Marmalade Boy Volume 2, Chapter 3 pages 85-123 Written and illustrated by Yoshizumi Wataru Translation & editing by : Craig Nishida Additional translation by : Paul Hirose Yutaka Sasagawa Additional editing by: Jeanne Hedge Daniel Lee Last revision : 12-26-95 Comments? Corrections? Suggestions? Please send them to: mboy-trans@soyokaze.biosci.ohio-state.edu --------------------------------------------------- p 85 1 [Tight shot of someone's shoe-clad feet, walking about, this way and that.] Miki FX: 2 [View pulls back to show Miki, standing near a building, looking ill at ease.] Miki FX: sign: Tennis Court <----------- 3 [Flashback image of Ginta's pov of an angry Miki, as she's leaving the court area.] narration: All sorts of things were said by everyone, and it was embarrassing, so... Miki: [flashback] Ginta, you blabbermouth!! I hate you! narration: ...is what I said, and ran away... 4 [Miki in profile. With hand to her chin, she stares off into the distance.] narration: But it's on my mind... narration: The match... What's happening...? --------------------------------------------------- p 86 1 [Filler art. Miki in headband and matching top.] --------------------------------------------------- p 87 1 [Closeup of a ball bouncing off the court.] tennis ball FX: linesman: [off] Out! 2 [Ginta portrait.] 3 [Yuu portrait.] 4 [Tsutomu and his partner stand, looking self-assured.] crowd: [off] umpire: [off] Game and first set won by Sakaki. Game's count, 6-1! --------------------------------------------------- p 88 1 [A concerned coach and another male watch from the sidelines.] Namura-sensei: What's the matter, Suou? You're not at the top of your usual form at all! Touryou team scorer: It can't be the pressure of the bet. caption at bottom: Is entering scores. 2 [Two students look on in distress.] boy 1: A flurry of easy misses... boy 2: Yuu's looking good, but... 3 Tsutomu: What a cakewalk. If we concentrate our returns at Ginta, he generously misses them for us. narration: We've taken this match! 4 [Seated, Ginta takes a break and wipes his face with a towel. He stares vacantly off-panel.] 5 [Filler art. SD-Miki has her cap blown away by a gust of wind.] --------------------------------------------------- p 89 1 [Yuu portrait. He takes stock of the situation...] 2 [A view of the crowd of students watching the match from behind the chain-link fence surrounding the court.] narration: Miki... narration: She's not coming back after all. 3 [Yuu, seated next to Ginta, studies his strangely quiet doubles partner...] 4 [...and drops his gaze.] narration: The reason he's not in form is... narration: ...Miki's "I hate you..." Yuu: (Pull yourself together... Jeez.) 5 [Yuu prepares to serve.] umpire: [off] Second set in. 6 Yuu serve FX: 7 Tsutomu's partner return FX: 8 voice 1: [off] Nice serve! voice 2: [off] The return's a floater! crowd: [off] Wah! --------------------------------------------------- p 90 1 [Ginta hits it into the net.] Ginta return FX: Ginta: ! 2 [The crowd grimaces.] crowd: Ahhhh... voice 1: A perfect chance like that! voice 2: If he can't score on that, then there won't be any points they can get! 3 [Tsutomu stands with hands at his hips, staring back.] narration: His form really is worse than bad. narration: That idiot, going to pieces just because of a little argument with her. Tsutomu: (There's so little fight, this is boring!) 4 [Arimi, looking none too happy, gives Tsutomu something to think about...] Arimi: Hey, Rokutanda!! Arimi: If you make Yuu shave his head, I won't speak to you for the rest of your life! 5 [Tsutomu looks off-panel, and sweats.] Tsutomu FX: --------------------------------------------------- p 91 1 [View pulls back. Arimi is at the fence, yelling. Tsutomu averts his face from her.] Arimi: Rokutanda! Are you listening?! Tsutomu FX: Tsutomu: (I don't care!) narration: Be more like me, I tell ya. No matter what Arimi says, it doesn't affect my play. narration: Sure, I'm a bit sad, but... 2 Tsutomu: [off] (*Mental control also lies within one's true abilities.) notation at right margin: *It means to make yourself concentrate your mind. Tsutomu: [off] (You've lost, Ginta!!) 