| VOLUME TWO "Love Call Ikki" (A Love Call Trip) Arisawa has decided that he's in love with Masayoshi, much to Inagaki's consternation and Tooru's embarassment. During the ensuing chaos of an impromptu date between Tooru, Masami, and Masayoshi, Inagaki and Arisawa show up, and Inagaki spills the beans about Club Lush. So that evening, the whole gang heads downtown. The already- raunchy evening turns much raunchier when Masami decides that this is a good time to give the boys a safe-sex lesson, complete with free samples. Nosebleeds and hentai thoughts abound. "Batoru Bakeeshon" (Battle Vacation) Club Lush must be doing well, because the whole gang goes together to Hawaii during school break. They draw letters to see who rooms with whom, and by morning only Masayoshi and Arisawa are well-rested---the other three have spent the previous night fantasizing about (Masami and Tooru) or trying to reach (Inagaki) the objects of their respective affections. The rest of the trip goes similarly, although Tooru and Masami finally manage to get an uninterrupted kiss during a romantic moonlight stroll on the beach. "Yuuwaku no Amai Wana?!" (Sweet Temptation Trap?!) A day in the life of Inagaki Kouji---a young man plagued by a bossy mother and an even bossier big sister, Akiko, who's bullied him his entire life (and still does). Little wonder he prefers men. But just as he's putting the make on Arisawa once more (and making progress), he's interrupted by his worst nightmare: Akiko's two bratty little kids, come for a visit, along with their mother. Inagaki spends the rest of the chapter trying to seduce Arisawa while surviving his relatives. At one point, the frustration becomes too much for him; he demands to know why Arisawa won't love him instead of "that asshole Shibata (Masayoshi)." Emotions run high, and Inagaki nearly rapes Arisawa (stopping when he sees how much he's scared the boy). Arisawa flees and Inagaki gives chase, begging for forgiveness---until the Spawn of Akiko strike again. He spends the next few weeks in a neck brace. "Himitsu no Futari" (Two People's Secret) Brothers will be brothers... but when Masayoshi's brotherly teasing goes a bit far and leaves Masami with a suspicious-looking kiss mark (also known as a "hickey") on his chest, trouble's just bound to happen. Masami retaliates by biting Masayoshi on the shoulder. The next day is  a bright beautiful Sunday, and
Arisawa decides to go visit his beloved Masayoshi. Inagaki finds out and, with Yukiko in
tow, sets out to interrupt this meeting. Meanwhile, Masami tries to slip out for a
lunch date with Tooru, while Masayoshi sleeps in. Arisawa's arrival---announced veryloudly---ends that plan, and then it's a race (literally) between the two brothers, as Masami tries to reach Tooru and lose Masayoshi (with Arisawa, Inagaki, and Yukiko in tow), who's determined to interrupt their date. But of the two, it's Masami who's the real demon behind the wheel, and Masayoshi-tachi eat dust. Tooru's justifiably upset by this; it's the first time he's witnessed his normally sweet and gentle Masami's transformation into fearless psychotic behind the wheel of a car. After the resulting argument gets Tooru dunked in the shallows at the beach, they retreat to Masami's car, where Masami helps Tooru dry off. The sight of the kiss-mark on Masami's chest inflames Tooru into a possessive fit; he puts his own kiss-mark over it, and things get steamier from there---at which point Masayoshi finally tracks them down. Furious at the interruption, Tooru is even more furious when he sees the bite-mark, and yells at Masayoshi for being a sicko hentai, unworthy of Masami as a brother... until Masami points out that he gave Masayoshi the bite-mark, and Tooru has effectively called him a hentai. Assumably Tooru eventually earns Masami's forgiveness, since they're back together by the next chapter. "Senjo no?! Merii Kurisumasu" (A Battlefield?! Merry Christmas) It's Christmastime, and as one might expect, all of the guys are fretting over what to get for their respective loved ones. Tooru's upset because he can't think of the perfect present for Masami---and Masayoshi won't help him. Masayoshi is a bit depressed, since he can't get anything romantic for Masami, and the closest thing he's got to a honey is the still-relentless Arisawa. Alert for Kizuna fans---Enjoji Kei makes a cameo appearance in this chapter, bumping into Club Lush "girl" Rena at the mall while searching for a present for Ranmaru. Rena suggests that the perfect gift might be a visit to a love hotel. And yes, this is the precursor to the events of Kizuna chapter 8. Inagaki gets Arisawa a ring---with a matching ring for himself, to symbolize their love. Tooru and Masami both just happen to buy for Masami the perfume that was his mother's favorite---although Masami and Masayoshi's father beats them both to the punch, sending him the same gift. Arisawa, strapped for cash, comes up with a lovely gift for Masayoshi with the aid of the other two Club Lush "ladies"---a framed photo from their trip to Hawaii. Everybody gets what they really want, which is a warmfuzzy moment with their respective sweeties. "Motto Ganbare, Inagaki-kun!" (Work Harder, Inagaki!) Masayoshi, to Tooru's disgust, gets the bright idea to hold a  contest, with the prize as a free trip to Norway. Anyone interested will have to participate in a wacky game show, emceed by---you guessed it---Jyogaoka's resident wild man, Masayoshi himself. Tooru and Inagaki decide to compete, Tooru in the hope of earning a chance to spend time with Masami, and Inagaki fantasizing about a romantic vacation with Arisawa. Never missing a chance to mess with Tooru's mind, Masayoshi sweetens the pot by tossing in---Masami, who must sit in the prize booth wearing a "Norway" tag. The game starts with a doubles ping-pong match. Masayoshi then makes them wear stupid outfits to make it more "challenging." After a fierce fight, however, the teams come to a draw---which means the whole gang is going to travel together again, this time to Norway. End of volume 2. Volumes 3-5 will be covered in a later installment. |