The face of pale, blooming flowers...
...is left behind as the seasons pass by.
The rain stops, and there are clouds in the sky.
And there is a gentle, blue breeze.
On the sides of the two...
...walking from today to tomorrow...
...there are memories that sway without change.
Forever, forever blooming yet never withering.
The racing of this heart will never cease.
More than anyone, more than anyone, I have looked at you.
Without bounds, this feeling... forever.
Um, Kaoru-sama?
I would like to scrub your back...
...so would you mind me coming in?
What?
Wait... You can't, Aoi-chan!
It is all right.
If it is for you, Kaoru-sama, I...
Aoi-chan's serious!
Excuse me.
Wait! You can't come in...
Huh?
You were wearing clothes?
Yes?
I-In any case...
...no means no!
Ow... Huh?
K-Kaoru-sama...
Um...
Aoi-sama!
Y-You...
...beast!
What are you doing to Aoi-sama?
Wait! Wait, Miyabi-san!
Aoi-sama!
M-Miyabi-san?
Episode 3 Separation
Ow...
Are you all right?
I am terribly sorry.
It was all due to my raised voice...
It's all right. I'm at fault, too.
But before that...
...who's this?
Miyabi Kagurazaki-san.
She is the one who has taken care of me since I was a little girl.
Aoi-sama.
Do you know exactly what you are doing right now?
But...
No buts!
Why are you mad?
She said she called her folks, and that it was all right...
I am sorry.
I actually came here without letting anyone at home know.
Aoi-sama.
I need you to better grasp exactly where you stand.
The Sakuraba family opened their first kimono shop 200 years ago.
It is now a prestigious family, running one of the nation's...
...largest conglomerates, the Sakuraba Group.
You must always keep in mind...
...to act responsibly and not tarnish the Sakuraba name.
I apologize for leaving without permission.
However, I am...
I am his fianc馥...
No.
That man no longer has any ties with Hanabishi.
The man who will become your husband...
...will someday take the Sakuraba Group's presidency.
Therefore, you must be wed to someone of that caliber.
However,
that man was banished from the Hanabishi.
His relation to the Sakuraba family has been lost, as well.
Someone so ordinary, with no power whatsoever...
...could never be a match for you!
Now, Aoi-sama.
We must return immediately.
Kaoru-sama!
Aoi-sama, that is enough!
No!
I do not want to leave his side!
Do you still not understand?
I cannot think of being with anyone other than Kaoru-sama!
I have been living to this day to become his wife!
Aoi-chan...
Will you please return?
To the Hanabishi house?
If you return to Hanabishi, then we can be together.
Please, is there any way?
Kaoru-sama...
I...
I can't.
I can't go back to Hanabishi.
K-Kaoru-sama...
Now you see for yourself, right?
In the end, he was merely a man of such low caliber.
Now, let us return.
Your parents are worried, as well.
I understand.
But just a little while longer.
Please, at least let us speak one last time.
Aoi-sama!
Please!
When I am done, I will be sure to go home.
All right.
I am very happy that I was able to see you, Kaoru-sama.
You were wonderful as a young boy...
...but you are more gentle now than imaginable. And so kind.
I wondered how happy I would be if I could be here with you like this.
However, if this is what you have decided, Kaoru-sama...
...I can do nothing.
The reason I left the Hanabishi house...
...is because I wasn't a member of their clan to begin with.
My previous name is Kaoru Honjo.
My mother, Kumi Honjo,
and my father, Yuji Hanabishi, were never officially married.
The Hanabishi family was furiously against it.
But when I was five,
right when Dad passed away in a car accident,
those guys changed their minds
and said they wanted to adopt me.
Mom did as they said to keep me away from hardship.
And because I didn't want to trouble a mother like her,
I pretended to be the Hanabishi heir all that time.
But I couldn't become one of the Hanabishi clan in the end.
Stop it!
Stop! Stop it!
That hussy died half a year ago.
What good do thoughts of the dead do?
And for such a hussy...
Hurry up and forget her!
You...
You dare go against me?
What is that look in your eyes?
Give that to me.
Hand it over!
You stubborn brat!
Do you understand that you are the next head...
...of our 300 year old conglomerate!
Are you going to betray us after we raised you?
That was when I decided to leave Hanabishi.
Wishing for a safe birth
This is a charm I got from Mom.
This was the only thing I managed to protect.
