Chapter 3 Love Hunter

Yata loves the large balcony of the apartment. He loves to lean against the sliding door, enjoying the breeze, facing the vast evening sky and eating orange-flavored pudding.

'Saruhiko, could we enjoy the breeze together here if we became preeminent in the future?'

Fushimi was stiff for a moment. Such a sensational question wasn't of Yata's style, and wasn't of his scale of answering.

They would graduate anyway. Would they be together then?

Nevertheless, Yata knew nothing of his depression.

'When I become rich enough, I would buy you a huge house with a balcony, larger than this one. We won't have to rely on your mother any more!' His poet said energetically.

'Ah, I am quite nit-pick, you know.'

Is there any one more lovely than his poet?

Their fame grew bigger and bigger with the spread of photos and poems, until CEO of Homra visited them personally. He didn't suppose it was a cooperation, so he sat there, lighting up and showing a deliberate expression.

They sat face to face at a table. Fushimi had a cool head, while Yata was excited and anxious. It was quite normal for Yata, because the red-hair man in front of him was an avant-garde artist with global prizes and moreover, he was Yata's idol.

Mikoto Suoh.

Fushimi sized the man up. He was in his middle age, without an air and even was a little slovenly. He didn't stop smoking since they met. He knew Mikoto Suoh, a former fauvist artist, the winner of countless international prizes. Domestic art prizes were swept by him for several times as well. His motto was 'To burn', and red flames were often the them of his themes.

Yata especially favored his painting 'Sirius', and even collected the replicate of this. It was indeed a piece of work with tension.

As now he was in his middle age, he didn't appear as a competitor. Most of the times, he appeared as a judge. He set up the publishing house, Homra, with exclusive investment.

Same as its name, works of Homra were both sensual and avant-garde, but they didn't lose literary feel for this. On the contrary, they were widely accepted. The Chu-ni-byo CEO of Homra often popularize some minor trend works, and won the reputation of 'value art over money' because of this.

And now he was in front of them, smoking and swaying his bangs unconciously.

'Would you like to continue pretending to be someone?'

'Someone?' Yata was a bit confused

'Hah, you two could just pretend to be one author to write a novel.'

'Bravo!'

'But you should change a subject matter.' Suoh smiled and lit another cigarette, looking at the poet and drawer in front of him.

Suoh suggested they shouldn't rigidly adhere to poems and photos. He proposed that they should write novels, imaginary novels.

Narration and reasoning attributed to Fushimi, fighting and lyrics were Yata's part.

'You will create a stir in literary world.' Suoh said, like he knew them quite well.

'Tsk.' Fushimi uttered a brief sound defiedly. He believed Suoh hadn't seen the narration skill of Yata. Let him be in charge of fighting scenes? Isn't that a joke?

Fushimi imagined Yata's description of 'They first hit with their fists, and then one hit another, and then they engaged in a stage-off, and then they hit each other again, the hero won at last'. He didn't dare to laugh, so he turned his face to the other side.

Suoh seemed see through his mind, pushing the cigar butt in the ashtray carelessly.

'Believe me, you can figure out excellent have potential.'

You are an artist but not a writer, why should I believe in you?

Nevertheless, both Yata and Fushimi signed a two-year contract with Suoh.

When they left, Yata was overjoyed, bowing to Suoh in humble reverence.

'Please take care of everything, Mr. Suoh!'

'Hah, just call me Mikoto.'He just smiled and raised his hand.

His receding figure was still slack, but his conceit and shrewdness steeled in art and literary world impressed them deeply.

And then it was the moment to decide they pseudonym.

Such gave a strong rebuff to the name 'MISAKI'.

'There're are too many namesakes, and it lacks characteristics.'

So both of them spent a day at the balcony, eating pudding and discussing about pseudonym.

'What about merging out names together?' Yata proposed in the first place, and Fushimi expressed that he quite appreciated that.

'Saruhiko Yata.'

'…Tsk.'

Fushimi was not happy with this, because it should be Misaki Fushimi! Why should he follow the surname of Yata? But he was not unreasonable. He should persuade Yata through reasoning.

'It wasn't that bad, just one big question—the initial of "Yata" is "Y", the initial of "Saruhiko" is "S". If they arrange the name, the pseudonym was definitely going to be among the last.'

Quite reasonable. Yata believed so. But how was that related to their work?

'Haven't you read the success of name? The names of successful persons usually have an initial which is among the first in the alphabet. The rate of successful persons begin with ABC is far larger than that of XYZ.'

