After art club, Hana gets a ride on her cousin Sana’s motorcycle, and tells Sana the situation with Naoto and Hayase. Sana’s advice to Naoto is to simply follow his heart. These Sunomiyas may be a bit kooky and intense, but they’re also good people looking out for Naoto’s happiness, and their encouragement is just the kick in the bum Naoto needs to take action.
After waiting for Hayase to be done judo, the two have a perfectly nice and relaxing walk home. Along the way, Naoto finally works up the courage to vaguely ask Hayase “where she’d want to go on her day off”. Hayase can see what Naoto is getting at, but since she misses messing with him, she messes with him here, telling him places like Everest, the Amazon, and the Mariana Trench.
This almost backfires spectacularly when Naoto drops the topic and the two part ways. Naoto’s problem is he isn’t sure where she’d want to go, but when he sees a construction sign with a penguin, he remembers she wanted to see them. The South Pole is out, so…how about the Aquarium? Naoto’s “Well?” isn’t quite direct enough for Hayase, who tells him if there’s something important to say, he should say it properly.
With this, Naoto remembers Sana telling him to follow his heart, and he comes right out and asks Hayase if she wants to go the aquarium on their next break. He fully expected her to mess with him, slap him down to size, and say the word “creepy” a lot, so he’s surprised when she doesn’t do any of those things, and instead says “sure” with one of the biggest grins she’s ever mustered.
Now it’s official: Naoto and Hayase are going to go out together. Even then, when announcing to an extremely ecstatic Hana of their plans, he says “it’s not really a date, we’re just hanging out.” Like hell! Hana knows better, and as someone who has never experienced love but is rooting for Naoto all the way, she pretty much gets him to accept it’s a date worthy of hearty congratulations.
Hayase is out of it too, and Gamou and Yoshi witnessing her being hyper and “freaking out” to just plain spacing out. When they ask her if she wants to visit Paisen in the club room since they’re done practice early, she says no; she’ll save seeing him for their date instead. Shocked, Gamou and Yoshi see her look in her eyes and believe that she is after Paisen’s virginity.
That night, we get twin scenes of Naoto and Hayase working out what they’ll want to wear. Naoto’s mom doesn’t bother him, but Anetoro can’t help but mess with Hayase, telling her to wear something sexier. All I could think is that after nearly two full seasons of circling one another, these two dopes are finally going to have an honest-to-God, no-holds-barred date.
The big day arrives, and the two have no trouble meeting up—Naoto in subdued but sufficiently un-dorky duds, and Hayase in an oversized tee, jean shorts and red kicks. Hayase starts messing with him almost immediately—not that he minds—but little do they know they’re being tailed by Gamou and Yoshi, who are determined to protect Paisen’s chastity.
Little to Gamou and Yoshi know that they’re being watched by Hana and Sana on the latter’s bike, determined to stop the two “demons” from ruining Naoto’s date. If this show knows what’s good for it, it had better deliver a lovely and adorable date with minimal problems that may or may not end with some kind of kiss. It has that one job next week. Don’t let me down!
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