Tokyo: Oreimo

Ryosuke was bewildered by Ling Nai's glare; he was clearly a victim too.

How could you possibly dodge it? Who would have thought you'd be suddenly attacked by a beautiful girl?

"Can you give me a reply? CLAMP-sensei, I get shy being stared at by everyone here."

Because of Takashiro Ryouno's loud shouts earlier, the entire editorial department's attention was focused on her.

But Ryosuke didn't actually see any shyness on Arina Haruba's face.

Although he said such things, he seemed completely unconcerned.

"Huh? You actually know what shame is? Doing something like this in public, you have absolutely no sense of decency!"

Takashiro Ryono retorted and dragged Ryosuke away.

"Let's go, stay away from this kind of guy."

Ryosuke stumbled as his sister pulled him, but his other wrist was still held by Arina Haruba, who dragged the twin-tailed girl along with him.

"Let go! I'm calling the police if you keep doing this!"

"No, CLAMP-sensei hasn't given me an answer yet!"

The two blonde girls were locked in a fierce struggle, each gripping Ryosuke's hand tightly, pulling with both ends as if they were in a tug-of-war.

Ling Nai: "That guy won't date you, don't even dream about it!"

Arina Haruba: "You're forbidding your brother from dating because you want to monopolize CLAMP-sensei's creative abilities? That kind of thinking is shameless!"

"Hey you! What are you talking about?!"

Ling Nai was so angry that her hair was practically standing on end.

"Isn't that right? Without relying on CLAMP's script, Rumiko Takashiro is just so-so. In a work like 'Moon Witch Transformation,' isn't it just a pure diary entry in the end?"

"You created Cardcaptor Sakura thanks to him, am I wrong?"

"What can't be surpassed in the magical girl genre? Just in terms of drawing, I can draw better than you. If CLAMP-sensei collaborates with me, I will definitely be able to create a better work than you."

Haruba Arina spoke expressionlessly, each word ignoring Takashiro Ryouno.

What? This blond copycat is willing to date that guy just to cooperate with him?

And you even said you could draw better than me?

"Are you kidding me?!"

With a sudden, forceful tug, Ryosuke was pulled directly to her side by Takashiro Ryouno's hand.

Because Haruba Arina refused to let go, she was pulled down to the ground by this force.

"Ouch--"

The girl with twin ponytails cried out in pain, but still didn't let go.

"Wait, Ling Nai."

"You rascal, you're not planning to say yes to her, are you?"

Ling Nai glared at him fiercely, but stopped in her tracks when Ryosuke spoke.

If you dare to agree, I'll never talk to him again!

Ryosuke glanced down at Arina Haruba, who was still sitting on the ground, gripping his wrist tightly, then looked up at his sister, whose eyes were red with anger. Suddenly, he felt a throbbing in his temples.

They're using him as a rope in a tug-of-war. Luckily, one side is relatively weak. If they were evenly matched, wouldn't they be torn apart?

"You two, let go first."

"do not want!"

They answered in unison, even their tones were identical.

Ryosuke took a deep breath.

"Mr. Haruba, is it alright if I call you that?" This was the first time he had used that name to address the twin-tailed girl in front of him.

"CLAMP-sensei can call me whatever you want. If you agree to date me, you can call me Ichiro."

“…”

There's no need for that. Ryosuke doesn't consider himself to be so outgoing that he can just call people by their names right away.

"I can't speak properly when you're holding me like this."

Arina Haruba blinked at Ryosuke, noticing a hint of anger on his face, and finally slowly loosened her grip.

Ryosuke stretched his wrist, which had gone numb from being gripped so tightly, and turned to Ayano: "You let go first too."

"Humph!"

Takashiro Ryouno bit her lip and reluctantly let go, but she still stood in front of Ryosuke, arms crossed, looking annoyed.

Ryosuke stepped past his sister who was blocking his way, squatted down, and looked at Arina Haruba.

"Thank you for your kind words, Haruba-sensei, but please allow me to decline your previous request to date me."

"Why? Is it because you have small breasts?"

