Chapter Thirteen
"Love is Like… A Good Anime, Right?"
Monday, October 9th
Kinoshita Seiichi held his hands in his lap. Looking down at the floor as if he was an infant child about to be scolded.
The parent in this case, was Jun Watanabe. Growing frustrated, as he was feeling more and more as if he was working as a daycare manger instead of a producer.
"Well, director. You aren't totally at the lowest point of your career as of now." Watanabe sighed.
Kinoshita looked up from his lap, hiding any trace of optimism. "How possibly?" he sighed.
"Well, the studio was in the process of buying the airtime before their normal slot, and they'd run last weeks episode in that place." Watanabe began. "So instead, where they are going to air last weeks episode. We talked about making it a one hour special. To which of course they agreed."
Seiichi had a wide smile on his face. "Oh!? It isnt over!?"
Watanabe tried his hardest to suppress a grin. "Well… it makes life a lot harder for the studio but… we can get it done."
Seiichi smiled. "We will! This will be the best hour to ever come from Musashino Animations!"
Watanabe began to walk away. "No slip ups this time, director! I want the episode in my hands on Wednesday evening! Don't make me come find you!"
Unfortunately for Misa Todou, while a coffee could remove her desire to take a nap in the earlier part of her work day, it had been unsuccessful in removing the ache in the small of her back. Her early morning work led to a mid morning slump on her trek to the general assembly room. She yawned relentless on her approach to the large conference room, where she was united with the entirety of the studio. These bi-weekly meetings never failed to be anything other than dreadfully boring, and all she wanted to do was go back to her computer and finish her tedious work of animating light fixtures as part of an anime studios need for an episode that takes part in a city.
She took her seat next to an older woman, one she had only seen occasionally in the lunch area.
"Morning Misa." she said.
"Good morning, Sasha." Misa replied, covering her mouth for another yawn.
"Late night?"
"No, it was just hard getting out of bed. Any idea what the assembly points are today?"
"I am unsure. But the higher ups are excited about... something."
Misa removed her phone and checked for any work emails that might clue her in. Just the notification for the general meeting today. She took a look around the room and indeed notice a change. Everyone did seem to be… a bit livelier than ordinary for a Monday morning assembly. Possibly due to the fact that if it were something negative they would have notified the company a while ago?
She didn't have too wait too long to find out why. About seven or so minutes later, of which she spent of her organizing her work emails (a task she neglects until it is absolutely necessary), the director of the company took the his podium at the head of the room.
"Good morning everyone." he began.
The crowd repeated the greeting. "Good morning."
"First thing on the agenda today, I would like to commend you all on the work you have done this year. We have done plenty of work for many studios, and the company has grown and strengthened as a result of your efforts. Via some fancy math that accounting doesn't clue me in on, you should all expect a bigger holiday bonus!"
Waves of approval rushed through the studio. After all, who was going to say anything negative about receiving a bigger check come the holiday season?
There had to be more too the hype surrounding the meeting if that was the only big news. Although, Misa remained skeptical. Bringing in great news is exactly how you lead into bad news.
"Second, we would like everyone to tidy their office spaces up a little. I know it's getting colder out there and the trips to the dumpster out back is more of a chore when it's chilly, but we would like to do a big cleaning before winter hits. Plus, the owners meeting takes place next month. So consider this a notification."
She stood corrected. The meeting would be dull instead. Misa slouched in her seat, and put her brain in cruise control and waited for the meeting. She prayed silently that nobody would dare ask a question and make the meeting longer than it needed to be.
"Finally, we have some large, and the most exciting news."
Misa's ears didn't dare perk up, but he had her attention.
"For the next year-and-a-half, we are going to work on the second season of the popular anime, Exodus! for Musashino productions!"
Misa almost fell out of her chair she stood at attention so quickly. "No way!" Gasps were heard from the remainder of the studio as well.
"Musashino Animations contacted us late last week and expressed interest in working together. They plan to have their backgrounds be larger in scale, and have a bigger reliance on CG. So for now, we will have a smaller, more dedicated team to handle outside work from other studios, while most of us will work with Musani full time! It is a very exciting time for the studio, and we hope that all of your hard work will continue!"
