"Ahh~ this feels so good~"
"Too bad Shiro and the others aren't here."
"... glug glug glug"
At a famous hot spring resort in Tokyo, Nanaka relaxed in the bath with Chisa and Aina.
This was Hanabi-chan's reward to Nanaka. Originally, she wanted Kamishiro and the boys to join, but…
Since the three of them were technically fugitives, this place—being super popular—wasn't ideal.
Hanabi assured them, however, that the trio would be housed somewhere completely safe until the weekend ended.
"Serves them right for messing with the local gang the moment they arrived. The forums are still looking for them."
Aina pouted. When browsing forums earlier, she saw threads of people still hunting for the three late at night.
The dedication was unreal—more than what cops would do for real fugitives. Tokyo high schoolers were terrifying.
It reminded her of her bestie, Kiyoko.
Wait…
She forgot to tell Kiyoko that Kamishiro was in Tokyo.
Cold sweat trickled down her forehead.
Well, Kamishiro hadn't run into any of his old flames, so it should be fine… right?
And their Kabukicho escapade failed anyway.
Still…
She was mad.
Thinking about Kabukicho made her puff up again—half angry, half sad.
On the plus side, Iori was no longer obsessed with boobs. He could now appreciate a girl's cute face.
But the downside?
Even in Kabukicho, he didn't choose her!
Her pride took a critical hit.
(′｀;)?
Next to her, Nanaka watched Aina's changing expressions in confusion.
"So… is this some new kind of acting practice?"
"Kids these days are hard to understand…"
Shaking her head, she snuggled closer to her beloved little sister.
"Ehehehehe… your boobs are so soft~"
Chisa: Glug glug glug. There's a perv!
Scene Change: Room 34, "Love Hotel", SM-themed Room
Iori and Kohei lay on a red circular bed, silently staring at the various tools scattered around—tools they'd only ever seen in AVs.
Finally, Iori broke the silence, face dark.
"So… why are we here again?"
"Kamishiro's editor said this is the safest place outside of a police station. No way those freaks will find us."
"Then why are we in this room? With one bed?"
"The owner said all other rooms were booked. Business is booming."
Kohei was equally expressionless. The two lay like corpses on opposite edges of the bed.
"I see."
"Exactly."
Silence returned.
Five seconds later—
Smack!
Iori flung a riding crop aside and yelled:
"Damn it! Why am I stuck in a room with you, you disgusting otaku?!"
This was his first time in a love hotel—and it was with a guy?!
A gross one, at that!
The pervy purple lighting, the whips, the hoods, the ropes—what were they even for?!
He couldn't take it anymore. The whole room felt cursed.
Smack!
"Like I wanted this either! You tried to blackmail Kamishiro, and now we're wanted!"
Kohei retaliated with a pink, spiky short stick, slamming it into the wall.
"I didn't know that jerk would pull a 'mutual destruction' stunt!"
Iori clutched his head in despair. Today had been more dramatic than all three years of high school.
"You should've just blackmailed him and run!"
"Ha?! Like you're any better. You froze the moment you saw a maid!"
"She was a maid, and a little-sister-type maid! Who could resist that?!"
Kohei pointed his pink toy baton at Iori, convinced he'd only done what any self-respecting otaku would.
It was all this idiot's fault!
"Why you…!"
Just as Iori was about to fire back—
Something unexpected happened.
Kohei had apparently pressed the switch on the pink toy baton by accident…
（λ?_??）
BZZZZZZ—
Staring at the endlessly wriggling pink object, the two of them once again fell into silence.
Their expressions gradually twisted in horror, and Kohei went as far as to toss the thing onto the floor.
Surprisingly, the quality of this item bought from that shop was top-notch. Even after being thrown to the ground, it kept wriggling as if trying to burrow into something.
"What the hell is this evil device?!"
Kohei, a firm believer in pure love, couldn't accept what just happened. The mere thought that he had been pointing that thing at Kitahara—
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
"SHUT UP!"
Iori clutched his head in pain. He was clearly the victim here! He never imagined there'd come a day he'd have that thing pointed at him—by a man, no less!
Wait, scratch that—even if it were a woman, he wouldn't be okay with it!
"We have to escape!"
"Yes—get the hell out of here!"
Their eyes met. In that moment, they both saw the same thought reflected in each other's gaze.
Sure, this place was technically "safe," but staying here any longer… they just couldn't get past the mental trauma.
Sharing a love hotel room with another guy? That was too much!
"Wait a sec—where's that bastard?"
Right then, Iori remembered the true culprit behind all this madness—Kamashiro Shirou.
"I think he's next door. Heard he's locked in the 'black room' writing or something."
"..."
Iori was speechless. What kind of publishing house locks authors in black rooms inside a love hotel, for crying out loud?
Hold up—
"That bastard—is he alone in the room?"
His eyes narrowed. There was no way someone like Kamishiro would obediently write alone.
Kohei shook his head, not realizing how serious this could be. "Not sure. Last I saw, he went in with his editor."
!!
Iori nearly ground his molars to dust. Why did that scumbag get to have a cute editor by his side, while he was stuck with Kohei?!
Unbearable.
Iori picked up the discarded cosplay dress and strode toward the door.
"Come on, Kohei. Let's go crash the party!"
"(;?＿?) I choose to spectate."
After today's surreal experiences, Kohei had no faith in Kitahara winning against a professional scumbag like Shirou. He'd rather sit back and watch the drama unfold like a refined bystander.
"You bastard!"
Seeing the disbelief in Kohei's eyes, Iori scoffed. "Just you wait—I'll show you!"
With that, he confidently flung the door open and walked out, like a general waving flags all over his battlefield.
