Moving On?

May 29, 2015

“Thank you for coming out to meet me,” Shizuka said as she, Taiki, and another winner of the contest, Wakana Tanimoto, met up at a cafe. “I’m surprised you agreed to do this on such short notice, Iwakawa-san. Aren’t weekly manga series so much more demanding?”

“It helps when you’re five chapters ahead,” Taiki replied. “I can ride things out a bit. I try to stay at least three chapters ahead. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to just not work at all today. I got plenty of things to do after this.”

Shizuka then asked Wakana, “What about you? How demanding is a bi-monthly series?”

“It’s not as bad as a weekly one,” she replied to her before sipping on lemonade. “Sure, I may not get as much free time as you do, Hiratai-san, but I’m not constantly swamped.”

“I don’t know how you do it,” Shizuka then said to Taiki. “I could never do a weekly manga. I like my chapters a little longer, and that’s not really possible with your schedule.”

“Understandable,” he nodded. “It’s not for everyone. Mangaka all have their own strengths and weaknesses. I like how much content you two can fit in a chapter, actually. It’s more than I can do. I’m limited to no more than twenty-five pages, and most of my chapters are only around twenty due to me usually not having enough time for any more.”

Wakana then asked Shizuka, “So, on another note, have you talked to Furihata-san since you two broke up?”

“No,” she shook her head in response. “I want to give him time to cool down. It sucks, but… There’s not much else I can do.”

“I still can’t believe he was the one who ended it,” Taiki observed. “I for sure thought you would have.”

“I really didn’t want to, but… Maybe he does need space. As you know, he hasn’t been doing great given his editor breathing down his neck and the sales for My Girlfriend’s Past Life not being as high as originally expected.”

“I feel bad for you,” Wakana sighed as she finished the last of her drink. “You two seemed to really love each other.”

“That’s what I thought, too. I guess it was never meant to be.”

“You never know. One day, you two could make up.”

Shizuka took a deep breath, having a bit of a problem with what Wakana had said. “Tanimoto-san, I don’t do that. I’ve lived my life by the mantra that once I break up with someone, I’m done with them. I don’t care if I still harbor feelings for them. I cannot allow myself to fall back in love with someone who I’m no longer in a relationship with.”

Confused, Taiki asked her, “Why?”

“Because in high school, I had a boyfriend that I was on-and-off with, and after our third relationship, I vowed to never do that again, no matter how much it hurt.”

Wakana and Taiki look at each other, both of them confused and worried about what Shizuka had told them. The latter asked her, “But doesn’t that mean you’ll hurt yourself in the process?”

“I dealt with the pain of being with someone on and off. I don’t want to do that to myself again. I’d rather deal with the pain of heartbreak than that. Me and Tak- I mean… Me and Furihata-san will never be together again.” The fact she had stopped using his first name completely was another sign of how much she wished for this to happen and to move on from him. “Despite the pain, I will move on. I need to focus on my work, much like how he needs to focus on his. It’s the only way either of us will stay sane in the aftermath of our breakup.”

Taiki thought to himself as Wakana remained silent, “Something else must have happened involving that high school boyfriend Hiratai-san mentioned. This isn’t normal, but… I don’t want to press it.”

Shizuka then chuckled and told the duo, “Sorry for bringing the mood down, guys. It felt good to get some of that shit off my chest, though.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Wakana assured her. “Truth be told, it’s good to connect with the other winners. I’ve been so busy with my manga series that I really haven’t had much time to do so, so meeting up with you guys has been fun.”

…

May 31, 2025

As Shizuka was reading her emails early in the morning before getting to work on Break The Ice, she saw she got an email regarding a commission in her PictoView account and began typing back a response accepting it. “Wow,” she said to herself. “This guy’s willing to pay me ¥25,000 for this. That’s really high, especially for only two pages of art.”

She then saw a new email pop up, this time from her editor. She quickly clicked off of the commission email and clicked on the email from Daichi, and when she read its contents, she gasped in shock.

Hiratai Shizuka

You’ll probably get an email from the higher-ups soon enough about this, but I wanted to pass this along at the personal request of Furihata Takeo-san.

