Challengers (manga)

Challengers (チャレンジャーズ) is a shōnen-ai manga by the Japanese manga artist Hinako Takanaga, who also authored Little Butterfly and The Devil's Secret. The sequel to Challengers is The Tyrant Falls in Love.

Plot
The student Tomoe Tatsumi moves to Tokyo to attend university. There, he runs into Mitsugu Kurokawa, a Japanese office worker who is fascinated by the helpless and naive Tomoe. Kurokawa is attracted to Tomoe and offers to let him live as a sub-lessee in his apartment. Tomoe hasn't enough money for another place to stay and accepts his offer. Kurokawa confesses his love to Tomoe and kisses him. Tomoe doesn't know his own feelings and is confused and irritated, but he seems to have feelings for Kurokawa. Their relationship develops gradually, but not without interference from various friends and relatives.

Tomoe's short-tempered older brother, Soichi Tatsumi, is suspicious of the living arrangement and tries to get Tomoe to move back home. Soichi is homophobic because he was nearly raped by his professor at university. His grad student assistant is gay and has a crush on Soichi. Their story is told in the sequel, The Tyrant Falls in Love.