"That's why I felt really relieved when I saw you two." "Two?" "She's right there and yet..." "They can talk, and yet..." "They can talk about all the things they've wanted to for the past two years, and yet..." "Um, is there something wrong?" "Nagisa-chan?" "Okazaki-san?" "Can something like this happen?" "Have you heard of this rumor?" "Rumor?" "That Fuko is at this school right now." "That she's having fun with friends." "Ibuki-sensei!" "Of course, I know that's not true." "After all, I see her in bed every day." "If she is surrounded by many friends, even if it's only in her dreams, it makes me happy enough." "If dreaming is the only thing she can do right now, then I want her to be having fun with her friends, if only in her dreams." "If she were at this school, would you two be her friends?" "Yes!" "Definitely!" "If she's your little sister, I'm sure she's cute." "I'm sure she'd be such a hard worker that I couldn't help but support her." "I'm sure it'd be fun to be with her." "Hearing that is enough to make me feel at ease." "She was bad with people, so she didn't have many friends." "So please stay with her." "Until the end of her dream." "Kouko-san." "I'm in no position to say this, but..." "Please go ahead and marry your boyfriend." "I bet your sister would want that, too." "I-I think so, too." "Your sister would be sad to find out you're having second thoughts about marriage because of her." "Please marry your boyfriend for your sister's sake, too." "Yes!" "I'm sure she thinks that your happiness is her happiness, too!" "Your words carry a strange power." "It makes me think that's what she really feels." "Although I was never able to think that way before to leave Fuko behind and become happy on my own..." "It's more selfish of you to assume that." "You might be right." "I'll take hold of my own happiness." "Kouko-san." "Your sister will wake up one day, right?" "I believe that she will." "Puhi!" "You like it?" "Puhi!" "Could you celebrate my sister's wedding?" "Puhi!" "So you agree?" "Thank you very much." "Puhi!" "Puhi!" "Fuko didn't know her sister was hesitating about her marriage." "But it was good that Kouko-san made her decision." "Yes." "It's thanks to Okazaki-san." "I'll do my best to find more people who will celebrate the wedding." "Please." "If you don't mind, could you celebrate my sister's wedding?" "Yeah." "Let's give out the starfish to everyone on campus." "She's a really strong girl." "I've done something horrible to Fu-chan." "You've done nothing wrong." "I'm the one at fault." "I couldn't believe her." "I was thinking I'd reveal her secret identity by making her face Kouko-san." "In the end, you were the one who was in the right." "Please!" "Oh, thanks." "Um, please have this." "Fu-chan's really getting more and more into this." "It'll all be a happy ending if she wakes up." "I'm sure that'll be soon." "Then Fu-chan can take part in Ibuki-sensei's wedding, too." "Um, please have this." "Completely ignored, eh?" "It's as if she didn't see Fu-chan." "Oh yeah, there is one more person who's likely to accept one." "Kotomi, Kotomi, Kotomi!" "Hey, notice us!" "Kotomi-chan!" "Tomoya-kun." "Why does she notice when I call her that?" "What's your relationship with her?" "I can only say that it's as you see." "Who is she?" "Fuko is here to give you this." "Please accept it if you like." "A bully?" "She's not bullying you." "She wants to give it to you as a present." "Present?" "Yes." "Please come and celebrate my sister's wedding if you can." "A star." "No, a starfish." "Starfish?" "The scientific name would be asterias amurensis" "Invertebrate, echinoderm." "A carnivorous aquatic animal called starfish, or sometimes called seastar, in English." "That starfish?" "Amazing!" "Okazaki-san!" "This person is more knowledgeable in starfish than Fuko!" "Yeah." "As expected from a genius girl." "I'm not too familiar with animals." "That's not true!" "Fuko would want people like you to accept this!" "Please accept it." "A present." "Thank you." "Fuko is glad she was happy." "Maybe you two'll get along." "Since you both space out and look clumsy." "Fuko is not clumsy!" "Fuko thinks Fuko is more dexterous and agile than you!" "All right, you said it." "How about we settle this with a tongue twister?" "Fuko accepts." "Tokyo Tokkyo Kyokakyoku!" "Tokyo Tokkyo Kyokakyoku!" "Tokyo Tokkyo Kyokakyoku!" "Tokyo Tokkyo Kyokakyoku!" "= Tokyo Patenting Office!" "You were saying Nagoya towards the end." "Who would possibly bite their tongue like that?" "!" "You're pretty cheap, aren't you?" "Cheap?" "It means cheater." "Fuko is not a cheater!" "Fuko is a fair player." "Fuko is famous as a fair person with neighbors." "What kind of neighbors do you have?" "Here it goes." "Kyoukyo kyokkyo kyokyakyoku." "Koko kokokoke kokko." "Kokyo kokokekyo." "How was it?" "Don't try to act like you