Momo is stunned after Toji kisses her and admits he was thinking about the two of them back in high school. Meanwhile, Kairi is helping out with Misao’s grandmother and Sae…thinks she’s finally won (or nearly won over) Toji. However, she also knows Momo could be her competition. But Momo has her own love rival in the form of Misao!
So basically, somehow a lot has changed…but yet nothing has changed?
Despite the cover, Momo isn’t drawn to Toji as strongly as it might suggest. In fact, she says several times she doesn’t want her relationship problems to be pushed onto him. But Toji, who is finally finding some peace and happiness after his wife’s death, is fine with Momo’s still-strong feelings for Kairi. The fact that Miyu is so attached to her also makes it easier for Toji to want to start dating Momo.
Of course, there’s the whole Kairi issue. They were planning to pick out rings just a few days ago, but he has been staying at Misao’s. Kairi’s presence at Misao’s house lifts a physical and emotional burden off of Misao, and it has a rippling effect on her parents. It shouldn’t take someone to tell you you have to be patient with people suffering from a mental disability, but at least Misao’s dad is trying to make an effort and help out his mother. It might be a rather sudden realization but was still a moving one. So perhaps a combination of her improving home life and her own romantic inexperience spurs Misao to ask if Kairi still has the same feelings for her as 10 years ago.
Of course, this scene just so happens as Momo shows up hoping to talk to Kairi. Now, usually Sae would be around to run interference for such a situation. Although we see her early in volume 7 celebrating being rid of Misao in her attempts to woo Toji, she’s off on an idol job and misses these interesting — and, in regards to her dream family, threatening – developments and fails to head them off at the pass. Instead, we see her start to revert to the more developed Sae we saw at the end of Peach Girl and in Sae’s Story — still self-centered and short-tempered, but not as mean-spirited or selfish as she was.
In fact, I’m sure many will relate to her frustrations with regards to her job and not finding the success she dreamed of. However, when she witnesses a scene between Toji and Momo akin to the one Momo saw with Kairi and Misao, I’m not sure she’s going to stay that way. After all, it wouldn’t be out-of-character to think of Momo as a backstabber, a desperate woman who got dumped by her boyfriend of 10 years only to run back into the arms of her high school boyfriend. That’s not exactly what happens of course, but Sae isn’t one to be rational.
However, perhaps Kairi and Momo could use some of Sae’s irrationality. Momo thinks that if Kairi’s feelings are returned, then she should be happy for him. Girl, you’ve been seeing him for 10 years — demand some answers! And Kairi sees an unhappy Momo making decisions about their relationship, and he doesn’t try to change the trajectory? You’d think they’d learn after he nearly drowned in high school…
But hey, they’re not the only ones repeating their mistakes in high school. But at least in this volume, no one is a jerk. Stupid maybe, but not antagonistic. Now, if Ueda can only not put Sae into that role and let everyone deal with the natural consequence of their mixed up feelings…Nah, I doubt that.