Where It Began

My name is Yamada Kyosuke.

I am currently in my second year of middle school.

And I have a secret that no one knows.

And no one can know about this. Not even my family.

No one knows that I have…

I Have…

I have a romance manga that I make!

No one must absolutely know this but I write and draw a secret romance manga about me and my ideal girlfriend.

The truth is, I am a hopeless virgin who looks like a main character in an adult anime. Not to mention my height is always the subject to poke fun at!

There’s nothing wrong with being short, okay?! I’m still a growing boy!

And girls at my school are all jerks. They always look at me with disgust just because I look like a pervert.

My barber gave me this haircut, not me! And the glasses that my mom chose for me doesn’t give me justice either!

And it sucks because I don’t have friends in my class too. 

But that’s okay, at least Nanako-chan understands me. Nanako-chan is my ideal girlfriend who will always love me no matter what. She’s cute, loving, kind, knows how to cook and clean.

An ideal wife material indeed!

“What’s wrong?” 

I turn my gaze to see Kichiko rummaging through her bag frantically.

“My phone! I forgot to bring it!” Kichiko complained.

“Jeez, again? This is fourth time in a row this month you keep forgetting to bring your phone.” Her friend, Miko sighed.

Kichiko Rakki. The girl with an infamous bad luck in our school. Everyday she would at least get one bad luck hit her.  Literally.

She got hit by a bucket, a basketball, tripped in front of everyone while holding the last mango pudding, yet survived through multiple injuries and still made it out with a smile.

Suddenly, Hajime-sensei slammed the door and came running to Kichiko and then kneeling on the floor.

“Kichiko-san! I need your help!”

“Eh? What’s wrong, sensei?!”

He pulled out his phone and a gacha banner screen was seen.

“Please pull Yelena for me!!!”

Kichiko was seen to be a little bit taken aback but grinned afterwards.

“That would cost you 2000 yen.” Kichiko said.

“Yes, yes! I’d pay any amount (as long as it’s within my budget) just please help me get my waifu!” Hajime-sensei begged.

“Okay!” Kichiko agreed, taking his phone from his hand and pressed the gacha button.

Everyone surrounded her to see the results, even if they already know that she would win the 50/50.

Personally, I think gacha games are a waste of time and money. It doesn’t bring any benefits to anyone and have short timespan of happiness. Manga however is a way to simply relax and immerse yourself in the story. Like how me and Nanako-chan going out to a library date and —

“Woah! 6 copies of Yelena and 2 copies of Mary.” Kichiko announced.

“What?! Two of my waifus came home?!” Hajime-sensei shrieked before begging her again. “Can you pull Song of Sirens too?! I’ll pay you any amount you like (as long it’s within my budget)!”

“I wish I could sensei but…” She showed him that he doesn’t have enough Crystals Shards to pull for his banner.

“You didn’t farm for the Crystals.” 

“NOOOO!!! YELENA IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT HER SIGNATURE WEAPON!! EVEN WITH DIAMOND 6 SHE’S USELESS WITHOUT SONG OF SIRENS!!!” Hajime-sensei weeped on the floor.

“How hopeless.” Miko sighed.

I agree with you, Miko-san.

“That’s just how brutal Black Roses can be.” She said, shrugging.

Gacha games has always been brutal!

Whatever, it’s none of my business. The main priority here is how to move the plot further…

I’m stuck with Neneko-chan asking MC on a date. But I feel like the plot is too rushed. And the chemistry between Neneko-chan and MC is barely there.

How do I move the story further…?

“Yelena-chan… Huwaaaaa!! I’m sorry I couldn’t give you your weapon…!!!”

Ergh… the sound of sensei weeping is disrupting my inner monologue. I need to go to the library after class.

.

.

.

As I stepped into the school’s library, no one was there to disturb me and my manga making process.

Perfect!

I laid out my book on the table, my pencil case and a few volumes of Lemonade Kiss. The top tier romance manga made by Urumi-sensei! 

Urumi-sensei’s stories are always heartwarming and relatable for boys like me. And the girls in the stories are cute most of the time. 

I wanna be like Urumi-sensei one day. Making romance manga despite being a boy without any knowledge about love. 

But that’s okay! Romance manga is enough to show how love can be a wonderful experience. Especially teenage love.

Nanako-chan is an outlet for me to express my ideal girlfriend in a relationship. It can be a little unrealistic but she’s what I look in a girl.

Cute, petite, wears modest clothes and most importantly: shorter than me!

I’m 156 cm so a girl around 150 below is ideal for me. But not too short though! 

The sound of door sliding open startled me as I looked up to see Kichiko stepping in, with a bento in her hand.

“Yamada-san?” Kichiko eyes widened to see me at my usual spot before grinning and walk to my seat.

I quickly hid my book and manga under my arms, and realized that it looked suspicious.

“Kichiko-san… What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to go eat somewhere else?” I asked.

“Nah, I usually eat here alone by myself. But seeing a familiar face makes me happy.”

Familiar face?

She then sat down without asking my permission and prayed for the food before eating it in the library.

“Uhm… You know it’s not allowed to eat in the library right?” I informed her.

“Is it? No one seemed to care though.” She said in between chewing before swallowing it. “Besides, no one came here before so it’s fine.”

“But…” I tried to say something but she then looked at my desk and saw my Lemonade Kiss manga volumes.

