Hiro and Shuichi drive away (on Hiro's motorcycle no less!) with Shuichi angry about his keyboard skills being called into question. Shuichi is insistent that his synthesizer skills are good enough and Hiro half agrees with him. Shuichi still doesn't want to get a new keyboardist and the conversation turns to Shuichi's singing. Hiro encourages him to sing more during their songs (as this is a manga, I have no idea what any of their songs sound like. Another reason to see the anime!) and Shuichi agrees.
The scene shifts and Shuichi is telling Yuki about what happened. Yuki is less than impressed, calling N-G's judgment into question while Shuichi yells at Yuki for being a bully.
Shuichi suddenly notices a Nittle Grasper (seriously, I keep wanting to type "little" since that would at least make SOME sense) video tape. It's apparently of an ultra rare live show that isn't sold anywhere and it's something that Shuichi has been trying to find for ages. Yuki carelessly mentions that it belongs to his brother Tatsuha (any bets we'll be seeing him this chapter? Anyone? Anyone?) who left it there. Shuichi thinks that Tatsuha is really lucky to have it and Yuki says that he can watch it if he likes. Shuichi wastes no time in popping it in. Shuichi is an extremely big fan of Ryuichi Sakuma who played the keyboards in Nittle Grasper before they broke up. Yuki, forced to watch with Shuichi, says he thought Shuichi was a big fan of Seguchi. Shuichi says that he wanted to become more than just a fan of Seguchi. He wanted to become a man like Seguchi. Yuki warns him that though he's nice on the outside, he's brutal on the inside. Yuki still thinks that Shuichi is too naive (and I have to agree with him. I'm a little worried about Shuichi stepping into a world like this) and Shuichi says that he'll settle down. Yuki rewards him for this.
Yuki starts getting more intimate with Shuichi who initially starts freaking out. Why is he freaking out? Because he doesn't want to get involved with Yuki until he's sure that Yuki actually, truly, wants to be involved with him. He asks if Yuki will take responsibility and he pretty much answers "Duh. Of course! You're my lover". Hooray! Yuki admits it! We have an official couple at last! So Yuki lays him down on the floor and Shuichi suddenly sees Seguchi singing on the tape. He tells Yuki that even though he's not at Seguchi's level now he intends to surpass him one day. Yuki, a bit too sexed up to really listen, starts having his way with Shuichi though, in the tradition of most yaoi manga, it's all more implied rather than actually shown. Shuichi finishes way too early for Yuki, due to his inexperience, and strips off his shirt, moving in for round two. Shuichi says this isn't what he wants, confusing Yuki. Here is the fundamental difference between Shuichi and Yuki. Shuichi is young and wants something from Yuki. Yuki immediately assumes it's sexual gratification. But Shuichi wants something more than that. The manga doesn't explicitly say what it is, but sex doesn't make a deep relationship and I think that's more of what Shuichi wants. This makes me think, even more now, that something happened in Yuki's past that somehow screwed with his perception of relationships, like he some kind of bad experience.
The next day, Seguchi is waiting around in an airport for the arrival of Sakano and a woman that we haven't yet seen named Noriko. She is impressed at how far Seguchi has come since his days in Nittle Grasper. Apparently he's had the most success out of his former band mates. Talk turns to Ryuichi and we learn that Ryuichi was the first one to call Seguchi "Genius Tohma" (The word genius in Japanese doesn't always mean "incredibly intelligent" but is used in a more general sense, relating to someone who is incredibly skilled at their profession or pursuits) which is apparently some kind of nickname that people use since Shuichi called him that too.
The scene shifts back to Yuki and Shuichi post coitus and Shuichi is acting like a kicked dog since he said he didn't want to have sex but Yuki still had sex with him at least three times. Now normally this would be creepy and rapey and no one wants that. But Yuki says that he actually DID stop and Shuichi had cried. So Shuichi keeps saying he doesn't want it...but he totally does. You're killing me here Shuichi. Yuki tells Shuichi that he hates seeing him cry and asks him what he can do to make Shuichi happy. This, of course, is what makes Shuichi happy. Yuki showing that he cares, admitting that Shuichi is his love, and asking how he can make him happy. Awww. They're turning out to be such a cute couple.
The next day, Hiro and Shuichi meet with Seguchi and he tells them that while he admits Shuichi is good with vocals, Bad Luck needs a new keyboardist. Someone he calls "unique". Feeling apprehensive, Hiro asks what he means by that and Seguchi responds that he had to persuade her to drop her work in northern Japan to work where they are so they should treat her nicely. And of course it doesn't take a genius (of any kind) to figure out who this new keyboardist is. Noriko happily introduces herself to the shock of Hiro and Shuichi and the chapter comes to a close.
This chapter introduced what I think is a fundamental aspect of Shuichi and Yuki's relationship. Shuichi is energetic, boisterous, and a dreamer while Yuki is more calm, collected, and down to earth. They balance each other, Yuki keeping Shuichi in check and Shuichi, likewise, warming Yuki's coldness. In these later chapters Yuki seems like less of a dick and more just plain snarky, poking fun at Shuichi so that he doesn't get a big head or do something reckless. It's amazing how the same nasty things he says no longer seem nasty in the context of their relationship. It helps that we have had 7 chapters to get to know Yuki as he is. Noriko is obviously going to remain as a major character and I'm interested to see how she interacts with Hiro and Shuichi and how the band dynamic is going to be affected. I have no opinion on her personality right now since I haven't really seen much of her. And Tatsuha didn't show up. So much for my prediction.
Tomorrow we'll be looking at Gravitation: Track 8! See you then.
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