Rin (HAROLD Sakuishi) 31

Rin 31



p1: ======================================
[yellow]: Manga / is the only thing / I’ve got!!!

p2: ======================================
[sfx]: Stare x3

p3: ======================================
[sfx]: Stare

…Well, this is fine.

[sfx]: *Relieved*
Thanks.
This is the first time I’ve ever passed Hara-san’s check on the first go.

[sfx]: Wobbling
I’ve already been here two months, huh?

Put on those finishing touches within 45 minutes!
[sfx]: Click!
Y-Yes, sir!

p4: ======================================
Good work today.

Somehow, I’ve managed to get used to this pace,
G’night.
Good night.
but the job’s harder than I expected.

I can only feel relief under the covers…

p5: ======================================
Then read starting from page 45.
[blackboard]: Professor Allrite (Sink or swim) / Hurt elbow / Tommy John surgery

Fushimi!

Fushimi!
[sfx]: Jolt!

Huh? Didn’t I graduate…?
You fool! Did spring break addle your brains?!

Oh, so it was just a long spring break…
Fushimi-kun!!

Don’t you have spare time today?
I’d like to go to the Ichirou museum.
Oh, okay.
I wonder if they have his trout bat.

p6: ======================================
Then let’s race!
[sfx]: Whosh!
Huh?!!

The loser has to play a penalty game.
A-A penalty game…? No fair. You’re on the track team, Honda-san!

On your mark.
[sfx]: Slowly
Ready.
H-Hey, wait! I don’t know where it is!

!!

p7: ======================================
[sfx]: Dash
[sfx]: Bang x3
K-Katsuo, why are you—?!

There’s still more bullets left!

Huff.
Huff.

Huff.
Huff.

Huff.
Huff.

I can’t run anymore…
[sfx]: Wheeze

You’re so slow. It’s closed by now.

p8: ======================================
Okay, penalty game time!

[sfx]: Grind
!!

[sfx]: YEEEOOOOUUUUUCCCCHHHH!

p9: ======================================
I thought you were going to tear my groin first thing in the morning.
It’s a prank Kawasaki-san likes to pull.
That Kimura lock of his once had me unable to work for a day.

It’s all a form of communication.
You’ve got to be on your guard when you wake up.
[sfx]: Briskly
Don’t tell me this was why my predecessor quit…

Has it ever happened to you, Hara-san?
It did. There years ago. Once.
Just once?

The next day, I made sure to send him back to sleep with a sleeper hold.
*Tap*
/ *Tap*

p10: ======================================
Fushimi-san, you have to give an eye for an eye.
[sfx]: Scratch
Show him just how much you hate that stuff.

Morning.
[background]: Good morning!
So then, let’s push through this last spurt.

[sfx]: Draw!

But still…
A random dream of school after I graduated?

p11: ======================================
Seriously?
Yuck.
What an asshole.
[sfx]: Gah hah hah

[insert]: Really? But doesn’t that happen sometimes?
[insert]: No, no, no…

Must be nice, having it easy…

Maybe some part of me’s missing the old days…

!

p12: ======================================
Hey.
G-Good work today!
Heading home for the day?

Yep. I worked on the storyboard till midday, then started the rough sketches.
What about you, Fushimi-kun?

Well, I’ve just been wandering about around here.

You don’t get many breaks. There wasn’t anything you wanted to do?
Well, I was constantly practicing perspective until the sun set.

Oh, one person missed the last train and is staying over, so be quiet when heading into your room.

[sfx]: Softly…

p13: ======================================
…Kawasaki-san, huh?

An eye for an eye!

Good morning!!
[sfx]: Yeouch!

[sfx]: Click

[sfx]: Softly

p14: ======================================
[sfx]: Flip

[sfx]: Pow!

p15: ======================================
!!

I—I’m sorry!!

p16: ======================================
[sfx]: Guffaw!

This isn’t a joke.
I thought my heart was going to stop.

T-Truly…
I can’t apologize enough.
I’ll bear this cross for my entire life.

p17: ======================================
Sorry for the late introduction.
This is Furukawa-san, my former assistant.
WAY TOO LATE!
You have to tell him those things.

