"How is it going, Yoshino?" Hatori called from outside the fitting room.
"It’s on, but I can't fix the tie..." a struggling voice replied from inside.
As planned, once the storyboard had been submitted on time, Hatori went with Yoshino to buy a suit, having chosen this store because Hatori thought its' sophisticated style would suit Yoshino. It would have been ideal to have the suit be fully custom-made, but there wasn't enough time; in the end, the dinner with Isaka was scheduled to come after the final proofreading—in two weeks.
"Come out, I'll tie it for you."
"W-wait a second..."
After a while, a somewhat embarrassed Yoshino emerged from the fitting room. Everything from head to toe —suit, shirt, tie, and shoes— had been all carefully picked by Hatori, taking the salesclerk’s advice into consideration. The hem was a little too long, but other than that, the suit looked fine on him.
"I haven’t worn leather shoes in ages..."
"They suit you."
"You’d think even a horse looks good in fine clothes!" Yoshino retorted sarcastically to hide his embarrassment.
"That's not true. Here, let me fix your tie." Hatori took the slim tie and put it around Yoshino's neck, adjusting the length and carefully tying the knot.
(How nostalgic.)
Back in their student days, Hatori used to fix Yoshino's tie just like this. Perhaps the reason Yoshino still couldn’t do it on his own was precisely because Hatori always stepped in to help.
"It's done." he patted Yoshino’s chest and gestured for him to look in the mirror. "It looks good, doesn't it?"
"Yes, it suits you very well." the salesclerk standing nearby agreed.
"R-really?"
It almost annoyed Hatori that Yoshino seemed to trust the salesclerk’s words more than his, but thinking about it, perhaps the clerk’s opinion would be more reliable, considering Hatori’s own biases.
"How does it feel?"
"It's much more comfortable than I thought! The jacket feels light too."
"Because it's so light, we recommend this option to people who don't wear suits often."
"But still, it feels weird... It's like, it's not made for me..." Yoshino looked very uncomfortable standing in front of the mirror. His back, usually hunched, was now unusually straight.
"That's probably because you don’t wear suits often. You’ll get used to it after a while."
"The length seems fine as is. Shall we adjust the hem a little?"
"Ah, yes."
The salesclerk knelt down and adjusted the hem length.
"How does this look?" Yoshino asked once again, glancing at Hatori.
"It suits you well." Hatori told him again while looking at him in the mirror with a serious expression.
"......Um, then, I'll take the whole set, please." Yoshino blushed.
"Certainly. Thank you."
"Oh, shouldn't I take this off?"
"We'll prepare a new one for you right away, so take your time." The salesclerk bowed and went to the back room. Yoshino also returned to the fitting room to change back into his own clothes.
"It feels like I've finished a big job." Yoshino, back in jeans and sneakers, now sported a bright expression on his face, in stark contrast to how uncomfortable he looked in that unfamiliar ensemble.
"The real thing is in two weeks, you know."
"Ah, why did I accept...?"
"Hey, don't back down now."
It was too late for regrets now. When Hatori had told Isaka that Yoshino agreed to the dinner, it didn't take the man too long before starting to look for a restaurant in very high spirits.
"But I don't even know what to talk about!"
"Don't worry. Isaka-san is good at starting conversations. He might even know more about manga than I do."
"Wait, Isaka-san reads manga?"
"He's probably read almost all of our company's books. He's the type to read anything he finds interesting."
"Oh, really?"
Despite being born into the founding family of Marukawa Shoten, Isaka’s current position as President and CEO was something he had earned through his own merit. He was a self-made man, who rose through the ranks and climbed the corporate ladder all the way from the bottom at a young age, undeterred by the constant accusations of riding on his parents' coattails. And while his demanding nature could sometimes be annoying, his talent and hard work were certainly worthy of respect.
"He can be quite pushy though, so be careful not to get carried away and take on extra work."
"Don't try to scare me..."
Knowing him, Isaka had the persuasive skills to push onto Yoshino certain things he had turned down before, such as autograph sessions. And if Yoshino were to regret anything he had agreed to during the dinner, it could only bring him trouble.
"I'll handle that part, so just be careful."
"Well, whatever. No matter how much I think about it, whatever will be, will be." Yoshino’s statement was hard to tell apart as positive or dismissive, but it was much better than him being stubborn. "...Oh, that's right. Are you not gonna try a suit too?”
"I'm fine. I have enough suits." Hatori had bought a new one in the spring, not to mention the ones from this store were usually too flashy for him to wear to work, and not really suitable for a salaryman's monthly wage anyways.
"That's not fair, you dragged me here and now you're being dismissive! At least try something on… Look, this one's nice!" Yoshino pointed to a mannequin, donning a suit of a color and silhouette Hatori would have never picked for himself.
"You have a good figure, so I'm sure it would suit you." A nearby salesclerk chimed in.
"Right?"
"You can just try it on, if you like."
"...Just try it on."
"Okay! So that suit with this shirt. And which tie?"
"Well, if you're going for something safe, this one would be good, but maybe you want to try something a little more adventurous."
"A bright color like this would be nice, wouldn't it?" In stark contrast to when he was picking out his own suit, Yoshino was now enthusiastically chatting with the salesclerk.
“Here, this one.”
And so, Hatori took the suit and reluctantly headed into the fitting room, hoping Yoshino would be satisfied with 'just trying it on’.
Just as he had thought, the suit picked for him had a very slim silhouette and an overly pretentious vibe to it. True, it was comfortable because it was well-tailored, and the design did make him feel somewhat more stylish, but it was way too much to wear on a dialy basis.
He wouldn’t go so far as to say he looked like a host, but other than a party, he couldn't think of any other special occasions where he would wear something like this.
(Oh well.)
Yoshino must have been trying to get back at him by dressing him up like a doll. He deftly tied the tie and after checking his full reflection in the mirror, he stepped out of the fitting room.
“Whoa! My taste isn’t so bad after all.” Yoshino let out an innocent cheer.
“It suits you very well.”
“Right? No matter how you look at it, he doesn't look like an editor at all. It actually really bugs me how perfectly the hem fits.” Even as he grumbled, Yoshino seemed thoroughly pleased with his choice.
Sometimes, Hatori got the vague feeling that Yoshino became a bit more sincere when he was in a suit than when he was in casual clothes. Maybe he just had a thing for suits.
"Hmm, but maybe a blue tie would look better. Something a little more sophisticated."
"I'll bring some other options now."
"You should wear stuff like this more often." Yoshino muttered once the salesclerk left them alone.
"I can't go to work in something this flashy."
"You could wear it to a company party."
"What would be the point of the hosts dressing up?" The parties the company hosted were meant for entertaining authors and related personnel. Marukawa Shoten had many editors with strong personalities that easily stood out, but in moments like these, they had to remain in the background.
"Well, then, why don't we go somewhere you can wear it? Like a concert, a play, a meal…”
"What, are you inviting me?"
Even though Hatori was only half-joking, Yoshino blushed and fell silent. Normally, he would have tried to deny it, but it seemed he did have something on his mind this time.
"I'll buy it for you, so please wear it on our date."
"Huh?"
"It's okay every once in a while, right? You cook for me, do my laundry, clean my house... and you're my boyfriend... I want you to wear it! Got it?!"
"...Okay." Yoshino’s unusual intensity made Hatori nod impulsively, and Yoshino's face gradually turned redder in response.
"Sorry to keep you waiting… Is something the matter?"
"N-nothing, I think it just got a little hot in here."
"Should I turn up the air conditioning?"
