Original subtitles

6 YEARS AGO

Now for celebrity news.

Bassist TenTen has suddenly announced his marriage to a non-celebrity woman.

TenTen is a world-famous bassist, so what is she like?

LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE

A girl whose first love was on a certain bassist

was plunged into the depths of despair.

For her, who had no one of her age but her brother to talk to,

the bassist had been her only hope in life and her reason for moving to Tokyo.

But now, he belonged to someone else.

Ironically, it happened right after she received her acceptance letter.

What's the point of me moving to Tokyo?

For a girl born with an overly active imagination

and thought that TenTen would one day be hers,

this was nothing short of a betrayal.

The girl was too immature to understand that this was the result

of overexpectation and overreliance on others.

Feeling an emptiness born of frustration,

she gave her bass guitar to her one true friend, an elementary school boy,

and moved to Tokyo.

When she started university,

she had no communication skills.

No motivation to learn. No drive to enjoy anything.

There was no meaning to her life.

In this big city with anything and everything,

Tanaka's heart was scorched earth.

SENGOKU KOI EMAKI

What are you smiling at?

Everyone come out and fight!

That day, Tanaka played an otome game

for the first time in her life.

The sensitive heart behind Hitotose's eccentricity,

the clown-like behavior he used to protect himself from his own weakness.

It set her on fire.

And above all...

I love you, Kitty.

Even though we live in different worlds, I will never forget you.

He told her that he loved and accepted her

in spite of her failures and inadequacies.

For the first time since moving to Tokyo, she looked like a human being.

Tanaka found hope for life again.

Thanks to her overactive imagination,

she successfully moved Hitotose into her brain.

As they began their relationship, she began her life as an otaku.

Although she ended up repeating a year,

Hitotose saved her life.

He is her lover. To her, his existence is absolute.

Or is it?

Excuse me. I am so, so sorry.

I missed the bus, and ran into other unusual circumstances.

Hey. You can't just barge in like that.

I'm sorry. Why are in your underwear?

It happens from time to time.

Forget about the bus thing.

But as for you, you need to be more aware of your position as a teacher.

Yes, sir!

Do you understand what I'm saying here?

Yes?

Well, have a seat.

It's your life, so you can live it however you want.

Just don't make the wrong choices that will ruin your life.

I'm worried about you.

What are you talking about?

You told me that you crossed the line, remember?

Huh?

You were pretty drunk, but you weren't joking, were you?

HAPPINESS

Wait. That day...

You see, I finally crossed the line.

Seriously, please die, past me.

Making the wrong choices? Ruining my life? That's quite the exaggeration, isn't it?

I think I'm giving you some decent advice as an adult.

"Advice as an adult"?

Whatever I do or whatever I worship is none of your business, is it?

Worship?

Would you tell the followers of any other religion that they're wrong

just because you disagree with their beliefs?

That's not what I'm talking about here.

Your relationship with him will ostracize you from society.

The world isn't so benevolent as to let you get by

with that devil-may-care attitude.

Ostracize me? I'm well aware of that.

That's why I'm doing it in secret.

The fact that I know about it means your secret isn't very well-kept.

What happens if word about you guys gets out at school?

You won't be able to stay there.

I'm not trying to get in your way. I just want you to take care of yourself.

A bit overdramatic, don't you think?

Even if people find out that I'm a Hitotose otaku,

I doubt it'll cost me my job!

What is this all about?

Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?

Let me tell you, even if the prime minister called me a traitor,

this is the one thing I won't give up!

What?

What?

What?

Hang on... Who's Hitotose?

- Aren't we talking about Hitotose? - Aren't we talking about Murai?

The next day.

Jeez. They really do look alike.

I'm not sure I get it, but when Murai, who likes Tanaka, went blond,

he turned into Tanaka's favorite video game character?

Brilliant deduction.

So does that mean Murai's feelings for her are one-sided

and Tanaka's just an unfortunate soul

struggling to maintain her ethics as a teacher?

Well, I'm a little relieved.

Wait, relieved about what?

This sucks.

I can't believe I exposed myself as an otaku.

But no, what does it matter?

I don't care! Don't underestimate my otaku mentality!

We'll all die someday anyway!

I'll die, and so will everyone I'm involved with!

- Tanaka-sensei. - What!

Are you okay? You don't look well.

Well, I'm on the second day of my... It's nothing.

Would you like me to buy you some Madvil?

No. What? I'm oka-- Don't say that with a straight face!

- Have some of this if you like. - What's that?

I'm more of a Trylenol kinda guy.

I have chronic headaches, so I always keep some on me.

Thanks.

Who is this guy?

You have the whole day free, right? Aren't you going somewhere?

We're going to a coastal town to do this legendary seafood curry-making experience,

but Hirai's not here, so we have an open slot.

Would you like to come with us, Sensei?

