Thursday, June 5, 2008

Last Friends Episode 09

I was literally hanging off the edge of my seat watching this episode. Looks like my predictions may be wrong, which for the first time to me is a total relief. I like being wrong this time so I hope it stays that way. I would be very surprised if the ratings for this episode did not at least make 18%. The entire episode really kept my attention and I was just so scared when watching Sousuke and Takeru. Anyway... here is a spoilerific summary of some of the things that happened in the episode:

Ruka won a race that she was participating in and the share house members celebrated it. When she came home the next day, Michiru, Eri, Takeru, and Ogurin set up a surprise party for her with lots of goodies to eat and drink. That evening when all of them were setting up for dinner, Takeru and Ruka have a bit of a "man-to-man" sort of talk (as they have decided to be life-long-friends) and Michiru saw how relaxed the two seemed. She looked a bit crushed thinking that the two have moved up a level in their relationship and possibly in love with each other.

The next morning after a night of pretty intense partying (most likely), Michiru was the first to wake up and then she heard the door bell ring. Outside was Takeru's sister, Yuko, and she wanted to see if Takeru was there. Since Michiru thought it was ok, she went and opened the gate. The two chatted briefly, before Yuko barged into the house to find Takeru. She walked into the living room to see Takeru sleeping on the floor next to Ruka, who was on the couch, and their faces were pretty close to each other. Yuko was excited to see Takeru at first, but then looked shocked and devastated. She set some cookies that she made for Takeru on the coffee table and then left the house. Takeru woke up shortly and asked Michiru about the cookes, to which she replied were from his sister. He dropped the bag in shock and then asked Michiru not to tell anyone that his sister was there, to which she agreed to, but with a very astonished expression. He threw away Yuko's cookies after picking them up off the floor.

Later that day, Eri asked Michiru if she could get a signature from her mother in order to stay at the share house since the landlady was asking about it. Takeru decided that he would accompany Michiru to her mother's apartment in order to get her parental consent on their living together.

When they arrived at Michiru's mother's apartment, Michiru's mother, Chinatsu, looked very disapprovingly at Takeru, thinking that Michiru was now staying with him -- since she knew that Michiru was staying with Sousuke to begin with. Chinatsu pulled Michiru into the next room to give her a lecture on the type of men she should be with and how Sousuke was a much more proper and upstanding man in society. She told Michiru that pretty boys (meaning Takeru) are no good -- assuming that he was a host of some sort -- and that she liked the last one (Sousuke) better. Michiru was shocked upon learning that her mother had already met Sousuke and even more upset when she realized that her mother got money from him as well. As Michiru was trying to find words in explaining to her mother why she and Sousuke were not together anymore, Takeru interrupted them and confessed everything to Chinatsu by first asking her not to tell Sousuke about Michiru coming over there that day. Initially, Chinatsu brushed off Takeru and did not care to hear what he had to say, but when she heard that Sousuke was beating Michiru during their relationship, she became a bit shook up. She tried to say that it was natural of men to beat on women, but Takeru said that it was not right and as Chinatsu is Michiru's mother, it is her duty to protect her daughter.

Meanwhile at the hospital, Eri came to visit Sousuke again, but then discovered from the nurses that he had just disappeared. She looked a bit bothered by the news, but did not let it get to her. As she was walking through the hospital hallways, she saw Reina and (possibly) her boyfriend sitting together. The man kept apologizing and Reina -- with a defeated expression and patch over one eye -- told him that it was alright. Eri looked away and kept walking.

Back at Chinatsu's apartment that evening, Takeru and Chinatsu had gotten much better together and were getting along now. The three of them had some alcohol to drink and very merry conversation to boot. Michiru looked on at the two, fairly content that Takeru and her mother were getting along so well. Afterwards, Michiru and Takeru walked home together having convinced her mother of signing the forms, but it then suddenly started to rain. Takeru -- who was prepared and everything -- brought out an umbrella and the two walked underneath it. Michiru was happy at first, but then got uncomfortable since they were not dating so she could not really walk closer to him. She decided to go buy something and told Takeru to go home first without her.

After Michiru left Takeru, she went to a department store to look at umbrellas. Unfortunately, she did not realize that Sousuke was also in the area, limping with his crutch. He noticed her and walked over, then called her name. Michiru froze at hearing his voice and turned to face him, her expression twisted with a mixture of fear and shock. Sousuke asked if she had read his letters and when she looked confused, he knew that she had not. He also asked if she could go back home with him, seeing that he was injured and could not really take care of himself. Michiru then told him that they had already broken up -- so she would not be going back with him -- and her words really shocked him. When he wasn't going to accept her answer, she quickly put down the umbrellas and ran out of the store. However, he called her name and hurried after her. Michiru stopped and he grabbed her arm, still asking her to go back. Michiru asked him to forgive her and let her go free, because she fell in love with someone else. Sousuke was shocked and said that she was lying and Michiru told him that it was not a lie and then left as quickly as she could. Just a little later, Takeru -- who was probably worried about her and went after her -- bumped into Michiru and the two go home together. Sousuke, noticing this from where he was standing, stood and looked on.

