The cast of the most recent Fruits Basket anime is well known for keeping secrets, as the pain of the Sohma family curse ripples throughout their lives. Seemingly simple things, like a day spent together or a chance meeting as children can have lasting repercussions, years after the fact. In season 2, episode 6, a ratty old baseball cap dredges up old memories, and may be a link between Yuki's and Tohru's childhoods.
After a particularly rough patch, Momiji decides to cheer everyone up and book some time at the Sohma estate on the beach. About half the cast joins him for some fun in the sun, from Hatsuharu and Kyo to Kisa and Hiro. Yuki and Tohru keep their distance from each other for the most part, though, while Hiro sticks his nose into Tohru's business during the hike back to the house that evening.
Inquisitive Hiro
Tohru's diary, which held a picture of her mom, Kyoko, had fallen out of her backpack. An exasperated Hiro, eager to seem "adult," wants to know why in the world Tohru brings this photo of her mom everywhere, especially considering she doesn't have one of her father. Tohru hesitates to answer, and it's clear that Hiro has hit a nerve. This isn't something Tohru wants to talk openly about - she keeps a lid on it. She takes the photo back, and Kisa confronts Hiro. She can't believe that her friend mocked Tohru for keeping a photo of her dead mother, and she won't stand for Hiro presuming to know what's in Tohru's heart. Surprisingly, Hiro doesn't do much to defend himself; instead, he realizes that he, too, is hiding something like Tohru is, stopping him in his tracks.
Earlier in the episode, Tohru had Momiji and Yuki help her catch up on summer homework, and Yuki spotted an old, pale blue baseball cap sitting on Tohru's dresser. Tohru doesn't have many material possessions, but she certainly made room for that hat, apparently receiving it from a mysterious boy when she was younger. Yuki doesn't comment much more on it.
More Secrets, And A Hat
Later, during their summer vacation, Yuki feels a bit ill, and Tohru takes it upon herself to care for him. While Tohru is busy watching over Yuki, and he admits that there might be something under his "lid" that he needs to share. He's got a secret, just like Tohru, and a brief flashback reveals that he was the boy who owned the cap that Tohru treasures so much. He had fled - or, at least, snuck out of - the Sohma estate and found the lost little Tohru soon after. He wants to tell her this, but hesitates.
This episode's mysteries tie into one of Fruits Basket's broader themes: that everyone has secrets, and everyone has hidden wounds they don't like to show to others. No first impression ever tells the whole story, and Tohru has some serious baggage despite her cheerful and optimistic demeanor. Yuki, who's idolized as a prince, has suffered almost as much verbal abuse at Akito's hands as everyone else, and even the goofy Momiji and the standoffish Hiro have their own secret pains. Momiji shared his "my mother didn't want me" story with Tohru pretty easily, while Hiro is more tight-lipped about his own baggage.
It seems that the baseball cap is about to bridge Tohru and Yuki's lives once again, and time will tell how Tohru will react to this revelation. And in time, Hiro might be ready to open up, too.