Misa was finally going to be able to truly live her dream! She would be able to heavily work with anime! Her name would be in the credits! She would get to work with Aoi! With Ema!
Sarah could see the excitement. "Well, are you glad you came?"
Misa almost had to fight back tears. She couldn't ever remember being so motivated. "Of course!"
Tuesday, October 10th
The guilt. The fear. The future. The uncertainty.
Ema couldn't take it anymore.
During her lunch break, which she took a few minutes earlier than usual, she snuck up to the roof. Luckily, Iguchi was not here for a quick cigarette as she usually is. Ema was all alone. For now anyways.
She tossed and turned all night to fall to one conclusion. She couldnt leave Musani.
The studio was always going to be hectic. It would always be disorganized. It would always be… small. Disrespected. Glanced over. Yet she knew this is where she needed to be. It was more than just staying where she felt comfortable. She had heard more than enough horror stories about bigger studios and how they treated their animators. Especially AlphaOne pictures. While she knew that the day would come where she had to leave Musani because it had taken her as far as she could go as a creator, she was confident in one thing.
The day she left was not going to be today.
Her heart was thumping in her chest, so as she held the phone by her ear waiting for the party on the other end to answer, she hoped they wouldn't be able to hear her pulse while she spoke.
"Hello, Naranaka speaking."
"Hello, this is Ema Yasuhara." she nervously spoke.
"Ah, Miss Yasuhara!" he said. "Glad to hear from you. What is the reason for your call this afternoon?"
Just spit it out and go from there Ema. Just spit it out, she told herself. There is no sentence, paragraph, or even an essay that would be able to make what she was about to say easier.
"I apologize, Mister Narnaka. But I will not be taking the job at AlphaOne Pictures."
The knot in her stomach didn't lessen. She didn't expect it too. Not yet.
"We're very disappointed to hear that." he said, his voice clearly showing it. "Is there a reason you are going back on your verbal commitment?"
… Because I don't want to leave? She thought. But that statement couldn't fly.
Honestly, she hadn't thought that far. She just… wasn't ready.
"Well. I'm happy here." she began. "I want to stay here and continue working on my craft. I do not believe I will be able to do that effectively at any other studio, especially one as… demanding as yours."
"In what way?" he asked.
"Well… here." She stammered. "Animators are awarded a degree of creative freedom you won't find anywhere else. Here…"
Minato Shimura had a smile as he worked on his Key Frame. You would think he had his creativity stifled after making nothing but key frame retakes for the better part of an entire day, but this week the last episode would be released. How could he be upset? He focused on each stroke of the pencil, trying to craft a beautiful frame. If he was going to impress Musani, this was his last chance. And if not? He would take his talents elsewhere. He could visibly see his progression, and everything just felt like it "clicked" for him.
Matsui worked hard as well. After all, he was better at drawing than Minato was, how could he be shown up by someone who started drawing years after he did!?
"All done!" Minato said excitedly. "Ready for more!"
To which Matsui scoffed. "Oh come on, slow down! Haste makes waste!"
"Not this time. Call me Mina-angelo! I am official out here!"
A knock at the side of the cubicle alerted Minato to the presence of Ringo Ogasawara, in her usual gothic-lolli attire. "Just did the final animation checks over the first two scenes. Your key frames showed a lot of personality. Great work."
Minato's smile only got wider, and his inner fire only grew. "Thank you!"
"Here..." Ema continued. "It's a… lower stress environment. Where people's creativity is rewarded. Dreams feel like…like they come true here."
"Dreams?"
"Yes." Ema felt silly for saying it. Especially considering she was a professional. But in reality, she was completely correct. "Here, the studio isn't so… bogged down by the hyper competitiveness of the industry. It's allowed to take chances, and reward ambition and...
Shizuka Sakaki had only stretched from sleeping in for the first time all week before her first notification of the day was a phone call from her management company. Oh, she hoped it would be a new audition! Soon she would be able to quit working at the pub if this momentum continued!
