Episode 9: Atonement for a Moratorium

This episode starts with a quick recap of the past 8 episodes. It reiterates the attitudes of the main characters, Arima and Yukino, along with their relationship.

It then changes to footage of a real high school where we hear people in the background gossiping about Yukino and Arima. They mention that their grades dropped and got called into the principal's office together. They thought Arima and Yukino got busted big time!

Introduction

We then see Yukino struggling to stay awake in class. She mentions that she had to stay up late because she couldn't solve a math problem. A group of her friends then appear and talk with her. However, she says that although she talks with her friends, she doesn't feel like she fits in. Arima then shows up and his presence alone impresses the girls surrounding Yukino. Asaba then appears and yells at Arima for being around so many girls when he was supposed to waiting for Asaba. Yukino then asks her girl friends to leave them for a bit. As they walk out, Arima puts his arm around Yukino. Outside, the friends talk about how Asaba, Arima, and Yukino are good friends.

At lunch, all the girls talk about Arima and how he always gets lots of cheers at his Kendo matches. They also mention Asaba and acknowledge that they are all envious of Yukino. However, there are four students who sit away from the crowd. She interjects and says that Yukino isn't all that she appears to be. He name is Maho. She starts telling the girls that Yukino is a fake and uses the fact that Yukino has changed in the past few weeks as proof. The girl crowd starts having doubts and Maho eggs them on. The eventually become outraged at Yukino.

As Yukino is walking to her textiles class to meet with her friends, she finds that no one is there. She thinks this is strange and goes to ask the main office. She then walks in front of another classroom where all the girls were. They hardly give her a welcoming. They start talking badly about her and she leaves. Outside, we see Maho and her crowd talking about how they got Yukino.

After class, Arima asks Yukino what's wrong. She kindly says nothing is wrong, but inside, she knows that it's her being fake that is coming back to haunt her. She goes through the lost and found and finds a pan. She immediately slams her head against it, with Arima watching. She vows to not dwell on it.

Intermission

As the days go on, she feels her isolation even more. However, she feels like she deserves this. However, she feels that she has to overcome this. She then meets a gorgeous girl coming out of a classroom named Tsubasa. Tsubasa then meets with her group of friends and explains to them that she met Yukino. She wonders why Arima would like her. Her friends tell her that she's intelligent. She then explains that she was hospitalized before high school and when she got here, Arima already got a girlfriend. She swears to destroy Yukino.

As Yukino is walking along, she sees Arima with the pretty girl she saw earlier. Arima tells Yukino that the day before yesterday was the girl's first day. He explains that she was hospitalized before. The girl introduces herself to Yukino formally and says her name is Shibahime Tsubasa. However, when they shake hands, Tsubasa puts a very tight grip. When Arima asks what happened, Tsubasa blames it on Yukino. Tsubasa then drops some papers and when Arima is picking them up Tsubasa pushes Yukino away. When a cat distracts Arima, Tsubasa tries to give Yukino a flying kick, but is caught (literally) by Arima. Arima berates Tsubasa and apologizes to Yukino. Yukino explains that it's all right. Arima then explains to Yukino that the reason why Tsubasa was hospitalized was because she ran into a stone wall while skateboarding.

We then go into Tsubasa's head. She explains that in middle school, Arima treated her more special than anyone else. That's why she has a crush on him and doesn't want him to look at Yukino like he's in love. When Yukino goes to condole Tsubasa, she bites her hand. She then says goodbye to Arima. Arima tries to explain her situation, but Yukino is quick to realize that Arima doesn't realize she likes her.

Back in the classroom, she cries in front of her friends. The next few days, when Tsubasa sees Yukino, she makes it a duty to rough her up. Even Tsubasa's friends are surprised by her ferocity. Yukino is now not only ignored by her friends but also hated by Tsubasa.

Tsubasa's friends come to talk to Yukino and try to apologize for Tsubasa. She says it's okay. And it turns out, Yukino is jealous that Tsubasa has friends. Meanwhile, Maho is making sure that none of the girls try to become friends with Yukino again.