The Night We Stood

Sakai Akinari let out a quiet yawn. His slim limbs quivered above his head as he shook off the remnants of a peaceful night's sleep. He checked his surroundings; next to him was his pretty girlfriend, Minami, quietly snoring under Nishi's blankets. Turning his head, he was met with a remarkable view. Nishi and Tan-Tan were hand in hand, their heads resting against the kotatsu table covered in eraser shavings from a sleepless night.

"Those idiots, they actually did it!"
His hand carefully pried the papers from beneath Tan-Tan's cheek, a few drops of dry ink splattered around her outer lips. He inspected each page; to his surprise, they were complete. They had actually done it! Minus the screen tone and final touches, the rough drafts were done. A breath of fresh air escaped his lips, and he couldn't be prouder of the duo for their efforts.

Stirring from her blanket cocoon, Minami lazily yawned, her body shifting onto the floor beside Akinari, her lips meeting his in a sweet morning kiss.

"Good morning, handsome."
She poked his nose with her index finger.

"Check it out, Minami. They really did it!"
He stuffed the papers in her hand, his eyes full of excitement.

"Holy crap! Aki, it's actually done!"
She flipped through the stack of thick, fibrous white paper. Her eyes were glued to the drawings as she quickly scanned over the words and letting out a few chuckles at the comedic scenes.

"You know what we have to do; right, Minami?"
Akinari grabbed a bundle of miscellaneous screen tone.

She gripped a utility blade in her hand.
"Yeah! Let's surprise them when they wake up!"

12: 30 PM, Nishi arose from his table. Letting out a disgruntled moan, he straightened himself to face the couple.

"Here you go, Nishi-chan~"
Minami adorably slid his glasses onto his face, giving his hair a pat.

"Minami? What about the-"
He looked down at the table. Next to the sprawled out silver hair of Tan-Tan, who was still asleep, there were little clippings of screen tone everywhere. His eyes began to focus; before him was the surprise of the century- the rough drafts had magically been turned into complete copies.

"Aki, Minami?! Did you..."
His excitement couldn't be contained. He immediately flipped through the 80 pages, each one looking like a real, authentic manuscript.

"Hehe, we did! You can thank us by treating us to lunch!"
Minami patted her stomach, signifying she was in need of some well deserved nourishment.

"Lunch sounds good, and no more WcDonald's. I want okonomiyaki."
Akinari's arm wrapped around Minami's shoulder, his eyes gentle and relaxed.

"You guys."
Nishi's eyes prickled with tears, to which he quickly wiped away. His dream was finally complete, he knew he would have to spoil the living hell out of his friends for their indomitable spirit. He nodded his head frantically, immediately returning to his signature smirk.

"Okonomiyaki, it is."

"Mmm. Did someone say okonomiyaki?"
A head of bright silver hair emerged from the table, the girls cheeks smeared with a thick streak of black ink.

'Tan-Tan-chan! You're awake!"
Minami immediately pushed Akinari away, smothering the small girl with a forceful hug; nuzzling into the crook of her neck.

"Minami-chan? What's this I heard about okonomiyaki?"
Tan-Tan petted the silky red hair of Minami, her touch light and gentle.

"Look what Aki and Minami did while we were asleep, Tan-Tan!"
Nishi shoved the manuscript into her hands.

"What- No way! Sakai-senpai, did you two-"

"Sure did. Nishi's buying us lunch, get that ink stain off your cheek, Tanaka-san."
Akinari gave her a handsome grin, handing her his cell phone; the camera app was open.

Bringing the phone to her face, she gasped. Behind her panicked hand scrubbing away at her cheek, she was blushing.

The opening of the vibrant wooden door caused a bright, golden bell to ring to life. The four club members were greeted with a boisterous-
"Welcome in! Sit anywhere you like!"
To which they obliged, scooting into a dark, fabric laced booth.

"Nishi-senpai, I want extra mayonnaise on mine!"
Tan-Tan swayed side to side, her mouth already salivating from the smell alone.

"Me too! Put the whole bottle on mine!"
Minami slammed her hands on the table, rocking it back and forth.

Steadying the table, Akinari gently pried Minami's hands away, saving the restaurant staff from kicking them out.
"The whole bottle is too much. Let's just take it easy on the mayo."

The sizzling of pancake batter echoed through the air, the scent of sweet and savory wafting around the crew like incense smoke. Assembling a mountain of cabbage and various seafood, Nishi smothered the top with a generous helping of mayonnaise; the girls squealed with excitement. He sliced the round patty into four quarters, making sure Tan-Tan's was the prettiest looking out of the bunch.

"Dig in, guys. After today, we'll be real manga artists."
He raised a glass of melon soda.

