In Print

April 9, 2015

“And with that,” Shizuka said to Takeo, who by now was living with her part-time. “Break The Ice is officially in print.” She held up that month’s issue of Monthly Girl Step, showing off the first two pages of the story with pride in her eyes. “It still feels so weird to actually hold this and see my work in a manga magazine.”

“It looks wonderful, Shizuka,” he told her before giving her a kiss. When the two split, he showed her the magazine his light novel was being serialized in. “And Chapter 4 of My Girlfriend’s Past Life is also in print. We’re just three more chapters away from the entirety of Volume 1 being serialized, and so far, readers like it.”

“Hopefully they love my work too, Takeo.” She then picked up a copy of that month’s issue of Afternoon Riders, which contained a picture of the main character of Uncontrollable Battle on the cover with a major announcement next to him. “And would you look at this? They’ve announced a second season for the Uncontrollable Battle anime adaptation for October 2015.”

“Oh yeah,” Takeo replied as he read the announcement on the cover. “I remember some guys at the office talking about that! I can’t wait!”

“Me neither,” Shizuka said, fangirling over the manga alongside her boyfriend. “The first season was so fucking good! I can’t wait to see them adapt the Siege of Hell’s Gate Arc! That arc’s my favorite in the whole story.”

“So, what do you got planned for the day?”

“I got a meeting at Shimizu plus a little work party to celebrate publication. I should be free after six in the evening if you wanna, you know…”

“I’ll be free by then,” Takeo replied before giving Shizuka a long kiss, which she gladly returned as they wrapped their arms around each other. The two then split off from each other before they both broke down in laughter. “Did I surprise you?”

“Yeah, a bit.” Shizuka then got up from her work desk and grabbed her bag. “Well, I’m off to work. Have a good day. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” With that, the two lovers both walked out of Shizuka’s apartment and went their separate ways for the day.

…

In a meeting room at the offices of Shimizu, Daichi, Shizuka, Taiki, Kyosuke, Michi, and several others were all congregating together as they celebrated the first chapters of Break The Ice and The Tale of Yuga being published today. Kyosuke began the celebrations by saying as he raised a wine glass, “Congratulations to our two newest published mangaka, Hiratai Shizuka-sensei and Iwakawa Taiki-sensei! Today, their respective manga have made their debut in Monthly Girl Step and Afternoon Riders!” Everyone clapped for them, earning a smile and slight blush from Shizuka. “Now, let’s all celebrate a bit. These two have earned it after all the hard work they’ve put in. Besides, they both got plenty of work to do very soon, so for now, we all can relax.”

“Indeed,” Michi agreed. “Congratulations to both of them, and a toast to a job well done!” All of them then took a sip from their wine glasses, after which Michi joked, “I know day drinking exists, but drinking at 9:30 in the morning’s really pushing it.”

The rest of the room laughed before they began to converse among themselves. Shizuka began talking to Michi in particular, the two of them having formed a friendship in the months since January. “I’m glad you made it, Anzai-sensei.”

“Of course,” he replied. “I was a judge this year, after all. It wouldn’t be appropriate if I skipped out on this. By the way…” He then pulled out his phone and opened up a photo app to show her something. “Remember this fanart you sent me?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“I wanna do an art swap,” Michi explained as he showed her art of Uncontrollable Battle’s main character slaying a dragon she had drawn. “Can I draw Ichigo from Break The Ice? I’ll include your art of Robert in the next volume release of Uncontrollable Battle if you include my art of Ichigo in your first volume release of Break The Ice.”

“Wait, really?!”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “It’ll be a good way to cross-promote our manga. Besides, your art’s really good.”

“Would your editor be okay with it? I mean, my story’s not exactly in the same genre or demographic as Uncontrollable Battle.”

“It’s fine. I got serious pull around here due to my seniority.”

An excited Shizuka replied, “I’d love to!”

…

“I don’t know about this,” Daichi explained as Shizuka and Michi talked to him about the art swap idea. “I mean, both stories are pretty far apart from each other. Sharing art among each other is one thing, but printing it for a volume release is another. It might be too jarring given the separation between seinen and shojo.”

Shizuka, disappointed in Daichi’s answer, replied, “Are you sure, Obuchi-san?”

“Come on, Obuchi-san,” Michi explained. “I love shojo manga. I read a lot of it when I was younger. Some of the things in Uncontrollable Battle are inspired by tropes from shojo manga. My editor doesn’t have a problem with it.”

“I get it,” Daichi replied, trying to convey that he understood what Michi was saying. “But a concern of mine isn’t so much having art from a shojo manga in a seinen manga. It’s having art from a violent seinen manga in a shojo manga that doesn’t have too much violence. Some pretty young kids read shojo manga, too.”

