The next day, when Ogitsu Yoshiko came to visit Takashi at the hospital, she walked in to find him staring blankly at the ceiling with lifeless eyes, looking completely defeated.
"Lost another bet on football?" Ogitsu Yoshiko asked casually.
She knew Takashi liked to gamble on football—just small bets here and there.
But he usually lost more than he won.
"I feel like things might be spiraling out of control," he muttered.
Thinking about the way Maki had looked at him last night—like she wanted to lock him in a basement—made Takashi shiver instinctively.
He was terrified.
"Who said it's out of control?"
Ogitsu Yoshiko thought he was talking about the mess he'd made. She checked her phone but saw that public opinion hadn't exploded.
Everything was going just as she expected.
"I'm not talking about that."
If it wasn't that, then it had to do with a woman.
Ogitsu Yoshiko hadn't worked with Takashi for long, but she knew him well.
"Guys who toy with women's feelings usually don't live long," she kindly reminded him.
"I'd be grateful if they just made it quick."
Takashi didn't bother to defend himself with something like "I'd never deceive a woman."
He just felt like he was walking on a tightrope his whole life—uncertain if he could make it to the other side.
"Looks like you've provoked quite the big shot this time," Ogitsu remarked, not even looking at him as she returned to her work.
She knew a bit about his romantic past.
Takashi had been involved with several daughters of major conglomerates, and she never pried into his relationships.
She wouldn't dare interfere.
Because sticking your nose in would be the fastest way to die.
Knowing she couldn't control him, she had never even tried.
"It's nothing major… just someone on par with the Shinomiya Group," Takashi said nervously.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Ogitsu Yoshiko staring straight at him.
Takashi quickly looked away.
"Do I have a grudge against you or something?" she asked.
Was she managing a celebrity?
Nope. She'd signed up to manage the living embodiment of death itself.
"Don't worry, things haven't gotten that bad yet," Takashi tried to reassure her.
"It… probably won't involve you."
Ogitsu buried her hands in her hair. The next moment, a sharp, echoing scream of "AAAAAHHHH!!!" rang out from a hospital room.
…
3 PM, University of Tokyo Hospital.
Ogitsu Yoshiko wore a grim expression as she walked quickly ahead.
Following behind her was the Kasugano family—Mr. and Mrs. Kasuga, and their two children.
"Is... is she here yet?" Kasugano Sora clutched her chest, gasping for breath.
Ogitsu Yoshiko was walking too fast, and the hospital was huge.
Kasugano's parents and her brother Kasugano Haruka could still keep up, but Sora, the frail and sickly girl, was clearly struggling.
Her heart pounded violently, and her eyelids drooped from the pain.
"Sora, just a little more," Haruka encouraged.
Too tired to speak, Kasugano Sora reached out and gently tugged on her brother's sleeve, leaning some of her weight on him.
Haruka steadied her. "Miss Ogitsu, could we stop and rest a bit?"
"Sora's really not doing well."
Ogitsu Yoshiko turned around, startled to see Sora looking like she was about to collapse.
It was the first time she'd ever seen someone with this little stamina.
"There's a bench over there. Go sit and rest for a while," she pointed.
If there's one thing hospitals don't lack, it's benches—for patients waiting on test results or their fate.
Sitting down, Sora closed her eyes slightly, as if receiving salvation.
"You and your cousin are total opposites."
Looking at the gasping Sora, Ogitsu Yoshiko couldn't help but think of Takashi, who was overflowing with energy.
That guy exercised in the morning, ran around all day handling his schedule, and still had energy to go on dates in the evening.
"How is my cousin doing?" Sora asked softly.
Hearing his name, Sora's mind immediately jumped to the doujinshi (fan-made manga) featuring Takashi.
Broad shoulders, muscular arms, V-shaped abs, thick chest, eight-pack… and that big thing—it was all engraved into her memory.
Although Eromanga-sensei had once claimed he was the model, that didn't mean the male lead was him.