Cooking seafood in my current condition would be suicidal.

No, I'm not a good cook.

I'll cook for you.

- We can't do it without you, Sensei! - Liar.

I can't be seen making curry with Murai

after clearing things up with Yamakado.

That'd just make him suspicious again.

Look, Yamakado-sensei's standing there. He looks like he's got nothing to do!

Yamakado-sensei,

these two don't have enough people to make the legendary curry.

Legendary?

But you look like the kind of person who would be allergic to seafood.

I love seafood.

There's a risk of an octopus tentacle might latch onto you while cooking

and never let go for the rest of your life.

There's no such possibility.

They call it "legendary," but it's just a regular curry!

Then we'll make it legendary.

They left with fond school trip memories,

where some ice between them was broken.

However, Murai's uncommon tribulations were destined to continue a little longer.

Sleep in peace while you can.

Soon you will tremble in fear, young 17-year-old.

Murai in Love.

- Kiriyama, let's play Daifugo. - Yeah.

This is the last day. Let's have some fun.

I'm busy right now. It's crunch time.

You're just on your phone.

METEOR SHOWER TONIGHT! LOVER'S CAPE

Murai. Murai!

Kiri, what is it? Time for breakfast?

Not yet, Murai. Sorry to wake you.

I heard there's a meteor shower around this area tonight.

I've never seen one before. You respect meteors too, don't you?

Don't you wanna see the speed and brightness of actual meteors

and learn their techniques?

I'd love to.

It's the last day of our school trip. Wanna sneak out together?

Let's go wild and do something fun.

Kiri, it was you who showed me how to skip those PE classes I hated.

And it was with you that I first tried cup noodles and fast food.

You're really good at enjoying life.

I admire you, and I'm proud of you.

You half-asleep? You're adorable.

I'm not the one you should be getting sappy with!

Don't forget.

We'll rendezvous at Loser's Cape at midnight.

Got it.

Don't get caught, okay?

Excuse me!

Kiriyama, do you know what curfew means?

There's no excusing you now.

I heard there was gonna be a meteor shower tonight so I peeked outside,

and saw a couple who looked like students walking toward the cape.

Just I thought I should let you know.

Shit! Give me a break!

Huh?

Ah, Head Teacher! Perfect timing!

You going to the convenience store? Get me some snacks.

The thing is...

The art of passing on responsibility.

Let's leave them be. I'm sleepy.

Please don't be silly.

Just kidding, I'm going.

And we'll lose all our sleep scolding them.

That's how it always goes.

It's our responsibility to our students.

Right. I didn't expect to hear that from you.

Well, I really don't mean it.

I'm just trying to behave like a teacher, that's all.

Hey, why did you become a teacher, anyway?

Hmm? It doesn't really matter, does it?

Well, I'm just curious.

Why would you be curious about that? What about you?

I like people, that's why.

Even though it might not look like it.

Hey, I can tell you're thinking that it doesn't look like it.

- You know, people are like books. - What?

They always say youth are like "diamonds in the rough."

But to me, they're more like books.

Every time I meet a new student, I feel like I'm reading a new book.

What's with that look? Are you even listening?

I'm listening.

Well, it's like being an editor.

I can play a role in someone's unfinished story, even just a small one.

The hard part is doing it right.

I always struggle with drawing the line between good and bad.

- Are you a poet? - Yes, I am.

You actually are?

I don't have such admirable motives.

Stability is the first thing.

If you dig deeper, it was sort of out of spite, which is a horrible motive.

Out of spite? Toward who?

My parents.

- Wait, you have parents? - Of course I do.

My mother was studying to become a teacher when she got pregnant,

and got married while still in school.

One day, my father caused a major incident and disappeared.

After that, she raised me and my asthmatic older brother all by herself.

But when my brother's asthma got better,

it was like something inside her snapped, and she would leave home a lot.

When she came home once in a while, she'd leave us a bunch of money and say,

"Just make do with this, okay?"

And once my brother could work part-time, she gradually stopped doing even that.

By the time I was in high school, she was never around.

Still, my brother never complained.

He'd work early in the morning, be his usual troublemaker self at school,

then work again at night so he could bring me up.

I told him once...

MAO

OUR MOM IS A TOTAL JERK, ISN'T SHE?

It's not her fault. It's Dad who's the jerk.

I'm going to be the exact opposite of him.

My brother became a police officer

and was transferred to the riot police unit.

She was overjoyed when she found out.

She hadn't been involved in our lives for years,

and she thought she could just waltz back in and act like a mother.

How stupid could she be?

The thought of being related to her by blood made me sick to my stomach,

so I wanted to do something about it.

The only thing that could set me apart from her

was becoming a teacher, something she failed at.

There was one thing I wanted to say to her when I became a teacher.

"You are not my mother."

So, did you?

