Arakai

Episode 5: Bringing Back An Old Hobby.

In this episode, the perspective changes as we finally get to know Sara Hiragi, the student council president from Sora's school. We see a usual day in her life, and it's very different from his. How she spends her time is perfectly organized, and she hardly ever gets a break.
She lives in a mixed culture household, with her family being half-American, and can speak English as a second language. As she leaves for school, her parents remind her of her many responsibilities today in an overbearing manner, but it's apparent that she already knows.

Once Sara reaches school it becomes clear that she has a lot of friends on a superficial level, trying to be friendly with everyone, even if they don't have much to connect over. Her only real friend seems to be Inoue Komori, a small and bubbly girl who Sara calls 'Ino'. She lifts Sara's spirits with boundless positivity, and keeps up with Sara via texts when they can't be together, communicating with a ton of emojis. She's like a ray of sunshine in Sara's life.

However, this positive presence is balanced out by her other "friend" Henri Udo, a fellow member of the student council. It's clear as day that Henri is into her, and he just won't leave her alone, even if he's never direct about it. Sara doesn't seem to appreciate him constantly bugging her, but she just treats it like another load to bear, doing her best to not upset him even if he never takes the hint. She still can't get a moment to herself, going above and beyond in class despite the stress, doing her best to be responsible and keep it all together.

After class, Sora and Sara meet again, with it coincidentally being their turns to put all the chairs back after class. Sora is lazy about it, but even after everything we've seen her do today, Sara's still motivated, and she picks up the slack for him. Sara attempts to make some small-talk since they're alone, and questions what Sora's been up to lately- What's been on his mind? Sora is confused and doesn't get why she'd ask that. She says he's changed a lot.

"You're so much more focused than usual, not just lost and gloomy. A little upbeat, even~!"

Sara teases him about if he has a crush or something, and Sora has to awkwardly explain to her about his new hobby to get out of it. He alludes to some of the 'crazy stories' that he's already lived through thanks to Arakai, saying that it's kind of been an adventure so far. Sara's face lights up with joy as she recognizes the name, and Sora is surprised someone like her plays Arakai. She clarifies that she doesn't, but used to play it when she was a kid.

"Oh man, it's been ages! My brother and I used to play when he was in high school!"

Sara briefly basks in nostalgic memories of a childhood where everything was less serious, and she spent less time worrying and more time having fun. Before her brother left... We get to see a brief flashback of a younger Sara playing Arakai with him on the floor of her room.
With the chairs moved, Sara says it's satisfying to see Sora having some energy for a change. And he did it all on his own, too! Sora feels awkward, not wanting to be told more about his change in attitude, so he excuses himself and quickly rushes out. However, as Sora walks away, we notice that his bag is still open. When he was showing his Arakai cards to Sara, he must have forgotten to put them back... Sara doesn't notice this until she spots his deck left behind in the classroom, and looks through the cards, noticing that they're red.

"I think these are actually the same kind my brother used... Better get them back to him!"

Before she can leave, Sara is approached by Henri, who has so much hair you can't even see his eyes. He once again bothers Sara and gets overly familiar with her, even though she's busy, and she says they can talk at the council meeting tonight instead. However, he doesn't take no for an answer, overstepping boundaries and just continuing the conversation despite her subtle attempts to stop it. He's very obviously segueing into asking her on a date, and although Sara tries to shut him down, he asks anyway. We've seen so far that Sara's not the kind to normally turn things down, even if she's feeling bad or overloaded, and she's clearly not into Henri- but doesn't have the time or energy for letting him down nicely.

"Well, I have so much to do tonight... And tomorrow, and the day after that-"

Sara uses every stalling tactic known to man aside from just saying no to make it clear she's not okay with it, but Henri asks her to just give him a chance. Doesn't she owe him that at least? To give it a try? Sara is clearly put off by what he said, but says she'll... think about it. Henri suddenly seems happy to take this as a yes, somehow having not clocked how uncomfortable she was in the slightest. He leaves saying he'll see her tonight, and Sara awkwardly sweats as she realizes she's going to HAVE to see Henri tonight at the council meeting. She's visibly frustrated, and doesn't know what to do, but is trying to push it down.

