"What a fine day!" Honda Touru, a high school girl, looks up the blue sky just outside of her tent. She says, "I'm off", to her mother's photo in it and leaves for school. She has been secretly living in the tent in the woods since her mother was killed in a car accident in May. It's not an easy life but she is always cheerful by nature.
On her way to school, she finds an old house in the woods. She walks through its garden and likes its calm atmosphere. Small figures of the Oriental Zodiac (12 animals) on the corridor catch her attention and she comes close to have a good look of them. Then a man in kimono appears from inside and finds Touru. She apologises for having entered his premises without permission but the man doesn't mind it at all. They start talking about the figures and Touru says a little sadly, "But a cat isn't here, either." As the man suspects, she is talking about a cat in a fairy tale which her mother told when she was small.
Once upon a time, God invited animals to a party He was going to have the next day. The mouse passed the message on to the cat but told a lie, "The party is on the day after tomorrow." Next day the mouse went to the party on the back of the bull, followed by the tiger and rabbit and so on. They had a wonderful time through the night, except the cat who stayed home.
The story saddened small Touru so much she decided to give up being a dog [she was born in a year of Dog] to become a cat.
The man seems to be interested in her story. "Oh you were born in a year of Dog? I feel close to you because I'm also..." But he cannot complete his words as a boy hits him in the head with his bag [with two dictionaries in it ^_^;;]. "Are you all right, Honda-san? Didn't my cousin do something to upset you?" To her great surprise, the boy is Souma Yuki. He is her classmate and the "Prince" of the school.
SubtitleThe man in kimono introduces himself as Souma Shigure, Yuki's cousin. Yuki wonders why she has been doing in such a deserted area. Touru cannot tell the truth and meekly says she lives nearby, which somewhat surprises the two men. Afraid of further questions, Touru says good-bye to them and leaves for school. But Yuki stops her and suggests to go together.
So they walk down to school together but it upsets a few girls who worship him. They want a good explanation from her and "just a coincidence" is obviously not good enough. Then two girls come to save Touru. Uotani Arisa, a tall girl with long brown hair, tells them off with a gangster-like style. The Yuki fans are barely courageous enough to talk back but, when the other girl, Hanajima Saki, threats them "I'll send you poison waves to (beep) you," they have no choice but run away. Arisa gives Touru a gentle hug and tells Saki not to send the "waves" literally ^_^;;
In the cooking class, Touru tells Arisa and Saki what happened in the morning. Looking from close, Yuki was so pretty that she became too tense to have a decent conversation. Saki says she senses strange waves from him and Arisa agrees that he is a little mysterious. Yuki rarely talks about himself and it is said that, when a girl tried to hold him the other day, he knocked her away in a terror.
Arisa asks Touru if she's working tonight again. She and Saki know that Touru is with her grandfather and works in the evening to earn her school fee. Saki wonders why she has to work so hard; their school is state-funded and the fee isn't that high. Arisa worries if she is treaded well at home and assures Touru that, if not, she'll come and teach him a lesson. Now there is no way for Touru to tell the truth to her best friends.
Touru's mother, who worked hard to make their living ever since her father died of disease, was killed in an accident. After much [apparently unfriendly] talk among her relatives, it was decided that she would live with her paternal grandfather. As he is a pensioner, Touru promised that she would pay for school for herself. Four month later, his daughter wanted to live with him along with her own family and they decided to rebuild the house. So, he asked Touru to live with her friend or someone during the construction. As she knew Arisa lived in a small room for herself and Saki's family was big, she chose to live alone in a tent...
After the school is over, Touru finds Yuki at the entrance hall and they walk back home together. When she talks about cats, Yuki shows his clear hated to them, "Cats are idiot." According to him, the Zodiac had at first nothing to do with these animals, which were merely associated with the idea later for some reason. In short, there was no chance for the cat to join the Zodiac. Touru meekly asks, "So you don't like cats?" Yuki doesn't answer the question but points out she doesn't look well. In fact she didn't in the morning, either. "You should look after yourself. Now, see you tomorrow."
His gentle words touches her heart but she has to ignore his advice. She knows her mother must have worked even harder. Touru puts all her soul into her job as a cleaner of office buildings.
Shigure and Yuki are walking in the woods. They have been to a restaurant for supper. Neither of them is a good cook and Yuki refuses to have a housekeeper in their house. Then they see Touru coming back to her tent. She is very tired but has to finish her homework before going to bed. So she decides to go out and wash her face in the river to refresh herself and bumps into the men.
