“D-don’t worry. It’s not a big deal! Right, Takina?! People won’t notice!”
“I noticed.”
“Takinaaa!”
“Isn’t it better to point it out now, before Ms. Itou finishes drawing that scene?”
“That’s…that’s true! It’s a good thing you brought this up when I only have a rough sketch!”
“So it’s fine, then? Phew! It can just be fixed! Isn’t that great, Takina? I was worried for a moment…”
“But now I have to get a standard AK somehow.”
Chisato looked at Itou quizzically, the smile freezing on her face.
“I can’t draw guns without a model.”
“But you can find loads of photos online…?”
“Yes, but they won’t be at the angles I need, and if I do find a usable photo to copy, I’ll be accused of simply tracing it… Besides, now I’ve found the best angle while working with you. I don’t want to change that.”
“How about…CGI?”
“I don’t have a program that can do that.”
“What options do you have, then?”
“I just need a replica. I’ll have to find somewhere to borrow one from…or, worst-case scenario, buy it. I need it for other scenes, too.”
Takina glanced up at the clock. Chisato and Itou had been chatting away for so long, it had gotten pretty late. The evening had quickly given way to night.
“Even if you ordered it, would it get here in time?” asked Takina.
“It’s too late, isn’t it…?” Itou conceded.
“How about Don Quijote?! They’re open late! There’s the one near the north exit of Kinshicho Station, and there’s a Kameido store right next to it. You can make it if you go now…!”
But Itou shot down Chisato’s idea right away, saying that those stores didn’t sell toy guns like that. She must’ve already checked. They were local stores, so she probably went often, browsing for items that might serve as a useful reference.
“If there’s nothing we can do, then why don’t we just call it a day and go to sleep?! Let’s do it! Let’s have a stress-busting sleepover!”
“But then I’ll miss my deadline…”
“Ah… Right…”
Chisato had been determined to lift the mood, but Itou took the wind out of her sails. Even Chisato’s energy couldn’t rival the gloom of a person truly backed into a corner.
“Is an extension out of the question?” asked Takina.
Itou smiled at her patiently.
“You can sometimes get a slight extension. There’s usually a bit of a buffer. But not in this case… The artist whose manga was going to be the feature piece in a certain magazine has a slipped disk, so it’s an emergency.”
“A slipped disk is an emergency?”
“No, the magazine not getting the manga in time is, though. They asked me if I could fill in, but if I don’t make my submission tonight, they’ll probably have to publish something they can quickly get off some amateur artist.”
“But…your manga’s pretty good, so I’m sure you can get it published somewhere else even if you miss this chance!”
“Yes, possibly… But it’s not easy to get on a magazine’s lineup. And my finances aren’t exactly great. I don’t have any ongoing series…”
Itou’s effort wouldn’t go to waste, as she could try to get the manga published again in a few months’ time, and if it got good reviews, she could turn it into a series, which was what she really wanted. But she’d have to go from publisher to publisher, pitching her manga until someone decided it was worth a shot, and while she was promoting that project, she’d be unable to devote much time to anything else. She might do some illustrations here and there or some one-shots, but those were unlikely to get published outside of magazines. Consequently, they wouldn’t earn her much money—and, of course, she had to consider the possibility that her submissions would be turned down.
In other words, if Itou was serious about turning her current project into a series, she’d have a few tough months ahead of her… unless she submitted this manga on time and it was published in the next month’s issue of the magazine. Then, if it was well-received, she’d get a contract for a series, and if it didn’t stir any interest, she’d know to drop that project and move on.
Chisato and Takina were stumped by the gravity of the situation. They exchanged looks.
“I’ll have to do the best I can and hope that’ll be enough…” Itou said, dispiritedly turning back to her tablet.
Takina thought that Itou needed to clarify her priorities. If her primary goal was to make the deadline, she should just send the manuscript off as it was. If her priority was to avoid criticism about the unorthodox AK, she should hold off until she could get a suitable model to use as a reference. Itou seemed to be leaning more toward the first option, but she was stalling by hesitating. At least, that was how Takina saw it.
When you just can’t make up your mind, she thought, you should list out the pros and cons and make sense of things outside of your head. Just as Takina was about to suggest that, Chisato’s phone went off.
“Sorry, Ms. Itou. Excuse us for a moment!”
Chisato motioned for Takina to follow her to the entrance hallway. The girls stood close to each other so that Takina could listen in on the call. Chisato put Mika on speakerphone with the volume lowered.
“An urgent job came in. Can you take it, Chisato?”
“Urgent or not, we’re already working on a job here! By the way, Teach, do we have any AKs in the basement?”
“Definitely not.”
“Thought so…”
“Well, you’re putting me in a bind, Chisato. I can’t easily turn down this new request… I would really like you to take it.”
Takina and Chisato exchanged glances. Mika was being unusually vague, which made them think that the request wasn’t from the DA but from one of his acquaintances who knew what the café was a front for.
“…What sort of task is it?”
“Will you take it?”
“Let me hear what it’s about first.”
“A certain young man who’s a member of a criminal organization has taken a gun out of a gang’s secret safe and is somewhere in the city.”
“Oh, that’s pretty bad. But then again, we can’t abandon Ms. Itou…”
“Incidentally, the gun in question is an AK-47.”
“Chisato!” Takina raised her voice without thinking. Chisato nodded.
“Sounds like we can nail two birds with one stone! Teach, you can tell the client we’re taking the job! Takina, let’s go!”
“Sure!”
Chisato told Itou to draw the AK last, then she and Takina left the artist’s apartment. There was no time, so they listened to the briefing while on the move through the night-shrouded city.
“I sure am glad I didn’t outright say no!” Chisato mused.