“What’s that supposed to mean?
You’ve got a problem with my art?”
“That’s not it.” Kyousuke shook his head and motioned for Kirino to come over to the work desk.
His sister, the genius manga artist who’d managed to produce a hit like “Lunar Witch Transformation,” had no technical flaws in her draftsmanship worth correcting, but her art style was a far cry from the Cardcaptor Sakura he remembered — especially those plump, almost fleshy thighs on the draft characters.
“For a work aimed at a younger audience, there’s no need to show off an overly voluptuous figure.
The overall style should lean toward cute.
This kind of full-bodied, sensual art style is really only going to appeal to guys, don’t you think?”
Kyousuke didn’t put it too bluntly, but what he really wanted to say was that Kirino had drawn Sakura far too maturely — mature to the point of almost feeling “ecchi.” Kinomoto Sakura was supposed to be an elementary schooler in the setting, so what was with that protruding chest?
Looking back at her previous work, a big part of the reason “Lunar Witch Transformation” had drawn a sizable male fanbase alongside its core audience of starry-eyed young girls was exactly because of that art style of hers.
Had she developed this style pandering to the market?
Or was it because his sister appreciated female form?
Though, if that were the case, Aragaki Ayase’s figure was nowhere near the characters she drew.
If anything, the proportions more closely resembled Kirino herself.
So Kyousuke mused, his gaze involuntarily drifting to the smooth, shapely thighs of the sister beside him.
“What are you looking at?” Kirino fixed him with a hostile stare, instinctively clamping her legs together the moment she noticed where his eyes had wandered.
“What’s it to you?
Are you trying to police what I wear now?”
“Aren’t you cold?
If your lower body gets chilled, your legs will thicken up, you know.”
Kyousuke genuinely couldn’t hold back his curiosity — this was winter, after all.
“I’m not cold.
Are you some kind of pervert?
Why are you always fixating on a girl’s lower body?”
A faint blush rose to Kirino’s cheeks, and Kyousuke found himself at a loss for words.
This was nothing more than perfectly normal concern from an older brother, the same way most parents started asking if you’d put on long johns the moment winter hit.
He shrugged and didn’t bother defending himself.
Given the current state of their relationship, even if he told her to put some pants on, she’d most likely ignore him anyway.
“Back to the point.
The overall art style for this work needs you to rework it from scratch,” Kyousuke said.
Kousaka Kirino’s expression was thoroughly unconvinced as she let out a light huff and turned her head away.
“Who says only guys would like characters like that…”
“But fine, whatever.
It’s your work, so I’ll do it your way.
Just don’t come blaming me when it tanks.”
With that, she shooed Kyousuke off the chair, planted herself in it, and once again launched into high-speed creation.
This time, Kyousuke didn’t retreat to the sofa — he stood beside his sister, watching her pen glide like a swimming dragon.
“Add a cute hair clip on top, and give her two small braids for the hairstyle.
For the school uniform…
use the serafuku style uniform as a reference.”
Kyousuke stood at her side, offering corrections from time to time.
“Nag, nag, nag…” Kousaka Kirino grumbled impatiently, but her pen followed his requests, making the adjustments anyway.
“Alright, done.”
Kyousuke gazed at the Sakura on the manuscript page for a moment, a smile spreading across his face.
Now this was the original Moe Queen the way she was supposed to look.
“I shouldn’t need to remind you about the rest of the characters — just follow this art style.
Sakura will have a lot of elaborate outfits, so feel free to go wild with those.”
“Who do you think you’re underestimating?”
Kousaka Kirino shot him a glare.
Honestly — clearly, curves in all the right places were what showcased a woman’s charm, yet here he was, making her draw these stick-figure characters.
Sure, they were cute, but they completely lacked any kind of allure.
“How long will it take you to draw up everything from the Name I gave you?”
Kousaka Kirino did a rough calculation in her head and gave him a timeframe.
“Before winter break ends.”
Kyousuke looked surprised.
“That fast?”
“Of course.
How else do you think I kept up with the serialization schedule using only weekends?”
At this, Kirino puffed out her chest with pride and shot him a sidelong glance.
Was she some kind of tentacle monster?
