Hino's soft, smiling sketch on the final page became the last image readers saw that week.
She didn't know why she drew him. She only knew she had to.
The drawing technique she had trained, because of Tōru's encouragement, let her hands recreate the boy she had forgotten.
Her mind erased him, but her body remembered him perfectly.Instinct turned into portraits.
Tonight had moved slowly from the very beginning. But that slow pace stored emotion like pressure in a valve.
Chapter nine was when everything finally burst.
After chapter eight, readers were full of regrets and fury toward Shirogane's cruel setup.
Why congenital heart disease? Why couldn't Tōru just… live?
But after chapter nine, readers weren't angry anymore, they were just crying.
A heavy, aching sadness lingered in their chests.
Even breathing felt difficult.
"Shirogane-sensei, how could she do this? I was supposed to go out tonight, I cried my makeup off!"
"My heart feels numb after reading it."
"I thought last chapter was the peak of suffering, but this one hurts even more."
"How did Hino even remember Tōru's face enough to draw him?"
"It was in chapter one. She found his old sketchbook wedged in a cabinet crack."
"If Izumi hadn't returned her real diary, she would've never rediscovered him."
"And after seeing that sketchbook, she just...couldn't stop?"
"Exactly. Her body remembered him. Only her memory didn't."
"Tōru didn't disappear from her life, he just lived somewhere deeper."
"I'm fine, really, just that the last page of chapter nine made me freeze. My older brother, a full-grown guy, read it with red eyes.I laughed at him for like half a day."
"Shirogane, please… please stop torturing us."
"Did you see the announcement? Tonight ends in two weeks."
"Two weeks?!"
"The male lead is dead. Of course it's ending."
"This manga is practically Hino's coming-of-age story now."
"But still… I can't accept it."
"Can Shirogane just resurrect Tōru next week?"
"Resurrect? What is this, Shōnen Jump?"
"I don't care, just bring him back!"
"Another week of suffering, and I still have to vote for Tonight.God, I'm such a masochist."
"Same. I hate Shirogane, but I love Tōru and Izumi too much."
"Ametsukage Weekly should open a poll for 'Most Hated Author'.Shirogane would win in one second!"
"No competition."
"The volume release is in two days… sigh. I hope Shirogane adds extra content."
"At least show Tōru's thoughts before he died. Something. Anything."
"You demon! I don't want to cry all over again!"
"I WILL cry all over again!"
"That's the problem!"
By noon, the Tonight discussions dominated the entire Ametsukage forum.
Fans of other series just stared in disbelief.
"What is wrong with these people…?"
"They insult the author, they cry, they still vote for the series."
"Are they schizophrenic?"
The chaos lasted until late night.
Then Saturday finally arrived.
Rei woke up early, unable to sleep, and went straight into morning exercise.
Meanwhile, Misaki and Miyu were already up before seven. Both in pajamas, both standing in the living room, both equally awkward.
Although the two sisters didn't speak, both clearly knew they were thinking about one thing , the new ranking of Tonight.
Misaki, of course, had to care as the editor. And Miyu, while she wanted Rei to lose to her, she absolutely refused to let him lose to anyone else.
If possible, she wanted him to dominate Ametsukage Weekly.
Misaki also understood something else: Editor-in-Chief Han had told her Rei could submit to Dream Comic next year, but being allowed to submit and actually passing the serialization meeting were two entirely different things.
A manga artist's odds shoot up when their previous work performed extremely well. If Tonight could land second place, or even first, before ending, Rei's competitors wouldn't be able to rely on reputation or seniority to push him out in the serialization meeting.
Nine o'clock arrived, and so did their breakfast delivery. While eating, Misaki's phone buzzed with a new email.
Seeing Misaki scrolling silently, Miyu felt her heart tighten in her chest.
"Did the stats come out?" she asked, cautious.
"Mm."
Misaki stared at her screen for a moment, then finally said:
"It rose to second place. Youth Rhythm got 10,689 votes, and Tonight got 12,856."
"What about first place?
How many did Labyrinth Detective Agency get?"
"12,908."
Misaki sighed softly.
"So close… only fifty-two votes short."
Miyu instantly understood why her sister had been silent.
If they'd been far from first, Misaki wouldn't have reacted. But losing by a tiny margin like this?
That was enough to make anyone grind their teeth.
"I should've bought fifty-three extra copies myself and voted for Rei," Miyu muttered in frustration.
"You're a professional manga artist," Misaki scolded. "Don't even think that way. Besides, the company checks multiple data points, if you tried something shady, it could actually harm Rei."
"If you win, you win cleanly. If you lose, you lose cleanly. And Rei still has two more weeks left to fight."
But halfway through her lecture, Misaki suddenly noticed Miyu's fingers tapping rapidly.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Messaging Rei," Miyu said without shame. "If we're depressed, the main culprit should be too!"
…
Across town, Rei received Miyu's angry message, stared at it for a second, and then smiled.
He replied with just one line:
"Next week, I will win."
Rei didn't linger on the ranking.
After texting Miyu, he logged into his author account and posted the same message on his socials.
Because tomorrow, the first printed volume of Tonight, ould finally be released.