[第１巻] [第２巻] [第 ３巻] [第４巻]

This is printed as two separate chapter parts (前編 and 後編 - or "before part" and "after part". However, since it's all referring to the same situation, I'm going to just write about it as one.
This chapter - as you can guess by the title - is largely about Mikimaro and at last we get a glimpse into his past/family situation. I was always curious about his biography in the original manga, where it said his mother was a famous actress and his father was unknown, since in one of the drama CDs he tells Nakamoto and Yuusuke that his parents "aren't his real parents". Those two things seemed to be at canon odds - but this section reveals that's not the case, and why. Interesting stuff for the chibi-M - read on :)

The chapter begins with a flashback to two years previously, with Mikimaro at his home playing computer games (as ever). He's not alone - there is an older girl with him, who we later find out is his cousin. She's not a particularly nice person, since she has a go at him for being a "given up child" and not a true member of the Shimura family. This upsets Mikimaro and he heads out into the city, his mind absorbed by this startling possibility. So engrossed is he in his thoughts, he almost gets run over by a motorbike - driven by Arai. This is their first meeting (although Mikimaro has known Arai's name since their first day, it's the first time Arai learns Mikimaro's.) At first angry, when he realises how upset Mikimaro is, Arai is fairly supportive of him and cheers him up. He has his camera with him - this is, after all, back in his Shashin-bu days - and he takes Mikimaro's picture. We're then shown a scene with Mikimaro going to the Shashin-bu with Arai and "fangirling" over Kawazoe a little because of Kawazoe's success in competitions. Arai gives him the photo he took and Mikimaro keeps it...it becomes a "treasure" of his because it was taken by Arai.

Back to the present day, and Yuusuke catches Mikimaro fawning over the picture. Yuusuke thinks its of a girl, but is confused when he discovers its nothing of the kind. Later, in the classroom, another student tells Mikimaro he has a call from home and he hurries to take it. He speaks to his father, who tells him that he wants him to come home during the next weekend, and that the reason is...he and Mikimaro's mother are apparently getting divorced. Mikimaro's a bit shattered by this, but agrees to go home and see his family.

Shortly he also gets a letter from his mother on much the same topic, which confirms what his father has told him. This sparks off memories of those accusations from two years ago - about him being a "given up child".

Meanwhile, Seiryuu Academy is having a Parent's Day (or something of that nature - 父兄会) and there's some discussion about people's backgrounds and families (including Yuusuke waxing lyrical about Kanazawa). Arai notices Mikimaro seems distracted and asks him what's up. However, as Mikimaro is about to tell him, Arai is distracted by Yuusuke and the fact that a famous film star just turned up outside in the school grounds. (I do not want to know why a film star suddenly appeared in the middle of the school grounds - draw your own conclusions about that!). Her name is "Takizawa Mai", and it turns out Yuusuke is a big fan of hers, although he thinks she;s a lot younger than she is. He heads off to get her autograph, taking Mikimaro with him, and Mai happily signs Yuusuke's book. Then she hears someone call Mikimaro by name and she freezes, suddenly startled. An odd look on her face, she asks what Mikimaro's surname is, and Mikimaro tells her, nonplussed. Hesitantly Mai signs his card, but its clear she's rattled.

Back in the dorm, Mikimaro is playing games but not really concentrating, causing Yuusuke to demand to know why he's spaced out. Mikimaro comments on how Yuusuke always seems to be happy, and Yuusuke tells him that's not the case. Mikimaro tells him that he doesn't know if his family will come to the Parent's Day - that he's going home on the weekend and will find out then.

So Mikimaro goes home, and that unpleasant cousin girl is there, calling him "Miki-chan" and being a regular pain in the butt. (We also now discover her name is Sawada Natsumi). She comes on to him strong, (I mean strong), saying how cute he still is and how "adult" she now is and stuff like that. Mikimaro pushes her away, telling her angrily that he doesn't kiss people he isn't in love with. Angry, she turns on him, calling him on his "past" again and telling him that his parents have discussed divorce for some time but can't settle who's going to be responsible for Mikimaro...she indicates that neither of them really want him because he's not their 'proper' son. Distraught, Mikimaro yells at her and runs off, passing his startled parents on his way out. He runs for a while, winding up in the road again - and guess who's coming by on his bike? Arai! So they have another little heart to heart. Mikimaro tells Arai about Natsumi and what she said and did, and Arai is sympathetic but tells him he should've taken advantage of the girl's advances. Mikimaro tells him firmly that he's decided that he wants Arai to be his first kiss, which Arai is a little less amused by.