Arina Haruba was very confident in her appearance. The only thing she felt was inferior to Ryouno was the small mound on her chest.

"?"

Ryosuke smirked.

Wait a minute, is there something wrong with this shoujo manga artist's thought process?

After being rejected, he actually considered physical reasons instead of emotional ones.

In the other person's mind, is dating just about looks?

In terms of looks alone, among all the women around him, Ryosuke has never met a rival who can match Hououin Saori.

"My mother said that my only flaw right now is my appearance, and that I'll be more popular with men once I've fully developed."

No way? What mother would educate her daughter like that?

“No…” Ryosuke denied Arina Haruba’s opinion.

"Ah, I see. CLAMP-sensei has that kind of germaphobia, right?"

As if suddenly remembering something, Haruba Arina solemnly said, "Please rest assured, I have never dated anyone before, and I am still a virgin."

“…”

What kind of outrageous and inappropriate words are these?

Ryosuke's facial expression twitched slightly.

"What are you saying in public?"

As a woman herself, upon hearing such words from the other person, Takashiro Ryouno's face instantly burned. Ignoring her previous anger, she immediately stepped forward and covered the other person's mouth.

"Waaah!"

Arina Haruba struggled desperately, but she was no match for Ryouno's monstrous strength.

"I never expected Mr. Haruba to be such a frivolous person."

"Is it because she wants to become famous? I've seen her work. Her drawing skills are fine, but her storytelling is definitely a weakness. If she can collaborate with a well-known creator, she might just succeed."

"That's true to some extent. Compared to Rumiko Takashiro's artwork, the storytelling plays a much larger role in whether a manga becomes popular."

"You're underestimating Rumiko Takashiro, aren't you? Have you forgotten that she can switch art styles at will? Not just any manga artist can do that."

"Speaking of which, CLAMP-sensei is really popular."

"If a beautiful girl like that confessed to me, I would definitely say yes. I wouldn't lose out, would I?"

"Tsk, that's a really lame way of putting it, awful."

The editors around them were watching the spectacle with amusement, discussing among themselves.

This can't go on. We need to find a quiet place to talk things out properly.

It's not like I'm never coming to Shueisha again. If I don't get rid of that idea of ​​Arina Haruba, she might just be waiting for me.

Ryosuke looked at Hideo Nomura beside him, who also looked completely bewildered.

He reluctantly made the request.

"Please give us a private meeting room, thank you, Editor Nomura."

Chapter 149 Provocation

In the conference room, Takashiro Ryouno tapped the table impatiently, making a series of 'tap tap tap' sounds.

Her eyes were fixed on Haruha Arina, who was sitting across from her.

What's going on with this guy?

Confessing one's feelings to a stranger is one thing, but the motive of collaborating with a bestselling comic book scriptwriter is not hard to understand.

But to say such things in public is like advertising yourself as a prostitute in a red-light district.

"Mr. Haruba, please calm down and don't cause trouble for others."

Kenta Kimura was also in the meeting room. After all, he was the other party's editor, and he was also responsible for allowing the other party to cause such a commotion in the company.

"Didn't Editor Kimura say my story wasn't good enough? I'm working hard on it too. Collaborating with CLAMP is the solution I came up with, and it proves that I'm no worse than Rumiko Takashiro, right?"

Haruba Arina's remarks immediately drew the attention of the other three people in the meeting room to the editor.

So it was you who instigated this?

"Don't talk nonsense, Haruba-sensei. I just want you to go back and redraw the manuscript."

Under the scrutinizing gazes of several people, Kenta Kimura wiped the sweat from his forehead.

What does this have to do with him? Is it wrong for an editor to give an honest evaluation of a work?

The reason why she took such a step was entirely due to Arina Haruba's own actions.

Arina Haruba tilted her head, her expression so serious it didn't seem like she was joking. "I'm using my youth as a bargaining chip to get the opportunity to collaborate with CLAMP-sensei. Is there a problem with that?"

"What's wrong...? You don't seem to lack common sense, do you?" Ling Nai's expression froze for a moment, and her burning anger paused.