[Summary] Hana wa Saku ka ch 11
Another really long chapter summary from Hana wa Saku ka. Enjoy cracking up the chapter :)
Raws can be found on both nihonomaru & aarin.
I have this feeling that i've goofed up somewhere in the numbering, so do pinpoint if any page seems to be jutting out of order...
Page 1
From the time he was a child, Youichi remembers asking Shouta who was the one who’d said their house was like a castle completely covered in ivy. Shouta blithely replies that it was him, since from outside their house seemed to be totally isolated. He proceeds to say that Youichi was the king of the castle. Even if he didn’t do or think anything, the people around him would do anything for him. It was because he was Yousuke’s son. Later he adds it wouldn’t do if he didn’t do the same things as Yousuke. Thinking back Youichi thinks it was wrong.
Page 2
It was wrong. At that time he had willfully wished that Shouta wouldn’t say such things. But definitely both he and the house had not changed at all. There after he remembers Shouta’s words, “I’ve found the old man.”
Page 3
Youichi ponders the words ‘old man’ and tries to make out who it would be. The younger man asks him if it was ok for his (Youichi’s) friend to come in, adding that he had suddenly fainted at the station. Youichi in turn echoes the word ‘friend’ and is astonished when he sees a limp Sakurai being supported by Take. Shouta continues that the day before was the first time Youichi had brought someone to their house.
Page 4
Youichi is about to say that he wasn’t his friend particularly but trails off in the end. As Take is helping Sakurai sit down on the floor, Shouta interjects that Youichi seemed to be having fun while talking to Sakurai, which causes Take to prick up his ears in surprise. To that Youichi coolly questions his statement and says that he didn’t remember him. In return Shouta replies that all of that was well and good and urges him to lend them a hand.
In the next panel as Youichi slides the door open, yawning, he thinks to himself he’s feeling sleepy.
Page 5
With the sound of birds chirping in the backdrop, he stares at his reflection in the mirror and mulls over Fujimoto’s words of his pupils getting bigger.
Page 6
He recalls the latter telling him that the color of his eyes changed when he was looking at Sakurai and his asking him whether he was aware about this. From left field, he is reminded that Sakurai would be staying with them from that day onward. He is broken out of his thoughts by Sakurai’s exclamation on seeing him. Blushing slightly, Sakurai wishes him good morning, to which toothbrush in mouth, Youichi wishes him the same. Sakurai remarks that he was up pretty early. Youichi responds to that saying he had some things he had to take care of at university.
Page 7
Haltingly, Sakurai takes in his response and further asks if he was going to paint. Youichi says yes to that, which makes Sakurai question if it was a painting of flowers, establishing that he should let him see it once its done. Youichi is stupefied with his divulgence and gasps audibly. Sakurai is instantly taken aback by his response and asks if he had said something weird. Removing his headband, Youichi denies that and says it was alright, and then settles to watch Sakurai wash his face.
Page 8
Still watching him wipe his face, Youichi smiles to himself. He asks Sakurai what he would be doing in the evening. Chawing over that, he replies that he would probably be late so he’d return to his apartment. Youichi confirms with him if he was really going back, to which he accedes and asks if it would be a bother if he took the last train. He also fills in that he would text Yoshitomi about it later, which again addles Youichi.
Page 9
He parrots Sakurai’s word ‘text’ with a grain of salt and as Sakurai is replying to that, turns on his heel and walks away.
The next panels show him walking through one of the corridors and right into the art room in his university.
Page 10
Opening the windows, he thinks the morning batches must have settled down by then. Looking around the room he realizes that there’s no one else. He puts on his apron and Fujimoto’s words of whether Youichi found hanging out with guys like him stupid, flit to his mind. He concedes that he didn’t mean for it to be like that. Dipping his brush in a tumbler, he thinks he couldn’t find anything to talk about.
Page 11
Like that guy, uptil then he too had been curious to get close to someone out of idle curiosity. He is reminded of people asking him things like if he hated them or saying that they were tired of not knowing what was going through his head or why he ignored people like he did. Mixing his brush with paints on his color palette, he concurs that in time people would inevitably leave his side. He didn’t intend to ignore them or anything, but he didn’t feel like talking either. Whomever he was with, whatever he conversed on, he’d always get bored.
Page 12
With the brushstrokes on his canvas, he continues thinking that inside his head he felt the words swirling and then fading out. He wonders if he had some kind of illness. Sometimes he felt like leaving the world behind. He remembers his father calling him by his name.
