COUGH, so it’s been a while. Sorry ‘bout that.

Anyway, Mii and Yayoi (in their Heidi and Klara get-ups) are rescued by the newest animal in Mii’s private zoo, Shishio (reminder: shishi = lion), clearly here to stir up trouble in the romance department. That’s not a spoiler okay. It’s just obvious. And if he can make Ookami jealous, I’m all in, man.

Yayoi forces him to accept one tenth of the amount in her wallet, which is 10,000 yen haha what. So she just walks around with 100,000 yen in her pocket (over a 1000 dollars). THAT’S SMART. Anyway, Shishio then decides to use his new funds to buy them both some tea, after realizing that they’re actually high school students and not middle schoolers, as he’d first thought. Mii is totally insulted and would rather just leave, but Yayoi’s all WE’D LOVE TO, so Mii shuffles along anyway.

Pretty much everyone they meet along the way call out a greeting when they see Shishio, and Mii concludes that he’s the exact type of person she hates (/not good at dealing with); he’s stylish, popular, good at fighting, and his greeting of choice is, “Weeey”. (LMAO WHAT. That’s adorable.) She guesses his age must be about the same as Tora and Ookami’s.

They arrive at a tea shop and Yayoi orders some fancy tea. Mii asks Shishio if Shishio is his name (rather than nickname), and he says yep, explaining that it’s written using the kanji for lion plus the kanji for male animal. So... Male Lion. LOL @ your parents. Yayoi’s like, “Tiger, wolf and lion... the carnivore set is complete.” Hahah.

A couple of girls come into the shop, also acquaintances of Shishio. One of them’s spilled something on her top, and they start talking about how there’s some fruit or something that’s supposed to remove stains, but they can’t remember which, so Mii pipes up to say that it’s daikon. She immediately regrets saying anything, either because she doesn’t want to attract attention, or because it’s kinda uncool knowing the details of folk remedies, I’m not sure. Anyway, they try it out and then they’re totally amazed when it works and Mii’s hero of the day. Along with Shishio because he saved them from evil earlier, I guess.

Mii’s caught Shishio’s interest by now (the way he looks at her makes her uncomfortable), and he asks if she was brought up by her grandmother or something. When she says yes, he starts pulling out various stuff (from who knows where), asking what they’re called, and Mii answers with their old-fashioned names. The two girls start laughing hysterically, but Mii continues flatly that she usually calls them what everyone else calls them, she just thought they’d be amused if she gave the old terms instead, so she did it on purpose for their sake. Yayoi comments in the awkward silence that follows, that the Japanese language sure is beautiful...

Mii and Yayoi take their leave, and the girls grumble that Mii gave off a bad vibe. Shishio says that’s obviously because they laughed at her like that, and personally he finds her interesting.

Outside, Mii complains at being made fun of, and Yayoi’s all, THEY MADE FUN OF YOU?! Because she’s clearly blind to such things.

And when Mii gets back to her grandmother’s restaurant, Ookami is there, yaaay. He and her grandmother both get a shock from her outfit, her gran wondering if she actually walked around outside like that, but Mii is too tired to react much and just says she’ll change and then she’ll help out. She adds, “Oh, Ookami, you’re here?” And Ookami’s like, “It’s not ‘oh, you’re here?’, it’s, ‘welcome, honoured customer’.” So Mii’s like, “Yeah, yeah, welcome,” but he’s still not happy, saying it pisses him off hearing it when she’s wearing such a weird outfit. Geez, you’re hard to please.

Mii’s grandmother heads out for a bit, leaving the shop to Mii (even though she hasn’t changed yet), and Mii asks about Tora again, wondering when he’ll come back to school (summer vacation ends tomorrow). Ookami says it’ll be a couple of weeks.

Mii regrets telling Tora she likes him. The look of surprise on his face is burned into her memory. She asks Ookami if Tora’s mentioned anything, and then she’s disappointed when he says no. Ookami gets all stern, calling her an idiot, saying he told her Tora’s used to stuff like that, told her she should just give up on him. Hearing that from her is only going to trouble him, ‘cause he’ll feel bad that he can’t give her the kind of answer she wants.

