now that I've finished marathoning the manga I've had some time to reflect on the whole journey of yagakimi thus far. and what I need answered is: does touko genuinely love yuu? as in does she really love everything about her?

touko's confession was very abrupt if you remember, all the way back in volume 1, where within 2 days of meeting her she'd professed her love for yuu. this was right after she found out that yuu couldn't understand love. so is touko's "love" for yuu simply existing because yuu can't love her back? she obviously has some level of physical attraction towards her (otherwise she wouldn't be frenching her in the back of a dingy shed), but what about her personal aspects? it seems as though her attraction towards yuu is based solely on her supposed asexuality: in chapter 35 she says that yuu is "no longer special to me" because she "isn't the girl that couldn't fall in love with me anymore". in that case you can't call that genuine love, no?

but touko is the one who liberally uses the phrase "I love you" to yuu basically all the time. so is she lying? is she saying that to make herself feel better and take her mind off her self-hatred for a while? because that honestly sounds like an absolute dick move, lying to someone that you love them. and she says in the same chapter that "I can't answer her feelings".

yet, in the second last page of ch. 35 touko says "I miss her" which could hint at there being genuine love for yuu. so what exactly does she feel towards her? personally I feel her initial love for yuu was solely based on how she couldn't love her back, but as yuu showered her with more and more kindness she grew to truly love her though she hasn't come to terms with it yet. we might be seeing a double confession in the upcoming months.

so what do you think? I'm honestly quite confused right now. I need to decide whether to hate touko or sympathise with her :/