Whoa!
A Rising Meowstball!
Looks like Rin's mastered an awesome pitch.
It'd be better if she learned a few more.
How's this, then?!
Whoa!
S-Strike!
It curved!
Wh-What the heck was that?
It was a curveball!
No, it wasn't.
That was a purrveball!
How about this, then?!
What?
It curved again?!
That was a slider!
No, it wasn't.
That was a slidepurr!
A slidepurr?
Wow! That's amazing!
Rin learned the Purrveball & Slidepurr!
Good work, Rin.
You're growing into a real pitcher now.
Really?
The locker room's gotten pretty messy.
I know! Let's all clean up this room!
Let's have a cleaning party!
Wafu!
Let's cleaning!
No.
Dirt is the essence of youth.
You just don't want to clean.
How did you know that?
I'm about to hit the best part of the story.
I don't wanna clean either.
It's not like you'd die with a dirty room.
On the other hand, you might die if you clean!
How does that work?
For example...
Cleaning, cleaning!
Whoops, I tripped!
And then the lockers fall on top of you! Bang!
The building collapses!
Oh no! Run away!
Dragon Lines
Turns out the room stands atop the convergence of all dragon lines!
Tectonic Plate Shift
Tectonic plates shift, and the seven continents are torn asunder!
Tectonic Plate Shift
What?!
What will become of the Earth?!
And then the poles shift, and a Grand Cross occurs!
Boom-ba-ba-kraka-ba-baom!
And so, cleaning destroyed the Earth.
Part One
The End
I filled the bucket with water.
This is completely covered in mold! Yuck!
Mopping! Mopping!
Man, you guys aren't any fun.
I would clean too, if Kudryavka-kun were to wear a maid outfit.
Wh-What?
Or perhaps Naoe-san could wear one.
I see.
That's something to keep in mind.
No way!
But it'd be cute.
You won't wear it?
Nope.
That's too bad.
Doesn't it make you feel happy knowing the room is clean?
It does!
Maybe this once.
I guess I'll help too.
Kyousuke and Kurugaya-san too?
What are you doing, Masato?
I thought up a way to work my dorsals by flopping on the floor.
And I've been cleaning with my hands tied together to make the workout harder.
Hey, what the hell are you doing?!
Hey! Hey!
Haru-chin's turned into a clean freak too!
I can't fight back!
Wafu!
He's squeaky clean!
He seems so fresh when he's clean!
Strangely enough, I feel the same way.
Your muscles are all shiny!
Yeah! My muscles are all shiny!
Yeah!
Stay away! That's gross!
The Little Busters are in perfect condition as usual.
presented by UTW-Mazui!
It was too hard for one to do, so two of us held hands
hitori ga tsurai kara futatsu no te wo tsunaida
But two would be too lonely, so we all came together in a circle and held hands
futari ja samishii kara wa ni natte te wo tsunaida
I'm sure that will be strength in itself,
kitto sore ga ikusen no chikara ni mo nari
Enough to end any dream we have
donna yume mo tateru ki ga surunda
Fly high, high into the sky,
takaku tobe takaku sora he
Jump high, and raise your voice high,
takaku kere takaku koe wo age
Until you can move on past the day we'll have died
itsuka kujiketa sono hi no mukou made
I'll never forget your voice, and I'll never forget your tears
kimi no koe wasurenai namida mo wasurenai
The future, what we call "hope", begins now
kore kara hajimaru kibou to iu na no mirai wo
Those legs will keep on moving forward,
sono ashi wa arukidasu
Even in the face of the oncoming grief
yagate kuru kakoku mo
"A friend in need is a friend indeed."
A true friend stays with you through thick and thin!
Did I sound kind of foreign just now?
Oh, you're still making English flashcards?
This is the tenth set!
Kuu-chan works really hard!
Her English grades just keep improving!
Wafu! Wafu!
She's a dog.
Strelka! Belka!
Wafu!
What're they doing?
They love Mon Petit.
I gave them some as an experiment, and it looks like they like it.
I see.
They said, "Thanks for the food! We love you, Rin-chan!"
D-Did they really?
I don't know how, but I understand what dogs are saying.
You like that, don't you, Strelka?
