Full-time comic artist

Beautiful, like a pianist's hand.

It was only the ink on my fingertips that added a few flaws to these beautiful things.

Higashino shook her hand and said, "My name is Akemi Akemi, the sketching teacher for Class 3. Please take care of me from now on."

“Hello, but…” Higashino Hibiki hesitated.

"Hmm?" She tilted her head, her clear eyes expressing her confusion.

“He probably won’t be able to look after you much,” Torishima Kazuhiko said with a smile. “I came here with this guy to process my withdrawal from school.”

Akemi Akemi asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Chapter 7: Setting Off with a Beauty.

Torishima Kazuhiko said, "Higashino, you tell us."

“Akimiya-sensei…” Hibiki Higashino suddenly realized that the two of them hadn’t let go of each other yet. He subtly shook them off and continued, “Aren’t you curious why Mr. Torishima came with me?”

"Oh!" She clenched her fist and clapped her hands, then belatedly realized, "Why?"

Higashino Hibiki squinted, utterly speechless.

This guy seems so clueless and unreliable. How can he become a teacher at Akimiya Art School? Is this what a family business is like?

I envy people who can succeed without effort.

He also wanted to just coast along and wait to die.

Akemi Akimiya raised an eyebrow. "Are you insulting me?"

Hibiki Higashino calmly replied, "Of course not."

"No, I sense it, my intuition is very sharp!"

"……Feel sorry……"

"Why apologize? Isn't this just admitting it?"

"..."

Higashino Hibiki turned his head away, and after a long while said in a serious tone, "The reason why I came with Mr. Torishima is because I also submitted a manuscript to Jump magazine."

Akemi Akemi was exasperated. "Don't act like nothing happened!"

Higashino Hibiki stared at her with dead fish eyes, so that he couldn't see her angry expression, only the area under her head...

Oh no, that part is throbbing so hard, it's so big it's making Higashino Hibiki's heart race.

So he finished in one breath, "Because my abilities were not up to par, Mr. Torishima recommended that I go to work as an assistant to Mr. Toriyama Akira for a period of time to learn."

Yes, that explains it in one sentence.

While blood is being supplied to other parts of the body, the brain still manages to combine sentences very well.

"Akira Toriyama?" She was very excited and grasped Hibiki Higashino's hands. "Is it Akira Toriyama, the author of Dragon Ball?"

“Of course!” Hibiki Higashino forcefully broke free from her grasp. “It can only be this Akira Toriyama-sensei, right?”

"Ah, I'm so envious." She didn't care at all, clasped her hands to her chest, and looked at Higashino Hibiki with teary eyes. "I want to have such an opportunity too."

Hibiki Higashino didn't say anything; he himself was also the one being taken care of.

I've already troubled Torishima Kazuhiko for a long time, how could I do the good deed and make things difficult for Torishima Kazuhiko instead?

However, Akemi Akemi did not make a strong request.

She returned to her desk and rummaged through the drawers. A moment later, she brought out a bundle of ten thousand yuan in bills and handed it to Higashino Hibiki with both hands.

"Here's the registration fee. Take it back. It's 60 yen for 22 days."

Higashino Hibiki took it, and at the same time, he gasped inwardly.

That's so expensive! It's already two months' salary for Higashino Ichiro.

The cost of studying art is terrifying.

“If my father…” Higashino Hibiki hesitated, worried that Higashino Ichiro would find out about his trip to Toriyama Akira’s house in Nishi-Kasugai Town, Aichi Prefecture.

“I’ll smooth things over for you,” Akemi Akimiya said with a smile, smoothing her hair behind her ear. “Just focus on your studies. This is a rare opportunity for someone who aspires to become a manga artist.”

She pondered for a moment and repeated, "Yes, a rare opportunity."

“Sigh,” Kazuhiko Torishima sighed, and stood up. “Let me ask for you.”

……

The next day, at Tokyo International Airport.

Hibiki Higashino, carrying a schoolbag and a suitcase, met Akemi Akemi.

