Sincerely Yours
Summary: AU. Depressed and without hope, famous mangaka Ijuuin Kyou finds himself stuck in a slump that threatens to end his tumultuous career once and for all. That is, at least, until the mail arrives. Ijuuin/Fem!Misaki. One-shot.
Rating: T
Warnings: Possible OOC-ness, genderbending, AU storyline
Author's Note: … So. I was having major feels for my personal celebrity crush the other day and decided to channel it into writing an Ijuuin-sensei and Misaki fanfic that may or may not make any sense. Ijuuin/Misaki is one of my newer ships, so I apologize for any OOC-ness that might occur. Also, I'm still hopelessly in love with Fem!Misaki, so I'm using her in this story.
Hope you like it! :)
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Sincerely Yours
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The letter is from a teenage girl named Misaki.
Her handwriting is neat and legible, if a bit large, but it's pleasant to look at. The strokes of her pen look careful, as if she had chosen each word with a vigilant attention before writing it down. The ink is a dark blue, and the perforated paper seems to have been torn from a lined notebook.
Ijuuin Kyou's gray eyes are fatigued and underlined by dark bags, weighed down by stress and far too many restless nights, but his weary mind still notes these facts despite everything. He finds that he wants to do nothing but read the fan letter held carefully in his hands.
He has no drive to possibly do anything else.
He is tired. So very, very tired.
Still, Ijuuin reads. He reads because someone has been kind enough to write to him, even though he hardly deserves it.
So, he reads. His lips soon fall open, and as his eyes roam over the last words, the letter falls from his suddenly slack grip and flutters to the floor.
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He practically dives to pick back it up. Pencils clatter and pens go flying as he lands in a pile of crumpled manga drafts and scrap paper.
Once the letter is safely in his hands, Ijuuin reads it again. And again, and again, and again, until his tired, clouded eyes are shining and bright and alive for the first time in what feels like forever.
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Ijuuin Kyou's editor is pleased, if not rather shocked, with the manga artist's new work ethic that seems to have manifested overnight.
Stressed, anxious, and depressed, Ijuuin-sensei had been ready to cancel The Kan only the morning before, but he is now bent over his desk and drawing with a lively enthusiasm that has been absent for far too long.
The editor had worried for him. So had everyone else.
He is very confused, yes, and he wonders about what has brought such a swift change of heart, but he is glad that Ijuuin-sensei is finally out of the latest and far by deadliest in a long line of slumps.
Ijuuin Kyou is back, and that is all that truly matters.
He soon notices that the mangaka has taken to carrying around a sheet of folded-up notebook paper in his breast pocket. He sometimes spots him taking it out and looking it over with a soft smile on his face, but he doesn't think to ask about it.
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The years pass.
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Ijuuin thinks of her often, now—the girl that wrote to him.
He is currently at an autograph session, meeting so many of his fans and smiling at them and talking with them as a grateful artist should, yet his mind is elsewhere.
Ijuuin only knows her name. Her face is a mystery; her background is nonexistent to him.
The only way he can prove her existence is through the only tangible evidence he has—the letter. It's a bit worn now, the ink beginning to blot and the paper becoming crinkled from continuous handling, but Ijuuin still has it. He is assured in the thought that a real person once had touched it, had written on it, had thought up the words gracing its page…
It cannot be fake, he reasons.
No, that's not right. She is not fake. She is a living, breathing human being, living somewhere in Japan. Existing. Real.
Maybe she's thinking of him right now, the way he thinks of her, even though it's been years?
Although it is impossible, he can swear that the letter warms in its current hiding place—the inner pocket of his suit jacket, pressed against his heart—the moment her name appears in his mind.
He thinks about her all the time, but she seems so unreachable. She is a star in the sky and he a child on Earth, making an impossible wish but still dreaming with all his might.
He wants more than anything in the world to meet her, just once, to tell her how grateful he is. For everything.
He wonders if this is how fans must feel. His feet are light and his eyes are shining, but the letter feels oddly heavy against the steady thumping, thumping, thumping of his heart.
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The next person in line is called. It's another girl; her hair is a warm shade of brown and she has the greenest eyes he's ever seen.
She lights up the moment she sees him, and her smile is so infectious and open that Ijuuin can't help but smile back.
It's a genuine smile, though, not the one he gives for the cameras.
The girl's face is rather flushed now in sudden bashfulness, but she is still able to say, "Hi, Ijuuin-sensei. It's amazing to finally meet you."
"It's nice to meet you, too," he replies pleasantly as she takes out the latest copy of The Kan and lays it on the table for him. Ijuuin uncaps his pen and opens the front cover, the tip poised over the space just underneath the title of the manga. He asks, "And who am I signing this for?"