Some time later, Takeru heard from his superior that a new job came in for him, saying that someone -- a director maybe (I can't really remember) -- really liked his abilities and wanted him to do hair & make-up for a movie. Upon hearing that he was very excited and immediately called Ruka, telling her about it. Later that evening, he told all the share house members that evening about it. Eri whined that she did not want him to quit his bartending job, because she liked it so much, but Takeru said that he would not be quitting bartending for now at least. He also declared that he would be taking Michiru as his assistant, but she seemed pretty unresponsive to this. She then snapped out of her trance and said that she would give her very best, but cannot not fully express how happy she was since her mind was still on Sousuke.

The next day as Takeru was going home from his bartending job, he was pushed off a set of stairs by Sousuke who smacked him with his crutch. Takeru tried to run away, but was trapped by Sousuke and then beaten pretty badily. Sousuke used his crutch to do some brutal beating on Takeru and then stepped on his right hand -- that precious golden hand used for hair & make-up T___T. *weeps*

A little later, Michiru, who was sleeping at home, woke up to hear the door bell ring. When she didn't see anyone at the gate, she become hesitant about going to the door, but proceeded to it anyway. She opened the door to see Takeru collapse down on the ground and immediately went to help him. Meanwhile, Ruka's cell phone rang at the motorcross track and she picked it up to learn about Takeru's condition. She immediately rushed home where all the share house members were gathered around Takeru's bedside. Kneeling down next to him, she called out his name and he said, "Welcome home." Michiru was torn over what happened and said that it was her fault before rushing out in tears. Ruka immediately understood immediately what happened from Michiru's one line and went to her room later to tell her that it was not her fault. Michiru confessed that she told Sousuke that she fell in love (with Takeru) and that if she had not done it, then Takeru would not have been hurt. She said that she thought that if she said it then Sousuke would give up on her, and said that it's not really a lie though. Ruka asked if Michiru loved Takeru and Michiru said that she's not sure, plus Takeru was in love with Ruka as Ruka was in love with him too. Ruka then corrected Michiru and said that the two of them were friends, and the relationship between them was not Michiru thought it is.

Meanwhile, Eri and Ogurin were in the living room talking and Eri said that she let her guard down, not thinking much of it. Ogurin was more worried that Sousuke was going to pick off all of them sooner or later. Ruka then confronted him and said that it was almost as though Ogurin was hoping that Michiru would leave, which he protested and said that he never said that. However, Ruka said that it was what he was thinking, how much more relieved they would all be if she had left. She then told him that he should go home (to his wife) if he's so worried and that
she would move out of her current apartment, back to the share house just to protect Michiru.

A day or so later, Takeru was out of bed and Michiru was taking care of him. He was trying to do some rehabilitation in order to get his hands moving properly again, but looked like he was having a lot of difficulty. Michiru looked very guilty over this and asked if he was alright, to which he replied he was. She later accompanied to the hospital and waited in the lobby as he got his hand checked by the doctor. Meanwhile, back at the share house, Ruka had returned and looked around to see a note on the table from Michiru saying that she and Takeru were out. After reading the note, the phone began to ring and Ruka looked hesitant to pick it up. After the phone rang a few times, she answered the phone and later went over to Sousuke's apartment to speak with him -- as he was the one who was calling.

At Sousuke's apartment, Ruka watched as Sousuke tried to scare her. He was telling her about the notes he sent to her parents and such, and then asked where Michiru was and if she was with that man (meaning Takeru). Ruka said that if she was, then what of it? She said that Michiru was no longer his girlfriend or anything like it. She had changed and that she living by standing on her own two feet now. Michiru was also going to be much happier from now on as well, which Ruka will never allow Sousuke to crush that happiness. Sousuke asked why Ruka would say it in that way and Ruka then said to him that the one who truly loves Michiru is herself. She then asked if Sousuke just thought that "that sort of love was not love at all?" to which he responded by getting violent with her. The two fought in the apartment and the lamp that Sousuke bought to replace the broken one from before fell and shattered on the ground. Sousuke pushed Ruka towards the broken shards and cut her face. He then ripped open the front of her shirt.

Back at the share house, the cup portion of Takeru's cup fell off as he was about to use it. At hearing the sound of the cup falling down and rolling on the ground, Michiru hurried to the kitchen to see what happened. Both Michiru and Takeru looked at the cup on the floor in astonishment, but Takeru looked quite worried as he stared at the cup handle in his hand. Michiru watched Takeru with a thoughtful expression...

Preview of the second to last episode - Sousuke's narration to Michiru: "The only place you belong to, is with me. Until you die, I will never abandon you." Title of the episode is Ai to Shi meaning "Love & Death."

This was an intense episode, it was by far the most intense episode in the entire series. We never quite got to learn anything more about Takeru's past and it looks like next week's episode is the last (or close to last) one so we might not get any more than an idea of his past. Also, there might or might not be a lot of time left to learn about Sousuke's past either -- though we already got a glimpse of it when Michiru was telling Takeru about Sousuke back during episode 4. This only leaves us with what happens next between Sousuke and Ruka.

Sousuke might rape Ruka. This is a possibility as he was practically on top of her in a position that she would not have been able to easily move from; however, lamp shards were next to her so maybe she would be able to grab one and stab him. The betrayal that Michiru talked about in episode one could be that Sousuke raped Ruka, which then is Michiru's fault, because of her, Ruka got raped. Another thing the betrayal could be is that Michiru ran away after Sousuke died or something. I think it's more clear now to the audience who will be the one dying and I think that it may actually end up being Sousuke with Ruka killing him in self defense. (O_O)

I think ratings are probably going to shoot up for the last episode, but not sure how high. Maybe it might hit 20%?

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