^In the series itself. This one seemingly female character who Futaba was competing with for Hikari's attention turned out to be a guy and Futaba not only decided to help him get the girl, but also said love between girls is different from love between a girl and a boy (which I don't think you can intepret in a way that isn't homophobic).
Imagine an AU where bad future Ruru stays in the present and good future Ruru is her and Emiru's daughter. There's an artist who seems to draw just that.