Kurosaki-kun no Iinari ni Nante Naranai Episode 2

This is part-two of the two-part mini-series. Unlike the first installment, I find this episode a lot more promising. Yes, there were cheesy, unnecessary scenes but at least we get to see some character development especially for Black Devil Kurosaki who proves to be kinder than what he leads on. White Prince Shirakawa also showcased a more aggressive stance in the budding love triangle. I’m quite disappointed with Yuu’s character though. She hasn’t really showed the full-on confidence I was looking for. Obviously, the show is holding back for the big-screen adaptation. Hopefully, we see a feisty, strong-willed Yuu there.

PS: This is just a prequel, so yeah, expect a movie recap soon. Of course, it’ll only be available once Eng subs are released.

Episode 2

We start off with a throwback of first episode’s highlights. And then we stop with Yuu trapped between two bishounens.  Is she the luckiest or what? Both pretty guys are hopeful and eager for her reply. But in the end, she unreservedly chooses Chiba. She even boldly declares she’ll do whatever he commands.

Kurosaki sure is gravely upset with her decision but pretends indifference nonetheless. He can only ask Shirakawa of his real intent but the latter merely smiles secretly and has no plans of spilling the beans. So Kurosaki settles on telling Shirakawa not to play with Yuu’s feelings.

The next morning, Yuu sees Kurosaki sleeping on his desk. She stealthily goes to her seat so as not to wake him up. But he is already awake and is only waiting for her. Haha! Without much of a foreword, he orders her to attend her middle school reunion and take a picture as proof. She’s rather exasperated not only because he took the liberty of reading her personal letters but more importantly because he’s forcing her to do something she dreads. Even after reinventing herself, she can’t still face her bullies. She tries to work her way out of his punishment but still he won’t yield.

After school, Shirakawa talks with Yuu to clear things out about yesternight’s event. The truth is, he wanted to help her improve her “love skills” and find her a guy. He’ll be doing just that by pretending to be her boyfriend. I don’t quite understand the logic behind this but let’s just all ride along with the plan. This is based on a shojo manga after all. And to formally commence their pretend relationship, he asks her to press his lips, which she willingly obeyed. Still, don’t get that. 

Shirawaka invites Yuu to a date, but sadly it falls on the same day as the reunion. Since it’s clear that Kurosaki forced her to attend, he tells her not to go. Their moment is then interrupted by Suzu, Shirikawa and Kurosaki’s childhood friend. Suzu brings a shocking news and that is she’s engaged to be married. With a halfhearted smile, Kurosaki passes on the good wishes. It’s apparent that Suzu expects a more involved reaction than that. But then we get to see Kurosaki gives her meaningful glances later on. Guess he’s affected after all. Shirawaka also offers his congratulations. But like Kurosaki, he is seemingly disturb on the matter. Ohh, something’s definitely not right!

Suzu and Yuu finds time to finally talk about the much needed backstory. Tehehe! Suzu is in love with Kurosaki but he never took notice of her. It wasn’t really the pure unrequited love type but she was willing to go with Kurosaki if ever he asked. Anyways, she knew that Shirakawa had feelings for her all along, but he never confessed because he knew she liked Kurosaki. So in return, she never told Kurosaki her true feelings.

Suzu then impels Yuu not to ruin the boys’ friendship. And even if Yuu did fall in love with one of them, she must never get in between the two.

Yuu joins Shirawaka in his solitary ponderings and empathizes with his pains of unreciprocated love. He assures her he already moved on. Only that, Suzu’s sudden return brought back memories. She offers Shirawaka a back hug which catches him by surprise. She misunderstands his reaction, thinking that it  made him feel uncomfortable. Since they’re having a pretend relationship, she assumes it’s how a girlfriend should console her beau. He then explains that he forgot about their arrangement and tells Yuu to hug him again. When Shirawaka persuades her to have a date with him on Sunday, she readily agrees.

It’s Sunday and Kurosaki is fuming that Yuu doesn’t have the slightest plan of going to the reunion. But even with his outrage, she won’t budge. She thought she already changed, but then she still can’t overcome her insecurities. Kurosaki sighs it should be her motivation to go and face her former classmates head on. Shirakawa interrupts and tells Kurosaki not to order his girlfriend pretend girlfriend around. The two boys start to argue, so Yuu decides to go.

Yuu arrives at the reunion. Everybody’s busy catching up and nobody seems to recognize her without the braces, eyeglasses and ugly hairstyle. So she declares herself as Yuu but one of her classmates start to bully her again. She stands her ground which pisses the bully even more. Cue Kurosaki and Shirakawa ‘s dramatic entrance.  They save Yuu and the trio leaves. Yuu thanks both boys for the timely rescue. But since she forgot to take a picture, Kurosaki gives her another round of household chores as punishment. Tehehe!

That night, Suzu phones Kurosaki. For the last time, she tires to solicit a last minute change of heart from him. But he dismisses the idea. Suzu laughs. She’s just confirming so she will be able to move on without regrets. It’s rather unfortunate though that he fell in love with someone whom he just met. She meant Yuu.  She further advises him to be more honest or Shirakawa will take her away.

While staying at her room, Yuu hears someone playing piano. She has been hearing that since she came to the dorm but wasn’t able to know who it was. She snoops around and to her surprise, it’s none other than Kurosaki. She tiptoes her way out but he already took notice of her. He tells her to join him and have a try on the piano. She doesn’t know how to play though, so he teaches her by guiding her hands. Yuu is feeling the tension of too much intimacy but he seems not to mind. And right about this time, my heart is screaming. Kyaaahhh! Yes, I’m shipping Kurosaki and Yuu if it isn’t too obvious. Tehehe!

Kurosaki then feels embarrassed for letting his guard down and backs away a little. She thanks him for the impromptu piano lesson. And he replies with a curt “Never come back here again”. She argues that he was the one who told her to come in to begin with. But he just dismisses her line of reasoning and tells her to throw the recyclable garbage tomorrow. Tehehe!

Shirakawa witnesses the moment. He then talks with Yuu and tells her he won’t be pretending as her boyfriend anymore. Like what they did the first time, he instructs her to press his lips to officially restart their relationship.

Shirakawa relays to Kurosaki his decision to stop the pretenses. Honestly, he was not interested in Yuu. She’s not even his type. He was just curious as to why Kurosaki is attracted to Yuu, so he befriended her. But then the more time he spent with Yuu, the more he realizes that he wants to pursue her seriously. Even with Shirakawa’s confession, Kurosaki refuses to back down. Yuu is his and he ain’t sharing. They have no choice but to battle this one out. Dun-dun-dun!

Yuu is super happy the next morning. Her dorm mate even notice the “glow” in her. Her confidence is showing and she’s ready to reveal her new self to the world. On the way to school, she finds Shirakawa and Kurosaki waiting for her. Seems they’ll be walking with her today. Yay!

The End.