Page 7
Panel 1
Haruka looks at Koinu, who wears his school uniform and carries his backpack.
Koinu: I’m going!
Haruka: You’re going? I’m just putting out breakfast.
Koinu: Gotta run. I promised I’d swing by and pick up Higurashi. I grabbed a cream pain.
Panel 2
Koinu looks in surprise at Yoshi, who is in shirt sleeves, tying his necktie.
Yoshi: I take it this Higurashi is a female person.
Koinu: Wow. You’re coming to breakfast in shirtsleeves? Dad, are you OK?
Yoshi: Just running a little late this morning.
Koinu: That’s weird.
Panel 3
Close-up of Haruka.
Haruka: Koinu-chan? This Higurashi is a girl? Do we know her?
Panel 4
Yoshi sits down to breakfast. Koinu looks to the side, avoiding the issue.
Koinu: Higurashi! You know who she is. She’s that girl who was sick a lot in middle school. We’ve gone out before.
Yoshi: …It’s just that they’ve decided to go out together, at the same time ...
Panel 3
View of Haruka and Koinu, who is rolling his eyes.
Haruka: You’re going out with a sick girl? You’ve never been sick a day in your life!
Koinu: Mom, she’s fine! She’s a cute girl! She’s in my class!
Haruka: What’s her given name? Doesn’t she have a name?
Panel 4
Koinu kisses his mother on the cheek. She reacts in shock.
Koinu: It’s Kagome. Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad. See you later.
Panel 5
Koinu dashes out the door as Haruka reacts.
Koinu: Kagome?!
Panel 6
Yoshi and Haruka face each other, looking stunned.
Haruka: No . . . I thought we had made it through this . . .
Yoshi: Maybe it’s all right. Maybe it’s a coincidence.
Panel 7
Close-up of Haruka.
Haruka: Is it? How many girls do you know named Kagome? How many girls have you ever known in your entire life named Kagome?
Panel 8
View of Yoshi and Haruka; they are devastated.
Haruka: Just when I thought we were free of Musashi’s Domain . . .
Yoshi: He’s a teenager. He’s being difficult.
Haruka: He’s my baby, my only baby. I thought he was all right! I don’t want this. Not now . . .
Page 8
Panel 1
Long view of Kagome, in her high school uniform, sitting on the steps of the shrine.
Panel 2
Closer view. Kagome has her head down and looks exhausted.
Panel 3
Close-up of Koinu. He has just seen her, and looks happy.
Panel 4
Close-up of the midportion of Kagome’s body and her legs. We can see how terribly thin she is—anorexic is an appropriate word.
Panel 5
Close-up of Kagome’s face. She has her eyes closed; there are dark circles under her eyes, and her cheeks are sunken.
Panel 6
Close-up of Koinu reacting to the sight of Kagome: he now looks terribly sad.
Panel 7
Close-up of Kagome, reacting happily at the sight of Koinu, although she looks terribly drawn and exhausted.
Panel 8
Close-up of Koinu. He has a wide smile, but his eyes look concerned.
Panel 9
View of the two. Both are smiling, and Kagome has her hand on Koinu’s arm.
Koinu: Hey, you’re waiting! Am I late?
Kagome: Hiding out from my mom. She keeps trying to shovel breakfast into me.
Koinu: I know that one! You did eat something, right?
Panel 10
Kagome has wrapped her arms around his neck, and they are a millimeter away from a kiss.
Kagome: Do I get a kiss good morning, too?
Koinu: Mm-hmm. You had something to eat though, right?
Panel 11
The two walk side by side, Koinu holding Kagome’s backpack. She looks up at him, smiling; he looks dubious.
Kagome: You’ll carry my backpack like you promised . . .
Koinu: Yep. I’ll carry you if I have to. So, did you end up having any breakfast?
Kagome: I don’t usually eat anything in the morning.
Page 9
Panel 1
Close-up of Koinu, in school, looking toward the front of the room. The voice of the teacher drones over the following couple of pages.
Teacher: If you’ll open your text, class, to page one hundred seventy two . . .
Panel 2
Close-up of Kagome. She looks bleary-eyed and holds her head in one hand, propping her elbow with the other hand.
Panel 3
Close-up of Koinu, who has noticed her.
Panel 4
Close-up of Kagome, with her head down on her desk.
Panel 5
Four across: Koinu looks toward Kagome, at the other end of the row with her head down. In the desk next to Koinu, Chigusa turns to look at him. Next to her, Mitaka stares forward, absently pushing a pencil into his right nostril.
Teacher: there is an excellent map of the Trans-Siberian Railway as of
Koinu: Psst! Kagome! Kagome! Are you OK?
Panel 6
Four across: Koinu is fully turned to look across the row. Chigusa turns to shush him. Mitaka stares into space as he sticks a second pencil into his left nostril. Kagome has her head down.
Teacher: nineteen sixteen, which is the green lines in your book and which corresponds...
Koinu: Hey, Kagome! Are you OK? Chigusa, tell Mitaka to ask Higurashi if she’s OK.
Chigusa: Shhhh . . . Koinu-kun . . .
Panel 7
Four across: Koinu is fully turned to look across the row. Chigusa looks forward as she shushes him. Mitaka, pencils in his nostrils, has just realized Koinu is talking to him. Kagome has her head down.