Thinking that they had lost their battle with Daichi, Shizuka sighed and defeatedly said, “Okay. I wo-“

“Hang on,” Michi then pointed out. “You know this art isn’t gonna be run in the actual magazine for Monthly Girl Step, right? It’s mostly older and dedicated fans who buy the volume releases since they cost more money. I don’t think there’s much of a risk, honestly. Besides, Hiratai-san’s manga has violence in it. There’s that whole kidnapping plot she mentions.” After a brief lull in the conversation, he looked Daichi straight in the eye and told him in a somewhat demanding tone, “I urge you to reconsider and allow this, Obuchi-san.”

Realizing he was not going to get anywhere, Daichi relented. “Okay, okay, I’ll see what I can do. However, if there’s any complaints from the higher-ups, I won’t be happy.”

“Thank you,” Michi replied with a bow. As Daichi walked away, he told Shizuka, “Was that your first conflict with an editor?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “Or at least my first serious conflict.”

“Get used to it. You’ll run into plenty of those, and you won’t always win. In the end, sometimes, you gotta make compromises to get what your manga needs out there… Or your light novel for that matter. Speaking of, how is your boyfriend doing anyway?”

“The serialization of the first volume My Girlfriend’s Past Life is only three chapters away from completion,” Shizuka explained. “After that, it’ll take a break for five weeks before coming back with the next set of chapters for Volume 2. So far, readers seem to like it.”

“Hopefully it stays that way,” Michi said as he looked out over the many manga series that had paintings hung up on the wall in the hallway they were in. “Not every series makes it. Some get canceled before they can be fully completed. If they’re really unlucky, some are canceled in a way that they can’t be given an ending, although that’s usually reserved for when an author or mangaka does something really fucked up.”

“How fucked up?”

“Like, kill or rape somebody fucked up.”

Horrified by such an idea, Shizuka simply said, “Oh… That kind of fucked up…”

Taiki then walked over to the duo, having seen them down the hallway. “Hey guys!”

“Oh, hey, Iwakawa-san,” Shizuka said to him. “Me and Anzai-sensei were just talking about ways your manga or light novel series could get canceled.”

“Cancelation is the biggest fear of any author of any kind,” Taiki nodded. “Admittedly, I do fear it myself. You know why, Hiratai-san.”

“Yes, I know why. Have you told Anzai-sensei?”

“I already know,” Michi replied. “Iwakawa-san already told me. I told him to just go for it and see what happens. His editor is actually one of my editor’s assistants, so if there’s any problems, I’ll talk to my editor about it and pull strings to get that war crimes subplot put in.”

“Thank you, again,” Taiki said with a smile before giving Michi a bow. “I feel like it’s important that we tell the truth about history. We can’t just sugarcoat it.”

“Exactly. I personally don’t care if my work pisses off some whackjobs. It’s not my problem. Not to get too preachy, but I encourage both of you to think the same way if it’s about something related to history or the rights of people. We shouldn’t compromise on that shit.”

…

April 13, 2015

Shizuka was drawing the first few panels of what would become Chapter 4 of Break The Ice when she heard a call come in on her video messenger app on her computer. She clicked the answer button with her mouse and saw that it was Daichi. Fearing that he had bad news of some kind, she greeted him with a somewhat timid, “Oh, hey there…”

“I got an update on that art swap with Anzai-sensei,” Daichi told her.

“You do?” Shizuka thought to herself, “At this point, I’m expecting him to shoot down the idea.”

“Yeah. Strangely enough, the executives are okay with it. Some of them have some reservations, but as long as it isn’t running in the magazine itself, they’ll be fine with it.”

Surprised, Shizuka replied, “Wait, really? They said it’s okay?!”

“I was just as surprised as you are. I thought for sure they’d turn it down. I already told Anzai-sensei, and he’s in the process of making his art piece. He says you can either make a new art piece or use an existing one.”

“Oh, uh… That’s great! Of course! I’ll go start making some new art right away!” An excited Shizuka set aside the panels she was working on and pulled out a blank sheet of paper to begin drawing the art Michi needed. “Does he have a deadline?”

“It needs to be in by this Friday,” Daichi explained. “But I’m sure you’ll have it done well before then.”

“Absolutely,” Shizuka assured him. “I’ll send him an email real quick after this call telling him I’m making brand new art for Uncontrollable Battle.”

“Excellent. In other news, how’s Break The Ice going on your end?”

“I just started drawing Chapter 4 actually. I figured I want to stay ahead as much as I can so I don’t overwork myself.”

