Rin (HAROLD Sakuishi) 1

*For ryColaa Scanlations

p1:
Fushimi: I’m dead at school…

Fushimi: As the days drag on,
Teacher: Umm, so therefore, / it is said that Toutaku’s stomach fat kept the candle lit for three days.
Fushimi: I try not to use any energy, storing all I can for the night ahead…

p2-3:
[blue text]: I have a dream!!!

p4:
Fushimi: Ugh, dammit… The pen nib cracked… / This is bad. I’ve got another five pages left to finish.

Fushimi: Pen tips are so expensive… / No! I will not steal one of the divine instruments of the manga artist! / I almost tried to steal one in an empty-looking stationary shop. Somehow, though, I was able to beat back my urges…

Fushimi: For a high school student without a job like me, even toner is pretty expensive… / I guess I should apply it only to the most important areas.

p5:
Mother: Norito! You’re being really loud up there! / What time do you think it is?!!

Fushimi: And I was just starting to get into the flow of it, too.
SFX: Click

Fushimi: I’ve got to complete all 60 pages before the start of Summer Break, and then I’ll bring the whole thing to my favorite publishing company, Taurus!! / I can start studying for finals on Mon… no, Tuesday!

p6:
Fushimi: Ahh, I don’t have enough time. / I wish I had more time to draw manga.

Kid: The Phantom Technique, the New Octopus Hold!

Fushimi: No one at school knows I draw manga…

p7:
Fushimi: And they can’t know. (They’d probably think I was disgusting.) / But sometimes I leave graffiti…

(?): Isn’t that Shibusawa Aya from Happy ☆Annals of the Three Kingdoms?

(?): You’re a really good artist, Fushimi-kun! / I love Happy ☆ Annals of the Three Kingdoms!

p8:
Fushimi: Huh? Really? / This is Honda Asuna, from the class next door. Why’d she come here?!

Fushimi: She was in the same class as me my freshman year, but I haven’t really talked to her ever since we entered our second year.
Honda: My big brother is a big manga nerd. / There must be 300 volumes in our house.

Honda: So I bet you’re the type of guy who really pays attention to details, right? / My brother reads everything in such a loud and annoying way.
Fushimi: Well, to each his own. / She—she sat right in front of me!

p9:
Honda: Hey, don’t tell me… / Were you the one who drew that picture of Takagi-sensei on the blackboard in the art room?
Fushimi: Uh, yeah…

Honda: Gyahahaha! That looked just like him!!
Girls: What, what? / Hey, Asuna, you’re laughing too loud.

Honda: Turns out it was Fushimi-kun / who drew that picture of Takagi on the art room’s blackboard!
Girls: Huh? Seriously? / Gyahahaha! That really was hilarious.

Fushimi: A—ahaha. / I’m doing it. I don’t think I’ve been in a conversation with this many people since the entrance ceremony.

p10:
Honda: Hey, hey, why don’t you draw something for us?
Fushimi: Ah, OK.

Fushimi: Here.

Girls: Gyahh! Haha! That’s perfect! You even drew in his philtrum! T
Teacher: Hmm?

SFX: Ding / Dang / Dong

Fushimi: T—today was such / a happy day!!

p11:
Guys: Honda looks great, doesn’t she? / She’s the cutest girl in the track and field club. / But I hear she’s not that smart.

Fushimi: That liveliness of hers… she’s like the complete opposite of me. / I’d be embarrassed if anyone heard how long it takes me to run the 100 meter dash.

p12:
Summer break—

Fushimi: Today’s finally the day I bring everything to Tokyo.

p13:
Fushimi: This is the first night in all my life I haven’t been able to sleep.

Fushimi: And I’m bringing my work to Taurus, the great publishing company that even Mizuno Tooru’s works are serialized in. / Though her works don’t show up all of the time…

p14:
Fushimi: The buildings in Tokyo are so tall…

Fushimi: And there’s so many people… / Is today a holiday, or something?

p15:
Fushimi: The publishing company’s building is really impressive!!

Fushimi: This must be what a challenger with no chance of winning / feels like when he’s about to enter the ring against an absolute monarch.

Fushimi: I’m feeling really uneasy about the manuscript in my bag…
[sign]: Third Editorial Office / Taurus / Editing Department

p16:
Editor: Hey. So, let me see.

Fushimi: Here—here you go.

Fushimi: This guy’s scary. / He never even said his name.

Fushimi: And now, he will deliver his judgment…

p17:
Fushimi: From the moment I was born, I knew / that I wanted to be a mangaka when I grew up.
(top right panel): Saitou Tomoka / Model
(middle panel): When I grow up, I want to be a mangaka! Fushimi Norito
(upper left): Revival of the Han Dynasty / Liubei Gentoku
(lower right): Use the Posting System to make it to the majors!
(lower left): 10 million yen

Fushimi: I love manga, / and I would always be reading or writing manga.

