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S (Light Novel) #3
S, Vol. 3: Split
For almost a year now, Shiiba has been using Keigo Munechika as his “S,” his spy, to get information on the gun dealings of the Yakuza world. Shiiba uses his body in exchange for Munechika’s sensitive information... and only his body as far as Shiiba is concerned. Shiiba vows their relationship will not go beyond that.
But when a rowdy young man with a penchant for piercing and an enigmatic Yakuza leader cross paths with the young detective, sins of the past are unearthed once more-sins that just might shatter the fragile bond between the detective and his “S.”
But when a rowdy young man with a penchant for piercing and an enigmatic Yakuza leader cross paths with the young detective, sins of the past are unearthed once more-sins that just might shatter the fragile bond between the detective and his “S.”
200 pages, Paperback
First published February 27, 2006
7 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
About the author
Saki Aida
25 books56 followersSaki Aida（英田 サキ）is Boys Love (BL) author of Japan.
Birthday: January 3, Zodiac signs: Capricorn, Blood type: AB. Born in Osaka, Japan.
Saki Aida was one of the disciples of Azusa Nakajima (Another pen name of Kaoru Kurimoto ) Kaoru Kurimoto is very famous author of "The Guin Saga series", and at the same time she is known as a Boys Love author in Japan. In addition, she contributed as a founder of the genre of the Boys Love novel.
There is a possibility that pirated editions are included in this page. Because, there are pirated editions and illegal download sites of Japanese books in overseas. This has very serious problem in Japan. If you like this author, stop reading by illegal means for the author's copyright.
Birthday: January 3, Zodiac signs: Capricorn, Blood type: AB. Born in Osaka, Japan.
Saki Aida was one of the disciples of Azusa Nakajima (Another pen name of Kaoru Kurimoto ) Kaoru Kurimoto is very famous author of "The Guin Saga series", and at the same time she is known as a Boys Love author in Japan. In addition, she contributed as a founder of the genre of the Boys Love novel.
There is a possibility that pirated editions are included in this page. Because, there are pirated editions and illegal download sites of Japanese books in overseas. This has very serious problem in Japan. If you like this author, stop reading by illegal means for the author's copyright.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 24, 2022
Yep. Solid 3 this time though. Translation was way better.
This is so weirdly a harem series. I'd forgotten about that.
This is so weirdly a harem series. I'd forgotten about that.
May 28, 2024
Another solid entry into the series, which I have learned is my go-to expression when a book perfectly meets the expectations I had for it and does nothing else. I do not mean this in a bad way; I really enjoyed this volume because it was exactly what I expected it to be -- a standard return to form after volume 2 took us a bit off the rails (with a heavier focus on side characters and some truly OCC behavior from Munechika and Shiiba).
And by a standard return to form, I mean it had everything I have learned to expect from this series:
- Shiiba endangering himself to investigate and getting nowhere because of it (yes king, give us nothing)
- Shiiba making the worst decision at any given moment (x, like, 5) (look I love him but he NEVER makes the correct choice to the point where "reckless disregard for his own safety and well being" is a defining character trait, right up there with "should have just talked to Munechika first or in general and got some support") (I cannot wait to see what happens in volume 4 b/c I just know, in my heart of hearts, Shiiba made another bad choice when he should have just talked to Munechika instead <3 I love you disaster detective Shiiba)
- Shiiba's emotional and mental state slowly being cracked and frayed due to all the trauma and stress he keeps experiencing, which I won't lie, I do love (it makes me go yayyyy, yippie! because I love hurt/comfort and shattering/healing)
- Shiiba and Munechika's relationship slowly continuing to spiral in on itself, which will either end in ruin or a strong mutual bond built on connection and trust. Or both, if we're lucky.
- Munechika being surprisingly emotionally vulnerable and open about his past and feelings for Shiiba, which I still find super refreshing; it's such an uncommon character type to find in BL novels and manga from the early 2000s, especially from the 'seme' character, and one with his background.
All in all, I just really like this series! Yeah, it's kind of simple and definitely is more of a light read with the overall plot not being that complex, the overarching antagonist not being that built up [yet?], characters making stupid or just seemingly pointless choices, and the kind of baffling trope of all characters just liking the MC(like, I usually don't mind this because the MC is shown to be unique or have significant interactions with other characters, but for Shiiba, no offense baby but literally what does anyone see in you? There aren't any of these deep moments to really warrant everyone being drawn to him, aside from his looks, connection to Munechika, or personality? I guess?) (I just keep comparing this phenomena in my head to Akihito's similar circumstances in Ayano Yamane's Finder, and while characters are initially interested in him due to his connection to Asami, his interactions with them escalate their interest as they see him as a unique individual and not just something to steal or use to hurt Asami) (this, however, does not seem to be the case for Shiiba, as it seems like people are interested in him because he's Munechika's and not for any deeper reason, aside from Shinozuka). It is flawed. It's a light read. I won't deny it, lol. But It's my guilty pleasure read. I love it. I think it's so fun. And Munechika, as I mentioned above, is a huge part of that for me. He is really unique as a character in this genre (BL), sub-genre (yakuza/police), and time period (early 2000s), and I find his relationship with Shiiba really compelling. I also really like Shiiba; he just cannot catch a break and even though I say he makes only bad choices, he makes the choices he feels he needs to in order to achieve his goals or the choices he thinks he can make because he is missing important information or doesn't realize that like every man he meets is about to join his harem ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Like, he is really doing his best, it's just never enough due to his lack of self awareness or access to the full picture. He does need to hone his self preservation instincts tho. Like big time.
