Bonus Chapter at 1200 PS
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Time blurred by as the calendar drifted toward the middle of November.
The initial fever pitch surrounding the first volume of the Initial D tankobon had finally begun to settle into a steady, manageable glow within the manga community. Meanwhile, over the last two weeks, the narrative of the Sword Art Online had finally hit its stride.
Asuna, the heroine whose absence had left thousands of fans restless, finally made her grand re-entrance. After she and the protagonist, Kirito, teamed up to solve a major mystery in the game, her status as the undisputed primary love interest was officially cemented in the hearts of the readers.
Much like the series' trajectory in its original world, Asuna's popularity began to climb vertically as the plot unfolded.
While characters from earlier chapters like Sachi and Silica had certainly charmed the audience, the fans were starting to read between the lines of Shiori's writing. Given the subtle cues and the amount of detail poured into Asuna compared to the others, the hierarchy was clear. Sachi was tragically gone, and Silica was already being labeled as the lovable loser of the romance race.
By the sixth chapter, the fundamental structure and rhythm of the work had become apparent to everyone. While the tone carried a certain weight, it stopped short of being cruel or depressing. The characters were intelligent and proactive, and so far, the story was devoid of the frustrating logic gaps that plagued other novels. Furthermore, the Asuna Fever was reaching a boiling point among the fanbase.
"Asuna is the best girl! Kirito, you lucky bastard, get in line!"
"Shiori-sensei, please stop introducing more losing heroines. Use every single word of your weekly character count on Kirito and Asuna's flirting, please and thank you."
"Is it finally happening? Are we actually getting a Shiori novel that doesn't rip our hearts out? I'm so happy."
"Don't lower your guard yet. This guy always saves the emotional trauma for the final act."
"Surely not Sword Art Online? Shiori Takahashi wouldn't actually kill off Asuna, would he?"
"If he kills Asuna, the fanbase will riot. Half the readers will defect on the spot. He wouldn't dare."
"Shizuru-sensei, we need more! Please work some overtime and give us more color posters! Your art combined with Asuna's design is perfection itself."
"Honestly, I think I was half-conquered by the character design before I even read the first page. Shizuru-sensei's art is top-tier."
Haruto sat on the sofa, scrolling through the comments on his creator account with a faint, amused smile playing on his lips.
"What's so interesting that you're staring into your phone like that?"
Yukino had just finished her shower. She walked into the living room wearing a set of light-white pajamas, sipping a carton of milk as she spoke. Haruto glanced at her and pointed toward his own mouth as a reminder.
"You've got a little something right there."
"Huh?"
"Milk mustache."
Yukino blinked, quickly realizing her slip-up, and hurriedly wiped her face. It had been over two weeks since they had all moved into the villa under Haruto's suggestion. She, Reina, and Shizuru had settled into a comfortable rhythm.
Whenever they were hungry, they simply used the house intercom to call the designated catering service. Within thirty minutes, a professional chef from a partner company would deliver steaming, high-end meals directly to their door. Haruto was surprisingly generous when it came to the food budget; he let them order whatever they craved and settled the entire tab at the end of the month without a second thought.
Currently, Reina and Shizuru were both holed up in their respective rooms, buried in work. Next Monday, a prime serialization slot was opening up in Kiyozawa Library. Reina had been eyeing this opportunity for months, and she was currently doing the final polish on her new manuscript. Although Haruto hadn't read the full draft yet, the determined look on her face told him everything he needed to know. She was confident.
Haruto knew how prideful and independent Reina could be, so he hadn't told her directly, but he had already asked his agent, Ms. Hime, to do some maneuvering behind the scenes at the publishing house. He didn't want her to get a free pass based on his name, but he wanted to ensure that her work wouldn't be sabotaged by internal politics or rejected simply because she lacked a powerful backer or seniority.
Ms. Hime had given him a firm assurance: if the manuscript was good, no one in the editorial department would be able to block it. Meanwhile, Shizuru was busy with her work.
Drawing dozens of pages of Initial D every week was a very difficult task, even for an artist as prolific as her. She spent almost every waking hour at her drawing board to keep up with the breakneck pace of the weekly magazine.
Since the other two were busy, Haruto and Yukino found themselves alone in the spacious first-floor living room, idly watching television.
"Hey, Haruto..." Yukino began, her gaze fixed on his profile as he drifted into thought. "Do you always create these legendary works just by staring at your phone and spacing out? Is that really the secret?"
"Not exactly." Haruto looked up and closed his laptop. "The plots for my works... well, to be honest, I mostly see them in my dreams. I just wake up and write down what I saw."
"In your dreams?" Yukino looked genuinely baffled.
"Yeah. I just go to sleep, and the story unfolds like a movie," Haruto said with a light shrug.
Yukino spent a long moment processing his words. Finally, she let out a self-deprecating sigh. "Well, now I know where the gap between me and a genius lies. A genius is working even when he's unconscious. When I sleep, I just wake up eight hours later with a dry throat."
"You asked me a question and I gave you a straight answer, so now I want to ask you something." Haruto took advantage of the moment alone to voice a curiosity he had been harboring for a while.
"You started as a light novel editor, then became the owner of an animation studio, and now you're basically my business partner, handling the entire operational side of my career. Tell me truthfully..." Haruto paused. "Is this life significantly different from the one you imagined when you first decided to start your own business?"
