Chapter 2: I got forced into changing my job!

The day after I visited Aoi Tsubaki , my life went back to normal, same old boring dead end job of delivering pizzas. So, of course, by the time I got home that night I went straight to bed because of how tired I would be. Except this night, my neighbor had other plans for me.

I was busy dreaming about a friendly sumo wrestling match with a fluffy bear when suddenly the bear grabbed ahold of me and started shaking me violently.

Eh? What is this…?

Unsatisfied with my lack of response the bear started slapping me across the face over and over. Except this didn’t feel like a dream anymore. My eyesight started blurring and when the image finally settled again I’m back in my room. But this time, it was a shadowy figure on top of me slapping me across the face.

“WUAH!” I screamed and jumped up and that seemed to give the shadowy figure a scare too because it also jumped, and falling off of me.

“Jesus, what’s with that girlish scream!? Are you seriously a guy?” She asked

Wait… she? I grabbed my phone that was on the counter next to me and turned on the flashlight in her direction and sure enough, my unfriendly neighbor’s face appears in front of me.  

“Woah! What are you doing in my room right now. Scratch that, better question, HOW did you get into my room?”

“Well I had something important to discuss with you so I came over when I noticed your bicycle was in front of your apartment. But you didn’t answer the door for the longest time, so I thought you were in trouble, being the nice person that I am, I decided to take action to make sure you were ok.”

By jumping on top of me in bed and slapping me over and over… yeah some nice person.

“By the way, living in an apartment with only one layer of door with a single lock is about as unsafe as you can get even in this part of town. I suggest after you fix the door frame you should also buy a metal door to install outside of it, that way it wouldn’t be so easy to kick down.”

She stood up and turned on the light as she suggested

After squinting and adjusting to the light I looked at my surroundings. Aoi Tsubaki, was sitting on the floor next to my small table and there was a box on it. She was wearing a simple grey v-neck shirt and some really short jean shorts, both of which complimented her body nicely and even enhanced the good points which are her thighs and her boobs.

After realizing I’m alone with this gorgeous girl and checking her out like that, I avoided my gaze and tried to say something before she notice my face turning red.

“Uh. so, what’s in that box on the table?”

“Oh! Right! I almost forgot. It’s never good to talk about business and not have anything to eat right? So I brought the best cake in town!”

I’ve never been a big fan of sweets so I can’t really say cake is my favorite thing to eat, but I suppose this girl still has a good side to her…

“Speaking of which, let me go to the kitchen and get the coffee!”

She said with a smile and disappeared into the hall.

*Sigh* “I wonder is this how having a girlfriend feels like… staying up late to her request, eating her favorite sweets together and complaining about other girls.”

She returned to the room with a pot that smells faintly of coffee and something burnt and set it down on the table.

“Uh… did you make coffee with a pot?” I asked

“Only way I know how!” she replies casually and started cutting the cake.

“But… you didn’t even bring cups to pour the coffee into.”

“I know. I hate the taste of coffee.”

“Then why make it?”

“I like the smell of it. Ah chocolate cakes really are the best!” she said, then takes a forkful of cake and bite down on it.

Not knowing how to respond, I sat there in my bed with a blank stare on my face trying to process the situation.

“Uh… excuse me, did you just say that you brewed a whole pot of coffee just to smell it?”

“Uh-huh… An-uh-lah-b… ee-cak-um-wit-ee..hmm”

“Oi, didn’t your mom ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full?”

She then threw up a finger to signal me to be quiet and continued on eating the cake, completely ignoring me until she finished all of it.

So not only did she not share, she used my kitchen and pot without permission… I was mistaken thinking that she had any good manners at all.

When she finally finished the cake, she let out a satisfactory sigh, and turned to me finally, face turning serious.

“Let’s get down to business, shall we? We don’t have all night.” She said. Then she noticed the complicated look on my face.

“What? Did you expect me to bring enough for the both of us? Don’t joke with me. As if someone like you would appreciate the delicacy of that cake. Don’t look at me like that, you’re only an assistant.”

