Page by Page

Chapter 8

June 26, 2019

Shizuka, Akari, and Chieko all relaxed in a hot spring together, having worked hard the past few days. As Akari sank everything below her mouth into the water to relax, Shizuka said to her and Chieko, "I want to thank you for your hard work these past few days. You both got right to work as soon as you began, and I think the three of us are gonna do great things together. Already, you've sped up the process significantly, and because of your help, I think we'll be able to get my next chapter out a few days ahead of schedule."

"Thank you," Chieko replied. "Hiratai-sensei, working on your manga has been a dream come true for me."

"Already? It's only been like three days."

"But those three days have been nothing short of great," she explained. "Getting to work under such a good mangaka like yourself is something I could only dream of in the past."

Shizuka downplayed her achievements and skills, clearly humble about her capabilities. "Nah, nah, nah, I wouldn't say I'm that great. Besides, so far, Break The Ice has remained just a manga."

"You never know," Akari then said as she jumped into the conversation. "It could get an anime one day, or maybe even a TV drama."

"A TV drama wouldn't be a bad idea," Shizuka replied. "Shimizu did tell me they were looking for someone to adapt Break The Ice into either form. Maybe a TV drama would be good since the story is pretty grounded in reality."

"I just hope they don't change it too much. I hate it when they completely derail from the canon of a manga. I don't necessarily mind filler, but I despise when they depart from canon entirely and create a totally different story."

"Me too," Shizuka nodded. "I kinda like how anime has become seasonal now instead of just running it week after week with filler. If Uncontrollable Battle was running weekly constantly instead of just having a season of twelve episodes once every so often, they would have caught up very quickly due to the fact it's a monthly manga. We'd have a ton of filler by now."

"By the way," Chieko then asked her, changing the subject. "Hiratai-sensei, um... Do you, uh...? Have you found a...?" She was so nervous to ask her this particular question she found herself unwilling to finish it. "Um..."

"I think I know what you're trying to ask her," Akari said, taking over for her. "Hiratai-sensei, are you dating someone right now? You've been really happy these past few days."

"Crap," Shizuka thought to herself. "Was I that easy to figure out? How much should I even tell them?" She took a deep breath and admitted, "Yes, I am. I won't say who it is just yet, but I am dating someone again. I decided to give it another shot, and so far, things are going pretty good."

"I figured that was the case. I remember talking to Iwaya-san about it because your behavior reminded me of girls in my high school who were in love with a boy that actually returned their feelings."

A bit embarrassed that she seemingly acted so childish, Shizuka remarked, "Was I really acting like a high schooler...?"

"You kinda were," Chieko admitted.

Shizuka then remarked on a different topic: her age. "At least it makes me feel young. I still can't believe I'm gonna be thirty next year. I'm getting too old."

Akari asked her, "How old is your boyfriend?"

"He's six years older than me."

"Six years older than her," Akari thought to herself, curious as to who it was. "Six years older... Wait a minute, Anzai-sensei is six years older than her... What if...? No way, it can't be him! ...Could it, though?"