"Hello?" she asked excitedly.
"Good morning, Sakaki." the cool, voice said at the other end.
"Good morning!" she cheerily replied.
"Well, I am here to deliver some good news."
"A new audition?"
"No, a new role."
She audibly gasped.
"Musashino contacted us late yesterday, and said that they have a new character they've added pretty late in production. Big role. They called us and mentioned you by name specifically. They practically begged for you."
She cupped her hand over her mouth, and tried to fight tears.
"They mentioned that web anime. Miharu's Masterpeice, was it? They said the range and your delivery as part of the jokes sold them on you. Your voice has more use than just being a young girl. So with your approval, we can start signing the contracts."
"Is this real?" she managed to whimper.
"Of course, Sakaki. We are as excited as you are."
With tears certainly coming forth, Shizuka refused to let her voice show it. Finally. She thought. Finally. I'm getting there.
"Yes! Yes please!" she cried out, a smile overtaking her entire face.
"Here… ambition and risks are rewarded" she finished.
"Oh, you mean risks as in not getting episodes in time?" he snapped back.
"Yeah but..." Damn, that was a good one. "But sometimes… at the lowest point of something… there is nowhere to go but up, and…"
Midori Imai slid over a stack of papers at her mentor, Maitake Shimeji.
"I worked on it all weekend. I hope it's good enough." she said nervously.
Maitake read over the papers. "The backstory for the new girl. Akane, you named her?" he asked.
"Yes. I didn't want to get hung up on the name and lose the inspiration. That name is the surname of a character from one of my favorite anime. So I figured I would change it later, but it just stuck with me."
"Mmhmm." he said, his eyes scanning the pages.
His noises continued as he read.
"Ok ok…"
Interesting..."
"Hmmm..."
Her stomach turned after each noise he made after each page. There have been countless times he looked at a paper, got reassuring noises, only for him to say something like "try again" or "not quite" or her personal favorite "this is workable" and proceeds to delete 98 percent of it.
"This is a fine backstory, Imai." he said.
She looked up, too stunned for words.
"Some fine details need to be worked on, fleshed out a tad. Some parts are over detailed. Mind you, we need to give the director more wiggle room to write her into the studio. But overall, this is a great story. I like it a lot."
"Thank you so much!" she leapt out of her chair and wrapper her arms around Shimeji, giving him the tightest of hugs.
"Ok ok!" Shimeji said, stifling a smile at seeing her happiness. "Calm down a little."
Midori returned swiftly to her seat. "I'm sorry." she said, tears flowing comically down her face. "I'm just so happy!"
"… and that is where you truly find out exactly how good you are as a creator." Ema finished.
"I see." Naranaka stated. "So your mind is made up?" he asked.
"Yes. It is." she replied.
He sighed heavily. "While we are bitterly disappointed by your decision, we wish you the best in your career. Have a great day Miss Yasuhara."
"You as well."
There was no question that Ema felt some degree of relief. No question that she felt she made the right decision. But the knot in her stomach lessened, but still remained.
Friday, October 10th
"I wish to you the best, Minato. I really do. I am sure you have nothing to worry about." Shizuka said.
Minato took deep breaths in the hallway, pacing back and forth. "It's alright. I think I'm ok." he said.
He couldn't help but me nervous and anxious. Another job interview. In reality it was another chance to show he belonged, but he didn't see it as that. First, was all this just a formality? Had his fate been decided already? Or, was this a knock on his skills? Had he not been good enough, despite the all-nighters? Working consistently through the weekend? Were his skills merely… passable at the professional level? Doubt crept into his mind.
He was in such a good run of form he felt like he should easily be hired. Yet he had been in more than enough interviews that did not produce results to warrant being nervous for this one.
"Well I think you'll be hired, Minato." Shizuka said. "You're too hard working to not be hired. Trust me, I see how much you put into your craft. They respect that."
"Thank you, Shizuka." he mumbled.
"I take it you wont be going to the party tonight if you don't get hired?"
