Chapter 295 - 295: Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko's Bold New Work!

She was just about to pick up her own rice bowl when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Ding-dong~ ding-dong~ ding-dong~

The chime sounded unusually crisp in the quiet living room.

"Could that be Yukinoshita Shizuku and the others coming back?"

Sayuri looked at Tsushima Kagami, puzzled.

Tsushima Kagami set down his chopsticks and shook his head.

"They have keys. They wouldn't need to ring the bell."

He got up and headed for the entryway, and Sayuri followed.

The two of them opened the door, and through the big iron gate of the yard they saw two people standing outside.

Kosaka Akane stood in front, her long, silky hair drifting gently in the evening breeze.

She wore a pale pink knit cardigan over a cream-colored long skirt, the whole look dignified and elegant.

Half a step behind her was Machida Sonoko.

Machida Sonoko wore black-framed glasses and a dark blue hooded sweatshirt.

She carried a paper bag, looking casual yet intellectual.

The moment they spotted Tsushima Kagami and Sayuri, the two of them broke into smiles and waved.

"Good evening!"

Kosaka Akane's voice rang out clear as a silver bell.

Tsushima Kagami hurried to the gate, opened the iron door, and welcomed them in.

"Akane-senpai, Sonoko-senpai, what brings you here?"

"We didn't really have anything to do, didn't know what to do with ourselves."

"So we figured we'd just come hang out at Kagami's place."

Machida Sonoko gave the paper bag in her hand a little shake.

"Brought some fruit. Figured we'd come see you."

The three of them crossed the path and went inside.

Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko changed into slippers, walked into the living room, and immediately spotted the food laid out on the dining table.

"Oh! You're eating already?"

Kosaka Akane looked over the table.

"We thought you two would have finished by now."

Kosaka Akane came in and saw the meal set for the two of them, and turned to ask Tsushima Kagami.

"Where's Yukinoshita Shizuku and the others?"

"Yukinoshita Shizuku and Shizu both went to driving school, they'll be back later."

"Nayotake has something with her department too, she'll be late as well."

Kosaka Akane smiled and nodded, then turned to Sayuri beside her.

"I really didn't expect everyone would be out today."

Machida Sonoko pushed up her glasses.

"We're not interrupting a date between Sayuri and Kagami, are we?"

Her tone carried a hint of teasing amusement.

"No, no!"

Sayuri waved her hands hurriedly, the tips of her ears turning faintly red.

"We're... we're not on a date!"

Tsushima Kagami just smiled and didn't pick up the thread. Instead he asked,

"Akane-senpai, Sonoko-senpai, coming by at this hour—you two haven't had dinner yet, have you? Want to eat with us?"

Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko exchanged a glance.

"Then we won't be shy about it."

Kosaka Akane said with a smile, nodding.

"Then sit down, senpai, sit down!"

Tsushima Kagami welcomed Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko with great enthusiasm, as if afraid they might suddenly change their minds about eating.

Sayuri hurried to the kitchen for two sets of bowls and chopsticks, filled them with rice, and set them in front of the two senpai.

"Please, help yourselves!"

The four of them sat around the table.

Sayuri, Kosaka Akane, and Machida Sonoko said "Itadakimasu" together, then each picked up some food and put it in their mouths.

Tsushima Kagami held his rice bowl up near his mouth but didn't touch his chopsticks for a long while.

He just quietly watched the three of them across from him, a faint, almost-there smile tugging at his lips.

Waiting for what was about to happen.

Heh heh... pretty girls making a mess of themselves — that was pretty cute too.

Wait, was this some new kink awakening — a thing for disasters?

Tsushima Kagami watched as the three of them picked up bites of food, little by little, and slowly brought them to their mouths.

They even chewed slowly, savoring the flavor.

The corner of his mouth curled up, the smile growing wider bit by bit.

Almost reaching his ears.

A few seconds later...

"Pfft!"

Sayuri was the first to lose it, spitting out what was in her mouth.

"Why is this so awful?!"

Her face scrunched up, tears even welling in her eyes.

She stared at the food on the table in disbelief.

Machida Sonoko's reaction was much the same.

She yanked a tissue from the box in a flash, spat the food into it, wrapped it up, then grabbed the water glass and gulped down a big mouthful.