Page 13
His father, Yousuke, tells him that at times when he couldn’t picturize what he was drawing, he should first smear the color in the way he was showing him. By doing that the colors would overlay themselves. Guiding him by holding his hand with the paintbrush, he adds that eventually the image would rise to the surface. Right after his friends crowd the place and interrupt the father-son’s time together. A young Katsuragi comments over hearing Yousuke’s drawing method, putting in that he (Yousuke) thought it all out right from the base. On seeing all of them he remarks over their showing up there. Katsuragi adds that the lodgers had heard talk about his new work. Consequently, all the people gather around his new painting complementing him and exclaiming over it. Because of them, Youichi is left all alone on the side and observes the melee with his eyes.
Page 14
Getting a flash from the past of the many people fawning over his father, he thinks back that his father was like a true king. Everyone loved him. But the people surrounding him hadn’t noticed the fact that his father was dying. He recollects his father calling his name saying he was leaving. In the last panel, all of his paint supplies come to a crashing fall.
Page 15
Looking at them collapsed down on the floor, he remembers Yoshitomi coming up to him and calling his name as he was drawing. He turns around and asks him what he wanted. Coming close to him, Yoshitomi answers that both Yousuke and Ayako had gotten into an accident.
Page 16
Grieving over his beloved friend’s demise, the older man tightly hugs the child Youichi. He moves on to remember the women at the funeral whispering that Yousuke had written his will the day before his death and expressed that it was weird. They went on to say that Ayako’s illness had intensified and there was a rumor going around that it was probably a double suicide.
Page 17
On the next page, with a box in his arms Shouta asks Youichi what was wrong and what had made him come all the way to the place where he worked part time. Youichi replies that he’d heard from Take that he would be changing his part time again, to which Shouta says yes. He goes on to say that he was tired of hearing that working in a chemical factory was dangerous. Running around, he tells Youichi to move aside since he had one more object to carry. Complying, he moves aside. After a short pause he asks Shouta if he had sufficient money. Uncle (as in Shouta’s father) should have thought about the environment he was in. He asks the younger man why he was doing so many part time jobs.
Page 18
With his back to him, Shouta answers that maybe Youichi was unaware of it but those people (his father etc) weren’t going to hand over anything to him. In response Youichi says that with the authority from the head family’s house he would talk it out properly wit him. He’s about to say more but is apparently cut off with a look from Shouta. Turning to face him, the younger man asks him what he wanted suddenly. Youichi is perplexed with his words. Shouta questions him if he hadn’t he spoken to Take about his going to university. With his gaze on him, Youichi acquiesces.
Page 19
Frowning slightly, Shouta places the box on the floor. Looking him in the eye, he says that Youichi was always by his side but he still didn’t say anything. In the end, Youichi hadn’t even thought about it all properly. Youichi is mum at that. Shouta continues that Youichi was always like that. He would easily get swept away with his mouth shut. Doing all the things that he’d said he would and he lived up to all his great expectations. But the truth was that he wouldn’t have given anything a single thought.
Page 20
Youichi is shocked by Shouta’s verbal assault and isn’t able to say anything in reply. Still not satisfied, Shouta says that Youichi was kind but he wouldn’t do anything, that was the reason he wanted to get independent as soon as possible. As Youichi is about to speak his part, he’s stopped short by the younger man who says he wouldn’t remain as a helper to the Minagawa house forever. He asks him if he liked that stuffy family head’s house. Adding that if he did, then did he know how uneasy he felt.
Page 21
He questions if it wasn’t discreditable that a person thought only about his own things. It was the same while he was painting. He asks him if he drew because he loved to or was it because Kashiwagi had told him to do so. The case was similar with the boarding house too. If he didn’t want to do something all he had to do was tell Yoshitomi. Continuing, he tells an astonished Youichi that as of then it was as if he was completely living his life in place of his father.
Page 22
Confronting Youichi in silence, Shouta is called by someone reminding him to get to work. Tying his bandana back onto his head, Shouta tells him he had to leave for his job. But he’s stopped by Youichi telling him he was wrong, he wasn’t living as a substitute. Frowning, Shouta says that since he (Youichi) didn’t say anything, eventually - but is cut off in the end by Youichi. He raises his voice and tells the younger man he was wrong.
