01x05 - Determination

[bunniefuu]

ORIGINAL WORK - SHIINA KARUHO

"RESOLUTION"

What am I supposed to do?

-Sawako.
-Sawako!

Sawako!

What's wrong?
You're spilling rice everywhere.

Are you all right?

I... It's nothing.

I was thinking about midterms.

Oh yeah.

They start tomorrow, right?

Yes.

Thank you for the meal.

Oh, you're done already?

Yeah.

Tomorrow...

when I confront Yano-san, Yoshida-san,

and Kazehaya-kun,

how should I act around them?

I see.

Midterms are today.

So we're sitting in alphabetical order.

Who will sit in my usual seat?

Yano-san.

She's sitting in my seat.

Even though people gossip
about her because of me,

never once... have Yano-san,
Yoshida-san, or Kazehaya-kun...

feared or shunned me.

Never once.

They're always...

so nice to me.

Morning.

Oh yeah, Yano-chin,
you're sitting in Sadako's seat.

Yep.

What about Sadako?

She always smiled at everyone,
even if they were afraid of her,

but today...

she sat down without looking
at anyone, including me.

Why?

I don't know...

Basically, she's not
the usual Sadako we know.

After moving away from my usual seat,

it feels like
my previous seat was an illusion.

Like the seat never existed at all.

It feels as if it was a dream.

It feels far away.

MATH - ENGLISH

Start!

I always wanted to help them

instead of bothering them.

First, I need to fix
the misunderstanding with...

Yano-san and Yoshida-san.

In the future,

even if I find the person who spread
those rumors and fix the misunderstanding,

I can't stay with them,

since I'll just end up hurting them again.

Such nice people deserve better.

Misunderstandings
may disappear eventually,

but I don't know how to console
Yano-san and Yoshida-san,

who are both in so much agony.

I'll just convince myself
I've gone back to how things were...

and stay away from them.

That has to be the best solution.

FIRST YEAR MIDTERM

I wonder if Yoshida-san
used my notes to study.

I hope I was able to help,
even if just a tiny bit.

Yano-san, I...

learned how to tell a ghost story.

I wanted you to hear it
before anyone else, but...

I doubt it'll ever happen.

Kazehaya-kun...

I...

I...

I was always extremely happy.

I always longed for that.

I wished for it.

I...

I can't remember how to handle
my life without that anymore.

I found out...

how it feels when someone is kind,

how badly I want to be kind, too.

How can I go back?

I'm helpless.

I don't know how I dealt with loneliness.

I can't remember how I dealt with it.

All...

All of that...

has left me...

without a trace.

On the first day of summer vacation,

he was waiting for me

just like this.

I don't feel any closure yet.

If you don't dislike me,

why avoid me?

Don't...

talk to me.

No! I can't make myself say it!

I can't let myself say
something that isn't true!

What?

I'm sorry if I make you less popular!

Kuronuma!

If you don't speak clearly,

I won't understand!

If I stick around you,
you'll lose your popularity!

My popularity? Says who?

A rumor...

Rumor?

Popularity? Rumors?

What about what I want?

This isn't a decision you get to make!

It's a decision I make!

I'll...

do what I want.

I'll talk with you when I want to.

If I didn't want to,

I wouldn't be here.

I couldn't care less about rumors.

For me,

the Kuronuma I see now...

is the one I know.

I always,

always longed for...

friends like Yano-san, Yoshida-san,

and Kazehaya-kun.

I've always longed...

to know how it feels to care for someone

and how it feels to be cared about.

Calmed down yet?

Thank you.

I was really thirsty.

I'll take it.

YEN

Payment accepted.

Just a minute ago,
I felt completely hopeless.

How mysterious.

When Kazehaya-kun laughs,

I feel the clouds
obstructing my heart clear up.

I feel like... the knots
in my heart are untangling.

For me,

the Kuronuma I see now is the one I know.

That made me so happy.

It felt as though he told me
it's okay to stay near him.

I was happy.

I see.

Things with Yano and Yoshida
became awkward because of rumors?

If you were us, how would you react?

Like, what if Yano or Yoshida
were in your situation?

What if they felt their presence
would cause you trouble...

and avoided you?

No!

I want to be with everyone.

They're probably thinking
the same exact thing.

I mean, it all hinges
on the other person's feelings.

We don't know what their feelings are,

but if you suddenly start acting distant,
they'll get worried.

I was worried...

to say the least.

I... I'm sorry!

No!

Absolutely not.

You're not allowed to do this again.

Have I ever met anyone like him?

He doesn't ban me from getting close,

but he bans me from avoiding him instead.

I've...

been keeping my thoughts to myself,
haven't I?

But... I must ask them... no...

I must tell them, or they won't know.

I want to tell them.

I want both Yano-san and Yoshida-san

to hear about...

how I feel.

You already have people to speak with.

I'll have a talk
with Yano-san and Yoshida-san.

The three of us are...

classmates.

No, more than that.

I hope to be friends with them!

No.

I... I will try hard
to become their friend!

I said it.

Yep.

Good luck!

Yes!

His words...

and his smile...

always energize and push me forward.

Hang in there, Kuronuma.

Just... hang in there.

Go for it.

Kazehaya-kun,

I'll do my very best.

I'll definitely... do it.

What are you doing?

Go home and study.

I was gonna study
in the library, actually.

Oh yeah. Despite your appearance,
you're comically studious.

First off, this is all your fault!

If only you didn't magically show up
at that moment...

What's this irrational accusation?

If I didn't magically what?