Kosaka Akane had, at first, tried to keep her ladylike composure.

She turned aside and, as gracefully as she could manage, spat the food into the tissue Machida Sonoko held out for her.

But the next moment, her expression cracked.

Even after spitting the food out, the lingering, strange, mixed aftertaste surged over her tongue.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"

She gave up all pretense and spat right along with Sayuri, her dignified young-lady persona collapsing completely.

The living room echoed with the three girls' overlapping spitting noises.

Tsushima Kagami finally couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.

He got up, went to the kitchen, poured two glasses of water, and set them down in front of the three of them.

"Have some water, rinse your mouths out."

The three of them took the glasses and gulped down several mouthfuls before finally recovering.

Then all three pairs of eyes turned on Tsushima Kagami at once.

"That's so mean, Kagami!"

Kosaka Akane wore an expression like she was about to die.

"Sonoko and I came out of kindness to see you, and this is how you treat us?"

"I never knew Kagami had such a nasty streak!"

Machida Sonoko also looked like she'd just discovered a whole new side of him.

"You'd even prank your own senpai!"

"Kagami, you should really be planning prank shows for TV instead of writing novels!"

"Those prank-variety shows aren't even this vicious!"

Kosaka Akane added.

"Ahaha."

Tsushima Kagami laughed and waved his hands.

"Don't be mad. I promise you, the pranks on TV variety shows are a hundred times worse than mine."

"Besides... didn't we agree the Manga Research Club shares the good and the bad together?"

He looked around at the three of them and continued.

"It's rare that everyone's gathered together again today, and there's no outsiders around."

"So let's reminisce a little — savor the bitter, so we can appreciate the sweet."

"What kind of bitterness is this supposed to be!"

Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko complained in unison.

Sayuri, though, wasn't laughing along.

She looked at Tsushima Kagami, her expression shifting from confusion to disbelief.

"It was clearly so awful."

Her voice trembled slightly.

"Kagami, how did you eat it without your face even changing earlier, and even tell me it was delicious?!"

Only then did Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko realize the meal had been made by Sayuri.

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing in the other's eyes the same resigned thought: what terrible timing.

Not only had Tsushima Kagami tasted it himself, he'd smilingly invited them to eat it too.

This kouhai... how could he be so mean!

Tsushima Kagami, though, kept his same gentle smile.

He looked at Sayuri, his tone as soft as if he were soothing a frightened kitten.

"Sayuri, don't be discouraged."

"Yukinoshita Shizuku's cooking wasn't much better back in the day either. Just keep practicing and you'll get there."

He paused, his gaze shifting to Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko, the smile deepening.

"I'm sure Akane-senpai and Sonoko-senpai would be happy to help taste-test."

Sayuri's dampened mood brightened instantly.

She looked up, her eyes shining as she looked at Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko.

"Really? Akane-senpai and Sonoko-senpai are still willing to try my cooking?"

Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko's smiles froze on their faces.

"Ah-ha..."

Kosaka Akane laughed awkwardly, exchanged a look with Machida Sonoko, then shot Tsushima Kagami a fierce glare.

Kosaka Akane took Sayuri's hand and said earnestly,

"I think girls don't necessarily have to be good cooks. Everyone has things they're good at and things they're not."

"That's right, that's right!"

Machida Sonoko chimed in quickly.

"Aren't there more and more households these days where the woman's the breadwinner and the man's the stay-at-home dad?"

"Sayuri, you should just focus on what you're good at."

Sayuri tilted her head, thinking it over.

"But what if neither person is good at cooking?"

The living room fell silent for a moment.

"Then order delivery, or hire a housekeeper."

Tsushima Kagami offered the solution with a smile.

"Shut your mouth!"

Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko both turned to glare at him, teeth gritted.

"Grrr~"

Someone's stomach rumbled.

Then, another growl followed.

Finally, all three girls' stomachs seemed to compete with each other, growling one after another.

Tsushima Kagami raised both hands in surrender.

"How about I order delivery?"

"No. We want you to make us food yourself as an apology!"

Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko said in unison.

"Alright, alright, I'll cook again."

"I'll help!"

Sayuri raised her hand immediately and was about to stand up, but Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko each grabbed a side and pushed her back into her chair.

