Chapter 268: Half a Year
But when the secretary arrived, Aika was the only one left in the Sakura Garden community.
"That boy went to rest."
Aika said this, and this incident immediately disrupted all of Hinotori Publishing and Kanto Manga Company's plans, and even the Yamada family in Saitama was shocked.
No one knew where Takumi had gone. His departure caused a long hiatus in the "Mirai Manga" manga. For "Detective Conan" manga, in addition to the manuscripts in stock, Takumi used the internet to transmit material weekly and reviewed the final manuscripts before serialization.
This model presents many accidents. Takumi did not intend to reduce the quality, so shortly after, the two Weekly Shōnen manga stopped updating.
Hinotori Publishing immediately issued a statement informing that Mirai-sensei had gone to study for an indefinite period. Before his return, all his manga might be unstable.
As soon as the news broke, readers all over the country were outraged, but while complaining, they had to endure the days without Mirai-sensei.
Where did Mirai-sensei go? In fact, it's not difficult to find out where he went, but the reason for his sudden departure is more important than his actual departure.
Alice visited the Sakura Garden Community for several weeks in a row, but Aika did not open the door for her. Gradually, she understood.
"Does Takumi's departure have anything to do with me?"
Saying this at the door, Aika finally opened it and let her into the house indifferently.
Alice's guess was confirmed. She knew that the matter had been discovered. It was like a thorn stuck in her throat. She sat on the sofa with a blank mind.
"Shiori has lost a lot of weight lately...".
After serving her a glass of water, Aika said: "Takumi's departure is a tough blow for her. But I didn't tell her the truth. Otherwise, with her temper...".
She said nothing, but Alice knew very well what the consequences would be. She bit her lip and said nothing.
"..."
Aika looked at her and remained silent.
Takumi traveled alone. He didn't bring much cash, except for a notebook. But this is not important. If he needs it, Aika can transfer money to him at any time.
She didn't go with her son. One reason was that she didn't want to drive. Traveling is very tiring. A trip to Tokyo, she felt she didn't want to repeat in the next few years.
Of course, another reason was that she could collaborate with Takumi at home. Even if he wasn't there anymore, the work couldn't be abandoned. Assistants had to go to work every week, and Aika also had to help send the manuscript for review.
Another advantage of being at home was that she could take care of Shiori and prevent accidents. It's not an exaggeration. Aika was very worried that Shiori would discover the truth. Then there were frictions with Alice, and she could divert Shiori's attention at home.
And in the living room. After a long silence, Alice finally spoke.
"The company decided to move to Saitama, but it involves staff changes, the work is very troublesome, and Takumi didn't agree...". She seemed not to want to mention it, so she started with work.
"First, we'll open a branch in Saitama and build the infrastructure. When Takumi returns, we'll decide on the subsequent work. If... he doesn't want to see me, he can go there directly and I'll resign."
After saying this, Alice felt she had no courage to stay longer. She picked up her bag and left.
Aika didn't stop her, but before leaving, Alice stopped and asked in a low voice: "Aika-san... Does Takumi hate me a lot?"
"Hate?" Aika sat on the sofa and shook her head: "No, I don't think he hates you... He's very displeased with your actions, but the real hatred is probably his own negligence."
"Alice..."
There was some anger in Aika's eyes: "I raised that child, and some of his ideas were instilled by me. I let him take care of family and responsibilities from a young age. Furthermore, with his father's departure, he attaches more importance to the meaning of family than ordinary people, and even has some respect for it."
"The child doesn't have the confidence to take on this responsibility, but if he sleeps with a woman, he will only worry about one thing... how he will take responsibility."
"No, I don't mean that..."
Alice turned and said: "I didn't want Takumi to..."
"You didn't want to, but can Takumi be at peace? He's that kind of child, he won't give up on what he's done." Aika stood up and said sharply: "But he doesn't... love you at all!"
Alice's face paled and she took a step back, embarrassed.
"She never thought of getting married. She was sixteen and had a relationship with you. What did you ask him to do?" Aika questioned: "The child spent an entire night asking me what to do. If I had told him to marry you, he would have stayed."
"But... I..."
Aika pointed to herself and said: "I am his mother. I'd rather let my son go and think about it than let him be limited and marry a woman he doesn't love!"
Upon learning that, the angriest person was not Takumi, but Aika.
"I'm sorry, Alice... I treat you like my sister, but this time you've gone too far." Aika contained her anger and said: "You leave... And I hope Shiori is my daughter-in-law."
Alice bit her lip and turned around.
As she left, Aika's eyes gleamed with sadness; it was revenge.
In fact, she didn't favor anyone, but she couldn't agree with Alice's attitude. Takumi was her son, and Aika hoped that he could make his own decisions without being limited by anyone.
