The next morning, Misaki arrived at the office bright and early, waiting.
Although she presented herself as a cold beauty in front of Rei, that was just her true nature; in reality, she was articulate at work and got along well with most of her colleagues.
Her carefully made-up face was even more beautiful and elegant, and in her professional attire, she exuded a subtle sense of authority.
Colleagues in the office were at this time discussing the recent situation in the editorial department with great enthusiasm.
"I wonder what the rankings in Sakura-iro Weekly will be this week?"
"I feel that 5 Centimeters Per Second's ranking will continue to rise! This manga is quite popular among fans."
"I didn't expect readers nowadays to be into this kind of thing. Although I like this manga and voted for it in the serialization meeting, I didn't think it would achieve such high results, the plot is too depressing."
"So never try to guess the market's popular trends. Who knows why Sakura-iro Weekly fans, who usually prefer shoujo manga with youth / school / sweet romance, are so invested in 5 Centimeters Per Second. The company has received hundreds of letters for Shirogane-sensei these past few days."
"Another genius! For Shirogane to get these results on a debut manga… if they polish their skills for a few more years, they might really have a shot at running a series in Hoshimori Comic someday."
"I feel like I can also ask mangaka I know to try creating works in the style of 5 Centimeters Per Second. Maybe this is a new market trend."
"It's useless," Misaki said as she walked into the office.
"Eh, Misaki, you're here?"
"Misaki-san, good morning!"
After responding, Misaki continued the previous topic.
"It's not that this kind of depressing, tear-jerking manga will become the market mainstream.
In fact, any genre, as long as the work is excellent enough, will find an audience. The reason a genre fades is simply because later creators fail to produce compelling stories.
Even with tear-jerking and depressing romance manga… 5 Centimeters Per Second's success isn't because of its genre, but because the author digs deeply into the characters and makes them vivid and distinct. If you just copy the 'sad romance' template without matching creative ability, you'll get nowhere."
"To give a simple example, I'm sure everyone still remembers the ending of 5 Centimeters Per Second, right? But who here can still remember the name of the protagonist from the submission you reviewed yesterday?"
As Misaki finished speaking, the office fell silent.
They had to review a huge pile of new submissions every week.
But even after several weeks, as long as 5 Centimeters Per Second was mentioned, they could all clearly recall that final panel of Takaki turning away and walking off.
Just one read, yet the character etched himself into their memories, that's not something an ordinary mangaka can pull off.
However, just as Misaki was chatting with her colleagues, someone in the editorial department shouted that the performance report was out.
Misaki quickly went back to her seat, turned on her computer, entered her intranet login, and pulled up the company server.
A spreadsheet file.
She clicked it… and a list popped up:
High-Scoring Romance – Fan votes: 4,123
Lament – Fan votes: 3,698
5 Centimeters Per Second – Fan votes: 3,012…
Love Like Fireworks – Fan votes: 714
The office immediately filled with startled voices.
"Third?"
"That's insane, right? Third chapter serialized, third in popularity?"
"And this is a newcomer?"
"Is 5 Centimeters Per Second really that popular?"
"Totally beyond my expectations."
"Third in the magazine after just three weeks of serialization… That's even stronger than Saki-sensei back when she debuted."
The editors' exclamations buzzed in Misaki's ears, but her own feelings were far from calm.
By now, everyone in the editorial department understood one thing very clearly.
Even though 5 Centimeters Per Second only had five chapters, it had climbed to third in the rankings in just three weeks.
If all five chapters ran, and its momentum held… it might very well surpass all the other series and take first place.
At school, in the classroom, during the break.
"Shirogane-sensei is definitely a psychopath," Nia said angrily.
"It's infuriating! Why does Kanae have to suffer like this? Why did Shirogane create such a pitiful girl? Since the male lead and Akari already lost contact, Takaki shouldn't keep wandering like that!" Kaori chimed in.
"The fourth chapter isn't out yet. Haven't there been hints that Kanae wants to confess? Let's see how Episode 4 handles it," Yui said.
"Speaking of which… the direction of 5 Centimeters Per Second's plot is exactly like what Rei said last week. It really does feel like it's heading toward a tragic, suffocating route," Hana said, sounding puzzled.
At this point, the four girls' in the class all turned to look at Rei, who was casually smiling at them as if nothing unusual had happened.
