Ichinose’s Class B defenders nearly come to blows with Hashimoto, whom they accuse of spreading awful rumors. Even Ayanokouji admits he suspects him, but clearly isn’t looking for a fight. Shiina defuses he situation, but the same day Ichinose returns to class, Sakayanagi barges in flanked by Hashimoto and Kamuro to inform Class B that she has proof that the rumor about Ichinose being a criminal is true.
Rather than allow Sakayanagi to continue influencing the class, Ichinose takes her fate into her own hands. She stands before the class and admits she was a criminal. Four years ago, her sister badly wanted an expensive (~$200) hairpin worn by her favorite idol. When their mother worked too many shifts, collapsed, and was hospitalized, and no one would hire a middle schooler for part-time work, Ichinose stole the hairpin from the store.
While she knew it was wrong, her sister’s smiling face gave her comfort and cover to ignore the guilt eating away from within. But when her mother saw the pin and knew Ichinose stole it, the smiles turned to tears and her guilt became an open wound. She withdrew to her room for months, letting the wound fester, but her mom urged her in a note not to give up on her dream of high school. She worked up the strength to leave her room, got back to work, and started fresh.
Back in the present, Ichinose apologizes for being such a bad leader, but her classmates don’t believe she is. Having heard her full story, they can relate to the circumstances that led to her crime, and are happy she trusted them enough to share her secret with them. Then Sakayanagi raps her cane on the floor and says “shoplifting is shoplifting”, saying Ichinose doesn’t deserve their sympathy.
Ichinose then agrees with Sakayanagi, and admits that maybe all her hard work came from a “place of pretend virtue.” Even if all that is true, and her sin will never go away, Ichinose wants to graduate with her classmates and friends, and gives a tearful and moving appeal to come with her to the very end. Her classmates all agree that they will.
As Sakayanagi’s little gambit to destroy Ichinose grows weaker and weaker in the face of Class B’s stalwart unity and Ichinose’s genuine contrition, the last nail in the coffin is the arrival of President Nagumo flanked by two teachers. Leaving aside who reported what to them, they know about the rumors, and put forth a stern warning that anyone caught spreading them will be punished.
Now that the adults are involved, Sakayanagi gracefully withdraws, but not before casting her lovely gaze on Ayanokouji. Later she congratulates him on a game splendidly played, and he admits he got her to confess her past to her when he visited her in her room. When she asked him how she could leave that room, he told her she’d just have to face what she’s done head-on. Touyama Nao puts on a powerhouse vocal performance throughout the episode, and particularly powerful here.
Ayanokouji calmly tells Sakayanagi that he shattered Ichinose’s heart, the part of it that broke healed stronger than before, allowing her to survive Sakayanagi’s assault. As for Kamuro, he knew all along Sakayanagi sent her to him, because the beer she “stole” was the same one she gave Sakayanagi, something he could tell from the sell-by date.
Sakayanagi puts her cards on the table: she launched an attack on Ichinose and drew him into it with Kamuro just to get him “interested” in her, because she wants to have a proper competition with him. If he wins in the next exam, she’ll be expelled. But if she wins, she’ll tell everyone he’s the Mastermind of Class C.
That night, Ayanokouji has one more meeting with a pretty girl: Kushida, who provided him with all of the dirt on the students in exchange for a payment of half of all his points going forward. Ayanokouji then gave that information to Vice President Kiriyama for distribution on the message boards, warning him if he didn’t comply he’d tell Manabu that Kiriyama flipped his allegiance to Nagumo.
So while Kushida provided the dirt, Ayanokouji is the one who had it circulated among the classes … including the info about Ichinose, along with the rumor about him having a crush on Kei. He did it all for the primary purpose of determining the quality and quantity of Kushida’s information, as part of a larger effort to eventually compel her expulsion.
No doubt Ichinose’s heart would break all over again if she found out Ayanokouji was the source of the rumor. Or maybe not, as the next we see her she is significantly more cheerful and lighter of foot. It’s thanks to him she was able to gather herself enough to put her old demons to rest.
But like Ichinose’s theft, Ayanokouji did what he did, and it harmed her. Whether he tells her he’ll always offer an ear to listen should she need one to make up for the harm he caused her or to just maintain good relations with a valuable ally, his offer gives Ichinose the courage to do one more thing: give him a box of belated Valentine’s Day chocolates.
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