Okarun's Resolve (モモの記憶 Okarun no Ketsui?) is the two hundred and thirteenth chapter of the Dandadan manga series.
Summary[]
Though he marches the halls to Class B with a resolve to rekindle his friendship with Momo, Okarun quickly loses confidence upon seeing her having a good time with Miko, Kei, Jiji, and Ririna and walks away, which Momo notices. Upon being informed of Momo being back to normal by Rin and Bamora, Kinta becomes prompted to approach her, thinking that she wants to see him. Rin has her doubts and thinks it would be better to leave her alone for now, as she isn't in the right condition at the moment. Kinta opposes her suggestion and rushes off to meet her, with Bamora deciding to join him, all while questioning where Okarun is. Having failed to approach her while she was in class, Okarun chooses to spend his time shadowing Momo as she talks to Miko and Kei, hoping for a chance to talk to her in private. To his disappointment, he misses every chance to speak with her and later sits on a bench, scolding himself for hesitating too long. Remembering how Momo failed to recognize Aira, Okarun worries that he will be looked at the same way if he does manage to talk to her. As he stands to leave, he spots Momo walking with her friends and instinctively ducks out of sight, which only makes him scold himself even more. Later, Okarun finds Momo alone and believes this is the chance he needed to talk to her. After trailing her around a corner, Okarun finds Momo waiting for him, letting him know she was aware of his pursuit all along and asks if he has anything he wants to say to her. Okarun claims they were heading in the same direction, but his excuse falls apart when it's revealed they were heading toward an emergency exit. He tries lying again, saying he took a wrong turn because of sleep deprivation, but this too fails to convince her. When Momo insists he look at her, Okarun attempts to escape, leading to Momo chasing after him and putting him in a headlock, demanding that he come out with his reason for stalking her. Realizing that she is going too far with her aggressive behavior after making him cry, Momo releases Okarun, though he denies that he was crying. Momo tells Okarun that Jiji mentioned they were good friends, and even though she doesn’t remember him or Aira, she admits she sensed his presence at her classroom door and felt relieved at that moment, which she believes it had something to do with their past friendship. After she gives him a chance to speak his mind, Okarun admits they weren’t good friends and says she doesn’t need to force herself to pay him any attention. However, with tears in his eyes, he promises to make an effort to become her good friend and asks her not to talk to him. Momo then has Okarun turn around and demands he look her straight in the eyes, only for Okarun to look away and end up upsetting her.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Okarun
- Momo Ayase
- Jiji
- Miko
- Kei
- Ririna
- Kinta Sakata
- Bamora
- Rin Sawaki
- Aira Shiratori (Flashback)
Events[]
- Okarun can't bring himself to talk to Momo so he instead stalks her around the school.
- Kinta and Bamora go introduce themselves to Momo despite Rin's warnings.
- Momo confronts Okarun and admits that she felt relief when she first saw him, also because Jiji explained that Okarun was a dear friend of hers.
- Okarun cries and orders her not to force being his friend, wanting to be the one building the friendship this time.
- Momo understands and comforts him, however Okarun is still too embarassed to look straight into her eyes.