No, she passed away suddenly before I graduated from college.

From a heart attack.

My brother decided to keep and maintain our family home.

He even bought a Buddhist altar for her.

Every time something happens, he visits the altar to tell her about it.

I went back once to offer incense,

but the words that came out of my mouth were...

SERVES YOU RIGHT

Terrible, isn't it?

Way beyond inappropriate.

But, well, it was for the best.

I think I was happy that she died.

That's not true.

You just wanted your mom to praise you.

To hear her say, "Good job. I'm proud of you."

You wanted her to recognize your hard work and pat you on the head.

Ever since you were little.

- Are you a poet? - Yes, I am.

Right, you said that!

But I'm not working hard at anything.

In fact, I've never worked hard at anything. Not once.

They say the people who really work hard

never realize it themselves.

They don't realize it until someone else does.

So, I think it's okay for you to acknowledge it now.

Because I've just now realized that you've been working hard.

I'm proud of you for becoming a teacher.

How...

How could I not fall in love under these circumstances?

Screw you! I've never, ever...

known anything like this.

Look, he suddenly started smiling and now his eyes are sparkling.

Why didn't you tell me you had such a hidden weapon?

You can't just do that without warning. You're actually killing me!

Praising me, blushing, and patting me on the head

is like serving cocoa with whipped cream.

Who could hate that?

LOVER'S CAPE

I can't believe this!

What the hell is going on?

It appears that this Yamakado has stolen Lady Tanaka's heart.

The Love Barometer?!

How in the world? To rise so rapidly in an instant!

What about Murai and my Love Barometers?

Hey, you're kidding, right?

Hey, Tanaka.

- Seriously, don't give me that look. - 'Kay.

- You go check up there, okay? - 'Kay.

- Let's meet back here in ten minutes. - 'Kay.

All right, make sure you catch them.

Aye-aye!

This is hopeless...

Oh, god.

All of a sudden, I seem to find everything he says and does so attractive.

Wow, he's walking! That's so hot! That kind of thing.

Man, what is this feeling?

It's like my feminine urges are raring to come out...

Or is this actually a healthy reaction for a living being to have?

Still, I'm falling for him too easily.

Abort, Tanaka! This is your bad habit kicking in.

He's basically your boss.

Don't go falling head over heels for him just because he was nice to you.

Endure it!

This is absurd.

We're both going down together.

- What will happen to them? - I do not know.

If she loses interest in Sir Hitotose,

she will lose interest in Sir Murai as well.

And vice versa.

At this rate, the worst-case scenario is that Sir Hitotose disappears from here.

In a situation like this,

I can't make any proactive moves from my side.

Because I'm two-dimensional.

Are you betraying me, Kitty?

Didn't you say you would never stop loving me

even if you were called a traitor?

Please tell me this is just a momentary lapse

and that I'll always be the only one for you!

- Please! - Yikes.

This place is crawling with couples.

I'm definitely on the away team here.

I don't want to disappear!

If only I were real,

I would appear before you right now

and tell you.

Sensei.

Please look at me!

Hmm?

Murai.

- Hmm? - Who?

A GENIUS TAKES A STEP

BY THE TIME I CATCH UP, I AM LEFT FAR BEHIND

ONE OF OUR VIEWERS SENT IN THIS BEAUTIFUL PICTURE

BEAUTIFUL? YEAH, RIGHT!

I LOST SIGHT OF MY OWN SUCCESS

ANYONE CAN TAKE GOOD PICTURES IF THEY LEARN

YOUR WORK IS AMATEUR STICK TO BEING AN ASSISTANT

WHY DON'T YOU WORK HERE FULL-TIME?

I KNEW IT I'LL NEVER BE A GENIUS

I'M NOTHING

SOB

In short, I love you.

What? How can you even say that under these circumstances?

Quit messing around with adults.

Quit messing around with me just because I'm a kid.

What? Oh, my bad.

Instinctive apology.

Yamakado-sensei is a great guy, isn't he?

What is this all of a sudden?

To be honest, you two look perfect together.

You're taking this too far.

He can easily get what I can't,

no matter how hard I try.

Each time I'm faced with that, it hurts.

I feel pathetic, and all I want to do is run away.

I totally get it!

But I'm...

fine with that.

Because no matter how many times I'm knocked down,

no matter how much time passes,

as long as you and I both exist in this world,

I believe that I have a chance.

I'm sorry for always causing you so much trouble.

I'm sorry I'm no good at giving up.

LETTER OF RESIGNATION

I have no idea what's going on, but he's got me in tears.

I'm sorry I'm no good at giving up either.

The Geminids meteor shower was spectacular

in the Kanto region last night.

One of our viewers sent in this beautiful picture.

Murai, you're famous!

NEXT TIME EPISODE 11

Translated by Kanako Murakoshi