"It's fine, I just get hot easily. Oh, that color is nice!" Yoshino forced a change of topic despite his suspiciously red face, and the salesclerk didn't press the matter further.
"This color is lovely too, isn't it? Is subtle, but it has a sheen to it. I think it would look elegant."
"Now, Tori. Put this on next."
“…” for a while, Hatori had no choice but to obediently follow Yoshino's overly enthusiastic instructions.
***
Having also bought a complete ensemble for Hatori, the total came out much higher than expected. Once they picked up the wrapped items and the receipt, Hatori and Yoshino finally left the store and decided to take a breather at a café they passed by on their way home.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Here’s your blended coffee and cream soda.”
“Oh, the cream soda’s mine.” Yoshino raised his hand excitedly, and it didn't take him too long before he started digging in on the ice cream.
“Are you sure it’s okay for you to buy this for me?” Hatori pointed out to the wrapped items. He was happy to receive such a gift from Yoshino, but considering it wasn’t his birthday or Christmas, he still felt a little weird about it.
“It’s fine! You’re always taking care of me, so I’d be happy if you accepted it. And I kinda just want you to wear it, so I guess it doesn’t even count as a gift perse…”
“...I’ll gladly accept it then.” It wasn’t exactly the kind of thing one would buy on a whim, but if it was important to Yoshino, Hatori decided to humbly accept the gesture. “So, what about that date? Is there anywhere you want to go?”
“Oh, right. I guess I have to think of a place to go.” Apparently, Yoshino had really just said that without thinking.
“I would suggest a concert, but you’d probably fall asleep the moment we sit. You slept the whole way through that art appreciation class in high school, remember?”
Back then, they had attended a classical concert as part of an extracurricular activity, but the moment Yoshino's butt toucked the seat, he drifted off to sleep. Naturally, the content of the reflection essay he had to submit afterwards consisted mainly of Hatori’s thoughts.
“I pulled an all-nighter that day, so I was sleepy!”
“Let’s go to one then. Let me know what you feel like.” There were many different types of concerts after all: orchestras, vocal music, opera, piano, chamber music, and so on. Although, come to think of it, Yoshino might actually enjoy a theater production more.
“…By the way, what do you think the clerk thought our relationship was?”
“I told them we were author and editor, didn’t I?”
“You did say that, but still… Oh well, never mind.” Even though Yoshino looked like he wanted to say something, he ended up swallowing his words and changing the subject. Which meant it probably wasn’t that important to begin with; if it was a serious matter, he would have looked a lot more anxious to speak up.
(……Right, there was something I needed to tell him.)
Hatori now remembered he did have to talk to Yoshino about that little trouble he was having with the illustration collection. He was supposed to let Yoshino know once he had finished the storyboards, but with the whole suit matter, he had missed his chance.
Still, he didn’t want to bring it up right now and dampen the good atmosphere they’d created. So he found himself making excuses, telling himself it wouldn’t be too late to let him know after looking into possible solutions a little more.
In the end, as Takano had said, they might have no choice but to give up on including that work in the collection. Regardless, Hatori had his own reasons for not wanting to give up on those illustrations so easily.
After all, they had been a parallel process to the creation of Yoshino’s first work for Emerald. And even though Hatori had just been a liaison between Yoshino and this other writer, it was still the first work of Yoshino's that had made it to the public with Hatori fully involved in it. So he’s never told anyone this, but it was a work he personally considered very special.
"By the way, what was it you wanted to to talk about? Is it about work?"
Hatori flinched at Yoshino’s question, which seemed to see right through his concerns. And since he had indeed been the one who wanted to talk, Hatori couldn't really just say it was nothing.
"…It’s about the illustration collection."
"Right, we should start discussing the contents soon."
"Before that, there's something I need to apologize to you for."
"Apologize?"
"Remember those illustrations you did for another company back when you made it into Emerald? For a fantasy novel?"
"Oh, the ones with the hard character designs? Come to think of it, I think I left those with the editor too."
"That's right. I’ve been trying to get them for the illustration collection, but I haven't gotten the manuscripts back."
“So they are missing? I should’ve asked the editor to give them back when he left, but I guess I forgot.”
Yoshino’s tone was lighthearted, but if a manuscript held by an editorial department were to go missing, it would be a huge problem. For an author, a manuscript is their most valuable asset, and its loss most certainly wasn’t something that could be solved with an apology.
“No, the manuscripts are still there, but I was told the author can’t return them because he plans to use them next year for a re-release, an e-book, and an international release.”
“Huh? Did we get any notice about that?”
Even Yoshino, who usually didn’t pay much mind to this kind of stuff, seemed to sense something off about Hatori’s report.
In case of new developments like this, and especially when it came to e-books or international releases, the standard procedure was always to get permission in advance or renegotiate the existing contract.
“No, I heard about it for the first time this week.”
“Right? You definitely wouldn’t forget something like that… But why now? That author hasn’t released anything recently, has he?”
“I looked it up, and it seems he hasn’t in about three years. This is just a theory, but I guess he wants to re-release it to make it coincide with the up-coming movie and the book fair.”
“But the movie’s release date hasn’t even been announced yet, has it?”
“There was no mention of it, so I think this is just a last-minute attempt to cash in on the hype.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
"I was told to hold off on including them in the art book until those publications were finished."
"Huh? So we either postpone the art book or not include them at all?"
"I suppose."
"But why would it be a problem if the timing overlapped?”
“I guess if the collection comes out at the same time as this whole re-release, some readers might not see the appeal on buying the book.”
“I don’t really get it, but I guess they just don’t want us getting in the way.” Yoshino, having grasped the situation, let out a sigh.
“I’m going to try talking to them again to see if they can adjust the release dates, so they don’t affect each other.”
“...I see. Sorry for the trouble. If I had just gotten them back right away, things wouldn’t have gotten so complicated...”
“It’s not your fault. They shouldn’t be treating those manuscripts like a hostage in the first place.”
Hatori was startled by his own words. It was natural, the reason his uneasiness just wouldn´t go away was that he felt the work he cherished so much wasn’t being treated with the respect it deserved.
“Well, I guess I’ll just have to leave it to you—there’s nothing I can do about it...”
“Just do your best with what’s right in front of you, and that’ll be enough.”
After all, it was a waste of time for a manga artist to get involved in behind-the-scenes issues, not to mention it was precisely the editor’s job to create an environment where the artist could focus on their work.
“Well, I finished the storyboards early, so I’m ahead of schedule. The rough sketches are already done, and there aren’t any color pages this month.”
"I see. Keep up the good work then."
And while complacency could sometimes lead to trouble, dampening Yoshino’ spirits right now would not be wise, more so considering how difficult his mood could be to manage.
"Leave it to me. I'll get serious tomorrow."
"Not today, then...?"
"I just finished a job! And I'm hungry, so I think I'll order some cake too… Excuse me, I'd like to add a mille-feuille, please." Yoshino didn't hesitate much before telling the passing waiter his order.
"A mille-feuille, understood."
"Why don't you eat something too, Tori? The opera cake and the chiffon cake look delicious."
"You're the only one who wants to eat it... I'll have a chiffon cake too, please.” Given Yoshino’s expectant gaze, Hatori placed an additional order anyway, going with the chiffon cake because at least it seemed to be lighter.
A few minutes later, Yoshino's eyes lit up when the mille-feuille and chiffon cake were brought to the table.
"Now take responsibility and eat it all."
"But this one is yours. Here, open wide."
