Aimi and Megumi’s Battle Erupts Again!

Kotomi had always thought of herself as someone who didn't easily get flustered. But somehow, whenever she was around Megumi Kato, she couldn't help but feel her cheeks warming.

Actually, it didn't matter who it was; if any girl made the first move, she would end up blushing.

How strange. What could be causing this? I'll have to ask Kazumi about this when I get the chance.

"Th-thank you," Kotomi murmured, her face tinged with pink.

The two went together to the checkout, paid for their purchases, and then began walking home along the same path.

"Did you draw the cover art for this issue as well?" Megumi asked, glancing at her copy of Weekly Shonen Jump.

Kotomi nodded, not hiding anything. "Yeah, I did. Originally, I didn't feel very confident about getting the cover spot. But the editor told me that not only did I get the cover, but I also got the opening color spread! For my very first serialization, too—it still feels surreal to me."

She paused, looking thoughtful. "And then, the editor told me that I only had a few days to complete the cover illustration before this issue went to print. It was all-nighters and last-minute sprints, but I managed to finish just in time."

"You worked so hard. Even though I haven't read it yet, just seeing this cover makes me want to dive in."

"If you end up enjoying the story, I'd be so happy," Kotomi replied sincerely.

"Would you? But honestly, compared to manga, I prefer…" Megumi trailed off, as if suddenly realizing it might be too early to say what she was thinking. She quickly changed the subject to talk more about manga creation.

After a few exchanges, Kotomi couldn't help but vent, telling Megumi how hard and exhausting it was to finish a single page of manga.

Megumi responded with a gentle smile, nodding along, and answering in just the right moments.

"So, Megumi, how did the exam go for you?" Kotomi asked, shifting the conversation to the recent exams.

"Well, let's see… the difficulty level of the exams definitely ramped up. In my Class 1-B exam room, a few students were pretty shaken when they saw the tougher questions. Apparently, the difficulty of this midterm is just a guess on the teachers' part, based on the format for the upcoming final exams. Finals might be easier—or they might be even harder."

After listening to Megumi's account, Kotomi couldn't help but wonder if some students' confidence would start to waver from now on.

If the finals ended up even tougher than these exams… it would be like a full-on battle between the students and the teachers.

Good thing I have my learning ability, Kotomi thought, reassured. However hard they make it, I'll be rock-solid.

As they chatted, they eventually reached the Izumi household. Just as they were about to part ways, a voice called out:

"Onee-chan?"

Turning towards the sound, Kotomi saw Izumi Aimi standing by the front door with a garbage bag, just pulling out her keys to open it.

Aimi was stunned at the sight of her sister walking home, chatting happily with Megumi Kato.

No way. She'd gone out just to buy a book and ended up running into Megumi?

Snap—Aimi's key twisted in her hand with an almost audible groan of protest.

"Aimi?" Kotomi said, surprised.

She hadn't expected her sister to be outside taking out the trash right then, let alone to run into her with Megumi.

The timing… could not have been worse!

Kotomi felt like throwing her hands up and calling foul on the universe.

"Onee-chan, why are you walking home with her?" Aimi walked up to them, her tone clearly unhappy.

It was obvious Aimi and Megumi didn't exactly get along.

Before Kotomi could answer, Megumi interjected with her usual calmness, "I happened to run into your sister at the bookstore while I was buying a book. It must be our special connection; not only did we choose the same bookstore, but we bought the exact same book, too~"

Even though Megumi's tone was as light and gentle as ever, Aimi couldn't help but feel she was showing off!

Just like when Megumi had said how much she enjoyed cuddling with her sister that one night.

Grinding her teeth, Aimi stepped forward, grabbed Kotomi's wrist, and possessively pulled her behind her, stating, "My sister would never be 'connected' to you like that! And just because you like to talk big doesn't make it true!"

