Perhaps the best part of Love at Fourteen volume 8 was seeing Aoi slowly developing feelings for the nurse. The two are very much alike, and the nurse hopes Aoi won’t follow in her footsteps and carry heavy feelings of unrequited love for years.
Unfortunately, Mizutani doesn’t feature either of them at all here. Even so, this ends up being a better volume overall.
While there’s nothing here that explicitly says so, Love at Fourteen seems to be heading toward a conclusion, probably by volume 12. I suppose to keep the “fourteen” in the title. The biggest clue might as well be a siren: Kazuki tells Kanata he’s moving at the end of the school year.
This news comes as a complete surprise to both. Kanata had something she wanted to tell Kazuki, but it was much more benign: she injured her foot and can’t go ice skating. Considering she couldn’t figure out how to tell him this, unsurprisingly, Kanata doesn’t take this news well.
Having half of a young couple moving is a common trope in a romance, but I found this one more moving than most. When Kanata starts avoiding him, Kazuki becomes so desperate that Nagai and Shota help him out by pressing the fire alarm. (By the way, don’t do this! But what great friends they are.) For Kazuki, his move is proof that no matter how mature he acts, he’s still a kid; for Kanata, it’s the loss of the one person who knows her as Kanata and not the mature Tanaka-san. In the real world, statistically, it is unlikely for them to marry and live happily ever after, but their pain feels deeper than just puppy love.
Seeing the two of them suffering also gives Nagai and Shota time to reflect on their own relationships with Hinohara and the Lady, making them think about what if they were in Kazuki’s position. Nagai becoming more docile and honest about how he feels about Hinohara was seen in an earlier chapter here. She was flustered when he shows up to watch Mino sing and wants to go home with her. If you’ve been wanting more of this student x teacher pairing, this is one volume you don’t want to miss.
Meanwhile, Shota finally interacts with the Lady. According to the end notes (and the title of the chapter), it’s connected to her work GAME OVER, which is unavailable in English. It was a little odd, but maybe I’m missing something since I haven’t read the original. Also, the only signs of other people on the bus are people getting off the bus (and in Shota’s narration). It looks super bizarre — and creepy — that on a seemingly empty bus, an adult chooses to sit next to a student. But I guess the bus is supposed to be busy enough that this wouldn’t be that unusual. At least it’s something different than Shota counting the Lady’s sighs.
However, I’m glad Mizutani is throwing a real obstacle in the main couple’s relationship, something other than their fake personas. Moving away may be a bit of a story cliché, but this is where their childish sides are given a chance to shine. Mizutani could make it so that Kazuki stays after all (a fact lampshaded by Nagai when he threatens to beat Kazuki up if he doesn’t move away), but for now, it’s some emotional bitterness to fill the void left by Aoi and the nurse, who I hope to see in the next volume.