Yomi is featured on the thinpak and DVD for this volume.
Members of the Kimura Family
Yukari announces that the time for the Sports Fest is once again upon us, tomorrow, to be exact. She says they have to beat Class 2, no matter what. Kagura doesn't get it. Tomo says it's Nyamo's class. Osaka understands, but Kagura still doesn't know the significance. Work hard, do your best, and seize the victory. She considers it a beautiful goal... 10,000¥ worth of beauty, that is. Tomo decides that they should get jusu if they beat Class 2, even if they don't come in first, but Yukari doesn't think that will do. Only if they're victorious will they get drinks... and maybe steak. Osaka thinks that would be nice, as long as she doesn't have to deal with super-spicy sauce. Kagura doesn't know how steak and the Sports Fest are related. Osaka says that cayenne is a type of red chili pepper. Yukari nails them both in the foreheads with chalk, and asks them if they have the will to win. She especially focuses on Kagura, and asks her if she knows why she's in that class. Yomi and Kaorin realize that that really was the reason. Yukari tells the class to put some spirit into it, yelling "Down with Class 2! To victory! Go Class 3!" The students repeat the last phrase, but Yukari doesn't think they had enough spirit, and yells the phrase again, and they repeat. It's audible in Kurosawa's class, and she decides to take attendance.
Yomi says that Yukari's really into this, and remembers she said steak again. (Referring to the swimming thing, I guess.) Chiyo thinks they have a good chance with them having both Kagura and Sakaki on their team. Tomo remarks that they also have people who drag them down. Chiyo is hurt by this. Yomi rubs her head and tells Tomo that she's the one who drags them down. Tomo asks her if she saw her many accomplishments last year. What Yomi saw was Tomo tripping at the finish line and taking out the runners behind her, making a great big mess. Tomo downplays that and asks if Yomi can't appreciate her showmanship. Chiyo wants signed up for fewer events, and Osaka wonder why they're doing a 10K marathon, and if there couldn't be a bread-eating contest. (An English term that conjures up a very different image from what it actually is. Like maybe it'd be a contest in which contestants eat a quantity of bread, and the first one to finish wins, or all contestants are given an amount of time to eat as much bread as they can. But no.) Tomo claims she tripped on purpose. Yomi tells Chiyo she's a vital part of the team, and asks what kind of outfit she wants to make for the cheering competition. Mr. Kimura has a suggestion.
Wait, Mr. Kimura?! That's right, he's in between the desk Yomi's sitting on and the back of the chair Osaka's kneeling in. Yomi, Chiyo, and Tomo are freaked out, screaming. Yomi has one of her feet on the desk, which, thinking about it rationally, is probably not the best position when you're wearing a skirt and there's a man like Kimura at your knees. After the black background fades, Chiyo is clinging to Yomi, and Tomo looks ready to bolt. Osaka seems genuinely interested. The idea, as conveyed in his sketch, seems pretty cute. It doesn't seem particularly revealing, or at least, not more than the regular school uniform. There is something of a... magical girl vibe to it? Kimura says the baton is the key point, but before he can explain further, Yomi kicks the sketchbook away. He leaps for it, and a picture falls out of his jacket pocket. Tomo picks it up, and looks at it. It's a photo of a woman. Osaka calls her a "real pretty lady." Tomo asks who it is, and Kimura says (in English) that it's his wife. Tomo, Yomi, and Chiyo seem shocked. Tomo unsurely asks if it's a joke. Kimura pulls out a photo of them with an adorable little girl, whom Tomo asks for the identity of. Tomo says she seems intelligent.
Yomi and Tomo both think it's weird. Chiyo thinks it's terrible of them, even though he's an odd teacher. Osaka smells a conspiracy, and Tomo doesn't see sufficient motive for the woman to have married him. Chiyo defends it as the woman's taste, but Osaka thinks she has awful taste. Tomo speculates that the woman has a bad personality, but Yukari enters the conversation by saying that she's supposedly so kind as to tolerate him. Tomo asks if that means she's an angel. A winged, haloed version of her flies through in their imaginations.
Three small explosions in the sky. Osaka seems vexed that it turned out clear.
Did You See? Did You See?
Yomi asks what's wrong, as Osaka doesn't look too happy. She thought Osaka was looking forward to running in the obstacle course race. Osaka's fine with that, but it's not the issue at hand. She's concerned about the marathon. Chiyo has also been despairing over that. Yomi asks if there's anything she's good at. Osaka says puzzles, but then says she actually isn't any good at those, either. Yomi tells her not to tell half-baked jokes.
