Femme Fatale & Akutagawa ch2: Definition of Masterpiece
p1
Fuwa-sensei.
Sleep well?
Eh?
Ah.
Yes... Sorry.
A sudden "morning twitter"...?
p2
Come live with me, Fuwa-sensei.
Eh?
That way, we'll have more time to weave a novel together.
Eh?
But...
Living with this crazy person...?
This way,
you'll be certain to write a novel that'll let you meet Yuu-chan.
p3
Whenever Yuu-chan gets brought up,
I make a decision without any hesitation.
Is this gonna be okay?
Phew~
Why are you wearing your uniform?
I can lend you my clothes.
?
No, this is fine.
Eh~?
p4
Let's have breakfast.
Fork or chopsticks?
Ah.
Fork, please.
Usually for breakfast,
I just have a slice of bread.
p5
How long has it been since I've eaten a meal someone else has made...
Could Yakushimaru-san
Delicious.
actually have her act straight?
Take your time eating.
But I've got work.
Aah.
p6
I've sent in your resignation.
...Huh?
Eh?
You don't need to go to that office anymore, Fuwa-sensei.
p7
Wh-
Whaaat?
Don't just do that on your own!
You don't need it.
It'll just get in the way
of writing your novel.
Care for some coffee, Sensei?
p8
Why cling onto that job?
Spending your whole life with nobodies at an office
won't let you see Yuu-chan.
I'll brew the coffee.
I'm very particular about it.
p9
Stick with me, and you'll have everything you could ever want.
...
It's bitter.
It has an acidic aftertaste too.
Just like your novels, right, Sensei?
p10
Bitter and dark
but with a bittersweet sadness right at the end.
Hey.
You've got your own coffee!
The only one who can share this enjoyment from the same perspective is me
and only me.
p11
No, but how am I supposed to make a liv-
You just focus on your novel, Sensei.
Is this woman trying to ruin my life...?
Hmm~
No good.
Hmm~
I reread a few Akutagawa Prize winners to try and get a grasp on their trends, but...
I'm starting to understand less about what to write
and what to write about.
p12
Let's have a meeting at a café
for a change of pace.
How does someone as young as her
live in a tower building like this?
Is Sumireya Coffee okay with you?
I just can't get a read on this woman.
p13
This way...
Mind if we sit over here?
Is following this woman around
really such a good idea?
In order meet Yuu-chan,
p14
what I want you to do, Fuwa-sensei,
is write a masterpiece by the end of September.
September?
I won't have enough time, what with the proposal needing to be approved and all...
You got approval for the novel you wrote with Mori, right? We'll just use that.
Even if we change the content, it should be fine as long as it's interesting.
You worried?
You bet I am!
p15
The qualifiers for the Akutagawa Prize are held every January and July.
The one we'll be aiming for
is the January one.
The nominees consist
of short to mid length novels published in magazines between June and November.
The sooner we can get it published, the more web articles and reviews we can get.
...Our target is mainly "new writers" within ten years of their debut...
Ten years.
p16
I debuted after graduating high school, and I'm 28 right now.
Could this be
my last chance?
Looks fun~
Eh?
Good evening, "Sensei".
Here to do some work I see.
...Hello, "Editor-san".
p17
Please remember my name already.
It's Yakushimaru, "Sensei".
Do they not get along?
And I'm Kusakabe, "Editor-san".
What would you like?
Two blends?
Deciding for me again.
Hm?
Kusakabe as in Kusakabe Haruka?
That's right.
One of the selection committee members
for the Akutagawa Prize.
p18
Come to think of it, I've read it in a book.
Kusakabe Haruka.
A genius who was the youngest to win the Akutagawa Prize.
A famous novelist who became the hot topic with anything he wrote regardless of genre.
If I recall, he's got a lawyer degree too...
He's the cancer of the literature world.
I lost a lot of books in that fire.
p19
There's a lot of novels
imitating this guy's style.
Ah.
Are you my fan?
No.
Fuwa-sensei is a novelist.
Here's your cream soda.
Fuwa... Fuwa.
A novelist.
It's true.
p20
If you can make this guy think you're interesting,
you'll win the Akutagawa Prize.
Ah!
Fuwa as in Fuwa Meiko-chan?
Eh?
How did you know?
p21
Of course I know~ I'm a genius, after all.
Gh!
You're that author who writes nothing but boring short stories.
Why are you writing a novel, I wonder.
Ah.
I'm the genius, so you know.
I'll teach you to write novels like I do.
The framework for a masterpiece is universal...
p22
You just gotta flesh it out to make a complete novel.
A lot of people these days ignore the skeleton and just wanna show off the unsightly meat.
Those novels have no merit in reading whatsoever.
Even my lesser works are better than what we have nowadays.
Thank goodness.
He's actually doing his job.
Someone who endeavors to reproduce himself
like cancer that pushes the literary world towards its death.
p23
Like Kusakabe Haruka...?
That's right! A novel with value.
With value.
Then...
have you ever received feedback from Yuu-chan?
Yuu? Who's that?
An editor? A friend?
I want you
to be the misake that helps Fuwa-sensei
grasp what she should write about.
Worthless.
Eh?
What?
p24
A novel that doesn't get feedback from Yuu-chan
is worthless to me.
p25
Heh~...
Hm?
Yuu-chan, Fuwa...
I've heard that combination of words before.
Bella Donna!
They were characters in that!
That novel was pretty interesting!
Huh?
Pretty amazing how I remembered a work from several years ago, huh~
A novel utilising the framework that emerged with the heterogeneous order of within a closed space!
p26
At times like these, the correct way would be to break free from religious devotion and create a catharsis,
but refusing to change despite being stuck in stagnation gave you the ultimate self-esteem didn't it!?
What's this all of a sudden.
I admire the interesting way you approached it!
I like novels like yours.
It exudes with my exceptional nature.
Lend me your phone.
Eh?
Hey.
No.
p27
Don't go touching other people's things.
Eh?
Yakushimaru-san?
Haha.
p28
I've punched in my contacts.
Call me any time.
I'll teach you everything about writing.
Here's your blends.
Let's go, Fuwa-sensei.
Back to our home.
Go?
What about the coffee... or the plot!?
She must've gotten jealous.
Naive birds of a feather sink in the bog together.
p29
It's bitter.
Sweet tooth
Please delete Kusakabe's contacts.
You don't need them, Fuwa-sensei.
p30
I'm all you need.
Wh-What's with you,
you...
I'm Yakushimaru.
Y-Yakushimaru, you want me to get the Akutagawa Prize, right?
Shouldn't I use any means necessary...?
Yes.
I guess
you're right.
p31
Um.
Maybe that's why I didn't get feedback from Yuu-chan...
Are all my novels besides Bella Donna
really that boring?
She ignored me.
August 13th - Wednesday
NAIN Just now
Kubozuka: Long time no see, Fuwa-san! I saw the news. Your house burnt down!? I wanna check up on you, so I'd be happy if I could meet up with you!
A new storm is approaching...