nanao kozue

Yuusaku Godai's steady date, Kozue, generally serves as an obstacle for him in his pursuit of Kyoko. Cute, sweet, and a bit scatter-brained, she remains oblivious to the fact that her interest in Yusaku exceeds his interest in her. She does not recognize Kyoko (or later, Ibuki) as competition for his affection. Their relationship begins when Kozue finds Yusaku with a spare movie ticket originally intended for Kyoko, who had just started dating Shun. Kozue invites herself along, setting the tone for their relationship. Yusaku would like to end things with Kozue but struggles to find the right opportunity without deeply hurting her feelings (from his perspective) or is unwilling to "be a man" and stand up for himself (according to Kyoko). The situation grows more complex after Kozue introduces Yusaku to her family, who approve of him and are eager to feed the perpetually hungry college student. Kyoko does not dislike Kozue and responds kindly to Kozue's genuine friendliness, but Kozue's relationship with Yusaku triggers her jealousy, which she wouldn't admit. Consequently, Yusaku always tries to keep any mention of Kozue away from Kyoko. He finds Kozue attractive and admits he might have fallen for her if Kyoko wasn't in the picture. However, due to his feelings for Kyoko, he strives to maintain some distance from Kozue; his naivety keeps their relationship platonic. A recurring gag involves Yusaku's many attempts to break off his relationship with Kozue. He imagines putting himself in degrading situations to make her hate him and break up with him. Ironically, this happens when Kozue sees Yusaku escorting a very drunk Akemi out of a hotel, though it was not Yusaku's intention at the time. Later, she discovers what really happened, and they part ways peacefully. Kozue ends up marrying a co-worker, Kentarou, at the bank where she works and moves away to Nagoya with her new husband.