I thought we'd never see Saki again, nor would she have anything to do with him after the hospital, but it looks like she was the final push Akira needed to move back out of the town. Not that it matters at this point, but I was real curious about the "friend" he borrowed the van from. It could have been her, since she's the only friend before moving again, not to mention how this "friend" convinced him to come back to visit his mother's grave.
Next arc might be about Nagi. I thought this for quite some time, but given that she wasn't a virgin, and thinking about another character from the author's previous work(Himegoto - Juukyuusai no Seifuku), I can only assume the worst.
Its strange; when I see characters talk about Reiji "pulling them in", there's this sense of fascination to it all, but when it comes to Yuko, there's moreso this sense of dread in the end; and when they finally escape it(Yuko's), they're washed over with relief. Coincidentally, this includes Reiji himself. What is it really that makes them feel as such?
Funny you say that 'Yuko didn't give a single crap about him.' That's the same thing Reiji thought about when he and Yuko stabbed each other, and she was going on about him not properly acknowledging her. If that's the case for even Reiji, then what exactly DOES she care about? I thought it was just having someone that loves and adores her in that town, that will never leave her side, unconditionally, even against their own will so to speak. Makes me wonder to what end does all this other stuff, like manipulating Kazu(old news, but still) and Ms. Shiba is supposed to accomplish? Is it really like Nozoe said, and its "the Will of the Town" that's pushing her so far? It just feels like so much for so little....
I kinda figured about Nozoe not being the dad, but
someone here persuaded me otherwise
. Seriously though, it appears there wasn't a return to that town until his mother passed and he met Reiji. This means that the possibility of that guy(the one who took Reiji on that vacation to the beach with Kazu) being the father just shot up considerably. Of course it still could be possible that that was her brother(she briefly mentions him during the flashback), but it would make sense from a general standpoint for him to bust in and take Reiji if he was the father rather than brother. On the other hand, since he supposedly left the family before the flashback arc, its possible that he escaped "the will of the town"(assuming its a real thing) and Yuko was afraid that Reiji would fall in that line when he took her away; i.e. would become someone who has no qualms about leaving the family, hence why she desperately ran after them as they drove away.