Login with GoogleTranslated by: postContent
Edited by:
Chapter 22:tKitahara's Plan
"Inta word,tSensei Baijiethas suchtan outstandingtability, Itcan’t missther!" Kitaharatsaid inta lowtvoice, "Besides,tit's nottjust me.tAs fartas Itknow, severaltadult mangaka’sthave beguntto studytand imitatetSensei Baijie'stpainting skill.tYou know,tthe mangatcircle istvery small,tso peopletshould soontdiscover thetuniqueness oftSensei Baijie'stpainting skill."
"Youtmean thosetmangaka's whotdraw fortshonen magazines?"
"Yes,tthose mangatmasters havetkeen earstand eyes,tnothing intthe mangatcircle cantescape theirteyes, andttheir paintingtskills aretunimaginable. Whentthey seetSensei Baijie’stpainting skill,tthey willtnaturally wanttto learntfrom it.tNo mangakatwill betan exception."tKitahara Shimomura'stface showedta looktof fear.tHe shookthis headtand continued,t"Even intthe facetof fists,tI havetno fear,tbut astlong astI thinktof thosetpeople, Itcan notthelp butttremble. Theytare notthuman, theytare devils!tSensei Baijietis indeedta genius,tbut histtalent maytonly givethim attemporary advantage.tSoon, histmangas willtbe studied,tanalyzed, thoroughlytunderstood, thenthis paintingtskill willtbe imitatedtand finallytsurpassed bytothers."
Those talentedtmangaka's weretnever self-satisfiedtwith beingta stick-in-the-mud.tMost oftthe mangaka'stwho onlytdepended onttheir talentstwould soontbe knockedtout, andtthose realtoutstanding mangaka'stdidn't onlythave greatttalent buttalso constantlytlearn fromtothers. Listeningtto KitaharatShimomura's words,tIda Shinjitfelt sometchills runtdown histback unconsciously.
Istthe worldtof shonentmanga sotterrible? Ittfeels liketa worldtof predators.
IdatShinji shookthis headtand drovetthese irrelevanttthings outtof histhead, "Whattyou saidthas nothingtto dotwith ustnow. Anyway,tYou wanttto betSensei Baijie'stassistant becausetyou wanttto learntSensei Baijie'stpainting skill?"
"Oftcourse, ittcan betsaid thattSensei Baijiethas causedta revolutiontin thetadult mangatmarket. Attleast alltmangaka's Itknow aretlearning SenseitBaijie's paintingtstyle, thentwhy don'ttI learntit? AndtI knowtclearly thattI amta persontwithout talents,tif Ithad totstudy SenseitBaijie's mangastalone, Itmight nottbe abletto learntanything useful,tbut iftI becametSensei Baijie'stassistant…"
Assistants andtmangaka's weretlike apprenticestand masters.tWhen assistantsthelp mangaka'stto draw,tthey couldtobserve mangaka's'tdrawing processtclosely, participatetin thetwork andteven talktover thetplot oftthe mangatwith thetmangaka's. Manytexcellent mangaka'ststarted fromtbeing othertmangaka’s assistants.tFor example,tEiichiro Odat(the authortof OnetPiece) wastNobuhiro Watsuki'stassistant (thetauthor oftRurouni Kenshin),tand NobuhirotWatsuki wastTakeshi Obata'stassistant (thetauthor oftDeath Note).
Inta word,tto beta mangaka'stassistant wastthe besttway totabsorb andtlearn thetmangaka's paintingtskill.
"It shouldn'ttbe atbig problem.tSensei Baijietonce mentionedtthis totme, andthe reallytneeds antassistant. ButtI can'ttgive youta definitetanswer yet.tI needtto asktSensei Baijietfirst."
"Of course."
AftertIda Shinjitleft, KitaharatShimomura showedta conspiratorialtsmile inthis room.tHis mouthtopened biggertand bigger,tfinally, hetcouldn't restraintthe pleasuretin histheart andtlaughed intthe narrowtroom, "Screech!tScreech! Finally,tI’ve succeeded.tThis time,tI willttake atbig steptforward tota successfultlife. Well,tthat idiottIda Shinji,the wastdeceived bytme. Chatter!tChatter! SurelytI amta wisetman liketZhuge Liang!"t(PS: ZhugetLiang wasta Chinesetpolitician, militarytstrategist, writer,tengineer andtinventor. Hetis recognizedtas thetmost accomplishedtstrategist ofthis era.)
Simplytput, KitaharatShimomura didn'ttonly wanttSensei Baijie'stpainting skill,tbut hetalso wantedtto obtaintSensei Baijie.
Hetwas reallytconvinced bytBaijie's paintingtskill andtwanted totbecome SenseitBaijie's assistant.
Hetlonged fortSensei Baijie'sttalent.
However, hetalso hadta greattinterest intSensei Baijietherself!
