On this day, the forum threads about Tonight were unbelievably peaceful. Every other Ametsukage series was drowned out under the tidal wave of discussion about the final chapter.
The official rating page also reflected this mood, Tonight rose from the post–chapter-eight low of 8.6 all the way to a new historic peak of 9.3.
Normally, when a manga ends, forums fill with nitpicks, complaints, and "the ending ruined it" debates.
But Tonight pulled off a miracle: one dream sequence satisfied months of emotional buildup and soothed almost every lingering regret.
Even the Ametsukage operations team was surprised by how cleanly readers accepted the conclusion.
Sensing the perfect timing, the official site immediately pushed promotion for the new manga that would replace Tonight next week.
But while the company was moving on, Rei had his own priorities.He hadn't forgotten the day a certain girl secretly forwarded his rejected manuscript to Sakura-iro, the day she shoved open the first door that changed his life.
If not for Miyu's "accidental push," who knew how many magazines would've rejected 5 Centimeters per Second?
Maybe it would've ended up serialized in some obscure third-rate journal, gaining no traction, and he'd still be an invisible newcomer. So now that Tonight finished strong, Rei had no intention of keeping quiet.
He logged into all his author accounts, copy-pasted the same message, and hit send.
"Saki is my friend in real life, as close as Hino and Izumi. Her new fantasy-romance manga Sakura Rain starts next week in Ametsukage Weekly. She's extremely gifted. Please support her work!"
After posting across platforms, Rei exhaled.
People help each other; that's how the world should work. And besides, Miyu truly had talent, at sixteen she'd already completed several short and mid-length series, all well-received.
Given time, she could rise to the top on her own.
But being born in the same era as a transmigrator? That was just an unfortunate matchup, no matter how gifted she was, could she beat a lifetime's vault of masterpieces from his previous world?
Rei snorted at himself and shut his computer.
The weight of Tonight's serialization had finally lifted from his shoulders, and for the first time in weeks, he turned in early. While he slept, his posts detonated across his fanbase like fireworks.
"Saki and Shirogane know each other offline!?"
"So they're actual real-life friends? Like Hino and Izumi?"
"Hold up, Saki was a middle schooler when she debuted. Shirogane's a high schooler now. Are they classmates?"
"Not just classmates, what if they're in the same class?"
"That's too insane. Two prodigies sitting in one classroom?"
"And honestly, Saki is no slouch. Her early works topped Sakura-iro Weekly too. This is some 'talent attracts talent' level stuff."
"No more arguing, I'm supporting Sakura Rain next week, 100%."
"If Shirogane likes her work, then she must be legit."
"I've been Saki's fan for three years, and I fought with Shirogane-fans before. This is awkward as hell."
"Support squad, assemble! After what Tonight did to my heart, I'm voting for Sakura Rain without hesitation."
"Shirogane, hurry with your next work! Don't waste your youth!"
"One day, I really hope Tonight gets animated."
"If it becomes an anime, twelve episodes won't work, it's too compact. It should be a movie adaptation."
"For that to happen, Shirogane needs at least one mid-length series sooner or later. Short works get overlooked."
Meanwhile, in the Yukishiro family villa, the sisters were still browsing Tonight's comments, enjoying the post-ending harmony. Then they suddenly saw Shirogane's author-note promoting Sakura Rain.Both froze, staring at the screen in disbelief.
Misaki slowly turned toward her sister with a teasing raise of her eyebrow.
"'Like Hino and Izumi,' huh? That's a pretty intimate metaphor."
"So the two of you seem to get along quite well at school, don't you?"
"That guy studies in class and sleeps after class. I bet he just puts his head down to think up manga ideas.
He has no friends, so his description isn't really wrong. At school, I'm the one he's closest to." Miyu said it casually, completely ignoring the "hidden meaning" in Misaki's tone.
"It's just, he didn't have to recommend me.
Even without that, my manga would definitely climb Ametsukage Weekly just like Tonight."
Her words tried to sound confident, but the smile she couldn't contain gave her away.
After all, Rei had no idea how good Sakura Rain truly was. Publicly recommending her work to his fans carried real risk. It showed, unmistakably, that he genuinely trusted her strength.
"Alright, it's the weekend again." Miyu stretched her arms, flipped her palms together, and stood up to leave.
"Going to sleep?" Misaki raised an eyebrow.
"How could I? I'm going to draw. My new series can't embarrass itself, not after following up Tonight."
Miyu disappeared into her room with that determination burning behind her eyes.
That night, while Miyu was grinding away at her manuscript, Rei slipped into a dream again.
He rarely dreamed at all, and if he did, it was almost always memories from his previous life. Maybe it was because Misaki had been hounding him for weeks about his next work.
But tonight, the dream actually delivered.
It was a memory from his grade-school summer break in his previous world, back when anime wasn't streamed everywhere, and local TV had "phone-in on-demand" episodes.
He'd burned through the entire landline bill that summer binge-watching only one thing:
Hikaru no Go.
Rei sat upright the moment he woke.
The entire anime resurfaced perfectly in his mind, every arc, every match.
But then reality hit.
Hikaru no Go?
His expression twisted.
You remember Slam Dunk or Prince of Tennis, sure, easy to localize.But Go?
This wasn't just "change the setting and redraw."
It involved professional game records, match styles, historical references.
Rei barely knew beginner-level Go. How was he supposed to recreate entire high-level matches?
He massaged his temples, already feeling a headache forming.
Right at that moment, his phone rang, Misaki again.
As expected, she was calling to congratulate him for Tonight winning first place in its final chapter's ranking.
Of course it was first place, he'd already seen the buzz.
But Misaki sensed something off.
"Rei, what's wrong? You sound, distracted."
"It's nothing."
A pause.
"Actually, I do have a new series idea."
Misaki instantly straightened, though she kept her voice steady.
"Tell me. Is there trouble with it?"
"Well… the theme of the new manga might be outside anything you can imagine."
"Oh? Genre shift?" Misaki laughed in relief.
"That's normal. Romance is limited. If you want to reach the top, you have to aim for fantasy battle manga. And honestly, with your talent for emotional scenes, you'll dominate where those authors always struggle, romance subplots."
But Rei's next words made her freeze.
"No. My new series is… a Go manga." He said it completely calmly.
"I wanted to ask, do you know any professional players who are very free, and idle? I'll need a consultant for the match content. I'll pay for it, of course."
Misaki's smile collapsed instantly.
"A Go manga?"