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I had this volume for a long time before I actually sat down and tried to read it. I had glanced through it, noticed the nice artwork (if a tiny bit sketchy at times) and then got distracted by other things. but then I finally decided to look though this one and I was happy with what I found. Yeah Yeah, I know, this is yet another yomikiri volume. It has 4 short stories. the first 2 are connected, and the last 2 are self-contained. I am not sure which story is my favorite. It may just be the third one, but only because I want it to continue! Anyway, about the stories…
The first story, which is connected to the second one, begins at a Christmas party. A young guy named Touru is not having a very good time. I think it is because he is thinking about his relationship with his new girlfriend. They have been going out for three months, but nothing has happened, not even a kiss. Christmas is a time for romantic couples, and he is nervous about the little gift he wants to give her. Meanwhile the party-goers are playing a game. Everyone draws a stick from a pile. Each stick has a number on it. Whoever draws the 3 and the 7 sticks has to kiss each other! Much to Touru’s dismay, he has the #3 stick. And who has #7? A guy named Satoru! ACK! Satoru is a big jokester and laughs as everyone grabs Touru and happily kisses him, laughing at the bugged out expression on Touru’s face. Poor Touru, that was his first kiss, and he didn’t even get to kiss his girlfriend. But walking home that night, he and his girlfriend manage to express their true feelings and things look good for their future.
In the second story, we see everything from Satoru’s point of view. you see, he actually has a crush on Touru! And was happy to have the opportunity to kiss him quickly, even if it was just in the context of a game. However their is a classmate of theirs, Rikako, who knows of Satoru’s feelings for Touru, and was actually the one who engineered the game at the party so they would kiss. But what are her own feelings for Satoru? Yeah, you can see the strange love triangle forming 🙂 The third story is a sad tale of lost opportunity. In it, a guy named Kubo-kun remembers a girl in high school who he really liked, and just did not understand. I really enjoyed this one, though it was so bittersweet! Finally there is a story of a guy named Shinji who really loves his new girlfriend Shihoko, but his happiness is disrupted by the arrival of Sae-chan, a former girlfriend of Shinji’s and was really his first love. Sae is back, and she is interested in Shinji again. It’s like a dream! But what about Shihoko?