Sabaku no ou wa ryu wo daku written by Shuhdoh Rena and illustrated by Lightgraph II
Sabaku no ou wa ryu wo daku by Shuhdoh Rena and illustrated by Lightgraph II is, to put it in one word, shiny. No, really. It's shiny. It's such a simplistic and conventional (and utterly ridiculous) story, but it hits a lot of my moe points and didn't irritate me once (though a couple of cliches did induce somewhat of a gag reaction). It just made me cackle in delight (even the gag reaction-inducing crap). Running full speed with cliches (and not letting any logic stop you) can work at times, after all.
I remember making fun of this book a while back because it just sounded too silly for words (also, the title can be translated into "The desert king embraces the dragon" or "The desert king fucks the dragon"--personally, after reading the book I go with the latter! XDXD). It is too silly for words, but if you like yakuza, dragon tattoos, snarky servants and happy-go-lucky yet noble princes (and lotsa sex) this book is right up your alley. (The only thing that bothered me is that the Arabian prince is once again a Caucasian-looking one. What is up with that? If Japanese artists are so enamored of the Arabian prince with his riches and harem and absolute power thing, can't they use a normal non-blond one instead?)
Because I'm too lazy to actually write something original I'm cutting and pasting my initial comment on this book:
I was attracted by the stupid title. This doesn't have a blurb, but the reviews are hilarious! From what I can gather a wounded yakuza (with a dragon tattoo) is found and rescued by a prince who happened by. One reviewer took the story to be a comedy, because so many improbable things happen starting with the intense sex the two engage in waaay before the yakuza is even close to being healed. She apparently had a good time laughing while reading the story. XD
I actually think it work as more than a pure comedy. The characters are actually fairly fleshed out rather than the paper cut-outs like most stupid comedy BL characters tend to be. I was (sort of) moved as well as amused by the story. Whodathunkit?
Urius, a blond-haired, blue-eyed thobe and ghutra-wearing prince of a small unnamed oil-rich Arabian country, is in a small boat in Tokyo Bay watching fireworks with his Japanese servant Ryuji. Or rather, he watches for a short while before becoming bored even though he'd come to Tokyo specificially to see the fireworks. Through his conversation with Ryuji we learn that Urius spends his time globe-trotting and seeking out new things that catch his interest (and quickly becoming bored). Urius notices some guy trying to climb on board from the water and helps the guy up into the boat. When they notice the gun in the guy's hand, Ryuji immediately wants to call the police but the guy threatens to kill them if they do. Ryuji screams while Urius sees that the guy is injured and bleeding. The guy quickly loses consciousness. Urius decides to take the guy back to the hotel. After all, they'd been threatened with death if they call the police. Ryuji points out that the guy with a gun can't be respectable. His point is made even clearer when Urius takes off the guy's shirt to check his wound--they can see part of a tattoo of a rising dragon over his shoulder that probably runs across his back as well. Urius finds it beautiful and wants to see more, but can't move the guy around too much without causing him pain. Though Ryuji figures the guy is yazuka and cautions Urius to stay away from him, Urius still decides to take him back to their hotel. He tells Ryuji to get a doctor to make a house call.
Dragon tattoo guy, Himuro, wakes up in an unfamiliar hotel room. He's been bandaged up. He calls out for his "aniki," a senior member of his clan who had been abducted by a rival clan. Himuro had volunteered to attack the rival clan, but during the attempt he had instead been shot and had escaped by jumping into the water. As he attempts to get up despite great pain, Urius enters. Himuro wonders if he's watching a movie--a blonde-haired, blue-eyed thobe and ghutra-wearing Japanese-speaking dude just doesn't seem real, you know? Urius explains that while the shot had been clean, the bacteria in the water is causing a fever. Himuro finally accepts that he's not dreaming. Urius thinks Himuro's voice is lovely. He asks Himuro to speak some more. He then grabs Himuro's arm and turns him around so that he can take a look at the tattoo, praising its beauty. Himuro is rather dumbfounded at first, but then gets mad and demands to know who Urius is. Urius names himself, then asks Himuro for his. Himuro gets tired of Urius's completely confusing conversation and tries to leave. Urius refuses to let him and holds him down, saying he needs to rest per doctor's orders. Himuro threatens to kill him. Urius replies that while he doesn't want to be killed, he doesn't want Himuro's wound to reopen either. He calls for Ryuji to have the doctor give Himuro something to put him to sleep. Himuro quickly loses consciousness after he's given the shot.
