360° Material - [Chapter 18]

Translator - Sarah

Chapter 18: Goals?

Link to slideshow - Click here (Right-click to open in new tab or window)



The chapter starts with Mio thinking that it seems like all of the things she was worrying about until a few moments ago have just been forgotten. She wishes she could stay like this forever... Then, she hears someone coming to look for something in the classroom, and quickly pulls away, collapsing on a desk. Taki asks, “Shall we go?” and they start their walk to the station. Getting back to what Mio mentioned about shopping earlier, Taki asks her where she went that was close to the station. She tells him she went to the drug store, and Taki asks if she injured herself or something. She explains that it was nothing like that; she just ran in to pick some things up with Marui. Looking gloomy, Taki repeats, “Marui-kun...?” Well, actually, Mio thinks they were restocking the supplies for the basketball team. It must be pretty violent out there, if they're hurt that much. Taki mutters, “Ah, the basketball team...” and Mio goes on. Marui said he was just doing it to play hooky, but she wonders if the team really is running low on managers... Looking a bit worried, Taki recalls Hatano saying, “They seem pretty close, those two.” Mio realizes that he's lagging way behind, and asks him if something is wrong (while questioning if she's been talking to herself). He turns away, telling her it's nothing. Mio runs back to be next to Taki, and he points out that it would have made more sense for him to catch up with her than for her to backtrack. Mio replies, “No, that's no good! That would make my trip home with you that much shorter, right?” Mio leans in and smiles, and then they both blush, thinking about what Mio just said. Mio thinks that, yeah, she might have just said something embarrassing.

Mio and Taki reach the crosswalk, and Mio spots Marui on the other side of the street. Mio asks him if he's just on his way back [to practice]. He's certainly taking his time. Well, yeah... He also had some things to get at the convenience store. Mio says good bye to him, and Marui and Taki awkwardly avoid eye contact. Marui realizes that Mio must have told Taki that they went shopping earlier. Marui looks back at them as they pass. After that encounter, Mio goes on to talking about the clubs assembly, wondering if Akane is still observing the clubs. She tells Taki that the assembly was pretty fun, but the kendou club didn't seem too fitting... Still stewing over Marui, Taki says, “Ah, right. I won't get too involved with Hatano.” Mio recalls what she said about not liking to see him getting too friendly with Hatano, and gets embarrassed again. She apologizes, telling him she was worked up earlier; she knows it's not possible to avoid spending time with a fellow committee member, so... Taki replies, “Yes, but, I understood the goal. After she said something bad about you, I immediately lost the desire to talk to her.” (Mio's thoughts: “Huh!? That was adorable... I'm so happy!”) Mio figures that, if she assumes that Hatano likes Taki, Hatano must have felt that Mio, as his girlfriend, was in the way. That's no mystery.

The next day at school, Mio glances over at Hatano. If she puts herself in Hatano's place... No, she can't. Even if she does that, it's not like she'd yield Taki to her. Mio puts her head down on the desk, and Icchi comes over and asks her what she's doing. Has she finished her work, because there are some other things she could do... He points out that Mio and Marui have been slacking off like this since first year, and there's only a month until the midterm. Will they be able to turn things around in time and avoid failing? Mio remembers that she had wanted to turn algebra into her strong point, so that Taki could enjoy talking about it with her. (She fantasizes that Taki is telling her that her solution to that problem is beautiful, and she replies that his is, as well.) There's no time to waste. Mio starts to work, thinking that she doesn't want to lose to Hatano, or anyone else. During break, Shii comes over and expresses her disbelief that Mio is working – on algebra, no less! Yuni wonders where that energy is coming from... Mio continues concentrating, thinking that she wants to succeed. There's no reason she should have to fail that test. On the way home, Mio asks Taki if he can go to the library, and they go to study. Mio starts paying extra attention in class, thinking that she has to hurry if she's going to rival Taki. Looking at the problems, she thinks that she seems to be understanding the formulas, but applying them is another story. At any rate, she has to do her best!

The chapter skips forward, with Mio saying, dazed, “And in the blink of an eye... the midterm tests are over.” Taki compliments her on how hard she worked this time, and Mio blushes. She thinks that, in truth, she tried to do it herself, but she isn't sure if she was on the right track this time. The chapter skips to their arrival at school, and Mio questions why everyone is forming a crowd. The results of the midterms have been posted, with the top fifty for three subjects combined, plus the top 50 for algebra. Looking at the board, Mio points out that Taki was fifth overall, and first in algebra. Amazing! Taki points out that Mio is on the list, too. Mio is surprised that she made it, but then realizes she was on the low end... she placed in the bottom fifty for algebra (ranked 236). Yuni and Shii arrive, asking Mio what she's doing. Embarrassed, Mio hides her name with her hand. Yuni finds that she ranked forty-two overall, and Shii congratulates her. Speaking of which, didn't that table used to be next to the staff room? Why did they change it? Yuni notes that putting it in this new place makes it really conspicuous... and Mio is blocking her 236 ranking with her hand. Why are they displaying the bottom fifty? See, the bottom page is the bottom fifty; why would they do that? Marui comes in to find that he ranked 262 in algebra. Shii mutters that posting that list is a form of harassment, and Icchi passes by. He says that the students who need to work harder will be motivated... Shii says, “That's a lie.” Inoji (one of Marui's friends) says that no matter what he says, it's still harassment. Yuni questions why algebra is being listed separately from the overall rank. Ishida attempts to console Marui and Mio by pointing out that they aren't in the bottom overall, just algebra! (Inoji and Shii tell him to stay out of it.) Mio is sad that all her work failed to bear fruit.