A placenta is inside this charm.
This is the last memento of my mother.
I have nobody left in this world I can call my family.
That isn't my home.
It was a prison.
And that's why...
...I'm never going back.
Kaoru-sama...
I am so sorry.
It must have been hard.
Aoi-chan's hand is so warm.
What is this feeling?
It feels nostalgic,
and somewhat relaxing.
Oh, I see.
That's it...
Ai Yori Aoshi
Aoi-sama, come, let us return.
You cannot stay in a place such as this for too long.
Aoi-chan...
I'm sorry.
I, um...
Kaoru-sama!
I will be all right.
Please, do not put yourself in a corner.
It was my fault for suddenly barging in.
Please, do eat properly.
Please, do not tax yourself and take care.
Aoi-chan...
Kaoru-sama, please do not give me such a look of concern.
I will...
I will be all right, really...
I am...
...all right.
Because you, Kaoru-sama...
...stayed the Kaoru-sama that I loved so.
Please, continue to stay that way from now on.
Please, remain the Kaoru-sama that I love so much.
I am sorry... to have troubled you.
Hey, it's Hanabishi.
Hey, Hanabishi!
You wanna go eat something?
Hey, Hanabishi! Wait up!
- Hanabishi! - Hanabishi!
What's up with him?
Dunno...
But you know...
I have informed your parents already.
Both of them were terribly worried about you.
Please, don't do something so haphazard ever again.
If something were to happen to you, Aoi-sama, I...
Kaoru-sama...
There's nobody left I can call my family.
It is better if I am not around.
If I am around...
...he would be reminded of what happened at the Hanabishi house.
However...
Mommy!
Mommy, where are you?
Mommy!
Mako-chan!
- Mako-chan! - Mommy!
Will he be forever alone from this day on?
I'm hom...
Was this room this big?
Last night's leftovers are in the pot and the refrigerator.
Please, eat them soon. Aoi.
Oh brother...
I thought I was used to being alone...
Why...
Why do I feel so...
We're sorry. We're not home right now.
Please, leave your name and message after the beep.
Kaoru -sama...
I apologize for troubling you while you...
Aoi-chan!
Kaoru -sama!
Thank goodness.
You were home.
What's wrong, Aoi-chan?
U-Um, Kaoru -sama...
Please save me!
What do you mean?
I...
I have to see you again and tell you something, Kaoru-sama.
And so, I fled from Miyabi-san.
But I have gotten lost...
You fled?
Aoi-chan, where are you right now?
Let me see...
I believe this is the station where we first met.
All right, I'll be right there!
Don't move an inch!
She...
She hasn't gone home yet!
I came back here...
...but what should I say to Kaoru-sama?
What kind of look should I have?
I am sure that I am only troubling him.
I am only causing Kaoru-sama trouble.
Ticket counter
Coming to see him on my own...
Ticket counter Barging in without asking...
And on top of things, calling him here for my own benefit.
Kaoru-sama might not forgive me for acting this way.
He may be very angry.
Perhaps Kaoru-sama has already begun to hate me.
Kaoru-sama...
Aoi-chan!
Kaoru-sama...
U-Um, I...
...had something that I just had to tell you, Kaoru-sama.
But I have given it much thought while I was waiting for you...
that I might be troubling you, Kaoru-sama.
However, I still have to say this...
So...
I am so sorry...
Let's go...
...back home.
Yes...
You must be cold.
The bath is ready so go first.
Oh no!
You are much more wet than I!
I'm fine. You go first.
Kaoru-sama...
I...
...have given it much thought after we parted.
What Miyabi-san said...
the Sakuraba family...
and...
...my father and mother.
But...
But I have made up my mind now.
I will leave the Sakuraba, too!
I want to be with you,
even if it means throwing everything away.
So...
Please.
Please take me, vows and all, and make me your wife!
What is the weakest thing in this world?
Even so, it exists to protect the two.
Because there's as much of it as there are stars above.
I wanted to hear it from your voice.
So tell me it's love.
Tell me that it really is love.
Even if the two are like unknown flowers...
To fall in love...
To become very strong...
Because I want you to feel the same thing...
...a small, fragile love.
Ai Yori Aoshi Preview
What should I do...
My pledge involves him seeing everything about me.
Next Episode Living Together
Ai Yori Aoshi, Living Together.
Oh, I can hear your heart beating.