If only you didn't show up...

we could have overheard
Sadako's conversation.

Forget it.

Hey, don't go blaming other people.

I don't really get your problem,

but blaming others
won't break up any fights.

I'm sure you'll deal with a lot
of unfair stuff in the future.

After all, you have to figure it out
on your own,

all on your own,

even if I'm the cause
of the whole problem!

Deal with it yourself.

Speaking of, you better have given
that paper to Ryu.

That crap...

I threw it into a fire!

What'd you say?

Don't go blaming other people...

What the heck?

Anyone but Pin gets to say that.

JAPANESE HORROR TALES V.

Isn't this what Sadako was reading?

Just as I thought.

KURONUMA SAWAKO

She checked this out, too.

Why did she borrow
so many Japanese horror stories?

She's so odd.

At this point,
why don't you just play to your strengths?

That was...

just a friendly joke.

She's so innocent.

Oh, you're moping.

Need consoling?

No, thanks, man. I'm doing great!

As a kid, you'd screw around
and get kicked out of the house.

Then you'd sit in front of the door,
depressed.

Shut it.

So, you jogging or something?

Yeah. Pin's secret training.

You're not depressed because
of that street-fighting rumor, right?

I don't give a crap about that rumor!

I figured.

I'm stupid,

so I just don't get it!

Is Sadako who she says she is,
or is there another side to her?

I don't get it at all.

Basically,

when I asked the girls
who told them, they said Sadako.

How'd she spread the rumor?

Talking to herself?

In that case, the gossip at school
would be about how she mumbles to herself.

Because she doesn't
have anyone to talk to.

You're right!

You're absolutely right! That's so true!

Simpleton.

Oh yeah. She was talking
with someone we don't know.

She said we aren't really her friends.

What's more, she doesn't seem to like us.

And now... she's kind of avoiding us.

Jeez, what'd she mean by, "I'm sorry"?

Why didn't she tell us that she likes us?

Either way, she must not
"like" you in that way.

Then what? She dislikes us?

Was she using us?

Dunno.

It could also be that
she just doesn't care.

Well,

there may be other possibilities.

-Other possibilities? What else is there?
-How would I know?

If you're worried,
why don't you just ask her?

If she says, "I don't care,"
I'll console you.

Bye.

I'll pass, man!

YOSHIDA'S

What the hell does he mean
by "other possibilities"?

This is so clear and concise.

These are notes she made
especially for me...

HANG IN THERE, YOSHIDA-SAN!

Sadako, your drawings suck!

She did this just for me...

Such painstaking crap...

Who else would do this?

Chizu, can we meet up real quick?

How were midterms?

I could only do well
on the stuff she helped me with.

I see.

Ever since we awkwardly cornered Sadako...

she hasn't smiled.

Recently,

I thought she was happy.

She smiled like normal
when we were studying for exams.

No kidding!

That stunned all of us.

She was...

so used to being invisible that
it was nothing new to her.

That's pretty depressing.

Because she's so sweet,

that's why I couldn't leave her alone.

For the same reason,

she grew accustomed to being ostracized
and became desensitized to it.

She was completely oblivious
to her true feelings.

I feel like I kinda understand that.

So when that natural smile slipped out,

I felt really happy.

Even you think
about that stuff, Yano-chin?

Don't cry. It's embarrassing.

I didn't know you thought
that way either, Chizu.

What the heck?

I thought we knew her pretty well.

But we really knew nothing
and ended up getting frustrated.

Even you and I have a lot
to learn about one another.

Yeah...

Yano-chin.

We haven't talked about
the most important thing with Sadako.

She doesn't even know this
is how we feel about her.

What she meant by "I'm sorry"...

and "They're not friends"...

Even the rest of that talk...

If we just asked what Sadako meant,

what would she have said?

To be honest, I never thought
I'd hang out with someone like her.

We've only been thinking about Sadako.

Darn right!

How much more will she worry us?

We're just thinking about Sadako.

It's proof...

that we already love her.

I mentioned before that whether we're
her friends or not was questionable,

but now,

what else could she be?

We can already...

stress out about her like this.

Nobody knows
another's feelings if they don't ask.

Our feelings can't be understood
if we don't convey them.

There are things I don't know,
so I want to try to understand.

That is what makes me happy...

The fact that I can think
like this without hesitation

and that I was able to meet
people who helped me to think this way...

makes me happy.

When I meet Yano-san and Yoshida-san,

I need to talk with them.

But they may be busy
studying for midterms.

After school?
I'm sure they'll still have to study.

-Sorry, can I have a word with you?
-Hey, do you hear something in there?

No! Please stop!

I'm nervous, but...

I don't mind this.

You already have people to speak with.

I can tell them my feelings.

Yano-san and Yoshida-san

will listen to me.

sh**t! I totally blew today's midterms.

Me, too.

Oops! I lost track of time
preparing myself.

Remember Sadako's rumor?

The one that says
Yano and Yoshida are her backup?

My rumor?

I found out that was...

That's a misunderstanding!

Yano-san and Yoshida-san are...

not my backup.

So, well...

that rumor is completely false.

Yano-san and Yoshida-san
are very nice girls...

There she goes again.

They're very nice?
What the heck are you saying?

You just wanna talk to everyone.

What are you glaring at us for?

No, this is my normal face.

I mean, so Yano-san and Yoshida...

You're annoying.

We know that crap.

Yoshida and Yano, right?

-So you understand...
-The...

delinquent and slut, isn't that right?

PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE

False rumors to address...

Feelings I can never give up...

Next episode: "Friends"