Chapter 152: Chapter 151 - Future Author
By Monday morning, there was one thing Kuro learned.
Never send a message saying "okay" to Rika.
Because she interpreted that as permission.
Permission which got him to stand outside her place by the time after classes were over.
"...What are we doing here?"
Opening the door, Rika greeted him with a smile.
"We have to save my manga."
"You never read any of them, so why me?"
"Just like that."
"Why would that help?"
"New point of view."
Before Kuro could protest, she grabbed his hand firmly.
"And no escaping."
Too late.
He passed the threshold already.
---
Like Kuro expected, Rika’s room looked the same.
Manga books on the shelves.
Anime dolls and statues everywhere.
Drawing on every available piece of the desk space.
Post-it notes with conversations stuck onto the walls.
Several neatly stacked notebooks labeled "Story ideas".
In the middle of the room...
Mountain of manuscripts.
Spreading her arms proudly, Rika claimed:
"My masterpiece."
Looking at the pile, Kuro asked.
"...Why do you need so much paper?"
"This one has three hundred pages."
"Only?"
---
Shoving the manuscript in his hands, Rika confessed:
"I’ve hit the wall."
"You kidnapped me again."
"Yes."
Moving to sit opposite from him, Rika told:
"I need you to tell me what’s wrong with my story."
Kuro raised his eyebrows.
"Won’t another writer be better?"
"Already asked one."
"And?"
"They said it was great."
"Aren’t you happy?"
"Not when I get praised."
"...That makes sense."
"I prefer criticism."
Immediately Kuro regretted coming here now.
---
An hour later.
Surprisingly, the room was quiet now.
Carefully watching Kuro, Rika saw how he reads through the pages.
Not fast.
Slowly turning them with care.
Stopping on some pages.
Checking dialogues.
Frowning from time to time.
Rika started to worry.
"...Does this look bad to you?"
"No."
"...And why not?"
Pointing to the page, Kuro asked:
"One question."
"Yeah?"
"Why does this character suddenly forgives his childhood friend?"
"...He sees that she’s crying."
"I know that part."
"But why?"
Silence.
"It took him forty Chapters to trust anyone."
"And one emotional speech changes it all."
Rika stared at her manuscript for a few moments.
"...Maybe...I..."
Opening her own work again, she whispered:
"...I didn’t even think about it."
---
Turning another page, Kuro suddenly interrupted her.
"This villain."
"What about him?"
"You claim he’s evil because of power."
"That’s true."
"But in Chapter twelve..."
He turned to the previous page.
"...he saves a little girl risking his life."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Rika froze in silence.
"...Because I wanted everyone to like him."
Nodding, Kuro answered:
"Then he’s motivated by people."
"Not by power."
"So..."
Silence again.
Long silence.
With a wide open eyes, Rika gazed at her manuscript.
"...Oh."
---
Thirty minutes later.
Kuro managed to find six more inconsistencies.
"This character hates lies."
"But she tells one in the next Chapter."
"...Right."
---
"This misunderstanding can be easily solved with just one sentence."
"...You’re right."
---
"If these two people would only trust each other..."
"...It will change the arc."
"...Yes."
---
Rika touched her head frantically.
"This is so horrifying."
Confused, Kuro asked:
"What happened?"
"You found seven plot holes in my work."
"I didn’t even try."
"That’s worse!"
---
At that time, Rika’s mom appeared.
Knocking at the door, she entered bringing tea and snacks.
"Any progress?"
Looking defeated, Rika answered:
"He’s ruining my story."
Mother was stunned.
Shaking his head, Kuro tried to defend himself:
"No, I didn’t."
Rika pointed her finger at him angrily.
"He saw flaws I missed after six months of reading this!"
Smiling lightly, mother added:
"That must be useful."
"It must be illegal."
---
Taking a break, they returned to the work soon after.
This time Rika took out a blank notebook.
Title?
Things Kuro Somehow Noticed
Determinedly staring at Kuro, she ordered:
"Continue."
"...Are you sure about that?"
"Absolutely."
"But wouldn’t it offend you?"
"My feelings will heal."
"Mine won’t."
Continuing reading, Kuro sighed.
---
At the very end of the story, he suddenly stopped.
"This ending is beautiful."
Rika smiled brightly.
"I knew it."
"But..."
Her smile vanished.
"...This is ’but’ moment."
"Heroine claims that she believed in hero all the time."
"Yes."
"But three Chapters earlier..."
He found the right page.
"...she admitted she almost gave up on him."
Silence.
"...I forgot."
"You forgot your own ending."
"...My own ending..."
Slowly moving backwards, Rika fell to the floor.
"I lost."
---
Scratching his cheeks awkwardly, Kuro apologized.
"I didn’t mean to."
"No."
Looking at the ceiling for a while, Rika mumbled:
"You’re too good with understanding people."
"...Really?"
"You see why characters say certain words."
Sitting up again, she answered:
"You see why they feel that way."
Stunned, Kuro responded.
"Don’t people usually do this?"
"No."
Quickly, Rika added:
"Everyone sees events."
"But you see emotions."
---
All of a sudden, she jumped to her feet.
