And what's worse, she assaulted her in her sleep! Sure, it was Mariko's first time drinking alcohol, but that was really beyond the pale.
Akiko comes up to Mariko and says that their next class is in the audio-visual room. She suggests they hurry over so they can get seats in the back.
Akiko, embarrassed, apologizes for falling asleep the other day. Mariko, still feeling guilty/upset, replies, "Well, you did say you had a low tolerance for it." Akiko was really surprised when she woke up and found that it was morning and Mariko had left. She was also surprised that Mariko was able to lock the door behind her, but Mariko points out that Akiko left the key right on the table.
Akiko wishes Mariko had just woken her up. Mariko, meanwhile, is just glad that Akiko wasn't aware of the kiss.
It turns out that Akiko and Mariko's new friends have become "mixer pals" with Satoko (Sugi) and Tamami.
Mariko can't look Akiko in the face now.
Over lunch, the girls talk about mixers--Satoko's going to set one up for them. The last mixer didn't go so well for Akiko's new friends, of course... When Akiko tries to laugh about that with Mariko, Mariko ducks her head. Needless to say, Akiko is perplexed by Mariko's behavior, which continues into the next day, the day after that, and the day after that.
While they're cleaning the classroom, Akiko asks Mariko if she's been feeling all right lately. Mariko kind of brushes it off, asking why Akiko would ask that, and saying Akiko is weird. Then Akiko says, "About the other day..." which startles Mariko, but just then, another girl asks Akiko to help her take out the trash.
Mariko will just have to try and act normal.
At the train station, Mariko suggests they stop by McDonald's, but Akiko apologizes and says she's on a diet. The two of them part ways.
As Mariko is thinking about stopping by the bookstore, she spots Satoko (Sugi). She starts to stay hello, but just then, Akiko comes up to Satoko. Needless to say, Mariko is shocked.
When the two girls go into McDonald's, Mariko realizes that Akiko was lying to her about being on a diet. Not only did Akiko lie to her, she rode the train back and forth an extra stop so she could meet Satoko and Mariko wouldn't know anything out of the ordinary was going on. Mariko wonders why(/if) Akiko would keep it a secret from her--are Akiko and Satoko talking about something in secret? Then Mariko remembers how Akiko was about to ask her something before... and realizes that might be what Akiko is talking to Satoko about.
And it turns out Mariko was absolutely right--Akiko is telling Satoko about how Mariko's been acting weird lately. Akiko's noticed that Mariko doesn't look right at her anymore. Akiko's worried that she did something while she was drunk (and then forgot about it the next morning) to make Mariko not like her anymore. The possibilities she comes up with are pretty funny: preaching to Mariko, crying and complaining, reading poetry, dancing naked...
Akiko thinks Satoko isn't taking her seriously. Satoko replies that Akiko messaged her and said she had something important to talk about, but the stuff she's describing just sounds like a lover's quarrel--"Is he cheating on me? Does he not like me anymore?" (How apt, Satoko. HOW APT.) In fact, Satoko insists that she has things much worse--why, one guy just found out that she's been cheating on him with 4 other guys! (How does she even have TIME for that? lol)
Sugi shows Akiko her phone, which is full of messages from various guys, though 2 guys in particular sent the majority of them. In fact, one of them has just sent her another... After commenting that guys are a pain, (I'd imagine so, if you're dating 5 of them all at once!) Sugi offers Akiko some advice: Since Mariko is her friend, she should just flat-out ask her about it, like she always has before.
The next day, both our girls are looking a little worse for the wear--neither of them got enough sleep, and they're both really nervous.
Mariko asks Akiko what she wanted to talk about, and then Akiko asks Mariko if she has something she wants to say to her. Mariko says no, rather vehemently. (In fact, it's more that she doesn't want to say it...) Akiko isn't put off, though--she suggests that Mariko's been hiding something from her. Mariko admits it, but adds that Akiko kept something from her too. This upsets Akiko, who insists she'd never hide something from Mariko. So Mariko tells her that she saw her talking with Satoko yesterday, and asks what she was talking to her about. Yes, Akiko, you've been found out...
Mariko goes on to suggest that Akiko's the one who has something to say to Mariko. So Akiko replies that she wants to ask about what's been going on lately. Mariko realizes that Akiko really has noticed her weird behavior. She apologizes to Akiko, and confesses that she kissed Akiko while Akiko was asleep.
Akiko is remarkably unfazed by the news.
In fact, it doesn't seem to bother her at all. Of course we then find out that it's because... she thinks it's common for friends to kiss. (Why, Morinaga? WHYYYY? -_-) Naturally, this comes as a surprise to Mariko (and everyone reading this manga...).
Akiko is surprised Mariko hasn't seen the purikura of Akiko and Satoko kissing. Apparently Tamami turns into a kissing demon when she drinks, too. So Mariko shouldn't worry about it--it's just a sort of greeting when friends do it, or a way of fooling around. It's not serious.
Both Mariko and Akiko are relieved--Mariko that it's no big deal, and Akiko that she wasn't the one who did something wrong.
On the inside, though, Mariko is thinking that she didn't kiss Akiko for either of the reasons Akiko mentioned.
Akiko adds that Mariko is cute for being embarrassed over something like that.
Meanwhile, Mariko is remembering a thought she had earlier: that she can't look Akiko in the face, because if she sees Akiko's smile, she'll probably want to kiss her again.