Teacher: to the red line of this map on the board, which may be rather difficult for you to see.
Koinu: Psst . . . Hey, Mitaka! Mitaka! Hey! Hey, Mitaka! Is Higurashi OK?
Chigusa: Koinu-kun, you’re going to get us all in trouble!
Mitaka: Huh?
Page 10
Panel 1
Four across: Koinu is fully turned to look across the row. Chigusa turns to talk to Mitaka. Mitaka, pencils still in his nostrils, turns to look at Kagome. Kagome has her head down.
Teacher: …although the maps on page one hundred eighty four may give a somewhat. . .
Koinu: Is Higurashi OK?
Chigusa: He wants to know if Kagome’s OK.
Mitaka: . . .
Panel 2
Four across: Koinu is fully turned to look across the row. Chigusa looks to the front. Mitaka, pencils still in his nostrils, turns back to report to Koinu. Kagome has her head down.
Teacher: with the superimposed stippled areas that I think give an excellent overview of the changes in coal production . . .
Mitaka: She’s got her head down on the desk!
Panel 3
Four across: Koinu is fully turned to look across the row. Chigusa looks sideways at Koinu. Mitaka, pencils still in his nostrils, looks forward. Kagome has her head down.
Teacher: following the overthrow of the tsarist regime with the establishment of the first provisional government
Koinu: I know she’s got her head down, dork! That’s why I want to know if she’s OK! Oh, for . . . never mind.
Panel 4
View from below the desks. Koinu is down on his hands and knees, heading for Kagome’s desk. The others are legs, the girls in loose socks, all wearing school slippers.
Teacher: culminating, of course, in November nineteen seventeen with the October Revolution.
Koinu: Mitaka, cover me, willya?
Mitaka: I can’t, man. I’ve got my pencils in my nose.
Page 11
Panel 1
Kagome looks down to see Koinu peering up at her over the edge of her desk.
Teacher: It is impossible to stress too much the implications of this change in coal production given the ongoing . . .
Koinu: Kagome, are you OK?
Kagome: Inuyasha, what are you doing? You’ll get us in trouble!
Koinu: You had your head down! You’re sick!
Panel 2
View of the two.
Kagome: I’m fine! Get back to your seat before Nishida sees you!
Koinu: You didn’t eat anything this morning, did you?
Panel 3
Same view; the discussion is heating up.
Kagome: I’m Ok!
Koinu: No, you’re not! You’re dead white. And you had your head down!
Panel 4
View of the classroom. All of the other students turn to look as Kagome is standing up, yelling down at Koinu, who is losing his balance.
Kagome: Will you please shut up and get back in your seat?
Panel 5
The teacher, Nishida, towers over Kagome and Koinu (still on the floor). Kagome looks unhappy, Koinu is simply incredulous.
Nishida: Houjou, Higurashi—out in the hall.
Koinu: Out in the hall? Me?
Nishida: Your name is Houjou, isn’t it?
Panel 6
View of the two going through the door to the hallway, as class continues inside the room. Kagome looks annoyed, Koinu is dumbfounded..
Koinu: I’m getting kicked out in the hall. I’ve never been sent to the hall before in my life!
Kagome: You’re kidding.
Panel 7
View of the two standing in the hallway. Koinu is still wide-eyed with shock. Kagome looks at him as though he were covered with poison snakes.
Koinu: No. I never get punished. I never do anything bad. I think I used up my id in my previous life. I mean, I’ve been sent to the school psychologist a few times. But never the hall.
Page 12
Panel 1
Koinu is wide-eyed and he has a big, goofy grin Throughout this page, Kagome looks up at him with expressions ranging from unmitigated horror to mitigated horror. This panel is unmitigated.
Koinu: THIS IS SO COOL! I get to stand in the hall! I finally get to stand in the hall! I’m not just the weenie good kid anymore!
Panel 2
Koinu looks down at Kagome, wide-eyed.
Koinu: This is great! What are we supposed to do?
Kagome: Um . . . just stand here.
Panel 3
View of the two. Koinu is cheerful, Kagome serious.
Koinu: Just stand here? That’s it? That’s easy! I could stand here with Kagome all day!
Kagome: I don’t think we’re supposed to talk.
Panel 4
View of the two. Koinu is giving Kagome a blank look.
Koinu: We’re not supposed to talk? We’re standing in an empty hallway with nothing else to do! Of course we’re going to talk!
Kagome: We’re supposed to stand here quietly and think about how sorry we are for what we did.
Panel 5
Same view.
Koinu: . . .
Panel 6
Same view.
Koinu: What did we do?
Kagome: You crawled under my desk and we were talking.
Panel 7
Closeup of the two; Koinu looks uncertain.
Koinu: I was taking care of you! I can’t feel sorry about that.
Kagome: We were yelling.
Panel 8
The two face each other. Koinu looks earnest.
Koinu: So we were yelling! That’s how we talk! That’s not bad. That’s just loud. I’ve done much worse things than that in this life.
Panel 9
Closeup of Koinu, who has crossed his arms stubbornly.
Koinu: Well, I’ll stand here, but they’re not going to get me to feel sorry.