Hatano and her friend arrive, and the friend points out that Hatano ranked fourth overall, and third in algebra. A bit annoyed, she points out that Taki was first... Hatano meets his eyes, and he smiles a bit. She tells him that she's very annoyed that he ranked first again. But he shouldn't get complacent, because next time... Taki fills in that next time, she won't have something to come tell him she's unhappy about. Ah... he noticed? She was trying to shake him emotionally, to see how it might affect his grades. Sorry, she was a little curious. (While saying that, Hatano is thinking that Ootaka is amusingly jealous.) Mio and Hatano's friend are both questioning what she's doing. Hatano concludes by telling him that next time, she won't lose. Taki replies that it will be a tie, then. Hatano and her friend leave, and Mio thinks that even if Hatano does like Taki, this [their on-going rivalry over grades] seems to be unrelated to her feelings for him. Taki realizes that he talked to Hatano, and apologizes. Mio tells him that it's fine, and he asks if she's ready to go. Mio grabs his sleeve, and tells him she's sorry for being in the bottom fifty. He asks her why she's apologizing for that, and she asks, “Because, wouldn't it be more fun if we could talk about algebra together?” With that sort of rank, she can never become a rival for him. (And more importantly, there would be no reason to be concerned about Hatano.) Taki responds that he doesn't really care to talk to Mio about algebra, though. Mio tells him not to write her off – she'll try really hard, and get better, so... Laughing, Taki tells her, “Just being with you is what's fun, Mio.” Looking at his face, Mio recalls the first time she really talked to him at the train station, and the way he laughed and said, “You're pretty strange, Ootaka-san.” He looked at her with that same sort of smile... Taki points to Mio's algebra score, and says that she tried her best, and her score improved. Isn't she glad? He smiles affectionately at her, and she agrees. Before she knew it, she got wrapped up in competing with Hatano, but maybe she wasn't paying proper attention to Taki. Now she understands; he thinks she's fine the way she is.

Marui has been watching Mio and Taki from the stairwell. Ishida yells out to him, asking what he's doing. Marui thinks that Mio and Taki's relationship seems to always be on the verge of danger, but they keep pulling through. If he were to... Marui recalls telling Akane not to get in their way, and thinks that she was thinking of doing the same thing. No, he won't meddle; he'll just keep holding out. Meanwhile, one of the girls from Akane's class, Kohashi, is dragging her along to help with the basketball team, as Akane protests. Why would she need to be a manager for the basketball team? Kohashi reasons that Akane said she didn't find a club she wanted to join, so she was hoping Akane would join this club with her. Akane starts to walk away, telling her she isn't interested – join by herself. Kohashi begs, saying she wants to get to know Marui-senpai, and he and Akane know each other. So, she could use that as a starting point to talk to him about things, right? Once she helps her with that, Akane can just quit. Akane flatly refuses, and Kohashi asks why. Does she like Marui, too? In that case, there's no way around it. She'll just go on her own. In an attempt to prove that she isn't interested in Marui, Akane stops Kohashi, and ends up going to the practice with her. Kohashi introduces herself, “I'm Kohashi Mayuu, from class 1. I don't know much about basketball yet, but I'll do my best to learn! Please call me 'Mayuu.'” Akane looks away, embarrassed by the whole scene. The current manager introduces herself, explaining that she's glad so many people turned up, as she's been doing all of this herself lately. (She wonders why there are so many, though.) For now, they can just observe. The other girls introduce themselves enthusiastically, while Akane slinks into the background. Akane asks Kohashi why there are so many managers, and Kohashi declares that they must all be rivals! More importantly, Marui-senpai isn't even there! Is he taking today off? Drained, Akane goes and leans against the door, thinking that she only came to avoid Kohashi coming to a weird, wrong conclusion and starting rumors, but... Just then, the door she's leaning against opens, and Akane slips back against Marui. He asks, “Are you OK?” Then, realizing it's Akane, adds, “What are you doing [here]?” The team captain tells Marui he's late, and asks why he's out of uniform. Marui tells him that he'll be late because of supplemental lessons. He gently sets Akane back on her feet, and goes off to his lessons. The other girls look at her in envy, and Kohashi tells her that was sneaky. She wants to do that, now! A couple of the girls go lean on the door, and the senior manager yells at them not to do that. Akane excuses herself, and goes to the girl's room. Seeing her blushing face in the mirror, Akane leans against the sink and mutters, “This can't be serious...” The chapter ends with a split shot of Akane's face and Marui in the classroom, as Akane recalls Kohashi asking, “Do you like Marui-senpai?”

Back to [360° Material]Main page