— — — — — —
After enduring one embarrassing moment after another, Oikawa finally finished inspecting the venue.
There had been only one unexpected incident along the way.
As he was about to leave, a bodyguard suddenly walked straight toward him.
For one terrifying second, Oikawa honestly thought the guy was about to stab him.
Instead, the bodyguard scratched his head awkwardly and said his daughter loved Your Lie in April, and asked if Oikawa could sign something for her.
Now that was a request Oikawa could handle.
As long as there wasn't a traitor among us, everything was fine.
Come to think of it, Dengeki Bunko had been trying to persuade him to come back for an autograph event. Their editor-in-chief had contacted him several times, but Oikawa never responded.
Some things were simply better left in the past.
Truthfully, he didn't think Dengeki Bunko had treated him unfairly. If he'd been sitting in the editor-in-chief's chair, he probably wouldn't have believed that a novel the entire internet seemed determined to trash would suddenly become a runaway bestseller either.
Whether it was bad timing or simple fate, though, what happened had happened.
Once a mirror shatters in two, no matter how carefully you glue it back together, the crack never disappears.
After leaving Tsutaya Bookstore, Oikawa wandered through Tokyo by himself.
He visited Tokyo Skytree.
He strolled through Ueno Park.
Walking alone through an unfamiliar city felt like a fish leaving the water. At first, everything seemed exciting and fresh. But after a while, breathing became harder, and all you could think about was the comfort you had left behind.
That evening, Oikawa decided to head back to Chiba and return on January 2nd for his autograph event.
Sitting on the train, he watched the scenery blur past outside the window as loneliness quietly crept back into his heart.
...
..
Around six in the evening, Oikawa finally arrived back in Chiba, and a familiar sense of peace settled over him.
He grabbed a chicken rice bowl from a restaurant near his apartment before heading home, ready to start planning the second volume of Clannad.
The moment he opened his email, one sender immediately caught his eye. JUMP.
"A manga adaptation?"
His eyes lit up as he hurriedly opened the message.
Greetings from the light novel manga adaptation department of JUMP. We believe Your Lie in April has tremendous potential as a manga adaptation. We are prepared to offer a first-use fee of 100,000 yen per chapter for an estimated total of thirty-six chapters. Upon completion of serialization, we will also provide a secondary royalty based on collected volume sales. If you are interested in this proposal, please contact us by phone at ***** or add our staff member on LINE: monika_geller.
After reading the email, Oikawa shook his head with a faint smile.
The confidence of a major publisher practically seeped through every line.
Still, that was perfectly normal. This was Jump, after all. Countless manga artists dreamed of getting serialized there.
As for the payment terms, Oikawa had no complaints. Their attitude might have been a little proud, but the offer itself was generous.
The "first-use fee" referred to the payment made to the original author for each chapter adapted and serialized by the manga publisher. For Your Lie in April, that came to 100,000 yen per chapter.
The "secondary royalty" referred to the percentage paid to the original author once the serialization ended and the collected tankōbon volumes went on sale. It worked much like the royalties earned from publishing a light novel.
Having already decided to greenlight the adaptation, Oikawa quickly added the staff member from the email on LINE.
After a pleasant conversation, they agreed to meet sometime after the New Year to discuss the details of the manga adaptation before signing the contract.
One particularly nice surprise was that Oikawa would have a say in choosing the artist.
Not just anyone, of course. He could select from a shortlist prepared by JUMP.
If he'd been allowed to pick absolutely anyone... he would've dragged Yoshihiro Togashi back to the drawing board at all costs.
His own novels only made readers cry. That old man, on the other hand, specialized in leaving everyone hanging while he went on hiatus.
On that note, Oikawa could only say one thing... Living off someone else's work really was sweet.
...
..
Two days remained before the New Year.
Early that morning, Oikawa's phone buzzed nonstop with message notifications.
His response? Power it off. Then go right back to sleep.
Two hours later, he finally woke up for real and turned his phone back on.
The notifications were all from the Literature Club's LINE group.
Zaimokuza was flooding the chat, venting about the abuse he was suffering.
『Zaimokuza 』: "Oikawa, please tell Copycat to let me go home! I can't take this anymore! Editors are not human! I'm up until eleven or midnight every night reviewing manuscripts. Then I have to be back at work by eight the next morning."
『Zaimokuza 』: "And they make me buy coffee for all those damn people! This is abuse! I'm telling you, it's abuse!"
『Zaimokuza 』: "But that's not even the worst part. Why are the people submitting manuscripts so unbelievably clueless?" They write complete garbage, then somehow convince themselves they're the next Copycat-sensei. Aaaaaah! Talking to them is driving me insane!"
