Kaze no Stigma Episode 08 – Ayano’s Misfortune

Treat yourself to some ‘guilty pleasure’ of enjoying seeing Ayano ‘tormented’ in this episode, not because we hate her, but rather because it’s so fun to see her being teased. And now someone else has been added to the family of ‘Ayano teasers’, whose mischievousness is far greater than them (in some aspects). But well, it does produce some good results, like making Ayano x Kazuma fangirls like me melt… :p

Screenshots

Summary

It’s an urban legend that a “cursed cherry blossom tree” lies in the school ground of Seiryou Gakuen. Students confirmed the appearance of this ‘hitodama’ (or “will-o’-the-wisp”) in the school late at night, and it’s for this reason that Soushu asks Ayano to investigate on it. Ayano says that she doesn’t feel the presence of this ‘hitodama’ in school, and Soushu also thinks that it isn’t really dangerous, but having ordinary people see it is enough to cast fear on them. The president of Seiryou Gakuen himself asked the Kannagi for help on this matter, and it’s but right to entrust this matter to Ayano since it’s her own school. Ayano fully accepts this job and assures Soushu that she’ll finish this job quickly. She was already planning to head off to the school, but Soushu tells her that she needs to have a bodyguard since they still don’t know what this ‘hitodama’ has up its sleeves, especially knowing how troublesome it’ll be if something happens to her (as the next clan head). Ayano worries that asking someone from their clan to accompany her will be even more of a burden to this job, and Soushu ensures her that something like that won’t happen because he asked ‘someone capable’ of the job.

Just then, Kazuma arrives and lets out words of reassurance to Ayano that there’s nothing for her to worry about because he’ll protect her if anything happens to her, making Ayano realize that he was the one Soushu asked to be her bodyguard. Ayano vehemently refuses to have Kazuma accompany her, and Soushu says that this leaves him no choice but to entrust this case to the Police Special Investigation Unit. This makes Ayano imagine Kazuma working with Kirika, who criticizes her for entrusting the case to them when it involves her very own school, thinking that it’s quite unexpected of her (being the next clan head), and Kazuma replies that he and Kirika simply has to “do this job thoroughly”. This prompts Ayano to accept the job, considering that this involves her school and that there’s no one else that should be entrusted with this case but her (which she just reasoned out as a ‘false excuse’). Kazuma drags her away to get on with their job.

As they arrive in Seiryou Gakuen, Ayano wonders what made Kazuma accept this job, which (not surprisingly) is no other than the great reward Soushu has in store for him (and Kazuma can’t cease to be amazed by how generous Soushu is in giving payment). They enter the school grounds and Ayano asks if Kazuma feels the presence of something, but Kazuma refuses to give her a proper answer, explaining that his job is simply to be his bodyguard, and that it’s Ayano’s job to resolve this. Just then, something rustles along the bushes, and believing that this is the ‘hitodama’ they’re after, Ayano attacks it with a fireball but Kazuma trips her to prevent her from hitting her friends who are actually the ones hiding there.

Ayano was very much surprised to see them, then Yukari explains that they came there to witness the ‘hitodama’ themselves (since it’s quite a rare event), and as members of the student council, they can’t overlook the fact that the students are being threatened by its existence. What Ayano finds surprising is how they got hold of this information regarding the case, and Nanase says it’s because Yukari’s such an ‘insider’ that there’s no secrets in their school that she’s not aware of. Yukari goes bashful and says that it’s not really true, considering certain facts that she doesn’t know of – the fact that the witnesses gather every seven o’clock in the evening, that the only one who got injured was their PE teacher Oohara-sensei because he ran off in such a haste, or the fact that their principal hides a picture of the actress he idolizes in his drawer – all of which Yukari says she “completely doesn’t know about” This makes Ayano believe that they must’ve sneaked into the principal’s room and found out about this case.

