So... what does "beyond love or friendship" mean here, in practice?  Really close friends?  Family, i.e. she sees Hime like a sister?  I guess sex friends also falls into this "beyond" category, as do a few types of polyamory, but I don't think that Akira is talking about either of those.  I dunno, I'm fine with non-traditional relationships, but I don't understand what Akira wants on a basic level.  I guess this will be explained more in future chapters, but I found this chapter kind of frustrating, since both Hamuro and a lot of the commenters here seem to understand what Akira means, and I'm just not getting it. :/