「CHAPTER 10」
After safely finis.h.i.+ng the storyboard, he began drawing immediately. This time,
he was ahead of schedule since his work was going smoothly. After he drew most of the
ma.n.u.script, he called up his a.s.sistants, but Yanase also came and acted as usual. Because
they had extra time, Yanase was training the other a.s.sistants with their techniques.
Remembering the conversation the other day, Yos.h.i.+no observed them and saw that
Nozomi was gazing at Yanase with loving eyes.
She really does like Yuu…
He began feeling bittersweet the more he watched her innocent behavior.
“…-sei, Sensei, are you listening?”
“Eh? What?”
“I knew it, you"re not listening. I said, I finished drawing in the minor characters
in this ma.n.u.script I"m holding, so what should I do next?”
“Oh, really? Then how about we take a break for a while? It"s perfect timing to do
it now. Everyone should take a break after finis.h.i.+ng some part of their work.”
“Oookay.”
“Oh, yes. Let"s have a tea break with the cake Nozomi-chan brought us. Is
everyone okay with coffee instead of black tea?” Yos.h.i.+no said as he wiped the tip of his
pen, put it down, and quickly, but making sure not to spill, closed the ink jar. This was
the appropriate time to take a break. Work effectiveness would increase that way.
“I"ll make coffee.”
Without waiting for an answer, Yanase got up, and Yos.h.i.+no called after him.
“Thanks for that. There are new flavors on that shelf, so use your favorite.”
“Mhm, okay.”
After Yanase looked at the coffee beans, he began to drip the coffee beans in the
usual manner. Yanase wasn"t thinking of Yos.h.i.+no and the others as he did this. He was
picky about coffee (actually, picky about all food in general), so he didn"t want to let
Yos.h.i.+no and the other a.s.sistants to get in his way. When he was busy, he made do with
instant coffee and take-out food for meals, but when he had time, he cooked his meals.
As Yanase pa.s.sed around the cups of freshly made coffee, he inadvertently spoke.
“Ah, that reminds me. I started working as a temp for Ijuin-sensei.”
“Ijuin-sensei? Do you mean the Ijuin Kyo?”
“Yeah. That Ijuin-sensei.”
“Eh-!? Seriously?” Yos.h.i.+no inadvertently exclaimed, because he was so
surprised. Ijuin Kyo was Yos.h.i.+no"s favorite author who wrote “The☆Kan”. He was a
popular manga artist who had his books serialized with many publishers. But a rumor
went around from his a.s.sistants that because he was so busy, working for him was quite
“cruel”. A manga artist"s crunch time could more or less be called tremendous, but to call
it cruel was too much. What kind of h.e.l.l lay before you once you entered that place?
“Yup. His a.s.sistants asked me to. It seems that the a.s.sistants got into a fight or
something and the ones who worked as regulars quit. Right now, only one newbie, who
can"t seem to draw backgrounds, is left.”
“Wow! That"s terrible… It"ll be hard to find immediate a.s.sistants.”
In a sense, it was hard to look for a.s.sistants who were specialists in a particular
technique and who had extra time in their schedule. It was probably especially virtually
impossible to find a type of person whom a picky author such as Ijuin approved of.
There are two types of a.s.sistants: The first type is in the process of becoming a
professional manga artist, polis.h.i.+ng and studying their techniques. They are the types
who help out the already professional manga artists. The other type is called professional
a.s.sistants who make their living doing a.s.sistant jobs as their specialty. This was Yanase"s
case. One way to find a.s.sistants is to put up a recruitment announcement in the magazine
you publish and on your official homepage. With this, you have a chance of recruiting an
a.s.sistant. Other a.s.sistants can be found through people you know, and the editor will ask
them if they would like to contribute to help. But there was not enough time for that right
now. After lurking around and using personal connections, talk of Yanase must have
come up.
“After they searched everywhere, they came to me. They said I don"t have to sign
with them, so I went there to give it a try this month.”
