Key:
() = hand-written text
[] = clarification
** = description
{} = editorial comments

pg. 1

Picture: Hina in a Piffle Princess hooded sweatshirt... with rabbit ears. ^_^; She looks unusually forlorn.

pg. 2-3

Picture: Asou, Hina, Tomoaki, and Kizu, all of them holding teddy bears. Augh.

pg. 4

Narration:

A "liking" that grows stronger and stronger. A lot of "liking."

I'm growing to "like" you more and more.

pg. 5

Morning at Hina's house. She is wearing her Piffle Princess apron over her school uniform as she sets the table.

Hina [singing]: (Today's breakfast will be good, too-- The rice is plump and shiny and looks tasty-- Thanks again for today's meal-- If you eat a lot, you'll grow up big and strong!)

The phone rings.

Hina: Co-ming!

She picks up.

Hina: Hello! This is Asahi!

pg. 6

Phone: ........

Hina: Hello?

Phone: ........

Hina: Hel-loooo!

Phone: *click* [Sound of someone hanging up.]

The dial tone resumes.

Hina: *surprised* Well, jeez. I guess it was a wrong number.

The doorbell rings.

Hina: COMING--!

pg. 7

She races to let in Asou.

Hina: GOOD MORNING!

Asou: Morning.

She kneels down and sets a pair of house slippers on the floor.

Hina: I bought a pair of slippers for you, Sensei! (Heehee!) Come on in!

pg. 8

He looks at the slippers, then at her cheery face. She takes off back toward the kitchen. After a pause, he puts on the slippers and follows.

pg. 9

Hina: Today I decided to see if I could make grilled fish! (Since you said you like fish.) (Have a seat.)

She puts a bowl on the table.

Hina: (Here's your rice.)

Sitting down across from him, she picks up her bowl of steaming miso and smiles.

Hina: Time to eat!

Asou: Thanks.

Hina: *after a moment* (How is it?)

Asou: (Not bad.)

The phone rings again.

pg. 10

She jumps up to answer it.

Hina: YE-EES!

Asou: *chewing* (If they answered before you picked up, what would you do?)

Hina: *picking up the phone* This is Asahi! Hello? Hell-ooo?

There is no answer.

Hina: Huh. They hung up.

Asou: Wrong number? (At this hour?)

Hina: Yeah, there was one a minute ago, too.

pg. 11

Hina: I said "hello," but they didn't say anything.

Asou sits up straight with alarm.

Asou: Do you get them often? (Calls like that.)

Hina: No, hardly ever.

His face darkens.

Hina: What is it?

pg. 12

Asou: You aren't in any after-school clubs, are you?

Hina: Nope! So I'll come home again today and get dinner ready.

Asou: *eating his rice* I'll come with you.

Hina: Huh?

Asou: To get groceries. Wait at the school gates.

Hina: *thrilled* OKAY!!

pg. 13

Later, it's lunchtime at the high school. Emi, Hina, and Touko are eating their bento on a picnic blanket outside.

Emi: Hina-- you've been going like this all morning! (With your eyes.)

She indicates Hina's blissfully closed eyes with her chopsticks.

Touko: *smiling* You must be happy about something.

Hina: Uh huh! And I will be from now on, too!

Touko: (From now on?)

Hina: Well, you see--)

Emi: (What, what?)

pg. 14

Emi: *outraged* YOU'RE GOING GROCERY SHOPPING WITH ASOU-SENSEI--!?

Hina: Uh huh! We're meeting at the school gates.

Emi: Where everybody can see you!?

Hina: *still grinning* Yeah.

Emi: YOU LITTLE--!

Touko: You can't.

The other two girls stop and look at her.

pg. 15

Distress is clear in Touko's face.

Touko: Not with Asou-sensei.

Hina: Why not?

Touko: Because! Asou-sensei isn't... he isn't a normal teacher!

Hina: *smiling again* Yeah, I know.

pg. 16

Hina: Asou-sensei does all kinds of things that I like. That's why I want to be with him.

Touko looks helplessly distraught.

Emi: But-- look, didn't we tell you before? It'll cause trouble for him.

Hina: It's okay! I'm being careful not to cause him any!

Emi: How?

pg. 17

Hina: By not fixing anything with sweet stuff in it that he doesn't like!

Emi grabs her in a headlock.

Hina: (OWWW--!)

Emi: (THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT!)

Hina: (Emi-chaaaan, that huuuurts!...)

Emi: (I'm gonna get you for this! I'm gonna get you!)

Heedless of their antics, Touko bows her head in dismay.

pg. 18

At the end of the school day.

Students: (Hey, let's get something to eat on the way home!) (Okay!)

Hina: Done for the day--!

She packs up her bags.

Hina: Emi-chan, Touko-chan, sorry I can't walk home with you guys today!

Emi: *waving half-heartedly* Yeah. See you tomorrow.

Touko: ...Be careful, all right, Hina?

Hina: I will! I won't bother Asou-sensei in the least!

pg. 19

They watch as she bounces out the door.

Hina: (See you later!)

Emi: (Man, there she goes.)

Touko abruptly stands up, her face set with determination.

Touko: I'm going to see Asou-sensei.

Emi: (WHAT?!)

Outside, Hina skips past the other students.

Hina [singing]: (The breeze is refreshing-- what a wonderful day--! The cat'll be frisky, too... If I give him fish, he'll make a dash for it-- Let's have a race to see who's faster! Yeah, yeah--!)

pg. 20

Students: (Hahaha! Hina- what kind of song is that? It's weird--!) (You're in a good mood, huh?)

