On March 22nd, the April issue of All Readings was officially released, and with it, Disintegration of Various Causes concluded its eight-month serialization.
Simultaneously, a major announcement appeared across multiple platforms—the main page of the magazine, the official Twitter account of Sakuraba Publishing House, and Mr. Hachiman's own Twitter. On March 25th, writer Hachiman would hold his first-ever offline book signing event on the first floor of the Sanseido Bookstore's main store in Jimbocho, Tokyo. The day would also include fan forums, major announcements, and a series of other activities.
Hikigaya Hachiman had always cultivated a low-key, mysterious style. As a result, not a single clear photo of the writer existed on the internet. At most, he would occasionally post a partial selfie to his Twitter—a picture of his hand, for instance.
Therefore, when the majority of his fans learned that their idol was about to hold a public signing, the related topics on Twitter instantly shot to the top of the trending list.
"Guys, I'm so excited! I can finally meet Mr. Hachiman in person! How much for a handshake ticket?" came a post from a fan living in Osaka, who had apparently misunderstood the nature of the event.
"To the Kansai netizen above, please just stay home and scroll through Twitter while the rest of us send you photos from the scene."
"I live in Osaka and I want to attend this book signing event. This is hilarious. Just see if you can even get a reservation."
"So, living in Tokyo really is the best, huh?"
"Don't sound so bitter. A Tokyoite is a Tokyoite! I live in Chiyoda Ward, and it's only a twenty-minute walk to Sanseido Bookstore. How can you even compare?"
Sakuraba Publishing House had prepared 2,000 slots for the event—900 in the morning and 1,100 in the afternoon—with reservations available exclusively through offline booking at Sanseido Bookstore branches in Tokyo. For this reason, getting a ticket became a pipe dream for any reader living outside the Tokyo area.
This restriction caused great dissatisfaction among his non-Tokyo fans. If the event were held in Tokyo, they could at least take the Shinkansen, but this system effectively deprived them of the chance to participate at all. However, the discussion on the internet quickly devolved from criticism of the organizers into a regional melee between Tokyo and non-Tokyo netizens. Sakuraba Publishing House had cleverly managed to transfer the conflict.
To better control the crowd, the publisher had deliberately chosen a weekday for the event. Since it was during spring break, the attendees would mainly be students, making it easier to maintain order and reducing the number of overly fanatical fans.
"Hey, I was planning to go to the signing on the 25th, but why is it a Wednesday? Writer Hachiman, I'm going to miss you," one fan tweeted, ending with a string of crying emojis.
Countless office workers complained on Twitter about the unfriendly date. While they were still hesitating over whether to take a day off, students had already flocked to Sanseido bookstores across Tokyo to grab their reservations.
"Based on the reservations, about ninety percent of the readers attending will be college and high school students, all from Tokyo. This is exactly the outcome we were hoping for. Our job will be much easier this way," explained Yoshihiro Tomino, the head of Sakuraba's publicity department. He was giving Hachiman an overview of the event to help him prepare.
"The busiest person that day will undoubtedly be you, Mr. Hachiman. You'll be signing two thousand books in one day. Frankly, it will be torture, and we need you to be aware of that. We can also guarantee that there won't be another event like this for at least a year," Mr. Tomino said. In fact, his publicity department had worked overtime for half a month just to finalize the plan for this event. Even as he spoke, dark circles were visible under his eyes.
"The signing time is from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, and in the afternoon from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. We've allotted more time for the afternoon, since your hand might not be as nimble by then. We will have lunch prepared in the lounge. There will be a short ten-minute break in both the morning and afternoon sessions, but if you feel unwell at any point, Mr. Hachiman, you must tell us immediately so we can stop the activity."
"I understand, Minister Tomino. Your planning is very detailed. Thank you for your hard work," Hachiman said sincerely. He was beginning to see the full extent of the effort Sakuraba Publishing was putting in for his sake.
"Your recognition makes our department's work feel worthwhile," Mr. Tomino replied. "By the way, if you have any friends you'd like to bring to the venue, please send me their names and photos. We'll register them at the entrance in advance. They can arrive early, and we will reserve seats for them in the lounge." He added that friends of Mr. Hachiman should, of course, receive special treatment.
"Is that so? Then I won't be polite." Hachiman was very happy. He immediately found photos of Komachi, Haruno, and Yukino, took screenshots of their faces, and sent them off. He had plenty of photos of the three of them on his phone.
As for the rest, he also wanted to include Kasumigaoka Utaha, Sawamura Eriri, and Hayama Hayato, so he began contacting them by phone.
"Really? Writer Hachiman, thank you so much! I thought I was going to miss it for sure. Stop it! Sawamura, stop it!" It was Kasumigaoka Utaha. She was overjoyed at the news, but she seemed to be fighting with someone over the phone.
"Writer Hachiman, it's me, Eriri Sawamura! Is sending you a photo all I need to do?" It seemed Eriri had snatched the phone and was now excitedly confirming the details.
"...Yes, just a photo of your face, like for an ID. And please pass the message along to Kasumigaoka-san for me."
"Got it, got it, got it! I'll hang up now, Mr. Hachiman. Ah—!" It sounded like Eriri had just been apprehended on the other end.
"Okay, Hikigaya-san, I understand. Thank you for this opportunity. I'll send the photo right away." This was Hayato Hayama. As the son of a family of lawyers, he had excellent control over his emotions. Even though he was cheering internally, his response on the phone remained perfectly decent and formal.
As for Komachi and the Yukinoshita sisters, he chose to call Haruno first. In this situation, he was more willing to trust her, as she was the oldest.
"Okay, I understand. You need me to bring Komachi with me, right? No problem. I'll tell my mother in advance and have the driver on standby. Yukino and I will take the family car to pick up Komachi in the morning." There was no fluctuation in Haruno's voice. Even after finding out she couldn't reserve a spot for the signing, she hadn't worried at all. She knew her junior would find a way to get her in. As for bringing Komachi along, that was a piece of cake.
All Hachiman had to do now was tell his parents when he got home.
"Well, Mr. Hachiman," Minister Tomino said after receiving all the photos, "everything is ready. We just have to wait for the 25th."
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