Ge-ge-ge no nyobou 7/21
Jul. 21st, 2010 04:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mbarkera.k.a. more company
In the kitchen, the man from the temple, with his long hair and beard, carefully drew in background on a manga. Kurata, the man from Osaka, sat on the other side of the table and added fine lines to another page. Between them, Sugai, the young man who had pushed his way in, looked at them working and said, "Wow. This is the first time I've seen people really working on manga." Then he looked at Shigeru in his workroom and said, "Sensei? What can I do?" Shigeru looked at him and squinted.
Kitamura, the man from Shonen Land, bounced Aiko on his back. "Sensei? When can I take that draft?" Shigeru looked at the pages on his table. "Soon. Almost ready."
Sugai scooted across the floor and pushed in close. "Please, what can I do?" Shigeru gritted his teeth, remembering the rough sketch he had seen when Sugai fell the day before. "I really don't think..." Sugai said, "But I want to help..." Shigeru grabbed a page from his table and said, "Okay. Take this over there, and erase the pencil lines in the background."
Sugai smiled, and scooted back to the table in the kitchen. He laid the page on the table, picked up an eraser, and started rubbing it against the page. He rubbed hard! The paper folded under his vigorous erasing, and he cried out. Shigeru glanced over, and then ran into the kitchen. "What are you doing? Erase it gently."
As the evening darkness closed in, Kitamura ran out of the house. He clutched the envelope with the manga in his hand, and ran up the street.
Inside, Fumie dipped soup into bowls. Sugai hovered at her elbow. "Can I help?" She glanced at him. "No, that's okay, just sit down." He moved to her other side. "But I really want to help." Fumie said, "Really, just sit down."
At the table, Shigeru sat with Kurata. Shigeru said, "So you've been drawing manga for seven years?" Kurata said, "Yes, ever since I graduated from middle school. Actually, I started drawing before that. My brothers and I slept together in a small room. But the only time I had to draw was at night. They would yell at me to turn out the light. So I got a small light, and I would sit under a blanket with the light and draw. It was really hot in the summer." Shigeru said, "How did you get into Zeta?" Kurata smiled. "There was a contest for new manga artists, and I won that. I really hoped to do well with my art. I love drawing. But my father died a while ago, and my mother struggled to raise us. I thought if I got good enough, I could help make my mother's life easier. Getting a call from Fukuzawa saying that you wanted me to come help was a dream come true."
Sugai sniffed. "That's so sad. About your mother, not about coming to help." Shigeru looked across the table at him and said, "So where did you come from?" Sugai said, "Well, actually, my father is a druggist." Shigeru looked at Fumie, and smiled. "I was right." Fumie nodded, remembering Shigeru calling Sugai a druggist the previous day. She chuckled. Sugai looked back and forth at them and said, "Is there something funny?"
Just then, another man came out of the hallway. He had a towel around his neck, and his hair was pulled back. He said, "Thank you for the bath." Fumie looked at him and said, "You look like a different person." Shigeru said, "I'm sorry. What was your name again?" The man smiled and said, "Komine." He sat down. Fumie set bowls of soup out.
Shigeru looked at Sugai and Komine and said, "After dinner, we can talk about your salaries." They nodded. Sugai said, "What about me?" Shigeru looked at him and said, "Well, after dinner, you could go home?" Sugai leaned forward, and held out the bundle of chopsticks that he had carried from the sink. "But I want to be your assistant." Shigeru said, "I really don't think..." Sugai sank down and looked into his lap. "I guess I'm useless." Fumie looked at Shigeru. Shigeru tilted his head.
The next day, Shigeru sat at his worktable. Kurata, the man from Osaka, sat at the table near him where Fumie had helped in the past. Komine, the man from the temple, sat at a small table in the corner of the workroom. And Sugai sat at another small table in the corner of the kitchen. He smiled as he looked around.
At Fukuzawa's office, Fukuzawa listened to the telephone, then said, "Komine? I think I've heard of him." Then he listened again. "Wait, let me ask." He put his hand on the telephone, and looked across the room. "Kanou? Would you mind going over to Mizuki-sensei and helping them organize their company?" She stood up, and said, "Sure, that would be fine." Fukuzawa took his hand off the telephone and said, "Kanou will be over today." He hung up, and looked out the window. "Komine... I think he'll help Mizuki." Kanou said, "Do you know him?" Fukuzawa turned to her and smiled. "No, not really. But he's a manga artist." Then he laughed. "Mizuki's group is growing very fast. It should be fun."
