Other Sotsugyou M stuffs :novels (M+)
Oretachi no Kiseki
Yeeps. This book is kind of...yeeps. This may be a long synopsis. I'm not sure how to condense it down :S
So so far we've got...a nice gentle starting scene with Takagi playing the piano and Nakamoto and Mikimaro coming to listen and Takagi saying that he's played piano ever since he was small and that some mystery person bought him an instrument, etc etc. It seems a nice calm story. But it isnt.
The next thing we have is the Headmaster Shibata Toshinori (and his subordinate Nakayama) having a small freak out because Toshinori's brother Kazuma, the chief of directors, is coming back from abroad. I don't honestly blame him ^_^. (What has to be understood is that the Shibata family - or chiefly, Kazuma - own Seiryuu Academy in some way or form.)
So on to Kasumi, and him randomly catching Arai's attention in the dining hall and asking him if they can "talk". Now, lets get this straight - Kasumi has had a pretty minor role in things so far...but he's about to make up for that. He is, after all, Arai's former roommate. And consequently, his buddy. (OVA aside, Kasumi's quite human, even if he is the Seitokai vice president).
Anyhow, Kasumi drags Arai to a private spot to talk and spills this whole story about the director coming back and the fact his brother Takumi was found dead ten years ago...and that he's strongly suspicious that this director Kazuma is somehow involved in it. Basically, Takumi was found dead in suspicious circumstances but it was ruled an accident in the end. Kasumi admits he wasnt close to his brother yet has reached a point where he realises he's the same age as Takumi was when he died and that he's turned out somewhat like his brother in some respects. Basically he just wants to know the truth. He reveals information to Arai that most people don't know about the crime and his brother's life leading up to his death - including a photo of Takumi with Kazuma, a memory of seeing the two of them kissing (!?!) and even worse - that Takumi's body was found with blood type A semen inside it. (I didn't make that up, I swear...). Anyhow, Arai promises Kasumi he'll do anything he can to help his friend out.
So Kazuma arrives back and greets his brother Toshinori, who is less than glad to see him. Considering the account we get of their childhood, I'm not surprised. If Toshinori is to believed, we can call Kazuma a disturbed dog-murderer and leave it at that?
However, Takagi ends up in the office by accident and Kazuma immediately takes an interest in him. Despite Toshinori's begging him to keep away from Takagi (after all Takagi has a powerful guardian in Mitsuse Junichirou), Kazuma is the kind to do what he wants and seeks Takagi out in the garden for a "chat". Kasumi oversees this and challenges Kazuma after Takagi is gone, asking about his brother (and he's pretty direct). Some of the things he says seem to upset Kazuma, who then makes for Takagi's room, determined to get to his new "friend" before Takagi hears any of the "rumours" about him.
It's sort of disturbing to think that Kazuma - in his forties - is invading a student's bedroom for coffee and they're having in depth chats about themselves and their families (especially since Takagi doesn't generally go in for confiding). Takagi seems sort of confused about Kazuma - the father figure complex, and whatever else. He agrees to go to dinner with him. The next day in class he's in a hurry to leave because he's meeting Kazuma again - and when Arai finds out who he's having dinner with, he's in a quandary. He can't betray Kasumi's confidence, yet he knows Takagi is potentially in danger. Still, he can't prevent him from leaving and has his work cut out keeping what he knows from the inquisitive Mikimaro and the astute Nakamoto. Fortunately for him, Yuusuke is having a bad girlfriend day (this is the girl from the manga, Mayumi, who he rescued from drowning in Guam). He and Arai have an indepth discussion about how far they've gone, why Yuusuke hasn't gone any further yet, etc etc...it transpires they've been seeing each other quite a while by this point, so this novel coincides pretty much timeline wise with the end of the first volume of PLUS manga.
Mindful of his discussion with Yuusuke, Arai heads on over to Yuria's house, but discovers that (since she hasn't seen him in a while), she's moved on, found someone else and doesn't want to let him into her flat. So he heads to Kawazoe's mansion instead...(oh, who didn't see that coming??) Kawazoe gets a bit ticked when he thinks that Arai's only come to moan to him about splitting up with Yuria (well, you can understand that, huh?) and they have a small spat. Arai is thoroughly fed up by this time because the whole day's been a bit crap, really. Kawazoe does invite him to come back the next day, though, when he's calmed down...
