Appearances and Moments

Episode 1: She is introduced, being called "Kaoru-no-Kimi". It was rumored that she left or simply might leave. Nanako Misonoo notes about Udaisho Kaoru-no-Kimi . She is a freshman at Sieran High School. She participates in a club activity, but is not stated what club yet. Mariko Shinobu states her name is Kaoru Orihara and she is in section B as well. She is a year older than them, so she is either sixteen or seventeen. She was away due to illness for a long time, but seems very healthy. Kaoru is certainly a person who is listened to. Mariko states that everyone adores three beautiful ladies there; Kaoru is one of them. It is shown later that she is amazing at basketball. Episode 2: Kaoru leads her class. Girls swoon over her even when she is scolding them; she is "so pretty when (she is) angry". She seems to have foreign language (English) for her first class on Monday. She appears to sit in the front row, second column from the door. She and Rei seem to be friends and react like two boys giving potshots at one another. Rei borrowed a book from Kaoru and throws it at her; Kaoru uses her right hand to catch it, so might be right handed. It is determined that she is in the basketball club. Something goes on between Fukiko and Rei; Kaoru seems to be well aware of the hostility. She was chosen to be a Sorority candidate; she declines. She is opposed to the very existence of the Sorority. She used the excuse of her poor health to not join since her previous excuse is not "politically correct". Kaoru will automatically take action when a fight occurs; she stops one between Mariko and a girl named Aya Misaki. Episode 3: She seems well informed of what is to occur in school, like upcoming exams. If something is morally wrong or causes injustice, she will do something about it. When Nanako returns to class, everyone notices and Kaoru even turns around for a brief scene. This is the second episode she is seen playing basketball; this is the first one for mere practicing and is on a Sunday. She dribbles mainly with her right hand. Information on Udaishou Kaoru-no-Kimi is that he was in "The Tale of Genji" and was born with a beautiful aura; Kaoru is said to have a beautiful aura as well. Her illness is revealed a bit for the first time when she collapses in mid jump and ends in clutching her right breast. Episode 4: Kaoru watches the scene unfold about a faulty call made by Aya to Nanako. She sees Fukiko as arrogant and tends to be one to play around with the hopes of the freshman students. She talks to Rei, so the belief that they are indeed friends is strengthened. She seems to be left handed, as it shows her writing in this episode; perhaps she is ambidextrous? If a person in charge (their teacher at the time) will not take command when necessary, she will. She is not afraid to throw a girl at a teacher, apparently. She is strong, easily lifting a girl in each arm. Mariko finds her "so marvelous". She has cooking for a morning class. She cannot separate the yoke from the white of an egg and considers it "too much like a circus trick". She cannot crack an egg either. She can whistle. When Aya hurts Nanako, Kaoru runs after her to give words of wisdom and an implication that she cares for the other enough despite they do not know each other well yet. Episode 5: She is aware of Rei's drug abuse and physically shows her opposition by slapping Rei with her right hand after slapping the pills out with her left. Rei is not afraid to slap Kaoru back. Rei seems to know more about Kaoru's illness than others would. Kaoru seems to know there is a deeper meaning to the gold bracelet Rei wears as well as there being something going on between Rei and Fukiko. She knows Rei's phone number. Episode 6: Her kindness is shown when she lends her athletics clothes to Nanako when hers is stolen. She has to leave school early to check in with the hospital for some follow-up tests done. On her way out, her chest bothers her again. Her gym clothes have a certain "sweet and clean smell with the crisp touch of Byakudan" from what Nanako finds; "Byakudan" translates as "White Sandalwood" and is made of fine Indian Sandalwood. Episode 7: This is the first time she is seen in the library, and it is assumedly after school is out. She knows well about Rei's popularity. She informs Nanako that all freshman in three months check out books regarding St. Juste and The French Revolution. She is well familiar with the library's set up and obviously thinks highly of people reading. If anything by now, one can determine she reaches for things with her right hand and seems to do most hand motions with her left. She is not afraid to scold others who are causing some form of trouble. She does not strike people to be the reading type due to her athletic ways; Rei and Nanako had thought such about her. She met Rei in Junior High. She has been attending Seiran before high school, perhaps she has gone there all of her life. She is well aware of Paul Marie Verlaine, a popular French poet. "As rain falls..." is