"Tetsuji, later you need to stop by the manga club. Makoto and the others want to hear why you draw comics."
"Eh, didn't you say you were free?"
"Yeah, we're free this afternoon. Aren't you?"
After school in Year 2 Class C, Phoenix Academy Maggie suddenly invited Hojo Tetsuji to visit the manga club and discuss his emotional journey.
This invitation was undoubtedly beyond Hojo Tetsuji's expectations. In his view, the way the young lady had spoken in the morning suggested she was planning for some time later, not right after school that day.
Aozawa patted his shoulder and said, "Good luck!"
"Don't say it so lightly! I hadn't thought about that at all. I was planning to go home tonight and think up some touching lines." Hojo Tetsuji seemed very flustered.
Phoenix Academy Maggie spread her hands. "It's alright if you refuse; I don't mind. But Little Sayuri will surely be disappointed. She really wanted to hear about the transformation of a delinquent."
"Damn it, Young Lady, now that you've put it that way, how can I, as a man, possibly run away?" Hojo Tetsuji took a deep breath, with the resolve of someone heading to his execution, and declared in a solemn voice, "Alright, let's go!"
Phoenix Academy Maggie smiled. "That's the spirit."
"Aozawa!" Hojo Tetsuji turned, intending to ask his friend to accompany him to the manga club.
Aozawa stood up. "I have to go to Kendo club practice, so I'll head off first."
"Hey, are you really that heartless?"
"Sorry, I guess I am that heartless." Aozawa chuckled. To him, his Kendo club training was more important than listening to Hojo Tetsuji's self-confession.
"You're so disloyal!" Hojo Tetsuji grumbled but said no more, getting up with Phoenix Academy Maggie.
Things had come to this; he just had to be bold and go for it.
…
That being said, Hojo Tetsuji still lacked the courage to go to the manga club with Yoshikawa Sayuri and Nomura True Wave, so he deliberately dawdled, dragging his feet to delay things. With each step he took up the stairs, the courage in his heart dwindled.
By the time he reached the door, Hojo Tetsuji was starting to tremble.
Phoenix Academy Maggie glanced at him, her eyes falling on his shaking hand, and couldn't help but sigh. "You really are useless. The hands that could shatter a wall are trembling over such a trivial thing. All you have to do is talk to her, not even confess your love. Is there any need to be this nervous? You're truly hopeless. Seeing you so spineless now, how did you ever dare to confess to Little Sayuri in the first place?"
"Shut up," Hojo Tetsuji retorted, but as he was about to say more, he swallowed his words. He noticed Phoenix Academy Maggie leaning against the wall with her hand, an expression of profound dejection on her face. She looked less like someone scolding another and more like someone who had just been scolded herself.
"Young Lady, what's wrong?"
"I just suddenly remembered some unpleasant things." Phoenix Academy Maggie would never admit that while teasing Hojo Tetsuji about his cowardice, she had gotten too carried away and suddenly recalled that she herself had never once experienced a confession. Comparatively, her track record was even worse than that of Hojo Tetsuji, who stood trembling at the door. The words she had just spoken came back like a boomerang, striking her own heart.
Phoenix Academy Maggie took a deep breath and patted his shoulder. "Do your best, Tetsuji."
"Young Lady, I'm mentally prepared! Open the door!" Hojo Tetsuji also took a deep breath. He decided to follow Aozawa's advice: don't use any fancy words, just speak his true thoughts from the heart.
Phoenix Academy Maggie opened the door.
Hojo Tetsuji looked into the manga club.
In an instant, it was as if countless rays of holy light were radiating from within. The source of that holy light was Yoshikawa Sayuri, sitting on a chair. Her petite figure emanated a dazzling, goddess-like radiance.
It's too bright! So dazzling, in fact, that even his sunglasses could barely shield him from that sacred glow.
Hojo Tetsuji suppressed the urge to cry. Alone in the manga club! Nomura True Wave and Phoenix Academy Maggie, who were next to him, were mentally excluded—it was as if they'd been rounded down to zero in his perception.
"Welcome to the manga club, Hojo-kun." Yoshikawa Sayuri offered a smile.
Nomura True Wave held up a couple of drinks. "Would you like green tea? Or black tea?"
"Green tea," Hojo Tetsuji managed to say, a thrill of excitement running through him. This was the second time he had spoken to Yoshikawa Sayuri since his confession. Those two short words alone filled him with a sense of contentment, as if he had no more regrets in life.
His pathetic demeanor, under Phoenix Academy Maggie's gaze, was particularly irksome to her. Perhaps her earlier words, which had led her to compare herself with Hojo Tetsuji, made her feel irritated by his current behavior. Damn it, if only I could be a bit braver!
Phoenix Academy Maggie closed the door behind them, a smile on her face. "No need to be so formal; we're all classmates here. Tetsuji, you sit here." She pushed Hojo Tetsuji's back, guiding him to a seat next to Yoshikawa Sayuri.
This action only intensified Hojo Tetsuji's anxiety. Is the young lady teasing me? he wondered, even as he sat down.
