Episode 3: Transformation

A group of boys and girls were all standing around in a park. They couldn't have been older than 5 or 6 years old. One of the kids then spoke up. "Hey! Let's play Princesses and Dragons!" The kids all cheered at the idea. "And Haruka needs to be the princess!" A small Haruka smiled. "Well then Hibiki needs to be my prince!" Everyone then showed their approval of this idea loudly. Hibiki grabbed the hem of her skirt in embarrassment. "A..actually I was-" But she was cut off by another voice. "Hey! Could Hibiki be the princess this time?" Hibiki's head shot up as a young boy looked over to the group of kids. Seeing her look at him, the boy turned around to Hibiki, giving her a big goofy smile.

Hibiki opened her eyes. For a moment she was disoriented. Realizing where she was, she placed an arm over her head. "What...?" She began to ask herself in a soft voice, confused.

(Kimi No Mama De Intro Plays)

"Wow! You really made me lunch!" Junichi said excitedly as Hibiki held out a bento to him, blushing. "Well yeah, I said I would." "I know but.." He shook his head. "Thank you Tsukahara senpai." Taking it eagerly he opened it up to reveal a pristine looking curry setup. "Wow! It looks so good!" "I'm sorry it's cold" Junichi shook his head. "No no, this is great! Thank you!"

Surprised at his level of excitement, she nodded. "Right, well, enjoy." She said as she headed back over to Haruka, who was grinning ear to ear. "And what was THAT Hibiki?" Hibiki blushed slightly. "What was what?" "You just made Junichi-kun lunch, didn't you?" Hibiki tried to cover her embarrassment with an indifferent face. "Well after SOMEONE ditched me yesterday, Tachibana helped me out and didn't ask for anything in return. I wanted to thank him." "Mhmmmm'' Haruka replied teasingly. Hibiki shot her a look which caused Haruka to laugh but back off.

(Episode title appears in corner)

"Wow! Captain! Where did you get such a beautiful lunch?" Umehara asked him, clearly impressed. "Seriously! That looks pretty professional! Did you get it from your girlfriend? You holding out on us Junichi?" Kaoru asked teasingly.

"No of course not! Come on, you guys should know me better than that by now." Kaoru smiled. "Right right. After all, we wouldn't want to get the wrong idea about you and Tsukahara senpai." Hearing this, Junichi nearly choked. "W-WHAT?"

Kaoru smirked. "Hee hee. Thought you could come into my cafe and I wouldn't find out? I know everything that goes on in there." Umehara slammed his hands on the desk in shock. "WHAT?! So it's true?! How could you hold out on me like this Captain?!" Embarrassed, Junichi motioned with his hands. "Calm down, you're making a scene. It's no big deal, she and Morishima senpai were supposed to go shopping but Morishima senpai ditched her so I helped her carry some things. So she made lunch for me as a thank you." He explained as he went back to eating.

Kaoru and Umehara then looked at each other and raised an eyebrow. Eventually Kaoru spoke up. "Um, Junichi, girls don't normally make lunches for guys as favors." Junichi looked up. "What do you mean?" The two looked back at one another, then smiled. "Know what, never mind Junichi. Good luck!" With this they both got up and walked away to buy their own lunch, leaving a confused Junichi behind.

As they headed to get their food, they heard a voice behind them. "Psst! Hey!" Both Kaoru and Umehara turned around to see Haruka doing her best to look nonchalant. "Hey, can I talk to you two for a second?" Kaoru and Umehara turned to each other confused.

The rest of the day finished without incident as it reached time to go home. Hibiki then walked over to Haruka. "Are you ready to go home Haruka?" Looking over to her she clapped her hands together. "Ah! I'm sorry Hibiki. I got another confession today and I have to go turn him down. You go ahead." Hibiki raised an eyebrow. "I can wait, it's fine." Haruka shook her head emphatically. "No, no. You go. I'll see you later, okay?" Hibiki looked slightly confused. "Okay."

Meanwhile, Kaoru and Umehara were speaking with Junichi. "You guys heading home?" He asked his friends. Kaoru was the first to respond. "No, I actually have work today." "Sorry Captain, I have to help out my folks at the sushi shop. Speaking of, could you do me a huge favor? I really want this new manga, but I don't have time to go. Could you go for me if I gave you the money? Please?" He put his hands together.

