IT’S CHAPTER 49 META TIME
This was a shorter chapter, only 20 pages, and it starts some action that will hopefully continue into chapter 50. And by “action” I mean yakuza fighting as well as Yashiro and Doumeki touching, because the last few pages of this chapter gave us some delicious water for our very dry crops.
At this point, both groups are looking for Yamakawa, who owes both Sakura of Sanwakai and Yashiro a lot of money, who used Kido as a bait and switch, and who is clearly linked to some big time yakuza. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Big Time Yakuza were Okuyama and the Ryuuzu group, including the remaining members of the Kyouseikai, who Doumeki is currently looking for.
The chapter opens with the fallout from Yashiro choosing Doumeki and throwing Kamiya out on his ass. Muraji is not happy seeing Kamiya return to Tsunakwa’s instead of Doumeki and wants to know why. Kamiya says that it was Yashiro’s request but Tsunakwa doesn’t want Doumeki guarding Yashiro, he wants Doumeki to continue hunting down the remnants of the Kyouseikai (and Doumeki already did a bang up job with that when he rescued Niki so he has experience finding them.) He tells Kamiya to go back and switch places with Doumeki, who is taking on a double workload by doing what Tsunakawa and Yashiro want. While it looks like Doumeki is following Yashiro orders again, he’s really just keeping Yashiro close for three reasons: 1) he wants to know what Yashiro knows. Since both Yashiro and Doumeki are looking for Yamakawa it’s really a race to see who can get to him first, and we all know that Yashiro is really resourceful. Even though he’s not a Full Fledged Yakuza anymore, he’s still getting information ahead of Doumeki. 2) He wants to make sure Yashiro doesn’t cause any trouble for his and get in the way of dealing with Okuyama/Ryuuzu/Kyouseikai because Yashiro can be a loose cannon, and 3) Because HE LOVES HIM. Let’s be real here: Doumeki has been keeping track of Yashiro for FOUR YEARS years via Chestnut. He’s never let those feelings go. They might be buried under caution and hurt, but they’re still there.
Also, Tsunakwa (who looks downright delicious in this chapter) is pissed that Okuyama was behind Niki’s kidnapping and wants to take revenge. In talking about it he says “Only a gokudo can reason with a gokudo” And the use of gokudo is another way to say yakuza but it has a more wicked and evil connotation. Basically, Tsunakawa is going to start some serious violence and this is going to a dangerous and evil place. He wants to raze whatever is left of Okuyama and Kyousekai into the ground and he wants Doumeki to help. Unlike Yashiro, Tsunakawa is using Doumeki to the best of his yakuza abilities. Doumeki is strong and shrewd – he always has been – even in this chapter he tells Kamiya that he knows Kamiya has been watching him, spying on him for Tsunakawa (and omg look how he LOOMS over Kamiya if I was Kamiya my panties would fly right off). That shrewdness was more subdued while he was with Yashiro because he was broken and just starting to heal; plus, Yashiro didn’t nuture those abilities. He spent most of his time trying to get Doumeki OUT of the yakuza but it didn’t stick because as long as Yashiro is around, even brushing against that world by running an underground casino, Doumeki will also remain in that world, watching and waiting.
Let’s talk about how little time has passed between Yashiro and Doumeki seeing each other in chapter 40 and the current chapter. For Yashiro there was four years of nothing and then ALL THIS INTENSITY over the course of what? One or two weeks? All of a sudden Doumeki is back in Yashiro’s life and keeps showing up over and over, taking him away from Inami and making demands on who he spends his free time with. Yashiro hadn’t consciously remembed Doumeki (although so many parts of him did unconsciously – he had dreams, he couldn’t get erections because Doumeki ruined him for all other men, and he felt like something was constantly missing) but once he does really remember, all these feelings are now at the forefront and not only does Yashiro not have the ability to process them well, he also hasn’t been given the time. It’s no wonder that he flip flops on who he wants as a bodyguard and also plays games with Doumeki because teasing and poking fun is how Yashiro deals.
And this struggle is so well portrayed at the end of the chapter. We once again visit the subject of change. Back upstairs in Yashiro’s apartment, Doumeki wants to know what Yashiro will do if he finds Yamakawa first (because finding Yamakawa is really the lead on finding everyone else) and Yashiro says “You were listening, weren’t you. It’s just a matter of pulling the hairs out of his ass (ketsu no ke).” According to Lyuba on twitter “ketsu no ke” means “pulling ass hairs out, this is an expression that is often used to express stripping someone of all his belongings when he loses in games of chance, that is to say Yashiro means that he wants to take everything”
But Doumeki only hears the literal meaning of the colloquialism and is like UM for a moment, which makes Yashiro laugh and say “you haven’t changed much, have you” meaning that parts of Doumeki are still naïve and innocent. Doumeki replies with “you haven’t changed much either, especially when you laugh like that” and uses ANATA akslaklshlash
Yashiro stops laughing to say “yeah, I haven’t changed at all.” And tbh, this exchange is a bit like old times, very volumes 1 and 2. However, if this were volumes 1 and 2, Yashiro would be doing everything he could to get into bed with Doumeki and sleep with him or sleep on him, but this new subdued Yashiro tells Doumeki that he’s going to sleep on the couch, which Doumeki does not want him to do. Doumeki still cares about Yashiro’s comfort asjlhas and also wants to be in charge aslhalkshs, so he picks Yashiro up bridal style (remember, Yashiro has lost some weight and Doumeki is an enormous brick house so he picks up Yashiro SO easily) and carries him to the bed, gently laying him down. Yashiro has this moment where his face is so vulnerable, where you can see his feelings, all the conflict I just talked about, and Doumeki has a soft expression as well, but Yashiro becomes overwhelmed, scared, and pushes Doumeki away. Undeterred, Doumeki grabs Yashiro’s wrist and pins it over his head AND THAT IS WHERE THE CHAPTER ENDS. *sobs in saezuru*
Yoneda Kou is listed for the next issue so, barring any last minute changes, we should see chapter 50 in November. I am ready!!!!
Special thanks to Ronnie for posting her scans, Lyuba for her summary, and Vica for her awesome DM convos.
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