Episode 8 -
This episode was a bit of a surprise and a little disturbing.
Warning: Spoiler!Chikane sends her maid, Otoha, to Tokyo to care for her sick uncle and Otoha has the feeling that she'll never see Chikane again. When saying goodbye to her mistress, she finally confesses how she feels about her and Chikane says that it was because of her support over the years that she was able to be herself. In the car, Otoha looks back at her in the rear view mirror and cries.
Ogami and Yukihito are climbing a mountain in a snow storm. Yukihito says they should turn back, but Ogami won’t. He says that he needs to find answers at any price and must do it for “him”. I guess he means Soma.
Soma is looking in the mirror in his room at some kind of wound/scar on the back of his shoulder that looks like a bunch of purple grapes. He thinks he got it during the last fight, but doesn't care because he will protect Himeko.
There is a scene of Chikane reading a passage in class and I thought the words expressed how she feels about Himeko, but perhaps it was more a foretelling of things to come.
Soma brings Himeko lunch and apologizes for kissing her the other night. He says it's his fault and that he never meant to make her cry. Himeko says that he didn't do anything wrong and isn’t sure why she cried, but the kiss didn't bother her a “single bit”. Soma misunderstands and repeats the words, looking a little dejected. Himeko asks Soma if he's noticed anything strange about Chikane. She says that she doesn't seem like herself and thinks something might be bothering her. Soma says that she spends more time with Chikane than he does, so if something were wrong she would be the one to notice; she should just ask Chikane. But Himeko says that she doesn't want to pressure her – there may be a good reason for Chikane not to tell her. She knows if Otoha were still there, she would know what's wrong without having to ask, but Himeko isn’t like that. Then she tells Soma to forget she said anything and he asks her to go with him after school, so he can show her something.
There is a scene of Chikane while Himeko is talking to Soma. It looks like she is resigning from school.
After school, Soma takes Himeko to a shopping mall, and there are scenes of them walking around and alternate scenes of Chikane teaching archery.
Himeko looks at a book she'd like, but puts it back and Soma looks like he'd like to buy it for her as Himeko walks away. Later, they see a man working on some jewelry and Himeko admires a sun and a moon, asking the man if can engrave names on them. He says he can and, seeing Soma, he asks for her “boyfriend's” name, but she blushes and says it's not for him, giving him Chikane's name. The man says it's a girl's name and Soma laughs nervously as the man works on the pendant.
There is another scene of Chikane in the school garden where she used to have lunch with Himeko. She looks around and leaves. Was she somehow saying goodbye? To Himeko? To happier days?
Sitting on the steps of the temple, Himeko later apologizes to Soma for taking up all their time together buying a present for Chikane. He asks her about the stones in the pendants and when she explains what they mean, he says that he feels a little jealous. Himeko tells him he's wrong in that Chikane and her aren't “like that”. He says he knows and they talk about Chikane and how great she is and why everyone loves her. Then Soma says – “yeah, but you're the one I’m in love with”, startling Himeko. (Now if only Kei in Special A could get together with this guy and learn a few things from him!) Himeko, red faced and flustered blurts out a “what?”
Ogami and Yukihito are still out in the snow storm and enter a cave that contains a shrine. Ogami is saying that the root of the problem must be something deeper, something they haven't considered. He says that it might not be the legend, but the girls. They move closer to the shrine and look at the images depicted there. Ogami says he doesn't believe it.
Soma takes Himeko home, but I don't think he ever showed her what he said he was going to show her. She thanks him and turns to go through the gate, but he calls her back and tosses her something before speeding off on his bike. It's the book she wanted. Aww! That was really so sweet of him. And he is congratulating himself for ending the day with a smile.
Sister Miyako is watching Himeko come up the drive to the house and it sounds like she's making a prophecy, ending with – “the one that was once considered holy will be devoured by hell”, but is she talking about Himeko or Chikane?
Himeko walks into an empty, dark house and thinks no one is home until she hears piano music coming from upstairs. She runs up the stairs, calling Chikane's name and enters the dark room she's in. As Chikane stands up from the piano, Himeko notices she is wearing her priestess robe and, taking a second look, realizes it's her own robe. She questions her but Chikane asks if Himeko loves her. Himeko says yes and shows hers the pendants, giving her one. She prattles a bit about which one she should have, but Chikane lets it fall to the floor, saying she's had enough of childish games. She says that they aren't children and shouldn't act as such and then kisses Himeko. Outside a thunder storm starts to rage.