When Himuro next wakes up, he finds one hand tied to the bed. With the shoulder of his other hand wounded, he can't get up. He tries anyway and ends up hurting himself. When Urius enters the room, Himuro demands to know why Urius had tied him up. Urius calmly explains that it's to prevent Himuro from struggling. Himuro demands to be freed. Urius doesn't reply to his demand, instead commenting that he'd heard that the Japanese were very decorous but that Himuro seems to be an exception. Himuro hadn't even thanked Urius for rescuing him. Himuro admits that Urius had a point and grudgingly thank him. He politely asks Urius to free him because he has to go somewhere in a hurry, but Urius refuses again. He can't let an injured man leave even though the injured man wants to. Once again Himuro starts to struggle and yell. Urius calmly tells him that he needs to stop getting so excited or else the fever will return. When Urius sees the dragon tattoo again, he again comments that it is more beautiful the more he sees it. Ignoring Himuro's demands to be freed, he strokes Himuro's back and comments that he expected to feel the scales, it is so detailed. Himuro is sensitive to such stroking, causing him to struggle even more. When Urius notes that the dragon looks like its alive when Himuro moves, it reminds Himuro that his lover used to say the same thing when he would fuck Himuro from behind and he becomes aroused. Himuro tries to get away from Urius's hand, but instead Urius touches him even more (claiming that Himuro seems to want to be touched). Urius decides to help Himuro calm down...And they have sex (in the missionary position, after Urius decides it is the least harmful position for the injured Himuro).
As Ryuji helps Urius clean up an unconscious Himuro after the sex, Ryuji asks what the hell Urius was thinking, fucking an injured person. Urius replies that he thought Himuro had wanted to be fucked. Ryuji wonders if Urius isn't just interpreting things to be convenient for him. Ryuji praises Himuro's tattoo, and Urius explains that it looks like it's alive when Himuro moves. He wants to fuck Himuro from behind the next time. Ryuji tells Urius to get Himuro's permission next time as it's, you know, a crime to fuck someone against their will. Urius objects that this time hadn't actually been a rape. He notes that Himuro was used to being fucked. Ryuji thinks Urius is just interpreting things to suit him. But when Himuro reacts sensitively to Urius sticking his finger up his ass to clean him out, he points to that as proof.
Ryuji bitches about Urius's actions regarding Himuro even as he serves him. He explains that the TV news had reported a gun battle between two yakuza clans at a bridge. They figure Himuro had been involved in that battle, but Urius has no intention of handing Himuro over to the police. He brushes aside Ryuji's pointed remark that it's a citizen's duty to aid the police, saying he's not a Japanese citizen.
Urius tries to sleep in his own room, but can't help but think of Himuro. He wonders what Himuro was thinking during the sex. He wonders why Himuro is in such a rush. He recalls Himuro's beautiful tattoo. He goes to Himuro's room and softly gets into bed with the sleeping Himuro. When Himuro kind of snuggles up to him and makes himself comfortable, Urius wonders who Himuro is mistaking him for. He eventually falls asleep as well.
Urius wakes up when he hears Himuro yell. Himuro is angry because he realizes Urius must have fucked him last night and tries to leave. Urius again grabs him to stop him and they struggle....And he fucks Himuro again, this time from behind. Himuro mutters "aniki" before coming to his senses and getting mad again. He threatens to kill Urius over and over again, until Urius calls Ryuji to have him give Himuro a tranquilizer. They tie Himuro up again as Ryuji makes more sarcastic bitchy comments.
