Fly ||Haikyuu Oneshots||

Editor-Akaashi Keiji (1)

You always loved to draw as a kid. You told stories to yourself and your family through crude pictures. It may have been your one true passion, even when you were seven. You stopped sharing your stories as you got older, even though your friends definitely wanted to hear them.

   Though you were an artist, storytelling wasn't exactly your strong suit. It was true that you tried your best, but it always seemed to fall a little bit flat. Something was just...missing.

"Fumiya!" You whined to your best friend as he slowly read your newest project. "Hurry! I'm getting nervous!"

"Shut up! I'm reading as fast as I can!"

"You just don't like it and are stalling!"

"It's only been like two minutes, let me read! Damn!"

Fumiya had always been the first person to read anything you wrote. He wasn't the biggest reader out there, but you had known him since high school. He had heard all about your biggest dreams of being a famous manga artist. He had even helped you with some story ideas. Fumiya read everything you made, both out of obligation as your best friend and because he was just interested. Fumiya was, for his part, very honest with you.

   You sat there anxiously as he slowly made his way to the end of the story. His expression didn't change much over the course of his reading. It never stopped being nerve wracking.

   After another several minutes, Fumiya finally shut the pages and sets the draft down.

   "So?" You asked. "What do you think?"

   "Well...it's better than your last one," he replies.

   "Really?" Your eyes lit up, but your sudden burst in energy startled Fumiya a little. "You think so?"

   Fumiya relaxed and nodded. "The characters look pretty good, and the idea behind it isn't too bad," he told you. "The thing is...you kind of struggle with consistency, so I don't know if the dynamic will stay as good as it is."

   You frowned a little, Fumiya's criticism pulling you back into reality. "Do I struggle with conisitency?"

   "Sometimes when you keep writing stuff, the characters end up changing without much of a reason to," Fumiya said. "I kind of assumed you noticed and that's why you had me read it."

   You shrugged. "I thought it would be a good idea to have someone read through it before I submitted it anywhere. And you always seemed pretty interested in what I wrote, so..."

   "Well, either way, if you're careful, I think it'll be really good," he said. "You think you're finally going to turn this one in?"

   You picked up the draft. You had put a lot more time jnto this one than all of your old ones. You were hoping to present this one to someone, you just didn't know who. You hadn't even really finished the draft. Push comes to shove, you could always draw art for others stories. But you wanted to make your own—something which was starting to feel a little impossible.

   "Maybe," you told him. "I like this draft a lot, so I might polish it and try to send it to someone."

   "Jump?"

   "Probably," you said. "But they're pretty competitive. Maybe it would be better to make it out for an older audience."

   "But if you can get Shounen Jump to take it, you could get pretty popular. And the way that it is now seems more suited for Jump than anywhere else."

   You knew it couldn't hurt to go for it. The worst people could tell you realistically was no. It definitely needed a little more refining, but that was something an editor could help you with. It was kind of their job. And as helpful as Fumiya is, having a professional give their input probably wouldn't be a bad idea.