Wonderful Life

The days following the start of the Shishigami High School manga club beginning their work on the upcoming contest were tireless. The crew often spent time eating out at fast food restaurants rather than at home. Working late into the night, they found themselves tucked away in a booth at their local WcDonald's, snacking on handfuls of french fries and chicken nuggets, their hands in constant motion as they performed their respective roles.

"Minami, stay awake. Do you need another coffee?"
Sakai Akinari patted his girlfriend on the back, shaking her gently.

"Hm? Oh, Aki... I'm okay. Just a few more pages."
Yamaguchi Minami's head was starting to nod forward, her eyes squinting at the screen tone clad paper before her.

"It's not safe to work with blades while you're sleepy, Minami-chan."
Tan-Tan pried the utility knife from Minami's fingers, gently guiding her head to Akinari's shoulder.

Standing up from the salt-crumb-covered table, Nishi stumbled to regain his balance.
"I'm getting some more coffee. Anyone want some?"

To nobody's surprise, everyone raised their hands.

"Right, I figured."

"I'll go with you, Nishi-senpai. I could use a good stretch."
Tan-Tan stood from her leather seat, cutely arching her back as she extended her small, tired limbs over her head.

"Thanks for all of your hard work, Tan-Tan. You're sacrificing your free time and sleep for my dream. I don't even know what to say."
Nishi held a small plastic button, the scorching brown liquid spewed into the paper cup below.

She shook her head.
"It's not just your dream anymore, Nishi-senpai. It's all of ours."

"Still, 80 pages is a lot of stress for a bunch of amateurs like us. Maybe Tetsunori-sensei will treat us to a party after we submit our work."
Nishi gave her a handsome, crooked smile.

Her eyes lit up, an excited gasp escaped her lips.
"Yes! I can't wait!"

The two approached the booth where they had set up their workspace for the night. Looking down, they saw Akinari and Minami leaning against each other, their eyes closed in a peaceful nap. If the manga club were a regular job, Akinari and Minami would be considered the morning shift, while Nishi and Tan-Tan worked the graveyard hours. Nishi couldn't help but chuckle to himself after thinking such a silly thought.

"I guess it's settled. Let's crash at my place tonight."
Nishi gently poked Minami's cheek.

"Hm? A sleepover at Nishi's? We haven't done that since freshman year!"
Minami yawned; despite being half asleep, she was excited to spend the night in familiar surroundings. Gathering their belongings, the teenagers trudged down the street toward the train station; their weight shifting to one another for support.

"Mom, I'm home. I brought the club members."
Nishi slipped his shoes off, motioning for his gang to follow suit.

"Nishi, dear? Did you say you brought Aki-kun and Minami-chan?"
Appearing from the living room, a 5-foot-4-inch woman wearing a flowing nightgown and a pair of bright, fuzzy socks, sleepily smiling at the 3 familiar faces, raising an eyebrow at the 4th.

"Oh, a girl? Nice to meet you; I'm Aoi Kuromoto"
Her lips curled upward, secretly excited about the revelation.

"Mom, this is Tanaka Shina. She joined the club a few months ago."
Nishi gently led the small girl closer to his mother.

Bowing her head low, Tan-Tan hid her flushed cheeks from view; her long hair draped over her face.
"I'm Tanaka Shina. Thank you for having us over, Kuromoto-san! We'll try not to be a burden."

Nishi's mother giggled quietly and patted the girl on her head.
"Nonsense! You're welcome to stay over whenever you want, Tan-Tan."

Tan-Tan's eyes widened upon hearing her nickname come from Nishi's mother.

"You know my nickname?"

Nishi's mother put a hand on her curvy hip; her smirk looked eerily similar to Nishi's signature grin.
"Indeed, Nishi never shuts up about you. Tan-Tan this, Tan-Tan that. You must be quite special to him"

Nishi immediately covered his mother's mouth, his eyes widening in horror. His own cheeks were turning a deep, crimson red.
"Mom! That's enough!"

Akinari hid a creeping chuckle behind his knuckles.
"Thanks for having us over, Kuromoto-san."

"Anytime, dear. How's your mom doing?"
Nishi's mother, Aoi, started ruffling Akinari's short, black hair.

"She's doing well, thanks."
He leaned into her playful ruffling, his eyes closed in blissful familiarity.

"Minami-chan, did you get even taller? You're at my eye level, now!"
Aoi played handsies with the pretty redhead, visibly pleased to see Nishi's friends growing into young adults.

"We promise to be quiet, Kuro-chan!"
Minami giggled, the childish nickname rolling off her tongue.

"You kids go have fun, I'll bring some tea and cake up later."
Aoi waved to Tan-Tan specifically, locking mischievous eyes with the small girl.

"Your mom seems fun, Nishi-senpai."
Tan-Tan followed the group upstairs, heading toward a door covered in various posters regarding the films of Yuasa Masaaki.

"Oh yeah, this is your first time at Nishi's house, Tan-Tan-chan!"
Minami immediately burst through the door, getting a running start before jumping on Nishi's mattress.