"You're not allowed!"

Forty minutes later, Tsushima Kagami had put together a proper, presentable dinner and set it on the table.

The grilled fish was cooked to perfection, its skin golden and crisp, the meat tender and juicy.

The miso soup had soft tofu and seaweed floating in it, the aroma wafting through the air.

The salad was cut into neat, even pieces, drizzled with a special sesame dressing, looking appetizing enough to make anyone hungry.

Since there were two extra people, he'd added a few more dishes.

The four of them ate to their hearts' content, the bowls and plates scraped clean.

Sayuri leaned back in her chair, patted her slightly rounded belly, and let out a satisfied burp.

"Oh, right."

She suddenly remembered something and turned to Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko.

"Akane-senpai, Sonoko-senpai, Kagami's been writing a new piece of children's literature."

"It's called The Little Prince. I'm handling the illustrations!"

"Oh?"

Kosaka Akane perked up with interest.

"What kind of story is it?"

Tsushima Kagami pulled a stack of printed manuscript pages from his bag and handed them over.

Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko took the pages and leaned in together to read.

The living room went quiet, with only the rustle of turning pages.

Sayuri and Tsushima Kagami exchanged a glance without speaking.

About twenty minutes later, the two of them finished reading.

Kosaka Akane closed the manuscript, looked up at Tsushima Kagami, her eyes complicated.

"So Kagami's playing favorites with Sayuri, huh?"

She crossed her arms, a faint smile on her lips that wasn't quite a smile.

Machida Sonoko spoke up too, her tone wistful.

"Back when we were studying for exams, Kagami said he'd already thought up a piece suited to us."

"Said we'd talk about it after graduation. Now the first semester's almost over."

She pushed up her glasses, a hint of resentment in her tone.

"I wonder if some busy person's forgotten all about it."

A buzz went off in Tsushima Kagami's head.

He did seem to remember saying that.

He also did seem to have forgotten it.

"Ahem."

He cleared his throat, his mind racing.

"I did have something in mind at the time, but later I felt it wasn't quite right, so I went back to the drawing board."

"So did you come up with something?"

Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko leaned in at the same time, giving him no room to breathe.

"Well, that's..."

Tsushima Kagami's eyes started to wander.

The air went quiet for a moment.

Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko exchanged a glance, both wearing the same "just as I thought" expression.

The two of them sighed, each patting one of his shoulders.

"Actually, we've each come up with a story of our own."

Kosaka Akane said.

"We want you to give us your thoughts."

"What do you think?"

"Oh?"

"What kind of story?"

Watching the two of their expressions, Tsushima Kagami realized today's visit wasn't really the "we had nothing better to do" excuse they'd given earlier.

It looked like they'd come to ask for his opinion from the start.

Sayuri, too, watched Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko with interest.

"Come on, let's hear it."

Tsushima Kagami and Sayuri sat together like two attentive students, listening to the two across from them.

Kosaka Akane cleared her throat and began her story.

"It goes like this..."

"The male lead mistakes a girl for the person he meant to confess to, because of a misunderstanding. But actually, the person he really likes is someone else."

"But the female lead mistakenly believes he was confessing to her, so she happily accepts, and decides he's her fiancé."

"Not only that, the female lead is an angel who fell from the sky."

Kosaka Akane's pace was measured, like she was telling a carefully woven tale.

"After that, the two of them's romantic comedy begins. Along the way, all sorts of other girls show up, gradually falling for the male lead one by one, until they're all won over."

"But then the story takes a turn — a shocking conspiracy comes to light."

"All the girls around the male lead turn out to be no ordinary people."

"In the end, everyone heads to the heavens for a showdown with the gods."

Kosaka Akane paused, took a sip of water.

Listening, two titles surfaced in Tsushima Kagami's mind — To Love Ru and Heaven's Lost Property.

Both of those works had been legendary in his past life. One was synonymous with the 'Rito Fall' gag; the other with the legend of the masked 'Genius God' and the flying panties.

Kosaka Akane continued.

"In the end, the male lead picks one out of nine girls, and it's a pure-love ending — the proposal succeeds."

Tsushima Kagami froze for a moment.

Wasn't this The Quintessential... no, wait, this would be The Nonuplets' Bride!