3 tennis ball FX: umpire: [off] Double-fault! 4 [Ginta stares off-panel in disbelief.] 5 [Two student spectators comment...] boy 3: Ahhhh. Double-faulted again! boy 4: How many times is that now?! crowd: 6 [Filler art. Arimi stands, smiling, in a dress, black hat, black gloves, black purse, black shoes and dark nylons.] --------------------------------------------------- p 92 1 [Ginta stares hard off-panel.] narration: Damn it!! Why won't they drop in?! Why can't I do what I'm always able to do?!! 2 [Yuu has a word with his partner.] Yuu: We can't go on like this. If we don't change the flow of this game somehow, we'll lose! 3 Yuu: You shouldn't try for a decisive return. Anyway, make careful contact so that you don't just miss. Yuu: And then I'll try to do something. 4 [Ginta can't meet Yuu's eye.] Ginta: I understand... Ginta: I'm sorry... 5 [Yuu pats Ginta on the shoulder.] Yuu: If you're thinking about what Miki said, don't worry about it. That wasn't said in seriousness. 6 [Ginta's face colors.] Ginta: I don't wantcha ta tell me tha-a-at!! Yuu: (That's sorta true...) --------------------------------------------------- p 93 1 [Yuu follows through on his forehand.] Yuu return FX: 2 [Tsutomu uses two hands in his backhand return.] Tsutomu return FX: 3 [Ginta hits the ball, sorta weak-wristed.] Ginta: (So I don't miss...) Ginta return FX: Ginta: (Carefully!) 4 [Tsutomu moves towards the ball.] Tsutomu FX: ===Sidebar=== FREE TALK (3): At the time Rokutanda first came on the scene, at the "name" (this means, before drawing on a sheet of the manuscript, on another sheet, I drew a simple sketch with dialog) stage, his hairdo still wasn't determined. So, first of all, I drew the "name" stage on a teruteru bouzu*. <*Commentary: A is a paper doll hung up as a charm to bring fine weather. The "name" stage is manga jargon for the rough-draft stage described above.> [What follows are three sketches of wearing polo shirts and with a kanji character for a face. Three captions with arrows point to each one.] kanji character on face: Roku ...> captions: <--- Happy Rokutanda Wailing Rokutanda ---> <--- Rokutanda's Profile text: And then, somewhat strangely, I took a fancy to this Rokutanda paper doll, and wanted to draw the real one like this in the manuscript, too! ...is what I was carried away by temptation into doing, but I didn't truly have the courage to carry it out... But even after I settled on his hairdo, I still draw Rokutanda as a teruteru during the "name" stage. --------------------------------------------------- p 94 1 [Tsutomu cocks his racket back for the return...] Tsutomu: A weak volley that you're afraid to miss... ...won't work against me-e-e!! 2 [...and rips a winner between Yuu and Ginta.] Tsutomu return FX: 3 [Split panel. Portraits of Tsutomu, Ginta and Yuu.] crowd: [off] Wowww! umpire: [off] Game won by Sakaki. Game's count, 4-0! --------------------------------------------------- p 95 1 [Closeup of a timid-looking Miki, who seems to be peering at something in the distance.] Miki FX: 2 [Pov shifts, and we see that she's trying to appear nonchalant while approaching the tennis courts from behind the crowd.] Miki FX: tennis returns FX: [off] Miki: (I wonder what set it is now...?) 3 [Miki's hair raises on end to overhear...] girl 1: Are they really betting their hair on this match? girl 2: Yeah. I heard the losing side has to shave their heads. 