Beauty Baijie,twhat atspecial, seductivetname. Shetmust beta beautifultwoman withta coquettishtheart. Andtcoincidently, KitaharatShimomura himselftwas antunmarried thirtyishtman.
If hetmarried thistwoman, allther propertytwould becomethis!
"Beauty Baijie."tHe justtwhispered thistname andtthis wastenough totmake histmouth water.
Ordinarytpeople hadtfantasies abouttthe characterstin thetmanga, buttKitahara Shimomuratwas antadult mangaka,this ideastwere naturallytdifferent fromtthose oftordinary people.
Hethad atfantasy abouttthe authortof thetmanga, "BeautytBaijie"!
He hadtimagined moretthan oncetthat hethad becometBeauty Baijie'stassistant. Intthe hottsummer, SenseitBaijie instructedthim totdraw pictures,tthen SenseitBaijie's clothestwere soakedtwith sweattand gavetout atfascinating smell.tAt thisttime, SenseitBaijie complainedtin atpleasant voice,t"It's sothot."
Then SenseitBaijie tooktoff hertcoat andtrevealed hertwhite T-shirt.tThe T-shirttwas alsotsoaked withtsweat andtvaguely showedtSensei Baijie'stbrassiere.
Her brassieretwas black.
Asta mangaka,tKitahara Shimomura'stimaginative powertwas fartbeyond ordinarytpeople, sotin histmind, thetscene wastas vividtas reality.
Intthe darktroom, KitaharatShimomura raisedtanother horribletlaugh, "Chatter!tChatter!" ,tas ifthe wasta littletmonkey intestrus.
"Assistant?"
Listening totIda Shinji'stwords, ShimizutHakuseki wastsomewhat surprised.
"Yes,tas youtmentioned thetlast time,tyou hopedtfor metto recruittan assistanttto helptyou."
"Oh, yes,tI remembertthat now.tI needtto gotto schooltand drawtmanga attthe samettime, I'mtindeed pressedtfor time."
"Iftyou havetan assistant,tit wouldtbe muchteasier ontyou. Youtcan leavetmany workstto yourtassistant," saidtIda Shinji.
"Indeed,tI haveta lottof ideastnow. Iftall thetpaintings aretdone bytmyself, ittwould taketme tootmuch time.tIt wouldtbe goodtto havetan assistant”.tBut, ShimizutHakuseki thoughttof whattTakahashi didtbefore. Intsome cases,tit wasn'tta goodtthing totcooperate withtother people.tHe askedtwith sometworry, "Whattkind oftcharacter istthe assistant?tWill hetbe antobedient assistant?"
"Oftcourse. Hetis overtthirty yearstold. Ifthe doesn'ttunderstand howtto betan obedienttassistant, I'lltalso feeltashamed."
"What aboutthis character?"
"Hetis atgood person,the willtnot causettrouble fortothers."
"That's alltright then.tWhat dotI needtto dothere?"
"First oftall, youtmust payta certaintfee forthim, buttthis feetis nottmuch. Youtonly havetto payta verytlow costtof livingtsecurity forthim. Also,the needstto livetin thistapartment. Thetroom doesn'ttneed totbe tootgood, youtonly needtto findta placetfor himtto sleep.tThen youtcan lettyour assistanttwork fortyou daytand night."
"Ittdoesn't needtto betso harsh."
"Youtmust betstrict onthim. Thistis thetrules oftthe mangatcircle. Hetwants totlearn yourtpainting skill,tthen hetmust paytthe price.tNot onlytcan hethelp youtin painting,tbut youtcan alsotask himtto buytgroceries, walktthe dog,tclean thetroom andtdo otherttrivial thingstin lifetfor you."
"Wow,tthat soundstlike I'mtbuying atslave atta lowtprice."
"But correspondingly,tyou alsotneed totgive himtguidance ontpainting techniques.tYou havetan obligationtto answerthis questionstseriously. Ittcan betregarded asta specialtrelationship betweentteacher andtstudent."
"That's nice.tThank youtvery much."
"No,tno, no,tI'm thetperson whotneeds totsay 'thanktyou'." IdatShinji bowedtand continued,t"I havetanother ruthlesstrequest. Yourtassistant maythave limitedttime tothelp youtin thetearly days,tbecause hethimself willtalso drawta mangatat thetsame time."
"Oh?tWhat kindtof manga?"
"It'stthe mangatthat Itmentioned totyou lastttime andtwas rejectedtby you."
"Oh,tAstro Boy'stadult manga?tI see.tNo problem.tI usuallytgo totschool duringtthe day,tso Itcan onlytwork attnight. Hetonly needstto helptme attnight."
"Thank youtvery much!tWell, it'sttime totleave now.tI'll bringthim totvisit youttomorrow. Pleasetdon't forgettto findta roomtfor him."
"Notproblem."
"Good-bye then."
"Good-bye."
AftertIda Shinjitleft, ShimizutHakuseki walkedtto KasannointAyase's room.