"Stop, where do you think we are?" Yoshino's sudden action startled Hatori. Very deep inside it made him happy, but considering their current location, he had to keep his wits about him.
"It's a blind spot, so it's fine."
“Still, there’s a time and place…”
“I’m just kidding. So even you make that kind of face, Tori.” Yoshino let out a quiet chuckle.
“It’s not funny.” Hatori quickly regained his composure.
“It’s payback for what you did before. I got you, didn’t I?”
Yoshino, grinning like a mischievous child, seemed to have no clue that Hatori had long since already been defeated.
"Now that the film adaptation has been greenlit, I'd like to have a proper chat with Yoshikawa-sensei about it. So, please make sure to arrange it!" Those were the words with which Marukawa Shoten's president, Ryuichiro Isaka, had set the business dinner.
Then, an hour later, Isaka's secretary contacted him to set a date, so it seemed Isaka had made his choice. For an employee, the president's orders were absolute, so as long as nobody’s rights were being violated, refusing was nearly impossible.
Regardless, Yoshiyuki Hatori’s first instinct was to find a way to decline. There was simply no way shy, reclusive Yoshino would agree to a dinner with a company executive, and anticipating his reluctance, Hatori racked his brain in search for a proper excuse.
Therefore, it was a shock when it came the time for Hatori to break the news and Yoshino opposed no resistance.
"What did you just say?" Hatori stared intently, convinced he had misheard at first.
"I said it's okay if it's just for one meal."
"......What's gotten into you?"
"I mean, I really hate this kind of stuff, but if I refuse, it won’t be good for you, right? Even I understand that much!" Yoshino awkwardly averted his gaze.
So despite his reluctance, Hatori realized that Yoshino, the type of person who usually couldn't care less about interpersonal relationships, was now considering his position. This thoughtfulness touched Hatori's heart.
"But only this once, okay?"
"I know." Hatori was grateful that Yoshino, who used to only think about manga, had the courage to leave, even just this once, his comfort zone.
(Well, he is a grown man, after all.)
Even so, the old Yoshino would have simply said, "It's too much trouble, just come up with something and decline" and then forget about it. And not because he didn't care for what may happen to Hatori afterwards, but simply because Yoshino unconditionally relied on him, almost like a child relies on their own parents.
Someone had once pointed it out to Hatori: "You're intentionally making Yoshino dependent on you", and he couldn’t really deny it.
It was never in his plans to confess his feelings, as it would’ve never crossed his mind that they would have a chance to become lovers. So in its place, Hatori did everything to remain close to Yoshino, acting more mature than he actually was just to make him feel the need to have him around. And that behavior had been there way before Hatori even realized he was in love.
But little by little, he was going from running around aimlessly dragged by Yoshino, to simply backing him up. Even so, at times he still felt like he was chasing after Yoshino, but that may just be because Hatori's world revolved around him.
"Hey... you're also coming to the dinner, right?" Yoshino asked, visibly worried. It seemed that, as much as he was decided to go, he still had his worries.
Yoshino could be surprisingly decisive in strange ways, but this was just so typical of him that it made Hatori laugh.
"Well, I’m your editor, so of course I’m coming. I'll be right there supporting you, so don't worry. Besides, Isaka-san isn't the stiff type, so you don't need to be so nervous."
"That's good to hear, but..."
"So what would you want to eat? Isaka asked me to find out what would sensei like."
French or Italian would probably be the safest bet, and Hatori figured it would be best to avoid any place where they'd have to sit seiza-style, since being alone in a private room would certainly just make things worse.
(*T/N: In itself, seiza (正座) is when you sit by kneeling on the floor, resting your buttocks on your heels. It is meant as a form of respect, and it is associated with events like the japanese tea ceremony, which in this case may be too formal for Yoshino.)
"Tori’s rice!"
"...Are you asking me to cook the meal?" Hatori sighed at the unhelpful answer. He was happy Yoshino liked his home cooking so much, but making dinner for an executive like this was some kind of home party was out of the question.
"It’d be great! Everyone will definitely love it!" Yoshino talked as if he had really come up with a brilliant idea. It was hard to tell if he was serious or not, but for now, Hatori decided to just ignore it.
"...I'll just tell him you don't have any particular preferences. And we also need to get you a suit for the dinner."
"Huh? But the one I bought for the party is fine."
The suit Yoshino was talking about was the one he had gone shopping for with Yanase, for a New Year party the company was hosting. Even now, that memory still made Hatori’s chest churn.
(I'm so bitter.)
There was no way Yoshino would ever guess Hatori had secretly wanted to choose a suit for him. And it was probably for the best; the last thing Hatori wanted was for Yoshino to know how narrow-minded he truly was, still getting jealous over something as trivial as clothes.
"It’s a different season, and dressing according to the season is good manners. It's best to have at least one suit for spring and one for summer."
"Ugh, clothes are such a hassle..." Yoshino frowned in displeasure, seemingly accepting this as unavoidable.
Yoshino usually wore whatever casual clothes he could find in his closet, so a suit was certainly gonna feel stifling for him. Nevertheless, Hatori liked the idea of dressing him up every once in a while.
"We'll go buy it this weekend. So fnish the storyboard by then."
"What?! No way!" Yoshino suddenly changed his expression and protested.
"Why are you against that? The deadline is Friday, isn't it?"
"Huh? Oh, well, yes, but..." Yoshino’s eyes visibly darted around, and thus his plan became clear as day.
"So you were calculating that you could drag it out until I came over on the weekend, weren't you?"
And while it was true Hatori liked to be relied upon, this kind of complacency was problematic. More so, since the line between work and private life was so blurred at this point, there was no way around it other than just pointing it out whenever it happened.
Hatori knew that, If he showed any more leniency now, Yoshino would let his guard down. So he had to harden his heart.
"N-no, that's not true... I just wasn't very confident..." Yoshino mumbled.
"You have until Friday night. I'm looking forward to it, so please let me read it soon."
"I-I know..." Yoshino seemed embarrassed by Hatori’s words, which had been intended to motivate him.
‘I can do it if I try!’ was often Yoshino's catchphrase, and Hatori was convinced it was true. If only he didn't have a habit of running away, Hatori wouldn't have the need to run around begging for a new deadline, and then they would have more time to spare together.
(Well, being too much of a model author wouldn't be like Yoshino, would it?)
Hatori could never imagine Yoshino not missing a deadline or complaining every once in while. If that were to even happen, it would be plausible to assume he had been replaced by aliens.
Besides, Hatori himself knew he would probably lose his sense of purpose.
"W-what'? Is there something on my face?" It seemed that having Hatori stare at him made Yoshino think he was unconsciously leading him on again.
"No, it's nothing. Let's discuss the format after you finish the storyboard. I'm going home now, I don’t want to get in the way of your work."
"What, already?"
"You won't be able to concentrate with me around, and I don't want you to use me as an excuse. There’s some curry in the freezer. The potato salad is in the refrigerator. And the rice—"
"You don't need to give me all those instructions. I can manage my work and meals on my own. I'm getting on in years, you know."
"That's true."
Hatori did know that it would be best to stop being so overprotective. After all, hand-holding Yoshino through every little thing would not be good in the long run. So as much as Hatori wanted Yoshino to rely on him, maybe it was time to let him take a step forward.
“So, what time will you have the storyboard ready on Friday?”
“...I guess I’ll just go with my guts.”
And then again, Yoshino’s words made Hatori stop feeling so remorseful. Maybe he did need to be more strict after all.
₊ ° ✦ ‧ ‧ ₊ ˚✧ part 2
"...Understood."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be of much help..."
