After a normal day of school, Sensei finds himself in his office, with Imani suspiciously smiling at him. He asks what she's scheming, causing her to be jokingly upset at this suspicion – This soon becomes genuine when he refers to her once again as a subordinate. After even more teasing, Imani calls out to the hallway, and in walks Rika. Imani reveals Rika's just been hired as the newest staff member at Kumon-Mi High, which he first interprets as her becoming a teacher before it's clarified her entire job consists of being a club advisor for the Light Music Club. Confused about the theatrics leading up to this reveal, Imani clarifies for Sensei that he's been assigned the role of "showing her the ropes" for the day.
He immediately does so and now, left without any other direction, the two begin to aimlessly wander the halls of the school. With little idea of what else he should do, he decides to direct her around various locations, hoping that familiarizing her with the layout might help in some way. As they walk, Sensei thinks back to the night he spent with Nodoka, and how it helped dissolve any of his lingering resentment towards her for her treatment of Yumi. He struggles to comprehend why it helped but thinks to himself how safe being with her makes him feel. It's as he begins to think about the next time they'll be together, Rika calls out to him.
Snapping back to reality, the two begin to banter, leading to Rika asking if she can crash in the unused boy's locker room to get out of Rin's room. As he informs her she can't, Otoha walks up to the two of them, excited to hear about Rika's new position at the school – She immediately walks away when Rika embarrasses her. Sensei tells her to have more tact in the future, but she fails to see why, already being middle-aged and seeing her waning life as an excuse to "mom it up". Sensei tries to reassure her, but she raises objections at his attempt to negate her flaws. She lectures him on how flaws are only charming in small doses, but when they reach the magnitude they do with her, it becomes impossible to see any good in someone. She agrees with his belief that no one has to be perfect, even citing how many couples can make it last their own lives, but the fear of being wrong again keeps her cautious.
This leads her to reflect on her past, recounting her days of music playing and protesting. She reveals that the latter is how she met Rin's other mom, though the two were initially on opposite sides. The two only got together after spending a night together. She thinks of these times fondly, but accepts that they're in the past now, and reiterates her new role as an embarrassing mom figure. For her, the only goal in her life is to ensure Rin's life doesn't get off the rails like hers. Though, she remains optimistic, saying it's impossible to know what life will throw at you.
Nodoka Nagasawa
Rika Rokuhara
