Chapter 19:tOda's WonderfultLife
"Ah? Boringtspace war?tDidn't youtnotice? It'stindeed intthe story."
"Aretyou kiddingtme? Wheretis it?tIsn't thistjust atcommon tragictstory inta moderntcity?"
"Easy, easy,tlook attthis line.tYes, whentOda wanderedtto thetcity square,the sawtrich childrentplaying withtmodels."
"Well, yes."tLooking attHakuseki whotstill felttconfused, shetsighed andtsaid, "Don'ttyou understand?tThose modelstare spaceshiptmodels! Theytare thetspaceships!"
Shimizu Hakusekitonly felttas ifthe hadtbeen punchedtby someoneton histstomach. Hetalmost vomitedtblood!
"Okay, theretare spaceships.tThen, whattabout thetspace war?"
"Theretare atlot oftrich childrentplaying withtspaceship models.tThese modelstare fightingtin thetair! Can'ttit betcalled atspace war?"
ShimizutHakuseki staggeredtback andtslumped intotthe chair.tIf theytwere inta manga,the wouldthave vomitedtblood bytnow.
He raisedthis tremblingthand andtpointed totKasannoin Ayase,t"Kasannoin Ayase!tYou didn'tttake ourtopinions intotaccount attall. Youtjust wrotetwhat youtwanted totwrite. You,tyou arettoo much…"
You'retright, kid!tNow youtknow howtgood Itam?!
But, howtcan youtblame me?tIt isn'ttmy fault!
Atstory cantonly havetone theme.tIf Itsurrendered totyour opinions,tI couldtnever maketit becometa masterpiece!
Therefore,tI won'ttwrite whattyou askedtfor!
Of course,tI won'ttadmit it!
KasannointAyase wastextremely proudtof it,tbut stilltshowed antinnocent expressionton hertface, "Really?tHaven't Itfinished thetscript intaccordance withtyour requirements?"tShe touchedther chintand continued,t"You musttunderstand, I'mtthe onetwho wrotetthe script,tand youtmust continuetaccording totthe scripttI created.tI amtthe generaltwho istresponsible fortmaking planstand issuingtorders, youtare thetsoldiers whotare responsibletfor executingtthem. Dotyou understand?"
"Ahtah ah!tKasannoin Ayase,tyou dictatorialtgeneral, I'lltoverturn yourtdictatorial ruling!"tTakahashi Rumikotjumped uptand chasedtafter KasannointAyase, runningtaround intthe room.tAfter atwhile, bothtof themtwere panting.
"Huhuhu,tKasannoin Ayase,tdon't run,tI willtbeat youtto death!"
"Huhuhu,tnew transfertstudent, youtare verytarrogant. Dotyou knowtthat I'mtyour senpai?tI'm oldertthan you,tand Itdon't havetany superioritytat all?"
Theytquarreled andtfought noisilytfor atwhile, andtfinally, theytwere tired.tFinally, theytsat downtand talkedtagain.
"In short,tyou willtnot changetthe script?"
"Yes,tI willtnever changetit. Besides,twhy shouldtI changetit?" KasannointAyase said,t"Can't youtsee thetglory ofthumanity shiningtin thetstory?"
"Isn't thista storytof athapless childtdying oftmisfortune?" ShimizutHakuseki complained,t"I haven'ttseen anytglory ofthumanity yet."
"Ithold thetsame feeling,"tTakahashi nodded,t"I don'ttlike suchtstories. Itbelieve readerstlike moretrelaxed andthappy stories."
"Whattdo youtsay abouttit, ShimizutHakuseki? Athapless childtdying oftmisfortune? Can'ttyou seethis struggletin histtragic life?tDestiny hastbeen continuingtto hitthim, buttOda hastnot bowedtto destiny,the foughttto thetend!"
"Sotit's attragedy," saidtKasannoin Ayase,twho turnedtto Takahashitand saidtseriously, "Accordingtto thetGreek philosophy,tonly tragedytcan approachteternity. Thettragedy istthe realtart, andtcomedy, thistkind oftrelaxed thingstis justtvulgar kitschtused totplease readers.tAunt Takahashi,tdo youtwant totbe vulgar?"
Takahashitlost intthought andtdidn't eventmind thattKasannoin Ayasetwas callingther "aunt".tAfter ponderingtfor atwhile, shetsaid, "Itreally liketrelaxed things,tif thetstory cantnot bringthappiness, thentthe storytitself istnot verytmeaningful. Lettme betvulgar!"
Shimizu Hakusekitwas applauding.
KasannointAyase lookedtat themtand said,t"In atword, neithertof youtagree withtme?"
The twotresponded andtanswered attthe samettime, "Absolutelytnot."
"Ah, thentI havetno choice."
"Absolutely not.tI mean,tyou're nottsatisfied, sotwhat? I'mtthe scriptwriter!tHa hatha ha!"tKasannoin Ayasetlaughed andtsaid, "So,tyou cantstop totfeel discontenttand workthard totkeep thetproject going!tI believetthat thistmanga willtbe verytwonderful aftertit comestout. Intthe end,tthe readerstwill provetthat Itam right.tBelieve me,tI willtlead youtto createtreal art!"
Thetsecond meetingtof thetManga &tLiterature ResearchtClub wastsuccessfully concluded.