Ayano asks them to leave, but Yukari and Nanase refuses to let pass this [really interesting] event, and tells Ayano that they’re not afraid of anything so long as Ayano’s around, much more have Kazuma around to help them out as well. Kazuma however doesn’t have any intention to help them out since his job is only to protect Ayano, and passes Ayano this responsibility of taking care of her friends if she intends to take them in this job. Yukari and Nanase can’t help but feel the rush of excitement over Kazuma’s words, interpreting it as “I only want to protect you [Ayano].” Nanase comments on how Ayano must be out of luck that Yukari found out about this, despite the fact that they know Ayano doesn’t want them to be a hindrance to their supposedly ‘date’.

Kazuma hurries Ayano to decide on whether to take Yukari and Nanase with her, or it’ll already be daybreak before they can get to finish their job. Ayano reluctantly agrees to have them join them, warning them to listen to what she tells them and not just do anything on their own (and Yukari and Nanase proudly announces the 1st “Ghost Busters Tour” in Seiryou Gakuen). As they walk along the corridor, Ayano thinks that perhaps there’s no ‘hitodama’ after all since she doesn’t sense anything, and both Yukari and Nanase refuses to believe this, knowing that there’s certainly ‘something’ in their school. Yukari then talks about the “seven mysteries of Seiryou Gakuen” – the flower in their toilet, the piano in the music room which plays even without anyone around, the stairs which increases in number when full moon comes, the lay figure which moves at midnight, the spirit of a dropout student who appears in the library, the ‘whispering’ cursed cherry blossom tree… and before Yukari could tell the last ‘mystery’, they already got curious about this cherry blossom tree which Yukari points out to be the dead tree along the school ground. It’s said that whispering voices can be heard near this tree from time to time, but Ayano thinks that it must simply be the rustling sound of the branches the people mistook for a ghost.

Ayano then asks Yukari about the ‘seventh mystery’, and Yukari says that despite it being called ‘seven mysteries’, there’s actually only six (and that’s the ’seventh mystery’). Ayano still don’t think the ‘hitodama’ they’re after has anything to do with these mysteries, knowing that Kazuma will certainly react when he senses something. Kazuma stops for a while (as though he sensed something), when a gust of wind suddenly blows and flips the girls’ skirts. Thinking that Kazuma was behind this, Ayano goes to attack Kazuma who quickly blocks her attack, when the ‘hitodama’ finally appears and runs past them. Ayano wonders what that ‘thing’ was just then, and Kazuma nonchalantly replies that he doesn’t know it. Yukari on the other hand was so delighted that she has seen this ‘hitodama’, but Nanase thinks it’s going to be difficult taking a picture of it with its amazing speed.

Yukari calls out on the hitodama (‘hitodama-chan’), asking it to come out since she’s going to take a nice picture of it. Ayano turns to Kazuma, asking him if he was able to sense the presence of the hitodama earlier, but Kazuma says that he wasn’t able to sense it at all. Ayano can’t quite believe that something would get past his senses, and as Kazuma simply replies, “Well yeah”, she can’t help but think that Kazuma’s hiding something from her (with his strange behavior). Kazuma goes in his sarcastic tone, telling Ayano that he certainly is hiding a lot of things, and that perhaps Ayano actually likes to ‘know everything about him’. Ayano gets infuriated by this and tells Kazuma to stop deceiving him. She grabs him by the collar and demands him to reveal everything he knows, when Kazuma decides to kiss her on the nose just so she will let go of him.

Ayano still can’t get over what Kazuma did to her, when he advises her to “look to her front”. The moment Ayano turns around, the hitodama suddenly rushes in front of her causing her to fall flat on the floor. Kazuma can’t believe Ayano didn’t even scream when she fell down (he literally said ‘to think that it would’ve been better if she screamed as she fell down’), and comments on how she certainly doesn’t have any ‘sex appeal’. Yukari says that’s but natural, knowing that this is Ayano, and Kazuma comments on the ‘persuasive power’ Yukari’s words have.

