Okazaki-san.
What's wrong?
I didn't see you around, so I was looking for you.
You practice out here every night?
Only sometimes.
If I'm out here, I won't bother the neighbors if I am too loud.
You should be more careful.
It's dangerous for you to come out alone at this late an hour.
It's all right. This is right in front of my house.
Dad will come running out if I call out.
I'm worried since you look slow.
Do I look like I'm slow?
You never thought you were?
This is a shock.
You shouldn't get down so easily.
I'm just fooling around with you.
I'm used to you being mean to me.
Don't get used to something like that.
Sorry that I have such a bad mouth.
It's fine. Okazaki-san, please always stay the way you are.
Yeah.
Okay.
Have you remembered anything about the play you want to perform?
I still can't remember the title, but it's a story I was told when I was little.
How does it go?
The story of a girl who was left all alone in the world.
It's a very, very sad...
...story of a winter fantasia.
It's done.
I'm sorry.
A girl in a world that ended.
I feel like I've seen something like that.
Though, I don't know when or where I saw it.
But I'm sure...
So I've been a lead weight on Furukawa Bread?!
I love them!
Damn it, I messed up.
What happened this time?
I was recommending Sanae's bread to a customer, but he said it's so gross that it's inedible.
Sanae overheard that.
It's called "rainbow bread".
Rainbow to you!
That made absolutely no sense.
A girl in a world that ended....
Nope, doesn't ring a bell.
Can you try to dredge up some old memories?
Have you ever read her a book or told her a tale like that?
No, I don't recall anything like that.
Ask Sanae about it.
I see...
Gotcha.
Hey, brat.
I don't know what you're trying to find out.
But, even if you do find something out, don't tell Nagisa about it.
Come tell me first.
Why?
'Cause I said so.
Got it?
No, I don't remember anything like that either.
Can you give some thought to it? If it's not a book, maybe a TV show you watched with her?
Do you know how the story ends?
She said it was a sad story, so it's probably not a happy ending.
A sad story...
Nothing comes to mind.
I'm not very good with sad stories to begin with,
so I don't think I've ever told stories like that to Nagisa either.
I see.
Is this something important?
Yes, sort of.
It's...
Something important...
Yeah, I feel like it's something important.
Maybe it's just that we've forgotten about it, and the book you're talking about is stored somewhere in the house.
How about searching for it?
Thank you very much. I will.
I don't think you'd find it at this school.
We don't have many picture books or children's books.
I guess that's to be expected of a high school library.
We do have good resources for plays performed at high schools.
Would those help?
Thanks, but apparently it's not a theatrical play.
I see.
Never mind that, Yukine-chan.
If there are charms that'll tell me which girls like me, can you teach them to me?
We're having a serious conversation, you know?!
Yes, I do have one.
Seriously?!
Tada.
First make a heart using your thumbs and index fingers.
Then chant, "To love, to be loved, to dump, to be dumped," three times.
To love, to be loved, to dump, to be dumped. To love, to be loved, to dump, to be dumped.
To love, to be loved, to dump, to be dumped.
What's next?
Walk around the school once; the first girl who talks to you is the girl who is interested in you.
Okay! I'm off!
Hey.
Yes?
Do girls prefer getting asked out?
Are you talking about Furukawa-san?
I never mentioned her name.
Of course, hearing "I love you" from the person they love makes girls happy.
But... the timing is more important.
Having a sudden approach or something forceful will push her away.
That's how it works?
So hot...
How did it go?
How many laps did you do?
And no one talked to you?
Leave me alone.
I'll get a cup of water for you.
I think Okazaki-san should try it next.
I'm doing it, too?
Make the heart with your fingers.
I'm not really interested in it.
Sunohara, you're in the way.
I don't know why, but I feel something that's completely opposite of being in a romantic relationship with her.
A hungry bear is roaming around here right now.
So you must keep running quietly while playing dead.
As if you're a zombie.
That was a close call.
Okazaki-san.
I came looking for you since you're late.
What were you doing?
No, um...
...to dump, to be dumped.
Out you go now.
The first girl who talks to you is the girl who cares about you.
What's the matter?
N-Nothing.
Everyone's gathered now.
It's a story I heard long ago.
I don't remember if I read it in a picture book or if it's something someone told me.
That girl was all alone in the entire world.