Page 23
Youichi is about to say more but stops himself short and apologizing, rushes home.
In his mind’s eye, he recalls the time after his father’s death. Katsuragi places a hand on his shoulder and asks how Yousuke had died. After that he repeatedly calls Yousuke’s name.
Page 24
The scene ends with Katsuragi with his head cast low, uttering Yousuke’s name for one final time.
In the next panel, Take receives a call from Shouta and asks him what he’d called for. Yanking the bandana off his head, he tells Take that Youichi had suddenly dropped by some time back. Even if he had persuaded him, that was no reason for him to use Youichi. A little taken aback by his usage of the word ‘persuade,’ Take informs him that he hadn’t touched on those topics with Youichi. Though he had filled him in on Shouta’s new change of part time. Hearing him on the line, Shouta is silent.
Page 25
As Shouta is uncharacteristically quiet, Take concernedly calls his name. After a pause Shouta discloses that he had said some really severe things to Youichi. Feeling relieved he (Shouta) had given him the cold-shoulder. It was problematic because the background Youichi had come from had restrained him. Staring up at the cloudy sky, the younger man then waits for Take’s reply. After a lapse, Take answers he didn’t know what he had spoken about with Youichi.
Page 26
But he should properly apologize to him later. Agreeing with him, Shouta opines that Youichi had quite clearly changed. When Take doesn’t get him he elaborates that he had started to show a lot of emotions.
Page 27
Back in the Minagawa house, Youichi is sitting all alone on the porch facing the woods. With the wind ruffling his hair, he looks at the small circle of stones and thinks to himself which were the seeds that had been planted. With a faraway look on his face he thinks he had taken it from his father’s chest of drawers. In the former days, he had the vague memory of sowing seeds together with his mother but he couldn’t bring it to mind then.
Page 28
After that he remembers the time he was actually opening the drawer. Shouta comes from behind saying he had found lots of seeds. He asks Youichi if he could have them if he didn’t need it, to which the latter says yes. The younger man then excitedly rushes to sow them with Sakurai. After he leaves, Youichi thinks to himself it was rare to see Shouta get emotionally attached to someone.
In the next panel Sakurai is digging up the ground all alone, grumbling to himself that it wasn’t his fault that the ground had dried up. He trails off saying the younger man was busy doing nothing. Youichi hears this and tells him nobody was listening to his ramble. He had cleaned up the space since the plant had died and if he wanted to plant something new then he had some leftover seeds. Saying that, he hands over the seeds to Sakurai.
Page 29
Immediately, Sakurai asks him which variety of seed were they. Youichi says he didn’t know. The older man then asks him if it was okay to plant the seeds at that time, to which Youichi again replies he doesn’t know, also adding that he should stop trespassing and should pay him for using the place. Sakurai is really miffed hearing his talk. He scolds him for having that kind of attitude and yells some more since Youichi walks ahead unheeded. When he reaches out of Sakurai’s range of view, he smiles softly and thinks the older man was a really weird guy to be sowing seeds at that time in the night.
Coming back to the present, he remembers hearing words like how he lived in a really nice house or would a place like theirs be called private woods, or they loved this kind of place.
Page 30
With downcast eyes, he recalls Sakurai’s words. At some time the older man had asked looking at his drawing if it wasn’t one of flowers, putting in that he (Youichi) really loved to draw. He couldn’t erase them out of his head.
Page 31
Trivial things and his facial expressions too, everything was vivid in his mind and it would replay in his head many times over. Lowering his eyes, he thought to himself why he felt the way he did inspite of believing that the older man disliked him. Raising his head, he concedes he too had thought he disliked him in the beginning.
Page 32
He wonders when those feelings for Sakurai had changed. Till that point, he hadn’t had anyone like him. He wanted to keep continuing his conversations with him and they made him really happy. Being together with him was fun. An image of a smiling Sakurai, calling his name is elicited in Youichi’s mind.
Page 33
Sakurai gazes at him and calls out his name once more. As he widens his eyes, Sakurai extends his hand to touch his cheek and hair. He thinks even a simple touch from him affected his breathing.
Page 34
Envisioning Sakurai about to kiss him, he thinks his body - but abruptly halts his thought process with flaming cheeks.
The scene next changes to Sakurai’s part. Holding on to the handle bar, he is tiredly swaying with the moving train. The announcer announces that the next station was Izumisawa. He wonders to himself if they’ve arrived and that he’s really exhausted.
