Specks of Light

Part Five. Chapter 3: Golden Box

The day had been quite boring, but at least he could tell the environment between him and Nozomi- chan had eased back to be normal. The girl not longer avoided him, neither did she turned all red whenever Yuu approached. Maybe everything she needed was to express her feelings and finally have a closure to the matter. As they were pretty much done with both chapters of the manga, this time Yuu had had little work to do. So he had spent most of his time scheduling with the other authors that were already calling him to work next month.

Nakajima- sensei, Satou- sensei and Chiaki had all booked some days with him so he had the first two weeks of next month completely full. He had also booked working sessions with Fujino- sensei already and there were only two authors who hadn't contacted him to discuss next month's schedule, one of those being Ijuuin- sensei himself. With his trip to France and the Winter Festival maybe Ijuuin had forgotten about the fact that he would have to deliver a manga chapter for the next issue of Japun.

Yuu was still checking the schedule on his phone when Fujino- sensei spoke for the whole room "Hey everyone, before you leave, I just wanted to say how grateful I am towards all of you" he said with a wide smile "Studio Jeen, that is in charge of the upcoming anime for 'Invincible' sent me today the first collectibles of the main characters" he continued taking out an amazing figure of his manga's main character. "Woah, sensei! It is absolutely beautiful" one of the assistants commented, and sure he was not wrong, Yuu was surprised at how well designed the figure was. Fujino was a really skilled artist so his main character had a lot of details on him, yet it seemed like the ones in charge of the anime and the figure making had taken everything into consideration and they had delivered quite an exquisite piece. "To show you my gratitude, I would like all of you to have one these because you've been key into developing 'Invincible' into what it is now" Fujino said showing the assistants the items he would be giving them. All the assistants showed wide smiles at the kind gesture, however, Yuu noted that there were only five figures, meaning that someone would not be receiving one and that someone had to be him, for sure, since he had been the last one to join the creative crew.

The assistants grabbed their presents one by one and kindly thanked Fujino- sensei. "Thank you so much, sensei. I'm sure the anime will be Marukawa's most successful yet" Nozomi- chan commented with a sweet smile. "Thank you, Nozomi! But it would have to surpass Za Kan in order to be Marukawa's most successful anime" Fujino replied with a little chuckle. "It will be ten times bigger than Za Kan!" Nozomi said making Yuu immediately turn to look at the pair talking "I know this is a personal opinion..but your manga is way more interesting, sensei! I find Za Kan to be quite boring!" Nozomi finished maintaining her smile. "The great amount of people who buy that boring manga sure disagree with your personal opinion" Yuu commented angrily almost by mistake. Nozomi- chan and Fujino- sensei turned to look at him with surprised expressions "Ah sorry, Yanase- san. I didn't know you were a fan.." Nozomi said apologetically "Oh no, no, sorry!...I remember! You work for Za Kan's author too, right? It's only natural to feel like his work is better than 'Invincible' since you've been working there longer" she continued looking down. Yuu saw Fujino's eyes widening at Nozomi's bold conclusion, clearly she had gotten nervous from Yuu's reaction and had spoken without really thinking what she was about to say. "I- I'll be going now. Thank you so much sensei" Nozomi spoke again with a trembling voice and quickly left. The other assistants, who had watched the scene, took their presents, thanked Fujino and left really quietly.

Yuu had to wait for Ijuuin to arrive, so he still had to stay for about half an hour. "I'm sorry, Fujino- sensei" Yuu said as the two organized the drawing room. "Don't feel bad, Yuu- san. Of course you would defend your lover" Fujino told him with a calm mien, it didn't seem like he was upset. "I just...well, I was just driven by impulse" Yuu replied closing the ink jars they had used during the day "However, I didn't mean it in the way Nozomi- chan said it, I hope you know that much" he continued awkwardly. "I know, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit hurt" Fujino replied in a low tone as he grabbed a package and approached Yuu. "Here, this figure is for you" Aki said handing Yuu a bright golden box. "This is a special, sensei. I can't take it" Yuu said noticing why Fujino had saved his present for last. Of course, it would've looked bad if he gave all the other assistants regular figures and presented Yuu with a limited edition one. "Take it, Yuu- san. You deserve it, you're my chief assistant after all, plus don't worry, I have saved one for myself too" Fujino assured him displaying a somewhat sad smile. "Thank you so much, Fujino- sensei. I'll take good care of it" Yuu said trying to alleviate the tension that had filled the room since his abrupt reaction. "Are you currently living with Ijuuin- sensei?" Fujino asked calmly instantly making Yuu's cheeks blush "No, I have my own place" he answered honestly wondering why he had to talk about his private life here. "Well, then I hope you take it there and give it a special place so that it is not overshadowed by all the Za Kan figures Ijuuin- sensei must've given you" Fujino told him still wearing a sad smile.

Yuu was about to give an answer, but being honest, Ijuuin- sensei hadn't given him any Za Kan collectibles. In fact, if he thought about it, Ijuuin had given Misaki- kun more than ten exclusive pieces back when he was trying to win his heart and he had also given Ishi- kun a, one of kind, key chain. However, during this whole time, he hadn't even asked Yuu if he wanted one of the figures. "I- I will" Yuu answered hesitant. His doubt didn't go unnoticed and soon Fujino realized exactly what his trouble was. "What? Ijuuin- sensei hasn't given you a Za Kan figure? Even when you're such a fan?" Fujino asked changing his sad mien for a more confident demeanor. "Those are just objects, it's not really important" Yuu said trying to sound as confident as possible, but clearly failing at it.

"True, but I think presents are a love demonstration. Love is something you can only feel, you can not see or touch. So I think that this kind of things can make love a little bit more tangible, don't you agree, Yuu- san?" Fujino commented getting closer to Yuu. It was unbelievable how this guy always hit the nail on the head, almost as if had known Yanase for a long time. "You're probably right" Yuu said taking a step back to set some distance between him and the author, who now was, definitely, too close. Fujino grabbed Yuu's hand pulling up the package of the figure, making Yuu's body flinch at the touch. He tried to retrieve his hand but Fujino pushed it tighter against the golden box successfully holding him in place. "Let me sign this for you" Fujino said picking up one of the markers they had used to sketch and carefully signing the box Yuu was holding.

Yuu looked at the author as he so gracefully autographed the present anxiously waiting for him to be done. "You know, Yuu- san" Fujino spoke turning to look at him "Probably you don't find my work to be better than Ijuuin- sensei's, maybe my sales will never reach the levels that his manga has and maybe it won't be like Nozomi said, and the Invincible anime will never even get close to be as successful as Za Kan's...still I am really happy that at least in giving you a collectible, I was faster than him" Aki finished sending more anxiety all over Yanase's body. Yuu hadn't figured out a proper answer to the comment when he noticed Fujino- sensei getting even closer to him...