We got word that Kawasaki fell victim to gastroenteritis two days ago,
so we took the initiative and had her come as emergency help…

Is your nose okay?
You’ve got blood on your shirt.
Oh, I’m completely fine.

I thought Yaegashi-kun was trying to slip into my bed at night, so I kicked as hard as I could.
WHY ME?!
Because you twice asked her out, and she twice shot you down.

p18: ======================================
I’ll be off.
[sfx]: Click

Don’t be discouraged by this. If a spot opens up again, I’ll call.
Okay.

Nowadays, Furukawa-san does a webcomic.
Really? What sort of comic?

[sfx]: Thud

Not so sudden!

I’ll send you flying so high that shit comes out of your mouth.

I-I see…
She went to an all-girls’ high school, is 26, never had a boyfriend, and has quite the imagination.

p19: ======================================
Gwah hah hah! Seems like something you could use in a manga someday!!

No, no… It really was awful.

But you know, Fushimi-kun, it seems like you’re having fun over there, all in all.
[sfx]: Creak

Uh, well… Setting that incident aside…

p20: ======================================
All of Mizuno-pro’s people are good people…

At any rate, being near Mizuno-san’s letting me learn all sorts of things.

My manga skills are definitely improving!
Oh yeah. That starts next issue, doesn’t it?

p21: ======================================
Taki-kun’s serialization, I mean!!
Huh?!

[sfx]: Flip
[magazine, big text, left page]: Taurus
[magazine, upper right]: Long-awaited Movie Version
[magazine, right, vertical]: Spelunker

[upper left]: Next Issue / Cover: The High-Fly Flow Girls
[upper right, white text]: Dream Line
[upper right, thin black bar]: Demonly Popular Center Color
[left of that]: Blackjack: Give My Regards to Mulligan / Sawada Shin’ichi
[main area, starting from the top]: With a color opening / 45 pages / new serialization!!! / Presence
[bottom-left box]: Shounen Taurus
[bottom-right area]: From the Young Blue Cup winner! / The astounding newcomer’s awaited serialization debut!! / Taki Kaito

p22: ======================================
Man, he’s a newcomer and he gets a color opener in the main magazine right out of the gate.
We can’t let ourselves lose to him.

Taki Kaito: the man who’s always one step ahead of me!!

By the way, what are you doing next Saturday?
Huh?
I’m heading out that way for some research, so…

p23: ======================================
[sfx]: Clickety-clack

[sign, top]: Boxing / Wakasugi Gym
[sign, lower-left]: Fitness / Boxersize / Lessons for Women
[sign, bottom-right]: Inexperienced People Welcome!!

p24: ======================================
[sfx]: Nod

Sorry it’s taking so long.
Just a bit longer.
[sfx]: Hit! Hit!
It’s completely fine.
[sfx]: Squeak / Thump
I had no idea there was a boxing gym this close by.
I don’t get out much, not even on days I have off.

p25: ======================================
The person sitting there is Kitagawa-san.

Oh, I’ve read his work: Stone Fist!!
[manga]: Stone Fist / Story: Kitagawa / Art: Inukai
[note: both given names here are cut off]

It seems Kitagawa-san and the head of this gym have known each other since back then.

[sfx]: Pow! Pow!
[shirt]: Jingzhou
[sfx]: Squeak!
The person punching the gloves right now is ranked in Japan’s top 10, and has three straight wins by KO!
His punches sound amazing this close up.

p26: ======================================
Nishiguchi-kun! Kitagawa-san asked if you wanted to finish with a bit of sparing.
Huh?!

You can’t get much better research than that.

I-I wear glasses, so…
It’s fine. Your opponent’s not going to hit you.

[sfx]: Ding!

p27: ======================================
[sfx]: *Clench*

H-He’s so intimidating…
Were this a real fight, I know he’d kill me in five seconds flat!!

Nishiguchi-kun, what’re acting so scared for?
Today’s your only chance for this luxuriant experience!
U-Understanding the ambiance of a match is enough research for me!!

p28: ======================================
You wimp!!
Get at least one clean hit on him!!

[sfx]: Slide
[sfx]: Whiff

Dagh…
That was nothing.