After all, no real person could look exactly like a manga character.
Except Takashi.
Because in reality—he looked even better than the manga version.
Recently, he'd been all over TV and trending online. Sora, with her severe internet addiction, kept seeing his face.
And every time she saw him, her mind would replay the doujin's scenes—until they became muscle memory.
Now just hearing his name triggered the whole script in her head again.
"He—" Ogitsu started to answer, but her phone rang. She stepped aside to take the call.
"Sora, want something to drink?" Haruka asked.
"Water is fine," she said after a moment.
"Okay, wait here."
Haruka ran off to the vending machine.
Their parents whispered quietly about something.
Sora, bored, opened her private group chat again.
Little Tongtong: @Eromanga-sensei, why haven't you been online lately? Busy with something?
Eromanga: Writing my will.
Komachi: Huh?
Little Tongtong: ?
Nao: What happened?
Eromanga: Remember that custom piece I made?
Little Tongtong: Yeah, what about it?
Eromanga: It went viral.
Nao: Wasn't it a private commission? How'd it blow up?
Custom commissions are usually exclusive and personalized for one person or a small group.
In the world of doujins, that means it's drawn just for one person.
Actually, Sagiri shouldn't have shared it with the group last time.
But unlike other products, doujins don't involve contracts. You can't sue anyone. And since it hadn't really leaked online and the sponsor didn't know, no harm done.
As the saying goes: If you're not caught, it's not a crime.
Honestly, this kind of thing wasn't a big deal.
Eromanga: She shared it with her friend, who shared it with *her* friend, and so on...
Girls love sharing good stuff, right?
Girl A shared it with B, who had her own bestie C… before long, the doujin was all over.
If it were in China, something with sexual content spreading like this? One report and bam—arrests.
But this was Japan.
Mention Japan these days, and most people think of anime first.
But for the old-timers—those who survived the KuaiBo and Storm Player era—the first thing that came to mind was… Tokyo Hot.
Japan is, after all, a well-known lewd capital.
Little Tongtong: And then it went viral?
Eromanga: If only it had stopped there.
Eromanga: [sends a sighing cat meme]
If it had just stayed niche, it wouldn't be a big deal.
But—
Eromanga: Kashiwagi Eri-sensei shared it on her homepage, recommending it to everyone.
What truly launched the doujin into the mainstream was… Sawamura Spencer Eriri.
In the doujin world, her influence was like Cosplayer Kawano Hana in China.
Once she gave it her seal of approval, more and more people discovered it.
And that included Takashi's fans.
At first, his fans were furious.
How dare you draw our Takashi like that?! Do you think we can't defend our precious boy? You don't think we can rage-post with all our might?!
They stormed the group chat, spitting fire:
"What kind of group is this?!"
"You guys are a menace!"
An absolute flood of angry posts from young girls.
Until the group admin muted them, posted a few sample pages, then unmuted the chat after a few minutes.
The same people who were yelling the loudest suddenly said:
"Group admin… got any more?"
"Sorry, I was too harsh earlier."
"Please, admin, share the rest!"
Then these "scout units" went back to their own fan groups and uploaded the doujin.
Not only did they defect completely, but they also went straight to Eromanga-sensei's social media and started begging for updates.
"Sensei, please continue this series. My child loves it."
"Are you short on money, Sensei?"
"The economy's bad, it's our duty to spend! I'll lead the charge—ten copies, please!"
And just like that, the Takashi series doujin exploded in popularity—for real this time.
The level of its popularity could rival Papa Love.
Takashi probably never imagined that the first product he'd promote after becoming famous… would be a doujin of himself.
"I'm Kitahara Takashi, and I endorse this product — doujin."
Kasugano Sora found it all utterly absurd.
And honestly, so did everyone else in the group.
Little Tongtong: [Isn't this a good thing? You can make loads of money.]
Eromanga: [A good thing? I'm about to be arrested — how is that good?!]