"No, don't think so." he sighed. "I wont feel… wanted or invited."
"Don't! You know how good you are. They should know that as well!"
His spirits lifted. Not significantly, not anything close. But enough to give him a grin.
"Thank you, Shizuka."
"He looked to his right, to which he saw the door open, and Aoi Miyamori wave him in.
"Ah! Gottta go, Shizuka!"
"Ok good luck! Let me know how it goes!"
"I will! I love you!"
Without a second thought, Minato ended the call, and headed off into the conference room.
He sat at the end of the conference table. On the other side, the General Manger of the studio sat, giving him a usual blank, disinterested state, Yuka Okitsu. On her right side, the owner of the studio sat looking at a packet of papers. Minato was surprised to see him, and expected to see him cooking at the event hall. To the left of the manager, Aoi Miyamori took her seat as well, giving her phone a quick check. Was Aoi here because she was Production Desk? Likely. Minato wished for Tsubaki Andou if he had a choice. Or even Yumi Iguchi. After all, those two are the people he's worked the most with.
Well, them and Diasuke Hiraoka. But Minato hoped he wouldn't be showing up today.
"Minato Shimura." Okitsu began.
"Yes, good afternoon." he began.
"You are applying to be a Key Animator?" she asked.
Like you don't already know? He thought. "Indeed I am." he replied breathlessly.
Marukawa spoke next. "Everyone at the studio doesn't seem to have anything negative to say about you. Approachable. Cordial. Professional. What makes Musani the studio you want to work with? You think you would have it the easiest route to a job?"
"No." Minato replied. "I didn't see this year as a long job interview. I wanted to work here because I love the… attitude of everyone here."
"Attitude?" they all said in unison.
"Well, yeah." he stammered. He had to pull an explanation out of his backside. "Well, the focus is to get anime out. On time. But not here, it's more of a focus on the craft and the product than just trying to pump out a forgettable episode or series for some quick cash."
Marukawa nodded, a sly grin on his face as he wrote something down on the paper in front of him.
"So you think you'll progress here better than elsewhere?"
"Without question." he said, no hesitation. "I think I've progressed already, and I have a lot longer to go. Everyone here is so… helpful. And it's amazing to know that I wont be shown the door when I make a few mistakes on the key frames. Plus everyone here is so helpful. Iguchi. Sugie. Goth-lolli-sama. Yasuhara."
Aoi spoke next. "But when you have to do retakes on an entire frame? I remember you stayed all weekend to do a set of frames as part of taking of Yasuhara's cut."
"Yes."
"Can we still expect that same amount of effort?"
"No." Minato said slyly. "You'll get much more. However many frames I need to draw, however many retakes I have to do, however many hours I have to stay here, I'll do it. Each frame I'll work on as hard as I can. By no means did I have the intention on landing the job and just collecting a paycheck."
Aoi smiled, and she scrawled something down on paper.
"Does that include your continued work on the anime you're also devoting time to?" Okitsu began. "Miharu's Masterpeice? It's quite popular for a web anime? Do you think that you won't stretch yourself too thin working for two studios?
F***. And this was going so well." Minato thought.
The three people in front of him leaned in intently. What was he to say? Him doing audio was never a problem. Doing the occasional frame was no issue either, which is what Matsui and a few others were for. While the anime was winding down its 10 episode first season, of which he had… a moderate involvement in, at best, how was he to defend having two jobs?
"Well, I think that my involvement for Studio Hope will not provide any… distractions. It hasn't already."
"And how are you sure that it would not in the future?" she pressed on.
"The director is my best friend. She would understand if I was unable to take a bigger role."
"So the quality of your work wouldn't suffer? Or you wouldn't make a… hasty move out of Musashino if the anime becomes significantly more profitable?"
Minato had his answer. Hell yeah he would. Who wouldn't leave someone else's studio if they're own studio wasn't profitable? What was she asking? What's more important? The studio or your dream?
"I honor my contracts." was all he could say. "I don't… leave like that."