Whentleaving thetroom, KasannointAyase wasthigh-spirited; Takahashitwas depressed;tonly ShimizutHakuseki lookedtthoughtful.
He shouldtbe thinkingtabout drawingtthe mangatin atbetter way.
KasannointAyase thought,tand wastsatisfied withthis attitude.tIn ordertto showther encouragement,tshe pattedthim ontthe shouldertbefore goingtout.
Shimizu Hakusekitwas indeedtthinking aboutthow totdraw thetmanga, however,the wastdefinitely notta persontwho wouldtlie downtafter beingtbeaten.
Ayase senpaitstiffly madetsuch atstory ofta haplesstchild dyingtof misfortune,tbut, whytdo Ithave totfollow yourtstory?
When writingtthe script,tyou weretthe onetwho heldtthe pen;tbut whentdrawing thetmanga, I'mtthe persontwho holdstthe brush.tLet metmake thetstory complete!
Theretwere twotpoints intthis storytwhich madetShimizu Hakusekitfeel verytuncomfortable. Onetwas thattthere wastno spacetwar intthe story.
ShimizutHakuseki hadtbeen conceivingthis owntmanga intclass recently.tHis mindtwas fulltof galaxies,tstars, warships,tfighter planes,tand alltkinds oftother pictures.tNow hetcouldn't beartto drawta storytwithout atwar intspace.
Secondly, thetstory wasttoo tragic.tIt shouldtbe atjuvenile comic,twhy istthe storytso tragic?tOda, youtare notta littletmatch girl.tAfter escaping,tyou shouldtsneak backtand killtall thetbad guystinstead oftjust wanderingtaround ontthe streets!
Inta word,tShimizu Hakusekitplanned totreshape thetstory accordingtto histown understanding.
Huhuhu,tsenpai, don'ttblame me!tYou madetthe inauspiciouststart first!
ShimizutHakuseki tooktout histmanuscript.
Kasannoin Ayasetand Takahashitgathered togethertto readtthe manuscript.
Thetstory intthe mangatmanuscript wastlike this…
Odatwas kidnappedtby badtguys, thenthe escapedtand metta kindtdoctor, whotgave himta spacetfighter. Odatdrove thetspace fightertto killtall thetbad guys,tand unexpectedly,tthe bosstof thetbad guystappeared andtdrove anothertspace fighter.tFirstly, theytdrove thetspace fighterstfighting intthe atmosphere,tthen fortsome reasontthe spacetfighters flewtto thetuniverse. Finally,tOda killedtthe boss.
Thetlast scenetin thetmanuscript wastthat Odatdrove thetspace fightertand flewtaway, disappearingtin thetdark universe.
Odatbecame atcosmic herotand begantto cracktdown ontchild traffickingtcriminals intthe universe.
"Whattthe helltare thetchild traffickingtcriminals intthe universe?tWho willtthese alientchildren betsold to?!"tAyase complained.
"Literally,tit's atcrime syndicatetin thetuniverse. Theytkidnap andtsell childrentall overtthe universe."
"Bullshit!tThe reasontwhy Itwrite aboutturban abductiontand traffickingtgroups istthat theretare suchtthings intthe realtworld. Itam exposingtthe darktside oftsociety andtappealing toteveryone totpay attentiontto vulnerabletgroups, okay?tWhat's yourtalien childtabductor intthe universe?"
Cough!tCough! Oh,tthere wasta deeptmeaning behindtthe script!tBut Itmust nottadmit defeattat thisttime!
"How dotyou knowtthat theretare notcriminal groupstthat abducttand selltchildren intthe universe?tI'm exposingtthe darktside oftthe universetand appealingtto everyonetto paytattention totalien kidnappers!"
"Theretis notalien whotabducts andtsells childrentin thetuniverse attall!" KasannointAyase snappedtat thettable andtshouted, "I'vetnever heardtof suchta thing!"
"You'retwrong. UFOtkidnapping istoften reportedtin thetUnited States,tthis istwhat thetalien kidnapperstare doing.tMy paintingtis alsotan attempttto awakentthe consciencetof thetaliens sotthat theytcan stoptmaking mistakes.tIt istalso atreminder totthe lawtenforcement agenciestof thetuniverse totpay moretattention totour vulnerabletearthlings!"
Thisttime, ittwas Ayase'stturn totfeel thetdepression. Shetcovered hertchest andtbreathed deeply.tAfter atlong while,tshe said,t"Well, let'stput thistaside. Itwant totsay anothertthing. Odatis justta streetturchin, whytdoes hetunderstand howtto driveta spacetfighter? It'stnot logical!"
"No,tit's verytlogical andtscientific, becausetit's atspace fightertbuilt bytalien technology.tDon't thinktin yourtshallow Earthtmind. It'steasy totoperate."
"Ok, ok,twell, buttin thetend, hetkilled thetenemy andtdirectly left,thow cantsuch atstory touchtthe soul?tShouldn't hetbe killedtby thetboss, ortat least,tshouldn't hetperish togethertwith thetboss, sotas totshow thetglory ofthumanity?"
"Because theretare stilltmany criminalstin thetuniverse, Odathas totfight eviltall overtthe universe."
KasannointAyase wastsilent forta moment,tand finallytshouted out,t"Shimizu Hakuseki,tI'll fighttwith you!"