Chapter 75
After her bath, Eriri padded back to her room, sat at her desk, powered on her PC, and went online.
Not long after she had posted Chapters 72 and 73 of Slam Dunk Volume 9, readers were already retweeting and piling into the comments. The explosive response to Volume 8 had lifted the series onto a new plateau, and the volume of retweets and replies now was several times what it used to be.
Eriri opened the comments panel to pin a few to the top.
> Thatguyoverthere: Wow, Shohoku's starting five are finally assembled! This lineup looks insanely strong. I can't wait!
Birdrant: Is Mitsui really that handsome? Guess hairstyle does decide looks. Tomorrow I'm choosing between the Mitsui cut and the Rukawa cut.
Paladar blade: Updates are a bit slow… The real national tournament's been going for over half a month, but the comic's tourney is just beginning. Can the author speed it up?
Jacob hall: Miuradai High? They look fierce. Even Ryonan's Sendoh said this one would be tough for Shohoku. I'm dying to see how it goes!
A little distracted, Eriri pinned a few at random, closed the page, and stared into space, thoughts sliding around without catching.
After a while she blinked, reopened her browser, jumped to a search engine, and typed:
How long can you live with cancer?
Search results populated at once:
> Medically, cancer is divided into early, middle, and late stages. Early-stage patients generally respond well to treatment and can live for decades—after surgery, lifespans can approach normal. The later the stage, the shorter the survival time. Late-stage patients often live only months to a few years…
Eriri's brow knit. The doctor's words came back to her.
They said his disease shifted from late stage to mid–late. The targeted therapy is working. If he keeps it up with chemo and radiation, he might push it to mid-stage and live a few more years…
But targeted drugs come with side effects. If you take them long enough, resistance builds and they stop working…
She exhaled softly, praying Lucien could live longer—long enough to enjoy every last ordinary moment.
As his friend, maybe the best I can do is be there.
It was late. She shut the computer, killed the lights, and crawled into bed—only to toss and turn with a head full of noise.
Looks like I won't be sleeping tonight.
…
Before she knew it, Friday rolled around again.
Between classes, Eriri bought the latest issue of Manga Jump and cracked it open.
This issue carried Chapters 17 and 18 of Attack on Titan Volume 4—two chapters told largely in flashback, covering the period two years after Wall Maria fell, when Eren and the others entered the 104th Training Corps.
During that time, Eren and his cohort learned anti-Titan combat skills; new faces like Reiner, Annie, and Sasha stepped onto the stage. At the end of Chapter 18, Eren awoke from memory to find himself chained hand and foot in a dungeon.
Because he could transform into a Titan, people were afraid of him—and locked him away.
Erwin of the Survey Corps made his debut here, arriving with Levi to interrogate Eren.
Eren offered a deal: he would join the Survey Corps and fight for humanity—if they would hear his secret. It was a truth his father Grisha had entrusted to him long ago:
In the basement of Eren's home in fallen Shiganshina, there was a key clue to the Titans' truth.
…
Eriri lowered the magazine, stunned.
The hope of humanity is hidden in Eren's basement?
Another big turn. So much suspense her brain felt one size too small.
Two boys a few desks over had just finished the chapters and were buzzing. Curious, Eriri tilted an ear to listen.
"Man, this author is unbelievable. I can't predict a thing."
"Same. I read this super convincing online theory a few days ago… and these two chapters just blew it up."
"The secret's in Eren's basement? What is it even about? I'm so hyped…"
"I've got a hunch. What if, at the end, Eren turns out to be the villain?"
"No way. He's got a blood feud with the Titans!"
"If he really went evil, wouldn't readers tear the author apart?"
"Whatever happens, his imagination's nuts. Even if he did write it that way, I bet there'd be a reason."
…
Hearing the steady stream of praise, a small smile tugged Eriri's lips. Pride warmed her eyes.
Before the bell, she flipped open another series she'd been following—Shiina's manga—now up to Volume 6.
In it, the heroine Yui wavered between two leads: on one side, a capable but emotionally inarticulate childhood friend; on the other, a genius boy totally dependent on her.
The triangle made Eriri a little queasy—yet she couldn't stop turning pages.
"Hey, Eriri, you're reading this too?"
Her seatmate Satomi Azusa leaned over with a grin.
"Mhm," Eriri replied, smiling.
