EEEEEEEEE This volume made me so happy! Such cute! And the fact that I've had to wait so long for it makes it even better! ( )

Love, love, love this volume! The Valentine story was introduced in the last volume, but focused on Nakao and Nanba. In this continuation, we see Ashiya overcome her doubts and present Sano with chocolates. He sees through her feeble explanations, and demands to know if he can take the present the way he wants to. She pretends confusion, and we have a fun interlude where most of the gang goes bowling. Back in the daily routine, Ashiya still refuses to accept his meaning, so Sano finally comes right out and tells her he loves her. Eek! The illustrations are striking and the story is incredibly romantic at this point. Ashiya, true to her nature, is flustered and avoids Sano. She is ecstatic that he loves her, but thinks Sano sees her as a boy, and is afraid he will hate her when he discovers she's a girl. Sano is tired of playing safe. He confronts her again, and demands outright what her feelings are for him. Ashiya finally tells Sano she loves him as well, and they kiss. They kiss! A second awesome fan girl moment in one volume. I know the series has two more volumes left, and the big "Ashiya is a girl" reveal is going to close everything out, but for me, this volume is the culmination of the series. After all, at the core of everything is the romance between Ashiya and Sano. The reason Ashiya pretended to be a boy to join Osaka, met all of her awesome friends, and had her entertaining adventures was simply because she wanted to meet Sano. I am sure I will enjoy the ending of the series, because I like all of the side characters and this world. However, none of the volumes in the series, before or after, will surpass the fun romantic wonderfulness of this particular part of the story. ( )