I think what the autor is actually stretching is the yuri teasing XD

I-I can't... my heart..
The push/pull relationship this manga has with me is very bad for both my heart and soul.
I always feel like I just went through a rollercoaster every damn chapter @_@

Someone explain please, what was she going to say ? I don't get it.

that shes not gay and this manga is one big ole' cliffhanger

That she's going to try to make things work with her ex and she regrets letting him go

This made me give a short, hysterical laugh.

I laughed until I started crying ;_;

and hear i thought dragon ball z took too long...

I'm so lost can someone give me a summary up till now plz.

Oh.My.Gosh Nooo, and all this is a flashback? Is Ran upset about it? At least can she confess her feelings to Keiko? I mean she had that dream, it's obvious that she loves her. At least that fact is true, right? >.< And Keiko seems to think that Ran is joking... >.<

Someone explain please, what was she going to say ? I don't get it.

that shes not gay and this manga is one big ole' cliffhanger

That she's going to try to make things work with her ex and she regrets letting him go

No.
Just no.

Omg Love Lab, this image brings back so much bad memories about the ending but it goes very well with Nezchan's comment.

More seriously, hasn't Ran been pushing Keiko for a while now to sit down with her ex like adults and settle things once and for all? Whether getting back together or walking away doesn't matter, although obviously the latter would be better for Ran.

Actually a lot of the story parts have to do with Ran building Keiko up to the point where she can face her demons. Not just the ex but her mom too, and as we saw earlier dealing with simple things like seeing kids playing.

More seriously, hasn't Ran been pushing Keiko for a while now to sit down with her ex like adults and settle things once and for all? Whether getting back together or walking away doesn't matter, although obviously the latter would be better for Ran.

Actually a lot of the story parts have to do with Ran building Keiko up to the point where she can face her demons. Not just the ex but her mom too, and as we saw earlier dealing with simple things like seeing kids playing.

Yeah, for the last few chapters. It seems that the next volume will start with Ran (probably) pushing Keiko and her ex to have the talk and near the end of the volume (inbetween slice of life goodness) there will be some sort of conclusion to their relationship. Either she'll get back together with him (which at the moment seems unlikely) or they will have a proper talk and leave on good terms.

Then again, it's more likely to start with Keiko's mom cause she wasn't mention in recent chapters (and he likes to throw in unexpected stuff), and after the mother the talk with the ex will happen.

More seriously, hasn't Ran been pushing Keiko for a while now to sit down with her ex like adults and settle things once and for all? Whether getting back together or walking away doesn't matter, although obviously the latter would be better for Ran.

Actually a lot of the story parts have to do with Ran building Keiko up to the point where she can face her demons. Not just the ex but her mom too, and as we saw earlier dealing with simple things like seeing kids playing.

Yeah, for the last few chapters. It seems that the next volume will start with Ran (probably) pushing Keiko and her ex to have the talk and near the end of the volume (inbetween slice of life goodness) there will be some sort of conclusion to their relationship. Either she'll get back together with him (which at the moment seems unlikely) or they will have a proper talk and leave on good terms.

Then again, it's more likely to start with Keiko's mom cause she wasn't mention in recent chapters (and he likes to throw in unexpected stuff), and after the mother the talk with the ex will happen.

really good points, Nez!

@telamon, I thought we might actually have the ex talk already in the next chapter which is supposedly the last of this volume. Let's see, given the circumstances, I can as well imagine Ran approaching Keiko's ex in the bar and forcing him to talk to Keiko himself. Or she starts drinking again. I think so because Ran really seems to be in a pinch - it's rare for her to look depressed in front of the others. Boy am I looking forward to the drama!

Isn't Keiko also moving out? Seems like she already sat down with her ex and they decided to try again.

Uuhhh... no. They are just throwing old clothes, as far as i understand.

If Keiko was moving out, the atmosphere would be a lot more tense.
Not to mention that the appartment is Keiko's. If they were getting back together, it would be RAN who would need to move out, not Keiko.

Ran's obviously very happy about Keiko giving her what I have to assume is an old school t-shirt, probably from the club they were both members of... With the recent chapters, it seems that Keiko might have been going to talk about getting closure with her ex, but she also might have been thinking about breaching the topic of where exactly their relationship is heading... Hard to say.

Seriously not every freaking manga has to be about or have yuri in it. If it's going to happen let it happen at it's own pace ya know kinda like how real life works. I for one am enjoying the story as is. If Ran and Keiko wind up getting into a relationship so be it if not, so be it. The story is a journey not a destination, so just relax kick back and enjoy the ride. Me personally I'm still not 100% convinced there is anything beyond subtext yet.

Well, without a doubt the series should at least have a shoujo ai tag. Regardless of whether they end up together or not, Ran IS in love with Keiko and probably has been since high school. She has shown zero interest in men romantically, including showing outright disdain for them on occasion. Meanwhile, Keiko has had serious relationships with men, but other than her last ex, there is no indication that she ever really loved any of them. It is very possible that she is bi, since she has occasionally shown sexual attraction toward Ran.

In any event, Ran is far more important to Keiko at this point than a normal friend or underclassman. The two of them have a relationship that goes deeper than friendship, but not so far as to become lovers... yet...

And, once again, the stretching was absent entirely...

@takachi It's possible that the next chapter will be the talk with the ex, but then again, so is the visit to Keiko's mom, it has been mention quite a while ago, and it hasn't happened yet.