Hina: (Yeah, I am! Bye-bye--!)

She waves at the other girls as they laugh.

Hina [thinking]: Going shopping with Asou-sensei-- deciding what to have for dinner together-- I'M SO HAPPY!

Meanwhile, in the school's darkened chemistry classroom, Asou is gazing out the window.

pg. 21

He watches Hina running out on the schoolyard below.

Asou: ...This job isn't easy.

Turning, he picks up his briefcase and reaches for the door handle. As he opens the door...

pg. 22

...he comes face-to-face with a steely-eyed Touko. Halting, he draws back in astonishment.

Asou: ...What?

Touko: I'd like to speak with you.

Asou: I'm on my way home now.

He turns back into the room and returns to the window.

pg. 23

Touko: With Hina?

He gives her a dark look.

Touko: Why are you going home with her?

Asou: She lives close to me. You think it's strange?

Touko: Yes!

Her hands are clenched into fists.

Touko: Hina has no sense of caution at all! It doesn't even enter into her mind that there are bad people in the world, as well as good ones!

pg. 24

Asou's eyes meet hers.

Asou: ...In other words, you're saying I'm a bad person?

Touko: Aren't you?

He turns again to look out the window at Hina, laughing and smiling below.

pg. 25

Asou: ...Obviously.

Touko stares.

pg. 26

Grabbing his briefcase, he heads for the door.

Touko: Asou-sensei!?

He tosses a key through the air behind him; Touko catches it, still wild-eyed.

Asou: Here's the key. Shut the room when you leave.

Touko: Wait, please!!

He levels her a dark stare over his shoulder.

Asou: ...I have work to do.

pg. 27

Stunned, Touko stands staring after him. A moment later, Emi appears in the vacant doorway.

Emi: Are you okay--? (Jeez-- a direct confrontation with him is going a bit too far!)

Touko's bangs hide her eyes.

Emi: *concerned* Touko?

Touko: ...He said he had "work" to do.

Emi folds her arms and looks dubious.

Emi: Work? (After he's gone home? What, does the guy have a part-time job or something?)

Touko's expression remains fierce.

pg. 28

At the school gates, Hina stands, waiting.

Hina: (I wonder when it got so warm-- summer will be here soon, won't it--?) The days have gotten longer.

She begins to hum.

Hina [singing]: (When summer comes we'll be able to play all the time-- what shall we do, I wonder?)

Asou approaches her from behind, blinking.

Hina [singing]: (I hope it'll be soon-- well, I hope summer comes soon, too, but I hope Sensei's coming-- Hurry, hurry, Sen-sei---)

She suddenly whirls and smiles widely.

Hina: I knew it was you! (Waah!)

Asou sweatdrops.

pg. 29

On the way to the grocery store, Hina skips along.

Hina: (Yaaay, yaaay, we're going shopping together--! What shall I make for dinner tonight--?)

Asou: How did you know it was me? (Behind you...)

Hina: I just knew!

Asou: ("Just knew"?) *sweatdrop*

Hina: Mm, well-- the sound of your footsteps, I guess. And also, I felt a kind of warm and fuzzy feeling from behind me. (That feeling means it's Sensei.) It's like the way a person smells! Even without seeing who it is, I can tell!

Asou: Like a dog.

pg. 30

She sprouts a tail and ears.

Hina: A dog? Am I really?

Asou: Are you pleased about it?

Hina: *tail wagging* (Waaah!) Of course! I love dogs!

Asou: You really like them that much?

Hina: Yeah. We had one at my old house.

Asou: What about now?

Hina: Not anymore. If something bad happened to me, what would the poor dog do?

He looks at her sharply.

Asou: ...If something bad happened?

pg. 31

Hina: Things have happened before. Lots of times.

She smiles faintly.

Hina: At my old house, it was okay, because there was somebody to take the dog for walks and feed him even if I wasn't there. But I live alone now.

He eyes her.

pg. 32

Hina: OH!

They are standing outside a grocery store [whose doors bear the Piffle Princess logo.... ^_^;]

Hina: This supermarket has really good prices on vegetables! (Sensei, you like vegetables, right?) (Pickled things are yummy, too.)

She grabs a shopping basket as they enter. Asou watches her in silence, seemingly moved.

A short time later, they are on their way home.

Hina: *skipping along* (We bought a lot! Today I'll make a stew!)

Asou is carrying the grocery bag [also Piffle Princess ^_^;]

Hina: Sensei, isn't that heavy?

Asou: Not really.

pg. 33

Hina: You're pretty strong, huh!

Soon they are walking through the gates to Hina's house.

Hina: We made it home--! (Time to fix stew-- a stew with lots of vegetables--) Huh?

She stops short and stares at something on the ground.

pg. 34

Among the flowers by her doorstep there is a footprint. She reaches down.

Hina: This flower's been crushed... poor thing...

pg. 35

Asou's eyes widen.

Asou: Somebody must have come here.

She looks up at him in confusion.

Hina: Who?

Asou stares at the footprint grimly.

pg. 36

Hina: (?) What is it?

Asou: Nothing. You're going to make dinner, aren't you?

Hina: *nodding* Uh huh.

Asou: I'll help.

Hina: REALLY!? (WAAAAAH!)

She flings open the door. As he enters the house, Asou casts a final glance behind him.

To be continued.

Back.