Realizing she might be causing Tora worry, Mii starts crying, and Ookami jumps backwards in horror hahaha. He panics, trying to make her stop crying by TELLING her to stop crying (useless), while she goes on about how love is just the sort of thing that you can’t control, and even though she hadn’t meant to say anything at the time, she couldn’t have gone on forever not saying anything either, and also like, even though you know you’re gonna lose the war, you still want to get in at least one good attack, right? (Ookami’s just jumps between, I see, huh, okay, I don’t even know what you mean by that and so on, hahah) And then Mii yells, “You like Tora too, right? You understand how I feel, right?!” because she insists on misunderstanding their relationship pfft.

Ignoring his denials, she says she’s jealous of him and wishes she could be him. He says he’s got it rough too, and Mii’s all, “because Tora won’t return your love?” And Ookami’s like, “NO! Because being around a freak like him drives people insane!” Mii giggles through her tears, saying she kind of understands. Ookami tells her to make up her mind on whether she’s crying or laughing. 

Mii wonders to herself why she always ends up being so honest when she talks to Ookami.

Ookami brings up a person named Seki, wondering if Mii knows him. She says no, and he tells her he’s a kid in her class who hasn’t shown up for school even once since their 2nd year began, and now Ookami’s been ordered to fish him out, which he thinks is a pain. He hands Mii a note, saying it’s his address and telling her they’re going there tomorrow. she’s like, WHY DO I HAVE TO COME?! And he says it’s not like she’ll do anything but sit inside and sob and annoy her grandmother anyway, so he figured he can just as well take her along somewhere before her grandmother tells him to. Ha.

Mii watches him leave, thinking again that she really does end up being really honest around him. Maybe because he saw her freak out that time they were locked in the prep room? Or because he treasures Tora the same way she does? She thinks it’s really strange...

They head out to find Seki the next day, who surprise surprise, turns out to be Shishio. Seki Shishio. He and Mii have a mutual what-are-you-doing-here moment before it’s all cleared up, and Ookami wonders if they’re acquaintances, which Mii denies, while utterly shocked that he’s her age and all.

Ookami introduces himself, stating matter-of-factly that Shishio hasn’t been coming to school. Shishio says yeah, because it’s boring. Ookami begins to say that unless he starts coming soon and take some supplementary lessons, he won’t be able to advance to next year, but then he changes his tune, saying that it’s not like high school’s compulsory and supplementary lessons are a pain for him too, so actually, if he’s not going to come, then he should just withdraw from school officially and save them both a lot of trouble. Ah, your teacher ethics are golden.

Shishio stares, all, “Are there actually teachers who’ll say teaching’s a pain?” and Ookami says, “There are.” Then he walks away, asking Mii over his shoulder if she hanging back or coming along. She says of course she’s going home, and runs to catch up with him. Shishio thinks that both teachers and students have gotten really interesting lately.

So guess who saunters into school next day... I’ll tell you. It’s Shishio. And he claims the desk next to Mii (having asked her actual neighbour for a switch), still calling her Klara and asking her to share her textbooks with him. Kawada isn’t pleased at all, asking why he’s sitting next to Mii and who Klara is, haha. Shishio says sitting next to someone he knows will give him strength. The lol.

Their classmates can’t believe Mii knows someone like that, and when they mention Shishio’s name he turns around, all, “You called?” 

He’s soon attracted a whole crowd, making instant friends with everyone, and then he’s suddenly like, “I wonder if the gym’s free? I feel like playing basketball...”

So when Ookami arrives to have class with them, everyone but Mii and Kawada’s off to play ball. Ookami just proceeds like usual, telling the two of them to open their books.

The rest of the class arrives eventually, and Ookami calmly reminds them that three late-comings equals one absence. Shishio sits down next to Mii, calling her Klara again and asking to see her textbook, but Mii’s been getting progressively more annoyed and finally blows up. She says that first of all, her name is not Klara, and also, if he’s just going to play around, he can do so elsewhere. If he’s going to come, he should sit down and pay attention.

