Class Stall - Octopus balls (3) - Okonomiyaki (3) - Café (8) - Manga café (10) - Crêpes (5) - Ramen (5)
It was decided that our class would host a manga café.
Now we committee members were staying behind to discuss
Gym Stage - Chorus (7) - Dance (3) - Play (12) - Karaoke (5) - Fashion Show (7)
the play we'd perform on the special stage in the gym.
Let's come up with some ideas for our play here
and have the class pick one in homeroom.
Okay.
Yeah, but where do we even start?
We gotta do Momotaro!
What are you, a kindergartener?
Aw, why not?
Hmm... What about Romeo and Juliet?
Whoof, what a cliché.
Some kind of romantic drama, maybe!
Like The Phantom of the Opera.
Just show the absolute greatest enthusiasm you can muster on any and all fronts.
Show maximum enthusiasm on all fronts
H-Hey, why don't we use this chance to do an original play?
Original?
2nd Stage: Lv. 7 Important items are usually lying around in enchanted forests
Then it's official: our class will be putting on an original play!
Plays - Romeo & Juliet (9) - Romantic Drama (8) - Phantom of the Opera (4) - Momotaro (1) - Original (12)
And here's your director: Tomozaki!
Director!
Remember, this is your bright idea.
Go get 'em, Army Boy!
We're counting on you, Fumiya.
You've got this!
Well, my opinion definitely did get across...
Thanks in advance, Director Brain!
Y-Yeah...
So while I think about this play...
First, there's Yuzu.
Then Mimimi and Hanabi,
and finally Fuka.
Who would you most want to date?
Can I even do this?
Man, what an exhausting day.
All those meetings didn't help.
And, hey, Yuzu!
You're going to be the promem leader!
Promem?
Hey, Army Boy—what's "promem"?
It's an abbreviation.
It stands for a culture festival project member:
someone on the class committee
who also helps runs the festival at the school level.
Izumi volunteered and got named leader, remember?
Oh, right... You were asleep.
Oh, okay, yeah!
It's crazy that you can sleep like that.
Even during the sports tournament, Yuzu would step in as captain.
She's just been brimming with energy lately!
Yeah, I thought I'd try spreading my wings a little.
Just don't overdo it.
Thanks, Shuji.
Aw. Sweet.
Shut it.
See ya!
Later!
What can I knock off my Pinsta list?
Minami Nanami eating ramen
Mimimi eating ramen... Hmm.
Bye!
Mimimi and ramen... Could be tough to get the pieces in place.
It's in these little details where Hinami's sadism really shines.
I'm so psyched for the play!
How about one about basketball?
Maybe where the star racks up fouls right after the game starts and gets ejected!
Gee, sounds familiar.
Good one!
I had a hard time letting go of the comedy-act option.
With your quick comebacks, we'd get all the laughs!
Please, spare me. I'm not cut out for the stage.
I guess as a brain and all, you are better suited for brain stuff!
So my nickname means I ought to stick to the thinking part of things?
That's right! You're quick!
Well, I'm used to it by now.
I guess we just really get each other...
wouldn't you say?
Whoa!
Oho! You're built surprisingly solid, Brain!
No, you're just really light—
O-Oh, wow! That's quite the compliment, you know!
Uh... Looks like the light's green!
'Kay, Tomozaki, let's head home!
Right...
M-Mimimi?
Wh-What is it?
Um, well...
Ah, to be bringing such a young high-school girl
to a place like this!
I-I was just hungry! And—
I mean, so am I. I'm cool with it!
Maybe I was a little forceful in how I made it happen...
Minami Nanami eating ramen
...but at least now I'll be able to get that photo of Mimimi eating ramen.
Okay—I'm having the gyoza combo!
Huh? Gyoza?!
What about you?
Um, well...
Ramen... I guess?
Okay!
I just assumed that Mimimi would order ramen...
but this is a gyoza chain.
Manchuria Gyoza
This is a pretty rare event, eh, Tomozaki?
I-I guess so. In fact, this might be the first time
I've invited anyone to a meal after school.
Wha—?
