Suzuka Ep 16: Shoudou (Impulse)

Honoka comes to Yamato's apartment but finds out from Ayano that he is still in Hiroshima with Asahina. Despite his assurance that he would return on the previous night, Yamato did not tell Ayano about the reason why they had decided to stay for another night. Honoka is worried about this and Yuka reminds her to keep a tight rein on Yamato or he would be taken away by Asahina. Unknown to them, Yamato and Honoka are already dating but this does not reduce the uneasiness which she feels.

On the way back to Tokyo, Yamato thinks about what Asahina said to him last night and tries to convince himself that she was just pulling his leg. When they reach Tokyo, they make plans to go for lunch but see Honoka there to fetch him. Asahina decides to go home and leave the couple alone.

Honoka grabs Yamato's hand which makes him sense that she was worried about what would happen between him and Asahina. At Yamato's assurance that he won't betray her, Honoka suddenly hugs him tightly despite them being in public. Honoka says that she's happy to hear for the first time that Yamato likes her which makes him realise how much she loves him. As such, Yamato decides to stop thinking about Asahina and kisses Honoka in return.

The next day, Asahina is preparing to go to school when she hears that Honoka has come to meet Yamato so that they can walk together. Ayano tells Yamato to have dinner by himself as she won't be able to come home in time.

During lunch, Hattori asks Yamato whether he has kissed Honoka and the latter is surprised that everyone seems to know that they are dating. When Hattori remarks that their relationship must be platonic, Yamato retorts that they have already kissed. Hattori asks Yamato if he has slept with Honoka which leads the latter to choke on his food. Yamato insists that such things are up to individuals and he's in no hurry to progress to that stage. However, Hattori reminds him that if Honoka is OK with kissing him, that means she must be waiting for Yamato to go to the next step. Hattori says that he should invite Honoka to her apartment since he's living alone and make use of the chance to progress further.

At night, Yamato is thinking of how to invite Honoka over but gives up the idea in the end. Just then, Honoka comes to his apartment and offers to make dinner for him. This surprises Yamato who can't seem to sit still while Honoka is busy with the cooking. He can't help but think of what Hattori told him earlier and is undecided on what he should do since they are alone in his apartment.

After dinner, Yamato praises Honoka for her good cooking skills where she insists on feeding him with the last mouthful of food. Suddenly, he thinks of Asahina again and worries whether she had dinner. In order to conceal his uneasiness and show himself that he loves Honoka, Yamato pushes her onto the bed and gets intimate with her. However, Honoka pushes him away and runs out of his apartment. She happens to see Asahina returning home so the latter asks Yamato what had happened. Yamato refuses to explain when Asahina says that he must have made Honoka angry and closes the door forcefully.

The next day, Honoka skips athletics practice which Yamato interprets as a sign that she must still be angry at him. Yamato knows that he should not have taken it out on Honoka just because he wants to drive Asahina out of his mind and decides to apologise to her.

Yamato comes to Honoka's home and apologises for what he did. She says that she is not angry at that but she was just frightened by his expression and she has never been intimate with any guy. Thus, she doesn't know how to face Yamato and skipped athletics practice. They finally clear their misunderstanding and make arrangements to go to school together again. Yamato feels that it is good that he came to apologise.

When Yamato returns home, he sees Asahina standing in the corridor and deep in thought. She asks whether he had reconciled with Honoka and she's happy to hear about this. Actually, Asahina has been waiting for Yamato to come home and wonders why she is doing this for him...

It's clear that Yamato is not in love with Honoka as what he thinks. You don't have to force yourself to think that you love someone since this should be a natural feeling. He's been trying too hard to convince himself that he loves Honoka just because he knows how much she loves him. I don't think you can seek a perfect balance in a relationship where you love someone to a certain level and expect the other party to feel as deeply for you. Besides, he's still easily affected by Asahina which means that he has never gotten over her. He's just using Honoka to get over the pain of being rejected by Asahina.

On the other hand, Asahina knows that she feels differently for Yamato but doesn't know how to change the situation between them since she was the one who rejected him in the first place. At this juncture, it's hard for her to turn back and expect Yamato to dump Honoka for her. It's not in her character to do such a thing although she may feel terrible at seeing how close they have become. Besides, she seems to think that Yamato no longer feels anything for her so things between them are not possible anymore. I wonder how long they would take to realise that they are in love with each other.