As a large white ball is being rolled, Sakaki gazes into a tree, where there's a cat sleeping on a tree branch. Sakaki herself is carrying a desk, but her progress has been halted by the distraction.
Osaka hates the marathon. Yomi recommends thinking of it as like a diet. Osaka considers that it might work. Yomi figures that even if she wouldn't go running long distances on her own, this is her chance. Osaka thinks that's a good point, but doesn't consider herself fat. Yomi notices that she only said that she wasn't. (What, does someone who talks about fatness around Yomi have to make special mention of the fact that she's not?)
Sakaki is now standing on the desk, under the limb.
Osaka can't wait for the obstacle course.
Kagura proclaims that she's going to do her best. Tomo encourages her to do so, but in a tone that irritates Kagura, who wants clarification on her attitude. Tomo explains that the better Kagura does, the more likely it is that Tomo will get jusu. Kagura seems more irritated now that she understands that Tomo is planning to rewarded for her work. Yomi overhears, and thinks they're incredibly simple.
"FIRST PLACE! HURRAAAAAAAY!"
This, of course is the message from the Executive Sports Fest Committee Chairman.
Osaka is seated on the grass, legs and arms straight in front of her, attempting to bend forward. Chiyo is pushing her from behind. It goes about as well as in Episode 6. Sakaki looks at the branch, but the cat is gone, so she does some stretching of her own.
A loudspeaker announces that it's time for the basket scramble. This wasn't an event they showed last year, but apparently, they did it, as Chiyo recalls not getting even a single ball in, but says she will this year. Tomo didn't, either, but says she'll get in three. Osaka also didn't, but says she'll put in five. Tomo increases her own prediction to six. Chiyo wants to put in at least two. Kagura tells Sakaki that they can't count on those three, so they should just do their best. Kurosawa fires the starting pistol, and the basket scramble begins. Tomo throws, Osaka throws, then Chiyo throws. Then we see what happens: Tomo's ricochets off the outside, Osaka's falls short (with a quavering slide whistle sound effect, and Chiyo's hits the outside, as well. The three throw again. Tomo's bounces off the outside of the higher basket and doesn't go in, Osaka's misses, and Chiyo's bounces off. A third attempt, and the older two have the same result, but Chiyo's goes in. She excitedly tells this to the other two, who don't seem to notice. After a bit, she stands there and lets it sink in before trying another.
Next is Ball Rolling. It's a Tomo-Chiyo pair. The ball, by the way, is a little taller than Tomo. At the time to start, Tomo starts pushing, but when Chiyo catches up to the rolling ball, it sends her flying. She lands face down, and the ball rolls onto her feet.
Obstacle Course. Osaka says she'll do her best. Tomo, leaning on a standing-but-forehead-bandaged Chiyo, asking if this isn't bad casting. Yomi says she kept saying she really wanted to do it. BANG! Yomi reveals that it was mainly for the part where you stick your face in the flour to get the candy. We see Osaka struggling under the net. The shallow box with flour in it is set up on a desk. Osaka reaches it, and plants her face into it repeatedly, giggling each time.
The divider features a crying Kaorin, then a close-up of Sakaki in profile.
Flour-faced Osaka is still giggling. Chiyo hands her a cloth to wipe her face with.
Unidentified Wife
Osaka drapes the cloth over her face and giggles again. Yomi wonders why it has to be the four of them.
For what, you might ask? The Girls' Cavalry Race! A round of Rock-Paper-Scissors decides who's on top. Tomo wins with Scissors. Oddly, Osaka puts in late with paper, like the others. Tomo takes the victory. Yomi thinks it should have been called invalid on account of Osaka's lateness. (Or maybe they should base their configuration on good sense rather than the outcome of Rock-Paper-Scissors-Spock-Lizard.) Tomo thinks it should stand, as Osaka didn't take advantage of it. (How would you take advantage of it, anyway? Play a tie with Tomo, then hope she wins the next round?) Osaka considers Tomo good at the game. Tomo is on top, Osaka is on the left, Yomi is on the right... and Chiyo, who's already endured having her feet squashed with a ball, is on bottom. "It's the worst possible setup," says Yomi. (Surprisingly, Tomo has the sense not to suggest her on top as being worse.) Tomo rapidly moves her fist in a circle as she urges them to crush the enemy. Chiyo begs her to stop moving.