4 [Miki sweats.] Miki: (WHA-A-A-AT?!) Arimi: [off] MIKI-SAN! 5 [Arimi springs up before Miki, shouting.] Arimi: Where did you go?! You have to cheer them on hard!! Miki: A-Arimi-san... 6 [Arimi takes Miki by the hand, towing her along behind. Miki's still sweating.] Miki: How's the match going? Arimi: They lost 1-6 in the first, and it's 0-4 in the second. 2 more games and they'll lose!! --------------------------------------------------- p 96 1 [Miki stares blankly at what occurs before her.] Miki: Are they that powerful? That other pair. Arimi: [off] That isn't it. That guy, Suou-kun, is in terrible form, and he's really dragging them down!! 2 [A tennis ball strikes the court. And through the magic of high-speed film, we can even read the label on the ball! ^_^] linesman: [off] Out! umpire: [off] Love-30. 3 [Ginta wipes his mouth on his sleeve, staring across court.] Ginta: Shit! 4 [Still trying to make sense of what she sees, Miki watches blankly. Arimi is chewing on the fingertips of both hands, in worry.] Arimi: Ahhhh! Another missed volley! He's been like this all day... 5 [The coach watches glumly, arms crossed. The guy keeping score next to him forces a smile, sweating.] Namura-sensei: Hmmmm. When things are bad, things are bad, no matter what you do, hmm. scorer: Nat-cha-a-an. scorer: Acknowledging that doesn't do any good! --------------------------------------------------- p 97 1 [Ginta follows through on his volley...] Ginta return FX: 2 [...but the ball lands beyond the sideline.] umpire: [off] Out! Love-40. 3 [View of the crowd, watching through the chain-link fence.] spectator 1: Even his lobs aren't dropping... spectator 2: It's break point*. And a triple at that! spectator 3: It's hopeless already. notation at left: *This means that after one point, they take the opponent's service game. 4 [Sweating, Yuu's eyes take on the dull look of a condemned man...] Yuu: (5 more points and I'm bald? You gotta be kidding...) Yuu: I don't think the readers would want to see that, either!! notation at bottom: The author doesn't want to draw it, either. When I tried drawing a rough sketch, he looked so bad, I could have died. 5 [Miki portrait--she stares, disbelieving, off-panel.] narration: Ginta... What's wrong? narration: That isn't Ginta's usual way of playing!! 6 [Her pov of Ginta, from behind him.] --------------------------------------------------- p 98 1 [Miki grabs the chain-link fence in front of her and explodes. Arimi turns and stares wide-eyed at her. Ginta, who is standing smack-dab in front of us, opens his eyes wide.] Miki: WHAT ARE YOU DOING, GINTA?!! 2 [Miki closeup.] Miki: What's the matter?! Do your best! Miki: Do like you always do and coolly smash it!! 3 [Ginta and Yuu turn to stare off-panel.] Ginta: Miki...! 4 [Tsutomu raises his eyebrows at something off-panel.] Tsutomu: Damn! She came? --------------------------------------------------- p 99 1 [Ginta's expression changes, and he stares off-panel, in a ready position.] Ginta: (AL-L-LL RIGHT!!) Ginta FX: 2 [Tsutomu cocks his arm back for the return.] narration: It's too late now, Ginta. 3 [Tsutomu returns the ball.] narration: You fell apart that badly. narration: Even if you started straining yourself now, your timing isn't going to be right... 4 [Ginta returns the ball, backhand.] Ginta return FX: 5 [Tsutomu stretches to reach it, but hits it weakly.] Tsutomu: Oo-wah...! Tsutomu return FX: --------------------------------------------------- p 100 1 [Two shots of Ginta's return--an overhand smash...] 2 [...and rockets across the net, landing in the far corner.] ball FX: 3 [Ginta smiles and pumps a fist.] crowd: [off] Wahhhhh! 4 [Both beaming, Miki and Arimi clasp hands together and jump for joy.] --------------------------------------------------- p 101 1 [Yuu whistles his respect for that shot.] 2 [Tsutomu sneers a bit.] Tsutomu: (What a simple-minded guy!) Tsutomu: Just because of that girl's cheering... 