With Kyo now realizing that he loves Tohru, it’s about time he sort things out with Kagura.

— Before we get to the juicy drama, everyone comes home to Yuki’s brother making a big mess. Shigure can’t mad, because he apparently forgot to lock the doors. Well, they kinda live out in the middle of nowhere, so it’s not so bad. Japan’s crime rates are relatively low anyways. I’m more amused by the fact that Tohru still greets Ayame with a bow. I mean, that’s just her personality, but is she always going to overlook it when people are dirty and sloppy? I sure hope her future husband can clean after herself.

— The next day, Tohru goes to see Kazuma privately to ask him more about the curse. He essentially explains that the Sohmas don’t have the will to disobey Akito. It literally pains them to be reprimanded by their “god.” I get it, and at the same time, I don’t. It’s like when your parents express their disappointment in you. It just makes you feel super bad, doesn’t it? So I have to imagine that Fruits Basket is taking this idea to the extreme. Imagine disappointing your god… if you believe in that sort of thing. It hurts. The disconnect for me, however, is that Akito is lousy both as a god and as the head of the family. But like I’ve said before, that’s a me kinda thing. Some people feel that no matter how horrible they are treated, family is family. As the saying goes, blood is thicker than water. Again, you can see the parallels in Fruits Basket. Akito abuses the Zodiacs, but they can’t help but obey her.

Obviously, I don’t agree that family is everything. It helps that I’ve always been isolated from most of my family as a kid, so I don’t even have bonds to break. I guess I could’ve turned out like Kyo, i.e. lashing out at people for not accepting me, but instead, I just didn’t care. And once I grew up and became an adult, I realized that I could create my own family. I don’t need validation from people who have never cared about me. This is what the Sohmas — especially Kyo and Yuki — will have to come to realize in order to break their bonds with Akito. They can make their own family. Tohru might not be related to them by blood, but their bond with her should be stronger than their bond to an abusive “god.” Not surprisingly, Kazuma encourages Tohru to continue being herself in order for her bonds with the Sohmas to strengthen.

— Kazuma weirdly asks Tohru why she feels the need to do so much for the Sohmas. Isn’t it the right thing to do? If you know your friend is going to be confined just because he’s some mythical cat, wouldn’t you wanna right this injustice? Hell, I’d personally call the cops, ’cause that’s some messed up shit.

— Interestingly, Rin also drops by Kazuma’s place to ask about the curse. I don’t know why she doesn’t want Tohru to get involved, though. Oh no, someone wants to help! How terrible!

— The other major story involves Kyo and Kagura. The summer trip has made Kyo realize how much he cares about Tohru, so he needs to set things straight with Kagura. It would’ve been easier to just ignore the problem, so I guess I should give him credit for addressing her properly. Kagura seems to sense that the end is nearing, so she insists that they go on a date before he closes their door on them as a potential couple.

— During the date, Kagura drags Kyo back to the place where they used to play as kids. We then learn how they first met. Basically, her intentions weren’t wholly innocent. She befriended Kyo mostly because his existence alone made her feel better about herself and her circumstances. I don’t know how much you can really blame a child, though. She wouldn’t even have to feel bad about herself if she wasn’t affected by the stupid curse to begin with, so really, it’s just an unfortunate set of circumstances all around.

— Anyways, when Kagura saw Kyo’s true form, she naturally ran away. Again, it would be unreasonable to hold a child to such a high standard. She compares herself to Tohru going after Kyo, but she’s being a little unfair to herself — a little too harsh. Not only was Tohru much older than Kagura was when she first saw Kyo’s true form, Tohru had also spent a lot of time bonding with Kyo. They’ve been living in the same home. They go to the same school. They share the same meals. It’s just not the same. Let’s put it this way: if five-year-old Tohru had seen Kyo’s true form back then, do we honestly think she would’ve embraced him? Maybe, but even if she did, is this any indictment on Kagura for reacting like a normal child? Tohru’s just weird; she’s like a saint. You can’t hold yourself to that standard.

— Nevertheless, Kagura has carried this guilt with her to this day. She confesses that she tried to fall in love with Kyo in order to absolve her of that guilt. In response, Kyo rips the band-aid off. He tells her simply that he will never fall in love with her. He also never resented her for what happened in the past. In essence, he’s freeing her from her guilt.

— After taking a moment to reflect on her feelings, Kagura then admits that she ended up truly falling in love with Kyo anyways. So that’s that. She now gets to mourn her first love, and they can both move on.

— A rather bittersweet episode, but I liked it more than recent ones.