"It has to be a coincidence," Kaori whispered.
There was no way Rei was actually Shirogane, the author of 5 Centimeters Per Second, right?
Nia and Yui both nodded.
Only Hana glanced at Rei again, a flicker of doubt in her eyes.
Just then, the noise in the classroom began to quiet down.
A boy in the front row turned around with a teasing grin.
"Rei, she's here for you again."
"That's right, go on, don't keep her waiting. She's in the top ten of the entire grade, man."
"Rei, move! Don't make the honor student stand there looking for you!"
The class erupted into knowing laughter.
Rei's expression didn't change. He stood and walked toward Miyu, who was peeking in through the doorway, waving at him with a bright smile.
"Wow, third time this week she's come to find him. I refuse to believe they're not dating," Kaori muttered as she watched Rei leave.
As soon as Rei reached the door, he immediately sensed something different.
He had never seen Miyu looking at him so seriously before, her expression was unusually solemn.
"My sister just sent the ranking results!"
"The rankings are:
1st – High-Scoring Romance
2nd – Lament
3rd – 5 Centimeters Per Second."
"Third… huh?"
Rei smiled when he heard it.
"Thanks for coming all the way here just to tell me."
"It's not a big deal," Miyu said, taking a deep breath and smoothing the emotion off her face. Then she forced a smile.
"But, Rei… I honestly didn't expect your 5 Centimeters Per Second to perform this well."
"I didn't either," Rei said modestly.
"Probably just good timing."
"There's no such thing as 'good timing,'" Miyu shot back immediately.
"Skill is skill. And… with our manga so close in the rankings this week, I can't afford to relax anymore."
"From now on, you and I are the magazine's biggest rivals."
"Yeah. I get it," Rei said after thinking.
Miyu studied him for several seconds, then laughed softly.
"Why that face?"
"What face?" Rei smiled.
"Our manga competing is one thing, but that shouldn't affect our friendship, right?"
"Anyway, if 5 Centimeters Per Second ranks above your Lament next week, you'd better treat me to a nice meal to celebrate your good friend's achievement."
"Wait. I get overtaken by you, and I have to treat you?" Miyu stared at him, bewildered.
"Then how about I treat you," Rei said casually, "to comfort your lonely heart after getting surpassed?"
Miyu went silent for a moment. Then a smile slowly, unconsciously formed on her face.
"Mmm? Are you that confident Five Centimeters per Second will surpass Lament next week? You didn't even consider your ranking staying the same, or dropping?" Miyu asked, squinting at him.
"Definitely," Rei replied without hesitation.
Miyu's fingers curled slightly into fists. Being underestimated by him made her bristle, but there was nothing she could argue back with, at least not right now.
She exhaled hard, accepting his challenge with a reluctant shrug.
"I won't lose. If you want a celebration feast at my expense, try waiting another twenty years!"
Throwing out this declaration, Miyu spun around and headed back toward her classroom.
Although they had only spoken for a few minutes, the brief rooftop-like tension between them drew curious stares from students in the corridor.
Rei simply smiled.
He knew Miyu wasn't the petty type, she just couldn't immediately accept that the boy she had personally "discovered" as a fellow manga enthusiast had now become a direct threat to her own serialized work.
The position she had fought three years to reach…
Rei had reached in just three weeks.
But time smooths everything out.
And it wouldn't just be Miyu.
Every established manga artist, every mid-tier creator, every rising rookie in Japan's publishing scene…
All of them would eventually have to accept it too.
Rei returned to class just as the bell rang. The teacher entered, beginning the afternoon lesson.
Meanwhile, across Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures, Sakura-iro Weekly continued to fly off bookstore shelves. The fanbase for Five Centimeters per Second grew larger every day, online and offline.
At Hoshimori Publishing Group's editorial department, the Sakura-iro Weekly team made a unanimous decision:
Since Five Centimeters per Second was performing exceptionally well, and because its total chapter count was already confirmed, they would prepare a tankōbon single-volume release, launching two weeks after the final chapter.
They wanted to test how far this mysterious newcomer, Shirogane, could go in the volume-sales market.
Time passed quickly.
July arrived.
Another Wednesday.
Another new issue of Sakura-iro Weekly hit the shelves.