During his student days, the Original didn't have any friends he could call particularly close, and he was too lazy to maintain those meaningless relationships.
Aside from his parents, the only person he specifically wanted to visit during this trip back was Koji Mizutani, his high school art teacher and the advisor of the art club the Original had belonged to.
This teacher had taken great care of the Original, and the Original had always respected him. When the Original first decided to pursue his dream of becoming a Manga Artist, he had also consulted with Mizutani-sensei.
In response, Mizutani-sensei didn't explicitly object; he simply calmly weighed the pros and cons for him, ultimately respecting the Original's choice and offering his blessings.
Looking back now, however, Mizutani-sensei probably felt a bit of regret regarding the Original's decision to abandon his original path to pursue drawing manga, right?
After calling to make an appointment the day before, Akira visited the next day, bringing along some apples grown at home.
Soon, the door opened, and a thin, middle-aged man wearing glasses appeared in front of Akira. This was Mizutani-sensei.
"Akira, you're here."
"Mizutani-sensei, I'm sorry to disturb you."
"Haha, don't say that. Please, come in!"
Seeing him, Mr. Mizutani Koji seemed very happy, a smile constantly playing on his lips.
After the two sat down in the living room and talked about the past, Mr. Mizutani Koji couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "I really didn't expect that in just a year, you would have successfully realized your dream and become a popular Manga Artist."
"? Mizutani-sensei, you already know?"
"Of course."
Mr. Mizutani Koji smiled and said, "I heard the news from your parents earlier. Since then, I've been keeping an eye on your work.
"It's called 'Fate/stay night', right? The art is very good."
"However, what I prefer is that one-shot manga called 'Emiya Kiritsugu'. I find the character of Emiya Kiritsugu very interesting."
Akira was somewhat surprised to hear this.
He hadn't expected that the other party wasn't just being polite, but had actually read his work.
At this point, Mr. Mizutani Koji smiled again, "To be honest, when I first heard that you wanted to become a Manga Artist, I was actually quite worried."
"But I didn't expect you to have such outstanding talent in the field of manga as well."
"Now, on the contrary, I'm glad that I didn't try my hardest to dissuade you from your choice back then. Otherwise, my guilt would have been immense."
That's really hard to say...
Hearing this, Akira couldn't help but murmur silently in his heart.
Next, they chatted about their past at school. However, for most of this part, the other party was talking while he listened, occasionally nodding in agreement.
Through their conversation, he could tell that the other party still felt some regret about the Original giving up his original path.
It was just that, seeing him succeed on the path of a Manga Artist now and knowing he would almost certainly never turn back, the teacher had no choice but to let it go and accept it.
Akira actually couldn't say whether the Original would have achieved anything if he had followed his original path step-by-step.
After all, that path was also crowded with geniuses.
But he wouldn't dwell on it either; after all, it wasn't his regret.
Moreover—
"Don't romanticize the path you didn't take." He didn't know who said this, but it indeed made a lot of sense.
In any case, after catching up with Mr. Mizutani Koji, he left the teacher's house. The cold wind blowing in his face gave him a shiver, instantly waking him up.
"Whew."
He exhaled a deep breath of white mist and sighed, "This should be considered 'closure', right?"
The family conflicts and Mizutani-sensei were the people and things the Original cared about the most.
Having handled both, the mission of this trip home could be said to be successfully accomplished.
So, after that, Akira entered "lying flat" mode with a clear conscience.
Of course, although he called it lying flat, some necessary activities were still unavoidable, such as the year-end spring cleaning, setting up New Year decorations, preparing New Year's cuisine, and so on.
—
As for now, he was sitting in the living room with his parents watching the Kohaku Uta Gassen, preparing to welcome the New Year.
A must-watch show for almost every Japanese household on New Year's Eve, but its main content is just singing.
He wasn't very familiar with most of the singers on TV, so it was mainly just for background company. As he listened, he pulled out his phone to chat with Rin, and they also talked about the Kohaku Uta Gassen.
