Rain (Released November 11, 2007)[]
In a flashback to just prior to the end of the previous episode, Kyosuke barges in on his friend Hiro at his apartment, where he quickly discovers that Hiro is a professional manga artist. Hiro begs him to keep it a secret. Kyosuke agrees on one condition: Hiro must introduce him to Kei Shindou. Hiro reluctantly conceeds and he phones Kei to come to his apartment.
The scene then jumps to the present, where Kei has just finished giving Hiro and Kyosuke a smackdown for teasing her with Kyosuke's insincere proposal that they 'go out' together. (Kyosuke whispers to Hiro that he usually has better luck doing the gambit whenever he tries to recruit actresses, implying that he's done this before.) Kyosuke admits that he actually only wants her to be the star in a film he is making for the upcoming film festival. (He has no romantic interest in her at this point.) He shows Kei some of his material on the DVD player by way of explanation, which bores her. Kei tells him that she has no acting skills, but Kyosuke explains that she doesn't need to do any acting: He will follow her around to capture her life and feelings on film. He explains that the film is intended to be neither a documentary nor a drama, and that he wants to 'see what I can create' from the footage using his artistic gifts as a filmmaker.
Hiro objects, explaining that a creative artist must always have a vision first. Kyosuke replies that will come later. Hiro says that great art always requires forethought and planning. The pair of artisans then get into a protracted professional argument with each other. (They are both right: A mangaka must plan out everything in advance on paper, but a filmmaker can sometimes take advantage of unexpected events or actors' improvisations.) Kei interrupts the argument with her indecision on whether or not to be cast in Kyosuke's film.
As Hiro walks Kei home, she switches to dere mode. She shyly asks Hiro if her always taking care of him (waking him up for school, cleaning his apartment, as so on) is becoming a nuisance to him. Hiro says no and that he appreciates it. He then points out they aren't children anymore. Kei becomes wistful and replies this is true.
At that moment Kei receives a text message from Chihiro, who is gushing about Renji. Kei realizes that Chihiro might have finally found someone, and so Kei comes to a private decision. She invites Hiro to watch her play in the big basketball game on Sunday and coyly adds, "I have something important to tell you." Hiro asks her what, but she only winks and says it's a secret.
The next day, Renji meets Yuu Himura at the church. Himura explains that writing is a means of survival for Chihiro, for it is the only means by which she can connect Yesterday's Chihiro to Today's Chihiro. A novelist conveys images and ideas to the reader, much like what Chihiro does for herself. Renji wonders how Chihiro had become such a good writer, given her disability (a fair question). Himura speculates that she might just be naturally gifted, or perhaps her writing ability has somehow impressed itself on her by some other mechanism, or maybe it is just her sheer willpower in her desire to write. Himura again urges Renji to not get involved with Chihiro.
Chihiro narrates the first chapter of her novel to Renji. She mentions that she has a hard time visualizing the library in the story because she's never seen one before. Renji points out that his school has a library, and he offers to take her to school and show it to her. He explains that she needs to see pictures and other resources anyway to give her more material to work with. Chihiro agrees to go.
Meanwhile, Kei has an intense confrontation with Miyako, where they they square off against each other on opposite sides of a railway crossing like a pair of gunfighters at the OK Corral. At first Miyako (who has dropped her genki-girl act) has the upper hand. She smugly grins at Kei and taunts her about their previous meeting. Kei stays on track this time, and she explains to Miyako about Hiro's past and how she was Hiro's first childhood friend (he had none previously), and that it was she who had originally turned Hiro on to writing shōjo manga - the first thing had ever became really passionate about. Miyako tries to deflect Kei but fails. Kei explains that you cannot just sit back and watch a passionate artist like Hiro - you have to get directly involved yourself, which Kei does by taking care of his daily needs so he can concentrate on his art. Miyako tries to deflect Kei again and fails. Kei declares that, yes, she was not being honest with herself yesterday. And then - just a train roars between them - Kei loudly proclaims that she is in love with Hiro, always has been, and always will be. (Miyako cannot hear Kei's confession, but she doesn't have to.) Miyako tries to act dumb but Kei is no longer fooled. Kei defiantly declares that she will never let Miyako have him and yells, "I will make you disappear from his heart!"
In her sincere declaration, Kei has unwittingly scored a direct bull's-eye. A second train roars by in the other direction as Miyako reels backwards from Kei's declaration, for in her mind Kei has just made a very mortal threat against her. To disappear from Hiro's heart? Miyako's phobia about being abandoned or forgotten is triggered, as her appearance is drained of all its color, then fades away.
At home Renji asks his mother, Sumire, where he can get a girl's Otobane Academy uniform for Chihiro so he can sneak her in to the school. Sumire sends Renji and Chihiro over to her neighbor, Kuze Shuichi, to get one in a funny scene (see below).
Miyako meets up with Hiro on the school rooftop for lunch and invites him to hang out with her on Sunday. He declines, explaining that he intends to catch up on his sleep that day. Miyako calls him a liar. She correctly guessed that he was actually planning to see Kei that day. Hiro protests he's not lying and that he simply forgot, and it was only to watch Kei's basketball game, and it wasn't a promise anyway. Miyako uses this as a wedge, and she skillfully coerces him into going out on a date with her instead. (The scene shows how Hiro is unable to turn down either Kei or Miyako whenever he is pressed.)
On Sunday, Kei injures her right knee at the basketball match. Kyosuke (who is now filming Kei) texts Hiro about it, and he skips his date with Miyako and instead goes to the nurse's office in order to make sure that Kei is all right. Hiro carries her home on his back and they banter back and forth. Kei notices that Hiro is dressed up as if for a date, and he admits he stood up Miyako because Kei needed him. As he carries Kei home, he notes that he must have dropped his cell phone somewhere along the way. Hiro asks her about 'the important thing' that Kei wanted to tell him, but she rests her head on his back and decides not to confess her feelings until a more appropriate time.
In a flashback to the previous day, Renji sneaks Chihiro into the school. They enter the library together, where Chihiro joyfully twirls in the bookstacks as she marvels at seeing so many books. She thanks Renji for the experience, and they grow closer together.
Kuze's Cosplay Closet[]
Kuze Shuichi - a notorious womanizer - keeps several styles of women's uniforms hidden in a closet in his townhome: Schoolgirl, policewoman, nurse, etc. He likes to see his adult girlfriends wear them.
In a funny scene, Kuze tells Renji that his mother, Sumire, enjoys modeling the cosplay outfits for him. He says the policewoman outfit is his favorite. This freaks out Renji, and Chihiro doesn't understand what is going on.
After the End Credits[]
Hiro's cellphone is shown laying open on his drawing desk where he had left it. It has 99 unread voicemail messages on it (the maximum). This becomes a major plot point later on.