“Ohhh. I see. Ah, but that"s really good!”
“Jealous?” Yanase smiled proudly at Yos.h.i.+no, who was in agony.
“Of course I"m jealous! I want to be his a.s.sistant too! I want to see his new 
ma.n.u.script for ‘The☆Kan’!!”
“What"s there for you to do, Chiaki? You need to draw your own ma.n.u.script.”
But Yos.h.i.+no did not back down even though Yanase had a very good point.
“Th- then, get him to sign one of his comics for me!”
He had been half-joking when he said he wanted to go work for Ijuin as an
a.s.sistant, but him being a fan and wanting Ijuin"s signature was true. One time, Ijuin had
a book signing, but Yos.h.i.+no had to give up on going because the place was kind of far
away, and the time conflicted with his schedule. When the signing had been in Tokyo,
Yos.h.i.+no had gone behind Hatori"s back and stood in line there.
“Don"t be crazy. I want it myself, but I can"t ask something like that. Even if I"m
just temporarily working there, I"m still going there to work.”
“That"s true…”
Yanase was being reasonable. Even Yos.h.i.+no himself would probably think badly
of an a.s.sistant who had just started working for him and then suddenly asked for an
autograph. It wasn"t like Yos.h.i.+no wouldn"t be happy if that a.s.sistant said she was his fan,
but when he called up a.s.sistants, it meant the deadline was fast approaching and a lot of
work had to be done.
“Hatori…would kill you if you ask him to do that. Why don"t you try asking the
editor-in-chief?”
“That"s impossible. He would refuse to do it…”
Yos.h.i.+no couldn"t ask such a bold request. For starters, he felt it would be a small
problem for his image if people found out that the delicate and shy, shoujo manga artist
“Yos.h.i.+kawa Chiharu” liked a big-boned shounen manga artist.
“Then give up.”
“d.a.m.n it… Ijuin-sensei, won"t you come to a signing one more time? To Tokyo,
no, even Nagoya would be fine. I"ll find time to go there.”
An a.s.sistant muttered with admiration as she watched the conversation between
Yos.h.i.+no and Yanase.
“Sensei really likes “The☆Kan”, doesn"t he?”
“But it"s so interesting! I definitely can"t draw like that!!”
“I"d be surprised if you drew that kind of manga, sensei. Every artist has their own
style.”
“When you put it that way, you may be right. You can"t always have fun when
you draw.”
Yos.h.i.+no would read any type of manga. But he was a shoujo manga artist, and
thought the world he created in his comics was the most accurate representation of
shoujo. He wasn"t good at drawing other genre and that was precisely why he was
attracted to those other genre of comics.
“Well, the least I can do is tell you about my adventures over there, so look
forward to it as you do your own work.”
“Uwa! I can"t wait!”
Yanase"s words urged Yos.h.i.+no to work, and he was glad that he worked unusually
fast on his ma.n.u.script.
* * * *
“Good work~”
“Good work. Let"s do well again tomorrow.”
“Okay~ But sensei, please complete all your a.s.signments too.”
“Ha ha…I"ll try…”
Hearing these stern words, Yos.h.i.+no forced a smile and saw off the a.s.sistants as
they went home. The only one left out of the a.s.sistants was Yanase.
Is now a good time to talk about the trip…?
He wanted to suggest that they should include Hatori with them but he was
nervous to say this because he felt like the atmosphere between them today was
extremely awkward. Watching Yanase"s complexion, Yos.h.i.+no nervously began to speak.
“He- hey, Yuu. About the trip…”
“Yeah, when will we go? If Ijuin-sensei has some stuff for me to do, it would be
impossible to go soon, but if we go the month after next month I think I will ask him to
let me off.”
“Tha- that"s not what I mean. Umm…I think we have to invite Tori with us after 
all. I feel really bad about what happened last time, so…”
“Which time? That crunch time you almost died in?” Yanase asked with a cold
tone of voice; his gaze steady on Yos.h.i.+no.
