The title left me momentarily speechless. "Digimon Adventure." I simply never thought I'd hear that name from anyone other than myself.
"I titled it Digimon Adventure. Digimon is short for Digital Monsters. The story is about…" Kari explained.
Of course, the story was the same one I knew, with one slight exception. Instead of Tai as the protagonist, the main character was clearly me, but in manga style. Impressive.
{Note: Just a small clarification here. The Digimon Adventure anime, like many other Digimon anime, was never turned into a manga, but since I never read the manga and thought it would be funny if Kari came up with the idea… I left it like this. I think it was a very original idea.}
"Why does the protagonist look so much like me, but in manga style?" I asked curiously.
Kari blushed when she heard me.
"Um… I decided that if I was going to make a manga, my boyfriend had to be the protagonist… At first I thought about making my brother the protagonist, but after meeting you and going through everything we've been through, I redesigned the protagonist's model and put you in instead. By the way, even though he doesn't appear yet, I'll give you a small spoiler — I'll appear in the future," Kari replied.
"I see. Thank you for thinking of me," I nodded.
I was now reading the scene where the seven chosen children first grabbed the Digivice — the iconic scene everyone knows.
"I also thought about changing the designs of the others, but… if I made all the chosen children girls except for you, it might feel strange. After all, this is supposed to be an action manga, and redesigning every character… would have been way too much work. So I only redesigned the protagonist and left the rest as they were in the original," Kari said.
What she said made a lot of sense. The main reason was that if all the chosen children except me had been girls, people might think it was a harem anime and it wouldn't become as popular as it deserved. In this era, harem anime aren't very popular, so Kari probably decided to leave them as they were — meaning the same as the original story, with the only difference being that I was the protagonist instead of Tai.
"What do you think of my idea? It took me a lot of effort to plan the story, characters, and everything. But I think it turned out pretty good. The only thing is I didn't have the confidence to send it to a publisher until now because I didn't know if anyone would like it," Kari said.
"Kari, this manga is going to be a massive success," I said sincerely.
"Huh? Do you really think so?" Kari asked, incredulous.
"I don't think so — I know it," I nodded.
In my previous world, the Digimon Adventure 01 anime was without a doubt one of the most popular anime of its time. It's a shame that due to poor management its popularity started to decline, but that doesn't have to happen in this world. If it's handled correctly, Digimon could become one of the biggest anime of this generation, especially considering that manga in this world aren't very developed and there aren't any stories as popular as the ones from my old world.
"Thank you! Thanks to you, now I have the courage to send the manga to a publisher and, with luck, get it published," Kari said happily.
"Actually, I also have something to tell you," I said suddenly.
"Huh? What is it?" Kari asked, confused.
"I also made a manga and I want you to read it and give me your opinion if possible," I said.
Kari was surprised and stayed silent for a few moments.
"You also want to be a mangaka?" Kari asked, astonished.
"Ahem, something like that. I just came up with an excellent story for a manga and wrote it. But just like you, I never sent it to a publisher because I didn't know if it was any good. That's why I want to take this opportunity for you to take a look and give me your honest opinion," I said.
In reality, there was no need — Dragon Ball would be a 100% success — but this was the perfect chance to connect more with Kari. Even if it was a small white lie, it wasn't a harmful one. Its only purpose was to grow closer to my girl. I don't think there's any problem with that.
"I'd love to read your story!" Kari said excitedly.
Kari's joy was endless. Her boyfriend seemed to share the same dream as her! The dream of becoming a mangaka! What could be better than her boyfriend sharing the same hobby? Nothing!
"Alright, then I'll be back in a few seconds. The manuscript is at home, so I'll have to go get it," I said.
Without saying anything else, I transformed into XLR8.
"I'll wait for you," Kari said.
Kari knew that with XLR8, Akira wouldn't take more than a few seconds to go home, grab the manuscript, and come back.
"Perfect. Before you know it, I'll be back," I nodded.
And I wasn't lying. Akira literally took less than two minutes to go home, pick up the manuscript, and return. Even then, he was quite slow because he lowered his speed a bit when he saw the girls in the living room. They were all there, including Haruka, and they seemed to be in the middle of a heated discussion that would surely affect him later. However, today was his date with Kari and he couldn't waste time eavesdropping, so he grabbed his manuscript and went straight back to Kari's house.
{Note: I won't spoil their conversation. I'll just say it's nothing yuri, so don't get your hopes up… or hate me for it. And I say this because there are still people who think this fic has yuri… Anyway, I'm a bit tired of reminding everyone that there isn't any, but I'll keep reminding you from time to time, like right now.}
Back at Kari's house.
Akira returned almost before Kari even realized he had left. She had literally just sat on the sofa, turned on the TV, and a few seconds later Akira was already sitting beside her with the manuscript in his hand.
