Volume 1 Track 3 "Yes, all right, so I'm not normal! Is that so wrong? If I like you, I like you - I can't help the way I feel!" -- Shuichi

SUMMARY

Desperately seeking Yuki

Shuichi is thrilled to think that the famous Tohma Seguchi might be interested in his band. But his hopes are dashed when Tohma asks him about Eiri Yuki instead. Shuichi confirms who it was that Tohma saw in the audience. Tohma seems shocked: "So it really was Eiri!" Shuichi wonders at Tohma's evident familiarity with the man. <Could that guy be friends with Tohma Seguchi?>

Later on, during Shuichi's heart to heart with Hiroshi, he wonders if Yuki could put in a good word for their band with Tohma Seguchi. Hiroshi remarks that Shuichi is always going on about this Eiri Yuki. "You must really like the guy. You should go tell him how you feel!" Shuichi is pessimistic: "He's already got a girlfriend. He was supposed to go on a date that night." But Hiroshi points out that the man came to see Shuichi rather than go out on his date...

Elsewhere in the city, there is one very angry woman on the telephone. "I can't believe it! He said he had urgent business, but he was lying to me! He should have told me what was going on. He won't get away with this!" She vows to go over to Eiri's place to get an explanation...

How to dump your girlfriend without really trying

Encouraged by Hiroshi's words, Shuichi decides to go see Yuki again. Shuichi heads for Yuki's house straight after school, but when he rings the doorbell, it is answered not by Yuki but by an aggravated-looking woman instead.

I'm quoting this scene in its entirety, because it really is worth it.

Love confession

Despite Shuichi's concern ("Couldn't you see how much you hurt her?"), Yuki remains indifferent to this turn of events. In fact, he seems satisfied that he managed to get rid of this woman. "Shouldn't you be pleased?" he asks Shuichi. "You like me, don't you?"

Caught out, a flustered Shuichi confesses his true feelings. But Yuki is unmoved, saying that he's not interested in men. "Go chase after someone else, you deviant."

But something snaps inside Shuichi. "Yes, all right, so I'm not normal! Is that so wrong? If I like you, I like you - I can't help the way I feel!" He demands to know the meaning behind that charade just then, and why Yuki dumped his girlfriend, and why he came to see Shuichi in the first place.

All these questions rouse Yuki's anger. He grabs Shuichi by the collar, telling him he doesn't have to explain his actions. "And what about you? Why do you say you like me? Is there something wrong with you? I'm a man!"

Yuki closes in on Shuichi. Their lips meet. They slide to the floor, still kissing. Yuki's hand slips under Shuichi's shirt.

Yuki suddenly regains his senses and pulls away. He tells Shuichi that they shouldn't rush into anything without thinking it through first. He seems disconcerted at having lost control, even apologising for making that first move. And then he hands Shuichi back his coat (which had somehow gotten lost in the process) and casually sends him on his way.

Out of the frying pan into the fire

At school the next day, Shuichi is horrified to discover they have an exam he hasn't studied for. (An unsympathetic Hiroshi refuses to swap test papers with him. "This is the fifth time!") In the middle of the exam, while Shuichi is sweating over questions he can't answer, the door bangs open. "Is Shuichi Shindo here?!"

It's the woman from before. And her eyes are glittering dangerously.

Oblivious to the stunned looks from the rest of the room, the woman grabs Shuichi and drags him out of class. "I have something to discuss with you!"

She takes Shuichi to a quiet bar, sitting him down on the stool next to her as she lights up a cigarette. The bartender, who addresses the woman as Mika, asks her who the boy is.

"Eiri's new plaything," Mika answers. At Shuichi's protest, she adds, "Or perhaps he's your plaything?"

Upset to the point of tears, Shuichi starts ranting about how he knew Yuki had a date, how he told him not to come, and how he came anyway. Taken aback at Shuichi's outburst, Mika tries to calm him down, telling him that what she wants from him is a favour.

At this moment, the door to the bar swings open, and the person Mika has been waiting for rushes in.

It's Tohma Seguchi.

Mika obviously knows Tohma well, and addresses him in a casual, almost presumptuous way. She prevents Shuichi from talking to him, stating that Tohma is Shuichi's 'reward' for his cooperation. This angers Shuichi, who demands if Mika knows how important a person Tohma Seguchi is.

"Of course," Mika says, "he's my husband."

Shuichi recoils in shock. <Husband?!! If Eiri Yuki's girlfriend is Tohma Seguchi's wife, then this is... AN AFFAIR?>

Shuichi imagines Yuki as a lecherous wolf, seducing virtuous women. ("Come on, let's have some fun together..." "No... I can't! I'm a married woman...")

Mika says that if Shuichi talks to Eiri on her behalf ("You're his lover, aren't you? It should be easy!"), she'll guarantee Tohma Seguchi's attention to his requests.

Cigarette dangling from her lips, Mika says, "I want you to persuade my little brother to behave himself obediently."

NOTES

• It seems as though Yuki has an older sister - one who is married to Tohma Seguchi. Small world...

QUOTES

"I've had you all to myself for so long. Now, to have to give you up to another man... That's harsh." -- our irrepressible Hiroshi