Page 35
Checking his watch, he thinks he wanted to see Youichi’s expression but he must have gone to sleep already. Somehow he had the image of him being an early-to-bed sort of person. Walking forward, he thinks he would return to his apartment and hit the sack after having a bath. It wouldn’t kill him if he didn’t go over the documents he’d gotten from office.
In the last panel, with the moon shining over the treetops there is the sound of rustling through the bushes.
Page 36
Briefcase in hand, he gathers that he was ill with some disorder. He ponders over why a healthy guy like him would, instead of relaxing at home, specially come to the house everyday. He wouldn’t be doing such things if Fujimoto wasn’t living there. He then pauses and considers if it wasn’t the opposite. If that guy was there then it wouldn’t mean that his passion and zeal would dissipate. His feelings weren’t the only ones being ignited. His nature had been like that from before. He suddenly stops and thinks that if he kept pushing himself on him, where would he hide the feelings emanating from deep inside him everyday.
Page 37
Sakurai abruptly stops midstride on seeing Youichi. Noticing him arrive, the younger man gives out his name with a puzzled look on his face. Sakurai too is a bit shocked and blushing a little, falteringly asks him how he was still awake. With the older man standing before him Youichi widens his eyes.
Page 38
Getting self-conscious all of a sudden, Sakurai explains himself and says he had originally planned to go back to his apartment, but breaks off at the end of the sentence. Still not being able to believe his eyes, Youichi doesn’t utter anything. Uneasy with the younger man’s silence, Sakurai questioningly calls his name.
Next, Youichi grabs him hard by the lapels and pulls him to him.
Page 39
Desperately calling out his name, Youichi embraces him tightly.
Page 40
Trapped in a tight lock by the younger man, Sakurai is nonplussed and concernedly calls his name asking him what was wrong. In response, Youichi simply tightens his grip on him. Blushing hotly by now, Sakurai pauses for a beat and then swiftly pushes him away from himself.
Page 41
Flustered at where he had gone wrong, Youichi is about to call the older man’s name. But before he could complete saying it Sakurai kisses him. Enlargening his eyes, Youichi stares astounded as Sakurai passionately looks at him and lets out his name.
Page 42
Thinking twice, the older man whispers his name once more and framing his, face comes closer. The chapter windsup with them kissing each other deeply.
Raws can be found on both nihonomaru & aarin.
I have this feeling that i've goofed up somewhere in the numbering, so do pinpoint if any page seems to be jutting out of order...
Page 1
From the time he was a child, Youichi remembers asking Shouta who was the one who’d said their house was like a castle completely covered in ivy. Shouta blithely replies that it was him, since from outside their house seemed to be totally isolated. He proceeds to say that Youichi was the king of the castle. Even if he didn’t do or think anything, the people around him would do anything for him. It was because he was Yousuke’s son. Later he adds it wouldn’t do if he didn’t do the same things as Yousuke. Thinking back Youichi thinks it was wrong.
Page 2
It was wrong. At that time he had willfully wished that Shouta wouldn’t say such things. But definitely both he and the house had not changed at all. There after he remembers Shouta’s words, “I’ve found the old man.”
Page 3
Youichi ponders the words ‘old man’ and tries to make out who it would be. The younger man asks him if it was ok for his (Youichi’s) friend to come in, adding that he had suddenly fainted at the station. Youichi in turn echoes the word ‘friend’ and is astonished when he sees a limp Sakurai being supported by Take. Shouta continues that the day before was the first time Youichi had brought someone to their house.
Page 4
Youichi is about to say that he wasn’t his friend particularly but trails off in the end. As Take is helping Sakurai sit down on the floor, Shouta interjects that Youichi seemed to be having fun while talking to Sakurai, which causes Take to prick up his ears in surprise. To that Youichi coolly questions his statement and says that he didn’t remember him. In return Shouta replies that all of that was well and good and urges him to lend them a hand.
In the next panel as Youichi slides the door open, yawning, he thinks to himself he’s feeling sleepy.
Page 5
With the sound of birds chirping in the backdrop, he stares at his reflection in the mirror and mulls over Fujimoto’s words of his pupils getting bigger.
