Hinami "Hina" Ayukawa is a first-year in high school who is instantly smitten with her upperclassman, Shiki Hiiragi. So Hina asks Shiki out, only for Shiki to mistake her Love Confession as a request to join the basketball team. Will Hina overcome this misunderstanding and win Shiki over?
The series is complete and is collected in a single volume.
The manga contains examples of:
- Affectionate Nickname:
- Hina, whose full name is Hinami, is called "Hina" by Shiki, "Hinamin" by Waka, and "Ayukawashi" by Nonon.
- Rei, who is rather selective about who gets to call her by her first name, allows Hina to call her "Meowmoto-senpai" after they become close.
- Almost Kiss: In chapter 8, Hina and Shiki are alone in the latter's apartment and they're about to kiss, but they're interrupted by Rei who suddenly came unannounced after a fight with Hanna.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Halfway through the story, Shiki kisses Hina, leaving the two in a Heroic BSoD as they try to work through their relationship. Their friends on the team, Hanna and Rei, ask questions of them that force them to come to terms with their feelings for each other.
- Hanna observes that Shiki was jealous of Rei's closeness with Hina, since Hina was using a nickname on Rei.Hanna: Was it because Ayukawa-chan was having fun with someone other than you?
- Meanwhile, Hina confesses to Rei that she'd always thought Shiki thought of her as a little sister until they kissed. Rei tells her to ask Shiki directly, and when Hina hesitates, Rei responds as follows.Rei: What do you want to happen, Ayukawa?
- Hanna observes that Shiki was jealous of Rei's closeness with Hina, since Hina was using a nickname on Rei.
- Bathtub Scene: In chapter 8, Hina takes a bath in Shiki's bathtub after their study date.
- Beta Couple: While Hina and Shiki are the main characters and primary couple, it is revealed early on that Rei and Hanna are also in a relationship.
- Bickering Couple, Peaceful Couple: Implied. Hanna and Rei apparently have arguments on a somewhat regular basis, as Shiki observes that Rei only comes over when she has a fight with Hanna. Hina and Shiki, however, don't seem to conflict as much, and their only relationship problems are when one of them is keeping something to herself.
- Big Damn Kiss: Shiki kisses Hina by surprise in chapter 5. Their Relationship Upgrade happens in the next chapter.
- Big "WHAT?!": Hinami lets out a "WHAAAA?!" near the end after learning that Shiki is not actually going abroad.
- Book Dumb: Hina is not a very good student, and her only good subject is Home Ec. Shiki is implied to be a downplayed case of this, as when Rei asks if math is her best subject, Shiki replies that it's better than her other subjects, implying that she isn't all that good.
- Cannot Spit It Out: While Hina's crush on Shiki is obvious, she realizes near the end of the story that she has never actually told Shiki that she likes her in a romantic way.
- Cast Full of Gay: The four main characters are all lesbians, with Hina and Shiki becoming a couple and Rei dating Hanna.
- Caught in the Rain: In chapter 3, it starts raining during Hina's unofficial date with Shiki and both have to take shelter.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Rei and Hanna have known each other for many years, as shown by a flashback panel, and are in a relationship.
- Childhood Friends: Hina has known Nonon since elementary school.
- Crash-Into Hello: Hina meets Shiki by running into her chest. The nature of their meeting and Hina falling for Shiki is so cliché that Nonon and Waka make fun of her and assume she's making things up.
- Delicate and Sickly: Hina's younger sister has health problems, so Hina is often left home alone.
- Everyone Hates Math: Hina's worst subject is math.
- Florence Nightingale Effect: Hina nurses Shiki when the latter is down with a cold, causing Shiki to develop romantic feelings for her.
- Friendly Address Privileges: Rei and Hanna are on a First-Name Basis because they're girlfriends. Rei only wants Hanna to call her by her first name, but allows Hina to nickname her "Meowmoto-senpai" after accepting her as a friend.
- Funbag Airbag: The manga starts with Hina accidentally falling face first into Shiki's chest.