"Jeez, Minami. We aren't in middle school anymore, you can't just flop around on my bed like the old days."
Nishi sighed, his eyes secretly loving the sight of her rolling in his blankets.

"Ah, still just as comfy as I remembered!"
She buried herself deep in his comforter, giggling softly as the warmth lulled her into a peaceful trance.

Stepping into the bedroom, Tan-Tan gasped loudly. Her eyes trailed the various shelves, jam packed with hundreds, if not thousands of manga titles; the walls showing not a single speck of paint, as there were posters all the way up to the ceiling. She gazed up at the top of the shelves, studying the various limited edition figurines of popular anime and game characters. She said the first thing that came to her mind.

"Otaku."

Nishi's eyes narrowed with guilt, and his shoulders sagged.
"Tan-Tan... I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an insult."

"S-sorry! It's just... wow. I've never seen a collection like yours, Nishi-senpai. I don't even know where to begin looking."
She dashed around the room like a child, staring daggers into all of his manga.

"CLASP, Natsuki Takayama, Naoki Takeucho, Ai Yazuya! Nishi-senpai, you have so many popular authors!"
Her hands rapidly flipped through the pages of a copy of a popular magical girl series.

"I'm glad you like my collection, Tan-Tan, but please be careful with them."

Akinari squatted beside Tan-Tan, who was already engrossed in a volume.
"Nishi collects a lot of lewd figures too, you're just too short to see them atop the shelves."
He laughed and nudged Tan-Tan's shoulder.

"N-N-Nishi-senpai! Is that true?!"
Her judging stare bore holes into Nishi's eyes.

"W-what?! No, Aki is lying!"
Nishi quickly shook his head, looking more suspicious by the second.

"Then show me! Show me you're not a pervert!"
She placed her hands on her hips, her lips pursed in a pout.

"Fine!"
Suddenly, an unexpected move from Nishi; his ultimate combo! Wrapping his large hands around Tan-Tan's underarms, he lifted her by the torso toward the ceiling. A faint squeak escaped her lips, she hovered in the air above everyone else. For the first time in her life, she felt tall.

"Nishi-senpai! Wah!"
She squealed with surprise, her hands instinctively pulling her skirt closer to her body to avoid accidentally flashing her friends.

"Go ahead, Tan-Tan! Look for yourself!"
Nishi shut his eyes respectfully, trying his best not to peek at the slivers of exposed skin on her body in his arms.

Her eyes landed on the figures on top of his shelving units. There was a thin layer of dust coating the bases that held them upright. To her surprise, not a single one of them could be considered sexy. Sure, there were the occasional swimsuit figures of popular female game characters, but they weren't anything explicit.

In the background, Akinari began cackling with joy. His little scheme went exactly as planned. Not only did he create a fit of harmless mayhem, but he also ensured Nishi and Tan-Tan had an unforgettable moment together.
K.O.
Akinari wins.

"See what you caused, Aki?!"
Nishi set the girl down, immediately narrowing his eyes toward his best friend, who was now petting the sleeping Minami on her head.

"I thought it was pretty funny."
He turned to smile at the bed.

A soft knock on the door caused the three conscious club members to turn their heads. Enter, Aoi Kuromoto.

"Hey, you rowdy bunch. I brought some oolong tea and mochi cakes."
She gracefully placed a tray of goodies on Nishi's center table, a stark contrast to her usually carefree personality.

"Thanks, Mom. Sorry if we were-"

"Oh, please. I'm just glad to hear you all having fun. Don't mind me."
She stepped out, giving Tan-Tan another once over.

"Your mom is so pretty, Nishi-senpai."
Tan-Tan sipped on a cup of steaming oolong tea, her hand immediately grabbing a mochi cake to stuff in her mouth.

"I guess so. My father used to tell me she was a heartbreaker back in the day."
He grinned as he nibbled on the corner of his snack.

Tan-Tan studied his face. She recalled a previous conversation with Nishi's older brother, Souichi. He had mentioned something about his parents divorcing a decade ago. It made her happy to see him not taking the situation too seriously; the fact that he was able to speak kindly of his father must have meant they were still on good terms. Pulling out her sketchbook, she tucked her feet under her bottom, a wooden pencil gripped between her slender fingers.

"I'm down to write a few more pages if you are, Nishi-senpai."

With his mouth covered in the remnants of mochi cake, he let out an excited breath, nodding his head.
"Right. Let's grind!"

"Right!"
She pumped her fist in he air.

"You ready, Aki?... Aki?"
The two turned around. Resting on the edge of his bed, Akinari's head was slumped over Minami's, a blissful smile on his face.

"I guess it's just us, Tan-Tan. Let's surprise them when they wake up. Let's finish the rough drafts!"
Nishi extended his fist toward Tan-Tan's

She crashed her knuckles against his, her adrenaline skyrocketing.
"Yes! Let's do it, Nishi-senpai!"