Kobayashi ga Kawai Sugite Tsurai [Chapter 23]

And, during the end of autumn, today is the Akechi’s Sports Meet. Holding her camera and disguised as Mitsuru, Mego nervously watch the third years compete to pull down the poll [Bo-Taoshi]. Red team’s Oda/Youko, Katou/Yukirin, Takeda/Takemina and Itagaki/Tomachin threatens to defeat the White team and they will be the ones to dominate in the competition. As the Red team beats up the others to reach the pole, the audience says that it is amazing for Red team got all four members of AKC48’s Kami7 and this year, it is not quite assuring for the White team. Aoi steps in and beats up all the four and others to successful defend their pole. Aoi says that they are full of flaws since they are all down in one blow. The audience is amazed over him, and no wonder he is AKC48’s center, Sachan. Crying over how cool Aoi is, Mego happily takes pictures with her cellphone and video of Aoi with her new camera. She’s very happy to take lots of cool pictures of Aoi. Cap boy tells Mego that it is time for the cheerleading squads to compete so ‘he’ should quickly change ‘his’ clothes. Mego runs off and says okay. Mogami is getting ready for the cavalry battle/kibasen. He blushes over how ‘Mitsuru’ looks like an angel this whole week and with ‘him’ on the White team, he’ll over the victory to ‘Mitsuru’. Then, he is surprised to see ‘Mitsuru’ wearing a female school uniform. Mego explains to him that their cheerleading group is wearing female uniforms to cheer them. She giggles and says that Mogami is also in the White team so good luck[/gambatte] to him. Mogami is turned on by that and he imagines all sorts of cutie poses of ‘Mitsuru’. He imagines ‘him’ as a fairy which already surpass the boundary of angel. He is about to pounce on Mego but Aoi stops him by holding his arm. Mogami wonders why Aoi is getting between him and ‘Mitsuru’. “Could it be..this guy has a thing for me..!?” Mogami blushes really red over his misunderstanding. Mego is shock over why Aoi would suddenly grab Mogami’s arm and paying attention to him. Shaking his head, Mogami apologizes to puzzled Aoi for there is someone else in his heart. The other pure idiot Mego thinks that Mogami is cunning and she’s jealous.

Aoi whispers to Mego that she lowers her guard too much and what would happen if someone finds out that she’s a girl since she’s wearing that in an all-boys school. Mego doesn’t quite understand what he means but it seems like Aoi protected her. Mego apologizes but then, it is quite fun like this – being in the same school together, dressing up as a girl, and so happy to cheer on the person she likes. This made Aoi blush. She tells him that she’ll specially cheer on for him so gambatte. Aoi mutters that seeing her so happy, he cannot bring himself to get angry. He is even unable to say ‘compared to what you think, you’re cuter than cute so be careful’. Meanwhile, Azusa has finished her photo shooting. Sparkling Azusa thanks them but in the car, she grumpily complains over being tired and her neck is all stiff over having to fake smile today. Then, she wonders if Mitsuru is still depressed. Looking out the window, she spots someone by the pedestrian bridge. She calls for the driver to stop. Mitsuru is by the bridge, looking down the street. He holds the railing tightly when Azusa grabs his head and shouts for him not to act rashly, idiot. As Azusa lifts him up with a single hand, she shouts for him not to jump just over a broken heart. Mitsuru asks what she is saying, he is just looking at a cute girl below the bridge. Embarrassed Azusa gives him a karate chop on the head and tells him not to do things that will make others misunderstand. Mitsuru’s hat fell off and Azusa is surprised that he got a haircut. After complaining that she’s quite violent, Mitsuru explains that he cut his hair because he still kept on thinking about Shino and it won’t do if he doesn’t straightforwardly cut it off. He asks how come she knew that he is heart-broken and could it be that she noticed that he had switched with Mego this week. Azusa says that she carelessly heard him talking with Shino and he’s really flirty that he’s already looking for another girl. Mitsuru tells her that with a broken heart, one can depend on a new love to cure it so he plans to have some love game with some girl but then, in the end, it won’t do..for even if he saw a cute girl, he isn’t moved at all. ‘Sincerely liking a person’ is not at all a simple thing.

