What about these?
Miuna, those are weeds.
I don't think you wanna use those for a bridal bouquet.
But they're so cute.
Aren't there any fancier flowers like roses or moth orchids growing around here?
Oh, henbits!
Should I really be helping Aka with getting married?
Well, it looks like hibernation isn't an option anymore.
But I guess that's okay.
What's wrong?
I'm a bad person.
Huh?
I want Hikari to be saved, too...
But I didn't want him to go into hibernation.
Truth is, I don't want to be separated from Aka.
And yet...
So you don't want to be separated from Hikari either?
Does that make me a bad person?
Well, that makes two of us!
I don't...
want to be apart from Kaname either!
I'm totally evil.
You're not evil!
I'm—
No way!
Don't get cocky! I'm totally more evil!
So you're Miuna...
A pervert!
Huh?
Miuna! Cram those flowers in his face!
Eat this!
The light ocean breeze blew the hair from my shoulders
kata wo saratta awai shiokaze
Someone ran a distance away,
kakeru chiisana senaka wo
but all I did was look at their back silently
boku wa damatte tada mitsumeteta
from the immobility of my vantage point
fumidasenai hazama de
Warm sunlight streams into our classroom,
yawakarai hizashi tsutsumu kyoushitsu ni wa
and we are laughing in all the pictures that decorate the wall
kazatta shashintachi ga waratta mama
The future ahead of us is endless
tomedo nai asu ni kawaranai bokutachi wa
and promises us
nagu minamo no saki
calm seas
dokomade mo utsushite
This is all I need
kono mama de ii
In your eyes, I saw
sono hitomi ni yureteta hakanai
a faint love
omoi wo
that I will carry with me
sotto shimatte
Episode Twelve
I Want to Be Kind
We're so sorry!
Ahem.
I had no idea you were Aka and Hikari's dad.
Well, your fingers are super hairy, and you had a pervy aura, so...
Oh, I'm sorry!
It's okay.
Don't worry about it.
Please!
Huh?
Could you tell Aka and Hikari to go to sleep in the ocean?
Wow, that's noble! You're such a good girl, Miuna!
Please!
No one really knows what will happen even if we do hibernate.
Huh?
The danger facing the surface is still far off into the future.
So for all we know, both Akari and Hikari might be happier living on the surface.
Now that you mention it...
Yeah... That's right!
Yeah!
Thank you, mister!
Nope, not "mister."
Aka's going to be your mom, right?
Oh, right. Um...
Thank you, Grandpa.
Huh?
I think Hikari and the others should be out of school soon.
Yeah.
Please excuse us.
Hey, wait up!
"Grandpa"...
Hikari, where are we meeting up today?
The fishery cooperative.
Got it! Go ahead without me.
Where's Tsumugu?
Oh, right. I got him to help out the wardrobe crew.
So he's with Chisaki and Manaka?
It's a little nerve-racking having those two take the train into the city on their own.
Thrift Store
Oh, this looks good.
It's a little out of our budget.
Then...
How about this?
I think the cut's a little too wide.
Are you from the ocean, by any chance?
Oh, yes.
Well, if you're looking for a kimono,
how about this one?
It's a bit dull.
T-Tsumugu!
Right?
But...
Look.
Oh!
It's so pretty!
It's just like I heard.
This was sold to us by a lady who lived in the ocean.
It's apparently made to reflect your Ena's shine.
I'll give you a special discount, okay?
That was a stroke of luck, wasn't it?
Yeah.
The hem is a little short, so I'll have to adjust it later.
Hey...
Could you two come with me for a bit?
Just one sec.
I wonder who that is?
I'm pretty sure that's Tsumugu's mom.
Huh?
Here, take this. For Grandpa.
Okay...
I'm glad to see you in good health.
How's Grandpa doing?
The same as usual.
I see.
Oh, would you like to get something to eat?
Sorry. I'm here with my friends.
I see.
Enjoy.
Thanks.
You know, Miuna made me realize something.
