The next day, Chizu-chan attended school...
...with a refreshed look on her face, as if a thorn had been removed from her heart.
As always, she didn't interact much with Sanada-kun...
...but she wasn't really ignoring him as she did yesterday.
Man...
I'm in the mood to party like a rockstar.
Party like a rockstar?
As long as it's not at a buffet or anything, I'll tag along.
Huh? Why not?
I'll get fat!
Then...!
I felt like Chizu-chan was back to normal.
I sang my throat out tonight!
I haven't been out for karaoke since that sports festival.
My anger towards Ryu seems to have slightly disappeared.
I'm glad...
You guys up for some ramen before we go home?
At Sanada-kun's place?
Are you fine with that?
Nah, I might start getting angry again once I look at his face.
Good point.
I know I said a lot of bad things about Ryu, but...
...to be honest with you, I'm a kind of glad he was around.
If he hadn't let you take it out on him, you might have not been able to pout and whine.
Yeah...
After getting into an argument with Ryu...
...I realized that I actually wanted to have the chance to talk with Tohru one last time.
I didn't even realize it myself until then.
Well, there really was no way to talk to him in that situation.
What are you going to say to him when you see him again?
"I love you."
Yeah, right...
Huh?
Don't tell me you took it seriously...
S-Sorry, I can't take that as a joke.
It was a joke...?
Nah, I won't tell him that.
I already know what he'll say in response to that.
H-Huh?
What?
What are you-
Chi!
Sorry girls, I'm going to need to borrow Chi for a bit.
Toh-
Huh?!
W-
Why are you here?!
'Why'?
To see you, of course.
Come on.
Ch-Chizu-chan!
You're wearing a mini skirt!
You're right.
I hope...
I hope Chizu-chan will be able to say whatever is on her mind.
I hope that the next time I see her...
...her heart will be more at peace than it already is.
Want to stop by somewhere for tea?
Yeah.
When did you come back?
Just now.
Are you going to stay here for the night?
Nah.
I'll be leaving tonight.
What about work?
I worked hard today.
I got everything done early so I could visit.
Do you have work tomorrow morning?
You'd get back to your place really late.
Quit worrying about stuff like that.
No...
It's just that I'm happy.
I'm really happy you came here to see me.
So, by the way...
Whoa!
Nice spin!
H-How do I look?
I'm wearing a mini skirt!
You've always liked wearing things that showed off your legs.
Glad to see you're as energetic as ever.
I'm an old man now, so it's too cold for me to dress lightly.
Crap...
He's already used to seeing them!
Y-You're not an old man!
A twenty-four year old is pretty much like an old man from your perspective, Chi.
Really?
H-He's really treating me like a kid...
My legs are so sexy, too...
Geez...
What the hell...
My poor thighs.
Oh yeah... Where's your car?
Left it at home.
Why?
Well, since I didn't own a car back when we used to hang out as kids,
I just thought I'd take a stroll with you tonight instead.
Could you wait here for a second?
Welcome!
Here's half of a nikuman.
And...
Half of this one.
An anman.
Remember how we used to eat these all the time?
Yeah.
Nikuman...!
Anman...!
Nikuman...!
Anman...!
Which one would you like?
If I eat the sweet one, I'll crave the salty one...
But if I buy both, I'll run out of money...
And if I eat both and end up not finishing my dinner, mom will give me a spanking!
But I want both of them...!
Well, well... What should we do?
Nikuman...!
Anman...!
Nikuman...!
Anman...!
Can I have one nikuman and one anman?
Here.
We can split each of them in half.
Keep this a secret from Ryu, okay?
Huh? Were those not enough?
I guess you're old enough to eat two now.
Nah, I prefer it this way.
Oh, look.
Over there!
That lightpost!
I used to always take this path home during high school, after being out at night with some friends.
I'd always see a child under that lightpost.
Pretty normal to think, "What's a child doing there this late at night," right?
And when I looked closely...
Wait, what's with this sudden ghost story?!
It was you, Chi!
You were trying to catch a stag beetle.
At three in the morning!
I was pretty scared, let me tell you.
Y-Yeah...
I remember that.
I always woke up early when I was little...
And whenever I found you there, we went home together.
While looking at stars in the sky and stuff.
Tohru!
What's that star?
I don't know, so let's just say...
"A big star"!
Man, I really only know Orion, the constellation.
'Orion'?
Yeah.
Where is that?
Huh?
Where's Orion?
Can't seem to find it...
They're shaped like triplets...
Where are the triplets?
So it must have been a winter constellation.
The sky gets really dark in the countryside, doesn't it?
I'm amazed you remember.
Of course I remember.