Ryuji wonders what Urius plans on doing with Himuro. He knows that Urius may seem happy-go-lucky, but he does avoid getting in trouble. We learn that though Urius is a prince, he is not in the line of succession and seems to be mostly ignored within his own country. At the same time, Urius's father pays for Urius's globe-trotting.
Himuro wakes up to find himself tied up again. He is mad at Urius for fucking him again and at himself for letting Urius fuck him so easily. He tries to free himself but has to admit defeat. When Ryuji comes in with water and the offer of food, Himuro demands that he free him. Ryuji replies he has orders not to. Himuro then demands that Ryuji loosen the bonds as it is hurting him. When Ryuji loosens the knot Himuro makes his break. He gets free, breaks the water glass, and threatens Ryuji with a shard. He demands his clothes and gun back, but Ryuji had thrown Himuro's clothes away. Urius finds new clothing for Himuro along with the gun that naturally Ryuji hadn't thrown away. Himuro orders them into another room until he leaves. As he changes he discovers a lot of cash in the pockets. He surmises that Urius must have put the money there for him. He initially throws it all onto the bed, but then realizes he has no money. He takes one bill and leaves a note saying that he'd taken one bill and will pay it back later. He can only think of his aniki Kamitani Yuusuke as he leaves.
We learn that the head of Himuro's clan was an old-fashioned type who didn't go into all the new illegal activities and was a pillar of the community. Their clan had been losing ground to another clan who was muscling into their territory. But the head hadn't gone after the other clan until Kamitani, the underboss, had been abducted. They'd demanded Himuro's clan be disbanded and all members join their clan. The head decides to try killing the head of the other clan instead of going along with their demands since they have no assurance that Kamitani isn't already dead (or will be killed after they comply). Himuro volunteered for the job. He wanted to know if Kamitani was okay. Kamitani had not only brought Himuro into the clan and was someone Himuro looked up to (so much so that Himuro got the same tattoo as Kamitani), he was also Himuro's lover.
In the meantime, Urius sulks that Ryuji had allowed himself to be captured so that Himuro could escape. Ryuji at first denies it, but faced with Urius's certainty he admits that he had and apologizes. Urius asks him to research something.
Himuro waits for the rival clan head Kimura to show up at a sauna he frequents from a nearby building. He sees someone important and yakuza enter though he can't confirm if it's Kimura. As he's about to barge in he is captured by memeber of the rival clan who'd been laying in wait for him. He is taken to Kimura and the underboss of the rival clan...who turns out to be Kamitani. Himuro realizes that Kamitani hadn't been abducted. He'd gone over to them and betrayed his old clan. Smiling, Kamitani tells Himuro to join the new clan, which had a future unlike the old one. Besides, the old one had already been disbanded. The clan head had been assassinated for trying to kill Kimura. Himuro tries to punch Kamitani but is taken down. Kamitani speaks gentle words to convince Himuro to join him even as he mercilessly kicks Himuro over and over. Himuro has no intention of joining and spits in Kamitani's face. He tells Kamitani he'll kill him. Kamitani kicks Himuro even more viciously as he tells Himuro that Himuro is the one that's going to die. But a subordinate rushes in with big news. The building has been surrounded by soldiers. Before anyone can react they are infiltrated by the soldiers. With the soldiers' guns pointed at the yakuza, Urius strolls in to take Himuro back. He notes Kamitani's tattoo, but doesn't bother answering Kamitani's demands to explain what's going on. He leaves with Himuro and they are picked up by Ryuji in a car.
Himuro finds out that Urius had put a tracker in his clothes and had spent 180 million yen to fly over a platoon of soldiers on short notice on a chartered plane from Hong Kong to retrieve him. Urius thinks of all the fuss as nothing as it was all to save Himuro's life, but Ryuji grumbles and tells Himuro he should be grateful instead of mad. Urius worries about Himuro's injuries and tells him to sleep until they get to the hotel where he can be looked at again. Himuro doesn't know what to think, but he decides that rest would be a good idea and falls asleep against Urius.