Fushimi: And now…

p18:
Fushimi: This old man, an editor from my beloved Taurus… / is looking incredibly bored while he reads my manga!!

Fushimi: And soon, he will sternly tell me / the value of my manga…

Fushimi: He’s reading it so fast.

Fushimi: And sighing a lot.

Fushimi: And turning around occasionally.

p19:
Fushimi: And he’s not saying anything… / And the air conditioner’s set too low.

Editor: Your lines aren’t very clean.

Fushimi: OK… / It’s—it’s because I was being as stingy as I could with my pen nibs.

Editor: You need to study drawing a bit more. / And your dialogue has a lot of… meaningless bits. / Furthermore, your character design isn’t very realistic.

p20:
Fushimi: This is like a defenseless newbie getting unilaterally pummeled in the ring…

Fushimi: I was really hoping he’d find something of mine to praise…
Editor: How old are you, kid?

Fushimi: I’m—I’m 16.

Editor: Hmmm…. / Maybe you should quit.

p21:
Editor: Take a look at this.
Fushimi: OK.

Editor: This is a pro’s manuscript.

p22:
Fushimi: Whoa! / This is M—Mizuno Tooru’s new manuscript!!

p23:
Editor: Are you a fan of Mizuno-san’s?
Background: What is it?
Fushimi: Y—yes.

Fushimi: The Shunpei Chronicles are like my eternal bible.

Editor: That takes me back; that was Mizuno’s debut work. / He was a natural who debuted at the age of 10, wasn’t he?

Editor: So then, I’ve got another appointment coming up. / Could you give me back the manuscript?
Fushimi: Ah, yes, sorry.

Fushimi: No “Good luck,” no “Try bringing something else”…

p24:
<no text>

p25:
Manager: Rin, there’s no need to be afraid. / This is Hatano-san, the owner of this dining establishment.

p26:
Manager: Hatano-san, this is Ishidou Rin, / the new girl at our agency I spoke to you about.

Manager: Rin, if you would introduce yourself please?

Rin: This guy certainly doesn’t look like the owner of any restaurant I’ve ever seen.

p27:
Manager: Ha! Haha! / She’s only 16; she doesn’t really know what she should be afraid of yet…

Boss: 16? So a high school freshman?
Manager: She was born early in the year, so she’s actually a sophomore.

Boss: Shit, am I really taking advice from some girl younger than my daughter?

Underling: We don’t tell no lies, missy. / We’s got ourselves a hostess bar, a pink salon, and a clip joint—all fine dining establishments.

Underling: Maybe you’s like to try workin’ for us?

p28:
Rin: Hey, small fry, shut the fuck up.

Manager: O—our current top-recommended sexy commedian, Hasebe Nanami, swears by Rin…

Manager: When Rin talked to Nanami about getting back together with her old boyfriend, Rin said, “He’ll call you tomorrow night.” / And sure enough, he did, and now they’re back together!

p29:
Manager: Lots of people at our place take her advice all the time. / At any rate, she has a very high reputation.

(SFX): Sss

Manager: However, she isn’t particularly fond of going out in public like this… / <aside: I practically had to force her today… >

Underling: Well, the idea o’ some idol with a strong sixth sense still sounds shady t’ me.

Boss: ….. / Miss, take a look at this screen.

p30:
Boss: Things are getting violent / over who’s gonna be the next leader of the main family… or should I say, the boss of our corporation.

Boss: We guys in middle management / aren’t really sure who to cast our lots with.

Boss: I was hopin’ maybe you could give me some advice.

p31:
Rin: You tryin’ t’ test me, old man?

Rin: That first guy with the ‘stache, and the baldy in the third shot? Dead. Long dead.

p32:
<SFX>: Whisper / Whisper

Underling: Th—that kid must’ve gotten dat information from a magazine, or somethin’. / But what’d she whisper t’ you, boss?

p33:
Rin: “You stay in this world much longer, / you’re gonna get yourself shot while dressed up like a baby.”

Manager: Rin!! / Rin!!

Rin: Hah. / Hah.

Manager: Are you all right?! / Should I call an ambulance?!
Rin: Hah. / Hah.

p34:
Rin: Hah. / Hah. / I’m all right. It just got a little hard to breathe. That’s all…

Manager: You really surprised me. I never knew you could pull off such a convincing Kansai accent.

Manager: You don’t have a good constitution; you don’t have to push yourself so hard.
Rin: I’ll feel better once I take some medicine.

Manager: Hahh… Well, I suppose we should be glad we both got out of there in one piece… / If we angered them a little more…
Rin: Yeah.

p35:
Rin: I was just about to annihilate them.

