Crossover Anime: I'm Kasumigaoka Utaha's Brother

Page 38

"How did the teacher know I like bread? That shouldn't be the case; I shouldn't have shown it!"

"I don't know, maybe the teacher asked someone else." Minami Kotori tapped her chin with her finger, thought for a moment, shook her head with a wry smile, and looked back at the screen.

As time went on, her cheeks grew redder and redder, and her head drooped lower and lower until she stopped looking at the tablet screen altogether and buried her burning cheeks in her hands.

She could feel the gazes of others and hear their conversations, though they were speaking in hushed tones.

"Wow! The little birds in Teacher Baili's paintings are so cute!"

"Hmm, it makes me want to pinch their round cheeks..."

"I've been with the little bird for so long, and I haven't noticed any of these characteristics of hers. Have I just gotten used to her?"

"Hmm..." Minami Kotori let out a shy muffled sound (birdsong?), not daring to look up and meet everyone's eyes, but fortunately... everyone's attention was quickly transferred to Sonoda Umi.

"So cool! Xiao Hai practicing archery is so cool!"

"She's as reliable as an older sister, meow~"

...

In Baili Xiao's writing, the girls' lives at Otonokizaka Academy were perfectly presented on the screen. If they didn't know that he had only been to the academy once, the members of Muse would even think that he was a student at the academy—of course, Otonokizaka is an all-girls school, so Baili Xiao probably couldn't get in.

One after another, the continuous stream of comic sketches was completed, and everyone stared wide-eyed, as if watching their own documentary.

"Buzz~ Buzz~" The phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated twice and then fell silent—it was the notification that Kasumigaoka Utaha and Hyakuri Akira had agreed to "go home for dinner".

The pressure-sensitive pen, which had been working tirelessly, paused slightly. Baili Xiao took a deep breath and withdrew from the world of drawing, only to find that the sun on the horizon had already set and was about to sink below the horizon.

"Huh? What happened next?" The abrupt end seemed to have annoyed someone, who protested in a low voice, "I was just getting to the exciting part, how could it just end like this..."

In the manga, Muse, comprised of Honoka, has gathered six members and is about to "conquer" Nico Yazawa, but... it just stopped like that? How can we stand for that?

Nico Yazawa, who was in the real world, really wanted to see herself appear in the manga. That's why, the moment she felt the pressure-sensitive pen stop, she protested without thinking—but soon, she realized something was wrong.

Her companions glanced at her with considerable alarm, then moved a few steps away from her with small but quick movements, leaving Yazawa Nico alone under Baili Xiao's gaze.

Baili Xiao raised an eyebrow and a "kind" smile appeared on his face: "Nicole, and everyone else, could you explain what it means by surrounding me like this?"

The muse who came into his view was surrounded by everyone in a half-squatting position, their eyes fixed on the graphics tablet in his hands... what they were doing was self-evident!

"Um...we just admire your talent, teacher, and were curious about what we'd look like in your writing, so we came to take a look." Tojo Nozomi's eyes lit up as she thought of a good idea: "Nicole said it wouldn't hurt to look for a while, so..."

0 ····Requesting flowers···· ·········

As she spoke, she winked at everyone except Yazawa Nico, and more importantly, she didn't shy away from winking at Yazawa Nico at all!

"Yes, yes! We, we didn't actually watch for very long. If Nicole hadn't insisted on watching, I think we'd probably still be practicing now, right?" Ayase Eli chuckled twice and gave the others a wink.

"Yes, meow! Senior Nicole is so curious, meow."

"I... I told Nicole that this was wrong..."

... 0th

Hearing the chorus of "Nicole-senpai!" and "Nicole!" from those around her, Yazawa Nico first stared wide-eyed at everyone in disbelief, then exclaimed "Oh!" as if suddenly realizing something, and finally stood up with a look of heroic resolve: "Hyakuri-sensei! It was all my fault..."

"Alright, stop talking!" Baili Xiao interrupted Nicole, and everyone's breath hitched. They looked timidly at his ever-growing smile. "I told you to train, but you wasted the whole afternoon watching me draw comics... In that case, tomorrow's training will be doubled, and no one is allowed to slack off!"

