Kokoro Connect Episode 4

is the fourth episode of the anime series.

Synopsis
After Himeko collapses in front of Taichi, everyone brought to the nurse’s office and waited by her bed side. Despite everyone’s worry, Himeko tells them that there is nothing to worry about and tries to laugh it off.

While Taichi and Iori are escorting Himeko home; despite her displeasure, Himeko and Iori confronts Taichi and pressure him into confessing about what happened between him and Yui the day before. Taichi was defiant at first to tell them, but after he did, Himeko is greatly amaze about Taichi’s great length in helping Yui confronts her androphobia; really living up to the name of a “Selfless Freak”. Iori on the other hand is shock that she didn’t realizes Yui’s trauma, Taichi tries to cheer her up for not knowing; telling her that Yui was great at concealing her burden as she didn’t want her friends to be hesitant around her.

Before dropping Himeko off at her house, she pressures Iori into telling her burden to Taichi; believing he may be able to help. When Himeko left, Iori was annoy that Himeko was making all the decisions and was walking back home. Soon she rested on the stone steps along their path with Taichi and voluntarily tells him her burden after a little comedy to break the mood. Iori reveals to have five fathers ever since elementary school, as her mother has remarried and divorced multiple times. Her burden was that she felt that she has lost touch with her original personality ever since her mother married her second father. To help guaranteed that there would be no physical conflict between her parents, Iori adapted a different persona many times to match her fathers’ taste; making sure to not anger them to hurt her and her mother. Iori burden started after the death of her fifth father, who told her to start living her own life. After hearing the same thing from her mother, Iori was lost of what to do; as her shifting personas have cause her to have conflicting likes and dislikes, she felt that have lost her own originality.

Iori decided to carry on adapting her personality to match the appropriate situation. She prided herself to be able decipher another person’s desire; however she was shocked that she didn’t realizes Yui’s burden. Along with the body-swapping phenomenon, she was starting to lose herself, questioning who she is and fears that nobody would recognize her real self; even her. To support Iori, Taichi announces that he will always be able to recognize her no matter the situation. Iori was in doubt about Taichi’s confidents, but she smiles and appreciated his help, believing that she can trust him.

The next day as Taichi was going to school, he met up with Iori who still believes that she can trust him. Afterwards, when Taichi and Himeko have swap bodies, Himeko {in-Taichi’s body} and Iori were waiting for Taichi {in-Himeko’s body} outside the girl’s toilet, as he was vomiting. After sending Iori to class, the other two went to the clubroom to let Himeko’s body rest. After they return to their bodies, Taichi confronts Himeko about her well-being. Feeling defeated in their argument, Himeko tells Taichi about her burden; she reveals that she has great difficulty in trusting another person to not hurt her, including her friends. Whenever she was involved in the body-swapping, she constantly fears that someone else would commit terrible deeds (no matter how small) while in her body, and using her as scapegoat. She hate the fact that she would even imagine the idea that she can’t trust her friends, but can’t stop herself as it terrifies her so much that it’s beyond her control.

Unlike Yui or Iori, Himeko doesn’t suffers from any trauma but develop this burden from her life experience, she tells Taichi that people with trauma have a chance to be cured, however she then ask about what is the cure for someone who has no origin of their trauma, but was develop as they live through their life. Taichi was shocked to see Himeko this way, he tells her that the others will accept her as she is, and that she doesn't need to change who she is. To show her that no facts will change their friendship, Taichi voluntarily tells her one of his most private secrets, something that he had plans to take with him to his grave and not let another soul knows about. While Himeko patiently waits, Taichi boldly confesses… that he have masturbated while thinking of her, as well as the Iori and Yui at one other time.

After a few awkward moments, Himeko tries to confirm what he heard from Taichi; soon she started laughing and calls him a bunch of hurtful but well-deserving names such as “Pervert”. Despite the stupidity of it all, Himeko was surprisingly move by his confession. As they agreed, Himeko gathers Taichi, Iori, Yoshifumi and Yui the next day at their clubroom and reveals to them of her burden. Even after learning that Himeko have trouble trusting them, she learns that they all still accept her. The other girls confess that they have also felt suspicious whenever one of the boys swaps body with them. Himeko was surprized by their behaviour, and a little disappointed that her worries was not big of a concern for her friends, she apparently felt that she just worried too much over nothing.

As school ended for the day, the group members walking back home. Himeko met up with Taichi and thank him for helping her. She also rewards him by telling him one of her deepest secrets; as Taichi listens, Himeko mischievously confesses that she have also thought of him during one of her sexual manner.