According to Haruka, because they debuted too late, they weren't invited to this year's Kohaku Uta Gassen.
But if they maintained this momentum next year, receiving an invitation to next year's Kohaku Uta Gassen would be almost a done deal.
However, they couldn't decide yet whether they would accept the invitation when the time came.
Lately, news surrounding the Kohaku Uta Gassen had been a hot topic.
Among them, the fact that this year's phenomenal rookie singer, Utada Hikaru, had declined the invitation to the Kohaku Uta Gassen was one of the topics people were eagerly discussing.
Toshiba EMI, the record label Utada Hikaru currently belonged to, stated that she wanted to focus her energy on music production rather than frequently participating in TV variety shows and year-end events, which was why she declined the invitation.
However, the gossip-loving public felt there might be other reasons. Various conspiracy theories and speculations emerged one after another; it could only be said that when it came to gossiping, everyone was pretty much the same.
Rin was at the forefront of the gossip this time because the other party had also chatted with her about it in private.
According to her, besides the reasons given by the record company, the biggest reason was simply that she was too lazy to fuss around during the New Year.
Perhaps performing on the stage of the Kohaku Uta Gassen could boost an artist's popularity significantly, but for her, who was already red-hot, it was unnecessary.
Additionally, she didn't want too much exposure; her current high popularity actually troubled her quite a bit.
Although Rin's popularity wasn't as high as Utada Hikaru's, she could empathize with her thoughts.
But they didn't need to worry about these issues just yet.
Chatting idly like this, the clock on the wall quickly reached midnight.
New Year's Eve in Japan was very quiet, with no firecrackers or special activities. After the family exchanged New Year's blessings, they prepared to go to bed.
Because they had to wake up early the next day for Hatsumode, the first shrine visit of the New Year.
However, the moment the New Year arrived, he and Rin immediately sent each other New Year's blessings via email.
『Akira』: "Rin, Happy New Year. (smiles)"
『Rin』: "Akira, Happy New Year. (smiles)"
Originally, they wanted to make a phone call, but unfortunately, it was really inconvenient at home.
Not only was Rin hiding her relationship from her father, but he also hadn't explained the situation to his family yet, for reasons similar to Rin's.
Early the next morning, the Mochizuki couple woke him up from bed and dragged him to a nearby temple for Hatsumode.
This is also a classic event that frequently appears in various ACG works.
Hatsumode is said to have originated from Japan's native Shinto beliefs, which were later adopted by Buddhism, eventually spreading to become a customary New Year activity.
Akira also participated with the mindset of joining in the fun, but waking up early in the morning was truly torturous.
His family woke up very early, leaving the house before seven in the morning.
It wasn't light yet, and the early morning temperature was exceptionally cold. Just a light breeze blowing by was enough to instantly disperse his sleepiness.
As they approached the temple, the crowd around them gradually gathered, and the visible area became more and more lively, which also dispelled some of the coldness.
Although he felt he had woken up early enough, there were plenty of people who had risen even earlier. Before they even reached the temple gate, a long queue had already formed.
It was a classic queuing situation.
The first day of the New Year was a clear day. As they queued to slowly enter the temple, the sun gradually rose.
The first rays of morning sunlight shone on Nagano City, which was covered in deep snow. The pure white world, golden sunlight, and bustling crowd blended together, presenting a unique charm.
Corresponding to the bustling crowd, various food stalls near the temple also opened early on this day, sending waves of steaming food aromas that made one's mouth water.
He also bought some oden on the roadside to eat.
A scene like this looked a bit like visiting a morning market.
While queuing, his phone suddenly rang—"Happy New Year, Mochizuki-sensei!"
"You too, Happy New Year, Mr. Sasaki."
Although it hadn't been long since his last conversation with Hisashi, hearing his voice again now made Akira feel a warm sense of familiarity, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
"I was a bit worried that if I called this early, you might not pick up, Mochizuki-sensei. Now it seems I was overthinking."
