Hearing Rika's shout, Hana, Kai's mother, immediately came to the door. She stared at Kai for a long moment.
"You've lost weight."
"Mom," Kai replied with a smile, looking up. "I was too heavy before. Now I'm just right."
"Where's Dad?" Rika asked curiously.
"He's inside," Hana said. "Come in and rest."
Kai nodded and walked into the courtyard.
Through the window, he caught a figure craning their neck to look at the entrance, anxiety written all over their face.
It was his father, Toga.
He just stood there, locking eyes with Kai as he stepped into the front yard. He froze for a second, then vanished from the window.
By the time Kai walked into the living room, Toga was sitting upright and perfectly still, as if he couldn't care less about anything.
"You," Hana said, following her son inside and looking at Toga. "Your son comes home and you won't even help with the bags."
"Ahem." Toga coughed. He kept a straight face, but the dark flush creeping across his cheeks undermined the act. "He's managed to survive in Tokyo on his own for years. Does he still need help?"
"You really are something... saying one thing and meaning another." Hana shook her head helplessly. "But who else would I put up with?"
Toga's face turned even redder.
Kai watched the two of them and turned to find his sister.
"I'll go unpack."
...
In the afternoon, Kai sat down for a proper meal.
Watching her son shovel food into his mouth, Hana's eyes began to water.
She opened her mouth to say something, but Toga shot her a look and she held it back.
"When are you going back to Tokyo?" Toga asked.
"Day after tomorrow," Kai said, chewing his rice.
"That soon?" Hana looked surprised and let out a sigh. "You only just got here."
Kai picked up a piece of stewed fish. "I have an appointment with Kazuki Takahashi-sensei. I'm visiting his studio on the 8th."
His mother looked confused. "Takahashi-sensei?"
"It's Kazuki Takahashi-sensei, the one who draws Yu-Gi-Oh!" Rika's hand shot into the air. "He's an incredible manga artist."
Toga ignored Rika and looked at Kai. "Why would someone like that invite you?"
"Because Big bro is amazing! He won the Selected award at the Tezuka Award and he's the most impressive newcomer in Weekly Shonen Jump this whole year! Even the Editor-in-Chief thinks highly of him!" Rika jumped to Kai's defense.
"Quiet." Toga glared at her.
Rika deflated instantly.
She shriveled up and went back to picking at rice grains in silence.
Toga turned to Kai. "Is what Rika said true?"
"Yes." Kai nodded.
"No exaggeration?"
"Rika was actually being modest," Kai said after finishing his meal. He looked his father in the eye. "I'm going to usher in a new era for Weekly Shonen Jump."
...
Kai's old room had been cleaned from top to bottom. The duvet cover and sheets were brand new.
The quilt still smelled like sunshine, and the warmth made him feel cozy and completely at ease.
He set down his manga and fell asleep without even realizing it.
The light in his parents' room stayed on late. They talked for a long time and only drifted off when the sky was starting to brighten.
Kai woke up early to birdsong. After washing up, he headed to the living room.
"Why are you up so early?" Hana asked curiously. "Didn't you sleep well?"
"Mom," Kai replied. "I slept great. I'm just used to waking up early now."
Hearing that, Hana looked a little sad again.
"You used to love sleeping in..."
"People change." Kai shifted the topic. "Where's Dad?"
"He went to the next village to buy bracken. It's the best season for it right now."
"I see." Kai nodded.
He helped his mother clean the house and prepare breakfast.
An hour later, Toga came home.
His eyes were bloodshot. Carrying a bag of vegetables, he was startled to see Kai standing in the living room.
"Oh. You're home."
He said it like it had only just hit him.
Kai couldn't help but shake his head. "If I don't come home, who will?"
...
Rika didn't make it down for breakfast. It wasn't until lunch that Kai finally saw his sister, rubbing her eyes and barely awake.
She'd burned through all her energy in Tokyo, and once the adrenaline wore off, the exhaustion hit her like a truck.
Hana was used to it. Toga silently brought out an extra bowl and chopsticks from the kitchen for his daughter.
At lunch.
"You said there was a serialization meeting today. Any results yet?"
"Still have to wait." Kai glanced at the clock. Noon. "It doesn't start until two."
"Oh." Toga nodded, only half understanding.
"Once this meeting goes through, does that mean you've made it?"
"More or less." Kai set down his chopsticks and explained seriously. "Not counting future earnings, just the annual contract fee from Shueisha alone is roughly on par with what a professional baseball player makes."
His mother tested the waters. "Three million yen?"
Kai shook his head.
"Could it be... four million?"
Seeing the cautious look on her face, Kai gave the real answer. "Probably around ten million yen. Depends on the person."
"Ten million!" Toga's eyes went wide.
With a number that big, how many years of farming would it take to match that?
The couple's combined monthly income was around 400,000 yen. After expenses, saving up ten million yen would take an eternity.
And that was just the starting income for a manga artist.
"That's really... hard to imagine."
He finally understood his son.
To earn that kind of money without being a soldier of fortune or signing up for something suicidal, all it cost was some hard work.
"So, are you confident?"
"No question." Kai allowed himself a small grin. "I'm going to win."
...
Two hours later. Weekly Shonen Jump editorial department.
The Editor-in-Chief, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, and team leaders all stood up and filed toward the conference room. The serialization meeting was about to begin.
Some people were about to become manga artists. Some works were about to be cancelled.
A few editors looked nervous. If their submission got through, great. But if it got rejected, they had no idea how to break the news to the artist.
This serialization meeting had a total of twenty-one manga waiting to be screened, but there were only two serialization slots.
And one of those...
They glanced at Heishi, who was walking with his head held high and chatting away without a care in the world, and sighed inwardly.
That slot had already been reserved.
The Editor-in-Chief wasn't in the office, and someone took the opportunity to turn on the TV mounted on the wall.
Masahiko Ibaraki, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief in charge of administrative affairs, glanced at the screen, then looked away and ignored it.
"What are you watching?" Heishi walked up to the editor and asked curiously.
"The live interview with that murderer Fujima. I really don't get what's wrong with the world. Just because he's good-looking, a bunch of women are falling all over him, completely ignoring what he did."
Heishi adjusted his glasses, looked at the smug face of Fujima on the screen, and said, "Don't worry about it. People like that don't last."
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