Akenure goyou ni furu yuki wa by Hori Tomoki
praysolace recommended this manga and I really love it! The art is gorgeous and the story just about breaks my heart. The main characters are two lost souls who find each other in the most unlikely place and circumstance. I knew I'm going to love this story when I read the first page with image of a drop of blood on pure white snow and Kazuma, the yakuza who got shot mistakes his own blood for red flower.. There's something tragic yet beautiful about that scene (yes, I'm weird..)
Yukihiro is a sheltered young man from Tea Ceremony family. He saves Kazuma's life and let him stay in his house. Kazuma isn't used to kindness from strangers but everyone in the house treats him nicely especially Yukihiro who doesn't seem to be scared by his violent past.
I really like the narrative style of this manga where Kazuma expresses his thoughts and feelings in short clipped sentences. There is a scene when he can't deal with his strange new-found feeling for Yukihiro anymore and he thinks to himself "If you're sad then say so. If you feel disgusted by me then yell out. And if you really want something..you can just reach out you hand.."
--- um, this sounds more romantic when I read it. Excuse my poor Japanese translation ^^" and being non-native speaker, my English is also not that good ... whoever invented auto spell-check will forever have my undying grattitute
This manga reminds me of one of my all time favorite fantasy books "Swordspoint" by Ellen Kushner. The book begins with a drop of blood on the snow too! The story is about two guys with major complex and hidden past. Very angsty and ooh slashy<3
the Japanese cover is easier on the eyes xD
