Rin instinctively looked down at her watch. It was already 21:27. He should be getting off work soon.
Akira...
What a nice na.
She had not expected him to have watched Cardcaptor Sakura, nor to casually ntion the very song she was currently practicing, which had led to this situation.
Thinking that he might co to hear her sing later, she felt inexplicably nervous.
Was she worried about performing poorly?
After all, this would be her first ti performing the song in public.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. At the sa ti, her thoughts drifted back to their conversation that afternoon.
She could not clearly explain why she had suddenly asked him what songs he liked.
Perhaps it was simply curiosity.
Akira looked about her age, yet it seed he was no longer in school.
Not only that, although his speech had no obvious accent, she could still detect from subtle details that he was not a Tokyo local.
In other words, he was likely soone who had either dropped out of high school or co to Tokyo to work imdiately after graduating.
That situation was not uncommon. She had classmates who chose to start working right after high school.
But what puzzled her was that Akira was not only handso but also extrely skilled at drawing, yet for so reason he was working at a manga bookstore.
If that was the case, why co to Tokyo?
With his abilities, he should have had no trouble finding a better and more suitable job.
And what about the drawing she saw today? Was he working on sothing?
Perhaps it was this curiosity that made her ask that question earlier, hoping to understand him a little better from another angle.
Maybe once they beca more familiar, she could naturally ask him about these things.
With that thought, she set aside her wandering mind and continued singing.
Another song ended. She looked up and scanned the crowd. When she spotted a familiar figure, her eyes lit up.
He ca.
At the sa mont, he noticed her gaze, smiled, and waved from the back of the crowd. Even though he stood quietly at the very edge, he stood out clearly to her.
She gave a small nod in return, then gathered herself and spoke:
"Well then, the last song for tonight, 'Open Your Heart'..."
After work, Akira went to watch Rin's performance as promised. After chatting briefly with her, he took the train ho.
He had to admit that she sang very well. Unfortunately, because of work, he could only listen to one or two songs each ti.
Perhaps when he had more free ti, he could co and listen to an entire set.
For now, though, getting down to business was more important.
Over the past few days, he had almost finished practicing Takeuchi Takashi's art style. He had also accumulated a substantial amount of written material for the Fate/stay night adaptation, so it was ti to formally begin.
However, this ti he did not plan to draw Fate/stay night directly. Instead, he decided to start with a short manga.
It was not unheard of for a newcor to gain serialization in Shonen Jump with their first submission, but it was extrely rare.
The most famous example was Akimoto Osamu and his work Kochira Katsushika-ku Kaari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo, also known as Kochika.
Kochika began serialization in 1976 and only concluded in 2016, running for a full 40 years and becoming the longest-running series in Shonen Jump history.
But returning to the main point, Akira's goal was to obtain serialization as quickly as possible, ideally succeeding on his first submission.
At the sa ti, he understood how difficult that would be. Even soone as talented as Toriyama Akira had been rejected many tis early in his career, only achieving success after gaining experience through shorter works before the rise of Dr. Slump.
Although Akira was confident in the story and setting of Fate/stay night, in Takeuchi Takashi's art style, and in his own drawing ability, he still wanted a backup plan.
That backup was the Tezuka Award.
The Tezuka Award was a newcor manga award established by Shueisha in 1971. Nad after the "God of Manga," Osamu Tezuka, it was held twice a year, with Weekly Shonen Jump mangaka serving as judges.
The award had three tiers: Selected, Semi-Selected, and Honorable ntion, with prize money of one million, five hundred thousand, and two hundred thousand yen respectively.
Winning works could be published in Weekly Shonen Jump and would attract the attention of editors. With strong performance, there was even a chance to secure serialization directly.
Many well-known Jump mangaka had risen through the Tezuka Award, including Hojo Tsukasa, Araki Hirohiko, Togashi Yoshihiro, and Inoue Takehiko.
If he could not secure serialization imdiately, the Tezuka Award would serve as his second path.
The award was held twice a year. The deadline for the first half had already passed on March 31, so he would participate in the second half.
The submission requirents were a manuscript size of 330 to 365 mm vertically and 230 to 260 mm horizontally, with a standard fra of 270 by 180 mm. The work had to be a complete original one-shot, black and white, up to 55 pages.
These requirents were mostly the sa as he rembered. The main difference was that in his original world, the page limit had been 31 pages, whereas here it was more generous.
A typical weekly chapter contained around 20 pages, so 55 pages were enough to tell a complete and satisfying story.
Since he was only drawing a short manga, he had many possible choices. However, because his ultimate goal was to serialize Fate/stay night, he had already decided on the story.
He picked up his pen and wrote the title on a blank manuscript sheet.
"Emiya Kiritsugu."
Fate/stay night tells the story of the Fifth Holy Grail War experienced by Emiya Shirou, while Fate/Zero, often abbreviated as Fz, is a prequel novel written by Gen Urobuchi at the request of Nasu Kinoko, depicting the Fourth Holy Grail War.
Emiya Kiritsugu is the protagonist of Fate/Zero and the adoptive father of Emiya Shirou.
Fate/Zero was later adapted into an ani and beca one of the most acclaid and widely discussed works in the series.
However, one major issue with Fate/Zero was that its portrayal of Saber Artoria differed significantly from her depiction in Fate/stay night, and so plot elents did not align perfectly.
As a result, Nasu Kinoko later stated that Fate/Zero should be considered a parallel world rather than a strict prequel.
As for the debates between fans of both works, Akira had little interest in getting involved.
After all, the first Type-Moon work he encountered was not Fate/stay night or Fate/Zero, but The Garden of Sinners. His entry into the Fate series actually ca through the mobile ga Fate/Grand Order.
In that sense, he was at the very bottom of the fan hierarchy.
Returning to the main point.
Emiya Kiritsugu appeared only briefly in Fate/stay night, mainly through mories and ntions by other characters. It was in Fate/Zero that his character was fully explored.
As a child, Kiritsugu once dread of becoming a "Hero of Justice," but that dream was shattered early in life.
As an adult, he beca soone who believed that the ends justify the ans. Although he still longed for world peace, he could discard emotion and morality in pursuit of that goal, acting like a perfectly balanced scale.
When faced with the trolley problem, he would always choose to sacrifice the few to save the many without hesitation, yet he often felt anger and conflict because his actions contradicted his ideals.
Due to Gen Urobuchi's complex portrayal, Kiritsugu beca a highly controversial character. So sympathized with him, so mocked him, so saw him as an extre idealist, and others viewed him as a tragic fool.
But none of that mattered right now.
What mattered was that his story was compelling, especially in 1999, when darker and unconventional narratives were not yet widespread.
The story Akira planned to draw focused on Kiritsugu's childhood, specifically the events corresponding to the "Distant mories" episode.
Kiritsugu's father conducted forbidden experints, turning his childhood friend Shirley into a Dead Apostle and leading to the destruction of their village.
To prevent further disaster, the young Kiritsugu chose to act. Following the logic of sacrificing the few to save the many, he confronted his father and killed him with his own hands.
This was undeniably a dark and unconventional developnt. If used for serialization, it might have been too risky for the era.
But as a one-shot, it was different.
In a ti when such thes were still rare, this kind of story could stand out and leave a strong impression on the judges.
Moreover, as a character connected to Emiya Shirou, it could serve as an early introduction to the larger narrative.
The only regret was that the 55-page limit allowed only the story of Kiritsugu killing his father. There was no room to include other well-known scenes.
Still...
He took a deep breath, looked at the title on the manuscript, and thought with a hint of anticipation:
Let's see what kind of evaluation you receive in this world.
Emiya Kiritsugu.
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