what she quotes without even using a page for reference. She recruited Rei for the basketball team. She admits what made Rei stand out to her was the other having something inhuman about her nature. Episode 8: She appears very briefly, inadvertently stopping a quarrel between Tomoko and Mariko. The second appearance is simply her standing up, giving a short command to the class. Episode 9: She runs on the weekends along the beach. She has another attack, a very severe one. She is aware the Rei has painkillers and has Nanako go to her. She goes to the basketball club to wait on Nanako. Rei considers that Kaoru must be getting worse, must be in great pain, to ask for the pills. Kaoru talks to Nanako about her time in the hospital after she takes the painkillers. She falls asleep around fifth to sixth period before Nanako leaves. Nanako returns to check on Kaoru at the end of sixth, but she went home early. Rei goes to the hospital to ask a doctor about Kaoru. Her condition early was quick and hard and he mentions it is good that she is playing basketball. Rei gives implication that whatever Kaoru has could be life threatening, or is. It is rumored that Kaoru went back to school for a late night practice, instead she is in a classroom crying. Episode 10: She shows concern for Mariko. Following day, she tries to get Mariko to eat. She comforts Mariko. She leads her class during gym at volleyball. She apparently is very good at it. Rei and she show banter that is more playful. She takes control when Mariko passes out. She looks after Mariko in the ambulance at the hospital. Kaoru has a sixth sense, most definitely. She seems to be the most mature out of all the Sieran student characters. Episode 11: She makes no appearance. Episode 12: Nanako called Kaoru to come to Rei's apartment after it was determined that Rei had a fever. Her first appearance is from the elevator. She knows Rei's apartment is 507. Rei speaks to her in French, and Kaoru likely understands it well. She slaps Rei hard with her right hand and asks her if she is a masochist. She takes Rei's gold bracelet off her right wrist, still against the other wearing it. She knows a deeper meaning to it, calling it a curse of Miya-sama (Fukiko). She threatens to throw the bracelet in a canal. When she tries to throw it out the window Rei stops her by throwing a knife at her; it lands perhaps a few inches in front of her (Rei has great aim). Kaoru gives in and lets the bracelet fall to the floor. She walks Nanako to the elevator and asks her to forget all that she saw; Nanako complies. She cannot cook, but she can slice an apple well enough to cut it into four impeccably even slices. Nanako later seeks out Kaoru, who is in the library again. She has a memory of confronting Fukiko asking her to meet her under the elm tree. The elm tree is the place Rei was waiting for Fukiko out in the cold rain for hours the day before; they talk about that. Kaoru knows what Rei is to Fukiko; Rei is Fukiko's younger sister. Episode 13: Kaoru notices someone is there when she is still confronting Fukiko; Nanako is running off with the new information she gathered. Rei escapes her house while still sick and Kaoru searches for her by taxi. Despite knowing her long, Kaoru does not even know what Rei likes to eat. After Rei made a mad dash for the shower, Kaoru helps her out, undresses her and tries to dry her off. She leads Rei to her bed, takes off her own short and lends her warmth to the sick girl by holding her. When Nanako comes, she slipped her shirt back on and has Nanako help her redress Rei. It is near sunrise when the two leave; Kaoru walks Nanako back home. Nanako finds out just how dedicated a friend Kaoru is to Rei. Episode 14: Seems to do well enough in French and helped tutor Mariko over it, which enforces that she is good at it. Rei returns to school on the beginning of midterms; Kaoru mentions it is strange for the other. Episode 15: She does not quite make an appearance in episode 15 other than a flashback by Nanako. A girl named Junko Nakaya appears though; she is girl who was banished from the Sorority, befriends Nanako, and is seen later on in later episodes. Episode 16: Kaoru calls Rei and talks about the past and mentions that Rei is still a part of the basketball team. She talks with the phone in her right hand and catches and throws a basketball in her left. She keeps her phone on the floor. She is sitting next to a green-brown, orange, yellow and black abstract painting on the wall. Her first comeback game, an exhibition one, is coming. At night, wearing a read Seiran shirt instead of her usual navy blue one, she is practicing hard. Rei comes along and there is a mentioning of Kaoru possibly sweating so much as a sign of her youth or to help her forget the pain. She has been a star player since Junior High. Rei says she used to say a phrase about her being "a woman of effort and diligence". Mariko shows an interest, great admiration, for Kaoru now. Their opponent for tomorrow is the Tsurugaoka team. Mariko gives