Junichi waved his hand up and down. "All right, all right. You don't have to beg." Umehara flashed him a smile. "You're the best captain!" He said handing him the money. "Yeah yeah." As soon as Junichi left the room, the two immediately ran over to the door to peer around it. "You think he's going to do it?" Kaoru asked her friend. "Of course!" he replied. "Captain always keeps his word." Kaoru chuckled. " I totally thought you were going to have him buy a dirty magazine." Umehara looked at Kaoru as if hurt. "Geez, give me SOME credit." "Nope!" She responded. "So cruel!" Umehara said mockingly, crying.

As Junichi left the school, he began to take a walk towards town. Passing the rest of his classmates he headed to the bookstore. As he did, Kaoru, Umehara, and Haruka all hid behind a telephone pole and peered out. "Are you sure Tsukahara senpai will come this way?" Kaoru asked worriedly. Haruka nodded. "I'm sure. She comes this way every day."

A few minutes later, Junich stepped out of the store. "I swear, he totally owes me one." He spoke to seemingly nobody. As he looked up though he was greeted with a familiar face. "Oh. Tsukahara senpai." The shocked Hibiki looked up at him and gave him a small smile.

A few moments later they found themselves walking in tandem. "Oh, you live around here, senpai?" He asked her congenially. She nodded. "Yes. This is my way home. You?" Junichi held up a bag. "I'm doing a favor for my friend. But I have to say, it certainly was a pleasant surprise seeing you again." Junichi said, causing Hibiki to blush.

As they approached a fork in the road, Junichi started to turn. There was a moment of silence before Hibiki spoke again. "Um!" Junichi turned back to her as she continued to speak nervously. "Are..are you free now?" Junichi looked up at her. "no...not really. Why?" She hitched up her bag on her shoulder. "Do you...do you want to take a walk?" Junichi opened his mouth in shock, then closed it, smiled, and nodded.

"It seems we've been running into each other a lot recently." Junichi said nervously. Hibiki nodded back embarrassedly.

About a minute later they found themselves walking by a park. Junichi knew this park well. This was the park where he stood up two Christmases ago. He opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by the sound of a child crying. Hibiki heard this too and immediately headed over to the source of the sound. It didn't take long to find it. A few children were in a group with a swing set. A small boy was crying as he held his knee, a fresh scrape on it. Sighing, Hibiki looked over to Junichi. "I'll just be a minute, okay?" Junichi, a bit shocked, nodded. Taking a few steps over, Hibiki knelt down. "Well hello there. My name is Hibiki. What's your name?" The boy noticed her and responded through tears. "I'm...i'm Akira." Hibiki gave him a soft smile. "Well Akira, it looks like you had quite a spill there. Let me give you a hand." Reaching into her bag she produced some spray antiseptic and a bandage. "Now hold still, this might sting a bit." She said sweetly as cleaned the area, sprayed the wound and affixed a bandage. The boy did his best to act brave.

Finishing, she looked back at him. "You were very brave Akira. Try to be more careful now, okay?" The boy looked up at her and smiled. "Thanks miss!"

The group of kids then waved to her and headed out, away from the two. Hibiki waved until they were gone. Junichi couldn't help but smile. "You really have a wonderful bedside manner." Hearing this caused Hibiki to smile. "Thank you. You know, I actually want to be a doctor." Junichi looked at her surprised. "Wow! A doctor! Yeah! I could totally see you as a doctor. You'd be really good at it!" Brushing the stray hair away, Hibiki blushed. "Do...do you think so?" Junichi nodded emphatically. "For sure! I know "I" would go to you."

Hibiki stalled as she daydreamed for a moment. "Tachibana...as my...patient?" She then immediately shook her head. What was she thinking?

Fortunately Junichi cut her off. "I wish I knew what I wanted to do..." He said musingly. Hibiki chuckled. "Well, I could always use a good pharmacist." Junichi laughed in response. As silence then fell, he looked around the park, his eyes falling on the bench he had waited on two years ago, his expression becoming dour. Hibiki noticed this. "Are you all right Tachibana?"

Junichi turned his head as he put on a soft smile. "I'm fine. I just...I don't have the best memories of this park." A silence followed after this. Finally Hibiki broke it. "If you don't feel lie talking about it, that's all right." Junichi shook his head lightly in response. "No, it's fine. It's just...two years ago I had a girl I liked. I was supposed to wait for her here but... she never showed up." Hibiki looked down dejectedly. "Oh, i'm sorry Tachibana, I didn't know." Junichi smiled sadly. "No, it's alright. I understand now. The rejection I got from Morishima-senpai helped me understand. I...i'm just-" But Hibiki cut him off. "NO! It's not you!" Her loudness shocked even her. Realizing how loud she was, she dropped her volume quickly, embarrassed. "It's not you." She repeated softly. "T..thanks." he said quietly. Another silence followed.