"Is that your manga? Can I see it?" Kari asked.
"Of course. That's why I brought it," I nodded.
Carefully, Kari took the manuscript and began to read. She was immediately hooked and became absorbed in the story almost right away.
Kari continued reading until she finished the entire manuscript Akira had brought her, which covered almost half of the first volume of Dragon Ball.
"What do you think?" I asked curiously.
"It's incredible! It's even better than my story! I feel inferior now!" Kari said.
She was excited but also a little worried. Excited because the story was so amazing, proud that it was her boyfriend who made it, but worried that her own manga seemed quite inferior in comparison and she didn't know if many people would read her story if Akira's got published.
"Thank you, but… what are you worried about? Your story is extremely good and I'm sure it will be extremely popular," I said.
I wasn't lying. The manga industry in this world is pretty bad, with generic manga everywhere and no masterpieces like Pokémon, Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto, etc. There isn't a single manga that even comes close to the fame of any of the anime I just mentioned. Plus, since Pokémon doesn't exist in this world, Digimon will appear as something completely new and instantly attract millions of people. It should be noted that Digimon and Dragon Ball aren't exactly the same genre, but even if they were, their stories, mechanics, and everything else are completely different. In other words, they have nothing to do with each other.
"If you say so, I believe you," Kari said.
Akira was right. Even if his story might be better, it had nothing to do with hers. They were two completely different themes and had nothing in common.
"Mmm, you still look a little worried, but I just thought of something," I said suddenly.
"What?" Kari asked curiously.
"Let's send our manga together. We'll say we're a couple or family members and indicate who drew which manga. That way, if both of our manga get serialized — and I have no doubt they will — we'll become equally popular," I said.
It was an unconventional idea that I don't think has ever been done before, but… it could work. This way, if we do it together, people will recognize us as the coolest mangaka duo of all time — two people, whether a couple or family, who draw manga together and whose works are popular and even get serialized. Maybe I didn't explain it perfectly, but I think anyone I told my thoughts to would understand.
"Yes, that's a great idea! We'll become the most famous mangaka duo in all of Japan — no, in the whole world! Two lovers sharing the same dream and both succeeding! It'll be an incredible story!" Kari said in a dreamy tone.
Ahem, I'm not sure if it's a good idea to say we're dating, because even if we don't announce our names and faces to the world, the publisher will naturally find out and they might report me for… you know.
"Kari, saying we're dating might be a bit… difficult for me. How about we say we're childhood friends or very close friends? And then, when a few years pass and you grow up, we can say you're my girlfriend," I suggested.
"Right, I got so excited I forgot that our relationship wouldn't look ethical to a lot of people…" Kari nodded.
As a gifted person, she understood immediately what Akira meant. Even though Lala and the others didn't seem to care about the age difference between them or even having sex, that didn't mean the rest of society would accept it the same way. In fact, doing that would probably only get Akira in trouble, and she didn't want that.
"Alright, we'll say we're very close childhood friends who share the same dream. We'll say we're a duo that draws together and decided to try our luck together. And if we get published, we'll tell the readers that the authors of Digimon and Dragon Ball are childhood friends — a mangaka duo working side by side," Kari nodded.
She said it excitedly, as if she couldn't wait to do it already.
"Sounds good to me," I nodded.
"Mmm, if I remember correctly you're busy… I mean, you'll be busy all next weekend, but we can do it during the week. How about we send both manuscripts on Monday? That'll give us time to fix minor details," Kari said.
"Perfect," I nodded.
Anyway, I've already drawn almost all of Dragon Ball — practically the whole thing. Plus, I was going to send it next week anyway, but this is better. Sending it together with my girlfriend, both of us future successful mangaka, seems like a much better way to do it.
After talking for a couple of hours about our future as mangaka, it was time to eat, so I simply suggested ordering fast food… or at least that's what I wanted to do, but Kari said homemade food would be better.
"Do you want me to make something?" I asked curiously.
"No. You see, Lala didn't only teach me about alien technology, but also about different household chores. According to Lala, a good wife should at least know how to do those things, so she taught me how," Kari explained.
Even with Kari's intelligence, it had been difficult for her to understand the scientific knowledge Lala taught her, but she didn't take that long to absorb it either, probably becoming the human with the most scientific knowledge on the entire planet Earth. But getting back to the topic, Kari didn't only learn science from Lala, but also how to be a good homemaker.
Although it didn't seem like it, Lala had become an expert in household chores, not only thanks to the help of the master of housework, Mikan, but also through her own effort. That's why she also decided to teach Kari how to do household chores, so that in the future she could do them too. After all, a good wife should at least know how to handle housework.
{Note: Please don't take this comment as sexist. Keep in mind that many of the things the characters say or think are not my own thoughts, but theirs, so please don't call me sexist or anything like that. Thank you.}