| Period 54: True Intention Candy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Period | 54 | |
| Volume | 14 | |
| Previous | Period 53: Blog of God | |
| Next | Period 55: Beloved Plush Toy | |
True Intention Candy is the 54th chapter of the Zekkyou Gakkyuu series. It's the third chapter in the 14th volume.
Premise[]
One day, Momo comes across some special candy said to let one peek into the hearts of others.
Yomi's Introduction[]
Yomi observes a group of school students and she asks the Readers if it would be nice to be able to see into the hearts of someone else. She asks them who they would want to be able to do this with.
Summary[]
As school is about to begin, Momo is testing out the "loves me, hates me" pencil trick to determine how Watanabe-kun feels about her. As it shifts towards "hates me", she bursts into tears as her friend Yori joins her. She suggests that Momo stop replying on something like that and just try to speak to him for a change, but Momo doesn't think she can because of how popular he is, and how plain she is. Yori claims that Watanabe definitely does not hate her, nor is he the type of guy to just brush her off either. Momo admits she is right, but she wishes she could understand ones heart better before she made a fool out of herself.
Heading through town, Momo and Yori note that Valentines Day will be approaching and they overlook some pre-made chocolates all wrapped up for the holiday. Yori deduces Momo will get something for Watanabe so that she can properly confess, and wonders if she should try hand-making something. Yori recommends it, reminding Momo that he will get a lot of chocolate regardless, so she should make hers stand out.
It's then they spot a creepy girl who has been in Watanabe's class the past two years. Momo feels sorry for him for having her following him around so intently, and they wonder if she will be buying something for him. When she stubbornly remarks that Iwamoto shouldn't bother because its obvious he will turn her down, Yori hushes her and tries to get her to step elsewhere in the room when she remains adamant.
She joins Yori to spot something from the brand Ishikawa Sweets, known as Intention Candy. Initially they think its a joke, but Momo is charmed by it anyway and decides to buy some. She notes its the only bag there too, and if it actually works then she'll be able to figure everything out.
At home that evening Momo is watching television as her brother -Tsuyoshi- asks if dinner is ready. Momo boredly waits when she recalls that she bought the candy earlier, and she pops one into her mouth. She's surprised by its sour-sweet taste as Tsuyoshi chastises her for eating right before dinner and says she will get fat. As he walks away, Momo suddenly hears "since Momo-nee has a nice figure, it'd be a shame if she got fat." and flustered she turns to her brother demanding to know what he just said. He expresses confusion and denies having said anything, even as Momo brings up hearing him compliment her figure. They begin physically fighting as their mom stops to observe them hearing all the noise, and she scolds them for behaving this way- but Momo hears her think "They must be close to fight like that. I'm at my happiest when I spend time with my family."
Her mom steps into the room to ask if she is alright as she sucks on her candy, realizing that her mother didn't open her mouth to speak. She heard the voice directly in her head. She anxiously comes to the conclusion that this candy really can read ones thought.
The next day, Momo enjoys another candy and listens to her classmates various feelings; such as how much they dislike P.E. or how they admire someone, or how they hate the teacher. Later, when she finds Watanabe in the hallway she eats another one and noticing the strawberry milk in his hands, she works up the courage to ask him if he likes it. He pauses to observe her before admitting that he does, and to Momo's shock, she hears his inner-most thoughts. He is very happy she spoke to him, something she hasn't ever done before. He thinks she is very cute, but he couldn't ever say that openly.
It's then he asks Momo what has her so worked up suddenly, and she has a meltdown practically on the spot. She remains in her daze and wonders if she might possibly be dreaming as Yori joins her to ask if she's okay. She yells out that Watanabe likes her and tells her that a miracle has occurred. But she pauses and realizes she can't tell Yori the truth about the candy, because if others found out then they would want it too. She also realizes that if her feelings for Watanabe are mutual and she told him, then he would want to know how she knew that.
In class, Momo begins to work up the courage to continue expressing herself to Watanabe, such as offering a smile to him as he walks by. She recalls how in the past she wasn't able to do this out of fear he would find her gross, but now that she can understand the hearts of others, she's become very happy.
Unknown to her, Iwamoto observes her from her seat.
After school ends Momo waits until only Watanabe remains in class and she returns, claiming to have forgotten something. She eats another candy and overhears him think about how he would like to ask if he could walk her home, and eagerly she demands in her thoughts that he hurry up and tell her this. To her relief, he works up the nerve and she excitedly accepts.
The next day Momo is approached by her equally excited classmates wanting to know more about her time with Watanabe, having seen them together. They ask if they are dating but Momo tells them not yet, and they wonder if she asked him and made the first move, because he's not overly social and probably wouldn't. As Yori is listening to her go on, Momo suddenly denies having said anything and claims that "unlike someone" she doesn't follow him around. The girls begin to laugh knowing who she is refering to and in her hurry to leave, Iwamoto trips over a nearby board. This makes everyone start to mock her, especially when they spot the chocolate they assume she was going to give to Watanabe.
