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394 You’re Still Annoyingly Clinging to Life, Huh
🕑 Added 2025-07-21 15:00:15 +0000 UTCInside a vacant room, Kyousuke was casually playing Fruit Ninja with Eriri and Utaha-senpai.
The two girls stood at the front, hurling apples, tangerines, and honeydew melons with all their strength.
Behind them, Kyousuke swung his treasured blade “Shirogane,” slicing the fruit midair.
Kisaki Tetta stood by with a fruit platter, catching the pieces as they fell.
Only when the blade hadn't drawn blood could they afford to treat it like this.
Judging from Eriri’s carefree attitude, she didn’t view the priceless katana as a weapon at all—it was just a flashy ornament gifted to Kyousuke.
With a clean sweep, he chopped a honeydew into six even slices, sending them flying neatly into the tray Kisaki held.
Kyousuke then gave the blade a crisp chiburi—a blood-flicking motion—to prevent the sweet juice from sliding down the edge to the hilt.
Even after play like this, the blade needed proper care. Leave it too long, and it would rust.
Just then, Kisaki’s phone rang.
He set the fruit platter on the table and looked toward Kyousuke.
“Boss, the interview’s about to begin.”
In other words, Kosaka Akane was on her way.
“Got it. You go ahead and bring her to the interview room.”
Kyousuke gave a brief nod and picked up a towel to wipe the blade clean.
———————————————————————
Some Time Later
A woman with fiery red hair strode confidently through the doors of Carbonated Animation Studio.
She wore a sleeveless, high-slit dress and long, black stockings.
Her aura was overwhelming.
She removed her sunglasses with a smirk as the roomful of wary stares turned to her.
“This way to the interview,” Kisaki said flatly, his expression unchanged.
Akane didn’t reply.
With her usual arrogance, she walked upstairs following Kisaki’s lead, her entourage trailing behind.
She paused here and there to admire the posters along the walls.
She carried herself as if she were the rightful owner of the place, enraging the crew of burly men in black suits—cleaning staff, today.
The air felt heavy with the sentiment of “if the boss is insulted, the subordinates will avenge him.”
It seemed like they were all just barely resisting the urge to rip open their jackets, draw their swords, and cut her down on the spot.
“For a child’s game, this place sure knows how to put on a show,” Akane commented mockingly.
Her own subordinates were clearly shaken by the glares, knees trembling, but they still mustered a shaky response under her iron presence.
Then, almost instinctively, they looked down, as if they might flee at any moment.
“The interview starts soon. If you're late, it will be considered forfeited,” Kisaki reminded her, still expressionless.
“Oh? I thought today’s interview was a solo performance just for me,” Akane laughed.
Her voice wasn’t the usual silky tone of an older woman—it had a rough edge, the kind that commanded a room.
“This company belongs to Hojou Kyousuke,” Kisaki cut in before she could say more and stepped forward to lead the way.
———————————————————————
[Interview Room]
Akane glanced at the “Cola Cheers!” sign on the wall and the word “Carbonated,” then chuckled again.
If Kyousuke agreed, she thought, that might be a great name to keep for the project team.
Kisaki opened the door and entered first.
Akane followed, laughing boldly.
“I half expected to be turned away at the door. Didn’t think you had it in you, Hojou-sensei.”
Even now, she called him “sensei,” with the same shameless arrogance as her blazing red hair.
“Of course. My mother always taught me—manners maketh man.”
Kyousuke stared directly at Akane while quietly hiding the katana Eriri had just shoved into his hand under the desk.
As if he’d bar her entry, Eriri literally planned to behead her the moment she stepped in.
Eriri, who was in the middle of whispering, “At the crash of the teacup, send in 300 warriors to hack Kosaka Akane to pieces,” hadn’t expected her to arrive so quickly.
She coughed awkwardly and scrambled back to her seat.
Akane batted her lashes and swept her gaze across the panel.
In the center sat Hojou Kyousuke, to his left was Kashiwagi Eiri—the illustrator behind the doujin group egoist-Lily, and to his right, the best-selling light novelist Kasumi Utako, with over 1.5 million copies sold.
She knew full well Kyousuke’s comment was sarcasm, calling out her lack of honor and tendency to ambush others. But still—
“My mother said the same thing. And I followed it… until I saw what the real world was like.”
Without waiting for their response, she placed a hand on her absurdly tiny waist and flashed a smile.
“Nice to meet you all. I’m Kosaka Akane. I look forward to working with you.”
She bowed at a perfect 45-degree angle, then raised her head with a grin.
“This is how interviewees usually greet the panel, right? Sorry, it’s my first time.”
“Surprised you even know basic etiquette,” Utaha said coolly.
Unlike the flustered Eriri who was still trying to collect herself, Utaha’s expression was cold and sharp.
Akane ignored her and headed toward the chair at the center, intending to sit.
“You haven’t been given permission to sit!” Eriri snapped stiffly.
Akane didn’t even pause.
She sat gracefully, crossed her legs, and looked playfully at the blonde girl.
Her gaze was too sharp for a woman.
Eriri, flustered, averted her eyes—then forced herself to look back, then averted them again.
Back and forth, until she wore an expression more like a bullied child than a fierce interrogator.
Utaha sighed softly. She saw this coming.
Eriri had been too protected. This wasn’t her turf at all.
Still, from Utaha’s perspective, Eriri was doing surprisingly well.
After all, this was likely her first real experience facing “society.”
“The real world? And what we aren’t living in the same world as you?” Kyousuke smiled gently at Akane.
He actually did feel a little sympathy for her.
A work she’d poured her heart into had turned into a total flop.
Even her original fans had abandoned her.
It was the definition of tragedy.
But—
“That’s exactly why the world can be changed. If society is real, it can be reshaped.
As creators, isn’t it our job to take the world we see in our minds and show it to the audience?
If you don’t like the so-called real world… why not color it in with your own vision?”
‘Exactly! That’s what I’ve always believed!’
Eriri nodded furiously beside him, thrilled with her spokesperson.
Akane remained unmoved.
She even lowered her head and shook it with an air of pity.
“So young. You’re all just so young. Looking at those faces untouched by the cruelty of society… It only confirms that I wasn’t wrong.”
“Not wrong?! Do you even hear yourself?!” Eriri slammed her hands on the table, she ignore the pain in her hand and glaring at her.
“You made a fortune in royalties not to buy cars, not to party in Roppongi, not to rent islands for fashion models but to buy a house, an office building, and then play pretend at school every day like it’s some dumb game of house.
Hojou Kyousuke, you have zero ambition. I don’t see even a hint of someone trying to ‘color the world’ in you.”
Kosaka Akane stared coldly at Kyousuke, her tone growing sharper with each word.
Eriri blinked once, then again, and finally couldn’t help but glance at the boy sitting beside her.
So… what should a man do once he gets rich?
But when her mom found out Kyousuke had money, wasn’t she super happy that he used it to buy a house?
She even said if it wasn’t enough, their family would pitch in.
What was wrong with that?
Kasumigaoka Utaha’s face looked a little stiff.
Despite all her efforts to be the ideal wife capable of supporting Kyousuke’s career in public and maintaining a peaceful home in private
—she had ended up sinking into the tranquil, complacent life that Kyousuke’s “lack of ambition” had created.
Meanwhile, Kyousuke was thinking:
‘You’ve said your piece, now what am I supposed to say?’
‘Where exactly do I look unambitious to you?’
‘I’m literally working every day toward the most perfect dream imaginable!’
‘Not that someone like you could ever understand that kind of joy.’
He honestly had no idea how to explain it—his dream was far too grand for ordinary people to grasp.
But fortunately, he wasn’t alone.
There were always people who understood him.
“So that’s the excuse you came up with to cover your own underhanded tactics?” Eriri asked.
“Underhanded?”
Kosaka Akane chuckled darkly, like she’d just heard a joke, and then fixed her penetrating gaze on Eriri—eyes so intense they felt like they could pull someone into their depths.
“I think you’ve misunderstood something. My actions weren’t aimed at sabotaging Hojou Kyousuke. Quite the opposite, in fact.
I was trying to prevent someone as overwhelmingly talented as him from wasting his gifts on something so trivial. Whether it’s him, or you, or even Kasumi Utako—you should all be thanking me.”
“Are you insane?! That’s your explanation?!” Eriri, usually proud and composed, was now visibly enraged by the sheer arrogance in front of her.
“Oh, but it was effective, wasn’t it? After this whole ordeal, I’m sure you’ve realized by now—the industry isn’t a child’s playground.”
‘You bitch! How dare you!?’
Eriri grabbed the bottle of water on the table, ready to throw it to the floor—only for Kyousuke to calmly intercept it and twist open the cap for her.
‘Idiot assistant! I wasn’t thirsty! I was about to rage-throw that! Where are my 300 executioners?!’
“You’re not exactly young anymore, so maybe it’s time to drop the edgy, adolescent ‘everything is meaningless’ act,” Kyousuke said coolly.
“No matter how you spin it, you're meddling in things that don’t concern you. Spending my time and energy on what makes me happy—how is that a waste?
Or are you saying that your own time in the manga club back in school was meaningless too?”
“Exactly!” Eriri added loudly, thrilled that her stand-in was doing such a brilliant job. “So what, after drinking cola, are you going to claim plain water is just as good and deny how happy the cola made you?!”
Utaha watched the two lovable slackers beside her with a mix of affection and helpless resignation.
Kosaka Akane, hearing this, couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
‘This man really is an irredeemable, lazy fish.’ And yet, she also felt her own overwhelming aura take a slight hit.
Still, over the past three years, she had never stopped watching Hojou Kyousuke.
She had a deep understanding of the kind of person he was.
She knew better than to keep pushing against the unshakable fish.
Instead, she shifted her gaze to her real target for the day—Eriri.
“Long time no see, Kashiwagi Eiri-sensei.”
“If that’s your idea of easing the mood by pretending you only just noticed me, congratulations. It worked.”
Eriri kept her expression taut, unsurprised that Akane knew her pen name.
“Haha, don’t be like that. I was just genuinely happy to see you again somewhere other than a doujin convention.”
“I don’t need your concern. And besides—”
Eriri didn’t even get to finish her sentence before Akane rudely cut her off.
“But I suppose it’s no surprise. Anyone living under Hojou Kyousuke’s roof, surrounded by happiness, would stay brimming with energy. But it’s been three years, and the growth I’ve seen in your work, Kashiwagi Eiri, has been… frankly pathetic.”
“Ha!?” Eriri’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Kosaka Akane, have you been out of the doujin scene so long that you’ve lost touch? Egoist-Lily, the circle Kashiwagi belongs to, ranked in the top twenty at the last convention.
The line for her booth was one of the longest in the entire venue,” Kasumigaoka Utaha said, stepping in.
Eriri didn’t know why Kosaka Akane seemed to know so much about her.
But she did recall that Akane’s company, Mars, operated in manga, anime, and novels—and even had its own doujin circle to nurture young creators.
Though last year, she’d completely handed management of that circle over to someone else.
“And you as well, Kasumi Utako-sensei. It’s been three years. Where’s your new work? I see no growth from you either.”
Akane didn’t even respond to Utaha’s rebuttal. She just snapped right back:
“To be blunt, I came here today because I wanted to recruit you. But the truth is—we’re not even on the same level.
I’m waiting for who you could become in the future. Unfortunately, aside from Hojou Kyousuke, I’ve seen barely any improvement from the rest of you in these past three years.”
"As far as I know, Hojou Kyousuke started this company with one goal in mind—he wanted to bring the works of Eriri Spencer Sawamura and Kasumi Utako to life through animation, didn’t he?"
Even though she wasn’t sure where this was going, Eriri lifted her chin proudly.
"Then let me ask you—do you think you two, as you are now, can actually create something great?"
Kosaka Akane rested one elbow on her knee, leaned forward, and propped her chin on her hand as she stared at Eriri.
"A key animator?"
Then she turned to Utaha.
"A scriptwriter?"
"Do you honestly believe you’ll be an asset to Hojou Kyousuke’s production team—or a burden?"
"In your hands, will his work become a masterpiece… or a steaming pile of garbage?"
"Shut up. Who said you were in charge here?" Kyousuke cut in coldly.
But before he could say more, Eriri squeezed his hand tightly and interrupted him.
The usually timid, soft-hearted girl who could be shaken by the slightest breeze was now trembling, her bright blue eyes locked on Kosaka Akane, flickering wildly with emotion.
Even a blind man could tell: she was being shaken by those words.
"Maybe that was a bit harsh," Akane said with a mock sigh. "So let me rephrase."
She ignored Kyousuke and focused on Eriri, whose confidence was already starting to crumble.
"Do you think it's okay to just get together and have fun, even if the end result is garbage? Hm?"
"Sawamura Spencer Eriri, what do you really want? Why did you come to this company?"
Her tone was completely unlike that of a job candidate.
Instead, it was like a full-on interrogation, pressing down on Eriri with suffocating force.
"Eriri, you don’t need to take her seriously. She’s just playing mind games," Kyousuke said, watching Eriri’s face turn paler by the second.
He was already starting to regret not ordering Kisaki to dump Kosaka Akane into Tokyo Bay the moment she walked through the door.
Why had she been so excited to come here with Kyousuke?
Why had she been thrilled for weeks, unable to sleep the night before, tossing and turning under her blanket?
Why had she buried her face in her pillow, trying to muffle the uncontrollable squeals of joy?
Because this was the place where she and Kyousuke’s work could finally be made into anime.
In the beginning, Eriri had never imagined there would be a real company behind it all.
In her head, their studio was just her bedroom—she’d be the director and artist, Kyousuke would handle the script, the animation, and all the grunt work.
Progress would be slow, but that didn’t matter.
They had their whole lives to finish it together.
But what she couldn’t accept… was that their creation, something born from both their hearts, might be ruined because of her own inadequacy.
...
"Miss Spencer, is this the extent of your resolve as a creator? Have you never once thought about turning your work into something truly beloved?"
Kosaka Akane smiled to herself.
Just as she’d suspected, based on all the intel she’d gathered, Eriri was the perfect weak spot.
Still smiling, she glanced toward the door.
"Aki, you can come in now."
She called out casually, then turned to face the doorway.
Her assistant walked in, carrying a tall stack of file folders, dressed in a plain blue T-shirt.
"Excuse me."
"I'm Aki Tomoya, a part-time assistant at Mars. Nice to meet you."
Yes—after being gone for who knows how long, Aki Tomoya had returned.
And the moment Kyousuke saw him standing there, his expression turned sharp, dangerous.
"Aki Tomoya… You really are a cockroach, huh? Still crawling around."
He didn’t bother hiding his disgust.