Just then, the hitodama lets out its voice, ordering them to leave, and warns them that if they dare come any closer, she certainly won’t hold back. Ayano attacks the hitodama with a fireball when Kazuma stops her from doing so, much to her surprise as to why he did this. Kazuma explains that it’s because the hitodama itself warned them not to get close to her, and so it’ll be better to let if free first and have them track down its whereabouts. Ayano is perceptive enough to notice that Kazuma only thought about that explanation at that moment, but Kazuma denies this and tells her that the truth of his words can be clearly seen in his ‘honest eyes’. Ayano knows Kazuma is just fooling around and gives him a slapping, knowing well that he knows exactly where the ‘hitodama’ went, and Kazuma decides to guide them to the place.

In the Kannagi residence, Ren is giving Soushu some massage as he talks about how Ayano and Kazuma must now be ‘fighting hand-in-hand’ in Ayano’s school. Ren thinks it must be some tough job, and tells Soushu he could’ve asked him to help out as well. Soushu replies that “there wouldn’t be any meaning to it” if he asked for Ren’s help. He asks Ren’s opinion as to how he sees Ayano and Kazuma’s relationship, and Ren expresses his wanting to see his brother and sister get along better, since they always fight with each other whenever they meet, making Soushu disappointed.

Contrary to what Soushu was thinking, Ayano and her friends are now being targeted by the mischievous ‘hitodama’, with Ayano sustaining the most ‘damage’ as she ends up falling down the stairs due to one of these pranks. Yukari and Nanase helps her up, comforting her that it’s alright since she didn’t sustain any damages and that she’s strong. Ayano is obviously unhappy with what happened to her, and accuses Kazuma of being behind all this. Kazuma doesn’t really mind being thought of as the perpetrator, but asks Ayano if she also thinks he’s the one behind the ‘light’ effect and voice of the ‘hitodama’, rendering her speechless since he couldn’t possibly have done that. The ‘hitodama’ continues with its pranks, going as far as pouring wax on the corridor, making the lay figure in the nurse’s office move, and breaking loose all the faucets at the end of the corridor, which finally makes them take a rest in one of the classrooms to dry up their clothing with the help of Ayano’s fire.

Nanase remarks that so many mysterious events have been happening, and Yukari seems to be excited in anticipating what’s going to happen next. Ayano lets out a sigh as she can’t figure out what’s happening, and Kazuma tells her that simply worrying about it is useless in making them figure out what the hitodama is thinking of next. Ayano turns to Kazuma and asks him why he’s not telling her anything, to which Kazuma explains that he’s not really intending to keep things from her, it’s just that he still lacks conclusive evidence to confirm what he thinks, and given that, whatever he says will simply be useless. Ayano calls him a liar, but Kazuma draws close to Ayano and whispers in her ears, “Believe me, I came here to protect you.” Ayano gets all nervous with Kazuma’s gesture and reluctantly believes him after his insisting.

Yukari and Nanase once again feel all excited by seeing how the two are ‘caught in their own world’, but Nanase reminds her that despite being all absorbed in her thoughts of being a princess (being protected by a knight), she better not forget about her job of protecting them. Ayano once again denies this to be true, but both her friends assure her that they certainly understand her situation and tells her to be more honest about what she feels. Ayano demands Kazuma to say something and prove Yukari and Nanase wrong, but Kazuma is deep in thoughts as he feels movement of the wind as it’s gathering in the backyard, and thinks that the land is being controlled as well. Ayano wonders how come Kazuma wasn’t able to realize this sooner, which he explains to be because of its ‘natural presence’. It existed (or lived) with nature, concealing its presence which is fundamentally different from a youma or an onryou (vengeful spirit), and it’s for this reason that Ayano wasn’t able to sense it at all.

