Volume 1 Track 4 "Maybe to you it was just one little kiss, but it wasn't like that for me!" -- Shuichi

SUMMARY

Accusations

Shuichi confronts Yuki about Mika being his sister: "You never told me! You deliberately misled me!" But Yuki is unruffled: "You were the one who jumped to conclusions."

However, things get tense as soon as Shuichi brings up the subject of Yuki's father. Yuki doesn't get on well with his old man, who is not in good health and wants Yuki to return home. When Shuichi expresses his concern, saying that Yuki should go see his father, Yuki touches Shuichi's face and asks, "So, how much are you getting from her? One thousand? Five thousand? A hundred thousand?" He wants to know what Mika offered Shuichi for doing this favour for her. "Or... is Tohma Seguchi involved?"

Yuki accuses Shuichi of coming to see him only because it will help Shuichi further his own career. He mocks Shuichi's fixation on that "one little kiss".

With a set look on his face, Shuichi grabs Yuki and pulls him into a sudden kiss. He wants to know why Yuki doesn't just push him away. Growing distraught, he tells Yuki, "Maybe to you it was just one little kiss, but it wasn't like that for me!" He says he would have come to talk to Yuki regardless of Mika's promises. But Yuki is furious and refuses to believe him.

Conversations

Back at school, Shuichi gets officially reprimanded for his poor academic performance, his attitude, and his long hair. Hiroshi rags him about this, then tells him they have an invitation to return to the livehouse as the lead act. When Shuichi says he doesn't feel up to it until he's sorted out some things, Hiroshi is remarkably understanding. (Shuichi: "I love you, man!" Hiroshi: "Get a sex change operation and then we'll talk." Shuichi: "Why don't you?" Hiroshi: "No.")

Shuichi's list of things to sort out includes Mika. Shuichi tells her that he wants her to forget all about their agreement. He gives her a demo tape instead. He wants to make it on his own.

Meanwhile, Yuki meets up with Tohma, who at first calls him "Uesugi" - this is apparently Yuki's actual family name, which he detests. Yuki is driving Tohma to the airport to catch a flight to New York. They talk about Shuichi and his decision. While Yuki makes some cutting remarks about Shuichi's talent, he also reflects on the fact that Shuichi seems genuinely in love with him, despite not knowing anything about him, and is even willing to make these kinds of sacrifices for him.

Revelations

After his demo CD is rejected, Shuichi tries to drown his sorrows in the park. He drinks, rants, falls into a fountain, and rants some more. He is rescued from his misery by a young woman passing by - Yuki's editor. She takes him back to her apartment, dries him off, and gives him a cup of hot tea.

In the meantime, we see that Yuki has indeed returned home, as Shuichi asked him to do. But although Yuki may look like the obedient son, with his newly cut hair and his switch to traditional clothing, his attitude hasn't changed - much to the dismay of his father and his sister.

After hearing what Yuki's editor has to say (Yuki's family runs a temple and he has a fiancee his father arranged for him), Shuichi realises that he doesn't know anything about Yuki at all. Shuichi wants to get to know him better, but he doubts that Yuki will open up about himself. In the midst of his musings, Shuichi, who has been feeling dizzy and feverish, collapses into unconsciousness.

NOTES

• Yuki's real name is Eiri Uesugi. Eiri Yuki is just his pseudonym.
• Yuki is the eldest son of the Uesugi family.

QUOTES

"In the beginning, I didn't even know his name. And even now, all I know is his name." -- Shuichi