Chapter 200: Japan Creative Staff
The weather in Chiba seemed to have gone back to normal.
Once February rolled around, the temperature climbed a little more every day. That freak cold snap from before now felt like a one-off.
So these past few days, Oikawa had been looking into artificial snow. After a few conversations with the company, he found out that the kind of heavy snowfall he had in mind wasn’t cheap.
But spending a fortune to make his girl smile? Oikawa was more than happy to do that.
What was all that money for if not to be spent? Letting it sit idle in his bank account would betray every sleepless night he’d spent in poverty.
After paying the deposit, he talked timing with the snow company.
He’d wanted Valentine’s Day. Snow drifting down from the sky, Oikawa walking slowly up to Kawasaki, the two of them standing there without a word.
It wasn’t as though Oikawa was lusting after Kawasaki’s body or anything.
This… this simply meant their love was entering a new phase. Yes, that was all. It certainly had nothing to do with wanting her to wear the sexy clothes he’d bought for her.
But plans never survive contact with reality.
Yesterday’s Service Club meeting had ruthlessly wrecked this one.
Yukino was planning an unusual Valentine’s party at the community center, to give Miura the perfect chance to confess. He and Yui were both expected to show up as background scenery.
Oikawa initially refused, but Yui’s persistence, combined with the fact that he already owed Yukino a favor, eventually wore him down.
With no other choice, Oikawa had to tell the snow crew the date was now “to be determined.”
This was where money proved its worth. The moment Oikawa said “I’ll pay extra,” the crew went from visibly annoyed to “whatever you need, sir.”
Honestly, Oikawa still preferred their old, untamed attitude.
…
..
Saturday came, and with it the pre-Valentine’s prep session.
Oikawa rode his bike to the community center, with Kawasaki tagging along. Today was dessert-making practice, and he could already feel the chaos coming.
“Yahallo~ Oikawa-kun, Saki, you guys got here early!”
Yui had popped out of nowhere. She was wearing a white turtleneck sweater with a brown scarf around her neck.
“Early? We’re almost late, you know.”
Oikawa looked at his phone. 10:45. They’d agreed on ten sharp, so that was literally late.
“…”
Nobody said much after that. The three of them hurried toward the sweets room on the third floor.
“Oikawa-senpai, you’re so slow!”
That was Isshiki Iroha.
Oikawa directly ignored her and scanned the room.
Besides Ebina and Miura, the student council’s vice president and secretary were here too. They looked pretty downcast, hunched over a table in the corner, working.
Oikawa figured he knew why. Probably a headache over the slogan for the new student recruitment campaign.
“Senpai, what do you think of this poster?”
Isshiki walked up holding a poster covered in a mess of heart doodles, with a slogan that was a little embarrassing to read.
{Even if you have no idea what you’re doing, don’t worry! Having trouble making homemade chocolates for that special someone? It’s still fine. The student council is here to help!}
Oikawa didn’t even know where to begin.
That wasn’t a slogan. It was vocational school ad copy, plain and simple.
It reminded him of ads made by AI. Or, as a certain corrupt orange man called it, “super intelligence” (SI).
Honestly… it was about the same level.
The corner of his mouth twitched in an amused smile. He nodded over and over. “Not bad. Really not bad.”
“Then, Senpai, I’m counting on you to put it up outside, okay?” Isshiki blinked and threw in a little cutesy act.
How to put this? She was still his friend, after all. If anyone else had tried to order Oikawa around, he’d have shut them down with a look that could slam a door in their face
Besides, he and the vice president were the only ones qualified for the job anyway.
Sure enough, the vice president, Makito Honmoku, stood up on his own and walked over to Oikawa, all “ready for orders.”
Oikawa watched as Kawasaki chatted happily with Ebina and the others, then took Makito by the hand and turned to leave.
Behind them, Isshiki’s voice drifted over. “Senpai, no slacking off, okay? I’m the student council president, and I’ll be watching you.”
Oikawa was starting to think that making Isshiki student council president hadn’t been entirely a good thing.
—
Once they’d finished their work, Makito suggested, “Oikawa-senpai, let’s find a quiet corner and sneak in a break. They don’t need us up there for the chocolates and cake anyway.”
“Sure, I’m all for it.”
For someone with Oikawa’s maxed-out slacking skills, an offer this tempting was never getting turned down.
The two hit it off immediately and soon found a hidden corner.
The sun was out in full force over Chiba today. It came through the glass and landed right on Oikawa, and it felt amazing.
The only thing missing was a sofa or a bed.
Oikawa was crouched on the floor, staring up at the sky. He held eye contact with the sun for two or three seconds before it got to be too much.
Just as he was about to admit defeat, a slim figure stepped in front of him with a big smile and cut off his sun supply completely.
The girl was holding a bag of drinks. From the shape of her mouth, she was probably saying, “Senpai, tea or coffee?”
Maybe it was the sunlight, but her smile was ridiculously bright, like the first light of morning chasing off the dark.