『Zaimokuza 』: @Kawasaki "Kawasaki! Oikawa won't answer my calls. Hurry, help me out! If it's you, he'll definitely pick up!"
『Zaimokuza 』: "..."
『Zaimokuza 』: "Someone, please answer me... I seriously don't want to be an editor anymore. I want to go home."
...
After reading through the mountain of messages, Oikawa couldn't help smiling.
Looks like the 'character-building experience' was working wonders.
As for Zaimokuza wanting to go home... Yeah, not happening.
He needed a few more days of suffering. Maybe then he'd stop looking down on editors.
Just as Oikawa was thinking about how to dodge Zaimokuza's pleas, a message from Kawasaki popped up.
『Kawasaki』: Want to go shopping together?
『Oikawa』: Shopping for what?
『Kawasaki』: Ingredients for New Year's cooking. We also need New Year's decorations and nengajō. There's a lot to prepare.
According to Japanese tradition, people did a thorough house cleaning before the New Year. After that came the New Year's decorations, usually put up around the 28th or the 30th.
The main decorations were three items.
—A Shimekazari, sacred straw rope hung over the entrance or in front of the household shrine to ward off evil.
—Kagami mochi, a pair of round rice cakes placed in the most honored spot in the house to welcome the New Year's deity.
—And kadomatsu, arrangements of pine and bamboo displayed by the front door as a sign for the visiting deity. Pine and bamboo were both considered especially auspicious plants in Japan.
As for nengajō, they were simply New Year's greeting cards.
『Oikawa』: You want me to keep you company?
『Kawasaki』: Yeah.
Her reply came almost instantly, making Oikawa smile.
『Oikawa』: Give me a few minutes. Meet me at the station.
『Kawasaki』: Okay.
...
As New Year's drew closer, the holiday atmosphere in Chiba grew stronger by the day.
When Oikawa checked the mailbox outside his apartment, he found an envelope waiting inside.
No... It was a New Year's card.
He held it up and looked at the illustration on the front. A crow smiled back at him.
Inside was only one sentence: {Wishing you an even happier New Year, my young friend.}
It was from the elderly professor.
A warmth spread quietly through Oikawa's chest.
Kindness from someone who owed you nothing was often the most touching of all.
Then guilt followed close behind.
It hadn't even occurred to him to send the professor a New Year's greeting.
"If I go buy some greeting cards now... I should still make it in time." Carefully slipping the card into his pocket, Oikawa headed toward the bus stop where he'd arranged to meet Kawasaki, a bright smile on his face.
It didn't take long to spot her. She was standing at the stop, quietly memorizing English vocabulary.
Today she wore a blue coat over a white knit sweater, giving her a much brighter, livelier look than usual.
As for the lower half... Kawasaki had never been the type to sacrifice warmth for fashion. A pair of athletic pants wrapped snugly around her long legs.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"No." Kawasaki wasn't short by any means, but she still had to tilt her head slightly to meet Oikawa's eyes.
For some reason... Every time she saw him, she couldn't stop herself from smiling.
"Here." Kawasaki pulled two boiled eggs from the sleeve of her coat and held them out to him.
"Kawasaki, how did you know I skipped breakfast?" Oikawa asked, a little surprised.
"Because you're lazy." She lowered her head again and returned to the vocabulary book in her hands.
Oikawa nodded, a sly smile spreading across his face. "Then once we're working adults, you'll have to wake me up every morning."
A faint blush crept onto Kawasaki's cheeks.
When Oikawa reached over and took her hand, the blush deepened. But she didn't pull away.
Looking down at their clasped hands, she noticed how his hand was larger than hers. It almost completely enveloped it.
For some reason, that tiny discovery made her even happier for no reason.
Girls in love often looked a little foolish. Kawasaki looked even more so.
"..."
Oikawa had been walking through the shopping mall hand in hand with Kawasaki. Whatever she was thinking, he didn't know.
His own thoughts, however, were occupied with one thing.
How to finally win her over completely. He'd already made it to first base.
Second base. Third base. Even if they wanted to take things one step at a time... Wasn't it about time they made it home?
"Senpai!"
Suddenly, a voice called out, catching him completely off guard.
Kawasaki reacted even faster.
Like a startled rabbit, she instantly slipped her hand out of his.
That escape was lightning fast.
"Senpai! Over here!"
Following the voice, Oikawa spotted Iroha Isshiki waving energetically as she hurried toward them.
A few seconds later, she stopped in front of the two of them, smiling brightly. "What a coincidence, Senpai! You and Saki-senpai are shopping together? I thought you'd be out with Yui-senpai or Yukino-senpai instead!"
