Random Curiosity

Summary:

As Shigeru gets on stage, the other members of the F4 explain that she is the daughter of the Ookawahara zaibatsu - the worldwide leader in oil production. A surprised Shigeru at first thinks that this is a candid camera moment, but when she finds out that it’s not, she decides to perform an original song on the piano for the party-goers. Everyone is impressed by how energetic she is, and Kaede tells the other F4 members that someone like this is appropriate for her son. After Shigeru finishes her singing, Kaede then requests a performance from Tsukushi. Under pressure from the crowd, Tsukushi has no choice but to go up to the piano and make a fool of herself by banging on the keys. To further the embarrassment, Kaede says that apparently she got mixed up with the wrong person and thanks Tsukushi for her hard work. Tsukasa chases after Tsukushi when she leaves the ballroom and stops her in the lobby, but he also calls her an idiot for coming on his mother’s invitation because his mother was of course scheming something.

He then notices the bag she’s carrying and realizes that it’s a present, but their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the F4, Kaede, and then Shigeru. After yelling at his mother, Tsukasa pulls Tsukushi outside, but he also gets Shigeru’s hand, so he flicks his arm to get her off. He doesn’t realize until it’s too late and he’s already out on the street that it was actually Shigeru he had grabbed when he did that. Tsukasa turns back, but Shigeru proceeds to stop him by attacking him with a signpost. She wants him to lend her some money since he grabbed her earlier without letting her bring anything. The two eventually get into a deep argument after she throws the signpost at him and shows him that she’s even barefoot right now. In response, Tsukasa calls her really annoying and wonders if she’s a stalker, but Shigeru then jumps on his back and bites his ear. This causes Tsukasa to stop moving completely with a shocked look on his face before he throws her off and rushes away. It is from this incident that Shigeru really starts to get interested in Tsukasa. Meanwhile, back home, Tsukushi can’t concentrate on her studying because everything that happened.

During lunchtime the next day, Tsukushi watches as Shigeru shows up at school and slaps the leader of the three bitchy girls after winning a quick game of janken. She spots and recognizes Tsukushi as the piano player from yesterday at the party, and then proceeds to have lunch in the F4’s private area. Shigeru reveals that she’s here to see Tsukasa, but she calls him crazy in the head after he left her last night in the cold without any money or shoes. Tsukushi starts talking about how Shigeru is supposed to be Tsukasa’s fiancée, but Shigeru suddenly gets a stomachache and goes off to the bathroom. While she’s gone, Tsukasa shows up and sees Tsukushi. He feels the need to tell her that he came to meet Soujirou and the others - not to come to see her. Hearing this, Tsukushi excuses herself and congratulates him on the engagement. Remembering how she saw Shigeru in New York, Tsukushi believes that he met Shigeru and got engaged in America. Tsukasa tries to explain that this is a misunderstanding, but she challenges what he could possibly need to say to her.

The two get interrupted by the return of Shigeru who wants Tsukasa to apologize for last night. She isn’t afraid to mention how he turned red like an innocent boy after she bit his ear and also isn’t afraid to punch him after she says that she’ll train him to be a fiancé. At any rate, they’re going to get married, so she feels that it would be better to fall in love together. Tsukushi tells Yuuki about all this later, but that’s not all that happened. Shigeru also visited her home afterwards and had fawned over her little brother. More importantly, Shigeru had asked Tsukushi what she thought of Tsukasa, and Tsukushi had replied that she had nothing to do with him right now. As a result of all this, Shigeru now thinks of Tsukushi as a close friend. In fact, she comes to the store where Tsukushi and Yuuki are working to take them shopping. They go to a jewelry store where Shigeru sees Tsukushi and Yuuki admiring a pair of expensive necklaces. At a cafe afterwards, Shigeru reveals that to her, marriage is political thing decided for her a long time ago. That’s why she didn’t have hope for love and had thought that she’d be marrying some frail geek. But having met Tsukasa, she now feels that she wouldn’t be throwing her life away.

Shigeru then asks if Tsukushi currently has no one that she likes, and Tsukushi more or less confirms it, despite what her true feelings may be. When it’s time for them to part ways, Shigeru presents Tsukushi and Yuuki with the necklaces that they were looking at earlier. During all this, Tsukasa goes to his mother to complain, but she makes it clear that this is a marriage the family needs to keep control of their destiny. When he goes to see the rest of the F4 later, Rui asks Tsukasa if he isn’t concerning himself with Tsukushi anymore. In response, Tsukasa wonders if Rui understands that being the successor of a large enterprise means he has millions of people depending on him. Still, he considers marriage with the monkey that is Shigeru is impossible. In his room later, Tsukasa sees the box that contained the cookie Tsukushi gave him before he went to New York, causing him to start thinking about her again. He closes his eyes to rest, but then has the nightmare again of the man jumping off the building.

At school the next day, Tsukushi finds Rui alone in the F4’s lounge. On the subject of Tsukasa, Tsukushi once again declares that she has nothing to do with him, but Rui thinks that Tsukasa won’t marry Shigeru. At the same time, he gets his face right up to hers and causes her to trip onto the sofa, pulling him down on top of her. The two of them quickly get out of that position and Tsukushi rushes off to that stairwell spot she likes. However, she then gets a phone call and ends up having snacks with Yuuki, Soujirou, and Akira. The latter two feel that Shigeru is the worst after having spent an entire day eating cake, at the amusement park, eating yakiniku, and at the pet shop with her. Fortunately for the two of them, they ran into Yuuki, and Shigeru revealed that she knew they were trying to get her to give up on Tsukasa. Akira now tells Tsukushi that they feel she’s the best one for Tsukasa, and Soujirou says that if she hesitates, Shigeru will take Tsukasa away. Afterwards, Yuuki privately thanks Soujirou for what he said.

That night, Tsukushi takes out the golden phone Tsukasa gave her and, with Soujirou’s words on her mind, she makes up her mind to call him. Surprisingly, she gets through this time, and after hearing his voice and talking about how it’s been a long time since she’s used this phone, Tsukushi starts crying. She finds it amazing to be talking to him now after having felt that she wouldn’t be able to hear him again. Following a long silence, Tsukushi finally tells him to meet her in Ebisu Garden Place’s clock plaza at 1PM on Sunday. She hangs up right after saying that, but Tsukasa then gets another call. When the day comes, Tsukushi puts on the Saturn pendant that he gave her and sets off for Ebisu. Spurred on by Yuuki telling her to tell her feelings to him, Tsukushi runs to the meeting place and sees Tsukasa arrive. But before she can go up to him, Shigeru shows up and greets Tsukasa with a kiss.

Preview:

As expected, Shigeru is going to make a play for Tsukasa’s heart, and it’s even harder for Tsukushi because Shigeru’s not a bad person. In fact, I really like her character, though it doesn’t hurt that Katou Natsuki is pretty cute. Still, I can’t imagine them stretching this arc for more than a few more episodes, so I wonder what will come after this. Or maybe I’m wrong and the Shigeru/Tsukasa/Tsukushi triangle will be the focus for the entire season. I should probably throw in Rui there too for good measure.

They also seem to be making it really obvious that Yuuki and Soujirou are going to hook up, but I guess this should be expected after they really didn’t conclude that storyline last season. This season is only just getting started and there’s a lot that could happen. On that note though, I wonder if they’re going to get through the season without playing Flavor of Life every episode. I think it’s a really good song, but I hope they don’t use it as much as they did Planetarium for the first season.