Kaoru a sports drink. Her three point shot is considered "Magnificent". Girls even ask for her autograph or give her things. Nanako says it will be "Kaoru-no-Kimi Day" all day. She wishes to win at everything from now on so she will not have to remember a certain something. The first occurrence about the fireflies is seen and an old memory surfaces. If she is a winner from then onward, she can be positive about the future. Her uniform shirt number is 8. She is the captain of the basketball team. The Sorority offers her flowers as a commendation; she says she must accept the Sorority exists on the campus, but she does not consider it a valid part and thus declines the commendation. It seems Fukiko will not accept Rei as part of the basketball team, and Kaoru is aware of that. The opposing team finds Kaoru formidable to the point they believe that without her Seiran is nothing. They start blocking her and by pushing herself hard, she begins to weaken. She pushes harder until the opposing team tries to block her with even more. It had been a long time since she could play as hard as she was in that game, and that obviously meant a lot. An opponent fouled her, elbowing her left breast hard and it began to bleed. Rei shows she is really Kaoru's support at the time by calming her down and helps her leave the court to go to the nurse's office. She had to go to the hospital. They lost the game, but Rei admits she tried her best and that makes Kaoru happy. She and Rei really laugh together, showing a more leisurely side for once. Her injury... "One of them re-opened." Mariko has become VERY concerned about Kaoru to the point she threatened Rei. Episode 17: Kaoru had to stay overnight at the hospital. She talks to the doctor a moment and then picks up her suitcase with her left hand. Mariko hands her flowers and, most likely to make Mariko feel better, she tells the girl that some of them are her favorite flowers. She used Mariko's first name for the first time. Rei did not take her pills for once and admitted she enjoyed playing basketball, which made Kaoru feel proud of her. Mariko invites Kaoru to have lunch with her, but she declines due to needing to meet with her coach. Rei thinks Nanako is lovesick for Kaoru, but it is Mariko with the crush. Episode 18: Kaoru, after the morning classes, finds Mariko and offers her to watch the basketball team practice. Mariko make note about eating lunch with her! Kaoru later asks if anyone had seen Rei. Episode 19: It is revealed that Takehiko knew Kaoru. Kaoru witnesses Rei and Nanako returning for the afternoon classes. The next day, Rei practices basketball with the other members and she jokes with Kaoru. Kaoru mentions Rei has a fan, Nanako; and in retaliation, Rei mentions that fan knows Takehiko, which leaves Kaoru speechless. Kaoru eventually says she forgot about him completely. Kaoru notices Nanako breaking down when reading aloud in class. Later she invites Nanako to have a drink with her near the seaside. She cracks a joke about the meat used for chicken and hamburgers are actually seagull. She shows her great insight once more and talks to Nanako about love. She has the memory of fireflies again that appeared in episode sixteen. Nanako wondered if Kaoru had hurt the one she loved, but it was obvious Kaoru loved deeply. Episode 20: Kaoru notices Nanako and Mariko when a teacher gets onto them. It soon cuts to her running laps. Nanako stops her and asks on behalf of Mariko if Kaoru will come to the Gakuin University Fair the next day. When Mariko asks Rei, she declines and says it is 10,000 to 1 should Kaoru ever go. Kaoru uses the excuse of basketball on Sunday. She runs off, but has another faint memory, this time a silhouette of a man is seen. The next day Kaoru is working out again. Rei comments on working too much, Kaoru shoots back about her smoking too much. She comes across Nanako's program and eventually hears music playing. Fukiko had locked Nanako in a basement; Kaoru found her, broke the lock and saves her. Episode 21: She makes no appearance, but Takehiko does. He gives implication of an old love as well, and gets a look much similar to Kaoru's. Mariko's humorous behavior makes up for Kaoru's absence. Episode 22: She makes no appearance here either. Fukiko scares me more and more though. Episode 23: Kaoru looks back when Mariko is reading aloud in class and both seem to be aware of Nanako not being there. Kaoru and Rei likely met around the age fourteen or fifteen. Fukiko still scares me. Episode 24: She makes no appearance here either. Fukiko apparently is very... obsessed over Takehiko, and he never knew of her feelings. Takehiko was around sixteen when he met a twelve year old Fukiko; Rei and Kaoru would have likely been around eleven. Episode 25: Rei met Fukiko when she was ten and the other was eleven. Kaoru is funny, and still does not do well with home economics; sewing is not her strong suite either. She claims she is looking for a husband who can sew his own buttons. Kaoru burns it up on the basketball court and sees