The last chapter (and who Yuuta gave his button to)
Hahhh I’ve been really overwhelmed with deep-seeded emotion ever since the last chapter came out (you can read the translated version here). It wrapped up fairly nicely when considering all the hiatuses and how the author likely had to finish it up quickly. I always felt a rush when buying the G Fantasy magazines for the month and scrolling through to find the Kimi to Boku chapter. I’m really, really glad that the author is having an “epilogue” of sorts with 3 more extra chapters---it makes the ending a lot softer.
I had the urge to talk about something in the story that’s been on my mind since Volume 13, since the chapter when Yuuta went over to Chizuru’s house for the first time. It was extremely subtle in my opinion (so I’d like to hear you guys’ thoughts on it too), and I didn’t have as much evidence---until this final chapter.
Kiichi-sensei (the author) is a master at slowing down time to emphasize certain moments and emotions. When Yuuta first goes over to Chizuru’s house in Volume 13, Chapter 59, Kiichi-sensei chooses these moments to focus on:
Chizuru is facing outside, basking in the sunlight through the window, but Yuuta is gazing straight at him. Yuuta then lets slip out that “(Chizuru) is dazzling,” but quickly covers it up when Chizuru asks what’s dazzling.
On the walk home, Yuuki pointedly notices Yuuta’s smile when he remembers what he did with Chizuru, and Kiichi-sensei makes sure that we see it.
There’s another chapter that centers around the two: Volume 14, Chapter 64. Chizuru enlists Yuuta’s help in buying a book for a book report and the chapter focuses on their time at the store.
Yuuta is a little entranced by Chizuru’s shining hair...
...Chizuru makes him laugh, and Yuuta catches himself doing so in the mirror...
and then Kiichi-sensei finishes it off with Chizuru gifting him the “bookmark” (and Yuuta is surprised at Chizuru’s sincerity) and the shot of them suspended in time next to each other.
I had a little inkling of a feeling that Yuuta may have caught the tiniest bug for Chizuru, but I decided to believe that it was Kiichi-sensei just affectionately focusing on a rare friendship match-up. Until this last chapter.
In the last chapter, Yuuta and Yuuki are trying to fend off a group of girls asking for their blazer buttons (in Japan, there’s a tradition that on graduation, male students give the second button on their blazer to a girl they like).
Yuuki notices that Yuuta is thinking about someone, and Yuuta wonders if “they” would feel grossed out if “they” got it from a guy. (It’s pretty obvious at this point that Yuuta is thinking of giving his button to another guy instead of a girl.)
Yuuki presumes that they’d just give it back, but Yuuta decides to go for it anyway, and he asks Yuuki to console him if things go badly:
(I checked the original Japanese, and the translation is a little incorrect: Yuuta is the one asking Yuuki, “If that happens, please comfort me. I’ll be counting on you, Yuuki-kun.”)
Yuuta runs off, and then is next seen with Chizuru, both of them blushing.
And so I think...Yuuta gave his button to Chizuru... And I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the extra chapters shows that scene.
If Yuuta having a crush on Chizuru is true, I can’t help but marvel how subtly and casually Kiichi-sensei wove that in (a main character having a crush on another main character is a big deal in a story!). It was subtle enough that my friend could tell that something was off in this last chapter, but couldn’t put her finger on what was going on. I really do hope that one of the extra chapters shows that scene, because I’d really like to know what Yuuta said to Chizuru when giving it to him.