"Cheers!"
The four clinked the rims of their cups against each other in unison; a display of unbridled camaraderie shone with youthful exhilaration. The day passed by in a blur of fun, each club member expressing their hopes for the future. In the case of Minami and Akinari, they were happy enough to see their childhood friend's dream become reality. In the case of Tan-Tan, she couldn't believe her name would be featured on a shoujo manga magazine; her excitement was uncontainable. In the case of Nishi, he was in a daze; struggling to fully grasp the severity of the situation. Regardless, this was a much deserved celebration for their hard work.

"See you at school tomorrow, Tan-Tan-chan!"
Minami gave the tiny girl a large hug.

"See you tomorrow, Minami-chan. You too, Sakai-senpai."
She waved goodbye to the hand holding couple, following closely behind Nishi.

"I can't believe it's finally complete! Are you going to submit it tomorrow?"
Her eyes sparkled at Nishi, eagerly awaiting an answer.

"Yeah, I'm going to take the train to the post office after school. Want to tag along?"
Nishi smiled down at her, his own eyes filled with excitement. She nodded her head.

"I'll meet up with you in the club room, then."
He waved goodbye, a hopeful smile plastered across his face.

Nishi slipped his shoes off as soon as he got home. Walking into the living room, his mother, Aoi, was in the middle of trying to imitate a yoga pose shown on the television screen. He couldn't help but chuckle at her twisted posture, finding her antics amusing.

"The hell are you laughing at, kid?"
Aoi grinned at Nishi, her body resembling some sort of deformed demon from Shin Megami Tensei.

"Picking up a new hobby?"
He cleaned his glasses with his shirt fabric, thankful that his vision was temporarily blurred from the pretzel-shaped woman in front of him.

"Mhmm. It's good for blood flow. I'm not getting any younger."
Aoi let out a disgruntled groan of pain as she pushed her limbs to their limits.

"Don't you dare pull a muscle! I'm not helping run your shop if you get injured!"
He quickly stormed up to his room, eager to escape the display of patheticism downstairs. He tossed his tired body onto the mattress, curling himself into a fetal position. He took a deep breath, only to stop halfway through; his eyes narrowed with irritation.

"It smells like Minami's perfume. Ugh."
He tossed his pillow to the floor, indifferent to the floral scent of Maison Margaret. Lying on his back, he propped his hands behind his head, instinctively focusing on the white ceiling above him.

"So this is it, huh?"
He smirked.
Without even changing into his pajamas, Nishi immediately fell into a deep slumber. His efforts had finally paid off, and the exhaustion was beginning to catch up to him. That night, Nishi dreamed of Tan-Tan; her soft fingers caressing his scalp into a dreamy relaxation. He could smell her yuzu scented shampoo as she whispered sweet nothings in his ear. The sound of her giggles, the cuteness of her facial expressions; it was driving him girl-crazy. He could feel her tender lips against his cheek, a faint whimper of affection escaping her throat as she uttered the words he had been dying to hear.
"Kiss me, Nishi-senpai."

"Infernals approach us~ That infernal army~
We are being targeted by that dark shadow~
Protect the peace of this world!"

The familiar theme song of a popular Japanese tokusatsu hero show Nishi set as his morning alarm was blaring in his eardrums. Jolting up from his pillow, he felt around for his glasses.

"Seriously? I feel like I only just fell asleep."
The boy grunted as he silenced his cell phone.
Standing up, he noticed he was still wearing his Sunday street clothes.

Nishi's morning routine:
Every morning, Nishi starts his day by brushing his teeth. After a few minutes of mindless hand motion, he wiped his face with a hot, damp towel; letting the steam soak into his pores. The boy used his hands to fluff his hair, not bothering to apply any product or use a comb; he much preferred the 'It is what it is' mentality when it came to his appearance. He slipped into his school uniform, leaving middle unbuttoned to show off his anime shirt of choice on his way to school.

Downstairs, his mother, Aoi, could be found scurrying to throw together a simple breakfast; usually consisting of salted fish, rice and miso soup.

"Don't forget, I'm going to be home late."
Nishi spoke with a mouthful of rice.

"Rife. Yo maffuschrp."
Aoi nodded her head as she showered the table with chewed food.

"Holy hell, Mom! Speak or chew; choose one!"
He quickly pulled his bowl away from the spewing crumbs.

"I said, right, your manuscript."
She immediately stuffed an entire fish tail into her mouth.

"Yeah, my manuscript. School is going to feel like hell. I can't wait to get it in the mail."
Grabbing his school bag, he tucked the manila envelope carefully between his notebooks, ensuring they formed a protective barrier around the precious material inside.

"I'm rooting for you, kid. Go show those authors who they're messing with!"
Aoi's hand slapped across her son's back, leaving a small red mark in its wake. Tough love or not, it still hurt.

"Right, I'm off!"
He darted out the door, his back still stinging from the physical contact. Looking into the sky, Nishi felt proud of himself for the first time in a long while. The day of reckoning had come, and he was welcoming it with open arms.