CMThey take the girl to their home and listen to her explanation. Well, Yuki is certainly listening but Shigure is still killing himself laughing at what he has seen. Yuki thought it was odd when she said she lived near here in the morning because the land around here is owned by the Souma's and they have never sold or rent it. Touru desperately begs Yuki to let her use that piece of land just until her house is rebuilt. She would pay although she doesn't have much money. Shigure, who has finally recovered, warns her that the ground of the area is not very solid, with a big risk of landslides. He doesn't think in the first place it is a good idea for a young girl to live alone in a tent for such a long time. Yet Touru is determined. She stands up and declares, "Don't worry. I've got used to slugs ^_^;; and things and am strong enough to go on, physically and mentally." But, before she finishes her sentence, collapses. She has a fever and Shigure goes to the kitchen to get some ice. But the kitchen is in such a mess, which Touru describes as "The Forrest of Rotten Sea" [she knows Nauscicaä ^_^;;], he cannot find it.
Then he hears a long howl of a wild dog. With a serious look, he tells her that there has been a landslide near here, just as he warned. She wonders how he knows but he doesn't answer that question. Instead Yuki wants to know exactly where it is.
It turns out the landscape has hit Touru's tent directly. She panics at the view and starts digging the mud to save her mother's photo. Yuki cannot stop her but Shigure successfully calms her down, "Your mother will suffer even more if you gets harmed in another landslide, right? Let's go home now and come back in the morning."
Touru is now in bed with Shigure at her side (Yuki is looking for some ice). Touru sorrowfully whispers that she has lost another home. He asks,"Does it hurt you?" "No... because I know something that hurts me far worse..."
She bitterly regrets that she didn't say "Have a nice day!" to her mother on the very morning of the accident. She couldn't wake up after studying until very late for a test. She had seen her mother off with the word every morning except the particular day. Originally she wanted to get a full-time job after graduating a junior high school. But her mother wanted her to go to a high school because she didn't herself; "I wished to be a high school girl. So do it for me." Touru knew her mother was working hard for her sake. Yet she couldn't say "Have a nice day!" or even see her back when she left home for work. All she can do for her now is to graduate the high school and she is determined to achieve it at any cost.
Touru falls in sleep and Yuki comes with icy water, "Amazing." She is always cheerful at school, he never suspected she is having such a hard life. So how about himself? He ran away from Souma's mail family and yet is living in another Souma house. If he really wants to get away from the family, he should have gone to deep in a forest or mountain with a tent.
Yuki leaves the girl to Shigure's care and says he is going out. Shigure knows what he is going to do and offers his help; "The mud is too much to remove for yourself." Yuki declines his offer with a mysterious smile; "For myself? Who are you talking to?" A number of small animals gather behind him.
Touru is in her dream and in her mother's lap. This isn't the first time for her to become feverish after overwork. Being a kindhearted girl, she helped her mother ever since she was small and often overworked herself. On such occasions, her mother used to say, with Touru on her lap, "You can take time and do things in your own way."
Touru wakes up to see, in her surprise, the photo of her mother at her bedside. "Good morning!" Yuki comes to the room with two bags in his hands. He has dug up all her belongings from under the mud. She wants to know how he did it but his reply is "Secret". Then he offers, if she doesn't mind the untidiness of the male-only household, she can stay with them until her house is ready again. She refuses it immediately; she cannot accept such a kind offer. Shigure joins the scene and asks her if she is good at housekeeping. Her answer "yes" is more than enough to settle the matter. Shigure and Yuki take her belongings to her new room. Having nowhere else to go, she finally accepts their offer and says, "Please teach me how things are run in Souma's." Yuki replies with a gentle smile, "You can take time and do things in your own way in this house."
Walking along the corridor, Shigure checks if Yuki really doesn't mind to have a girl in their house. Yuki says he should be all right as long as she won't give him a hug while someone is watching them on the tree in the garden.
Things move on faster than Touru's brain and she finds herself in her new room in Yuki's clothes. Then she hears a noise above the ceiling and a boy with orange hair falls onto the room, destroying the ceiling. He calls him "Mouse" and challenges him to a fight. Touru tries to stop him but stumbles over a piece wood to fall on the boy. Hearing the big noise, Shigure comes up to the room to see Touru in panic holding a cat in her hands. She thinks the boy was hit in a bad spot to become a cat and hurries to hospital. Then a big piece of broken wood falls from the ceiling and hits her in the head and she falls on Yuki and Shigure. To send her into a deeper panic, they become a dog and a mouse.