3 [Miki cups a hand to her mouth and shouts her approval.] Miki: Aw-w-wesome, Ginta!! Atta way to go! 4 [Miki's pov. Smiling, Ginta flashes a victory sign.] 5 [Arimi watches wide-eyed at Miki's smile, which is directed at Ginta off- panel.] 6 [Filler art. Miki beams a smile in an oversized sweater and plaid slacks, one hand in her pants pocket and the other behind her head.] --------------------------------------------------- p 102 1 [Arimi takes on a thoughtful look, one finger resting lightly on her delicate chin. She's staring at Ginta, who is depicted in the corner of this panel, as seen from Arimi's pov, but surrounded by dreamy bubbles.] Arimi: ......... 2 [Ginta prepares for another overhand smash.] Ginta return FX: 3 [A white panel.] crowd: [off] Wah! Arimi: [off] Got it again! Miki: [off] Now, it's our advantage*! 4 [Yuu sweats and forces a smile at Ginta, who wears a jubilant smile and points at his own chest.] notation at right: *This means that after 1 point, they'll take the game. Ginta: Hey, Matsuura! Did you see that?! My super shot just now!! Yuu: ...... 5 [Yuu smiles a merry smile as he walks away from Ginta. Ginta smiles blankly at Yuu's back.] Yuu: It really is a mental sport, hm. Ginta: Eh? Yuu: No, it's nothing. 6 [Ginta's pov. Yuu winks back over his shoulder, raising an index finger.] Yuu: I won't be beaten either. I'll settle this here with a single shot! --------------------------------------------------- p 103 1 [Serving, Yuu tosses the ball in the air.] ball FX: 2 Yuu service FX: 3 [The ball lands directly on the inside corner of the service area.] ball FX: 4 [Yuu pumps his fist.] crowd: [off] Wah! Ginta: [off] Service ace! We held the 5th game!! 5 [Yuu and Ginta montage as they play tennis.] umpire: [off] 4-2. umpire: [off] 4-3. umpire: [off] 4-4. --------------------------------------------------- p 104 1 [With the ball dropping right on the baseline in the background, Ginta follows through on his forehand return.] tennis ball FX: 2 [A shot of part of the crowd.] spectator 2: On the line! A return ace!! spectator 3: Up until a little while ago they were going out by the width of one ball. 3 [Tsutomu stares in surprise at a return that clips the top of the net and skips beyond his reach.] Tsutomu: ! 4 [Coach is pumped up now. So's the scorer.] Namura-sensei: A ball off the cords*! scorer: Great!! Luck's started to come our way! notation at bottom: *This means the ball hit the net and dropped in. 5 [Ginta follows through on another forehand return.] Ginta return FX: --------------------------------------------------- p 105 1 [The ball, apparently having taken a high arc, plops just inside the baseline.] girls: [off] Kyaaaa! 2 [Miki and Arimi beam their approval.] Miki: Top-spin lob! Superb! Arimi: We took the second set, 6-4!! 3 [The Sakaki doubles team stares back at us. Tsutomu wipes his face with a towel.] Tsutomu's partner: To think they took 5 games in a row... Tsutomu: When a type like Ginta is on, he's unstoppable! Yet when he feels down, he goes to pieces... 4 [Ginta follows through on his service.] Ginta: Al-l-ll right! Just keep going in one smooth run! Ginta return FX: 5 Yuu return FX: Yuu: We'll take the final one! notation at bottom: *final = the last set 6 [Glaring defiance, Tsutomu follows through on his return.] Tsutomu return FX: Tsutomu: Think I'll let you?!! --------------------------------------------------- p 106 1-2 [In panel 1, Ginta and Yuu stare towards panel 2, to the left. Ginta wipes the sweat off one cheek with his wristband. In panel 2, Tsutomu and his partner stare off towards panel 1, to the right.] umpire: [off] 6-all. Tie-break*! 3 [Miki and Arimi watch with worry on their faces. Arimi clenches both fists to her mouth.] notation at right: *This means the side that first scores 7 points, leading by 2 or more points, takes the set. Miki FX: Arimi: It's the one who watches who ends up getting the stomachache... 