“Um…that too, but about the trip, as well…”
Even though Yos.h.i.+no apologized to Yanase about the trip again right now,
Yanase gave him a cold look.
“Chiaki, do you know what I was angry about?”
“What about…? That I suddenly left that night, right?”
He couldn"t think of any other reason, but the fact that Yanase had deliberately
asked him such a question meant that there was something else that had made Yanase
unhappy.
“I"m not angry ‘that you suddenly left’, it p.i.s.ses me off that you ‘put Hatori before
yourself.’”
“H- how do you know about Hatori…?”
At that time, he had excused himself by saying that he was “going to his parent"s
house”, and flew out of the hotel, so how did Yanase find out that he had gone to Hatori"s
place?
“How can I not know? It always shows on your face.”
“Urgh…!”
“It also makes me angry when I"m being lied to. But I"m not gonna say any more.
I don"t like talking on and on about things that already happened.”
“S- sorry……”
As Yos.h.i.+no apologized, he couldn"t quite understand why Yanase would be this
annoyed. But it seemed that Yanase did not want to talk about it any more, so he didn"t
pursue the question any further. He desperately searched for another topic to talk about.
I feel like there was something I had to say to Yuu…Oh!
As his eyes aimlessness traveled around the room, he suddenly remembered it.
“O- oh yeah! Sa~y, Yuu, how do you feel about Nozomi-chan?”
“Nozomi? That really puny girl? What do you mean by ‘how?’”
Yos.h.i.+no brought up the topic of the a.s.sistant Nozomi, who liked Yanase, and
watched Yanase"s reaction, but didn"t see any particular sign that Yanase cared. 
“She"s a rather cute, stylish, nice girl, and cooks well, don"t you think?”
“So? What are you trying to say?”
“I"m saying Nozomi-chan likes you!” Yos.h.i.+no told him the truth, and Yanase
began to look irritated, but gave Yos.h.i.+no an unexpected reply.
“I know.”
“What? You know?!…Huh!? She already confessed!?”
Yos.h.i.+no"s eyes widened at Yanase"s words. So Yanase was calm around Nozomi
after knowing her feelings? If Yos.h.i.+no were in Yanase"s place he would tremble and act
unnatural, but this is Yanase we"re talking about.
“She didn"t.”
“Th- then you heard it from some other girl…?”
“No, not really. But I could just tell somehow.”
“Really? …So it was that obvious…”
Perhaps Yos.h.i.+no was slower than he had thought, because he completely hadn"t
noticed it. Yos.h.i.+no was amazed with himself, so then Yanase urged him to get to the
point.
“And? What about it?”
“You don"t have a girlfriend right now, right, Yuu? I think maybe you two should
date.”
The moment he said that, Yanase violently put the cup he had been holding back
in the saucer. Yos.h.i.+no jumped in spite of himself because of the harsh clinking sound.
“W- what…?”
He was surprised at how suddenly dangerous the atmosphere had become. On top
of that, the words coming out of Yanase"s tight-lipped mouth held anger.
“You really are slow.”
“Eh?”
“I like that about you, but right now it annoys me. You don"t know why Hatori
p.i.s.ses me off, do you?”
Yos.h.i.+no just tilted his head to one side, not understanding why Yanase was so
obviously acting unhappy. He had a feeling they were going to get into a fight, but did
not have a clear reason as to why. 
Yos.h.i.+no had a puzzled look on his face and Yanase was giving him a look of
disbelief as he carelessly said, “Cause, I like you, okay?”
“………Hah?”
“I like you, Chiaki.”
Even though Yanase repeated it, Yos.h.i.+no didn"t comprehend it right away. His
mind had gone blank and he couldn"t think straight.
“You like me…?”
“Yeah. But let me tell you this, not as a friend or a person. I like you as a lover.”
“……….”
He thought that perhaps this was some kind of bad joke, but Yanase had a very
serious look on his face. He remembered this possibility of Yanase liking him. Back then
he had brushed it off, but could it be that he had been right?
