Atarashii Prelude

True Tears – 07

This image sums up what I think of this week's episode.

Now excited troubled with the possibility that he and Hiromi may somehow be related, Shin'ichiro contemplates over whether or not to give up entirely, though realizing that he was going to do so regardless. He broods over it at school, to the extent of turning down Noe's lunch. Fully aware that Hiromi was the cause of it all, Noe approaches the latter with bento in hand, and tells her to eats it. What? Nevertheless, Hiromi complies, although the situation quickly turns ugly when Noe demands that she apologize to Shin for holding him back.

Shin'ichiro who was passing by, puts a stop to their argument and questions Noe about it. She frankly lets known that it aches her to see him worry so much and all she wants was to understand him better. The usually clueless Shin is hit with the realization that Noe may actually like him, in a romantic way. Noe is left speechless and embarrassed when he points that out right in her face, as it was right on the mark. Tee hee.

Later in the evening, Shin is approached by Number 4 once again, who reminds him to keep his end of the bargain by going out with Noe, and being the player that he is, Jun tells Shin'ichiro outright that if he fails to do so, Hiromi's gonna get dumped. Ouch. Elsewhere, Ai receives an SMS from Nobuse who asks her to meet him at the shrine. Man, it really sucks to be the male lead's best friend, as the girl they usually like ends up favoring the hero instead. You really have to feel bad for Nobuse, who despite being owned last week, remains delusional as he pathetically attempts to save his non-existent relationship with Aiko ｡･ﾟ･(ﾉД`)･ﾟ･｡

Oh well, enough of that loser. Back home, Jun finds that his sister kneeling by the window who tells Number 4 that she is feeling horny has changed and is feeling hot in several parts of her body, as she is now too embarrassed to face Shin'ichiro. He offers to put her fire out tenderly tells her that change is fine and in fact essential for people. Doing something right as a male lead for once, Shin'ichiro concludes that he may actually like Noe, and takes the initiative to confess to her. Watching Noe getting all flustered as she swings between her tsun-tsun and dere-dere side was such an enjoyable experience. Shin finally manages to ask her out, and being the eccentric person that she is, Noe tells him to put it in writing. He literally spells it out by arranging some rocks and a pair of mittens that read "I Love Noe" So cute! ( ´∀`) She expresses her joy, so much so, that she felt like shedding tears, which made it clear to Shin'ichiro that Noe really likes him.

For some reason or another, Shin decides to head over Ai's restaurant and to tell her that he had just confessed to Noe. No "You Got Owned" expression by Aiko(although it's funny how she was so sure Noe wasn't his type), but she instead grabbed Shin'ichiro and kissed him, revealing her true feelings. If this was an eroge, the pair would have proceeded to copulate like rabbits, but in true True Tears fashion, we're left with a cliffhanger instead. ヽ(｀０´）ノ

Well, that was interesting. Aiko puts herself back in the race for Shinichiro's heart with that unexpected smooch, despite Noe leading at the moment. You can bet this will add more stress on our hero now, as you'd think he would have let off a huge burden by putting Hiromi aside(for now) and going for Noe. Then again, I don't think Aiko has a chance in hell, but it's pretty obvious that she's not going down without a fight. Commendable! Next episode sees Hiromi confronting Shin's mom yet again, as it looks she's properly going out with Number 4, so yeah, more drama and perhaps some lulz. Shin out.