Sonoda first appears in Volume 6 of the manga after bumping into Ayumu, where he immediately notices she is distressed. Soon after, when Manami and her friends are trying to take Ayumu into the bathroom (likely to inflict more torture), Sonoda stops them and tells them off, and with the help several other students is able to back the girls off. Afterwards he reveals he has his own past experiences with being bullied, which lead him to stand up for Ayumu, though he insists that it isn't for her sake; rather, he is trying to erase his own pain by helping her. Later, he runs into Akira Karino, Manami's new boyfriend, and right away attempts to run from his sight, indicating that Akira was his main tormentor in his past. In Volume 8 Sonoda comes to the rescue of Ayumu and Hatori, but has to face his demons when Akira tries to stop the girls from escaping a burning building. After choking Sonoda, Akira turns his attention to the other two, but he and Sonoda get into a fight which ends with Akira hanging out of a window and Sonoda telling him how much he despises him. Akira then falls from the window (and survives), and Sonoda runs to find Ayumu and Hatori again. His overall gentle nature in the face of all he's been through complements his passion for gardening; his favorite flower, the sunflower, has a great deal of emotional meaning to him, as they are able to grow tall and free and "reach toward the sun" in a way he is not yet able to. Later in the manga, Ayumu and Sonoda appear to have developed romantic feelings for each other.
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