Meanwhile, back to Takagi and that man :P They're in Kazuma's hotel room, and Takagi plays Last Dance for Kazuma on the guitar that seems to have magically appeared there. Kazuma offers to put Takagi in touch with music producers who could sign him and have him in the public eye, but Takagi refuses, saying its something he wants to achieve on his own merit. They have another fairly indepth conversation - this time about Takagi's past. Woot. Truth will out at last :) So here it is - he was born in England (London), he came to Japan when he was four with his mother, although he never was given any reason why - and he lived in Japan with her until her death. During middle school, he began to play music with Cassandra Next (yes, in the novels it's the same as in the Drama CD) until his split with the band (which was probably during High School. He went to a prestigious high school, where he was hated because of his being an illegitimate child and of mixed blood. During this time he got a job - that infamous host job. I confess that the meaning of "Host" was rather lost in translation with me when I read it in the manga, because my dictionary just gave it a far more benign meaning - such as someone working in a bar or a restaurant of some kind. Takagi's not that kind of host, however. Let me put this in his own words, because it explains it best...
"Having meaningless sex with women I didn't love, over and over again, every day...doing whatever they wanted for money...dirty money..."
((p158))
I think we'll stop there - you get the idea ;) I think an adequate translation might be "escort". (I'm not even going to think about what that means regarding Takagi and Nakamoto's stepmother).
After his mother's death, he was taken in by Mitsuse and sent to Seiryuu Academy - which we already know. However, it turns out Kazuma knows a lot more about Takagi than Takagi does, having investigated thoroughly the latest object of his interest. (Yeeks. Stalker...?) In any case, Takagi asks to know everything, and instead of telling him, Kazuma kisses him. This unsettles Takagi in a big way - apparently he'd been naive enough to identify Kazuma's interest as a fatherly kind of approach. Kazuma makes it clear that he has other plans, and wants Takagi for himself. Takagi, somewhat disturbed, leaves the hotel without the information he seeks. However, Kazuma tells him to come to his family's villa near the place where Takumi was found dead (name eludes me) and then he'll tell him what he wants to know.
The next thing we get is Kasumi storming Arai's room in a panic because he's seen Takagi heading off in Kazuma's car towards that place and he's - naturally - concerned about Takagi's safety. So is Arai! Unfortunately for Kasumi, Yuusuke and Mikimaro are being coached by a fed up Nakamoto (who's unable to go home for the start of the holiday because he's had to stay behind and coach them to pass their exams) and so Arai isnt alone. The end result is that they all head off towards the location - only Arai knowing what's really on Kasumi's mind.
Kazuma takes Takagi all around the area, pointing out various things and developments. In a round-about way, it is relevant, although he teases Takagi as well, putting his arm around him and making Takagi confused and uncomfortable. Takagi's emotions towards Kazuma are pretty ambivalent - I'm actually having trouble seeing Takagi in a uke role, or even having homosexual interest, to be honest. However, in the end Kazuma gets to the point - that the hotels and stuff he's been pointing out belong to Mitsuse's group - and Mitsuse is Takagi's blood father.
The next bit is quite telling. On return to the villa, Takagi essentially seems to slip back into "host" role, offering himself to Kazuma in any way he chooses as return for the information (as if this was somehow part of a prearranged deal). Truthfully, Takagi mistook Kazuma telling him he wanted him for meaning he wanted his body - Kazuma refuses to touch him, telling him that he wants all of Takagi - heart and soul, not just his body. He gives him the files relating to his research on Takagi's past, and also a bracelet (yes, this is probably the bracelet that gets stolen in the first GIZOKU drama CD!). He also tells Takagi that he doesn't have Mitsuse's influence but that if he ever needs help, to come to him and he'll do whatever he can.
At this point, Arai and his companions burst (literally) into the place, demanding to know if Takagi is all right. This is very confusing for Takagi, but Kazuma simply observes that he has good friends looking out for him. Nobody bothers to explain to Takagi at this point why it should be that Arai and company should come to rescue him. However, they part at that point, Kazuma telling Takagi that "We'll meet again soon..."
Wow. That WAS a long summary. And even despite it I still don't know if Kazuma killed Takumi or if he didn't :S
The back of this book includes an "appendix" of sorts, I guess you'd call it - including letters between Takumi and Kazuma - the final one of which being Takumi asking Kazuma to meet him in the place where he was found dead. The other is the file relating to Takagi and his past & relationship to Mitsuse Junichirou.
Illustrations (scans) from Volume Four
(Click on image to view bigger)
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