So, back at the school, and Nakamoto is watching the news when he sees Mikimaro and the actress Mai on the show. He wakes Arai and together they watch this report on Mai's apparent secret child. Arai is really angry and - much to Nakamoto's confusion - hares off to "keep an eye on" Mikimaro. The press are surrounding the school hoping for a scoop, and Mikimaro is holed up in his room with Arai and Yuusuke as his protectors. Mikimaro really doesn't know at this point if it's all true or not. However, during this time someone comes to tell him his parents have come to see him, and he's afraid to go speak to them. Yuusuke suggests that he and Arai will go with him and Mikimaro likes the idea, but Arai puts a stop to it, saying that if Mikimaro doesn't face his problems himself he'll never be a proper man able to deal with things for himself. So Mikimaro goes alone, and the others all gather to wait for him. We don't see the conversation between Mikimaro and his parents, but when he comes back, he is emotional and glad his friends have held out for him to return. He tells them he's "all right now".

Outside, he shows them a locket which has a picture of him with his birth mother - the actress Mai - and tells them that no matter what his "parents" love him. It seems he was given up to protect Mai from a scandal. He believes that somewhere his real mother is also watching over him (so he bears her no grudges).

During this chapter, Takagi seems to turn into Mr Cliche - "There's no smoke without fire"..."There are mountains and valleys in life" etc...causing Arai to call him an "old man" :)

Chapter Five: "Last Dance"
When I was reading this chapter I had a vague sense of something familiar about it, but I couldn't pin my finger on what it was or why I felt that way. Anyhow, that musing aside, this is Takagi's chapter. :)

Geek note : Last Dance is the title of one of the "M" songs that was released on Mini-disc. Whether there's a direct correlation or not I don't know, but if there's a chapter which focuses on one individual character that has a song name in the title, it's usually Takagi.

This chapter begins at the company headquarters of one Mitsuse Junichirou, who seems to be a big-wig in the hotel business, running a group called the "KouYou" group. At the start of the story, he's discussing the possibility of playing host to the Princess of a place which (I hate katakana place names) seems to be called "Sanmari"

Language/Katakana note here: The name of the place is given as サンマリー (SANMARII). The Japanese for the country "San Marino" is very similar to this, being "サンマリノ" However, the last "no" character is not used in this volume of the manga, making me wonder if it's meant to be San Marino or someplace else completely. I hate Katakana place names! For the sake of argument, therefore, I'm going to call it Sanmari and leave it at that. Draw your own conclusions :S).

Right. Back to the plot. The Princess (her name is Isabella, or "Izabera") is due to visit and a reception is going to be held in her honour, basically. Mitsuse calls Takagi to his office (for anyone who's forgotten/not read the original manga synopses, Mitsuse Junichirou is Takagi's effective guardian since his mother's death) to tell him about it and to ask him to come along. Takagi is surprised, but agrees, and Mitsuse takes him to find a suitable outfit for the occasion.

After their meeting, Mitsuse offers to take Takagi back to the school, but Takagi tells him he'd rather walk and get some air. Truthfully he wants to try and figure out why Mitsuse is so keen to have him at a Princess's reception.

On the walk back, he collides with a young girl with (its black and white art, but it appears to be) blond hair, who speaks to him in English. (Well, it's Japanese, actually, but it's written in different script, so lets play pretend a while and assume it is English). Takagi (remember, he's half English himself) responds to her in the same tongue and the girl is relieved - at last she's found someone who understands her language! The girl introduces herself as Riza (Maybe Liza), and when Shimon asks where she's from, she just says "far away." She then falls asleep on him, and Takagi, seeing nothing else for it, takes her back to the dorm until she wakes up.

Nakamoto sees him return with her, but for now, doesn't mention it to the others.

When Riza wakes up, Takagi gives her a drink and tells her he has some things he wants to ask her. Before he can, however, there's a knock at the door, and Takagi - realising how it'll look with a girl in his room - panics a little about what to do. Riza wants to open the door and greet whoever it is, completely clueless about the situation, and Takagi tells her firmly that this is not a good idea (!). It's Arai at the door, wanting to know why he didn't come to the cinema with them like he'd planned, and Takagi is evasive, doing everything he can to get rid of his classmate. Eventually he succeeds, leaving Arai non-plussed and annoyed by Takagi's uncharacteristically flustered behaviour.

