Originally Written by Pat Conley
Amended by Joe Zubkavich
jzubkavi@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca
Kyosuke Kasuga has just moved to the new neighborhood, and he's counting some nearby steps. At the top he sees a bright orange UFO, but it turns out to be a "red straw hat" which he catches. He then meets Madoka Ayukawa, a beautiful and mysterious girl, and they argue about whether there are 100 or 99 steps. They finally agree on 99.5 and she gives him the hat whimsically, telling him it looks better on him anyway.
Kyosuke goes home and walks into the middle of a fight between his sisters, Kurumi and Manami. Kyosuke reprimands Kurumi for using her powers openly-- their ESP abilities must remain a secret, or else the family will have to move again. This is the reason why the family has just moved here-- At the last school, Kurumi had used her powers to enable her to run the 100 meter dash at an incredible speed.
At school, he "experiences" Hikaru-chan, who's gotten a ride to school on a motorcycle from an unreliable "yatsu" character. Later he meets Komatsu and Hatta, two perverts, who are happy to befriend the brother of those two cute new girls (his sisters). Hikaru and Ayukawa must fight off an attack by friends of the boy Hikaru insulted. While Kyosuke and his sisters are watching, Madoka pushes the last "yatsu" into a convenient canal, then Madoka tries to smoke. Kyosuke, seizing the moral high ground, stops her, saying, "If you smoke from now on, you won't be able to have healthy babies". Ayukawa begins a long standing tradition by slapping him silly.
In the end, Kyosuke holds the hat she gave him and nurses his face to stock "Ayukawa saxophone" music closes the episode.
Kyosuke has an intricate fantasy about being with Ayukawa by the seaside in yellow tint, but ends up kissing Jingoro's backside. In the hallway at school, as he's hurrying to class, he sees Ayukawa and prepares to be insulted, but she says, "It's okay. The teacher's not there yet." Ah-ha, Kyosuke thinks, Ayukawa is cute after all. Later, Kyosuke makes a fool of himself by clapping stupidly for Ayukawa when she gets off the balance beam. He then misses the winning basket in the basketball game they were playing, because he wouldn't let himself use his powers. After the game, however, when he thinks he is alone in the gym, he throws the ball, manipulating it with his powers, and makes it in the basket, not knowing that Hikaru is watching him. She is much impressed with his prowess. Afterward, running in the halls after Komatsu and Hatta, he runs into Hikaru, knocking her down. She's happy to oblige this great athlete, especially since she thinks he kissed her as they went down. Kyosuke gets in big trouble, however, for such shenanigans. Ayukawa enters the principal's office while Kyosuke is getting bawled out, hears what happened, and assists him by sending a flower into an offending sensei's face, even though she doesn't know what to make of what she's hearing.
Returning to his homeroom, he finds Ayukawa waiting there to return his bag to him. Hikaru-chan giggles about her newfound "darling."
Komatsu and Hatta drag Kyosuke off to their favorite eating establishment (across the walk from an aerobics center) and give him tickets to Disco Mobius to give to the twins for them. Kyosuke is adamant about not letting his sisters into such a place, but Kurumi finds and steals one ticket anyway.
Looking for her inside the disco, Kyosuke meets up with Hikaru-chan and must dance with her. During "cheek-time," Ayukawa sees them, and dances with someone else.
Hikaru and Kyosuke make a date for the next day, but Kyosuke, arriving early, decides to rent a rowboat and row around the lake. He meets up with Ayukawa, who's just fought off an attack from some nondescript jerks, and they have their "rowing first date" together. When a child falls in the water, Madoka prepares to go save him, but Kyosuke does it instead, winning the gratitude of the child's mother and impressing Ayukawa. Sitting in a restaurant talking, Madoka mentions that today was "like a date or something." Kyosuke remembers his missed date with Hikaru and blurts it out, ruining the mood with Ayukawa. She gets up to leave and tells him, "Wash it before you return it," referring to the jacket she loaned him.
Returning to where he was supposed to meet Hikaru-chan, he finds written, "Kyosuke no baka!" which of course means "Stupid Kyosuke!" Kyosuke ends the episode with a cold.
Kyosuke, sick at home due to events of the last episode, lies to Hikaru about why he missed their date.
The two are served tea while sitting on Kyosuke's bed by his sisters, and Manami remarks, "Finally he's brought home a girl."
