Chapter 28: I Don't Understand
The chapter starts with Mio looking some more for her lost cell phone charm. She isn't having any luck, and Taki arrives. He tells her that he asked the people in the store, and they hadn't found her charm. No one brought it to the lost and found, either. She tells him that she also hasn't found it, and thinks about how she's been looking unsuccessfully since the rain ended. She had carefully made a round trip from Taki's house to cover the whole area she traveled that night, and then repeated it. Mio thanks Taki for checking the store, thinking that she was naïve to think it would be easy to find once it was light out. Suddenly, they spot something in the bushes... and it turns out to be some other charm. Mio wonders: “An eel? A tadpole?” Mio puts it back in a location that should be easier for the owner to spot, if they come looking for it. After searching, they head back to Taki's to study. Mio tells him that, starting tomorrow, she'll look on her own. With the tests drawing near, she doesn't want to cut into his time any more. Taki is surprised – don't they always study together before tests? They reach the stairs, and he offers his hand to help her down. Mio tells him that, this morning, she looked [at her ankle] under the compress and it had improved. Taki smiles, and tells her that's good. Mio thinks that, in truth, she's happy to have him with her, but it makes her feel guilty to have him drag this [search] out with her.
They run into Akane outside of Taki's house, who tells them that she thought he was back a while ago. Mio and Akane have a somewhat tense moment, as Mio remembers what Akane said about betraying Taki. She needs to hurry and find the charm... Staring at her blank notebook paper, Mio's mind wanders, as she considers where her charm might have fallen. She notices that Taki is staring at her, and says, “Umm... What...?” He tells her that she seemed to be thinking really hard about question three, so he was waiting. Mio turns red, apologizing. Right now he's helping her study, and she needs to concentrate! She goes back to the problem, but can't concentrate on it with him staring. He laughs at how red she's turning, and Mio suggests he take a break from helping her. She tells him to look at literature until she gets through question six... Taki comments that it's almost summer break, and Mio reminds him that depends on passing exams (thinking that literature is Taki's weakest subject). Almost summer break... There's a brief section in which Taki and Mio come across a poster for a fireworks display, and Mio says she'd like to go. Taki asks, “With everyone? Or the two of us?” Mio answers, “The two of us!” She has to get past these exams!
Mio is buying lunch with Yuni and Shii-chan when she bumps into someone. She starts to apologize, then realizes that it's Marui. She blushes deeply and hurries away (Marui thinks: “She really turned red...”). Mio intended to keep a certain distance between them! Marui's eyes start to wander, looking for Mio, and he sees Taki walking through the door. Marui thinks that it would make sense to blow him off; this is awkward... But, Taki helped him quite a bit with algebra. Is Marui that awful? He goes to blow off some steam playing basketball, then finally decides to approach Taki. He thrusts a beverage can at Taki, who asks what he's doing. Marui responds, “Drink this.” (The arrow pointing to the can marks it as an “apology.”) Taki is confused, pointing out that he has a drink, so he doesn't need it. Marui says, “You can drink two cans, right?” Taki is still confused, suggesting that Marui drink it, to which he responds, “There's no point in me drinking it!” Taki asks what he means by “point,” and Marui explains that it's to thank him for the “training camp” study session at his house. Taki takes it, and tells Marui thank you. As Marui awkwardly walks off, Taki tells him that he doesn't want him to do anything else to cause worry. Marui looks back, realizing that he's talking about Mio. Taki goes on to say that, when Marui and Mio fell down on the stairs, he was annoyed to the point of wanting Marui to just disappear. Marui is surprised, responding, “Taki... So, you must have seen...” Taki goes on, telling him that he understood that what he saw this time was an accident... though it did seriously piss him off. Taki starts to leave, and Marui clenches his fist, saying that he's also been reflecting on that. Taki looks back one more time, and adds, “... But... Thank you for helping out in a dangerous situation.” Marui leans back against the wall, muttering, “I can't believe him...” He thinks that, if he were Taki, he wouldn't have said that. Is Taki just an idiot? Or is it... Taki overhears as Marui wonders aloud if there isn't some possibility that he's accepting defeat.