"No, I should apologize for the trouble. If anything else comes up, I'll be in touch." Hatori hung up the phone and let out a deep sigh.
The person on the phone was someone from the legal affairs department. He had been dealing with this one problem for a few days now, yet a solution seemed impossible to find.
(If only I had known I'd stumble over something like this...)
Hatori was in the works for the publication of Yoshino's upcoming illustration collection, in which they intended to include everything from his early works to the latest ones. With the number of color pages published nearing the target and the timing aligning with their media mix strategy, the plan was to publish it the following year.
This was something he had been planning from the very moment he recruited Yoshino. Ever since he moved from his debut publisher to Marukawa, Emerald had been the only magazine Yoshino had drawn for. However, whenever he had time, he would also accept requests on illustrating novels from other companies. And while Yoshino kept the original manuscripts from where he debuted, some of the novel artwork had been kept by these other companies.
Most of them were cooperative, and Hatori was making good progress compiling the manuscripts, but there was this one case where they just wouldn't give in.
It was a bunch of illustrations Yoshino had drawn years ago for some fantasy novel. The author was now requesting that they refrained from including them in the collection because he wanted to use them for new material, even though there had been no activity surrounding that work for a long time.
So these sudden projects must have been an attempt to ride the wave of popularity surrounding Yoshino’s work. As proof of this, when Hatori had first contacted the editorial department, it seemed like the matter would be settled with the standard administrative procedures. His relief was short-lived, however, because as soon as the week began, word came that they couldn’t return the artwork because several other projects— a new edition, an international release, an e-book, and a fanbook—had already been greenlit.
Hatori had lodged a complaint on his end, but the author himself lodged a stronger complaint, asking, ‘Isn’t your company infringing on writers’ rights?’.
Thus, Hatori consulted with the legal affairs department and tried to find a solution, but so far, they hadn’t found any grounds to persuade the other side.
And of course, a good work should be read by as many people as possible. However, having nurtured this project for so long, Hatori couldn't help but resent how awful the timing was.
“Are you okay, Hatori? You look like you could murder someone right now.” Editor-in-Chief Takano’s voice snapped Hatori back to reality.
“I can’t exactly say I’m okay…”
“Yeah, you don't look so good.”
“I’m willing to compromise with whatever they want, but these people just won’t give in.”
Normally, no matter what the problem was, Hatori always managed to handle it calmly and methodically. But perhaps because he was particularly invested in this project, he could get a tad too emotional about it.
Back when he had taken over as Yoshino’s editor, they had talked about how great it would be to publish an illustration collection someday. But to compile such a thing into a single volume, they needed a substantial number of pieces. In other words, they would have had to work together for a long time, and the illustration collection would serve as living proof of that.
Hatori was aware that his personal attachment was a bit too strong for his own good, but he wanted this project to come out as good as possible.
“You’ve been working on this for a long time, after all. Those illustrations came out around the time Yoshikawa-sensei joined us, didn't they? They are great pieces—I’m sure fans would be thrilled if we could include them.”
“I agree.”
“Did you tell the company they would be included in the art book?”
“I did mention it. However, the editor from back then doesn't work there anymore, and the author says he heard nothing about it during the handover.”
Yoshino didn't use blogs or social media at all, so since he had no direct contact with the outside world, any requests came through the editorial department. And even though Yoshino could sometimes handle further communication by himself, Hatori ended up acting as an intermediary on Yoshino’s behalf most of the time, since Yoshino felt it would “be fishy” if he did it himself.
The arrangements for Yoshino to accept work from other companies always implied prohibited secondary use. Every time they agreed to publish a piece, however, it was a condition that it would also be included in an illustration collection to be published someday in the future.
Unfortunately, at the time it didn’t occur to Hatori to draw up an actual contract, and that verbal agreement was now coming to bite him in the ass. With the former editor gone, they could now just brush Hatori off, claiming to have never heard of such a condition.
“And can’t they adjust their publication dates?”
“I did try suggesting that, but they said that if it became known the illustrations would be included in the collection, it would affect their print run. So if I wanted them included, I’d have to postpone our publication by a year.”
“That isn’t even up for discussion.” Takano shrugged and let out a sigh.
“And then, when they accused me of infringing on the author’s rights, I didn’t even know how to respond…”
Their claim was that, since the characters depicted appeared in the novel, the artwork belonged to the writer. But even if the characters did belong to this person, Yoshino had been the one to work on those illustrations.
They could have hired a different artist for the re-release, but their insistence on using Yoshino’s art definitely had to do with banking on his popularity. Yoshino was still kind of an amateur back when he had worked on that project, but this writer's editor had approached back in the day precisely because he was a fan of his.
“Even by that logic, Yoshikawa-sensei has as much right to those illustrations as the author. Don’t they realize how ridiculous their argument is?”
“That may be true. But since they have the original manuscripts, they might just push through with it.”
"That would require permission from Yoshikawa-sensei, wouldn't it? Have you told him about this?"
Indeed, the fact that there was no previous agreement about any re-releases meant that Yoshino hadn't permitted this secondary use yet.
"I'm going to tell him soon. He’s working on the storyboards right now, so I wanna wait until he is done with that." After all, it wouldn't be wise to bother Yoshino with something like this when he should be focused.
"I guess that's for the best."
Taking legal action was certainly an option. However, that would cause friction and take time they didn't have, not to mention it could leak internal information to the readers. And no matter what, what Hatori wanted the most was to avoid anything that would tarnish the image of Chiharu Yoshikawa.
"And in the worst case scenario, we'll just have to give up on those illustrations. You've received all the other manuscripts, right? I guess a few pages can be adjusted to make up for that one.”
"---Yes, I'll take another look." Hatori simply gave a mature answer.
juri is not used to spent time for herself since she spent a LONG time at ohtori just staring at shiori's picture (and styling her hair lol) so she just does not do much in her free time but bugging shiori. Shiori does not hate it but i feel like she is an only kid and also was alone in her dorm at ohtori so shes just not used to people being around.
The Case of Yoshiyuki Hatori no.2 ♡ part 3 (1) (2)
excerpt from HYNB vol. 1
jp -> shitty eng by google translate
redaction by me :D
After yet another day's work, Hatori headed to his favorite spot to quench his thirst.
A bit clumsier than he would like to admit, he accidentally dropped the coin he was about to put into the vending machine. He sighed and followed as it rolled away, until his eyes fell on a pair of well-polished leather shoes.
"I'm sorry," he said as the owner of the shoes picked up the coin.
"So even you can be clumsy too, Hatori."
"Kirishima-san, thank you."
The person to hand him back the coin was none other than Zen Kirishima, editor-in-chief of Monthly Japun. Even though he was a prominent presence at Marukawa Shoten, he and Hatori rarely had the chance to interact, since they both worked for completely different demographics.
"Good work today. Have you finished proofreading yet?"
"No, it looks like it'll take a while. How about you?"
"Same here. Oh, can I go first?"
"Go ahead.”
Moving to the vending machine, Kirishima took out his IC card from his pocket.
(*T/N: An IC card is a stored-value card in which you deposit a relatively small amount of money (usually no more than 20,000 yen) to pay for stuff like public transportation and small purchases.)
"Would you like some coffee, Hatori?"
"Huh? Oh, it's ok, I'll buy it myself..."
"Well, I already pressed the button, and I was told I shouldn't be drinking black coffee. So maybe you should have it."