4 [Montage of action shots of the four players.] umpire: [off] 1-0. 2-1. 3-2. 4-3. 5-4. --------------------------------------------------- p 107 1 [A shot of the anxious crowd.] umpire: [off] 6-5. crowd: Oo-wahhh! spectator 3: Match point, Sakaki!! 2 [Tsutomu profile. He has a look of assurance.] narration: I'll make the most of this one chance!! Tsutomu: (I'll settle this once and for all!!) 3 [Serving, Yuu tosses up the ball...] 4 [...and hits it.] Yuu service FX: 5 [Tsutomu returns it, two-hand backhand.] Tsutomu return FX: --------------------------------------------------- p 108 1 [A white panel.] Arimi: [off] Nice serve!! Miki: [off] But, the return's good, too! 2 [Ginta follows through on his backhand volley.] Ginta return FX: 3 [The Sakaki player returns it 2-hand forehand.] Tsutomu's partner return FX: 4 [Miki grits her teeth, sweating. Arimi has covered her eyes with both hands.] tennis return FX: [off] Miki: Awesome rally... Arimi: ~~~~~~ I can't loo-o-ook. 5 [Tsutomu hits a lob...] Tsutomu FX: 6 [...taking both Ginta and Yuu--both at the net--by surprise.] Ginta/Yuu: ! --------------------------------------------------- p 109 1 [The ball hits the top of its arc and starts dropping to earth.] 2 [A shot of the open-mouthed crowd.] crowd: WAHHH! spectator 4: A drop volley!! spectator 5: That's the clincher... 3 [Ginta profile--his face is a mask of determination.] Ginta: Shit! 4 [He stretches out to reach the ball.] Ginta reach FX: 5 [Arimi smiles and claps her hands together. Miki still looks concerned.] Arimi: Nice catch! Miki: But the right side... 6 Miki: ...is completely open!! [Pov shifts and we look down upon the court from above Sakaki's baseline. Since both Yuu and Ginta went after the lob, Yuu's side of the court is wide open. Ginta's return goes weakly back towards Tsutomu.] --------------------------------------------------- p 110 1 [Ginta, his momentum still carrying him away, can only look back with dismay.] Ginta: (Damn!!) 2 [Tsutomu smiles as he returns the ball.]] Tsutomu: I got it!! Tsutomu return FX: 3 [Closeup of a racket connecting with the ball.] Yuu return FX: 4 [Pov pulls back. Yuu is miraculously in position to return Tsutomu's ball, sending it past Tsutomu.] --------------------------------------------------- p 111 1 [Ginta portrait. He looks stunned, or perhaps in cardiac arrest.] 2 [Tsutomu and his partner are dismayed and surprised.] 3 [Yuu wears a half smile, looking back over his shoulder as his momentum still carries him away from our pov.] 4 [Beaming, Yuu stands and flashes a victory sign.] Yuu: Yuu: Stu-u-upid. You fell for it! Yuu: I left the right side open on purpose, to tempt you... 5 [Tight shot of 3 spectators.] spectator 6: Ma... 6 spectator 6: [off] Matsuura's good!! crowd: [off] WOWWW! spectator 7: [off] Now, it's 6-all! --------------------------------------------------- p 112 1 [Tsutomu's face falls...] 2 [...and he collapses on hands and knees to the court.] Tsutomu FX: 3 [Closeup of Tsutomu. He's staring down at the court.] narration: Th-that I... Tsutomu: That's right. I forgot!! That Matsuura is a jerk who does those sorts of things. He's been like that from wa-a-ay back. notation at bottom: [arrow pointing at Tsutomu] <--- Was always falling for it back then, too. narration: ...should fall for a simple trick like that!! 4 [Ginta, face colored, screams in Yuu's face.] Ginta: MA-TSU-U-RA-A-A-A! Asshole. Don't scare me! Yuu: Suou. 5 [Ginta's pov. Yuu wears a serious look.] Yuu: The next 2 points... Yuu: ...are definitely ours!! 6 [Yuu's pov. Ginta's is wide-eyed, face blank.] 