Page 6
He recalls the latter telling him that the color of his eyes changed when he was looking at Sakurai and his asking him whether he was aware about this. From left field, he is reminded that Sakurai would be staying with them from that day onward. He is broken out of his thoughts by Sakurai’s exclamation on seeing him. Blushing slightly, Sakurai wishes him good morning, to which toothbrush in mouth, Youichi wishes him the same. Sakurai remarks that he was up pretty early. Youichi responds to that saying he had some things he had to take care of at university.
Page 7
Haltingly, Sakurai takes in his response and further asks if he was going to paint. Youichi says yes to that, which makes Sakurai question if it was a painting of flowers, establishing that he should let him see it once its done. Youichi is stupefied with his divulgence and gasps audibly. Sakurai is instantly taken aback by his response and asks if he had said something weird. Removing his headband, Youichi denies that and says it was alright, and then settles to watch Sakurai wash his face.
Page 8
Still watching him wipe his face, Youichi smiles to himself. He asks Sakurai what he would be doing in the evening. Chawing over that, he replies that he would probably be late so he’d return to his apartment. Youichi confirms with him if he was really going back, to which he accedes and asks if it would be a bother if he took the last train. He also fills in that he would text Yoshitomi about it later, which again addles Youichi.
Page 9
He parrots Sakurai’s word ‘text’ with a grain of salt and as Sakurai is replying to that, turns on his heel and walks away.
The next panels show him walking through one of the corridors and right into the art room in his university.
Page 10
Opening the windows, he thinks the morning batches must have settled down by then. Looking around the room he realizes that there’s no one else. He puts on his apron and Fujimoto’s words of whether Youichi found hanging out with guys like him stupid, flit to his mind. He concedes that he didn’t mean for it to be like that. Dipping his brush in a tumbler, he thinks he couldn’t find anything to talk about.
Page 11
Like that guy, uptil then he too had been curious to get close to someone out of idle curiosity. He is reminded of people asking him things like if he hated them or saying that they were tired of not knowing what was going through his head or why he ignored people like he did. Mixing his brush with paints on his color palette, he concurs that in time people would inevitably leave his side. He didn’t intend to ignore them or anything, but he didn’t feel like talking either. Whomever he was with, whatever he conversed on, he’d always get bored.
Page 12
With the brushstrokes on his canvas, he continues thinking that inside his head he felt the words swirling and then fading out. He wonders if he had some kind of illness. Sometimes he felt like leaving the world behind. He remembers his father calling him by his name.
Page 13
His father, Yousuke, tells him that at times when he couldn’t picturize what he was drawing, he should first smear the color in the way he was showing him. By doing that the colors would overlay themselves. Guiding him by holding his hand with the paintbrush, he adds that eventually the image would rise to the surface. Right after his friends crowd the place and interrupt the father-son’s time together. A young Katsuragi comments over hearing Yousuke’s drawing method, putting in that he (Yousuke) thought it all out right from the base. On seeing all of them he remarks over their showing up there. Katsuragi adds that the lodgers had heard talk about his new work. Consequently, all the people gather around his new painting complementing him and exclaiming over it. Because of them, Youichi is left all alone on the side and observes the melee with his eyes.
Page 14
Getting a flash from the past of the many people fawning over his father, he thinks back that his father was like a true king. Everyone loved him. But the people surrounding him hadn’t noticed the fact that his father was dying. He recollects his father calling his name saying he was leaving. In the last panel, all of his paint supplies come to a crashing fall.
Page 15
Looking at them collapsed down on the floor, he remembers Yoshitomi coming up to him and calling his name as he was drawing. He turns around and asks him what he wanted. Coming close to him, Yoshitomi answers that both Yousuke and Ayako had gotten into an accident.
Page 16
Grieving over his beloved friend’s demise, the older man tightly hugs the child Youichi. He moves on to remember the women at the funeral whispering that Yousuke had written his will the day before his death and expressed that it was weird. They went on to say that Ayako’s illness had intensified and there was a rumor going around that it was probably a double suicide.
Page 17
On the next page, with a box in his arms Shouta asks Youichi what was wrong and what had made him come all the way to the place where he worked part time. Youichi replies that he’d heard from Take that he would be changing his part time again, to which Shouta says yes. He goes on to say that he was tired of hearing that working in a chemical factory was dangerous. Running around, he tells Youichi to move aside since he had one more object to carry. Complying, he moves aside. After a short pause he asks Shouta if he had sufficient money. Uncle (as in Shouta’s father) should have thought about the environment he was in. He asks the younger man why he was doing so many part time jobs.