The next day at school, Kyosuke finds that everyone thinks that he and Hikaru did C, i.e. went all the way, when all they did was sit on his bed and talk (the Japanese system of "bases" goes A-B-C, where as Americans go first base, second base, etc., with regards to how far you've gone with a person of the opposite sex). The rumors are started by Kurumi and made worse by telling them to Komatsu and Hatta, and then, the rest of the school. Everyone's upset at Kyosuke, even Ayukawa, and Hikaru's bouncing off the walls with happiness doesn't help make Ayukawa think that nothing happened between the two of them.
Later, Hikaru-chan corners him and climbs all over him with happiness, with everyone in the school sees watching. Embarrassed and sick, Kyosuke collapses. At home, his sisters take care of him. Kyosuke keeps trying to call Ayukawa to tell her the truth, but she only says, "I'm really busy right now", when she finally answers the phone. Alone, Ayukawa says to her teddy bear, "We hate people who make excuses, don't we?"
Back at school, Hikaru tells Kyosuke about how close she and Ayukawa have been, since kids, and about an episode where Ayukawa saved her from a bully. Meanwhile, in a movie, Ayukawa gets accosted by more nondescript jerks which seem to pervade in this show, and Kyosuke tries to help by levitating a bulldozer at the offenders. He drops it, though, because his illness is interfering with his ESP abilities, but succeeds in covering the jerks with tar. In the end, he's able to convince Ayukawa that he and Hikaru didn't do anything.
Kyosuke's family is going to Hokkaido for a vacation, but Kyosuke, upset by recent news from Hikaru-chan that Ayukawa's been acting strangely, decides not to go. Hikaru has seen Ayukawa walking somewhere with a man she doesn't recognize.
Deciding that the only thing to do is to follow Ayukawa around, he goes to her house, and follows her from bus to bus, eventually meeting up with her in a "ki-saten," or coffee shop, called Abcb(pronounced Abakabu). She's working part-time, something Japanese high-schoolers are not supposed to do, and is surprised to see Kyosuke. She and the Master (the Master of the pub, a name taken from the British) rationalize for a few minutes about why it's okay for her to work when she's not supposed to be in school. "Won't you help out?" she asks, and of course Kyosuke (who has nothing better to do at all, with his family in Hokkaido) agrees. When Komatsu and Hatta come into the coffee shop, Kyosuke and Ayukawa get scared-- they know those two are the biggest gossips in the school, and their "secret" would be known by everyone in no time if they're seen. Kyosuke uses his powers to increase the prices on the menu from 500 yen to 50,000 yen, facilitating a rapid exit by the two perverts. There are a couple of scenes following this which show the two of them working hard together.
After enjoying a drink with the Master and closing the store, Kyosuke and Ayukawa sit and talk. "Do you really like her? I mean Hikaru," Ayukawa says, then gets embarrassed and says never mind. Afterward, they wait for the bus at the bus stop. Unfortunately, the last bus has already gone-- Ayukawa can't get home. Ayukawa collapses from exhaustion against Kyosuke and says, "Can I stay at your place tonight?" Kyosuke's in shock over what she's just said, but just then Hikaru pulls up to take Madoka home. Hikaru says that she knew about Ayukawa's job because Ayukawa told her.
Someone is following Kyosuke to school. It turns out to be Hino Yuhsaku, a young martial arts stud who predicts bad things for Kyosuke's health if he doesn't leave "that girl" alone. Kyosuke thinks he means Madoka.
Kyosuke is helping Hikaru study for the end-of-term finals, but at the same time is getting help from Ayukawa at Abcb. He doesn't want either to know that he's studying with the other. On top of this, all the extra teleportation he's been engaging in (to get from place to place quickly)is sapping his strength.
Seeing how closely Ayukawa and this new boy, Yuhsaku, talk together when they do so in his presence, Kyosuke still thinks Yuhsaku must like Madoka. "Do you know him?" she asks Kyosuke, who evades. She then explains that she, Hikaru and Yuhsaku have been friends since they were children. They even used to take baths together, a point which Kyosuke isn't too thrilled to hear.
Kyosuke sees Yuhsaku and Ayukawa talking from afar, and then Ayukawa appears near Kyosuke and says, "He really likes her." Ayukawa explains to Kyosuke that Yuhsaku has always liked Hikaru.
Later, in Abcb, Kyosuke tries to keep Hikaru from finding out that he was also studying with Madoka. Ayukawa's made him extra study materials, telling him in a private note that it's okay that he was studying with Hikaru-chan at the same time.
