Chapter 24: Overnight Study Session, and...!?
The chapter begins with Ishida explaining that, after what happened with the last set of exams and the supplementary lessons, the basketball team canceled practice to study, primarily for Marui's sake. Ichii must have spoken to the team adviser for them to cancel. Yuni points out that it won't be basketball to blame, if Marui fails this time. Well, he has to get thirty points, so he needs to work hard today! Watching them talk, Mio tells herself to calm down; it will be all right. This is a study session, so if she's concentrating on her textbook and notes, it doesn't matter who else is there. She hears Taki call her name, and he directs her to the refrigerator to put away the desserts she's holding. As she's putting things away, she mentions that Taki didn't seem surprised when an extra person showed up. He explains that Ishida let him know ahead of time that [Marui] was coming. From the other room, they hear someone wondering where they should start studying, and Yuni says she figured they'd just study on their own. Ishida replies that doing that would be catastrophic for Marui and Ootaka's algebra scores, which would be too pitiful. Turning to Taki, Yuni figures that Taki is going to teach them, right? Taki says that he is (with an arrow explaining that neither of them seems to see any conflict in that), and Mio pulls back nervously. She awkwardly bows, thanking Taki for his continued assistance, and it occurs to Ishida that she's Taki's boyfriend. He sort of jokingly reminds them that it's a study session, so they shouldn't spend it flirting. Shii shoves him away, and volunteers to join them in studying algebra. Mio suggests that they all work together, thinking that she doesn't need to be told not to flirt in these circumstances. (Ishida is asking Shii why she shoved him like that – it hurt!)
They gather around the table to work, and Inoji sees that Marui is about to sit next to Shii (where he planned to sit). He reminds Marui that he was going to be studying with Taki, so he should go sit next to him. Marui moves, and Ishida comes in to join the group. He plans to sit at the table with them, but finds that there are no more chairs. They tease him that he can just go back to sitting in the other room, and Taki offers to go get another chair. Mio gets up to assist him, and they head toward the second floor. Taki explains that there's an extra chair in his room, and Mio starts to get a little excited. It's her first time in his room. She looks around, and notices the opened window. It has a relaxing feel to it... Mio exclaims over the impressive number of books, and Taki says that they're mostly his father's. In the past, Taki's room was his father's study. Mio comes over to help Taki clear the books that are piled on the chair, and asks if she can just put them wherever there's free space. Taki tells her that they all have a particular place to go, so Mio asks where to put the one she's holding. He tells her he'll put them away later, so she can just leave it on the desk for now. As Mio prepares to do that, the door slams shut. They're startled for a moment, then Taki realizes that it was blown shut by the wind. Mio puts the books down, remarking that it really scared her. She pauses, and notices that she can hear the wind through the trees. Mio comments on how quiet it is with the door shut, and Taki replies that it completely blocks the noise from the people downstairs. Blushing again, Mio says, “With it being so quiet, it sort of feels like it's just the two of us here...” Realizing what she just said, Mio quickly says, “Never mind! We need to hurry and take the chair...” She grabs the rest of the books and tries to rush them to the desk, but Taki puts his arms around her from behind. She starts to question what he's doing, and he reminds her of what she said in the last chapter about avoiding public displays of affection. Mio remembers that whole weird scene, and hides her face. She said that to him, didn't she? She says, “...Everyone is downstairs...” Taki responds, “Yeah, just for a second.” Turning to face him, Mio realizes that the distance she'd been putting between them may have been making Taki feel lonely.
As they're about to kiss, the door flies open, and they hear, “Hey, Nao! What's with all the people downstairs? You didn't tell me anything about this!” (Some of the books come tumbling down, and Mio thinks: “Ah, your father's books!”) Taki turns toward her, and says, “Yuki? Why...” Hearing that, Mio turns around quickly to get a look. His sister!? Wow, she's really cute... Noticing someone else in the room, Yuki says, “Huh? Miwa!?” Looking a little annoyed, Taki explains, “Yuki, this is my girlfriend. Ootaka Mio.” Yuki just says, “Ah,” realizing her mistake (with a note that she didn't see anything but Mio's hair). Mio nervously gives a very formal introduction, and Yuki smiles and says, “That's right, I've heard about you, Mio-chan!” Mio tugs on Taki's sleeve, telling him that his sister is really adorable, and he continues to look annoyed. Yuki says she just wanted to mess with him a little, and they hurry down to take the chair. As they leave, Mio looks back at Taki's room, thinking, “Miwa, huh?”