Shishio stares at her and then he apologizes. The whole thing’s kind of like a kid being scolded by his mother haha. Their classmates wonder if Mii was always this kind of person (she’s kind of an outsider in class and all, so no one really knows her).

Realizing what she just did, Mii blushes, despairing on the inside. Ookami calls her an idiot in his mind. Hahah. He then tells her to let Shishio see her textbook.

Shishio’s interest in her has increased even more (LOL what’s the deal, man. D’you have a thing for like... I don’t even know what to call it hahaha), and he asks her what her real name is. Torisawa what?

She tells him it’s Mii, and he links it to the Moomin Valley (Little My is Mii in Japanese), haha. He’s got a thing for overseas children stories. He says she really is interesting, with her Grandma Bag of Wisdom and everything, and then he scoots closer, all, “So, d’you have a boyfriend?” (Ookami picks that moment to tell them to be quiet, HMM.)

Mii stares at him, speechless, and he continues, “Actually, I don’t care if you have one or not. Won’t you be my girl?” And he leans in for a kiss.

LOOOOOOOL.

That’s all I have to say. WTF. Hahaha.

Hahahaha.

Flashback to Ookami and Tora’s childhood, Ookami saying: “Tora, you should always smile. Your smile makes people happy, but your talent disturbs them. Japan’s just that sort of place.”

Then it’s present day, and Kawada’s visiting the restaurant while Mii’s working, talking about Tora, whose punishment after last chapter’s episode is house arrest. So... I guess he’s not allowed to leave his house for a while? Haha. Okay. (What, do they put a guard outside? XD)

Mii thinks it’s all her fault for getting lost, but Kawada tells her to stop thinking about it, calling her timid and sodden (like a swamp) and slug-like (lol?). She doesn’t appreciate his choice of adjectives. 
“Actually, wasn’t it originally YOUR fault?”
“Huh? Was it? I can’t remember.”
“And also, could you please stop coming here everyday?” (Hahaha. Kawada’s putting in effort.)

But then Mii’s grandmother comes to bring Kawada his food, and tells Mii to stop being mean. She seems to appreciate his appetite, and Kawada’s excited about trying different dishes. 

Mii broods some more over Tora, who hasn’t come to the restaurant since before the incident. She thinks back to what her classmates were saying about Tora being scary and so on, but as she didn’t see any of it herself, she can’t bring herself to believe that forever-smiling Tora could have such a violent side to him. And then Ookami arrives! Banzai! He comments on Kawada being there (again), orders some food, and then Mii asks him what Tora’s doing lately. Ookami says he’s at home, probably painting. For Tora, being in house arrest gives him time to concentrate, so it’s not so bad a punishment, really.

If that was an attempt to relieve Mii of her worry/guilt, it fails. She hangs her head, still depressed. Granny asks Ookami to take Mii with him somewhere, since she’s been stuck in the same gloomy state for days now. He suggests she head out with Kawada instead, to enjoy their summer vacation. Kawada’s all, “Just the two of us? I don’t mind.” But Mii declares she would rather spend the day staring at potatoes. HAHA. 

So Granny pleads with Ookami again, who starts to say that it’s not like he’s always free, but then stops short when she (I think) threatens to take away his food. XD

Tora is indeed at home painting. He’s having flashbacks to being bullied as a kid, the other children creeped out by the intensity of his concentration, and tearing up his pictures, calling them “gross.” He startles, returning to the present, and his brush hovers midair as he thinks back to what happened at the mountain. He sits back, thinking, “Ahh, now I’ve done it / messed up.” Not entirely sure what he means. I guess it’s up to interpretation. (‘Yacchatta’ - to do something unintentionally, past tense.)

Ookami has surrendered to the task of taking the kids out to play (Granny power!), and the three of them are now on a train. Ookami takes the opportunity to have a slightly lengthier flashback, this one depicting what happened after the picture-tearing in Tora’s flashback. Tora had gotten into a fight with the kid who tore it up, and now they’re being reprimanded by a teacher, who wants to know who got violent first. Tora admits that it was him. When the teacher tells him to go home and reflect, Tora tries to defend himself by telling him that the other kid started it by tearing his picture, but the teacher insists that the one who resorted to violence is the one in the wrong. Ookami, who was awesome as a kid as well, of course, steps up to claim that tearing up someone’s picture is a form of violence. “Why won’t you look past the surface?”

