Harima decides to drown his sorrows by drawing a Fist of the North Star-inspired manga, in which he draws himself as the hero, Karasuma as the villain and Tenma as the damsel in distress. Later, Harima sits in the rain, convinced that he is a failure (having lost Tenma and his job prospect), when a woman (who we will later know as Tae Anegasaki) approaches him and offers him shelter and an ear. In the meantime, Tenma is trying to cook by herself in order to win Karasuma over once and for all. Although he initially resists helping, since he does not want Tenma to see him anymore in his shame, he ends up jumping into the canal to save Iori; Tenma thanks him for his help, but does not recognize Harima in his new look and mistakes him for a kappa.