I like this series a lot, and I'm glad we're getting progress. I don't find it confusing at all.
As Risako made clear, Reichii meant well, marrying Kaoru to take care of her. Maybe not a good idea but a well-meant one, and Kaoru did need some sort of help at the time; IIRC she was losing weight from stress and/or not eating. That Kaoru can now stand on her own and push him aside is good for both of them: she can try to find something that completes her, he can go find someone for mutual lust -- which may not be Risako, poor guy.
"Kaoru's dead" was pretty obviously unlikely; "I'm going to visit my mother" read like "visit grave" not "kill myself". OTOH I might have panicked in Reichii's place as well. Dropping the phone just then is 'convenient' timing, I'd have gone with running low on battery, or turning off her phone... actually I'd have gone with Reichii simply interpreting her words the wrong way and calling Uta with "can you intervene? she's not answering me". Still, a minor flaw.
Uta living with Kaoru again is emotionally risky -- she doesn't have any evidence of Kaoru being *into* her that way, so there may be more heartbreak ahead -- but hey, she has more of a chance now.
One thing is that while Kaoru loved Reichii, I don't think we have any evidence of her lusting after anyone. This may simply be the manga being modest and discreet, but it's possible that Kaoru simply isn't that sexual a person. Or not that aware of her sexuality...
...because she *was* really into 'skinship' with Uta, in a way that could be just female friendship in the US, but is culturally abnormal in the more reserved Japanese culture, especially for an adult woman. Actual family members, apart from small children, do not cling to each other the way she was clinging to Uta.
Even if she isn't particularly lustful, she may be physically willing -- she did bring up having a kid with Reichii. The webcomic "Girls With Slingshots" has a couple where one woman is bisexual and pretty lusty, and the other one is outright asexual, to the point where she lets her partner go out and get sex elsewhere. Even if there's a lust asymmetry between Uta and Kaoru, they may still be able to meet each other's needs; one might think "that's sad and they could do better", but it's not necessarily true.
It is weird to remember that there were those classmates/co-workers of Uta's, who were pretty prominent earlier on and haven't been seen in forever.
As Risako made clear, Reichii meant well, marrying Kaoru to take care of her. Maybe not a good idea but a well-meant one, and Kaoru did need some sort of help at the time; IIRC she was losing weight from stress and/or not eating. That Kaoru can now stand on her own and push him aside is good for both of them: she can try to find something that completes her, he can go find someone for mutual lust -- which may not be Risako, poor guy.
"Kaoru's dead" was pretty obviously unlikely; "I'm going to visit my mother" read like "visit grave" not "kill myself". OTOH I might have panicked in Reichii's place as well. Dropping the phone just then is 'convenient' timing, I'd have gone with running low on battery, or turning off her phone... actually I'd have gone with Reichii simply interpreting her words the wrong way and calling Uta with "can you intervene? she's not answering me". Still, a minor flaw.
Uta living with Kaoru again is emotionally risky -- she doesn't have any evidence of Kaoru being *into* her that way, so there may be more heartbreak ahead -- but hey, she has more of a chance now.
One thing is that while Kaoru loved Reichii, I don't think we have any evidence of her lusting after anyone. This may simply be the manga being modest and discreet, but it's possible that Kaoru simply isn't that sexual a person. Or not that aware of her sexuality...
...because she *was* really into 'skinship' with Uta, in a way that could be just female friendship in the US, but is culturally abnormal in the more reserved Japanese culture, especially for an adult woman. Actual family members, apart from small children, do not cling to each other the way she was clinging to Uta.
Even if she isn't particularly lustful, she may be physically willing -- she did bring up having a kid with Reichii. The webcomic "Girls With Slingshots" has a couple where one woman is bisexual and pretty lusty, and the other one is outright asexual, to the point where she lets her partner go out and get sex elsewhere. Even if there's a lust asymmetry between Uta and Kaoru, they may still be able to meet each other's needs; one might think "that's sad and they could do better", but it's not necessarily true.
It is weird to remember that there were those classmates/co-workers of Uta's, who were pretty prominent earlier on and haven't been seen in forever.
