Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku Episode 4 Recap & Characters (Spoiler-Free)

Episode Summary

Warmth of the Heart

Rintaro wakes early for a study session with Kaoruko at a café, where both are nervous and keep slipping into polite speech. While studying math, they share an awkward moment of closeness, and Rintaro admits he wants to pass so he can enjoy Sports Day with his friends; Kaoruko gives him a notebook of key points as they part. Subaru then stops Rintaro and begs him to stop seeing Kaoruko, fearing Kikyo's teachers will punish the scholarship student for mixing with Chidori, and reveals that Kaoruko once saved her from boys who bullied her over her silver hair; he refuses. On the train home, two girls thank him for giving up his library table. Midterm results come out, Rintaro and Shohei pass with credit to Saku, and the notebook Kaoruko gave Rintaro falls out of his desk.

• Study session at the café

  Rintaro and Kaoruko meet nervously and study math together, with Kaoruko explaining the problems and Rintaro revealing his reason for studying.

• Subaru's warning

  Subaru asks Rintaro to stop seeing Kaoruko because of the rivalry between Chidori and Kikyo and her protectiveness toward Kaoruko; Rintaro refuses.

• Midterm results celebration

  Rintaro and Shohei pass the midterms, the class celebrates, and the notebook from Kaoruko falls out of Rintaro's desk.

Recent Timeline

• Alley confrontation with delinquents (Episode 1)

  Kaoruko is cornered in an alley by two delinquents who badmouth Rintaro as a scary delinquent. When one moves to punch her, Rintaro steps in and takes the blow on his forehead, and the delinquents flee in fear. Kaoruko looks past his reputation and calls him a kind person, which shifts how the two of them relate to each other.

• Waiting at the Chidori gate (Episode 2)

  Kaoruko waits outside the Chidori gate for Rintaro, and Shohei's confrontation with her draws a crowd. Rintaro grabs Shohei to stop him. That evening at the store she says she came to see him and was glad he goes to Chidori, but when he says he hadn't expected a Kikyo student to come back, she leaves looking hurt.

  The next day Rintaro waits at the Kikyo gate and apologizes to Kaoruko for dismissing her as a Kikyo student. They agree that school affiliation does not matter and exchange contact information.

• Standoff outside the library ends in apologies (Episode 3)

  Outside the public library, Subaru tells Rintaro to stay away from Kaoruko, and Shohei's returning group clashes with her. When Saku mocks Subaru's hair, Rintaro stops him and covers for Kaoruko, saying he had approached her to apologize for scaring her at the gate. Shohei and Kaoruko apologize to each other, while Subaru refuses and leaves.

• Subaru confronts Rintaro at the café (Episode 4)

  Subaru asks Rintaro to stop seeing Kaoruko, citing the rivalry between the schools and the danger Kikyo teachers would pose. Rintaro refuses, valuing that Kaoruko did not judge him by his appearance.

• Midterm results release (Episode 4)

  Rintaro and Shohei both pass the midterm exams, and the class celebrates. Rintaro is happy to have passed, while Saku is credited by classmates for helping them study.

Character Graph

Kaoruko Waguri

Kikyo

A Kikyo honor student who keeps the top grades in her year and thanks people even for small things. She tutored Rintaro at a café, gave him a notebook of key points for the midterm, and told him how much her childhood friend Subaru means to her.

• Kikyo student

  Attends Kikyo, the school for prestigious young ladies, as shown when Rintaro sees her there.

• Relationship with Rintaro

  Kept speaking politely because she saw herself as just a customer at his family's cake shop, then agreed to speak casually with him.

• Childhood friendship with Subaru

  Has been friends with Subaru since they were kids and loves her deeply; she rescued Subaru from bullying over her silver hair.

• Study help for Rintaro

  Tutors Rintaro in math and gives him a notebook of key points and revision strategies before the midterm.

• Rintaro (Friend, Affinity)

  Friend; she is grateful he did not judge Subaru harshly, and tutored him so he could enjoy Sports Day with his friends.

• Subaru (Friend, Affinity)

  Childhood friend she loves dearly; she says Subaru is easily misunderstood but truly a good person.

Rintaro

Chidori

The protagonist, a Chidori student feared for his looks, though he is kind at heart. With Kaoruko's help he studied hard to join Sports Day with his friends and passed, but he turned down Subaru's tearful request to stop seeing Kaoruko.

• Reputation

  Rumored to be a delinquent and scary, a reputation that stems from his appearance and past bullying.

• Character

  Realizes he has been judging Kaoruko by his own assumptions, the very thing he hates others doing to him; flustered when she called him kind and cool.

