You're finally back.
Did you get to see the Tomoebi?
The Professor's not with you?
He went to Akari's.
What? How come?
He came back.
Huh?
Hikari came back.
He hasn't changed at all.
He looks exactly the same as he did five years ago.
furitsumoru konayuki ga mau
Little snowflakes dance in the air
akiramekaketa yume ga mata namiutsu
I'd almost given up on my dream, but it washes in again,
ano hi no mama de
like it did so long ago
kawaranai egao mitsumete
I watch your frozen smile,
somaru hoho ni fureta kaze ga
and the wind turning my cheeks red
sora takaku muketa
disappears high into the sky
I was always looking at you, never far away,
and yet you seemed out of my reach.
doushite
Why
kou toikaketa koe mo yureru
Even your voice is rough as it asks me
yurayura minamo ni ukanda
The moon's reflection quivered on the waters,
tsuki wa nanimo kataranai
and it told us nothing about the future
tada no boukansha
The moon merely watched us
hora boku nigezu ni tada itai
I want to stay here with you
Episode Fifteen
The Protector of Smiles
He's generally in good health.
Just be mindful of keeping him well hydrated.
Give him approximately 400 cc of water every hour.
We will. Thank you for all your help.
The neurosurgeon comes back from the city tomorrow.
You should consult him as well.
Oh, would it be okay for me to come along?
I have some questions I'd like to ask Hikari.
I'm sorry, but...
I think Hikari must be very tired since he only just woke up.
Do you think we could hold off on all these tests for now?
But—
It's just... I think he could use some time to catch up,
at least a little bit.
You're absolutely right.
I'm sorry for being so insensitive.
Feel free to call me if there are any changes.
Stop that, Akira!
We shouldn't disturb him. He needs his rest.
You're acting like I'm some kinda monster.
Huh? I-I didn't mean—
I'm the one who should be surprised.
I mean, what the hell?
You're fourteen now?
That makes you the same age as me.
And Akari's got a kid now, too.
Well, I figured stuff like this could happen during the hibernation.
What's the matter? Something wrong with your eyes?
Oh, Mom.
Huh?
Mama!
Everything's just so bright that it's kinda hard to see.
Well, you were asleep for a while.
You're probably just not used to how bright it is up here.
All right now, back to bed you go.
Chisaki's probably gonna stop by tomorrow.
Tsumugu got so much taller.
Chisaki probably looks older now too.
Yep, she's got quite the nice body now.
I bet you're excited to see her!
Wh-Why the heck would that matter?
No need to be shy with me.
Quit acting stupid.
You're turning red!
He's back.
Shut up.
Hikari's back!
I'll see you later.
Doesn't Chisaki wanna go see Hikari?
She said she has an exam today.
But aren't they childhood friends?
That seems kinda cold.
I thought Chisaki would be dying to see him.
He hasn't changed at all.
What's wrong? Are you okay?
I'm gonna get you!
What's with all the noise, you two?
I thought I'd show him how a pro does it.
Up your butt!
By the way, I called Tsumugu. He said Chisaki's busy today.
Oh... I see.
That's too bad.
If Chisaki and Tsumugu had come by today,
I would've taken some time off so we could have a barbecue.
No need to do anything extravagant.
After all, we haven't even put a dent into the loan for this house.
So have a good day at work, Dad.
I wonder who the heck that could be.
Hikari!
Sayama?!
It really is Hikari. And he hasn't changed a bit.
Huh? Who are you?
That's Sayu.
Seriously?
Yup. Haven't I matured quite a bit?
Actually, it kinda gives me the creeps.
What?!
Everyone's looking forward to seeing you.
Teach, Seiki, and Akiyoshi too.
I'll drive you, so why don't we go see all of 'em?
But Hikari hasn't fully recovered.
It's fine. I'll go see 'em.
You two want a ride to school?
I gotta make a few stops first, though.
Sure.
Man, talk about a turn of events.
Yeah, it all feels like a dream to me.
"Feels like a dream"?
Are you some character out of a chick flick now?
I didn't mean it like that!
Not that sort of a dream.
It's just that this is all kind of strange and unusual.
It's just really surprising, is all.
And right around then, Egawa was really getting around.
Oh, and then in high school, he went out with Yaragi.
I see...
He shouldn't have dated someone who lived so close, you know?
Oh yeah, Honjin is working at the government office now, too.
Oshiooshi Fishery Cooperative
Just look at those eyes.
It's Hikari, all right. He's finally back!
What a relief!
Since Hikari came back,
everyone else from the sea should come back soon too, right?
Damn right.
We'll finally be able to drink some nice sake with them again.
Yeah.
Come on, let's cut out all the depressing talk so early in the morning.
Oh, by the way,
we kept this for ya.
Open 'er up.
It's the flag you waved at the Boatdrift Ceremony.
We found it stuck on the bridge pier about three years ago.
Hii, wave the flag.
Wave it as much as you can.
That way, no one will get lost.
Hikari?
Sorry.
I just feel kinda sick.
O-Oh, that's right.
You just woke up.
We're sorry, Hikari.
We got a little carried away.
Nah, don't worry about it.
I probably just need some rest.
Help him out, Sayama.
Got it.
Oshiooshi Fishery Cooperative
You sure this is close enough?
Yeah.
Always Smiling
Saya Mart
More importantly, please get Hikari home quickly.
Yeah, sorry about this.
All right, study hard!
Let's go. We're already late.
Hikari hasn't changed one bit.
And now I'm the same age he is.
But somehow...
Hikari resurfaced at this location right here, so...
...it's likely that the underwater current changes here, right?
That's different from our findings last month.
But according to the reflection of the Tomoebi—
Huh? Tsumugu, do you have scissors?
