We arrived at the café in just a few minutes because the cosplay café was quite close to home. There, numerous people with rather peculiar features came in and out as if it were nothing. When they entered, I saw one pretending to put on a tail, but it was probably just an act. I also saw one leaving, making a gesture of removing… something I couldn't quite make out clearly.
"Is this the café where there are… aliens?" Kari asked.
"That's right. It's a place where they can come to relax without people staring at them for having horns or a tail," I nodded.
"But it's strange. I can only see people with tails and those things. Are all aliens so similar to humans?" Kari asked curiously.
"The truth is I asked myself the same question and the answer is yes and no," I said.
"What do you mean?" Kari asked.
"Some aliens do look very similar to humans, but with certain differences — some obvious like Lala, Momo, and Nana, and others that aren't even noticeable like Dita and Yami," I said.
"And what about the others?" Kari asked again.
"It's a camouflage device. It basically allows them to adopt human forms, even if they aren't really human. But in this café they can at least show some part of their real body. In the end, it's still just a disguise," I explained.
Yes, it's like they're partially removing their disguise.
"I understand. They partially remove their disguise to feel a bit freer," Kari nodded.
"Exactly," I nodded.
After this short conversation, we entered the café and looked for the editor. A few minutes ago she had called me saying she was already at the café and would wait for us there. She also told me we could easily spot her in the crowd because she was wearing work clothes.
After looking for a few seconds, we found her easily because she was the only one dressed so elegantly in such a casual place, so we approached.
"Excuse me. Are you Ayanagi Mizuki-san?" I asked politely.
I don't like using honorifics with names…
Mizuki looked up and saw two children. One was a very handsome and muscular teenager. How did she know? She could see some bulging muscles under his shirt. The other, however, was a girl who didn't seem older than 11, a very cute girl.
"Are you Sato-san and Yagami-san?" Mizuki asked.
"That's right. It's a pleasure to meet you," I nodded.
"It's a pleasure," Kari greeted.
"The pleasure is mine as well. Please, have a seat," Mizuki said.
We both did as she asked and sat down next to each other.
"Sorry we arrived a bit late. We got distracted and didn't notice the time," I said.
"Oh no, please don't apologize. It's fine!" Mizuki said hurriedly.
"I'm glad, but you don't have to be so formal with me. I feel uncomfortable with so much formality," I said.
I don't like formalities.
"I'd also prefer if you weren't so formal. I'm just not used to it," Kari said.
Ah, how pleasant and simple children are. If they were adults, it would probably take weeks to get enough familiarity to stop being so formal, but children were easier.
"Perfect. Then you don't have to be so formal with me either," Mizuki said.
"Perfect," we both said.
After the waiter took our order, it was time to talk about the reason she had called us here.
"Well, let's talk about important matters," Mizuki said.
Then she picked up something that was to the right of her seat. It was two rather large folders.
"Well, these are your mangas. I was reading them yesterday afternoon and I'm very interested in them," Mizuki said.
"I'm glad. We wrote them some time ago, but we only recently took the risk of sending them to a publisher," I said.
"That's right. If Akira hadn't encouraged me, we wouldn't be here today," Kari nodded.
"Then I'm glad he encouraged you… I'll be honest with you. I truly think your mangas are very good — two of the best mangas I've ever had the pleasure of reading. And I believe that, with the right guidance, you can become great mangakas. Your stories have that potential," Mizuki said.
We simply nodded.
"But there are some points we need to clarify before that," Mizuki said.
"Is there any problem perhaps?" I asked curiously.
"Let's start with Dragon Ball. The story is excellent. I didn't find a single flaw no matter how much I read. However, I can't say the same about the art," Mizuki said.
"You don't like how I draw?" I asked curiously.
How strange. I thought the quality of my drawing wasn't bad.
"I suppose then you're the one who drew the manga. No, it's not that your drawing is bad, but I don't think it has the right quality to be published," Mizuki said.
"I understand… well, I guess you can't be good at everything," I said.
I thought I drew well, but apparently not well enough. Oh well, no one can be good at everything. This isn't a Chinese fanfic or anything like that.
"However, don't worry. The solution is quite simple. We'll assign you an artist. I've prepared…" Mizuki said.
Then she picked up another small folder and opened it.
Inside there seemed to be several… résumés? Or something similar. The only thing I know is that they contained a photo of a person and a short description below.
"These are quite experienced artists. Some more than others, of course. You can choose the one you like best," Mizuki said.
Then she passed me the sheets containing the available artists.
"Of course you don't have to choose now. For the moment we'll publish the one-shot in the next issue and depending on its popularity, then you can choose an artist to help you. However, it's better if you start looking at them and preparing. I have a feeling that your manga will go far. It's only a matter of time," Mizuki said.
"Understood. I'll take a look at home," I nodded.
