Chapter One: Tomadoi no Kajitsu-tachi
This first chapter focuses largely on Nakamoto and his rather enterprising family situation. Nakamoto receives a phone call from his step-mother Kyouko asking him to come home for a few days. The reason? His father wants to discuss with him the idea of an arranged marriage meeting(!). Despite Nakamoto's protests that he's still in High School, Kyouko is quite insistant that he comes, and in the end he agrees. This call is overheard by Mikimaro and Katou, who want to know all about it (!).

That night, Nakamoto is attempting to study while Arai is playing a very noisy video involving fairly graphic scenes. When Nakamoto complains about the noise, Arai pins him down and makes him watch it. He also teases Nakamoto about his stepmother - suggesting that Nakamoto likes Kyouko more than he should. This makes Nakamoto quite flustered...probably because it's true.

Nakamoto heads home, as arranged, but discovers there's noone else there except Kyouko. His father has been held up on business grounds and his sister is away skiiing with friends. This makes him uncomfortable, because of his feelings for Kyouko, and he tries to excuse himself with the explanation that he has work to do and should be heading back. However, Kyouko convinces him to stay and wait for his father's return, and Nakamoto agrees. They cook together, and Nakamoto finds he's having a fun time spending time with Kyouko, although nothing inappropriate happens.

That night, when he's getting ready for bed, he sees Kyouko coming out of the shower wrapped in just her robe. His feelings almost get the better of him and he somehow falls on top of her, coming very close to confessing his true feelings. Kyouko however interrupts him, begging him to stop - and embarrassed, Nakamoto flees for the safety of his room.

The next morning, Nakamoto is apologising to Kyouko for his instinctive behaviour when his father and grandmother and sister arrive back home. (At last we see Nakamoto's father!). His sister is surprised to see him, and his father apologises for not having been there sooner. He discusses with Nakamoto his ideas, without really expecting Nakamoto to disagree and Nakamoto doesn't disagree, more or less accepting everything his father has to say. He then mentions his report and that he needs to get back to the dorm, and his father agrees - reminding him that his grades are important for him to follow in the family's footsteps.

As he goes to leave, Kyouko goes after him and asks him why he doesn't want to get involved in the arranged match and Nakamoto tells her it's only because he's still in High School. (He almost tells her his feelings again, but stops, telling her its nothing). Kyouko suggests she could talk to his father, but Nakamoto tells her there's no point since his dad's mind is made up. Kyouko then tells him she had a lot of fun yesterday when it had just been the two of them. At Nakamoto's surprise, Kyouko then kisses him...^_^.

Back at the dorm, Nakamoto is spacing out, and Arai is yelling at him to get his attention. Surprisingly Nakamoto asks Arai if a girl kisses a guy she doesn't have feelings for. Arai finds this hilarious, much to Nakamoto's mortification, but tells him that no, it's not the kind of thing that normally happens. This gives Nakamoto the courage to call his father and tell him that he's not ready to be thrown into an arranged match just yet.

Chapter Two:  Trouble Traveller
For some reason best known to themselves, the boys from Seiryuu Academy are on holiday in Guam (I think it's Guam, my katakana place name reading sucks but it's the best I can make of it!). This is Kusanagi Mizuho's first manga appearance, as we find him desperately pulling strings to go along so that he can (ahem) watch the boys in their swimsuits (no kidding). His poor, long-suffering aide Sugita is also along for the ride.

When the M boys arrive at the hotel - oblivious to the fact they're being stalked - they discover an interesting rooming dilemma. Yuusuke has been given his own room, Nakamoto and Mikimaro a room and Arai and Takagi a room to share. At first, Arai is happy that he's not rooming with Mikimaro but then when he discovers its Takagi, he changes his mind. Takagi needles him about acting like a kid, so Arai's pride gets rankled and he basically says "fine then. Whatever." However, when they discover the room has only one double bed, it's Takagi who's desperately trying to get a room change! In the end, though, despite much messing about, they're stuck with it.

The boys go to the sea and Arai, Yuusuke and Mikimaro go swimming while Nakamoto (a self confessed bad swimmer) and Takagi (because of his modelling career situation, apparently) sit it out and talk on the beach. They are interrupted by Kusanagi, who wants to know why they're not swimming.

Meanwhile, Yuusuke sees a girl in trouble in the water and hurries to help her out, taking her to the shore and performing mouth to mouth on her. This is perhaps the first and only time Yuusuke hasn't acted like a complete baboon, so it's worth a mention.

That night the boys are relaxing in their rooms - Mikimaro insists on trying on Nakamoto's glasses, Arai and Takagi are drinking beer (Budweiser by the looks of it!) and Yuusuke...gets a knock on the door from the said girl, who wants to thank him. She introduces herself as Naruse Mayumi, and Yuusuke somehow manages to string the words together to ask her to hang out with him tomorrow. She agrees.

Next morning, Takagi is fast asleep and Arai is trying to wake him up. Heaven only knows what - or who - Takagi is dreaming about, because it comes very close to a sleep-kiss moment bettered only by Yorihisa in Harukanaru Toki no Naka De. Much to Takagi's embarrassment when he wakes up to Arai's yelling. (And of course, it's not a secret for long).