There it is, the terrible personality which doesn’t match with her looks at all.

“Please, just tell me what is so important you had to wake me up in the middle of the night for. I need to wake up for work early tomorrow too, you know?”

“Important? Hardly. I was just informing you that you’ll be helping me with a convention later this month and that you should clear your schedule for that weekend.”

“Look Aoi-san, I know I promised you I’d help, but only on my free time. I have enough work as it is, there is no way I could possible take the weekend off just for a convention.”

“Is that so…? I guess you weren’t lying about how exhausting your job is from the way you look tonight.”

Wait… this is my chance to get out of this whole thing!

“Ah yes, unfortunately, as you can see, I’m too exhausted to do anything after work usually, so I probably wouldn’t be of any real use to you.”

“Well… it’s not like I’m such an insensitive person to overwork my assistant, so I suppose I’ll have to retire for now and allow you to take rest. We will sort this problem out in no time, don’t worry.”

“Thank you for being considerate! It’s really too bad that our schedules don’t work out.”

“Anyhow, I’ll talk to you later then. I’ll leave just leave the trash here and you should really get that door fixed soon.”

She turned and began to leave. And good thing she had her back to me because I was on the edge of losing my composure when she mentioned the broken door again.

There goes my hard-earned cash, to fix a door I didn’t break… But at least I can use work as an excuse to get out of her life now. Maybe this whole thing is finally over!

I walked out after her and did my best to use the door to block the opening to my apartment, but eventually gave up and went back to sleep.

It’s ok. Tomorrow will be better. Even with my crappy job at least I’ll have my peace and quiet back during my evenings.

I drifted off to sleep while thinking that.

--------

“What do you mean I’m fired!?” I shouted in disbelief

T.K., my boss, just shrugged his shoulder, and kept going on about how losing me at the pizza place is no big deal.

“Sorry dude, due to certain circumstance, we gotta let you go.”

“But aren’t you understaffed? And I was the only one who worked every night!”

“Yeah well, let’s just say, we don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

I don’t believe this… Just when I thought I could have my old life back, this happens.

I arrived at home in the morning for the first time in a long time, and sat in my room most of the day in shock.

Now how am I supposed to afford the rent? Nevermind that, How am I supposed to afford a new door. This is the worst time to be unemployed. And all thanks to that bossy woman.

*ding dong

Suddenly my doorbell rang. I look up at the clock and realized I’ve been in a daze for most of the day and it’s close to dinner time. But given my condition I decided to pretend I didn’t hear the bell and stayed where I was.

Then my front door opened itself (Oh yeah, broken door. RIP me.) and guess who? That’s right. Devil neighbor woman once again.

“There you are!” she proclaimed after finding me sitting on the floor in the living room.

“What’s with that sad look, is that any way to greet a guest?”

“Actually, I got laid off today, so yeah, don’t really feel like talking.”

I decided to be honest since there was no point putting up a front. But what she answered was a total surprise. She let out a small sigh and sat down on my couch

“Seriously, and here I am thinking you would be happy I did you a favor too…”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Since you were so tired of that job and always came home exhausted so I went and got rid of your job for you this morning. You know, you really should be more thankful.”

“You….. WHAT!?”

That’s it! I don’t even care about our promise or whether she sues me for peeping, I’m cutting my ties with this psycho once and for all!

“I can’t believe you- eh? What is this?” Before I could give her a piece of my mind she stuffed a piece of paper onto my chest and I couldn’t help but stop and look at it.

On the piece of paper it says

“Space no Mangaka:

hourly wage: 10.00 dollars

Working hours: 8 am-4 pm (subjected to change based on needs)

Work entails: cleaning, regular housekeeping,

book organizing, general customer service..”

“What… is this..?”

“Your new job. That is, if you want it. Since you didn’t like your old one and you were always tired, I pulled some strings with my connections and got you this one that is so easy, a loser like you can probably do it too.”

“....!”

