[John Smith]

Well, I was wrong, which is a good thing. Shuu being alone would be pretty depressing. And wasn't there supposed to be a break? Maybe, I was seeing things. I'll take it in any case.

Spoiler for Chapter 97:

I like the new direction. Now, we'll see how they integrate into society. But at the same time I'm wondering if high school will pass by quicker than the previous arcs. Aside from the fact that there's two essentially separate stories to write, there are fewer loose ends to tie up. That and the character interactions aren't too lively at this point. Chiba and Takatsuki in high school for 3 years doesn't sound terribly exciting. Neither does Shuu, Mako and Doi. Hopefully, we'll get some new characters, obstacles and goals soon. Until then, I'll mourn the loss of Sasa and Sarashina.

I guess it's better that Chiba is trying to be a bit more friendly, but she'll have to learn to give a hint that she doesn't want much attention. At least she has Takatsuki to deter any suitors. I'm growing on the TakatsukixChiba pairing but for some reason I don't think it'll progress beyond best friends.

At one point, I thought Takatsuki would need a good deal of character development but now I'm not so sure. She simply doesn't think too hard about things and that's fine too.

Not that I'm not somewhat eager for my hard copy to arrive but characters are the biggest part of the story and the characters have changed drastically. Not that I don't like 5th grade Shuu or Chiba. But I like the 10th grade versions a lot more at this point.