She hands over her name card. "Takahashi Misaki," it reads.
His throat goes completely dry.
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This is fate, he thinks.
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"You know, I read your letter," Ijuuin mentions. He mixes another sugar packet into his tea, and he can feel her eyes follow the movement of his fingers.
She's trying not to look at him, but she is. He's looking at her, too.
He'd been afraid that after the autograph session he'd never see Takahashi Misaki again, but once he spotted her in a café that same evening, he hasn't been able to stop looking.
Ijuuin figures that neither of them can really help it. They are both sitting across from someone that they hold close to their heart, but he doubts that Takahashi knows that.
He wants to tell her.
"Oh. Really?" she asks eagerly. Her cheeks turn a bit red. "Which one?"
He ducks his head and smiles. Yes, she'd written to him more than once; he has all of her letters on file.
"All of them," he replies. "But I'm talking about the first one. You sent it to me in when you were in high school."
"Oh. That one," Takahashi says, her voice quieter. She's very red now. "That's, um…" She coughs. "… kinda embarrassing. I didn't think you'd actually get it, let alone read it."
"But I did," Ijuuin assures her. He then leans forward, closer, and she hesitates momentarily before doing the same. He takes a moment to just look at her—she's actually quite lovely, he suddenly realizes—before he murmurs under his breath, "And you know what happened after I read it?"
Takahashi looks nervous. Afraid, almost.
"What?" she whispers. Her green eyes are so wide.
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His lips are moving and words are spilling out, but the echoes of his mind whisper something else.
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Afterwards, Ijuuin isn't quite sure what he says out loud, but it still makes a wide grin spread across Takahashi's face and that's enough for him.
So they talk some more. She tells him more about herself and so does he. She laughs, and he laughs, too, and everything feels so wonderful and right that he can hardly believe that this is really happening to him.
In the end, they exchange phone numbers. Takahashi is absolutely giddy.
"It's been so incredible talking with you like this, Sensei!" she says. The girl is bubbling with happiness, and for some reason the sight fills Ijuuin's chest with a strange warmth he's never felt before. She rambles on, "When I came here, I never thought anything like… like this could ever happen! It's so unbelievable…!"
He can't help but smile at her.
"Same here," he replies, and he means it with every fibre of his being.
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While relaying his experiences at the autograph session, Ijuuin ends up offhandedly mentioning Takahashi to Kirishima Zen. His editor actually recognizes the name, and Ijuuin is surprised; he is told that she's recently been hired by Marukawa.
Kirishima actually sees her quite often around the office.
"She's a good kid. Hard-working. Reliable," he says, rubbing his chin. His tone is a thoughtful one. "You know her already, so I think she'll be the one to go over to your place and pick up your manuscripts. Are you alright with that?"
He is.
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He runs into Takahashi again at the bookstore. She's peering at the manga stacked along the new releases stand and hasn't yet noticed him, but Ijuuin suddenly feels like his breath is caught in his throat.
He hastily catches his reflection in a nearby window, checking the state of his hair and smoothing out his cardigan before finding the courage to stride over. He's not sure when his hands began shaking, and he quickly shoves them into his pockets.
As he approaches, Ijuuin finds that he isn't sure how to greet her. Should he touch her shoulder to get her attention, or should he clear his throat first? Should he do either at all? When he speaks, should he be enthusiastic? Or perhaps more subdued?
He doesn't know, and it kind of scares him.
Still, he finds his voice and once he's a few feet away, he says, "If it isn't Takahashi-chan?"
Takahashi whirls around and looks terribly surprised, but her mouth quickly splits into a wide grin as soon as she catches sight of him.
"Ah! Ijuuin-sensei!" she exclaims. Her eyes become so bright and lively when they meet his, and Ijuuin wonders if she greets everyone this way or if he's the only privileged recipient of such a lovely expression. Takahashi looks flustered for a moment, but she still manages out an enthusiastic, "Hi! How are you?"
He's replying, but all he can think of is how he's never before met someone so happy to just see him.
As he speaks, his mind makes a connection. Ijuuin suddenly places the odd feeling he's had in his chest for so long.
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Being with Takahashi, talking to her, smiling with her, it feels right.
I'm in love, he realizes.
And he knows it's true.
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He gifts her with a single rose—"Congratulations for making it into Marukawa," he tells her although his heart is beating along to silent words he can't say just yet—and from the look on her face, she could be the happiest girl in the world.
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Only days later, Takahashi is helping him clean his apartment.
"Oh!" She makes a sound of surprise, and Ijuuin turns to her.
He asks, "What is it?"
"Ah, it's nothing…" she insists. Even so, she's blushing.