"...Yes." The weak reply caused the Muse members to look at each other. Apart from Sonoda Umi, Hoshizora Rin, and Ayase Eli, the three sports enthusiasts, the rest of them turned pale at the thought of tomorrow's training load.

"Um... Hyakuri-sensei." Koizumi Hanayo weakly raised her right hand, which trembled slightly when Hyakuri Akira turned his gaze to her, but she still mustered her courage and said softly, "T-Teacher, since we've already been punished, could... could we continue watching you draw comics tonight?"

"Yes, yes! I really want to see what happens next, meow!" Hoshizora Rin nodded vigorously, her eyes fixed on Baili Xiao with hope.

The latter smiled slightly, put away the graphics tablet, and turned to walk towards the Kasumigaoka family's house: "Let's go! Let's go home and have dinner first!"

There's only one chapter for now (Chapter 0105). (2/5, please subscribe)

At dinner time, in a rather upscale restaurant in the city, three mature and elegant women sat around a table with extremely serious expressions. The oppressive atmosphere around them made even the waiters reluctant to approach.

"Are you really not planning a sales event for Baili-sensei's manga release this time?" Duanmu Yizi picked up her coffee and took a sip, a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Won't that reduce your exposure a lot?"

“Yes, but there’s nothing we can do about it.” Machida Sonoko sighed, shaking the silver spoon in her hand in her cup. “As you know, the ‘5 Centimeters Per Second’ animated film is at its most critical stage. There are less than two weeks left to complete the key animation and in-between animation, plus the training of the Muse… Hyakuri-kun really can’t find the time to hold a sales event.”

A manga sales event is an event that can greatly increase popularity, and it is also an event that many manga artists dream of attending. For ordinary manga artists who can only serialize their manga in manga magazines, having their own manga sales event held by their affiliated paperback is a rare honor!

Because... not only can the release of a comic increase its popularity among readers, but it can also increase the potential value of the comic artist—of course, these are not important to Baili Xiao.

It's not even icing on the cake.

Baili Xiao's fame? Just look at the terrifying number of reposts on his Weibo posts in no time to know.

What's Bai Lixiao's worth? Hmm... that's hard to say. But if he were willing to sell himself, Shinazugawa Bunko, the rouge-en-rouge circle, and Chishima Publishing would probably have to spend all their money to buy him—and maybe they still couldn't afford it!

"It's alright. Even without a sales event, with the promotion from the three of us, plus Hyakuri-kun's reputation in the doujinshi world, the sales volume can't be low!" Akane Kousaka smiled confidently, swirling the red wine in her wine glass. "I'm not worried about sales at all. I'm just full of curiosity and anticipation... This is Hyakuri-kun's first time completing a manga on his own. I wonder how much of a sensation it will cause in the doujinshi world?"

With a soft chuckle, Akane Akasaka's eyes flashed with a dreamy light as she raised her wine glass: "Cheers!"

Duanmu Yizi and Machida Yuanzi simultaneously glanced at the coffee in front of them, their foreheads creased with exasperation: "Fuck your cup!"

...

After the three of them had a short get-together, Duanmu Yizi drove back to Qiandao Publishing House.

"President! Bai Li's manga is almost finished. This printing task is probably much heavier than the third volume of '5 Centimeters Per Second'. Is our printing partner... okay?" Duanmu Yizi dialed the phone. The other party was the big boss of Qiandao Publishing House—the president!

"Huh?" A strange cry came from the other end of the phone: "Didn't Teacher Baili's manga character designs just come out? You're saying his manga is almost finished?"

Duanmu Yizi sighed—in fact, she had the exact same reaction as the president when she heard Akane Kousaka say that—and explained with a bitter tone, "Yes, the character designs were just released, but... Hyakuri-sensei said that it would only take three days to complete the production of the entire manga!"

"Really? That's wonderful!" the club president exclaimed excitedly, then came to his senses: "No, no, no, this is really terrible!"

"..." Duanmu Yizi fell silent, muttering to herself, "Is the president out of his mind?"

