Mama! Where are we going, Mama?
I don't know... Where shall we go?
The sunset was so beautiful... it made me forget where we were going.
Where would you like to go, Rei?
Anywhere! I'll go anywhere you want, Mama!
Mama!!
Rei, it will be up to you to protect your sister.
My sister...?
Yes. Your real sister.
You, at least, can be with me now,
...but your sister cannot.
How come? Why not?
She was adopted...
She was taken away from me.
Mother!!!
Mother...
33. Take Flight
Dear Brother...
At last, in our campaign to abolish the Sorority,
...we have signatures of two-thirds of the school.
We have presented the petition to the school board.
Now it is Saturday morning.
Nanako-san! Tomoko-san! It's out, finally!
What? What's out?
The response! From the school board!
It's posted on the bulletin board!
Really?
Let's see... what does it say... hmmm...
"With regard to the matter of the abolition of the Sorority,
...the school board has scheduled an emergency session in one week."
...signed, "Seiran School Board."
All right!
We did it!
Dear Brother,
...the petition has finally forced the school officials to act.
The Sorority... it's been involved in so much that has happened...
I can't deny having mixed feelings regarding the Sorority,
...but at least this will put the matter to rest.
Well, you seem happy.
You too.
Is it all over now? I wonder...
All over?
Am I of no use to HER anymore? I wonder...
I know that even if the Sorority is abolished completely,
...she would carry on exactly as she is now.
Now and forever.
You saw her, didn't you?
Her dignified persona...
...amidst her unraveling beauty.
Pride cannot be attained unless it is longed for.
Therefore I will continue to long for it always...
...regardless of what may happen.
It made me so happy.
I trembled with joy.
Here was the proud Fukiko-sama I knew when I was young.
She was herself again.
In all the issues concerning the Sorority and the petition,
...the beauty of Fukiko-sama outshone everything else.
This is the happiness I have now.
This strange happiness feels new to me.
I wonder how long it can last.
It's been a while since I had such a good night's sleep.
Is that so? Good for you, Rei.
You're too slow, Tomoko!
Nonsense! You just watch!
First place!
Darn, second place...
Owww!
Gee...
There might be no one home.
If only we'd called first...
Ok then. now let's race to the station.
What, again?
Of course. This time I'll win!
Yahoo!
Hello!
Please come in.
Takashi-san has been driving us around in his car.
We were visiting real estate agencies.
Real estate agencies?
Yes, Mother and I are looking for a house.
We'll need one, right?
Oh!
No need for a large one -- just a house for Mother and I to live happily.
My Brother... it was the first I'd heard of her moving.
The divorce is final now.
Please come inside. I'm serving Assam tea.
Assam tea? That'll be great!
Oh, were you still here?
Oh... uh... was there any for me...?
No. But I'll make some especially for you.
Normally, male guests aren't invited into the house.
Thank you.
I do hope this is to your liking, Ichinomiya-san...
Wow, creme brule?
I'm actually quite fond of sweets.
Are you really?
Yes, yes, of course! This is quite an occasion!
No more of your nonsense.
Sit down.
OK! Yes Ma'am!
They're trying so hard.
Mariko-san and her mother are trying to be happy.
If there were anything at all I could do, I wanted to help.
Help for Mariko-san in her new life...
Ichinomiya-san was probably trying to help her too.
Father? Fukiko-sama...?
There is a telephone call for you. From London.
Goodness! From Father!
Hello? Yes, everyone is very well.
Father, you were telling me about that last time you called.
Really? Is that so?
Oh -- my brother has returned now also.
Shall I put him on?
He says he'd rather not also.
Oh father, really!
I'm fine.
No need to be concerned about the Sorority events.
Yes, yes, that's right.
I'm more like you than I'm willing to admit, perhaps.
Rei? You asked about Rei?
She's her usual self.
Actually, she seems to be happier these days.
Yes... yes.
Take care of yourself too, Father.
That's unusual... Father asking about Rei.
He's always concerned about her.
When we talk on the telephone, he always asks about her.
Is that so.
I'm sorry for asking you to meet me so late...
Not at all.
I suddenly wanted to see you.
Oh...!
I wanted to thank you.
Thank me? For what I did...?
Maybe... but no, not about that, perhaps...
Anyhow, I wanted to talk to you.
To someone like you... pure... warm...
...sensitive, but strong as well...
So very pretty too... I wanted to talk to you.
You're acting strange... Very strange!
Really? Do I sound strange?
Yes... saying those things... about me...
But suddenly it feels right.
I'm being completely sincere.