Kyousuke recalled how she’d just redesigned that character from scratch and had it on paper in about two minutes — and that was with him constantly demanding revisions.
This sister of his had an almost absurd level of talent when it came to drawing.
“Then let’s call it here for today.”
Kyousuke grabbed his jacket from the coat rack and pulled it on, then plucked Kirino’s jacket off as well and tossed it toward her as she walked over.
The two of them left the studio together and boarded the train home.
…..
Over the following days, Kyousuke and Kirino shuttled back and forth between the studio and home, with academic tutoring sessions every evening on top of it all.
This routine continued for a full week.
Once he’d confirmed that Kirino’s art style was on the right track, Kyousuke stopped going out entirely.
Hayakawa Rumi had called him twice recently as well — apparently, the publication of “Kino’s Journey” was progressing quickly, with the first print run expected to hit shelves soon, while the third volume would officially begin serialization the following month.
At this pace, to ease the deadline crunch once school resumed, he’d need to pound out the fourth volume’s manuscript before winter break ended.
Unlike his peers, who whiled away their time on video games or socializing, his days were packed to the brim.
Friday.
Kyousuke was in his bedroom, racing against a deadline, when the door behind him suddenly burst open with a thunderous bang, as if it had been kicked in.
Kousaka Kyousuke was hunched over his desk but unhurriedly closed the notebook in front of him at the sound.
“Hey, you’re coming with me to Tokyo today.
The compensation payment from Kadokawa’s come through.”
Kousaka Kirino spoke in a tone that brooked no argument, marching straight over to Kyousuke’s bed and plopping herself down cross-legged on it without so much as a by-your-leave.
“Is this to submit the final manuscript for ‘Lunar Witch Transformation’?
You could handle that on your own, couldn’t you?”
Kousaka Kyousuke tilted his head, not immediately agreeing.
A round trip to Tokyo wasn’t cheap, and while Kirino’s coffers were currently overflowing, Kyousuke’s savings were far more modest.
If anything, she should ask Aragaki Ayase to go with her — that would surely be more comfortable for the girl.
It wasn’t like he had nothing better to do.
“What are you talking about?
If I’m asking you to come, it’s obviously for something else.”
Kousaka Kirino glared at him.
“The first five chapters of ‘Cardcaptor Sakura’ are done.
I figured I’d show them to the new editor while I’m handing in the overdue manuscript.”
That fast?
Kyousuke was stunned.
By a normal manga artist’s update schedule, putting out two chapters a week was already considered highly productive.
This girl had not only finished the final chapter of “Lunar Witch Transformation,” but had also churned out five full chapters of original manuscript on top of it?
Her drawing speed was genuinely staggering.
If that was the case, then tagging along wasn’t out of the question.
Kyousuke hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“Honestly, if your name weren’t on it too, I wouldn’t have bothered asking you to come with me.”
Kousaka Kirino let out a huff and strode off toward her own room across the hall.
That guy, acting all reluctant like that — it really pissed her off.
If Ayase weren’t busy with modeling work lately, she never would’ve come to him in the first place!
Although “Cardcaptor Sakura” had recently made Kirino see Kyousuke in a new light, their relationship hadn’t exactly improved by leaps and bounds, mainly because her dear brother never missed a chance to needle her during tutoring sessions.
Remarks like “how can such a simple problem take you this long to figure out” — just thinking about the stuff that came out of his mouth was enough to make her blood boil.
Kousaka Kirino stood before the full-length mirror in her bedroom, rather satisfied with the outfit she’d picked out for the day.
A pink top paired with a red-and-black pleated skirt, radiating youthful energy from head to toe — and still, bare legs.
“If that guy sees this outfit, he’s probably going to run his mouth again, isn’t he?” The thought surfaced in Kousaka Kirino’s mind unbidden.
After a moment’s hesitation, the blonde girl retrieved a pair of slightly thick tights from her wardrobe.
She sat on the bed, slipped her toes into the tights, and slowly rolled them up her calves, the pale, faintly flushed skin disappearing beneath the black fabric.
Her hands paused abruptly at her thighs.
“They’re a little tight.
Don’t tell me he was right about legs getting thicker if you don’t cover up in cold weather…”