WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Horimiya Episode 2, "You Wear More Than One Face," now streaming on Funimation.
Episode 1 of Horimiya introduced its co-protagonists, Kyoko Hori and Izumi Miyamura, who are both pigeonholed by how they look and behave at school. In reality, there are many more layers to their lives and personalities than their friends and classmates realize. Hori has a secretly busy home life taking care of her family while Miyamura, thought to be a quiet otaku, hides facial piercings, arm tattoos and a naturally kind demeanor.
After establishing Hori and Miyamura's shared secrets and their fast-growing chemistry, more details are revealed about Hori's life and the incredible lengths she goes to for others. But when a Student Council controversy lands the overworked and falsely accused Hori in a serious bind, Miyamura steps in to butt heads with the President -- literally. His increasingly protective nature emphasizes a bond that continues to grow.
Hori is an extremely giving and accommodating person, sometimes even too much so, as shown when she starts doing Student Council work despite not actually being on the Council. Already overworked by taking care of her family, her heavy after-school workload has her friends wondering what's going on. Hori claims she's helping the Council because its members are new, but the truth is more complicated. She and the President, Kakeru Sengoku, were childhood friends. His girlfriend Ayasaki, also on the Council, is rather disorganized and entitled, also asking Hori for favors. Hori's natural kindness and past connection with the President make it difficult for her to say no, so she continues to help them out.
When the Council's budget report gets lost, Hori is blamed for its disappearance. President Sengoku makes a public spectacle of it, asking Hori to apologize for her mistake. But Miyamura knows the truth: Ayasaki bumped into him the day before and spilled some papers, running off without collecting all of them. Miyamura held onto the papers she left behind, including the budget report. He steps forward, seemingly intending to hand over the missing papers and end the situation quickly.
Possibly also annoyed by a false rumor that Hori has a crush on Sengoku, Miyamura walks straight up to the President and headbutts him in the face -- then shows him the budget report and reveals what really happened. The incident shows Miyamura growing more protective of Hori, knowing better than most how much of her time she sacrifices for the sake of others. He didn't need to use any violence to solve the situation, but the fact that he did is proof of how intensely he'll defend Hori against anyone, even someone of President Sengoku's stature.
For all Miyamura has learned about her so far, Hori still carries many as-yet uncovered layers to her life and her past. Miyamura proves he's a good listener, getting Hori exactly what she wanted for her birthday. While the two were on an errand, Hori had made an offhand comment that she only knows her little brother Sota's favorite anime songs. She wants to know more music than people her own age are listening to, so Miyamura gifts her a CD filled with the year's most popular songs.
It's another example of just how closely the two watches over and listens to each other. Both Hori and Miyamura grow a bit apprehensive thinking of their uncertain futures and their upcoming third year of high school -- which could place them in different classes, making their friendship harder to keep up. For now, they remain happy living in the moment and enjoying the time they spend together.