succeeded." "Okazaki-san, you're so rude." "You're the rude one." "Hey." "You guys look like you're getting along today, too." "We're not getting along at all." "She's right." "We're in the middle of a fight." "Both Okazaki-san and Sunohara-san." "You should not do anything that bothers Fuko." "Otherwise, a disaster will befall you." "Really?" "Tell me what'll happen." "Come on." "So what'll happen?" "Heh." "Protect Fuko-chan!" "Okazaki!" "Help me!" "Where did they take him to?" "Don't know." "We gave out a lot today, too." "Yes." "Once we're home, we'll make more for tomorrow." "Fuko." "Can you head home alone again?" "We have a little business to take care of." "Sorry to interrupt." "Good evening." "Oh, welcome." "What brings you here today?" "I have something I wanted to ask." "Your resolution to get married hasn't changed, has it?" "You became worried and came to check?" "Don't worry." "I've already talked about it with Yusuke-san." "I see." "But we can't reserve a hall for the ceremony, so it seems the actual ceremony will still be sometime in the future." "I guess there are many happy people out there." "A ceremony hall, eh?" "To be honest, I wanted to do it at the school." "At Hikarizaka High School, where I once was a teacher." "At our school?" "I was hoping I could have the wedding surrounded by students and teachers." "With my sister there, too." "Again with the waterworks?" "Yes, I'm sorry." "Um, may I ask a question?" "Yes?" "You said that Fuko... your sister..." "wasn't good at making friends, right?" "What kind of girl was she?" "Before the accident, that is." "The first summer vacation after I became a teacher, we went to a beach with our relatives." "There were children around the same age as Fu-chan, too." "But she would stay behind me like she was hiding." "Even if others spoke to her, she couldn't greet them properly." "She would only play with a starfish by the shore." "All alone." "That's when I realized for the first time." "Fu-chan doesn't take the initiative to get to know others." "She graduated middle school like that." "But I said it shouldn't stay like this." "When spring break came, I spent time away from her." "I'm headed that way, too." "She doesn't talk much." "Bye." "It was very painful, but I kept pretending I was busy." "I'm sure Fu-chan was very lonely." "But I wished that loneliness would lead her to finding friends at her new school." "And on the day of the entrance ceremony, she said to me:" ""I'll do my best and make friends."" "I remember how that morning was a very refreshing one." "And on her way back from the entrance ceremony, she got in the accident." "But it's puzzling to me." "Why do you two worry about Fu-chan so much?" "You've never met her." "That's because maybe we both have something in common with your sister that we can relate to." "Please!" "Please!" "Ibuki-sensei must think Fu-chan is sleeping and feeling all alone." "It's only until Fuko wakes up." "Once she's released from hospital and comes to school, Kouko-san will know that she has many friends at school." "Please!" "Yeah." "The number of people accepting them is going up." "Since everyone thinks Fuko got released from the hospital, the ghost rumor is gone, too." "Released from the hospital?" "What's that?" "You lost the fight, so why are you here?" "Don't be so stingy." "All I want to do is see my beloved Nagisa-chan." "Th-Thank you very much." "But I think someone better for you will show up." "I got dumped instantaneously!" "On the other hand, there are still people who ignore Fuko." "Therefore I'm suggesting we give out something else." "There's no need for that." "Everyone who accepted them is happy." "They only say they are." "Who would be happy over getting a ninja star?" "Ninja star?" "This is a ninja star, right?" "This is a starfish!" "Starfish?" "!" "I thought it was a ninja star the entire time." "Both Okazaki-san and Sunohara-san are very rude." "But as they say, I think the majority of people do not know that these are starfish." "Where's the need to let them know?" "Fuko would like to whisper that they are to those who are likely to understand the beauty of starfish." "That's actually a starfish." "That's harassment." "Then Fuko will use the PA to tell everyone at once after Fuko distributes them to everyone in school." "Those are actually starfish." "I'd love to see every student fall over in sync, but..." "They won't fall over." "They'll be rejoicing." "Fuko is sure a Starfish Commemoration Festival will start as a school event, analogous to the Founders Festival." "I don't want to see that." "Let's distribute something cuter." "In that case" "No!" "I haven't said anything yet." "I know what you'll say without having to hear it." "The Big Dango Family, right?" "Yes, but..." "Hey you, don't dismiss Nagisa-chan's idea like that!" "Then do you find the Big Dango Family