7 Ginta: [off] S-sure... 8 [Ginta casts a glance back over his shoulder at Yuu's back as the two break up and head for their positions.] narration: What's with him...? --------------------------------------------------- p 113 1 [Ginta's pov of Yuu's back. Yuu looks off to his left, towards Sakaki's side.] narration: So he can look serious like that...hm? 2 [Yuu connects on his service.] Yuu service FX: 3 spectator: [off] It's good! crowd: [off] WAHHH! spectator: [off] Match point the other way!! 4 [Tsutomu bounces the ball, in preparation to his service.] ball FX: 5 [A gray panel.] narration: Settle down, Tsutomu. The serve is mine. This favors us completely. We can easily catch up! --------------------------------------------------- p 114 1 [Yuu crouches in preparation.] 2 [Tsutomu connects on his service...] Tsutomu service FX: 3 [But the ball lands beyond the center service line.] umpire: [off] Fault. 4 [Tsutomu stares off-panel.] Tsutomu: ! 5 [Yuu profile.] Yuu FX: 6 [Tight shot of a foot stepping forward, beyond a line.] Yuu step-forward FX: --------------------------------------------------- p 115 1 [View pulls back. Yuu is set up outrageously close to the net. He's standing in front of the service line. On the left half of this panel, Tsutomu stares off-panel, in the direction of Yuu.] Tsutomu: ......... narration: Just because it's second serve, he's standing that far in front... narration: Don't insult me!! 2 [Serving, Tsutomu tosses the ball in the air.] narration: I'll take him deep in the center! 3 [Yuu moves to his left.] Yuu shift FX: 4 [Distracted by the movement, Tsutomu takes his eye off his serve.] Tsutomu: ?! narration: He shifted position again... 5 [Tsutomu follows through on his serve.] Tsutomu: (Damn!) Tsutomu service FX: Tsutomu: (My timing is...) 6 [The serve lands on the court.] --------------------------------------------------- p 116 1 umpire: [off] Double fault! crowd: [off] OO-WAHHH! [Beaming, Ginta and Yuu shake hands. Ginta pats Yuu on the back as well.] umpire: [off] Game, set, and match won by Touryou. 2 [Miki and Arimi are all smiles.] umpire: [off] The score is 1-6, 6-4, 7-6... 3 [Tsutomu stares down at the court, pondering his fate.] Tsutomu FX: narration: I lost... To those guys... 4 Tsutomu FX: Tsutomu: (And on top of that, I have to shave my head...) Tsutomu: (It's the hair of which I'm proud, that I blow-dry and spend 30 minutes on each morning!) 5-7 [A series of shrinking white panels...] --------------------------------------------------- p 117 1 [Ginta and Yuu stand in front of a soft-drink vending machine, inside one of the school buildings.] 2 [Holding what looks to be a Coke can (characteristic spiral), Ginta lets out a puff of air.] Ginta: Ahhhh, that tastes great! Nothing tastes as good as a sports drink after a win, right?! 3 [A blank panel.] Ginta: [off] But, that was a tough match, huh. For a while there, I thought it was hopeless! Yuu: [off] Really. You were screwed up in the first half. Ginta: [off] ......... 4 [Ginta's pov. Yuu smiles back. Yuu also holds a can of Coke.] Yuu: But you recovered well. Nice fighting spirit! --------------------------------------------------- p 118 1 [Ginta portrait.] 2 [Ginta looks away. Yuu drops his gaze, and prepares to take another sip from his can.] Ginta: It feels unpleasant to be praised by you! You said I was beneath your consideration! Yuu: That was a lie. 3 [A blank panel.] Ginta: [off] Eh? Yuu: [off] That I said you were beneath my consideration was a lie. 4 [Yuu looks up, but doesn't make eye contact.] Yuu: How could I be unconcerned? Yuu: You're a guy that Miki liked. 5 [Ginta's eyes open wide.] Ginta: ......!! Ginta: So... Sure enough, Miki is the one you... 6 [Yuu tosses his empty can into the air, breaking Ginta's train of thought.] Yuu toss FX: --------------------------------------------------- p 119 1 [The can lands in the trashcan.] can FX: 2 Yuu: Nice shot! 3 [Yuu walks away, down the hall. Ginta shouts at his retreating back.] Ginta: Ah, wait, Matsuura. Ginta: Answer the question! 3 [Ginta's pov. Yuu smiles softly back over his shoulder.] 