— — — — — —
The day the school trip ended.
Both Oikawa's and Yui's groups seemed unusually subdued.
On the return Shinkansen ride, Oikawa and Kawasaki took seats in a corner, while everyone else sat scattered throughout the carriage.
The excitement they had on the way there was gone. Most people were either staring out the window at the passing scenery or dozing off with their eyes closed.
Oikawa had slept for a long time on the bus ride to the station, so he wasn't sleepy at all.
He pulled out his phone. Opening LINE, he checked the messages he'd received.
Utaha Kasumigaoka's chat was the usual mix of good morning and good night texts, along with little stories about interesting things that had happened during her day.
After reading them, Oikawa sent a few replies.
Yui had also messaged him, though she'd sent them last night while he had been sleeping soundly.
[Oikawa-kun, what are you doing? ...umm, what do you think of Hina? ....Oikawa-kun, what kind of person do you... think she is?]
Oikawa stared at the messages, speechless.
After a moment, he typed back, "Just like I said before, I don't have any romantic feelings for Ebina-san. She's simply a classmate."
After responding to Yui, he opened his chat with Chris.
[Chris Yamada: Oikawa-sensei, production on the Your Lie in April anime has officially begun. Episode one is currently being worked on, and we should be able to see the finished version within about half a month. Also, promotion for the first volume of Clannad has officially started. Over the past few days, bookstores partnered with Full-Drive Bunko have already begun displaying promotional posters.]
Reading the message, Oikawa's eyes immediately lit up.
Full-Drive Bunko really worked fast. It had only been a few days since the anime project had been approved, yet they expected to complete the first episode within two weeks.
They were clearly pouring serious money into it.
Of course, the animation studio, A-1 Pictures, was probably contributing a great deal as well.
After all, A-1 Pictures was the very studio that had adapted Your Lie in April from manga into anime in the original world.
When Full-Drive Bunko had asked whether he had a preferred animation studio, he'd answered without hesitation, "A-1 Pictures."
He trusted them to bring Your Lie in April to life perfectly.
After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Editor Yamada, if any issues come up during production, feel free to contact me at any time. As for Clannad's promotion, I don't think there's any need to rush. Winter break is still a month and a half away. If there's anything you need me to help with during the promotional campaign, don't hesitate to ask."
To be honest, Oikawa felt the marketing schedule was moving a little too quickly.
There were still nearly two months left before the January release.
Everything... was still well within schedule.
"Oikawa, did something happen yesterday while I was asleep?" Kawasaki looked confused. "Did Tobe's confession succeed? When I asked Yui about it, her expression looked really complicated."
She felt completely lost. She had only taken a nap, yet after waking up, it was as if the world had moved on without her.
It was honestly pretty strange.
"Nothing major. As for Tobe, it wasn't exactly a success or a failure. In the end, he never actually confessed." Oikawa smiled.
"I see."
Kawasaki nodded and didn't press further.
Instead, she pulled out a vocabulary notebook and started memorizing words on her own.
Oikawa returned his attention to his phone. There weren't any other messages worth paying attention to.
After a moment's consideration, he chose between playing Pokémon and checking his online community.
He went with the community.
As luck would have it, the group chat was currently discussing the Your Lie in April anime adaptation.
[Your Lie in April is getting an anime? I'm actually looking forward to it. Kaori's voice actress is Risa Taneda, my wife! I absolutely loved her performance as Mirai Kuriyama!]
[Has that old bastard of an author disappeared again? I heard second-years usually go on school trips around this time. Did he go on one too?]
[I just went to a bookstore and saw promotional posters for the first volume of Clannad outside. They're even using the slogan "Let this winter be filled with warmth." Damn it, Copycat, you're really the worst. I will never believe Clannad is a healing novel.]
[@Copycat Come out here. Swear on your future happiness—tell us, is Clannad really a healing novel or not? If you're lying, may your third leg lose half its size.]