• Motive for studying

  Wants to take part in Chidori's Sports Day and spend the day with his friends; failing would mean remedial classes.

• Stance toward Subaru's request

  Refuses Subaru's request to stop seeing Kaoruko because he values that she did not judge him by his appearance.

• Kaoruko Waguri (Friend, Affinity)

  Friend he is nervous around and drawn to; she tutored him and gave him her notebook of key points.

• Subaru (Other, Mixed)

  Kaoruko's classmate who begged him at a café to stop seeing Kaoruko; he refused, though he came to admire how much she cares for her.

• Kyoko (Family, Affinity)

  Mother; he helps at the family cake shop.

Subaru

Kikyo

Kaoruko's silver-haired classmate and childhood friend, cold toward boys after bad experiences in the past. Fearing Kikyo's teachers would punish Kaoruko for mixing with Chidori, she tearfully begged Rintaro to stop seeing her, but he refused.

• Childhood bond

  Stares at a childhood photo of herself and Kaoruko with tears welling up.

• Protectiveness toward Kaoruko

  Worries Kaoruko could face serious consequences from Kikyo teachers for associating with a Chidori student, and asks Rintaro to stop seeing her.

• Silver hair and past bullying

  Was bullied as a child for her silver hair and was rescued by Kaoruko.

• Kaoruko Waguri (Friend, Affinity)

  Childhood friend and her hero, who once saved her from bullies; Subaru wants to protect the life Kaoruko worked so hard for at Kikyo.

• Rintaro (Other, Mixed)

  She admits he is probably a good person but cannot look past him being a Chidori boy; she was disappointed, though not surprised, when he refused.

Shohei

Chidori

Rintaro's cheerful classmate at Chidori. Thanks to Saku's tutoring he passed the midterms by a single point and can now join Sports Day.

• Rintaro (Friend, Affinity)

  Close friend who passed the midterms alongside him.

Saku

Chidori

A sharp-tongued friend of Rintaro's at Chidori who tutored Shohei and Rintaro after all. The class credited him for their passing grades, and when he knocked over Rintaro's desk he spotted a note from Kaoruko in the notebook that fell out.

• Rintaro (Friend, Affinity)

  Friend who helped him pass; he is now asking Rintaro about Kaoruko's note.

Ayato

Chidori

A gentle friend of Rintaro's at Chidori who teased Saku for being embarrassed by the class's praise.

• Rintaro (Friend, Affinity)

  Friend in Rintaro's group at Chidori.

Kyoko

Rintaro's mother, who runs the family cake shop. She asked Rintaro to invite Kaoruko to the shop's monthly discount day, saying she missed seeing her.

• Rintaro (Family, Affinity)

  Mother; she asked him to pass on the discount day to Kaoruko.

Clue Board

• Why Kaoruko came back (Episode 2)

  Rintaro wondered why Kaoruko came back to the shop even after learning he attends Chidori. The next morning she answered herself: Chidori and Kikyo don't matter — she wants to know him because he is Rintaro.

• Childhood photo with Kaoruko (Episode 3)

  Subaru teared up over a childhood photo of herself and Kaoruko. Episode 4 shows why the bond runs deep: when boys bullied Subaru over her silver hair, Kaoruko was the only one who stood up for her, and the two have been together ever since.

• Sticky note in Kaoruko's notebook (Episode 4)

  A sticky note written by Kaoruko is noticed on a page of the notebook she gave Rintaro, and Saku asks Rintaro about it. Its content is not shown, so the note's meaning remains unrevealed.

Season Summary

Season 1 — Season 1

Episodes 1–4

Rintaro, a Chidori student feared for his looks, has grown close to Kaoruko Waguri, a regular at his family's cake shop who attends the elite girls' school Kikyo next door, and after a misunderstanding over their rival schools they made up. Needing to pass the midterms to join Sports Day, he asks Kaoruko to tutor him, despite a clash with her friend Subaru outside the library.

During their café study session he tells Kaoruko he wants to enjoy Sports Day with his friends. Afterward Subaru, Kaoruko's classmate and childhood friend, begs him to stop seeing Kaoruko, fearing Kikyo's teachers will punish the scholarship student for mixing with Chidori, and recalls how Kaoruko once saved her from boys who bullied her over her silver hair; Rintaro refuses. He and Shohei pass the midterms thanks to Saku's tutoring, but Saku then finds a note from Kaoruko in Rintaro's notebook.

Music Releases

• Your Gaze, Crepuscular (OP)
• On a Good Day (ED)