I've Been Fooling Myself

Word that her grandfather's renovations are done shakes Tohru's growing bond with the Sohmas and her faith in herself. Believing she has no right to stay, she prepares to leave, until Yuki and Kyo make plain that what matters is not their wishes but hers, and bring her back to the place she now calls home.

As she cooks dinner, Tohru remembers her mother once telling her it is fine to feel discouraged now and then. Deciding she cannot truly become family with the Sohmas, she announces her departure, leaving Yuki and Shigure with advice on meals, chores, and trash days along with her new address. On the way she recalls the childhood fruits basket game, where she was named the rice ball and left out because a rice ball is not a fruit.

At her grandfather's house, relatives question her about living among only men, and her grandfather strikes the accuser, telling Tohru she need not endure any unpleasantness and may stay wherever suits her best. Torn, she misses the Sohmas and wishes to know Yuki and Kyo better. Back at the house, Kyo had bristled at how her family uprooted her without regard for her wishes. Under the pretense of looking for nail clippers, he chases after Yuki, who has taken Tohru's memo to find her address.

The two overhear the harsh words aimed at Tohru and resolve that her wishes come first. Yuki appears before her and tells her to come home, and Tohru, in tears, realizes home is now wherever they are. Walking hand in hand with both boys, she feels like the luckiest person alive, while Shigure marvels that he has never seen Yuki so undone and tells her the imperfect house is hers if she wants it.

The title is taken from a line of Tohru's. Adapting a single chapter, the episode opens with an anime-only scene of Tohru cooking and recalling her mother's words about it being fine to be selfish. Because chapter 8's material was moved into the earlier episode Let's Play Rich Man-Poor Man!, Kyo's reflection on Tohru's rice ball metaphor was folded into his flashbacks here. The extended sequence of Kyo and Yuki finding the grandfather's house and overhearing the family quarrel was also created for the anime.