"Sorry, after seeing Bai Li-sensei's character design, I'm really looking forward to Love Live! Just thinking about seeing it in three days makes me incredibly excited..." The president gave a wry smile and sighed heavily, "However... this is a bit of a problem. The printing plants we work with seem to be quite busy lately..."

Duanmu Yizi took a deep breath, her eyes suddenly turning sharp: "President! Please consider whether those 'unsold or unsellable' items are more profitable, or 'Teacher Baili's comics'! I believe the printing factory owners should be able to easily calculate this!"

"Um... okay, I understand." The club president responded hesitantly, feeling like something was off...

"Then, I'll leave the printing plant to you, President. I'll take care of the publicity!" Duanmu Yizi said coldly, hanging up the phone before the president could reply. A slight smile crept onto her lips, a hint of "pleasure."

Since he got in touch with Baili Xiao and the other teachers, he has become much more assertive in front of the boss, the president, and can even slightly argue back now... well, he's vented a lot of his old grievances!

"The print run this time..." Duanmu Yizi shuddered. "It's terrifying just to think about it. I should say, as expected of Teacher Baili?"

...

Turning our attention back to the Kasumigaoka family home, everyone had just finished eating, and Nozomi Tojo and Kotori Minami were helping Megumi Kato clear the table...

"Kato-senpai..." Minami Kotori carefully carried the plate into the kitchen—because of the sudden increase in the number of people (Muse), there were dozens of dishes to clean every day—and was about to say something when Kato Megumi reached out and interrupted her.

"Please don't call me senior. We're about the same age. Just call me Megumi." Kato Megumi took the plate from Minami Kotori and placed it in the sink. She had been at the studio much longer than the Muse members, so it wouldn't be a problem if she were called senior, but she didn't want to.

"Then..." Minami Kotori smiled, her adorable appearance making one want to hug and kiss her: "Megumi-neechan, is that alright?"

Kato Megumi nodded, while Tojo Nozomi, standing beside her, glanced at the people resting in the living room—many of them sitting on the sofa, clutching their slightly bulging bellies—and chuckled softly, covering her mouth: "Megumi's cooking is really good. At this rate, Honoka's diet plan is going to be in jeopardy..."

"Not just me, Yamada Elf cooks really well too, and it's the kind of 4.9 style with a British flair," Kato Megumi said while washing the dishes. Minami Kotori, helping her, exclaimed with shining eyes, "Yamada-sensei can cook? She can cook so many things! I guess I'll have to learn from her!"

Nozomi Tojo maintained her unchanging smile, leaned slightly forward, and brought her mouth close to Megumi Kato's ear, asking quickly in a voice "so no one else could hear": "It may be a bit rude, but I still want to ask... with so many beautiful women surrounding Hyakusei-sensei, which one is...?"

She didn't say what came next, but Tojo Nozomi was sure that Kato Megumi understood what she meant.

"Well..." Kato Megumi smiled faintly, gently raising a finger to her lips, "Although I don't know how many there will be in the future, as far as I know right now, there's only one!"

Chapter 0106 [Love Live!] Manga Sketch Completed! (1/5, Please Subscribe)

As night fell, Maki Nishikino emerged from the bathroom, drying her hair.

Because of the large number of people, all the members of Muse lived in Yamada Elf's house (next to Kasumigaoka's house). Yamada Elf used this as an excuse to beg and plead to move into Sagiri's room—of course... she only managed to get the privilege of "sleeping on the floor".

The white bath towel and long red shawl created a striking contrast as Nishikino Maki walked into the living room, panting, wanting to find something to drink.

As soon as I stepped into the living room, I saw all the members of Muse sitting, lying, or sprawling on the sofa in various poses, but their eyes were all fixed on one direction—the graphics tablet in Baili Xiao's hand.

"Nicole-senpai, it's almost your turn to appear. Aren't you excited?" Honoka asked in a low voice in Yazawa Nico's ear. The latter snorted and replied in a textbook tsundere manner, "Hmph, how could I? I'm just a little curious. It doesn't really matter whether I watch or not."

