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Chapter 5

May 29, 2015

"Thank you for coming out to meet me," Shizuka said as she, Taiki, and another winner of the contest, Wakana Tanimoto, met up at a cafe. "I'm surprised you agreed to do this on such short notice, Iwakawa-san. Aren't weekly manga series so much more demanding?"

"It helps when you're five chapters ahead," Taiki replied. "I can ride things out a bit. I try to stay at least three chapters ahead. Besides, it's not like I'm going to just not work at all today. I got plenty of things to do after this."

Shizuka then asked Wakana, "What about you? How demanding is a bi-monthly series?"

"It's not as bad as a weekly one," she replied to her before sipping on lemonade. "Sure, I may not get as much free time as you do, Hiratai-san, but I'm not constantly swamped."

"I don't know how you do it," Shizuka then said to Taiki. "I could never do a weekly manga. I like my chapters a little longer, and that's not really possible with your schedule."

"Understandable," he nodded. "It's not for everyone. Mangaka all have their own strengths and weaknesses. I like how much content you two can fit in a chapter, actually. It's more than I can do. I'm limited to no more than twenty-five pages, and most of my chapters are only around twenty due to me usually not having enough time for any more."

Wakana then asked Shizuka, "So, on another note, have you talked to Furihata-san since you two broke up?"

"No," she shook her head in response. "I want to give him time to cool down. It sucks, but... There's not much else I can do."

"I still can't believe he was the one who ended it," Taiki observed. "I for sure thought you would have."

"I really didn't want to, but... Maybe he does need space. As you know, he hasn't been doing great given his editor breathing down his neck and the sales for My Girlfriend's Past Life not being as high as originally expected."

"I feel bad for you," Wakana sighed as she finished the last of her drink. "You two seemed to really love each other."

"That's what I thought, too. I guess it was never meant to be."

"You never know. One day, you two could make up."

Shizuka took a deep breath, having a bit of a problem with what Wakana had said. "Tanimoto-san, I don't do that. I've lived my life by the mantra that once I break up with someone, I'm done with them. I don't care if I still harbor feelings for them. I cannot allow myself to fall back in love with someone who I'm no longer in a relationship with."

Confused, Taiki asked her, "Why?"

"Because in high school, I had a boyfriend that I was on-and-off with, and after our third relationship, I vowed to never do that again, no matter how much it hurt."

Wakana and Taiki look at each other, both of them confused and worried about what Shizuka had told them. The latter asked her, "But doesn't that mean you'll hurt yourself in the process?"

"I dealt with the pain of being with someone on and off. I don't want to do that to myself again. I'd rather deal with the pain of heartbreak than that. Me and Tak- I mean... Me and Furihata-san will never be together again." The fact she had stopped using his first name completely was another sign of how much she wished for this to happen and to move on from him. "Despite the pain, I will move on. I need to focus on my work, much like how he needs to focus on his. It's the only way either of us will stay sane in the aftermath of our breakup."

Taiki thought to himself as Wakana remained silent, "Something else must have happened involving that high school boyfriend Hiratai-san mentioned. This isn't normal, but... I don't want to press it."