Chapter 85: Friendship with Nishikino
As seasons cycled, the scorching heat of midsummer returned, and the sunlight was baking the earth.
"So hot..."
Nishikino Maki wiped the sweat from her forehead and sat on a bench in the shade nearby.
Almost simultaneously, another person also took a seat.
Fortunately, there was enough space on the bench for both of them to have some distance, otherwise, she would have considered moving.
"Gulp, gulp..."
Izumi Chihiro held a can he had just bought from the vending machine, and the ice-cold cola instantly flowed into his mouth, a feeling of cool relief surging upwards from his spine.
"Boys are really uninhibited."
This was Nishikino Maki's evaluation of it.
But seeing his refreshed expression, she couldn't help but lick her dry lips, feeling a little tempted.
Due to habit, she always drank water brought from home, so she had never drunk water or beverages from outside, but this morning during class, she accidentally knocked over her water cup, leading to a disruption in her routine, thus encountering a dilemma.
"Is Nishikino thirsty?"
Izumi Chihiro tilted his head.
"No, no."
Nishikino Maki's eyes flickered, avoiding his gaze.
"Is that really true?"
His gaze immediately fell on her parched red lips.
Another girl who would rather suffer than lose face!
Eh, why did I say 'another'?
"You're so annoying, Izumi-dono."
Nishikino Maki complained.
"I remember Nishikino spilled her water this morning, didn't she? So it's not that she doesn't want to drink water, but... because Nishikino doesn't know how to use the vending machine, she's pretending not to be thirsty?"
Izumi Chihiro made a perfectly logical deduction.
"What are you talking about? That's ridiculous."
Nishikino Maki crossed her arms and said in a soft voice.
"Of course I know how to use a vending machine! That's such an arbitrary assumption!"
She insisted.
"Then why? Could it be that you didn't bring any coins? I have some here, I can lend them to Nishikino."
Izumi Chihiro pulled a few coins from his pocket.
You're humiliating me!
Nishikino Maki felt her face burning, not from the sun, but from extreme embarrassment.
But it was also true; she didn't have any money on her, as she rarely needed it, and all her pocket money was saved up.
"Alright, seeing you're so reluctant, I'll just give you a bottle of water."
Izumi Chihiro stood up, ran to the nearby vending machine, bought a bottle of mineral water, and then tossed it to her.
"Wh-what?"
Unexpectedly, he threw it directly, and Nishikino Maki fumbled to catch the bottle.
"I don't need it!"
She raised her head again, gripping the top of the bottle with one hand, holding it in front of his eyes.
Although a bit difficult to bear, it was clear that her pride still held the upper hand.
"Didn't I ask you to help me compose a song earlier? Although it was an agreement between us, I still feel a little bad about it, so consider this me returning the favor."
Izumi Chihiro casually found an excuse to persuade her.
Nishikino Maki swallowed, realizing she couldn't resist the temptation of basic survival instinct, and suddenly felt that what he said made some sense. So she replied, "When you put it that way, you're not wrong."
She finally accepted the bottle of mineral water with a clear conscience.
After taking a very ladylike gulp, she immediately felt her HP recover.
Thus, a 'bottle of water' bond was formed between the two of them.
...
While writing the first volume of puella magi madoka magica, Izumi Chihiro also began a conversation with Sagiri.
To satisfy his own needs, he specifically planned Sagiri's work schedule.
"Sagiri, can you draw in the style I want?"
Izumi Chihiro's gaze sharpened.
"Ni-san, just tell me what to do! If I can't do it, isn't Kasan also here? I can learn!"
Sagiri promised.
"As long as you have that attitude, it's fine. Then I'll tell you what my requirements are."
With that, Izumi Chihiro expressed his ideas.
Sagiri's expression kept changing as he spoke, from initial confidence to gradually becoming serious.
"..."
Sagiri was stunned.
She finally understood why her brother had emphasized it so much just now.
"It's such a unique art style... it's really special..."
This was an art style she had never learned before.
To a large extent, the unique art style of puella magi madoka magica was also a major highlight, and Izumi Chihiro felt it was very suitable, so he hoped Sagiri could reproduce it to a certain extent in the illustrations.
His demands weren't high; just reaching a passing grade would be enough.
However, even that level was incredibly difficult for Sagiri, who had never encountered this style before.
For this, she sought help from her mother.
"This art style, it's a bit troublesome. It seems Kasan won't be able to help Sagiri this time, because I haven't learned this type of drawing either."
Mrs. Izumi glanced at his rough sketches on the paper, then shook her head.
With her skill, it wouldn't take long to switch styles and take on the work of an illustrator, but for the still-immature Sagiri, that was a different level of difficulty.
"It's not possible?"
Sagiri closed the door with some disappointment, sighing.
Although she had long anticipated that Kasan's help would one day fail, she didn't expect it to happen so soon.
Before, with her mother's help, she was able to improve so quickly, but this time, perhaps she could only rely on herself.
So, she stayed cooped up at home all day, even during the holidays, with no desire to go out, only wanting to master this art style as soon as possible.
But the progress was simply too slow!
Two weeks passed without much improvement.
"Ah! It's going to be a disaster! I was bragging to Ni-san earlier... Now what? When will I finally master it? And Ni-san's first volume is probably almost finished, right? If this continues, I'll hold things up, causing the publication day to..."
The more she thought, the worse it got. Sagiri dared not imagine further, rolling around on her bed a few times, then covering her head with a pillow.
After a while, a small head peeked out.
"No, I still have to keep drawing! If once isn't enough, then twice; if twice isn't enough, then thrice... With enough practice, I'll master it someday."
Sagiri cheered herself on and returned to work.