She'd love to think of a way out of this that doesn't upset Henri and doesn't cause a problem, but she has band practice now... So even though the school day is over, she's far from done. Although she meets Inoue at the gates to say goodbye to her, she's unable to walk home with her. Inoue is able to tell that something is weighing on Sara- more than usual, that is- but Sara says she's fine. Sara goes right to band practice, and it's clear by now that all the pressure is starting to get to her. However, when the rest of the club ask her if she's okay and if she needs a break, she says she's all good and covers it up.

Meanwhile, we return to Sora, who finally reaches DCG after school. He's late, with Hayate and Team Domination already being there waiting for him. They're bantering over cards. It seems that over the events of the last two episodes, Sora and everyone else seem to have warmed up to each other slightly more. Hayate proposes the idea of an actual duel between him and Sora now, considering some of the tough customers Sora's faced lately. No reason to keep putting it off, right? Hayate seems excited, as if this is some kind of fated battle, but when Sora goes to get his deck from his bag... He discovers it's missing. Hayate and Hiroki are both disappointed, questioning if he left it at home. Sora says he doesn't think he did...

Hayate admits that Sora's always been a little unreliable, and Hiroki can't believe that his sensei is such a scatterbrain. Sora can tell Hayate is going to be let down, so he says he'll go back home to check. He leaves DCG in a hurry, and while Sara is at band practice, Sora rushes home only to find out he didn't leave his deck there. He has to make another excuse for his mom, and calls Hayate to tell him he hasn't found it, only to suddenly remember- he must have left it at school when he was talking to Sara earlier! Hayate offers to go get it for him, but Sora tells him not to sweat it and takes off running back to school to get it (he's had to do a lot more running lately and he's not used to it, so he's really tired). Hayate is left alone with Team Domination, but they actually seem to be having fun together despite that.

Back at school, we see that Sara has now finished up band practice. She's ready to go home for the day, and quite relieved to finally let her hair down, only to be surprised by a text from Henri. He reminds her about the student council meeting and a meetup he's awfully convinced is going to happen, and asks her what she's doing, to which she explains that she's still got to return something Sora lost to him. Coincidentally, that's when Sora arrives!

They notice each other, and Sara seems relieved to have a distraction from all the pressure- Any way to lighten the load is welcome. Sora tries to explain what's going on, but Sara says she already knows, and was keeping his deck safe for him. Sora thanks her profusely, saying that she's a lifesaver, and apologizing for all the trouble he's been giving her.

Sara says it's no big deal, but appreciates it. She notices that he seems to be in a rush, and as she gives his deck back, questions where he's going. Sora explains that he was about to play some Arakai games at DCG, and he really ought to get back there. Trying to be nice and make up for past events, Sora tells Sara that she should swing by sometime if she wants. Although it's embarrassing, he opens up and admits that it was what she said to him back in Episode 1 that inspired him to try new things.

It clearly means a lot to her, but she makes excuses as per usual, saying that she's got so much to do tonight... She wishes she had as much free time as he does. Honestly, she admits that she envies what Sora has, even if he doesn't appreciate it. Sora's shell seems cracked by this conversation a bit, and he says it's too bad. He says goodbye and goes to leave, and as Sara watches him walk away, she checks her phone and sees another text from Henri, and one from her parents... she takes a deep breath and swipes them both away, ignoring them and running to catch up to Sora.

"S-Sara? I thought you said-"

"Changed my mind! I'm coming with you! But, can we stop by my house real quick? I wanna check for something."

Sora is shocked by Sara's sudden turnaround, unsure what's gotten into her, but plays along with it. When they arrive at her house, Sara apologizes and tells Sora to wait outside. Her parents question where she's going, and remind her where she's meant to be tonight. It makes her feel guilty, but she ignores them, makes some excuses and promises she'll still be getting everything done. She fishes a dusty old shoebox out from underneath her bed, taking a little peek inside. It's already bringing back memories of her big brother...

Sara comes out of her house carrying the shoebox, while her parents shout after her and remind her when she needs to be home. Sora looks a little surprised and uncomfortable hanging around, but decides not to ask any questions. They'd better hurry up and get to DCG! Back at the store, Hiroki is starting to get seriously impatient while waiting for Sora. He's practically bouncing off the walls! Hayate sighs, admitting that it's just like Sora to flake on them after all... But suddenly, the door opens and Sara arrives with Sora in tow!

"Sorry for the wait!"

Featured Card: Enhanced Seraph, Melina