That gets Ookami sent home early as well, and as they walk together, Tora apologizes, but Ookami says it’s fine. “I really hate teachers.”
“Me too.”

Present day Ookami wrinkles his brow, going, “Hm?” Then he bangs his fist on the door of the train, all, “Wait, why did we both become teachers?!” Hahaha. To balance out the loser teachers with awesome ones, obviously!

Then they arrive... at the zoo. Kawada finds this very uncool, calling Ookami a Sunday Daddy. Ookami tells him to go home if he doesn’t want to be there, but Kawada is soon excited about seeing the red pandas. Mii’s pretty happy, since she hasn’t been to the zoo since kindergarten. 

So they walk around looking at animals. When Mii sees the flamingos, she remembers that Tora drew flamingos for his graduation project, and Ookami explains that he and Tora have been to this zoo a million times since their elementary school days. Apparently Tora only ever draw animals, and as he won’t move for hours once he starts drawing, he has brought Ookami so much trouble throughout life that handling a punk like Kawada is a piece of cake for him.

Then he talks about how Tora got bullied, and Mii is shocked. She says she thought Tora could only smile, that his life had no pain in it at all. Ookami stares at her, and Kawada stammers her name in disbelief, telling her that such a person does not exist, and if there did, they’d be an idiot. “Exactly how much of an idiot are YOU?”

Ookami comes to her, hm, defence? Saying that her brain’s made of simple stuff. Mii’s not sure whether she’s being praised or insulted (he’s insulting you, dear), but then he adds that she’s not an idiot. An idiot could not cook as well as she does. Kawada joins the praising, awkwardly saying that this part of her (the simpleminded part) is pretty interesting. Then there’s an announcement that the zoo’s closing soon, so they head home. 

Ookami and Mii walks together, Mii thanking him for the trip to the zoo since she hadn’t been there in a while, and Ookami saying he hadn’t been there in a long time as well. He still remembered the layout of the park pretty well though, since he’s been there with Tora so many times in the past. 
Mii: “You two really are good friends.”
Ookami: “...Not quite the kind of good you’re thinking of, though. Actually, not at all the kind of good you’re thinking of. ARE YOU LISTENING?”

Ha, you’re so sensitive about your masculinity :D

He takes a turn for the serious, saying life in Japan is tough for Tora, because Japan is still rough on artists. Then Tora appears, out on a walk or aomething (so no guards, heh), and he tries to smile as he asks them why they’re there together, if they’ve been somewhere. He can’t keep the smile in place though, it slides right off his face.

Tora says something about being in the middle of work and zombies away, and Ookami tells Mii to leave him alone as he probably doesn’t want anyone to see his face like that. But Mii, as the shoujo heroine she is, rejects the idea of leaving someone to stew in misery and sprints after him, calling out to make him stop. She says it’s fine, that he needn’t force himself, that Tora is Tora whether he smiles or not. “I like you anyway!” 

Everyone puts on their best faces of shock. Awkward silence fills the universe. 

“Uh, no, I mean, as a fellow primate (oh god HAHA), not as a p-p-p-person. In a g... global sense...”

The silence stretches, but Tora looks brighter. “I like you too, Mii.”

(This chapter is a collection of Mii’s Various Expressions of Shock and Surprise. This is now the title of this chapter.)

So anyway, she stares at him, and he goes on to say that he also likes the Himawari restaurant, and her grandmother, and Mii’s cooking. Then he thanks her, and smiles a little. Not his usual 100 watt smile, but a slightly complex one, and she thinks to herself that her heart just met with an unforeseen accident. Ookami observes from the side. 