Takagi realises it'd be safer to take Riza out into the city now she's awake, and they head into Shibuya where Riza comments on the amount of people. Takagi buys her a hamburger (its the first one she's ever tasted, which Takagi thinks is odd). She also talks about being tutored in things such as manners and etiquette and that she's always being mentored in something, which Takagi also thinks is odd. Riza blushes, telling him she's probably said too much, and Takagi observes that she's an unusual kind of girl - but that that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Meanwhile, Mitsuse and company are concerned that Princess Isabella appears to have disappeared (Oh yes, you see where this is going, don't you...?)

The next adventure Takagi and Riza stumble into is ice-cream buying, where Riza doesn't realise she has to pay and Takagi has to step in to rescue her. When he tries to explain it to her, she thinks its some odd Japanese custom, which makes Takagi even more befuddled about what kind of person Riza is. He asks her outright and she gets emotional, saying that she's always dragged all over the place doing this and that but all she wants is to spend some time out having fun with people in a normal kind of environment. Takagi is touched by her sudden tears, (he's a big softy at heart) and he takes her back to the dorm again. He plays music for her, about which she asks more questions, and the subject of family comes up. Takagi tells her that he has no parents, and Riza asks if he's lonely. He says that he is, but that he has good friends so it's not so bad. Riza says that she has a friend now too - Takagi!

Riza winds up spending the night in Takagi's room, and when a nightmare wakes her, she asks if she can sleep with him. It's an innocently asked question (she literally means sleep) and Takagi is taken aback, but he agrees, seemingly having become rather protective of her even though they've only known one another a day.

Meanwhile, Nakamoto has finally broken his silence and told the others what he saw. Arai immediately puts pieces together and realises that this girl is the reason Takagi was acting so oddly before. They hurry to confront him, but find Takagi alone in his room - Riza has gone.

That night, the car comes to collect Takagi to take him to the reception. There he's greeted by Mitsuse and introduced to Princess Isabella, who just happens to be - yep, Riza. Riza asks if she can have the last dance with him, and Takagi agrees - although neither one of them give away the fact they've already met before. During the course of the evening, Mitsuse and Riza have a little chat and Mitsuse refers to Takagi as "aitsu" (a fairly informal way of saying "that guy" or "that boy/girl". Riza queries it, and Mitsuse smiles ruefully, then admits to her that he's Takagi's father - although there are various complicated reasons why he can't tell Takagi that fact outright. Riza tells him she's glad - that if Takagi has someone like Mitsuse as his father, he'll be okay.

Then she and Takagi dance. Riza doesn't tell Takagi Mitsuse's secret - in fact, they don't seem to talk at all. Takagi reflects that they probably won't meet again, but that he'll put the memory of meeting her into a song....and that she'll always be a special person in his thoughts. (Aww).

Chapter Six: A Happy New Year In Kanazawa
As the title suggests, this chapter belongs to Yuusuke no Baka. Although I actually don't think he's quite such a baka in this chapter. For some random reason, aside from the name of the city, the title of this chapter is written entirely in English :S.

It's Winter Break, and for some reason unknown to the other M boys, Yuusuke has invited them all to Kanazawa for the New Year period. The story opens with them all freezing on the station waiting for Yuusuke - who's late - as they wonder why it is they let themselves get talked into this trip after all.

Once on the train, Yuusuke is unusually quiet, and there's a brief flashback referring back to just before he left High School. In this it's revealed that his father's allowing him to go to Tokyo to study but that in three years he'll have to come back to take up his rightful place as his father's successor in the hotel chain...something which Yuusuke seems less than keen to consider. When the subject of food comes up he perks up somewhat, however the other boys have noticed that he's not his normal self, and think it's odd.

On arriving in Kanazawa, they go to the hotel which Yuusuke's mother and father run (Yuusuke's mother is the "okami" or the hostess, whilst his father is the head chef). Yuusuke's two sisters (older one called Masumi and younger one called Ai) are also there, and greet him and his friends eagerly. This is the point where you find out that there's a reason Yuusuke acts like an eager puppy most of the time ^_^.

To begin with, Masumi and Ai (and Yuusuke's mother) are convinced that Mikimaro is a middle school student, because of his small stature, and Mikimaro gets quite heated about it, pointing out that no, he's a third year and he shares a room with Yuusuke back at school. Masumi and Ai both get very excited too when they discover Arai's father is the fashion designer "Yoshiki Arai" and that Takagi is his mysterious model "Shimon", and they want to know all about them. Then Yuusuke manages to reveal the fact that Mikimaro is the son of a famous film star, and that gets them all eager to run and call all their friends to tell them about the guests they have staying with them. (Mikimaro's situation is supposed to be a secret, so Yuusuke runs after them telling them not to.)