He had always felt a lingering sense of guilt. After Yukino's original company went under, he had bought in and essentially turned her into his primary manager. If she felt unfulfilled or still harbored a desire to strike out on her own as an independent boss, he needed to know so he could make the necessary adjustments.
"You really love overthinking things, don't you?" Yukino said, casting him a sidelong glance. "I don't find anything wrong with our partnership. Managing the growth and operation of your works is actually incredibly fulfilling. If anyone should feel insecure, it's me. You're growing at such a terrifying speed that I worry if my own skills will be enough to keep up with the Vice Chairwoman position at Haru-Yuki in the future."
She leaned back, a small smile playing on her lips. "In the anime world, you've already produced a once-in-a-generation hit. In light novels, you're on the verge of taking the top spot at Kiyozawa Library. And in manga, Initial D is practically a cultural phenomenon."
"From my perspective, Haruto, if you keep this up for a decade, actually, maybe just a few more years, you're going to create a miracle in the subculture industry. You'll be the single most influential creator in the entire country."
Yukino took a breath and looked him in the eye. "Knowing that, do you ever regret choosing me as your partner?"
"Never," Haruto replied instantly. He paused for a beat before adding, "Working with you... it gives me peace of mind. I know you'd never stab me in the back."
"Stab you in the back? What goes on in that head of yours?" Yukino laughed.
"Let's just say I have a lot of baggage when it comes to people I don't trust," Haruto sighed. "It's a character flaw, but I haven't been able to fix it."
Yukino studied his expression for a moment, her smile softening. She didn't push him on the topic and instead decided to pivot the conversation.
"Actually, there's one more thing I've been meaning to ask."
"Go ahead," Haruto said.
"Do you have a girl you like?"
Haruto froze for a split second. He looked at Yukino's face, which was now full of curiosity for gossip. "No. Why do you ask?"
"No one? What about Shizuru?" Yukino's eyes sparkled. "You specifically chose her as your manga partner. Don't tell me it wasn't because you had a crush on her and wanted a reason to be close?"
"I chose her because her art is incredible. Plus, I owed her a favor."
"And just for that, you let her move into your house? This is technically cohabitation, you know."
"It's a business decision. I'm the lead partner, and I'm ensuring her safety and privacy so she can focus on the work. Don't make it weird," Haruto grumbled.
"What about Reina then?"
"What does she have to do with anything? She's a former schoolmate, a close friend, and a business partner. She was being harassed by obsessive fans just like I was. Helping her out was the logical thing to do."
"Wow, you're such a wet blanket. Why are you so defensive tonight?" Haruto asked, trying to turn the tables.
"You're a nineteen-year-old sophomore in university. You spend every waking hour on your career and zero time with the opposite sex. As your friend, I'm legally obligated to worry," Yukino said with a playful smirk.
"I spent my university years buried in books too. I never dated, and then the moment I graduated, my parents started breathing down my neck to get married. I ended up fleeing to the regional office for two years just to escape the pressure. Looking back, I kind of regret it. I feel like my youth was missing the actual youth part. I'm just trying to remind you: don't let your golden years pass you by while you are busy with work. Pay attention to the people around you!"
"The people around me? Dating?" Haruto mused for a moment. "I see why you brought up Reina and Shizuru."
"Well? You're surrounded by exceptional women. Are you telling me you haven't felt even a single spark of interest?" Yukino leaned in, pressing for an answer.
"..."
Haruto went quiet. He was nineteen, turning twenty in just a few months. To say he had zero interest in the opposite sex would be a lie; his psychological makeup was that of a healthy young man. However, his schedule was a black hole that consumed every ounce of his energy. The spark of youth had mostly been buried under mountains of deadlines.
But looking at Yukino's mischievous, gossipy expression, Haruto realized she was just having fun at his expense. He decided he wouldn't let her win this round of teasing.
"The people around me? Well, now that you mention it, there is one other beautiful, talented woman in my life besides Reina and Shizuru. If I had to pick someone close to me to get to know better..." Haruto turned his head and looked at Yukino's pale profile. "I think you actually fit my personal aesthetic the best, Yukino."
"Me?" Yukino fell silent for a few seconds. She turned her head, her eyes wide with a mix of surprise and genuine intrigue. "Are you serious? In case you've forgotten, I'm over seven years older than you. I'm twenty-seven turning twenty-eight."
Surprisingly, she didn't seem embarrassed or flustered. Or perhaps she was just an expert at maintaining a cool front.
"So what?" Haruto laughed. Now that he had committed to the bit, he couldn't back down or he'd never hear the end of it. Besides, he had never really felt a significant mental age gap between them anyway. "You're still in your twenties. In a few months, I'll be in my twenties too. I don't care about the numbers."
"You really mean that?"
Yukino shifted her posture, uncrossing her legs and then recrossing them.
Haruto didn't know it, but this was her tell; it was the specific physical movement she made when she was concentrating deeply on a thought.
"Yeah. Totally serious," Haruto lied through his teeth, maintaining a confident grin.
Yukino took a deep breath, and then a genuine, bright smile broke across her face.
"Alright then. I'll remember that," she said, standing up. She offered him a final, enigmatic look before heading toward the stairs.
"Just make sure you don't try to back out later!"
'Back out? Back out of what?'
Haruto watched her go, a triumphant smirk on his face. He figured he had won the encounter. 'She's not as tough as she looks,' he thought. 'She was all gossip and teasing until I turned the heat on her, then she retreated to her room after just a couple of sentences.'
He felt quite satisfied with himself as he leaned back into the sofa.