“Don’t look at me like that, it’s not like I did it for you or anything… I just wanted to make sure my assistant was free whenever I am and that he is working a job that will benefit me as well.”

I tried to say something, but I was either confused and so overwhelmed by her action that nothing came out of my mouth.

“Well, whatever. I’m going. The job is yours if you show up tomorrow at 8 am. Look up the address online. And I’ll be taking your help at the convention as a way of thanking me.”

Again, she left me standing there, speechless, as she walked out the door. This time though, it was for a good reason. Even though, that was all the interaction we have had up until now, she somehow reminds me of someone I knew a long time ago.

--------

The next morning, I arrived at “Space no Mangaka” 30 minutes early, to give a good impression and to scout out the place I will be working at. Even though it is early in the morning, it was already incredibly busy with customers. This may not be as easy of a job as Aoi said.

“I guess, I should just head in and look around to get a feel of this place.”

I scratched the back of my head to ease the nervous feeling of first day of work at a new place and walked into the automatic doors which opened.

And of course this wouldn’t be an interesting first day of work without a little drama right off the start, so as soon as I walked in something happened.

As soon as I set foot in the building, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye and I turned to that direction just in time to see someone bumped into me, and both of us fell to the ground.

“Woah!”  

“AHH..”

I looked down and there was a girl with a petite frame on top of me, and what was worse, she dropped her tray of drinks on me, so I was drenched from top to bottom because of it.

I chuckled nervously to try to get her attention, and she sat up slowly after a few seconds, and finally came to her senses.

“AHH!” She screamed again and slowly turned in my direction until our eyes locked.

She was one of the cutest girls I have ever seen in my life! If I could have a younger sister this would be the kind of girl I would want, pink hair tied up in twin tails, big green eyes, small pouty lips and that freaked out facial expression on the verge of tears, right on the spot!

Wait… on the verge of tears!?

“WU-AHHH! I’M SOOOO SORRY!!! I DIDN’T MEAN TO BUMP INTO YOUUUU!! I’M SORRY!”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

She started screaming and crying while sitting on my lap.

Oi, this is bad, I can feel more and more people looking at us… I need to do something like now..

“Hey now…it’s not your fault, it’s ok…”  I tried to comfort her.

“But…. but your clothes are all wet now because of me…”

“It’s ok! A quick shower and a change of clothes will change all of that.”

“But I’m the one who spilled it on you…”

Then join me in the shower as an apology. Nah, I’m nowhere near smooth enough to pull that off. I guess, I’ll just be a gentleman and say...

“Don’t worry about it so much, it’s also my fault for not looking where I’m going…”

After a few tries she finally calmed down and stopped crying. And then her face went completely red when she noticed she’s been sitting on my crotch this whole time. Before she could do anything, I did what any sensible person would do: covered her mouth really quick and whispered in her ear for her to be not to scream, this is all just a misunderstanding. She nodded her head quickly.

While that seemed to get the job done, I got up and I helped her up. But instead she ran behind the cashier counter and peeked at me from there. I decided I’d leave her alone and so I walked up to the cashier on duty next to her who also saw everything.

“Uh… sorry about all the commotion. Is there anyone I could talk to? I’m actually supposed to start working part-time here today but I think I might have to be late. I’m gonna go home to shower and change real quick. ”

The cashier looked at me up and down and cracked a smile.

“Ah so you’re the guy Aoi Tsubaki referred to us. Go ahead and use the shower in the back and I can bring you a set of uniform that you’re gonna change into anyways. There’s no need to go all the way home..”

Eh? This cashier speaks with authority… I wonder who she is…  

“Oh Yeah, I forgot to introduce myself, I’m the day shift manager here, Akagi Mai . I’m also the co-owner of the place. Nice to meet you.”

Ah… so that’s why.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Kon Chuji”

Mai then led me to the back of the reception desk and into the employee’s only area where there were a few lockers, a futon, a tv, and a bathroom.

