."

Young as she was, maybe
they thought they could say

whatever they wanted because
she wouldn't understand.

How stupid of them.
Children absolutely understand.

They know contempt
when they hear it.

Playing hide-and-seek, Kagura?

Shh! Sensei, please just
pretend I'm not here.

I hope I'm not intruding.

Not at all. Come on in.

I take it you've dropped
by to see Isuzu?

Yes, I was on my way home
from visiting my mom's...

You're welcome to head
on up to her room.

Well, what's wrong?

Are you avoiding her
because you had a fight?

Not a fight. It's more
complicated than that.

I don't think I can see
her after everything.

I haven't figured out
how to move on.

I know that'll show on my face.

I'll feel like she's the
winner and I'm the loser.

And understanding that about
myself is the worst part of all!

Ugh, this is so frustrating!

You're right, that does
sound awfully complicated.

If she'd just get
together with Kyo already,

I could at least be
resigned to it.

What do you think?
Does she love Kyo?

Yeah, why wouldn't she love him?

That's like the stupidest
question ever!

And anyway, I know he's
head over heels for her.

Sensei? I thought
it would make you happy.

I'm just a bit worried,
I suppose.

I hope she loves Kyo
for the right reasons.

For the person he is.

And not just out of
compassion or pity.

So, any special
reason you're here?

Well, I felt bad.

It was so rude of me to run
away like that last time,

and it's been several days now.

You taking off didn't
bother me, but...

Why Kyo? Of all people.

I mean, he's the Cat.
Do you pity him?

You may not have known this,

but the previous Cat
had a companion.

The woman in charge
of looking after him.

She conceived his child.
Stayed with him till his death.

One day, someone asked her,

"How could you devote so
many years of your life

to a creature like the Cat?"

Poor thing. I couldn't help
but feel sorry for him.

Perhaps that sentiment
is a laudable one.

And perhaps my
grandfather was happier

than he would have been
spending his days alone.

But still...

Hm?

This feeling.

It's cruel and greedy.
All-consuming.

Can it really be pity?

It sounds noble, saying I wanna
protect the zodiac members.

Free them from the curse.

But those are just... excuses!

I'm hiding from
my true feelings.

Tricking you, like a coward.

The truth is...

I put Mom first in
my heart before, but now...

What I want is him. I want Kyo.

I can't let him be
taken from me.

Not by the curse, or the
Somas, or anyone else!

Because more than anything,
he's what's precious to me!

Why are you telling her?

Idiot! You should
be telling him!

Dear Tohru took their
cruelty to heart.

It was like she lost them both.

Katsuya was dead, and Kyoko
was withering before her eyes.

Daddy went
someplace far away, right?

What about Mommy?
Is she going to go there, too?

She seems sick.
And she won't talk to me.

Maybe it makes her sad that
I don't look like Daddy.

If I start acting just like him,
will she get better?

Will she stay with me?

Not long after, there was a time

when Kyoko was away from home--
from Tohru--for a long while.

It started then.

It started then.

Katsuya... She sounded like him.

She never
finished that sentence,

but I think I finally know
how it would have ended.

One time, Kyoko had to
stay out all night for work.

Tohru was home by herself,

so I thought I'd sneak over
and get a look at her.

The Tohru I saw that night,
sitting all alone,

is that who Tohru really is?

Even now, is she still...
that lonely girl?

Uh.

Oh, you startled me.

I didn't realize you were home!

Yeah.

You came back early too, huh?

Yeah, a bit.

I mean, I heard that it was
supposed to rain this evening.

But I guess there was
nothing to worry about!

Hey. I was just wondering,
what did your dad look like?

You don't remember him well,

but do you resemble him?

At all?

No. I, um... I don't.

Not in-Not in the way I look.

Oh, but you know,
there's one thing.

People say my way of speaking
is a lot like his.

Even Mom thought so.
She told me that it was similar.

Oh, yeah? Well, that
probably made her happy.

No. That's a lie.

I'm actually nothing like him.

I started imitating him so I
wouldn't seem so different.

It's awful, but the truth is...

...in my head, I made
my dad the bad guy.

He wasn't, of course,
not at all.

I remember his kindness,

and the presents
he would give me.

I really do remember them.

But... back then...

...I thought he might take
Mom away with him.

I had to find some way
to make her notice me,

so she wouldn't leave
and go to him.

I wanted to keep her alive.

I couldn't bear
to be left behind.

I'd do anything to feel safe.

To keep the person I love
from being taken from me.

So I did it.

I pinned the blame on my dad
because it made it easier.

That's how selfish I am.

I'd break any promise
for my own sake.

I'm horrible.

It was... so foolish.

She must've thought
hard about it.

She didn't want her mom
to go and leave her behind,

so she needed to
figure something out.

She chased the image of
her father in her memories.

And the answer
she came up with was...

"W-Welcome home."

"I'm glad you're back."

"Did you enjoy yourself?"

"I'm glad to hear it."

It was off the mark
and totally absurd,

but it was what she had.

It was so foolish,

watching her stubbornly
keep at it.

Watching her do her
best to hide her loneliness...

Seeing her t*rture
herself like that...

It was so foolish.

And it made my heart ache.

I'm sure that your mom
realized what you were doing.

And guessed the reason why.

But I'm also sure...
that it helped her.

That it gave her strength.

I hope that's true.

It is. Believe it.

I'm sorry.
I must sound so pathetic.

- -I shouldn't say--
- -It's fine.

Say it. Whatever you need.

You won't disappoint me.

I refuse to apologize.

Tohru and I communicated
with our fists.

You're the only one
who did any hitting.

Some people can
easily trust others

to do what needs to be done.

And honestly, I kind
of envy them for that.

But maybe I can do it, too.

Because what she was feeling
definitely wasn't pity.

All right, it's settled!
I'll leave it to her!

Give me a break.

You're so annoying
when you get like this.

Stop complaining and hug me!

This is him, my father.

So, you do
have a photo of him.

I kinda figured.

Idiot!
You should be telling him!

I--

Hm?

What's wrong?

Nothing.

I remember.

I locked it away, but...

I won't forgive you.

Kyo. Your face.

Is something the matter?
What's wrong?

Kyo, please...

I remember now.

Kyo!

I won't forgive you.

"That's right, it's empty."