Ep. 22: Second-year Rei struggles with belonging until Hayashida proposes a combined club.

Now a second-year high school student, Rei faces discomfort in his new class because Hayashida is no longer his homeroom teacher. Lacking new friends and feeling isolated without the one educator who cared for him, he questions why he returned to school and whether attending helps him stop running away. To address this, Hayashida suggests merging Noguchi’s After School Burners Club with the shougi club to form a new combined group. Although Rei has never previously found a sense of place within the high school environment, this newly formed club offers him a potential opportunity to finally establish a feeling of belonging.

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