I really don't want to be reborn.

Kyosuke Kosaka stood by the window, holding a cup of hot water, gazing at the bridge in the distance.

It's still a bit early. Even though it's August, the sun hasn't risen yet, and the only colors you can see are black, white, and gray.

Annoying gray.

He took a sip of water and thought it didn't taste very good. He wanted a cup of barley tea, but suddenly realized that he wasn't at home, but in a luxury hotel in Tokyo.

Last night during the poker game, under the combined pressure of the three girls, he could only lose several times and promised to get up early this morning to help Black Cat deliver the printed doujinshi.

He knocked on the door next door and was greeted by Kasumigaoka Utaha, whose hair was disheveled. He noticed that not only did the black cat seem to have already set off, but he also noticed that the girls' sleeping positions were not very good.

Kasumigaoka Utaha moves around a lot when she's asleep, and Sawamura Eriri is currently lying on the bed, hugging the blanket and rubbing against it, mumbling indistinct words, still not awake.

"Good morning."

"Um……"

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked dazed and spoke with her eyes closed: "I didn't stay up all night, but I still feel tired today."

"Nonsense! What time is it now!"

He ruffled her hair in annoyance: "I came over to wake up Black Cat, but I didn't expect her to be out so early. You today—"

He stopped speaking halfway through his sentence.

It wasn't that I was interrupted, but rather that I was pushed aside by something more important.

Because the girl he likes is currently leaning half her body against him with her eyes closed.

Her breathing was light and shallow, her sleeping face as beautiful as a poem.

"Kasumigaoka?"

The only response was a soft breath.

Kyosuke waited a while to make sure she was really asleep before placing his hand on her head. Her hair, without the headband, looked much less vibrant, but it felt even better to the touch.

"Little Poem..."

Slowly, I uttered the name that had been buried in my heart for so long, a name uttered softly and solemnly, just like the impulse to glance back in the classroom.

Now they've finally succeeded.

"Kasumigaoka... A short poem..."

Warmth fills my heart, youthful black hair fills my heart, what's that saying again?

The moon on the sea is the moon in the sky, and the person in front of you is the sweetheart.

As Eileen Chang once said, "In one's life, one is destined to meet two people: one who amazes the world and the other who soothes the years."

And throughout his long life, these two people happened to be the same person.

I ruffled her hair, my fingers involuntarily sliding down to trace her eyebrows, as if drawing them, then across her cheek to her earlobe, which was glistening and lovely like a transparent candy, making me want to take a bite.

As for his lips and chin, he didn't want to touch them right now.

Utaha Kasumigaoka above the nose is a fluffy little cutie; I want to hug and kiss her.

Below his nose, Kasumigaoka Utaha is like a charming candy, tempting his appetite.

He lifted her onto the bed with all his might, only to realize that his body hadn't been trained yet. He had the technique but not much strength, and the sudden movement had almost twisted his back.

"Little Shi, go to sleep."

He gently pinched her cheek, then covered her with a thin blanket. Kousaka Kyosuke got up to leave, and the moment he looked up, he met the eyes of Ms. Sawamura Eriri on the other bed.

"..."

"..."

"Good morning."

"Um... oh."

Kyosuke politely withdrew and closed the door, then silently mocked himself. Why was he a little shy when he was caught being intimate with the girl he liked?

This is probably what true love is...

Genuine affection carries its own heat, so it's normal to feel a burning sensation on your face. On the other hand, false and excessive enthusiasm is like ice cream that melts in the summer and drips between your fingers—sticky, cold, and disgusting.

The woman he encountered in the restaurant on the first floor gave Kousaka Kyosuke a feeling of disgust.

She looked quite nice on the outside, and her clothes and jewelry seemed to be part of a theme song. Her enthusiasm for her male companion was just as described above. However, the arrogance and boastfulness that she displayed at all times was no different from a fallen royal taking out his silk to dry on a sunny winter day.

She was a short-haired beauty. From the side, Kyosuke immediately thought of Haruna Sairenji from "To Love-Ru." Speaking of which, that anime, which requires special lighting, hasn't been released this year yet.

And the man she was arm in arm with...

"It looks familiar."

That's what Kousaka Kyosuke said. He stared at the man for a while, feeling that he vaguely remembered him and thought he must have seen him at some point in time.

However, those who can leave some memory all have their own unique characteristics.

Is this place okay?

"There's no one here, please have a seat."

There were no empty seats in the restaurant. Kousaka Kyosuke smiled politely at the couple who seemed to be married and asked, "Are you a married couple?"

