Chapter 32 is the 32nd chapter of Kodocha, the second chapter of the seventh book in the Tankōbon Release, and the third chapter of the fifth book in the Kanzenban and Bunkoban releases.
Summary[]
Akito punches a teacher (in self defense, but no one believes him), resulting in a 10 day suspension from school. Meanwhile Sana's career is going great.
Plot[]
Sana's career is going so well that while out and about, Rei hears some passerby's talking well of her. She gets attention while out in public, and is honing her skills as an actress -- arguing when she thinks something is written out of character for a role she's been given. Rei asks if she's okay with how everythings going, and Sana insists she's happy. In an inner monologue, she thinks about how she's confident she can make herself forget about everything that happened at school, and to forget Akito.
Back at Jinbou Junior High, Akito and Fuka arrive at school in the morning. Sengoku sees them walking in together, then heads for the bathroom. Akito is about to enter the bathroom, when he sees Mr. Sengoku fixing his toupee through the door. Thankfully Sengoku doesn't notice that he saw, and Akito decides to keep it to himself.
In class, a classmate seems to eavesdrop on a idle conversation Akito, Tsuyoshi and some other classmates have. Fuka passes by their classroom, and Yunchi, a classmate of Akito's asks him about her. Akito isn't interested in the conversation, but Mr. Sengoku, overhearing the conversation reprimands both of them. He says that just because Akito has a girlfriend, doesn't mean he should flaunt her around, and it doesn't make him a big man, it just makes him rude and vulgar. This angers Akito, after all, he wasn't even taking part in the conversation, so he retorts back saying that Sengoku's wig is crooked. The classroom is put into an uproar, and Sengoku freaks out. He bickers with Akito, and Tsuyoshi says he's gone too far. In response, Sengoku says Akito has to meet with him after class.
After class, Sengoku punches Akito in the gut, and tries to scare him into silence by threatening to change his academic performance. After that, Mr. Sengoku goes on a rant about how Akito reminds him of a bully he had in highschool, and because of that he's hated him from the first day of class. Sengoku is about to hit Akito again, but he dodges, and lands a punch on Sengoku in retaliation. The bell rings, so Akito leaves for his next class.
In the next class, Tsuyoshi asks how it went, and Akito tells him about Sengoku hitting him, and how he hit him back. Tsuyoshi freaks out about the consequences, while simultaneously, other teachers see Mr. Sengoku with a bruise on his jaw, and he bluntly responds that a student punched him -- they freak out, and Akito is pulled from class to be questioned about it. Akito says he was punched first, but none of the teachers believe him, and Akito is thereby suspended from school for ten days. Tsuyoshi freaks out hearing the news, but Akito thinks of it as a 10 day vacation. Fuka asks what happened, but Akito doesn't want to tell her, so he leaves.
At home, Natsumi tells the news to their dad that Akito has been suspended. He's nervous about it, until Akito clarifies that he was hit first, this time showing the bruise he has on his stomach as proof. In response, Mr. Hayama admits that in highschool, he was a delinquent and got suspended a lot, so he doesn't have room to criticize (this shocks both Akito and Natsumi).
Akito goes to relax and watch television, but immediately sees Sana, so he turns it off. He doesn't want to think about Sana anymore, and he stuffs the dinosaur she gave him during their middle birthday party in a drawer. He thinks about how rough its been having her confess her feelings, then say they're in the past, then saying goodbye, and now appearing so often thanks to her career. He thinks Fuka is much simpler, so he'll stay with her. He tries to sleep, but he keeps thinking of Sana, how maybe when she said her feelings for him were in the past it was a lie, how she'd react if she knew he was suspended, he wants to forget about her, but he can't.
He has too much on his mind to sleep, so he goes out for a run, and runs all night. In the morning, he collapses in the doorway, and his dad helps him back into his bed. Akito being left alone in his bed, says "Sana", only for no one to hear, tears run down his face.
Characters[]
Author's Notes[]
Sana the Puppy: "So, I told you that I named my dog Sana. So you can tell how much I must love her! Normally when I'm writing a comic, I stay pretty objective about it. But for some reason, Kodocha is different for me.... I've gotten really attached to my own characters! I think that Sana, especially. has become very special to me. I care about her the most out of all the characters I've created over the years. That's why I decided to name my dog, who was a dream come true for me, after Sana. She (puppy Sana) acts like a little brat sometimes. (Then again, so does the Kodocha Sana!) But I don't mind, I just want her to be healthy and grow big and strong. I'd like her to be able to learn some tricks and stuff eventually, though (Maybe I better start training now...) You may remember I already had a cat and a squirrel. So far, they don't get along too well with Sana. But we try to make things easier on each other. So I think we have a pretty fun household overall. Oh, and I want to say thanks to all the fans who've included pictures of their pets with their letters! I really like seeing them...so, thanks!"
Problem Child: "I was telling you how I've gotten really attached to the characters in Kodocha, right? Well, because they know I care about my characters, a lot of readers have written after reading all about Sana's trouble, and they say they love reading about her problems and how she solves them, but they want to know how I can stand it? How can I put my characters through so much misery? And it's true that it's very hard sometimes, because I really do love all of my characters. But who wants to read books where everyone's happy and in love and nothing happens? That would be boring! I know I wouldn't want to read them. (hee hee) And the more I care about my characters, the more interesting I think it is to read about them. I might even take a bad period from my own past and use it in a story soon... I have to admit, sometimes it would be nicer if everyone was just happy all the time... To be continued..."
Trivia[]
- This chapter was never adapted in the anime, but Akito getting suspended as a plot point is used in Everything Is Clearer Now That I Can’t See, albeit under very difference circumstances.