Some days later, Yayoi walks into Himawari in traditional Swiss clothing because she’s just not normal. But she’s cute. She’s just returned from Switzerland, and they smalltalk a bit, Mii being vague about the school field trip. Yayoi knows about the Tora incident, though, because her mother is a PTA person. Mii reassures her, saying it won’t become that big of a deal since the student was in the wrong as well. 

Mii thinks back to the day before, as Tora came by, back to his 100 watt smile. She was a little relieved, but it also made her realize all over again that she’s not all that special to him. (Because he’s back to the mask, I assume.)

Yayoi gives Mii her very own Swiss dress and pushes her to put it on immediately. I am impossibly pleased that Mii also lets her hair down (DO THAT MORE). Yayoi squeals that the clothes suit her, Mii hesitantly squeals a little back, and then Yayoi convinces her to go for a stroll through town, because she seems to need some cheering up. I don’t know how attracting stares could cheer anyone up, but that’s just me. 

People do stare, and wonder what sort of clothing it is exactly - kind of loli-ish, yet not quite? Perhaps more like Heidi or something? (Heidi being that Swiss girl who lived with her grandfather in the Alps, I assume most people know of it. I read it a million times as a kid, actually.)

Mii is a bit self-conscious, but Yayoi is full of energy from the “It’s like we’re someone else”-ness of it all, and when she sees ice cream, she insist they buy some, so they do. But then she bumps into someone and spills her ice cream on him, and he’s a total jerk, of course, who likes to take people’s money (judging by the comments of onlookers, he and his buddy often hang around that area, bumping into people with ice cream and demanding money for cleaning). 

Bad Guy takes Yayoi’s wallet from her, and Mii continues to display how very shoujo-heroine she is, refusing to let the bad guys get away. She tries to snatch the wallet back, which gets her pushed to the ground. But then a hero appears! What a surprise. Can’t let a girl succeed on her own power in a shoujo manga, sigh. But then again, Mii is a weakling and doesn’t stand a chance, so whatever. Anyway, saviour saves the wallet from the meanie and throws it over to Yayoi. A friend calls out to him, calling him Shishio, asking if he’s okay. 

...HAHAHAHA.

SHISHIO.
Shishi. 

Lion. 

Oh my god. This is a zoo. 

Mii’s newest love interest (you know he’s gonna be one), turns to them, asking, “You okay? Heidi and Klara.” (Klara is Heidi’s city friend, who couldn’t walk.) He reaches his hand out to Mii on the ground, and when she stands, he goes, “Klara stood!” 

And Mii thinks, “Huh?”

/End

Santa-Bikkuri-claus's notes:

Mii’s like a piece of... Miit :D Hahaha. Attracting all the carnivores. And Kawada. Poor Kawada doesn’t stand a chance. 

Expect Shishi to be Ookami’s rival when things get to a more serious point, because Tora isn’t really romantically inclined (at least not yet...?) and Kawada is... well. Kawada is a normal human being with a normal human name. He should just go vegetarian.  

Tora and Ookami sees Mii and Freckles (I'll get his name eventually) walking around together, and Tora says, "Hey, Ookami, look at that. Isn't that kid the one who pulled that prank with the prep room the other day? Why's he together with Mii?"
 
Mii narrates: That's right. Things seem to have taken a strange turn.
 
Freckles suggests he come eat at her grandma's restaurant one of these days, and Mii is like, >:S "No need," thinking to herself that there's really no need for him to be following her around now either. Oh Mii, u no appreciate your new fanboy?
 
Freckles is displeased with her attitude, but before it turns into an argument or something, Ookami appears (yay!), hitting Freckles on the head and telling him he's ten years too early to eat at that restaurant ("not even close to worthy"). Tora smilingly agrees, adding that kids who can't even tidy a place up is just no good. Mii's like, yupyup, no good!
 
Freckles, being a cutely dense kind of easily deceived guy (apparently), goes: "I CAN DO THAT MUCH! HAND ME THE GARBAGE BAG!" LOL I used to use that trick on my brother when he was like... 6. How cute is this guy.
 
Anyway, some of their classmates take in the scene unhappily, one of them going, "Doesn't it kinda piss you off that Kawada looks like he's having fun even though we're freezing him out?" (Ah, Freckles' name is Kawada...)
 
