Once again, spoilers lurk beyond this point, especially in the story-specific sections. You've been warned.
On 'Holding On'
-
okaasan: 'mother'
- otousan: 'father'
- oneechan: 'big sister'
- sensei: a term of respect used for an educated professional (a
teacher, in this case)
- okonomiyaki: a kind of thick pancake made with flour, eggs, cabbage
and various other fillings (such as thinly sliced meat or seafood, mushrooms,
vegetables and so on).
- Yatabe-san asks Rika to start calling him by his first name. While Rika's
use of 'Muzai-kun' doesn't signify a romantic relationship between them,
it does imply that they're closer than just 'fellow students'. Rika,
however, blanches at the thought of letting Yatabe-san call her 'Rika-chan',
and insists he call her 'Rika-san' ('Miss Rika') instead.
- Like her okaasan, Sara-chan has chronic renal insufficiency (problems with her kidney functions). This stunts her growth and leaves her vulnerable to a wide range of complications.
As I've mentioned, Rika is a person who thinks she can fix anything. However, she's helpless in the face of her okaasan's health problems. This is the downside to her strength and resourcefulness. It frustrates and gnaws at her when she's unable to do anything to help. And, having inherited a lot of compassion from both her parents, she really wants to help, no matter what it takes.
This is going to cause problems for her in the chapters to come.