Guess we differ on the enjoyment of drama. I've had more than enough drama fics/mangas/doujins to last me quite a while and I really don't want to see any more. What's happening here isn't really drama though, and Shou hasn't shown that he writes it like that. I guess we'll see.

OMG would you two fucking kiss already!?

All aboard the troll train!! Choo choo!! Shou is the machinist and we're headed to trollville!!

Seriously, this is gonna kill me a thousand of times.

He better gives a yuri ending... and make a continuation of Prism in webcomic format... it's the least that he can do after all this suffering!!!

Eh? it's the same one who did Prism??
He could start that over without the tracing or something?

Sometimes I imagine Shou with the same face and smile of this subject, as they are cut from the same cloth, xd

And speaking of the chapter itself, it was interesting, plus it gives the feeling that lately are focusing on the feelings of Ran, which makes me wonder if the end of the fourth volume will be focused on Ran Like the previous volume, or instead it will focus on Keiko with a visit to his mother or fixing their problems with the ex.

More seriously, hasn't Ran been pushing Keiko for a while now to sit down with her ex like adults and settle things once and for all? Whether getting back together or walking away doesn't matter, although obviously the latter would be better for Ran.

Actually a lot of the story parts have to do with Ran building Keiko up to the point where she can face her demons. Not just the ex but her mom too, and as we saw earlier dealing with simple things like seeing kids playing.

Tapping into this, if there is any yuri to be had in the end, having Keiko move on from her demons is the best place to start. Hard to have a real relationship with someone who hasn't settled things properly with their ex (especially when it was largely a one-sided fault on their part), and even harder when they're still stuck on a difficult relationship with those closest (parents, in this example).

Granted Keiko never really seemed to have a close relationship with her mother at all, but just being able to tie those ends off leaves a LOT more room for a lover to jump into and be held up properly.

More seriously, hasn't Ran been pushing Keiko for a while now to sit down with her ex like adults and settle things once and for all? Whether getting back together or walking away doesn't matter, although obviously the latter would be better for Ran.

Actually a lot of the story parts have to do with Ran building Keiko up to the point where she can face her demons. Not just the ex but her mom too, and as we saw earlier dealing with simple things like seeing kids playing.

Tapping into this, if there is any yuri to be had in the end, having Keiko move on from her demons is the best place to start. Hard to have a real relationship with someone who hasn't settled things properly with their ex (especially when it was largely a one-sided fault on their part), and even harder when they're still stuck on a difficult relationship with those closest (parents, in this example).

Granted Keiko never really seemed to have a close relationship with her mother at all, but just being able to tie those ends off leaves a LOT more room for a lover to jump into and be held up properly.

Doesn't hurt that Ran ends up in the position of the one who stood by Keiko no matter what, and worked to help her heal.

@takachi It's possible that the next chapter will be the talk with the ex, but then again, so is the visit to Keiko's mom, it has been mention quite a while ago, and it hasn't happened yet.

Guess we differ on the enjoyment of drama. I've had more than enough drama fics/mangas/doujins to last me quite a while and I really don't want to see any more. What's happening here isn't really drama though, and Shou hasn't shown that he writes it like that. I guess we'll see.

I would think the Ex would be first. All things considered he's much easier to deal with emotionally for Keiko than her mother. He's been her first stable partner and putting the miscarriage fiasco afterwards in which shes pushes him away and he can't cope they would seem to have an okay relationship.

Her mother on the other hand with what we know is a sack of shit of the higest degree ever since her early childhood. I'm sure there's so much baggage there that could make a confrontation at this point detrimental. She needs to deal with the "small stuff" and get more support from Ran because to me the mother looks like the final boss.

Remember in order to grow, you have to do it small steps at a time ( Wuxia/Xianxia novels represent! )

last edited at Aug 28, 2015 10:30PM

I can't help wondering what it is about Keiko that Ran likes so much. What does she provide that Ran continues to have one-sided feelings for her?

To be honest, if you remove your yuri googles, Ran's emotional involvement toward Keiko may be totally non romantic.

She cares a lot for her, as maybe she would for an older sister who has life issues.

We seek yuri here because Shou wrote yuri before, but there's no indication that this is actual yuri or that any romance, even one-sided, is taking place.

when I sugested this I was suddenly not making much sense shrug* good times

Keiko could be a better husband more than her ex-boyfriend.

To be honest, if you remove your yuri googles, Ran's emotional involvement toward Keiko may be totally non romantic.

She cares a lot for her, as maybe she would for an older sister who has life issues.

We seek yuri here because Shou wrote yuri before, but there's no indication that this is actual yuri or that any romance, even one-sided, is taking place.

If you try to read it like a normal Slice of life, you will at least notice a lot of subtext. But apart from the honmei chocolate and Ran's dream there is no real indication of yuri. People commenting on Shou's website don't mention yuri anymore, they now seem to think Stretch is coming to an end.

sequel: yoga kappa#

To be honest, if you remove your yuri googles, Ran's emotional involvement toward Keiko may be totally non romantic.

She cares a lot for her, as maybe she would for an older sister who has life issues.

We seek yuri here because Shou wrote yuri before, but there's no indication that this is actual yuri or that any romance, even one-sided, is taking place.

So I let a friend to read Stretch that has been saved on my phone. She doesn't know where the source is, and she isn't a manga person either. She's straight too... And yet she can tell the yuri subtext elements in it. Well, maybe she was biased. I also told her she might be biased.

Then she let another friend to read it from her phone. She said she should let me read it because I might into this stuff...