He didn't know what to say. He was aware he sounded unconvincing. The faces on the staff in front of him didn't appear to be brimming with confidence either. They each scrawled something on their sheets and then looked back to him.
"Do you have any questions for us?"
Minato sighed. He felt defeated. The last question left a bad taste in his mouth. Felt his chances were ruined.
"No. I don't believe I do."
He almost buried his hands in his hair and looked down. He was prepared to turn and leave. The interview was over. Time to dust off the resume.
Yuka's voice hit his ears once more.
"Well, here is what we believe." she began. "That you'll show up to the party tonight."
Then, the owner looked him in the eyes, with a smile. "As a full time Key Animator."
Masato Marukawa approached the podium at the head of the banquet hall. "Everyone. Thank you so much for coming."
The entire hall silenced. People swallowed their bites of the food. They took their last quick sips of drink.
"I would like to thank all of you for coming this evening." He began, his slightly raspy voice accompanied by a bright smile. "Too see all of your smiling faces here warms my heart. This year has been a very difficult one. For all of us and the studio."
Jun Watanabe side-eyed the director from across the entire hall. "Yeah. Sure was."
The owner continued. "This year we landed the biggest job we've ever been a part of. It was a long. It certainly wasn't easy. We have faced challenges we have never experienced before. We have never required so much out of each and every one of you, more than we have in this past year."
The entire overworked staff nodded appropriately.
"But with that. Came new opportunities. New experiences for our veterans to continue their growth. Prefect their craft. Continue on their paths."
Yumi Iguchi looked to her left, just as Ringo Ogasawara looked to her right. The two animators smiled at each other and nodded, an understanding of how much work they put in together. The many late nights they often spent together. The frequent consoling of each other when they were frustrated at their skills being frequently taken for granted. They quietly allowed the rims of their glasses of wine to collide before taking a sip.
"We have had many people, still new to the world of anime, look at challenges that would make most fold and turn away. Those who kept their head down and pressed forward, expecting their workload to get lighter. Expecting things to get better. It may have taken a while. Sometimes it may not happen until the very end. But the resilience to stand tall and not let it be bigger than you. That…" he appeared to choke up for a moment. "That is something that cannot be taught."
Erika Yano nudged Aoi Miayamori on her arm. "He's talking about you."
Normally, Aoi would have deflected. But instead she returned with a warm smile. She wrapped her arm around Erika's shoulder for a moment. "No, he's talking about us."
Their moment wouldn't truly be a moment if it weren't interrupted by Takanashi. The blonde male leapt between his fellow blonde producers.
"No, he's talking about all of us!" he proclaimed, his chest puffed out and confidence brimming.
The owner continued. "And this year we began the production of a new anime alongside the runtime of another. In our entire history, we've never faced such difficulty. The studio had to bring in many new faces, and became a blend of two unfamiliar studios. It was a long adjustment period for us all. We quickly became a team. And for that, I will be forever thankful."
Minato and Matsui laughed, trying to stifle the volume.
"He has a point, but it's still screw Daisuke though." Matsui said.
Minato agreed with a gulp of his beer. "Oh, those are facts."
"But now we must turn our attention to the future. Rarely are we ever rewarded the opportunity to celebrate for long. So events like tonight are a must when we can. Just like change for the future. When we can develop for the future, we must. So we welcome the new studios, animators, and actors we will be working with as Musani continues to carve it's place in the long run."
Misa Todou excitedly looked to Shizuka Sakaki. Midori Imai turned to the pair, and the trio wanted so badly to scream in excitement. For more than just a single episode, just a single scene, they would all be working together. One step forward to their lifelong dream. They would get to work together as adults who've put time into their crafts, and not ambitious, hopeful highschoolers.
"I cant wait!" Midori said.
Misa and Shizuka agreed. "Let's start tomorrow!"
The owner wiped his face. "Through the competition for anime. The competition for staff. The long hours. The odds stacked against Musashino Animations. We have prevailed. But what's more? We've prospered. And we will continue to prosper. And each day that goes by, I am thankful for all of you working so hard towards both my and your dreams. Now please tonight, eat. And drink. And celebrate. And be prepared to EXODUS ON TO TOMORROW!"