"Why nine?"

"Not ten, not four, not six?"

He couldn't help but ask.

Kosaka Akane tilted her head.

"I don't know either. Nine just felt right."

Tsushima Kagami fell silent.

Why did this feel oddly familiar?

Sayuri, though, hadn't caught the issue, and instead clapped excitedly.

"Sounds fun! It's a romantic comedy, and it's got all kinds of borderline racy scenes."

"It's basically right in senpai's comfort zone!"

Kosaka Akane smiled calmly, a smile carrying the ease of someone who'd been through the wringer.

"After Lost Child's failure, Sonoko and I did a lot of reflecting."

Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko exchanged a glance, then continued.

"The conclusion was: stick to plots we're already familiar with."

She paused, lowering her voice a little.

"Like, we could take a doujin plot and turn it into a mainstream manga, borderline content and all."

"As expected of senpai!"

Sayuri's eyes lit up, clearly getting the implication completely.

Tsushima Kagami, listening, also thought it wasn't a bad approach.

After all, in the early 2000s, manga's "lower-body humor" had still been hugely popular among otaku.

Whatever the "Rito Fall," whatever the "Masked Panty Genius."

Both classic gags beloved by otaku.

Add in various risqué fanservice shots, and as long as the character designs and art style were good enough, the results generally wouldn't disappoint.

"So what does Kagami think?"

Kosaka Akane looked at Tsushima Kagami.

Tsushima Kagami thought for a moment, then asked the question that concerned him most.

"Works like this are usually harem stories. Why not go with a harem ending instead of pure love? A harem ending would sell better, wouldn't it?"

Kosaka Akane's smile didn't change, but a hint of cunning flashed in her eyes.

"Ah, you don't need to worry about that, Kagami."

"We'll just put up the harem-story signboard at the start, then do a lightning-fast switch to pure love right before the ending. That way there's no trouble at all!"

"As expected of senpai!"

Sayuri exclaimed admiringly.

"That's a clever trick!"

Listening to this scalp-tingling maneuver, a name surfaced unbidden in Tsushima Kagami's mind.

We Never Learn.

In his memories from his past life, that work had been a textbook case of "harem-switch-to-pure-love."

And it switched to the childhood-friend character with the darkest skin tone, who'd had the least presence and fewest scenes the whole time.

When the ending was announced, readers had erupted with more fury than a volcanic eruption.

In the end, to quell the outrage, every character got an IF-route epilogue.

Tsushima Kagami himself hated IF-route endings more than anything.

Still, it was impressive that Kosaka Akane and Machida Sonoko had grasped this kind of traffic-generating trick after just one flop.

So, weren't they worried about getting hate mail?

Tsushima Kagami swallowed the question and turned to Machida Sonoko instead.

"So, Sonoko-senpai, what's your idea?"

"Oh, right."

Sayuri suddenly thought of something.

"Aren't you collaborating with Akane-senpai this time?"

"Ahaha."

Machida Sonoko scratched her cheek, a little embarrassed.

"Ever since last time, I've learned drawing manga is really exhausting."

Her tone turned serious.

"I think I want to go back to my roots and write a light novel I actually want to write."

"Then let's hear your story."

Tsushima Kagami said with a smile.

Machida Sonoko took a deep breath and began slowly laying out the idea and plot she'd been mulling over for a long while.

"The protagonist is a boy who feels like his life has no meaning."

"He thinks his life is meaningless, every day the same gray repetition. School, home, sleep, and the next day the same thing again."

"Nothing to look forward to, nothing worth holding onto."

"One day, he wanders down an alley by chance and finds a strange shop."

"The shop is called the Time Pawnshop."

Machida Sonoko's voice was low and even, like she was narrating something that happened deep in the night.

"This shop buys and sells time and lives. You can bring in the rest of your life, let the owner appraise it, and trade it for money."

"Curious about how much his empty, meaningless life might be worth, the male lead walks into the shop."

"There, he meets a girl..."

Machida Sonoko paused, her eyes going a little distant.

"After that, the two of them start down a path of mutual redemption."

As Machida Sonoko kept explaining, Tsushima Kagami and Sayuri both realized the rest of the plot was full of melodrama and dark themes.