Meantime Kusanagi is still spying, collecting photos of the boys and bemoaning the fact Takagi hasn't gone swimming yet. The boys go to the firing range - minus Yuusuke - although Nakamoto finds that pulling the trigger is too difficult for him, much to Arai's amusement. As for the missing Yuusuke, he's actually managing to have a spell with a girl where he doesn't put his foot in his mouth. They agree to contact one another once back in Tokyo, since it turns out they don't live too far apart.

Chapter Three: Ienakatta Kotoba [Translation]
Arai and Kawazoe version 2.0!

Arai is having dreams about his last encounter with Kawazoe Haruka, which - in PLUS world - was a year and a half ago when they were parted. Arai is mentally bemoaning the fact he had no chance to tell his "real feelings" (the mind boggles). However, this is not a subject he feels comfortable in confiding in any of his associates, so they are none the wiser as to his sudden, abstract behaviour. And to be honest, they're all rather distracted by an overly excited Yuusuke who has a date with Mayumi. He keeps on talking about "double beds" and asking Arai's advice, so I'm going to guess this is a not so subtle way that Yuusuke's asking Arai's "courting" advice - shall we leave it there? It also transpires that Arai has a girl he's been seeing recently, called "Yuria"

Meanwhile, Kawazoe has returned to Japan, arriving at Narita Airport with his mind very clearly on Arai.

Back at the Seiryuu Academy, the boys are randomly discussing the apparent folding of the Shashin-bu (Photography Club), of which Arai was once a member (under Kawazoe's guidance and leadership). This is similar to the original manga, in that Mikimaro explains to Yuusuke and the others who Kawazoe Haruka is and that he's mixed race, like Takagi - only half American, instead of half English. Somewhat nostalgic, Arai heads to the room where the Club meetings were held, his mind once more on Kawazoe. It's here he encounters Kawazoe himself, apparently bent on a similar errand of nostalgia, and the two go for a walk in the city to remenisce about old times.

There is a nice little flashback encounter here about Arai's joining of the Shashin-bu, showing him in classic aggressive style. It's revealed that the first fight he ever lost came at Kawazoe's hands, after he answered back and gave a little bit too much lip to his senpai. Oddly that seems to have been the root of their "friendship", since after this Arai joined up with the Shashin-bu, and although he had arguments with other members, he and Kawazoe became close.

During their chat, Arai's phone rings. It's Yuria, wanting to meet with him, and although he tries to put her off, the girl is insistant. Kawazoe ribs him a little about his current "girl" and decides to go along to meet her, too. Arai is somewhat cold to Yuria, who acts possessive and jealous on account of his attitude. All of this is overseen by Mikimaro, who is concerned about "his" Arai being involved with other people. When he sees Kawazoe, he recognises him, and more, that Kawazoe's ear is pierced with a similar earring to Arai's. This sends Mikimaro into a spin - and he hares back to the dorm with the sudden idea that he's going to get a pierced ear as well. Yuusuke thinks he's gone crazy - telling him it'll only make him look like a girl - so he goes and asks Takagi for help choosing one. Takagi also thinks he's crazy, but agrees, and Mikimaro returns to the dorm with a pair of earrings in order to show Arai what he intends to do - one earring for HIS ear and one for Arai's. Meanwhile Arai and Kawazoe have agreed to meet up the next day.

Arai is first non-plussed, then decides to tease Mikimaro by emphasising how painful piercing is and that he's no good at it, so Nakamoto will have to do it. Nakamoto objects on the grounds that "someone who isn't a doctor shouldn't be cutting someone else". Mikimaro admits that he wanted Arai to pierce his ear, even though they offered to do it in the shop, and Nakamoto points out that if he did it, it rather defeats the point of the exercise. Yuusuke turns up at that point, in search of more girl advice...asking Arai to go with him the next day. However, Arai tells him he has plans, and Mikimaro asks if he's going to meet with Kawazoe, revealing the fact he overheard the conversation.

Arai goes to meet Kawazoe, and there's some more flashback about a previous visit to the area where Kawazoe rescued Arai when he fell from a precipice. (This seems to have been the first moment Kawazoe realised Arai was important to him, hence the return to this place). Kawazoe tells Arai about his real father being a photographer and that the reason he went to Africa originally was to try and meet up with him - he also talks about New York and working there..under some interesting conditions ^_^. They have a minor disagreement, and Arai, angry, takes off into the wilderness. However, he misses his footing and falls, and would have gone headlong over the cliff. Of course, though, Kawazoe catches him, pulling him back onto the ledge. HOWEVER - Kawazoe himself falls, only just gripping on to save himself from dropping the whole way. Arai wants to help him and Kawazoe tells him to leave him - that he doesn't want Arai hurt as well. Arai tells him basically not to be an idiot, and insists on staying and pulling him up, yelling at him the thing he couldn't say a year and a half earlier - "Are you going to leave me?!" ("オレを置いて行くのか?") With that he hauls Kawazoe to safety.
[Scanlation 1]

Once the drama is over, Arai observes regretfully that he dropped his camera again, and that there's no money for another. Still, they leave things on a positive note - Kawazoe asking Arai if he might not spend time with him again, with a camera, together... [Scanlation 2]

Meanwhile, Yuusuke has managed to blow his date with Mayumi, which he blames on Arai for being distracted. And when Arai goes back to school, he takes Mikimaro to task for eavesdropping, threatening to pierce his ears in the most painful way possible as vengeance!