Later, in the kitchen, Shigeru sat with Fumie and Kanou. He looked at hand-written notes and a book on the table. Kanou held a notebook. Shigeru read one page and said, "I didn't realize that making a company was so complicated." Kanou said, "It's not really hard. I can help you. I helped Kuroda recently organize his company." Then she looked at her notebook. "One thing that's important is who will do the accounting for your company. Maybe your wife?" Fumie said, "What? But..." Kanou said, "Kuroda had his wife do the books. Let me ask, who takes care of your household budget?" Fumie nodded.
Someone said, "Excuse me?" in the entryway. Fumie jumped up to answer the door. Kanou said, "Well, I can come back later..." Shigeru said, "No, wait. I've still got some questions..."
Toyokawa, the Shonen Land editor, and Funayama, the TV producer, came in the door. Toyokawa said, "Oh, Kanou. Good to see you again." Funayama took his sunglasses off and bowed. "It's always a pleasure to meet beauty." He grinned at Kanou.
After they sat down, Funayama said, "I have to tell you, I'm still working on Hakaba no Kitaro, Kitaro of the Graveyard, but I think it will take longer than I expected. The sponsors are a little difficult with the word Graveyard in the title." He fiddled with his sunglasses. "I'm still working on it, but I think we may have to let it rest for a little bit. Can you wait a little while?" He looked at Shigeru. Shigeru said, "It's OK." Shigeru smiled. "Kamishibai, the paper theater, and manga... Kitaro has been in each of them, and I'm sure it will be popular, it just takes time."
Toyokawa said, "Well, you may not have television soon, but right now there is a monster boom. I should say, a Mizuki monster boom. And Shonen Land is going to take advantage of that." Funayama said, "Yes, the monster boom is great. I'm going to push people about tying into that." Shigeru chuckled. "Didn't you say we might have to let it rest?" Funayama laughed. "Well, yes, but..."
Fumie said, "Let me get some more tea." She picked up the tray of cups and went to the sink. Kanou stood up and walked to the sink. "Isn't this exciting? The scale of this is just great." Fumie said, "Yes, it's interesting." Kanou said, "Just interesting? I mean, a monster boom, and television. That scale of business... I really want to try that. But I don't think Fukuzawa is going to grow like this."
They sat down, and Kanou handed out tea. As she gave Funayama a cup of tea, she said, "Would you mind teaching me about your work? I'd really like to learn about television." Funayama said, "I suppose, if you'd like to learn." Toyokawa said, "Oh, Kanou is a great business student. She's already doing a lot of work for Fukuzawa." Shigeru said, "She already knows a lot. She was here helping us set up a production company."
Kanou asked Toyokawa, "Incidentally, with the monster boom, how is Shonen Land doing?" Toyokawa smiled. "We're going to have 800,000 readers soon."
Another day, Uraki walked up the street to Shigeru's house. He was frowning. "I can't believe that Gege did this to me!"
Inside the house, Uraki yelled at Shigeru. "What do you mean, doing this without asking me?" He stalked around Shigeru. "What's the idea of doing television? You should have done a movie!" Shigeru said, "What business is it of yours?" Uraki shook his head. "Why do you want to do television? That's all light, fun stuff. Graveyards... it's not very well matched. Besides, if you did a movie, I could sell souvenirs." Shigeru said, "Ah, that's your point." Fumie started to say something, and Uraki jumped in front of her and pushed his face up close. "You should know better than to let Gege decide something like this without talking to me." Fumie stared at him for a moment, then said, "I feel nauseous." She put her hand in front of her face and ran out of the kitchen.
Uraki got a pocket mirror out and looked at his face. He muttered, "Was it my face? Why would she get sick looking at my face?"
Shigeru walked into the bathroom. Fumie was washing her face. Shigeru asked, "Are you okay?" Fumie said, "Maybe tomorrow I'll go to the hospital." Shigeru said, "The hospital? Are you feeling that sick?" Fumie said, "I think... maybe I'm pregnant." Shigeru said, "A baby?"
