Goodbye

is the eleventh episode of the third season of the Fruits Basket 2019 Anime.

Summary
Kyo finally tells Tohru what he should have told her in the first place. And we finally hear the true, original zodiac story.

Plot
Continuing off where Tohru is being discharged from the hospital, after she reunited with Arisa and Saki, she then sees Kyo who's also waiting for her. However, before he gives a chance to speak up, Tohru suddenly sprinted away. While Tohru is running away, she suddenly questions herself why she commited this action upon seeing Kyo, being strange since this isn't how she planned it at all. Tohru then stops in front of Kyo after he managed to catch up to her and blocked her way by grabbing a pole. However, she quickly pulled away, and a mother and daughter believed Kyo has been dumped. He leaned against the pole, still shocked of the outcome, but still refused to let her go and continued to chase after her.

Tohru continues running, muttering to herself that she didn't prepare to face Kyo again after all. Despite saying she understood her role in all of this is over, no longer having a purpose, she still isn't satisfied. A scene later shows of Yuki visiting Tohru while she was still in the hospital, checking up on how's she doing and telling her to not hesitate in asking anything she needs. But when Yuki mentions about Kyo, Tohru began to show tears, but slapped her face so that he wouldn't see it. Tohru decided to brush off the topic by quickly asking what has been happening back at Shigure's house, and if there's anything she needs to do once she's been discharged. However, it didn't help her recover from the pain inside of remembering how Kyo called her a disappointment, and that hearing his name is enough to bring her deep sorrow. While on the roof of the hospital, Tohru tried to convince herself to move forward, that she shouldn't continue lamenting forever and cause problems for those close to her. She even proclaimed that she will smile and act normal towards Kyo the next time she sees him.

Back to where Tohru is, she started to get tired and rested in a area with towering buildings in front of her. She mentioned she even did some training in behaving like the past events never happened, but her efforts have gone to waste. Tohru truthfully said she wasn't lying that she was okay with the way things are, even if she wasn't by Kyo's side and prepared herself for the worst possible outcome. But she admitted that she wanted to be by his side more than anything. Suddenly, Kyo is seen to have caught up to Tohru again and is walking towards her. Tohru begged him to not come any closer as she begins to start crying and claimed she'll be ready in a minute, but she couldn't control her tears. She didn't want to make Kyo upset, hate her, or disappointed. But all of a sudden, Kyo gently grabbed Tohru's wrist to make her turn towards him. He begins to speak in saying he was a fool. That even though he confessed his sins of being involved with Kyoko's murder and said what he wanted to say, he completely ignored Tohru's feelings. He regrets not knowing up until now that there won't be another chance to see someone ever again and have the chance to apologize. Kyo sincerely said sorry to Tohru for making her cry and hurting her so much. He begs her to give him one last chance in being better since he wants to be with her if he wants to continue moving forward and living. With that, Kyo finally confessed his feelings for Tohru. After a moment of silence, Tohru spoke up in saying if it's really okay. To be by Kyo's side, being together with him and holding his hand. But Kyo brushed it off in saying it's alright since they're already holding hands. Tohru then starts to cry in happiness and relief upon hearing Kyo's answer, and the two share their second kiss. Kyo reminded that, which made Tohru fluster since she didn't remember anything from that day at the cliff. Kyo lifts Tohru up to her feet and asks if he can hug her. Despite telling her the consequences of being together because of the curse, Tohru didn't care because she loves him the way he is. Kyo then pulled Tohru to him and the two shared a heart-warming embrace. However, after a moment of hugging each other, the new couple notices that Kyo didn't transform to a cat, much to their surprise. Back in the Sohma Estate, Akito is seen staring outside from her room, suddenly saying "Goodbye."

In a flashback, during the time where she visited Tohru in the hospital, Akito revealed that she was jealous of her. Because unlike her, Tohru is much more pure and pretty. However, Tohru responded that it's not true, as she's not exactly what Akito declared. Tohru urged Akito to not categorized people based on words, such as "pretty", as an excuse to distant herself from others. She even declared that Akito is also pure and pretty if she thinks the same way about her. Back when she confronted Tohru at Shigure's house, after witnessing Akito expressing her sorrow of being lonely and scared, she(Tohru) notices how pure and innocent she was. Tohru proclaims that she was just an intruder, someone who tried to destroy the world Akito wanted, the future she always believed in. But whatever happened in the past didn't matter at this point, since it didn't change the fact Tohru caused so much pain towards Akito. However, dispite everything that happened, Tohru still wants to be friends with Akito. Akito was surprised by this, as she remembered the same thing Tohru said back up at the cliff. She even blushed a little in shyness and said to Tohru she's persistent, much to her amusement. Back to where Akito is right now, she questions if there'll still be time for "new meetings" and "beginnings". While at the same time, the spirit of the God of The Chinese Zodiac appeared and comforted Akito.