"Thank you, then." Not wanting to be rude by stubbornly refusing, Hatori accepted Kirishima’s treat. Then, drink in hand, they both sat down on the couch.
"Sorry you got dragged into that idiot’s mess. Those rumors he spread must have been a pain in the ass.”
"You know about Mitani?" Hatori’s eyes widened at Kirishima’s sudden words.
"Well, he was my subordinate, I’ve heard bits about his current situation. He actually had quite a grudge against me too, calling me a crazy editor-in-chief." Kirishima said, laughing self-deprecatingly. Considering Mitani’s tendency to bad-mouth people he envied, it wasn’t surprising Kirishima would suffer a similar fate.
(So that's what this whole thing is about...)
And while Kirishima had no fault for what Mitani did, buying Hatori a coffee seemed to be some sort of apology as his former boss.
"What even happened when he worked in Japun? He said something about losing a manuscript…”
"Did you hear it from him?"
"We happened to bump into each other the other day, and he said something like that."
And he didn’t even describe it as a mistake, but rather as something he was even proud of. That thought alone was still very unpleasant. And judging from Mitani's behavior, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had caused any additional trouble as well.
"Yeah, I think I should tell you about it. But what I'm about to tell you is something that very few people in this company knows about, so please keep it between us.”
"I understand."
"At first, I thought he'd be suited to editing a boys' magazine because he seemed like a hard-working, ambitious person, and since he originally worked in sales, I figured he would understand the general principles of the job. I started him out as a sub-editor, and fom the get go he did things like contacting authors without permission, but at the time I thought it was just misguided enthusiasm, so I let it pass. And after a while I finally assigned him some writers, but it didn’t take long before they stopped scheduling meetings altogether.”
"So his authors turned him down?"
“I hadn’t thought so at first, but it definitely had to do with Mitani's overbearing attitude. He used to tell us that an author was ill or had family reasons, in which case it couldn’t be helped.”
"That's terrible…”
Looking back, Mitani was the type of person who would change his attitude based on the person he was talking to: even back then, he could be polite in front of his superiors, and then turn into a total asshole to restaurant staff.
"Of course, it was my own fault for not being able to see through him."
"And how did you find out?"
"An author contacted me directly; he said that Mitani had lost his manuscript, and he didn’t know if the company could actually do something about it."
"Kirishima-san...”
One could say that the relationship between writer and editor is behind closed doors, until the editor in chief is contacted and then everyone else finds out. However, most of the time authors hesitated to stablish any sort of contact with anyone else without first going through their own editor.
"Of course, this was the first time I'd ever heard about it. Mitani had told me the author wasn't feeling well and the manuscript wasn't coming in, so they wanted to be dropped from the next issue. But since his manuscripts at the time weren't digital, we eventually had no choice but to have him redraw it, and Mitani did that without even apologizing."
"I can't believe he really thought he could get away with something like that…”
"Yeah. I couldn't believe my eyes when I first read that email. On top of that, he neglected to pay for the lost material, so the author ended up losing money as well. And yet, Mitani simply brushed off the author's complaints by saying he couldn't do anything about it.”
"Unbelievable.”
"It's embarrassing, but I was fooled by his eloquent manners. From the looks of it, I guess he made it seem like he was never at fault for anything; as long as he could make someone else the bad guy, it would be easier to have people on his side."
"...And he was cleared of all charges in the end?"
"I apologized to the author in person and explained the situation, but he had severed ties with Mitani before that, so I guess the misunderstanding still remains."
"But Mitani resigned voluntarily, right? Why didn't he receive any disciplinary action after all that?"
“A suspension would have been appropriate, but he submitted his resignation before anything could be decided. Looking back, I regret that I handled the situation too lightly. Back then I thought he submitted his resignation because he felt remorseful.”
“And since the company wouldn’t want to make a big deal out of it either, they must have decided to end the matter by having Mitani resign voluntarily.”
"I guess the reason he's still thinking about you is because he knows he can't win. If he was in a better place now, he wouldn’t still be thinking about some dude from his previous job.”
"I guess." When Hatori had confronted him directly, he had felt a strong desire from Mitani to push responsibility onto someone else. He was like a toddler, throwing a tantrum when things didn’t go his way.
"I’m willing to take action if needed, so please let me know if you run into any more problems."
"Thank you. But it'll be fine. I’m sure he'll end up admitting to it sooner or later."
"I hope so."
A big mouth without any reliability was doomed to fail sooner or later, and if Mitani had been so desperate to spread those rumors, it must have been because things were already falling apart for him. Some people may have believed the rumors, but if Hatori continued to work with sincerity as he had always done, the truth would eventually come out.
At least his writers seemed to be on his side, and Yoshino himself was even angrier than Hatori was. So as long as the people he cared for believed him, it would all be alright.
(It was kind of a blessing in disguise…)
He would have never expected to find out Yoshino's feelings that way, but Hatori was glad to see how much he genuinely cared.
And if it ever started to actually affect his work or personal life, Hatori then would reconsider his way to handle things. But for now, he didn’t have the power or influence to take things too far.
"Thanks for the coffee, Kirishima-san." Hatori finished his coffee and stood up.
"You're welcome. Good luck with the proofreading."
"Thank you." Hatori thanked him again and left the break room.
At this point, he hardly felt a desire to get back at Mitani. He simply wanted to do a good job for his authors and his readers.
"Well, I'll do my best." Hatori muttered to himself in the elevator, his expression tightening.
also thinking abt how awful would those rumors mitani spreads on hatori in hynb n.2 be if applied to yuri au.
like mitani is accusing tori of being assigned to chiharu yoshikawa, aside of taking advantage of his previous friendship w chiaki (i’ll get into that,,,,,) because of his good looks. if tori was a woman, that second part could very easily be translated into her taking advantage of her beauty to sleep around and get what she wants (very common misogynistic bias against women with any sort of power)
now, it is true that the idea of hatori coercing chiaki into a relationship may sound worse at first glance with tori as a man (as people would have it easier to then conclude there is some form of sa involved if they assume chiharu yoshikawa is a woman rather than a man, as they would w fem tori). however, even if people dont usually take potential female abusers as seriously, this whole concept can still harm hatori’s reputation.
if people get the idea that hatori likes to seduce men to get what she wants, it wouldn’t be too crazy to presume that, at some point, she wants to be assigned to her male friend chiharu yoshikawa (lets ignore the fact that chiaki had just debuted and therefore wouldn’t be as famous as she currently is. I dont think mitani thought that through xd), so she takes advantage of their friendship to convince him (maybe also sleeps with him, or even with some other superior of hers who is not takano bc takano is also a woman and lesbians are not real), and finally becomes his editor.
from there on, hatori drags yoshikawa sensei into this relationship where she ~acts hysterical~ against him while also using sex to keep him dependent on her (taking advantage of this pooooor lonely guy’s needs ohno >~<) and thus have him take an inhuman amount of work and whatever else she desires.
so now this story would achieve three things:
• keep the evil editor story mitani had going on in canon (which would also feed into the misogynistic idea that women as a whole are too crazy or emotional to do x thing)
• demean all her achievements by attributing them to how she can exploit her sexuality (which aside of making her seem unprofessional, could even make her more susceptible to sexual harassment from others in the company)
• make her look so cold and manipulative she is even willing to control her own childhood friend to satisfy all her whims, thus making her look cruel and untrustworthy (even more so in comparison to how people expect women to act sweet and caring all the time).
so while the canon was already bad enough, in yuri au it could even be dangerous that this rumor keeps spreading, which could feed into the helplessness tori feels with the whole situation. not to mention it could also add to how mad chiaki ends up when tori decides to keep something so serious to herself.