Kohei followed reluctantly. Honestly, he'd rather be wandering around Akihabara right now.
But just as they stepped out—
Two burly muscle men walked up to their door.
At that exact moment, their eyes met. Shock was written across both parties' faces.
Glancing into Iori's room, the two muscle men gave them a knowing smile and said:
"Hey babies, wanna hang out later? It's way more fun with more people. We promise it'll be an experience you've never had before."
( ?° ?? ?°)╯
Staring at those confident smiles, Iori and Kohei silently took a few steps back.
Then—
SLAM!
They shut the door tight.
Silence returned to the room. Only the pink toy kept twisting and wriggling on the floor like it had a life of its own.
After a long pause, Kohei finally spoke.
"Hey, Kitahara… why did we even come to Tokyo?"
(;′??Д??`)
Iori broke into tears.
He just wanted to see Kamishiro make a fool of himself! Was that such a crime?
Meanwhile, in the room next door—
The much-envied Kamishiro was breaking down as he frantically typed away, his fingers moving so fast they left afterimages.
(;′??Д??`)
"I can't do this anymore, Hanabi-chan. I'm spent. My brain is empty!"
It was pure suffering. Kamishiro had no idea what he was even writing anymore.
A quick glance at the screen showed page after page of rants—about capitalism, his editor, and the hellish conditions he was forced into.
"Senpai! Hang in there! Once you finish writing, we can get me out and do the fun stuff!"
Hanabi-chan hadn't spoken yet, but from behind the glass wall came the voice of Kanikou (Nayuta Kani), offering encouragement.
Yes—
Nayuta still hadn't finished writing. Ever since Kamishiro had run off, she'd lost all motivation.
She tried at first, but sitting in an empty room only made her more depressed.
It wasn't until Hanabi-chan dragged her senpai back like a divine being that her motivation reignited. Now she only had a few thousand words left!
"Then hurry up, damn it!"
Glaring at the opaque glass, Kamishiro shed a single tear. Hanabi-chan had even covered up his entertainment shows now.
If he'd known it would turn out like this, he might've just stayed in that room the whole time and had fun with Nayuta instead.
At least let me relax before slaving over the keyboard!
Meanwhile, Nayuta pressed herself against the glass with sparkly eyes.
Too bad—
Hanabi-chan had added a curtain. No more visual contact.
Now the two could only exchange longing through a pink veil of separation.
SMACK!
Sensing his wandering thoughts, Hanabi-chan chopped Shirou's head again.
"Don't let worldly distractions tempt you. You still have 30,000 words to go."
!!!
"Why do I still have 30,000 left?!"
Kamishiro cracked. He'd written so much already!
Hanabi walked over, hit delete on his doc, and gave him a disgusted look. "You call this trash a manuscript?"
The whole thing had nothing to do with the plot. It was just one long complaint about the publisher, the editor (herself), and the fact that the black room was a love hotel.
If this leaked, other editors would laugh their heads off! And then steal the idea.
She knew exactly how cutthroat this industry could be.
(;?＿?)
Kamishiro . looked away in guilt. It wasn't his fault his brain was full of nothing but this mess!
Staring at the blank screen, he slammed his head against the keyboard.
THUD!
RIP.
Some time later—
After managing to crank out 4,000 words, Kamishiro cried tears of liberation.
Tearfully, he turned to Hanabi-chan. "This is it. Hanabi, this is humanity's limit!"
Everyone knows: 4,000 words is the human cap!
Too bad—
His cold-hearted editor shoved him back into the chair. "Keep going. Nayuta's already nearing 40,000 today."
"Senpai! Wait for me! I only have a few hundred left!"
Her excited voice rang from the other side.
This time, Kamishiro didn't even blink. In fact, he wanted to bury that overachiever. People like her were the reason the bar kept getting raised!
Bury her.
She must be buried.
"Ahem, Hanabi-chan… you see, I'm different from them. One's a repeating machine, the other's a crab. I'm just a normal human, okay?"
He pleaded.
But Hanabi just looked at him coolly. "You have two choices: stay here and write, or go next door and write with your 'friends'."
Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
"Wait, wait—Hanabi! I think I've got one last burst in me!"
And just like that, Shirou's fingers exploded into motion again.
He had to stay. If he ended up in that room, surrounded by two red-eyed beasts, who knew if he'd make it out alive?
This Tokyo trip was nothing like he imagined.
"Senpai, I'm coming!"
As Kamishiro frantically typed, Nayuta burst into the room.
She dove straight at him, eyes sparkling, drool glistening. Finally, she could do the fun stuff with senpai!
Kamashiro Shiro looked just as thrilled. Finally, a break!
Except they forgot one thing—
GRAB!
Just as Nayuta was about to land in his arms, she was yanked back by the scruff of her neck.
A cold voice spoke from behind:
"Please don't disturb other authors' writing time."
"AAAAHHH!!!"
Nayuta thrashed midair. "Hanabi-chan! You promised once I finished, he'd be mine!"
"That's true," Hanabi replied flatly. "But now, you can only watch. Your senpai still has 25,000 words left."
With that, she sat Nayuta in a chair and pulled out a rope.
Her attitude clearly said: Behave—or get tied up.
"You're scamming me! This is fraud! I demand a new editor!"
"You can, but if you do, you won't be working with your senpai anymore."
Hanabi-chan replied casually. When it came to dealing with kids, she was a pro.
Sure enough, upon hearing that, Kanikou stopped her tantrum and gave Kamishiro Shiro a pitiful look.
Kamishiro Shiro very tactfully averted his gaze and returned to typing.
(′-ι_-｀)
As expected, authors can never win against editors.
Back to writing!
…