Then it's bedtime and we're in the girls' room, where they're busy laying out futons. A teacher stops by to remind them that they're going to be mountain climbing tomorrow, so they should go to sleep early.
 
After complaining a bit about the whole mountain thing, the girls' conversation turns to Tora and how wonderful he is. They've never seen him get angry, he's always either spacing out or smiling, and unlike other guys who only ever seem to care about sex, Tora doesn't seem to have any sexual desire (haha! What, is that still considered a good thing when you have a crush on him?) That reminds one of the girls that she read a BL story online called "Tora to Ookami". Mii jumps about 2 metres in surprise.
 
When one of the girls goes, "BL is love between two guys, right? Boo..." the other girl goes on to say that it's not like it's hardcore or anything. The latest super doki-doki development was Ookami being about to confess to Tora, but sadly there have been no updates for a while. Mii is freaking out under her blanket. 
 
Then another girl says something I'm not completely sure I get, but I think it's something like because she likes Tora, she'd rather have him stick around Ookami than get with another woman (Mii freezes at this). Someone replies that she understands what she means, and that it's pretty much the same as when she really likes some idol. The whole things can just as well go into complete fantasy territory. Mii looks sad, understanding what she means.
 
Then they return to the topic of her BL novel, people asking for the URL, and Mii stands up abruptly, says she needs the bathroom and leaves the room because she can't bear listening any longer. (In case I haven't been clear about it, her classmates don't know Mii's the writer of the novel in question, nor that it's actually based on the Tora and Ookami they know.)
 
She spots Tora and Ookami outside, and goes to join them. Asking what they're doing, Ookami asks what SHE'S doing, and she says she saw them through the window on her way to the toilet. So what ARE they doing outside in the dark? Tora points up, saying, "stars."
 
Ookami comments that you can't really see stars much in Tokyo. Apparently astronomy is Ookami's speciality, and he starts telling the story of the Pegasus constellation. The winged horse from greek mythology, born from the blood flowing from the neck of Medusa. It could race across the sky faster than the wind, and if it kicked a rock with its hoof, a spring would gush forth. Mii stares at him in amazement. Ookami's like, what is it, and Mii's like, woahh, wow... you're like a total romantic...!
 
Tora snorts and Ookami, blushing hard, declares that he's going to sleep. LOL. Ookami, you tsundere. Tora keeps laughing, so Ookami tells him to stop that already. Tora says over his shoulder as they start to walk away, "Mii, I think people who major in astronomy are all basically just a bunch of romantics." Ookami tells him to shut up, but Tora still adds, "Ookami's actually pretty fun, right? Getting all embarrassed." Ookami: "Didn't I tell you to shut up?!" (Mii is so cute on this page! Lower corner of page 13.)
 
We continue to the next day and mountain climbing, yay. Or at least "yay" is what one teacher would like them all to think, but mostly they're all "GEH." I get the feeling. So anyway, to make the whole thing "more fun", there will also be check points and stuff to do along the way, so they need to form groups. Mii, being friendless and all, finds herself left on her own... with Kawada. She's not pleased. But Kawada is pleased. So they even each other out. Yeah. He's all, "You can leave it all to me! Don't look depressed!" Pyupyu, I really find this guy cute, with his slightly arrogant behaviour and his boyish crush and his freckles, haha.
 
Too bad evil is out to get him! Or the closest to evil you get in a slice-of-life shoujo, anyway. Sleazy Classmate, who was annoyed at Kawada enjoying himself earlier, says he's got a good idea.
 
This idea turns out to be changing the directions of the arrows they're all supposed to follow to the check points, before Kawada (and Mii, though she's not a direct target of their bullying) comes by (possible to do since they're the last group).
 
When it's their turn, Kawada and Mii set off, Mii without the slightest bit of enthusiasm. She asks Kawada if his leg's all right, and he says it's cool, looking a bit smug when he asks if she's worried about him. Appalled, she says she only asked because he was whining like a baby about how much it hurt, throwing in a re-enactment of said whining just to be mean. That does make him angry, and he follows her and the arrows (in the wrong direction), muttering curses.
 
