suki tte ii na yo (say “i love you”)
summary: tachibana mei has lived through 16 years of life without friends, much less a boyfriend. she gave up on the idea of making friends or even getting close to people at all when she was young, finding that you can’t rely on anybody, that people will turn their backs on you and betray you. because of this, she has always been quiet, keeping to herself. some people in school may even find her weird. when nakanishi, a guy in her class, tries to flip her skirt, she exacts due justice and retaliates… but it’s kurosawa yamato, his friend who happened to be with him, who receives it. one of the most popular guy in school, especially with girls, she finds it odd that he then takes an interest in her. he insists on getting her number, but she refuses, so he gives her his, instead… telling her that she can call him any time. when she actually needs someone, and unable to reach her family, she helplessly calls out to him… and, unexpectedly, he responds and reacts right away. unexpectedly, he also gives her.. her first kiss. little by little, he finds a place with her… and introduces her back into a world with friends.
commentary: i absolutely adore this story, and, right now, it’s one of my favorites. mei is one of those girls who keeps everything within herself, trying her best to just let all snide comments about her pass. this doesn’t mean that she’s weak, however. it’s mostly just useless to respond back to them; she knows very well how to stand up for herself, when necessary. yamato is compassionate and easy to be with, and it’s not hard to see why girls are attracted to him. though a lot of the story focuses on them, watching their relationship develop, we also learn more about the characters that hover close to yamato. so far, i find that i can’t hate any of the characters, even if they can say some potentially damaging things to mei. it’s rather sweet to watch how they trust each other.