Going to one of bookshelves, she took several bestsellers and opened a couple of their pages randomly.
Passing them to Kuro, she asked:
"What do you think?"
"...About what?"
"Their characters."
Silent reading.
After few minutes, Rika wrote:
"The older brother isn’t angry."
"The rival keeps insulting the hero because he’s scared."
"She already knows the truth but..."
"The teacher just wants the children to discover it."
Stopping writing, Rika slowly put down her pen.
Her eyes widened.
"...Do it again."
"Sorry?"
"You explain people."
"I do?"
"You understand them."
---
As the evening sun shined in through windows, Rika organized her revised manuscript.
"It will take me weeks to fix this."
"I’m sorry."
Smiling lightly, she declined Kuro’s apology.
"No, thank you."
"You see, I’m really grateful."
Looking at him for a few seconds, she asked:
"Do you know why people remember some stories?"
He shook his head.
"Because characters seem to be real."
Carefully touching the manuscripts, she said:
"People aren’t judged by their words."
They’re judged by their feelings.
Silent pause fell between them again.
Suddenly, smiling brightly Rika claimed:
"I finally understood everything."
"What?"
Putting her finger at Kuro, she declared:
"You’re too good with people."
Scratching his cheeks again, Kuro replied:
"...I don’t think it’s a special skill."
Laughing heartily, she said:
"Exactly."
"That’s why you’re dangerous."
"For writers."
Leaving Sainoji residence, Kuro walked along the streets of the evening.
Reviewing the conversation, he realized something.
Hospital.
Tutoring.
Rika’s manga.
Different places.
Different situations.
But they keep telling the same thing.
Despite all doubts.
He started to believe it little by little.
Just when Kuro reached the front gate, Rika suddenly reopened the door for the second time.
"Kuro!"
Turning around, Kuro asked,
"...Did I forget something?"
"Yes."
"What?"
"My editor."
"You have an editor?"
"I’ve been submitting one-shots online."
"You never told us."
"I wanted to improve before saying anything."
Taking a seat at her desk, Rika opened her laptop.
"My editor sent some comments this morning."
Pausing for a bit, she added,
"...I don’t understand one of them."
Pulling a chair over, Kuro inquired,
"What did they say?"
"Let me show you."
Tilting her laptop toward him, Kuro saw this:
«The emotional payoff is too weak due to the ease of your protagonist reaching the conclusion. Your readers need to witness him struggling before achieving his personal development.»
Reading it twice, Kuro quietly said,
"I get it."
Rika instantly leaned forward.
"Tell me."
"Your editor doesn’t require you to alter the ending."
"They demand you change the path."
Confused, Rika simply asked,
"...What do you mean?"
"Your protagonist decides differently because the plot demands it."
Gently tapping the comment with his finger, Kuro continued,
"People rarely decide in such a short time."
"They think about it."
"They doubt themselves."
"They make mistakes."
"They sometimes reach an erroneous conclusion first."
Wide-eyed, Rika gasped,
"So...if readers see him struggling and growing along with him..."
"The ending would feel rewarding."
After that short silence, Rika flipped several pages from her manuscript.
"...He’s right."
Whispered, she added,
"My protagonist never fails."
"He always succeeds."
Nodding, Kuro explained,
"It becomes difficult to connect with the character."
Rika burst into laughter.
"I’ve been treating them like mathematical problems."
"And I continue judging them like actual people."
Scratching the back of his head, Kuro shrugged his shoulders.
"I only imagine how I’d act."
"You got it,"
Pointed out Rika.
"You aren’t analyzing the character."
"You become him."
However, before he could respond, Rika’s cell phone started vibrating.
A text message from her editor.
How is the revision going?
With a sly smile on her face, she typed:
I found someone who accidentally fixed half my story.
A few seconds later, she received another text.
Good. This person must be an experienced writer?
Looking at Kuro, who was sitting silently near the window with a cup of tea in his hands, Rika couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
Nothing like that.
He simply understands people better than most.
Pressing send just as Kuro turned around, Rika received this reply after a minute.
Then you should definitely not let this person leave you. Real emotions attract readers, and people who understand them are rare.
Placing her phone on the desk, she stared quietly at Kuro.
He was not trying to sound wise.
He wasn’t trying to prove himself.
All that he noticed happened almost automatically.
"Kuro."
Turning to her, Kuro answered,
"...Yeah?"
"When I become a professional manga artist someday..."
Smiling warmly, she continued,
"I want you to be my editor."
Kuro instantly frowned.
"Doesn’t that mean giving you more work?"
"It does."
"But why?"
"Because you will tell me the truth."
Embarrassedly, he turned his gaze away.
"Don’t you think that friends should support each other?"
Laughing, Rika replied,
"They do."
Carefully piling up the revised pages, she concluded,
"But friends..."
Looking back, Kuro noticed the silent gratitude in her eyes.
"...help others become better."
When Kuro finally left, the wind carrying the scent of rain filled the street.
For hours, he had been convinced that he was simply reading a manga.
Yet, Rika had been certain that he was listening.
He understood.
And without even knowing it, Kuro did what he always did.