ALSO if mitani is also a woman in this au, this could also serve to explore some theme of competition between women. aside from her whole grudge over being put in sales instead of editing, mitani constantly comparing herself to hatori and feeling inferior in result could end up in an envy so strong she now thrives in seeing her struggle, in the same way some women feel the need to bring others down for male approval. not taking into account how this comparison doesn’t even help hatori, as it puts some very high standards for her to achieve (as if she didn’t do that by herself already xd), and that could become even worse if the rumors kept spreading and she now needed to clear her image.
The Case of Yoshiyuki Hatori no.2 ♡ part 2 (1) (3)
excerpt from HYNB vol. 1
jp -> shitty eng by google translate
redaction by me :D
"Anything else you're concerned about?" Hatori asked once again as he flipped through the plot, red highlight in hand.
"Everything’s fine for now. I’ll let you know if I there’s anything else."
"I understand. Now, please proceed with the storyboard. Thank you."
"Yes."
The person on the phone was Shindou-sensei, one of Hatori’s manga artists. They were revising the plot, and now everything seemed to come together in good shape.
When asked his opinion on a work, Hatori always tried to stay true to what the author wanted to convey, and then unravel any confusing parts in an understandable way. There were all kinds of editors; some had a producer-like mentality and gave detailed opinions on everything, while others preferred to let the artist draw as they pleased and barely intervene.
(I guess I'm somewhere in between?)
While each publishing company and editorial department had its own unique culture, individual differences among editors played a huge role in their performance.
"Well, if you need anything else..."
"...Um, Hatori-san. Have you heard the recent rumors?" Shindou hesitantly asked before Hatori could end the call.
"Rumors?" Hatori could recall a similar question somewhere recently. Looking back on his memories, he remembered it was during his last conversation with Ayukawa.
"Sorry to bother you, I wasn't sure whether to ask you or not, but I thought it might be best to let you know..."
That she started the conversation like this must have meant that, whatever the rumors were, it wasn't good news for Hatori. People were curious and easily drawn to controversial topics, so if there was any gossip around, and even more so now with the internet, it was only a matter of time before it spread.
"What kind of rumor is it?"
"Well... it's your reputation, Hatori-san. I’m pretty sure it’s all made up... Oh, of course, there is no way I actually believe something like that!"
Hatori didn’t say anything. He couldn't draw any conclusions without being told the facts, but Shindou being so reluctant to just say it meant it was something shady enough to not be talked about lightly. That must have been the reason she seemed a little off during the call.
"It's okay. I trust you, Shindou-san."
"..."
"And it would not be strange if someone was badmouthing me. Editors spread rumors about each other all the time."
Things didn’t always go smoothly when it came to interacting with others. And while it would be great if both parties could just end things amicably, sometimes resentment lingered. And it wasn’t that either party was more at fault than the other, but personal qualities still played a huge role.
(I wonder where I incurred their wrath, though...)
Being a shoujo publication, most of the artists were female, so Hatori was always careful not to offend them or unintentionally commit harassment. However, what happened with Nakahara made him realize that being too considerate wasn’t a good thing either.
He would’ve never imagine he'd become a romantic interest for someone so much younger than him; although she was probably just projecting her ideal onto Hatori, who would always put on a good face. Thankfully though, she had since changed her editor and could now focus on creating her own work.
"...Yeah, I guess whoever started it was just badmouthing you, but it was still so unpleasant! I heard it from a friend who draws for another magazine: she said that you use your friendship with Yoshikawa-sensei to do with her as you pleased, and that you owe your current position in Marukawa to that behavior.”
"Yoshi... Yoshikawa-sensei?" Surprised by the turn the conversation took, Hatori almost said ‘Yoshino’ on accident.
"They say you brought Yoshikawa-sensei to Emerald when she didn’t do well at the company she debuted at, and ever since you’ve been forcing her to take an unreasonable amount of work, and also other very nasty things…”
Hatori was speechless; the rumor seemed to be a lot worse than he had given it credit for. It was no wonder Shindou seemed so hesitant to talk about it. And since most people thought of Yoshino as a woman, it was likely they now made the vulgar assumption that Hatori was forcing her into a relationship.
"I denied that you were that kind of person, but since it's become a rumor, I think it's better to let you know."
"Thank you. I'll investigate the source of the rumor. Of course, it's complete nonsense."
"Y-You're right!"
"It’s true Yoshikawa-sensei and I have known each other for a very long time, so we get a bit too mean with each other sometimes. I guess someone must have overheard one of those phone calls." Naturally, Hatori wasn’t gonna tell this girl about his current relationship with Yoshino, so he decided it would be best to simply explain what may have led to the misunderstanding.
"Is that so? On the phone, you can only hear one side of the conversation..." Shindou seemed relieved by Hatori’s words. But even if she did trust Hatori, she couldn’t just ignore her friend’s concerns.
(But where did that story even come from?)
It was harsh criticism, even though Hatori was just doing his job as best as he could. But being in charge of an artist as popular as Yoshino, maybe it couldn’t be helped.
Regardless, it wasn’t good to be harbored ill will by someone whose name and face he didn't even know. And even though most of it was completely unfounded, there were bits of information mixed in that only someone on the inside would know. In particular, the fact that Yoshino and Hatori had known each other since before his debut.
It was shortly after Takano became editor-in-chief that Hatori had managed to bring Yoshino to Emerald. It was true that he had approached Yoshino when he saw him struggle, shortly after he had debuted, and at first, Yoshino hadn’t been so keen on being given a job because of his connections with a childhood friend. But Hatori certainly wasn't doing it out of obligation or pity; he knew Yoshino had a lot more potential than he was letting out, so he wanted him to draw for the magazine he worked for.
And at that, Hatori had also thought it would be best to avoid working with Yoshino, given their personal relationship. However, at the time, everyone else in the editorial department was oversaturated, so Hatori ended up taking charge of him, and things had been going that way ever since.
At the time, Hatori had introduced Yoshino to Takano, but other than that, no other employees within Marukawa had ever met Yoshino in person. In other words, whoever spread the rumor knew that they had known each other for a long time, but still thought Yoshino was a woman.
So it was unlikely it had been an assistant. The ones who frequented Yoshino's place already knew that Hatori was his childhood friend, but since they constantly met Yoshino face-to-face, they naturally knew his real gender.
Therefore, it could’ve been anyone Hatori had ever met at Marukawa, outside of the Emerald editorial department.
(...Could it be...?)
Once again, Ayukawa's behavior from the other day and the face of the person they had been talking about flashed through his mind. But he couldn’t just blindly blame the guy without further evidence.
"Can you tell me about the artist who told you all this? You don’t need to tell me any actual names, I’m not trying to pinpoint a culprit or anything.”
"It's a girl who draws at Koyosha. Apparently, another artist there heard it from their editor."
"Is that so?" Hatori’s suspicions of *him* grew stronger.
Although he was aware that he was unilaterally disliked, Hatori himself couldn't remember doing anything to warrant this kind of hatred. In fact, he had even intended to support him back when he tried to apply for a transfer to the editorial department.
"Um, if you need any more details, I could ask my friend...?"
"No, it's fine. Thank you for your concern. Instead, I'd appreciate it if you could have your storyboard finished soon."
"That sounds more like you, Hatori-san. I understand. I'll do my best so that you can see it soon."
"I'm looking forward to it." Hatori calmly hung up the phone and put the receiver back.