He has zero athletic skills.
I can’t catch up to him.
*Wheeze*
*Wheeze*
[sfx]: Clench x2
With Stone Fist, Inukai-kun had a black belt in Shorinji Kempo,
so I could make him do boxing and he’d have the feel for it.

Maybe I should look for some other artist.
…

p29: ======================================
[flashback is to pages 13-14 of Chapter 6]

Nishiguchi-san!!
If you land a punch… I’ll give you 2,000 yen!!

[sfx]: Twitch

Hm?

[sfx]: Step x2

p30: ======================================
[sfx]: Zip x4
?!

[sfx]: Pew x4
Whoa!!

p31: ======================================
[sfx]: Blam!

Wow!!

All right!

p32: ======================================
[sfx]: SMASH!

Thanks for the time.

Your guts really moved me.
Then I’ll see you again.
You took a really stiff one at the end.
Guts? Nah…
He was just after the money.
My glasses are…

You two getting hungry?

[sfx]: Sizzle

p33: ======================================
Wow. It’s been so long since I last had yakiniku.
Are you sure I can have a bit of this?
It’s fine. Mizuno-san and I come here together all the time.
Oh, that’s right!

Here’s this week’s Taurus, hot off the presses!
[sfx]: Thump

Oh, the one with Taki-kun’s work in it!!

It’s getting amazing reviews, even in the editing department.
He sure has talent.

Wow, I can’t wait to read it.
[sfx]: Flip
I’ll take my time leafing through it once I get home.

p34: ======================================
Ah!

[magazine, horizontal text]: Next issue
[bubble]: The start of a new serialization!!
[vertical]: Super aggressive!!!

This is from the winner of the previous Sawamura Grand Prize, right?
So he’s getting serialized.

Yep. And that fills the gap Taurus had with erotic comics.
[sfx]: Munch, munch.

p35: ======================================
New talent keeps popping up… I’ll have to work hard, too.
Precisely…

p36: ======================================
Fushimi-kun, let’s make the next one your last.

?

If the next storyboard you bring me isn’t good, don’t bring any more to Taurus!

p37: ======================================
[sfx]: Clickity-clack

So then, till next time. Take it easy.
It was fun to see you for the first time in forever.

Try to show up at some of the Nishigaitsu Meetups.

What’re those?

They’re regular gatherings between Nishigaitsu-sensei, Taki-kun, Rin-chan, and myself.
Oh… Sorry. I’ve been kind of busy, so…

p38: ======================================
Take care!

[sfx]: Fwoossh

Fushimi-kun!!

Sorry, but about that 2,000 yen!

p39: ======================================
I was too scared to read it.

What if I liked it? Then what?
I just couldn’t.

When I finally, trepidatiously read it one week later…

[insert]: It was as good / as I expected!!
!!
…

p40: ======================================
Presence was really good.
To think he changed the setting that much from the oneshot…
The Internet liked it, too.

He’s 19. Same age as you, right, Fushimi-kun?

Uh, yes. I was born early in the year, so I’m only 18,
but we both were in the same year in school.

You know him?
Yeah, more-or-less.

Oh. So you’ve completely lost to him!
[sfx]: Sting!

p41: ======================================
That’s right…
Good work today.
I’m completely losing to him.

No, not even that—
I’m received an ultimatum, and I’m standing on the edge of a cliff.

Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I’ve drawn something of my own…

p42: ======================================
*Vibrate*
/ *Vibrate*

[phone]: Mizuno Tooru

!

Hello?

Fushimi-kun, can you come in midday on Monday?
Huh…? I can, yes.

An old editor friend of mine asked for help on a short one-shot.
There aren’t many backgrounds, so I figure it won’t take long.

p43: ======================================
Morning!

Furukawa-san!
/ So it wasn’t just me he asked!
Huh? You didn’t hear?

Mizuno-san! You have to tell him these things!
[insert]: My b, my b.
It’s that lack of care that leads to things like him crawling into my bed!
I wasn’t crawling into your bed!!

p44: ======================================
So then, let me explain.
Okay.

