Artist's commentary
Spring Heart Break
They say the heart wants what the heart wants.
Iku is well aware of Tenshi's philandering ways but she stays with her regardless, hoping that Tenshi would change for the better. This is the delusion that keeps Iku easy.
An older yukkuri, Iku raised Tenshi when Tenshi was an orphaned ko and while the relationship was motherly at first, both succumbed to yukkuri lust. For some reason the mammalian birth failed. Perhaps Iku was way past her prime, after all she was nearing 4 years old already. Still, the both of them continued their relationship, with Tenshi seducing Iku everytime she felt the urge, each time resulting to no pregnancy.
As she is the older one, Iku realizes that Tenshi is a young yukkuri that wants to take it easy with her babies. While she cannot give that to Tenshi, Tenshi still stays with iku. Ever understanding (or so she thinks), Iku thinks that when it is time for Tenshi to have a family, she'll be able to let go.
From a Yorihime to a Yuuka, Tenshi flirted with various yus and all with the consent of Iku who secretly enjoyed the heart wrenching feeling of a cheating lover.
This time around, she followed Tenshi only to see Tenshi's new paramour, a Shion. While she has seen Tenshi with other yukkuri, this time her paste heart felt like it was being squeezed way harder than she's used to.
The Shion's beauteous young form evokes feelings of inadequacy in Iku that she never felt before. Seeing Tenshi's sword of hisou like that, she knows how irresistible this Shion is to Tenshi.
Seeing a deep puddle, Iku contemplates taking it easy forever as she cannot take it easy in this world any longer.