The gun goes off, and the various units move in. "Avast, ye scalywags! Raise the anchor! We're taking the field, too!" Yomi asks Chiyo if she's okay. She replies that she is, but perspires profusely. Tomo decides she wants to move right. Osaka asks, "Right?" Yomi takes it that she forgot which side that was, rather than simply a request for confirmation that that is, indeed the direction she wants to go in, and tells her it's the hand she holds her chopsticks. This turns out to be a correct assumption, as Osaka needs to let go of Tomo to mime holding chopsticks so she can get it straight in her head. Once she gets it, Yomi tells her to put her hands back if she's got it, as Chiyo won't last long. Indeed, the already weak structure is quite a bit less stable, and Chiyo has to bear even more weight. Chiyo says she can't hold on. Tomo calls her an idiot, and asks where her spirit is. Yomi tells Tomo she's the idiot. (A unit on the other side observes.) Tomo recognizes this as taking digs, and says she's the captain; anyone defying her can leave the ship. Yomi asks Tomo if she's positive she wants her to. (The bottom girl on the watching unit wonders what to do now. The sides feel sorry for them.) Tomo asks why they're not moving. (The top one thinks they're a little scary. The right one asks if the others in her unit want to go somewhere else. Then they witness Tomo's unit collapse.)
Yomi hands the panting Chiyo a cold beverage and asks if she's okay. "More or less," she answers. Tomo yells at them for drinking jusu. Yomi says they have to replenish their lost fluids. Tomo says the jusu is for when they get treated to it for winning. Yomi counters that they can't just wait until it's over to drink something. Tomo says they could drink water. (Depending on the identity of the beverage and the quality of the water, that might actually be better for them, if not necessarily tastier...) Yomi suggests that she do that. Defeated, Tomo runs off... only to run right back. Yomi asks her if the tap water wasn't so good, but Tomo swipes Yomi's diet drink and guzzles it down. Yomi angrily points out that it was hers, but Tomo halts her, and points out a woman... Kimura's wife...? She's carrying a bento box.
They spy on her. Tomo decides to test her goodness by rolling the empty can. The woman notices it and chases it... but is so focused on it that she runs into a pole. She does get to it, however, and disposes of it properly. Tomo considers her "like a super-good person" because of that. The woman turns, sees the three, and approaches them. She especially notices Chiyo, and identifies her, also saying she's "such a cute one." Chiyo asks how she knew who she was. The woman apologizes, and says her husband is one of the teachers, and he told her about this cute, tiny little girl who goes to school there. Yomi and Tomo seem disturbed that Kimura noticed her to that degree. Chiyo didn't think he'd notice her. (Well, on the one hand, the main reason for one to "like" high school girls doesn't tend to apply to 10-year-olds... on the other hand, a 10-year-old in high school is fairly noteworthy, girl or boy.) Tomo asks if she came to watch the Sports Fest. She did, but she came in later than she intended, as she was making lunch. Tomo calls it lunch from a loving wife. She giggles an "Oh, stop it!", but then reveals that Kimura calls it his rabu waifu lunchbox. Yomi and Tomo seem surprised at the name. Tomo wonders about the English, and thinks it sounds wrong. Tomo asks what she likes about him. After a bit of thought, she says she thinks he's cool. Tomo thinks, but doesn't say, that she has no eye for character. The woman realizes he's not the type that's in fashion, but she thinks it's comparable to how '70s clothing has been making a comeback. She does think it possible that she's out of touch with the present day. Tomo doesn't think any number of cycles would be sufficient for Kimura's turn to come up.
For this year's scavenger race, Chiyo is representing the class.
Nervous Wreck
Osaka cheers her on. Tomo tells her to beat them up so they'll never be able to get up again. Yomi doesn't think this instruction appropriate for a scavenger race. Chiyo finds that she has to bring a baka, and runs back to her classmates. Yomi asks if it's glasses again. Chiyo is stuck between classifying someone as a baka and not winning. Tomo has an idea, accompanied by a flash of eggplant: she asks if it's bloomers (see Bloomers in Japan, early style here
), and if Chiyo wants hers. Chiyo "Oh!"s with a flash of tomato. Yomi kind of doubts it, and with good reason: if it were bloomers, all the girls are wearing them, including Chiyo, so she could just go to the finish herself. Chiyo elects to have Tomo come with her. Yomi is surprised that Tomo was taken, and... some kind of vegetable appears by her head. Osaka figures that means it was bloomers. Yomi thinks Chiyo has guts to pull that move. They cross the line, and Tomo asks a panting Chiyo what she was supposed to get. Her guesses: a beautiful lady, someone she admires, and her best friend. Tomo says she's turning red. Chiyo rips the paper to shreds, to Tomo's shock.