[sfx]: Scratch x4

[sfx]: Draw x4

Furukawa-san, please check this!
Huh? Check it? Me?

p45: ======================================
Damn…
This is super good.
Huh?

Have you really only been here for two months and change?

[sfx]: Turn x2

There’s not much I have to say about this.
/ Everything you finish from now on, bring it straight to Mizuno-san.
O-Okay.

That’s the first time anyone’s ever complimented my work.

p46: ======================================
Hara-san’s always tearing it apart…

[sfx]: Rattle…
But yesterday, I was texting with Hara-kun,
and he said I could relax with you, that you could do the job!

?!

That you have the talent to support Mizuno-pro some day!
Hungry?

p47: ======================================
The Demon Sergeant said that?!

There’s no way you’ll support me!
We can’t have you staying here that long!

?

p48: ======================================
Mizuno-san, have you read any of Fushimi-kun’s manga?

Just the soccer one.
Oh, the one you have lying here.
I read it, too!

[sfx]: Sting!
The halfhearted erotic one!

…
[sfx]: Fire!
Well, going down that route wouldn’t be a waste.

However… even if you do exactly what Mutou-san says,
that doesn’t mean he’ll free you of taking responsibility for what happens in your life.

p49: ======================================
[box]: Breakfast Menu
Fushimi-kun, you’re really lucky!

I am?

Mizuno-san almost never gives people advice!

At one point, when Kawasaki-san wasn’t around…

p50: ======================================
I want to read the manga he puts his heart into!
I heard he said that!

Huh…? I had no idea!

I’m even jealous.
/ He’s never said that about anyone before.

p51: ======================================
He might be taciturn… but I’m sure that was Mizuno-san’s strongest yell of support!

p52: ======================================
<no text>

p53: ======================================
My first chapter came in 4th in the poll.
Same for the second and third chapters.
[sfx]: Crunch

A-Awesome…
You’re a major force in Taurus already.

Still, there’s Magical Girl? Lumina, Gunners, and Juice…
/ It’s going to be hard to knock down those three strongholds.
[sfx]: Crunch

p54: ======================================
It’s really clean in here.
Heck, isn’t this place huge?!
Should you really be renting someplace this big so soon?

The building’s getting old, and it’s far from the station,
so the rent’s not that bad.

And I made sure to talk with Ishidou-san before making up my mind.

Hey, hey, Rin-chan, I was thinking of getting an apartment in NYC’s Upper East Side,
so if I brought the blueprints next time, could we talk about it?

p55: ======================================
I’d be happy to help.

The reason I’m working so hard without giving up is also thanks to what Rin-chan told me.
Sometime this year, you’re going to have a huge opportunity.

Oh, that’s right. There was something I wanted to ask, too.

For now, let’s go get food!

I wish Fushimi-kun would come…
What’s he up to?

p56: ======================================
[sfx]: Snore

p57-58: ======================================
<no text>

p59: ======================================
[signs]: Kou / dan / sha

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you or one of your storyboards.

p60: ======================================
Do you remember what I said back at the yakiniku place?

Yes.

Then let me see it.

Title: Remember

p61: ======================================
…

…

p62: ======================================
Mizuno-san, umm…
I was hoping you’d look at this storyboard.

It’s the first one I’ve drawn
in eight months.

Did you have fun drawing that?
Huh?

p63: ======================================
A manuscript drawn by a newcomer has to be stuffed full of things he likes!

The way you are right now, I’m not going to worry you about characterization, or storybuilding, or any other technical things.
If you can just manage to have fun, you’ll be good.

That’s what he said.
You fool! You showed Mizuno-san your storyboard?!
If you’re gonna show him anything, show him the final manuscript!
He was just being polite because looking over your storyboard would be such a pain!
Looks like we’ll have to restart your education from square one.

p64: ======================================
[sfx]: Rustle…

Fwahaha.

Hahaha.

p65: ======================================
What got into you?
It’s completely different from the path you’ve been on till now.
There’s not a hint of sex in this.

I think that’s fine!

p66: ======================================
[sfx]: Slide

!!

E-Editor-in-Chief!

p67: ======================================
[sfx]: Sit!
!!
To be continued in the August issue