Yay! Tension and love keep escalating! Sano and Mizuki are so close it hurts! Admittedly, the plotlines are a little ludicrous, but that's not exactly a bad thing in shoujo manga. I also was kind of expecting more from Mizuki in a dress, but I'll take it. She and Sano are adorable. ( )

In the continuing adventures of Ashiya and her friends, they handle a haunted house situation and prepare for a coed dance with the girls at Blossom Academy. The slightly spooky ghost story is wrapped up quickly - turns out the ghost is a boy who was in love with his friend, Mizuki, who looks just like Mizuki Ashiya. With help from Nakatsu's supernaturally oriented roommate, Kayashima, they help the ghost reunite with his deceased love and find peace. I was disappointed that this arc ran its course so quickly, because a bit of not-so-scary ghost story is always fun, but the next plot line consoled me. A school dance at Christmas time, and Ashiya has to "cross dress" as a girl! The series is getting positively Shakespearean here. Ashiya is a girl, pretending to be a boy to attend an all-boy's school, who is asked to dress up as a girl for the coed dance because the all-girl's school has lower enrollment numbers. Wonderful. Despite the risks (what if the others discover she is a real girl?), she agrees to do it, because they offer to pay and she needs money to buy Sano a birthday gift. With her usual naivete, Ashiya stumbles through the practice sessions and the dance, managing to keep her secret despite several close calls. I always enjoy when the writer throws Mizuki back into girl's clothes, both for the levels of misrepresentations going on and for Sano's reaction. The fact that he knows she is a girl, and is hiding his knowledge from her and the other students, adds to the delicious irony. Also, seeing them dancing together, finally as a boy and girl couple, is a romantic moment. I definitely liked this installment in the series, and feel it rivals the earlier and better stories for interesting plot, cute romance moments, camaraderie, and humor. ( )