The Balloonatic

Yamaboshi Academy

Morning!

Morning!

Inaba...

Sorry!

I shouldn't have yelled at you!

Kiriyama was hurting, so I was focused on her.

And since I had an episode right then...

I'm disappointed, Inaba.

I never thought you would give up on your friends.

Well, you couldn't help it.

Yes, I could have.

I know how hard it is for you, and yet...

I'm not upset.

You only said those things because you were worried about Yui.

But don't ask me to go to the clubroom or Yui's house just yet.

I need some time.

I believe you belong with us!

Let me know if you need help!

And I hope you come back soon.

It feels like we're losing people.

I'm thinking that she's more upset

about what she said to Yui than about

what Taichi said to her.

Inaban's a lot more sensitive than she looks.

Should we leave her alone for now?

I'm worried about Yui, too.

Is she going to have attendance issues?

It's only been a week.

I don't think that's a concern yet.

But if she keeps this up...

It's getting lonely.

And Then There Were None

Inaba will be back once she's had a little time alone.

Let's focus on Kiriyama right now.

But Yui doesn't want to see us.

Yesterday...

Her mom would have let us in if she were around.

But what are we supposed to do

after we've managed to get inside her room?

We have to go see her before we can do anything.

Kiriyama might be feeling better today.

But what if one of us

has an episode and makes the situation worse again?

Er, didn't we already go over this yesterday?

What do we do?

It's not our decision to make.

I can understand Yui's reasoning,

but if she keeps it up, Heartseed might try something.

I believe the current situation is bad for Kiriyama.

But if Yui goes outside, it'll only get worse.

She might end up physically harming other people.

Though we have the same problem.

But Kiriyama looks so sad.

You're only worried about dealing with Yui's current problem!

You need to think ahead!

Our first priority should be to deal with Kiriyama's current problem!

Because of that "must help everyone immediately" mentality you're so good at?

You think your selfless behavior will save the day again?

What's that supposed to mean?

Don't you want to help Kiriyama?!

Wait... Taichi? Aoki?

I want to help her,

but I don't know what to do!

Then we should start by going to see Kiriyama!

What do we do after that?!

We find a way!

We couldn't find a way the past two days!

We won't change anything by standing around talking!

That doesn't mean we should keep trying the same thing!

Cut it out, guys!

Calm down, Aoki!

Forget it.

I'll go by myself.

What?

Don't just decide these things yourself!

Today, I'm doing things my way.

I can save Kiriyama.

Who do you think you are?!

Do you seriously believe you can save everyone?!

Isn't that what happened when we were swapping personalities?

You were no help at all!

Calm down, Aoki!

You too, Taichi!

You can't get lucky every time!

Are you trying to hog all the glory again?!

Hog all the glory?!

I'm going to save Kiriyama!

Save her?!

You're just a selfish freak who doesn't

want to see Yui look sad!

Shut up!

At least I'm not a worthless clod who can't do jack!

What was that?

I told you guys to cut it out!

Taichi, you're getting to be too full of yourself!

Aoki, you're getting too jealous!

Are either of you actually worried about Yui?!

You guys just don't want to see Yui looking sad!

Don't interfere!

Outta my way!

A-Are you okay, Nagase?!

See?!

You're a selfish bastard who

doesn't care if anyone is hurt in the process!

Er...

I didn't mean that.

Sorry.

Don't blame yourself.

Your desires were unleashed, that's all. It wasn't your fault.

My desires were unleashed when I shoved Nagase.

But...

They weren't before then.

The episode didn't begin until...

Don't interfere!

Even without my desires being unleashed, I...

Big brother?

What's wrong? Why are the lights off?

Are you asleep?

No, you need something?

You haven't come out of your room,

so I was wondering if you were sick.

Do you have a cold?

It's nothing.

You should probably stay away from me right now.

Did you get in a fight with your girlfriend?

Huh?

Oh, I guessed right.

That's no good.

Boys are stronger, so they're supposed to protect girls.

You're absolutely right.

You should make up right away.

Bye.

Even my little sister is worried about me.

What am I doing?

I see...

Is this how Kiriyama feels?

Oh, Mom?

Ah, you're seeing him again tonight?

Nah, I'll be fine by myself.

No problem at all.

Should I even be here?

What if I have another episode

and do something worse this time?

Stop thinking.

Focus on studying.

Don't think.

Don't think.

Morning, Taichi.

Yeah.

Ao—

Taichi!

You're heading to the clubroom, right?

Huh?

Oh...

You're coming, right?

Oh, Inaban!

Are you coming to the clubroom?

Sorry, I'll have to pass again today.

Bye.

I'm heading home for the day, too.

Sorry.

Hey, is there something going on with you guys?

No, we're always like this.

Well, I won't deny that you're always spacing out.

Kiriyama, I think? From Class 1?

She still hasn't come back to school.

Sounds like it.

I don't mean to pry, but are you guys having issues?

It's nothing like that.

If you say so.

Field Trip

On Friday, there will be

a field trip for everyone in our grade.

Today, we will be assigning groups and reviewing the itinerary.

What a drag.

It's going to end up more like a picnic.

And where did Mr. Go go?

Isn't it a little irresponsible

for a teacher to let a student handle everything?

Yeah...

But luckily, we have Queen Fujishima.

She's so beautiful.

Wait...

You're a fan of hers?

Are you a masochist?

Group Assignments

First, I want to assign groups

for the main event, making curry.

We'll have six groups.

Five people per group.

And we'll be sharing the facilities with the other classes.

That's too many groups.

Why can't we have more people?

How could you even suggest such a thing?

It would certainly be fun

to spend this one page of your youth fooling around with your friends.

But there's something more important you could be doing instead.