Hatori, the Sohma family's doctor, tells Tohru she must come and see him alone. She is really nervous because Hatori is the man with the power to erase peoples' memories. When she arrives, she meets Momiji, (well, she has met him before, but she meets up with him) an annoying (in my opinion. Most people think he's adorable) little boy, the rabbit of the Chinese Zodiac. He shows her the way to Hatori's office. Once they get there, Hatori asks her, "Do you like living with Shigure, Yuki and Kyo?" and she responds with, "Yes, very much!" He then says, "All the more reason for you to leave. The Sohma curse isn't something to be taken lightly, it is filled with pain and heartache. You should pack up your things and go back to your own family," or something along those lines. She's sad then, cause she doesn't want to leave them, obviously. Tohru then goes for a walk with Momiji. Momiji tells her the brief story of Hatori's relationship with a girl named Kana. He tells her that Hatori had a girlfriend, named Kana, and she didn't care about the fact that he was cursed. They got engaged and went to ask Akito, the head of the family, for permission to get married. He refused to let them get married and hurt Hatori, blinding his left eye. Kana blamed herself for Hatori's pain and her grief consumed her. Hatori had no choice but to erase her memory to ease her pain. Momiji explains that Hatori wants Tohru to move out of Shigure's house so that she does not end up hurt, like Kana. Tohru cries when she realises how nice Hatori really is. Momiji leaves to get drinks and Hatori comes out (he had overheard everything). Hatori says, "You should forget everything I said," and Tohru says, "Have you forgotten her, Hatori?" and he says, "It's all in the past," or something. Tohru trips off the verandah and Hatori goes to catch her, turning him into his Chinese Zodiac animal- the dragon. He's not a dragon though, he's actually a sea horse. It's supposed to be some symbol that the curse is weakening as time goes on, or something, it wasn't explained in the anime. Tohru freaks out saying, "Water! No! Seawater! Which one is it?!? Hatori?!?!" This reminds Hatori, in all his sea horse-y form, of Kana and a flashback ensues. The saddest flashback ever:
~ Kana arrives at Hatori's doctor office and introduces herself. He tells her where her desk is, before she interrupts saying, "It's snowing! I knew it would snow today! Hey, here's a question for you. When the snow melts, what does it become?" He replies saying, "It becomes water, of course," and she replies making buzzing noises, like the sounds that come from buzzers on game shows, saying, "No, it becomes Spring! I think Spring is my favourite season." This causes Hatori to have a look of love on his face... ALMOST love at first sight. They start going out and Hatori talks about how she was his spring. He had become cold and frozen and Kana had melted the ice in his heart, or something, and was his spring. He was happy with her. Then, she found out about the curse, reacting the EXACT same way Tohru did, when he turned into a sea horse. Once he turned back, Kana told him that she understood him now, she understood why he never wanted to hold her and why he keeps his distance from everyone, especially those he loves. She said, "You don't have to be afraid anymore, especially not of me. Hatori, I'm so glad to have met you. And I'm even happier to have fallen in love with you."
He then goes on to explain that, "I started crying. It was the first time in my life that I felt forgiven. Like I was saved. Like the frozen snow that's melted by spring, the tears wouldn't stop." He was genuinely happy for the first time in his life. Then, he told Akito that they wished to be married. Akito FLIPPED OUT and actually hit him with a vase (in the anime. I think he just hit him in the manga, not that it really matters), smashing the glass and blinding his eye. Akito then goes up to Hatori and says, "Hatori? What's wrong?" He points at Kana, sitting in the back of the room and yells, "This is your fault! YOU did this to him! You think you can lift the curse? You're just an ordinary person, you can't lift the curse. THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Kana believes him and spirals into a depression, believing that she is the reason for Hatori's pain and that she wasn't there to protect him. Hatori can't bear seeing her in this much pain. Akito tells him that, "It's her memories of you, her feelings of you that are causing her pain," and convinces Hatori that, if he were to erase her memory of him, she would no longer be in pain. He says, "It would be your final act of love." Hatori realises this is true and proceeds to erase her memory. As he is, Kana says, "It would have been better if you and I had never met. Hatori, I'm sorry, I'm sorry that I couldn't be there to protect you." Hatori, obviously, cries and erases her memory, saying, "I was the one who should have apologised. I was the one who couldn't protect her." It then shows her saying goodbye to Hatori in his office, thanking him for teaching her many things, as she was kind-of his apprentice. Then she leaves ~
Tohru and Hatori are standing outside in the snow and Hatori asks, "When the snow melts, what does it become?" and Tohru says, "It becomes Spring!" Hatori smiles (a rare thing), realising that she is a good person etc. Tohru goes on to say that whenever it's snowing, it reminds her that Spring is on its way and that, no matter how much snow there is, it will always melt.
Oh my gosh, that nearly made me cry, just writing it. I guess it helps that Hatori is my second favourite character in the anime, but it's just so sad. Later in the show, it is revealed that Kana is marrying another man. SO. SAD. Anyway, it might be cheesy, all that stuff about her melting his heart, but I didn't find it cheesy at all. I loved it. I loved, and still do love, all the metaphors about the snow and the spring. Wow. If any of you have the time or motivation, I urge you to look up this episode, whether you know anything about the show or not, it's just done so well.
Here are some images from the episode:
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| Poor, dreaming Hatori... |
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| In the manga he says, "What, do you think I'm an idiot? It's water, of course." |
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| Love the facial expression. |
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| :'( |
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| This is the moment I balled. So much. |
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