[2-30-16 Kami-Igusa, Suginami Ward, Tokyo]
Inside a modest three-story building, the weekend made no difference—dozens of people were hard at work in the office area.
The spacious room wasn't divided into cubicles.
Instead, desks were arranged in a carefully organized pattern.
Phones rang, voices called out, fax machines humd, keyboards clacked furiously... A cacophony of sound filled the space.
The workers' intense energy and focused urgency made the scene resemble an ani production team scrambling to finish character designs the day before a broadcast.
Of course, such chaos would never be tolerated here—because this was:
[MARS Corporation – Tokyo Branch]
Forget last-minute disasters like "the characters still aren't done and it airs tomorrow" (which would be more absurd than a cot hitting Earth)—even being thirty seconds behind schedule could unleash the wrath of the "Queen of MARS."
At the far end of the bustling room, in front of massive floor-to-ceiling windows, sat a woman dressed in a sleeveless, high-slit black gown.
Seated elegantly in a swivel chair, she calmly flipped through a stack of magazines and newspapers.
Sunlight poured in through the glass, which offered no resistance to the light.
The warm white glow shimred on her dark red hair and gently kissed the sheer black stockings revealed by her crossed legs through the slit of her dress.
Despite the chaos around her, her reading was unaffected.
She wasn't idly flipping through pages to kill ti—everything she read was chosen with purpose.
She followed indexes, moved with stunning speed, and finished an entire magazine in under thirty seconds.
At one point, a female production assistant in office attire accidentally dropped a stack of docunts.
Her face went pale as she crouched to gather them, casting a nervous glance toward the right side of the room—toward the BOSS.
Seeing that the woman was still engrossed in her reading, she exhaled in relief.
"Yuuki, if you've had enough of a break, it's ti to go. If there's nothing else, you're free to leave. You've already finished your work for today."
The mature, slightly husky voice ca from the woman at the window, who still hadn't looked up from her papers.
Yuuki, the assistant, gave a wry smile as she stood and bowed apologetically.
"I'm very sorry, President Kosaka."
"If you're going to apologize, save it for tomorrow. If you don't rest today, you won't be able to perform tomorrow."
The red-haired woman—Kosaka Akane—spoke in a calm, unwavering tone.
But Yuuki's scalp tingled at the implication.
She quickly placed the docunts on a desk, carefully tidied her workspace, completed her shift handover with a colleague, removed her ID badge, slipped it into her pocket, and hurried toward the exit.
Once outside, Yuuki didn't hesitate.
She raised a hand, hailed a cab, and gave the address of a nearby hotel.
President Kosaka's standards were famously inhuman, but if you completed your tasks properly, she never demanded pointless overti.
You'd never have to cover for incompetent coworkers or suffer a vague, toxic label like "poor team player."
It was because of this no-nonsense policy that the company had beco a legend in the industry under her leadership.
MARS headquarters was in Osaka, and Yuuki technically wasn't a mber of the Tokyo branch.
In fact, everyone currently working in the building had been handpicked and summoned from Osaka by Kosaka Akane herself.
The original Tokyo staff had all been given ti off.
This elite squad—known in the multidia world as the "All-Round Team"—was brought here by the queen herself for one singular mission:
To help her win over a man.
The thought made Yuuki's cheeks flush pink.
Hojou-sensei... Soon, she'd be working alongside him.
She had to make sure they beca friends at the welco party—or better yet, if she got him to drink enough... Eh heh heh heh~~~
This sa Yuuki—once a producer who took a small, niche 18 doujin circle and turned it into a major player in just a year—now wore an evil, corrupted grin on her face.
As for whether that famous Hojou Kyousuke would really be joining the company? Whether there'd be a welco party for him? Was that even a question?
Anyone targeted by President Kosaka... could never escape.
With her super-elite task force gathered, the Queen was simply unstoppable.
Even after Yuuki left, the rest of the Tokyo branch continued working.
They weren't usually responsible for running individual projects themselves—instead, they served as Kosaka Akane's eyes, ears, and hands.
They monitored the progress of gas, ani, and novel teams, and conveyed her instructions.