After the tests, Kyosuke has barely passed the finals. Kyosuke overhears a talk between Yuhsaku and Hikaru in which Yuh-kun tried to tell Hikaru how he felt about her, but gave up from embarrassment. Thinking that everything turned out alright he turns around and sees Ayukawa, who then demands to know why he did poorly on his exams. Ooops.
Kyosuke is at Komatsu's house, and they get to talking about women. Kyosuke realizes that he really doesn't know all that much about Ayukawa's past. He's attacked by conflicting images of Ayukawa asking him to stay at her house back in episode 5, and the "normal" girl he is used to.
Ayukawa and Kyosuke go to a cafe bar, and they run into some obnoxious people form Madoka's mysterious past. They call Kyosuke a kid and tease Madoka about the company she's keeping these days, which gets Kyosuke mad and makes him wonder about who these people are, or were, to Ayukawa. In the bar, Kyosuke's surprised that they're drinking real alcohol, but Madoka says it's okay, go ahead. Kyosuke does.
On the way home, a drunk Kyosuke asks Madoka about the people they met, and about what kind of life she led before she met him. He tries to kiss her so she deals him a deadly "Ayukawa Slap."
The next day, she doesn't want to talk to him in school. When Hikaru accosts him, he tells her not to be so open with her affections in public, and she runs off, offended. Hikaru notices after school that Ayukawa is not herself, dropping glasses at Abcb and cutting herself.
The next day, while Hikaru is feeding Kyosuke like a baby on the roof, Kyosuke sees Ayukawa at the entrance. He pretends to see a UFO as an excuse to chase Madoka. Using his powers of teleportation, he catches her, and apologizes. Ayukawa agrees that alcohol can be dangerous, explaining that she had gotten drunk yesterday after school. "Ah, I'm so hungry! I didn't eat any lunch," Ayukawa says, so Kyosuke throws her his katsu-sand.
Coming home, Kyosuke is surprised to see dozens of beautiful models his father is photographing. Takashi (the father) says that this is the only work available.
At school, all the boys like the pictures Hatta took of the girls in other classes. Yuhsaku shows up and asks to talk to Kyosuke alone on the roof. Kyosuke thinks he's going to beat him up for something he's done, but Yuhsaku instead begs him not to let Hikaru go into modeling. Madoka shows up, and we learn that Hikaru is going to have a photographer take her pictures this Sunday. Yuhsaku found this out the other day when he asked her to go to a concert with him the following Sunday. Both Kyosuke and Yuhsaku are afraid of what would happen to their Hikaru-chan if the photographer takes advantage of her. Hikaru then appears and tells her "darling" about her chance to break into modeling.
Ayukawa later tells Kyosuke not to worry, that she will be going with Hikaru to see that nothing bad happens.
That Sunday, Kyosuke is surprised that his father is working that day. Kyosuke himself is asked to help by his father. Komatsu and Hatta show up, wanting to assist, but wanting to get pictures of Kyosuke's sisters. Everyone meets at the train station, and we learn that the person who will be photographing Hikaru is Takashi himself, Kyosuke's father, who didn't know that this pretty girl he was going to photograph was his son's girlfriend.
At the beach, Hikaru models for Takashi, with Kyosuke assisting. Ayukawa decides to go home, but Takashi asks Kyosuke if he couldn't take Ayukawa's picture as well, and Kyosuke goes after Ayukawa, asking her not to go home.
Ayukawa models for Takashi, who is impressed with her. Later, at school, Kyosuke tries to give Ayukawa a picture he likes, one of her and him walking by the beach that his father snapped, but accidentally shows her one of him and Hikaru, making Ayukawa mad. He puts the correct picture in her shoe locker for her to find later.
Walking through town, Kyosuke spies Yuhsaku, looking through the glass of a store at Hikaru and Madoka, who are shopping. Later, Kyosuke and the others hear that Kurumi has gotten lost, that she went off with a boy. They get an image of the culprit from the description, and set off to find him. Kyosuke almost gets into trouble when he finds someone who fits the description, and Madoka must come to his rescue.
Setting off to join in the search for Kyosuke's sister, Kyosuke and Madoka pass through Lovers Forest, and get embarrassed to see everyone kissing. A police officer wants to know what they're doing here, and Madoka gets defensive and pulls Kyosuke out of there.
We find out that Kurumi has been picked up by an insecure boy, who watches videos on how to get a date and is rather upset at the food bills Kurumi is running up.
Back in the park, Kurumi is looking for Jingoro, and the boy with her decides it's time to make his move. Kyosuke hears Kurumi's scream nearby and runs to find her. Meanwhile, Komatsu, in a rowboat with Manami, makes his own move. Suddenly, the "kidnapper" comes screaming out of the sky (put there by Kurumi when he tried to kiss her) and splashes down. It is then that it comes out that the boy is Kamatsu's older brother.