Rei walk by. She invites Rei to a basketball practice the following day. Rei tells her that Takehiko taught at Nanako's cram school and how he is not her "older brother" pen pal. Kaoru says it is not of her concerns or business; Rei implies otherwise. Oh, and I think the insane, obsessive streaks both Fukiko and Rei have is due to bloodline. Episode 26: Kaoru is first seen reading outside on a bench, she asks about Rei. She has an exhibition game that night in the auditorium at seven. Oh, and I think Fukiko and Rei are the types who require adrenaline rushes to feel alive. Episode 27: Kaoru appears by stopping a fight, or more like an attack from Mariko upon Aya. After another fight, Kaoru runs in when Aya freaks out, Mariko just repeats "I'm sorry" and runs out. I really love Mariko, she is my second favorite female character, I believe. Episode 28: Kaoru makes no real appearance, Mariko has a shining moment though... depending on your view, and Nanako finally does something cool! Also an important date, August eighth is the day at the beginning of the episode. Not too long after that, date is the anniversary of the death of Rei's mother. A while after that will be Fukiko's birthday will occur. Episode 29: Kaoru watches Tomoko and one of Aya's friends, Miyuki Sonobe, get into a fight and suggests to Aya to stop the fighting now. Kaoru walks in whilst Rei is playing and asks for a talk, mentioning Nanako leaving the Sorority. She shows her skills at the piano. She mentions she is about to do something, but does not tell Rei what it is. Kaoru has a memory of having a CAT scan. The next day, Kaoru finds Rei resting on a bench and decides to tell her the rest of what she left off the day before. She intends to make a movement to abolish the Sorority at the next assembly and Rei falls off the bench. Rei later recalls the rest of the conversation; Kaoru declares the Sorority to have become something of a permanent, corrupt tradition. The next day, during the afternoon assembly, the school's 90th anniversary, Kaoru stands up to make a motion of abolishing the Sorority. She and Fukiko duke it out, so to speak and suddenly many students finally speak up about the Sorority being wrong. Oh, and this is great, Rei enters and makes move that Fukiko should be replaced by someone not of the Sorority at the role of school's class president; people agree. Two of the Magnificent Three goes against the third! Episode 30: Kaoru is in front of the class, reviewing over the movement, but now the students are leery due to the school board. Nanako rocks, because she is the first to stand up and sign; soon many follow. Nanako also decides to help Kaoru in getting others to sign. Aya's two friends, Megumi Furuta and Miyuki Sonobe, try to burn Kaoru and Nanako's petition signatures, but Rei stops them. (Go, Rei!) They are spoken to, questioned and Kaoru found their doing such a thing behind her back to be saddening. Aya took the blame and left, her two friends came back to tell Kaoru and the others the truth; two Sorority members put them up to it. Kaoru comforts Furuta and Sonobe when they admit the truth. Episode 31: Borgia-sama and Mona-Lisa-sama trick Nanako, and Borgia gets out of hand to the point of possibly killing Nanako, Kaoru had been called earlier and arrives just as this is happening. Mona-Lisa-sama saves Nanako when she is about to fall over the building; Kaoru enters after, places her jacket on Nanako's shoulders, and lets her cry into her chest - and Nanako has one damn good reason to cry. Kaoru then takes her away, likely sending or escorting her home. Episode 32: Tomoko, Nanako, Junko (mentioned in episode fifteen), Rei and Kaoru are seen going through signatures, which have reached the one-third line. The five gather again, looking over the signatures and find they are just beneath their goal. Kaoru scolds Rei for smoking in the classroom. The five of them hear about Fukiko's (Miya-sama) tea ceremony and how no one will attend it. Medusa-sama is the only one left supporting Fukiko, two senior ex-members ask Kaoru to try to convince her to resign. The ex-members claim that Miya-sama's reign is over and that Medusa should follow the new era of Kaoru-no-Kimi. Kaoru throws her schoolbooks at one of the ex-members, infuriated, as she is against that sort of thinking to begin with. Rei goes to Fukiko and tells her to begin, they (Rei) are all there, she does so and Kaoru with the other petitioners enter. The five of them listen to a beautiful speech given by a dignified Fukiko, who still stands as the proud head of the Sorority house even though she is the only one left; Fukiko seems to stop being insane after that. Episode 33: Enough signatures were reached and Kaoru led them to present them to the school board; it was a success. Kaoru is practicing basketball alone in the gym, only to find that Rei is watching and clapping; they both seem happy. You see Kaoru change clothing for once - very interesting. Kaoru keeps her phone on the floor and near it is a green-brown, orange, yellow and