The usually lukewarm response at whatever catchphrase the owner adopted for whatever season of whatever anime they were working on that year was not present. This time, everyone's glasses were held high, all the while everyone rang out in unison.
"Cheers!"
Downing her beer, Aoi Miaymori couldn't hold out smiling at her four best friends. "It's really real! We're going to work together on a full length anime!"
"I know!" Midori began. "I actually am going to be able to have plenty of scenes and lines this season!"
"As will I!" Shizuka said. "I get to be the new girl!"
"I get to design her!" Ema replied.
"Well, I'll get to design where they'll all be!" Misa began.
"This is perfect!" Aoi said. "Follow me for just a moment! I have a surprise!"
The girls walked through the crowded hall to one of the food tables reserved for side dishes. Aoi ducked behind them and returned with a small white box and shuffled the box between the five of them. She opened it, and to the immense surprise of the four, the box consisted of four, golden brown, circular doughnuts. A staple of each of their food groups. An accidental, but vital and hilarious symbol of their friendship.
"Aoi you sly fox!" Midori began.
"This is amazing!" Ema replied.
"It has been so long since we have been together, I couldn't resist!" she said.
Misa took the first doughnut from the box. "It's been so long! I've stayed away from them just because it wouldn't be the same eating them without you all!"
Shizuka took the next one. "Same here!"
And Aoi dropped the box when each girl had taken their own doughnut. "This is too good an opportunity for us to pass up. We're finally going to work together, but as experienced creators!"
"Step one, Exodus season two!" Misa said.
"Then next step..." Ema added.
"Seven Lucky Battle Gods!" they all rang out in unison. They placed their doughnuts together, standing in as good of a circle as they could.
"Don-Don donuts lets go nuts!"
They tapped the edges of their donuts together, and held them high in the air. Without a pressing care, without concern for anyone watching, the girls finished their celebration with a bite. Their paths diverged after high school. The road was winding, rough, and unclear at times. They could have thrown themselves in their work and drifted apart and no one would have blamed them.
But they stayed tight together. They put their hearts into their work. And their hard work was rewarded with them finding their ways back to each other.
"I'm so happy I could cry!" Misa said.
"Speak for yourself!" Shizuka jeered, fighting tears herself. "Look at Aoi!"
Aoi's barrier for the tears had finally broken. A stream of tears were streaming down her face, and on instant she tried to hide them. "I'm not crying!" she cried. "Something is in my eyes."
"Yeah. Tears." Midori said, using her sleeve to wipe tears of her own forming in her eyes.
The girls had an interruption shortly after. Erika Yano appeared next to Aoi Miyamori. "Excuse me. Aoi, can I steal you for a moment? Takanashi wants to do a special toast with all of the producers."
"Oh sure." she said, sniffing and wiping tears. Aoi then looked at her girls. "I'll be right back."
"Take your time, Misa replied.
A moment later, Ema was approached while she finished her drink. Yumi Iguchi tugged at her sleeve. "Ah, Emmachi-san." she began. "Sugie requests a picture with some of us. He's getting ready to leave. He's thinking about retirement pretty seriously."
"Oh! I'll be right there!" she motioned to her girls that she would be leaving, and they waved her off.
"Well..." Midori began. "Do you also have to be somewhere, Shizuka?" she giggled, looking at her red haired friend.
Shizuka was preoccupied for just a moment, her eyes scanning the crowd. Seeking a slender, dark haired individual. For a few moments, she figured she would not find him. Yet across the hall, her eyes caught a glass door leading to a balcony, and she saw two figures standing outside.
One dark haired individual, with awful posture and dark hair, and another with brown hair and glasses. Enjoying the last good bit of a warm October.
"Actually… yes." she said. "I think I do."
Minato wasn't one for fancy do's. Nor was he one for lights and parties. He wasn't one for steaks and shrimp with executives, or fried chicken with a studio of 50 plus people. But rather, Minato was one for smaller crowds. A few friends at a bar. Or standing with his best friend on the balcony, clutching a glass of whiskey in his right hand, and a lit cigar in the same hand between his middle and index finger.