Page 18
With his back to him, Shouta answers that maybe Youichi was unaware of it but those people (his father etc) weren’t going to hand over anything to him. In response Youichi says that with the authority from the head family’s house he would talk it out properly wit him. He’s about to say more but is apparently cut off with a look from Shouta. Turning to face him, the younger man asks him what he wanted suddenly. Youichi is perplexed with his words. Shouta questions him if he hadn’t he spoken to Take about his going to university. With his gaze on him, Youichi acquiesces.
Page 19
Frowning slightly, Shouta places the box on the floor. Looking him in the eye, he says that Youichi was always by his side but he still didn’t say anything. In the end, Youichi hadn’t even thought about it all properly. Youichi is mum at that. Shouta continues that Youichi was always like that. He would easily get swept away with his mouth shut. Doing all the things that he’d said he would and he lived up to all his great expectations. But the truth was that he wouldn’t have given anything a single thought.
Page 20
Youichi is shocked by Shouta’s verbal assault and isn’t able to say anything in reply. Still not satisfied, Shouta says that Youichi was kind but he wouldn’t do anything, that was the reason he wanted to get independent as soon as possible. As Youichi is about to speak his part, he’s stopped short by the younger man who says he wouldn’t remain as a helper to the Minagawa house forever. He asks him if he liked that stuffy family head’s house. Adding that if he did, then did he know how uneasy he felt.
Page 21
He questions if it wasn’t discreditable that a person thought only about his own things. It was the same while he was painting. He asks him if he drew because he loved to or was it because Kashiwagi had told him to do so. The case was similar with the boarding house too. If he didn’t want to do something all he had to do was tell Yoshitomi. Continuing, he tells an astonished Youichi that as of then it was as if he was completely living his life in place of his father.
Page 22
Confronting Youichi in silence, Shouta is called by someone reminding him to get to work. Tying his bandana back onto his head, Shouta tells him he had to leave for his job. But he’s stopped by Youichi telling him he was wrong, he wasn’t living as a substitute. Frowning, Shouta says that since he (Youichi) didn’t say anything, eventually - but is cut off in the end by Youichi. He raises his voice and tells the younger man he was wrong.
Page 23
Youichi is about to say more but stops himself short and apologizing, rushes home.
In his mind’s eye, he recalls the time after his father’s death. Katsuragi places a hand on his shoulder and asks how Yousuke had died. After that he repeatedly calls Yousuke’s name.
Page 24
The scene ends with Katsuragi with his head cast low, uttering Yousuke’s name for one final time.
In the next panel, Take receives a call from Shouta and asks him what he’d called for. Yanking the bandana off his head, he tells Take that Youichi had suddenly dropped by some time back. Even if he had persuaded him, that was no reason for him to use Youichi. A little taken aback by his usage of the word ‘persuade,’ Take informs him that he hadn’t touched on those topics with Youichi. Though he had filled him in on Shouta’s new change of part time. Hearing him on the line, Shouta is silent.
Page 25
As Shouta is uncharacteristically quiet, Take concernedly calls his name. After a pause Shouta discloses that he had said some really severe things to Youichi. Feeling relieved he (Shouta) had given him the cold-shoulder. It was problematic because the background Youichi had come from had restrained him. Staring up at the cloudy sky, the younger man then waits for Take’s reply. After a lapse, Take answers he didn’t know what he had spoken about with Youichi.
Page 26
But he should properly apologize to him later. Agreeing with him, Shouta opines that Youichi had quite clearly changed. When Take doesn’t get him he elaborates that he had started to show a lot of emotions.
Page 27
Back in the Minagawa house, Youichi is sitting all alone on the porch facing the woods. With the wind ruffling his hair, he looks at the small circle of stones and thinks to himself which were the seeds that had been planted. With a faraway look on his face he thinks he had taken it from his father’s chest of drawers. In the former days, he had the vague memory of sowing seeds together with his mother but he couldn’t bring it to mind then.
Page 28
After that he remembers the time he was actually opening the drawer. Shouta comes from behind saying he had found lots of seeds. He asks Youichi if he could have them if he didn’t need it, to which the latter says yes. The younger man then excitedly rushes to sow them with Sakurai. After he leaves, Youichi thinks to himself it was rare to see Shouta get emotionally attached to someone.
