[TSSIM] Chapter 446: Kyaaaaaa—!

"Hey, little one, time to eat!"

As soon as Homura's words fell, Haru came running over, all excited.

Homura immediately reached out his hand and patted Haru's head.

"Since the rest of us already ate a lot over there, you can also eat more this time."

"Meow~ (I ate a bit too.)" Haru raised her head.

"Yeah, what I prepared for you recently isn't as much as what I usually made in the past, right? It's because overeating isn't good and can make you gain weight."

Homura couldn't shake the feeling that Haru's body tensed up a bit at the mention of 'weight'.

"But I don't think you will, especially since you're always working out." Homura smiled slightly.

"Meow~!" Haru meowed before eating her food.

As Homura gazed at Haru, he realized he hadn't taken many pictures of her eating.

As a result—

Click! Click! Click!

Upon hearing the shutter sound of a camera, the girls turned to look at Homura, at a loss for words at his antics.

"Homura-kun, send me those pics later, okay?"

Rin directly reserved a spot for Homura's masterpiece.

"Oh!" Homura gave a thumbs-up and kept clicking away.

"Wait, what's this post... Homura, when did you post this?" Elf suddenly asked with a puzzled tone.

"Which one? I just posted one today, right after Honoka said those things."

After taking a couple more shots, Homura returned to his previous spot.

"What?"

Hearing her name mentioned, Honoka quickly logged into her blog and scrolled to Homura's latest post.

Moments later—

"Is this considered official fan fiction?"

Nico, resting on Honoka's shoulder, asked.

"I told you it's something like an alternative story." Homura shrugged. "In any case, since you all uploaded the chapter today, I bet most people have seen it by now. I wonder what their reactions are..."

"Almost forgot! Honoka, quickly check it out!" Nico urged.

"I know, I know, Nico-chan! Don't rush me!"

After hearing Homura's words, the others became curious about the whole thing and pulled out their phones to check the comment section on Muse's blog.

[Comment 1: Okay... the plot kinda doesn't connect with the earlier chapters at all...]

[Comment 2: Yeah, there's probably, like, a gap of two or three chapters? I mean, the main story is currently still focused on winning over Eli, you know?]

'What do you mean by the main story is still focused on winning me over?!' Eli's expression darkened upon reading the comment.

Meanwhile, Nozomi was stifling her laughter nearby.

[Comment 3: But, like, based on the dialogue, this has gotta be after some concert, right?]

[Comment 4: Damn, if I didn't know this wasn't canon, I'd totally be at the airport taking all the wheels off that plane!]

[Comment 5: LOL!]

Although the earlier comments were still joking around, each one more playful than the last, as time went on, things got a bit more serious.

[Comment 6: You know, this chapter kinda feels way too real now…]

[Comment 7: So, a bunch of choices led them down this path?]

[Comment 8: Life is basically one big text adventure game, y'know? Too bad you can't save your progress.]

[Comment 9: No wonder Honoka-chan said this is one of the things she's super grateful to Minamiya-sensei for... She probably didn't notice how others felt before, right?]

[Comment 10: You know, I'm really starting to realize how bizarre Minamiya-sensei is. It feels like this future was just meant to happen, but Minamiya-sensei kinda forced it to go a different way.]

[Comment 11: Bruh, you've got a wild imagination, but… I'm gonna agree with you on that.]

"Everyone's really filled with emotions..." Kotori sighed lightly as she read the comments.

"By the way, what did everyone say in Homura-kun's blog?"

Umi glanced at Elf, asking curiously.

Elf blinked her eyes before answering.

"Well... they were just chatting and joking around at first, something like, thank goodness it's not real. Otherwise, I would send Minamiya-sensei a bunch of razor blades."

"…"

"What the heck? What am I gonna do with a bunch of razor blades? Sell them?" Homura joked, still a bit speechless by the comment.

"Pffft~" Eriri covered her mouth, trying to hold back her laughter. "Honestly, if you wanted to, you could totally do that."

"Meh, too troublesome." Homura rolled his eyes.

Elf chuckled and continued.

"Actually, that was the vibe earlier, but then it got really consistent later on."

She placed her phone on the coffee table, and everyone quickly leaned in to look.

[Comment 120: Signed a petition letter with blood, asking for an update!]

[Comment 121: Signed a petition letter with blood, asking for an update!]

[Comment 122: Signed a petition letter with blood, asking for an update!]

"Bruh..." Homura rolled his eyes. "Say, if I told them to send me those petition letters, would they actually write them?"

Upon hearing this, the girls stared at him, speechless.

"What a bizarre question..." Megumi remarked.

"Homura-kun, there are all kinds of people in this world…" Utaha chimed in with an eerily calm tone. "If you ask, maybe someone will write it down, and they'll even use their own blood, not some tomato or chicken blood or whatever."

"Okay, that's pretty terrifying, but... I guess it's not impossible, even if the chances are slim." Homura couldn't help but shudder at the thought.

"Well, Homura-kun, hurry up and draw the next chapter then! What if they really do write those blood petition letters for you?" Honoka urged eagerly.

Homura shot her an expressionless look.

"I can't shake the feeling that you just want to see the next chapter, and it has nothing to do with the whole petition letter thing."

"Eh?"

Honoka paused for a moment before shaking her head.

"It's all the same!"

"Seriously, you're that eager?" Homura sighed, then scanned the girls. "So, everyone wants to see it too?"

All the girls nodded in unison.

"Fine... I can draw it right now, but... are you ignoring something important?"

Homura fixed his gaze on the nine members of Muse, clearly directing his question at them.

"What are we ignoring?" Kotori looked a bit uneasy.

"Just in the next couple of days, it'll either be Honoka or Kotori getting a phone call..."

Homura spoke casually, but his tone created a tense atmosphere that made the girls gulp involuntarily, feeling a chill run down their spines.

"And the caller will ask you… why?"

"Fueeeh?!"

"What?!"

Hanayo and Rin clung to each other, gasping with tense expressions.

Suddenly, in this tense atmosphere, Kotori's phone rang.

After a brief silence, chaos erupted!

"Kyaaaaaa—!"

Kotori pulled out her phone and tossed it straight at Homura while screaming.

Homura: "..."

Everyone else jumped at the sudden ringtone, but Elf seemed slightly suspicious that Homura might have been the one who called.

"What's this for? It's for you." Homura tossed the phone back.

Kotori and Honoka jumped away, and the phone landed on the sofa.

Seeing their scared expressions, Homura nearly burst into laughter.

Nozomi glanced at the caller ID on Kotori's phone, then turned to Kotori.

"It's Ayano-san, Kotori-chan. You should pick up."

"Eh?"

Kotori froze for a moment, then pulled away from Honoka, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, it's just Ayano-san... She really scared me by calling at this time..."

Kotori patted her chest before answering the call.

"Hello, Ayano-san? What's up?"

"Kotori... why?"

"..."

"Kyaaaaaa—!!!"

Kotori froze for a moment before screaming and tossing her phone to the sofa.

Ayano: "???"