Chapter 18: The Arrival of Emi! – Chaos Ensues!

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Kaoru sat at his desk, completely absorbed in writing the next chapter of Petals Underneath the Moonlight. His brows furrowed as he muttered to himself. "Alright! the protagonist finally realizes his feelings… but now I need a twist."

Aya standing nearby with her arms crossed, sighed. "Please. for once. don't add a random supernatural element."

Kaoru ignored her. "What if… he discovers that he's actually a reincarnated samurai who was cursed to never find love? No. too cliché. Maybe his love interest is actually-"

Aya smacked his head with a rolled-up manuscript. "Write a normal romance. you idiot."

Kaoru rubbed his head. "Fine fine.. geez. You're as strict as a final boss."

Aya sighed. "At this rate. I'll be retired before you finish this manga."

Meanwhile. Takeshi lounged on the couch, casually scrolling through his phone until he suddenly froze. His eyes widened in horror. His grip tightened.

Kaede, sitting across from him, noticed his expression and smirked. "What's with that face? You look like you just read the final episode spoilers of a shounen anime."

Takeshi gulped. "S-She's coming…"

Kaede tilted her head. "She?"

Takeshi turned to her, his voice trembling. "Emi. She's on her way. Here."

Kaede's eyes widened before a mischievous grin spread across her face. "No way. Emi? As in your girlfriend Emi? This is the first time she's visiting us! Yayyy!!"

Takeshi nodded. "Yeah. And I didn't tell her I skipped our last date to come here…"

Kaede burst out laughing. "Oh~~ this is gonna be good!"

Takeshi grabbed her shoulders. "No.. this is gonna be deadly! Emi's not just some

rom-com protagonist who forgives instantly she's like the final boss of a dating sim, but with no save points!"

Kaede patted his shoulder. "Relax.. takeshi I'm sure she'll just talk things out."

Takeshi shook his head. "You don't understand. The last time I made her mad.. she didn't even yell she just smiled."

Kaede shuddered. "uh Oh. Oh no.."

A few minutes later, the door burst open.

Standing there, casually blowing a bubblegum bubble.. was Emi.

Her outfit was sharp and stylish, a blend of modern and edgy. She wore a white and black jacket with checkered patterns, matching pants with a sleek black stripe running down the side. Her short white hair was styled slightly messy, but still effortlessly cool.. Two golden hairpins sat in her hair like a quiet crown.

She took a step forward. her gum popping loudly. "Yo."

Takeshi nearly fell off the couch. "E-Emi! You're here!"

Emi raised an eyebrow. "Obviously."

Kaede grinned, nudging Takeshi. "You're in troubleee~"

Takeshi shot kaoru a look that screamed help me.

Kaoru however. glanced at Emi's outfit and whispered to Aya. "She looks like she walked straight out of a delinquent anime."

Aya smirked. "Yeah. like one of those cool upperclassmen from an old-school shounen."

Emi crossed her arms. "So. which one of you is responsible for Takeshi skipping our last date?"

Kaede instantly pointed at Kaoru. "Him."

Kaoru blinked. "HUH?!"

Aya snickered. "Wow... that was fast."

Emi turned her sharp gaze to Kaoru. "Oh? You're the mastermind?"

Kaoru frantically waved his hands. "No no! I had nothing to do with it! I didn't even know Takeshi had a date!"

Takeshi gulped. "Emi please.. it's not what it looks like-"

Emi tilted her head. "So.. it wasn't his fault?"

Kaoru shook his head aggressively. "Nope! I barely even know what's happening half the time ahahaha..."

Emi sighed and turned back to Takeshi. "So.. it was your fault?"

Takeshi looked around desperately. No exits. No escape routes. He did the only thing he could he dropped to his knees. "Forgive me!"

Kaede was in tears laughing. "I've never seen him like this!"

Aya trying to hold in her own laughter, added.. "It's like watching a protagonist begging for his life in a yakuza anime."

Emi simply exhaled through her nose. "Tch. Whatever. I'll deal with you later.."

Takeshi immediately flopped onto the floor in relief.

Kaoru still confused finally spoke up. "So uh… Emi. right?"

Emi nodded. "Yeah."

Kaoru scratched his head. "You look like you're into anime.."

Emi raised an eyebrow. "I'm not."

The entire room went silent. Even the Narrator paused in shock.

"who doesnt like anime!?" (Narrator)

Kaoru, Kaede, Aya and Takeshi all turned to stare at her as if she had just said the most blasphemous thing imaginable.

Kaede was the first to break the silence. "Wait… you don't watch anime?"

Emi shook her head. "Nope."

Kaoru's eye twitched. "You're… joking, right?"

Emi chewed her gum, completely unbothered. "Why would I joke about that..?"

Aya leaned over to Kaoru. "This… this might be the biggest plot twist of the entire series.."

(Narrator) "Exactly.."

Kaede gasped. "Wait wait wait. You mean to tell me… Takeshi is dating someone who doesn't know anime?!"

Takeshi weakly nodded. "Yeah."

Kaoru whispered "This is like one of those anime where a normal person gets thrown into an otaku's world."

Aya added. "Or a rom-com where the love interest is completely clueless about the protagonist's nerdy side."

Emi crossed her arms. "Look.. I don't hate anime or anything. I just don't care about it."

Kaede dramatically collapsed onto the couch. "I can't believe this."

Takeshi groaned. "Can we just move on..?"

Emi sighed. "Yeah. whatever. So, what do you guys even do here?"

Kaede grinned. "Oh. we do normal things."

Kaoru nodded. "Yep. Very normal."

Aya smirked. "Like. totally normal."

Emi narrowed her eyes. "...You're all lying."

Takeshi sighed. "Yeah.. they're lying. It's all anime talk. Every day. Every hour."

Emi groaned. "Unbelievable."

Kaoru suddenly grinned. "Wait.. I have an idea!!"

Aya rolled her eyes. "Oh no."

Kaoru pointed at Emi. "Since you're new here.. we need to introduce you to anime properly. A crash course. if you will."

Kaede smirked. "Ooooh I like this idea."

Emi crossed her arms. "No way."

Kaoru grinned wider. "You don't have a choice."

Aya shook her head. "This is going to be a disaster."

Kaoru raised his fist dramatically. "Then let the Ultimate Anime Training Arc begin!!! Yahoooo!!"

The Narrator sighed.

"…This is going to be a long chapter."

"Wait a second.. why are there NO SCENE ACTIONS?! THE ENTIRE TIME!?!?"

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End of Chapter Eighteen.