“Good idea. Speaking of making the manga, have you considered hiring any assistants yet?”

Shizuka thought about his question as she grabbed several pencils from a drawer. “Assistants… Huh… You know, I never thought that eventually I’d need assistants for my work. Should I pull the trigger early and get them now, or hold off until Break The Ice gets more popular and my schedule gets more crowded as a result?”

“Well, have you?”

“Oh, sorry,” she said to him, realizing she got lost in her train of thought. “I probably won’t hire any right now. If you see anyone you think would be a good fit in the future, let me know, though.”

“That’s fair. You are just starting out, after all. One last thing, by the way.”

“Yeah?”

“Did you complete those minor revisions for Chapter two I requested?”

“Yep,” Shizuka nodded. “I’ll scan them and email them to you tonight.”

“Thank you. Once those are all set, Chapter 2 will be all ready to go for the May issue.”

“Anything else?”

“Not really. I’m good. Have a good night, Hiratai-sensei.”

“You too, Obuchi-san.” Shizuka then hung up on Daichi and got up from her chair to grab a beer from her fridge. As she did, she checked the time in the clock and saw that it was 10 PM. “Wow, it’s ten in the evening already. Holy shit… I lost track of time. Oh well, it’s not like I have a day job to go to early in the morning anymore.” She then pulled the tab on the beer can back and opened it up, taking a sip as she walked back to her desk to begin her work, putting the can in a special cup holder on the desk so it would not spill its contents onto her work. “Alright, let’s begin with the art swap…”

As she began by drawing out the body lines for her artwork, she got a call on her cellphone and picked it up, seeing that it was Takeo. As soon as she answered it and before she had a chance to say anything, he told her, “I need you right now.”

“Huh? Takeo, what’s going on?”

“My dad passed away,” he told her through sobs. “Fuck, man… I… He had a heart attack back at home yesterday, and my mom didn’t tell me until literally thirty minutes ago.”

Shizuka could hear the sounds of cars and trucks through the phone, leaving her deeply worried. “Where the Hell are you?! You sound like you’re next to a road!”

“I’m just walking around right now,” he said as he sniffled. “I just… I needed to get the Hell out of my place. Can I stay with you for a few days? I need space away from my roommates for a bit while I deal with this and plan a trip back home.”

“Hang on,” Shizuka said as she got up and began to pack her things. “Tell me where you are right now.”

“Nah, it’s fine. You’re probably bus-“

“Shut up and tell me!”

A frustrated Takeo told her, “Okay, fine! I’m at Akihabara station!”

“Stay right there. I’m coming to get you.” Shizuka then hung up and put her cellphone away before grabbing a small pocketbook and putting her shoes on. She then ran out the door to try to find Takeo before something happened to him. She worried that perhaps he would do something that would get him hurt in his grief, and wanted to stop him before that could occur.

…

Shizuka arrived at Akihabara station about thirty minutes later, and as she looked around through the crowds of people all around her, she searched desperately for Takeo. “Please, God, let me find him,” she whispered under her breath as she scanned the crowds, seeing if she could recognize him.

As she ran through the crowd, beginning to panic, she bumped into a drunk salaryman, who yelled at her, “Hey, watch it, bitch!”

“Sorry,” she apologized to him before quickly returning to her search. Then, she rounded a street corner and saw Takeo leaning against a street pole, looking down at his feet. “Takeo!”

He looked up at her with red eyes from how much he had been crying and said, “Shizuka…”

Shizuka ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. “Takeo, please, don’t scare me like this!”

“I… I…” Takeo returned the hug as he began to cry again. “Why… I lost my dad and I didn’t even know for a whole day…”

“There, there,” Shizuka comforted him. “It’s okay. I’m right here, Takeo.”

As he continued to cry, he admitted to her as his grip on her tightened, “Shizuka, I’m scared… I’m scared of myself…”

“I know. Be honest with me, please.”

“I almost did it…” Takeo tearfully admitted to his girlfriend something that she guessed was true but still horrified her. “I came this close to just ending it all on the train tracks, Shizuka, and I’m fucking terrified of that.”

“Please,” she whispered into his ear. “Don’t do this to yourself. I love you, Takeo.”

“You…” Takeo then took a deep breath and told her, “I love you, too, Shizuka.”

“Come on. Let’s go home.”

Referencing some texts the two of them had sent back and forth earlier in the day, he asked her, “But didn’t you say earlier you were busy wi-?”

“I can put off my work for now,” Shizuka assured him. “This is more important.”

