Sakurako sure knew how to portray herself as graceful and harmless as possible. Yuzu who has been hurt by so many was rightfully skeptical and on guard around her. But due being unable to sense any animosity, she— however she did sense something’s off when Sakurako delved into the subject of coming here to share with her things she should know about her status and position.
Sakurako didn’t mince words with her warnings: Yuzu exists merely as a vessel to revitalize the clan by giving birth to the next generation. And because of her position and status, she should never dare to hope to be loved by Reiya (despite what entails being his ‘destined one’). And to add a cherry on the top, she dropped the the biggest bombshell claiming that Takamichi is actually Reiya’s secret lover!
This “reveal” made me burst out laughing so hard– mainly because this claim is actually believable, so I thought it was a brilliant twist. After-all, even Yuzu had thought Reiya and Takamichi reminded her of an old-married couple last week!
So regardless whether it’s true or not that Reiya and Takamichi are secret lovers (I highly doubt it, but it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Takamichi may have unrequited feelings for him considering his jealousy), I must applaud Sakurako for such a genius scheme— that is, if it is one.
Truthfully a part of me is wondering whether this is actually something she believes to be true, but I would find it a lot more satisfying if it was a deliberate trick to stir distrust and misunderstanding with Yuzu. Not to mention, it is especially cunning because she has so many ways to cover up her tracks with this set-up. It’s a shrewd idea to ensure she won’t be severely punished for sharing such information. After-all, it can be brushed off as an “innocent misunderstanding” on her part. Whether or not Reiya would interpret as so is another matter altogether.
On top of that, the way Sakurako goes about this encourages Yuzu to not share with Reiya that she “knows” about his “secret lover”, as she tells Yuzu must never interfere with the relationship. She went on about how it’s a shame that the two cannot be together despite being such a good a good match! With this, Sakurako successfully concealed hide animosity, and portrayed herself to Yuzu as a refined woman exuding elegance who “knows her place” as Reiya’s fiance. She paints the picture that she’s a selfless character, by declaring she’ll never expect to be loved in return, and serve as Reiya’s partner for the sake of appearance, while watching over and protecting Reiya’s and Takamichi’s secret love. The best part, she just passes the “book of evidence” (really just a bunch of pictures taken in scandalous angles), and just leave like that!
Naturally this whole thing leaves Yuzu feeling even more anxious (can’t blame her for it), but Grandma had noticed Yuzu’s anxiety and took her out to talk about it. This was important because Yuzu really needed her grandparents to let her know that it’s okay to share her worries with them. They want to help her work through her worries together.
It was nice to see how her grandmother tried to connect by sharing her own experience of having a lot of anxiety with love when she was younger. Although it may not be the same scale of which Yuzu’s trauma of neglect and abandonment, (which are the root of her anxieties), the point Grandma was trying to make was that it’s normal (at least in her experience) for them to feel terribly anxious when loving someone. But when they are happy, all of those anxieties washes away and they forget about it.
But there was one problem with this whole talk about the anxiety that comes with love. Yuzu didn’t go into depth about the details as to why she was feeling such anxiety in the first place. She didn’t tell her grandmother about the conversation she had with Sakurako about her position and status, and she didn’t tell her about Reiya having a supposed secret lover. If she had, would her Grandmother have said the same thing? Probably not. If anything, you’d think the right thing to suggest at that point would be to encourage communicating these concerns with Reiya to properly clear the air.
In addition to that, I whole-hardheartedly disagree with Grandma’s assessment that Yuzu’s in love at this point. A crush sure, I can believe that, but as I’ve said many times already, there’s nothing at this point that has convinced me that Yuzu nor Reiya are truly in love with each other. THEY STILL HARDLY KNOW EACH OTHER! WE’RE ON EPISODE 7 AND THESE TWO HAVEN’T EVEN SPENT THE MAJORITY OF AN EPISODE TOGETHER, LET ALONE A DATE! How could you possibly expect anyone to believe they are falling for each other, let alone are in love with each other at this point? It’s just not enough!
Okay sure, they got each other’s phone number now… EXCEPT REIYA HASN’T CALLED! Sure Yuzu herself hasn’t called either, but in all fairness, she’s the one who’s worried about interrupting something important, whereas Reiya does not have the same concern. He should be able to call her anytime he has a moment to. Too late to call? LEAVE A VOICE-MAIL. On his way to the Demon Gathering? TALK IN THE CAR ON THE WAY! This guy been such a workaholic, that the only other time he had attempted to make another effort to call was during the Demon Gathering’s dinner! BUT NOOOOO~ freaking Takamichi had to interrupt to announce the ‘Nue Clan’ requested an audience. I know this is a special annual event and all, but would it kill the the Nue Clan can sit tight for a bit? HE’S AT THE TOP OF THE CHAIN FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! He should have the luxury of power to have the other wait on him while he speak with Yuzu over the phone for a little bit.
Ahem, anyways. Although it was expected, it is still terribly unfortunate that these two couldn’t even hold a phone-call with each other today. Another episode has passed, and another opportunity for progress gone down the drain. While the conversations they could have had today feel stifled and awkward, it still would have given Reiya the opportunity to develop some degree of awareness that’s something’s off. But then again, that is precisely why this conversation couldn’t happen to begin with. They can’t have Reiya tipped off just yet when Yuzu’s about to be bombarded with all sorts of bullshit, right? She gotta suffer first and then have him come to her rescue!
Speaking of bombardment of bullshit! In the end, Reiya’s gut feeling of unease was not unfounded. There were a whole lot of trouble that was brewing this episode between Sakurako planting seeds of doubts and mistrust, Yuzu’s biological parents scheming how they can reclaim custody without dissolving the engagement (and even outright confirming that they see their daughters as nothing more than a fast-pass to wealth and influence), and of course Karin getting fed up with no longer being the star of the show (her ego’s so bruised, that she doesn’t even process the shit her parents think of her), and now she and Youta are taking action.
So next week, looks like shit will finally hit the fan. The the guards responsible for guarding the Grandparent’s place were not strong enough to deal with Youta’s ability, so they’ve been manipulated to leave them alone while they help themselves inside. Best case scenario, Yuzu and her grandparents are absent altogether and Youta and Karin will waste their time waiting. And as funny as that would be, that’s unlikely to happen. Worst case, Youta might brainwash the Grandparents to say horrible things to Yuzu to psychologically mess with her further. I don’t think he’ll be able to take control of her mind as he did with the guards due to Reiya’s power, unless it doesn’t actually fend off demons, and just let them know who they are messing with.
Not sure what the parent’s role will be all of this, but it’s possible they may be scheming with Karin for this co-op insanity. Man, Youta’s going to be in such deep shit. I honestly pity the guy for being chained so such a psycho-bitch.
And lastly, Karin suggests she knows something else about Reiya that Sakurako hasn’t told Yuzu about. So either it’s bullshit she’s come up with, or something else that’s more of a concern for Humans more so than Demons is the only thing I can assume at this point. We shall see if it’s “breaking news” or not.
