Once again, spoilers lurk beyond this point, especially in the story-specific sections. You've been warned.
On 'Questions'
- sake: Japanese rice wine. It can be served hot or cold.
- izakaya: Japanese drinking establishments that also offer a variety
of small dishes that are easy to eat and share.
- yakitori: chicken pieces threaded onto skewers, basted with a thick
sweet sauce and grilled.
- sensei: a term of respect used for an educated professional (for
example, a teacher or a doctor).
Questions. No answers. Setup. No payoff. This story is one extended teaser for the final three chapters in this series. I'm gradually prodding things into place, making sure everything is where it needs to be, and tying up some loose ends.
For example, I took this chance to show that Taka's parents haven't actually been hoodwinked into accepting his love for Kana – that it's a conscious decision they made to accept (and perhaps even approve?) Taka and Kana's love for each other.
I also wanted to mention Yuta, if only in passing, to show that he's also getting on with his life. If you want my opinion, he didn't have any real reason for going after Kana anyway. =)
At any rate, I have my pieces in place now. The next chapter should be... interesting.