I'd been thinking for a while...
...whether there's any meaning to a failed love.
Is something that will disappear the same as something that never existed?
Here you go.
Sorry...
U-Um, Sensei...
W-W-What you said earlier...
Well, it's just as you heard.
Yeah, I love her!
I love her very much!
U-Um, s-s-since when...?
When?
"When", you say?
Um... I can explain it if you want me to, but take it easy on me.
W-Why?
Well, um... you see...
It's embarrassing!
U-Um, have you t-t-t-told Hagu-chan-
I haven't told her.
I think she knows already.
Or maybe she doesn't.
W-W-W-W-W...
When are you telling her?
Yamada-san, will you speak normally?
I-I'm in shock...
I mean, I never noticed anything like that.
But now that I think about it, Sensei is a man, despite his age...
A man, despite his age.
Well, I hadn't thought about that at all.
Or rather, I thought you were completely out of the equation...
Essentially out of the equation.
Hey, Yamada-san, your thoughts are flowing right out.
Oh, right! I need to go to Hagu-chan and t-t-t-t-t-...
I need to go tell her.
Hold on a second, damn it!
Why do you have to go and tell her?!
Yamada-san, please calm down!
M-Mayama!
But why? What about Spain?
S-Sensei!
W-W-W-What?
I just heard from Professor Tange!
Sensei, I'm so happy for you right now!
Well... I'm suffocating...
But will you be all right, Sensei?
Taking a sabbatical all of a sudden like this... What about your living expenses?
I never thought I'd see the day when you would worry about me.
I'll be fine.
I have various projects to do for some publishers, thanks to my work with Tokudaiji-sensei.
I can also give art seminars to the general public.
I'm tougher than you think.
Sensei... you've finally decided, huh?
Well, pretty much.
Yamada, thanks for contacting me about Hagu-chan.
I should've contacted you earlier, but I thought I'd just be worrying you.
Yeah.
Oh, and thanks for finding Morita-san.
Yeah.
But I wonder...
Did I do something unnecessary again?
Are you talking about Morita-san?
I mean...
You know, I think it had to turn out like this...
Or rather, the sequence of events was all leading up to this outcome.
I thought that Hagu-chan was in love with Morita-san...
She is in love with him.
Then why?
I think it's a matter of what her purpose in life is.
Purpose in life...?
Yeah. Love is the reason for some, but not for others.
Hagu-chan is motivated by her desire to accomplish something... I believe.
Is that more important than love?
It's not a matter of which is more important or which is right.
It's not an act of selfishness either.
She chooses instinctively before she has time to think it through.
Rika...
So you're leaving this place.
Yeah.
I see.
So you've finally decided to leave.
Yes. Thank you for everything, Tange-sensei.
I'm here because I want to be, but it seemed to me like you were stuck without a way out.
Honestly, it was difficult for me to watch you after what happened to Harada.
It seemed like half of you went with him.
But...
I could tell that more and more of you was coming back, ever since you brought that girl here.
Tange-sensei...
Hanamoto, now it's your turn to save that girl.
Saving her will also save yourself.
I'm sorry. I wanted to see you as soon as I could...
It's all right. I would've have been sad if you abandoned an important project to come back.
No, I would've been upset.
What's the matter?
Mayama-kun stopped me, actually.
He scolded me.
There's nothing we can do for them by going back now.
It'll just trouble Sensei more.
Let go of me.
What do you know about him?
I know him.
I've known Sensei for the past six years.
The Hanamoto-san that I know is a respectable individual.
He was saying that...
Man, damn it all. That bastard...
Can't you say that to my face? Sheesh.
That's impossible!
Are you trying to tell me that you bought out my company's stock and took over?
Are you trying to say that I did something to deserve your grudge?
When did this happen, anyway?
W-Wait a second...!
This will work.
Is it really okay to chop so much of it off?
It's fine. Now the bushes in our yard are ready for the winter.
But still, there really must be a God, Mama.
Truly, to think that someone would rent us this large house for next to nothing...
...as long as we maintain the yard as we found it...
I'm sorry for causing you all so much trouble... All because I had my company taken over...
No way! This is fun!
Yeah!
Dad...
I'm happy... the day has finally arrived when we can all work together again under one roof.
That's right.
I think I'm going to enjoy living here.
Please cheer up, dear.
Yeah...
Yeah.
Dad.
Hey!
Shinobu... Shiroyama... and everyone else...
This was all your doing...?
You all knew I would end up like this. So you...
Yes, this is Shiroyama.
Hello?
It's Kaoru-sama, isn't it?
Where have you been loafing around for so long?
Your desk is starting to tilt over on its side from all the unsigned paperwork.
We'll all be waiting for you here.
And Shinobu-sama said there is something he absolutely must tell you, Kaoru-sama.
By the way, Kaoru-sama...
Might you be interested in a system that swindles 190 yen a month, forever, from the upper-class citizens of the world?
I-If it's for 230 yen.
I'll return right away.
I'll be back tomorrow afternoon.
Please prepare a meeting and wait for me.
Shinobu-sama will come flying as well.
I'll make arrangements for a meal.
What would you like?
Curry.
Roger.
I bet Matsuda-san will do his best.
Oh, Shiroyama...
Yes?
Thank you.
That one reminds me of Ayu.
The pigeon? What reminds you of her?
That white one has round eyes, good posture, a supple breast, and pink legs.
Dr. Satsuki told me that working with clay will be good for my rehab.
I want to give it a try.
I also want to learn how to make pottery from Ayu.
I want to make a pigeon first.
And...
I want to give the first one to Ayu.
And...
The second one...
I want to give it to my new mother and her baby.
Will I make it in time?
You'll make it.
The baby will be born in the spring.
Spring?
That's right...
Spring.
Yo.