Usually, Kosaka Akane would sit like a monarch, receiving reports, giving judgnts, rcilessly axing underperforming projects, expelling deadweight, or showing unexpected care to promising ones that lacked energy.
Like a goddess high above the clouds, her delicate fingers would casually decide the fates of projects that could shake the hearts of otaku everywhere.
But today—right now—no one dared disturb Her Majesty.
She'd arrived in Tokyo from Osaka a week ago.
After days of relentless work, today was the day she would enjoy the spoils of her hunt.
Though her face betrayed little emotion, anyone who knew her could see it in her eyes—Kosaka Akane was absolutely thrilled.
On the table beside her, the magazines and newspapers were all turned to articles featuring the sa na:
Hojou Kyousuke.
————————————————————————
Yomiuri Shimbun:
[Hojou Kyousuke! A Triple Crown Win! A Once-in-a-Century Genius!]
————————————————————————
Famous for worshipping era-defining authors, Yomiuri went all in on the praise—so much so that their fawning could be mistaken for a love letter.
It practically scread:
"Everyone, worship Hojou Kyousuke! He's the greatest writer Japan has produced in the last hundred years! And guess what? We're about to serialize his work exclusively—so buy our paper!"
————————————————————————
Mainichi Shimbun:
[Hojou Kyousuke: I Will Embrace the Responsibility of a Writer and Share the Beauty I've Experienced Through My Work.]
————————————————————————
This article practically transcribed his award ceremony speech word for word, turning his dreams and efforts into sermon-worthy lines.
They were one step away from canonizing him and selling inspirational books in his na.
And it wasn't just the national papers.
Even though the reporter from Hokkaido Shimbun had gotten himself plastered drunk, he'd still managed to transmit his notes back to HQ.
The paper, local to Kyousuke's hotown, even conducted overnight interviews with his grandparents and neighbors.
In a candid mont, Grandpa Hojou proudly revealed a secret:
The "Silver Fang" in One Punch Man was modeled after him.
...
"Boring."
Kosaka Akane tossed the last magazine onto the nearby table and stood up, walking over to the large window.
She looked out in the direction of Koenji.
For so people, such praise might unlock their potential, pushing them to create work beyond their limits.
But for that man, this kind of empty flattery would only corrupt him.
Just like the girls around him, it would trap his feet, make him linger, and keep him from moving forward.
If not for the need to gather intel and ensure every last detail was perfect, Kosaka Akane would never waste ti reading such drivel.
Newspapers were better off sucking up to politicians than trying to comnt on geniuses.
'Hurry up, Hojou Kyousuke.'
'Fall into my hands and unleash your full potential under .'
The place she was looking at was exactly where Hojou Kyousuke's company, Carbonated Animation Studio, was located.
————————————————————————
"Eh? He actually started a company just to go along with Eriri's nonsense?"
Katou gumi blinked in surprise.
Though her words expressed it, the tone and expression on her face remained light and casual, as always.
"I've wanted to say this for a while now… gumi, you're seriously kind of a dark horse."
Yamauchi Sakura spoke with amusent, her sparkling eyes fixed on gumi's fair, delicate face.
"Oh, so this is what you call a dark horse… I see. Got it. I'll rember that," gumi nodded seriously.
"But yeah, it does sound like sothing Hojou would do. Totally in character for him."
"Are girls like you even real?"
Sakura's eyes glead as she grabbed gumi's hand.
One side had Yukinoshita Yukino, who could keep Hojou in check with logic and composure.
On the other, Katou gumi, who adapted to him effortlessly, supported him with a quiet warmth, and accepted him with a kind of gentle tolerance.
The contrast was perfect.
"Um… I just want to double check—was that a complint?" gumi asked cautiously.
"Of course! What, did you think I ant you were like so weird character straight out of an ani?" Sakura quickly waved her hands to deny it.
"Eh?? Now that you ntion it, I didn't before, but now…" gumi's expression beca subtly strained.
"Well, since Hojou's not around, I'll just head ho. See you later, Sakura."
"Stop right there!" Sakura clung to gumi's hand tightly. "If you walk out that door, I might just die from heartbreak, you know!"
