And Yet the Town Moves

At the Seaside maid café, Hotori Arashiyama is copying Hiroyuki Sanada's math homework. For Hiroyuki, being this close to Hotori is a dream come true.

The next morning at Oya High School, teacher Natsuhiko Moriaki castigates Hotori for copying. She complains to friends Toshiko Tatsuno and Harue Haribara that the stern lecture she will receive after school will make her late for her new part time job at the café. Toshiko has a certain ideal of what a maid café should be and asks if she can visit. Upon arrival, she is severely disappointed with the welcome and level of service she receives. She demonstrates how a real café maid would welcome a customer. Proprietress Uki Isohata is so impressed with Toshiko's performance that she offers her a job on the spot. Toshiko cannot accept due to her school club commitments, but does offer to train Hotori.

The next customer to enter the café gets the full "Welcome home, master" treatment from Hotori, but he misinterprets the greeting and makes a pass at her. Hotori strikes him. Toshiko's lesson continues with her teaching Hotori to use clumsiness as a charm point, with disastrous results. Customer number two is Hiroyuki. After learning that he is a regular, smitten Toshiko reconsiders Uki's offer and accepts the maid job.

Toshiko Tatsuno has a ticket for an advance film screening and desperately wants to ask Hiroyuki Sanada on a date. Unfortunately, she is a little shy and despite her best efforts, is unable to summon the courage to ask him out. Hotori gets the tickets instead and Toshiko waits for Hiroyuki to come to the cafe for his usual homework session.

In part two, Hotori's brother Takeru and his friends are getting hassled at school by tsundere classmate Eri Isezaki, who complains that they're constantly playing a trading card game, which is against school rules. One day during class, a note from Eri lands on his desk asking to 'hang out'. Takeru is surprised when she actually carries out her threat and turns up on his doorstep. With a ¥1000 note donated by Hotori, the two wander around town eating ice cream, visit a sweet shop and narrowly avoid Takeru's friends. The next time they meet at school, Eri punishes Takeru for using her nickname "Ebi-chan", indicating that, for now, their friendship should remain a secret.

While searching for a birthday present for Tatsuno, Hotori visits clumsy Shizuka Kameidō's antiques store. Shizuka offers Hotori an African mask that grants the wearer the ability to locate anyone and anything (including lovers). At Tatsuno's early birthday party, Hotori presents her gift: a strange locked box, missing its key. Hotori tries to discover everyone else's birth-dates, but Futaba changes the subject each time she is asked. When Hotori extracts Futaba's student ID card from her bag, she discovers that today is also her birthday, causing much consternation. Hotori meekly offers Futaba the love mask, but she and Tatsuno decide to swap presents. Futaba picks the box's lock and finds love charms inside. After discovering that the mask only finds lovers of African origin, Tatsuno returns it to Shizuka's antique store.

Hiroyuki leaves home in a bad mood after a disappointing breakfast, only to meet a tired looking Hotori at the bus stop. She explains that the previous day she arrived late at school and was made to stand in the corridor until homeroom was over. Not wanting to repeat the experience she woke up extra early, despite staying up late reading. Unfortunately, she falls asleep on Hiroyuki who, not wanting to disturb her and aching to fulfill today's blood horoscope prophecy, allows the bus to pass school and proceed to the next town. Due to the nice weather, Hiroyuki proposes taking the entire day off. Hotori agrees and takes his hand.

Hotori, Futaba and Toshiko are sheltering from heavy rain under the laundromat awning and complaining about the weather forecasters. Hotori suggests using the dryers inside to dry their clothing. While objecting on the grounds that they do not have anything else to wear, Toshiko pulls at the awning, soaking them all thoroughly. With little alternative, they head inside. After a liberating wait the three are back in warm clothes and Hotori decides to warm her insides with udon from an astonishing vending machine. Futaba follows suit and Toshiko plumps for a vending machine burger with dodgy ingredients. Later that night, hunger pangs bring Hotori back to the laundromat where she discovers Futaba.

During an interlude, Toshiko has to ask Hiroyuki to open a pot of honey, which he does. Pleased at having a conversation opener, she scours the café kitchen for more jars with sticky lids. Hotori notices Uki's laddered stockings causing Hiroyuki to be caught out looking at Uki's legs.

At Shizuka's antiques store, a woman with green hair brings in a vase and seems to be in a hurry to sell it. The next day her husband sees his vase in the window and buys it back, only for it to be returned the following day by the wife. The process continues many times with Shizuka making a huge profit.