Can't you say something better than "Yo"...?
No kidding.
Shiroyama, get Shinobu some curry, with extra sauce and meat.
Shiroyama, what are you crying for?
Hey, Kaoru.
I'm gonna go work for Peter, after all.
I see.
In spite of what I say about him, I actually like that man...
...and his company.
I mean, when the electricity goes out at the studio, they all come out and start swordfighting with beam sabers.
On top of that, they all seem so happy.
It's the first time I've met an adult as stupid as Dad.
And the same goes for his ridiculous company...
What about that girl?
She told me, "I'll watch you forever."
She's such a strong woman.
She immediately saw that I was trying to abandon everything.
She told me, "Please, don't run away."
"Let's get through it together."
"You can run away in an instant."
But still, isn't it terrible?
When you're told, "I'll watch you forever," you have no choice but to give it your best.
But when I thought about pulling myself together and seeing her again...
...that I want to create something new and show it to her...
...that was when...
...I thought I saw the light in front of me.
Well, naturally.
It's morning already.
It's the light...
Yeah.
I think I finally understand what Dad was trying to tell us.
Yeah.
Me too.
And so, in the spring...
Hagu-chan and I, after she was discharged from the hospital, graduated from Hamabi.
Graduation - Hamadayama College of Art
And now, in commemoration of Hagu-chan and Takemoto-kun's graduation, and Takemoto-kun's departure to Morioka...
Cheers!
Is this it? The TV show that Peter Lucas and Morita-san appeared in?
I heard it's a special documentary for a movie channel.
Morita-san sure seems like a movie star now.
He seems so full of himself.
No... he hasn't changed.
So you've finally decided, Morita...
What is it?
Nothing, I was just thinking to myself.
By the way, Takemoto...
What time was your bullet train tomorrow?
Oh, it's at 9:30 A.M.
What about your apartment?
I've already cleaned it out. It's empty.
Then, where are you staying tonight?
Oh, he's staying in my room.
This being the last time and all.
The last time...
H-Huh? Um...
Oh, that's right! Hagu, c-can you go buy some ice cream?
Y-Yeah! Ice cream! Good idea!
T-Takemoto! P-Please go with her!
O-O-Okay!
That was close... I was about to cry.
Me too.
Me three.
It's beautiful.
Yeah.
I think the temples that you will fix are fortunate.
I've always been watching you making that tower, so I can tell.
You aren't careless nor do you cut corners, Takemoto-kun.
You'll fix them with all of your heart.
That's why I think the temples are fortunate.
Thank you.
I'll try my hardest, too. I want my efforts to match yours.
I'm going to fix my right hand for sure.
If not...
I won't be able to return anything to Shuu-chan.
Hagu-chan...
That's not true.
The thing that Sensei is looking for isn't up to you to return...
...but it's something Sensei is trying to find on his own.
And I believe that Sensei is a man who can find it.
I'm sure of it.
Thank you, Takemoto-kun.
A six-tatami room with no bath, ten minute walk from the college.
Built twenty-eight years ago, rent 34,000 yen.
The morning sun is bright since it faces east.
Today, I leave this room.
Yamabiko #47 to Morioka will be departing from track 21 shortly.
Geez. It's completely empty.
Oh, well...
Quiet isn't bad.
It's a little lonely thought.
H-Hagu-chan!
Hagu-chan!
Takemoto-kun!
Hagu-chan, why?
Takemoto-kun, I'm glad I caught you.
Here!
nameraka ni sunda sawa no mizu wo Showering myself without hesitation...
tamerau koto mo naku nagashikomi ...with the crystal-clear water from the brook.
natsukashiku kaoru gogo no kaze wo I laugh to myself wistfully...
nureta kubisuji ni ukete warau ...as I feel the afternoon wind on my wet neck.
nousagi no hashirinukeru sama mo The sight of the wild rabbit running through...
sasayuri hikaru kana no sugata mo The sight of the brilliant Japanese lily...
This is...
These...
yozora ni matataku hoshi no mure mo And the sight of the clusters of stars shining in the night sky...
All of these?
Please... Please let there be as much happiness as possible for you...
atarimae ni boku no me no naka ni ...all reside naturally inside my eyes.
Hagu-chan...
kanarazu todoku to shinjite ita maboroshi Those illusions that I believed would reach you...
Hagu-chan...
I'd been thinking...
I'd been wondering all this time...
koboba ni mamireta nega no machi wa tsudzuku ...continue to be drowned in the noise of the monochromatic city.
...whether there's any meaning to a failed love.
Is something that will disappear the same as something that will never existed?
sayonara sayonara itsu no hi ni ka kimi to mata aetara ii na Farewell, farewell... I hope I'll see you again someday.
Now I know.
There is a meaning.
There was a meaning...
Right here.
Hagu-chan...
I...
I'm so...
...that I fell in love with you...
...I'm so glad.
arifurete iru kimochi nante sa It would be so much easier...
nanimo iwazu ni isso kieteshimaeba ...if these stale emotions...
raku ni nareru no ni ...could just disappear without a word.
sorezore no michi wo yuku sono wakaremichi At the crossroads where we split ways...
mou nidoto au koto no nai deai wa kanashisugiru ...it saddens me to think we may never meet again.
tarinai kimochi wo mochiyotte Despite adding the emotions that are lacking...
atatameta saki kara hieteitte ...things cool off just as soon as I warm them...
sonna hazu naitte shinjiteru ...but I still don't want to believe.
ittai itsumade onaji kotoba wo kakaekondenda Just how long am I going to brood over the same word?
As time passes, the day will come when everything will fade to memories.
kakekondenda How long...?
But...
Those miraculous days, when you and I...
...along with everyone else, searched together for just that one thing...
...will continue revolving forever...
...somewhere deep in my heart as my bittersweet memory.