The woman slightly raised her chin: "Yes, my husband is a cartoonist."

Her husband frowned slightly, seemingly quite displeased with her casually showing off.

Kyosuke smiled and continued cutting his waffle: "This is the first time I've met a live manga artist. Nice to meet you. Eh... Do you eat cold food, manga artist? There's data that says eating hot food in the morning can help you live longer."

The man paused slightly. He appeared to be a cold and aloof person, but he was actually quite shy when he spoke: "Is that so?"

"You'll see the difference after you turn sixty."

"Then please change it to a hot one, thank you for your help."

His wife got up and gracefully went to prepare breakfast again. The manga artist, probably seeing that Kyosuke was young and had a kind face, actually struck up a conversation: "Is this the Odawara set meal?"

"Hmm, three thousand five hundred is cheap."

"Aren't breakfast prices all about the same?"

They talked about everything from breakfast prices to the rise in oil prices this year, then about the hotel's massage services, and finally about comics—the manga artist was quite enthusiastic in front of someone like Kyosuke Kousaka who knew a little bit about everything.

By the time they started talking about the upcoming animated adaptation, the woman had already returned with two breakfasts.

"Sorry to keep you waiting... Oh, are you talking about the anime adaptation? Let me tell you, my dear came to Tokyo this time because one of his manga is getting an anime adaptation."

Wow, amazing! You're a true master!

This flattery made the person being flattered frown. His wife had completely stifled his previous lively conversation, leaving him only able to eat in silence.

Kousaka Kyosuke offered a few words of flattery, then took his leave.

Before leaving, he looked back at the man. He felt that the man's face and personality were someone he remembered, but he couldn't recall him at all.

who can that be?

Before long, he put the question out of his mind, because Miss Black Cat was looking at him with a resentful expression not far away.

"Black Cat! If I may ask, you only hired me for illustrations this time, right?"

"Yes, yes."

"That's strange, I didn't draw any erotic scenes, so why did it only get printed yesterday?"

In recent years, the censorship of doujinshi (fan-made comics) has become a bit stricter.

Generally, when artists receive a notification from the printing factory, they are required to apply a thicker layer of black paint to the areas that cannot be described, otherwise it will be impossible to print.

Especially for the twice-yearly comics, printing doujinshi is a race against time, and revising the illustrations is a huge undertaking. If they aren't revised, they might not make it in time and won't be able to sell at the doujinshi convention.

The black cat, somewhat embarrassed and annoyed by the question, stammered and roared, "Your thinking is like a rat dropping in the toilet! There's always a reason why it's so slow..."

"What is it?"

"...the quantity was too small, and it was rejected."

Kyosuke Kosaka chuckled, then grabbed the small flatbed cart she used to carry her notebooks and began heading towards the Summer Comic venue.

As he walked, he talked to the black cat, subtly glancing at her outfit. To put it simply, the black cat girl was still wearing a black gothic lolita dress, but this time it wasn't casual wear; it was a cosplay outfit of the "Night Demon Queen."

There is a kind of...

A kind of sexiness that doesn't resemble that of a woman!

Before setting up his stall through the side door, he suddenly asked this question: "Kirino can't come because of something, but Kuroneko, have you thought about asking Saori to come and help?"

She shook her head: "She's also coming to participate in this holy war today, and she's troubling Saori with everything. That's not good."

Yes, he is a completely different person from his sister.

Kuroko is a girl who rarely relies on her friends.

Although he looks capable and handsome, he is of no benefit to friendship.

"When a person has the most hair, they have the most friends, but eventually they will grow up to be increasingly lonely. So it's best to make more friends and rely on them more when you're young."

The cat's eyes widened: "I think—"

Before she could finish speaking, Kyosuke Kosaka interrupted her: "Loneliness can be envied, admired, and longed for, but it's all just how others think. What about your own feelings?"

He quickened his pace: "No one is born liking loneliness..."

"that……"

The black cat tugged at his sleeve, interrupting his wise advice: "Did we... go to the wrong stall?"

The stall in front of them was set up by a large community group, much larger than the one Black Cat had rented himself, and there were quite a few people there.

"That's right, this is the place."

He exchanged a few furtive words with the club members, then waved to her with a smile: "That's it, this is the place."

"It looks like it's Ms. Kashiwagi Eri's booth..."

"It's okay, I'm quite familiar with Mr. Kashiwagi."

Yes, I saw her in all sorts of embarrassing sleeping positions this morning, so I'm quite familiar with them, right?

The black cat was hesitating when it heard the staff member shouting, which startled it so much that it gave up its small insistence.