The aquarium?
Sorry. I forgot to tell you yesterday.
But we didn't skip school like the last time.
We went after school.
Who's "we"?
Uh, Aki-kun.
So? How far have you guys gone?
Let's see...
We've been to Nihondaira Zoo,
a festival, the movie theater at Cenova mall,
and yesterday was the aquarium at Matsuzakaya department store.
What's wrong? Does your head hurt?
Step Problem Set
College Entrance Exams
High School
Just go to school.
Sure.
Episode 7: A Replica Searches
Aikawa-san.
Wanna eat lunch together?
Lately, I've been discussing our project with the prop crew over food.
It's a good use of lunch time.
Aikawa-san, your food looks so good.
Thanks. But all of your lunches look tasty, too.
Mine's just reheated.
Oh, Hamburg steak. Lucky me.
Anyone want my grapes?
I'll take them. I love fruit for dessert.
Ooh, Sanada, you've got some nice grub there.
Lemme have a bite.
For 50 million.
What a rip-off.
Sanada-kun's pretty cool, isn't he?
He sure is.
He's the "stern" type.
But he's actually sweet.
He's not like the other boys.
Yeah. He's definitely not like Yoshii.
Will we see some new couples at Seiryo Fest?
Who knows?
Our haunted house will be dark enough to steal kisses.
So Aikawa-san...
What's it like to kiss a guy?
Why is she asking me?
What's wrong? You're flushed.
It's too warm in here, I think.
Aikawa-san, aren't you in the lit club?
Huh? Yeah.
Could you recommend a book for me?
Is Sato-san bailing me out right now?
Do you remember any stories or poems from language arts textbooks?
Yeah, there's one.
"Sato was enraged."
"She resolved to do whatever she must"
"to rid the land of that evil and ruthless Yoshii."
That's "Run, Melos!"
Bingo.
Just yesterday, he smashed the boxes we were using for the haunted house.
Was it bad?
Yeah, but Sanada-kun fixed them up for us right away.
He did?
You know, I'm basically an outlaw.
If you butt heads with people in a group, things tend to get awkward.
So what I do is go hang out with another group.
After a good, long while,
the first group forgets the fight happened and welcomes me back.
I guess it's what you'd call "hit-and-run tactics."
But you never seem miserable when you're alone, Aikawa-san.
But sometimes...
only once in a while, you do seem kind of sad.
Or maybe it's just me.
But there I go again, acting like I know you.
This is why other girls don't like me that much.
You don't say.
I do say.
It's only because they don't know what they're missing.
Aikawa-san, did you just hit on me?
That made my heart skip a beat.
Ah, this is where Dazai's at?
Where's that novel that got made into a movie?
Sorry, Sato-san. I've gotta go.
Uh, sure.
And thanks.
Another dead end?
This case is never going to be solved.
Ricchan?
Literature Club
N-Nao-senpai? You scared me.
Sorry, my bad.
So what's this "case" you're talking about?
Y-You heard me talking out loud? About a case?
Loud and clear.
I blew it!
You're looking for the person behind the flyers?
Huh?
Well, lessee, let me think...
Ricchan?
Yes, I was on the hunt.
Those flyers freaked me out.
They might be talking about you and Aki-senpai.
Ricchan.
Thank you.
Don't mention it.
Say, can I help search for the culprit, too?
What?
But Aki-senpai will get mad.
We'll keep it from Aki-kun so we don't worry him.
This will be our little secret, Ricchan.
And if he finds out?
I'll stand with you in the hallway after he yells at us.
And hold buckets of water, too?
Right. One in each hand.
Will we even find the perp?
It's been two weeks since the incident.
There's no point in searching blindly. But don't worry.
Let me handle this, Nao-senpai.
I'll definitely find the culprit for you...
Or my name ain't Ricchan!
You just wanted to say the line, didn't you?
Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager...
managing an imaginary...
Unfortunately, finding the culprit was easier said than done.
...inimically mimicking him hiccuping.
Two Weeks to Seiryo Fest!
Supplies
Ricchan and I spent our days swamped with our Seiryo Fest projects.
Supplies
Jeez, I thought the inspectors would be here by now.
We need them to check if the haunted house is safe, right?
Yeah.
