Suzuka Ep 18: Okurimono (Present)

Yamato is pondering over what he should buy for Honoka after Nana told him about her birthday. He realises that he has been thinking of himself only and feels that it's embarrassing that he has to be told by a third party about his girlfriend's birthday. As such, he makes up his mind to buy a suitable present for Honoka and qualify as a good boyfriend this time round.

When Yamato and Honoka are walking to school, his mind is taken up over what he should buy as a present and fails to pay attention to what she is saying. Suddenly, Honoka asks Yamato if he's free to go out on Saturday but he lies that he's going out with Hattori even though he is planning to buy the present tomorrow. Even though Honoka is disappointed to hear this, she still puts on a smile.

Hattori suggests that Yamato should give red roses to Honoka since girls like romantic gifts but the latter remarks that he doesn't like the idea of going to a florist. This leads Hattori to comment that Yamato is more concerned about his reputation than pleasing Honoka. However, Yamato defends himself and says that he doesn't think in this manner. Hattori reminds Yamato that losing face elsewhere is nothing as compared to making his girlfriend happy.

When Yamato asks Ayano about what she would be happy to receive as a present, she says that it's OK to receive anything as long as it's a heartfelt gesture from that person. However, he gets more confused when Miho, Yuka and Megumi chip in with their contradicting views. Yamato feels that he should not have asked them in the first place and decides to think about the gift himself.

Yamato goes to a convenience store and tries to find gift ideas from a women's magazine when Asahina happens to spot him. He reveals that he's trying to see if there's anything suitable for Honoka's birthday and asks about her opinion. When Asahina remarks that he can buy accessories like a necklace, Yamato says that he knows nothing about this area and asks if she can come along with him to buy the present. Yamato realises that it is unlikely that Asahina will agree to his suggestion but she actually offers to meet him tomorrow where they can go shopping for the present. Yamato is very thankful about Asahina's help even though he's apprehensive about going out with her without the knowledge of Honoka. Meanwhile, Honoka is upset about Yamato not knowing her birthday but she consoles herself since she did not tell him about it in the first place.

Asahina is waiting for Yamato at the Shinjuku train station where he arrives late since he is unfamiliar with the area. He asks why she wanted to meet him here where Asahina remarks that they will not be spotted by their friends here instead of shopping near their place.

Honoka is reading her horoscope forecast which mentions that she will receive an unexpected present from her boyfriend but she's not enthusiastic about it materialising. Just then, she meets Yuka and Megumi at the store where Yuka blurts out that Yamato has gone out to buy a present for her. Megumi reminds Yuka that she shouldn't have told Honoka about this so Yuka tells Honoka to pretend that she's unaware. This makes Honoka extremely happy and she decides to go shopping for something as reciprocation for Yamato's gift.

Yamato is not concentrating on finding the present as he lacks knowledge in female accessories. This makes Asahina quite unhappy as it seems that Yamato is not putting in effort to find what he wants to buy. She scolds Yamato for giving half-hearted answers when she is asking for his opinion and insists on going home. Suddenly, a street vendor butts into their conversation and suggests that Yamato can buy something to pacify Asahina. Yamato finds a necklace and asks Asahina put it on before he decides on this as Honoka's present.

Yamato and Asahina prepare to return home where Honoka happens to see them at the train station. She is stunned to see them together and gets upset when they appear to be chatting happily.

Yamato prepares to go to Honoka's place and sees Asahina waiting for him. She reminds Yamato not to tell Honoka that they went to buy the present together. He assures her that he knows what to do and heads to look for Honoka but Asahina is still concerned.

Yamato passes Honoka the present he had bought which makes her very happy. Honoka decides to reveal the truth that Yuka had already told her about Yamato's gift and thanks him for taking the time to buy it. Yamato feels that it's not right to lie to Honoka and wants to tell her the truth but she says that she saw him with Asahina at the train station yesterday. As Yamato sees that Honoka seems to be unaffected by this matter, he gets carried away and talks about their shopping trip happily. However, this makes Honoka angry and she returns the gift to Yamato by saying that she doesn't want to listen to him anymore. Yamato is puzzled by her attitude and doesn't know what he had done wrongly.

Asahina is waiting for Yamato to come home and she asks how Honoka reacted to the gift. Yamato reveals the truth which makes Asahina comment that he was too silly to say more than what he should. However, he is still unaware of why Honoka flared up at him even though Asahina tells him to repent...

I don't think Yamato meant to hurt Honoka when he went out with Asahina to buy the present. He felt that it wasn't right to spend time alone with Asahina without Honoka's knowledge but he convinced himself that it should be fine since his intention was to get advice on buying the present. However, he is totally unaware of the fact that Honoka will mind whatever he does with Asahina since he was previously in love with her. It's as if you are continuing to spend time with your ex-girlfriend even though you are dating someone else. Unfortunately, Yamato failed to realise this so he continues to be bewildered by Honoka's behaviour. On the other hand, Asahina should have realised the ambiguious nature of their outing but she chose to go ahead with her feelings for Yamato so as to help him. If she had allowed her practical side to rule her actions, maybe this would not have happened. As such, this is not entirely Yamato's fault although he should not have asked Asahina for help. In such circumstances, he could have been better off by asking people like Miki.