"That kind of dramatic reaction only happens to weird ani characters like you, Sakura."
"See?! You are a dark horse—and you hold grudges too!"
"I'm going."
"I'm sorry, okay?! I said I'm sorry!" Sakura apologized quickly, then added, "Hey, Kyousuke's mom and sister are ho today. Are you sure you don't want to drop by and say hello?"
Even though gumi wasn't planning to greet the family, she hadn't dressed casually at all.
She wore a light-toned tank top layered with a sheer white lace blouse.
On her head was a slightly oversized sailor-style cap, and beneath her mini skirt, her pale, eye-catching legs were in full view.
Though often described as soone with a faint presence, Sakura was shocked at how well gumi stood out—especially when compared to Eriri, whose closet was dominated by green gym clothes.
gumi looked like she'd stepped out of a beautifully illustrated romance manga.
On days when they didn't need to wear their school uniforms, her outfits were always stylish and perfectly matched to highlight her strengths.
Even if gumi wasn't necessarily the person Hojou was hoping to see, she still gave off the unmistakable aura of a girl who put genuine thought and care into her appearance—especially for a etup.
'She's amazing.'
'Just like !'
Sakura nodded firmly to herself.
No matter what ti it was—even if she were sneaking out late at night for a midnight snack with Kyousuke—she'd always coordinate her outfit to match the weather, her mood, and most importantly, him.
And of course, Kyousuke's outfit would be chosen by her too~~
If she thought about it that way, didn't it an she valued their dates even more than gumi? After all, she prepped for two people.
The two girls were standing at the entrance of Ruyi Dorm.
The living room was empty—everyone else was either off doing their own thing or out in the garden chatting with Hojou Mikiko over tea.
Compared to a certain soone pretending to be a busy "British aristocrat" sketching all day, Mikiko—who had more daughters-in-law than she could count helping out—seed far more like a real noblewoman.
"Alright then, stay for dinner! You'd regret it if Kyousuke didn't get to see you looking like this, right?"
Sakura pressed on.
"Eh? This is just a normal outfit. I saw sothing similar in last week's NINI magazine, and since I had sothing similar in my closet, I thought I'd give it a try. Nothing special,"
gumi replied calmly, her voice and expression composed as always—but the hand clutching the white canvas bag strap was clenched so tightly her knuckles stood out sharply.
"But you, Sakura—you just want Kyousuke to see any girl you think is cute, huh? What a close relationship you two have~~"
Her bobbed hair bounced lightly as she spoke, her tone playful and airy, like sunlight flickering through leaves.
Sakura didn't respond.
She tilted her head, eyes narrowed, and stared intently at gumi.
"What… what is it?" Even gumi, usually the calst of them all, squird under that gaze.
"First, you rushed to explain that your outfit wasn't chosen just for Kyousuke. Then you redirected the topic to , as payback for seeing through your little sche. Finally, you tried to breeze past the whole 'eting his mom' thing."
"So sneaky, gumi. That cool, calm sneakiness is a pretty scary skill of yours."
"I'm leaving!"
Her face flushed red, gumi spun around, heading for the door.
Of course she had to leave! Hojou's mother was ho.
Showing up without notice like this might give off the wrong idea about her relationship with him!
'I should've ssaged him ahead of ti after all...'
She had skipped the celebration yesterday, but ca first thing today to congratulate him. Surely, that would make him… at least a little happy, right?
And Sakura—why couldn't you just be a cute idiot?!
Why'd you have to suddenly act all smart like so overly sharp ani side character?!
"Mikiko-san! Kyousuke's friend is here!" Sakura yelled cheerfully into the house.
gumi froze in place.
She spun back around and quickly began adjusting her clothes, which Sakura had disheveled with all her grabbing.
Hojou Mikiko approached with a gentle smile, followed closely by the small Kasuko and an even smaller Momotarou.
"Nice to et you. I'm Katou gumi, a friend of Hojou's."
The girl placed both hands together in front of her waist and bowed slightly.
Her sailor cap tilted a bit but stayed in place—only the strap of her canvas bag slipped off her shoulder.
'Sakura… you are so unfair.'
gumi silently grumbled as she pulled the bag strap back up.