"Why did it turn out this way...?"
Aika felt a little helpless with the current situation, but when Takumi returned, there might be an answer.
However, she hadn't expected Takumi's trip to last so long...
February 1, 2016,
Hokkaido.
"Kaori, will you be a helper again during the Spring Festival this year?"
The falling snow painted the street white. Two teenagers walked down the street. The pretty girl with glasses complained:
"Didn't your grandpa's ramen shop hire a full-time helper? I heard he does everything well, from cook to waiter. He filled the ramen shop with customers in just one week."
The girl with glasses asked her friends: "With such a good helper, why do they still need me? It's not easy to get to the Spring Festival. It would be great if we could go to the temple fair together."
Walking beside her was also a pretty girl. She was wearing a white scarf. She looked up and her face was a little angry.
"The helper you mentioned is leaving soon." The girl snorted coldly: "His family in Japan urged him to go home for New Year's. It turns out he came to work at my house just to earn his plane ticket...".
Thinking of the helper, the girl was indignant. Her grandfather paid him a lot of overtime to stay, but he said he wanted to leave without hesitation.
"He's so cruel. We're so busy here, and he's leaving...". The girl kicked the tree at the side of the road. Then she hissed: "Why is this tree so hard?"
"Puff...". Kana covered her mouth and laughed: "Well, Kaori, do you really not want that person to leave? The other day you kept whispering about him in my ear!"
"Who said...? That poor man, just ghosts...".
The girl with the raised eyes was named Takashima Kaori. Hearing her friend Kana's words, her face flushed and smoke began to come out of her head.
"No money, poor, and even refused to say his real name..." Takashima Kaori, in a panic, defended herself: "How could I like such a peculiar type?!"
"But he's handsome?"
Kana kept laughing.
"This... hmm, it's normal, what's so good about it?" Kaori Takashima denied with regret and looked away. She didn't want Kana to see her blush: "I like strong men, those useless ones who have nowhere to live. I just pity... I pity!"
"Hehe...",
Kana denied, but she didn't force her friend; instead, she said: "By the way, Takumi-kun looks a bit like Mirai-sensei."
"Mangaka? Mirai-sensei? Who is he?"
she frowned slightly. She didn't like the mangaka profession; her family was ruined because of it.
"Mirai-sensei, don't you know him? Didn't your parents use the family property to make anime? That's... The Gundam theme your father wanted to create was created by Mirai-sensei."
Kana showed a surprised face; she thought her companion must know Mirai-sensei.
Takashima Kaori's parents were designers at a video game company in Tokyo, with good incomes. Although Kaori lived in her hometown, Hokkaido, she was richer than many of her classmates.
Her grandfather runs an old ramen shop, and her parents are elite. For her classmates, Takashima Kaori is also a wealthy woman.
However, this situation has recently changed. Her parents suddenly resigned and used all their savings to create an anime company.
The anime and manga industry in Japan is rapidly developing, and Takashima Kaori's parents obtained authorization from a mangaka to film an anime called "Gundam Genesis".
This is a positive thing, and it started smoothly. The Takashima family received funding from small consortia, and painters and anime production staff were also hired.
But at the most critical moment, the mangaka got into trouble. It turned out he wasn't the original author, but an imposter with a strong resemblance.
The original author was surprised to learn that the news suddenly came from the Tokyo region, so he came forward to clarify the problem. His appearance made the truth of the matter clear. The Takashima family was deceived, and the financiers withdrew their funds.
The anime company has no money and is now on the verge of bankruptcy...
"Mirai-sensei? Did you say Takumi-kun looks a lot like Mirai-sensei? The mangaka who created Gundam?" Takashima Kaori was stunned: "Is that true?"
"Of course it's true...".
Kana nodded: "But it's just a resemblance. Takumi-kun wears glasses and is very tall. He's not 20 years old, is he? Mirai-sensei should be 17 now...".
She frowned slightly.
"I don't know Mirai-sensei. He hasn't been here for half a year. Maybe he's 16."
Takashima Kaori's heart pounded slightly.
Suddenly she remembered something. Takumi-kun used to return to the hotel very early after work every day and never went out to play. One night, when she complained:
"I'm going to draw manga."
He replied like this: "Can't he be a real mangaka?"
- - - - - - - -
Hello everyone!
Thanks for reading this chapter.
This week, we'll have 2 daily chapters for you to enjoy. This is possible thanks to all your support with Power Stones.
To keep increasing our chapters, I'm asking for your support. For every 150 Power Stones we collect across all novels this week, I'll add an extra daily chapter for next week.
If you want to catch up and read even more, you can find over 150 advanced chapters of my novels on my Patreon.
Your comments and Power Stones are what make this possible. Thanks!
@Patreon/iLikeeMikee