The next morning, a rumor about the manga artist Mizushiro and voice actress Ryuko Mei began to quietly circulate in the manga industry.

Especially among those who had watched the live-streamed match the night everyone was gossiping. Mizushiro had literally taken Ryuko by the hand and pulled her out of the stadium. And they expect us to believe there's nothing going on?

But most fans were surprisingly supportive. After all, they followed Mizushiro for his work, and Ryuko had never underperformed in any of his anime. Seeing them together didn't feel like a betrayal it felt like the natural outcome. Even some of Ryuko's male fans who expressed disappointment quickly admitted that her personal life was her own. Their objections didn't matter.

That morning, Haruki opened fend to find his name trending. Under his latest post, fans had flooded the comments.

"Congrats, Mizushiro-sensei and Ryuko-chan!"

"Finally! We always knew something was going on!"

"This feels like a manga plot in itself."

Haruki could only stare blankly at the screen. They didn't know anything and had somehow already declared them a couple.

He didn't even bother replying. What was he supposed to say? Even if he tried to clarify things, fans would only believe what they wanted to see. And really... it wasn't worth the trouble. If people misunderstood, then so be it.

But that didn't stop his friends from calling.

"Haruki, I saw the rumors this morning," Haruka was the first to message him. "You and Ryuko? Is that true?"

She was one of the few people who had sensed Ryuko's feelings toward Haruki early on. In fact, it was a conversation Haruka had with her that indirectly pushed Ryuko to finally act. If not for that little push, Ryuko might have waited endlessly, trying to 'naturally' get closer to Haruki.

"Well... You're both adults," Haruka said after a pause. "I shouldn't interfere in your personal life. Just don't let this affect your deadlines. As long as you deliver the manuscripts on time, whatever you do in your free time is your call."

These days, Haruki was one of Echo Shroud Publishing's top creators. Two of the top three most popular serials in Shroud Line were his. Haruka had no choice but to tread carefully.

"I'm not dating her," Haruki replied, rubbing his forehead. "Haruka, you're usually better than this. You're falling for online rumors?"

He explained how he and Ryuko had simply gone to watch the match together. The public speculation was just that speculation. What he didn't mention, of course, was Ryuko's confession.

Whether Haruka believed him entirely or not... Haruki wasn't sure.

Not long after, Kazuya called.

"Bro... You finally get it now?" he said before Haruki could even say hello. "Took you long enough. I could tell Ryuko was into you months ago. You're like a block of wood, honestly. So who made the first move, you or her? Wait don't tell me, it was her, right? Of course it was."

Haruki said nothing.

Kazuya had gotten everything right... except for one small thing.

"She confessed," Haruki said, "and I turned her down."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"You're serious?" Kazuya finally asked. "Damn. Alright... just ignore what I said earlier then."

Haruki could practically hear the awkward cough before Kazuya hung up.

Then Airi called.

She'd logged on that morning to see all her friends gossiping about the 'in-game couple reveal.' She felt completely blindsided.

"I can't believe you two went without me!" she pouted after he explained. "Next time there's a tournament, I'm coming too. No excuses."

Haruki had to fumble for a reason, claiming he didn't want to distract her from her manga deadlines. That only kind of worked.

By the time noon rolled around, Haruki was already exhausted from explaining himself.

Finally, when he opened Line, he saw that Ryuko had messaged him over an hour ago. She'd returned safely to her hometown and sent him a few photos of the snowy scenery.

In the last one, she was in the frame herself white flakes dusting her hair, steam rising from her breath, a warm smile on her face. She looked even more vibrant than usual. More... alive.

Haruki stared at the image a few seconds longer than he meant to before closing it.

She was right.

Just a few days ago, seeing Ryuko share random parts of her day wouldn't have felt strange at all. But today, that same gesture felt... loaded.

"Forget it. Back to drawing."

The next few chapters had already been completed, but Haruki sat down to do more work anyway anything to distract himself from spiraling.

The days passed. A week later, the New Year arrived.

Haruki stayed in Tokyo again this year. Going back to his hometown felt pointless he had no close family there anymore, and flying all the way to the home just to be alone didn't seem worth it.

Ryuko, on the other hand, kept in touch more frequently after the confession. Her Line messages were regular now updates from home, thoughts about work, the occasional silly voice meme.

Haruki still hoped things would settle down, that Ryuko might eventually give up. Maybe she'd realize it wasn't worth the effort and go back to being just a friend.

But then, a few days before New Year's, she mailed him a box of local sweets from her hometown.

Inside was a note:

"Hope you're staying warm. Don't forget to eat properly, even if you're working. -Ryuko"

Haruki sighed.

So much for "just friends."

Meanwhile, to the public, the rumors faded quickly.

Within days, the fanbase had moved on. After all, Natsume's Friends had been running for over a year and a half now. Readers were used to seeing new chapters every week.

The fifth volume had just launched, and total domestic sales had hit 7.1 million copies. With an average of 1.44 million sales per volume, Haruki was pleased. The series still had room to grow. With time, he was confident it would reach even higher.

As for Initial D, it had only been serialized for six months, but according to Haruka, a compiled volume release was already in the works. Several animation studios were even competing for the rights to adapt it.

But Haruki wasn't paying much attention to any of that. Business negotiations weren't his thing. That was Haruka's job. And honestly, he had enough on his mind already.

(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-atreon.com/Alioth23 for 60+ advanced chapters)