Random Curiosity

Summary:

After seeing Setsuna kiss Makoto, Kotonoha demands to know if Setsuna likes Makoto and if this was the reason she got between them. Setsuna, however, says that all that was for Sekai’s sake and admits that she wanted a memory of her own. Kotonoha protests that this doesn’t have anything to do with her and Makoto, but Nanami then finds them standing in the hallway and Kotonoha excuses herself. The next day, Setsuna leaves her classmates to work on their cafe while she goes to watch a play about a man who is accused of touching a special flower. The man professes that he only touched it once for his own memories and that he didn’t have the slightest intention of hurting the world. His accuser, however, wonders what he would have done if no one had found out and points out that the fact remains that it happened. Meanwhile, Makoto is making cakes with Sekai, and she mentions how happy she is to be doing this and feeds him a piece of cake to taste. When he gets some cream on his nose, she wipes it off with her finger and eats it, and their flirting causes Hikari to call them the Baka-couple.

Over at class 1-4, Otome and friends catch Kotonoha not paying attention to her post and instead typing a message on her cell phone. They’re concerned about her taking care of things with the lounge because it’s one of the three traditions of the school’s festival. The first is going around the festival as a couple, the second is the folk dance at the end, and the third is this lounge. The process with the lounge involves the girl approaching the boy with something in her hand, stretching that hand out to signal a confession, and the boy accepting it. Kotonoha has no choice but to accept this, but she goes back to writing a message on her cell phone as soon as Otome and friends leave. Taisuke then walks by carrying some boxes and asks her about how she worked the reception post all of yesterday too. Kotonoha, however, feels that it’s her job since she was the class representative, and after two are briefly interrupted by a couple going into the haunted house, Taisuke asks her to go around the festival with him and to dance with him at the end. Kotonoha turns him down because she’s Makoto’s girlfriend, though Taisuke points out that Makoto only seems to be going out with Sekai right now. Despite this, Kotonoha insists that she’s Makoto’s girlfriend, so Taisuke apologizes and runs off.

Back in class 1-3, Makoto is too busy feeling Sekai’s butt to notice that his cell phone is flashing with new messages, though Sekai then knees him in the crotch for not stopping like she wants him to. When Makoto goes off to take a break, he’s approached by Otome who asks him to go around the festival with her. After giving her a look over, he agrees, and the two proceed to have some fun around the school. Otome eventually asks him to dance with her during the folk dance, but, unaware of her feelings, Makoto thinks that she should invite the person she likes. She replies by saying that that’s why she’s inviting him, but before Makoto can answer, Sekai arrives and drags him off. Sekai is angry at him, though she doesn’t get to yell at him because Hikari finds them first and informs them that Makoto’s girlfriend is at their classroom. As it turns out, the “girlfriend” is merely Kokoro along with her friend Uzuki, and Kokoro mentions how her sister has been looking forward to the folk dance. Uzuki, however, thinks that Sekai is Makoto’s girlfriend, so Kokoro corrects her. The two girls have to leave though, and as they go, Sekai holds Makoto’s hand.

Meanwhile, Minami and Natsumi run into Kotonoha on her way to a committee meeting, and they start teasing her about having a lover and if she’ll use the lounge. Minami notes how Kotonoha supposedly had broken up with her boyfriend, and when Kotonoha denies this, they point out that her boyfriend hasn’t come to see her today. Kotonoha tries say that Makoto is busy, but the girls then suggest that he’s going around the school with a different girl. With Kotonoha still insisting that she’s going out with Makoto and that they haven’t broken up, Minami and Natsumi challenge her to prove it. Back at class 1-3, Sekai remembers what Kokoro said about her sister looking forward to dancing with Makoto, so she gets him to promise to dance with her so that people know that they’re lovers. Having failed to get that same promise from Makoto, Otome is at the moment outside feeling a little down when she notices Taisuke also by himself. After the two start talking about Makoto and how Taisuke only sees him with Sekai, Otome learns that Taisuke also likes Kotonoha and tells him that he shouldn’t give up on her. She then decides to go ahead and try something with Makoto, and tells Taisuke to his best.

By now, Sekai is clinging to Makoto’s arm in the class’s kitchen, but she soon has to go help Hikari with the customers. While Sekai is gone, Makoto notices his cell phone is blinking and finds the twenty messages left for him, all from Kotonoha. In a panic, he quickly changes clothes and runs out of the classroom, only to be stopped by Otome who holds out her arm and pulls him into the lounge. It is here that she finally confesses that she’s like him since junior high school, and when he doesn’t directly reject her asking him to be more than friends with her, she pushes him onto the bed. Given the chance, Makoto kisses her, and the two get busy before long. At the same time, Minami and Natsumi are bullying Kotonoha over how Makoto didn’t come to see her, yet Kotonoha continues to insist that she’s going out with Makoto and that he must be busy with something important. When the two girls see the hurt expression on Kotonoha’s face, they finally back off. Makoto and Otome meanwhile finish up by late afternoon, and he goes off to dance with Sekai in the folk dance. Towards the end of it, Sekai tries to confirm that she’s his girlfriend, but he doesn’t immediately say anything back.

While all this is going on, Kotonoha heads to Makoto’s classroom and finds only Taisuke there. He tells her that Makoto went to dance with Sekai, and when she questions why Makoto would do this since they’re lovers, Taisuke suggests that Makoto doesn’t feel that way and that he’s betrayed her. This last part shocks Kotonoha so much that she barely reacts when Taisuke confesses his feelings for her and hugs her. Her mind remains on Makoto, even as her ribbon comes off…

ED Sequence

Insert Song: 「Let me Love you -remix ver.-」 by 桃井はるこ (Momoi Haruko)
ED6: 「あなたが・・・いない -remix ver.-」 (Anata ga…inai -remix ver.-) by 栗林みな実 (Kuribayashi Minami)

Well I don’t see any way this ends without Kotonoha being completely messed up unless the ending is a complete cop-out. If Kotonoha did indeed give in and let Taisuke have his way with her - as is heavily suggested at the end of the episode with the ribbon and the ripples in water - I’m not sure Makoto would want her anymore if he found out. That potentially puts her in a pretty desperate situation where pretty much anything could happen (her going insane and killing someone seems like it’s becoming more and more likely, especially with those lifeless eyes). That being said, Makoto slept with Otome and didn’t seem overjoyed to have Sekai as his official girlfriend, so he still isn’t really committed to anyone, meaning could be hope for Kotonoha - regardless of whether we the audience think that’s a good thing for her or not.
As for Setsuna, the aftermath of her confrontation with Kotonoha was a bit disappointing, but perhaps its main point was to drive Kotonoha closer to the edge. I thought they would throw the Otome stuff in her face too, but it wouldn’t mean anything now that she’s been so shocked with the betrayal that she allowed Taisuke to do whatever with her. Sleeping with Otome could still potentially could backfire on Makoto if Sekai finds out, but I’m more waiting for everything to blow up on Makoto at once. In any case, next episode is called 「心と体」 (Kokoro to Karada - Mind and Body), and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.