Kaorin has just learned that Chihiro twisted her ankle, and is repeating the news, just like you would in real life. Yomi says she's at the nurse's office. Kaorin doesn't know what to do, as they were supposed to be partners for the three-legged race. Yukari hears of it, and thinks it'd be nice to have someone strong as a replacement. Tomo volunteers herself, but Yukari calls Sakaki over. Kaorin thinks such a dull event would be beneath her, but Sakaki's always wanted to try it, as it looks fun. Kaorin asks if she's sure, and she is, so she has the same reaction to this as she did when she had Sakaki as a temporary dance partner. She is fully in agreement with doing this now. Just then, Chihiro returns, saying she can actually run, as it wasn't that bad. Kaorin turns her head, puts on a scary face, and roars. Chihiro giggles nervously. Kaorin backs up and does it again. Chihiro backs off and wishes them good luck.
When it's time, Kaorin nervously says she'll do her best. Sakaki says okay. Kaorin says she'll die doing her best if she has to. Sakaki says, "Um, okay." The race begins, and with their class cheering them on, they run together. We get a close up on Kaorin with a yellow and pink background accented with Love Bubbles, then Sakaki in profile. They cross the finish line first! Kaorin holds the 1st place flag. After squeaking repeatedly and moving erratically, she offers the flag to Sakaki as a thank you. She turns it down. Kaorin is unsure what to do, so she balances the flag on the palm of her hand and asks Sakaki's opinion. She says "it's very, um..." Kaorin falls over in her attempt.
Afterward, Sakaki attempts to untie the band holding their ankles together, but it's too tight. Kaorin doesn't think they should try to force it. Sakaki points out that they can't exactly leave it. Kaorin says that if it's about her, don't worry; she'll be fine!
"You'll be fine, huh..."
A loudspeaker announces the coming 10k marathon. Tomo predicts that she'll seal their victory with it. Chiyo aims to merely finish, a goal Tomo calls "no good," and tells her to watch how she runs, and indeed, how she lives. Osaka waxes lyrical about how the dreaded hour has come, and how the obstacle course experience is but a memory. She yells for it to come back. Yomi is determined to work off that month's weight gain from taiyaki pastries. Kimura holds his lunch while his wife wishes everyone good luck.
The marathon begins, and while everyone else is pacing themselves, Tomo takes her burst of speed at the beginning. Yukari sees this as a winning strategy, thus demonstrating one more reason why she's not a P.E. teacher. As the runners pass by, a little girl cheers them on. Sakaki turns and waves at her... twice. Sakaki and Kagura pass Tomo, whose speed has severely decreased. Chiyo and Osaka are running together. Osaka notices Tomo. The three continue running together. Tomo explains that she knew she wasn't going to win, so she chose instead to be first toward the beginning (she claims to have been in the lead at 1km), thus shining for one brief moment. Chiyo thinks that's cool, and decides to try it herself by running harder from where she is. Not long after, however, she falls back to their position and declares that she can't follow that way of life. Tomo agrees.
Chiyo came in last, and Osaka, second to last. Sakaki gives Chiyo a can of Koo, which she accepts gratefully. Chiyo asks her where she placed, thinking she ended up in first, but Sakaki says she's not good at distance, so she came in sixth. Chiyo says that sixth is still really good. Kagura comes from behind Sakaki and tells Chiyo to ask where she placed, and she obliges. Kagura holds up her palm, which Osaka (jokingly) interprets as "flat"; Kagura says she meant fifth. Tomo chuckles and repeats their places, then says that she was first at the 1km mark, and calls the contest a tie. Osaka sees, but Kagura says there's nothing to see.
The scores are tallied up for the final event. Kimura calls for their attention, delighting his wife. He announces the winner by holding up a vertical banner and allowing it to unroll, revealing that the winner is... Class 3! The class cheers, and Tomo calls for Yukari to juice her. (The results would be rather disgusting, I think.) Yukari is behind Minamo proclaiming her victory, but Minamo is busy sympathizing with her students and proving again why she's the more popular of the two teachers. She decides to treat them to jusu for their efforts. Her class is cheered up by this decision, but Yukari breaks in and mocks them for not winning. Tomo is left wondering about her jusu. Yomi asks if she still wants it. Tomo has to admit that she doesn't.
Fade to black.
The Numbers Are In
And now, for a subject of vital importance: What does Yomi weigh now? She stands on a scale to find out. The camera moves to where she can throw off all her clothes without requiring Anime Anatomy to maintain its TV-PG rating. She removes her glasses. Apparently, the results were not satisfactory.
Next time: Episode 16!
