The next day, Chizu-chan came to school looking refreshed,
as if she'd finally pulled a splinter out of her heart.
She still wouldn't talk to Sanada-kun,
but she didn't seem to be ignoring him like yesterday.
I feel like having fun.
Fun?
I'm in, as long as it's not an all-you-can-eat or anything.
No?
I'll get fat.
I know!
I felt like Chizu-chan had come back.
The last time we sang was at the sports day party.
I don't think I'm as pissed at Ryu as I was anymore either.
That's good.
You want to have ramen before we go home?
At Sanada-kun's place?
Really?
Nah, I think I might get pissed again if I look at his face.
Yeah.
We said a lot about Ryu,
but I'm actually glad he's here.
You might not have been able to snap if he weren't around.
I've been thinking, ever since that fight...
I must have wanted to talk to Tohru.
I didn't realize either.
Not that I could have talked to him the way I was, of course.
What will you say when you next see him?
“I love you.”
Just kidding.
You didn't think I was serious, did you?
Sorry, that's really not funny.
Oh, she's kidding.
No, I won't.
I already know what he'd say.
Huh?
What?
Chi.
Sorry, I'm borrowing Chi for a bit.
Why?
To see you.
Come on.
Chizu-chan,
your miniskirt.
Oh, yeah.
I hope she'll be able to say what she wants to say.
I hope she'll be at peace next time they meet.
You want to go for tea or something?
Sure.
When did you get here?
Just now.
Are you staying the night?
No, I'm going home tonight.
How about work?
I worked hard today.
I wanted to finish early so I could come here.
And more work tomorrow morning already?
I guess you don't get home until midnight.
Cut the boring talk, already.
No, I'm happy.
I'm really happy.
Hey, so...
Nice spin!
What do you think? I'm wearing a miniskirt.
Oh yeah, you've always liked showing off your legs.
Tireless as always.
I'm an old fart now, it's too cold for me.
Shoot, he's used to seeing it.
You're not an old fart.
24 must seem old at your age.
Yeah?
He's treating me even more like a kid than he would otherwise.
What a waste of a nice pair of legs.
Oh well.
My poor thighs.
Oh yeah, where's your car?
I left it at home.
Why?
Because I didn't have a car when I used to hang out with you.
I figured I'd walk with you today.
Hold on.
Welcome.
Here, a meat bun.
And a bean paste bun.
You used to eat this all the time.
A meat bun, or a bean paste bun.
Which is it?
I'll want savory stuff after sweet stuff.
But I'll run out of money.
But Mom will kill me if I eat two and spoil dinner.
But I want both.
Oh dear.
A meat bun, or a bean paste bun.
One of each, please.
Here.
Let's have half.
Don't tell Ryu.
Did you want more?
I guess you could have handled two.
No, this is good.
Hey, look.
That street lamp.
I used to come down this street when I was out at night during high school.
There'd often be a kid under that lamp.
But why would there be kids outside so late?
What's with the horror story all of a sudden?
It was you.
You'd be hunting for stag beetles,
at three in the morning.
That scared me so bad.
Oh yeah, I remember.
I used to wake up so early when I was a kid.
So we used to walk home together,
looking at the stars.
Tohru,
which star is that?
I don't know, but it's huge.
Huge star.
I only know about Orion's Belt.
Orion's Belt?
Where?
What?
Where's Orion's Belt?
I can't find it.
It's like a triplet of stars.
Where's the triplet?
So it was a winter constellation.
The sky's so dark in the country.
I'm surprised you remember.
Of course I do.
I wonder if Chizu said what she wanted to say.
It must be complicated.
When you like someone.
Sad things, things that make you cry.
But there's a lot of happy things too.
Do you remember? How you tripped over there,
how we used to eat here.
Tohru was always smiling.
Chi...
We used to come down this street a lot.
Together with Ryu.
It's Ryu's running course now.
Hey, that field.
The place Ryu made you cry.
You sure do remember a lot.
Does he still make you cry?
N-No way.
Ryu, you idiot!
I hate Ryu!
No, he doesn't make me cry. He doesn't.
But...
I lash out at him sometimes.
Ryu's nice, isn't he?
He doesn't lie either.
You two are close together,
so I guess it hurts when he says things.
Even if it wouldn't have hurt if someone else had said it.
Man,
so you get in that kind of fight with Ryu now, huh?
You look good in your uniform.
You're in high school now, huh?
I didn't think you'd get married.
I thought you'd never settle down.
You make it sound so bad.
Why did you decide to get married?
You're only 24.
I felt like I wanted to be with her forever.
So did I, ever since I was little.
She seemed like a mellow, cute girl.
She's actually pretty tough.
It doesn't matter how much he cared for me,
or how many memories we made together.
Or even that I'm in high school now.
A kid from the block is still a kid from the block.
Yeah?
Chi...
Say Chi.
Say it.
Do you know why I call you Chi?
No idea.
Say it.
Chi.
Properly.
Chi.
Bingo.
You smiled.
Chi.
Tohru.
Chi.
Tohru,
I like you.
I like you too.
I thought you'd say that.
That's not what I meant.
It still makes me happy though.
Hey, I'm not a sister or relative or anything.
I'm just a kid from the block.
But can I come visit you next time you're back?
You idiot.
You sound so depressing.
I think of you as a sister.
Maybe even cuter than Ryu.
Don't tell Ryu though.
Sister, huh?
He must be a different person in front of his girlfriend.
But I'm still happy.
I can tell that you think highly of me.
As my brother.
Chi.
Congratulations, Tohru.
Hey, out for a run?
Where's Chizuru?
I walked her home, don't worry.
You heading home?
Yeah, I'll be back.
Hold on.
Here, bread.
You're so proper.
How old is this?
From yesterday.
Should be fine, it's winter.
Thanks.
You've gotten huge too.
You're going to be taller than me.
I will, I'm in my growth spurt.
Neither of you are exactly smooth talkers.
Good luck.
You're a better match for her.
Brother...
Brother?
I think so too.
Boys will be boys.
Huh?
Ryu-chan.
Weren't you with Chizu?
It's so late, I thought she'd be at your place.
Where could that silly girl be?
I think I know.
I'll go check.
Thanks, Ryu-chan.
She's a girl after all, believe it or not.
Want me to cheer you up?
Are you trying to be nice to me?
Or are you trying to start a fight? Which is it?
Neither.
What the hell?
Why are you here?
This is where we last hung out when my brother lived here.
You were here when he moved to Sapporo.
Didn't I tell you not to talk to me for a while?
I'll shut up, then.
I'm lying.
Sorry.
It was your birthday that day.
Sorry.
I was the only one that was there to celebrate this year.
Sorry.
I think you were the only one who remembered my birthday.
Thanks for the pouch.
You called Tohru over, didn't you?
I asked him if he was hungry.
He said you'd given him some bread.
I'm not shocked or anything though, just because you called him.
He spent three and a half hours to come here, after all.
I'm happy. Thanks.
It was like you said.
That I was hopelessly in love with Tohru?
Maybe I never really thought it would work out.
Maybe he was just an older brother that I admired.
I know.
I know you really liked him.
Comfort me, Ryu.
It was the first snow of the year.
The holy night,
with wishes deep.
Next episode: Christmas