Back downstairs, Yuki introduces herself to everyone, explaining that she hadn't planned on being home, but her schedule changed. It looks like she's intruded on their studying. Ishida rushes over to tell her that no, they're the ones intruding! He grabs Marui and explains that he was on the verge of death in algebra, so they couldn't stand back and watch. Marui grumbles that's not true, and Yuki comes over. She asks if his scores are really that bad, and leans forward to look at his paper. As she does, Marui and Ishida both very obviously look down the top of her dress. Standing back up, she tells Marui that he is indeed failing, but he can surely do it if he works hard. They beam at her, and the girls glare over at them. Yuni says something like, “Well, they are guys,” as Mio thinks that Marui is mooning over her. Like she thought, he's interested in looks; confessing to her was just done on impulse. It was never anything to worry over. Turning back to her work, Mio thinks what a waste it was to worry. Ishida calls out to Yuki to help them study (since she's a college student), and she tells them she has her own report to work on. Get Nao to teach them. More importantly, what are they doing for dinner? Mio tells her that they were planning to buy some things and make curry. Yuki asks if she can have some, and Ishida excitedly tells her that of course she can! They should eat together! Thinking, “You again?” she explains that she was going to eat in her room. He whines that they should eat together, then asks Yuki what her cooking is like. She answers that it's awful, and he calls her modest. She says that, basically, she can peel and core apples. As Ishida replies that he'll eat the cores, Yuki begins to picture him as a hyper puppy. She smacks him on the forehead, yelling, “Heel! Sit!” He follows her directions, so she continues to, “Paw!” He gives her his “paw,” and she pats him on the head. She tells him not to be so impulsive, and he barks in ascent. In the background, everyone looks on in embarrassment. Yuki tells Ishida to study hard, and call her when the food is ready.
The chapter runs through some scenes of everyone studying, then going off to shop. Back at Taki's house, they've started cooking. Mio sticks her head into the kitchen to say that she put out the spoons and to ask if there's anything else that needs done. Shii tells her that there isn't right now, so Mio can take a break. Ishida comments that he was surprised to see that Taki was the one doing the cooking. Yuni says that she figured he probably just ate supplements and such, and Taki replies that he does when he's by himself. But sometimes Yuki gets him to cook, so he's used to it. Looking a little concerned, Mio asks about Taki's mother. He tells her that for now, both of his parents are away. Shii asks about the sunglasses, and he says that yes, they're for cutting the onions. Ishida and Inoji both note that they found it more surprising that Mio can't cook. As they go back to talk to Marui, Mio thinks that, at the moment, she feels like a completely useless person. Then, she hears Shii saying from the kitchen that she messed up, and only bought enough ingredients to make food for the original number of people. Mio quickly volunteers to go back to the store and buy what they need. As she starts out, Taki starts to say he'll go with her, but people start asking him questions about how to operate the stove and where the bowls are, so he can't. On her way out, Mio runs into Yuki, who smiles and sees her off. Mio smiles back, telling her that she's going. As she heads toward the store, Mio runs the ingredients she needs through her head – potatoes, onions, meat, tomatoes – but can't help but remember Yuki calling her “Miwa.” She tries to talk herself out of thinking it was a big deal, but hearing his ex-girlfriend's name in that room, in that situation... it makes her imagination run wild.
She hears her name called, and turns to see Marui. He announces that he's going, too, to buy more drinks. Mio tries to offer to get them herself, but he was planning to buy 1.5L bottles, so she probably couldn't carry them all herself. As they pass a store, a little girl's mother is yelling to her to be careful; it's getting dark out, so watch for cars. Looking at the back of his head, Mio wonders if Marui actually came with her because it was getting dark. She remembers him telling her that he likes her, then tries to tell that echo in her head to stop. After they've walked a bit, Marui apologizes for coming there today. Ishida dragged him there, so... Mio stiffly tells him not to worry about it, and he tells her that her voice seems to say the opposite thing. Mio puts her head down and tells him she can't help it; she's the one who can't act normal. She's apologizes, telling him she isn't used to things like this. Marui asks, “Taki is the first person you've gone out with, right?” Mio says yes, then remembers something. She's not sure this counts, but there may have been someone else. Marui asks when, and Mio tells him about something that happened in their third year of middle school. She confessed via email, and got a reply saying, “OK.” But two days later, she got another email saying, “We should probably break up.” Marui doesn't have much of a response, saying, “Ah... Well, that's...” and Mio laughs it off. Like she figured, that didn't count. She hasn't seen or heard from him since. Marui starts to wonder who it might have been, thinking about how he might have been with him in the basketball or soccer club... They finish shopping, and Mio notices that Marui bought a lot of drinks. He tells her that it didn't seem like that before he bought it, and Mio laughs. She thinks that she's glad; since she was honest about her feelings, it feels like she's been able to talk normally with him. Even so, rather than being nervous like her, Marui seems composed. Maybe it's the difference in their experience levels...