Hisashi's teasing words came through. Akira was about to retort, but felt a bit guilty.
In truth, if his mother, Heko, hadn't forced him out of bed, he really would have wanted to sleep a bit longer.
But at least he was up, so he said cheekily, "Stop looking down on me, okay? Waking up early is something I can easily do."
"Really?"
Was it really easy?
Hisashi, on the other end of the phone, smiled without saying anything.
Akira didn't want to dwell on this issue either. Noticing the somewhat noisy background sound on Hisashi's end, he asked, "Are you also doing Hatsumode, Mr. Sasaki?"
"Yes."
Hisashi nodded with a smile, then continued, "Since it's the New Year, I won't disturb you too much. I hope you rest well.
"In short, for the coming year, I'll have to keep relying on you."
"Same here. I'll have to keep troubling you as well."
Akira agreed with a smile, and after a brief exchange of pleasantries, he ended the call.
At this moment, Heko, who was beside him, asked curiously, "Was that a call from your friend?"
"Um... sort of."
He explained with a smile, "He's the editor in charge of my manga work. He has taken care of me in many matters."
"editor...?"
The Mochizuki couple didn't know much about this kind of work. Akira explained it briefly to them, and both found it very novel.
They were also learning for the first time that after becoming a professional Manga Artist, there would actually be someone specifically responsible for handling matters related to them.
Are Manga Artists actually that amazing?
Following that, Akira's phone rang almost continuously.
After Hisashi, Oda Eiichiro, as well as Being's Haruka, Shingo, and others also called one after another to send him New Year's blessings.
Seeing this, the Mochizuki couple couldn't help but look sideways, gaining a clearer, more concrete understanding of their son's current situation.
Heko sighed proudly, "Our Akira has already become a big shot!"
"What do you mean big shot... I just took a few phone calls..."
Akira hung up the phone with Daisuke and felt somewhat amused and helpless upon hearing this.
He himself felt that he was still far from being associated with the words "big shot." Besides, wasn't this way of judging things a bit too hasty?
Heko retorted, "But isn't that how the presidents and bosses in TV dramas are? And they even have dedicated secretary services."
Uh...
Akira was temporarily at a loss for words, and could only explain helplessly, "An editor and a secretary are not the same thing..."
Just then, another call came in. Seeing the caller's name, his expression changed slightly. He looked up and said to his parents, "I'm going to step aside to take a call."
But you didn't avoid us when making those other calls earlier?
Could it be a boss or someone like that?
The Mochizuki couple looked at each other. However, Akira, who had walked to the side, couldn't help but smile. After answering the call, a familiar voice that he missed dearly came from the other end—"Akira, Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year, Rin,"
he smiled.
Rin's voice on the other end was a bit noisy. If nothing went wrong, she was probably doing Hatsumode just like him.
"Although I already sent my New Year's blessings yesterday, I thought it would be better to say it in person."
Rin had a smile on her face on the other end of the line.
Then, she wanted to say something else but felt a bit bashful. However, she quickly realized that they were already lovers now, so there was no need to hide and be secretive like before.
So, her face flushed slightly as she said, "Besides, I haven't heard Akira's voice in a long time."
But if I remember correctly, didn't we just talk on the phone the day before yesterday?
Akira found it a bit amusing, but he didn't tactlessly correct her. Instead, he smiled and said, "Me too. I'm very happy to hear Rin's voice on the first day of the New Year."
—!
The other end of the phone fell into a brief silence, but Akira could picture Rin's face being completely red right now, which would look very cute. Then, he felt a bit of regret.
Communicating over the phone, after all, was missing something.
After a moment, Rin took a slow breath, finally calming her heart a bit, and said to him, "I'm doing Hatsumode with my parents, so I can't talk too much. Sorry.
"In short—"
Before continuing, she paused slightly, her tone serious, "In the New Year, please take care of me, Akira."
"Yeah,"
Akira also nodded gently and smiled, "Rin, please take care of me as well."