In the next panel Sakurai is digging up the ground all alone, grumbling to himself that it wasn’t his fault that the ground had dried up. He trails off saying the younger man was busy doing nothing. Youichi hears this and tells him nobody was listening to his ramble. He had cleaned up the space since the plant had died and if he wanted to plant something new then he had some leftover seeds. Saying that, he hands over the seeds to Sakurai.
Page 29
Immediately, Sakurai asks him which variety of seed were they. Youichi says he didn’t know. The older man then asks him if it was okay to plant the seeds at that time, to which Youichi again replies he doesn’t know, also adding that he should stop trespassing and should pay him for using the place. Sakurai is really miffed hearing his talk. He scolds him for having that kind of attitude and yells some more since Youichi walks ahead unheeded. When he reaches out of Sakurai’s range of view, he smiles softly and thinks the older man was a really weird guy to be sowing seeds at that time in the night.
Coming back to the present, he remembers hearing words like how he lived in a really nice house or would a place like theirs be called private woods, or they loved this kind of place.
Page 30
With downcast eyes, he recalls Sakurai’s words. At some time the older man had asked looking at his drawing if it wasn’t one of flowers, putting in that he (Youichi) really loved to draw. He couldn’t erase them out of his head.
Page 31
Trivial things and his facial expressions too, everything was vivid in his mind and it would replay in his head many times over. Lowering his eyes, he thought to himself why he felt the way he did inspite of believing that the older man disliked him. Raising his head, he concedes he too had thought he disliked him in the beginning.
Page 32
He wonders when those feelings for Sakurai had changed. Till that point, he hadn’t had anyone like him. He wanted to keep continuing his conversations with him and they made him really happy. Being together with him was fun. An image of a smiling Sakurai, calling his name is elicited in Youichi’s mind.
Page 33
Sakurai gazes at him and calls out his name once more. As he widens his eyes, Sakurai extends his hand to touch his cheek and hair. He thinks even a simple touch from him affected his breathing.
Page 34
Envisioning Sakurai about to kiss him, he thinks his body - but abruptly halts his thought process with flaming cheeks.
The scene next changes to Sakurai’s part. Holding on to the handle bar, he is tiredly swaying with the moving train. The announcer announces that the next station was Izumisawa. He wonders to himself if they’ve arrived and that he’s really exhausted.
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Checking his watch, he thinks he wanted to see Youichi’s expression but he must have gone to sleep already. Somehow he had the image of him being an early-to-bed sort of person. Walking forward, he thinks he would return to his apartment and hit the sack after having a bath. It wouldn’t kill him if he didn’t go over the documents he’d gotten from office.
In the last panel, with the moon shining over the treetops there is the sound of rustling through the bushes.
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Briefcase in hand, he gathers that he was ill with some disorder. He ponders over why a healthy guy like him would, instead of relaxing at home, specially come to the house everyday. He wouldn’t be doing such things if Fujimoto wasn’t living there. He then pauses and considers if it wasn’t the opposite. If that guy was there then it wouldn’t mean that his passion and zeal would dissipate. His feelings weren’t the only ones being ignited. His nature had been like that from before. He suddenly stops and thinks that if he kept pushing himself on him, where would he hide the feelings emanating from deep inside him everyday.
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Sakurai abruptly stops midstride on seeing Youichi. Noticing him arrive, the younger man gives out his name with a puzzled look on his face. Sakurai too is a bit shocked and blushing a little, falteringly asks him how he was still awake. With the older man standing before him Youichi widens his eyes.
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Getting self-conscious all of a sudden, Sakurai explains himself and says he had originally planned to go back to his apartment, but breaks off at the end of the sentence. Still not being able to believe his eyes, Youichi doesn’t utter anything. Uneasy with the younger man’s silence, Sakurai questioningly calls his name.
Next, Youichi grabs him hard by the lapels and pulls him to him.
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Desperately calling out his name, Youichi embraces him tightly.
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Trapped in a tight lock by the younger man, Sakurai is nonplussed and concernedly calls his name asking him what was wrong. In response, Youichi simply tightens his grip on him. Blushing hotly by now, Sakurai pauses for a beat and then swiftly pushes him away from himself.
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Flustered at where he had gone wrong, Youichi is about to call the older man’s name. But before he could complete saying it Sakurai kisses him. Enlargening his eyes, Youichi stares astounded as Sakurai passionately looks at him and lets out his name.
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Thinking twice, the older man whispers his name once more and framing his, face comes closer. The chapter windsup with them kissing each other deeply.