“This is a restricted area that only employees can use between shifts to change, relax, and take a shower if needed. Even though we have plenty of showers and bathrooms out there, but those are for customers, so we try to not use them unless necessary.” She explained to me.

“Now then, here is a towel, and this is the uniform you’re going to be wearing from now on. Go ahead and get cleaned up. I’ll be out in the front so if you need anything else just let me know, ok?”

“Yes, thank you so much for everything! Sorry that I’m already such a burden first day of work.”

“Haha, don’t worry about it, I know it was out of your control. But you sure know how to make an impression.”

“Uh haha yeah, I haven’t been too lucky for me in the past few weeks, but I promise that won’t reflect on my job performance.”

“I’ll take your word on that then. I hope we can get along, newbie.”

“Yes! I’ll be in your care then.”

After manager left, I took a shower as soon as I could because I didn’t want to leave a bad impression after what happened.

But while I was in the shower, I started thinking about the two new people that I have met this morning so far

Manager seemed like the real mature type of woman even though she didn’t look that much older than me. In comparison, the girl who bumped into me was the exact opposite. If I do have to describe them I’d say one is a dependable older sister and the other the clumsy younger sister who always needs someone to take care of her. This makes me wonder what my other co-workers are like…

Refreshed and now wearing the black polo with khaki pants, I walked back to the front of the store, and I saw manager just finished talking with a customer.

“Please come back to see us again.” She bowed after the customer and noticed me when she turned around.

“Ara, are you all done with cleaning up? That was fast.”

“Yes ma’am, I’m ready for my first day of work now.”

“I like that attitude. Now then, newbie, today you’ll be shadowing Momoko-chan and myself since we’re the only ones around. Are you familiar with what is it that we do around here?”

“Yes. You are a manga library/ internet cafe/ hotel, is that right?”

“Correct, usually we can be categorized as a net cafe. But since we offer and update our collection of manga and light novels really fast, more people come here to relax and read than to play games online. And because we do have small rooms where people can rest in, we also get some customers who are in town for conventions. And of course on top of that, we have a small kitchen and offer food and drinks. So the amount of things you’ll be learning will be quite a lot, but I have faith that you can manage. Have you ever been to a store like ours before?”

“Actually I haven’t. To be honest, I’m not really too familiar with this kind of culture haha my extent of knowledge only goes as far as action type comic books in the shonen jump and afternoon cartoons.”

“That’s what I figured, Tsubaki-chan mentioned that to me. At first I was reluctant about hiring someone who has no experience on light literature, but she insisted that you would be a good fit and would pick it up super fast because of your hard-working ethics.”

“She’s being too kind haha… I’ll try my best.”

That woman! Why is she acting like she knows me so well! Now I can’t even slack off at work…

“But don’t worry though, in no time you’ll learn to love the amazing world of otaku and I’ll personally discipline you to become one of u… *cough* I mean, I’m sure you’ll find the books quite interesting if you do decide to take a look at them sometimes. I don’t mind you using your free time to check out some of the books.”

“Thank you for the offer, I’ll definitely take you up on that.”

What was that just now…!? It felt like the atmosphere changed into something dangerous for a second and then back to normal...

I looked at manager and she smiled back at me as if asking “What seems to be the problem, esteemed customer?” but for some reason I felt a chill down my spine nevertheless.

And then manager started taking me to the different part of the store to explain what it was that I need to be doing and for some reason, I felt like I was being watched from a distance the whole time, but every time I turned around I found no one. It wasn’t until halfway through the tour I finally caught a glimpse of someone hiding behind a bookshelf when I turned around. That person was significantly shorter than me and had pink hair. I could only guess it was Momoko, the little sister. That would also explain why I didn’t see her at all.

It wasn’t until lunchtime that manager finally cut me some slack and let me sit down in the staff room in peace. And since I didn’t think about bringing my own lunch, I ordered a spaghetti from the kitchen here.

“Employees are allowed a 30 minutes lunch everyday and if you really need another 30 minutes to take a quick nap or seerest. I want to make sure this is a worker-friendly environment.” manager told me.

