Manga Sick

Dawn crept its way through the blinds of the manga club room as Tetsunori Shinpachi sat with his torso leaning halfway out the window. He held a lit cigarette in his right hand, and a volume of Azurbön gripped in his left. Having just come from a concert and a bar moments before arriving at the school, he knew he was in for another restless day of teaching. The sounds of students flooding the hallways rattled his brain: schoolgirls giggling loudly and boys shouting curse words. Having taken more headache medicine than any human should, he swigged his cup of coffee; trying his best to read Tan-Tan's leftover shoujo manga before class started.

Tetsunori walked the halls of Shishigami High School, casually tucking his shirt into his slacks. He waved off rowdy students and found his way to his seat, surprised to see his favorite student, Kuromoto Nishi, working on a manga manuscript while the other students chatted. Tetsunori leaned against Nishi's desk, his clothes smelling of freshly burned tobacco.
"How's the manga going?"

Nishi adjusted his glasses and gazed up at his teacher. He let out an exaggerated sigh, knowing all too well homeroom class was going to be another 'Silent work time' since Tetsunori had been out drinking all night.
"You reek of booze, Sensei. I'll bet you're still drunk as we speak."

The bachelor of a teacher let out a hearty bellow of laughter. The flesh around the corners of his eyes crinkled, showing signs of aging, despite being only twenty-seven years old. He fiddled with Nishi's G-pen, skillfully spinning it through his fingers.
"Do you know why I've been the manga club advisor for five years?"
Tetsunori's signature feline-esque smirk returned to his face.

"Because you like flirting with high-school girls?"
Nishi's eyes narrowed with an unamused grimace.

"No, idiot. Because I love manga. Much like you, I was a passionate, aspiring illustrator. Sometimes, things just don't work out, but you have potential. Never stop applying yourself, Kuromoto-kun."
Tetsunori flicked Nishi across his forehead for the harsh words, but his eyes were gentle and inviting.

"Yes, yes, you've told me this story a million times, Sensei. But, for what it's worth, you always know just what to say to encourage me."
Nishi smirked in return, knowing that deep down, he always saw Tetsunori Shinpachi as something of a mentor to him; often referring to him as Jiroya-sensei when the two were bantering.

"Just promise me you'll base a character off me when you make it big. One with a handsome face and a harem of busty women!"
Tetsunori laughed heartily.

"If you're the standard for 'handsome' then the future of Japan is doomed."
Yamaguchi Minami appeared at her desk beside Nishi's; playfully chiming into the conversation with her own remark.

"Oh, come on, Yamaguchi-san. You know I'm a natural born lady killer!"
Tetsunori shifted his body to face Minami, silently awaiting a moment of praise.

"Ew, gross! The only handsome men in a fifty kilometer radius are Aki and Nishi!"
Minami pouted, her cheeks slightly puffed in retaliation.

Nishi hung his head low, his eyebrow twitching from the many distractions preventing him from finishing his manuscript.
"I appreciate you calling me handsome, Minami, but you shouldn't throw that word around so carelessly when you have a boyfriend."

"Aw, but it's true! Tan-Tan-chan is such a lucky girl to have you!"
Minami playfully stuck out her tongue, showering her best friend with some much deserved commendation.

"Your romance talk is making me feel all mushy. Nishi, you better start pumping out more pages for Minami to work on before she kills me with all this girly talk."
Tetsunori stood from the edge of the desk as the bell signaled the start of a new school day. As the late students began piling into class, the already napping teacher decided to cut them some slack.

The members of class 2-B enjoyed a laid back morning, each student finding a way to occupy themselves and one another. There was a sense of camaraderie hanging loosely in the air; as the term approached its end, the students waited patiently for the day they would become third-years. It was already winter, and Nishi felt the pressure to finish his latest manga before the current seniors moved on to graduation. He was determined to show the school that they were in the presence of the next god of the manga world.

Lunchtime brought the members of the manga club together. They stepped into the club room, which reeked of cigarettes from Tetsunori's careless smoking habit, but the atmosphere was busy and eager. Nishi handed his friends a few pages of his manuscript, instructing them on how and where he wanted the final touches to be placed. Akinari and Makoto found themselves enjoying each other's company, quietly chatting about something related to an upcoming manga release. Minami and Tan-Tan remained glued to Nishi's side, annoying the tired boy with gossip about Azurbön volume ten.

"And then, when Princess Nana finally confessed her feelings to Kip, I was all like, oh my gosh!"
Minami shouted directly in Nishi's left ear.

"Me too, Minami-chan! I didn't expect the writer to make a confession scene so early in the series!"
Tan-Tan shouted in his right ear.

Nishi grumbled from his seat, gently pushing the girls away from his personal space.
"I suppose it is pretty uncommon for romance series to have confession scenes early in the series, but please work on your pages."

"Yes, sir!"
Minami saluted.

"Of course, Nishi-senpai!"
Tan-Tan hugged his arm.

"Now that I think about it, you two ended up getting together pretty quickly after Minami and I did. I guess like Azurbön, real life confessions happen spontaneously too."
Akinari spoke softly as he gazed up from his work, noticing the irony of the situation.

Nishi's cheeks flushed pink, he turned his head to avoid blushing in front of his peers.
"Well... Tan-Tan saved me from a pretty dark time in my life. I owe her more than just my love."

"Nishi-senpai, that's embarrassing!"
The small girl buried her face in his arm, but her ears were visibly red.

"She's doing it again! She's acting like a shoujo protagonist! Look at how cute she is!"
Minami pointed an accusing finger at her small friend, audibly embarrassing Tan-Tan in front of the other club members.

"Nobody is acting like a shoujo protagonist! I thought I told you to work on applying screen tone!"
Nishi let out a flustered shout to put an end to Minami's childish behavior; yet, he couldn't help but cherish her silliness. As the lunch bell rang, the manga club finished another uneventful noon, not accomplishing a single thing they had set out to do.