"If it were you, who would you choose?" Azusa asked. "Childhood friend or the boy who fell from the sky?"
"Choose?" Eriri narrowed her eyes, thinking it through.
In manga, the childhood friend was approachable, a bit shy—ordinary in the sweetest way. He liked Yui, but never said it straight. The other lead—the one who "fell from the sky"—was a transfer from overseas, born into an art family, a painting prodigy. He was gentle, slow to react, hapless at daily life, and leaned on Yui for everything—down to having her pick his clothes.
"Obviously the one who fell from the sky," Eriri decided after just a few seconds. "Childhood friends almost always lose. There's even data on it."
"Heh, me too," Azusa laughed. "But don't you think that sky-boy's kind of useless? No self-care, needs everything done for him—like he's… sick."
At the word sick, Eriri immediately thought of Lucien.
Right—he was a genius at drawing. He'd transferred back to Japan. He was sick—and he could be helpless sometimes…
Heat crept into her cheeks. She dipped her head and murmured, "That's not necessarily a bad thing. Yui likes taking care of people. They fit."
"Ohhh, do they now?"
Azusa studied Eriri's face and tucked away the reaction with a faint, knowing smile.
Based on Eriri's recent oddities, Azusa had reached a conclusion:
Something's up with Eriri.
Ever since their late-night talk about "confession," Azusa had been poking around, trying to pry more details. She wanted to know who "that person" was.
But Eriri was a vault—airtight. No matter how Azusa prodded, nothing slipped.
So Azusa turned to inference.
She'd noticed that for the past few months, Eriri was always first to buy Manga Jump—never missing an issue. She'd also started reading it in class, which she never used to do.
So what changed her habits that much?
Is the partner a manga artist?
And serialized in Manga Jump?
Given Eriri's art chops and ace status in the club, it made sense she'd pair with someone like-minded. Maybe even a young prodigy.
A young genius mangaka… That would fit a top-tier beauty like Eriri.
"But who?" Azusa thumbed through the table of contents and pulled up author notes on her phone. Manga Jump currently serialized 18 works. Ten were easy eliminations—industry veterans, either married or much older.
The remaining eight used pen names. Identities and ages were murky. Azusa resorted to pruning.
"Reiko, Kaori, Shiina, and Nana Akiko are women—cross them off."
"Hondo Haruto's from Shikoku, Aman Shunta's from Hokkaidō—too far. Cross."
"That leaves Izumiyama Sora and Whale—both based in Tokyo.
"Izumiyama's is a father–daughter team; probably an older guy. Cross."
"As for Attack on Titan, the plot is a roller coaster. That kind of imagination feels… seasoned. Whale must be an adult with a ton of life experience. Definitely not our age. Cross."
After eliminating them one by one, Azusa realized: nobody fit.
"Unless… it's not a boy?"
A rogue thought zipped through her head.
"Reiko and Kaori are Kansai-based—cross."
"Nana Akiko mentioned a boyfriend on Twitter—cross."
"Shiina… rumor is she's a beauty. Some readers even dug up that her manga' build is modeled on Sakurasou, the high school affiliated with Tokyo Suimei University of the Arts."
"Suimei's affiliated high school? That's like a ten-minute walk from us…"
"Has Eriri been going there after school to see Shiina every day?"
"Two beautiful girls… together?"
Azusa's nose began to bleed.
"W–Whoa, Azusa! Are you okay?" Eriri yelped, shoving two tissues at her.
"I'm fine, I'm fine…"
Azusa pinched her nose, tilted her head back, and blew out a breath.
Good grief, where did that come from?
Eriri can't be into girls… right? If that were true, Azusa was sure she'd have sensed it long ago.
Enough daydreaming. Time for data.
What if I just trail Eriri after school? A plan took shape.
"Let's go to Harajuku for a movie after class," Azusa chirped. "Kiyo's in, too. It's been ages since the three of us hung out."
Eriri thought for a beat, then shook her head. "Can't. I've got something after school."
"What something?" Azusa asked.
"Nothing big. You two go ahead—I'll join you next time." Eriri's gaze flicked toward the lectern. "Okay, class is starting. The teacher's here."
The bell rang. Eriri slid the magazine into her desk, sat up straight, and put on her best model-student face.
"Oh… alright." Azusa smiled, glanced sideways at Eriri, and the corner of her mouth curled into a meaningful smirk.