So of course, while all the rest of the students are arriving at the last check point, Mii and Kawada... are lost.
 
The teachers become aware that something's not right when Excited-sensei comes by Ookami's check point, telling him that judging by the time, everyone should be nearing the finish line by now. Ookami however, has not yet had Mii and Kawada come by (he's check point 3), so... dun dun!
 
Mii begins freaking out just a bit, after they walk around for a while without figuring out where they are or where they came from, and there being no way to use a cell phone in the middle of a mountain.
 
the teachers are getting worried too, wondering if there's been an accident or something. Sleazy Classmate is happy though, turning to his buds and going, "Success!" Tora, hearing him, turns around slowly.
 
Mii and Kawada figure that they should try to walk downwards, then they'll at least get off the mountain. Mii says they're bound to arrive SOMEWHERE eventually, as long as they keep walking. Kawada wonders why she always makes herself so small in class. If she always acted like she's doing now, she'd be making friends without problem. She's like, "Do you think so? Anyway, you seem pretty normal right now, too. You were terrible before though."
"Me? No. I'm rotting, so I'm no good."
 
Mii remembers the guy who got cold feet about the prep room prank, telling her Kawada used to be different. "Why would you say that? You actually have one, right? A friend. Utsunomiya-kun's worried about you, you know."
 
Embarrassed, Kawada says Utsu was always an annoying kind of guy, and then returns the subject to getting off the mountain, Mii laughing a little. She wonders whether Tora and Ookami are worried about her...
 
Tora's gone over to the bully gang, coldly asking them what the "success" thing was about. Sleaze tries to explain it away, saying he meant the mountain climb was a success, but Tora snaps, telling him to stop the bullshit. ("Fuzakenna yo, temee" ...is pretty much the closest to cursing you get in Japanese, so while it isn't ACTUALLY cursing, it's usually translated as such. Very bad language, ahah...) This along with the look of murder on his face, makes the kids jump back in shock, and everyone else stops to stare, stunned at seeing Tora get angry. Tora violently grabs Sleaze by the collar, asking him what he's done. Ookami yells at him to stop, and another one who helped with the arrow-plan, a girl, bursts that it was just a prank. "We changed the direction of the arrows, I'm sorry!"
 
Ookami manages to make Tora let go, who expressionlessly says he'll go (search). Flashback-quote from earlier: "He's always either spacing out or smiling." Tora's image is pretty much ruined, as everyone looks at him, dead silent. Then someone says, "Tora-chan's scary..."
 
Mii has suddenly had the thought that there might be bears around. Terrified by the idea, they decide to sing, 'cause that's apparently something you can do to keep bears away. So they sing a pretty little tune that goes a bit like, "LALALALA LULULU BEAR STAY AWAY..."
 
And then, BAM! Something appears! Kawada and Mii clings to each other and screams, because... Tora... is so scary... Haha. He tells them their song was weird. How rude. Then he smiles, saying he's glad to have found them... But was he maybe interrupting something? (Kawada clinging to Mii with arms and legs in that classic wimpy-guy move.) Mii throws him off and Tora laughs.
 
When they get to where the others are, Mii hears whispers about Tora snapping. The girl from the bully group comes by and apologizes, saying they probably overdid the prank. The mood of the whole class is strained the rest of the day. They have a bonfire in the evening, Ookami coming over to where Mii stands, asking if she's okay. She says she is, wondering where Tora is. Ookami says he's probably walking around somewhere, and they should leave him alone.
 
Narration: "When I got home, I went to the library, borrowed a book. Pegasus, the wild and beautiful horse, born from the blood of Medusa, that could race across the sky faster than the wind and smash stones with its hooves... I thought it resembled Tora."
 
Ch10/end

Bukkuri's notes: I want more Ookami! When will Mii and Ookami stop focusing on Tora and start focusing on each other, huh?! ...Not that I mind Tora. I like it when the forever-smiling ones snap, it's interesting. Expect there'll be some consequences in school...