“Oh, I didn’t know you’re into romance manga.” She said, taking another bite of her food.

“Haha, me? Romance? Nooooo… I don’t like romance manga. That’s totally lame.” I awkwardly laughed to brush it off that she did caught me red handed.

Then my pencil fell down to the ground and I went to pick it up. But when I sat back up, Kichiko is already picking up the manga I wrote.

“H-hey! Give it back! You’re not supposed to read it!” I said, trying to snatch the book away but she evaded it.

I tried to take it away from her but she stood up and raised it up high as she flipped another page.

“This…”

I looked at her with grimace, knowing that she’s going to ridicule me and calling it trash. She’s going to tell everyone how horrible my manga is and how Neneko-chan’s characteristics is unreal and disgusting. 

“It’s trash, I know—“

“It’s amazing!”

Huh?

“I like the way you draw the girl! She’s so cute! And the MC is so cool and handsome! The plot needs a little more refining but overall it’s a good story! The character design is what hooked me the most however!”

“You’re a talented mangaka, Yamada-san!”

And suddenly, I felt a surge of happiness and joy inside my chest. Like sakura petals blossoming inside me and my body felt light.

“T-thanks…” I said with bashfulness in my voice.

“So what’s MC’s true name actually?” She asked.

“Ah, uh… He doesn’t have a name…” I murmured.

“Eh why?” Kichiko tilted her head.

“Because he kept it as a secret.”

It was a lie. MC is just a self insert of me but I couldn’t let her know that or otherwise she’d think I’m a loser!

“I see.” Kichiko nodded. “So is she going to confess to MC then?”

“I’m not sure… If I do that the plot would lose its meaning but I don’t have any ideas on how to progress it further.”

“Hmm… Maybe make her doubt herself if she’s good enough for him or having the fear of rejection.”

I pondered to myself. Maybe that’s not a bad idea.

But before I could process it, Kichiko’s seat suddenly broke down and she collapsed on the ground.

“Are you okay?!” I shrieked.

“Yeah… Don’t worry about me… Ow..” She winced in pain before standing up and brushed herself off.

Guess her bad luck is still here.

“See? Perfectly fine!” She grinned.

“Ah… Right…” I can only nod my head, a little worried for her.

“Oh! I should get going now! Miko is definitely searching for me.” She picked up her bento, cleaned it up a little before jogging her way to the door.

“I can’t wait to read your manga, Yamada-san! Please let me know if it’s going to be updated!”

She ran out of the library, leaving me behind.

I could only watch her from afar before instantly panicking.

Crap! She knows that I make manga and now she wants to read it?! This is bad!

What if she just wants to make fun of me? What if she talks shit about me and my story to her friend and my class? What if she actually thinks it’s stupid for a virgin boy like me write a romance story?!

I’m doomed!

…

But she did gave me advice on how to progress the plot. Maybe I should listen to her advice. Just for the sake of Nanako-chan.

It’s not like I’d let her read my manga anyway.

.

.

.

After that day, Kichiko-san would follow me around the school despite me ignoring her presence.

And now she’s peeking in front of my desk.

“Can I help you?” I awkwardly asked, playing it cool as if we didn’t interact for the first time before.

“Has it updated yet?” She asked, with that hopeful look in her eyes.

“Uhm… No…” I murmured.

“Aww man…” She pouted.

“Eiji, catch!” A boy threw a ball to the guy behind our back but it landed on Kichiko’s head.

“Ow!” Kichiko yelped in pain, her head hitting my table.

“Oh shit. Sorry, Kichiko-san!” The boy apologized.

“Oi! You suck at aiming, Ruiji-san. Go play somewhere else or improve your aiming skills!” Miko scolded them before assisting Kichiko to the infirmary.

“Are you okay?” Miko asked her.

“Yeah.” Kichiko could only mutter in a soft voice, limping her way to the infirmary.

I could only watch as they both disappeared from the sight and sighed. 

Well, she was hoping that I continued the manga I make so maybe I should draw a little just to make her feel better.

.

.

.

“Here.” I passed my sketchbook to Kichiko, whose head was bandaged from the impact her head felt.

She looked happy and surprised that I gave her my manga and quickly flipped it open to read.

She flipped a few pages and quickly finished reading to the part where I ended the chapter. And to my surprise she looked absolutely thrilled by my story.

“I like it!” She said, with happiness beaming on her face.

“Really?” My eyes widened to receive the positive feedback from her.

“Yeah! I can’t wait for the next chapter!” She said.

I can’t help but to feel some sense of pride hearing that. And I’m happy that I got a loyal reader who enjoys my story.

I’m definitely going to write and draw more!

“Oh by the way, Yamada-san.”

“Hm?”

“I forgot to bring my bento and my wallet so can you buy me a mango pudding please~?”

“Ehhh?! Ask Miko to buy it for you!”

“I did but she said I owed her a lot of money. Please Yamada-san! I’m starving…!!”

“Okay, fine! Jeez, you’re hopeless.” 

“You’re gonna buy it for me? You’re the best!”

“Just make sure to pay it back.”

“Okay~!”

I walked out of the infirmary and quickly rushed to buy mango pudding before it sold out.

Without noticing, I left my sketchbook at the infirmary with Kichiko-san, who was admiring my art.

A story between an aspiring manga artist and a girl with tremendously bad luck in life yet extremely lucky in gacha games starts here.