"It's settled then. I'll call my sister at noon. After school, wait for me in your classroom," Miyu Yukishiro said with a bright smile before heading toward the rooftop staircase.
The ten-minute break was nearly over.
Already… decided?
Rei hadn't even finished speaking before Miyu's figure vanished into the stairwell.
As she walked down, Miyu's thoughts drifted.
Tonight… she would finally get to see Rei's manga for herself. Five Centimeters per Second, right?
Her ponytail swayed lightly as she descended the stairs, full of anticipation.
Back in class, Rei was instantly surrounded by classmates who normally wouldn't talk to him for a week, all of them bombarding him with gossip and questions.
"Don't misunderstand. She just came to ask about one of my junior high classmates…"
Rei deflected the topic until the crowd finally lost interest.
The last two periods of the morning were physics.
During lunch break, Rei slipped up to the rooftop and used the remaining time to refine a few details in earlier pages of his manuscript.
The afternoon consisted of foreign language and chemistry.Soon, school was over.
Warm orange sunlight filled the classroom as students packed their bags.
Some headed straight home, others drifted toward nearby cafés or convenience stores, continuing their noisy conversations.
As they walked past the classroom doorway, many students suddenly paused, looking inside with surprise before glancing back at Rei.
When Rei finished packing and stepped outside, he immediately saw Miyu waiting for him at the door, her bag over her shoulder.
The setting sun painted the corridor in gold.
Miyu stood quietly, completely unfazed by the stares of other students.
She had been used to this since elementary school.
"Your chemistry teacher really knows how to drag things out. I waited almost ten minutes," Miyu said with a teasing smile.
"High school teachers are the same everywhere. It just means they're dedicated," Rei replied.
"You talk like you've attended several high schools."
They chatted as they walked, gradually attracting the attention of more students leaving school.
Rei glanced at Miyu, wondering if the whispers bothered her, but she didn't seem to care at all.
He thought for a moment.
Even if the students liked to gossip, they weren't the type to spread harmful rumors.
At the gate, Miyu raised her hand and hailed a taxi. She slipped into the back seat first, then looked at Rei, who had stopped just short of getting in.
"What's wrong?"
She briefly glanced at nearby students who were openly watching Rei with wide eyes, then shot him a small, amused smile.
"Get in."
Hearing that, Rei finally slid into the taxi.
"Are you worried about what people think?" Miyu asked.
"Are you afraid they'll misunderstand because we're getting too close?"
"No, it's not that." Rei hesitated. "I'm worried that you might care. I don't want to cause trouble for you…"
"After all, I'm just an ordinary student. But you're… well, you stand out. You're good academically, you're active in class. If some strange rumor spreads…"
Miyu blinked at him, taking a second look.
"You're more considerate than I thought."
"But didn't I tell you?" she continued. "I think of myself as a professional manga artist first, and only a part-time high school student."
"I care more about anything related to manga than school status or grades. Who I talk to and what I do has nothing to do with the opinions of people who don't matter to me."
Rei shifted the topic, realizing the conversation was becoming a little too person.
"There's something I've been curious about. With your grades, Miyu… why pursue a manga career? Is it just a hobby?"
Miyu looked out the window at the scenery rushing by.
"My mother was a manga artist," she said with a soft smile.
"So my sister and I grew up surrounded by manga. We loved it from the start."
"I've always wanted to become a manga artist. A famous one. That was my mother's dream before she passed away.
And… it's mine as well."
"Mother… before she passed away…"
Rei caught the key detail instinctively but chose not to press further.Some topics were meant to be handled with quiet respect.
The two of them chatted lightly in the taxi for a while, and before long, the car arrived at the entrance of a residential district.
After Miyu showed her ID to the security guard, the taxi was allowed through, and soon it stopped in front of a four-story luxury villa.
Not all houses called "villas" were worth much.
But a luxury villa in the middle of Tokyo was another matter entirely.
No wonder Miyu was so confident in choosing the life of a manga artist over more conventional options.
With her family circumstances, she didn't have to fear uncertain career prospects or pressure about income.
She could chase her dream wholeheartedly.
And the way she had helped him, introducing him to her editor sister, bringing him home despite only knowing him for a few days, made much more sense now.
Rei understood that she wasn't expecting anything in return.She was simply happy to meet someone her age who also loved drawing manga.
"The house might be a bit messy, so please don't mind," Miyu said with a smile as she unlocked the front door.
"Not at all," Rei replied, slipping into guest slippers and entering with his backpack full of a hundred pages of manuscript.
Despite her words, the interior was spotless.
He didn't focus on the elegant décor, though. His attention was drawn immediately to the woman sitting in the first-floor living room, a steaming cup of coffee in hand.
She looked to be in her early twenties. She resembled Miyu, but unlike Miyu's bright, lively energy, this woman carried a calm, composed air.
"Welcome back, Miyu," she said quietly. "You're late. I've been waiting for over fifteen minutes."
"I'm not the school principal. I can't control dismissal times, traffic, taxi routes or delays," Miyu said with a mischievous laugh as she headed into the house.
She did not mention that it was Rei's teacher who had kept the class late.
Her older sister, Misaki Yukishiro, quietly placed her coffee cup on the table, then looked first at Miyu, then at Rei.
"Welcome. You must be Miyu's friend, right? I'm Misaki Yukishiro. I work as an editor for Hoshimori Publishing Group."
'Friend?'
Rei glanced at Miyu, who gave him an obvious wink.
He caught on instantly.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Rei Kirishima."
"I know."
Misaki extended her hand with professional confidence.
"I'm not someone who enjoys unnecessary polite chatter. Miyu told me that you admire Sakura Melody, and also my other discoveries, Rock Girl! and Dawn Trumpet. She said you respect the editors who brought those works to life.
That's why you want to submit your manga to me."
'Rock Girl? Dawn Trumpet? What are those? I've never heard of them…'
Rei stared at Miyu in quiet panic, only to see her smiling sweetly at him.
Her expression clearly said: "Don't reveal the truth!"
"Oh, yes. Yes, that's right. I've admired Editor Yukishiro for a long time," Rei said, keeping a straight face.
Misaki narrowed her eyes slightly, examining him as though she were evaluating a manuscript.
"In that case, let me make this clear. I am very strict when reviewing submissions. Even if you are a newcomer and my sister's acquaintance, I will not lower my standards."
She took a slow sip of coffee.
"If your work is not good enough, I will criticize it honestly. You should be prepared."
Miyu quickly waved her hands.
"Okay, okay, sis. Don't be so intense. I'm still a rookie myself, and you're scaring Rei."
"I'm speaking to your friend," Misaki said calmly. "You cannot answer for him."
Miyu fell silent with a sigh, throwing Rei an apologetic look.
Rei straightened himself.
"I understand. Please review it strictly, Editor Yukishiro."
Misaki's expression softened slightly.
"Good. Then show me your submission."
Rei took a deep breath. He set his backpack on the chair, opened it, and carefully removed a thick file filled with his carefully drawn manuscript pages.
"Five Centimeters per Second…" Misaki murmured as she read the title on the folder.
Miyu stepped closer as well, unable to resist.
She had seen fragments of Rei's work before, but never the full story.This was her first time seeing it from the beginning.
Misaki opened the manuscript.
The first line of dialogue greeted her with quiet poetry.
"'Hey, did you know?
They say it's five centimeters per second, the speed at which cherry blossoms fall.'"
A delicate illustration followed, depicting a long slope lined with cherry trees, petals drifting through the sky in soft black-and-white strokes.
Misaki's expression sharpened immediately.
Whatever the story might be, the artwork alone was unquestionably professional.