In the end, the story delivered a bad ending.

The male and female leads even died together, a double suicide.

The living room fell silent for a few seconds.

Tsushima Kagami quietly analyzed it in his mind.

This story reminded him of a mashup of Three Days of Happiness and The Fortune-Colored One-Room.

The former had the premise of pawning off your life; the latter had the tone of dark redemption.

Well, well.

The last one wanted a harem-to-pure-love switch, and this one wanted a pure-love-to-double-suicide switch.

Was everyone in the Manga Research Club a little... off, mentally?

"It's really interesting."

Tsushima Kagami said sincerely.

He genuinely thought it was interesting.

Not just being polite — he truly found it interesting.

Stories with this kind of despairing, fated feel were niche in the current light novel market, but the readers they did attract were fiercely loyal.

And if the prose was good enough, it could easily become a "masterpiece" beloved by a certain kind of reader.

Tsushima Kagami spent about fifteen minutes digesting the two outlines.

Then he began — his response.

"Akane-senpai's story."

He looked at Kosaka Akane.

"I think the premise is solid. But there are a few things to watch out for."

He pulled out a blank sheet of paper and drew a line on it.

"Pacing."

"The biggest selling point of a work like this is the character designs and fanservice scenes, but the main plot can't move too slowly."

"I'd suggest advancing the main plot at least once every three to five chapters, or readers will get bored."

"Though if Editor Oonishi approves it, there'll probably be adjustments anyway."

Kosaka Akane nodded seriously and began jotting notes in her notebook.

"Also."

Tsushima Kagami continued.

"Nine heroines is a lot. It's not impossible, but you'll need a lot of setup and differentiation early on. I'd suggest introducing five or six at first, and rolling the rest out gradually."

"And lastly... the pure-love ending."

Tsushima Kagami hesitated, but said it anyway.

"It's not impossible, but be prepared to get flamed when it wraps up."

Kosaka Akane smiled.

"I'm mentally prepared for that."

"A little hate mail is nothing — it won't even make it to the Kosaka household!"

But it'll make it to the editorial department, though.

Tsushima Kagami thought to himself, wryly.

Tsushima Kagami nodded, then turned to Machida Sonoko.

"Sonoko-senpai's story goes for a dark-healing route — or maybe more accurately, a tearjerker route."

"That kind of work demands a lot from the writing."

He thought for a moment, then continued.

"I'd suggest, before the male lead enters the pawnshop, spending more pages on his daily life. Those trivial, gray, uneventful days — that's what will make readers really understand why he feels his life has 'no meaning.'"

"Then there's the female lead's characterization."

Tsushima Kagami's tone grew more serious.

"She can't just be a 'redemption tool.' She needs her own life, her own story, her own vulnerabilities and flaws."

"Only then will the double-suicide ending feel earned instead of melodramatic."

Machida Sonoko wrote quickly, her eyes behind her glasses focused and bright.

"One more thing!"

Tsushima Kagami paused, choosing his words carefully.

"Does the ending really have to be a double suicide?"

"You don't like it, Kagami?"

Machida Sonoko looked at him.

Tsushima Kagami thought about it.

"I think if it has to end in a double suicide, it doesn't need to go for such a dark, tearjerker style."

"A brighter style might actually work better."

"So that when readers reach the moment the two of them die together..."

"The feeling isn't 'finally, they're free,' but rather, 'they got to end together — how lovely.'"

"It can be done that way?"

Machida Sonoko looked up, her eyes full of anticipation as she looked at Tsushima Kagami.

"I'll go home and think it over properly!"

Tsushima Kagami didn't say anything more.

He knew that some things, the author needed to find the answer to on their own.

Say too much and he'd just become a ghostwriter, wouldn't he?

One ghostwriter in the family was enough — better to let everyone come up with something truly original.

After that, the four of them kept discussing the stories and the details of his suggestions, mulling over their own ideas.

The living room light spilled gently over the four of them.

Outside, night had fully fallen.

In the distance, a few dog barks sounded, then were scattered by the wind.

Sayuri gave a small yawn, leaning back in her chair.

Watching everyone puzzling over stories and art together, the corners of her mouth curved up without her noticing.

She felt like the atmosphere of the old Manga Research Club had come back.

____

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