01x25 - Even So

[bunniefuu]

I've never seen anyone cry like this.

It's because I meddled, isn't it?

…there's a spare one in the gym.

Could you go and get it?

If I hadn't tried to get them alone…

What should I say to her?

If someone told me
there were better guys out there,

I'd tell them to bring one to me.

If someone said
they knew I must be hurting,

I'd think,
"How would you know how I feel?"

And I don't know what it feels like
to be heartbroken.

The words aren't coming to me.

A row of tissues?

I brought a lot because I thought
I'd need them for the barbecue.

I'm the manager, after all.

Feel free to use some.

Thanks.

Go ahead and cry it out.

Yeah.

You really liked him.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Does Inota even know
how much she cares about him?

I wonder if any of the guys
who said they liked me felt this strongly.

I doubt it.

It must be painful sometimes,

but I'm jealous of anyone
who can love someone this strongly.

BLUE BOX

EPISODE 25
EVEN SO

The bus home leaves at five o'clock,
and we'll be practicing until then.

Make sure you pack up ahead of time.

That's a cute design.

It's my sister's.

Actually,

I'm going to head to the gym now.

Practice doesn't start
for another 30 minutes.

I want to practice my serve.

I see.

It was the right thing to do.

Not making things clear
made it harder on her.

I said it's fine!

In!

Looks like you're still sharp
on the final day.

If this were enough to wear me out,
I'd never win.

I like your spirit.

Then…

how about a game?

-Love all. Play.
-I'm ready.

Kyo, can you go wake Nishida up?

Okay.

GLOOM

It's because I meddled.

But I never thought
things would end up like that…

What's wrong?

None of your business, Kasahara!

Keep your nose out of it,
you nosy four-eyes!

Let me guess.

This is about Taiki and Chono?

You already know?

I had a feeling.

No wonder he's been acting weird
since yesterday.

I see.

So Taiki gave her his answer.

Eight-four.

Damn it.

I guess it's time to say goodbye
to this road.

It's the last day, let's give it our all!

I just don't get it.

Also, this is the first
I've heard of Inota having a crush!

Even so,

having someone care about you so earnestly

doesn't happen every day.

I'd get it if he wasn't interested at all.

But they were already friends.

Why did he say no?

I agree with you there.

Chono might get mad
if she heard me say this…

but they seemed closer
when they were just friends.

And Taiki's more of a chaser.

He's not used to being pursued.

Caring about someone as a friend
and caring about someone romantically

are two different things.

It is what it is.

How can you say that?

That's all we can say.

We're just outsiders looking in.

It's what Taiki decided.

Straight… No, a cross!

Thirteen-six.

He's not letting me score at all.

In the time that he stopped
playing against me…

he's gotten even stronger.

I want to catch up. I don't want to lose.

If Haryu Senpai's getting better,

then I should be able to get better too.

More!

More!

Out.

Game set.

Thank you.

What?

One more game!

I figured you'd say that.

I'm done.

Believe it or not, I'm pretty tired
after four days of training camp.

That's not fair.

To be honest,

I was scared to play you.

Haryu Senpai was scared?

Pathetic, right?

I never managed to beat Hyodo.

Then he just up and retired.

Then I lost to Yusa, a first-year,
even though it was just a practice match.

If I lost to you too,

even I'd lose confidence.

Well, I won in the end.

I'm glad I played you.

It'd be more pathetic
if I kept running away.

Being scared to lose,

having your fragile sense of pride
stomped on…

You gotta take that all in,

grit your teeth, swallow it down,
and crawl forward.

That's what I think true strength is.

Everyone's so strong.

What are you talking about?

You're strong, too.

EIMEI PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL

Chinatsu Senpai.

Taiki.

Welcome home.

You too.

I'm back.

Welcome home.

This is weird.

Chinatsu Senpai.

Do you want to go somewhere together
on our next day off?

Where to?

What?

Where should we go?

An amusement park
would be too obvious, right?

We already went to an aquarium.

What's left?

Shopping?! Is there anything I want…?

A tracksuit!
I wanted to go buy a tracksuit!

Mine got all worn out from camp,
so I wanted to buy a new one.

What do you think?

Seriously, a tracksuit? That's so unsexy.

Okay.

Really?

In exchange,

there's this cafe I'd like to check out.

Can we go there too?

Yes, of course.

Great.

How about next Saturday?

