The pencil moved.
Not in a panicked scribble, nor in a frustrated, aimless trail. This time, Kaoru Kagami's hand glided across the page with intent. Controlled. Focused. He wasn't rushing. He wasn't flailing. He was building.
Box by box, his sixth manga's storyboard came to life.
The paneling was tighter. Dialogue balloons had space to breathe. Characters were forming not just ideas, but actual people with expressions, motivations, and the subtle facial details that Kaoru used to take pride in.
"Left to right. Don't crowd the eyes. Make the punchline hit three panels ahead…" he mumbled like a mantra"
He paused only when he noticed the movement beside him.
Aya was still there. Quiet. Sitting next to him on the floor, her eyes scanning every sketch with professional calm. She didn't say much just made occasional notes or tapped her pen softly when something could be stronger.
She wasn't overbearing. She wasn't distant.
Just present.
And that was enough.
Kaoru glanced at her, then returned to drawing.
He didn't say it out loud, but in his heart, he knew:
"I couldn't have done this without her.."
Meanwhile…
Takeshi and Emi weren't being productive.
At all.
"Hey, Emi."
"Mm?"
"You've been holding that drink for fifteen minutes. It's melting."
"I like the sound the ice makes when it clinks."
"…You're weird."
"You're talking. Again."
Takeshi chuckled, leaning back against the railing of the pedestrian overpass they were hanging around. The sun was beginning to set, casting warm orange light across the streets below. Emi stood beside him, sipping her drink slowly, her face calm as always.
He nudged her shoulder. "You ever get excited about anything?"
"I'm hanging out with you. Isn't that enough excitement?"
He blinked.
A beat.
Then "W-Was that flirting?"
Emi didn't even flinch. "Maybe."
Takeshi nearly choked on his own breath.
"Okay, I take it back. You're terrifying."
"Mm."
And yet, he smiled.
Even if she wasn't expressive, Emi had a way of grounding the world around her. Of making silence feel like a conversation.
He liked that.
A lot. "Lucky man huh." (Narrator)
Elsewhere in the Kagami estate
Button mashing filled the room.
Kaede was hunched over a wireless controller, tongue slightly sticking out as she nailed a perfect air combo. Beside her, Naoki was equally focused, thumb hovering over the dodge button.
"DMC5 is a masterpiece," Kaede declared as her character launched an enemy twenty feet in the air.
"Y'know, I still don't get how you're this good at these games," Naoki muttered, trying and failing to counter.
"Simple. I don't think. I feel."
"You mean button mash."
Kaede smirked. "Tch. Button mashing is an art."
She landed a mid-air finisher with a stylish S-rank combo. The announcer voice boomed:
"Smokin' S*xy Style!"
Naoki slumped back. "Okay. I'm done. That's it. You win."
"You were done ten minutes ago."
"…Rude."
The two laughed genuine, lighthearted.
Even if they didn't talk about anything deep, these little moments made things feel normal again.
Back in the studio, Kaoru drew the final panel of his storyboard's first chapter.
He exhaled shaky but relieved. His hands were sore. His back ached.
But it was done.
Aya looked it over, flipping through the rough pages carefully. She didn't speak for a while, and Kaoru fidgeted in place.
"…It's bad, right?"
"No."
Her tone was flat. Professional. But her eyes softened as she kept flipping through the pages.
"It's… good. Actually good."
Kaoru stared at her like she'd grown wings.
She set the pages down and leaned back on her hands.
"You found your rhythm again."
"…Did I?"
Aya gave him a subtle nod.
"Yeah. The pacing is sharper. Dialogue flows better. And the character's emotions… they hit."
Kaoru stared at his work like he couldn't believe it was his.
"I thought I lost it."
"You didn't. You were just tired."
He smiled weakly. "And dramatic."
Aya finally allowed herself a smile too. "That too."
They sat in silence for a while calm, quiet, just enjoying the gentle buzz of completion.
Somewhere outside, a car horn blared. The sun dipped lower.
And the narrator oh yes, the narrator was still here, watching like a smug god with a pen.
(Narrator) Ah, what a lovely chapter this is turning out to be, huh? Kaoru's not falling apart for once, Takeshi almost got a blush out of the Ice Queen, and Kaede reminded us all that gamer girls are terrifying.
But let's not get too comfortable, folks.
Theres a surprise.
Oh, you'll want to stick around for that. Trust me.
We're far from done.
kurukuru~
Kaoru slouched back in his chair, letting out a long, exhausted sigh. The storyboard now lay complete on the desk, still rough around the edges but undeniably his. And more importantly it was finished.
"Maybe I'm not a fraud," he muttered. Then immediately, "No, wait. That sounds like something a fraud would say."
Aya, still seated beside him, rested her chin on her palm and gave him a tired smile. "You've been saying that a lot lately."
Kaoru grunted, spinning slightly in his chair. "Yeah, well, I did compare myself to Reigen Ara**** two days ago, so…"
Aya gave him a side glance. "The con man from Moby Psychic?"