Soma's mark begins to glow and he stops his bike. He questions what he feels because it's a different sensation from the usual one he gets. Then he realizes Himeko might be in trouble and turns back towards the house.
Himeko runs from Chikane, but Chikane catches her and knocks her to the floor, falling on top of her. Himeko struggles as Soma races back to the house in the rain. Chikane kisses her again and Himeko asks why. Chikane says that she has become an Orochi. Well, this surprised me. I knew Sister Miyako might have brainwashed her, but I didn't think she would become an Orochi. However, I guess they needed someone to replace Soma, since he turned good and wouldn't kill the priestesses as he was supposed to. Still, I wonder exactly how it happened.
Chikane goes on to say that it was the only way she could get what she wanted. Himeko doesn't understand and Chikane kisses her again. Himeko struggles and manages to push her away, running off again and getting caught again. Chikane says that she always wanted to spend an eternal night alone with her, caressing her body. She pretty much tells Himeko to shut up and take it, but Himeko starts to cry and tells her to stop. She wants to know why Chikane became an Orochi, but Chikane slaps her, knocking her to the floor again. In typical Himeko fashion, she thinks it's her fault and wonders if she did something wrong, blaming herself. Chikane kneels next to her and says that she isn’t going to tell her why, pushing her back to the floor. She gets on top of Himeko and begins to rip her clothes off, saying that she loves her while Himeko screams.
Soma has reached the house; he jumps off his bike and runs up the drive. He enters the house, calling for Himeko, while running up the stairs. He finds the room the girls are in, but he's too late to save Himeko. Soma finds a subdued, traumatized Himeko still on the floor, surrounded by her shredded clothing and wrapped in a blanket, while Chikane is perched on the window sill. She says that she had expected him sooner and he asks her what she's done. He tells her that she has no idea how much Himeko loves her and how she spent all day looking for a gift to make her happy. He ends with – “and you do this to her?”, but Chikane says that it's none of his business. She kneels down next to Himeko and embraces her while Soma asks what she did. Chikane says that it's their secret and since men aren't allowed in the house, he should leave and as she says this, she touches an unresisting Himeko possessively. An angry Soma, his mark glowing tells her to stop.
Suddenly, there is an explosion and Soma comes flying out one of the broken windows, to land on the lawn. He wonders if Chikane is an Orochi. Chikane is up on the roof, taunting Soma that he is too weak to protect Himeko and shoots exploding arrows at him. Soma says that he won’t fight her because he doesn't want to hurt her. He says that if he hurts her, Himeko would be sad and he doesn't want to see her sad. His attitude here really annoyed me. Chikane just damaged the woman he loves and he saw the traumatized condition she was left in. Now he's worried about making her sad? I would think that she's already in a saddened state of mind by hand of Chikane. How could she possibly be any sadder? Would she really care all that much if Soma hurt Chikane at this point? Knowing her, she probably would, which annoys me even more.
Chikane asks Soma who he thinks made him strong and he realizes that it is Himeko. She shoots another arrow at him and he catches it, but it explodes anyway. As she shoots arrow after arrow at him, his mark glows so bright that it sends a beam into the sky. It summons his mecha, but he doesn't want it to hurt Chikane and tells it to stop. It still moves towards Chikane, but she commands it to kneel before her and show respect. Her own mark glows and the mecha kneels. She then commands it to take the form it really wants, the form it should have as a servant of the Orochi and the mecha turns red, grows vicious looking teeth, and acts aggressively. Chikane even knows its name and tells Soma she's taking the mecha.
He asks her what kind of monster she is and she just tells him that he doesn't have to be involved anymore. She shoots one more arrow at him which creates a larger explosion and sends him flying. As he hits the ground, she says Himeko's name. The mecha hands Chikane back to where Himeko is through one of the broken windows. As she hugs the still unresponsive girl, Chikane tells her that her heart will only be filled with Chikane. She leaves, but I’m not sure if she took Himeko with her or not. As Chikane and the mecha move through the woods, Sister Miyako talks about a “bottomless hell” while a helpless Soma lies unmoving on the lawn in the pouring rain.
This was a very disturbing, emotional episode, but I wonder if this experience will destroy Himeko or make her a stronger person? I am definitely hoping that it makes her stronger.