"When was the last time we got to get a drink, Matsui?" Minato asked, leaning his side against the balcony.
"You mean like where we got to relax?" Matsui replied, sipping his beer before a few puffs of his cigar. "Because if we're talking about drinking through stress…"
"I hardly think that counts. Me being broke and jobless and you and Haruhi going through a rough patch? Oh, there is nothing that we could go through to out drink that era."
Matsui laughed. "Oh that made this season look like a piece of cake."
"Or… Two Pieces of cake."
Matsui took a quick puff of his cigar. "Minato shut up."
"Whatever, that was funny."
Other than the occasional drink after a long day… When I was married. I think that was the last time we had a celebratory drink."
Minato looked as if Matsui offended him. "Your wedding night? A year and a half ago?"
"...Yeah. So in other words. it's been too long. I don't want to wait until your wedding to have another drink together."
Minato placed his cigar to his lips. "Yeah, you'll be waiting a while."
To which Matsui had a devlish grin. "Oh, I know. That's why I said it."
But this time, Minato was prepared with a snappy retort of his own. "Yeah. Gonna suck when you find out that you're not invited."
"Oh, now that's just disrespectful!"
"Kidding man." Minato said. "You know you're my best man."
Matsui held his glass out to Minato. "Love you too," he said, slight scowl on his face.
And Minato allowed the rim of his glass to collide with the rim of Matsui's glass.
"Cheers." they said in unison.
And for the next few minutes, they stood watching the streets of Tokyo, as the lampposts began to lite, the office buildings turning quiet for the weekend, and the apartments beginning to brim with life. Simply smoking and content with each others company.
Their solitude came to an abrupt, yet polite end a few minutes later.
The glass door behind them opened, to which they both turned around to find a red-haired female slowly entering their presence. The hesitation in her steps non-verbally asked for permission, with the inviting faces of the two males granting it.
"Good evening." she said to both of them. Neither cold nor warm, simply indifferent.
"Hello there." Both men said in unison.
"What are you two doing out here with the party inside?" she asked.
Both males held up their cigars.
"Cant smoke inside." Matsui replied. "Minato likes the act of smoking, and I quit a cigarettes a few years back. So a drink and a cigar is kind of our… smaller celebration."
"Oh, sorry. I didn't know." Shizuka said. "Do you want me to…?" she motioned for herself heading to the door.
"Oh you're not interrupting." Minato said.
Matsui agreed. "Oh for sure. We've had our moment." he jeered. "I was just going to go back inside and try some of that famous fried chicken I've heard so much about. Plus, the beer on tap is good. Cant mess with a good combination, am I right?"
Shizuka grinned and nodded. "I've seen people on their third servings of each."
"Well then," he said. "I guess I should get going. Pray I don't lose a hand."
Minato chuckled. "I'll hope the gods grant you patience and not strength. Because I've seen your right hook before."
"Oh, then the thoughts and prayers won't need to be for me then, haha. Excuse me."
He walked past Shizuka, and closed the door behind him. Closing the couple off from the rest of the party. Giving the two their privacy on the balcony.
"Are you enjoying the party? How are the girls?" Minato broke the ice, clearly ignoring the awkwardness in the air.
"They're good. We're all really excited to get to work together." She replied.
"That's great." Minato said. "Well I'll be honored to work with you all. I'm still in shock I got the job. I mean I felt so nervous, then they brought the other anime up, and I felt-"
Shizuka was done with the small talk. She had one question that she had been unable to ask all day. She would be damned if she allowed it to get derailed talking about work.
"Do you really love me?" she asked.
Minato stopped his sentence abruptly. And if the feeling in his body was any indication, so did his pulse.
"Well, yes. Actually." he said. "I just didn't want to say anything about it until you wanted to talk about it. If you wanted to at all."
"So you… weren't avoiding me earlier in this party?"