And by a standard return to form, I mean it had everything I have learned to expect from this series:
- Shiiba endangering himself to investigate and getting nowhere because of it (yes king, give us nothing)
- Shiiba making the worst decision at any given moment (x, like, 5) (look I love him but he NEVER makes the correct choice to the point where "reckless disregard for his own safety and well being" is a defining character trait, right up there with "should have just talked to Munechika first or in general and got some support") (I cannot wait to see what happens in volume 4 b/c I just know, in my heart of hearts, Shiiba made another bad choice when he should have just talked to Munechika instead <3 I love you disaster detective Shiiba)
- Shiiba's emotional and mental state slowly being cracked and frayed due to all the trauma and stress he keeps experiencing, which I won't lie, I do love (it makes me go yayyyy, yippie! because I love hurt/comfort and shattering/healing)
- Shiiba and Munechika's relationship slowly continuing to spiral in on itself, which will either end in ruin or a strong mutual bond built on connection and trust. Or both, if we're lucky.
- Munechika being surprisingly emotionally vulnerable and open about his past and feelings for Shiiba, which I still find super refreshing; it's such an uncommon character type to find in BL novels and manga from the early 2000s, especially from the 'seme' character, and one with his background.
All in all, I just really like this series! Yeah, it's kind of simple and definitely is more of a light read with the overall plot not being that complex, the overarching antagonist not being that built up [yet?], characters making stupid or just seemingly pointless choices, and the kind of baffling trope of all characters just liking the MC
February 1, 2018
A better return to form and the standards set by the first novel in the series. Unlike the placeholder 2nd volume, the characters feel back to their normal Vol1 selves with very little input from Vol2. Shiiba tells us that the events of Vol2 led him to a new revelation, but since this was never actually since Vol2 at the time, we could just as easily have jumped from Vol1 to 3 and not missed a thing, with Shiiba making the same decision/vow off the events of Vol1.
Vol3 introduces two new characters and finally reveals the on-going antagonist of the series. There's some more squicky content, but considering that it comes from the bad guys I'm more willing to accept that Shiiba and Munechika can move past it as it isn't their own choices/behaviour in question.
Shiiba and Munechika actually seem half on their way to a mutual, mature relationship in this volume which was great to see after the trainwreck that was Vol2. (And yet another reason why I think this novel follows better from Vol1, as it seems a natural progression from there, completely ignoring the domestic violence of Vol2.)
Ends with a bit of a cliffhanger and a dumb-ass decision, but of course we need to add some more drama and tension for the next - and final - volume.
Rating: 3.5 stars, rounding down to 3 - not as great as Vol 1, but much improved over Vol2
Vol3 introduces two new characters and finally reveals the on-going antagonist of the series. There's some more squicky content, but considering that it comes from the bad guys I'm more willing to accept that Shiiba and Munechika can move past it as it isn't their own choices/behaviour in question.
Shiiba and Munechika actually seem half on their way to a mutual, mature relationship in this volume which was great to see after the trainwreck that was Vol2. (And yet another reason why I think this novel follows better from Vol1, as it seems a natural progression from there, completely ignoring the domestic violence of Vol2.)
Ends with a bit of a cliffhanger and a dumb-ass decision, but of course we need to add some more drama and tension for the next - and final - volume.
Rating: 3.5 stars, rounding down to 3 - not as great as Vol 1, but much improved over Vol2
October 23, 2023
The story really starts to pick up in this one. Way more engaging.
April 30, 2021
Out of all the books in the series I re-read so far, I remembered the most out of this one. Not important plot details, but little things like some key-words and some names. That might be thanks to the fact that unlike the first two, here we have an actual villain.
But before that, I still love it very much. In this third book Shiiba confronts with a new set of challenges and his relationship with Munechika is put under pressure. Shiiba has been trying to sort out his feelings since the start, since he and Munechika started working together, but as expected, he gets even more troubled. I love how Saki Aida displayed his internal struggle, it gets the reader to really understand and relate to Shiiba (not me, but I'm sure there are readers out there who do).
Munechika is mostly as calm as ever, but we also get more emotion from him too, and get to learn a few things about him. Just to be clear I didn't feel like I didn't know him before, au contraire, it's just that now we had a chat and shared a few things, so to say.