Getting back to talking about their purchases, Mio figures that the bag must be heavy, right? Marui starts to say that it's not a big deal, but the handle on the bag tears. The bottles roll out, and they hurry to grab them. Mio notices that one is about to roll into the street, and she lunges to stop it. She lands awkwardly right next to the road, and Marui yells, “Ootaka!?” She turns to tell him that she's safe, somehow. He doesn't seem to hear her and appears genuinely worried as he grabs her shoulder, asking, “Are you all right!?” Mio says yes, she's completely fine. He puts his head down and says he thought she collapsed by the side of the road... He apologizes, saying that he should have carried the bag more carefully. Looking at the expression on his face, Mio starts to laugh. She tells him that when the bag broke and the bottles started to spill out, they must have looked hilariously idiotic. Marui looks away, a little embarrassed, and responds, “Ah... Idiotic, huh? I am an idiot...” In her head, Mio thanks him, wanting him to stay laid back like usual. Meanwhile, back at Taki's house, they start to get concerned that Mio is taking so long. Yuni points out that they can't do any more without the ingredients, and wonders if Mio got lost. Shii wonders if she could have, inside the neighborhood, and Yuni notes that there are some twists in the road. She says she'll try messaging her, and Taki tells her that he'll go look. On his way out, Taki thinks that the street leading up to the train station does seem like a place someone might get lost. The chapter ends with Mio thinking that when Marui loses his composure and gets that frantic look on his face, somehow, it makes her worry. (She is also clinging to a bottle of “Popsi.”)
The chapter begins with Ishida explaining that, after what happened with the last set of exams and the supplementary lessons, the basketball team canceled practice to study, primarily for Marui's sake. Ichii must have spoken to the team adviser for them to cancel. Yuni points out that it won't be basketball to blame, if Marui fails this time. Well, he has to get thirty points, so he needs to work hard today! Watching them talk, Mio tells herself to calm down; it will be all right. This is a study session, so if she's concentrating on her textbook and notes, it doesn't matter who else is there. She hears Taki call her name, and he directs her to the refrigerator to put away the desserts she's holding. As she's putting things away, she mentions that Taki didn't seem surprised when an extra person showed up. He explains that Ishida let him know ahead of time that [Marui] was coming. From the other room, they hear someone wondering where they should start studying, and Yuni says she figured they'd just study on their own. Ishida replies that doing that would be catastrophic for Marui and Ootaka's algebra scores, which would be too pitiful. Turning to Taki, Yuni figures that Taki is going to teach them, right? Taki says that he is (with an arrow explaining that neither of them seems to see any conflict in that), and Mio pulls back nervously. She awkwardly bows, thanking Taki for his continued assistance, and it occurs to Ishida that she's Taki's boyfriend. He sort of jokingly reminds them that it's a study session, so they shouldn't spend it flirting. Shii shoves him away, and volunteers to join them in studying algebra. Mio suggests that they all work together, thinking that she doesn't need to be told not to flirt in these circumstances. (Ishida is asking Shii why she shoved him like that – it hurt!)