There's a binder in her hands, one that Ijuuin can easy identify from all the others sprawled throughout the room. It's turned to a page he's very, very familiar with.
Takahashi says, "It's just the fan letter I sent to you a long time ago. You still have it?"
He laughs and tells her that he keeps all the letters fans send to him because they encourage him to keep working and stay strong. It's certainly not a lie; at the same time, though, a hand brushes over the pocket of his jeans, where a copy of her letter is folded and is residing within.
Takahashi purses her lips together thoughtfully. "My letter looks the most worn out…" she notices, brushing a hand over the page as Ijuuin has done so many times before. Her voice is soft as she speaks.
Ijuuin wonders if she's beginning to connect the pieces.
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"I'll always love you, Sensei!"
Takahashi blurts it out despite his many shortcomings and recurrent feelings of failure, and it sounds so sincere and open that Ijuuin can hardly believe it but does. An honest laugh escapes his lips when her face flushes and her expression becomes rather sheepish and embarrassed, but she still smiles at him.
At that moment, he clutches at the letter in his pocket and makes a decision.
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"Takahashi-chan, do you have a boyfriend?"
The question is point-blank and direct. Takahashi's eyes widen and she is gaping at him, but her gaze doesn't leave his for a moment.
Her mouth clicks shut. She licks her lips and swallows.
"No," she tells him.
Ijuuin nods and hums in approval. He leans a bit closer to her, laying his arm across the back of the couch. The pastries they'd been eating sit forgotten on the coffee table in front of them.
It's easy to see that she's nervous. Takahashi hasn't drawn away from his sudden closeness but instead searches his face, looking confused and suspicious and hopeful all at the same time.
Eventually, she inquires in a small voice, "…Why?"
Ijuuin supposes that he can be more elegant with what he is about to say, but it's just the two of them in his apartment. He decides to be straightforward.
"Do you want one?" he asks.
Takahashi just stares at him.
"Wait… you?"
He nods, and her eyes meet his. She looks so bewildered.
"I…" The girl clears her throat and laughs a bit disbelievingly. She then says, "I… oh, wow. I'm probably dreaming right now, but, um… okay?"
Takahashi laughs again to herself, patting at her cheeks to make sure that she's really awake, and her eyes flicker back up to him. She looks at him in wonder.
"But are you really sure you want me, of all people?" she questions, her eyebrows furrowing together. "I mean, you're Ijuuin Kyou. You know, the super famous, super handsome, super talented mangaka, the creator of The Kan and all?"
She gestures to him with a waving hand before her shoulders slump.
Takahashi purses her lips, looking uncomfortable and mumbling, "Me, on the other hand… What do you want me for? I'm nobody."
"You're Takahashi Misaki," Ijuuin tells her. She looks at him again and he fixes her with a level, determined gaze. He continues, "And I'm just a man who fell in love with you."
He leans over and kisses her. She tastes like strawberries and cream.
And just like that, his world is changed.
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From then on, he calls her Misaki. He tries to get her to call him Kyou, but she says that she's known him as Ijuuin-sensei for so long that anything else sounds odd.
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Ijuuin sees Misaki frequently. She is the one making deliveries between his apartment and the Marukawa Manga Department just as Kirishima promised, and she is often in his company outside of university and work.
Ijuuin hasn't had a girlfriend since high school. It's a bit odd for him at first, to be in a relationship again after so long, but the one he's with is the Takahashi Misaki—the driving force behind his work, the home of his strength, his letter-writer, and now the holder of his heart—so he takes it all in stride and does what he can to make her smile.
They go out frequently, and to Ijuuin, it's like taking gulps of fresh air after drowning in smoke. Misaki is a wellspring of enthusiasm, a whirlwind of smiles and laughter and kindness that leaves him absolutely breathless every time. It's so new and wonderful, and he can't help but just marvel at the simple fact that she is his and she loves him despite everything.
She is his muse, now; he throws himself into his work with a newfound energy he has never known he possessed, and the ratings with readers and book stores are higher than they have ever been before.
He doesn't notice it at first, but the covers of his manga soon become brighter and more colorful, the faces of his characters become more expressive, and the way he writes, the way he draws, his whole style just… changes.
It's very subtle, but it's there, and the improvement is more beautiful than anything Ijuuin could have ever imagined.
Kirishima—who quickly learns of his relationship with Misaki—teases him when the protagonist of The Kan gains an unexpected love interest, but it sells remarkably well so the editor doesn't complain.
Before anyone else, Ijuuin first shows the character design of said love interest to Misaki.
She almost cries. She kisses him instead.
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The next issue of The Kan has an extra page at the end. A drawing in the corner shows the main character cheerfully holding hands with a smiling girl with warm brown hair and impossibly green eyes.