Realizing she must put an end to her little obsession, Momo declares that they will be going out on Valentines Day. As they prepare to leave Yori confronts Momo by saying that she never mentioned getting close to Watanabe like this. She seems perturbed, but she insists its fine and continues on her way. Momo is confused by this, but realizing Yori likely won't come out and say anything, she eats another candy. To her shock, she overhears Yori's thoughts that she is annoying. She always complains, and she finds her company to be tiring.
Momo remains alarmed well into the next day, having no idea that Yori truly felt this way as she comes up to her and suggests they pair up for volleyball in P.E. Momo agrees, but she struggles to focus knowing that Yori truly dislikes her and feigns illness to leave early. She returns to class, where she is alarmed to discover a note with DIE written on it, and a box cutter embedded into the desk. As she stares at it, some other girls join her and express shock wondering who would do such a thing. Momo believes it's Iwamoto, but she decides to eat another candy to see if any of them are the culprit.
Just then, she accidentally bumps into one of the girls worried for her, and she is upset hearing that the girl thinks of her as ugly and threateningly tells her not to do it again. One girl offers to take her to the infirmary, but she really thinks Momo earned this note because of her showing off. Another girl admits in her thoughts that she wants to make fun of Momo until she cries. Momo is so startled that she falls onto the floor, and as they ask if she is okay Momo realizes that inside they are happy she hurt herself just then. She gets up in a rush and runs past Yori, who has come to check on her, and she flees the room in a panic.
By now everyone has become very scary to Momo. She is beginning to reconsider this miracle when she runs right into Watanabe, and she calms down as she hears him notice this and wonder if she is okay. He decides that he must tell her something now, causing Momo some anxiety. Watanabe starts by asking her if she really told everyone they were going out, and she recalls back to the other day. In his innermost thoughts, she hears Watanabe say that he thought she was cute and he did kind of like her, but now he's beginning to think of her as a little cringy- something he didn't notice before. He also thinks she is a bit cold because she barely spoke when he walked her home.
In a panic, Momo grabs his arm and yells that he said he liked her. This confuses Watanabe and Momo is alarmed realizing that he never said that openly. In her grief, Momo collapses as one of Watanabe's friends comes to retrieve him and insists they hurry and go now. She removes the candy from her mouth and drops it, realizing that she truly couldn't be happy with it after all.
As she weeps, she is approached by Iwamoto, who assists her to the infirmary while she thinks about the ability to understand others hearts. She thanks Iwamoto for bringing her uniform for her to change as she sits with her in the infirmary, and she curiously asks how she could be so nice to her after what she did a few days ago. Iwamoto insists its nothing since its true what everyone says about her anyway, and she offers to let the Teachers know she will be resting this next class.
She takes off and Momo begins to wonder if perhaps she pegged Iwamoto all wrong now, as they never actually spoke before. But she isn't given much time to think it over when she gets a call from Yori, who express concern for her because she left suddenly. Having been convinced that Yori meant what she heard, Momo tells her outright that she's a liar. As she cries, she tells Yori that she truly hates her, and that she never saw her as a friend.
Yori doesn't deny this, instead she decides to speak more clearly with her now that she realizes the truth. She suddenly yells out that she hates how secretive Momo is with her. She didn't tell her about Watanabe first, even though she has always been by her side and always put her first, and she's always been there to listen to her troubles. Any time something good happens to her, she never tells her; so yes, she has always hated her to some extent; because it makes her feel lonely. She always thought of Momo as her friend, she couldn't understand why she did this to her.
As Momo continues to weep, she wonders if its really okay to trust Yori's words now. Her hand brushes against the true-intention candy and she observes it momentarily. Rather than use one, she decides to have faith in her friend as she recalls their many memories together. She doesn't need this candy to be happy when she has Yori by her side.
Suddenly, as Momo gets up she is approached by Iwamoto. She asks Momo where she was going just then, then she asks how someone like her can be loved by the guy she likes, and loved by a good friend. As Momo stands frozen in her spot, Iwamoto wraps a skipping rope around her neck and holds each side, telling Momo that its because of her that everyone laughs at her all the time.
Unlike her, she doesn't have someone to keep her company.
She cruelly yanks on the rope while telling her not to do things like this, and that she shouldn't believe in someone's words so easily.
Yomi's Epilogue[]
Yomi holds the bag of candy and tells the Reader that they won't always hear what they want to hear if they could look into ones heart, they must accept that its a two-sided coin. She offers to put in an order for those who would still like to try it out though.
Characters[]
- Momo Sakurano
- Tsuyoshi Sakurano
- Mrs. Sakurano
- Yori
- Iwamoto
- Watanabe
Quotes[]
Trivia[]
- This chapter shares simularities with Period 30: Last White Day:
- Both involved a romantic holiday.
- Both Protagonists wore twin-tails and look cute and innocent, but had a bad personality deep down.
- Both stories involved a romantic Holiday and an edible object playing part in what happens to the Protagonist.
- Both end with the Protagonist being killed by someone they tormented.
- Both Protagonists have Sakura in their name.
- Ishikawa Sweets is most-likely a reference to the author of the series, Emi Ishikawa.