Guess I’ll finish my lunch as soon as possible and jump right back into work. Gotta leave that good impression to my seniors at the cafe.

I paused in the middle of consuming my spaghetti when I noticed that Momoko was standing by the door and looked hesitant about coming in so I spoke up in the awkward silence.

“Uh.. Momoko is it? Would you like to join me for lunch? Haha…”

I tried to sound as friendly as possible so she wouldn’t be nervous but she still jumped a little bit after hearing my suggestion.

“I… I’m sorry about earlier... “ Is all she managed to muster up.

*Sigh* two kinds of girls I can't deal with are girls who cry and girls who are overly apologetic. As cute as she is, this personality can get annoying really fast too.

There is only one thing to do then!

“Say, Momoko-san. If you don't come over and sit down I'm never going to forgive you for what happened.” I declared.

Her eyes widened and she immediately came over and sat down at the seat across from me. But she still refrained from making eye contact with me.

What?! That was quick! Well, that makes it easier for me

“Now let’s discuss what you can do to make up for what you did to me.”

“Eh?” She looks up at me. I see the fear in her eyes growing.

Don't give me that look… You're making me feel like a pervert or something.

So I quickly explained to avoid anymore awkwardness.

“Would you allow me to get to know you and teach me the ropes at work? If you can I'll forget everything that happened today.”

She looked at me again in confusion. Then when what I said sank in, she started shaking a little and covered her mouth with her hands to conceal her laughter.

Knowing the tension has past, I smiled once more and asked

“Do we have a deal?”

Momoko-san nodded.

And so the rest of my first day of work went by smoothly and I went home feeling good about my job for the first time in a while.

---------

“Those memories feel like they happened so long ago… Haha but it's only been a few weeks.”

I look down at my watch and realize that while I was dozing off down memory lane Aoi Tsubaki  is still waiting for me outside for the convention.

One of these days I'm going to give her a piece of my mind. But for now I guess I'll see what this event is all about.

The place where the event is taking place is at the gymnasium of a local University and the venue is broken up to three different sections. 3rd floor, second floor and the basement. There are already quite a few food stands and people outside the gym.

“Oh there are a few cosplays that I recognize.” I can't help but proclaim when I see a guy in a straw hat walked past me that clearly resembles one of the characters I know from an afternoon cartoon I used to watch.

“That's right! Let your mind be filled by this culture and bath in this atmosphere! Isn't this the best?”  my partner grins and looks at me, eyes sparkling.

We found out that the spot that Aoi rented is on the third floor of the gym because they categorize the tables based on the type of products they sell.

“doujinshi? Doesn't that word also mean like works involving homosexual love?”

I point at one of the signs around the arena which has that word while we’re walking.

The answer I got was a big slap on the head and a dissatisfied grunt from her.

“Aw what the heck? I'm just asking a simple question. I thought you're here because you wrote a light novel and on the way in I did see a lot of manga and novels promoting homosexual love..”

“While you are right about homosexuality being a common theme in this field. That is NOT what that word means.”

“But even the kanji makes sense, it literally means same-people-collectives”

Another slap, but this time I skillfully blocked it to the side. Not gonna catch me off guard again with the same trick.

“The word doujinshi means works made by people of the same interests. Which in this situation usually means interest in the Moe culture. That's why most books are either fan fictions or accessories made that resembles anime already existed. But some people still write their own work.”

“So which one are you?”

“I… Write my own works.”

Suddenly she doesn't sound so sure of herself. Then she forced a smile on her face and then frowned at me.

“Hey wait a minute, are you telling me you haven't read any of the books I wrote?”

“Do you know how many books you have been giving me in the last couple of weeks or so? I barely finished one series and caught up with another one.”

Our conversation was cut short then by a person who jumped in front of us and cut us off.

“well well, if it isn't Aoi Tsubaki sensei!”

