The romance will start around… Well, Bakuman 109? Because, this takes place around chapter 26? Wow ;A;. That's a huge gap. We'll see what'll happen, but I see a lot of time – skips up ahead! xD.
I don't own Bakuman, but I do own Yui and this plot.
"Are you kidding me? This is not okay, damn it!"
"F-Fukuda- san! Calm down!"
"Like Hell I will!"
"Fukuda-sensei! Sensei!"
"What?"
"Eh~. You'll beat him next time!"
"That's all you have to say?"
"This isn't like you, Fukuda-san… You've been beaten before, so why are you so upset now?"
Some freakin' person named Ches. Who the Hell is this guy? He's starting to piss me off!
The silvernette plopped down on his chair, lifting up the newest Jump magazine from the floor, where he left it earlier. Flipping through it, he got to the page where Inherit the Sky showed its debut. He scanned the title, and noticed there was a small paragraph about the mangaka, Ches:
Ches lives along the beach and spends time on Inherit the Sky while looking out on the shore line. Walking along the beach during sunset is common whenever Ches acquires writer's block.
Fukuda raised a silver brow. Ches lives on a beach, huh? There were hundreds of beaches in Japan, but he must be close to meet with the Jump Editorial Office, so it narrows the areas down quite a bit. He smirked to himself in amusement at the thought of being able to find this Ches. Whoever he was, he had one Hell of an imagination, and a whole lot of luck for his manga to win first place right off the bat. Something didn't seem right about the ordeal, but he didn't let it bother him; wasn't that much of a big deal.
"Not a big deal my ass!" Fukuda shouted, throwing the magazine across Eiji's studio. It smacked his editor, Yujiro Hattori, in the face and flopped to the floor, making him yelp and jump back.
Screw that thought, it was a big deal. The teen angrily slid off his hat and ran his hands grimly into his long locks, tugging on the hairs in frustration. He vaguely remembered that pen name before, and not a moment later he realized this was the same person who beat him to first place years back in a manga contest. The title of said manga wasn't the same as Inherit the Sky, he knew, but for some reason it didn't want to come to him. Didn't matter what it was called, what mattered is that he was beaten by some rookie. Ches wasn't even considered a rookie, Fukuda thought of him as more of a rookie rookie. Goddamnit. He was tired of this prick already.
"Maybe I'm taking it too far," he grumbled, sitting up and smoothing out his hair.
"I think Fukuda-sensei is, too," Niizuma grumbled, chewing on the end of his mechanical pencil. Fukuda paid no mind to what Niizuma was saying, instead locking his eyes onto his desk. Immediately he took back what he said once more, believing nothing was going too far in trying to pursue your dreams.
"F-Fukuda, it'll be alright. Just… Use this for motivation, you know? You're better than Ches," Nakai spoke up this time, though it seemed he was being hesitant. Who wouldn't be, though? Whenever Fukuda was angry, it was time to hide under the desks; Nakai would be doing just that if he could get himself to fit under there.
"Wait, so if Inherit the Sky got first, then that means–"
That means Mashiro and Akito didn't make it, either.
They'll just have to try again. Fukuda sighed and looked at the clock dented into the wall. But with Ches coming in, there'll be more competition and motivation for them to strive in winning. So, in a way, it was a good thing Ches was coming into the game*. But why didn't he think so?
"I need to get to my job," he murmured to nobody but himself, standing abruptly and heading for the door.
Yujiro checked the time and rose a bow, seeming confused as he called after the angry man, "but you still have an–"
The older man didn't have a chance to finish, since Fukuda had already slammed the front door.
"Er-… I don't think Fukuda-sensei is all that happy," Niizuma squeaked, sitting with his knees up to his chest on the cushioned chair. He was peeked up of the back, pencil between his upper lip and nose. Nakai said nothing in response; only burying himself in adding speed lines to Crow.
"Well… Can't really blame him," Yujiro sighed, "third time Ches beat him, right? I guess I'd be pretty angry if the same person beat me three times in a row, too."
Niizuma rose a brow, tilting his head to the side an inch. It was more than three; had to be at least four or five. It'd been only a little while since he met Fukuda, though during that time they've shared quite a few stories. What Fukuda mostly talked about had wanted to beat a certain mangaka. He assumed Ches to be the one.
"So, what's so fresh about this Ches to make Fukuda act like that? I mean, he's always a bit moody, but today is different…"
It seemed that way to Nakai and Niizuma as well. Fukuda has always had a short fuse, at least in all the time the three of them have known him. And this was no sudden thing since Ches has been beating Fukuda for quite a while. At first it was just entering one-shots and the prize was having it run in Jump, along with the possibility of it becoming a series if good enough. Though in all the contests Ches has won and all the offers of their one-shots becoming series, not once has Ches accepted said offers. Niizuma found this the most strange, though didn't think much off it because it wasn't necessary to worry about someone else's business.