This was her first ti eting soone like Sakura—soone so... so... honestly, it was hard to describe.
Hearing the obvious nervousness in her voice, the golden-eyed girl smiled warmly.
"Ohh, you must be the friend Kyousuke ntioned was coming over to hang out!"
Hojou Mikiko didn't hesitate in the slightest.
After her own introduction, she imdiately reached out and took gumi's hand.
The girl instinctively wanted to ask Hojou Kyousuke how he knew she would be coming today—but quickly caught herself.
Being soone well-versed in speaking "truthful lies," she imdiately realized it must've been that auntie across from her who told him.
Then she glanced at Yamauchi Sakura, who was stifling a giggle at her side, and things started to click for Katou gumi.
Honestly, it was hard to put into words… but it all felt so strange.
"Sorry for the intrusion~"
She slipped on the house slippers and, drawing on years of experience dealing with kids alongside the Katou sisters, instantly beca best friends with little Kasuko!
"So that's why Eriri and Kasumigaoka-senpai are helping out—because no one else applied?" Katou gumi nodded as she finally understood:
This wasn't just so playhouse project for entertaining little girls, but a legitimate company with over 300 million yen in registered capital.
"…I get the feeling you don't actually understand," Yamauchi Sakura said with a suspicious look.
"What? Mitsuha explained it really clearly," gumi denied it right away.
"But still… why did Hojou only ask Eriri and Kasumigaoka-senpai for help?"
"Oh~ gumi, you're so bad~"
Sakura giggled, and Miyamizu Mitsuha's expression grew subtly complicated.
That was such a blatant attempt to stir things up.
"Eh? What? I just ant that if Hojou needs more help today, I happen to be free~" gumi tilted her head innocently. Everything she said was the truth.
"That's an animation production company," Yukino Yukari explained. "Out of all of us, only Shouko and Naoka have any real connection to that industry. If the rest of us went, we'd probably just be given small errands or busywork."
"Oh, right. Eriri is the ace of the art club, and Kasumigaoka-senpai writes award-winning scripts for the drama club," gumi nodded.
"..."
Yamauchi Sakura blinked, her gaze drifting toward Hojou Mikiko.
Miyamizu Mitsuha pressed her lips together, uncertain how to respond.
"Um, gumi… Eriri and Utaha actually have a deeper connection to the animation industry than you might think," Nishimiya Shouko said softly.
Spending so much ti with Eriri and Utaha, she'd nearly forgotten that the two still kept up their "talented artist" and "literary prodigy" personas at school.
Well, to be fair—Eriri intentionally kept things under wraps.
As for Utaha, no one dared to ask.
"Actually, Eriri's already a professional manga artist. And Utaha debuted as a light novel author three years ago."
They'd already gotten permission from both girls to talk about this.
After all, once you started bringing friends over to the house, secrets like this were bound to get out eventually.
Utaha didn't care either way.
Eriri hesitated a little at first—but knowing how naturally invisible gumi could be, she ultimately shrugged it off and said, "Whatever."
Of course, with Aunt Mikiko still present, Shouko didn't ntion that Eriri's manga gig was technically just a side job—her real claim to fa was as one of the most notorious doujin artists in the industry.
"Ehhhhh!?"
gumi let out a gasp of surprise, her wide eyes sparkling with disbelief.
A manga artist? A light novel author?
Eriri—the "perfect lady" of the school, always surrounded by the most stylish, elite students at the top of the social pyramid
—whose every word and gesture scread elegance and had nothing even remotely to do with otaku culture… she was a manga artist?
And Kasumigaoka Utaha—the school's top literary genius, already lined up for university through recomndation, who no one dared to approach
—she was also a light novel author?
That… was unbelievable.
gumi had already thought it was amazing to even be friends with the two of them.
But this? This was sothing else entirely.
Right now, they were all sitting outside in the garden.
White-painted wooden tables and chairs, morning sunlight that wasn't too harsh, a graceful mother, and a group of radiant young girls chatting over tea—their laughter blending with the soft rustle of leaves.
Even though the cherry blossoms had already fallen, the beauty of spring was still very much alive.
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