Waffleface. XD

Jinko and Satomi have been joining social clubs to pick up guys, but woe is to Kotoko who is in the absurdly tough tennis club. As proof of her troubles, Kotoko now sports a mark on her face from when her racket hit it as a result of Sudou-sempai's fast ball. It turns out that Sudou has a bit of a dual-personality, he is normally a very kind and gentle person who becomes raging and brash as he comes in contact with a tennis racket. (Hmm. ) Kotoko is heartbroken because Naoki laughed at her face. (Who wouldn't, xD)

In the library, Matsumoto lends Naoki a book that he'd been looking for. At tennis practice, Kotoko finds out that Naoki won't even come for practice, as he joined on the conditions he'd only attend for tournaments and events. Kotoko also butts heads with Matsumoto, who knows just what to say to dampen Kotoko's mood even more.

After seeing a commercial for an upcoming couple's movie named Metal Heart (wherein the male lead looks exactly like Naoki) , Kotoko asks Naoki if he'd like to see it together, which he flatly refuses. Unbeknownst to Kotoko, the next day Reiko takes advantage of Naoki's gratitude for the book to persuade him into a date with her to see the very same movie. Kotoko ends up at the movies, but Jinko and Satomi bail on her. She's shocked to see that Naoki has come with Matsumoto, just as shocked as Sudou is. Sudou has tickets for the movie, so they both go in to attempt to sabotage Naoki and Matsumoto's date.

They follow Naoki and Matsumoto to a restaurant and purchasing Matsumoto's new raquet. However, after seeing how well Naoki and Matsumoto looked together, Kotoko becomes depressed and leaves, only to run into a hoodlum, causing the man's beer to spill on his shirt. The hoodlum becomes agitated and demands 50,000 yen for cleaning fees. Naoki steps in, however, saving the day by catching the hoodlum in his own lie, and then passing the task on to Sudou. He hands Sudou Matsumoto's newly bought raquet, escaping with Kotoko while Sudou beats the living daylights out of the hoodlum, much to Matsumoto's chagrin.

Afterwards Naoki takes Kotoko on a boat ride in a lake, which she thoroughly enjoys until he tells a story that causes her to panic and capsize the boat. Drying their clothes on the riverbank later, Naoki tells of how he'd never had any problems in his life until Kotoko came long. He views her as a trial that he must 'face up to', but he doesn't dislike her. Kotoko manages to turn this into something positive that she can be happy about. That night, however, she meets with her father who suggests that they should stop imposing on the Irie family, and go back to living alone together.

Thoughts:

Hey, no Kinnosuke this episode. Naoki accepting Matsumoto's invite was a bit inconsiderate, even if the circumstances were a bit more favorable for Matsumoto. I guess Kotoko should have bought some tickets first. Also, Sudou is so ronery and borderline creepy. Not going to wash his left hand? o_o;;

Lastly… "you're a trial that I need to overcome" is not really something to respond "I love you so much" to. Anyways, I wonder how Kotoko will overcome her father's desire to move out of the Irie residence?