<to be continued>
In the kitchen, the man from the temple, with his long hair and beard, carefully drew in background on a manga. Kurata, the man from Osaka, sat on the other side of the table and added fine lines to another page. Between them, Sugai, the young man who had pushed his way in, looked at them working and said, "Wow. This is the first time I've seen people really working on manga." Then he looked at Shigeru in his workroom and said, "Sensei? What can I do?" Shigeru looked at him and squinted.
Kitamura, the man from Shonen Land, bounced Aiko on his back. "Sensei? When can I take that draft?" Shigeru looked at the pages on his table. "Soon. Almost ready."
Sugai scooted across the floor and pushed in close. "Please, what can I do?" Shigeru gritted his teeth, remembering the rough sketch he had seen when Sugai fell the day before. "I really don't think..." Sugai said, "But I want to help..." Shigeru grabbed a page from his table and said, "Okay. Take this over there, and erase the pencil lines in the background."
Sugai smiled, and scooted back to the table in the kitchen. He laid the page on the table, picked up an eraser, and started rubbing it against the page. He rubbed hard! The paper folded under his vigorous erasing, and he cried out. Shigeru glanced over, and then ran into the kitchen. "What are you doing? Erase it gently."
As the evening darkness closed in, Kitamura ran out of the house. He clutched the envelope with the manga in his hand, and ran up the street.
Inside, Fumie dipped soup into bowls. Sugai hovered at her elbow. "Can I help?" She glanced at him. "No, that's okay, just sit down." He moved to her other side. "But I really want to help." Fumie said, "Really, just sit down."
At the table, Shigeru sat with Kurata. Shigeru said, "So you've been drawing manga for seven years?" Kurata said, "Yes, ever since I graduated from middle school. Actually, I started drawing before that. My brothers and I slept together in a small room. But the only time I had to draw was at night. They would yell at me to turn out the light. So I got a small light, and I would sit under a blanket with the light and draw. It was really hot in the summer." Shigeru said, "How did you get into Zeta?" Kurata smiled. "There was a contest for new manga artists, and I won that. I really hoped to do well with my art. I love drawing. But my father died a while ago, and my mother struggled to raise us. I thought if I got good enough, I could help make my mother's life easier. Getting a call from Fukuzawa saying that you wanted me to come help was a dream come true."
Sugai sniffed. "That's so sad. About your mother, not about coming to help." Shigeru looked across the table at him and said, "So where did you come from?" Sugai said, "Well, actually, my father is a druggist." Shigeru looked at Fumie, and smiled. "I was right." Fumie nodded, remembering Shigeru calling Sugai a druggist the previous day. She chuckled. Sugai looked back and forth at them and said, "Is there something funny?"
Just then, another man came out of the hallway. He had a towel around his neck, and his hair was pulled back. He said, "Thank you for the bath." Fumie looked at him and said, "You look like a different person." Shigeru said, "I'm sorry. What was your name again?" The man smiled and said, "Komine." He sat down. Fumie set bowls of soup out.
Shigeru looked at Sugai and Komine and said, "After dinner, we can talk about your salaries." They nodded. Sugai said, "What about me?" Shigeru looked at him and said, "Well, after dinner, you could go home?" Sugai leaned forward, and held out the bundle of chopsticks that he had carried from the sink. "But I want to be your assistant." Shigeru said, "I really don't think..." Sugai sank down and looked into his lap. "I guess I'm useless." Fumie looked at Shigeru. Shigeru tilted his head.
The next day, Shigeru sat at his worktable. Kurata, the man from Osaka, sat at the table near him where Fumie had helped in the past. Komine, the man from the temple, sat at a small table in the corner of the workroom. And Sugai sat at another small table in the corner of the kitchen. He smiled as he looked around.
At Fukuzawa's office, Fukuzawa listened to the telephone, then said, "Komine? I think I've heard of him." Then he listened again. "Wait, let me ask." He put his hand on the telephone, and looked across the room. "Kanou? Would you mind going over to Mizuki-sensei and helping them organize their company?" She stood up, and said, "Sure, that would be fine." Fukuzawa took his hand off the telephone and said, "Kanou will be over today." He hung up, and looked out the window. "Komine... I think he'll help Mizuki." Kanou said, "Do you know him?" Fukuzawa turned to her and smiled. "No, not really. But he's a manga artist." Then he laughed. "Mizuki's group is growing very fast. It should be fun."