Komachi: [Why would you get arrested?]
Eromanga: [If the real person finds out I drew a doujin of him, I'm going straight to jail.]
Actually, these kinds of doujins, when shared privately, aren't really an issue.
It's like those AI-swapped celebrity face videos — lots of people have seen them.
But once it spreads and someone traces it to you, you'd better have serious connections, or you're toast.
Otherwise...
Little Tongtong: [When you get arrested, I'll visit you.]
Eromanga: [Do you even have a conscience?]
Little Tongtong: [Anyway, I'm leaving the group now.]
Kasugano Sora stared at her phone, conflicted, unsure whether she should tell Eromanga-sensei that Takashi was her cousin.
'But what would that even change?'
Thinking about her relationship with her cousin, she decided not to say anything.
What's the point of saying something if nothing will come of it?
"Sora, here's your water."
Kasugano Haruka returned with the drink.
"Thanks," Sora replied absentmindedly, taking it.
She had barely taken a sip when Ogitsu Yoshiko came storming back, looking visibly agitated.
"Had enough rest? Time to go," she said, her tone sharp — clearly something had happened.
Kasugano Sora didn't dare ask and quickly stood up.
"Miss Ogitsu, did something happen?" Kasugano Haruka asked.
"There's a doujin artist named Eromanga who drew your cousin into a doujin."
Sora's heart jumped.
"And now the doujin is spreading."
"Damn it. Is anything going to let me rest lately?" Ogitsu muttered, typing furiously on her phone.
"Miss Ogitsu, in cases like this, what kind of punishment is typical?" Sora asked, trying to sound casual.
"Monetary compensation plus criminal liability."
"That serious?" Kasugano Haruka was wide-eyed. He thought a warning would be enough — he didn't expect legal consequences.
"Kid, do you think your cousin is a normal person?" Ogitsu gave him a sideways glance.
Children will be children.
The portrait rights of a celebrity aren't the same as a regular person's.
"In Japan, using a celebrity's likeness without their permission is already illegal."
"Let alone spreading a doujin like this."
The loss of portrait rights?
No — the loss is money.
"Just wait. If I don't send her to jail, I'll take her last name," Ogitsu said viciously.
She was already contacting a lawyer.
'What should I do?'
Sora was starting to panic.
She looked down at the group chat, wanting to tell Eromanga-sensei to run.
But as she opened the group again, she noticed someone unexpected had come online — the usually absent user "Little Kei".
Little Kei: [Don't panic.]
Little Kei: [I know the senpai. He's very gentle and easy to talk to.]
Little Kei: [As long as the artist goes and apologizes to him directly, I think there's still hope.]
Eromanga: [Really?]
Little Kei: [Really.]
Little Kei: [He's always taken good care of me. He got me a job, we've eaten together, and he even invited me to go fishing — though he's terrible at it, always catches nothing.]
Kasugano Sora frowned at the messages.
She was Takashi's cousin.
And this Little Kei was just some outsider.
Yet her cousin treated this outsider better than he treated her.
Little Tongtong: [Whoa, @Little Kei, you know Takashi?! He's a total superstar!]
Komachi: [What's it like having a celebrity friend? Must be amazing.]
Nao: [Listening to Kei, it sounds like Kitahara sees her like a little sister.]
Little Tongtong: [My big celebrity brother~ That's straight out of a shoujo manga!]
The more Sora read, the more irritated she became.
She typed: [Takashi has a younger sister.]
Little Kei: [@Yosuga no Sora, don't say things you don't understand.]
Little Kei: [Senpai doesn't have a sister.]
Little Kei: [He doesn't really have any family left. It's kind of sad.]
I don't understand?
Sora stabbed at the screen furiously with her fingers.
Yosuga no Sora: [@Little Kei, you don't know he has a cousin?!]
In her tiny rental apartment, Shirogane Kei stared at the message and frowned.
'Does she think I don't know whether senpai has a sister?'
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