The hitodama still doesn’t stop and sends a flying bucket on Ayano head when they reach the backyard. Yukari comments on how ‘classical’ this prank is, and Nanase says that she never thought she’ll be able to see this kind of scene with Ayano. The hitodama laughs at them for being foolish and not listening to her warning, then Ayano finally snaps and retaliates with a rapid fireball succession attack. Yukari and Nanase gets worried if things continue like this since this will certainly reach the attention of the police, making Kazuma stop Ayano from attacking who was already crying. Kazuma couldn’t believe she would react this way to a mere prank, and Ayano tells him that there’s no way he can understand the shame of being made to wear a bucket on his head, which Kazuma finds something he doesn’t want to understand either. He turns to the hitodama and commands it to stop playing around anymore since their ‘princess’ has already reached her limit. The mischievous hitodama however refuses to heed him, even challenging him to catch her if he can. Kazuma easily catches this hitodama with the [brutal] attack he gave, revealing its real identity of being a pixie, a type of fairy belonging to a family of wind-users who enjoys making fun of people.

As Tiana finally recovers from Kazuma’s attack, she becomes bewildered for a moment and then acts all cute and innocent as she introduces herself as ‘Tiana’. Ayano however doesn’t fall prey to her cuteness and confronts why she did all this. Tiana reasons out that it’s because she doesn’t want to get close to humans, which Ayano finds to be an absurd reason considering that the building she’s in now is built by humans, but Tiana sarcastically replies that she didn’t really know about this. Ayano is certain that she’s simply lying about this and goes to attack her when Kazuma refrains her from doing this, reprimanding her not to throw a tantrum in the middle of their job. Kazuma adds that she has become far more emotional than usual, making Ayano finally let go her Enraiha (without the flame). Yukari and Nanase think that it’s most likely because of the similarities between Ayano and Tiana, considering how they have the same “mental age”. Ayano and Tiana however refuse to accept that they’re similar, despite being ‘in sync’ in everything they say.

Kazuma consoles Ayano and tells her not to get so angry, because he’s going to treat her to a meal next time, and this stuns Ayano for a moment (in delight). This makes Yukari and Nanase really happy for Ayano, considering that Kazuma is finally taking her out on a date and congratulates her on her ‘first date’, but Ayano reasons out that it’s not something like that. She turns to Kazuma and demands him not to take her out on a fastfood, even warning him to prepare himself since she won’t be contented until she’s able to spend his entire reward money. Kazuma simply agrees to her demands, and then confronts Tiana with regards to her reason for being there, which she reveals to be because of her grandfather’s last wish – to make the last bud of the cherry blossom bloom. As Tiana heads for the ‘cursed cherry blossom’, they finally realize that the voices people hear at night are no other than Tiana and the other pixies who live in this tree. The pixies surround the tree and make them witness this miraculous scene with the cherry blossom, before finally bidding them goodbye.

Having realized how the pixies were simply protecting the scenery of the cherry blossoms makes Ayano easily forgive Tiana despite everything she has done, but Kazuma thinks otherwise. According to Kazuma, the most effective way to protect ‘something’ would be to conceal its presence such that people won’t notice it in the first place. But then they noticed it (the cherry blossom), because of the pixie’s doing themselves (because of the commotion they caused). The pixies are not stupid for them not to know that this should be the effective means to accomplish their goal. What this means is that they didn’t really intend to protect the cherry blossom as they said, but rather simply wanted to play around with people, knowing how these creatures enjoy mischievous deeds by nature. Ayano can’t believe she was played a fool up until the end, and summons the ‘wicked pixies’ to come back (for their punishment). Yukari and Nanase both realize that the reason why Kazuma could stay cool despite knowing all along about the pixies is because he also knows how fun it is to tease Ayano. The episode ends, yet Ayano could still not get over what happened and continues to demand the pixies to come back, declaring that she’ll certainly see to it that they’ll all get ‘fried’ ^^;;;

Thoughts

This was such a fun episode… LOL…! This was truly, an Ayano-teasing (raised to the power of hundreds or thousands) episode. But, the more I feel happy as I see Ayano being teased (on one end), the more I can’t help but feel guilty over this and pity Ayano for being teased the way she is (on the other end) ^^;;;; Talk about ‘guilty pleasure’. Kazuma certainly knows how much fun it is to tease Ayano (and see Ayano being teased), thus he didn’t resort to resolving this case the ‘easy’ way (poor Ayano ><). The little pixie Tiana has certainly caught my heart with her cuteness and playfulness XD (It’s a good thing that we’ll still be able to see her again in the next episode… yay!). Now I feel like wanting to have a plushie Tiana or something… ><

