Chapter 4 is the 4th chapter of Kodocha, and the fourth chapter of the first book.
Summary[]
Sana continues to feel sorry for Akito, which is exaggerated when she learns the reason his family acts the way they do is because Akito's mom died giving birth to him. Sana resolves to work hard on a TV movie she's acting in, due to it paralleling much of Akito's life, while having a good ending.
Plot[]
Starting exactly where the last chapter ended, Akito and Gomi start to fight, with Gomi feeling like Akito betrayed the students who enjoyed causing problems in the classroom. Sana pleads for them not to fight, but only Akito listens (thanks to the fact he knows she has the embarrassing photo) causing him to get pretty beat up. Sana concedes that he can throw one punch, and with a single one, Gomi is down, and due to this, all the students who wanted to cause problems realize Gomi isn't a promising leader. Class goes back to normal, but Sana is still bothered by the glimpse she got of Akito's home-life (made worse by the fact he doesn't engage much with other kids in their class). Sana's worries are interrupted as Tsuyoshi accidentally calls their teacher "mom", which prompts bullying from the other kids. Tsuyoshi (to everyone but Akito's) shock goes on a rampage, throwing desks and chairs, and is only stopped by Akito (who apparently does this every year). On the way out, one of the students makes fun of Tsuyoshi for being a "mama's boy" and Akito retorts back that there's nothing wrong with that, which makes Sana wonder, since she assumed Akito doesn't have a mom, like she doesn't have a dad. Later Sana sparks a conversation with Akito, trying to cheer him up and figure him out more, asking if there's anything she could do that would make him happy. After he gives a suicidal response, Sana freaks out, Akito produces a knife, which only freaks her out more. The two argue, and Sana climatically stabs the wall next to Akito's neck restating how she just was trying to help and learn more about him. She runs away crying, confusing Akito. The next day, Sana wakes up and goes to work on Child's Toy where she announces she got a part in a TV movie, and that filming starts next week. After work she visits Akito's house to give his sister the autograph she asked for, and the same as last time, his sister is berating him, this time yelling about how he killed their mom. After she storms off, Akito clarifies to Sana that his mom died giving birth to him, and Sana is disturbed that this is why his family acts this way. Suddenly energized, she leaves and tells Rei on the car-ride home how the movie she's acting in is eerily similar to Akito's family, and how she hopes that the movie's happy ending will inspire Akito's family.
Characters[]
Authors Notes[]
About Monchichi: Do you remember Monchichi? Maybe you guys are too young. If I say, "Monchichi at 8 o'clock ", you won't know what I'm talking about. That's too bad. Monchichi is a monkey doll which was very trendy when I was in elementary school. It was really cute, popular, and you could find them everywhere. I was so into Monchichi! Anyway, my Monchichi has a blue beard now. The color came off its nose, so I tried to fix it with a pen, but then I smeared it with my arm by accident! (I often make the same mistake at work.) And the paint dried before I could clean it off. Poor blue beard... To be continued.
About Monchichi Part II: So, Monchi (short for Monchichi) costs exactly 10 bucks. (There was no sales tax in Japan back then.) 10 bucks was a lot of money for an elementary school kid. It took my parents a while to get me one. So, I started looking at everything in terms of how many Monchichis it was worth. And I still do this! I'll get my check for drawing a comic, and when I look at the total, I start thinking, "This will buy me this many Monchichis"! Weird things stay with you, you know? Oh, my Monchichi... How many times did I say Monchichi this time? Oh, please... don't count them.
About Rei: Have you ever heard of "Abunai Deka"? It was in reruns for ages, so you may have seen it if you were in Japan. It was really popular when I was in high school (in reruns, that is). My friend was a hard-core fan and had taped all the episodes, so we all went to his house and watched it one day. The next day, we brought sunglasses to school and played the characters.
That was fun. I still giggle when I think about it, so I based Rei on one of the characters on the show. Many readers want to see Sana and Rei hook up. You'll learn a lot more about him and book 2!
Trivia[]
- This chapter was adapted into two episodes, being Lone Wolf, Awooo!, and Where are You Going Mr. Dark and Gloomy?