Full-time comic artist

"Let me get to know you better before I decide."

Mr. Akimiya got up and walked towards his room on the second floor.

Hibiki Higashino paused, looking at Akemi Akimiya, "So what was the result?"

“There’s definitely no problem.” Akemi Akemi gave a thumbs up. “I believe in you.”

……

the next day.

Mr. Akimiya arrived at a comic book store.

"Sir, what can I do for you?"

The shop owner looked at the old man whose style didn't match and asked him curiously.

"I want works by Tori Akino Mirai."

The shopkeeper was taken aback. "A work by Tori Akino Mirai? Is it by that manga artist, Tori Akino Mirai?"

"Ah."

Thinking the customer might be buying comic books for their grandson, the shop owner asked again, "Do you want all of them?"

“Of course.” Mr. Akimiya nodded firmly.

The manga series *Hikaru no Go* has 12 volumes, *Slam Dunk* has 15 volumes, *The Garden of Words* has one volume, and *5 Centimeters Per Second* has one volume.

"Gag Manga Biyori" is an 8-volume manga series adapted from an anime.

The 37 manga volumes, stacked vertically, reached above Mr. Akimiya's knees.

"Total 14800 yen."

Mr. Akimiya regretted it; he should have driven.

Fortunately, the bookstore offered a moving service. After spending a total of 16280, he finally returned home, staring blankly at the towering pile of books.

"Tori Akino Mirai... She was still working as an assistant in 93, so this must have been a work created after 94, right? It's only early March 99 now."

"At most five years have passed, and you've already painted so many pictures?"

Mr. Akimiya was well aware of the extent of Akino's future efforts.

He picked up the first volume of the "Hikaru no Go" manga, checked the time, and realized that it was an early work by Tori Akino Mirai.

"This painting... well, it's not bad."

After reading the contents, he exclaimed, "Souls from the Heian period? That's ridiculous, how could that be possible?"

The plot of "Hikaru no Go" then continues with Hikaru Shindo asking Sai to cheat for him.

Mr. Akimiya's face darkened.

"This Akino Mirai is very unreliable."

However, when he saw the climax of the opening of "Hikaru no Go", he was stunned.

That was Akira Touya's roar at Hikaru Shindo, telling the story of the hardships a Go player must endure to grow.

"This is very well drawn..."

After reading five chapters of "Hikaru no Go", Mr. Akimiya rubbed his eyes.

"This is a story about a child pursuing his life goals, and it is surprisingly educational."

He decided to stop.

"Tori Akino Mirai, not bad."

……

Hibiki Higashino patiently awaited the result.

He was in the hallway of the Higashino family home when Higashino Shio chased him out and was talking to Akemi Akemi.

Her younger sister, Higashino Mei, is very supportive of her; she really likes Akemi Akemi.

When Akemi Akimiya isn't acting foolishly, she has a gentle, older sister-like demeanor that's very effective at overwhelming young girls.

As for Higashino Ichiro, he had already agreed.

After all, it wasn't Naoko Takeuchi from 1967; Akemi Akemi, who was only 7 years older than Hibiki Higashino, put him at ease.

Not long after, Higashino Shio opened the living room door with a smile on her face, "I agree."

"Mingmei is a very considerate and good child."

Akemi Akemi told her about her daily life with Hibiki Higashino.

As she continued to narrate, Higashino Shio felt this inclusive love.

"You should be more mature by now, don't make people worry so much," Higashino Shio complained, patting Higashino Hibiki on the shoulder.

Higashino Hibiki grinned foolishly.

In short, the Higashino family is fine.

……

When Mr. Akimiya woke up the next day, he happened to see the pile of manga volumes.

A manga called "The Garden of Words" caught his attention.

The cover features a pair of shoes in a summer gazebo, surrounded by—

"A faint rumble of thunder, a gloomy sky. I only hope for a storm to come, so that you may stay here."

"A faint rumble of thunder. A gloomy sky. Even if it doesn't rain, I will stay here."

This is a poem called "Raigami Tanka" from the Manyoshu.

Mr. Akimiya then picked up the manga, wanting to see what the story was.

The story of "The Garden of Words" is very short; Mr. Akimiya finished reading it in twenty minutes.

"It's very well drawn, and..."

He sensed Higashino Hibiki's love for Akemi Akemi.

"That's fine then."

……

The day after visiting Mr. Akimiya's house, Higashino Hibiki heard good news: Mr. Akimiya had agreed.

He was overjoyed, never expecting it to be so quick and smooth.

There were no obstacles, and it would be wonderful to get married with the blessings of family and friends.

“Takeuchi-sensei and Togashi-sensei had a very low-key wedding, only inviting friends from the industry,” Akemi Akimiya stretched after finishing a storyboard. “Let’s keep it simple too.”

“That’s fine,” Hibiki Higashino said, calculating the number of seats. “About ten tables should be enough.”

"Ah."

Akemi Akemi wasn't particularly happy about getting married; she acted as usual.

Their life together remained unchanged.

After the two families met, they tentatively set the wedding date for around the time of the moon.

That is, the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar.

This is a manifestation of the influence of China on Japanese culture. During the moon viewing festival, Japanese people eat moon-viewing dumplings and enjoy the moon.

It's no different from the Mid-Autumn Festival, which involves eating mooncakes and admiring the moon.

After the tedious matters were resolved, Kishimoto would be arriving soon. Before that, Higashino Hibiki had one more thing to do.

That means it's time to move.

He has already graduated, and Ms. Akimiya has also resigned, so they can no longer occupy the Musashino staff dormitory.

The Red Maple Villas in Hanhai Community have been renovated and will now be left vacant for a period of time to allow formaldehyde to dissipate.

“We’ll have a child soon after we get married,” Higashino Hibiki said firmly, “so we won’t be able to go back to Red Maple Villa for another year.”

"Children?" Akemi Akimiya blushed. "Talking about children so early?"

He's not even married yet, but he's already making plans to have children.

“Of course,” Hibiki Higashino replied decisively, “this matter cannot be delayed.”

"You really like children that much?" Akemi Akemi asked with a smile.

"Of course not, you're almost thirty, naturally you should..."

Before Hibiki Higashino could finish speaking, he saw Akemi Akemi's face turn dark.

He then realized that he had said the wrong thing.

Akemi Akemi took a deep breath and told herself to calm down. She should have thought of this when she accepted his marriage proposal.

After all, this is Hibiki Higashino, who can be incredibly charming at times, but is also always a bit neurotic and does some inexplicable things.

Chapter 215 Naruto Through Kishimoto's Eyes

On March 7th, Hibiki Higashino left his alma mater, Musashino Art University.

Asahina and the others had already left. Among the graduates, Hibiki Higashino was the last to leave, and the school became empty, devoid of its former liveliness and hustle and bustle.

The next time I come here, it will be for the graduation ceremony.

Hibiki Higashino turned and left.

The furniture in the dormitory has been moved to a new home, near Musashino University in Nerima Ward, and also around the Akimiya residence.

That was a 200-square-meter luxury apartment owned by the Akimiya family. It had been fully renovated long ago but had been left vacant.

It's ready to live in immediately; this is for emergency use.

We'll move back to Red Maple Villa a year from now.

Higashino walked and stopped frequently until he arrived at a park.