Later, in the kitchen, Shigeru sat with Fumie and Kanou. He looked at hand-written notes and a book on the table. Kanou held a notebook. Shigeru read one page and said, "I didn't realize that making a company was so complicated." Kanou said, "It's not really hard. I can help you. I helped Kuroda recently organize his company." Then she looked at her notebook. "One thing that's important is who will do the accounting for your company. Maybe your wife?" Fumie said, "What? But..." Kanou said, "Kuroda had his wife do the books. Let me ask, who takes care of your household budget?" Fumie nodded.
Someone said, "Excuse me?" in the entryway. Fumie jumped up to answer the door. Kanou said, "Well, I can come back later..." Shigeru said, "No, wait. I've still got some questions..."
Toyokawa, the Shonen Land editor, and Funayama, the TV producer, came in the door. Toyokawa said, "Oh, Kanou. Good to see you again." Funayama took his sunglasses off and bowed. "It's always a pleasure to meet beauty." He grinned at Kanou.
After they sat down, Funayama said, "I have to tell you, I'm still working on Hakaba no Kitaro, Kitaro of the Graveyard, but I think it will take longer than I expected. The sponsors are a little difficult with the word Graveyard in the title." He fiddled with his sunglasses. "I'm still working on it, but I think we may have to let it rest for a little bit. Can you wait a little while?" He looked at Shigeru. Shigeru said, "It's OK." Shigeru smiled. "Kamishibai, the paper theater, and manga... Kitaro has been in each of them, and I'm sure it will be popular, it just takes time."
Toyokawa said, "Well, you may not have television soon, but right now there is a monster boom. I should say, a Mizuki monster boom. And Shonen Land is going to take advantage of that." Funayama said, "Yes, the monster boom is great. I'm going to push people about tying into that." Shigeru chuckled. "Didn't you say we might have to let it rest?" Funayama laughed. "Well, yes, but..."
Fumie said, "Let me get some more tea." She picked up the tray of cups and went to the sink. Kanou stood up and walked to the sink. "Isn't this exciting? The scale of this is just great." Fumie said, "Yes, it's interesting." Kanou said, "Just interesting? I mean, a monster boom, and television. That scale of business... I really want to try that. But I don't think Fukuzawa is going to grow like this."
They sat down, and Kanou handed out tea. As she gave Funayama a cup of tea, she said, "Would you mind teaching me about your work? I'd really like to learn about television." Funayama said, "I suppose, if you'd like to learn." Toyokawa said, "Oh, Kanou is a great business student. She's already doing a lot of work for Fukuzawa." Shigeru said, "She already knows a lot. She was here helping us set up a production company."
Kanou asked Toyokawa, "Incidentally, with the monster boom, how is Shonen Land doing?" Toyokawa smiled. "We're going to have 800,000 readers soon."
Another day, Uraki walked up the street to Shigeru's house. He was frowning. "I can't believe that Gege did this to me!"
Inside the house, Uraki yelled at Shigeru. "What do you mean, doing this without asking me?" He stalked around Shigeru. "What's the idea of doing television? You should have done a movie!" Shigeru said, "What business is it of yours?" Uraki shook his head. "Why do you want to do television? That's all light, fun stuff. Graveyards... it's not very well matched. Besides, if you did a movie, I could sell souvenirs." Shigeru said, "Ah, that's your point." Fumie started to say something, and Uraki jumped in front of her and pushed his face up close. "You should know better than to let Gege decide something like this without talking to me." Fumie stared at him for a moment, then said, "I feel nauseous." She put her hand in front of her face and ran out of the kitchen.
Uraki got a pocket mirror out and looked at his face. He muttered, "Was it my face? Why would she get sick looking at my face?"
Shigeru walked into the bathroom. Fumie was washing her face. Shigeru asked, "Are you okay?" Fumie said, "Maybe tomorrow I'll go to the hospital." Shigeru said, "The hospital? Are you feeling that sick?" Fumie said, "I think... maybe I'm pregnant." Shigeru said, "A baby?"
<to be continued>