Then what gave you the idea to invite me?
What gave me... the idea?
W-Well, you know... the ramen...
The ramen?
Y-Yeah! I was really, really craving some ramen—
That bad, huh?
You want two?
I couldn't...
And with the normie superpower "conversation autofeed," my alibi was complete.
Thank goodness. If I'd answered her honestly...
I wanted to have pictures on my phone of you eating ramen!
Say what?
I can just picture it.
Here you go!
Let's dig in!
Yeah, let's...
Mmm, yum!
Now what?
How do I get a picture of Mimimi eating ramen?
Why are you looking at me like that, Tomozaki?
Oh... sorry. I was just...
Did... Did you want a bite of ramen?
Huh?
Um... one bite?
Y-Yeah... One bite...
Wh-What's wrong?
Am I thinking too hard?
A-About what?
Oh, nothing.
Okay, lay it on me!
Whoa! What's with the photo shoot?
I-I-I messed up!
Messed up what?
I-I thought, uh... I thought you were going to eat my egg...
I would never!
But why all the photos?
For, um... for evidence!
Jeez, you're obsessed with this egg!
I-I just really like them, that's all!
Honestly...
Here you go. Thanks!
S-Sure.
Hmm. Something's not quite right.
Like what?
Hey, Tomozaki!
Have some of mine. Here!
Oh, no, no, no, no, no!
What's she trying to do?
This is that, you know, that thing, that "say aah" thing—
What's her angle? What battle is she fighting? Why all this pressure?!
I-I don't even know how to turn her down...
F-Fine!
I didn't even get to enjoy it.
Something's fishy, all right.
Huh?
What the—did I make her mad? What did I do?
I-I have no idea...
But it'd be weird to apologize.
I don't even know what I'd be apologizing for.
Damn, she's going to finish first!
What will it do to the mood if I make her wait for me?
I've got to eat fast, too!
Wh-Whoa, Tomozaki! What's the rush?
I-It's just that...
You were going to... finish your gyoza first...
I didn't want to make you wait...
You're one odd duck, Tomozaki!
Okay, see you later!
Yep—later!
Can you only take blurry pictures or what?
You've got me there, Miss Hinami.
Make sure you're thinking about who you want to date.
Fuka Kikuchi I'll bring that novel tomorrow. Close / Show
Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki S2
S-Sorry for the wait.
I-It's no problem!
Um... here.
Thanks. I'll let you know what I think.
Th-This is a first for me!
I-I've never shown anyone my work before, so please—go easy on me.
Y-Yes, of course. Thank you.
Thank you.
One, two, three...
Shoot!
I lost again? That's four times in a row!
Up to the foot of the hill, now.
Sorry!
Thanks!
Man, four in a row...
What are the odds?
You suck at rock-paper-scissors, Takei.
Shake it off!
Damn it!
I'll win next time—you'll see!
Ooh, a race! I've got this in the bag!
Hey, wait!
Huh? We're running now?!
Everyone's so full of energy.
Okay—
here I go!
That look just now...
That meant, "Here's your chance. Check off another one while you can."
Hanabi Hirabayashi making a face
Hey, Tama...
Hmm? What's up?
Can I ask you a favor?
Tama's always so straightforward—
best to just put it all right out there.
I just started a Pinsta account,
and I'd like to put a picture of you making a face on there.
Would you mind?
Well, this is sudden.
I thought it might be a fun, different thing to post.
Hmm... sure, I guess. Here!
Wow, th-that was quick...
Take the picture already!
O-Oh, right!
Okay, now one with you.
Huh?
Hurry up!
A-All right...
Hmm... It's not all that great, is it?
Huh?
When I sent it to Hinami later,
she finally gave me the barest minimum of praise: "Well, it's in focus."
Tomozaki
The manuscript Kikuchi had given me
was a collection of five short stories, loosely connected by shared themes.
0.8-Carat Pain Lugor and the Giant Stone The Moon's Not Reflected in His Eyes Clockwork Birthday
Every one of the stories she wrote was gentle and warm.
Huh?
My Unfamiliar Way to Fly
Is that where it ends?
