...in which Yukito, interestingly enough, deviates slightly from his usual behaviour

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Sometimes I think Yuki's at his most adorable when just waking up: messy hair, half-shut eyes, drowsy voice. All for Touya's benefit, of course.

Touya looks absolutely stunning in black. Here he's trying to rouse Yuki, who is practically incapable of waking, for the second time.

Proximity, proximity... *hums*

Yukito is upset over Akizuki's monopolising of his Toya.

Yes, I like to watch Yukito turn around to smile at Touya while being framed by nice blue sky and soft lighting. So what?

This shot is significantly slowed down, IMO, to enhance the romantic effect. Yuki's soft 'nani?' is heartbreaking, but more on that in a later fangirl rant.

Akizuki the human leech again. And Yuki walks off after bidding goodbye (?!), seemingly oblivious to Touya's distress. Damn, Akizuki's succeeding.

Touya's expression embodies sheer desperation. We can all see that he *so* doesn't want Yuki to leave.

Gentlemanly Touya has lunch with the Mirror Card (my favourite Card!), who has something of a crush on him. Sweetest scene of the episode.

Isn't Touya simply wonderful? A gift for a Card... Sakura the Card Mistress took ages before she remembered. *starry eyes in Touya-kun's direction*

Banscylla's Corner: (Ban-shi-ki-lla-chan ni omakase...hahaha)

I haven't seen this interpretation in all the fansites I've visited, so I may be wrong. Others may think that I'm kicking up a big fuss over nothing. But who cares, it's my interpretation and it's my fangirl indulgence page so I shall rant as I please.

To me, this episode is significant for its treatment of Yukito. A little bit of angst is good for him, that has always been my opinion (mainly because I can't stomach the idea of someone like him being permanently cheerful, even though that is true, by all appearances). And we can see some of that finally coming out in this episode. The Yukito/Yue Fading Away subplot takes a darker turn, since this is where we are told Yukito's problems have worsened to the extent that he comes late for school frequently and is unable to stay awake throughout lessons. (I absolutely sympathise) 

Minor digression: There was something very chilling about Yukito's absence at his usual corner during that routine going-to-school sequence with the Kinomoto siblings. Something that stuck in my mind immediately: the music ('Shiawase no Sakura Namiki') built up to its climax to reveal empty space where Yukito usually waited. It was unsettling because over the course of CCS, viewers are conditioned to expect Yukito's decidedly feminine voice ringing out of nowhere to greet Sakura etc. For some reason, he's always around and the kids are forever bumping into him. So when he's inexplicably gone, something is very wrong. It made me shudder a little. Touya's extremely grim expression didn't help.

Yukito sinks to new depths of lethargy in this episode. In the morning, he's fast asleep on his desk, and Touya has considerable trouble shaking him awake. His voice is barely audible (all hail Megumi Ogata, she can do the sort of weak whispers that make me feel like rushing over to Yuki's side right here and now). After sleeping through an entire morning's worth of lessons Yukito is still visibly drowsy. I wouldn't be surprised if he went home and slept through the entire afternoon and evening as well. Poor thing. How is he ever going to deal with his homework.

Still, that's not the most important thing. Nah. The best thing about this episode is that we get to see Yuki getting a little angsty about Touya. (A Major Breakthrough for Yukito, who has been described by Jieying to have a personality 'as flat as roadkill'. [Although I personally find that roadkill can often be... educational.] Nice and cheerful is good, but nice and cheerful in the face of all that's happening is unreal.)

First sign is when Akizuki jumps on Touya and proceeds to drag him to the back of the classroom for a full-blown glomping session. [Incidentally, may I point out that when Akizuki jumps on Touya, her weight pushes Touya down so that he lands right on top of Yukito *evil fangirl laughter*] Yukito, who was barely able to keep his eyes open while Touya was talking to him a while before, actually expends energy visually tracking Akizuki and Touya across the classroom and even watches them for quite some time. The camera (imaginary, if you must) focuses on Yukito's response rather than Akizuki's glomping, so we know what we should pay more attention to.

And what an interesting response. In my opinion, at least, he looks like he's about to cry. Then he turns away as if he can't bear the sight (which we don't see, but from Touya's offscreen yelping I suspect that Akizuki is stepping *way* out of line). And goes back to sleep. Unfortunately Nakuru's hyperactive little piano theme obscures Yukito's sadness.

Next, the after school scene. Yukito, after reassuring Touya that he'd be fine on his own ('I slept a lot in class today') [that's supposed to be reassuring?!], sets off without him ('But I know I really shouldn't be doing that') [ouch. poor poor Yuki], all the while NOT LOOKING AT TOUYA.