black abstract painting on the wall. Rei found a book Kaoru had loaned her; it is Verlaine again. While Kaoru is playing basketball, she shoots but in midst of this she has a vision of Rei, she lands off her feet and find her left shoelaces broke... It happens right before Rei dies. Episode 34: Kaoru is dressing after practice, when she leaves a teacher catches her and tells her about Rei's death. She will not believe it and yells it is a mistake. Later Fukiko, her brother Takashi, and Kaoru are in the hospital room that holds Rei's body. Kaoru later visits the place Rei died to place flowers in honor of her; other students left offers there as well. She then runs off and ends up at a video game arcade. Through Nanako, Kaoru finds out that Rei did not commit suicide as many believed. Kaoru gives implication that she has nothing left with Rei gone. Episode 35: Kaoru is at Rei's funeral in a black suit and tie. The Sorority is finally gone. Episode 36: Kaoru is at the hospital for a check up. Charts are seen and areas point at her left breast. She has to take off her shirt and bra to be inspected. It is summer break and usually expected her to be very active with club activities, but she will not be doing so. The doctor asks her if she will be able to come once a week in the next months to have complete check ups. She had only gotten out of the hospital a year ago. Kaoru asks worried if the operation did not give the hoped results and she will not make it. The doctor tells her he never said anything like that, but she starts to get desperate and scared. Kaoru says she wants to know the truth, the doctor says she must trust him. Kaoru runs away. Throughout all of that, there were faint visions of fireflies. When Nanako and Tomoko go to the site where Rei died to place flowers and pray fro her, they discover Kaoru is on the overpass. She looks broken and soon begins to cry desperately. Nanako found that not only she, but Kaoru could not come to terms with Rei's death. Later after the sun went down, Kaoru walks about aimlessly and calls out "Rei". She asks why people are born into the world, something she had asked in episode nine. Then she asks why people even bother to go on living when they are just going to die someday anyway. The next day, Takehiko and Takashi are talking about Rei's death, and eventually Takashi is in a desperate mood and self-anger. Takashi turns on Takehiko and tells him not to leave something undone that he will regret later; Takehiko thinks he is talking about someone else (Nanako). Takashi tells him he is an idiot and that he knows who he is talking about and "if she were to go, too" nothing Takehiko could say would cause him to forgive him. Takehiko is planning to go studying abroad, and that is what caused Takashi to think he was leaving something undone. Nanako is called up by the basketball team; they are having a match start at six, Kaoru has not shown up yet and no one at her home knows of her whereabouts either as she had not arrived home yesterday. Kaoru is back at the train area and walks along the tracks; she is becoming tired. She is, for once, wearing casual clothes that are not green, yellow or orange. She is wearing blue and beige. That night, Takashi finds Nanako outside Rei's old apartment because she knew if anyone would know where Kaoru was, she would know and thus she tells him about Kaoru's absence. He has her get into his car and eventually tells her things he knows when she comes to find Takehiko knew Kaoru. Takehiko is the one person Kaoru needs more than anyone, he says. A year or so ago they had been a couple but for certain reasons they broke up. They still loved each other though, and still do love each other to that point. It is raining and soon enough Kaoru leaves the train station and goes off elsewhere. She has a memory again, this time one sees her as well as Takehiko and she is telling him she must forget him because of her love for him. She comes in front of a telephone booth and starts asking aloud to Rei why she had to die; she thought she would do her best to go one living with what time she had left to live. She is lonely and fears dying; Rei is no longer there. Takehiko is told about her missing and he thinks on where she could be; he takes off in Takashi's car to go to her. He pulls up to stream and far in front of him Kaoru stands. When she finds it is him she tells him to stay away and then tries to run for it. He runs after, catches her and turns her around. For a year, he had been waiting for a time she would need him, but she tells him she will live her life alone. She tries to run again, he holds her back and asks why she came back there. The place they are at is where she broke up with him. She has a memory again, it continues from where it left off last time. She undoes her kimono and lets him see something about her body to convince him to forget her. Takehiko looks shocked, and she says that what he has just seen proves she could never make him happy. Whatever it is, she tells him even if he could love