"Hey." Hibiki spoke up again. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you. Why did you confess to Haruka? I mean, guys seem to do it a lot and I can't understand it. I mean... I kind of do, but it seems so strange that so many guys would." This question caught Junichi off guard. After the shock wore off, he crossed his arms, going deep into thought. "That's a good question. Honestly, looking back, it kind of feels like an infatuation more than love. I think it was her zeal for life. It was infectious. But looking back... I don't think it was love." He shook his head. "No, I'm sure it wasn't." He then turned back to Hibiki and rubbed his head, laughing nervously. "Sorry, I guess that wasn't much help." Hibiki shook her head. "No, it helped a lot." Standing up, Hibiki took a step to the railing that looked out over the edge of the park. A slight breeze blew through the air, blowing her hair. She used a free finger to move her hair out of her face gently. A twitch went through Junichi's chest. "Huh? What was-"

Meanwhile, the three eavesdroppers were hiding out of visual distance. "What are they saying Umehara?" Kaoru asked her friend. "I can't hear from that far away Kaoru!" Haruka's eyes were shimmering. "I just know it's something romantic." She said dreamily.

Back with Junichi and Hibiki, Hibiki turned back to him. "Right, well, I should probably be going." Junichi nodded, standing up. "Right. Me too."

Awkwardly, the two of them made their way towards the exit of the park. Hibiki taking one last look back at the view. This proved to be a bad call though, as she was so distracted, she didn't notice a protruding brick, causing her to trip. She let out a shocked sound as she tumbled into Junichi, who barely had time to turn around before she fell into him.

After the dust settled, Hibiki felt a warm sensation enveloping her. Opening her eyes she noticed she was perfectly fine as she was entrapped in Junichi's arms. Junichi let out a pained noise, laying flat on his back.

Slowly he opened his eyes. Once he did, he was shocked to see what he had done. In a flash he let go of her. "Ah! I'm sorry! It was instinctive! I-" Shaking herself out of the moment as well, Hibiki blushed a deep red, her eyes widened as she practically leapt off of him, landing a few feet away in the process. "No no! It was me! I'm sorry! Are you okay? You didn't fall on that spot on your head, did you?" Sitting up, Junichi shook his head. "No..no i'm fine. Are YOU okay?" Hibiki, still blushing, nodded. "I...I'm fine. Thank you. For...for catching me." Junichi scratched his chin with his pointer finger. "It...it was nothing."

A moment of embarrassed silence later, she spoke again. "Right, well, I'm off for real. I'll...I'll see you later Tachibana." And with that, she took off, leaving a stunned Junichi behind. As he watched her go, he found himself placing a hand on his heart. "Wha...what is this feeling?"

(Mid episode bumper)

Later that night, Hibiki found herself at home in the bath. She exhaled as she laid back. As she did, the memories of the past few days going through her head. "I say she's more like a princess" "you're cut-" her saving him, and the scene of him catching her all played in her head. As they did, she blushed deeply. A moment later she shook her head. "Hibiki, what are you thinking? Stop it now. Junichi is a nice guy. But..you.."

Luckily for her, her thoughts were interrupted as the phone rang. Quickly she dried herself off, put on a towel and grabbed the phone. "Hello, Tsukahara residence." "Ah! Hibiki! How are you?" Haruka's voice greeted her. Hibiki smiled. "I'm fine. I was just taking a bath." "eee! Sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt!" Hibiki chuckled. "It's fine. So what's up?" "I just wanted to see how you were doing! More importantly, did anything interesting happen today?" Hibiki blushed in response. "I... not...not really." "ehhh?" Haruka said incredulously. "That didn't sound like anything. Tell me!" "It was nothing really." Hibiki, still blushing, but grumpily. "It's just... I ran into Tachibana today after school again." "eee? Really? Wow! That's amazing! What happened?" "Nothing!" Hibiki responded quickly. "We just... we talked."

A silence filled the air for a moment. "Hey..Haruka. I have a question." "Okay! What is it?" "Um...what..what do you think of...Tachibana?" "Hm? Junichi? Hm...well, he's definitely funny. He's kind of cute and he's obviously dependable. Why do you ask?" "Um... I mean... he confessed to you, right? Don't you-?" Haruka cut her off. "Hibiki. Is this really about what "I" think about Junichi?"

