It's Because I've Been Loved That I've Become Stronger

is the seventeenth episode of Fruits Basket 2001 Anime.

Summary
Tohru meets another member of the zodiac - Kisa the tiger! But as cute as she is, Kisa seems to be having some very serious problems. She’s run away from home and lost her ability to speak!

Plot
During a downpour, Hatsuharu introduces Tohru and Yuki to Kisa Sohma, the Tiger of the Chinese zodiac. Kisa is mute due to being bullied as a child. Yuki begins to have sympathy over her after he learns that Kisa ran away from her home and stopped attending middle school. Kisa's mother later arrives, worried as to why she ran away from her home. Tohru responds by saying that Kisa might feel rejected by her mother if she knew about Kisa being bullied at her school. Kisa is agreed to stay at the household residence until further notice. During that time, Kisa seems to be clinging to Tohru, following her wherever Tohru went; finding it adorable, Tohru hugs Kisa lovingly. Tohru and Yuki meet with Momiji and Hatsuhara after school, figuring out that Kisa was bullied at her school for her hair and eye color. After Hatsuharu receives a letter from Kisa's middle school, Yuki reads it to her. Yuki and Hatsuharu encourages her to speak and later to attend school again, after they explain that one must be accepted by others before one can be accepted by oneself.

Trivia
Episodio 17 (2001) Rencontre de Kisa