Being just a rumor, there was not much he could do other than treating those directly involved with him with sincerity so that they would be on his side.
"Tori, what's wrong? You seem really troubled."
"...There are some bad rumors going around about me."
"Seriously?" Kisa's expression clouded as Hatori briefly explained the situation. "That's weird, you are probably one of the most popular editors we have! Did you do something wrong?"
"No that I can remember"
"What kind of rumor is it?"
"They say I'm taking advantage of Yoshikawa-sensei and treating her badly."
"What's that? That's bullshit! If anything, I’d say you’re the one who’s been treated badly!”
"...I guess."
Being Yoshino’s editor, Hatori had gone through his fair share of rough times, like losing contact right before a deadline or receiving faxes saying ‘Please don’t look for me’ whenever Yoshino disappeared.
"So, what are you going to do?"
"For now, I'll just have to wait and see."
"This will be difficult to fix it if we don't know where it came from..."
"Yeah, I know." And while he had a vague idea of where the rumor came from, Hatori couldn't act on any unreliable information. If he did, wouldn’t be any better than the person spreading lies about him in the first place.
"And I mean, with an artist as popular as Yoshikawa-sensei, the company would immediately replace you if you ever made a mistake. Anyone within the industry would realize how ridiculous these rumors are if they just thought about it."
To a publishing company, authors are like business partners; and like in any company, if a staff member ever made a mistake when dealing with a partner, it was only natural to have that person replaced. Not to mention, it was actually quite hard for one single editor to personally keep an artist under their control.
But even more so in an industry like this, baseless information spread easily if it was entertaining enough. And while bad rumors could spread quicker than in the blink of an eye, clearing one's name usually took a lot longer.
Regardless, Kisa's words made Hatori feel a little better.
"I'll let you know it if I hear anything. But don't worry about it. Anyone who knows you would know it's a lie.”
"I hope so."
Just as he had said, it was a matter of waiting for the matter to be settled, so there was no point in worrying about it too much. But even knowing that, Hatori couldn't contain his irritation.
***
"Welcome back!"
"Yoshino. What are you doing here?"
It was hard to concentrate being so irritated, so Hatori finished his duties later that night. Usually, he'd head straight to Yoshino's place after work like he did every Friday, but this time he felt so frayed he didn't feel like it. The last thing he wanted was to end up taking his frustration out on him.
Of course, he had contacted him on his way out, so it was a shock to see him there anyways. Hatori hadn't even thought about food, and as soon as he saw Yoshino's face, he remembered he himself hadn’t had anything to eat since lunch.
"What's wrong? You seem down."
"When was I ever up?"
"But I mean more than usual! You look really gloomy. Did something happen at work?"
Yoshino was usually insensitive to the subtleties of other people's emotions, but on rare occasions he could be strangely sharp. More than once he had said careless things that upset Hatori, but never to the point of actually crossing a line.
So this was most likely just a gut feeling.
"Nothing."
(That's a lie.)
Although, to be fair, nothing had really happened *at* work, so it wasn’t exactly a lie… Hatori could only chuckle bitterly at his own excuse.
"You wouldn't be making that face if nothing happened! Even I can tell when you’re actually in a bad mood.”
"Really?"
"We've been together since we were born! I know there is some stuff you can't tell me, but you should vent your frustrations every once in a while. I'm not sure I can give you any good advice, but at least I could listen..." Having talked on impulse, Yoshino’s initially loud voice gradually tapered off as he talked. "I know I’m always the one relying on you, but I want to help you too." Perhaps by this point he had lost all confidence, as the embarrassment was now all over his face.
(………………I see.)
Normally, Hatori would not let this kind of thing affect his mood. But he had now realized that his irritation wasn't even due to any ill will directed at himself, but rather directed at Yoshino.
"I know! Let's go eat out. I'll treat you."
"Right now?"
"You always cook for me, it doesn’t harm to go out every once in a while. By the looks of it, you haven't even had a proper meal today."
"Yeah, that's true, but..."
"I thought so. Come on, let's get going then. It's hard to be in a good mood when you're hungry."
"...Don't you just want the fried cartilage from the usual izakaya?"
"How did you know I was gonna take you there?"
"It's written all over your face." After all, Yoshino could be very transparent when it came to food.
"Well, you like it too, don't you?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Ok, I'll go get my coat, hang on!"
The irritation from before seemed like a lie now. At times like these, Yoshino's presence was truly appreciated.
***
"Brrrr, it's cold." Yoshino shivered, buffeted by the north wind.
"Why didn't you bring a scarf?"
"The izakaya is not too far, I didn’t think I would need one."
Even though Yoshino often complained about the cold, he neglected taking proper precautions himself, which became a pain when he inevitably ended up catching a cold.
And Hatori was the one who suffered from it the most: if it happened during some spare time, nursing Yoshino back to health could even be fun; but if it happened during a deadline, it was nothing but anxiety.
"Geez... Come on, use mine."
"But then you’ll get cold."
"I'm not as sensitive to heat or cold as you are. And it'd be a problem if you got sick right now."
"I'll borrow it then."
Not wanting to accidentally create a romantic scene in public, Hatori simply handed the scarf to Yoshino, who then wrapped it around his neck and buried his face in it.
"It smells like Tori."
"...Obviously." The casual comment startled Hatori, and getting so upset over something like that made him feel like a middle schooler.
Suddenly, a man bumped into them. Hatori tried to avoid him, but the man seemed to lose his balance and blocked their path.
"Let's take a different route." Frowning at this sudden nuisance, Hatori subtly shielded Yoshino.
"Uh, yeah."
It seemed like a detour would get them to their destination faster than forcing their way past this man. But just as Hatori turned his gaze to a different route, a raspy voice called out to him.
"Huh? I knew I had seen that face somewhere before: it's Hatori."
"Mitani.” Startled by the voice, Hatori turned around.
The guy looked a lot more unkempt than Hatori remembered: his worn-out coat didn’t seem to have been taken proper care of, and his leather shoes were covered in scratches. As far as Hatori remembered, Mitani was the type of person to always pay the utmost attention to his clothes, often making snide remarks on this regard about Hatori, who wore a suit everyday despite being assigned to the editorial department.
So what on earth happened?
"Still dressed like a jerk, huh? What, are you still a sub-editor?"
"Let's go, Yoshino."
"Huh? What?"
The last thing Hatori wanted was to get involved with Mitani. But just as he tried to leave, Mitani grabbed him by the shoulder and stopped him.
"You are running away? I guess you’ve always been good at that!"
"Haven’t you had too much to drink?" Hatori calmly brushed off Mitani's hand.
"That’s none of your business. And just so you know, if I've had nothing good going for me it’s because of you."
"How is it my fault?" Hatori had intended to ignore him and walk away, but Mitani's words stood out to him.
"If it hadn’t been for you, I would've been assigned to the editorial department from the beginning instead of having to take that long detour. You ended up there even though you didn't even care for it! And yet you keep wearing that suit as if you were in sales. How annoying!"
"The company is the one who decides where they assign you. What say could I have on that, as a new hire?"
And at that, not even veterans could get much of a say on whether they kept their current position or not, unless they had some sort of influence over HR. At best, all one could really do was make a good impression during interviews.
"But if you hadn’t been there, I would have been the one in that position! And then, when I finally thought they were gonna approve my transfer request, they dumped me into fucking Japun! When I specifically said I wanted to work on a newsletter magazine! Do you know how annoying it is to be stuck on a job you don’t want to do?”
