Watching Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi (+Junjou Romantica)

Love Is Lawless

Chiaki flinched and slowly sat back down.

'Well, it's true,' he thought, 'even I wasn't so sure about it this time.'

He flipped through the manuscript. 'The more I thought about it though, the more confused I got. I didn't have a choice but forcing it out because of the deadline, but...'

"The topic isn't bad," Tori said, "but the whole thing is too cramped."

Chiaki looked up, surprised.

"I can see that there's a lot you want to draw, but you need to remember the readers."

Chiaki focuses on the scene in the manuscript.

"That's the most important scene," Hatori comments. "Why are you ruining it with a cheap joke?"

Yoshino picks up his pencil and starts to edit that part in the manuscript. While he's hard at work, Tori takes out an agenda book and start flipping through it.

Chiaki looks up at him, as if wanting to ask something.

"You still don't get it?"

"Shut up, I get it!"

Pause.

"Which reminds me," Tori started, "another bookstore asked us to do a signing. I intend to reject them as always."

"What? Why? I love your manga. Some of my friends have been super sad that you've never had one," Misaki reassured Chiaki.

"It's just weird."

"Yeah, it might mess with sales if people knew it was a man writing them." Yokozawa said, earing him a glare from Misaki. He stared back. The smaller brunette backed down, making Usagi put a protective arm around Misaki.

"Please do that," Yoshino doesn't bother looking up to respond. "Tell them I'm sorry."

"I don't think anything would happen," Tori started, "if they found out you're male."

"I'm sure it would be a big disappointment to all...the girls who think I'm female."

Hatori looks at him. "It would certainly help me keep it under wraps."

Chiaki finally looked up. "Huh? What do you mean?"

This time, Tori is the one who doesn't bother looking at him when he responds, "Nothing."

"Anyway," he moves on, "you wanted to get some inspiration at the fireworks festival, right?"

"OOOOO I know where this is going! Boy and girl go to festival and share a very lovey dovey kiss scene!" Yukina cheered for the couple.

"Except I'm not a girl." Chiaki stated.

"Close enough tho," Yukina smiled. Ughhh, Chiaki wanted to run and hide.

"How about you go after you're done with the manuscript?"

"Alright!" Chiaki said, smiling with excitement to go to the festival. "I'm gonna have candy apples and octopus balls!"

His stomach growls in response.

"Are you going back to work after this?" He asks his childhood friend.

"No. The proofs are done," Tori said while checking his agenda. "After this, I'm going home."

Chiaki smiles brightly. "Will you come over to my place then?"