Safety First
Number Two possessed my sister,
and told me to look after everyone.
And he said that I couldn't tell anyone.
But you just told us.
It may have been a mistake to force you to talk.
Do you know what happens if you talk?
Well...
Ah...
It was a mistake to choose you.
No matter, since this is goodbye.
Are you Number Two?
Do you remember my warning that there
would be consequences if you talked?
That this would never end?
Ow!
My clothes!
Aoki!
Why? It's not five yet.
Clothes! Give me my clothes!
Right, hold on!
Taichi!
It's his turn?!
That means the time frame is random now, too?
Huh?
I'm hungry! I'm hungry!
Okay! I get it, so get down from there!
I'm hungry! I'm hungry!
And you have really good balance.
So this is how it feels after you've had your time reversed.
I'm starting to remember a bunch of
stuff from grade school.
It's long past five.
This is happening because Taichi told us about Number Two?
Sorry, it's my fault.
Don't apologize.
I'm the one to blame.
But now, we can't even step outside,
let alone go home.
It's gotten to the point where we can no longer hide this.
Maybe we should talk to our parents and Mr. Go.
We can't do that!
I-It's a bad idea to inconvenience our families.
Yeah.
Who knows what will happen if we tell anyone else?
We should try to hide this as long as we can.
I can manage not going home, as long as I call first.
But my mom and sister will be really mad
so I'll have to make up for it later.
Um, is it okay if I go home for a bit?
Are you worried about something?
I wanted to talk to my mom real quick.
Huh?
As Long as the Five of Us Are Together
Iori-chan, are you cold?
No, I'm okay.
Thank you very much for worrying about me.
It's already eleven, and she still hasn't turned back.
I want to take a bath.
Yes, I also want to take a bath,
but I can't, so I'll wait.
I didn't see! I didn't see anything!
Did you just turn back?
Yup, seems that way.
Sorry about waking you up.
What was I like as an 11-year-old?
You were very responsible and mature.
Mature...
So that's how I looked.
You know how your memories of the time you returned to
vaguely remain when you come back to your present age?
Yeah.
It brings back a lot of thoughts and regrets you might have had.
Times where you wish you had acted differently,
or wonder if doing something another way would have been better.
Aoki and Yui really impressed me back there.
I have a feeling I'll never get to where they are.
I felt the same way for a while.
But what you can't accomplish alone
becomes doable when you're with someone else.
With someone else...
Uh, so...
Anyway, we shouldn't be talking so much.
Let's get some sleep while we can.
So my friends suddenly said they were bringing me to their holiday home.
I'm sorry about not calling first.
Huh? She's not here right now!
Sorry, I'm busy so I'm gonna hang up!
Sorry, Mama!
This is bad.
She sounds like she's about to ask the police to search for me.
I guess we're running out of time.
And we're basically out of options.
Oh, sorry.
Hello? Mom?
Wait. What's wrong, Mom?
Mom!
Your second father?
Yeah, he had told Mom that he wanted to get back together.
Huh? What do you mean?
This is our first time hearing of this.
Well, he has problems.
He can be violent.
He'd been helping around the house this time around.
But lately...
Is it serious?
He hasn't hit anyone yet.
This guy sounds like a typical loser.
You should kick him out.
I thought we might be able to start over.
I've wondered from time to time...
If I had done a better job as a child,
the people around me might have turned out better.
After all, there were so many options that I didn't take.
And it looks like I made the wrong choices.
My mom just said that I shouldn't go home right now.
Why didn't you say something sooner?!
This is my problem.
Hello? Mom?
D-Dad?
No, wait!
Dad—
What do I do? What do I do?
I have to go!
But I can't go.
I have to go.
What do I do? What do I do?
Calm down, Nagase!
Iori!
W-Wait, where are you going?
Home.
Why?
I'm going to protect Mom.
If I do the right thing, Dad will be in a better mood.
Why do you need to protect your mom?
Because I love Mom.
Huh? Was my time reversed?
How long has it been?
Oh, it was a short one.
Ah, that's why I...
Why...
I remember now.
Huh? Why?
Sorry, I know this is a stupid thing to do.
But I have to go!
Wait, Nagase!
Iori-chan!
Iori!
I won't do anything that hurts the rest of you.
I'll handle this myself.
Wait up, you idiot!
You said that you messed up in the past!
Do you know why?!
Because you refused to ask for help and tried
to do everything yourself!
I'm...
You were worried about making another mistake without telling any of us,
yet you still insist on running off by yourself!
Do you really think that's going to work?
But...
Look around you!
What do you see?
But this is a private problem.
That's—
That's absurd!
If you're suffering, that's our problem!
Well, it might be none of our business.
That wasn't needed.
If you're worried, say something!
Don't do crazy stuff without saying anything.
Those were your words.
I always thought I needed to do this myself
since I was the one who screwed up.
But now...
Iori-chan, think simple.
Yeah, Iori.
All it takes is one sentence.
We're always here for you.
Will you help me?
Shouldn't we go by train or bus?
If we're lucky, nobody will have their time reversed.
That's being too optimistic!
Aoki!
This is exactly what I was worried about.
What do we do? Take him with us?