Strelka!
Belka's paw soles, so-so-soles!
By the way, Kud,
what do Strelka and Belka mean?
In Russian, Strelka means "little arrow."
Belka means "white."
Little arrow?
White?
In Russia, sometimes we give names that mean the opposite of what you intend.
A long time ago, 13 dogs went to space on Soviet rockets.
Strelka and Belka were the names of two of those dogs.
They sent 13 dogs to space?
Actually, "Kudryavka" comes from that too.
In 1957, Laika, also known as Kudryavka, lifted off into space aboard the Sputnik 2.
She was a little female, exiting the stratosphere even before humans did.
Oh, really?
So Kudryavka was the name of a dog in space?
I guess that means Kud-o's ancestors were dogs!
I don't think so...
Wafu!
That tickles!
A dog that exited the stratosphere.
For some reason, I thought it really suited Kud.
My muscles are crampin' here.
A dog that reached space before humans did, Kudryavka.
I wonder what Kud's parents had in mind when they named her that.
I'm sure it's because...
they saw the stars in their baby's bright blue eyes.
Akruks, Bekruks, Gakruks, Dekruks.
W-Wafu?!
You caught me.
Well...
I just happened to pass by.
What are you doing?
In my home country of Tebwa, we celebrate the Festival of the Stars tonight.
Everyone makes a wish and performs a ceremony.
A ceremony?
Oh!
Would you mind helping me with it?
Our meeting here must've been fate!
There's a better chance of it working with two people.
S-Sure...
Wafu!
Thank you!
Wafu!
Have a seat!
Like this?
Yes. Now then, let's start.
Before that, could I ask what we're doing?
The old island nation of Tebwa has some strange traditions.
This is water.
Is that... cocoa I smell?
Yes.
This is a mixture of flour and cocoa powder.
You draw a crest on your body with this.
A crest?
You mean like a family crest?
Yeah. Like a family crest.
A Strugatskaya family crest.
Struga...
It's my other name.
Kudryavka Anatolyevna Strugatskaya.
I'm a foolish girl, so everyone laughs when I say it.
Keep it a secret for me, okay?
Sure, I will.
Now, put your hand in and mix it.
Okay.
It reminds me of when I played with mud as a kid.
I just thought the same thing!
In Tebwa, there's a myth that, on a starry night,
part of the body of a god was cut off, which turned into the island.
The ancient people wrote the name of the god on all sorts of things, so that they would never forget.
And so, people draw their family crest or their own symbol on their bodies on the Festival of the Stars.
This crest is a symbol my mom thought up just for me.
It means "become a good gear of the world."
A good gear of the world?
What does that mean?
It looks kind of weird, doesn't it?
No, it doesn't.
How can I put it...
It's tasteful?
It has a certain taste to it?
Yeah, that.
The shape has a certain taste to it.
Alright, then. Next to you!
Could you draw the same crest on my back?
Huh?
You're supposed to draw the crest on your back.
Huh?
I can't do it on my own, so I wasn't going to, but...
Would you mind doing it?
So, draw the same crest you did?
Yes.
It doesn't matter how you draw it.
Is this fine?
Thank you very much!
Was that a Russian song?
Yes.
My mom taught it to me when I was young.
I haven't seen her in a long time.
What kind of person is your mom?
She's... the type of person who loves space.
Whenever she starts talking about the stars, she can't stop.
She would look at the night sky and say, "Maybe Le Petit Prince will come tonight."
Le Petit Prince?
The Little Prince?
Yeah!
You must've gotten a lot from your mom.
My mom taught me...
Akruks, Bekruks, Gakruks, Dekruks.
These four stars form a cross-shaped constellation, Yuzhny Krest.
The Southern Cross?
You can't see it from the Northern Hemisphere.
My mom might be gazing at the Southern Cross as we speak.
Kud looked like she was searching the sky for the stars she saw in her homeland.
Chomp
Yummy!
Good morning, people.
Morning!
Good morning!
Hey, Kud-o! Eating seaweed again?
Wafu!
Seaweed is good for you!
In other news,
the Tebwa Aeronautics and Space Administration, TASA,
has announced that they will be conducting their rocket launch as planned.
They just said Tebwa, right?