You knew of the danger that was coming to the surface,
so you opposed my marrage to Itaru for my own good, right?
And yet I had no idea. I acted like a child.
I'm sorry.
I realized something too after I saw her.
Huh?
Had there been some way your mother didn't have to leave us forever,
I probably would have chosen that.
Dad...
How are the Boatdrift Ceremony and the wedding coming along?
Hikari and the others are even taking care of my wardrobe for me.
It's all so perfect that I can't treat him like a kid anymore.
I see.
I heard that the Boatdrift Ceremony and the beginning of your hibernation fall on the same day.
But that's okay.
You and Mom can watch me get married from the ocean.
Dad...
Stop.
You don't have to do that.
Let me say it.
This might be the only chance I'll get.
When Mom died, you were the one who had it the hardest.
And yet, you watched over us, never letting those emotions show.
After Mom died,
you made soup for us for the first time.
I'll never forget how it tasted.
The giant, uneven pieces of carrots and daikon...
It was clumsy, yet warm and kind.
Just like you.
The love that you gave us...
I'd like to give that love to Miuna and Itaru as well.
I'm sorry for being such a selfish, difficult daughter to the very end.
Thank you for everything you've done for me over the years.
So cool!
We're gonna wave this.
Right.
So that the Wooden Maiden can head straight for the sea god without getting lost.
So that everything ends up where it belongs.
Without getting lost...
Everything ends up where it belongs...
Here, hold it.
Hold it tight now.
So... heavy...
You can do it!
Hikari.
Do you want to wave one of the flags during the ceremony?
Huh? Would that be okay?
Wow!
You don't have the upper-body strength.
I guess it's too much for a kid.
It's not! Please let me do it!
Hey, if you hold it like that, you'll get blisters.
Hikari sure tries hard.
She's totally asleep.
Why don't you sleep, too?
It's hard to stay awake when your Ena's so thick, right?
Yeah.
Hikari's gone as far as stealing other people's lunches,
but apparently that's still not enough.
Maybe it's not just about food.
Maybe it just happens to all of you at certain times.
Was that okay with your mom?
Sorry. I ended up using you as an excuse.
I don't really want to talk to her.
I guess I thought that I was the only one who was suffering.
But everyone's going through a lot, and they're all in pain,
and yet they're all trying so hard.
I took it out on you and said some terrible things.
I'm sorry.
It was pathetic of me. It really was.
Did you decide on something?
Huh?
I can hear it in your voice.
Being too perceptive won't score you points with the girls, you know.
We're back already?
I remember sitting down, and then it's all a blur.
Manaka, your drool's shining on your face.
Hey!
Hey! Over here!
Hey!
Wow!
That flag's huge!
When did Hii become a man?
Manaka?
I-It's nothing. Let's go.
We've got the kimono now, so it's almost done.
Don't mess things up.
It'll be fine.
Hey, over there.
Huh?
Oh, you're back.
S-Sir...
There's nothing to worry about.
Children's cells multiply a lot faster.
Their Ena thickened more quickly,
and they fell asleep before the day of hibernation.
Before the day of hibernation?
Lord Uroko will perform the appropriate ritual, and then they'll go into hibernation.
So you guys will be hibernating before us.
Hm?
It looks like your Ena hasn't developed very much, though.
W-Well...
Oh, there they go.
No matter whose turn it was to do the Boatdrift Ceremony,
the songs were always our duty.
Talk about crappy singing.
That's what you get from the Ena-less.
You should show them how it's done.
That's what happens when we hibernate?
When you actually look at them...
...they look like they're dead, right?
Kaname!
That's what you wanted to say, right, Manaka?
Man, this takes me back.
Huh?
Oh, our heights!
Hikari
Kaname
Chisaki
Manaka
That's right.
We recorded them at the entrance ceremony.
It was an old habit from grade school that just kind of stuck.
Hey, let's mark our heights now.
I'll find something for us to write with!
Me too.
All right, let's check out the faculty room.