Oikawa nearly jumped.
Hey! You can't just say things like that!
The only girl in his heart was Kawasaki.
At least, for now, it was only Kawasaki...
"Aren't you all in the Service Club?" Isshiki said innocently. "I heard Yui-senpai talking about getting everyone together to go clothes shopping."
She stuck out her tongue and gave Oikawa a teasing wink. "Looks like she didn't invite you, Senpai. What if—"
"Anyway, Isshiki, are you here by yourself?" Oikawa cut her off before she could finish. He had no intention of letting her continue down that line of conversation.
"Yep, just me." She turned to Kawasaki with sparkling eyes. "Saki-senpai, can I shop with you two?"
Oikawa hadn't even gotten the chance to say absolutely not before Kawasaki nodded. "Sure."
"Yay! Thank you, Saki-senpai!"
Oikawa frowned.
Normally, Isshiki acted like a mouse in front of a cat whenever she ran into Kawasaki. Why was she suddenly being so bold today?
Something wasn't right.
He sighed to himself.
What had started as a perfectly good date had suddenly gained an uninvited third wheel.
If looks could kill, Iroha Isshiki would've been dead a thousand times over by now.
...
..
No matter what kind of woman you were... The moment you stepped into a shopping mall, you transformed into a shopping fanatic.
Kawasaki and Isshiki wandered from store to store, trying on outfit after outfit.
The worst part? Neither of them actually bought anything. They were just having fun.
Unfortunately, that left Oikawa to suffer.
If it had only been him and Kawasaki, she probably would've gone along with whatever he suggested.
But now there was an extra player on the field, throwing everything off.
What a pain.
...
Finally, after two or three hours of shopping, the two girls called it a day.
The three of them ducked into a dessert café.
"Today's my treat! I still haven't thanked you for helping me at the Christmas party. The teachers were really happy with how everything turned out." Isshiki skipped over to the counter.
A few minutes later, the table was covered with desserts.
Tiramisu. Cream puffs. Mousse cake. Macarons.
Just about everything the café offered.
She also came back with three milk teas.
Ordering that much at a mall café couldn't have been cheap. She'd really gone all out.
"Saki-senpai, try this cream puff. It's really good." Sitting beside Kawasaki, Isshiki chatted with her as if they'd always been close.
Even more surprising, Kawasaki actually smiled in front of someone outside her usual circle.
"Saki-senpai, your smile is so pretty!" Isshiki exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with genuine delight. "I can't believe I only just noticed. You're gorgeous when you smile. You should smile more often."
Kawasaki lowered her head, her cheeks turning pink. "It's not like that..."
Across the table, Oikawa watched Isshiki with growing suspicion.
His instincts were screaming that she had some hidden agenda.
This much flattery just wasn't like her.
"Saki-senpai," Isshiki said casually between bites of mousse cake, "you and Oikawa-senpai seem really close. I see you walking together all the time."
"You probably don't know this, but a lot of the younger girls at school have a crush on Oikawa-senpai." Isshiki looked straight into Kawasaki's eyes. "I wonder if they've mistaken you for their romantic rival."
"Then I am their rival." Kawasaki quietly set down her fork. The smile faded from her face as she met Isshiki's gaze.
Her voice wasn't loud. It wasn't forceful. It was simply calm.
Isshiki froze. "Saki-senpai... you and..."
The words caught in her throat.
For a brief moment, she simply stared into Kawasaki's eyes.
Then, after several seconds, the familiar cheerful smile returned to her face.
"You and Oikawa-senpai really are close." She lowered her eyes to her dessert and laughed softly. "That's strange. This tiramisu tastes kind of bitter. Doesn't it taste bitter to you?"
"Um." Kawasaki looked away.
A trace of regret flickered through her eyes.
If Isshiki had asked just now... 'Saki-senpai, are you and Oikawa-senpai dating?'
She would've nodded without hesitation. She would've admitted it.
Too bad... Isshiki never asked.
And Kawasaki had no idea when she'd find the courage to say those words on her own.
After they finished dessert, Isshiki pretended to receive a call from a friend. With an apologetic smile, she excused herself and left the shopping mall.
She kept smiling the whole way home.
She boarded the train.
Returned to her house.
And opened the front door.
"Iroha, you're back already?" her mother called out. "Didn't you say you were meeting an upperclassman today? Have you eaten?"
"I have." Isshiki forced a smile. "I'm a little tired, Mom. I think I'll take a nap."
She walked into her room, shut the door behind her, and collapsed onto her bed.
Only after she buried her face in the pillow did the quiet sobs begin.
Before long, the pillow was soaked with tears.
.
.
.