Back at the hotel, Himuro wakes up and tries to leave (again). He struggles even as the doctor tries to check on him. They praise Himuro's tattoo (again), with Urius mentioning that the tattoo is in fact part of a pair. Himuro steals a pair of scissors and backs away. He tells Urius to stop calling him "dragon" and tries to stab his own shoulder. Urius manages to grab him. Himuro demands that Urius let him go, but Urius won't until Himuro promises that he won't try to harm himself. Urius starts to caress Himuro, telling him that his dragon is beautiful. Urius's caresses turn into more, and promising he'll prevent Himuro from thinking about anything at all, fucks him (again). Himuro (again) goes wild after a while, and Urius senses (again) that Himuro thinks it's someone else fucking him. He also senses that Himuro is desperately trying to lose himself in pleasure. When he lays the unconscious Himuro onto the bed and strokes his hair, Himuro smiles. Urius understands that Himuro thinks he's being intimate with the man with the twin tattoo. He knows that Himuro had been terribly hurt by Kamitani and that he had tried to destroy the dragon that linked him to Kamitani earlier, knows that Himuro had been crying during the sex for reasons other than the sex. He continues to stroke Himuro's hair, hoping to provide Himuro with some peaceful sleep.
Himuro dreams of his former lover but in the middle of it Kamitani is replaced by Urius. He wakes up to a concerned Urius who tries to coddle him. Himuro fights back like a cornered animal, and Urius tries to soothe him. He promises not to do anything Himuro doesn't like, and he asks that Himuro not do anything he doesn't like such as trying to hurt himself. Himuro rejects Urius and wants Urius to just leave him alone. Urius can't do that. Instead he embraces the struggling Himuro and tells him that though he can't know the depths of Himuro's pain, he knows that someday that pain will be eased. He offers to help Himuro heal by being with him and passing the time doing fun things. Himuro stops struggling and tries not to cry. He doesn't understand why, but this crazy foreigner's words are affecting him. Urius continues, talking about where they could travel together. Himuro finally allows himself to cry to sleep in Urius's arms.
Ryuji informs Urius that Urius's younger brother had contacted him. Their father is dying. Ryuji had arranged immediate transport back to his country, but Urius tells him he won't go back as he'd been forbidden to enter the country by his father. He goes back to the bedroom and lies down, taking the sleeping Himuro into his arms. He relaxes into Himuro's smell, thinking about how he's never known his father's smell or his warmth or even seen him in the flesh. Yet he still feels disturbed hearing that his father is at death's door. He holds Himuro tightly and buries his face into Himuro's hair...
Himuro wakes up to a knock at the door. He senses and then sees Urius, remembers the day before and feels horribly embarrassed. Ryuji enters, announcing in English that an envoy had arrived. Himuro can't understand the conversation but understands that someone else is going to enter the room. He's even more embarrassed and can't believe the nerve of Urius, Ryuji, and the unknown guy--there are two naked guys in a bed in here! As he watches the envoy approach from under the covers, he becomes aware of a strange tension in the envoy. He recognizes it as an intent to do harm. At the same time the envoy steps up his approach, Himuro yells a warning and throws a pillow at the envoy. The envoy staggers, a knife slips from his hand, and he starts to back away. Urius surmises that the envoy must be an aide to his younger brother Saada and tells the envoy that he has no interest in the throne or in going back to their country. He orders the envoy to leave.
Urius thanks Himuro. Himuro demands an explanation. Urius explains that his father is a king and is dying, and that his younger brother had sent an assassin. Himuro asks if Urius will go back to see his father. Urius tells him no, and explains that his father had forbidden him to enter the country. His father dislikes the blonde hair and blue eyes he had inherited from his mother. Turns out Urius's father and mother had met in college and fallen in love, but had been torn asunder by the mother's family (a royal family of a small European country) who objected to the mother marrying someone of a different religion. They didn't want a child by such a man and shoved the baby Urius at Urius's father (while Urius's mother went on to marry a man chosen by her family). Urius's father took Urius in but didn't want anything to do with a child that looked like the woman who ended up betraying him. Himuro finds the whole thing awful even as Urius defends his father. Urius's father had provided materially for him, allowing Urius to travel around the world freely. Himuro starts to cry, and Urius embraces him. Himuro remembers how Urius had declared that all hurts will heal in time and realizes that Urius must have coped with his sadness at being rejected by his father.