It was very sad and very lonely for her,
so she decided to make a friend.
It was a doll made by putting together pieces of junk.
The doll started to move, responding to the girl's wishes.
So, the girl was no longer lonely.
The end.
Yes. I do know this story.
Look at this!
I found something incredible!
You found it?!
I used to go to elementary school with this on my bag.
Dango, dango, dango, dango. Dango-
You really should graduate from that.
Who's the one singing such an embarrassing song inside the shed?
Your daughter.
We're looking for the picture books that I read when I was little and stuff like that.
You won't find any picture books in here.
But we might find some if we look for them.
I said there's nothing here.
Just go back to your room and flirt with each other like all the other teenagers do.
Wait.
What the heck am I encouraging them to do?!
Don't get all excited by yourself.
Shut up and just get out already!
Come on.
What do you want with me?
Don't tell Nagisa what I'm about to tell you.
Don't tell Sanae that we had this secret conversation either.
I don't want it coming up again.
Okay.
Tea would be nice right now.
Hey, Sanae! Make us some tea!
Okay.
Hey, I just said it's a secret from Sanae, too!
What kind of brain do you have?
That was close.
Now we're fine.
You see, brat-
Here's your tea.
Ah, thank you.
Here's yours, Okazaki-san.
Thank you.
Yup. Japanese people have to drink tea.
Let me remind you again: don't repeat what I'm about to say to Nagisa or Sanae.
Is there something regarding me?
'The hell?! She's right next to me?!
I'll leave once you're done drinking, so don't worry.
Brat, chug it down!
You're not doing this on purpose, are you?
We can finally settle down and talk.
You're the one making this all complicated.
Did you find what you were looking for?
No, not yet.
I see. Well I don't care too much about that.
I don't care about the potty-chair Nagisa used when she was little.
I don't care about that, either.
You guys were frantically looking for it, though!
We weren't looking for a potty-chair! We're looking for a picture book!
Both of you. Night has fallen, so keep it down, please.
Whatever. We'll set the potty-chair aside for now.
I said the potty-chair has nothing to do with this.
Shut your mouth!
Then we'll make this conversation's codename "potty-chair".
I don't care about it anymore.
Let's continue.
I don't care what you're looking for.
But I don't want you accidently finding a certain other thing.
A certain other thing?
You want to know?
If you don't want to talk about it, then I don't need to know about it.
I'll tell you.
I don't want you to imagine I have ten thousand porno mags hidden.
I didn't imagine anything like that!
Listen. What's stored in that shed is my and Sanae's past.
Like old pictures and diaries.
What's in there is us from the past when we were still chasing our dreams.
You don't want that found?
Yeah.
When Nagisa was little, there was a time when she almost died.
She had a close brush with death.
It was more than ten years ago.
Sanae was working as a middle school teacher.
Those were busy days, since I was finally able to do what I wanted to do.
What was it that you wanted to do?
That doesn't matter right now.
What matters is we were both absorbed in our own worlds, since we had both gotten the positions we always wanted.
Therefore we couldn't make much time to be with Nagisa.
One day, Nagisa got a fever.
It was a cold, snowy day.
The nursery school was closed.
We couldn't find anyone who could come over to help.
But those were busy days for both Sanae and me, so we couldn't skip a day of work.
Her fever was going down, and I could come home as soon as the job got done.
It was only a matter of two hours.
But...
Nagisa was outside, waiting for us.
I thought it was punishment from God.
I thought He was planning to take Nagisa from us for only pursuing our own dreams and leaving our daughter alone.
I'm sure there are many people who can handle chasing their dreams and raising their kids.
But we couldn't.
When Nagisa opened her eyes, we made a vow.
We swore that we'd always be with her.
We changed occupations after that.
The reason we chose a bakery was because Sanae said she was confident at baking bread.
But when she bakes, you know the results.
So I had to learn everything from scratch.
I had to go into quite a bit of debt, too, so those were rough days.
But it was fun.
And you don't want Nagisa finding that out?
This is probably what Nagisa will think...
That because of her, Sanae and I had to give up on our dreams.
I'm not sure.
But when I was little, I feel like I did something really bad to Dad and Mom.
Nagisa's starting to notice.
That's why we hid all the memories in the shed.
We could have burned them, but Sanae probably would have cried.