They gather around the table to work, and Inoji sees that Marui is about to sit next to Shii (where he planned to sit). He reminds Marui that he was going to be studying with Taki, so he should go sit next to him. Marui moves, and Ishida comes in to join the group. He plans to sit at the table with them, but finds that there are no more chairs. They tease him that he can just go back to sitting in the other room, and Taki offers to go get another chair. Mio gets up to assist him, and they head toward the second floor. Taki explains that there's an extra chair in his room, and Mio starts to get a little excited. It's her first time in his room. She looks around, and notices the opened window. It has a relaxing feel to it... Mio exclaims over the impressive number of books, and Taki says that they're mostly his father's. In the past, Taki's room was his father's study. Mio comes over to help Taki clear the books that are piled on the chair, and asks if she can just put them wherever there's free space. Taki tells her that they all have a particular place to go, so Mio asks where to put the one she's holding. He tells her he'll put them away later, so she can just leave it on the desk for now. As Mio prepares to do that, the door slams shut. They're startled for a moment, then Taki realizes that it was blown shut by the wind. Mio puts the books down, remarking that it really scared her. She pauses, and notices that she can hear the wind through the trees. Mio comments on how quiet it is with the door shut, and Taki replies that it completely blocks the noise from the people downstairs. Blushing again, Mio says, “With it being so quiet, it sort of feels like it's just the two of us here...” Realizing what she just said, Mio quickly says, “Never mind! We need to hurry and take the chair...” She grabs the rest of the books and tries to rush them to the desk, but Taki puts his arms around her from behind. She starts to question what he's doing, and he reminds her of what she said in the last chapter about avoiding public displays of affection. Mio remembers that whole weird scene, and hides her face. She said that to him, didn't she? She says, “...Everyone is downstairs...” Taki responds, “Yeah, just for a second.” Turning to face him, Mio realizes that the distance she'd been putting between them may have been making Taki feel lonely.
As they're about to kiss, the door flies open, and they hear, “Hey, Nao! What's with all the people downstairs? You didn't tell me anything about this!” (Some of the books come tumbling down, and Mio thinks: “Ah, your father's books!”) Taki turns toward her, and says, “Yuki? Why...” Hearing that, Mio turns around quickly to get a look. His sister!? Wow, she's really cute... Noticing someone else in the room, Yuki says, “Huh? Miwa!?” Looking a little annoyed, Taki explains, “Yuki, this is my girlfriend. Ootaka Mio.” Yuki just says, “Ah,” realizing her mistake (with a note that she didn't see anything but Mio's hair). Mio nervously gives a very formal introduction, and Yuki smiles and says, “That's right, I've heard about you, Mio-chan!” Mio tugs on Taki's sleeve, telling him that his sister is really adorable, and he continues to look annoyed. Yuki says she just wanted to mess with him a little, and they hurry down to take the chair. As they leave, Mio looks back at Taki's room, thinking, “Miwa, huh?”
Back downstairs, Yuki introduces herself to everyone, explaining that she hadn't planned on being home, but her schedule changed. It looks like she's intruded on their studying. Ishida rushes over to tell her that no, they're the ones intruding! He grabs Marui and explains that he was on the verge of death in algebra, so they couldn't stand back and watch. Marui grumbles that's not true, and Yuki comes over. She asks if his scores are really that bad, and leans forward to look at his paper. As she does, Marui and Ishida both very obviously look down the top of her dress. Standing back up, she tells Marui that he is indeed failing, but he can surely do it if he works hard. They beam at her, and the girls glare over at them. Yuni says something like, “Well, they are guys,” as Mio thinks that Marui is mooning over her. Like she thought, he's interested in looks; confessing to her was just done on impulse. It was never anything to worry over. Turning back to her work, Mio thinks what a waste it was to worry. Ishida calls out to Yuki to help them study (since she's a college student), and she tells them she has her own report to work on. Get Nao to teach them. More importantly, what are they doing for dinner? Mio tells her that they were planning to buy some things and make curry. Yuki asks if she can have some, and Ishida excitedly tells her that of course she can! They should eat together! Thinking, “You again?” she explains that she was going to eat in her room. He whines that they should eat together, then asks Yuki what her cooking is like. She answers that it's awful, and he calls her modest. She says that, basically, she can peel and core apples. As Ishida replies that he'll eat the cores, Yuki begins to picture him as a hyper puppy. She smacks him on the forehead, yelling, “Heel! Sit!” He follows her directions, so she continues to, “Paw!” He gives her his “paw,” and she pats him on the head. She tells him not to be so impulsive, and he barks in ascent. In the background, everyone looks on in embarrassment. Yuki tells Ishida to study hard, and call her when the food is ready.