I'll stay behind.
Once Aoki turns back, we'll catch up.
Yui...
Go! It'll be okay.
We're here. This is my home.
So what are we going to do?
Do you want us to come in with you?
Mom!
Open up! It's Iori!
Please open up, Mom!
Shut up! I'll open the door, so pipe down!
Damn!
Maybe we should go inside by ourselves?
If outsiders like us barge in without
an understanding of the situation,
we might make things worse.
But we don't know how long Nagase will stay like this.
Well, it appears that you're in some trouble.
Why are you showing up now?!
Were you pulling the strings?!
No, that's not true.
But there's something else to take care of first.
Whoa!
Huh? What?
What's going on?
Wait, my arm isn't in my sleeve.
Was my time reversed again?
Heartseed?
Okay, this phenomenon has ended now.
This one was by no means intentional on my part.
Not intentional?
Does that mean you
and Number Two are acting separately?
Well, we aren't wholly united.
The one you call Number Two has different ideas.
However, he will no longer be able to meddle with you.
In any case, it's all over now.
What about Mom?
What happened to her?
Your time was reversed, so we ran away.
We should probably hurry back.
Oh, I have a proposal for Nagase-san.
What?
I don't have time to listen to you.
Nagase-san, do you want another chance?
We realize that our internal issues
caused you considerable trouble.
So I'm willing to do something nice to make up for that.
I can undo everything that has happened and
allow you to start over from a point of your choice.
You're saying that you'll send Iori back to the past
so she can start her life over?
No way...
That's impossible!
You must know that it's too late now, Nagase-san.
What do you mean?
Too late for what you're planning to do.
That's not true.
Do you want another chance?
I can't do that.
I always wished I could be my true self.
If I had been myself
instead of assuming different personas,
Mom might have been happier.
I wouldn't have been so much trouble for everyone.
I...
That's why I...
I...
I like you just fine.
We all like you the way you are.
Yaegashi-san, Inaba-san...
I need you to stop talking.
It's your decision to make, Nagase-san.
I am who I am now because of
everything that's happened.
If I try to deny my past,
I'm denying the person I've become.
I don't want to do that.
After watching Yui and
Aoki try their hardest every day,
I couldn't bring myself to do that.
I wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for
everything that happened in the past.
So I don't need to start over!
I see.
That settles it then.
I'm done.
Let's go then.
Iori...
Is it okay for everyone to be here?
Yes, he shouldn't be back for a while.
Hey, Iori.
Huh? Oh...
Isn't there something you want to ask?
That's why we're here.
Iori-chan, keep it simple.
What is it?
Mom, do you love him? Are you happy?
No.
Huh?
I loved him at one point, but not now.
Then why did you let him stay here?
I thought you were trying to recover something important.
Was I wrong?
Y-You're wrong!
No...
You weren't wrong.
I thought I wanted another chance to make better choices.
See?
But that was for your sake.
Huh?
Um...
Haven't you ever discussed this before?
No, because I just wanted Mom to be happy.
And I was prepared to endure it as long as my daughter was happy.
Mom, I can't be happy if you're not happy!
Iori...
Really?
Hey! Why's the door locked?!
Open up, fool!
He's back!
Should we call the police?!
There's six of us. We can take him.
Hey! Hurry it up!
This is my responsibility.
But Mom...
Don't worry.
Hey!
Shut up!
What?!
I put up with you for a while,
What are you—
but there's no reason for me to keep you around!
What the hell are you saying?!
Get lost!
You can't—
Never show your face here again!
Worthless bastard!
Drugstore Nishikawa
That was a surprise.
I've never heard Mom yell like that.
But it worked out.
He promised never to come back.
Yeah, he was on his knees outside the door.
Anyway, I heard you whisper a thank you to him.
Yeah.
Despite everything that happened,
he's part of the reason I am who I am now,
so I wanted to thank him.
Honestly, I'm not sure if I really feel grateful or not.
But I don't want to dwell in the past by holding a grudge,
and forgiving him will let me move on.
Yes...
You guys are the reason I'm here now.
Thank you.
Sorry about everything!
No, you don't need to apologize.
I was being a little pushy.
It was irrational to challenge you to a duel on the spot.
I know!
So that one doesn't count.
What?
So I'm still undefeated against you.
I won't budge on that point.
You quit karate, but you still hate to lose.
Actually, about that...
I'm thinking about starting up karate again.
So I'll be training at a dojo again.
We'll see each other at the national tournament soon.
Oh, let's exchange e-mail addresses, Chinatsu!
O-Oh... Right, Yui!
And just like that, winter vacation was over,
and our lives were back to normal.
I was worried for a while,
but the five of us made it through by working together.
I truly believe that StuCS is something special.
Naturally, we have to be wary of
Heartseed trying something again,
but as long as the five of us are together, we'll find a way.
I have faith.
Once again, I was saved by my friends.
Every time Heartseed appears,
I'm saved by the people around me.
I honestly think that StuCS is something special.
Especially Taichi.
Taichi has been so much help.
He's a good person.
A really good person,
but do I truly love Yaegashi Taichi?
Michi Random
The Days Fall Apart
Kako Random