Jul 11, 2023
To:Shulox
Ahahaha my apologies 😉 I'm not usually the one to bring up those kinds of thoughts 🤣 but Nao being there alone just was too good not to mention it!
Hmm okay 🤔 this one took me a bit of time to write my response. Since I wanted to think it through.
Takashi and Nao's relationship felt fast at first. Nao immediately liked Takashi and was willing to talk to him, share her umbrella, and walk with him alone(!) around town. (Okay they were not really alone 🤣 Jun and Hiroshi were following. But Nao didn't know that.)
Walking alone with a boy (that is not a childhood friend or classmate) is something most girls will not do. At least, I was taught from a young age never to do that 🤣 maybe by college I was comfortable enough. So it means Nao really trusted him already.
I assumed this fastness was because of a few things:
(1) To establish the romance quickly and show the novel isn't just about sports. (Important!)
(2) Inari influenced their dreams to make Takashi and Nao both feel comfortable around each other, even if they didn't know why.
(3) They both find each other physically attractive in some way ("love at first sight" kind of thing.)
So although that progression was a bit quick, I did not mind it, and I considered it a necessary part of the story.
It started to feel more natural after they shared the mediation/mindfulness moment. They then started building trust, and confiding in each other, as well as supporting each other. They also then knew a bit more about each other's personal lives. (Okay more in next comment! Have to split this in two!)
