Chapter 64 – Talking to Ayano

A few people chatted a little more, at this time Aoi Natsuki suddenly realized that there was one person missing from this small group, why was Sakurajima Apricot missing?

He looked left and right, but there was no sign of her.

“Have you guys seen Sakurajima? She seems to have disappeared.”

“Really, I haven’t seen her in a while.”

“I have her phone number, I’ll call and ask.” Hayakawa said, and then dialed Sakurajima’s phone, and a few seconds later it actually connected, and the two of them even chatted for a while, and the originally anxious moods of several people around them were also soothed.

“It’s all right is it ……”

“Eh …… Sakurajima she said something came up and left early and didn’t have time to say hello to us and asked me to say sorry to everyone.”

What’s the hurry.

But never mind, since the people are fine.

A few people also went home individually, and Natsuki Arai led Rina to take the bus in the direction of her home.

On the bus, there were only a handful of people in the compartment at this point, and only one female threw him a disgruntled look, but for him, who had developed a big heart long ago on campus, that level could be completely ignored.

The ride home was about an hour long, and Rina went from excited to calm, and her body began to show fatigue as she lay on Natsuki’s lap, grasping his right thumb with both hands as she slowly fell asleep.

Natsuki Aoi looked at her and carefully pulled out a tissue from her pocket, wiping the sweat from her forehead and hooking out a few hairs that Rina had eaten into her mouth with her little finger.

Hmmm ……

He then placed a hand on Lina’s back, his eyes looking out the window as his mind began to wonder about something.

With the sudden disappearance of Apricot Sakurajima and some of her previous odd behavior, is she the Divine Maiden?

Occasionally the tone of voice, the words are as good as they come.

Maybe one could just point out that she was the Divine Maiden, and then the game would just count in one’s favor?

But there’s only one chance, so maybe it’s just a trap. ……

Natsuki Aoi hesitated, her mind flashed frequently to Sakurajima Apricot’s appearance, that charismatic smile, that indifferent gaze, but at times she seemed playful, and would be easily ravished by those around her, and she would act like a sixteen year old girl for breaking her guard.

Which face is the real you? ……

……

“Go home early.”

Lena flashed her writing pad at him.

“Okay, I’ll be back soon.” Aoi Natsuki smiled, holding the leash in her hand as she led Jijou out the door with her.

He had to make a trip to the courier drop off point, his grandfather in the countryside had texted to say he was sending him some potatoes, and it was slightly farther than that to get over there, almost a kilometer or so, that was just the right time to take Yoshi Sauce with him, and sneak the dog along for the ride.

Also bring plastic bags to dispose of your dog’s feces on the way.

Lead it out the door.

After adopting Yoshi Sauce for a while, the dog’s nose, which had been slightly whitish, now turned rosy, and he was energetic throughout the day and night, even lively to the point that sometimes Aoi thought he was a bit of a douchebag.

Zee ……

He stared at Yoshi Sauce, those big round eyes radiating an unusual look.

He was extra excited every time he reached an intersection, tail wagging, red anus right in front of him, and every now and then he would turn his head to look at him.

That nagging gaze, completely unaware of what it was thinking.

After ten minutes of traveling, Aoi Natsuki arrived at the drop-off point, but when he saw the package sent by his grandfather, he despaired, it wasn’t just some, it was really just a big bag full of them!

And it was in a sack with a poorly made seal, he peeled back a bit to look inside, and sure enough, the potatoes inside were still wrapped in dirt.

Nice guy ……

Natsuki Arai was helpless, but a piece of his grandfather’s heart he could only drag away.

This is where the dog comes into play slightly, and he gets tired of walking and carrying him.

But as she passed a corner, Jijang suddenly stood still, her gaze raised high in a direction very different from home, followed by a yank in the other direction with the same vigor as if she had grown an antennae on top of her head and had come into contact with the airwaves.

“Woof woof!”

Aoi Natsuki was also a bit curious about what was wrong with Yoshizou, following through the corner, with a street in front of her, could there be anything special about this place?

Natsuki Arai hauls a big bag of potatoes and doesn’t see any as far as he can see ……

Uh-huh? That’s ……

Taka, no, Takahashi’s sister, I think her name is Ayano.

Although the Takahashi sisters’ hair color and height are very similar, but it is still relatively easy to distinguish, Takahashi Midu may be eating better, the whole person will appear slightly plump, and Ayano, he has often seen her have participated in the volunteers before, more physical labor, the body type is relatively more thin.

And the difference in aura between the two is quite large, one is very oppressive while the other is a bit more natural in comparison.

Only now she seemed a little unhappy.

The look of something else being held in his hand.

Aoi Natsuki looked sideways, this place is not the jp society, jp society is now Japan’s largest comprehensive publishing house one of the largest, published mostly for young people’s manga magazines, one of the most famous is the jp weekly, many of its representative manga have gained a lot of fan support, and there are people who have spent their entire lives in the pursuit of manga artists this path.

But Natsuki Aoi also once heard the saying that Japan has no shortage of manga artists, only of geniuses.

At that moment, Yoshizou also stood still at the intersection, and Aoi Natsuki bent down to pick up the dog leash that had just been broken free, and he didn’t do anything either, just silently watching from a distance.

Sometimes the bitterness of growing up is better left alone.

Aoi Natsuki shook his head and was about to turn around and leave, but just then, Yoshizou suddenly shouted twice.

Just like in front of the pet hospital, Ayano Takahashi stopped at the intersection and slowly turned her head.

The first thing he noticed was Natsuki Aoi, who was not far away.

The two locked eyes.

Immediately following that, just when Aoi Natsuki thought that the other party would act as lively as before, saying a lot of unexplained hurtful words and so on, she didn’t want the other party to overreact at all.

Instead, he raised his right hand, a smile on his face, and waved in his direction.

Well ……

Natsuki Aoi let out a breath through her nose and waved her hand at her as well.

……

“So it’s really a comic book appointment Well, I didn’t realize that you actually want to become a cartoonist, I used to have a friend who wanted to be a cartoonist, but then ……”

“All give up, right?”

“Uhm …… haha.” Natsuki Arai smiled awkwardly, sitting on a bench in a nearby park with Takahashi’s sister, at her feet Yoshizou was lying obediently between the two of them, getting up every now and then to lick the tops of Ayano Takahashi’s shoes.

“It’s a difficult path, I know that, but I don’t want to give up yet.” Takahashi Ayano’s expression became slightly more determined, as if it had always been this belief that had kept her going until now.

“Well, it’s always good to be persistent, ever thought of working as an assistant to some cartoonist to improve your drawing skills?”

“Yes, there was almost a whole year last year working as an assistant, and only this year I thought about coming out and trying again for an appointment, but I didn’t realize …… it still wouldn’t work.”

Takahashi Ayano pursed her lips, her tone revealing some helplessness.

Yeah, it’s extraordinarily difficult to get ahead again in an industry environment like Japan’s, which is extremely saturated with manga artists, and it’s beyond brutal.

“It’s fine, your age is still so young, slowly refine your drawing skills again, look at some current fashion and creativity, improve your aesthetics, etc… If you want to go fast, you can’t go fast enough, just take it step by step.” Aoi Natsuki comforted, then her gaze fell on the drawing in her hand.

“Can I borrow one of your drawings? I’ve done some design work before, maybe ……”

“Aye! Please watch!”

Hearing this, Takahashi Ayano immediately presented the drawing with both hands, that solemn state, is she really still the same girl who once mouthed off to herself ……