“……I want to make sure of one thing, though.”
“What?”
“Do you really not like Hatori?” Yos.h.i.+no asked, still confused.
“Didn"t I already tell you that I don"t? Why are you so obsessed with that idea?”
Yanase replied to him unpleasantly.
“Ca- cause……”
“Cause what?”
“Because I accidentally saw you and Hatori kissing on that rainy day one time!”
It was awkward to confess what he had seen, but he was left with no other choice
but to be honest. After Yos.h.i.+no quickly blurted that out, Yanase looked puzzled.
“Kissing? With him? Me?”
“Y- you see, you two were talking about something behind the Marukawa
building and then weren"t you doing that…?”
Thinking that perhaps Yanase had forgotten, Yos.h.i.+no tried his best to explain. It
seemed that Yanase remembered what had happened that time but gave out an
exasperated sigh.
“Yeah, we were just arguing about you, Chiaki. Hatori grabbed me by the collar,
so it must have looked that way.”
“Oh, so that"s what it was……”
“Chiaki, seriously, don"t imagine such disgusting things. It gives me goose
b.u.mps,” Yanase said and rolled up his sleeve. He really did have goose b.u.mps on his
arm. One of Yos.h.i.+no"s questions was solved, but then another question popped into his
head. Since Yanase said he liked men, it meant he was aware of the “roles”.
“He- hey, Yuu, are you a seme or a uke?”
Even Yos.h.i.+no had to admit that this was an obscene question to ask upfront.
Yanase sneered, “Manga has too much of a bad influence on you. If you"re gonna
ask that, ask if I"m the cat or the dog. ……But anyway, doesn"t it gross you out that I told
you I like you?” Yanase said with a smile. which held a tinge of self-ridicule. Yos.h.i.+no
quickly waved his hand in denial.
“Eh? No, not really. It doesn"t gross me out……”
“You don"t have to pretend. Tell me your honest opinion.”
“I"m not pretending! In fact, I like you, Yuu and…”
His eyes s.h.i.+fting back and forth, Yos.h.i.+no searched for words, but when his eyes
landed on the sliding gla.s.s door, his gaze locked with Hatori"s. It appeared that Hatori
was standing on the other side of the gla.s.s door.
W-why now…? Oh yeah, he said he was gonna come pick up the cover of the
ma.n.u.script…
Hatori entered the room, dropped some provisions he was holding in front of
Yos.h.i.+no, put the finished cover of the ma.n.u.script into a file folder and turned on his heel
to go.
“I"ll take care of this. I"ll come pick up the monochrome part of the ma.n.u.script
the day after tomorrow.”
“Eh? Eh? Eh?!”
Without giving Yos.h.i.+no time to stop him, Hatori quickly left. Yos.h.i.+no felt
fl.u.s.tered because he could not keep up with the situation around him, and then Yanase
asked him straight out, “Does it mean I can take your ‘like’ to be the same as mine?”
“Eh? Ah! No…! How to say this…I think of you as a dear friend, Yuu. I"ve never
thought about having any romantic feelings or anything like that towards you
before…Oh!”
As Yos.h.i.+no talked, he realized that Hatori had left angrily because he probably 
had misunderstood what Yos.h.i.+no meant when he said he “likes” Yuu.
…This is seriously bad.
If Hatori misunderstood like Yos.h.i.+no thought he did, it meant that Yos.h.i.+no was
being suspected of cheating. While Yos.h.i.+no thought deeply about this, Yanase began to
get ready to leave.
“If you"ve never thought about it, then think about it. I"ll give you some time.
Your head is probably full with the ma.n.u.script right now anyway. I"m gonna go now. See
you tomorrow, then.”
Yanase left. Acting as usual after confessing was not something Yos.h.i.+no thought
Yanase would do.
“…Wh- what the h.e.l.l!?”
Left all alone, Yos.h.i.+no yelled out his irritation towards the door from which
Yanase left a moment ago.