บท 24: The Daily Life of the Mangaka Club

Looking back at myself years before, I wonder if I'll look back and ponder about the things I did and could have done. Perhaps my father would also be looking back on when he was 15 years old with some regret as well.

Suddenly the phone rang.

No, it's not like I've never heard my phone ring before. It's just that I was so immersed in my thoughts that it felt sudden. I left my anxiety behind as my mind returned to reality, and got up to answer the phone.

'... Hello, sorry for calling late, this is Yasuyuki.'

'Huh? Yasuyuki?'

I felt my spine tingling in nervousness on this cold night. It was a voice, one that could mess up my lifestyle, and get me involved in all sorts of meta-level trouble. It was a call from Yasuyuki Okamura, calling on the phone somewhere in the streets late at night and hiding from their housemaids and security guards. As if it was an emergency call, it was hard to listen to, but there was no mistake that it was him.

'So you're still alive?'

'How rude, you think I'd get killed by one or two bandits?'

So he actually did go through that? Can't say I'm surprised.

'About our upcoming release for the cultural festival, I'm quite short on ideas.'

'I see, how about adding a mystery to the side of the story.'

'Like, give me an example?'

'Hang on a moment, we're talking about a JADE type superhero protagonist, right?"

'Of course. The 'kind hero'. You get it, don't you?'

It was a pointless conversation. Even though we're talking about the same subject, we can't seem to connect.

The following day, I headed to school dressed in my casual wear. In order to confirm something, I called Hanako, Fumi, Yasuyuki, Kozue, Nagi and Nami, out as well. All I said to them was simply this,

"We need to discuss our plans for the cultural festival and something else I need to add to the main topic of our artbook before this can be fully concluded. I'll be waiting in the club room."

And so all of them came. Kozue was bound to treat my bringing up a supposedly resolved problem with sarcasm, and while Yasuyuki and Hanako were smiling, while the twins' Nagi and Nami the look of surprise at me deviating from my usual behavior could still be seen. As for Fumi, she spoke upon seeing me.

"Kenji, I feel like there's still something that I need to know."

I felt the same way as well. As I nodded, I placed my hand on her shoulder.

"It's fine. I think we should be able to sort this out by today. Just hang on a bit longer." and so we started.

"What do you mean by adding to yesterday's deduction, Kenji?" Nagi asked,

"Just hear me out."

As I took out my notes, I glanced at it only for myself rather than showing it to them.

"So about the art book and the revised version we are giving out. I suggest we make a manga of us that would be fun to make, take a look at this, it was my father and fumi's uncle��s work, as well as those who followed them, it was like a tradition."

I handed them copies of the past works of the previous members of the mangaka club,

"Indeed, it is quite interesting that we can do it like fanfiction and promotional material for our manga."

Kozue raised her eyebrow. Crossing her arms, Kozue began spouting her cynical sarcasm.

"You really are weird. Even if it was your father that founded the mangaka club you couldn't realize such a thing despite being in contact with your father all the time, yet you still don't know about him that much. Maybe you should get Fumi to have a look inside your head."

"As I said before, I was never interested in anything, just things I do for myself, and my father kept a lot of secrets from me... I also do not want to be lobotomized by Fumi."

Meanwhile, Fumi's face was slowly getting redder.

"G-Getting inside K-Kenji's head is like asking him to do it with me."

"What are you suggesting?!"

I shook my head as I was dumbfounded by Fumi's misunderstanding about the situation.

"So is our plan concluded, if you have some clarifications or opinions share them now."

"I guess we all agree with this?" Nami looks at everyone one by one.

The vote was unanimous and all agreed, after a lengthy deliberation we headed back to our respective classrooms and helped out in preparations for tomorrow.

And so the Cultural Festival slowly approaches. Looking out at the autumn sky from the mangaka club room, I find it quite hard to believe that summer vacation had just ended not long ago. Ever since discovering the previous works of the previous members of the mangaka club and feelings of regret after what happened to the school and the mangaka club, we have begun work on compiling our very own art book entitled "The Rebirth of the Mangaka Club".

Currently, we're still not finished with it. As I wrote a response to my father's letter from months ago, a scene of carnage was occurring beside where I was sitting.

"YAYUSUKI, are you done yet? The publisher's deadline is coming soon!" Hanako was nearly screaming as Satoshi had still not completed his allotted number of pages.

Even Yasuyuki, who was usually calm, was beginning to show some anxiety. "Just a little bit more, just a little bit more. I'm almost there." Welp this is a practice for him when we get serialized.

"That's what you said a week ago."

Though the senior editor for this art book was nominally our school director since he was there when it started., the actual work of distributing page numbers for each author and dealing with the publishers was done by Hanako due to her experience with such work before. Under Hanako's strict schedule, progress in the completion of this edition of "The Rebirth of Mangaka Club" went smoothly.

As Yasuyuki scrambled to write his storyboard with a stiff smile, Hanako walked in circles behind him while looking at her wristwatch. As though remembering something, she turned to speak to me.

"Where are the others, Fumi, Nagi, Nami, and Kozue! So late, very late we must be working on this fast. And Kenji, start warming up on the character designs!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Is this what professional mangaka came to see, I might rethink my decision of getting us serialized.

Yasuyuki looked as though he wanted to say something but frantically went back to work upon being stared at by Hanako.

"Fumi went to see the school director for the advice, while I sent Nagi and Nami to pick up my little sister and her friends who are coming to check and help us out with the selling and promoting"

"I see"

That wasn't a lie. As I handed the character designs over to Hanako,

"We are here!" The sound of elementary schoolers with my sister is a delight.

"Oh, thank goodness, Kanna will you get us some food and snacks while Hanako discusses to your friends what they are going to do."

"Uhm, are you Kanna's big brother?"

"Yes, what is it, you should be ready for the discussion."

"Yes, but here I made chocolates for you."

What the-- it is way too far from Valentine's day but it would be cruel not to accept.

"Thank you, your name is?"

"Yuri, you can call me anytime," Yuri winks at me,

This is dangerous, way dangerous to be around the meta-level of danger Yasuyuki had it with me.

"Hello, is this the police?" Nagi looks at me disgustingly as she has her phone on her ears.

"What, it's a misunderstanding!" I looked around for an escape route but none is to be found.

Then our club room preparation started when everyone finally arrived, we distributed posters for our promotional materials, out of the local shops we asked help too and the elementary branch of the school where Kanna studies.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day for the mangaka club.