- Giving Up the Ghost: In Eighth Step, Hina, exhausted from studying with her senpai and girlfriend Shiki, sits there with a blank stare, a cold sweat and drool coming out of the corner of her mouth as her ghost also comes out of her mouth.
- Gotta Pass the Class: Toward the end of the series, Hina must pass her tests, lest she end up taking extra classes and being unable to participate in team activities. This leads to her studying with Shiki.
- Harsh Word Impact: As Rei realizes that Hina is in danger of failing her exams, she says, "Ayukawa, you're a real dummy, huh?" with an arrow from the speech bubble stabbing Hina in the head.
- Heroic BSoD: Both Shiki and Hina get these after Shiki kisses Hina, as they're thinking through the state of their relationship.
- Hey, You!: Rei initially calls Hina "first-year," but switches to "Ayukawa," after Hina speaks out in favor of her.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each chapter is called a "Step."
- Jerkass Has a Point: Rei is harsh and strict with her teammates, but if she's strict about technique, it's because she doesn't want them to injure themselves like she did. Hina, after realizing the reasons behind Rei's attitude, defends her against her critics.
- Last-Name Basis: Most of the basketball players go by their surnames, unless they're particularly close, like Hina and Shiki, or Rei and Hanna.
- Literally Loving Thy Neighbor: Rei and Hanna are neighbors as well as girlfriends.
- Long-Distance Relationship: It turns out that Hanna, who is a year older than Rei, plans on applying to a university in Hokkaido (The series' setting is never mentioned, but it is probably somewhere in Honshu). Rei is initially upset that Hanna didn't tell her, but while she finds it odd to not have Hanna at her side, she realizes that a year apart will be nothing.
- Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple: Hina and Shiki. Hina is girly, fashionable, and loves cute accessories. Shiki is the type of Bifauxnen that Hina likes; tomboyish, cool, and sporty.
- Mood Whiplash: At the end of Eighth Step, Rei comes over to Shiki's apartment, soaking wet and clearly upset about something. After Shiki answers the door, Hina comes over, causing Rei to assume that she's interrupting something intimate.
- Nepotism: Some first-years accuse Rei of getting special treatment because she's close with Hanna.
- Non-Uniform Uniform: Shiki wears the boys' cardigan.
- Not a Date: In chapter 3, Hina is hanging out with her friends, but they run into Shiki and her friends leave so she can have an unofficial date with Shiki.
- Official Couple:
- Hina and Shiki. The manga is about their romantic relationship.
- Rei and Hanna are revealed to be dating early on.
- Oh, Crap!: At the end of First Step, Hina stares wordlessly in terror as she realizes that Rei, who had been hostile to her from the very beginning and told her not to come back, will be training her as manager.
- Otaku: Hina and her friends have interests along these lines- games with handsome girls for Hina, mecha anime for Nonon and shounen manga for Waka.
- Relationship Upgrade: In chapter 6, Shiki asks Hina to be her girlfriend and she accepts.
- Sealed with a Kiss: After reaffirming their mutual love, Hina and Shiki kiss in the final chapter.
- Show, Don't Tell: One panel during Rei and Hanna's conversation shows a brace on Rei's ankle, some pages in advance of Hina learning about her injury as a bit of foreshadowing. Hina remembers the brace after being told about the injury.
- Sick Episode: Shiki falls ill after being rained on during her outing with Hina.
- Speak in Unison: Waka and Nonon speak together while thanking Shiki for being kind to their friend, differing only in the nickname they use for Hina.
- Those Two Guys: Nonon and Waka always show up together and are shown as Shiki's friends.
- Time Skip: A month passes between the second and third chapters.
- Two-Act Structure: The series is collected into a single tankobon volume, but there are two parts- the part before Hina kisses Shiki and the part after it.
- Wham Shot: Second Step ends with Hina and Shiki walking in on Rei and Hanna making out.
- Where the Hell Is Springfield?: It's never specified where exactly in Japan the series takes place, but it's not in Hokkaido, since Hanna is planning on going to university there, which is apparently quite far from Rei.
- You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: Shiki, who usually calls Hina by her nickname, calls her "Hinami" before making a Love Confession.
- Yuri Genre: The manga features not one, but two lesbian couples.
