Starting from Their Seventeen Years Old

Time flew, and the end of September arrived before anyone noticed.

"Hear the Wind Sing," published in Gunzo's special supplementary issue, had gone viral among young readers and showed no signs of cooling down.

The editors at Gunzo couldn't stop beaming.

Meanwhile, Kobayashi Tomoaki and the rest of the editorial staff at Shincho were staring at this month's sales figures with deeply unhappy faces.

They had managed to claw back a decent chunk of their readership with three consecutive months of "The Setting Sun" serialization plus the release of the paperback edition.

But without a new work from Tsushima Kagami to carry them, the drop was stark. It wasn't quite back to square one — but compared to the million-copy Shincho of not long ago, the contrast was painful.

Kobayashi Tomoaki was racking his brain trying to figure out how to get Tsushima Kagami to write something — anything. Even a personal essay would do.

Even the editor-in-chief had taken to standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows these past few days, muttering regretfully to himself.

"If I'd known it would come to this, I never would have handed 'Hear the Wind Sing' over to those people at Gunzo."

"Should have just had Dassai-ya-sensei dash off something else and given them that instead."

"'Hear the Wind Sing' should have run in Shincho! That's where it belonged!"

"What a blunder. What an absolute blunder."

The pressure on Kobayashi Tomoaki was immense. It had been the editor-in-chief's call, yes — but Kobayashi himself had failed to hold the line. He'd let "Hear the Wind Sing" slip right through his fingers, and that was on him.

Even though the editor-in-chief hadn't blamed him directly, Kobayashi had been under crushing stress for days.

After all, young people — students in particular — were the one demographic that literary journals had always desperately wanted to crack.

The problem was that for readers that age, serious literary fiction was usually too dense and inaccessible — and Shincho was probably the worst offender.

"The Setting Sun" had gotten a boost from Ministry of Education promotions, but it ultimately wasn't the right fit for young readers with limited life experience.

Nobody had expected "Hear the Wind Sing" to just naturally, effortlessly break open that long-coveted, seemingly unreachable demographic.

These days, if you were sitting in a café in Shimokitazawa without a copy of "Hear the Wind Sing" somewhere nearby, you couldn't even call yourself a culture kid with a straight face.

And forget trying to impress a girl. You'd already lost before you opened your mouth.

You'd have surrendered all tutorial rights to love hotel admission before the date even began.

——

Ikebukuro, Tokyo.

Inside a venue that operated as a café by day and rented out rehearsal space at a live music house, Tsushima Kagami sat chatting with the girls from both the Manga Research Club and the Light Music Club.

Tsushima Kagami had finished writing out the full scores for both groups before he even completed "Hear the Wind Sing," and had already handed them over.

Everyone had been learning and practicing the pieces bit by bit ever since.

Today was the weekend, and at Kosaka Akane's suggestion, they'd booked a rehearsal room here for their first proper run-through together.

Sayuri was sitting quietly with the latest issue of Gunzo, leafing through it.

"Sayuri, could you please stop flipping through that Gunzo?"

"You're going to wear it out at this rate."

Machida Sonoko, sitting beside her, finally couldn't take it anymore. She snatched the Gunzo right out of Sayuri's hands and shoved the full score for today's rehearsal pieces into them instead.

"You'd be much better off looking at the sheet music."

"Oh come on, I heard that just carrying this issue of Gunzo around gives you a major culture boost."

"I figure it might help my bass technique."

"The most helpful thing for your bass technique would be to stop slacking off and put in the same effort you give to drawing!"

Kosaka Akane delivered a firm chop to the top of Sayuri's head.

"Ow."

"Stop hitting me — I'll only get worse at it if you keep knocking my head around!"

"Kagami, save me!"

"My senpais are ganging up on me again!"

Sayuri covered her head with both hands and looked over at Tsushima Kagami, who had been staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows at something outside this whole time.

"Hm? What are you looking at?"

"Nothing in particular. Just spotted a friend."

Machida Sonoko and Kosaka Akane followed his gaze.

"A friend? Should we invite them over?"

Tsushima Kagami smiled.

"I don't think so — better not to disturb him."

"Alright, we've rested long enough. Time to start practicing."

——

Across the street from where Tsushima Kagami had been looking, Yamada Kenta was walking alongside a girl who wore round-framed glasses.

Yamada Kenta had originally come to Ikebukuro today for a manga fan meetup — a gathering with a few people he'd gotten to know online who shared his interests.

After the meetup wrapped up, he remembered that today happened to be the release date for the new issue of Happy Heaven.

On a whim, he tried his luck at a nearby manga shop — and walked out with the very last copy of the new issue.

His eyes lit up when he saw the cover. The name "Xuanyayi" had returned in big bold letters.

