Pepper and Kyomoto
Fujino ran away in panic, and someone followed her. It was her rival, Kyomoto.
Unlike her, this kid was awkward, shy, and had trouble speaking. But there was one thing she had: true love for what Fujino did. The manga that others mocked, she had read every day, becoming a fan.
'This rival meeting wasn't what I expected, but I still deserve credit for calling it.' Tony smiled, watching Fujino agree to give Kyomoto an autograph on her back; the girl she had spent years trying to beat turned out to be her fan.
But rivals or not, these two were the closest people to each other, even if this was their first meeting. Unlike everyone else who told her to stop and do something worthwhile, Kyomoto looked at what Fujino did and noticed her effort; she was invested in it with her whole heart.
Tony could read Fujino's expression unexpectedly well. She didn't want anyone to put her on the pedestal; she just wanted her years of practice, those sweat, blood, and tears, acknowledged. And they were acknowledged by the one she had considered her biggest rival.
And as Fujino lied that she had already worked out a plot for a manga, even if she had stopped a while ago, she walked away in the rain, soon breaking into a dance that didn't care for occasion or location.
'That's all it takes, doesn't it? Just a word of approval.' Tony closed his eyes, the memories of the day he was shipped off to the boarding school flashing before him.
Approval. Has he actually got it yet? Even as he was heading towards death, the government itself conspiring against him, and a Russian maniac smelling of vodka and bird going after him. He had everything, but not the approval that made him start everything.
Even now, who was he doing all this for? A face of a woman appeared in his mind, but it was hazy, and someone else called out to him.
"…ark? Mr. Stark?" A woman in a tight red dress shook him gently, her lightly curled hair falling over her shoulder.
"Yes, Natalie? I was just… trying meditation, works wonders. You should do it instead of, uh, Yoga?" He looked at the beautiful woman who glanced at him with a slightly amused gaze.
"It's Pilates. Mr. Stark."
"Same thing." He shook his head. "What are you here for?"
"Which watch would you like to wear today?" She asked softly, carrying a box over.
"Watch… Oh yes, the party." Tony looked at the time; the sun had set, and he wasn't even ready. Still, he could hear the music vibrating through the place.
He looked at the starless night, the woman looking him up and down, and at the screen on the table.
Fujino had rushed into her room, soaked to the bone. But that didn't stop her from sitting at her desk again, scribbling onto the paper.
"Cancel the party." The words came naturally once he understood what Fujino had felt.
He was searching for the approval of a person that had long left him behind; the one he had to be looking at right now was someone that had been with him.
"Sir?" Natalie paused for a moment.
"Party is cancelled." He continued, giving her a confident wave. "Tell them I am sick or whatever; they'll buy it."
"As… you say, Mr. Stark."
As Natalie left the room, Tony focused back on the screen.
Why would he spend his time with bumbling asshats that would latch onto the next bozo that arrived in a metal suit?
His eyes followed Fujino and Kyomoto working together. Day or night, rain or snow, they started to build their story one panel at a time. And then they went pro, reaching a runner-up in a contest with a reputable manga company.
It reminded Tony of all his suits; he had built them with people, or because of people. It was rarely on his own. Creation was just fun when one had a clear goal.
When Fujino took out a hundred thousand yen to have fun, saying they should stimulate the economy, Tony laughed. This kid knew what was up.
'What's the point of money if you don't spend it?' And the journey continued; they ate crepes, watched movies, talked in cafés, went to bookstores, only spending 5000 yen.
"Fujino, thank you for bringing me out of my room."
"Is this what they call a flag?" Tony fell silent for a moment, but he continued nonetheless, shaking his head.
The pages went by and more stories piled up under the duo, until they got an offer for serialization. Tony didn't know the specifics, but he could feel this was big with how excited Fujino became.
However, when people come together, they eventually drift away too. That happened here as well. Kyomoto wanted to go to art school, no matter what Fujino said; she insisted.
"If you just stick with me… everything will fall into place for you."
'Don't say it like that.' Tony's fingers gripped the screen; his hand tensed up.
That wasn't the way to stop someone from leaving, but then what was the correct way? Tony didn't know; he was never taught about that. All he knew was that Fujino didn't know either.
Dummy rolled into the room with a refilled glass as the music in the mansion died down; he could hear the cars leaving as his hand reached for the glass. But at the end, he waved Dummy away.
On the screen, years had passed in a single page. Fujino had grown; the small room had become wider, looking at the city as she worked on wide monitors rather than scratching at the cheap paper.
But sitting there, he could feel the loneliness and regret weighing on her small back.
'Sitting on a Yoga ball? Worth trying, I suppose.' Tony scrolled as days passed by, his eyes still seeing that burdened back.
Books started to appear on the shelf, a manga titled Chainsaw Man. With each panel, a new volume came, rain passed, snow fell, and spring arrived again as the volumes kept increasing. Fujino's pen didn't stop, not one day, not until January 10, 2016.
'I love it when I am right, but oh boy…'
She happened to hear news about a man attacking an art school in Yamagata with an axe. Tony felt a lump in his throat as Kyomoto didn't pick up her phone; then the phone call came along with the inevitable news he had expected.
Yamagata art school massacre. 12 dead, 3 seriously injured.
The news was dry for everyone, aside from one person who arrived at that funeral.
"And I thought the Japanese were peaceful." Tony covered his face, sighing into his hands. "This cheap…"
'No, it is honest.' People left just like that.
There was no grand farewell, no speeches, no time to say goodbyes and right all the wrongs. One moment they were there, next they weren't.
Yinsen, his father, and his mother. Tony had known this well. But he too was about to leave just like that, thinking he was doing the right thing.
Looking at Fujino's face, he understood what it was like for the one left behind. Because even as the one left behind, he had never looked in a mirror to know that expression.
And the one who would be left behind when he was gone would feel just like this.
He looked at his phone, fiddling with it for a moment to calm down. There were several calls from Pepper and a few from Rhodey. Looking back at the screen on the table, Tony didn't feel tears well up. All that built up inside him was a grating irritation about what he would've left behind.
An uncomfortable irritation that he couldn't run away from with a sober mind.
Just like how Fujino in that moment couldn't escape the guilt when she saw that four-panel manga strip Kyomoto had used as a bookmark, following every one of Fujino's manga chapters.
'Letting it out or being irresponsible helps, I suppose.' Tony watched her tear the paper into pieces; it was a futile attempt.
It wouldn't bring any change, until it did.
A torn piece slid under the door, and it arrived in front of a young Kyomoto.
'Don't come out!' It read.
An alternate timeline? A connection to the past?
Nothing was stated aside from the young girl looking at a torn piece of paper, still alive.
...
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