

In chapters 18-19 of _Aoi Hana_ , it is revealed that the third-year Yasuko
Sugimoto is moving to England with Ayako Kawasaki, her co-star in Fujigaya's
production of _Wuthering Heights_. The discussion surrounding this revelation
gives a romantic undertone to this relationship — a newspaper headline is
shown with "Catherine Heathcliff Honeymoon in England." It is unclear whether
this should be taken any more seriously than straight teenage girls who
proclaim to be "married to" or "engaged to" or "dating" their close female
friends. (I personally assumed that there was potential for a relationship,
but that it probably would not develop in that direction.)

Later, during Akira and Fumi's second year, Sugimoto visits Japan and has a
conversation with Kyouko Ikumi in ch. 32, in which Kawasaki is mentioned:

> Ikumi: … And do you have any plans with Kawasaki-sempai?
>
> Sugimoto: Huh? I see her all the time over there. I'm not going to go out of
> my way to see her here.
>
> Ikumi: So that's how things are between you? How nice. I like that sort of
> relationship.
>
> Sugimoto: Well, we're taking it slow over there … Letting our love blossom.

Sugimoto's final comment suggested to me that there is indeed something
between her and Kawasaki. However, in ch. 52, which depicts the events around
Ikumi's wedding, we are told that Kawasaki is in the hospital with
appendicitis. We also learn from Ryouko Ueda that:

> Right now, her boyfriend and her roommate are looking after her [Kawasaki].

[The panel](https://i.stack.imgur.com/i5xXD.jpg) also shows a character who
clearly is not Sugimoto and who is probably male.

With this in mind, was Sugimoto _ever_ romantically involved with Kawasaki,
and if so, do we know anything about what happened to their relationship or
why Kawasaki now has a boyfriend? Alternatively, am I misinterpreting
something in the exchange with Ikumi?


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2017-05-26T02:18:46.160
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2020-06-17T09:17:53.303
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question
sweet-blue-flowers
What exactly is Sugimoto's relationship to Kawasaki?