Kyosuke finally finds Kurumi, holding Jingoro and wondering what all the commotion is about, and the episode ends.
Kyosuke has a premonition dream about Hikaru's death. He had a vision of her on the other side of a park bench, moving farther and farther away from him. At breakfast, Kyosuke remembers when he was a kid and his premonition dreams would visit him, only most of the time they'd really come true somehow.
At school, Hikaru is all over Kyosuke, which gets Ayukawa miffed at Kyosuke. Kurumi explains to Hikaru about her brother's dream, that Hikaru would die, and Hikaru decides to use that to her advantage. She goes home sick, and Kyosuke is worried that his dream may be coming true.
At Hikaru's house, we find out that she takes about five or six pills to make her "better". Kyosuke finds Yuhsaku already at Hikaru's, not pleased to see him. At a restaurant, Hikaru starts to fall asleep in Kyosuke's arms, and asks Yuhsaku to go away so she can be with her Darling.
On a park bench, Kyosuke and Hikaru are re-living his dream, she is dying in her arms. Meanwhile, in a supermarket, the twins tell Madoka about Kyosuke's dream, and she realizes why he's been acting so strange today.
Outside, Yuhsaku is stopping traffic so Hikaru can be "alone" with her Darling, just like she asked, and he falls into Madoka's arms, upset. Upon finding out that she is not going to die, Yuhsaku and the others dump a bucket of water on both Hikaru and Kyosuke, at Ayukawa's suggestion.
At Abcb, Kyosuke notices Madoka flipping through wedding magazines, wearing a new ring, and wonders what's up. When Madoka receives a secretive phone call from a man and she won't explain it, he worries even more. That night he has a premonition dream about Madoka getting married and is scared.
The next day a car pulls up to the school and Madoka gets out, accompanied by a handsome man. Madoka fixes his tie in a personal way and he drives off. In class, Kyosuke tries to use telepathy to read Ayukawa's thoughts. All he gets is a picture of Ayukawa in a wedding dress before noticing that everyone has stopped to watch him concentrating so hard. "If you need to go to the bathroom that bad, just go," his teacher tells him.
Kyosuke overhears Ayukawa on the phone with her mystery man. "At Abcb at around 5:00. Is that okay?" he hears her say. When he asks her about it, she says, "That was a grown-up conversation," and strolls off.
Kyosuke shows up before Ayukawa was scheduled to leave with her mystery man, all dressed up with his hair greased back. Before he can say anything to Ayukawa, she goes off in the car with her man. He borrows the Master's bicycle and pursues. Using his powers, he gets there in the middle of the wedding ceremony and beats on the window.
Back at Abcb, Kyosuke apologizes for the misunderstanding. Madoka explains that it was a dress rehearsal for her sister's wedding, and the man is her sister's fiance. Kyosuke dreams of the day when he will be beside Ayukawa for that reason.
Ayukawa's sister gets married amid much thrown rice. Madoka catches the bouquet.
In the paper, near the wedding announcement, Kyosuke reads terrible news: it says Madoka will be returning to America to attend school there. Hikaru complains openly about Madoka leaving, but Kyosuke is too affected to say anything.
Packing up her things at home, Madoka plays the piano and remembers all that she will be leaving behind. At home, Kyosuke can't sleep.
The next day at school, Kyosuke meets Yuhsaku, who is scuffed from just having gotten into a fight defending Madoka's name. Saddened, Ayukawa plays her saxophone. The wind blows her music sheets across the room, and somehow she knows Kyosuke had been standing outside the door.
On the roof, everyone eats a goodbye banquet for Ayukawa. That night, everyone's waiting for her to arrive at Abcb for her surprise going-away-party, but she doesn't show up, so everyone sets out to look for her. It turns out that she's been waiting at Kyosuke's house for him to come home, but since he hasn't shown up she leaves to go to other places she remebers. They both end up at the playground at the top of "the stairs" and talk amid cherry blossoms. "I knew you'd be here", he tells her. On the swings, Ayukawa talks about how much she loves the city they live in, but how much she's looking forward to seeing New York, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, etc. Kyosuke tells her, "Ever since that time on these stairs...since that time I've loved this city the best."
After the tension breaks, Ayukawa laughs and says, "Did you really think I was going to America?" She has decided to stay here. At the airport, everyone sees Ayukawa's sister and her new husband off to America.