Tokyo: Oreimo

"If you have time, please come to the company to sign the contract as soon as possible. I'm always available."

"Yes, I will take Ling Nai there as soon as possible."

Ryosuke replied, "Also, did that Haruba-sensei I saw last time also participate? How did she do?"

"Haruba-sensei was also nominated for an award, but the number of votes was very close and she almost didn't win. I heard from editor Kimura that she has been reflecting on her work since being criticized by CLAMP-sensei, but her handling of the story is still not good enough."

"is it?"

Regardless, he's made it to the finals, right? He still remembers this, and the promise he made must be kept.

"I can give her my number and pass on the message: if she's still interested, she can contact me."

After receiving a positive reply from Hideo Nomura, Ryosuke hung up the phone.

To be honest, what I said last time was indeed a bit harsh, because the other person's completely indifferent attitude towards himself made him angry.

If Ryosuke is scared off because of this, then he'll be happy to relax.

If a work has already been rated as 'Excellent', there is still hope for it to be serialized even without collaboration.

However, once the decision to collaborate is made, it becomes necessary to abandon that masterpiece.

Not everyone has the exaggerated creative speed of Rumiko Takashiro. Since we're going to collaborate, we must ensure that we are fully focused.

But just twenty minutes after hanging up with Hideo Nomura, Ryosuke received a text message on his phone.

It came from an unfamiliar phone number.

"CLAMP-sensei, this is Arina Haruba. When would you be available to take a look at my manuscript? If you find it pleasing, would you consider collaborating with me?"

Compared to his frivolous way of speaking last time, he has made significant progress this time.

Ryosuke was quite satisfied with this and gave a reply on the spot.

Let's meet first.

.......

Looking at the agreed time and place sent on my phone.

Haruba Arina sat on the bed and vigorously clenched her little fist.

"It's a success. This time there will definitely be no problem."

She was actually quite nervous when she sent the text message to Ryosuke.

To be honest, I'm still a bit scared after being taught a lesson by them last time.

This was the first time she had been so righteously rejected by a man. Usually, thanks to her beauty, even the most stern men would treat her gently.

Most importantly, she was worried that the other party would reject her outright.

However, now that they are willing to meet with me, it means they will at least seriously read my original manuscript, which is a good sign.

"I'm confident in my drawings, and the subject matter is magical girls, so I think they'll be well-received, right?"

Arina Haruba's work, which won the 'Excellent Work' award, was the result of her meticulous revisions over a week of working day and night. She even went so far as to pester Kenta Kimura to help point out the shortcomings in the story.

The reason she didn't change the subject matter was because she felt that since Ryosuke created "Cardcaptor Sakura," he must be interested in this kind of subject matter, which would make the collaboration more likely.

"Speaking of which, is it really impossible for us to date?"

Arina Haruba held the pencil to her lips, still not quite understanding Ryosuke's reaction.

After that day, she actually told her mother about it, hoping to get some advice.

But after hearing her tell the whole story, the woman who had raised her all by herself just cried on the other end of the phone, saying things like "I'm sorry" and "It has left a shadow on your life."

Even though her mother said that, Haruba Arina still didn't think there was anything wrong with her opinion.

"I want to be with more capable people and achieve greater success than I could on my own. I think that should be enough, right?"

"Perhaps CLAMP-sensei just doesn't like this approach?"

Or perhaps it's because they don't like my type?

Haruba Arina looked down at her body and held up her hands to measure her chest.

"So it really is because of small breasts, right? Would it be better to pad them with something?"

Chapter 159 Can You Draw a Man? (Bonus Chapter)

The next morning, Ryosuke went out alone.

I asked Ling Nai beforehand, but she refused to go with me.

"Wouldn't my presence interfere with your judgment?"

The blonde girl seemed rather guilty. "If it weren't for me last time, you wouldn't have agreed to give that guy a chance. In short, whether or not to cooperate is up to you."

If asked about her feelings, Takashiro Ryouno herself still has empathy for Haruba Arina.

Same age, same profession, even the same blonde hair.