cute?" "Well, there are situations where I might find it cute." "It's not dependent on the situation." "The Big Dango Family is always cute." "Um, Fuko is sorry for Nagisa-san, but Fuko thinks starfish are cuter than the Big Dango Family." "Oh." "Is this the birth of the Starfish vs. Dango War?" "Of course, starfish are cute." "But the Big Dango Family wins by a little." "Fuko understands the beauty of the Big Dango Family." "And yet, Fuko still prefers starfish." "That modest Nagisa-chan is..." "I guess it's the one thing she can't give in to." "Starfish don't come with a song." "But dango are cute, so they have a song." "Here it goes." "Dango, dango, dango, dango." "Big Dango Family." "Starfish can do that!" "Here it goes." "Starfish, starfish..." "That's a knockoff!" "How long will this continue?" "I don't know." "No one can stop this now." "Then starfish and dango can share first place." "Yes." "Let's cool our heads and start over." "Fuko would like to keep going with starfish." "Fuko feels like Fuko will lose if it is changed now." "What are you fighting against?" "Since..." "They're so cute..." "There she goes again." "Sunohara, can you put your head on the table?" "Why?" "I beg you." "It has to be your handsome face for this to work." "I guess it can't be helped." "He's so easy." "Okazaki-san, what are you doing?" "Fuko became too relaxed from poking the starfish." "Don't worry." "Poke it as much as you like." "Fuko isng as much as Fuko likes without you having to say so." "Wow, that looks painful." "Furukawa, can you come with me for a sec?" "I want to go meet Koumura." "How rare for you to come asking for advice from me." "You remember an art teacher named Ibuki, right?" "Ibuki-sensei, huh?" "Yes, I remember very well." "He had a very hairy chest." "No!" "I'm talking about Ibuki Kouko!" "She's an art teacher who left here three years ago!" "Oh, that's right." "I'm starting to forget things these days." "She's getting married." "Oh." "Congratulations." "Not to me." "Don't be so misleading." "How was that misleading?" "God, how serious is he?" "I'm guessing you're here to say that you want to let her have the wedding here at school?" "How did you know?" "Ibuki-sensei mentioned something like that while she was still here." "She and I got along, so we often chatted." "And he is forgetful these days?" "So?" "Can you let her?" "I'll talk to the principal and the vice-principal." "Don't worry about it." "All the teachers at this school were fans of Ibuki-sensei." "Wedding at the school?" "Yes." "Koumura-sensei will organize it." "There's no need for you to wait months for a ceremony hall to be free." "Thank you very much, Nagisa-chan, Okazaki-san." "There's something I need to let you two know." "My sister's condition worsened the other day." "The doctor says that there probably isn't a chance of her waking up." "I believe that Fu-chan will wake up one day." "But I don't know if that will be next week or ten years from now." "When I get married, we plan to live in the next city over, closer to where Fu-chan is." "Then I can spend more time with her." "Did Fuko know this was coming?" "Is that why the only thing she could do was increase the number of people coming to the wedding?" "Hey." "You don't look too cheerful." "Something happen?" "You, too." "Why are you spacing out?" "Something strange happened after you and Nagisa-chan went off." "Um, please accept this if you like." "Um, please accept this if you like." "Hey, hold up for a bit." "Oh, Sunohara." "What do you want?" "Stop playing dumb." "An underclassman was talking to you." "Why are you ignoring her?" "Underclassman?" "What are you talking about?" "Stop acting." "A girl just talked to you, right?" "She was giving you a sculpture." "What are you talking about?" ""What"..." "Where do you even see a girl?" "They weren't lying or joking around." "They didn't see Fuko-chan with their eyes." "Okazaki." "What exactly is she?" "What do you mean "what"?" "I've heard of Ibuki Fuko before." "How she got in a car accident the day of the entrance ceremony, and how she's been in a hospital ever since." "She's Isogai Fuko." "I asked every freshman that was staying behind for club activities." "Nobody knows the name Isogai Fuko." "That's not all." "She's being forgotten." "Being forgotten?" "Even those who received a sculpture are starting to forget about her." "They say they don't remember getting a sculpture." "Okazaki, what's going on?" "Why does no one remember Fuko-chan?" "Okazaki." "Are you listening to me, Okazaki?" "Fuko is starting to get the feeling that you're not that bad of a person." "So you thought I was a bad person until this moment, eh?" "Now, Fuko likes you more than sea slugs." "Seriously?" "!" "Yay!" "I don't understand the rankings at all." "I'll go on ahead." "It'll fade away from those who know her less." "Welcome home, Fuko-chan."