She declares. I turn to look at this girl and notice she is about our age and… Well very short. I am already slightly shorter than average height of guys my age so I'm usually barely taller than girls. But she is so short that she probably won't get hit in the head by the top cabinet doors in the kitchen.

This girl has curly blonde hair and is wearing a fancy dress that I can only imagine is a cosplay of some kind. Too bad though, she is not really gifted in the chestal area, therefore no further analysis on her appearance will be made here.

“Chuji, can you please go take out the books set them up on the table? I'll go over later.” Aoi suddenly say.

“Uh…? Yeah sure…”

I lock eyes with the short girl for a second and she looks at me with disinterest and turns back to Aoi right after I was out of her line of sight and started asking who I was.

I guess when you've really into this kind of stuff you're bound to have some friends  

I put the boxes down on the table that has a small sign which says “D54” on it. It's off to the corner of the stadium and the people on either side of us are already busy putting things in order to get ready for the sale.

“Seriously this girl. All the other tables have at least 7-8 people helping and she only brought me to do all the work? What am I? Her slave?”

I sigh again. Seems like every since I met her I've been doing that a lot.

“48..49..50. there’s everything. “ I stop to look at my handiwork after 15 minutes or so after everything is finally setup. And Aoi walks up just as I am finishing up.

“Ah there you are. We’re ready for business!”

“is that so? Thanks for the hard work.”

She sounds indifferently and takes the seat next to me behind the table.

She’s obviously bothered by something. Maybe it was that girl that she saw?

“So about that..” “you can go take a bathroom break if you want. The opening won't be for another 30 minutes and I'll stay here with the books”

Even though we spoke almost at the same time, she didn’t let me finish my sentence and didn’t even bother looking at me.

Rude, as always… can’t say I’m surprised. Guess I’ll just go for a walk then.

I found the bathroom near one of the entrances into the main arena but it was crowded with people putting on makeup for cosplays so I decided I’d just walk around before going back, I’m not really in need of going at the moment anyways.

Guess I’ll go check out some of the other desks to see how this convention really is like

I look to the far side of the venue and start walking toward the row closest to me, then…

“Ouf… “ someone suddenly bump into my chest.

“Sorry… Are you ok?” I look down at the very short person who bumped into me, and it was that girl who knows Aoi.

“Oh hey, you’re Aoi’s friend.” I try to be friendly

“Friend!? Don’t make me laugh!” She suddenly jump aways from me and declares.

“Who would want to be friends with that girl? Hyo hyo hyo…She can’t even write a story to save her life, yet she keeps registering to come back to sell her pathetic work. If anything, she’s an enemy I don’t even bother to look at.”

Ugh.. who is this annoying pipsqueak, already pissing me off from the first sentence she speaks. And what’s with that weird laugh...

“Ara, your face tells me you don’t believe me. Guess I’ll just have to prove to you how different we are. Ryuuji was it? Come here.”

It’s not Ryuuji, it’s Chuji. But whatever..

She walks toward a spot where they have reserved two folding tables next to each other with elaborate signs that says “End of the line” and “___ copies left, Thank you for your business” This must be the table where she’s working at.

“Here.”She stuffs me one of the books stacked on top of the table.

“Go have a read and come back and tell me we’re on the same level. I dare you.”

“Wait.. you’re a writer too?”

“Why are you so surprised? Over 70% of the doujinshi/ fan-fiction writers are women. Although, I wouldn’t call your little friend more than half a writer though.” She says, then arrogantly flips the blonde curls that is hanging on the side of her face.

Seriously, She’s more annoying than the other one… are all these writer girls weird like this?

I look down at the book and my eyes widen

“Woah, you made this?” I can’t help but proclaim out loud. The cover art was drawn to almost professional level, and the material used for the book itself also feels expensive. I thought this event is only for people to share common interest, not to sell stuff that you can buy in the bookstore.

“Hyo hyo hyo of course! Marvel at how awesome my book is! Worship me as an author!”

