Episode 12 -
Warning: Spoiler!The episode starts off with an interesting scene of Konami's daughter, Mai and Daichi's son talking about the girls. I wonder how they found each other.
Ai is now little Daichi's teacher, but she isn’t a very good one. She is too kind hearted and her students constantly take advantage of her. On the way home one day, Daichi mentions Mai and asks when she is coming for a visit, but Ai says that she is in a school very far away.
Mai is in a store with Konami and sees a sales lady that resembles Ai, which surprises her. She seems to be missing her. Later, Konami mentions the past, but Mai tells her that she doesn't want to think about it.
The shrine is once again decorated for Christmas and Magical Girl Mii and Magical Priestess Nono are playing in the courtyard when it begins to snow. Mii gets excited and Nono reminds her grandfather that when Mii first got there, she never even left the house, but Mii is so much happier now. Her grandfather is skeptical, but hopes she is happy. Then Mii thinks she sees Mai and goes running after her, only to find that it really isn’t her. Nono catches up and realizes that Mii is only forcing herself to be happy.
Keith is with Shizuku, and asks - “do you think this is the fate they truly desired?” Shizuku says that she will watch them a little longer. (She most likely does this through the popotan - they are in every scene. I also wonder if Shizuku is actually guiding the house to where it appears and when it appears - perhaps to the people that need to have the sisters touch their lives.)
Ai is at home. She isn’t happy and starts to cry. Keith appears and surprises her. He wants to know why she's crying. He says that she got what she wanted but Ai asks why he's there. Keith says that the sisters believed that they could find a place to be happy and that “such a place simply does not exist”. He informs her that he had checked on Mii and Mai and that they aren't happy either. Keith tells Ai that he was once a traveler too and went through the torment of leaving people behind. He said that he never found a place he could call home and acted the way he did to protect them. He says that “there is no place for us in this world” and Ai screams at him to leave, so he disappears.
Konami is still bothering Mai about the past, upsetting her and causing her to run off.
Keith is back with Shizuku and tells her that the girls' fate has been concluded, but Shizuku corrects him, saying that they still “have some fight left”. The house then appears with Mea and a surprised Keith exclaims – “there's no way”.
Daichi and Asuka ask Ai to go out with them and they take her to the spot where the house used to be. Asuka thinks that she and Mai should make up, that they must have had a fight and that's why Mai never comes to visit. Ai explains their story and why they aren't together. Daichi is upset by it because he knows they belong together.
The same sentiment is echoed by Konami to Mai. She says that she liked the old Mai better and Mai cries. Mai says that if she hadn't come back to see her, that Konami would have been sad the rest of her life, tied down by memories. Konami says she's wrong - that there is a place inside her heart for Mai where they'll always be together. I think Ai and Mai both realize that Keith was wrong in that they don't leave complete sadness behind them when they meet people.
Ai is still with Daichi and Asuka when the house appears with Mea. Ai gives Daichi a great big kiss on the mouth – I doubt he'll ever forget her now! – and heads towards the house. Keith appears and tries to warn her one more time and Ai tells him that they don't need to search anymore. They have found their place in the hearts and minds of the people they meet and the friends they make. She tells him that his “services as a guide are no longer required”. As she moves forward, Keith tells her to wait, but Mea knocks him down, saying that it is her duty to protect them and he is not to bother them again. Ai leaves Keith with a final wish that she hopes he finds his place someday.
Mai says goodbye to Konami and joins her sister and Mea in the house.
Mii is so happy to see her sisters and as she hugs them, they all end up crying joyful tears.
The last scene is back to Konami's daughter and Daichi's son. Mai is saying that memories of the girls will continue to bloom in the hearts and minds of the people they touch – “exactly like a popotan flower”. Daichi's son says that he can hardly believe that they are real since he hadn't even been born the last time they had visited. He says that he'd love to meet Ai – the one that had given his dad his very first kiss. And then the house appears..........
A very nice ending to another surprisingly deep story. I thought this was just going to be a light, fluffy comedy, but it turned into so much more. It became an interesting story with lovable characters and a nice message about the impact of people that touch your life, if only briefly. Again, some questions were left unanswered, but all in all it was a very satisfying ending.