"Since… We're on the subject, what's Inherit the Sky about, anyway?"
Yujiro looked over at Nakai and shrugged, "haven't read it yet, but I heard it was different from the rest. But, that's what they always say, you know?"
So they both looked at Niizuma, who was holding the same Jump magazine Fukuda had thrown at Yujiro earlier. Of course he already read it; he just wanted to read it again. There was an unusual seriousness to his tone: "It has to do with a demon who tries to overthrow the ruler of the Underworld, Hades. As punishment, he was sent to Earth as a soul with his powers sealed, and the only way to get them back was to obtain a new body," Niizuma paused to eye at the fpicture of the main character, "He found a human girl and made a contract with her. It's all quite interesting, actually; the story is heavily laced with Greek mythology."
There was only one thing the two said in union: "wow."
A soft ocean breeze drifted through the screen of a rather large window, replacing the hot air lingering in the small room. The windows were open, curtains were drawn back, and the sun was at the perfect position between the clouds to light up her room, so there was no need to have the lamps on. It was a lovely day, perfect to read, run a muck on the beach– or even better, draw.
This is exactly what a young lady was doing. She was perched up on a cushioned bench attached to the wall, just under the window so she'd be able to look out at the sea. It was a beautiful view, for her room to be facing the beach. She especially loved when the sky was the way it was now; cloudy with a chance of rain. To other people, it might be more on the gloomy side, but in her mind it was far from perfect. This sort of weather was when her creativity was at its best, and this is what she needed right now. Her work just got serialized, after all. She'd just gotten the news days after the new issue was scheduled to be published, and it thrilled her to know she had beaten Eiji Nizuma. He was one of the people whom she considered her rival, including a man named Shinta Fukuda, and two newcomers, Moritaka Mashiro and Akito Takagi. Though, everyone in the manga industry should be looked at as a rival, should they not…?
She shook her head, dismissing the idea. This woman was a thinker. She always thought before she spoke. There's always something going on in her head, whether it's a question or an answer to said question she had asked herself. These mental arguments with herself where common for her and it wasn't odd to hear them be said out loud once in a while. Challenging herself further is also what this young lady was made up of; multitasking especially. Her aunt had taught her the more she expands her skills and thinking, the more her creativity would grow.
That's why she wanted to work for Niizuma Eiji.
Frankly, he was a genius. Not just to her, but in general. His art was beautiful in her eyes and she wanted to see him make it alive while in the flesh. In person or on camera, it didn't matter, though it'd be better to see him draw while sitting next to him. I can expand my mind that way, by working as an assistant whilst my own manga.
After adding the speed lines onto a storyboard she was working on, she set down her drawing pad, before sitting up and stretching her limbs. Crossing the polished wooden floors to get to her desk, she plugged in a purple CD player and pressed the 'play' button, Ai Otsuka's Pretty Voice soon flowing out from the speakers. But ss soon as the chorus started, another song blended in. She could hear Dir en Grey's Yokan faintly coming from the corner of her room, somewhere near her bed. She headed over to it, moving her beloved sheep plush out of the way, and saw that her cell phone was glowing. Quickly she flipped it open, not bothering to read the caller ID. There was a deep voice on the other line, one she found to be rather familiar to her the moment he spoke.
"Hello? Is this Ches' Studio?"
"Yes, Ueda speaking. May I ask whose calling?"
"Hattori Akira, from Jump? I was told you wanted to set up an appointment."
Yui rose one of her eyebrows. She felt a bit bad that she had forgotten her editor's name, "Y-Yes, that's right, I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize. I'm free later tomorrow at five, if that's alright?"
"Tomorrow would be perfect; the sooner the better."
There was a pause on the other end of the line.
"Alright, wrote it down… If I may ask, Ueda-san, why the sudden appointment? There's still a week or so before needing to submit new chapters."
Another pause, though Yui was able to answer calmly and smoothly, "Finished early, just wanted to check up on a few details."
"Ah, perfectly understandable. If that's all, I'll see you at five."
A quick goodbye and she had hung up, flopping down on her bed. She let her phone rest on the bed sheets next to her as she brought hand up, running it through her short hair. Suddenly it seemed a little too hot in her room. The window was open, and there was a cool, oceanic breeze, though Yui herself felt overheated. So she stood, walking over to sit in her window, and with a sigh she let loose her ponytail for the wind to blow through her thin locks.
"Twenty-four hours until I request being Niizuma-san's assistant. I can do this."
:sighs in relief: that was more satisfying than the previous first chapter ~3~. I am very pleased.
*Inherit The Sky. :D