4 [Ginta's face colors as he yells.] Ginta: It's not fair!! Doing that and smiling it off. Ginta: Come clean, willya! 5 [Shot of sky and tree.] Ginta: [off] MATSUURA-A-A! --------------------------------------------------- p 120 1 [Dressed in school uniforms again, Ginta, Yuu and Miki walk across the school grounds together.] sign on 3rd floor windows: 3-C Giant Maze Miki: In the end, we also won the group match by 3 to 2... And the oden shop did good business, too... 2 [Miki smiles.] Miki: I'm really glad... Miki: Congratulations! 3 [Her pov of a beaming Ginta and a softly smiling Yuu.] Ginta: Heh heh. Thank you. 4 [All three look in surprise off panel.] Ginta: Ah! Tsutomu! 5 [Back in school uniforms as well, Tsutomu and his teammates are walking in a group nearby.] Tsutomu FX: 6 [Beaming, Ginta and Yuu walk on either side of the downcast Tsutomu. Ginta claps a hand on Tsutomu's shoulder. Yuu picks at a lock of his hair.] Ginta: Don't forget about the bet, now! Send us a picture as proof!! Tsutomu: I know... Yuu: A sports cut won't be enough... Suck it up and give me something really good, like that Marukome kid. is a brand name of a miso. Their logo (as well as the kid they use in their TV commercials) is a little kid with a shaved head. Probably modeled after Ikkyuu-san, a famous story about a smart kid monk.> --------------------------------------------------- p 121 1 [Tsutomu's face colors and he shouts at the retreating backs of the merry threesome.] Tsutomu: Damn i-i-it!! Tsutomu: Someday, I'll definitely get even with you... 2 [Something else catches the eye of the three. All stare blankly off-panel.] Miki: Ah... Ginta/Miki/Yuu FX: 3 [Their pov. Arimi stands at the entrance to the school, waiting. She looks up with a half-smile.] 4 [Looking past Miki's shoulder, we see Tsutomu's face brightening. Miki watches and thinks...] Tsutomu: Arimi ! Miki: (Waiting for Yuu again...) 5 [Hands clasped behind her waist, Arimi approaches them. Hey, cute boots.] Arimi FX: 6 [Tight shot of Arimi's hand reaching out to clasp the arm of a Touryou school jacket.] Arimi hand FX: --------------------------------------------------- p 122 1 [View pulls back. It is Ginta's arm she is hanging on to. Tsutomu, Ginta, Miki and Yuu stare blankly.] Arimi: I've been waiting for you... Suou-kun. 2 [Ginta's face goes pale and his eyes contract to dots. He sweats.] Ginta: Huh...? 3 [His pov of Arimi's sweet smile.] Arimi: I watched the match just now, and I was quite taken in by you. Let's relax and talk somewhere while having tea. Arimi: Okay? 4 [View looking up at the concrete block that forms one side of the school's main entrance.] Ginta: [off] Eh? But I... Arimi: [off] Then, everyone, we'll be off now! 5 [Arimi heads off down the sidewalk, towing behind a stunned Ginta being dragged by his heels.] Ginta: E-excuse me... Ginta: Wait a minute... Arimi FX: --------------------------------------------------- p 123 1 [Tsutomu's face has darkened, his eyes bulging and a few hairs sproing loose. Yuu stares blankly at the retreating couple.] Yuu: Ohh...? 2 [Tsutomu springs at Yuu, clasping him by the arms.] Tsutomu: What the heck is this? What the heck is this, Matsuura?!! What is it about Ginta that she liked?!! Yuu: Don't ask me... 3 [Tsutomu's eyes fill with tears and he clenches both fists to his chest. Yuu watches this display blankly. In the foreground, Miki, sweating, watches the retreating couple with a wide-eyed look.] Tsutomu: Why Ginta...? ARIMI-I-I-I! Miki: (Ginta is the one that Arimi-san...?!) --------------------------------------------------- -------------------End of Chapter------------------ --------------------------------------------------- Scorecard: Rumi <---> Youji Miki <---> Yuu ^ ^ ^ ^ | | | | v v v Jin <---> Chiyako Ginta <--- Arimi ^ | Meiko <---> Natchan Tsutomu ---------------------------------------------------