Somehow he has been in contact with the Army task force all this time behind Mahiro's back? It seems that he is still pretty much treating Yoshino the same way he did in elementary school. He was also very much aware of the fact that Mahiro was obviously in love with his "non-blood-related" sister and I would bet he knew that she was also in love with him.

Am right that this episode suggested that she forced Mahiro to make a choice between having a "brother/sister" relationship or a "lovers" relationship with her? He obviously chose the later... I hope there is more disclosure on the way about what exactly their relationship was...

My bet? Aika was using Yoshino and eventually planned to make Mahiro jealous using him. Kind of a: "You rejected me and decided that we should have a brother/sister relationship, so I will get cozy with your only 'friend' and make you pay for it."

It is also pretty bizarre that, from all appearances, BOTH of the main female characters in this show are already dead. I can't wait to see how Hakaze is "saved" from death...

people are labeling Aika as a 2-timer. But I think she was genuinely in love with Yoshino. She didnt seem to really appreciate (as in like) that her brother was in love with her. But maybe I am misreading the whole thing.

Also, I am not totally convinced that Hakaze is dead. That neutral dude was just blindly accepting that it was her. He had no proof or anything of her death besides a skeleton that could have been anybody's.

Since the whole series draws on Shakespeare to some degree. Consider this, in the Tempest none of the main characters die. It isn't like Hamlet. At the end of the play Prospero gets off his island and forgives those who put him and his daughter there in the first place.

You could extend Hakaze's theory of why the Tree of Genesis responds strongly to an offering of a lethal weapons to say that the Tree of Genesis is trying to get rid of all human civilization. That could be along the lines of what Junichiro was talking about when he said that Hakaze and Tree of Genesis are more likely to destroy the world than the Tree of Exodus.

Also, the relation between Kusaribe magic and lethal weapons makes me wonder what's going to happen when the army brings all their heavy weaponry to attack Samon.

Lots of teasing but not a lot happened in this one. Set up for the final showdown it says? This one has not quite kept up with its start but I am still interested to see how it ends.

I think Akia was sort of leading Mahiro on while still pursuing Yoshino. She was able to tell that Mahiro's feelings for her weren't that of a brother, as evidenced by her half straddling him and asking what kind of relationship he wanted with her. You don't ask that kind of question if you don't think your brother is in love with you.

I just wonder why she keeps teasing Mahiro even after Yoshino and she had been dating for a bit. Maybe just for kicks, or maybe for some plot. He did mention that she is very capable of coming up with evil plots.

Though, when Yoshino woke up at the end while saying Akia's name, that was funny, only because I think Mahiro may have heard him say it. It's not clear if he did or not, he may choose to address it later or maybe he didn't hear at all.