You have morning practice, right?

Yes.

Next Saturday, then.

It's a date!

It's to buy a tracksuit, but still!

We haven't been out
since the aquarium and the beach!

And Chinatsu Senpai seemed pretty into it!

Time to step up to the plate!
Show the world I'm a man!

It's also my chance
to tell her how I feel.

Hinacchi, let's hang out!

What?

Now?

We were barred from having fun
for the last four days!

We need to let loose!

But what about our bags?

We'll put them in a locker!

When you're hurt,

there's nothing better than a distraction!

What's up with our faces?

That's part of the fun!

You look good in red lipstick.

I've never actually worn any before.

Let's buy some next time.

Sure.

Let's play air hockey next!

I've never played that before.

You've been missing out
on about 20% of life.

Aww, 20%?

If you missed out on Häagen's new flavor,
that's over 50%.

Oh, no. I've been
missing out on 70% of life.

Let's get you back 20%! Here I go!

Easy peasy.

The goal here
isn't for me to have fun, is it?

Winner!

TAIKO MAESTRO
BEAT IT

You've done this before?

Go, go, go!

Good, seems like she's cheered up a bit.

I'm going to make sure she has fun today.

Is that you, Ayame?

You know her? She's cute.

She's my ex.

What a waste. Why did you break up?

Well, I mean,

she's pretty selfish.

And she gets on you about
how you treat service workers.

Like, "Tell them clearly
if you want a medium or large."

I thought dating her would be easier.

I thought he was a little awkward,
but he seemed like a good person.

She wasn't who I thought she was.

I totally misjudged him.

Let's go.

You haven't lasted long
with anyone else either, right?

Your sister's got a hot boyfriend.

You should learn from her.

-Be a little more considerate--
-Hey!

You have to blame it on her
so you feel better about yourself, right?

What?

If you seriously think that,

you're clearly blind.

You're in the right, and the person
who rejected you is the crazy one.

If you tell yourself
they made the mistake,

then you won't have to feel hurt

about all the time
you thought they liked you back.

If I ever see you again,
I'll expose all your burner accounts!

Don't!

Sorry.

No, it's not your fault.

You did nothing wrong.

EIMEI PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL.

Excuse me.

You did that on purpose.

Be a dear and carry this
to the storage room for me.

Okay.

Did something at camp make you mad?

If I did something…

No, it's nothing.

It's definitely something.

It's just…

Chono was crying.

I know.

You know?

She's probably a hundred times
more hurt than you think.

Even so, she's putting on a brave fa--

Even so,

there's nothing I can say
to Hina right now.

I told her how I felt.

All I can do is wait and see
how Hina wants to take things.

It'd be presumptuous of me
to ask if we can go back to being friends.

So he does care about her in his own way.

But he still said no.

I still can't understand
why you would reject a girl like Hinacchi.

Is the girl you like really that amazing?

Hey, practice is about to start.

Okay.

What kind of question was that?

If I'd said yes,

that'd make it sound like Hina's not.

What?

Nothing.

You think I'm overstepping again,
don't you?

Yeah, your face says it all.

Okay, so I'm just an outsider looking in.

But I saw how she was.

And it made me want to know why.

I'm going to say what I feel!

That's just who I am!

Got that?

I don't care who I'm saying it to.

They can interpret it however they want!

I do think there's some part of Chono
that you managed to save.

It might be nice
to have someone like that around.

Why are you so condescending?

Nobody's ever said that to me.

What?

What's that?

Miss Bunny Ears.
We made it for the culture festival.

By darkening my field of vision,

I'm able to increase my concentration.

Then we'll get to you later.

I want to blow up the gym.

I don't want to skip practice
because I got rejected.

But being in the same space
as Taiki and Chinatsu Senpai

is suffocating.

Kyo, have you seen my phone?

You put it down on the chair.

Found it! Thanks!

-Hey, Taiki! We're gonna go eat--
-Sorry, I got plans!

Good practice today!

What's his hurry?

Probably a date.

What?!

I'm just kidding.

I thought so!
I know he wouldn't betray me like that.

Wait, for real?

I mean, it's not like he told me directly.

Then, is it with…

Probably.

I was wondering
when he was finally going to make a move.

Rushing in headfirst is more his style.

In front of the flower bed.

That girl's pretty cute.

What are you looking at?

Well… I was just thinking
how fast the clouds were moving today.