From there, Tohru started to narrate, as she seemingly starts to tell the story about the Chinese Zodiac. However, the story's a little different than usual. This was how it went. Once upon a time, there is a person who lived deep within the mountains. They realized they were different from other people, having the strength and lives of a thousand men. The person was afraid to go down and meet other people because they are different. One day, out of nowhere, a cat came into the person's house. The Cat said he has been watching them for some time, cannot help but be drawn by them. He asks to stay by the person's side, calling them "God", revealing that person to be the God of The Chinese Zodiac. With the Cat keeping his word, he never left God's side, which made them very happy. From there, God proposed an idea. Since they cannot befriend other people, they can instead befriend other beings. So God spread out many invitations across the land, and in response, 12 animals that are from the Zodiac came to their side. God and the animals, including the Cat, all held a banquet. In which they danced, sing, and laughed together. And for the first time in their life, God was so happy while the moon quietly watched over them. However, these happy times didn't last forever, as in one night, the cat suddenly collapsed. God and the animals were sad in seeing the Cat's time about to pass, and realized that all living things are destined to come to an end. The wonderful, eternal banquets will be over. God, not wanting the happy times to come to an end, created a spell by using their finger to draw a circle around a sake cup of water. They gave the cup of water to the Cat, who took a sip. God then proposed to the animals to let their friendships last for eternity, that no matter how many times they are reborn, their friendship, their bonds, will never disappear. The animals then willingly agreed and each took a sip of the water one at a time. The Rat took the first sip, then the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, and the rest in the following order. The Cat, who briefly regained consciousness, asked God why they forced him to take a sip, since he didn't want eternity. The words the Cat said were shocking towards God and the animals, who all saw it as a sign of rejection. The Cat then told God that even though the time he spent with them was brief and the happiest, they should all accept that all things must eventually come to an end. He wanted God to befriend humans in the next life, and to see him smile not only in the moonlight next time, but in the sun as well. With his final words spoken, the Cat eventually passed away. The other animals however, didn't pay heed to the Cat's words, since they still believe the Cat betrayed them. As time continued on, one by one, the animals eventually passed away, with the Dragon dying last. And so, God was alone once more, and at long last, their time came as well. However, God wasn't afraid, because their promise gave them strength. They vowed to hold another banquet, and another after that, holding an eternal series of gatherings that are forever unchanging. God may be alone right now, but they won't fall into despair. Having full knowledge of knowing everyone is waiting for them on the other side of the promise. Tohru concluded that this was a story from a long, long time ago. It was the original memory forgotten by everyone. Revealing it to be the true story of the Chinese Zodiac, about the first, original promise.

Back in the present, it was soon revealed that Akito is the one responsible for Kyo not transforming. She finally decided to put it all to an end by breaking the curse. She later got on her knees, muttering to her father if the action she took was okay. That she decided to stop being special, to stop being a "God", and just be herself. So that she can start a new life that is her own. Akito then starts crying, being hurt and scared of letting everything she once held go. Still unsure of what the future holds for her, she still decided to commit this action, once again saying goodbye. Because of this, the other remaining Sohmas, Ayame, Ritsu, Kisa, Kagura, Isuzu, Haru, Hatori, and Shigure, all sensed that their curses were finally broken and are all relieved to know they're finally free. As for Kyo, to find out if his curse has really been broken, he stretched and broke his Juzu bead bracelet and didn't transform to his monsterous form. Tohru cried in joy in finding out that at long last the curse has been broken. As Kyo looked up into the sky, God's voice can be heard in saying goodbye.

Trivia

 * This episode title is taken from one of Akito Sohma's lines.

Anime and Manga Differences

 * The opening scene of Tohru's departure from the hospital shown from her perspective and seeing Saki, Kyo and Arisa was added for the anime.
 * Some additional dialogue from Tohru and Kyo was added during Tohru's flashbacks of her hospital meeting with Yuki and her earlier rejection from Kyo.
 * The birds flying away were added to the scene of Kyo and Tohru kissing.
 * Kyo's flashback of first kissing Tohru when realizing she was unconscious when it happened was removed from the anime.
 * Instead of being all together as in the anime, the flashback depicting Akito's hospital visit was split apart in the manga with the final sentence of Tohru's admission to Akito and Akito's reaction to it not revealed until later in the chapter.
 * The story told about the original God and animals of the curse originally took place in Chapter 131 after the curse was totally broken in Chapter 130.
 * Kyo tearing away his prayer beads as the Sohma curse became broken was shown before showing the reactions of the other cursed Sohma being freed in the manga.
 * The anime skipped over Yuki and Machi's meeting with each other in Chapters 130 and 131. Leading up to this, it was implied that Yuki intended to reveal his curse to her before realizing he was the last freed from the curse. No longer having to worry about it, Yuki proceeds to hug a surprised Machi where he admits he originally meant to tell her about something else, but admitted this was enough for now. Machi then asks if she can call Yuki by his first name and he lets her do so a few times, before kissing her and saying that Machi can say his name as many times as she wants from now on.
 * During Kyo and Tohru's visit to Kazuma's house, Haru had appeared from behind Tohru in the manga instead of from outside the house.
 * The circumstances that led to Akito's surprise embrace of Tohru differed between the anime and manga. In the manga, Akito was present in a room at Kazuma's house that he brought her and Kyo to. In the anime, Hatori had driven up in a car to bring Kyo and Tohru to see Akito waiting at the main Sohma house.

Episodio 61 (2019) Adieu エピソード61（2019）