Later, Mio is rushing to submit an assignment before the deadline, and she encounters Marui with a girl on the stairs. She apologizes, and hurries away. The girl (the basketball team's manager) says she has a feeling she caused a misunderstanding just now, and Marui runs off after Mio as he yells, “It's an eyelash, you should wash it out!” He waits for Mio as she turns in her work, and she hears him say, “It was a misunderstanding.” Mio ignores him and walks off, as he continues, “Just now, that was our basketball team's manager, you know? She suddenly felt something in her eye, so I was looking...” Mio tells him, “It's fine.” Marui continues to explain as Mio starts up the stairs, thinking that she's strangely disturbed by this. Marui tells her that their manager's boyfriend is also on the basketball team, so it could be a problem if there was a misunderstanding like this. Mio replies, “I get it. A misunderstanding, is it?” Marui tells her that's right, and Mio adds, “But... It would be better if it wasn't.” Even though she didn't respond to his confession, it's strange how Mio has been paying too much attention to Marui. She tells him, “I think it would be the best if you found a girlfriend soon.” Marui hurries to get in front of Mio on the stairs, and asks, “Is that really how you feel?” Looking down at her, he says, “If that is how you feel... then why are you making that face?” Mio doesn't respond, and Marui reaches toward her, stopping just before touching her face. He pulls back, saying, “No... it's nothing...” He leaves, and Mio brings her hand to her face, wondering why he almost touched her face. It's hot...
Preparing to leave school, Mio leans against the window, noticing that the rain is stopping. Looking up at the sky, she hopes that it will hold until she's done looking for her charm. Then, she notices Marui and his friends, and recalls Marui asking, “Is that really how you feel?” In her mind, she responds, “Yeah. It really is.” Taki and Hatano (who seem to have been in a meeting) approach, and Hatano waves at Mio, saying, “Ootaka-san, you're waiting.” Mio doesn't look, and Hatano comments that she didn't seem to notice them at all. She jokes that there must be some good-looking guys down there, and Taki gives her a withering look. He calls out, “Mio,” and she welcomes him back. He asks if she got her assignment turned in on time, and she tells him she made it, somehow. She gives him his bag, and as they start to leave, Taki glances out the window. He gasps, seeing Marui and figuring that he was what Mio was looking at. Their eyes meet, and Taki recalls what Marui said earlier about accepting defeat.
As they leave the train station, the rain has started up again, and Mio complains about the terrible downpour that's started since they got to the station. She notices how down Taki looks, and says, “Taki-kun...? Do you not feel well?” She wonders what happened, since he seemed fine earlier. His face even looks pale. Mio apologizes for not noticing, and says they don't need to do any searching today. He should go home; she'll take him there. They arrive at Taki's house, and Mio tells him to dry off thoroughly and change clothes – he'll catch a cold. He says he will, and Mio waves good bye, telling him to get some rest. Mio thinks that he seemed all right before they left school; it would be bad if he got a cold right before exams. She looks up, noting that it's starting to drizzle again. She thinks she'll make one round searching trip, then head home... She turns her head, and is surprised to see Taki still standing right where she left him. She goes back and shoves him inside, asking him what he thinks he's doing. Once she saw him off, why didn't he go straight inside!? She's about to leave again, and sees that he still hasn't moved. She asks, “Seriously... Are you all right...?” Dropping his bag, Taki finally replies, “No... I'm not... all right...” He pulls Mio into a hug, and her heart races. Didn't he not feel well....? She starts to ask him again, “Are you...?” and stops short, seeing how he's looking down at her. She notices that, being this close, Taki is filling her entire field of vision. As it is now, there's nothing else, and it's nice... She closes her eyes, expecting Taki to kiss her. Instead, he says, “... I don't understand.” Mio pulls back, and asks, “Taki-kun...?” He repeats, “Mio... I don't understand you...” and turns away, leaving Mio confused in the door frame.