He has decided that due to the low sales of his work, he will be canceling My Girlfriend’s Past Life after the third volume. He talked it over with the executives back at the office, and they agreed that given everything going on, it was for the best that the series be brought to an end. He also was in a lot of conflict with his editor, and found that he could not deliver the story he wanted.

Because he chose to terminate the story on his own, he will no longer work for Shimizu or have any affiliation with us. After his third volume is released, any planned release of merchandise or reprints of the volumes will be canceled. There will also be no advertising for his third volume’s release. Also, effective August 31 of this year, all traces of My Girlfriend’s Past Life will be removed from our websites. Furihata-san agreed to all of these terms, and stated that he wishes to move on and forget about his work with us.

Obuchi Daichi

Shizuka closed the email out and took a deep breath as she sat back in her chair. “Oh my God… He did it himself… He’s self-destructing…” She began to cry, once again blaming herself for what was going on before slamming her fist on her desk. “God damn it! It’s all my fault! He threw away everything because of me!” She then buried her face in her arms and the desk as she sobbed, unable to start work given the mood she was in.

After crying for several minutes straight, she finally got herself under control and took several deep breaths as she wiped her face and the desk of tears. She realized that no matter what she was feeling, she still had a job to do, and picked up her pencil and ink pen to begin work on Break The Ice once more. She closed out the email from Daichi and closed her laptop, closing her eyes for a brief moment as she took one final deep breath to clear her mind before opening them again and getting to work.

“I have to work,” she said to herself as she began to draw a panel on a brand new page. “Whenever I’ve suffered… Whenever I’ve dealt with pain or tragedy… My only true solace has been in art. Whether it’s drawing or writing, this is my only real comfort.”

…

June 4, 2015

Shizuka read that month’s edition of Monthly Girl Step as she sipped on her morning coffee, in particular reading over Chapter 3 of Break The Ice. Despite everything that had happened, she remained determined to work on her manga, and as she read the chapter, she remarked to herself, “Good to see my work is still going strong.”

She then heard the doorbell ring and put the magazine down to go answer it. She peered through the peephole and found Wakana on the other side, and as she unlocked and opened the door, Wakana asked her, “I assume you already know about Furihata-san?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “They sent me an email about it. It sucks.”

“It does. How are you taking it?”

“I was pretty torn up about it,” Shizuka admitted. “But the only thing I can do is retreat back to what makes me happy and gets me through even the shittiest days, that being art, of course.”

“I can relate.”

“You wanna come in?”

“Sure.”

As Wakana walked into the apartment, which had been getting progressively messier ever since Sunday, Shizuka apologized to her for its state. “Sorry for the mess. I’ve been working like clockwork to make a whole new chapter of Break The Ice, so I haven’t had a ton of time to clean up. Don’t worry, though, it’s not a biohazard.”

Wakana chuckled and admitted, “My place isn’t much better, I’m afraid.”

“I wonder how Iwakawa-san’s place is.”

“It’s a fucking mess.”

Curious, Shizuka asked her visitor, “Wait, you’ve been there?”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you.” Wakana softly laughed as she explained, “Me and Iwakawa-san started dating. He was really self-conscious about how his apartment looked, but I told him it’s alright.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yep. It’s only been about a week, but so far, things have gone alright.”

As Shizuka walked over with a cup of coffee and handed it to Wakana, she asked her, “How much older is he compared to you?”

“He’s five years older than us. We’re the same age.”

“Ah, so he’s twenty-nine… Or close to it.”

“He will be in two months. His birthday is on September 11th.”

Shizuka, who was sipping on coffee, spat some of it out upon hearing the day Taiki’s birthday was. “Wait, he was born on 9/11?!”

Laughing at her reaction, Wakana replied, “I knew you’d say that as soon as I mentioned it, and yeah, he was born on 9/11, although he was fifteen when it happened. It definitely killed the mood on his birthday that night.”

“Holy shit, talk about bad luck, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess. Anyway, how have you been holding up with everything going on?”

“Like I said,” Shizuka explained after taking a sip of coffee. “Writing and drawing have always been a way for me to find comfort after something happens to me. Whenever I dealt with personal drama or had something sad happen to me, I would just pull out a sketchbook or a notebook and begin making art. I find myself at my most comfortable when I’m drawing or writing something. I guess that’s why I wanted to become a mangaka, or at least one reason why.”