her despite it, his future would suffer because of their love. He asks her to tell him she needs him now, she turns around, goes up to him and kisses him. She thanks him for the times they had in the past and then runs off again. She apparently returned home that night and then left the next day for an early basketball practice at the school. There was no practice, but Nanako eventually finds her in the clock tower at a place Rei would usually hide out to skip classes. She is in her usual colors again. Kaoru knows how to drink and smoke. She might be a bit tipsy. Nanako tells her she knows about Kaoru and Takehiko from Takashi. She tells her when she and Rei first became friends; Takashi brought Takehiko over and introduced them. She fell in love with Takehiko the moment they met. It is assumable, she fell in love with him while she was in junior high and he was in college; she was likely somewhere around fifteen and he would have been around twenty. She recollects going together to various places, but mainly riding a carousel together. She decides to let Nanako know the reason for the break up. She unbuttons her shirt and displays her upper body; she had surgery and had her left breast removed; if a relapse occurs within five years she has not any hope. Takehiko looks through a photo album and there are pictures of Kaoru. Episode 37: Nanako hugs Kaoru around the upper legs and cries now that she knows the reason Kaoru left Takehiko. Kaoru does not know whether she has a long life ahead of her or not, but either way she does not want to be a burden to him. Kaoru felt she could tell Nanako all of that and that it is strange how Takehiko and Nanako are not related by blood but they are very much alike; Nanako, of course, never knew they were related. Kaoru thought Nanako knew because of the letter writing to her "Dear Brother" and she explains something to Nanako, but it is muted out. Later on, it is filled in that Takehiko is the son of her father's previous wife. Now it is known that he is Nanako's brother who was longed after by Fukiko and is the love of Kaoru. While Takehiko is working later, he receives phone call; no one responds but he knows it is Kaoru. She briefly tells him she was sorry that she mistakenly told Nanako about their being related and hangs up before he can get a word in. She was sitting on the floor. A yellow pillow was to her left, her cordless phone is to her right, the abstract painting at her right shoulder, a lamp under it, beside them to the right is a reddish couch and across the room from it is a bed with green covers. She is wearing colors she usually is not seen in - a white button up shirt with a blue shirt underneath and khakis. She says aloud that she wants to see Takehiko and soon starts calling to Rei as well. Both Takehiko and Kaoru recollect the time they were at an amusement park together where the carousel was; Kaoru is in her room on her bed and Takehiko is in front of his computer. Back then Kaoru told him she saw her future using the carousel as a sort of metaphor telling him at each turn (day) she will love him more than the day before. In her room, Kaoru speaks to Rei that no matter how many times the carousel turns she sees nothing on the other side. Takehiko intends to study at the University of Schellenberg in Germany. Takehiko is 185 cm tall; Kaoru's height seems to reach up to where his eyebrows are. Episode 38: Takehiko calls up Kaoru while he is at the station and asks her to meet him there in the coffee shop; she refuses. As he waits, he remembers the past at the amusement park. They spoke about his dream to go to Germany one day to follow in his father's footsteps. He asks her what her dream is, but she does not know, though she speaks of her interest in basketball; despite that, she thinks a dream should be more worthwhile and says perhaps she will go to Germany with him. They get up and decide to ride the carousel again, but on the way, Kaoru's left breast undergoes a sharp pain; she ignores it, but Takehiko is concerned. When Kaoru gets on one of the carousel horses she soon collapses and lands hard on the floor, a scream-like gasps escapes. The memory turns to a doctor's office where Takehiko and the doctor talk about her. The case is unusually bad considering how young she is and it is known tumors spread more quickly when one is so young. Takehiko asked how many years she would have, and the doctor responds that the surgery she underwent would be sufficient for the time being but there is always the possibility of metastasis. If the tumor does not come back in five years, she should likely be fine. Kaoru overhears all of this, drops two glass bottles she is holding and collapses to the floor scared. This is the second time one sees her in a (different) kimono. At the news, Kaoru starts telling Takehiko she is sorry and that she might not be able to go to Germany with him as tears stream down her cheeks. The sun is going down when Kaoru arrives, she is wearing what she was last seen wearing in the previous episode. She