For some reason, last month there had been no new work. But this month, the sensei was finally back — and Yamada Kenta intended to savor every page.

He was heading straight home when, just as he stepped out of the manga shop, he spotted a familiar face.

He remembered her — she was Hazuki, or something like that. They'd met at the end of last semester, when they were both on library duty together.

She had a bob cut, round-framed glasses, and a habit of clipping cute little animal barrettes into her bangs.

She had a bright, bubbly personality — after all, she'd been the one to strike up conversation first, asking him if he had any favorite novels.

Being polite, he had mentioned a few light novels he'd read and enjoyed.

It turned out she meant literary fiction.

That moment had been absolutely mortifying for Yamada Kenta.

Anyway, his impression of Hazuki was that she was the literary-girl type.

When he spotted her now, he was trying to decide whether to say hello — it would be rude not to, running into someone like this.

But he was also worried she might not remember him at all. If she drew a blank, that would be awkward too.

While Yamada Kenta was still deliberating, the girl noticed him too — and smiled and waved first.

"Yamada-kun, long time no see! What brings you here?"

Yamada Kenta noticed the two little dimples that appeared when Hazuki smiled, and rubbed the back of his backpack strap a little nervously.

"What a coincidence, Hazuki-san."

"I just came to pick up some manga."

"Ha, sounds about right for an otaku."

"Either manga or light novels with you, isn't it?"

"I bet you watch late-night anime every single night too, don't you?"

Faced with Hazuki's effortlessly chatty energy, Yamada Kenta could only respond a little awkwardly.

"Sometimes, yeah. Anyway — where are you headed, Hazuki-san?"

Hazuki's expression immediately fell when he asked.

"I came to buy Gunzo magazine."

"A friend told me a bookstore around here still had copies."

"I've been to three different places and they're all sold out."

"Seriously, what kind of literary journal does limited daily stock drops?! It's like hunger marketing!"

"And I never manage to get one in time!"

She stomped her foot in frustration, then slumped.

"I came all the way out here for nothing. Looks like I'll just have to go back empty-handed."

"Gunzo magazine?"

The school library had some back issues of various literary journals, and every time he was on duty he'd see people checking them in and out — so he at least knew what she was talking about.

It was then that Yamada Kenta recalled — while browsing around the manga shop earlier, he thought he might have seen Gunzo and Shincho in the literary section. He wasn't sure if they were the latest issues, though.

He thought about it for a moment, then decided to mention it.

"Actually, I think I might have seen Gunzo in that manga shop just now."

"I can't promise it's the newest issue, though."

Hazuki stared at him in disbelief.

"Really?!"

"A manga shop sells literary works?"

"Big chain manga stores like that usually have a literary section."

"It's not as comprehensive as a proper bookstore, of course — mostly just recent bestsellers that are getting a lot of buzz."

"More of a 'classy storefront dressing' kind of thing, really."

"It's not like many literary types come to a manga shop specifically to buy serious fiction."

After his explanation, Hazuki blinked at him with a look of genuine surprise.

"Yamada-kun, you know so much."

"Oh, not really."

"Anyway, let's go see if they have the Gunzo you're looking for first."

"Right, right! Yes!"

"Hey — don't push me, Hazuki-san."

"Well, you have to lead the way — I don't know where it is!"

——

When the two of them came back out of the bookshop a little while later, Hazuki was bouncing along with two copies of the latest Gunzo special issue tucked under her arm.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"I can't believe they even had the supplementary issue!"

"Well, since I've got what I came for, I should head back."

Yamada Kenta was just about to say goodbye when she grabbed his arm.

"Here, this is for you."

Hazuki held out one of the Gunzo copies to Yamada Kenta.

"Consider it a thank-you gift."

"Good thing I ran into you, Yamada-kun."

"Otherwise I would have just missed out again."

"Then I'll gratefully accept."

Yamada Kenta smiled and took the magazine. Then Hazuki spoke again.

"Oh, by the way — I'd really recommend reading Dassai-ya-sensei's 'Hear the Wind Sing' in this issue."

"Everyone's been racing to get this Gunzo just for that story."

"Got it. I'll read it."

"Alright, see you lat—"

"Oh, and!"

Yamada Kenta's goodbye was cut off again.

"Next time, recommend me some interesting manga too, Yamada-kun!"

"S-sure. I'll pick some out carefully."

"See you later, Yamada-kun~"

Watching Hazuki's figure disappear into the distance, Yamada Kenta reflected quietly.

A literary girl, huh? She's nothing like those quiet, reserved literary types, though.

Really lively one, she is.

Yamada Kenta tucked the Gunzo into his backpack and hurried toward the subway station. He had to get home and properly appreciate Xuanyayi-sensei's latest masterpiece.

