Neighborhood Story

Nice Body-ko! (1x3)

: 24, 1995

While prosecuting a series of practice stitches one night, Mikako reflects on the adversarial divergent concourse that she has visited upon Tsutomu whose honest mistakes she has lashed out against as malice only to find that she has become inattentive and clumsy with her work—the same inattention and clumsiness for which Sensei Hamada has detained her after school. The next morning finds that neither Ruriko nor Mikako has slept very much...and that Tsutomu has done some shopping for Kuro—the payload thereof delivered the day before. Deprived of ethical legitimacy, Mikako heads over to Tsutomu's place and acknowledges her fallibility. Tsutomu acknowledging his culpability gives way to accompanying Mikako in acquiring more pet supplies...that is, if Mariko had not exhorted Tsutomu's presence at her place at her convenience. While Mikako fumes at Tsutomu's »snub« and tries to wrap her mind around Tsutomu dating Mariko, Tsutomu superficially excavates into Mariko's prologue of finding the male libido rather than her character content as a person being the sole reason Mariko has been on so many dates. Tsutomu ultimately has more questions than answers as he tries to interpret the data he has seen regarding Mariko as he explains his perspective of Mariko as a misguided but not necessarily evil girl when Mikako is admonishing caution.