I think there's a pair in Chisaki's room.
Sorry.
I didn't know you were back.
I'm really sorry.
Wait.
How was it?
How do I look?
That's a pretty bold question.
Have I changed?
I didn't see you like that back then, so I can't really say.
You talked about this a lot back then, though.
You would talk about changing, and not changing, all the time.
I didn't want anyone to change.
No. It was really just Hikari who I wanted to remain the same.
And yet...
I'm the one who's changed.
That's true. You have changed.
You've gotten prettier.
You've become much more beautiful.
Is that change bad too?
Shouldn't it be a good thing instead?
Whatcha up to?
Just figured I'd take a walk or something.
Don't overdo it!
Mom, have you heard from Chisaki?
Huh? Oh, nope, I haven't.
I can't quite believe it.
It's already been two whole days since Hikari came back.
I bet Hikari seems down because Chisaki hasn't come to see him.
And Tsumugu hasn't stopped by either.
Hey, can't you call them again, Mom?
But you know, I can sort of understand how they feel.
What do you mean?
Come on. Let's hurry and finish hanging these to dry.
Done! I'll see you later.
Miuna?
Where's Chisaki?
She went to go see Gramps.
You seem troubled.
Why?
Why?!
Hikari came back!
Why hasn't Chisaki gone to see him yet?!
I don't think it's something you can understand...
B-But I'm the same age as Hikari now!
...because I don't get it either.
Huh?
Those two have known each other for a long time.
There are probably things only they understand about each other.
I'm being left out again.
Huh?
Forget it!
Hey!
Hikari?
What are you doing?
What do you mean? I was swimming.
Why haven't you come to see Chisaki?
Why should I be the one to go see her?
You really haven't changed at all.
Of course I haven't!
It was just the other day for me!
For me, the Boatdrift Ceremony was the day before yesterday! Time hasn't passed at all in my mind!
I'm overwhelmed with all this!
Akari has a kid, and all of you have changed!
It's still summer for me, but even the scenery's changed. Everything's changed!
So of course I can't just waltz in to go see Chisaki.
The two of us were always together!
If that Chisaki has changed—
I just can't take seeing any more things that have changed!
It's exhausting!
I don't wanna think about all of this!
I don't even wanna know about 'em!
So that's what it was.
It wasn't that his eyes were bothering him or that he was feeling sick.
And then those guys had to go and give me that flag, too.
The one you waved at the Boatdrift Ceremony?
Yeah, that same, stupid flag.
No one was supposed to get lost, as long as I waved it. That's what Manaka said.
But now...
I'm completely lost.
And so are Manaka, Kaname, Dad, and everyone else.
All of them are still lost under the sea.
They're just hibernating, so there's nothing to worry about.
You coming back proves that.
Still!
Did something else happen down there?
I'm going back down.
There's no point.
No matter how much you try, getting into Shioshishio is—
I know that!
I'm home!
Miu?
Where did I...
Undies.
Quit distracting me!
Oh!
I put it all the way down there.
I'm so stupid.
I was so happy that Hikari came back.
I was so happy that we were the same age.
I was so happy...
that I couldn't even understand something as simple as this.
Hikari needs his own flag.
"Flag"?
So lame.
Seriously.
Nishiura
Hikari...
This song.
Oh... y-yeah.
The people of Ooshi wanted to make sure it could be heard by everyone sleeping,
so now it's the five-o'clock song.
I see.
So everyone was thinking about us...
All this time.
Hikari...
Um, I...
Hm?
I'm sorry I've changed.
All this stuff about changing or whatever...
You were saying the same thing the other day.
"The other day"?!
It was the other day for me!
I was scared it would change everything between us.
After I woke up, I finally understood.
Seeing things change really can be a scary thing.
But...
I'm relieved to see you haven't changed one bit!
I-I don't need to hear that from you! You jerk!
I see you're as violent as ever.
In fact, have you powered up?
Jeez!
I'll see it all!
Bring it on!
I'm not gonna be surprised at all anymore, damn it!
Hikari!
Welcome back, Hikari!
Hikari!
I-I did it in a hurry, so it's not all that great...
but I fixed it!
What are these?
H-Hearts. I thought they'd look cute on it.
And these?
Butts!
No, they're butterflies. Butterflies!
Putting hearts and butterflies on a Boatdrift Ceremony flag...
Are you guys stupid?
I was so happy to see Hikari's smile.
Butts! Butts!
No, they're butterflies.
There are still many things I don't understand
Hearts.
and many things I can't control...
Good job.
Butts.
but even so,
I want to protect that smile of his.
No reason to stand outside. Come in.
I-I'm home...
Chisaki, did you see Hikari?
How did you...
mugon no kotoba de ayatori shite
I play a silent cat's cradle with my words,
jouzu ni dekita to warattemiru
and decide to grin in satisfaction
tokui na no wa dare ni mo kizukarenu you ni
The only thing that I am truly good at
kokoro oshikorosu koto sore hitotsu dake
is stifling my love so others won't find out
demo torimaku kirei na loop wa
It would be nice
yawai chikara de
if the love of those around me
taguriyosetekureru kana
drew me in gently
azayaka ni
and free of blemish
musunde kono kimochigoto
I tie my feelings into a rope
hanarenai you ni kataku kataku aa
so that we will never be apart
hitomusubi hito wo musunde
The knots tie us together,
kitai no iu mama ni saki he asu he yukou
so let us approach the days to come with hope
I'm Sakishima, and I'm repeating this class.
Please show me lots of respect as your elder.
I'll hold your hand so you don't wander off.
Well, isn't that nice! The person you like woke up!
Episode Sixteen
The Whispers of the Faraway Waves
The Whispers of the Faraway Wave