Extra 8: Around that time – modern day 5 (1/2)
Around that time – modern day 5
About 5 minutes from Nakatsugawa station, in commemoration of a new bookstore, a certain author was doing a book signing session.
This was also a weekend, thus many people were off work and have come to visit. The line for the signing was very long.
The author wrote a light novel, the contents of the novel are very traditional. It is describing the story of a young hero, but the genders in the line are split 50-50. This is quite unusual for this form of novel. Usually, the line is predominately males.
But when you take a look at the author you are easily able to find out why there are so many females here. The author was a very handsome man. The rumors of his identity have been speculated to be an actor, model, prince of some unknown country, etc. He had black hair, a figure, and face that made you think he is European.
His pure white skin and smooth facial lines further represent that he may be doing work in the acting field. His hair was neither long or short, and was naturally black. It suited him very well.
He was a very stunning man. A little while ago, he was caught by a reporter who took his picture and exposed it to the media. Previously, his face was unknown to the public and he never put any pictures of himself in his works. The buzz generated by the media is most likely the reason for the gender ratio of this line.
That man was busy interacting with his fans, there were several people behind him that were busy moving things around. One of them was very young and stood out among the people.
There was a man beside the author who was handing him the books to sign and instructing the little girl in the back as well.
Some people in the front could hear their conversation. Naturally, they adjust themselves a little to pick up on bits and pieces of the conversation they were having.
“Mari-chan, please take a seat. This line is not the end and will definitely increase later on. Sensei* has also informed the shop that he can handle an even bigger line than this, so we will be here for quite a while.”(Editor)
TLnote: The editor is the editor for his father’s novel. Sensei in this case means author, it is what Japanese call people who are authors.
The little girl called Mari nods and asked the other man something. She is not an adult but could not be called a child.
“Dad, will you be taking a break?”(Mari)
“No, I am fine, please take a break sweetheart.”(Hayato)
She speaks to her father and the editor. There were a lot of gasps from the people lined up when they heard the word father.
The mature man answered with a smile as he was resting on the chair. He was thought to be in his 30’s but if his daughter was this old then his age is much higher.
His pen name is Kanato, his real name is Misumi Hayato. His daughter’s name is Mari, this was his youngest daughter.
Having a daughter was a surprise to the people here, but having such an old daughter while looking so young was a bigger surprise. If he had said that his oldest daughter was in university, then his signing event would become an interview about beauty and anti-aging tips.
After his daughter left to take a break, his editor spoke to him.
“What’s the problem, Nakajima-san?”(Hayato)
“Sensei is more popular than I would have expected! May I make a suggestion, I will not say go on a nationwide tour but, 3 or 4 more times in other places will greatly help?”(Nakajima)
“Please, I cannot handle that. I have only said ok because we would do this for one day, if we go so often then it will affect my writing as well.”(Hayato)
“Sensei, the other prefectures are quite nice, I believe sometimes it is fine to take a break in the countryside or some other places?”(Nakajima)
“I am sorry, but the times I spend with my family are the greatest moments of my life, I will do this again when I release my next book.”(Hayato)
“Hmm, please at least discuss it with your wife.”(Nakajima)
“I understand, Nakajima-san.”(Hayato)
Hayato makes a bitter smile at the man Nakajima, who was clearly trying to persuade him to do more signings. He was an editor that has been with Hayato for a long time, he has been to his house and also had a close relation with his family.
His fans came up to him one by one asking him to sign his other books and voicing their support for him.
Mari sat at the side with a bottle of juice.
She thought her father was really popular from the line she saw today.
“I know dad is amazing but I do not understand what he writes about and the difference between what he writes and what brother plays on his computer…..”(Mari)
Mari did not understand the books her dad writes. From her perspective, being a light novel author seemed really plain and it was a minor job with a very niche market. Mari is the type of girl to read only for academic purposes, she reads to gain knowledge.
The one time where she had opened one of her dad’s books and saw that the left page was a picture and the right side only had one word.
“Absolutely”
Mari immediately closed the book because she thought there was no way her brain would be able to understand this unknown format.
One day she snuck into her brother’s room and started one of his games. She could not understand why Makoto would play these games that have so many unrealistic women and really unrealistic hairstyles. She thought that the men at her home were really weird/unique…
“That person over there…”(Mari)
Mari notices someone in the lineup. It was a person in the middle of the lineup. There were two people there, Mari remembered that around that portion of the line is where the last person with a numbered ticket, in other words, they are the last people who will receive an autograph. All the others after that are here for his new book and voice their support for him.
She felt those people were familiar, she kept trying to remember while drinking her juice.
“Yes, now I remember, those people are from brother’s archery club. I believe the name was Azuma Yukari-san?”(Mari)
She was my brother’s classmate and the captain of the archery club. She remembered seeing the other one in the photograph but does not remember his name. The names her brother said back then were: the reliable Azuma and 10-meter Ibuki.
Mari felt that seeing them here was a little unexpected but she felt she should greet them. They are people with a connection to her brother and had come to her father’s autograph session thus, greeting them would not be unnatural.
Fortunately, the line was controlled by poles and ropes so there were no interruptions when trying to approach them.
Mari put down her plastic bottle and headed towards the person named Azuma. As she walked up to her, she saw another person that she has never seen before. However, this did not stop her from continuing to walk, this made her seem quite bold and daunting. People may think this was dangerous but Mari was a master of Karate, she was at a level that was far beyond middle school and can easily compete with pros from high school. She was going to continue this activity even in high school and by that time her name would be famous is what many of her teachers and teammates are saying.
“Hello, are you Azuma-senpai?”(Mari)
“Oh, yes…I am Azuma, sorry, have we met before?”(Azuma)
“No, I have seen you in a picture, you are the captain for the archery club at Nakatsuhara high school right?”(Mari)
“Oh, is it a picture of the members? Maybe you are a relative ?”(Azuma)
“Yes! I am Mari, Misumi Makoto’s little sister. I am happy that you would come to my dad’s event today!”(Mari)
Misumi Makoto, a name that is quite unpleasant to her now. Yukari Azuma was clearly upset at that name. She was also surprised by this girl who came up to her and said she was his sister.
Azuma was surprised by two things, one is the name Makoto. She was very troubled by the sudden overseas transfer of Makoto.
The second surprise was that this was her father’s event. The author’s autograph session her friends were forcing her to come to was the father of Mari, which also meant he was Makoto’s father.
However, the people most surprised by this were the two people beside her.
The people with her were the real fans of this novel. In other words, they were the true fans of the author Kanato. Both of them were Azuma’s friends and club mates.
“You are Kanato-sensei’s daughter!”(Nobuko)
“Nobuko, that is the wrong point to be surprised at! Makoto-kun’s father is Kanato-sensei! To have a son that is the same age as me…”(Kana)
“Thank you for always looking after my brother, next year I will also be attending Nakatsuhara so, please take care of me then as well, senpai.”(Mari)
Mari ignored their inquiry about her father and continued the conversation about her attending Nakatsuhara as well.
“Umm…..Mari-chan, so your father is the writer up there?”(Azuma)
Azuma was the first to recover the damage she suffered from the shock, she asked if Mari’s father was the writer giving the autographs. She was amazed that she did not know anything about Makoto’s family and today she had coincidentally met two of his family member. This situation made her think that the world was a small place.
“Oh yes, did my brother not say anything about us…What a troublesome brother…”(Mari)
Mari was confused at why Makoto did not say anything about their father’s job. She felt that it was fine for her to say it and will tell the story if necessary.
“Umm…..Mari-chan, Makoto-kun is 17 right, then how old is your father now?”(Kana)