Before Rin even had the chance to introduce herself, she was startled by Eiichiro Oda's excited reaction.
However, once she recovered, she asked somewhat hesitantly, "Does Oda-sensei know me?"
"Of course."
Eiichiro Oda said with a pleasantly surprised tone, "I'm a fan of yours, Shimizu-san!"
"I bought the CDs for both Marigold and Snow Flower. The songs are really beautiful!"
Hearing this, Akira and Rin exchanged a glance, both feeling a bit surprised.
They hadn't expected him to actually like Tsukirin's songs, let alone be a fan of Rin.
Then, Rin smiled and replied, "Ah, thank you."
"Actually, I'm also a reader of One Piece. I really love the story of One Piece, and so does Mochizuki-kun."
"So we often watch the One Piece anime together at home."
"Oh? Really?"
Hearing this, Eiichiro Oda said happily, "That's wonderful!"
Having his favorite singer also love his work was a first-time experience for Eiichiro Oda, and it felt rather wonderful.
Rin felt similarly, yet also somewhat different.
Because Akira had mentioned him to her before, she wasn't as surprised by their first meeting as she might have expected.
Not only that, but while talking to Eiichiro Oda, she subtly leaned closer to Akira, to the point where they were almost pressed against each other.
To an outsider, they would probably look like a couple, wouldn't they?
Though they weren't.
At least, not yet.
However, even if Akira might not mind, she absolutely did not want to allow even the slightest possibility of misunderstanding between them at a time like this.
Therefore, whether through the hidden meaning in her words or her physical reactions, she naturally yet firmly made her stance clear.
She just didn't know if her feelings had been successfully conveyed to Akira.
The answer was yes.
Sensing the little intentions in her words and actions, Akira found it a bit amusing, but at the same time, he felt quite pleased.
He wasn't the type to get jealous just because the person he liked was talking to another man.
That would be a bit of an exaggeration.
But it had to be said that Rin's behavior was indeed very endearing.
Besides, how could anyone not like a girl like her?
At least, he felt lucky to have met Rin.
Then, seeing that their initial conversation was wrapping up, he smiled and said, "It seems I don't need to do any extra introductions after all."
"Well—"
Eiichiro Oda was still immersed in the joy of what felt like a mutual appreciation, not noticing that he was being kept at a distance.
Or rather, even if he had noticed, he wouldn't have thought anything of it.
Because from the very beginning, he had assumed Rin was Akira's girlfriend, and what he saw now only confirmed his first impression.
From that starting point, Rin's behavior seemed perfectly normal.
What surprised him even more was that Akira's girlfriend turned out to be Rin. If this got out, it would probably be huge news in the entertainment industry, wouldn't it?
—Wait.
Rin—Tsukirin—Akira—
—Akira?!!
Instantly realizing what he had just stumbled upon, Eiichiro Oda's eyes widened in shock. He looked back at Akira in disbelief and said, "Mochizuki-kun—"
—You couldn't possibly be *that* "Akira" from the duo Tsukirin, could you?
Although he had long noticed the two "Akiras," he had never paid it any mind, assuming it was just a coincidental name sharing.
After all, one was Shonen Jump's genius manga artist, and the other was a member of a rising, top-tier rookie music duo in the pop music industry. The fields they operated in were just too different.
But when Tsukirin's lead vocalist, Rin, appeared right beside the Akira he knew, everything changed.
The most improbable possibility had, at this moment, become the choice closest to the truth.
Akira had no intention of hiding it from Eiichiro Oda either, so he simply smiled and nodded. "Do I need to introduce myself again?"
"Akira, member of Tsukirin. Pleased to meet you."
—Are you for real—
Although his doubts were cleared up, Eiichiro Oda found it more and more unbelievable.
At this point, even Rin's presence was no longer important.
His mind quickly raced through Akira's track record—as a newcomer, he had drawn two manga, one of which won the top prize of the Tezuka Award, and the other went straight through the serialization meeting to start serialization.
While his manga was being serialized, he had also created a highly-acclaimed one-shot manga and even wrote a light novel, both with outstanding results.
Under these circumstances, he was simultaneously developing a career in pop music, writing two million-selling singles.
Eiichiro Oda couldn't help but wonder: is this guy even human?
He knew the guy was a genius, but even for a genius, doing all this was just too absurd!
—
Eiichiro Oda was rendered speechless by the shock, unable to say anything for a moment.
However, after processing the information a bit and regaining his composure, an incredibly intense curiosity immediately flared up within him. He couldn't help but ask excitedly, "How on earth did you do it? How do you have so much time? Does Mr. Sasaki know about this?—"
"
Stop!"
Seeing him suddenly turn into an inquisitive child, Akira was forced to interrupt him, saying with a wry smile, "Asking so many questions all at once, how am I supposed to answer?"
"Ah, sorry."
Realizing he had gotten a bit too excited, Eiichiro Oda scratched his head sheepishly with a smile, but still looked at him with an expectant face.
Seeing this, Akira could only answer with amusement:
1. It just happened naturally;
2. Because I draw fast;
3. Hisashi knows, and even editor-in-Chief Kazuhiko knows.
The first two can actually be simply summarized as having a cheat.
In any case, although it sounded somewhat unreasonable, Eiichiro Oda accepted this explanation easily.
After all, Mochizuki-kun was a genius, and geniuses are always unreasonable.
And although saying so might sound like bragging, he believed he also had some talent in manga creation, so he could more or less understand that kind of feeling.
So after hearing Akira's answer, Eiichiro Oda couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "I suppose only Mochizuki-kun could pull off something like this."
"Even though we just had a conversation not long ago, now I feel like today is the day I've truly gotten to know even a tiny fraction of Mochizuki-kun."
"Uh—"
Akira waved his hand with a helpless smile, "No matter what, that's way too exaggerated. You've gotten to know at least most of me today!"
"Haha, is that so?"
Eiichiro Oda couldn't help but laugh along at his humorous response.
In any case, this conversation at least made him realize one thing—
This new friend of his was not only someone he got along with incredibly well, but also an incredibly formidable genius far beyond normal imagination!