Anyone who heard this couldn't help but smile – they knew perfectly well that after dinner, Yazawa Nico had been constantly hovering around Baili Xiao, asking questions like, "Teacher, when are you going to continue drawing manga?" or "Teacher, can we go now?" These words clearly showed her deep-seated anticipation and longing.

After all... seeing yourself appear in a comic book is quite an interesting thing.

"The teacher's hand speed is too fast, meow! I haven't even finished looking at the first picture yet, and the next ones are almost finished, meow." Hoshizora Rin rubbed her eyes—she had been staring at the screen for more than ten minutes without blinking—and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

In Baili Xiao's hands, a comic sketch doesn't take long at all.

He seemed to have already decided where to draw what and how to draw it when he faced the white screen, and he started drawing without pausing.

In addition, Shiina Mashiro's hand speed is so fast that she can complete a page of manga sketches in just a few minutes (after which she does post-processing such as outlining).

"Wow, that's amazing! If... if we could be like that in real life, we'd definitely attract a lot of viewers!"

When she saw the scene where "Otonokizaka Academy was inspected and it was determined whether to 'close down', the members of Muse held a concert to showcase themselves and successfully postponed the decision to 'close down'", Ayase Eli sighed deeply, her eyes sparkling.

As the student council president of Otonokizaka Academy, she is arguably one of the people who "least want to see the academy closed down"!

"Alright, Eli, everything is moving in a good direction now, isn't it?" Nozomi Tojo smiled and affectionately hugged Eli's waist, embracing her like an older sister: "I firmly believe that under Hyakusei-sensei's guidance, we will achieve great success, and the tarot cards also indicate so."

As she spoke, a tarot card miraculously appeared in Nozomi Tojo's hand—the "Magician" upright, symbolizing "success and a good start."

“Yes, it’s so lucky to have met Hyakusei-sensei.” Ayase Eli nodded, her gaze returning to the graphics tablet, where she was immediately captivated.

Not only her, but everyone in Muse—even Maki Nishikino, who had just finished showering—was staring intently at the graphics tablet screen, unwilling to miss a single image.

In the manga... Minami Kotori is about to leave Muse, and Honoka is also deeply affected. Holding the idea that "9-1=0", she also wants to leave Muse, but what she gets in return is a slap from her childhood friend Sonoda Umi!

"I never thought you were this kind of person! You're awful! You really..." In the manga, Sonoda Umi's face is covered in tears: "You're really awful!"

Everyone unconsciously held their breath, their eyes following Baili Xiao's hand as it moved downwards, bit by bit.

In the manga, after experiencing painful struggles, Honoka finally realized her own feelings. In an empty auditorium, she apologized to Umi Sonoda and, at the last moment, persuaded Kotori Minami, who was about to board a plane and leave, to stay.

When Honoka stood on the stage in the auditorium in the manga, looking at the countless audience members below and said, "Our first concert was held in this auditorium. At that time, I made a wish in my heart that one day I would fill this place to capacity!", all the Muse members sitting around Baili Xiao had tears in their eyes.

"Nicole, you're about to cry." Tojo Nozomi covered her nose with her fair little hand and slightly raised her chin—the soreness in her nose was unbearable, and in order to prevent herself from shedding tears, she could only squint and look at the ceiling.

"No, no! I just... I just got something in my eye, don't talk nonsense..." Yazawa Nico kept wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve, trying to make herself look normal, but her red eyes betrayed her.

"Little bird, sob sob..." Honoka didn't hide her tears and sobbing. She looked at Minami Kotori with teary eyes, hugged her tightly, and buried her face in Kotori's flaxen hair: "Little bird, you won't leave, right?"

"Of course... Teacher Baili is just drawing another story, Xiaoguo, don't cry..."

Kotori Minami wore a bitter smile as she patted Honoka's shoulder to comfort her, while glancing at Hyakuri Akira's profile. Kotori's mother was the head of the academy's board of directors, and upon receiving the notice of the "~closure of the school," she immediately found a way for Kotori to continue her studies in case the school closed. However... Kotori didn't mention it to Honoka or Sonoda Umi.

(Luckily, I met Teacher Baili, otherwise... I wouldn't want to see Xiaoguo and Xiaohai turn out like they do in the comics...)