"Reality, huh?" Megumi's smile grew. "Well, if we're being realistic, it's very possible that Kotomi and I are on the same wavelength~"

Hearing this made Aimi's suspicions spike even further. She narrowed her eyes. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Well," Megumi replied casually, "they say that when two people spend even a minute together, their connection grows stronger. The other night, Kotomi and I slept in the same bed for an entire night. Wouldn't that mean our bond grew by a few hundred times? If you think about it that way, aren't Kotomi and I very much in sync?"

Megumi's gentle, smiling gaze betrayed no hostility. Yet Aimi couldn't ignore the quiet, lurking challenge behind her words.

And to make matters worse, Megumi's tone had taken on a slight emphasis when she mentioned cuddling Kotomi all night.

No way anyone could believe she wasn't doing that on purpose!

"You—Who gave you permission to cuddle my sister like that?!"

Aimi's emotions were on the verge of exploding.

As things stood, if she were piloting Unit-01, she'd have gone berserk before it even ran out of power!

Unit-01: Guess I'm not the one in charge here.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Megumi said, her voice as smooth as silk. "Kotomi and I were sharing a room at the hotel, and since we slept in the same bed, I must have held her close the whole night. Apologies."

Though her words were apologetic, there was nothing remotely regretful in her tone.

Aimi, hearing this, felt even more certain that Megumi was flaunting it!

So what if you got to cuddle my sister for a night? I cuddle her every night!

Not only that, but…

Of course, Aimi had enough sense not to say that last part in front of Kotomi.

If Kotomi got wind of it and started locking her bedroom door at night, or wearing extra layers, Aimi wouldn't be able to handle it.

Watching this tense showdown between Aimi and Megumi, Kotomi shivered involuntarily.

Inside her, even Kazumi was shaking.

"Megumi's move was brutal, going straight for Aimi's pride… attacking her heart like that? She's terrifying!"

"Kazumi, think of something! Isn't there a sure-fire way to calm down this battlefield?"

"Nope. We're doomed. Good luck and goodbye."

Kazumi hit her with a three-part takedown.

Kazumi wasn't unwilling to help but seeing the current atmosphere, she suspected that if she did intervene, it would just escalate to a full-blown three-way battle.

Who could handle that?

Not even the system could take it!

In this situation, Kazumi chose the safest course of action: total avoidance.

As for Kotomi... she would have to fend for herself!

"Crap!" Kotomi muttered under her breath, so only she and Kazumi could hear. Realizing she couldn't rely on Kazumi for help, she steeled herself to figure out a solution.

Just as Kotomi struggled to think of a way to diffuse the tension, Megumi Kato suddenly withdrew her earlier intensity, as if calling off the fight, and spoke in a calm, composed tone:

"It's getting late, so I won't keep you. See you tomorrow, Kotomi. And... goodbye, sister."

Megumi's tone was so nonchalant and cordial with the word "sister" that it wouldn't have seemed strange if she'd followed up by patting Aimi's shoulder and telling her to start calling her "sister-in-law."

The word "sister" left Aimi speechless, unable to think of a comeback.

"Oh, right! See you tomorrow!" Kotomi replied quickly.

As Megumi turned to leave, Aimi shot her retreating figure a fierce glare, then looked up at Kotomi with a deeply hurt expression.

Noticing her sister's wounded gaze, Kotomi gave a warm smile.

"What? Are you really so jealous it made you pout? Megumi was just teasing you a little."

The more Aimi thought about it, the more upset she became. She pouted and squirmed, her cheeks puffing out.

"She definitely wasn't just joking!"

"Alright, alright, maybe she wasn't. Want a piggyback ride?"

Kotomi offered her arms, coaxing her sister like a child despite their close age difference.

"No! I'm grown up now! I'm not some little kid who can be comforted with just a hug!" Aimi replied seriously.

Moments later—

"Onee-chan… can you hold me a little tighter? And, um, next time, could you carry me princess-style instead of this baby hold?"

"Sure, sure, next time."