I never thought the father would show up at the end!
Oh, that!
It came to me after I was done— I changed it.
I figured it would be a weight off Wolfin's mind.
Yeah!
Oh, and I liked how the beast-person Lugor didn't break the rock—
Mita the human did!
Like he was using brains, not brawn,
to pierce the wall between their species.
I'm so happy you understood all of that...
Oh, actually, that last story cut off halfway through. Was that—
Huh? You mean... the dragon story?
Yeah, the dragon story.
My mistake! I-I'm so sorry!
Mistake?
That one's not finished yet.
I write everything in the same file, you see, so...
It must have gotten printed along with the rest.
Ah, I see.
That one made the biggest impression on me, though—
My Unfamiliar Way to Fly
a tale of raising the last dragon.
It's as if the characters really came alive in my head while I was reading it.
You know... it's like what you said before, about Andi's books.
What I said?
Uh-huh.
That when you're reading, the book's world blinks right into your head as is.
When I was reading that story,
the world it described hit me as so real, so colorful.
That last story in particular
made me feel like I do when I read Andi's novels...
Or something like that.
K-Kikuchi?!
Oh, um, I... I'm sorry.
Wh-What's wrong?
I've loved Andi's work all this time,
and I've always wanted to write something similar.
Really... always.
I know I'm still just starting out and all,
but to hear that from you, after you read my work...
It just makes me so happy.
I see...
Hey, Kikuchi?
Yes?
Why don't you use this last story to write our class play?
I'd love to see the whole class performing something you wrote.
But I...
Sorry! You don't have to.
I'm scared.
That last story...
It was coming along so smoothly when I started,
and I came to love each and every one of its characters.
It became one of my favorite stories. It means the world to me.
But that's why I'm having such a hard time deciding
what conclusion this beloved story, these dear characters,
should reach in the end.
And that's why I couldn't write an ending.
Oh... is that why...
It's all so precious, I'm afraid it'll break.
I see. Then this story might be better off staying inside you,
where it can be nurtured carefully over time.
Or that's what I would have said, not too long ago.
Huh? Then...
Okay!
How's the play coming along?
Any original stories we can use?
If I could?
My Unfamiliar Way to Fly
I'm wondering if we could use this as a base,
discussing it together, choosing roles, and tweaking as we go.
Hmm. Can't say I really get it, but it has, like, actual sentences.
It's a fantasy story.
Could be fun!
That's our Brain! Taking care of business!
Hey, Fumiya...
did you write this?
Army Boy? Seriously?
No, Kikuchi did.
Huh! I see how it is.
Wh-What's that supposed to mean?
I-I'm still working on the second half.
Thanks for your patience!
I've always been afraid to leave my own world.
But with all our conversations recently...
I'm watching you go before me, leaping from a lonely world
to one that's still unknown.
And it occurred to me:
I'd like to see that world, too.
Our Original Play "My Unfamiliar Way to Fly"
Then we're all set!
Kikuchi, could you write up a quick synopsis before our next meeting?
Y-Yes, that should be fine.
Okay. Then we can start assigning roles, right?
Yeah!
All right! I'll take the lead!
Takei!
Literally anyone but you.
Things were looking good for the culture festival.
Now to tackle Hinami's tasks—
Takahiro Mizusawa in glasses
Something on your mind?
Whoa!
M-Mizusawa?!
Man, you really are more than you seem, Fumiya.
Huh? What do you mean?
Hmm... You don't need to know.
Takahiro Mizusawa in glasses
"Mizusawa in glasses," eh?
H-Hey, Mizusawa. Are you free tomorrow or the day after?
What's this about? Rare for you to ask.
I-I guess so. I'd like to get out somewhere.
Hmm... Does that mean you're free tomorrow?
Yeah.
Perfect. We'll go to a culture festival.
A culture festival?
At Gumi's high school.
It's invitation-only,
but I managed to score two tickets.
We can scope out another school's festival while we're at it.
Oh, okay. Sure thing.
Incidentally, Gumi goes to an all-girls school.
Huh? All... girls?
Yep: all girls!
All... girls...