Hibiki immediately blushed a deep crimson. "I...I..." Haruka grinned on the other side of the call. "If you're worried about me, don't be. I have no romantic attachments to Junichi at all. He is not my type. That's why I turned him down. However, now that I answered your question, it's my turn. What do YOU think of Junichi?"

Hibiki began to panic inside. Why? Why was this bothering her so much? "I..I.." Fortunately, Haruka cut her off. "You like him, don't you?" Hibiki almost dropped the phone as her eyes went wide.

Those simple words. It all made sense. Why did she feel so strange around him? Why was she happy whenever he was around? Somewhere along the lines...she had fallen for him. "I...yes." She said barely audibly. The next moment the phone nearly exploded with sound on the other end. "YES! OH MY GOD! I KNEW IT! HIBIKI IT'S SO ROMANTIC AND-" Hibiki had to put the phone a good foot away from her head so as not to lose her hearing. Frantically she spoke up. "Hey! Haruka calm down! I..." "But you like him! Oh my goodness! That's so romantic!" "Haruka! Stop!" She said probably more forcibally than she meant to. Haruka did stop at this. "I...i'm sorry Hibiki." Hibiki shook her head. "no, it's fine. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound like that."

A moment of silence passed before Haruka spoke again. "So...what's your next move?" "What...what do you mean my next move?" "Well? Are you going to tell him? Get him to tell you? Oh! I'm so excited!" Hibiki was blushing immensely as she put a hand to her head. "I knew it was a mistake to tell you." "No no! I'm so glad you did!"

Another silence fell for a moment before Hibiki spoke again. "Haruka. Um...what...what do you think I should do?" "Hm? Well, if it were me, I'd probably tease him for a while." "You're terrible" Hibiki said with a smile. "Well that's what I would do. You? Well, the prince normally is the one who says how they feel, right?"

Hibiki's face turned to a somewhat shocked expression. "Mm.. right." "Well! There's your answer right there! Good luck Hibiki!" And with that, Haruka hung up.

Standing there, still holding her towel with one hand, she put the phone back on the cradle. She then smiled sadly. "The prince, huh?" She said to seemingly no one.

"Hm? A movie?" Junichi asked, confused as Hibiki was producing two tickets. "Yeah, I had planned to go to the movies with Haruka, but she told me that she had no interest in seeing this film. I asked around the swim team and no one wanted to see it either. I can't get a refund, so I was wondering if you weren't busy..." Hibiki nervously fidgeted.

"Wait a second" Junichi thought to himself. "Is...is Tsukahara senpai asking me out? No. No, you were her last resort after everyone else bailed on her. It's a scary movie so it makes sense that she doesn't want to go alone. And I have been meaning to see that film anyway..."

Junichi smiled. "Sure. I'd love to go." Hibiki's eyes smiled as she heard this, but quickly reverted, coughing into her hand. "Well, that's...that's great then. I'll see you at the movie theater at 6." Junichi nodded as Hibiki walked away. As soon as she turned the corner and out of his vision, she put a hand to her chest and breathed a deep sigh of relief. "So, I don't want to see the movie, eh?" Haruka's voice broke through.

Hibiki tensed up as she turned her head to see her friends with a smirk on her face. "Sorry Haruka. But It seemed like the most obvious choice. I just..." she blushed. Haruka couldn't take it anymore and grabbed Hibiki in a hug "I just can't take it! You're so cute!" "Eh! Haruka!" Hibiki protested as Haruka nuzzled her. The other students simply looked confused.

"Hm? What do you mean you'll be out tonight?" Miya asked her brother, meat bun in hand. "Just what I said, I'm going out tonight to see a movie. I'll be home around 9. Eat whatever you want. Just try not to kill yourself with meat buns. "Ee hee hee" Miya laughed her usual laugh. "That would never happen! I am the mistress of meat buns!" "Yeah yeah" Junichi responded as he stepped out of the room. "Well, I'm off." "Bye!" Miya said, already having lost interest, going back to her manga.

The walk to the movie theater was quiet and uneventful as he slowly made his way there. Finally reaching the front, he scanned the area as he looked for Hibiki. As he didn't see her, he took a seat. A few minutes went by as he continued to look for her, his eyes scanning the area. Every minute caused him more apprehension as he waited. "Is she not coming? Did she forget? Did-" But this caught me off as He heard the sound of approaching footsteps. "Hi! Tachibana! I'm sorry I'm a little late! You haven't been waiting long have you?" Junichi shook his head as he put on a relieved sigh. "No, it's only been a few minutes." Hibiki smiled. "I'm glad. I have the tickets. Should we go in?" Junichi nodded with a smile. "Of course senpai wouldn't do that. She's not the kind of person who would." He thought to himself as they walked into the theater.