Looking at the chat members, whose hostility was practically overflowing through the screen, Oikawa shook his head.
Where had trust between people gone? He had repeatedly emphasized that Clannad was a genuine healing story from beginning to end.
It was giving him a headache.
...
..
A day later, he was once again standing on the familiar soil of Chiba.
Oddly enough, it gave him the feeling of a traveler finally returning home after years of separation.
Chiba wasn't as beautiful as Kyoto. But it felt comfortable. Familiar. Especially when he saw the stores and restaurants he passed every day.
After getting off the bus, Oikawa decided to grab something to eat before heading home.
He picked a random ramen shop, ordered a bowl of tonkotsu ramen, then took out his phone while waiting.
A girl wearing glasses sat down across from him— Ebina Hina.
"Oikawa, thanks for what you did yesterday."
It looked like Ebina intended to eat with him. Raising a hand, she ordered a bowl of miso ramen for herself.
"To be honest, I'd rather eat alone."
Even though they had reached an agreement, Oikawa still found himself slightly annoyed whenever he looked at Ebina.
Somehow, he felt like he'd gotten the short end of the deal.
"Don't be so cold, Oikawa-kun." Ebina smiled. "I just wanted to treat you to a meal and thank you properly."
As she spoke, she pulled a light novel from her school bag.
Oikawa glanced at it.
It was no longer He and the Wolf Boy. Instead, it was the second volume of Your Lie in April.
His opinion of Ebina immediately improved.
"No need to thank me. I didn't really do much."
It was hard to stay unfriendly toward someone who was smiling so sincerely.
"I still need to thank you," Ebina said cheerfully. "You helped me out a lot."
"Well, then I'll gladly accept your thanks."
Oikawa looked up at her.
For the first time in a while, he noticed she wasn't wearing those old-fashioned glasses she usually had on.
"Aren't you nearsighted? Why aren't you wearing your glasses?"
"My eyes have been feeling a little tired lately. Besides, my vision isn't bad enough that I can't function without them." Her tone was relaxed.
The conversation faded, and the two fell into silence.
Oikawa returned to playing on his phone.
Ebina opened Your Lie in April and started reading.
Thinking about it, it was a strange feeling.
Watching someone he knew read his book. The urge to ask what she thought about it became stronger and stronger.
Eventually, he couldn't hold back anymore.
"What do you think of Your Lie in April?"
"It's very good." Ebina immediately closed the book and gave him her full attention.
That was something about her. Whenever someone asked her a question, she would stop whatever she was doing and focus entirely on the person speaking.
It made conversations with her surprisingly comfortable.
"The writing is very delicate, and the characters are well-developed." She paused before continuing. "But if I had to pick my favorite part, it would be the tragic ending."
Oikawa blinked.
That answer genuinely surprised him.
Ebina smiled faintly, "There aren't that many happily-ever-after endings in real life. The world is full of tragedies. Who says two people who heal each other have to stay together forever?"
Interesting.
A smile tugged at the corner of Oikawa's mouth. "Ebina, I don't completely agree with your viewpoint, but I can understand it."
Ebina tilted her head. "Don't you think that sounds a little gloomy?"
Oikawa shook his head.
She seemed about to say something else, but at that moment their ramen arrived.
The conversation paused as they started eating.
After a few bites, Oikawa suddenly asked, "Ebina, have you never considered dating Tobe? He seems pretty serious about you."
"If it were you, I'd probably say yes. It would be interesting." She answered casually. "As for Tobe... let's not go there."
The response was so effortless that Oikawa couldn't help feeling a little sorry for Tobe.
A devoted pursuer remained a devoted pursuer. Sometimes all that persistence got you was nothing at all.
Ebina took a sip of her ramen broth and smiled contentedly. "Personally, I'm very satisfied with who I am and the life I have right now. If that kind of everyday life disappeared, I'd be pretty uncomfortable."
It sounded like there was a story behind those words. But Oikawa had no intention of digging into her past.