came because she knew he would likely wait there forever until she came. He tells her he is going to Germany and asks her to go with him. She says his dream is coming true, congratulates him, tells him to live his dream and forget all about her. He protests gently that his dream is to go there with her; she responds her dream is for him to find someone else to live his dream with him, but he says only she can be that person. She runs off again while he is calling her. Late Takehiko calls Takashi from a bar, when Takshi finally answers the phone and finds he is drunk. He knows it is because of Kaoru and he tells Takehiko to keep trying and take Kaoru with him to Germany; Fukiko overhears all of this. Takehiko hangs up the phone eventually, and Fukiko asks about Takehiko going to Germany and if Kaoru is going with him; Takashi does not know. Takashi got Takehiko home; Nanako comes by with the references her father wrote for Takehiko, but Takehiko is drunk and says he will go to Germany alone; Takashi of course calls him a fool. The next day Kaoru is shooting hoops when Nanako pulls her aside to the track and field stadium where she and Takashi confront her. They try to convince her to spend more time with Takehiko and talk with him, but she says she has done enough; they argue she should consider him more but she argues she has and she was doing all that she was doing for him. Nanako argues that she loves Takehiko and needs him; Kaoru ends up slapping her, not meaning to, but soon apologizes. Nanako tries again and so Kaoru runs off, her determination to keep away from him grows stronger it seems. That night Nanako talks to her parents about Kaoru and Takehiko, careful not to say their names; there are brief scenes of Kaoru's flashbacks. When her father realizes who she is talking about, he comments that Takehiko's love for Kaoru is genuine. It is raining again and Kaoru has gone to the site where Rei died with some flowers to replace the dying ones. Fukiko was waiting for her there, expecting Kaoru to be the one changing the flowers; Kaoru comments many others leave thing to honor Rei's memory. Fukiko tells her she was there to talk to her and they leave to talk under shelter; there, Fukiko sakes if it is true that Kaoru will not be going to Germany. Kaoru answers true and when asked why she says it is due to personal matters that Fukiko has no business in. Eventually, Kaoru tells her that she has no time left, only four years at most; Fukiko protests passionately that four years is plenty of time, compared to Rei's last seconds it is an eternity. Fukiko wants Kaoru to live her life to the fullest and comments that it is not like her to give up; that triggers a memory or thought of Rei saying such words as Kaoru watches Fukiko walk away. Meanwhile Takehiko is at the bar again and now Nanako confronts Takehiko telling him not to give up nor to go to Germany alone. Takehiko reassures her he has momentary times of feeling defeated, but his will is strong again and he understands how hard love can be as well as how wonderful. He returns home and when he looks at his computer words are across the screen; "YES... YES, YES, YES, YES, YES... K.A.O.R.U." Kaoru is hiding in the dark, by the wall on the floor and begins talking about what will likely happen in the future; she asks him if he will be there with her to hold her hand, and he replies he will be there to hold it if she finds it is good enough. She replies the affirmative, stands up and falls into his arms crying hard. Episode 39: At a traditional celebration, Nanako and her parents run into Takehiko and Kaoru; this is the third kimono one sees her in. Takehiko introduces Kaoru to them saying he and she will marry soon and go to Germany together. It is August eighth again. Some point later, Takashi is talking to Takehiko on the phone; Takashi plans to have everything ready for the wedding. He tells Takehiko to focus on his studies and then questions if he arranged for Kaoru concerning doctors and schooling, which is affirmative. The school starts up again for a new term and soon enough the final match of the area league championships occurs and it is Kaoru's final game; one can assume they won. Finally, on a rainy day Takehiko and Kaoru have their wedding. When she says the "I do", she adds on that she will do so for as long as she lives. They clasp hands and Takehiko kisses her right temple. With her left hand, she threw her bouquet high into the air. The next scene is at the airport where Takashi, Mariko, Tomoko and the Misonoo family see Takehiko and Kaoru off. No kimono, no wedding dress, no pants... Kaoru's casual attire involves a skirt and she is wearing high heels! Mariko acts excited for Kaoru, and perhaps she really is, but she breaks down crying into the woman's chest in the end and wishes her much happiness. Two years later, Kaoru is twenty and Takehiko is somewhere around twenty-five. A letter is sent to Nanako and inside is a picture of Takehiko and Kaoru with their baby; Kaoru is feeding the child with a bottle.