As Mitaka sits with a nameless date watching a movie, he begins to become very bored with the entire situation. Suddenly, on the screen a dog appears, sending Mitaka running out into the lobby. Taking time to catch his breath, a woman notices him and walks over. It happens to be Akemi, and she notices how ill he looks. As the dog barks, Mitaka gets jumpy again, and Akemi finally learns his dreaded secret, that he is terrified of dogs. Akemi promises to help him overcome his fear. The next day, Akemi leaves Maison Ikkoku happier than anyone has seen her in a long time. She meets Mitaka at the Statue of Hachiko and they agree to go have lunch before they get started, but Akemi wants Shun to try and pet the statue, which he is unable to do. Seeing how traumatizing Mitaka's fear is, Akemi decides she'll need more help, and so she tells Yotsuya, Godai, and Mrs. Ichinose about the Coach's dilemma. When Yotsuya meets with Mitaka, he learns that as a boy Mitaka snuck into a large dog's doghous