"This is dedicated to my very own Midori-chan," it reads. "Thank you so much. For everything."
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The years pass. Ijuuin has never felt so alive.
Misaki calls him Kyou, now.
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Interviewers have a thing for asking personal questions, he notices.
"I'm sure there are quite a few readers who'd be delighted to hear more about your private life, Ijuuin-sensei!" Harada tells him, her pen poised and ready above her notepad. "Are you married? Or do you have a girlfriend?"
Ijuuin lets a genuine smile form on his lips.
"I have a wife," he replies, his voice soft with affection. He closes her eyes and thinks of her—his Misaki, his muse, his life—and he says aloud, "We're expecting our first child soon, actually."
"Oh, really? Congratulations!" the interviewer exclaims. Her pen is moving rapidly. "You must be very happy!"
He gives a quiet laugh and says, "Very. We've been together for years, but sometimes..." He trails off, and Harada looks at him in interest as he continues, "She's just… amazing. So amazing. I still find myself looking at her sometimes and wondering how something so wonderful could ever happen to me."
His interviewer nods, smiling. "You must really love her," she sighs. She flips to another page in her notepad and asks, "Can you tell us more about you two?"
Ijuuin pauses, but he soon reaches into the inner pocket of his suit and pulls out a sheet of notebook paper. It's worn and crinkled, but there is clearly writing in dark blue ink on it.
"I suppose I won't be left alone until I do," he chuckles before glancing down at the sheet in his hands.
It's a familiar sight. His heart warms in his chest as he looks over carefully written text that he now knows word for word.
He smiles to himself. Memories flood his mind, and he is content.
Ijuuin takes a deep breath and says, "It began with a letter…"
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"Dear Ijuuin Kyou-sensei,
Hi, I'm Takahashi Misaki! I'm not sure if you're ever going to read this and you've never even met me before, so sorry if this sounds weird or anything, but I wanted to let you know that I'm a huge fan of you and your work! I've been reading The Kan since I was in elementary school, and I'm about to graduate from high school in a few weeks' time. All these years, I've always loved your work, and that definitely isn't going to stop anytime soon!
That said, I've been thinking a lot lately—about the future, where I'll go from here, what university I want to go to, typical end-of-high-school stuff like that. I didn't realize it until recently, but you've been a part of me for practically half of my lifetime.
Oh! That sounded really weird, didn't it? I was going to erase that, but White Out would look horrible in the middle of a letter, I think… I probably should've written in pencil, but it might have smudged or something while I was writing…
Well, anyway! I guess I should probably explain what I meant.
The Kan has always been my favorite of your works. As I'm just a stranger, this might not mean much to you, but I started reading your manga at a strange point of my life. My mom and dad died when I was eight, and my older brother had been taking care of me for about a year when I found The Kan at a bookstore close to the apartment where we were living.
It changed me. That year was a sad one, I remember, and your work brought me joy in those times where it felt like everything was going to end. It was a long time ago, so my memory is a bit fuzzy, but I still remember reading your manga late at night and being happy. Even for just a moment, everything was alright.
It made me happy, and I'll never forget that.
Ever since then… Well, my fate was sealed. I've been a fan of yours for years now, and I have no intention of stopping. At first, I only bought your comics, but I buy magazines featuring you or your works now, too. Oh, and I've also filed all the articles you've written!
Your talents are very versatile, Sensei! I'm sure you could do anything you want and it would be amazing, just like everything else you've done. Like, I'm not into novels that much, but if you wrote one I'd definitely read it in a heartbeat!
Or maybe you could be a movie star, if you wanted. I've watched Sensei's interviews and you're really articulate and handsome, so it'd probably be real easy for you.
… Well, of course, only if you wanted! The point is, I think you can do whatever you put your mind to, Ijuuin-sensei. From things I've read, it hasn't always been a smooth road for you. While I can't claim to know the things you've been through or how you've felt during those times, I just want you to know that your fans will always be there for you.
As someone so famous, you seem so far away. Untouchable, you know? I'm just a regular everyday kid, so there's little to no chance of me ever meeting you, never mind getting to know you. Even so, my feelings won't ever change.
Isn't that the incredible thing, though? That even though I'm just a stranger, you've encouraged me all this time?
For that reason, you're someone very special to me. I think that fans like me—the ones you'll never meet but have grown and learned so much from you and your work—feel the same. I believe in you, so I hope you'll be able to use the strength you've given me and so many others as your own strength for when you truly need it.
You were there for me, Ijuuin-sensei. And because of that, even though you may never know me, I want you to know that I will always love you.
So, thank you so much. For everything.
Sincerely yours,
Takahashi Misaki."
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