Do you think... Chizu was able to say what she wanted to say?
There must be a lot of things that come with it...
Huh?
When you fall in love with someone...
Hardships and things that make you want to cry...
But lots of happy things come with it too.
Yeah.
I remember everything.
I remember how you tripped over there,
and I remember how you and Ryu used to buy snacks from here.
Tohru was always smiling.
Chi!
We always took this path, didn't we?
The three of us, including Ryu.
Now, it serves as Ryu's jogging course.
Remember that open field?
It's where Ryu made you cry.
I-I'm amazed you remember that, too.
Does he still make you cry?
O-Of course not!
I hate you, Ryu!
Ryu pisses me off so much!
No!
He doesn't make me cry!
Of course not!
Really?
It's just that...!
I get mad at him for no reason and take things out on him.
Ryu's a nice guy, after all.
He also never lies.
Since you two are so close, there may be a lot of ways to make each other mad.
Even if it's something you wouldn't get mad at someone else over.
Yeah.
I see.
So you have these kinds of fights with Ryu now...
Your uniform looks nice on you.
It really made me realize that you're in high school now.
Tohru...
I always thought you'll be dawdling around all the time without ever getting married.
That makes me sound awful!
Why did you suddenly decide to get married?
You're still twenty-four.
Because I realized that I want to stay with her for the rest of my life.
I felt that way about you since I was a little kid, you know.
Your girlfriend seemed really gentle and cute.
She may seem like that, but she's actually pretty fierce.
No matter how much he holds me dear,
no matter how many memories we share together,
and even though I'm in high school now...
A neighbor is nothing but a neighbor.
Oh.
Chi.
Try saying 'Chi'.
Huh?
Come on, just say it.
Any idea why I call you that?
Not the slightest.
Try saying it.
Chi?
Say it more clearly.
Chi?
Yup, correct!
You smiled.
Chi!
Tohru!
Chi!
Chi.
Tohru.
I love you.
I love you too.
Knew you'd say that.
That's not what I mean, geez.
But...
It makes me happy to hear that.
Tohru, I...
I'm not your little sister or any kind of relative of yours.
I'm just your neighbor.
Even so, do you think it would be all right for me to visit you the next time you come home?
Idiot.
You're making me sad by saying that.
I think of you as my little sister.
Heck, to me, you're even cuter than Ryu.
Don't tell him I said that!
Your little sister, eh?
I'm sure that he shows many other expressions in front of his girlfriend.
But I'm happy.
Because I know I'm precious to you.
Forever...
As an older brother.
Chi!
Tohru, congrats!
Oh, you were out for a jog?
Where's Chizuru?
Don't worry, I walked her home.
You're leaving now?
Yeah, I'll drop by again soon.
Hang on for a minute.
The bread I was talking to you about.
Geez, you're so sincere.
When are these from?
Yesterday.
Huh?
I... think they should be fine.
It's winter after all.
Thanks.
Wow, you've really grown!
I think you're going to outgrow me soon.
Of course I will.
I'm in the middle of puberty.
Both you and Chi are pretty clumsy people.
Good luck.
You're better suited for Chi than I am.
Bro.
'Bro'?
I feel the same way.
He's a guy, after all.
Oh, if it isn't Ryu!
Weren't you with Chizu?
Nope.
Oh...
She's late, so I figured she was at your place.
Geez... what's that idiot doing out so late?
I think I might know where she is.
I'll go find her.
Thanks, Ryu.
I know she's like that, but she's technically a girl, after all.
I know.
Want me to cheer you up?
Are you trying to be considerate?
Or are you picking a fight?
Neither.
What the hell?!
Why did you come here?
This is the last place we played with Bro back when he still lived here.
You were also here on the day he moved to Sapporo.
Didn't I tell you specifically not to talk to me for a while?
Then I'll stay quiet.
I'm just kidding.
Sorry about that.
That was your birthday the other day...
I'm sorry.
And I was the only one who would have been able to celebrate your birthday this year.
Sorry.
Don't worry about it.
You're probably the only person who remembered my birthday.
Thanks for that bag.
You're the one who called Tohru over, aren't you?
When I asked him if he was hungry, he replied by saying that he was going to get bread from you.
It's not like I'm shocked or anything.
He drove over three hours to get here after you gave him a call.
That made me really happy.
Thanks.
It's just like you said.
So you always thought I was hopeless in trying to make Tohru look at me?
Maybe I didn't actually believe it would work out.
Maybe I always admired Tohru as an older brother figure.
No, I know.
I know you really liked him.
Cheer me up, then, Ryu...
That was the first snow of the year.
Holy night.
Our greatest wish.
Next time: Christmas.