Okay.
We're counting on you.
You really are amazing, Hikari.
Huh?
Say, Hikari...
There's something I want to tell you,
so maybe after this...
Found one.
Right!
Thanks!
So, what was it?
N-Nothing...
I'll tell you later.
You sure?
Hey, did you find anything?
Pipe down, kids.
All right. This will be on the test.
Thanks, Namiji Junior High
Make sure you read your textbooks.
He's mimicking Teach!
Hii sounds just like him!
Sorry, but you're not my type.
Thanks, Namiji Junior High
Teach, I have a question.
Yes, Kaname, what might it be?
Teach doesn't say that.
Righto.
So, what might it be?
How do you feel about Manaka?
Kaname, why would you do that?
We can't just let things stay like this.
Huh?
Our Ena keeps developing whether we eat or not.
Once we go to sleep,
we can't be sure we'll wake up together.
I-I know that!
No, you don't.
We may never see each other again.
Never again...
That's right.
We don't even know if we'll wake up at all.
Never again...
I...
Hikari!
I...
love Manaka.
H-Hii...
Come on. Don't joke about that.
It's not a joke.
I love you.
Even though you like Tsumugu, I...
I don't understand.
Manaka...
I don't understand any of that!
Manaka!
That was horrible, Kaname!
You went too far!
I'm doing the best I can, too.
Manaka...
Don't run after her!
I...
Hikari, I...
Chisaki!
Chisaki.
Hikari, I...
But... You like Manaka, so I couldn't say it.
I wasn't scared of rejection, though.
I was scared that if I told you how I felt,
it would change everything between us.
Or so I thought, but that wasn't it either.
I figured it out.
I'm in love with the person you are now. The one who loves Manaka so much.
So I'm sorry.
Telling you how I felt was enough.
I'm satisfied with that.
Go run after Manaka.
Hikari?
First you say not to run after her, and now you tell me the opposite.
Talk about demanding.
I'm just like you.
Huh?
I was scared of destroying our relationships.
But telling you how I felt was enough.
What will happen to us?
We'll be fine.
Nothing will change.
You're so kind, Hikari.
Huh?
It's nothing.
I want to be kind.
I want to have a beautiful heart.
As beautiful as the view of Shioshishio from here.
Mom?
Oh, my.
I was just thinking that I still need to put everything away.
Sorry, I'll—
It's fine, Mom.
Your Ena's gotten so thick.
The hibernation is coming up soon.
Manaka?
I-I... forgot something at school.
Huh?
Manaka?
Gramps, it's late.
But...
See?
It's that weird cough.
Once the ocean people go into hibernation,
we may not be able to get any more fish.
Before that happens...
I'll go.
Just take it easy and rest.
I'm scared.
I'm scared. I don't understand.
Where should I go?
Where should I go
Over here! Over here!
H-Hii!
What's wrong?
Detritus floats in the warm water
atatakai mizu ni oyogu detritus
I take it, and spend a long time
nagai jikan wo kakete
spinning it into a cocoon for you
ito wo tsumuginagara mayu ni naru
How long did we have
ittai dore kurai mabuta wo
our eyes closed?
tojiteita n darou
We waited and waited
mattemo mattemo bokura zutto
but were still alone together
futarikiri
When I call your name in this finite bowl of water,
koko wa yuugen no suisou de
bubbles rise to foam
namae wo yobeba awa ni naru
Detritus floats in the warm water
atatakai mizu ni oyogu detritus
I take it, and spend a long time
nagai jikan wo kakete
spinning it into a cocoon for you
ito wo tsumuginagara
that will shield you from emotions
odayaka ni nemuru kimi no sotogawa de
as you sleep peacefully
subete no kanjou kara mamoru mayu ni naru
I always admired it.
Why?
Beyond the sea, beyond the sky...
You were crying.
I was surrounded by noise.
The sun that was so far, far away.
Hii, wave that flag!
Episode Thirteen
Fingertips Beyond Reach