The chapter runs through some scenes of everyone studying, then going off to shop. Back at Taki's house, they've started cooking. Mio sticks her head into the kitchen to say that she put out the spoons and to ask if there's anything else that needs done. Shii tells her that there isn't right now, so Mio can take a break. Ishida comments that he was surprised to see that Taki was the one doing the cooking. Yuni says that she figured he probably just ate supplements and such, and Taki replies that he does when he's by himself. But sometimes Yuki gets him to cook, so he's used to it. Looking a little concerned, Mio asks about Taki's mother. He tells her that for now, both of his parents are away. Shii asks about the sunglasses, and he says that yes, they're for cutting the onions. Ishida and Inoji both note that they found it more surprising that Mio can't cook. As they go back to talk to Marui, Mio thinks that, at the moment, she feels like a completely useless person. Then, she hears Shii saying from the kitchen that she messed up, and only bought enough ingredients to make food for the original number of people. Mio quickly volunteers to go back to the store and buy what they need. As she starts out, Taki starts to say he'll go with her, but people start asking him questions about how to operate the stove and where the bowls are, so he can't. On her way out, Mio runs into Yuki, who smiles and sees her off. Mio smiles back, telling her that she's going. As she heads toward the store, Mio runs the ingredients she needs through her head – potatoes, onions, meat, tomatoes – but can't help but remember Yuki calling her “Miwa.” She tries to talk herself out of thinking it was a big deal, but hearing his ex-girlfriend's name in that room, in that situation... it makes her imagination run wild.
She hears her name called, and turns to see Marui. He announces that he's going, too, to buy more drinks. Mio tries to offer to get them herself, but he was planning to buy 1.5L bottles, so she probably couldn't carry them all herself. As they pass a store, a little girl's mother is yelling to her to be careful; it's getting dark out, so watch for cars. Looking at the back of his head, Mio wonders if Marui actually came with her because it was getting dark. She remembers him telling her that he likes her, then tries to tell that echo in her head to stop. After they've walked a bit, Marui apologizes for coming there today. Ishida dragged him there, so... Mio stiffly tells him not to worry about it, and he tells her that her voice seems to say the opposite thing. Mio puts her head down and tells him she can't help it; she's the one who can't act normal. She's apologizes, telling him she isn't used to things like this. Marui asks, “Taki is the first person you've gone out with, right?” Mio says yes, then remembers something. She's not sure this counts, but there may have been someone else. Marui asks when, and Mio tells him about something that happened in their third year of middle school. She confessed via email, and got a reply saying, “OK.” But two days later, she got another email saying, “We should probably break up.” Marui doesn't have much of a response, saying, “Ah... Well, that's...” and Mio laughs it off. Like she figured, that didn't count. She hasn't seen or heard from him since. Marui starts to wonder who it might have been, thinking about how he might have been with him in the basketball or soccer club... They finish shopping, and Mio notices that Marui bought a lot of drinks. He tells her that it didn't seem like that before he bought it, and Mio laughs. She thinks that she's glad; since she was honest about her feelings, it feels like she's been able to talk normally with him. Even so, rather than being nervous like her, Marui seems composed. Maybe it's the difference in their experience levels...
Getting back to talking about their purchases, Mio figures that the bag must be heavy, right? Marui starts to say that it's not a big deal, but the handle on the bag tears. The bottles roll out, and they hurry to grab them. Mio notices that one is about to roll into the street, and she lunges to stop it. She lands awkwardly right next to the road, and Marui yells, “Ootaka!?” She turns to tell him that she's safe, somehow. He doesn't seem to hear her and appears genuinely worried as he grabs her shoulder, asking, “Are you all right!?” Mio says yes, she's completely fine. He puts his head down and says he thought she collapsed by the side of the road... He apologizes, saying that he should have carried the bag more carefully. Looking at the expression on his face, Mio starts to laugh. She tells him that when the bag broke and the bottles started to spill out, they must have looked hilariously idiotic. Marui looks away, a little embarrassed, and responds, “Ah... Idiotic, huh? I am an idiot...” In her head, Mio thanks him, wanting him to stay laid back like usual. Meanwhile, back at Taki's house, they start to get concerned that Mio is taking so long. Yuni points out that they can't do any more without the ingredients, and wonders if Mio got lost. Shii wonders if she could have, inside the neighborhood, and Yuni notes that there are some twists in the road. She says she'll try messaging her, and Taki tells her that he'll go look. On his way out, Taki thinks that the street leading up to the train station does seem like a place someone might get lost. The chapter ends with Mio thinking that when Marui loses his composure and gets that frantic look on his face, somehow, it makes her worry. (She is also clinging to a bottle of “Popsi.”)