Wakana nodded in agreement. “I’ve done that, too. I remember when I lost my dog in high school, and I dealt with the grief of losing him by drawing a short comic about him. Doing that really helped me cope with his death. Some days, I’ll find that comic and read it, and when I do, it’s like he’s still here with me all these years later.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“It’s fine,” she assured her. “It was seven years ago. I still miss him, but I’ve moved on. I have a cat now, and she’s three years old.”

“Aww, nice. What’s her name?”

“Koko. She’s a Japanese bobtail and she’s just the cutest thing.” She gushed about her cat to Shizuka, clearly caring for her very much. “Sometimes, she’ll accidentally knock over something, and honestly, I won’t even get mad. I can’t stay mad at something with a face so cute.” She then pulled out her phone and showed Shizuka a picture of Koko. “Take a look.”

“She’s adorable,” Shizuka replied, agreeing with Wakana. “You know, I’ve wanted to get a cat or some kind of pet, but I don’t know. I feel like I wouldn’t have enough time given I work so much between Break The Ice and my art commissions on PictoView.”

“It’s not for everyone, but honestly, I don’t think time will be a big problem for you. It’s up to you, though. I don’t want you to rush into it and then realize you made a mistake if you find out you’re not cut out for it.”

“You’re probably right.” Shizuka then pulled out the most recent issue of Rose Song and flipped to the pages where Wakana’s manga was shown. “You know, I really think this manga of your’s has the potential to be special. For many years, josei manga have gotten shafted when compared to the amount of promotion the other demographics get. Maybe this will turn things around a bit.”

“Nah, nah, nah,” Wakana downplayed. “I don’t think my manga’s that amazing. It’s good, but I wouldn’t say it’s groundbreaking.”

“Manga doesn’t have to be groundbreaking to be huge,” Shizuka pointed out. “Plenty of series copied various tropes from their predecessors and didn’t offer a lot of new things, and they still went on to massive success. I think a strength of your’s is your worldbuilding, even if your manga takes place in a pretty realistic setting. When what you’ve set up this early into the manga, I can really picture myself being there with the other characters.”

Blushing a bit from Shizuka’s compliments, Wakana replied, “Awww, thank you, Hiratai-san.”

…

Meanwhile, in Saitama, a young girl of about twelve years of age with very short dark blue hair was reading an issue of Monthly Girl Step while at school before classes began. She was engrossed by what she was reading, in particular Break The Ice. “Wow,” she whispered to herself. “The characters look so pretty. Hiratai-sensei is so good at this…”

She was then interrupted by a classmate of her’s calling her name. “Akari-chan.”

“Huh?”

“What are you reading?”

Akari looked up from the magazine and told her classmate with a somewhat nervous tone of voice, “I’m reading Monthly Girl Step. There’s a new manga in here called Break The Ice that’s really good.”

“Break The Ice?” The girl walked around Akari to read the manga. “Hmmm… It looks like it’s about boys and stuff.”

“It’s about a girl who wants to make more friends,” Akari replied. “She becomes friends with a boy, and I think they’re gonna be a couple eventually.”

Her classmate shrugged. “Eh, it doesn’t really interest me. I don’t read a lot of manga.”

Another girl in the same class mentioned to her, “Hitomi-chan, don’t you secretly read your big brother’s volumes of Uncontrollable Battle?”

Embarrassed, Hitomi replied while rubbing her cheek with a finger, “I, uh… I don’t know what you’re talking abou-“

Akari asked her, “You read Uncontrollable Battle too?”

“She does,” replied Hitomi’s other classmate. “She’s lying when she says she doesn’t. I don’t like the blood in it, and it looks a little too scary for me.”

“It’s not for everyone,” Akari pointed out. “We aren’t even supposed to be reading it. My parents would probably kill me if they found out I read it.”

“Whatever,” Hitomi replied to her. “So what if I read it? I’m not super into manga anyway.”

“Oh… Okay…” Akari felt dejected, having seemingly destroyed another chance to connect with someone else in her school due to her status as a young otaku. She thought to herself as Hitomi and the others gradually ignored her, “There I go again, shooting myself in the foot. I wonder if I’ll ever actually meet anyone who’s as into manga and art as I am…”