Home is something that Mikage desperately wants and something that might look different at different stages of her life. Even though Mikage leaves the Tanabe residence to start her own "home," she still has connections to Yuichi. The kitchen is the first room in their apartment that she inspects, and she immediately falls in love with it the kitchen is also where Eriko asks Mikage to stay. Yuichi and Eriko offer her a new home and a new family, and even though they are not blood relatives, they fulfill Mikage's needs. She feels comfortable there, and when her life with her grandmother abruptly ends due to her death, Mikage is bereft of her kitchen and her home. Mikage's favorite thing is the kitchen, which can be seen as a microcosm of the home itself. The path to achieving happiness is, therefore, a thin line between independence and being too close. She has been taught by Eriko that independence has its limitations: just like plants will die without nurturing, people can perish without friendship. Similarly, Mikage nurtures Yuichi after the death of his mother. Both Eriko and Yuichi nurture Mikage after her grandmother's death, pulling her out from the deep hole of depression. Though death is the reason for Mikage and Yuichi's grief, friendship and nurturing is the key to overcoming their depression. However, Eriko's death shows that there is still a long road for them to achieve equality and respect, particularly in Japan. Moreover, Mikage never judges the trans women in her life but rather is stunned by their beauty and personality. Without Eriko and Chika, therefore, the two young protagonists would not have found their soulmate in each other. She also forces Mikage to acknowledge that both of them are in love. In the end, Chika gives Mikage Yuichi's address and phone number, telling her that she is worried about him.
Combining traits from both genders and having experience as a man as well as a woman, Eriko invites Mikage over to her place eventually, she sees the romantic potential of Mikage's relationship with Yuichi.
The theme of gender is essential to the story because it is the transsexuals who bring Mikage and Yuichi together. Mikage is aware that everything around her, including herself, is only temporary she appreciates death for giving her the feeling that she is alive. Both talk about death following them and making them orphans, which increases their bond. Similarly, when Eriko dies and Yuichi falls into depression, Mikage, knowing the feeling of loss all too well, nurtures him and gives him a reason to go on. She gets better when Yuichi and his mother take care of her. Having lost her grandmother, Mikage is so lost and depressed that she cannot complete the simplest tasks. It separates Mikage and Yuichi from their beloved family members, but at the same time, it is the force that brings the two together.
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