However, their family backgrounds are completely different. If they were in the same family environment, Ling Nai was not sure if she would have the same thoughts as the other person.

Afterwards, I saw the other person's work, and in terms of painting skills, the other person can indeed be considered a genius.

However, her final assessment was, "She's far from being as good as me."

Whether it's objective or not is another matter, but since he didn't want to go along, Ryosuke didn't force him.

With about ten minutes to go before the agreed time, Ryosuke arrived at the location.

Pushing open the coffee shop door, I immediately saw that the other person was already sitting in a booth, her blonde twin ponytails were an obvious feature.

"CLAMP-sensei!"

Noticing Ryosuke approaching, Haruba Arina immediately stood up politely and bowed in greeting.

"There's no need for that, we're of the same generation."

Ryosuke's lips twitched slightly.

Is it because you criticized the other person for being rude before that you're now being overly polite?

He looked her up and down; her cute white T-shirt and pleated skirt made her outfit quite similar to Ling Nai's.

However, I felt that something was different from when we last met.

As his gaze swept over her, he noticed that the girl in front of him seemed to be deliberately puffing out her chest.

"?"

There shouldn't be any strange phenomenon in this world where someone grows two sizes in one or two weeks, right?

Did you put something underneath it?

No wonder it felt out of place.

Ryosuke's gaze paused for a second, but he didn't pay it any further attention. He then looked away and sat down in the booth.

"Give me the original manuscript for this Tezuka Award."

He got straight to the point, and Haruba Arina immediately handed him a file folder.

......

"As expected, it's because of my small breasts. He was looking at that area earlier, at least a little longer than at other places."

Haruba Arina sat obediently in her seat, occasionally stealing glances at Ryosuke's face.

The other person was engrossed in reading their manuscript and was completely unaware of her gaze.

"The plan was a great success! As long as this weakness is overcome, I will definitely be no worse than Rumiko Takashiro. Since she is the younger sister, her competitiveness is actually smaller, right?"

"How about we try suggesting we date again? Maybe we'll get a different response this time?"

"And she didn't come this time either. Maybe she refused last time because her younger sister was around and she wanted to maintain her image as an older brother?"

The spring market is bustling with activity, and the vegetables are ripe for harvest.

But after a brief internal struggle, the girl managed to restrain herself for the time being.

"But what if it fails? Wouldn't that mean the cooperation has failed?"

Ultimately, as long as we can collaborate with CLAMP, that's all that matters. Once we start collaborating, our relationship will naturally improve, right?

Didn't Mom say that feelings develop over time?

That's how she and her uncle ended up together; he said he would give her a future and take care of her for the rest of her life.

"Let's wait for CLAMP's reply after they've read the original manuscript. If there's really no hope for collaboration, then we can give it a try."

Haruba Arina made up her mind and waited for Ryosuke's reply.

.....

Ryosuke flipped through the manuscript in his hand.

He wasn't fast at reading, at least not as fast as professional editors.

The work I have is called "Super Magical Three Sisters". It is a relatively traditional magical girl theme. In terms of content, it is somewhat similar to "Cat's Eye" in my memory.

It does have its own unique characteristics.

Ryosuke watched the whole thing attentively.

The story is basically straightforward, only covering the most basic aspects, outlining the beginning, development, climax, and conclusion of a story. But how excellent is it?

Compared to films like "Cat's Eye," in terms of storytelling, it's probably best left in the trash.

If we're talking about how this work deserves the Tezuka Award's 'Good Work' rating, then the drawing skills probably account for 80% of its 100 points.

It's the kind of story that you'd be willing to keep watching even if you knew how boring the plot would be, because the characters are drawn beautifully.

If we had to make a comparison, it would be somewhat similar to the later stages of "Moon Witch Transformation," or perhaps not quite as good.

Overall, however, it does match her self-assessment; she possesses excellent painting skills, making her a very suitable collaborator based on that alone.

However, there is still one issue that needs to be confirmed.

The female characters in this work are outstanding, but in contrast, most of the male characters are middle-aged men who appear as villains.

Ryosuke tidied up the manuscript in his hand and placed it on the table.