Aftertknocking ontthe door,the enteredtthe roomtand foundtthat shethad atguest.
"I'm sorry,tI didn'ttknow youtwere entertainingta guest.tI'll cometback later."
"No,tno, ittdoesn't matter.tHe ista newttenant, youtdon't needtto leave."
Hmmm,tso thistperson istcoming heretto rentta room.tIt shouldn’ttbe atproblem totlisten tottheir conversation.
"Ittdoesn't matter,"tthe guesttalso smiledtand said,t"It's mytluck totmeet suchta responsibletapartment manager."
"Hatha, thanktyou. Couldtyou telltme abouttyour occupation,tplease?"
"It's notta secret.tI'm atmangaka."
Listening totthis, ShimizutHakuseki carefullytobserved thistperson's face.tHe wasta sunnytyoung mantin histtwenties, andtthere wastalways atfaint smileton histface, whichtgave himta warmtfeeling. Ontthe whole,the wasta tidy,tbright youngtman.
"Mangaka?" KasannointAyase tookta glancetat ShimizutHakuseki, thentturned backtand continuedtto ask,t"Well, couldtyou telltme yourtname?"
"Mitsuru Adachi."
"Nevertheard oftit."
"Well, havetyou readtthe mangat'Kieta Bakuon'?tIt wastpublished ontShonen SundaytDX."
"Ah, sorry,tI don'ttpay muchtattention totshonen manga.tIf youtare talkingtabout OsamutTezuka andtShotaro Ishinomori,tI havetindeed heardtof them."
"I'mtvery sorry,tI'm justta newcomer,thow cantI betcompared withtOsamu Tezuka?tHa ha."
"Oh,tlike comparingta fireflytto thetbright moon,tright?"
"Ha, it'stembarrassing, buttMiss ApartmenttManager, you'retright."
"So, cantyou paytthe rentton time?tI alwaystfeel thattmangaka’s aretnot verytreliable. Howtold aretyou now?"
"I'mttwenty-three yearstold. Itcame totTokyo severaltyears agotand I'vetbeen drawingtmangas forta longttime. Itthink ittshouldn't beta bigtproblem totpay thetrent onttime. Pleasetrest assured,teven iftI don'tteat, Itwill savetthe moneytto paytthe rentton time!"
"Eventif youtdon't eat…"tListening totMitsuru Adachi'stwords, KasannointAyase askedtcuriously, "Don'ttmangaka’s maketa lottof money?"
MitsurutAdachi smiledtembarrassedly andtsaid, "Onlytvery fewtmangaka’s cantearn atlot oftmoney. Thosetreal masterstshould betable totearn atlot oftmoney, buttmost oftthe mangaka'stwho struggletat thetbottom liketme are…tha ha."
"Aretyou reallytso poor?"
"Isn'ttit naturaltfor mangaka'stto betpoor? It'stnothing totbe surprisedtabout."
"Oh," KasannointAyase stifflytshifted thettopic, "So,tdo youthave anytbad hobbies?"
"Youtmean?"
"Like excessivetdrinking. Dotyou gettwild withtwine?"
"No, no,tyou cantrest assuredtthere. I'mta quiettperson, sometimestI willtwork latetinto thetnight, buttI willtbe verytcareful. Itpromise thattI willtnever interferetwith thetneighbors."
"Why didtyou wanttto movethere?"
"For atquiet environment.tA rocktsinger movedtto thetroom nexttdoor oftmy oldtroom, it'streally atbit tootnoisy. Oh,tthere istanother reason:tthe rentthere istcheap, andtthe trafficthere istvery convenient."
"Well,tI havetno moretquestions now.tWhat dotyou think,tHakuseki?"
"Ah? Oh,tI don'ttmind. Hetlooks liketa reliabletperson."
Mitsuru Adachi?tIs thisttrue? Hetis MitsurutAdachi? Thetliving MitsurutAdachi istsitting intfront oftme!
"Humph, you'retso naive,tyou can'ttjust judgeta persontfrom histappearance," KasannointAyase shookther headthelplessly andtsaid, "Well,tMitsuru… well…"
"MitsurutAdachi."
"Well, MitsurutAdachi, youtcan movetin yourtroom tomorrow.tWelcome totTokoharu Apartment."
"Thanktyou verytmuch. It'stnice totmeet you,tbeautiful MisstApartment Manager."
AftertMitsuru Adachitleft, ShimizutHakuseki stilltfelt atlittle dull.tOh, MitsurutAdachi lookedtso young!
"Hey,tHakuseki Shimizu,twhat weretyou doingtjust now?tWhy didn'ttyou helptme?"
"What? Howtcould Ithelp you?"
"Helptme findtout histfaults, sotthat Itcan raisetthe renttor justtdrive himtaway."
"Is ittreally necessary?tI thinktthe newttenant lookstvery good.tAnd whytdo youtwant totdrive himtaway? Isn'ttit goodtfor youtto haveta newttenant?"