Manager: Huh?

p36:
Fushimi: Huh?

Fushimi: I can’t stay at your place tonight? / But I asked you so long ago!

Sister: Things changed. Now you can’t.

Fushimi: What do you mean, things changed? / I’m already at the closest station to you, too.
Phone: The last bullet train back home hasn’t left yet, right?

p37:
Fushimi: Y—yeah. / Well, whatever….

Fushimi: After getting chewed out that badly, / I don’t really want to talk to anyone.

Editor: Hmmm…. / Maybe you should quit.

Fushimi: He choked me from behind and kept pounding blows into me…

p38:
Fushimi: Are you just waking up, sis?
Sister: Huh?

Fushimi: Your voice sounded just like Mom’s does.

Sister: ….Really?

Sister: Do you know how to get to Tokyo station from there? / Switching trains can get tricky; maybe I should send you a guide. / There’s not much time until the last train, after all.

Fushimi: A guide?
Sister: I’ll have my boyfriend help you out.

p39:
Asakura: Norito-kun?

Asakura: Nice to meet you. I’m Asakura.

Fushimi: Ah! N—nice to meet you.
Asakura: So, shall we get going? If we don’t hurry, we won’t make it in time.

Fushimi: W—weird… Why would my sister, a fan of Kurt Cobain, go out with a normal nice boy like him? / And to top it off, this feels really awkward…

p40:
Asakura: How’d things go with the publisher?
Fushimi: ….. / Could’ve gone better.

Asakura: Well. / Take a look at this.

Fushimi: Don’t tell me that’s you?! / <aside: You’ve got nipple piercings… >
Asakura: Yep, that was me from six months ago.

Asakura: But I’m already 27, / and I couldn’t make it big. So I quit.

p41:
Singer: You guys pumped?! / Wait—the only guys here to see us are people we know.
Asakura: It’s fine to mess around when you’re young, but when you start to grow older, it gets kind of pathetic.

[sign]: Tokyo Station
Asakura: Has your father ever complained about what you do, Norito-kun? / Most parents wouldn’t be too happy about their daughter wanting to be a musician and their son wanting to be a manga artist.

Fushimi: *Sigh*… We don’t really talk that much at home, so…

Asakura: You should probably have a good, long talk with him so you don’t wind up regretting anything.

Fushimi: Th—thank you very much.

p42:
Editor: You need to study drawing a bit more. / And your dialogue has a lot of… meaningless bits. / Furthermore, your character design isn’t very realistic.

Editor: Hmmm…. / Maybe you should quit.
Fushimi: Am I really that bad?

p43:
Fushimi: I am, aren’t I?

Fushimi: I’m so pathetic…
Young Fushimi: Daddy, look!
Father: S—stop! Not on the walls!!
Fushimi: Even though I’ve always been drawing…

Fushimi: I’m so pathetic…
Young Fushimi: Mommy, I drew a manga!
Fushimi: Even though I’ve been drawing in panels since before I entered elementary school.
Mother: Why is my son drawing something so perverted?

Fushimi: I’m so pathetic… / Even though I’ve never wanted to be anything but a manga artist.
Young Fushimi: My dream is to make a manga book called “Fushimi’s Magazine”!

p44:
Fushimi: I’m so pathetic, I can’t even cry.

p45:
Katsuo: Hey, Nori. I figure you’re planning on spending all of summer break hiding in your room, right?
Fushimi: Shut up.

p46:
Katsuo: Let’s go to the beach, man! The beach!

Fushimi: Katsuou! You finally got your bike license?!!

Fushimi: Guess you finally passed on your third try.
Katsuo: Yeah. And thanks to that, I know the route to Hirabari like the back of my hand! / Wait—shut up!

Katsuo: I’m not supposed to have two people on at once till I’m a year older, / but, as much as it sucks sometimes, getting regularly mistaken for a guy in his thirties has its perks.

p47:
Fushimi: The thought of going to beach with you kinda disgusts me, / but it’s not like I have anything better to do.
Katsuo: Glad to see you’re still as annoying as ever.

Fushimi: Come to think of it, I don’t really have swim trunks.
Katsuo: Just wear your school swimsuit. It’s not like anyone’s gonna give a rat’s ass about what you’re wearing.

Fushimi: Whoa!
Katsuo: You gotta make sure to shift your weight while we’re turning!!

p48:
Fushimi: The roads are packed…. / And so’s the beach….

Fushimi: The water’s dirty…. / the land’s dirty….. / Jet black.

Fushimi: And…

p49:
Fushimi: Neither of us has the courage to start hitting on girls…

Fushimi: We’ve—we’ve been just staring for a while now. Let’s head back.
Katsuo: Y—yeah. Let’s just head over to your place and hang out with the AC turned up.