I'll go to the student council room.
Would you? Thanks.
Student Council
What's with this test score?
I should've hidden the answer sheet in here.
Don't tell me you ditched studying to go out partying or something.
You know I'd never do that.
But this is just bizarre!
How could you of all people completely bomb a test?
Oh, shut up! Jeez.
Who cares if I get a five or a ten on some stupid test?
It doesn't mean you get to lecture me about it.
You've never had a five or a ten in your life!
You do better than this in your sleep!
Just shut up already!
You're one to preach, right after you foisted Princess Kaguya on me.
Then, just say "no" for once!
Say you don't want to act with me!
Quit putting words in my mouth!
You don't know me!
Aikawa?
Senpai, can I have a word?
What is it now?
The tone you took with her would've hurt anyone.
Mori-senpai was close to tears.
She was? I can't blame her.
Aikawa, can you keep a secret?
Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't.
Rather honest of you.
But I know I can trust someone like you.
Over summer break,
Mori and I went to the Abe River fireworks festival.
I asked her out while we were there. I'm still waiting for her answer.
Mori's really smart.
She's top three in our grade.
She's been studying to go to her dream college in Tokyo.
Maybe that's why she's been putting me on hold.
But despite all that, she's really something.
She didn't contact me once over summer break.
Then when school started again, she talks to me like nothing happened.
All the while, I feel like I'm being tortured to death every single day.
That must be agonizing.
I want to take on even more work, even though I'm already busy.
That way, I won't have to think about anything else.
Mochizuki-senpai, breathe through your nose.
Huh? Why now?
Just do it.
Breathe in.
And breathe out.
One, two, three, four, five.
Abdominal breathing exercises. You taught us that technique for the play.
So I was wondering...
Are you going out with Sanada?
No, I get it.
You wouldn't want to brag in front of a guy who's still waiting around.
I wasn't protecting you.
You're not like how I thought you'd be.
The third-years say you're either an aloof loner or an ice queen.
That's how you come across.
I'm only like this when I'm with the literature club.
Oh, yeah?
It's true.
Well, in any case, I'm all business when it comes to the stage.
Let's give it our all next weekend.
Of course.
Oh, hey, Sanada.
Hi, there.
Thanks, Aikawa.
The inspectors came, and there are no issues so far.
Really? Thank goodness.
What did you two talk about?
Uh, it's a secret.
Nothing you can say to me?
I can tell you this.
He's having problems with his love life.
And you lent an ear?
Yeah.
I gave him some useful advice, and he thanked me.
Then I want you to help me, too.
Is there something wrong?
Yeah.
Seeing my girlfriend talking to another guy really bothers me.
It's serious, isn't it?
Yeah.
But...
Your girlfriend suffers from the same illness, so you're in the clear.
That's a relief.
I've finished the spin-off novel!
Tale of the Bamboo Cutter: The Remake
Good work, Ricchan!
And also, we have more treats from Akai-sensei.
These are filled with nuts.
Ricchan wrote this Bamboo Cutter from the grandmother's perspective.
It depicts how much the elderly couple adore and treasure Princess Kaguya.
She isn't their daughter by blood, but they love her as if she were.
The play features the frail old grandma recounting their time with Kaguya
through lines and scenes that weren't in the original text.
Uh, what do you think?
It's great.
It's fantastic, Ricchan.
I love the grandma and grandpa even more now.
Yeah, I enjoyed it, too.
You're all so kind.
Mori-senpai?
Sorry, I didn't mean to tear up.
I'm not sure why, but it really struck home.
I think I like this story more than the real Bamboo Cutter.
Oof! I can't handle the overpraise.
I think I'm almost done with the picture for the poster, so hang tight.
Sure.
One Week to Seiryo Fest!
We don't have rehearsals today, do we?
It's not that.
I have an update on the case we're trying to solve.
I now know which floor the flyers were thrown from.
Really?
I believe they were dropped from the rooftop.
That makes sense, given the height.
But I thought the door to the rooftop was always locked.
Yeah, but the water tank had an inspection on October 1st,
so an inspector was up there that day.
The inspection happened during lunch hour.
So someone else went up to the rooftop at lunch,
then waited until after school to drop the flyers?
