Super Cruel and Terrible Tales of Mangaka
	 Act 1 - Ambition
	  Chapter 3
	   The Voice of Darkness

 - Page 17 -

Chapter 3: The Voice of Darkness

Letter: Dear Hamoki,
	It's now been a full year since you left for Tokyo to become a mangaka.  I've spent every
	week following the fruits of your professional labor in the manga magazine that gets
	delivered out to the country, knowing that you have forsaken sleep and health to achieve
	the popularity you've earned in this short time.  I've graduated school now, and I will
	be coming to Tokyo in the spring.  As it will be my first trip to the big city, I'm sure
	it will be frightening and dangerous, but it will be all worth it to see you once again.
		Ruriko

Ruriko: Oh, Hamoki...

("Eel-Tree")

 - Page 18 -

Hamoki: Oh, it's you, Ruriko.
	If you had only called, I'd have met you at the station.

SFX (Behind Him): Faaat!

 - Page 19 -

Ruriko: EEEEEEK!

Hamoki: What's the matter, Ruriko?
	It's me.  Hamoki!

Ruriko: N-no!
	Liar!

Hamoki: That's not nice.  How could you forget my face?
	(come inside)

Ruriko: The Hamoki I knew wasn't a fatty-fatpants!

Hamoki: Every mangaka sits around and eats all day.  We're all tubbies.

Ruriko: But-
	I see lots of pictures of slim artists in the tankobon!

Hamoki: Yeah, ever heard of Photoshop?  They're fakes.
	All real mangaka are total lard-asses, every single one.
	(hurf)(hurf)
	They say you can't succeed in this business unless you break the 100kg barrier.
	Tachinosuke Chikubi-sensei might even hit 200kg.

Ruriko: This is crazy.

 - Page 20 -

Label: Assistants

Assistants: Sensei, lunch has arrived.
	Wet's eat befowe it gets cowd.
	Let's eat until we're full.  And then we'll vegetate.

Ruriko: Ewwww!  A whole swarm of fatsos!

Assistant: ...XL Mayonnaise Pizza is the best lunch there is.

[All eat lying down]

Assistants: I love how the thick fwavor coats my mowf.
	It's better and even fattier if you order lard as a topping.

Ruriko: Eeeeek!
	...this is WRONG!!  What you people are doing is WRONG!!
	And I am going to make things RIGHT, Hamoki!
	Suck that chin in, soldier!
	Get those legs up!

 - Page 21 -

Ruriko: Hindu squat!  Squat!
	Sit-ups!
	Sit-ups!
	Push-ups!
	Aerobics!
	Eat health food!
	Capsaicin!
	Gymnema!
	Powdered milk!
	Plantago!
	Weight-loss tea!
	{...I don't understand.
	How can he not be losing any weight at all?}

Assistant: Sensei, we've got to work on that chapter for Shonen Spirits.

Hamoki: Right.

[2 liter Cokes]
[Strawberry Tarts]
[Donuts]
[Bucket o' Chicken]
[Potato Chips]
[Chocolate]

 - Page 22 -

Ruriko: ...so THIS is the problem!

Hamoki: Ruriko, baby...
	You can't change me.  If I had a choice between a slim man with terrible manga and a fat man with great manga,
	(I can't concentrate without eating)
	I will always choose to be the brilliant fatty.

Ruriko: But...
	I just don't understand you anymore!

I ran away then, ran to a train that would take me back home.  When he told me that he would
rather live as a manga-loving freak than as a normal man who would love me, I saw no reflection
of myself in his eyes.

And 10 years later...

He was still drawing manga.  Now a typical housewife living out in the country, I cannot help but
wonder how I might have turned out, had I chosen to stay in Tokyo and follow him in his sinful
but happy lifestyle.

Kid: Mom, what's for dinner?

Mom: Pizza.
	(With mayonnaise)

Book: Romance

 - Chapter 3 End -