Not when you talk like you’re the queen I won’t…

After a few more minutes of chatting with Ms. shorty flat chest, I finally used going back to our table as an excused and got away. I still have yet to seen what other tables are like honestly I just wanted to get away.

“Can’t say I’m having the best time here yet…” I say to myself while looking left and right at the people setting up.

But still, these people are hardcore. Some make their own pillows of characters from shows I’ve seen on TV, some make keychains, some stickers. But for some reason most of the art look a little… off? I suppose that’s what happens when people draw the character from their viewpoint. If there are as many tables on the other two floors as here, then I guess there really are a lot of people into this kind of stuff…

Without noticing, I’ve already circled all the way through the arena and ended up back where I started. Just a few minutes before they allow customers in.

“Yo, I’m back.” I say

“Hmm.” is all she replies to me.

What the heck, still in a bad mood? You’re gonna scare the customers away with that facial expression.

But turns out I worried for nothing. Because in the next 3 hours, only a handful of people stopped to look at our table, and two actually bought a book.

“Um… Aoi sensei… is this supposed to be normal?” I lean over and whisper in her ear to avoid embarrassing her more.

Her face turns slightly red, and she answers

“Y..you’re not getting paid for this, you know? So I don’t see how whether or not I have customers concerns you.”

There’s that attitude again. Guess I worried over nothing

I decide to shift my attention to something else and pass the time with some reading. So I open the book the pipsqueak gave me and start to read it.

Hard to believe even though this is self-published, the content of the book is really packed! Maybe this doujinshi industry do have some really good writers.

As I’m marveling at the story before me, Aoi suddenly turns to look at me and then asks

“What’s that in your hand?”

“Oh one of the books written by your short friend that we ran into earlier. She told me to read it.”

And then, the aura surrounding our table changed… I turn slowly in time to see Aoi’s eyes turn into a murderous glare.

“How…. dare you….”

“Eh?”

“How dare you bring someone else’s work to read while selling my work! Right in front of me too! Whose side are you on!?”

“But, this is such a good book! I was actually looking forward to reading it since I got it.”

“If you want to read anything, read my book!” She stuffs one of the books on the table on my face.

“Geez. Fine fine.”

I put away the other book and look down at Aoi’s book in front of me. It’s no wonder that nobody is lining up to buy her book. Comparing to the pipsqueak’s book, this one looks so much cheaper and doesn’t even have an illustration on the cover.

Can’t judge a book by its cover though

I open the book and start reading. And five minutes into the book and I’m already bored with it. I can definitely see the difference now. As much as I hate to admit it, Aoi’s book is outclassed in every single category. Not even the story itself is interesting. It’s less of a novel and more of an overview on otaku culture. A book like this can be categorized as a guide, like a Otaku culture for dummy if you will.

“Say… how long have you been in the writing business?”

“Hmm, I try to release a book every half a year at the event, so about 2 years now? Why do you ask?”

“Hmm....” I get up out and begin to leave my seat.

I need to see something for myself.

“Hey where are you going? And what did you mean by that question? Hey!”

I ignore her and start making my way through the crowd to the other side of the arena.

I can see it as soon as I reach the proximity of her table. The Pipsqueak's table has quite a few people lining up in front of it. And As soon as I was about to go back, one of the signs I saw earlier was raised up behind the desk. It reads “0 Copies left” with a piece of paper sticked onto it that says “sorry” on the side.

If I remember correctly, they had quite a few boxes stacked up behind the desk too… It’s crazy to see the difference.

I silently walk back to our desk (still as empty as ever in terms of customers) and sit down with a sigh.

“So? Why did you abandon your post?”

“Well… if you must know, I went to check out your friend’s table, and as expected, her books was sold a lot quicker than yours.”

“What is the meaning of this!? Nobody asked you to compare my work to that annoying bully!”

Bully? I thought she was just a friendly rival.

“Well… don’t you know want to know how to get better?”

“I do my only thing at my own pace! You’re just here to help with the heavy lifting. Don’t get any strange ideas!”

