Her life was on auto-pilot. She got up each morning and made breakfast. Then she would start the laundry. Then she would go to the cliff. The one she had fallen from. There she would sit on the edge and look out over the area.

When the sun was overhead she would return and fix lunch for whoever was around. She would do whatever chores needed done. Then back to the cliff she would go. When the sun hit the distant line of trees, she would go back and make dinner. She would eat, then shower and go to bed. Every day was the same.

She rarely spoke anymore. Usually only when asked a question that a shake of her head could not answer. She knew they worried, but she couldn't find it inside herself to care.

In the beginning they thought it was her injuries from the fall that made her so quiet. After she came home, they thought it was because of Kyo's rejection. She was so withdrawn from them. They tried to break through those walls around her. Even Akito and Kyo, the two people who had hurt her the most. It pained them to see her so lifeless.

The only one to get any sort of reaction was Hiro. One night at dinner, he stood up and walked over to her. He waited until she looked up at him and he slapped her hard. For a split second, Hatori saw something like satisfaction flicker in her eyes before she calmly stood and walked away.

After that, she began eating in the kitchen. None of them knew what to do, how to help her. The scariest part for Hatori was the suspicion that she didn't really want them to.

She knew they loved her. She was sorry they did. Because she had no love for them. The most she could muster was a sense of obligation to Shigure for taking her in. She knew she had once loved them, but when she woke up in the hospital that was gone. After a couple of months she grew tired of the situation. She was tired of cooking and cleaning for people she did not care for. The only time she felt anything was when Hiro had slapped her. It had been just what she needed to get her moving. It made her begin planning for her future.

He knew something was wrong the moment he pulled up to the house. Hatori slowly got out of the car. He watched Ayame and Shigure do the same. It was only 7pm. Tohru should be in the kitchen, but there were no lights on in the house. They made their way inside and Shigure turned on the lights. Everything was spotless. There was a notebook on the table with a note taped to the cover.

Shigure picked it up and scanned it quickly. He closed his eyes and dropped it back on the table, before heading for his study where he knew there was a couple bottles of saki. Hatori picked it up and read it aloud.

Shigure,I deeply appreciate all you have done for me. I will never forget your kindness. I do not know how I can ever repay you. This notebook contains several simple recipes for meals. There is a schedule in the back of when bills are due, and which shops carry the best foods. On the inside front cover is my email address in case you have any questions. If I may, I will contact you once I am settled to let you know I am fine. I just cannot stay here anymore. I feel like I am drowning under the weight of everyone's expectations. I remember the love I felt for all of the Sohmas, but it is not in me anymore. This is for the best. An onigiri never belonged in a fruits basket anyway.

"She's gone," Hatori said brokenly. "She left us."

3 years later

Shigure was just putting the finishing touches on his manuscript and watching the clock closely. He smiled sadly as he watched the minutes tick by. None of the others knew she called him every month. He knew Kagura and Kisa got an occasional email. Everyone got a birthday card and a Christmas card every year. There was never a return address. He knew that Yuki, Momiji and Ayame sent her emails a lot even though she never replied to them. But they never learned. They pestered her. When will you come back? Where are you? We miss you.

Tohru would probably never return, he thought. He knew now that it was the curse that had changed her. It had drained her of her very essence. The onigiri had died that day on the cliff. Now she was simply Tohru. He had to admit he liked the new woman she had become, though. Calm, steady, relaxed. But with a bit of fire in her. She had finally grown up, far from all of them.

When the phone rang, he was ready for it, his hand resting on the receiver. "Hello dear. How was your month?" he asked as he did every time. She laughed softly in his ear.

"I have a better question," she replied. "What would you say if I invited you for dinner on Sunday?"

Shigure almost dropped the phone. "Are…are you back?" he asked tentatively.

"Not yet," she answered. "But I'll be there in two days, on Friday. I have several appointments to look at apartments in the area." She paused and smiled. "I'm coming home."

"No!" Shigure said quickly. He scrambled to find the best argument possible. He heard her gentle sigh.

"I understand," she said sadly.

"No!" he said again. "You cannot say you're coming home if you aren't coming here." His voice gentled. "This is your home, Tohru. Please? I want you to stay here. There's plenty of room. Yuki and Machi have an apartment in town, and Kyo lives over the dojo now. Please, say yes." She was silent for a long time.