The chapter starts with Mio looking some more for her lost cell phone charm. She isn't having any luck, and Taki arrives. He tells her that he asked the people in the store, and they hadn't found her charm. No one brought it to the lost and found, either. She tells him that she also hasn't found it, and thinks about how she's been looking unsuccessfully since the rain ended. She had carefully made a round trip from Taki's house to cover the whole area she traveled that night, and then repeated it. Mio thanks Taki for checking the store, thinking that she was naïve to think it would be easy to find once it was light out. Suddenly, they spot something in the bushes... and it turns out to be some other charm. Mio wonders: “An eel? A tadpole?” Mio puts it back in a location that should be easier for the owner to spot, if they come looking for it. After searching, they head back to Taki's to study. Mio tells him that, starting tomorrow, she'll look on her own. With the tests drawing near, she doesn't want to cut into his time any more. Taki is surprised – don't they always study together before tests? They reach the stairs, and he offers his hand to help her down. Mio tells him that, this morning, she looked [at her ankle] under the compress and it had improved. Taki smiles, and tells her that's good. Mio thinks that, in truth, she's happy to have him with her, but it makes her feel guilty to have him drag this [search] out with her.
They run into Akane outside of Taki's house, who tells them that she thought he was back a while ago. Mio and Akane have a somewhat tense moment, as Mio remembers what Akane said about betraying Taki. She needs to hurry and find the charm... Staring at her blank notebook paper, Mio's mind wanders, as she considers where her charm might have fallen. She notices that Taki is staring at her, and says, “Umm... What...?” He tells her that she seemed to be thinking really hard about question three, so he was waiting. Mio turns red, apologizing. Right now he's helping her study, and she needs to concentrate! She goes back to the problem, but can't concentrate on it with him staring. He laughs at how red she's turning, and Mio suggests he take a break from helping her. She tells him to look at literature until she gets through question six... Taki comments that it's almost summer break, and Mio reminds him that depends on passing exams (thinking that literature is Taki's weakest subject). Almost summer break... There's a brief section in which Taki and Mio come across a poster for a fireworks display, and Mio says she'd like to go. Taki asks, “With everyone? Or the two of us?” Mio answers, “The two of us!” She has to get past these exams!
Mio is buying lunch with Yuni and Shii-chan when she bumps into someone. She starts to apologize, then realizes that it's Marui. She blushes deeply and hurries away (Marui thinks: “She really turned red...”). Mio intended to keep a certain distance between them! Marui's eyes start to wander, looking for Mio, and he sees Taki walking through the door. Marui thinks that it would make sense to blow him off; this is awkward... But, Taki helped him quite a bit with algebra. Is Marui that awful? He goes to blow off some steam playing basketball, then finally decides to approach Taki. He thrusts a beverage can at Taki, who asks what he's doing. Marui responds, “Drink this.” (The arrow pointing to the can marks it as an “apology.”) Taki is confused, pointing out that he has a drink, so he doesn't need it. Marui says, “You can drink two cans, right?” Taki is still confused, suggesting that Marui drink it, to which he responds, “There's no point in me drinking it!” Taki asks what he means by “point,” and Marui explains that it's to thank him for the “training camp” study session at his house. Taki takes it, and tells Marui thank you. As Marui awkwardly walks off, Taki tells him that he doesn't want him to do anything else to cause worry. Marui looks back, realizing that he's talking about Mio. Taki goes on to say that, when Marui and Mio fell down on the stairs, he was annoyed to the point of wanting Marui to just disappear. Marui is surprised, responding, “Taki... So, you must have seen...” Taki goes on, telling him that he understood that what he saw this time was an accident... though it did seriously piss him off. Taki starts to leave, and Marui clenches his fist, saying that he's also been reflecting on that. Taki looks back one more time, and adds, “... But... Thank you for helping out in a dangerous situation.” Marui leans back against the wall, muttering, “I can't believe him...” He thinks that, if he were Taki, he wouldn't have said that. Is Taki just an idiot? Or is it... Taki overhears as Marui wonders aloud if there isn't some possibility that he's accepting defeat.