“What is your problem!? What di…”

“Hyo hyo hyo what’s this? Fighting amongst yourselves? That’s not going to help your pathetic business ya know?”

I didn’t even have to turn to see who interrupted me, after only talking to her for a few minutes that laugh can only be one person.

“I thought I saw you checking out my table from afar, Ryuchi.” She declares “That’s why I came to check out what’s happening over here.”

My name is… whatever.

“As expected, you’re racing to be the worst selling author at the event aren’t you? Truly pathetic hyo hyo hyo hyo.”

Oi come on now, if you know anything about Aoi, you should know she’s not afraid to cause a big scene… wait what?

My thought is cut short at what’s happening right in front of me. The girl who’s been nothing but violent, bossy, mouthy, and rude is silently sitting there crying.

“Huh..? But.. She… hey now…” I try to comfort her by putting my hand on her shoulder, and instead of slapping my hand away like she would probably normally do, she just keeps crying.

“It’s still the same. After all these years.. I’m still not good enough.” She says through her sniffles

“What do you mean?...”

“Why do you look so surprised that Ms. Princess over here resorts to crying as her defensive mechanism? She’s always been like this. Pretending to be nice to everyone when she’s winning, but when she loses, she just curl up in a corner and cry about it.”

At this point I’m totally confused because this girl currently sitting in front of me is not the same person that I’ve been getting to know and for some reason seeing her like this just isn’t right. But the assault from the pipsqueak isn’t over yet.

“You might as well just give up on writing altogether. You already have your perfect life lined up for you, I don’t know what the big deal is for you to involve yourself with this kind of hobby in the first place, I bet no one else close to you even knows about it huh? Go home and cry to your daddy princess.”

As much as I hate to butt in on what seems like a long term problems between the two and I don’t fully understand the situation, but no way I’m gonna let a girl cry in front of me like this. After all, I hate dealing with girls who cry.

“Hey you, shorty Mcflatchest, how about you mind your own business? Just because you sold a few more books you think you can come flaunt all you want?”

“Huh? What was that outsider? I bet you don’t even know who this girl really is do you? What makes you think you can butt in? And it’s not like you can make the situation better just by calling me names. She will still suck at writing.”

I grit my teeth

she has a point, their levels are too far apart. But I can’t just let this keep going. I need to help her. I need to do it!

“What if I can make her better?” I blurt out

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Both of them drop the faces they were previously having and became confused at the same time while looking at me.

“Ooh? Do elaborate.”

“With my help, Aoi Tsubaki will write a better selling novel than you by the next event and you can count on it pipsqueak!”

“Wait a second, I never agreed to…” Aoi try to protest, but I put up my index finger at her, hushing her. I wasn’t about to let my cool hero moment ruined by a girl with too much ego.

“And what if you lose?”

“We’ll abide by your wish, and she will write no more.”

“Interesting. I guess I have nothing to lose then. Deal.”

We shake on it while Aoi sits in her chair, eyeing me with disbelief.

“Oh and one thing before I leave. Kyuujin.” She points at me

“The name is Barondeau Kisaki, or I also go by my pen name: Hikari Kinu. Don’t you forget it. Don’t ever call me by some stupid nickname again.”

Then she leaves with a “hmph” and a quick toss of her hair before turning to walk away.

Who is the one bad with names here…

After she leaves I look back at Aoi who is still in shock of all that’s happened.

“So… guess we have a lot of work to do now huh? Haha with your authorship on the line and everything.”

“Thank… “ She trembles a little while trying to get the good out.

Ohh Ohh this is good, maybe I’ve finally managed to one up her now she owes me one.

“What was that?” I encourage her.

“Thanks to your stupid ideas now I might have to promise to never write again!” She screams and next thing I know her impossibly fast leg is already in contact with my crotch area

“AEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” I swear I flew up, I know I did. After enduring such pain, any man would fly.

I fall the the ground and go into fetal position and groan while holding my precious manhood. But in the corner of my eyes I swear, I see Aoi beaming with a smile, mouthing “Thank you.”