After a while, they break apart and Urius suggests they eat. He offers to wipe Himuro's body down first. Himuro wants to clean himself, but Urius insists that he'd like to do it. Ryuji butts in with the observation that the doctor had okayed a bath as long as they are careful about Himuro's wound. Urius bitches that Ryuji talks too much, while Ryuji maintains that he's only telling the truth. Urius orders a bath drawn. He insists on taking a bath with Himuro because he's "concerned." Himuro wants to take a bath by himself, and Ryuji comments that it'd be much more dangerous for Himuro to take a bath with Urius. When Urius chides him again for talking too much, Ryuji flippantly apologizes.
After the bath and meal, Urius has Himuro lie down to rest. He pulls up a couch next to the bed so that he can nurse Himuro. As Himuro starts falling asleep, Urius plants a kiss on Himuro's cheek. Urius is surprised when Himuro unconsciously wraps his arms around Urius's back. Urius thinks Himuro has mistaken him for someone else. Himuro knows that's not really the case, but he's dragged down into sleep...
When Himuro wakes up in the middle of the night Urius is reading on the couch. Urius gets some water for him and they talk a bit. Himuro is surprised that they are talking calmly for once, even as he senses Urius's unrest over his father's impending death (he'd been reading the Koran, and comments that Himuro must be strong to be without a religion since religion can bring comfort to people at trying times such as death). Himuro innocently asks if Urius plans on sleeping, which Urius (jokingly?) takes as an invitation to sex. He takes off his clothes and slips into bed, but he seems to want to simply hold Himuro. Himuro figures Urius just wants to be with someone and lets him. Urius suddenly stiffens and declares that his father has just died. He goes off to pray. Himuro kind of wants to go to Urius, but realizing he can't do anything does not.
The next morning Himuro learns from Ryuji that Urius's father had indeed died. Himuro asks Ryuji how a Japanese guy became Urius's servant. Turns out Ryuji had been at a very low point in his life after giving up his dream in Paris when he was picked up by Urius, same as Himuro. He claims that Urius is a very kind person. Learning this annoys Himuro...
Himuro declines breakfast because he's feeling so shitty, but Urius harasses him (nicely) about eating to regain strength. He's bothered by his own feelings and wonders what Urius thinks of him (as opposed to his servant). He forces himself to ignore his hunger and sleep. When he wakes up again he gets up to find some food. He enters Urius's room to see that Urius is entertaining a visitor and tries to leave. He is called back and is introduced to the visitor, who turns out to be Urius's younger brother Saada. The assassination attempt had not been ordered by Saada and had been an independent action by the envoy. Saada and Urius had been rather close, with Saada even attending the same school as Urius in Europe in order to be with him. Saada had flown over to apologize to Urius when he found out about the attempt. Urius tells Saada he should go back immediately as the country needs him. Saada asks Urius to come back with him, even offering the throne to him. Saada reveals that their father had in fact loved Urius and had deeply regretted keeping Urius away. Urius declines, stating that the circumstances of his birth would become public and cause an uproar. He tells Saada that he's happy beyond measure just knowing that their father had loved him. He doesn't want to go back with Saada to prevent any misunderstandings about the succession.
After eating lunch, a clerk from a department store comes over to provide clothing for Himuro. Himuro doesn't want the crazy amounts of clothing Urius orders, but Urius tells him that though he'd prefer Himuro naked it'd be rather inconvenient for daily living. After the clerk leaves Himuro bitches that he doesn't need so much clothing. He points out that Urius wears the same thing (which he calls a skirt) every day, but Urius explains that he changes his clothing every day. Urius suggests Himuro try wearing a thobe as well...And then he initiates sex. Himuro doesn't resist this time. Instead, he flips over so that they could have sex in the position Urius likes (where he can see Himuro's tattoo). Urius is filled with tenderness for Himuro. He realizes that Himuro is probably trying to comfort him with his body.