I’d really have to commend GONZO for how well this episode was executed (never mind the animation… bah), especially compared to the novel counterpart. They changed quite a lot in the scenes to make it even more fun than how it was presented in the novel (talk about ‘role reversal’, it would seem as if the novel was the one that cut out parts in the anime instead :p), and here are the ones I was able to notice that were added (note: if only the scene itself is stated, with no comparison with the novel or anything like that, it simply means it’s an ‘anime original’ scene :D):

1) The scene with Soushu telling Ayano about the job was simply shown as a ‘flashback’ of some sort in the novel, and what was written was simply the part where Soushu tells Ayano about the job (sorry for being redundant), and that’s it. No Kazuma arriving to show that mischievous expression he had and those sarcastic comments, and no “Ayano imagining Kirika with Kazuma” either :p

2) Yukari and Nanase’s appearance – sneaking behind the bushes where Ayano almost fries them (there was none of this kind of ‘appearance’ mentioned in the novel… they were already there with Ayano when the short story chapter started ^^;; )

3) Yukari enumerating the ‘facts she doesn’t know’ regarding the case (which certainly showed how playful Yukari is XD)

4) Yukari and Nanase’s excitement over Kazuma’s words (of not wanting to bear the responsibility to take care of them) together with their ‘interpretation’ of this (“I want to protect only you, Ayano” :p)

5) The “7 Mysteries” of Seiryou Gakuen is an ‘anime original’ as well. In the novel, the ‘urban legend’ mentioned about the ‘cursed cherry blossom’ is a much eery story… about a student who jumped down from the rooftop and ended up hanging by this tree… =__= (I wouldn’t be surprised with all the grimness and brutality in the novel compared to the anime, coz the author really seems to like these things >.>)

6) Kazuma showing Ayano his [gleaming] honest eyes as proof that he’s not lying. In the novel, Kazuma simply said “Wind-users do not lie” (pretty boring, ne? :p)

7) The scene with Soushu and Ren is yet another scene added in the anime (there was no mention of Ren and Soushu throughout the entire ‘ghost hunting’). This simply makes you see how Soushu has been plotting all this for ‘matchmaking’ Ayano and Kazuma :p

The ‘post-scene’ after Ayano fell down the stairs, with Yukari and Nanase assisting and cheering up Ayano. (I believe it was stated in the novel that all three of them fell down the stairs instead ^^;; )

9) The ‘water splash’ prank scene was also not in the novel, so is the classroom scene with Ayano’s fire as a portable ‘fireplace’. It seems that in the novel, the ‘sexy whispering’ scene only happens in the corridor itself… no transition of place… o_O

10) Yukari and Nanase’s “side comment” upon seeing Ayano and Kazuma going ‘lovey dovey’ (regarding how both of them seems to be in their own world… the dialogues following that were already in the novel) :p

11) The last ‘side comment’ of Yukari and Nanase, regarding why Kazuma can stay so cool amidst knowing all along about the pixies.

That’s about it… makes you see how much ‘fun stuff’ they added in this episode

And, there’s this little thing that I didn’t quite understand in this episode, regarding what Ayano said about the humiliation / disgrace of having worn a bucket on one’s head. I’m thinking that it means something deeper, like symbolizing how someone “doesn’t have a face to show” people anymore (literally and figuratively), like the “man in the iron mask” or something ^^;;; Does this have any particular symbolism or relationship to a belief in the Japanese culture? Coz I really don’t know… and I also don’t know if I’m just thinking too much (and that perhaps Ayano just said it because she was somewhat not completely sane anymore after all that has happened to her) =___=’’’

With the preview of the next episode, looks like the anime will finally move on to cover volume 3… which will make us witness some interesting developments on Ren’s part

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