Kari frowned. An artist? No way. She wasn't going to let a stranger take away her time with Akira — not a man and especially not a woman! She wanted to be alone with Akira, drawing peacefully, having fun while drawing and writing, and having someone there — whether man or woman — would simply ruin the whole atmosphere. No, she would never allow it. And if someone had to draw, she would do it herself. Since her health had improved, she had more stamina, strength… If this were a video game where you could check your stats, you could see that all her stats had almost tripled, so she could perfectly handle drawing two mangas at the same time. There was no need to hire anyone to ruin her time with Akira.
"Well, for now I have nothing more to say about your story. We'll talk more after the one-shot is published," Mizuki said.
"When will that be?" I asked curiously.
"On Friday, so we'll probably have our answer by Monday or Tuesday at the latest, Wednesday," Mizuki said.
The publication had been delayed because Mizuki insisted on adding Akira and Kari's stories. At first no one wanted to delay the magazine's release, but when they read both mangas they immediately changed their minds. That's why the magazine that was scheduled to be published on Thursday was delayed until Friday, to include both mangas.
"Understood," I nodded.
"Otherwise, I have nothing else to say. Let's move on to Yagami-san's manga," Mizuki said.
"I'm listening," Kari said.
"Your art and drawing are undoubtedly among the best I've ever seen. There's room for improvement, of course, but it's very good. I have nothing to say about your art," Mizuki said.
"And my story?" Kari asked.
"Your story is also very good, but I'd like to give you my opinion on some changes you can make so that the story is a bit more… exciting. Don't misunderstand me, your story is already exciting on its own, but some small details can make it attract a wider audience," Mizuki said.
"Alright. I'm open to criticism as long as it's constructive," Kari nodded.
"Good. Let's begin. It won't take long. There are only a few, for example, here, in this specific part…" Mizuki said.
Then she gave Kari a few pieces of advice on how to… let's say how to make the story more epic. They were just a few additions, but I can say that even without them, Digimon would succeed all the same.
"Well, I know I might be getting ahead of myself, but I can't contain my curiosity. How many volumes do you plan to write? Will your stories be very long or short? It's important to know," Mizuki said.
In reality, this wasn't usually asked until they were actually going to serialize the manga, but Mizuki, who was completely sure that would happen, couldn't contain her curiosity.
"I plan to write many. I can't tell you exactly how many, but I plan for it to last years. After all, Goku's adventures aren't limited to just his childhood. I also want to continue his story once he's an adult. I have some ideas in mind, but they're in their earliest stages. It's better to wait until the childhood saga is finished," I said.
In reality, I already have everything planned. After Dragon Ball will come Dragon Ball Z, then I'll make Dragon Ball Daima and make it canon. After all, it won't change much of Dragon Ball Super even if I do. Next, I'll do Dragon Ball Super. As for Dragon Ball GT, I'm thinking of two options. The first is to make it the continuation of Super, but that would involve changing a lot of things in GT's story and adapting it to everything that happened in Super. Maybe adding the Daima characters again could work, but… I don't know yet. The last option is the simplest: make Dragon Ball GT what it was in my previous world — an alternate timeline. Honestly, I think this last one is the best.
As for the rest of things, I'll leave them the same, but I want to use the Daima characters again in Super, so I'll probably make a saga that incorporates Daima elements into Super in the future. But anyway, that will be a long time from now. For the moment, I'll focus on finishing Dragon Ball and starting Dragon Ball Z.
"Right, you can make the story of Goku as a child and then when he's an adult. A great idea!" Mizuki nodded.
More than great. If he does that, he could stretch the story for years.
"And you, Yagami-san?" Mizuki asked.
"My approach is a bit different. I plan to make this story while they're all children, and if it's very popular, I'll also make a saga when they're teenagers and maybe adults. I'll see about that, but my idea was to make different stories with different protagonists," Kari said.
I thought so.
"That way I'll add more Digimon to the story and create a more extensive world, although that will be in the distant future. For the moment I plan to make the entire story of the current chosen children — whether as children, teenagers, or adults. Or maybe I'll make the story of the chosen children as kids and then make another story and return to them in a few years… Anyway, I don't know exactly, but I plan for the story to be quite long. I have many ideas," Kari said.
"That sounds perfect, but first we'll focus on the chosen children and then we'll see. And don't stress too much. I'm here to help you shape the story, to give it order, so if you ever feel overwhelmed or have doubts about the direction of the story, you can just call me," Mizuki said.
Akira and Kari were surprised. She seemed like an editor quite interested in their mangas. In fact, she didn't even consider the possibility that their mangas wouldn't stand out. She took it for granted that they would be a success without a doubt. Although from Akira's point of view, Mizuki seemed quite enthusiastic, inexperienced, and getting ahead of herself, and that last part wasn't exactly good. But what was good was her vision. She simply had a very good eye for recognizing good stories. That had to be acknowledged.