I have no idea why I waited so long to read this. I had this book for months but there was something in me that didn't want to stomach 170 pages of a Motonori pov. It shouldn't come to no surprise that, like Saitou, I did not particularly like this character.
But then... LIKE SAITOU... I fell in love with him. Thanks to this doujin!!!!
Here's the thing. If you ever wondered what the dskljfldks frickin hell was going on in Motonori's mind when he hmm hmmm hmmmm and laa laaaa laaaaaa in volume 1, then definitely read this book. It chronicles his life from when he was 10 years old through his adult life. You learn so much of what he had to go through as a kid, his feelings for Yuki growing up, his days at the naval academy and working as a commissioned officer, you get to see his life both inside and outside his home, and when he (spoiler) and (spoiler)(spoiler) and (spoiler)(spoiler)(spoiler) etc. He's very philosophical and I enjoyed his monologues when he was contemplating and scrutinizing the Japanese ideology of warfare, and his society as a whole. But he has so much love, and he cares about people; he's thoughtful and dedicated, and he's a hella hard-worker. I'm not joking, reading about him working so hard to get into the naval academy inspired me to get over my shit and to study so I can frickin graduate. Less than two more months, baby.
Certain things that I wasn't so clear about in volume one were elaborated here. It was great reading the same scenes from volume one, but this time in a different perspective. You learn more about Yuki, ironically enough, as well as the other characters from that volume. In the end, Ogami clarifies more things and even explained why she decided for Yuki and Motonori to "fall in love at first sight" and to still have feelings for each other despite not exchanging a single word until 13 years after their first meeting.
The last 10 pages is in Yuki's pov. Yuki................
There's a reason this doujin is called Hagakure DENIAL. Look up what the original Hagakure book was all about. Interesting stuff.
The tenkyuugi pair skyrocketed up my list so bad. THIS BOOK WAS FABULOUS. Don't be like me and wait months, if you can, read this RIGHT AFTER volume 1 and get ready for your kokoro to break :')