"Oh god no." he said, concerned. "It was just the first time you've been with your girls in a while, and it was the last time Matsui and I would be working together at this studio. I didn't want to crowd you."
Shizuka was almost out of words. Ironically, the one who makes a living off of speaking suddenly had nothing to say.
Her face fluttered with color. Her rosy cheeks matching her hair color. "Well. It's not bad or anything. I just… how do you know?" she asked, her eyes floating all over the area except for looking at Minato.
He took a deep breath. "I just think I do." he said. "I don't want to sound cheesy or anything. But I just like being around you. I just feel happier. Your name flashes across my screen when you text me and I can't help but smile. I mean, is it early? Probably. Bur… when you know, you know right?"
"I'm just scared of moving to fast." she began nervously playing with her hair. Word vomit was about to come up, all the words she couldn't say just a brief moment ago. "I like you a lot too. And the time we spend together is fantastic and fun as well. I just don't want us to start out being too fast and then burn out later. I mean… do you even know what real love is like?"
Minato placed his drink on the banister. "Well..." he put his forefinger and thumb on his chin. "Love." Why could'nt he think of anything? He had felt the sensation of "love" before. It was all just chemical reactions in the brain.
Then, it hit him.
"Love is like… a good anime. Right?"
Shizuka's rosy cheeks faded. Her face of nervousness had faded away into one of skepticism.
"An anime?"
Minato looked around, trying to avoid her gaze. "A good anime." he replied.
"How? How?" Shizuka accused.
"Well… I liked you for a while. So… in a way I'm the producer. I asked you out first, and I had the vision for us. So I'm the director. And you- lets see here. You brought out my vision and said yes to me and we started dating. So that makes you the animator. We filled out the fine details between each of us, so that makes each of us directors."
Shizuka was stunned silent.
"Of course our friends had a hand in it. So maybe they can be line producers or something. Now that I think about it-"
"That was the cutest, cheesiest thing I have ever heard of."
Minato folded his arms and looked dejected. "Well I didn't think it was that bad. I mean you did put me on an improv stage. And I was totally being serious!"
Shizuka approached him. "I know you're being serious. And that's what makes it cheesy." she wrapped her arms around his waist. "And you're the only anime I'm interested in watching."
Minato smiled heavily, and wrapped his arms loosely around her waist as well. "Well, you know… I try. And you're the only one I want watching it."
He leaned in close, and she stood slightly on her tip-toes. Their lips connected passionately.
"Thank you for asking me out." she said, staring lovingly into his eyes.
Taking a mental photo of her smiling face, her red cheeks, her beautiful eyes, he replied. "Thank you for saying yes."
Out of the corner of each of their eyes they saw that not only were they being watched, they were being studied. Pressed up against the door, Matsui, Aoi, Midori, Misa and Ema were staring at the couple. Some, like Aoi and Midori were oogling the couple in adoration. Others, like Misa and Matsui were mocking the kissing faces of the couple.
"There goes our privacy." Shizuka giggled.
Minato let go of her body, and took his hand in hers as he turned towards the group. "Something tells me that we never had it." he laughed.
The pair motioned their friends to join them at the balcony, and without hesitation, they all joined the young couple. They drank. They conversed. They ate the famous fried chicken.
Minato and Shizuka could not verbalize how excited they were happy and excited about their promising futures, with both their work and in their new relationship. Yet their speechlessness was far from an issue. Both of them knew that they didn't have too explain it. They'd find the right words eventually.
And they would be together when they did.
The nearly three year journey it took for me to get this story done was not an easy one. It was the longest thing I've written, the most ambitious, and came at an extremely trying and changing time in life. What started out as practice to make a multi-layered romance story, turned into what basically turned into a novel.
I remember publishing this story when there were only three Shirobako fics on the site. Now there's technically four, but that's not my point, haha.
So to everyone that read even a paragraph, followed me or the story, and especially left me a review to tell me what you liked, or encouraged me to keep writing, I want to give you my most sincere thanks. I love you, and I appreciate your support!
Hopeful to see you in the next project!