"But you were so happy when you were transferred to Japun! You even said you'd work hard to become editor-in-chief. So why did you quit so soon?"
"Shut up! I wasn’t gonna work with a bunch of idiots who wouldn't understand my vision! I had my own shit to deal with, and they kept nagging about that damned manuscript. As if one or two pages was such a big deal! The artist can just draw them again…”
"...You didn’t lose a manuscript, did you?" Even though it had nothing to do with him, just thinking of what would he do if such a thing happened to him made Hatori’s blood run cold.
"I had the guy redraw it, it was okay in the end. Nothing of value was lost anyways, and the redraw was even better."
"That's not the problem!" Hatori unconsciously raised his voice, without any consideration for the people around him. It made him feel dizzy, to think someone could hold so little respect to the editorial profession.
Editors are human, it's natural for them to make mistakes every once in a while; but to try to downplay it as if their actions couldn’t greatly affect an artist was straight up vile.
“Oh, miss me with that bullshit! Are you gonna lecture me like Kirishima did? As if you had to put in any real effort! All you have to do is leech off Chiharu Yoshikawa to get whatever you want!”
Obviously Mitani had no clue that the person hanging out with Hatori was none other than Chiharu Yoshikawa herself. And even though he didn’t want Yoshino to hear these words, Hatori couldn’t do much but remain silent.
And even though he knew Mitani was just venting at him, it was still rather shocking to hear such abusive words from someone he knew.
"How did you even manage to get to her? You're popular with women, aren't you? Of course, good-looking guys like you don't have to struggle, they have it easy. I had to work hard, and yet I was never rewarded!”
And that’s when it hit him: Mitani's words were oddly similar to the rumors Shindou had told him about. So was Hatori’s gut feeling right all along…?
"Are you the one spreading those rumors about me?"
“They are not rumors, they are facts. I’m just protecting innocent artists from getting caught up with the likes of you.”
"I knew it..." In a way, it kinda hurt to have his suspicions confirmed.
"I figured you'd find out about it eventually, but that was quick. What? Did an artist you tried to lure in turn you down? Serves you right, better to be left unknown than to be on your leash!”
"How can you say something like that about an artist?"
"I'm just the one handling them, they are the ones who keep writing shit that won’t sell!"
"They aren’t tools."
"At least tools don’t complain or try to run away! Of course things are so much easier when you can just snag a decent artist like you did. It’s easy money, right?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You people don’t leave us any decent artists, and yet you try to make it look like it’s my fault! It’s not fair! Even Kirishima has some big names under his belt, of course he would leave the leftovers to newbies like me…"
Hatori felt a wave of disgust at Mitani’s words. It was indignant to think an editor could have this attitude.
(Was he always this despicable...?)
When they had joined Marukawa as new graduates, Mitani talked enthusiastically of his dreams, of how he wanted to bring stories that everyone could find interesting. Where in the way did he end up like this?
Not only the relationship between editors and manga artists, but society as a whole is built upon respect. Without mutual respect, things just can't function. People work together for better results: Manga artists exist to create their own stories, not to boost an editor’s performance or to do whatever their editor fancies.
How does someone forget something as basic as that?
To spread rumors on a fellow colleague simply as an act of unfounded revenge should be out of the question for any self-respecting editor, as should be to put the entire blame on the artist when things end up going wrong. If Mitani had any resentment harbored towards Hatori, for whatever reason, he should have directed that energy into bettering himself.
"Oh, fuck off with that!" Yoshino shouted, taking over Hatori, who couldn’t even speak from the anger.
"Yoshino...?"
"I don't give a crap about who you think you are, but don't you dare talk down on this guy as if you knew what he goes through! He gets up early every morning and works his ass off until he collapses. What part of that sounds like easy money to you!?"
"What is it with you? This is none of your business!” Mitani casted a quizzical look at Yoshino, who had stepped in between Hatori and him to make such a bold statement.
"You are the one meddling! Just looking from the sidelines and saying whatever! Editors like you are the reason manga artists have it so hard!"
"W-What do you know about authors?"
"Because I'm a manga artist too! I understand their feelings better than you ever will! And I know there's no way I could ever create an interesting story with an editor like you!”
"What...?"
“Tori is a serious, responsible, caring, talented, and top-notch editor who values his artists more than anything, and he would never shift the blame on others like you do! And I swear, if I find out you keep talking shit about him, I’ll never let you get away with it!"
Mitani seemed taken aback by Yoshino's sudden outburst, and Hatori himself was so shocked he couldn't even move.
He'd never seen Yoshino so angry before; while it was true his emotions tended to fluctuate, Yoshino was generally tolerant to frustration up to some degree. He had never taken his anger out on another person for no apparent reason, but right now he was doing it, for Hatori’s sake nonetheless.
"You’re only doing this out of envy! But if you keep blaming others for your problems, nothing's ever going to work out for you."
"I don't know what low-level ‘artist’ you are supposed to be, but you don’t get to talk to me like you’re shit... I don’t have time for this." Perhaps sensing that he was losing the argument, Mitani uttered a last parting remark and ran off.
Hatori could only watch him leave in a daze, while Yoshino, still steaming with rage, stood next to him. In contrast however, seeing Yoshino complain with his fists clenched took all of Hatori's anger away.
"What's with that guy? He was the one who started picking fights! He really worked at Marukawa?"
"He was a colleague of mine, after all."
"I can't believe he got hired acting like that..."
"He wasn't like that back then."
When Mitani had first joined the company, he seemed genuinely passionate about his dreams. To Hatori, who was just getting familiarized with the workforce, the way he confidently spoke about his vision to his superiors while proudly donning brand-name clothing was even admirable.
But perhaps his clothes and big mouth were just an armor to him. Until, at some point, making those horrible statements about himself and others became the only way he had to take out his frustrations.
Regardless, if he kept on like this, he would only be a detriment for whatever company he worked on.
But at least for now, knowing the source of the rumors, all Hatori had left to do was put an end to them before they continued to spread and actually caused any harm.
"Hey, was that guy the reason you were so gloomy?"
"I guess so."
"And what's your deal? You were acting all cool now, how are you not angry?" For some reason, Yoshino’s anger now seemed to be directed towards Hatori.
"Of course I'm angry." But although he was still mad at Mitani, the shock at Yoshino's behaviour won over that, so now Hatori’s heart was filled with relief. "And what exactly did you mean by ‘not letting him get away with it’ anyways, Yoshino?"
"I didn’t really think that far ahead... I guess suing him for defamation or something like that…"
So, apparently, it had only been a spur-of-the-moment retort. Nevertheless, it just went to show how much he cared.
"Thank you for defending me. I appreciate it"
“W-well, I was pissed! All I did was say the truth." With Hatori expressing his gratitude, Yoshino suddenly became embarrassed and began muttering.
"So you really do feel that way about me?"
"W-well, maybe I was overpraising you... But most of it was still an objective assessment, I'm sure I’m not the only one who thinks that way..."
"But you do feel that way, don't you?"
"What is it with you? You were so gloomy just a moment ago." Perhaps to hide his embarrassment, Yoshino became a bit harsher towards Hatori.
But the more Yoshino scolded him, the happier it made him feel.
"You cheered me up."
"It still feels a little off..." Yoshino muttered to himself, feeling embarrassed all by himself.
“Well, I'm hungry, let's go eat something already. You said it was your treat, right?"
"Ugh, fine! I'm going to drink myself to death tonight!"
Secretly resolved to not continue bothering himself with petty things, just this once, Hatori followed Yoshino as he strode purposefully to the izakaya.
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