The cover close-up looked like another NTR setup at first glance. He couldn't wait.

Please give me a little something surprising.

——

Once Yamada Kenta finally got home, he shut the door behind him with practiced efficiency and locked it.

Then he pulled the curtains closed, turned the lamp on, positioned the trash can and a box of tissues within reach.

Only then did he unzip his backpack, take out the Gunzo he'd gotten earlier, consider it for a moment, and place it on his bookshelf among the rows of manga.

Then he reached back into the bag and pulled out the new issue of Happy Heaven.

He stripped off the outer wrapper, carried the magazine to his desk, sat down, and flipped straight to Xuanyayi-sensei's section.

The cover page showed a dark-haired delinquent looming over a girl with innocent eyes. Then he looked at the title: "0,000 Yen to Show Me."

Coercion this time, is it?

Now we're talking. This is exactly how it should have been from the start.

Yamada Kenta turned to the first page. Some guy was scoping out the heroine, deciding she looked easy, and was about to make his move — when a phone call from the delinquent pulled her away just in time.

Yamada Kenta raised an eyebrow. Interesting.

He turned the page. The heroine didn't want to keep taking money to do this anymore.

Oh? She finally feels guilty about betraying her boyfriend and is tormented enough to want out of this arrangement?

Hmph. She already took the money. She already betrayed him. And now she wants to play the victim? Women are so calculating!

Serve her right — let's see how the delinquent straightens her out!

Yamada Kenta turned the page with satisfaction — then his brow furrowed.

A flashback: the heroine and the delinquent were childhood friends. He used to be a good, straight-laced kid — it was only after he fell in with a bad crowd that he changed.

And the whole time, the delinquent had secretly been in love with the heroine. Too afraid to confess, he'd engineered the money arrangement as a roundabout way of getting her to show him what he wanted.

And the heroine had only agreed because it was him — but she didn't want their relationship to stay transactional like this.

Having been trolled by Xuanyayi-sensei more times than he could count, Yamada Kenta didn't explode in the usual way. Instead, something in him quietly settled, and he laughed.

Ha. Ha ha ha.

He dropped the act in three pages flat!

You think this is going to get to me?

It's just a straightforward mutual-pining pure-love story.

I can handle this. And honestly — thanks for that, Xuanyayi-sensei.

Watch me read through every last page and then go absolutely demolish you on the forums.

This is lazy work. At least keep the act going until the end and then hit us with the twist. Is the well finally running dry?

Yamada Kenta smirked and flipped on with lofty disdain.

It was pure love, sure — but this was still Xuanyayi-sensei. Still undeniably... stimulating.

Yamada Kenta slipped into the zone, fully primed.

Page by page, he worked through the story — until he reached the part where the two of them, after graduation, were living and working together in a cozy little domestic arrangement.

Uniform roleplay every night. Then the scene shifted.

Lately, the delinquent had been coming home later and later. He'd barely touched her.

The heroine suspected he might have found someone new. But she was too afraid to confront him — she didn't want to shatter the happiness they had.

Then one night, still waiting for him to come home, she fell asleep first — and felt someone touching her fingers in the dark.

She woke to find the delinquent slipping something cold and shining onto her hand.

She raised her hand. It was a diamond ring.

The heroine stared, utterly bewildered — and that's when he confessed everything. He'd wanted to surprise her.

He'd spotted this ring and wanted to buy it as a proposal gift, but his savings weren't enough — so he'd been picking up part-time shifts every night to make up the difference.

He'd planned to slip it on while she slept and let her wake up to the surprise — but he'd accidentally woken her instead.

The final panel froze on the delinquent holding the heroine's hand mid-proposal, and the heroine beaming as she held up her ring finger — and said yes.

Yamada Kenta, his ascent thoroughly aborted, sat at his desk for a long moment. Then a droplet of water landed on the manga page.

Yamada Kenta looked up at the ceiling with red-rimmed eyes and a smile.

That was something else.

No grand finale after the proposal — it just ended right there, at that moment of pure happiness.

Everything that came after — the happiness, the intimacy — needed no further elaboration. Was he afraid that spelling it out would cheapen the beauty of what they had?

Xuanyayi-sensei, you absolute bastard.

A long while later, once his emotions had finally settled and he'd composed himself, Yamada Kenta pulled his pants back up and opened his computer to log into the forum.

He typed out a review post, slowly and carefully, and clicked publish.

[You win, Xuanyayi-sensei. I'm like some stray dog on the street — I spotted something brown and came bounding over, convinced it was the good stuff, took one big bite, and realized it was chocolate. Now I'm foaming at the mouth and convulsing, dying sweetly in a happiness that was never meant for me.]

____

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