Wouldn't it be better to tell Nagisa about it?
If you explain it clearly, I think she has the strength to accept it.
Maybe, but regardless, she'll probably be shocked if I suddenly slam it in her face.
That's why I'm trying to find the right time to tell her.
The truth is always harsh.
Out of the blue, but...
...here's a question!
There's something I've been planning for tomorrow, Sunday.
What could it be?
1: Picnic.
2: Twitch.
3: Picric Acid.
I don't know what the last choice is.
There is a chemical called picric acid.
It's an aromatic, nitrous compound.
I see. I learned something new.
So, Nagisa, which one's the answer?
Yes! 1: Picnic!
Wrong. The correct answer is 2: Twitch.
Therefore, tomorrow, we'll all twitch together.
Nagisa, let's go on a picnic together, then.
Yes.
Wait! Don't leave me out!
Okazaki-san. Can I forget about acting tomorrow and have fun?
Akio-san, you can enjoy twitching alone.
Sanae, I love you.
Sure. You have to take time to refresh yourself, too.
Yes, I love you, too.
Yes.
Okazaki-san, if you have something you like, let me know.
I'll pack it in the bento.
Yes.
I want to eat an apple with rabbit ears.
Dad, you can't start requesting already!
I request hamburger!
Then I'll request shrimp tempura.
Are normal families supposed to be like that?
I probably shouldn't go.
I wonder what Pop's doing.
Someone's here!
Don't be surprised now.
Okazaki. Why are you here?
No real reason.
Why are you up so early?
I'm going to bed now.
Picnic, eh?
You're right; it's not really for you.
You think so, too, right? If I'm there, I'll probably ruin their family trip.
But if you do something like this, wouldn't Nagisa-san probably be shocked?
I did leave a note saying, "I have something to do, so please go without me."
Knowing Nagisa-chan, she'll probably get all worried.
Like, "Maybe my home isn't comfortable for him."
I'm sure she won't think that just from me not going on a picnic.
Nagisa-chan always lacks confidence in many things.
Always unsure.
That's how she appears to me.
She said she was getting confident in herself just the other day.
That's because you're with her, right?
Because you're there to support her and yell at her, she can try lots of things and gain confidence, too.
That's a good thing.
That's my point.
Think about it.
She gained confidence because of you.
But if you turn away from her, what will happen to all the confidence she built up?
Nagisa-chan doesn't have a clear understanding of how you see her.
Your indecisive attitude is trapping Nagisa-chan.
You run away from your house, and now you're even running away from her house.
It's only a bother to me for you to take refuge here.
But, if you resist so strongly, then I'll go on the picnic in your place.
Maybe love might bloom between us with this as the trigger.
I'm going home.
Sorry I bothered you.
I'm done.
Nagisa!
Okazaki-san.
I've been searching for you.
Didn't you read my letter?
No, I don't know anything about it.
Thank goodness, Okazaki-san. We were waiting for you.
Um, didn't you see my letter?
I ate it as a side for my breakfast.
Old man...
Given the time, we can't go anywhere far away anymore.
I'm sorry.
I apolo-
We couldn't leave because of you.
So take responsibility and play with us.
Eh?
I'm getting some big hits today.
Did you see that, Sanae?
Yes. I saw it clearly.
You've fallen in love with me again, haven't you?
Yes.
You're wonderful, Akio-san.
Aren't I?
We didn't have to go and lay the sheet, did we?
Okazaki-san.
I helped making this bento, too.
Please have some.
Yeah.
It's good.
I'm glad to hear that.
Brat!
You're up to bat!
Get in the batter's box already.
All right!
Well, I'm off.
Yes. Off you go.
Can I swing the bat with my shoulder?
All right, good one, brat.
Did you see that, Nagisa?!
Yes, I saw it clearly!
You fell in love with him again, didn't you?
Yes-
Dad?!
Damn it! So she is in love with him?!
Hey, Nagisa! You're up next!
Get moving!
I'm batting, too?
Let's go, Sis!
You can do it, Nagisa.
Good job, Nagisa!
Yes.
Start running, Nagisa!
Yes.
This is a world that has ended.
A world where no one but I exists.
It's not about being alone at school or home, but being alone in the world.
It's a very sad thing, isn't it?
Yes. It's a very sad thing.