I totally agree! I always felt that Kuze was suspicious right from the beginning and have never really liked him since. His actions and attitude towards Atsumu didn't help. He's completely manipulative, and I hope Atsumu gets away from him, or that Kuze gets some retribution. But knowing that this is yaoi....*sigh* One can only dream.
I'll grant you the "It's yaoi" explanation is a good point. Yaoi can be a safe place to explore dark ideas, and one of the things that makes that possible is suspending disbelief about how some real life dynamics work. I guess I am sour because I just don't like Kuze either. :)
Poor Atsumu, I hope he quickly learns...he is really confused cuz of being ostracised and bullied that he just trusts a person by their nice act not of good character. Good is different from being nice. ┗( T﹏T )┛
totally agree with you! That's why chap9 was sad,it seems like the author will ignore this and give us a fake happy ending. Chap9 should have had consequences,at least for Kuze. When it was shown kuze story about his pet,I thought that was the perfect way to end the relationship. Kuze killed the relationship with his possessiveness like he did with the bunny,it could have been a good parallelism and a good lesson as well.
Although I know the difference between manga and RL, I think the Kuze/Aysumu story demonstrates the cycle of abuse, and leaves us with the false impression of a happy ending by stopping the story in the "honeymoon" phase. People who work with domestic violence victims have identified a pattern many of these relationships go through called the cycle of abuse. First, there is a tension building phase where the couple starts to have little issues (like making your partner feel vulnerable or controlling whom they talk to--see chapter 7). This is followed by acute abuse--battery or rape or something horrible (chapter 8). Then there is a honeymoon phase, where the partner acts sorry and makes grand gestures to win back the abused person (chapter 9). This is the most loving and addictive part of the relationship. However, in time, tension builds again and another episode of abuse is inevitable. The more the abused person believes in the abuser or blames others for the abuser's actions, the harder it is to leave.
I think Kuze's has not really changed, as shown by his lack of remorse towards Azusa and unwillingness to stand up with Atsumu and leave the game (even if it means the two of them against everyone else unless they can convince others to join them). Kuze is the same person who was playing the bully back here in chapter 1:
http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/caste_heaven/bt/243426/Ch1/5
Kuze was just as bad as Asuza, if not worse. Kuze actually enjoys the game and thinks it should continue. Kuze just wants Atsumu to be his bunny.
Atsumu is getting stronger, but he still falls for Kuze's remorse and kindness act. Unless Atsumu starts to wise up, it is only a matter of time till Kuze abuses Atsumu again. Kuze can blame it on the game or the group thinking, but what happened in chapter 8 was just abuse, and no group is responsible for it.
That being said, I enjoy the manga and I am looking forward to more Azusa in chapter 10.