Toshiko enjoys watching Hiroyuki playing basketball while Hotori fails at vaulting and table tennis. Hotori learns that among the table tennis squad, Futaba's name is revered and feared. Harue issues a match challenge to Toshiko, who not wanting to look bad in front of her love interest, plays a fantastic game but ultimately loses to her friend. The game had an effect on Hiroyuki, but for the wrong reasons.

Hiroyuki prays at a shrine for him and Hotori to become closer.

The television news channel reports that mysterious, perfectly circular holes have appeared in the neighborhood. At the breakfast table, Hotori watches sheepishly. Later at school, an excited Futaba questions her about the holes and asks to be taken to them. Hotori breaks down and admits that she caused them to appear. She recalls that on her way home from buying ice-cream the previous night, she came across a raygun lying in the road. Thinking it to be a child's toy she takes aim and triggers it, disintegrating a nearby sign. A huge metallic alien lands behind her and asks for the weapon. A second insectoid alien also appears demanding the gun and in the ensuing fight is disintegrated. The metallic alien grabs the raygun and departs. Fearing arrest for causing the damage, Hotori sobs. Futaba produces something she'd found from her pocket that can repair anything broken, and because of this believes Hotori's story. Back at the scene of the holes, Futaba repairs the damage, and unknowingly restores the insectoid alien.

In part two, two old men sit on a bench. As one departs, it becomes clear that the other is a ghost. He tells the story of his death to Futaba's passing cat. Ignored by the collection angels, he is left to wander the town, tormenting dogs and waving his ghostly cane through the residents. The ghost is revealed to be Uki's late husband.

At the beach Hotori's exuberance results in her bursting a new inflatable ring, leaving her despondent. A storm rises up and takes away her new bikini top. Futaba tries to buy her a curry to cheer her up, but the kitchen has just closed. It is the worst summer break ever.

Hotori's father, Ayumu Arashiyama awakes to take Josephine for her walk. He relishes the quiet of the morning, but keeps getting interrupted by shopkeepers warning of an approaching typhoon. Takeru and Yukiko beg their father to take them to the beach, but as he does not have a vacation, suggests Hotori take them to the pool instead. Unfortunately, she cannot go, as she has to attend remedial math class. Upon arrival she discovers that she is the only one there, much to the chagrin of her teacher. Mr. Moriaki tries to make Hotori understand math by comparing it to detective work. She is not convinced but tries anyway.

Back home, Hotori takes Josephine for a walk and meets up with Harue and Futaba who point out that she resembles a tanuki, just like her dog. In a later dream, Josephine says goodbye and departs for the mountains, believing she really is a tanuki. Upon waking to the storm outside, Hotori finds Josephine's kennel empty and despairs. The dog is actually inside with the rest of the family.

The next day Hotori attempts to train Josephine. Josephine believes the family's hierarchy to be Mom, Hotori, Yukiko, Takeru, herself and Dad in last place. After failing to train the dog, Hotori begins to understand Mr. Moriaki.

Futaba returns home to find a showered Hotori sleeping in her bed, the air conditioning set to cold and a bottle of water removed from her fridge. To make matters worse, she has a stupid look on her face, an inflated rubber ring next to her, and has left the cat locked outside. In Hotori's dream, a race of Josephines attend to her every whim, but as Futaba snaps and opens the window to the hot air outside, Hotori's dream turns into a nightmare where she is burning.

At the café, Futaba and Toshiko are not on close speaking terms because of latter's refusal to join the high school table tennis club. To cheer everyone up, Hotori produces her new invention, a magnifying pendant, which she has altered to include a pen in its handle. Unfortunately the pen she chose to use is an expensive Montblanc pen, given to her as a gift by her uncle. Hotori goes home in a dazed state after learning how much they cost. Unable to repair the pen, her spirits are lifted when she sees a writing competition in one of her detective magazines. The first prize is ¥5million, the deadline three months away; just before she goes on holiday to her uncle's house. Hotori's Jelly Island Mystery is not very good and is dismissed early from the competition. She collapses in shock from the rejection letter and is promptly run over by a garbage truck.

After a brief moment looking down at her body, she ascends (kicking and screaming) to heaven to stand before Anubis in the Hall of Two Truths, where her heart will be weighed against the feather of truth and justice. She is quickly dragged off to the Japanese line to learn her fate.

A wise-cracking guide is assigned to her to show her around. Heaven is run-down and not at all what Hotori imagined it to be. She has fun using an afterlife photo booth to add spirit shadows to Futaba's photographs back on Earth. Using special binoculars to view her home, Hotori learns that she is not actually dead, but in a coma. She also sees how her absence has affected her family, friends and café patrons. Saddened, she sheds tears and expresses deep regret at having to leave early.