Katsuo: I wanna eat some of that guy with the awesome beard’s gyouza.
Fushimi: This is really gonna be a dull summer vacation…

p50:
Fushimi: Honda-san!!
Honda: Ah, Fushimi-kun!

p51:
Fushimi: H—hey. What a coincidence…
Friend: Who’s he?
Honda: A kid in my school! / We were in the same class last year.

Honda: Amazing! I never thought I’d run into you here. / You seemed more like the indoors type. / A ha ha.

Fushimi: Th—this here’s Katsuo. / He was in the same class as me back in middle school; he invited me here.
Katsuo: I’m Katsuo.
Honda: This is Kana-chan. / She’s got a pretty good figure, doesn’t she?
Kana: I’m Kana!

p52:
Fushimi: T—two guys, two girls!! / This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!!

Kakkii: Asuna, wanna head over there?

Kakkii: We ran into some of our senior’s friends. Turns out there’s a super sweet taco rice store out that way. / Sounds like there’s some intense music over there, too.

p53:
Honda: Wow, sounds great! I love taco rice!

Honda: I’ll see you around, then, Fushimi-kun. / I’m here with some guys from my job right now.
Kakkii: Hey, who are those kids?
Kana: She says they’re kids from her high school.

Honda: It’s just a café in Sakae, but at night it turns into a DJ bar! / Kakkii-san comes by from time to time, too. You should drop in when we’re having an event!

p54:
Fushimi: Uh, yeah!

Kakkii: Hey, kid! If you’re here to pick up chicks, / then maybe you shouldn’t be wearing a school swimsuit!
Kana: Oh, quit it, Kakkii-san.

Fushimi: D—dammit!

Honda: Ahahaha! So that’s why you’re here, Fushimi-kun!

p55:
Fushimi: Ha. Haha. Looks like I’ve been found out.

Honda: So then, I’ll see you later!

Katsuo: M—man, what a girl!

Katsuo: She’s only in high school, but just look at her in that shocking pink bikini!

p56:
Fushimi: Superman Punch!!
Katsuo: Ugh!

Fushimi: You said it’d be fine if I just wore my school swimsuit! So it’s your fault I got made fun of!

Katsuo: How the hell is it my fault?!! / You got embarrassed ‘cause she’s obviously doing it with Kakkii!!

Fushimi: She is not! Honda-san is a good girl who’s focused on her clubs!
Spider guy: Nice to see kids with some spirit.
Katsuo: You really think that? Did you see her bikini?

p57:
Fushimi: I bet Honda’s setting off fireworks right about now…

Katsuo: Nori, I bought us some fireworks!
Fushimi: Oh, you want to set them off together? / I just sort of wanna drop dead right about now.

p58:
Katsuo: You read the new issue of Taurus?
Fushimi: Yeah.

Katsuo: Which of these girls is your favorite?
Magazine: P&B Records Collaboration Plan / From Producer Eda Shin’ichi / Idol Group Magazine Audition / The Final 18 Applicants!!

Fushimi: Huh?

Maeda Hinako (18)
Box: My favorite phrase is “Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”. Wish me luck!!

Nomura Haruna (17)

Doubayashi Rika (15)

Ishidou Rin (16)

p59:
Ishidou Rin (16)
Box: I’ve dreamt of being an idol ever since I was little. I’ll do my best! o(^o^)o

Fushimi: I don’t really like any of them.

Katsuo: Hey, you barely even glanced at them!
Fushimi: Those girls are living in a completely different world than us.

Katsuo: You don’t have to be such a downer. / So then, I guess you prefer your girls to be wearing shocking pink bikinis?

p60:
Katsuo(?): They’re in a different world than us, too!

Fushimi: The summer’s barely even started, / and already everything feels gray…

p61:
Book: Shunpei Chronicles / Mizuho Tooru.

Fushimi: Kh…

Fushimi: Kh kh kh

Fushimi: Bwahahaha!!

p62:
Boxer: I’m leaving my legacy to you!

Fans: Hey, Shunpei!!

Fushimi: Every time I read this, I cry….

Fushimi: Every time I read this, I feel charged….

Fushimi: As long as I have this manga, there’s no reason to feel down in the dumps!

p63:
Fushimi: Whoaaa!

Fushimi: Mizuho Tooru’s new manuscript looked amazing…

Fushimi: I’ll focus all my efforts on becoming a pro! I’ll go back to square one and start all over again!

p64-65:
<no text>

p66:
Fushimi: I’ll turn my phone off…

Fushimi: This gray summer’s only just begun… / I’ll go nowhere, see no one, and see if I can’t improve my most basic fundamentals… / Though it’s not like I had any real plans, anyways.