Summary:
The next day (ostensibly), Suzuka and Yamato are walking to school. Suzuka checks to make sure that Yamato is coming to practice (remember last ep), but then she doesn't talk to him after that. Meanwhile at school, Honoka is deep in thought about Yamato and Suzuka = wondering why Yamato ran faster when Suzuka yelled at him. At practice, she tries to help out Yamato and wants to walk home with him, but the Track Captain says that Yamato must run 20 extra laps after practice as "punishment". Honoka realizes that that means he'll be alone with Suzuka, so she loiters around after practice trying to decide whether she should check on things. After his laps, Suzuka helps Yamato to stretch, which is when Honoka walks to the track. There is no practice for Sunday, so Yamato is thinking about asking Suzuka someplace. The girl who gave him the Fantasyland tickets shows up again, this time giving him tickets to the new pool in the area. Yamato thinks about asking Suzuka to go, but Yasu puts a stop to that by asking him what kind of relationship they have that she would go to the pool with him. Later that day, Honoka slyly tries to ask Yamato to go to the pool (she apparently got the same tickets), but just then Miki comes along and invites herself along, which leads to Kobayakawa (the sprinter who seems to like Honoka) inviting himself along, and then finally, Miki asks Suzuka to come. Yamato seems sure that Suzuka won't go, but when she looks at the group, she agrees to also go. Yamato is confused by this, as he assumes she would be going to Tsuda's grave. The next day, at the pool, both Honoka and Yamato are determined to make their best effort at spending time with their crush, but neither one succeeds - Suzuka spends most of the day on waterslides with Miki, and since Yamato is just waiting on her, Kobayakawa manages to continually pull Honoka away from Yamato. The group eventually leaves to go home, with Yamato thinking that maybe Suzuka didn't come because of him, but rather because she just wanted to use the pool. Yamato has to stop to tie his shoe, but when he looks up Suzuka is waiting for him. Just then, the fireworks start (literally, not figuratively), and they watch for a bit. Yamato remembers the last time they watched fireworks, and unfortunately (for him) speaks of them to Suzuka, and she ends up walking away from him. The next school day, Honoka asks to walk home with Suzuka. Along the way, she asks Suzuka if she likes Yamato, and if it's okay if she (Honoka) confesses to Yamato, saying she's liked him for longer than he has known Suzuka. Suzuka seems unable to know how to respond, and seemingly, to save Honoka's feelings, she replies that she doesn't like Yamato. Of course, Yamato has walked up on this scene and overhears. As Honoka runs off, Suzuka stammers and tries to explain, but Yamato says "It's okay, I know you don't like me [ in that way ]. As he walks home, a distraught Suzuka looks after him.

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Definitely one of my favorite episodes, solely for the last scene, which I'll get back to in a moment.

We're getting more character development out of Honoka, which is good, because she is realizing that she'll have to win Yamato's heart. On the surface, Suzuka is the character who remains static for most of the episode - we're not really sure of her motivations, and it's only towards the end of the episode that she changes into anything more than wallpaper for the episode.

As usual, Yasu has his finger on the pulse of Yamato's situation. He offers support to Yamato, but he doesn't offer him endless hope. He keeps Yamato's feet on the ground, and that's the role that someone badly needs to play for Yamato, who seems to lurch from feeling to feeling.

The end of the episode gives the meat of the conflict. Honoka likes Yamato, and deep down, I think Suzuka does too. Her concern for Honoka's heart leads to her denial, and unfortunately for her, Yamato is there to hear it. But Yamato has changed as a character too as a result of Yasu's talk and the events around the pool trip. He starts to slip into old confession mode, but at that moment, Yasu's words kick in and he realizes that it isn't such a good idea to go down that road twice. In the end, his shattering utterance of "I know you don't like me" with the "in that way" implied in the tone, leaves us with the conflict for the second half of the series. These are two star-crossed people - Suzuka and Yamato seem to resolve their feelings at different times and in the process of doing so continually hurt each other and make themselves say the wrong things. The Hedgehog Dilemma comes to mind again. In the end, we're left to wonder: what will the catalyst be for them to get in sync. And in the end, does Honoka have a chance? Will this be a bittersweet series, or one of tradition "in the end, the ordained couple comes together". Although I think it's the latter, I'm intrigued by the possibility that it might not come to pass. In the end, how many misunderstandings can the two withstand?

Finally, that last scene in the anime is one of the most devastating images I've seen in anime. The artists got that look on Suzuka's face just right.