"Life advice: lie, BUT with confidence!" Kaoru quoted with a dramatic pose, then slumped again. "It's like I live that every day…"
"Except Re*gengets paid. You just cry while eating instant ramen."
"…Ouch."
Aya didn't laugh but her smirk widened slightly. She stood up and walked toward the window, pushing the curtains aside as golden hour bled into the room.
"You know," she said, her voice quieter now, "you've changed a lot since your first manga."
Kaoru blinked. "You mean Blades of Eternity?"
"No. I mean before that. Back when you were just that weird guy who submitted ten pages of chuunibyo nonsense with dramatic Latin on every panel."
Kaoru let out a nostalgic groan. "Ugh. Don't remind me."
Aya turned to face him, crossing her arms. "It was horrible."
"…Thanks."
"But it had something. Energy. Charm. Even if the story made zero sense and the protagonist shouted things like 'Cursed Seraphim Barrage' in the middle of class."
Kaoru coughed. "I was fifteen, okay? Fifteen-year-olds are allowed to be dramatic."
Aya gave him a look. "You're twenty-three now and still wear an eyepatch sometimes when you're brainstorming."
"It helps me channel the darkness!" he deadpanned.
She rolled her eyes but smiled again. This one lingered.
There was a brief silence. Not awkward. Just long enough to feel… different.
Kaoru looked at her. Really looked.
"I know I'm annoying," he said, softly. "But thanks... For staying."
Aya didn't answer immediately.
"…It's my job."
Kaoru tried to laugh it off. "Ouch, again."
She shook her head. "That's not what I meant."
There was something there unspoken, nearly confessed. But just as the air shifted, Kaoru picked up a pencil and stared blankly at the storyboard again.
"A hundred mangas…" he muttered. "That's the goal. Right?"
Aya blinked. "Still planning that?"
"Yeah. Five down. Ninety-five to go. At this rate, I'll be drawing until I'm like… fifty."
Aya leaned against the desk beside him. "Would that be so bad?"
Kaoru shrugged. "I mean, it's not the worst way to grow old."
She looked at him. "And the last manga? Still planning to make it your most special one?"
He nodded. "It'll be the last thing I ever draw. Something that summarizes everything—every mistake, every success, every weird story arc and over-the-top villain. And it'll be the end of the 'Kaoru Kagami Z' saga."
"…Sounds dramatic."
"Exactly."
Aya tilted her head, amused. "So, what's the sixth one about?"
Kaoru paused.
"…I don't know yet."
"You just finished the storyboard."
"Yeah, but I still don't know what it really is. It's like the idea is there but the heart isn't beating yet. I need something to kick it into life."
Aya hesitated. Then: "What about writing another romance?"
Kaoru immediately shook his head. "Nope. Nope! Nah! I'd be terrible at romance! I'm never doing that again."
"…But your last one was Petals Beneath the Moonlight. It's your best-selling manga so far."
"That doesn't count! That was an accident."
Aya raised an eyebrow. "You accidentally wrote a moving, emotionally layered romantic drama that topped weekly rankings for three months?"
"It just… happened! And it was emotionally exhausting!"
She smiled to herself and turned away. "Right.. Emotionally exhausting."
Kaoru sank deeper into his chair. "Never again. Mark my words."
Later that evening, the group began returning. Not all at once but one by one.
Kaede and Naoki barged into the studio first, tossing their backpacks aside.
"Guess who got an S-rank in Bloody Palace?" Kaede declared.
"You mean you finally stopped dying to V*rgil?" Kaoru teased from his seat.
Kaede flopped onto the beanbag and pointed dramatically. "MOCK ME AGAIN and you'll see what happens. I'll air combo your kneecaps big bro."
Naoki walked in with a casual nod. "She's not kidding.I almost cried."
Aya laughed softly. "What were you two even doing?"
"Bonding over pain," Naoki replied.
Kaoru smirked. "DMC will do that to you."
Then came Takeshi and Emi, walking in quietly.
Takeshi tossed his jacket onto the couch. "Yo!! We got yakitori."
Emi followed, sipping a drink. She didn't say anything, but gave a small wave to Kaoru and Aya.
"Did you two… hang out?" Aya asked.
"Yup," Takeshi replied. "Date number three, technically."
Kaoru raised an eyebrow. "And she didn't glare you into silence?"
Takeshi grinned. "Nah. She even made a joke today. Or I think it was a joke."
Emi didn't comment just sat down beside Kaede and offered her a skewer.
The group settled in, the room filled with quiet chatter and the occasional insult about Naoki's gaming skills.
And somewhere in the middle of it, Kaoru watched them all these strange, chaotic people who had somehow become his family.
He looked at Aya again. She had gone back to checking over his storyboard, occasionally scribbling a note or two.
And Kaoru, for once, didn't say anything chuunibyo.
Didn't pretend.
Didn't deflect.
Just watched her.
And smiled.
Because maybe just maybe his heart had already started writing the next manga after all.
One panel at a time.
"I am the storm that is approaching..."
---
End of Chapter Thirty-one.