Isn't Tebwa...
...where Kud was born?
Such a small country has a space program?
It's part of the Former Soviet Republic.
Being under the equator, it's perfect for launching a rocket.
Despite the anxiety which grips its neighbors regarding the contents of the payload bay,
particularly the new, experimental reactor,
TASA will conduct the launch tomorrow morning, preparations of which have spanned years.
My mission is not only to secure the future of our country,
but also to solve problems of energy and food...
Strugatskaya...
She looks like someone...
Who is it...
She's my mom.
My mom is a kosmonaut—an astronaut.
Wow!
Really?!
Seriously, Kud?!
She's finally going to space.
My mom's dream came true.
That was a statement from Noumi Mikonulsky.
Outta the way! Coming through!
Huh? What's going on?
And push!
Oh, right! The rocket launch!
Alright, it's starting!
Kud-o! Hurry up or you'll miss it!
It's incredible how Noumi's mother is an astronaut.
Kuu-chan?
I don't see her.
Kud!
I finally found you.
Don't you want to watch?
Um...
I get the feeling the launch will go better if I don't watch.
Going to space was my mom's dream for a long time.
She went through vigorous training and studied a lot ever since I was little.
Is that why your grandpa took care of you?
Yes.
I moved from country to country with my grandpa.
I've only ever seen my mom in photographs.
Grandpa!
What is it, Kunya?
Where's Mom?
Your mom is busy.
Strelka and Belka are here for you in her place.
Wafu!
Look, Kunya.
Kunya! You've grown so much.
That was the first time I met my mom.
Dad, is she shy?
Kunya, say hello.
W-Wafu.
So you are shy.
I took a look at that new rocket.
I don't know if it'll fly.
Don't worry.
Your old comrades from Glavkosmos are working on it.
I don't like the name of the rocket either.
Oh please. Everyone on Tebwa loves the 13 dogs.
Hey, Kunya.
Let's go see the Southern Cross tonight.
Akruks, Bekruks, Gakruks, Dekruks.
They make the Southern Cross.
Hey, Kunya,
your mom here is a kosmonaut.
Kosmonaut?
An astronaut!
One day, I'll ride a rocket 50 nautical miles to the other side of the sky.
Do you know what 50 nautical miles means?
It's the distance from the Earth to the stratosphere.
Everything beyond that is space.
The world of the stars!
The world of the stars?
I really wanna go.
Want to come with me, Kunya?
Yeah!
I looked up to my mom.
I wanted to be so much more like her.
What's wrong?
Kud?
U-Um...
Um...
Just come with me!
For those of you just joining us, I will repeat.
TASA's new rocket has failed during liftoff.
Shortly before liftoff, a large explosion was seen,
and communications with Novyi Baikonur ceased.
I repeat again.
TASA's new rocket has failed during liftoff.
Shortly before liftoff, a large explosion was seen,
and communications with Novyi Baikonur ceased.
Episode 21
50 Nautical Miles of Sky
The clouds, lit bright orange,
akaneiro no kumo
And two of our memories
omoide mo futatsu
Floating far into the distance
tooku nagareteyuku yo
The sound of the bell echoing,
hibiku kane no oto
Those pieces we shared, one each
kakera kimi to hitotsuzutsu
I hope tomorrow will be sunny
ashita wa tenki ni nare
Can we go beyond the stars?
hoshi no mukou ikeru kana
Walking, looking at the sky, a single light
sora mitsumete aruku hitohikari
Even alone, on the face of the moon,
tsuki no ue hitori demo
Run right past the end of the circle
rasen no hate he kaketeyuku yo
You'll be able to smile after you cry,
kimi wa naita ato waraeru
I said that because I know you can
hazu dakara tte ittan da
You'll never forget our journey, even for a moment
bokura no tabi wasuretari shinai yo
I'll cast a little magic so you never lose it,
nakusanai you ni mahou kakete
And I won't say good-bye
sayonara wo tsutaenai
You'll start walking again one day
arukidasu yo mata itsuka
There was a serious accident with the rocket Kud's mom was on!
Riki, something's wrong with Kud!
She looks like she's in a lot of pain...
There's a sad story between Kud and her mom.