He simply continued eating his tonkotsu ramen.
Ebina smiled and didn't press the conversation any further. She ate quickly. Once she finished, she paid the bill and stood up to leave.
"Oikawa-kun, thank you again. I really mean it. As for those Yui's bikini photos I promised you, I'll make it happen soon and send them over! Well then... see you when school starts."
She pulled her red-framed glasses from her pocket and slipped them on.
Then she left the ramen shop.
After finishing his meal, Oikawa called a taxi and headed home.
...
..
"Phew, finally back."
"If there's ever another school trip, I'm not going no matter what. That thing nearly killed me."
The moment he opened the front door, he tossed his luggage aside, took a short running start, and collapsed onto the sofa.
This... This was what home felt like.
Before long, drowsiness overtook him. He drifted off into a deep sleep.
That night, he slept better than he had in days.
The school trip had started on Tuesday. It ended on Friday.
Which meant that as soon as it was over, the weekend began.
On the first day of the weekend, Oikawa slept until the sun was practically shining directly on his face before finally waking up.
After a simple breakfast, he got cleaned up and headed out.
He wasn't going to tutor Kawasaki today. Instead, he had arranged a visit to a printing company under the pretense of publishing a student newspaper.
His real goal was to learn about the industry. After all, if he wanted to start a publishing company, printing was a subject he couldn't avoid.
Large publishing houses often owned their own printing facilities.
Smaller publishers, on the other hand, usually partnered with independent printing companies. Their output wasn't stable enough to justify purchasing and operating a factory themselves.
Labor costs. Equipment maintenance. Facility expenses.... None of it was cheap.
If you wanted to run a business successfully, you had to know how to control costs as well as generate revenue.
After arriving at the printing company by taxi, Oikawa was warmly welcomed by the manager.
The man's enthusiasm increased even further when he heard that Oikawa had recently helped organize and promote Sōbu High's cultural festival and sports festival.
Whatever Oikawa asked, the manager answered.
He recorded plenty of technical information in his notebook, accepted the manager's business card, and finally left the factory.
"Who would've thought there was so much to learn? If I'd jumped into this blindly and bought a printing facility, I'd probably have lost everything."
Looking at his notes, Oikawa shook his head helplessly.
Different machines. Different paper types. Different printing processes.
To him, it all sounded like an entirely foreign language.
"Looks like building a publishing company is still a long road away."
He had to admit it. He'd underestimated how difficult it would be.
Most industries only revealed their complexity once you stepped into them yourself.
Fortunately, he wasn't in a hurry. As long as he could establish the basic framework of a publishing company before entering university, he'd already consider that a success.
After leaving the printing company, Oikawa stopped by the chicken restaurant near his neighborhood. He ordered a karaage rice bowl and two skewers of grilled chicken.
While waiting for his food, his phone began vibrating nonstop.
The messages were coming from Class 2-F's group chat.
[I just saw the exam results. Oikawa, you're incredible! You got first place in the entire school! Perfect scores in math, physics, and chemistry. You only lost a few points total in Japanese and geography-history, and your English score tied Yukinoshita Yukino's!]
[Wow, Oikawa! You're the pride of Class 2-F!]
One of the student council members had uploaded the results sheet. And the chat exploded immediately afterward.
Oikawa was scrolling through the messages when another notification popped up.
It was from Shizuka Hiratsuka: "Nice one, kid! You really made me proud! I'm treating you to a huge meal tomorrow. It's settled!"
Apparently, Oikawa's achievement of taking first place in the entire school had allowed Shizuka-sensei to finally hold her head high. After all, no homeroom teacher would dislike having the top student in the school come from their class.
Of course, where there was joy, there was also frustration.
At that very moment, Yukino Yukinoshita had also learned the news.
After a brief moment of stunned disbelief, she redirected all of her pent-up anger toward the panda plush sitting on her bed.
The poor panda suffered a merciless beating.
.
.
.