At dinner that night, the boys realise how good a chef Yuusuke's father is, and they all eat well. Yuusuke's father asks to see Yuusuke after dinner, and Yuusuke hesitates, then agrees. However, instead he goes to help his friends set up their room with futons - saying that even though there's only room for four futons, it wouldn't matter if he squeezed in and shared. His companions object to this, however - telling him he'll have to go and sleep in his own room because there's no space for him. Nakamoto reminds him of his father's request, and Yuusuke acts like he hadn't realised it.

The next morning, Yuusuke's Dad asks him why he didn't come, and Yuusuke blows him off. His Dad wants to talk about his future, and Yuusuke's not buying it. Instead he heads off into the hotel grounds to an old tree that, as a child, he spent a lot of time climbing. There he encounters Nakamoto, who admits overhearing some of the conversation between father and son and who asks him if he brought the rest of them to Kanazawa to try and distract his father's attention away from the subject of his future. Yuusuke admits it and apologises, but Nakamoto says it doesn't worry him, if that's the case. Yuusuke confides in Nakamoto, saying that as the eldest son his father and his family expect him to follow in the family footsteps and he just doesn't want to do it. Nakamoto tells him that he's in the same position - that his father expects him to be a doctor, marry a suitable medical family wife and continue the sequence. (Wow, Yuusuke and Nakamoto have something in common!).

At that point Mikimaro comes racing to find them to get them to rescue Arai and Takagi, who are being mobbed by Masumi and Ai's friends (Takagi even having his hair pulled out as they take souvenirs of having met him!) On returning, Nakamoto discovers Ai with an injured cat, who - being Nakamoto - he's immediately concerned about helping. His knowledge on the subject impresses the young Ai, who says that Arai and Takagi are cool but Nakamoto is too.

That evening the subject of Yuusuke's future comes up at the dinner table, almost causing him to choke on his food. Perhaps because of the chat with Nakamoto, or because it's been flung at him so suddenly, he snaps, telling his father that he's not going to come back to Kanazawa after he graduates and that he's not going to be a part of this whole preplanned destiny thing. He says that he loves Kanazawa and wants to live there but that he's not going to be forced into a lifestyle he doesn't want. He runs off, and his father tries to go after him, but collapses, clutching at his chest.

Fortunately his father's collapse is not life-threatening, but his mother is worried - not only about him but about Masumi, who also disappeared around the same time. Arai and company offer to go help find them, and Yuusuke's mother gratefully agrees. Nakamoto says he knows where Yuusuke probably is, and will go and fetch him, and Takagi goes with him. Arai heads off in a different direction (with Mikimaro clinging determinedly to his arm!) to find Masumi. Masumi, it turns out, is engaged in a secret rendezvous with a young man called Kouji who currently works under Yuusuke's Dad and who has a true interest and talent for following in his footsteps. Masumi is trying to persuade him that, since Yuusuke's vetoed it, it would be the perfect opportunity for Kouji to accept that role of successor, for them to be married and for her to follow in her mother's path as okami in the future. Kouji is reluctant, however, because he feels that - considering Yuusuke's Dad's feelings - he'd be betraying his employer by acting that way. (It seems that Yuusuke's Dad is unaware of Masumi and Kouji's relationship).

Arai and Mikimaro interrupt and tell them to go back to the house because Masumi's mother is worrying about them. There Masumi tells her her feelings regarding Kouji and the future, and Yuusuke is all for it as a potential solution to his problem. Unusually wise for once, he tells his mother that everyone has the right to choose their own path to be happy and that she's never disagreed with her husband's way of thinking but that maybe it's about time that she did because otherwise it's just going to bring unhappiness. This seems to sink in with her, because when her husband recovers, she tells him about Masumi and Kouji and even indicates that she thinks it would be a better idea to let them do as they wanted and become the successors to the business, as Yuusuke isn't keen. At length, Yuusuke's father agrees, much to Yuusuke's evident relief!

The story ends with the boys talking about returning to Tokyo - Takagi wants to write a song, Nakamoto is worried about the cats, etc - and Yuusuke protests that they can't leave him on his own. Arai says they'll leave Mikimaro with him, and Mikimaro protests that he doesn't want to stay behind with just Yuusuke for company. This causes a dispute between them - normal service is resumed!