Summary:
With Makoto gone, Akiko, Yuuichi, and Nayuki plan to leave her room as it is. On the way to school, Nayuki asks if Yuuichi has remembered anything else from his past since he remembered the Makoto parts. Yuuichi, however, only remembers that much. Since Nayuki has the day off from her track practice, she and Yuuichi promise to go home together today. Later that morning, Yuuichi sees Shiori again, and she tells him how boring she was at home not being able to see him. When Shiori’s stomach growls, he tells her to go home to eat, but she refuses. Yuuichi then offers to buy something for her to eat, and Shiori surprisingly wants ice cream. He gets it for her, but he also suggests that they go inside the school building. Shiori thinks that the teachers would get angry if they found her, and then starts to say something else, but claims that it’s nothing. At lunchtime, Yuuichi doesn’t find Mai or Sayuri at the normal spot, making him wonder if they changed locations. He happens to run into a couple of girls who are looking at a broken window and referring to it as the work of a specific girl. Yuuichi realizes that they’re talking about Mai and that she’s been sent to the teacher’s office, which is where he finds Sayuri waiting. Sayuri explains that Mai had broken the school windows before back when they were first years, but Mai wouldn’t say the reason why. Since then, Mai has been suspected whenever something happens at school. When Mai finally does emerge from the teacher’s room, she reveals that she was only scolded. Since Mai is hungry, Sayuri goes to get their lunch and promises to meet them at the normal spot. On the way there, a couple of guys see Mai and comment on how she’s the one that the rumors have been about. Lunch is delayed a little while longer because Sayuri starts by offering Mai her own share of food, causing a chain of passing around food.
After class, Nayuki is ready to go home with Yuuichi, though it seems he had already forgotten about their earlier promise. On their way out, he asks Nayuki what the secret is for being popular. Since Nayuki claims that she’s not popular, Yuuichi then asks her what makes a girl seem like a girl. Nayuki notices a poster for and subsequently suggests that going to the school dance would have that effect on a girl. She also remembers that she forgot her homework, so she goes back to get it. During this time, Yuuichi grabs the poster and tracks down Mai because he wants her to participate as part of a strategy to improve her image. The problem is that neither Mai nor Sayuri has a dress, and Yuuichi thinks that Akiko might and Nayuki probably wouldn’t. On that last thought, Yuuichi remembers his promise to go home with Nayuki and rushes out to the shoe lockers where she’s been waiting. Nayuki once again calls Yuuichi a liar, and so to make it up to her, he takes her out for strawberry sundaes. Afterwards, he asks her about the dress, but Nayuki doesn’t even think her mother has one. As he is considering who to ask about a dress next, Yuuichi is suddenly tapped on the back by Ayu. He doubts she has one, but he asks anyway. Ayu doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and Yuuichi’s subsequent rude manner is scolded by both Nayuki and Ayu. This is actually the first time the two girls have met each other since Nayuki had always been absent whenever Ayu came over previously. They bring Ayu home and are pleasantly surprised when Akiko shows them that Piro has also returned. Yuuichi suggests that Ayu stay for dinner, and Akiko approves as long as Ayu calls to tell her parents. However, when Ayu does that, no one picks up on the other end. She then remembers that the people in her family are actually a trip, and Yuuichi finds it weird that she could forget something like that.
They decide that Ayu can stay here until her family comes back, and so the four of them have a happy dinner together. At one point, Ayu asks about Makoto, and Yuuichi answers that Makoto went home. Later that night, Yuuichi comments to Nayuki that she seems really happy that Ayu is here. Nayuki reminds him that their family got smaller recently and even her mother was feeling lonely until Ayu came. Ayu and Nayuki then head to the bath, so Yuuichi decides to go to school to feed Mai. When he asks her why she’s fighting alone, Mai explains that no one would believe her even if she told them. Yuuichi thinks that at least Sayuri would listen, but Mai doesn’t want to worry her. Mai reveals doesn’t know what the demons are after or if she’d find out after she defeated them and then turns the subject to Makoto. Yuuichi at first doesn’t feel that Mai would believe him, but quickly changes his mind and tells her what happened. After Mai finishes all the food, Yuuichi heads home and discovers everyone already asleep, including Ayu and Nayuki who are sharing the same bed. The next morning, the family finds Ayu attempting to cook breakfast for them, but burning everything. Yuuichi and Nayuki end up heading to school without breakfast, leaving Ayu behind because she wanted to help clean up. When Nayuki thinks that Ayu will be late for school, the two of them realize that they don’t know what school Ayu actually attends. They arrive on school grounds with 10 minutes to spare, which Yuuichi considers a miracle. Having heard Yuuichi make miracles sound cheap, Kaori walks up to him and explains that miracles aren’t things that occur so easily. During class, Yuuichi sees Shiori outside and remembers how he asked her about a dress, but she hadn’t been able to help. Fortunately, Sayuri comes looking for him around lunchtime and reveals that she got a dress for Mai from an acquaintance. In fact, she also got a dress for herself and a tuxedo for Yuuichi so that all three of them can go together.
That night, Yuuichi brings beef bowls to school for himself and Mai. She eats only after putting down her sword, and Yuuichi starts talking about ways to make her sound more attractive. However, Mai soon senses something and scarfs down the rest of the beef bowl so that she can pick up her sword again. With her mouth still full of food, Mai rushes to the end of the hall and swings at something approaching, but whatever it is escapes.

