Love knows no bounds on the frontier.
Stranger (ストレンジャー) is a western-romance BL manga written and illustrated by Kuku Hayate in 2011.
It was the ye-olde Wild West. Fran the Town Sheriff was running an errand when his horse suddenly died and left him stranded in the middle of the desert. With his only means of transport to civilization gone, Fran spends days aimlessly wandering through the scorching heat and is about to give in to the cusp of death until a Native American named Toto saves his life.
Fran quickly becomes enamored by Toto who likewise feels the same but trouble is slowly brewing due to the former's past misdeeds finally catching up to him.
Not to be confused with the 1942 novel The Stranger.
Contains the following tropes:
- An Arm and a Leg: Fran manages to barely survive the final shootout but his left arm had to be amputated from being shot straight through the sholder.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Doc Wood was built up to be Fran's greatest enemy and ex-right-hand man who sworn vengeance on abandoning his crew. However, he gets slashed down first by Fran, truly showing that Doc can never surpass his former boss with his cowardice, whereas his remaining lackeys lasted longer than him and even one giving him an almost fatal bullet wound.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Fran used to be a notorious bandit who engaged in murders and robberies with his posse but has now shown remorse for his wrongdoings and works as a town sheriff. Unfortunately, his gang, especially his ex-right-hand man Doc Wood, came back to haunt Fran as they track him down wanting to kill him for abandoning them.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: While it did cost him an arm and a few chest wounds, Fran finally left his old criminal life behind after tying up loose ends by shooting his ex-partner dead and scaring off his remaining mooks. This allows him to spend his remaining years travelling the West with his lover Toto and rescue folks from suffering the same fate of dying in the desert that Fran almost went through.
- Gay Cowboy: Fran the Town Sheriff grew close and fell in love with a Native American named Toto.
- Gender-Blender Name: Fran is mostly considered a feminine name but was given to the tough and gritty town sheriff with a Dark and Troubled Past.
- Plot-Triggering Death: Fran's horse dies in the middle of the blistering desert which is bad since it leaves Fran completely stranded without food, water or shelter and all hope is lost... Until Toto came across his almost withered body, nursed him back to health and kickstarted their budding romance.
- Rescue Romance: Toto saves Fran from the brink of death in the middle of the scorching desert. Touched by his kindness, the latter begins falling in love with the former who likewise reciprocates his feelings.
- Tom the Dark Lord: Fran was previously a notorious criminal who coldbloodedly killed his subordinates should they step out of line and yet his Gender-Blender Name did not suit his image at the time. Similarly, Fran's right-hand man who took over the gang with an iron fist and is up on Wanted Posters everywhere is called "Doc Wood".
