"But that's not what you said last year," Tachibana's assistant said, exasperated.

"Back when The Devil's Journey aired in October, you were tense every week, refreshing the numbers to see if it could beat Anohana. You didn't relax until the final stats came out in January."

She paused, then added, "Let's not pretend that was smooth sailing."

Saya clicked her tongue. "You done?"

The assistant didn't back down. "That was last year. Anohana averaged 9.2 million. We barely topped it with 9.7. But this year's a different league."

She tapped the tablet in her hand. "5 Centimeters per Second is sitting at 12.85 million. Voices of a Distant Star broke 12.1. Both are Mizushiro's. Honestly… if things keep going this way, we'll be lucky to finish third."

Saya didn't respond.

Of course I'm worried.

You think I'm an idiot?

She didn't say it aloud, but her clenched jaw and narrowed eyes gave her away.

She was already painfully aware of Mizushiro's momentum.

Not only had he written two top ranking series back to back this spring, but now there were rumors he was pulling the same stunt again targeting winter with another original title. And worse… he was still working on manga full time while helping supervise the animation process. He even had time to date the lead voice actress on his shows. Who was this guy?

Saya was furious but also helpless. She had just under five months until winter. All she could do was refine the script for Into the Abyss and oversee the production as closely as possible.

At 26, she wasn't new to the game. She'd been in animation since age 17, starting as an assistant to her father at T-Bone Animation. She'd climbed quickly, outpacing many peers and rising to the top of the studio. The Devil's Journey had cemented her reputation.

Until Mizushiro came along.

He was the only creator in recent memory who'd made her feel threatened.

But thankfully, Madoka Magica was rumored to be a magical girl series and that genre didn't usually perform well with core anime demographics. If she was lucky, it would flop.

Still, if she wanted to hold onto the title of animation champion this year, Into the Abyss would have to average more than 12.85 million per episode. That was the number to beat.

"Go. I need to focus," Saya said at last, waving her assistant out of the room.

Once alone, her carefully composed mask crumbled. Even her glued on fake mustache fell off.

She slumped in her chair. "Twelve million average… you've got to be kidding me."

She stared up at the ceiling and groaned.

Stay in manga, Mizushiro.

If you mess around in animation again, I will show you what happens when you go up against the best.

After giving herself a dramatic pep talk, Saya straightened up and grabbed her phone. She hadn't spoken to her girlfriend in half a year but this was an emergency.

"Hey, baby. I know I was distant back in December. I got a little too into production. But I've missed you really. I was hoping we could—"

A pause. Then shouting.

"What?! You're getting married? To who?! What bastard snuck in while I was gone?"

Another pause.

"A man? You're marrying a man? You told me you had male phobia!"

Click.

Saya stared at the phone.

Trust.

Friendship.

All lies.

She let out a long sigh. Right on cue, her assistant knocked and came back in.

"Now what?" Saya muttered.

"You've barely talked to anyone for six months. How do you already look like someone who just got dumped?" her assistant said bluntly.

"Anyway, these are the voice actress submissions for the protagonist of Into the Abyss. Name's Kōri. You'll want to review them. There's a lot."

She dropped a heavy stack of files onto the desk and left again.

Back to work.

Saya sighed and got to reading. She flipped quickly through most of them, sorting out the familiar names and flagging a few potential fits. But when she turned to one particular profile, her hand froze.

A bright eyed girl with a warm smile stared back from the top corner of the page.

Ryuko.

Mizushiro's rumored girlfriend.

She skimmed the resume again—lead roles in Anohana, Voices of a Distant Star, 5 Centimeters per Second.

That wasn't the kind of résumé she could ignore.

"And she fits Kōri's tone, too…"

After a moment of consideration, Saya circled Ryuko's name and added her to the short list.

That night, Haruki was exhausted.

He and Kazuya had finally locked down a new location for their animation studio. It was nearby close enough that Haruki could walk over anytime without hassle. But the search had taken all day, and by the time he got home, he was too tired to even check his email.

He collapsed onto the bed, only to hear his phone buzz with a Line message.

It was from Ryuko.

The message was short: a date, a location, and a cheerful emoji.

"Here's the place for my birthday party. Don't forget! You have to come!"

Haruki groaned and rolled onto his side.

"Yeah, yeah… I'll be there," he muttered, replying quickly before tossing the phone aside.

The party was in three days.

Now all he had to do… was figure out what kind of gift to bring.

It had been years since he'd attended anyone's birthday let alone bought a present.

"What the hell do people even give at birthdays…?" he mumbled into the pillow.

Shout out to axiom, Deon Joyner for joining my p-atreon! your support means everything to me.

(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-atreon.com/Alioth23 for 60+ advanced chapters)