Yata associated with his idol Mikoto Suoh, beginning with M. Indeed! And he further associated with Bill Gates. Everything made much sense.

'So this is a huge disadvantage of the name, and we could hardly be popular with it. Since we have decided to do, we should do it perfectly, shouldn't we?' Fushimi continued to talk nonsense decently.

'Then what shall our name be?'

'Misaki Fushimi!' Fushimi was quite a planner. 'You see, Fushimi—begins with F, Misaki—begins with M, it has a far higher rank than Saruhiko Yata. Moreover, the name sounds to be a girl. Let's pretend to be a female writer.'

A female writer that could hold deductive reasoning, fighting, and at the same time was good at poems and drawing! What an idol!

Yata thought to himself, and began to long for 'her'.

He behaved like a naive boy entered the pyramid selling den, accepting the setting immediately.

Suoh was still unsatisfied with their arrangement plan.

'Hah, the name was still vulgar.'

Fushimi refused to change the name again on behalf of Yata, who was not present.

'It has to be this. Misaki and I believed it to be the best.'

Suoh didn't say a word. The second mate gazed at him with a smile behind the smoke, like he knew everything.

Fushimi saw him before on the magazine as well. Izumi Kusanagi, a underworld theme writer in vogue. Last year his documentary writing 'Carmen in Tavern' led a trend of underworld subjects.

He didn't care at all how common and explicit the name was, but he still reconfirmed for his boss, 'You are not going to change it anyway?'

No we are not.

Finally, the name of a new female writer, Misaki Fushimi, was decided in the office of Homra, and SHE would cause a mighty uproar in the literary circle.

In order to decide what to write, they considered for a long time as well, as long as making love for the whole night.

The night filled their balcony with empty shells and bottles of pudding and son drinks.

Fushimi believed he didn't have anything to imagine. He was fully occupied by his MISAKI and he couldn't think of other things. He thought it should be Yata's job to create, and he should be the one to realize it.

Yata had countless illusions for this youthful world. It was such a delight to realize anything for him.

Finally they decided to write the process of maturity for a couple of teens. In that world, they fought and face various enemies together, one with short stick and skateboard, another with daggers and sabre. They trusted each other and contradicted each other. On their way of adventure, they knew and lost a lot of friends. In this way they began their passionate stories. In confusion and struggle, they finally discovered and got back to each other.

Bravo.

Suoh was also satisfied with it after reading the plan.

'Call it "Love Hunter"'.

The hunter of love. Fushimi quite appreciated the name, and he believed Suoh left a bright new impression in his mind.

Yata looked at the name and smiled with a blush. He suddenly flashed back to the expression when Saruhiko first saw him and held his camera.

Suoh was a man of vision. Like what he said, they acquired great success. Their work was the first among serialization in their first month of publishing.

In the next five months, their popularity grew with a crushing force, breaking the Hot topic of all BBS. The promotion of Suoh was bustling with activity. He followed the popularity with the first volume of the novel. The title page was painted by himself, together with special product of large size illustration.

What a joke! Mikoto Suoh, laid his pen for five years and suddenly staged a comeback with a title page of a light novel, together with special product of illustration?

Not only were the fans of Misaki Fushimi crazy, the fans of Suoh were frenzied as well.

The first volume broke ten thousand presells.

All the literary magazines and websites are talking about the female writer who appeared suddenly. Considering that Such was single, a lot of magazines were gossiping about the relationship between him and the newcomer.

The point is that Homra is really lacking in female writers. The female writer with brilliant style of writing interests the readers, not to say that she doesn't appear in the public at all.

Suoh even put her in special protection, representing her interview every time.

'The power of love? Artist Mikoto Suoh put the newcomer forward'

Domestic tabloids couldn't wait to publish similar passages like this. Famous bloggers expressed their views, rivaling to be the top spot. The wars between fans went along without an end.

These were not important at all, but they were really at the height of popularity in only half a year.

'That's brilliant, Mr. Suoh!' Yata was so excited in the office that he could fly.

'Hah, just call me Mikoto.'

'Yeah! Yeah! Mikoto-san!'

Yata couldn't help blushing. He loved poems, but he never imagined to acquire so much success like he did today.

He was in such a stiff when Such said he would draw the title page for him. He never imagined that the one he adored would tailor the front cover for his own novel,

Fushimi gazed at his excited poet speechlessly. 'Tsk'

Izumo smelled that he was unhappy.

'What about it? Shouldn't you hail a victory for your fame?'

'Yes, I am happy with that.'

Fushimi didn't pay attention to him any more. He moved his view towards the clear sky outside the window.