Yesterday, Haruki had arrived at midnight. He had gone straight to the hotel to sleep.
The next morning, he forced himself out of bed and opened the curtain. The Pacific stretched out below, deep blue under the sun. He'd never seen it from this side before.
After a shower, he got dressed and checked his phone. Kotone had already sent a message saying she was waiting in the hotel parking lot.
He took the elevator down.
Kotone was leaning against a car near the entrance, sunglasses perched on her head, a light jacket over a plain white T-shirt. She straightened as he walked out.
"Morning," she said, smiling. They hugged lightly.
"How was the flight?" she asked.
"It was okay," Haruki said.
She glanced at him. "Did you eat?"
He shook his head. "Woke up late. Figured I'd let my tour guide pick the place."
As they got into the car, she gave a small smile. "Lucky for you, I've got one in mind."
They drove with the windows down. Billboards slid past, movies, anime, some action figure ad Haruki didn't recognize.
"Feels strange," Haruki said after a while. "Last time we talked in person, you were still in Japan."
Kotone kept her eyes on the road. "Yeah. Everything changed kind of fast."
"You didn't tell me you were going abroad until you were already on the plane."
"I didn't really plan to," she admitted. "It just… felt like the only way forward at the time. Grandma's still not happy about me trying to be a manga artist, and everything I tried before just kept falling short. So I applied for the program, told her it would help with class. It got her approval. And once I was here, I finally started focusing on my own work."
Haruki glanced over at her. "And… it's going well?"
She gave a small shrug, but her mouth lifted at the corner. "You'll see."
Haruki raised a brow but didn't push. "Alright. Surprise me."
"I will. But you just got here and you're already asking about work? I thought you came to relax."
They stopped at a small café tucked between boutiques, eating breakfast out on the patio. Kotone kept her sunglasses on, still wary of being recognized, not that she was famous yet, but in a few local shops her signings had drawn small crowds.
The ocean was barely visible between rooftops. Kotone ordered black coffee, Haruki stuck to tea.
He watched her stir the cup absentmindedly.
"So… you like it here?"
She gave a small shrug. "It's different. There is less pressure."
Haruki nodded. There wasn't much else to say.
Later, Kotone drove him around, Hollywood Sign, Venice Beach, a few spots she liked. Tourist stuff, mostly.
That evening, they stopped at a quiet diner with wide windows facing the water. Neither said much while eating.
At one point, Kotone glanced at him. "...It's strange seeing you here," she said.
"I was thinking the same," Haruki replied.
For the first time, her mouth curled slightly, like she was trying not to smile.
The next day, she suggested showing him around properly.
They drifted through the city, bookstores, an old theater, a record shop. Mostly quiet. Occasionally she'd point something out, and he'd just nod. Slowly, the pauses between words grew shorter.
By nightfall, when she dropped him at his hotel,
"Tomorrow," she said, "I'll take you to see something else."
"Something else?" Haruki asked.
"You'll see."
The next day, they headed to the comic shop. Inside, she quietly led him to a display wall lined with books. One of the spines caught his eye immediately.
Violet Evergarden.
Her name was printed on the cover in clean black lettering.
Haruki picked it up, running his thumb along the edge of the pages. The art was beautiful, delicate, full of emotion.
Kotone was watching him, waiting for his reaction.
"Your drawing's improved a lot," Haruki said. "Honestly… you might've passed me."
Kotone let out a quiet laugh and shook her head. "Hardly."
"Is it finished?"
"Yeah. About six months ago," she said.
Haruki placed the book back carefully, still looking at the cover. "I saw a billboard of it. Did it make it into anime also?"
Kotone nodded. "Maya Studio did the anime. They say it's going to rival your 5cm/s."
Haruki blinked. "Wow… that's a big deal. I'm happy for you. Sounds like you've built quite the following here. So… you're planning to stay in the U.S.?"
Kotone shook her head. "No. I'm still coming back to Japan. Once I finish my studies. I'm ahead on my coursework, so… probably this summer."
They didn't see much of each other for the next few days. Then Saturday came.
Haruki was getting ready for the anime convention. His panel was coming up, and he could already feel the nerves building. Kotone had also been invited to Anime Expo, and as luck would have it, the organizers had decided to put them on the same panel.
A car from the event arrived to pick him up. The venue wasn't far from the hotel, about half an hour's drive.
When he arrived backstage, he spotted Kotone nearby, quietly checking her notes. She looked calm, but her hands were clasped a bit too tightly.
Haruki walked over. "You look nervous."
She glanced up. "Why aren't you?"
He chuckled under his breath. "I just stopped worrying about what they'll do if I don't like the questions. I can say whatever I want… or nothing. Come on… you've got this. You've done signings, right?"
"But at signings, people came because they liked my work. Here, everyone's just… here. I don't know what they'll think."
"Don't stress yourself," he said.
Before either of them could say more, a staff member appeared and gave them the signal. It was time to head to the podium.
Shout out to Jeff for joining my p-atreon! your support means everything to me.
(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-a-t-r-e-o-n.com/Alioth23 for 60+ advanced chapters)