Preview:

Well I was happy to see that they didn’t just ignore Makoto after she’s gone as if she was never there. Overall, this seemed like a setup episode that’s leading into the Mai arc, though the only thing that kept it from being completely about Mai was Shiori and Ayu’s appearances. Ayu’s mystery gets a little deeper since they find out that she forgot her family is gone on vacation and that they don’t know where she goes to school.
Given the miracle talk that was present in the last episode, it seems to me that Kaori’s line about miracles not occurring so easily seems pretty important. Why she was the one pointing it out isn’t really clear and makes me wonder if she’ll take a role in someone’s arc like Mishio did in Makoto’s.
According to the preview, next week is the school dance, Mai in a dress, and the introduction of the student council president Kuze.

29 Comments

  1. Hrm, guess they don’t spend a whole lot of time grieving for Makoto… =(

    I never really found Mai and Sayuri’s arc all that good, but I’ll have to wait and see KyoAni’s version.

    Kaito
  2. rats.. I was hoping they’d continue their stellar interweave by at least a random morose look out of a window remembering Motoko. Minus a point for continuity but since they’re operating up in hundreds of points, its a minimal quibble so far.

    vexx
  3. …Uguu is not the only option…it is the only ugh…there is still that weird noise Sayuri makes…which I prefer infinitely more…and there is sleepy and sumo modes Nayuki…even without a trademark noise she is still pure win…

    Zzz...
  4. Yay for Ayu coming back in this episode! And so Nayuki and Ayu are on the screen at the same time now. I was wondering when that was going to happen, since I think it occurred when Makoto was still there in the Toei version. That pic of Nayuki and Ayu sleeping in the same bed is so cute! And it looks like Mai fans can look forward to next week’s ep with her formal ball dress.

    aquastar831
  5. Everything Sayuri does I prefer infinitely more. XD Anyhow how much would you like a girl like Sayuri looking for you when in class?

    Anyhow, it is a little awkward with the transition. I guess the end of Episode 10 was considered enough resolve. Since all the arcs start with a large amount of inoccence, it’ll be like this everytime it makes another shift. This is also one of the few arcs where Jun gets in more then a few lines.

    Likkun
  6. Hmm…
    “… people in her family are actually a trip, ”
    I would guess one might intend to mean “actually on a trip,” — (the word on is missing). I could be wrong though.

    Looking at the preview… OH NO, It’s the doll! *sniff* *sniff* We’re not going to go through that so soon, are we? What else is there to do with Ayu-Ayu?

    cbhl
  7. >> To cbhl
    Don’t said anymore about… wall, you now…
    Makoto is gone… Ayu is back, and now we’re heading to Mai’s arc at full speed…
    I want to see her with that red dress…. I guess KyoAni is keeping that from the original

    Syaoran Li
  8. Ayu really looks like Nagamori and Nagisa in this episode. The two classmates that are going out with each other are like Kyou and Sunohara, they even look similar. xD

    The whole part of where Ayu is trying to cut her food and there little battle/dance was super cute.

    I was surprised to see that Mai is actually fighting something, I was beginning to think she was just a little mental. This was the funniest and one of the best episodes so far the way I see it.

    Dimeric

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