Look!
See, the skyline is lovely, isn't it?
Yes!
Then everything's OK, right?
Yes... yes!
The lights are very beautiful.
She doesn't know...
What?
She... Fukiko-sama... she is not my step sister.
She's my true sister!
She joined the family by adoption right after she was born.
She is my full sister.
Just before Mother passed away, she told me the truth,
...and asked me to take care of her, to protect her.
...and to never tell Fukiko-sama the truth.
My mother wanted Fukiko-sama to be happy, and part of the Ichinomiya family.
Mother left the world as just a lonely lover, unable to marry,
...and with that one final wish.
Living with my mother gave me such happiness.
So it is up to me to protect Fukiko-sama.
To protect her pride. My life depends on it.
But why?
Why confide in me? These are such important facts...
To give them to me... to me...?
I like you.
Isn't that reason enough?
Saint-Juste-sama...
Now... my heart has found great strength for living.
Saint-Juste-sama....
Oh yes... I'd like to show you the sunset tomorrow.
The sunset?
Yes. I know of a place where you can see the most beautiful sunset.
My mother often took me there when I was young.
Where? Where is it?
It's a secret. Shall we go there tomorrow?
Yes... Yes! I would love to go!
Rather far to go, but...
Dear Brother... the day was very hot.
There were no clouds in the sky, the sun was shining brightly.
I'm going now!
By six in the morning I was already awake.
I was to meet Saint-Juste-sama at three that afternoon,
...and I couldn't simply sit around waiting,
...so I left the house at about a quarter after eleven.
That's good.
Now see here...!
I know. Don't be upset.
I make plans to do things on Sundays, you know!
Don't invite me out on last minute outings!
So I'll buy you cake. And tea too.
It's blazing hot out today! And I'm in a really lousy mood.
We'll go to a teahouse with air conditioning.
Ouch!
Aha!
What?
You have makeup on.
I do not!
Yes, you do.
A tiny bit. As a sunblock.
What's going on? You're up to something today!
Please! Till 2:30... no, 2:15 is fine. Just stay with me.
Yes? Ah, good morning.
What is that sound?
Oooh! Just... cleaning up a bit.
That's unusual. I guess Hell froze over...!
Well, when I got up this morning, I felt really good.
Good! Then you can come to practice right? Come on!
You should raise a sweat on a hot day like this!
What's that? You can't? You have plans?
Darn, too bad.
"Like raindrops falling into cracks in the ground..."
What?
I found the book you loaned me. It was under the bed.
Oh! Verlaine...
"Teardrops are falling on my heart."
It doesn't go with today's weather.
It doesn't go with YOU, today, either.
Oh yeah?
Yeah.
I'll get it back to you on Monday.
Great!
So... who are you meeting? and where?
I can't tell you.
You're so secretive, sheesh!
Something from the 17th century, I think...
Yes.
Do you think Rei will be there as expected?
I just wanted to tell her that Father was asking about her.
Do you think she is still taking pills?
Who knows.
Things are OK now. I think she stopped.
Really?
She is actually a very sincere and happy girl.
I'm surprised.
This is the first time I heard you say something good about Rei.
Sorry I bothered you.
I guess I'll go wash my car.
Really? With Saint-Juste-sama?
Geez. You should have said so from the start.
The sunset. I'm going to go see the sunset with her.
"You need to lock your door when you're not home!"
Wait a sec... It's a little crooked.
See you later.
Be careful! Your face gives away everything!
Wham!
May I help you?
Can you make a delivery before the day is out?
It's OK if it's at night.
Yes. If it's in the city, we can deliver it today.
Then, could I have the bouquet of roses?
Yes, certainly.
Oh, and this one too.
Of course -- Is that to be delivered as well?
No. This is for someone I am going to see today.
Thank you very much.
Brother, Dear Brother...
Our rendezvous was a tiny station, far outside the city.
I arrived 15 minutes early, well before evening.
I could see the ocean from there. It was still sparkling.
I just watched the ocean.
The ocean...
Rei...!
What happened? What's wrong?
Kaoru-no-Kimi! Are you all right?
I'm all right, I'm all right. Don't worry!
That's funny... my shoelaces...
The sunset is so beautiful...
Yes...
Miss? Miss Fukiko?
Yes?
There is a telephone call for you. From the police.
The police...?
Hello, Ichinomiya residence.
What!
Fukiko! What's the matter?
Rei... Rei is dead.
Dear Brother... I waited and waited.
I waited, knowing that Saint-Juste-sama would be there.
I was waiting for her.