Episode 22

Mikako's nightmare of Tsutomu abruptly confessing his feelings for her becoming the preamble for Mikako lashing out at Tsutomu's sneak peek offer during the commute to school obfuscates the moment of male bonding Shintaro prosecutes with Yuusuke as a result of Mariko failing to cover all her bases. While Yuusuke reflects upon his prologue with Mariko whose apology for the earlier misunderstanding prompts him to race off with Jiro in hot pursuit, Tsutomu's introduction of his classmate Ayumi Oikawa sets Mikako to wondering what kind of collaborative prologue they share. Ayumi shows Tsutomu a storage shed where he can work and offers her assistance. Tsutomu's careless remarks during a session of comparing notes ignites an incendiary divergent concourse in which Tsutomu gives as good as he gets from Mikako whose aftermath carries over to the next day when Yuusuke and Jiro offer their counsel. Even with Yuusuke contributing his efforts to the display along with Shintaro chiding Mariko for how venal she is being, Ayumi is taken aback with the cohesiveness of the Akindo members while Mikako is ultimately forced to acknowledge her fallibility -- and her feelings for Tsutomu.