The plot this time is more exciting, things get a little more serious in a way and we get closer to whatever is going on with Munechika. In the previous two novels Munechika's brother was mentioned, but here we finally get to meet him. I had mostly forgotten about him, apart from the fact that he existed, so I was expecting a different kind of character, although my expectation didn't differ completely. I mentioned that here we get a villain and that one sure makes things more tense. There are also a lot of leads we get and try and string together (reading I did remember details on the plot so I didn't get to have fun again with that, but it's fine, I still enjoyed it) and the ending of the novel makes me want to start reading the next one immediately.
I am delighted to say that the timeline finally settled, we have a definite age for Shiiba (28 years old, turning 29), a definite passing of time since Yukari's murder (8 years because a year passed since the start of the second book) and I wish that'll be all I have to say about it this time, but I can't, although this is the most minor flaw so far. At one point Shiiba was pondering about Kaname's age and settled to Kaname being older than him, but younger than Munechika. Later in the book when he finally learned that Kaname is older than Munechika by three years, he was surprised as he was expecting Kaname to be much, much older, and I just... sigh.
I liked the illustrations by Chiharu Nara as usual, but this time I felt like they helped get everything together. On the previous book I said I didn't think they were necessary, but nice, whereas here I feel like they are part of the story. There are the same number of illustration in each book so it's not that, but here we have a few illustrations that don't feature one or both main characters every time so that might have something to do with it. Either way, I found it to be very interesting.
Needless to say I loved this book very much as well, I am embracing my bias, and I am so glad to re-read this series.
But before that, I still love it very much. In this third book Shiiba confronts with a new set of challenges and his relationship with Munechika is put under pressure. Shiiba has been trying to sort out his feelings since the start, since he and Munechika started working together, but as expected, he gets even more troubled. I love how Saki Aida displayed his internal struggle, it gets the reader to really understand and relate to Shiiba (not me, but I'm sure there are readers out there who do).
Munechika is mostly as calm as ever, but we also get more emotion from him too, and get to learn a few things about him. Just to be clear I didn't feel like I didn't know him before, au contraire, it's just that now we had a chat and shared a few things, so to say.
The plot this time is more exciting, things get a little more serious in a way and we get closer to whatever is going on with Munechika. In the previous two novels Munechika's brother was mentioned, but here we finally get to meet him. I had mostly forgotten about him, apart from the fact that he existed, so I was expecting a different kind of character, although my expectation didn't differ completely. I mentioned that here we get a villain and that one sure makes things more tense. There are also a lot of leads we get and try and string together (reading I did remember details on the plot so I didn't get to have fun again with that, but it's fine, I still enjoyed it) and the ending of the novel makes me want to start reading the next one immediately.
I am delighted to say that the timeline finally settled, we have a definite age for Shiiba (28 years old, turning 29), a definite passing of time since Yukari's murder (8 years because a year passed since the start of the second book) and I wish that'll be all I have to say about it this time, but I can't, although this is the most minor flaw so far. At one point Shiiba was pondering about Kaname's age and settled to Kaname being older than him, but younger than Munechika. Later in the book when he finally learned that Kaname is older than Munechika by three years, he was surprised as he was expecting Kaname to be much, much older, and I just... sigh.
I liked the illustrations by Chiharu Nara as usual, but this time I felt like they helped get everything together. On the previous book I said I didn't think they were necessary, but nice, whereas here I feel like they are part of the story. There are the same number of illustration in each book so it's not that, but here we have a few illustrations that don't feature one or both main characters every time so that might have something to do with it. Either way, I found it to be very interesting.
Needless to say I loved this book very much as well, I am embracing my bias, and I am so glad to re-read this series.
June 3, 2012
Wow, this installment in this series is really meaty. We get to see all the players more clearly and understand where everyone stands. Let's be honest there are things that as a westerner I just don't get but it is a solid work by Saki Aida. Keigo Munechika is tough and passionate in the best way. Masaki Shiiba is a odd character to me. He's a strong cop but he is always being outsmarted and molested. Oh well, on to the last installment.
July 28, 2015
This one was so crazy intense! Ahhh I love this series so much, the drama is thick and it works and I feel so bad for Shiiba, even if he is a bit of an idiot... poor guys. And holy crap, Godou and Motoaki are insane...
April 17, 2016
Many developements as I might say... It was good to get a further inview of Shiina but Munechika is still a bit mysterious although some parts were developed.
I'm looking forward reading the forth - and last - volume.
I'm looking forward reading the forth - and last - volume.
June 6, 2012
Whoa! That was sexi! I don't know why but I really think Godou is sexi, and I love him but I also hate him for what he did to Munechika and Shiiba... Ah, I'm looking forward the next volume ♥
May 10, 2015
OMG! This was sooooo good. I was nearly in tears at the end. It can't end like this for Shiiba & Munechika. They have to be together.
September 9, 2023
"You vowed never to betray me. I made you the same vow. You can ask for my help anytime. You're never alone."
April 28, 2017
After having found books 1 and 2 in a free book box, I was compelled to buy the remaining two and find out what happens, which kind of fascinates me, because I wouldn't call these particularly good books. They must be better than I think, though - and the ending of this one was vicious.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews