manga artist Kirito

Page 135

Under the bright yet soft light, warm water vapor rose continuously...

In the bathtub filled with bubbles, her hands were on the edge of the tub, her soft, high breasts pressed against it, the girl's pretty face was slightly flushed, and her slightly narrowed eyes told of her enjoyment at this moment.

With a languid air, the girl removed the towel that had been wrapped around her hair, which made her feel a little uncomfortable. She let out a long sigh, as if releasing the fatigue of a busy day. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she slowly closed her eyes. The warm water soothed her tired muscles, and then a wave of drowsiness washed over her.

"Sister, why did you insist on coming here? And why did you want to take a bath with me?"

Curled up at the other end of the bathtub, Yukino Yukinoshita hugged her knees with both hands, as if only in this way could she feel a little safe.

After all... it's Haruno standing in front of me.

There are two people Yukino is afraid of. One is Yui from the Service Club, because Yui is not only big, but she also often hugs and rubs against her. Fortunately, Yukino knows that it is just Yui's way of showing affection, and she is not gay.

And the other one... is Yukino-chan's older sister, Yukinoshita Haruno, no doubt about it.

Compared to Yui's methods of showing intimacy, Yukino is more afraid of Haruno's sudden attacks. In the end, Yui just wants to be close, but Haruno sees it as completely different—how can a sister complex and a best friend be the same!

If she could, Yukino wouldn't want Haruno to come. But look... she came here when it got dark, gave Haruno a big hug without saying a word, and then dragged her into the bathroom to take a bath naked—wait! Where's my sister?! Where's my foxy sister?

This... she's a perverted nymphomaniac, isn't she?

With her impressions constantly being refreshed, Yukino-chan felt that something might be wrong with her older sister.

—No, it's all love!

Yes, if Haruno knew what Yukino-chan was thinking, her answer would definitely be like this.

"Of course I missed my dear Yukino-chan, so I put everything else aside and came over."

Haruno turned her head at a 45-degree angle to look at Yukino-chan, making her fair neck appear somewhat long, but her delicate collarbone was fully revealed in this movement.

"Well, the Obon festival is coming up soon, and the arrangements are relatively close to here. Plus, I just happen to want to see Yukino-chan—so there's a perfectly good reason for me to come here! Although I think you don't need any reason to see your younger sister."

"Please don't do this, sister. Unless it's necessary, I don't think you would drop what you need to do to come here without a purpose."

For the time being... Yukino-chan can still say that she knows Haruno very well, even as her impression of her is gradually being challenged.

Releasing her hands from her knees, Yukino slowly straightened her long legs. Her gaze swept over Haruno's soft, now more substantial due to the pressure, and her eyes twitched involuntarily. She then frowned slightly in dissatisfaction, but her tone conveyed a sense of helplessness.

"Is it...about Mother?"

"Not!"

Haruno smiled and shook her head, placing her hand, which was resting on the edge of the bathtub, into the warm water and gently moving it. "It has nothing to do with the family, nor is it your business, Yukino-chan... It's just Haruno's business."

With a slight upturn of her lips, Haruno splashed a little water on Yukino-chan with her palm. "It's nothing really. I just heard some interesting things, and then someone called, so I came over."

"...Because of Kiritani Kazuto?"

Yukino thought of how her older sister acted in front of a certain person, which was practically a template for another character.

"Well, you could say that... After all, the most important thing is the Obon festival, and many arrangements haven't been made well yet."

Yukino tilted her head and narrowed her eyes slightly. "I'll be staying here for a few days. Thank you for your help, Yukino-chan."

P.S.: The fact that there are few people is not an illusion... because there really aren't many people watching.

305

[NO.302 Yukinoshita and Kazuto seem pretty good too (Part 1)]

Waking up wanting a yogurt drink but finding you have plain milk instead... that's bound to be a bit frustrating, just like Kiritani-san did.

It's common sense to sleep until you naturally wake up during holidays, although Asuna woke me up about two hours ago—what was that about?

Oh, I almost forgot... It seems there was something going on at Asuna's house, so they called and asked her to come back. Shiina Mashiro and Rita also went along... Hmm, it seems Asuna's older brother, Yuuki Rito, brought that girl who looked like an alien but was actually a foreigner home, and Asuna, as the younger sister, naturally had to go back to meet her future sister-in-law...

...What was that again, Kiritani-san? He's still very young. Asuna is only a year older than Kiritani-san...still very young.

Although Kiritani-san's current achievements are more successful than most working adults, he is still just a minor on the surface... If he goes back, he might be kicked out by Asuna's parents, or... be beaten back by his brother-in-law, Yuuki Rito, who has been unhappy with him for a long time.

So, Kiritani-san was naturally left at home by Asuna—the word "left" is a little subtle, isn't it?

But, well, meeting the parents...

Kiritani-san understands this. For example, Asuna's mother is quite open-minded and willing to let Asuna, this young lady, live outside. But Asuna's father is different. Think about it from another perspective... If your daughter was thirteen or fourteen years old and a brat was dating her, how would you feel? — Break that guy's legs!

Yes, Kiritani-san completely understands Asuna's father's feelings, so no matter what, Kiritani-san will not rashly go and have someone take him to the hospital without being fully prepared.

I need to clarify here that I, Kirito, am not a daughter-obsessed person; I just understand the feelings of those who are.

"This is Ketsuno, a news anchor. At a tourist spot in Hitoyoshi City, several more tourists have gone missing. According to the investigation, the missing persons are all creators, including well-known writers and illustrators. Further developments in the situation..."

"The following are the black constellations... Libra, who's holding your phone right now, you're the unluckiest person today..."

Pouring boiling water into his instant noodles, Kiritani-kun put down his phone, picked up the remote, and turned off the news program—actually, this thing seems pretty accurate… uh, Libra?

But speaking of which, what's the story behind that news at the top? What did the famous writer and illustrator do wrong that they just disappeared like that?

After putting the lid on the instant noodles, Kiritani-san, biting on a plastic fork, took out his phone again, opened a book, and browsed Twitter, looking at those boring posts.

After all, there was really nothing else to do. Twitter was just a way to pass the time. He raised his right hand, which was still wrapped in bandages, and his mouth twitched slightly. It didn't hurt this much yesterday. What's going on now?

"Thank goodness instant noodles aren't served with chopsticks, otherwise it would have taken half an hour to finish this..."

Muttering to himself, Kiritani leaned back lazily on the sofa. "The club has at most three chapters left in their drafts, while I have less than four chapters in my completed draft... The next thing to happen is either I successfully delay the deadline or I get beaten to death by Shizuka."

...The latter is a bit scary, especially in the current situation, there's a 100% chance we can't beat them.

"How can I possibly bear this!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the doorbell rang. Kiritani-san put down his phone and went to open the door.

"There is... um? Yang Nai?"

"It's me, Kazuhito-kun!"

With a bright smile, Yang Nai leaned forward slightly. "Long time no see... Hmm, are we having lunch?"

Looking at the plastic fork that Kiritani-kun had just taken out of his mouth, Haruno came to this conclusion.

"Asuna has taken her eldest daughter back to her parents' home, and now I'm all alone in my room. Are you here to steal my attention?"

"Oh! That's a great suggestion!"

With her eyes slightly widened, Haruno gave a "that's great!" expression, though Kiritani-kun thought it looked incredibly fake.

"Oh, it's instant noodles. Eating this isn't good for your health, and it's not nutritious at all. How about I make you lunch instead?"

...I thought you were going to tell me to eat the noodles.

However, I'll pass. Haruno's cooking skills are really nothing to brag about. I, Kiritani-kun, am already ashamed that I can only make dishes related to eggs, but Haruno... if she could be even one-fifth as good as Yukino-chan in this aspect, that would be perfect!

Of course, it's still much better than that dumpling... probably.

"Please don't... Hey, wait a minute, put down my instant noodles, let's talk this out!"

Seeing Haruno peek inside the instant noodles and then carry them into the kitchen, Kiritani's expression immediately turned ugly.

If she adds anything to it, then this cup of instant noodles... will definitely be ruined.

As soon as I reached the kitchen door, I saw Haruno coming out of it—yes, Haruno with her hands empty…

"You! Do you have any complaints about my lunch?"

Peeking into the kitchen, Kiritani quickly discovered the lunch that had been carefully prepared for at least five minutes and thrown into the trash can.

"I have no complaints at all! I just think that even my own food is better than this junk food."

Yang clapped his hands, as if he had done something insignificant, "No need to thank me, come with me to buy some groceries..."

"Shut up, you spendthrift woman! Don't you think instant noodles are worth money?"

Kiritani really wanted to shove a fork into Haruno's mouth, so he took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"I didn't eat anything this morning, ma'am. Can't you wait until I finish eating before you talk to me?"

"I quite like the term 'spendthrift woman'."

With a meaningful smile, Yono reached out and hugged Kiritani's arm. "Since you don't want to eat what I make, let's go out to eat. It's my treat anyway—ah, before that, I need to clean up your messy appearance. To be honest, did you brush your teeth and wash your face?"

"Are you my mom? Why are you so talkative?"

"Please call me a spendthrift woman, I like it when you call me that."

"Damn it, you're mentally challenged. You've had a relapse of your mental illness, haven't you? If you want help, just say so. I'm not going to call a mental hospital for you anyway."

Kiritani-kun rolled his eyes, increasingly convinced that Haruno had definitely lost her mind.

"That's not right, it seems that Kazuhito really doesn't know anything about this."

Yang shook her head, then pulled Kiritani-kun towards the washroom. "You can't go out looking like this. Tidy up a bit before you go."

P.S.: It might not just be bad luck. I wrote about Kirito and Saki having bandages on their hands yesterday, and today I witnessed the driving skills of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old kid. My left wrist is swollen, and two fingers on my right hand are swollen...

By the way, if you guys don't complain, how will anyone know if you're even alive?

306

【NO.303 Hiratsuka Kazuto is alright too (Part 2)】

"how do you feel?"

"It's alright, at least there aren't any major problems yet."

"You better watch your step. You swing your arm with all your might and it's a miracle you didn't break it."

"It's an instinctive reaction. For example, if someone you dislike is about to do a wall slam on you, you'd instinctively knee them in the groin."

"I'm not that cruel, and I wouldn't act like that if this person were a ruler."

Doesn't that mean you really are that cruel?

"If it were me, would I throw her over my shoulder? What a terrifying woman."

Kirigaya leaned against the car window, watching the scenery rushing past. "Where are we going now?"

"Tonkotsu ramen, I want to eat that."

He stepped on the brakes, and after the car slowed down, Yang Nai parked the car and then unbuckled his seatbelt.

"I have a feeling... I'm going to run into someone I don't want to see."

Kiritani-kun had a bad feeling. This was a familiar place that Ms. Shizuka had brought him to more than once.

Yes, both the older single woman and the watermelon really love the tonkotsu ramen here.

Although the chances of running into her shouldn't be very high, but... if Haruno is around, it's hard to say whether Shizuka-sensei will show up.

After getting off the bus, I followed Haruno into the street, to that ramen stall with the delicious flavor... Sure enough, Kiritani saw a familiar figure. Actually, it wasn't really a figure, since Shizuka-sensei had a special fondness for white coats, and often, even when she wasn't teaching, she would habitually put on that coat...

So, as long as you see a figure wearing a white coat with long hair past her knees, it's definitely her.

So, Kiritani Kazuto turned and left without any hesitation.

However, Yang Nai, who was clinging tightly to her arm, pulled him forcefully toward the ramen stall.

Is Xiaojing really that scary?

"You have to understand what kind of lecture a creator with an injured hand receives from their editor. Personally, I like green hair, but only Yuuka; Yama is not included in this category."

Perhaps Jing'ai wouldn't resort to violence when faced with injuries, but a lecture would definitely be inevitable. Besides, the most important thing for a creator is their hands, let alone a comic artist. One wrong move and their future could be ruined... Jing'ai, of course, would avoid it if possible!

"Kiritani, is the teacher really that scary?"

Turning around, Jing Ke'ai had a cigarette dangling from her mouth, and the deep lines on her forehead clearly showed her dissatisfaction. "Hurry up and come here. The teacher isn't going to eat you."

...As it turns out, Kiritani-kun has no desire to try eating, regardless of the specific type of food it may be.

How do you say that?

Women in their thirties are like wolves, and in their forties like tigers. Jing'ai is almost thirty... well, my little body might not be able to handle it.

"Do you want to have some intimate time with me?"

Seeing that Kirito still showed no sign of coming over, Shizuka raised her eyebrows high and simultaneously raised her fist.

"No, I just remembered that I hadn't washed the underwear I took off last night, so I was planning to go back and wash it before coming here."

With a businesslike expression, Kiritani gave up struggling. "By the way, is there something important today? Like, did your matchmaking attempt fail again, Shizuka?"

"You better grit your teeth and bear it, Kiritani!"

"This is the only thing you shouldn't do; it could really lead to someone's death."

Kiritani sincerely apologized to the older single woman who had suffered a stomach hemorrhage from drinking too much recently, with his hands clasped together.

"So you're the one..."