Himuro lays in bed after the passionate sex while Urius takes a bath. He tries to convince himself that he had comforted Urius with his body simply because he wanted to pay Urius back. When the door chimes he answers it, thinking it is room service or something. Instead he is knocked unconscious by some men.
Himuro has been kidnapped by Kamitani, who found out that Urius is extremely rich. The clan needs money and he figures he can ransom Himuro. He urges Himuro to call Urius and ask him to bring 200 million yen. Even as he speaks sweetly he applies some pain to try to make Himuro obey. Himuro tells Kamitani to kill him instead. Kamitani starts to seriously hurt him, but decides that instead of trying to get Himuro to call he should do it himself. He's interrupted by Urius and an armored police task force and Kamitani and his cohorts are arrested. Urius explains that when he realized Himuro was not in the room he surmised that Himuro had been kidnapped. He got his brother to ask the Japanese government to rescue Himuro, claiming that someone important to him had become involved with yazuka. Himuro thinks he should be arrested as well, but Urius tells Himuro that he'd never let Himuro be arrested. After all, he loves Himuro.
Back at the hotel, Urius fusses over Himuro. Ryuji reports that a bunch of people from Kamitani's clan had been arrested for a variety of charges. Himuro knows it must have been Urius's doing, and he demands to know why Urius had bothered. Urius denies having any reason, but Ryuji explains that Urius arranged for Himuro's enemies to be locked away so that they couldn't hurt Himuro and vice versa. Urius is worried that he's gotten Himuro mad with his meddling, but Himuro tells him he's not mad. He explains that he's no longer cares about the betrayal for some reason. Urius figures Himuro's pain had lessened enough that his hate is gone. Urius cajoles Himuro to travel with him. Himuro agrees, and they start slipping towards sex. They are interrupted by Ryuji, who suggests that they should prepare if they want to leave immediately as Urius has wanted.
Urius realizes he doesn't know Himuro's first name. When Himuro tells him that it's Koichi, Urius comments that it's hard to say. Himuro doesn't mind being called Himuro, but Urius insists that he has to get used to saying it. After all, he'll be saying it a hundred times a day. Ryuji comments that Urius would have to say it 6.25 times an hour, but figures that if anyone would do it Urius would. Urius then notices that Himuro had never called him by name. He tries to get Himuro to say his name, but is interrupted by Ryuji who urges them to get ready again. When Urius bitches at Ryuji for interrupting, Ryuji tells Urius that they can do things like call each other by name as much as they want from now on. Urius asks Himuro if he wants to go north or south. Himuro replies south. Ryuji comments that there are a lot of places to the south. Urius tells Ryuji that he doesn't care where it is, as long as he's going there with Himuro...
+++++
The amount of sex they have, considering Himuro is beat up and keeps getting beat up, is mind-boggling. Urius is so solitious of Himuro's condition (mother hen, anyone?) and yet...can't fight his manly urges. Himuro, for his part, is such a slut. But they are cute together. Himuro is passionate, loyal, gruff, not too smart, and a decent guy (despite being yakuza). Urius is intelligent, gentle, odd, and rather child-like. They don't have the bad qualities usually associated with those kinds of characters and I felt like they acted pretty logically within the completely fantasical premise (Urius's illogical actions are firmly shown to be as par for the course for him). Ryuji's snark, most of which I didn't mention in the summary, is pretty hilarious. I loved the kind of slime ball Kamitani turned out to be. Poor Himuro. Lucky he has a fabulously wealthy and completely devoted Arabian prince who will oh-so-willingly comfort him...
Sex!
More sex! With bondage!
Betrayal!
Himuro: I don't need no stinkin' dragon! *tries to slash himself with knife*
Sex! Again!
Urius: I love you! I will protect you forever and ever!
Himuro: He loves me! He actually loves me (and not just my tattoo)! *wibbles*
It's sad how much this story encourages the use of exclamation points. ^^;