Later, Mio is rushing to submit an assignment before the deadline, and she encounters Marui with a girl on the stairs. She apologizes, and hurries away. The girl (the basketball team's manager) says she has a feeling she caused a misunderstanding just now, and Marui runs off after Mio as he yells, “It's an eyelash, you should wash it out!” He waits for Mio as she turns in her work, and she hears him say, “It was a misunderstanding.” Mio ignores him and walks off, as he continues, “Just now, that was our basketball team's manager, you know? She suddenly felt something in her eye, so I was looking...” Mio tells him, “It's fine.” Marui continues to explain as Mio starts up the stairs, thinking that she's strangely disturbed by this. Marui tells her that their manager's boyfriend is also on the basketball team, so it could be a problem if there was a misunderstanding like this. Mio replies, “I get it. A misunderstanding, is it?” Marui tells her that's right, and Mio adds, “But... It would be better if it wasn't.” Even though she didn't respond to his confession, it's strange how Mio has been paying too much attention to Marui. She tells him, “I think it would be the best if you found a girlfriend soon.” Marui hurries to get in front of Mio on the stairs, and asks, “Is that really how you feel?” Looking down at her, he says, “If that is how you feel... then why are you making that face?” Mio doesn't respond, and Marui reaches toward her, stopping just before touching her face. He pulls back, saying, “No... it's nothing...” He leaves, and Mio brings her hand to her face, wondering why he almost touched her face. It's hot...
Preparing to leave school, Mio leans against the window, noticing that the rain is stopping. Looking up at the sky, she hopes that it will hold until she's done looking for her charm. Then, she notices Marui and his friends, and recalls Marui asking, “Is that really how you feel?” In her mind, she responds, “Yeah. It really is.” Taki and Hatano (who seem to have been in a meeting) approach, and Hatano waves at Mio, saying, “Ootaka-san, you're waiting.” Mio doesn't look, and Hatano comments that she didn't seem to notice them at all. She jokes that there must be some good-looking guys down there, and Taki gives her a withering look. He calls out, “Mio,” and she welcomes him back. He asks if she got her assignment turned in on time, and she tells him she made it, somehow. She gives him his bag, and as they start to leave, Taki glances out the window. He gasps, seeing Marui and figuring that he was what Mio was looking at. Their eyes meet, and Taki recalls what Marui said earlier about accepting defeat.
As they leave the train station, the rain has started up again, and Mio complains about the terrible downpour that's started since they got to the station. She notices how down Taki looks, and says, “Taki-kun...? Do you not feel well?” She wonders what happened, since he seemed fine earlier. His face even looks pale. Mio apologizes for not noticing, and says they don't need to do any searching today. He should go home; she'll take him there. They arrive at Taki's house, and Mio tells him to dry off thoroughly and change clothes – he'll catch a cold. He says he will, and Mio waves good bye, telling him to get some rest. Mio thinks that he seemed all right before they left school; it would be bad if he got a cold right before exams. She looks up, noting that it's starting to drizzle again. She thinks she'll make one round searching trip, then head home... She turns her head, and is surprised to see Taki still standing right where she left him. She goes back and shoves him inside, asking him what he thinks he's doing. Once she saw him off, why didn't he go straight inside!? She's about to leave again, and sees that he still hasn't moved. She asks, “Seriously... Are you all right...?” Dropping his bag, Taki finally replies, “No... I'm not... all right...” He pulls Mio into a hug, and her heart races. Didn't he not feel well....? She starts to ask him again, “Are you...?” and stops short, seeing how he's looking down at her. She notices that, being this close, Taki is filling her entire field of vision. As it is now, there's nothing else, and it's nice... She closes her eyes, expecting Taki to kiss her. Instead, he says, “... I don't understand.” Mio pulls back, and asks, “Taki-kun...?” He repeats, “Mio... I don't understand you...” and turns away, leaving Mio confused in the door frame.
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