She waved excitedly, overjoyed.

Logically speaking, Akemi Akemi, with her rich experience, should not be learning from others now, but rather taking time to reflect and mature.

"It might offer some inspiration, just a little bit."

According to this, Ms. Akimiya abandoned her job as an art teacher and "eloped" with Hibiki Higashino.

"The editor from Bird Island has entrusted you to me, so be a good boy/girl."

Higashino Hibiki glanced at her speechlessly, as if she were treating him like an elementary school student.

Even though she was wearing concealer, you could still see faint dark circles under her eyes.

She's like a primary school student, so excited about going on a field trip that she can't sleep.

Akemi Akemi narrowed her eyes and stared at Hibiki Higashino.

Higashino Hibiki was startled, recalling her keen intuition, and quickly asked, "How did Miss Akimiya speak to Mr. Akimiya?"

"It's all thanks to you," she laughed heartily, patting Higashino Hibiki on the shoulder. "You're from Enhiko High School, right? I told you I'd take you to see the seniors for further training."

"That's really unreliable. Did Mr. Akimiya agree to it?"

Remembering that she had dashed out as soon as she finished speaking, Akemi Akemi scratched the back of her head and said guiltily, "I agreed, um, I agreed!"

I wasn't wrong about her.

Upon arriving at the boarding gate, we still had to wait another half hour.

Higashino opened his schoolbag and took out his textbooks for Chinese and history for the first and second years of high school.

I started reviewing quietly.

This is the first time I've seen a Japanese textbook.

History textbooks gloss over or even revise the history of aggression against other countries, which is something Higashino Hibiki could have come up with.

But the subject of Chinese language surprised him.

It even includes many ancient Chinese poems.

"The Peach Blossom Spring", "The Feast at Hongmen", "Sending Yuan Er to Anxi"...

Even the Oath of the Peach Garden is included.

Moreover, they are all written in traditional Chinese characters.

Higashino Hibiki was completely baffled. Was this a domestic textbook or a Japanese textbook?

The material I learned hasn't changed.

Scrolling back, there are also articles by Mr. Lu Xun, this time in Japanese.

It looks so familiar; it brings back memories of those early morning classes at 7 a.m. when I used to recite ancient poems.

"Hmm?" Akemi Akemi leaned closer, covering her mouth in surprise, and asked, "Are you studying at this time?"

"Mm." Higashino Hibiki nodded.

He wants to draw comics while studying hard to get into a good university.

Therefore, we cannot relax.

You need to be prepared to sleep for 4 hours and spend the rest of your time drawing comics and studying.

Since he's bald anyway, there's nothing to be afraid of.

Akemi Akemi nodded. "Young people these days are really something."

Even though we'd only known each other for less than a day, she was already very familiar with me, without any sense of awkwardness or distance.

Realizing that Higashino was studying, she didn't disturb him and listlessly looked out the window at the crowd, lost in thought.

About an hour later, she patted Higashino Hibiki on the shoulder and said, "It's time to go."

……

Sitting in the adjacent seat, Akemi Akemi saw Hibiki Higashino take out a comic book again.

It's Dr. Slump and Video Girl.

"So you've started learning about comics again."

She began to admire the boy in front of her.

Knowing what you should do and working towards it is a very difficult thing.

“Mature, not like a high school student,” she whispered.

.........

Hibiki Higashino is watching "Dr. Slump".

Dr. Masilit is a mad scientist and a big bad guy who targets Arale.

He looks a lot like Kazuhiko Torishima, or rather, Dr. Masirit was drawn by Akira Toriyama based on Kazuhiko Torishima.

That's why the uncle sitting next to me at the "Pole Pole" family restaurant mistook Torishima Kazuhiko for a cosplayer of Dr. Masilitt.

It's clear that Akira Toriyama and Kazuhiko Torishima share a deep bond.

He readily agreed to become Akemi Akemi's assistant.

But why is Torishima Kazuhiko so concerned?