…

Back inside, Kotomi managed to soothe most of Aimi's jealousy.

"Do you want to go to your room or the living room?" Kotomi asked, still holding her sister.

"The living room."

"So, we're home now. You can get down, right? It's not like you hurt your legs."

But Aimi ignored her, showing no intention of getting down. So Kotomi, a bit helpless, carried her to the couch and set her down.

Aimi finally relaxed, her previously upset expression gradually softening as she settled into the cushions.

"Onee-chan, weren't you just going to the bookstore? How'd you end up running into Megumi? Or… was it something you two planned?"

"No, no, absolutely not! It was just a coincidence," Kotomi quickly reassured her. "I'd told Megumi earlier that today was the first day my manga would appear in Weekly Shonen Jump, and she remembered."

"There are tons of bookstores in Chiba City, though. Why'd you both happen to go to the same one?"

"Maybe because our houses aren't far apart? From our place, it's just a few minutes' walk to Megumi's. Living so close, we probably both go to the nearest bookstore."

Aimi wanted to keep up her mild jealousy, but Kotomi's explanation sounded reasonable. She sighed and reached out her hand.

"Let me see."

"Huh?"

"The magazine your manga's in, obviously! Don't think for a second Megumi Kato's the only one who remembered Chainsaw Man started serialization today—I remembered too!"

Aimi then opened her phone and showed Kotomi the page she'd pulled up: the Shueisha website's online store.

To branch out from bookstores, most light novel and manga publishers now had their own online shopping platforms where fans could buy or pre-order issues and volumes directly. On Shueisha's platform, for example, creating an account and filling in a delivery address meant you could order new issues as soon as they came out, no bookstore required. Limited-edition sets of certain manga volumes could only be bought this way.

Ever since she'd heard her sister was now working with Shueisha, Aimi had begun tracking their announcements, eagerly awaiting the launch of the issue featuring Chainsaw Man Chapter 1.

Seeing the pre-order announcement last week, Aimi had eagerly paid right away to make sure she'd have her copy. She thought pre-ordering early would mean she'd get it ahead of others, but now both her sister and Megumi already had their copies while her order status was only just updated to "shipped, please wait."

Argh! If I'd just gone to the store to buy two copies, my sister wouldn't have run into Megumi Kato at all! Aimi clenched her teeth, realizing her mistake had led to an unacceptable oversight.

"You can buy it online too?" Kotomi was surprised to see the store page.

Since Shueisha didn't accept online submissions, she'd only been on the website once to get the address for her mail-in submission. She hadn't explored further.

"This delivery speed is terrible. I pre-ordered early, but they only shipped it today."

Grumbling, Aimi thought bitterly that if the delivery had arrived a day sooner, her sister wouldn't have had to visit the bookstore and Megumi wouldn't have shown up.

Kotomi, of course, had no idea what her sister was thinking. "They probably waited until today to release stock," she replied, handing her copy of Weekly Shonen Jump over to Aimi.

Aimi took it and glanced at the cover. From the style, she could tell right away that Kotomi had drawn the illustration, even before noticing the bright "New Serialization!" banner in bold font beside it.

"This is your work on the cover? That's amazing!"

"Hmph, what can I say? Your sister's just that good. My manga's getting rave reviews, so they gave me both the color opening and the cover," Kotomi bragged, unable to hide her pride.

"Onee-chan, if you were a cat, your tail would be standing straight up right now," Aimi teased, flipping to the first page.

Chainsaw Man kicked off the issue as the opening series.

Initially, Aimi had been a bit worried that, as someone who didn't usually read manga, she might not follow the story.

But she quickly found herself drawn in by the intense scenes, her own emotions echoing those of the characters until she was fully immersed.

When she reached the last page of the chapter, Aimi realized she'd already finished Chapter 1.

Trying to gather her thoughts, she finally burst out, unable to hold back her excitement:

"It was amazing! Onee-chan, I want to read Chapter 2 right now!"