He heard her laugh softly. "On one condition. Can I bring Ricky with me? I don't think I could live without him."

He sent a silent apology to Hatori. "Of course. I'll make up Yuki's old room for him."

He squirmed a bit at the devious chuckle Tohru gave. "No need, sweetie. Ricky sleeps with me. Okay, well I guess I will see you in Friday." He barely heard her soft sigh. "Thank you Shigure."

He figured it would be better to tell everyone at once. Some of them would be thrilled. A couple would be pissed at him for not telling them he was in contact with her. And one was about to become both miserable and ecstatic.

They were all gathered in Akito and Kureno's living room when he walked in. He hadn't told them why he needed to see them, just that he did. He looked at them all closely. Yuki and Machi were cuddled on the sofa. Akito rested in Kureno's lap in the armchair. Kyo and Haru were by the kitchen arguing about nothing. Momiji was texting his girlfriend. Rin and Kagura were braiding Kisa's hair while Hiro watched with a smile. Ritsu and Ayame were in the corner. Ritsu was apologizing for not being more like Aya and Aya was agreeing with him. Hatori was standing by the open screen smoking.

He slipped further into the room and everyone looked over at him. Before anyone could say anything he held up a hand. Better to get this over with, he thought. He took a deep breath.

"Tohru is coming home."

He counted to 7 before everyone began talking at once. After a couple of minutes he held up his hand again. He waited for them to subside. "I know it's a shock, but it's true. I talked to her just a couple of hours ago. I don't want everyone visiting at once, because I don't want you overwhelming her. But I plan on having a dinner party next Monday so you can all come by if you want."

"Wait," Hiro said sarcastically. "Are you saying she just called you up out of the blue and asked to move back in?"

Shigure looked at Hatori sadly. "No. I'm saying that Tohru called me up like she does every month and said she was moving back. Her plan was to get an apartment in town, but I convinced her to come back to the house."

Immediately there were demands to know why he had never told them he spoke to her so often. Others asked when she would be there. Akito practically demanded that she stay at the main house instead. He watched Hatori slip outside and disappear.

"Okay, people. That dinner is a pot luck. So start deciding who is bringing what. I don't want anyone expecting Tohru to provide them with a meal!" As soon as they were distracted by planning a menu he went after Hatori.

He made his way around the garden and stopped under a cherry blossom tree. He sat down on the grass beside Hatori. He felt the pain rolling off his dearest friend.

"I'm sorry I never told you. I just figured you were heartbroken enough. I didn't want you to cling to her memory. I knew that if you knew she was in contact with me, you would never heal."

"How long have you known?" Hatori asked quietly.

Shigure shrugged. "Since the spring before graduation. I don't think anyone else knows, if it makes you feel better."

Hatori smiled wryly. "I've loved her longer than that. Almost from the beginning. Can you imagine? A 25 year old man in love with a 15 year old girl? I was horrified."

Shigure smiled. "We all loved her to some degree, in some way, Tori. And she loved us, too."

The pain he had held in for 3 years bubbled out. "Then why did she leave," he asked brokenly. "How could she leave?"

Shigure took a deep breath. "Tori, I probably should have told you this sooner. I didn't because I'm a coward. I didn't want to hurt you more than you were already hurting after she left. But she was broken. Her heart was ripped out of her and it's taken her a long time to grow a new one."

Hatori turned to look at his cousin. "What do you mean?"

Shigure leaned back into the tree and reached for a cigarette. "This is all just speculation on my part, you understand. I think the curse required a sacrifice. In order to free us, someone had to love us. Each and every one of us. And then that love had to be sacrificed for us. Tohru and I have kept in touch and from snippets of our talks I realized what the curse did. It took her love for us as payment. When she came home from the hospital, you saw her. She was empty. She didn't care about us, or herself, or anything. That was the price for our freedom." He looked over at Hatori and saw the pain in his dearest friend's eyes. "There's something more. She is bringing a friend with her. Someone named Ricky." Hatori folded into himself.

"So she no longer loves us," he whispered.

"She is a different woman now. She has changed a lot from the little onigiri we knew. She and I have built a friendship again. I will help you all I can. This is a fresh start, Hatori. Do not mourn the loss of her old feelings. Those were the feelings of a child. Work to build something new with her."

Hatori smiled at Shigure. "When did you get so smart?"

Shigure stood and held a hand down to help up his friend. "Come on. We have a lot to do to prepare for her arrival."