[cue wild screams of grief from one horrified fangirl]

I believe he keeps his eyes resolutely fixed on the ground in front of him. His whole posture speaks of hopelessness: drooping shoulders, bowed head. Listless, tired, sad voice.

And most importantly, he doesn't give Touya a single glance. Not even when he is speaking to him. He leaves Touya behind at the porch and walks on without him, as though determined to create as much distance as possible between them.

Then, after a long interval of staring at Yukito's retreating back, Touya calls Yuki's name...

... and time slows down as Yukito stops and starts to turn around, all lethargy forgotten. Watch closely and you may discern a small gasp of surprise before he shuts his mouth again and completes the turn to face Touya. (There is a *reason* why that bloody shot was in slow-mo: to catch subtle and quick changes in expression. I love it.) The smile he gives Touya is not as radiant as before: it's more like the sudden flowering of hope tinged with slight melancholy. And the way he asks, 'Nani?'...argh ...rarely have I heard so much warmth and patience and longing expressed in a word. He is hoping for Touya to say something.  

Of course it is all rudely interrupted by Akizuki, who intrudes upon the scene as soon as 'omae ga' leaves Touya's lips. Yukito quietly watches them. Possibly despairing of any further conversation with Touya, he says 'mata ashita' with noticeable coolness and departs quickly. Even with Touya desperately yelling, 'Oi! Yuki!' behind him, he doesn't look back. Sigh.

How can we milk these 2 scenes for all they're worth? *rubs hands in anticipation* Time for some out-on-a-limb inferences and speculation.

Firstly, Yukito's confused about his relationship with Touya due to his awakening realisation that he... ahem... loves Touya. Therefore, he is finding himself increasingly upset by Akizuki's constant attempts to insinuate herself between Touya and him, when before he had always tolerated Akizuki's glomping with a good-natured smile. Akizuki now antagonises him, although he still retains a semblance of calm, and the presence of a rival (a rather pretty girl, to boot) gives rise to a feeling of insecurity. In a nutshell, watching Akizuki monopolise Touya has become painful to him. Although knowing Yukito, I doubt it's clear-cut jealousy or anger, since I doubt he's capable of so much negativity. It's more likely that he is confused and troubled, since he probably still doesn't fully understand his own feelings. [Drawing on manga here: this is, after all, what Yue and Eriol say. Don't suppose it'd be too different in the anime.]

Secondly, Yukito's inexplicably worsening state of health is wearing him down emotionally on top of mentally and physically. I might even venture to say that he is getting slightly depressed over his constant fatigue. For one thing, it turns school into a daily struggle to keep awake, something that studious Yukito probably doesn't appreciate. For another, it prevents him from doing something about the Akizuki problem. He's just too tired. So Akizuki continues pestering Touya and it just keeps on gnawing away at him. AND he is less able to sort out his confusion about his feelings for Touya when he's falling asleep half the time.

Now refer to the after school scene, when Yukito says 'I really shouldn't be doing that'. By this, he acknowledges that his previous statement wasn't reassuring AT ALL. [Really, Yukito is not a total idiot. He knows that sleeping in class is not the recommended way of chalking up more sleep hours.] He knows that things are not looking good and he realises, vaguely, that his reassurances are false, but still he insists that he is fine, because he doesn't want the people he cares for to worry (a sweet but often annoying trait very common amongst CCS characters, at the cost of even common sense). 

Normally Yukito would have no problems maintaining that sunny confidence of his, but in this episode he fails disastrously. It is a weak sort of reassurance, and he weakens it further by indirectly acknowledging that it is, in fact, weak. Worse still, he avoids eye contact with Touya while speaking. Yukito is never this ill at ease.

And then there is his uncharacteristic behaviour towards Touya. I don't think jealousy towards Akizuki accounts for it. It'd be too out-of-character for Yukito to act on pure jealousy. Probably Yukito doesn't want Touya to worry, something vitally important because he is no longer sure that there really is nothing wrong with him, and decides to keep a greater distance to better protect Touya from the truth.  

But Touya realises that Yukito is slipping away from him and tries to draw him in again by calling out to him. Judging by Yukito's response (already extensively analysed), I do think that he is desperately in need of Touya's support. From the way he smiled at Touya... [*argh* fangirlism overdose]... obviously Touya's presence means the world to him. No wonder he left so quickly after Akizuki appeared. WITHOUT A BACKWARDS GLANCE. Sorry, I can't get over that. 

All in all, quite depressing for a CCS episode.