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Shiina is beautiful, cool, and makes quite a bit of money for someone his age. Unfortunately, his good looks have made him somewhat conceited, the coolness is a shell he hides in to keep people out of his heart, and the money comes from the older woman he sleeps with to make up for the lack of affection from his mother. His math teacher, Sasagawa, however, sees right through this cool attitude to his loneliness and offers Shiina the love and affection he so desperately craves in return for his trust. Shiina is not forthcoming with this trust, considering that said teacher beat up a high school student, stole Shiina's money, and then raped him in a public bathroom.

Actually, the stealing and the raping are not confined to just that one time, although the conclusion of the money-swiping was rather sweet, and this being a boys love story, Shiina secretly enjoys the rape. If you didn't like the non-consensual stories in the past, you aren't suddenly going to start liking them in this novel, though. In fact, it is even more disturbing in this novel than the ones I've read, as it is not just a friend being overcome with lust and tenderly needing to have his way with his beloved before he bursts. Instead of a friend, we have a teacher stalking his student and practically gagging him in a train station bathroom so he could force himself upon said student.

Not that it's all about rape. The story is rather sweet once you get around these moments of disturbing demonstrations from Sasagawa. The math teacher is actually quite cute when he is being childish, threatening not to hug Shiina if he is laughing at him and throwing a hissy fit when Shiina bestows too much attention upon his homeroom teacher, Nakahara. Sasagawa was even instrumental in helping Shiina to reconnect with his family, proving he's not totally deranged. When Shiina decides to accept Sasagawa, instead of ripping off their clothes and having a hot passionate night, he lies there on Sasagawa's chest, being comforted just like that.

Just as interesting as how Sasagawa and Shiina would work things out was how Shiina and his family would work things out. Why have they cut him off from their happy family life? After all, this loneliness is the whole reason Sasagawa is able to get to him. As the romance storyline moves along with Sasagawa slowly changing Shiina, so is the family drama moving along, perfect plot partners.

This review originally appeared at J LHLS.