Tamaki has to miss work due to a fever and is overjoyed when Natsu, her secret crush, sticks around to take care of her. Unfortunately, Kagetora, Tamaki's handsy boss, also shows up. It isn't long before Tamaki is finally forced to deal with her unrequited feelings for Natsu and whatever seems to be developing between her and Kagetora...who is still engaged to another woman.

I had to struggle to work up the willpower to review this. In some ways it was better than the first volume, but honestly it just dissolved into an unfocused mess.

Although I gradually came to like and root for Tamaki by the end of volume 1, in this volume it seemed like Enjoji forgot what kind of person she was supposed to be. The young woman who tried to put professional distance between herself and her employer and make him take her seriously as his new bodyguard was gone. And, once again, Tamaki did things that prompted me to remember that I'd initially dismissed her as an idiot.

When Tamaki's dreams of ending up with Natsu went up in smoke, she dealt with it by spending an evening drinking until she puked and eventually passed out. She later woke up in bed with Kagetora - she was dressed in pajamas she couldn't remember putting on, and he was shirtless. She later learned that they hadn't done anything - apparently Tamaki had complained of being cold and Kagetora felt that the best way to warm her up was with his body heat. After all, they were stuck out in the frozen wilderness and had no other options.

Oh wait, no, they were in his mansion and he could have gotten her an electric blanket or something.

Kagetora came across as slightly less horrible in this volume than in the first one, but that was mainly because Tamaki was more receptive towards him. Since I already disliked them as a prospective couple after the events of the first volume, I had trouble working up any enthusiasm for the developments in their relationship in this volume.

Tamaki and Kagetora overcame the obstacles standing between them way too easily. It didn't even work well with the series' internal logic. Readers were told that Kagetora's uncle, the prime minister, had previously tried to adopt him but that Kagetora's father hadn't allowed it. Suddenly, for absolutely no reason, Kagetora's father was fine with that arrangement. All of the pieces in Kagetora's plan fell into place in a matter of days.

Oh, and the whole mystery of how Kagetora and Tamaki first met was a complete letdown. Was that one brief meeting supposed to be the moment he fell in love with her? Or was it some combination of that and his leg fetish? No wonder she couldn't remember when they'd first met. And what did any of that have to do with the whole "you're the only one whose touch I can feel and enjoy" thing? (I have a feeling Enjoji got some reader complaints about that, because she specifically addressed it in a note, saying that in real life analgesia is a serious condition and that, although she didn't have time to explain it more in the manga, Kagetora's condition was actually more psychological. Which left me with lots of questions.)

On the plus side, this series was short. It's too bad it didn't have anything to offer other than relatively decent artwork.

Extras:

A 2-page "characters and story" section, character profiles (I would not have guessed that Tamaki was 23, her younger brother was 15, and Mike and Kagetora were both 25), and a short bonus comic showing how Master Daitokuji and his wife first met.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

Tamaki Hasegawa is a part-timer on her way to an interview for a full-time job when she comes across a man being chased by someone she thinks means him harm. It turns out to be a misunderstanding, but the man, Kagetora Sugo, offers to replace her ruined interview outfit and even hire her...as his bodyguard! It turns out that Kagetora is actually the nephew of the prime minister. He insists that he and Tamaki have previously met, but Tamaki can't recall him at all. One thing she does know: she needs to establish some boundaries between the two of them, fast. For some reason he keeps trying to kiss her. It bothers her, because the guy she's really interested in is Natsu, a kind employee at a flower shop.

This is a short series, only two volumes long, and this first volume did not leave me with a good impression. The artwork was okay, but forgettable. The premise was ridiculous - what kind of person would hire a random girl with enthusiasm but no particular skills beyond "can kick high" to be their bodyguard?

Kagetora wasn't appealing at all. Sure, he was rich and good-looking. Tamaki was literally a special person to him - one of those instances where Kagetora had a medical condition that affected his interactions with everyone but Tamaki (yes, I rolled my eyes). Unfortunately, he viewed this as an excuse to commit sexual assault, kissing Tamaki multiple times throughout the volume without her consent.

I had zero sympathy for him, and in fact cheered Tamaki on, when Tamaki began setting up firmer boundaries between the two of them, calling him "sir" any time she spoke to him in order to remind him that he was her employer. When he tried to tell her how sad the distance she was putting between them made him, she straight up told him what she was doing and why:

"This is a job, right? I'm your bodyguard. Sure...I'm still a useless rookie. But I've been working hard as best I can. If you are going to treat me like that, then why make me your bodyguard? I would've been better off being a maid! Kissing me without my consent and teasing me... If you're keeping me by your side simply to toy with me, please stop. Please treat me as your bodyguard..." (145-146)

Go, Tamaki! Unfortunately, Kagetora chose to interpret this as "show me that you're serious about how you feel about me" rather than "please show me respect and treat me like any other employee." And the present Tamaki gave Kagetora at the end of the volume had me wincing. I don't care that the guy brought her flowers and was acting a little vulnerable, she didn't owe him anything. Boundaries out the window. Darn it.

I wasn't a fan of Tamaki at first, but she grew on me as the story progressed. Unfortunately, the future I see for her includes Kagetora pushing his way further into her life, and her being too nice to freeze him out and subsequently giving up on her secret crush on Natsu. Who will probably be revealed to have a girlfriend and view Tamaki as more of an honorary little sister than anything. I wish I were more interested in the mystery of how Tamaki and Kagetora first met. I'm guessing it has something to do with Tamaki's parents' accident.

Well, one more volume to go, so I guess I'll find out soon if my predictions are correct.

Extras:

Each chapter ends with a single-panel bonus comic. My favorite is the one that revealed that Master Daitokuji, the elderly man assigned to train Tamaki to fight, is married to the elderly stuntwoman from the first chapter.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)