Mitsuru recalls that time, after Shino and Kouji mutually knew of liking each other, Shino kept on crying and thanking him using hand language. She cried hard that her nose is all red but those are ‘happy’ tears. Kouji thanked Mitsuru but Mitsuru grabbed his collar and said that he is Shino’s cherished first love so he absolutely shouldn’t make her cry because if he gives him an opportunity, he would snatch her away. Surprised Kouji asks if ‘she’ is.. Kouji held Shino’s shoulder and said, yes, he absolutely won’t make her cry. Mitsuru said that he answered well. End flashback. Mitsuru tells Azusa says that honestly, he still regrets.. (but then, seeing Shino’s expression, his pain and loneliness is nothing) even if he is heart-broken, but he doesn’t have even a bit of ‘if I never liked her’ kind of thinking and he’s truly happy to have been able to meet and think of her like that. While Azusa blushes and is moved by what he said, Mitsuru is thankful for he realized for the first time, what love is. Azusa thinks that he’s truly an idiot to still be able to say such beautiful words but the current Mitsuru is very, very.. Then, Mitsuru asks how come she knew that he and Mego switched when obviously no one knew about it so does she have a bit of way to differentiate it. Looking away, Azusa says that there is but she won’t tell him. While Mitsuru is angry about this, Azusa thinks that he’s an idiot for obviously there is only one reason for it. Azusa tells him that they have a ‘duel’ now and accompany her for a while. Mitsuru exclaims why right now. Azusa says that didn’t he say that no matter when, he’ll keep her company. Pointing at a sports center, she tells him that they are going to duel with badminton. As Azusa pulls Mitsuru along, she thinks, “Obviously, it is because I like you.” Back at Akechi Academy, Mego is sitting with Aoi. She tells him that the Sports Meet is quite fun and she must thank Mitsuru for switching with her. Then, she stops about Mitsuru so Aoi asks what it is. She tells him that Mitsuru wasn’t able to be with Shino and he’s heart-broken. Aoi informs her that he somewhat knew about it from Shino who emailed him. Shino had told him that she got a boyfriend and it should be Mitsuru who pushed her to it.

Aoi says that even if Shino is very happy, and to her brother [Mitsuru], it is really not good at all, but he is really thankful that upon meeting them twins since they would always do their best [as if their lives depend on it] for the two of them and at a time, even sacrificing their own interest [Mitsuru]. “It’s because of you two that made me and Shino change. It is like a magic box that will cure us. Thanks to you two.” Mego blushes and is teary-eyed over this. She wonders if it is true, she and Mitsuru had made Aoi and Shino changed. Then, she notices something. She takes out a tape measure and measures the distance between her and Aoi. She exclaims that it is 40cm now, they have breached the 50cm limit but Aoi didn’t notice it. “That means, by only maintaining 40cm, you’re alright with a girl this close, right?” This surprises Aoi. Mego is rejoicing for she is now near to him by 10cm. Mego is quite happy over this small miracle for it is also okay even if it is a 1cm or 1 mm. “Every day, each day, truly cutting down the distance between us. The day for us to be able to mutually hug each other tight, as much as we want, would definitely come. *scene of Shino happy with Kouji* Thank you for making me realize for the first time what love is. *Mego happily talking with blushing Aoi* to be able to meet you and think of you like this. *Mitsuru playing badminton with Azusa* I’m truly happy.” Half a year later, it’s April.. Second year Mitsuru calls out to Mego to hurry or else, they’ll be late for the opening ceremony. Heading down stairs, Mego apologizes for it took time to smooth down her bed hair. While heading out, the twins comment to each other over how long their hairs are now. Narration: “Sakura color fills up in the embrace of the spring wind. A brand new season indicates the ushering of a totally new start.” While the twins happily chat, they pass by a hooded guy. The hooded guy says that it has been a long time, [this] Tokyo atmosphere. He smiles and says, “Just you wait, Sanada Aoi..!!” Narration: “And also, spring storm gradually draws near.”

Comment: Not bad for a concluding arc. Even brokenhearted because of what he did to make Shino find her happiness, Mitsuru has a nice attitude towards it. Unlike the other ‘love rivals’ in other series, Mitsuru already has a potential love partner right beside him where he might be able to find happiness. Amusingly, it does seem fate that they were able to meet each other though Shino. Too bad, he is still clueless over Azusa’s feelings for him. I guess guys tend to have difficulties in learning the true feelings of tsundere-s since they are sometimes mean and sometimes nice. =P So, Azusa is going to cheer him up in her own way. As for the other couple, things are really going smoothly with them and they managed to be 10cm closer to each other, which is nice. The bit about Mogami is funny. Unlike what I thought, it turns out that the other Kami7-s of AKC48 aren’t important at all and almost all of them are graduating. I guess the next arc would be more trouble for Aoi with someone probably from his past, coming back. I wonder if that guy’s surname is Hideyoshi, going with the Sengoku Basara theme. =P

Quote of the day:

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. ~ Marcel Proust