"Well you handled the tickets, i think it's only fair that I get snacks. Let me know what you'd like." Junichi said smiling. Hibiki, slightly embarrassed, blushed. "Okay. But I don't really-" She cut herself off as she shook her head. "If..it isn't too much trouble, a drink would be nice." "coming right up." Hibiki fought back a smile.

After Junichi bought the snacks they found a pair of seats relatively close to the back. They seemed to have just made it as the light began to darken as they sat down. "Hooh~. Just made it." Junichi said relieved as the movie began.

During the beginning, Hibiki chanced a few glances at Junichi who was watching the trailers intently. As soon as Hibiki turned away though, he glanced over at her. "I'm seriously at the movies with Tsukahara senpai! This is so amazing! Wait. Calm down Junichi. She just took you as a friend. Besides, it's a horror movie. It's not like it's a romance or something. You're looking way too deeply into this. Don't do this to yourself. You're just going to get your heart broken again."

Hibiki noticed the determined look on his face as he was battling with himself and readjusted her eyes to the screen, somewhat disappointed.

About thirty minutes later, the movie was starting to get to the scarier parts. A few things had happened but nothing terrifying yet. Hibiki sat there cradling her drink. "Tachibana hasn't said anything in a while. Is he not enjoying himself? Of course he wouldn't..." She thought to herself sadly.

It was at that moment that a jump scare appeared on screen, causing Hibiki to scream and fling herself into Junichi's chest, who, shocked, dropped his snacks. A moment passed and Hibiki realized what she had done, and immediately sat up. "S-SORRY!" A shocked Junichi suddenly stood up straight. "I have to go to the bathroom. Be back." And robotically, he walked out of the theater.

A dejected Hibiki sat in her chair as she solemnly played with her straw. "I knew it. I can't be- I thought maybe with him I could...but..." she slapped her face with both her hands. "If that's the way I have to be, then I'll do it."

A hot and bothered Junichi splashed his face at the sink in the bathroom. "Thank god I managed to make it out of there." He flashbacked to Hibiki freaking out and holding him. "Ah...I can't get over how cute scared senpai was! I can't believe she could be that cute..." he shook his head. "All right Junichi, get back in there and be her protector. You can do this!"

A minute later, Junichi walked back into the theater and sat back next to Hibiki. However, this time, he felt an entirely different aura coming off of her. Her demeanor had changed completely. Now she was looking at the screen with intensity, her face hardened. "You okay Tsukahara senpai?" He asked her confused. She nodded curtly. "I'm fine." Junichi smiled nervously. "Oh, that's good." The rest of the movie went by in silence.

The film ended. Several scenes of horror and gore had gone by, but Hibiki had managed to keep her mask for the rest of the film all the way through to the end. Junichi got up to stretch. "Whoo. That was pretty good, wasn't it?" Hibiki nodded. "It was. Thank you for accompanying me Tachibana. It made it more enjoyable."

"It was my pleasure." They soon found themselves outside of the theater as they exchanged a few more words. "Oh man, she's pissed at me isn't she? Probably from putting my arms around her when she was scared. She probably thought I was taking advantage or something. I should probably try to smooth that over." Junichi thought to himself.

"So um" he started to talk. "I just wanted to say, I'm sorry about what happened before." Hibiki's ears perked up at this. "I..I know you don't need someone to protect you. It was instinctive. I won't do that again." Hibiki stopped as, shocked, she turned her head. "No, it's all right. I...I simply had a moment. Thank you Tachibana." Junichi smiled. "No, it's fine. I will admit I was a little shocked, but that doesn't change my opinion of you senpai. You're really cool." He stopped for a moment before starting again. "You know, I can actually see why Morishima Senpai said you remind her of a prince." Hearing this caused Hibiki's eyes to sting as she fought with all her might to hold back tears. She gave him a slight bow. "Thank you. I will see you at school." And with that, she quickly turned and began to walk at a fast pace away from him, leaving him alone and confused.

As she was walking her eyes burned more and more. "Why? Why does this hurt so much? Why? Why can't..." Having turned a corner, she eventually couldn't hold it in anymore and tears began to fall down her face. Trying to continue walking proved impossible so she stopped and leaned on a wall for support, tears now falling down her face in earnest. "I...I don't..." She couldn't even get the words out as she slowly collapsed to her knees and continued sobbing, as the camera faded to black.

End of episode.