I silently let him hold me, the same way as Minami did with me, without wondering whether it was love or passion or whatever.
-- Narrator (Parfait)

Importance: When Natsumi thinks about her affair with Nishino, she recalls the first time they were physically intimate. Although the two were lovers, Natsumi remains unsure how to categorize their relationship and her feelings for Nishino. This moment is particularly revealing of how Nishino conducts himself within all of his romantic and sexual relationships. He is assuming the body language and demeanor of a child. He holds onto Nishino in the same way her daughter holds onto her. Both of the lovers thus relate to one another physically as if they are related, and there is thus an unconditional love between them. This moment complicates Nishino's character and foreshadows the ways in which he will take shape over the course of the chapters to follow.

She can't...
-- Nishino (In the Grass)