Yoshikawa Sayuri placed a bottle of green tea in front of him, smiling. "Hojo-sensei, could you please tell us why you draw manga? What inspired you?" Her face was filled with curiosity. This kind of storyline—a delinquent changing their dreams to pursue manga creation—was so far beyond the realm of reality, it felt a bit fantastical.
My decision to draw manga was definitely a wise one, Hojo Tetsuji increasingly felt. He unscrewed the cap of the green tea and downed it all in one gulp.
"Wow, that's amazing!" Yoshikawa Sayuri exclaimed, her face a picture of shock. It was the first time she had ever seen someone drink a whole bottle of green tea in one go.
Nomura True Wave asked with a hint of concern, "Hey, are you sure you're okay doing that?"
Phoenix Academy Maggie laughed. "Don't worry, Tetsuji's constitution is very strong."
Hojo Tetsuji set down the empty bottle, the tension in his heart easing as the drink settled in his stomach. He adopted a serious expression. "I was just thirsty. As for why I draw manga, it's not for any grand reason. I just wanted to fulfill a wish to go on adventures and fall in love with a certain someone. I used her and myself as prototypes to create this manga. Unexpectedly, it was well-received by everyone, and that gave me more motivation to ensure she's satisfied with the upcoming plot."
A certain someone? Yoshikawa Sayuri blinked, the flames of her gossipy curiosity burning stronger. "Who is it?" she asked, intrigued.
It's you! Hojo Tetsuji roared inwardly, but he dared not show any change in his expression. He pushed up his glasses and said, "I can't say. I can only reveal that the heroine looks exactly like that person."
"I see." Yoshikawa Sayuri's face lit up with understanding. She quickly flipped through the latest issue of Shonen Weekly JUMP to Hojo Tetsuji's manga and glanced at the female protagonist. So beautiful. There probably isn't a girl this beautiful in our school. She must be someone he knows from outside. Maybe it was because of her persuasion that Hojo-kun came back to school.
This realization made Yoshikawa Sayuri feel a little disappointed. The first person to ever confess to me has shifted targets so quickly. But she had a resilient mindset and quickly composed herself. With a knowing, teasing smile, she said, "That's so romantic! Have you confessed to that person yet?"
Hojo Tetsuji considered his hasty confession from last time. That couldn't really be called a confession; it was more like a reckless suicide mission. A proper confession would never be that impulsive. Thinking about it this way, he hadn't truly confessed to Yoshikawa Sayuri yet.
"Not yet. But I'm constantly preparing for a real confession. If this manga can win the Newcomer Award, I'm going to tell her how I truly feel!"
"Hojo-kun! You can do it!"
"Yeah! I'll definitely do my best!" Hojo Tetsuji replied loudly.
Phoenix Academy Maggie, who was next to him, really wanted to make a sarcastic comment, but then she fell into thought. What Hojo Tetsuji said made some sense. Using 'someone' as a placeholder could maintain an air of mystery and, to some extent, attract Yoshikawa Sayuri's attention. By the same token, if I hinted to Aozawa that I liked 'someone,' what would he think? Would he assume the person I like is him? Or would he think it's someone else? Phoenix Academy Maggie pondered.
Nomura True Wave sharply observed this expression. According to her love radar, such an expression and line of thought were hundred-percent signs of someone pining for another. Wait, that expression seems familiar... Nomura True Wave suddenly realized. The heroine in Hojo Tetsuji's manga showed an expression just like that! Could it be that Phoenix Academy Maggie likes Aozawa, Hojo Tetsuji likes Phoenix Academy Maggie, and Aozawa likes Hojo Tetsuji? she wondered. If it's such a perfect love triangle, I'd have to apologize to Phoenix Academy Maggie, Nomura True Wave thought. Although that kind of relationship might not be appropriate for Phoenix Academy Maggie, for me, such a love triangle is just too thrilling! I can't help but look forward to what happens next! she thought excitedly.
For a time, the small manga club was filled with four individuals, each lost in their own different thoughts.
…
After a while, Hojo Tetsuji left the manga club, his face beaming with joy. "Young Lady, thank you so much for today! Without you, I couldn't possibly have had such a great conversation with Little Sayuri." As he said this, Hojo Tetsuji couldn't help but be over the moon. "Haha, I never expected we'd have so much in common, so many shared interests! Heaven truly intends for Little Sayuri and me to be together."
"Yes, even I'm surprised at how well you two get along," Phoenix Academy Maggie replied casually, her mind still preoccupied with how to subtly let Aozawa know she liked someone. Or rather, I could try hinting to gauge Aozawa's reaction. That way, I could judge my standing in his heart. Are we just friends, or perhaps... does he already see me in that way? Phoenix Academy Maggie mused.
"Young Lady, you seem distracted."
"Because I'm thinking about something."
"What are you thinking about?"
"It's a secret." Phoenix Academy Maggie wouldn't reveal her inner thoughts.
As they reached the second-floor landing, she subconsciously glanced towards the Kendo club.
Outside the door, a girl with wheat-colored skin stood on tiptoe, kissing someone on the cheek.
In that moment, time seemed to freeze.
Hojo Tetsuji started to call out a greeting, but Phoenix Academy Maggie silenced him with an elbow jab, then grabbed his shoulder and quickly pulled him down the stairs.