In a bit of a daze, he realized Isshiki had already walked over with the plastic bag and was asking again. “Senpai, tea or coffee? They’re both hot.”
“Tea for me.”
That wasn’t Oikawa. It was Makito.
But the second he reached out, Isshiki took half a step back and smiled. “Makito, Oikawa-senpai is here helping us out, so he should pick first.”
Makito looked completely lost.
What did she mean, Oikawa was helping out? He was the one helping out! This was the Service Club’s event, wasn’t it?
“I’ll take the coffee, I guess.”
Oikawa pulled out the coffee and handed the tea to Makito. Then he gave Isshiki a tired look.
She just stuck her tongue out, totally unbothered. “Makito, could you take the drinks and snacks upstairs?”
“Sure.”
Makito didn’t argue. He took the bag and headed upstairs.
Just like that, the hidden corner belonged to Oikawa and Isshiki. The coffee was scalding, probably from a convenience store, so Oikawa wrapped his hands around the can to warm up.
Isshiki had the same coffee in her hand. Unlike Oikawa, though, she didn’t crouch on the floor without a care for her image. She leaned against the wall and stood beside him.
“Senpai, is the coffee good?”
She waited until he’d taken a sip before asking.
“It’s fine.. Hmm… it’s pretty good, actually. Nice pick.”
She was practically wearing a “praise me” sign on her face, so Oikawa changed his answer.
The sun wasn’t as blinding as the morning, so one could finally make out the clouds drifting by, each one twisted into a different shape like they were competing.
“Senpai, that one looks just like you,” Isshiki pointed out.
“Which one?” Oikawa asked curiously.
“That one, right there…”
Following the direction of her finger, Oikawa spotted a cloud shaped like a puppy.
He promptly gave her a chop on the head.
“Ow! That hurt.” Isshiki glared at him. “Senpai, you’re really going to make me dumber!”
“Dumber would be an improvement. Maybe you’d be less annoying.”
“You…” Isshiki muttered something after that, but Oikawa couldn’t make it out. Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“…”
Oikawa drained the last of his coffee and stood up, stretching out his back. “Come on, let’s get to work.”
“Okay!”
Isshiki picked up the posters from the floor and followed behind him, smiling the whole way.
The first poster went on the glass door at the community center entrance.
With Isshiki’s clumsy help, it took a solid five minutes to get it up.
“Is it straight?”
“Totally straight.”
Hearing her confirm from a few steps back, Oikawa moved on to the next battlefield.
The weather had warmed up a lot lately, but it was still cold enough to numb his fingers.
The second poster was going on the notice board facing the road, a fair distance from the main entrance. Isshiki carried her poster like a wronged little wife.
“Senpai, aren’t you curious which senpai I’m going to confess to?”
“Nope.”
His answer made her face fall a little.
“But…” Oikawa stopped walking and patted her on the head. “If anyone bullies you, tell me. I’ll get them back for you.”
“Really? Anyone at all? I can just ask Senpai for help?”
A dangerous glint flashed in Isshiki’s eyes. Oikawa, who had felt pretty cool a second ago, now hesitated.
“Well, you know, it’s better to keep the peace,” he mumbled. “Um.. What I mean is, don’t go picking fights with people I obviously can’t beat, like sumo wrestlers or something. I can run away with you, though.”
Isshiki said nothing. She tilted her head and stared straight into his eyes.
In that moment, she wanted to throw herself into his arms and shout every feeling she’d been hiding.
But in the end, what came out was the exact opposite. “Senpai, you’re so lame.”
Without a doubt, she got chopped on the head again, and a tear rolled down her cheek.
“Huh? I barely even hit you! Why are you crying? Are you trying to frame me or something?” Oikawa shot her a deeply suspicious look.
Her voice shook. “Who’s crying? The wind is just really strong, that’s all.”
Yeah. The wind was way too strong. It blew her feelings into pieces, and still she couldn’t get out of the cage she’d built for herself.
“Stupid wind, why is it so strong!”
She cried even harder.
Love really was like a moth flying into a flame.
…
..
Meanwhile, the promotion for Clannad was in full swing, and the anime and game adaptations had officially been locked in.
The higher-ups at Full-Drive Bunko had wanted to keep working with A-1 Pictures for the anime, since the success of Your Lie in April was right there for everyone to see. But after talking it over, A-1 Pictures simply couldn’t spare the staff to take on Clannad.
With no other choice, Full-Drive Bunko had to look for a new partner. After endless negotiations, JC Staff finally beat out its competitors.
JC Staff was famous for its animation quality.
The Familiar of Zero, Toradora!, Maid Sama!, DanMachi, The Disastrous Life of Saiki K, and others were all signature works of theirs.
…
(A/N: If you haven’t watched Maid Sama yet, I can’t recommend it enough. I just finished my third rewatch yesterday, and I still love it just as much as ever! And if you’ve already seen it, consider this your sign to binge-watch it again. They really don’t make anime this wonderful anymore!)