I thought so too at first, but ruled it out.
If someone had snuck in without the key,
they'd be stuck on the roof after tossing the flyers.
Yeah, good point.
My hunch is the teacher who was with the inspector
forgot to lock the door.
Our perp saw the door unlocked,
then had the bright idea to drop the flyers.
Or maybe it was the teacher who tossed those papers.
That's plausible, too.
So who was the teacher with the inspector?
I don't know that yet.
But I've devised a new plan.
Tell me.
We stake out the rooftop door.
They say perps always return to the scene of the crime.
C'mon! Hey, hey! Bring it!
Batter up!
You know...
This is all kinds of wrong, but it's also sort of thrilling.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
Look at it go!
Seriously?
Police! Freeze!
The hell?
Crap!
Run for it!
Nao-senpai, after them!
What?
Yoshii-kun?
Aikawa-san?
What were you doing here?
Huh? Beats me. Wouldn't know.
Yoshii-kun, you ditched cleaning to play stickball, didn't you?
Dang, caught!
Please don't snitch, will ya?
We need to ask you something.
You guys were up here playing hooky on Friday, October 1st, right?
Huh? A specific day? I don't remember what I had for dinner yesterday.
It was the day after the midterms.
Our class decided to do the haunted house,
then a bunch of flyers were dropped.
Oh, you mean that day? Okay, yeah, I remember now.
Did anyone pass through here that day?
Did I see someone? I don't think so...
Actually, I did.
Do you know who it was?
I sure do.
It was...
Senpai.
Aikawa-san.
I just got done with the poster. Sorry for the delay.
I was struggling with what scene to paint,
but Bamboo Cutter is supposed to be a story about family,
so I went with this.
It looks incredible.
Thanks. It's my first time painting something for someone else.
You did a great job.
Ricchan will like it. So will the rest.
Glad to hear it.
You're the one who dropped the flyers, aren't you?
Wow!
How did you know?
We had a witness.
The teacher who went with the inspector came to the student council room.
He asked me to go lock the door, since he needed to use the restroom.
It was then that I decided...
There's a doppel- gänger at this school
to print out a hundred flyers in the computer room,
and scatter them after school.
I returned the key to the staff office right after that,
so I didn't think anyone would catch on.
But thanks for coming forward, Sunao Aikawa.
Or should I say Aikawa-san's little doppelgänger?
What do you want from me?
You don't have to worry.
I won't send you to some lab where they'll dissect you.
But I know exactly what you are without any experimentation.
I know you're just like any normal human.
I know...
because I'm a doppelgänger like you.
That means you're also a replica?
"Replica"?
Sunao...
My original used to call me that.
"Replica" and "original"?
Now I get it.
You came up with those terms yourselves.
S-Senpai?
So now that we finally know each other, can I ask you something?
Is there a way to heal an original who's very badly injured?
Or is there a way to transfer that injury to a replica?
Tell me, replica.
If you die for the original, will it save her?
Well, I...
All I know...
...is that if a replica dies, we can be reborn.
Meaning?
If a replica dies, the original can still summon us back to life.
As long as the original is unharmed.
But not the other way around?
So if the original dies, that's it for us?
But can we sacrifice ourselves for the originals?
Like, if Sunao Aikawa is about to die, can you die in her place to save her—
Let her go.
Aki-kun.
How?
I'm a replica, too.
If you have any questions, I'll answer them for you.
Wait, is Hironaka-san also like us?
Is the literature club a hangout for replicas?
No, she's not. Ricchan's a normal, uh...
Anyway, we don't know much about ourselves, either.
We're as clueless as you are.
Fine.
If you say so.
All right. I guess we're done here.
Nao.
Are you okay?
Sorry.
That was dumb. Hironaka told me everything.
Why put yourself in danger?
And I told you not to follow it up.
I'm sorry. But...
I wanted to talk with her myself.
What if we aren't the only replicas here?
Translation: Gad Onyeneho Timing: Mariana Martinez Editing: SMR Quality Control: Riley Dalton Translation Check: David Saylor
Yeah. I'll only be there on the first day.
And you?
Okay.
Yeah, you're right.
But...
The literature club is going for broke.
Hopefully, it'll be a sunny Seiryo Fest.