…

In Shizuka’s apartment, Takeo sat down on the bed, still upset over his father’s passing and how he nearly committed suicide by train. Shizuka gave him a glass of water and told him, “Here. You’ll probably need it after all the crying you’ve done. You sound parched.”

“Thank you,” he replied before taking a sip and clearing his throat. “So… I… I came this close to walking onto the tracks…”

“How far did you get?”

“To the ticket stand,” he admitted. “I stopped at the last minute and called you. If you hadn’t answered the call when you did, I would be dead right now. I’m so sorry, Shizuka.”

Shizuka, sad that he had come so close to ending his life, wiped away tears from her face. “Takeo… I don’t know what I would do with myself if you really did do that. Please, stay here for a while. I don’t want you taking your life.”

“I won’t,” he assured her as he gave her another hug. “Trust me. I won’t. I just need to stay here for a few days.”

“I’m gonna keep an eye on you.”

“That’s fine.”

The two remained in a silent embrace, still taking it all in as they thought about what had happened and what Takeo had almost done to himself. Shizuka was heartbroken, knowing that had she not answered his call, he would have been run over by a train. Takeo, meanwhile, was dealing with the fact he had almost taken his own life plus the grief from losing his father.

Then, the latter broke the silence as they split from their hug. “Shizuka, I… I should probably tell you what’s going on fully. I owe you an explanation.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable,” she assured him.

“No,” he shook his head. “I owe it to you.” He took a deep breath and began to explain his family situation to her. “I haven’t lived at home ever since I graduated high school. I came to Tokyo to find work, and though I found it, my hours were long and hard, not to mention the work I put into writing my light novel series. I barely got any time to see my parents, and it strained my relationship with them. One day, my mother and I got into an argument, and we stopped speaking with each other until this happened. Until today, it had been five months since I spoke to her.”

Concerned, Shizuka asked him, “What did she say?”

“She said I wasn’t going to make it as a novelist,” he clarified. “And that I was wasting time writing when I could either be working more, going to college, or visiting home.”

Shizuka was horrified by what his mother had said to him. “She… She what?!”

“She feigned support for me for a year, and then she just took it away.”

“So you’re saying she said that right before you found out you won?”

“Basically, yeah. She told me that a week before I got the email and two weeks before Comiket.”

Now angered by what his mother had said, she muttered, “Holy shit… What the fuck is wrong with her?!”

“My father and I kept talking,” he further added. “And he told me to just give my mom some space. I did, but then she never talked to me until now. He always thought I would do good things, even though he didn’t fully understand being a writer of a light novel series, or being a mangaka for that matter.”

“Man, that sucks. My parents always supported me, even though I don’t see them as often as I used to anymore. When I told them I won, they were so happy.”

“My dad was, too.” Takeo began to cry again as he recalled how he reacted when he told him the news. “I told him, and… And he said he was so proud of me… Those words really motivated me to write even more…” As he broke down again, Shizuka hugged him and patted him on the back. “And now he’s gone…”

“I’m so sorry,” she told him as he continued to sob into her shoulder. “I’m here, Takeo.”

“Thank you…”

As his crying slowed down again, Shizuka looked him in the eyes and wiped away his tears. “Takeo, listen to me. You’re gonna succeed even more. Your novel is gonna be a hit. If someone tells you you’re not gonna make it, tell them to piss off. You’ve already made it in my eyes. Look, I’ve dealt with adversity before, and I’ve had some pretty awful experiences in my life. At times, it seemed like everyone was against me, and I would never succeed, but here I am. I’m still here, and now I’m a professional mangaka, and you’re a professional writer. We’ve already won.”

“You think so?”

“Absolutely. You’re going to be alright, Takeo. You just stumbled a bit, that’s all. I never knew your father, but from what you’ve told me, he sounds like he was a good man. Honor him, and do what he believed you could do, because it sounds like that’s what he wanted.”

Takeo nodded. “You’re right… I know you’re right… It’s hard, though, knowing that he isn’t here anymore.”

Shizuka explained to him, “He’s still here. You may not see him, but he’s watching you. My grandparents are watching over me every day, even though all but one has been gone for several years now.”

“I hope so.” Takeo then stood up from the bed and took a deep breath. “You know what? I need to start writing.” He bent down and reached into his bag to pull out his laptop. “Is it okay if I use the table in the kitchen to write?”

“Go ahead. No need to ask for permission.”

“Thanks.”

As Takeo walked into the kitchen to begin writing, Shizuka told him, “I’m gonna go back to work on Break The Ice. If you need anything, let me know.” She then sat back down at her desk and began to work once again on her art swap drawing with Michi, all the while still worried about Takeo’s well-being but glad that he was in safe hands now.