Honey and Clover Ep 15

Mayama, Nomiya and Yamazaki have worked throughout the night and are feeling the fatigue when Miwako offers them massage tickets to relax from work. They start to talk about Mayama trying to obstruct Nomiya and Yamazaki from getting close to Yamada and Mayama tries to explain that he doesn't want them to play around with her as she's a very nice girl. Miwako suggests that if Mayama is so worried about Yamada, he should get her to be his girlfriend. Mayama cannot explain the real reason for rejecting Yamada and is at a loss for words when asked why he has to stop other people from wooing Yamada. Nomiya points out that Mayama doesn't woo Yamada because his real target is Rika which gets Mayama in a fluster thus indirectly confirming Nomiya's guess. Nomiya says that Mayama is just holding on to Yamada as a backup when things between him and Rika get impossible which makes Mayama extremely angry as he insists that he has never thought of Yamada in that way.

Nomiya goes to the university to look for Yamada and Mayama insists on following him so that he can't try anything funny with her. They are actually there to collect the pottery which they have asked Yamada to make. Mayama asks Yamada about Takemoto's condition as he has not been home for some time. Takemoto is having problems finding a job and spends his nights making a tower-like sculpture as his graduation project. As for Hagu, she's hyped up over her creations and busy handling the people who come to interview her. Yamada suggests that Mayama and Nomiya can eat the curry she made but they are scared by the way it looks and decline her offer.

Just as they are leaving, Mayama receives a call from Miwako to return to the office as the model he made was destroyed when the table collapsed. As such, Nomiya takes the chance to return to the university alone when he realises that he had left something behind.

Meanwhile, Yamada sees that Mayama has forgotten to take his coat and wears it to feel his warmth. This is seen by Nomiya who has returned for his lighter and Yamada is embarrassed by her actions. Nomiya asks Yamada to go out with him for dinner and doesn't give her a chance to change out from Mayama's coat.

On the way, Nomiya asks Yamada if she prefers udon or soba and she replies the latter. Nomiya is actually observing her intently as Yamada gets absorbed in her thoughts of Mayama while wearing his coat.

Yamada falls asleep during the journey and wakes up to find herself in Tateshina (Nagano Prefecture) where Nomiya had brought her to a famous soba restaurant. She is at a loss for words since she never expected to come to such a far place with Nomiya just for dinner.

The next day, Nomiya brings the soba he bought from Tateshina as a souvenir for his colleagues. He reveals that he went there with Yamada which makes Mayama very surprised. Mayama barges into Hanamoto's office to question Yamada on this trip which makes her flare up and she says that whatever she does has got nothing to do with him. Yamada recalls that Nomiya offered to help her return Mayama's coat and feels embarrassed at the thought that he might be laughing behind her back for what she did.

Hanamoto tells Mayama that he's being over-protective of Yamada and tells him to let go. However, Hanamoto is also behaving like Mayama when it comes to matters regarding Hagu. Hanamoto suddenly mentions that Rika said she saw Mayama a few days ago which confirms his guess that he did see her at the park.

Mayama recollects that 2 years ago, he carried Rika out of the bathroom when she was bathing and stayed by her bedside. When she woke up, she mistook Mayama as her dead husband but realised her mistake soon. However, they slept together on that night...

Mayama receives a call that Asai is hospitalised and goes to visit him. Asai says that Rika has been taking care of him and she has gone out to buy something for him.

Mayama rushes downstairs to look for Rika and stops her in the lift. He asks to return to her company but Rika decides that it's better for Mayama to stay in Fujiwara Design. Besides, the assignments in her company have been completed so there's no need for Mayama to return. As such, she insists on staying on to take care of Asai and says goodbye to Mayama.

Mayama decides not to give up and rents a car to send Rika home in the rain. However, Mayama does not send her home immediately and drives around which Rika does not voice her objections about...

I'm surprised to know that Mayama and Rika's relationship is not one-sided as it seems on the surface. Initially, it looked as if Mayama was pestering Rika but after seeing that they did sleep together, it gives me the impression that Rika had initially thought of Mayama as a replacement for her husband and found that this would hurt him subsequently. That could be why she tried to get Mayama to leave her and reject his love so as to make herself feel better despite having some feelings for him. And Mayama seems bent not to let go this time round judging from his attempt to have more time with Rika by driving her around aimlessly.

This would spell bad news for Yamada who is still obsessed with Mayama and has no intention to give up. I guess she is hoping for that glimmer of hope when Mayama will finally notice her but this seems to be impossible. As for Nomiya who keeps getting close to her, I wonder if he's really interested in her or simply wants to get Mayama worked up for fun. The way Nomiya looks at her doesn't seem like he's trying to make a fool of her but his actions seem to suggest otherwise. I have a hunch that something might evolve between Nomiya and Yamada in future especially if Mayama gets back with Rika. Actually, Nomiya seems similar to Morita in the sense that they may appear frivolous on the outside but they could be deeper than what you think.

Oh, talking about Morita, how I wish that he's back in the anime soon! Without him, the atmosphere seems to get a little heavy especially when the story is currently focusing on Mayama, Rika and Yamada.