In the beginning of January, the eleventh chapter of Parasyte was released and serialized without a hitch.
The focus of this chapter finally shifted, if only slightly, toward the character of Kana. Because Shinichi had been parasitized by Migi, Kana was always able to sense his presence through a frequency.
Kana, who remained completely ignorant of the true nature of the parasitic organisms, believed that Shinichi was someone special and that she was the only person in the world capable of perceiving his unique existence.
Shinichi was equally aware that something was wrong with her behavior. He repeatedly warned her and urged her that if she ever sensed that feeling again, she must absolutely stay away and never approach the source. After all, Shinichi was not the only parasite inhabiting the city.
If Kana were to mistake another creature for him, the consequences would be undeniably fatal.
Kana harbored a vague and unspoken romantic affection for Shinichi. She cherished the idea that she was the solitary individual who could understand his secrets. She watched him and followed him, and even the knight who appeared in her dreams bore the unmistakable face of Shinichi.
However, Shinichi's gaze never wavered from Satomi Murano.
As the eleventh chapter reached its conclusion, Shinichi followed his inner emotions under the glow of the twilight and shared a kiss with Satomi. Of course, interspersed within these warm, daily moments were various foreshadowing elements regarding the other parasites. Following the realization by the Japanese government that these parasites existed and the subsequent commencement of operations against them, the creatures, who had previously acted as lone wolves, began to band together in cooperation.
The most terrifying realization occurred in the city where Shinichi lived. During the election for the new mayor, Shinichi sensed something horrifying.
Among the candidates and their group of bodyguards standing on the podium and delivering speeches to the citizens, there were actually four or five parasites.
"What needs to change is the consciousness of every single individual. Currently, environmental protection has become a global movement, but what can we actually achieve in concrete terms? It is extremely difficult to turn back once we have traveled down the path of civilization. However, if certain civilizations do not choose to retreat, the entire Earth may face extinction. If we continue to indulge the indolence of humanity, then this world will have no future to speak of."
At the end of the eleventh chapter, the largest group of parasites in the series, led by the mayoral candidate, finally made their appearance.
Yet, their debut struck the readers as incredibly ironic and absurd. On the author's comment section within the AniSphere Forums, fans were buzzing with reactions.
"So you are telling me that a group of parasites is running for mayor and calling on the residents to protect the world and the environment?"
"The ideas from Shiori Sensei really made me laugh out loud."
"A bunch of parasites are pretending to be humans to win an election, and they are using the plea to save the planet as their platform. It feels ridiculous, but at the same time, there is a feeling I cannot quite put into words. This work is actually mocking the real world, isn't it?"
"Man, I am feeling so anxious right now. I cannot wait for the plot of the twelfth chapter."
"Shinichi and Satomi have basically confirmed their relationship as a couple through that kiss, so what is going to happen to Kana? Her unrequited love for Shinichi is so devoted."
"Sensei, you should at least write a bit of a love triangle. You are giving Kana zero chance at all, so why did you give her so much screen time in the previous chapters?"
"I am dying to see the twelfth chapter, guys."
"Keep it up, Shiori Sensei! Crush those parasites in the upcoming chapters."
"I actually hope the parasites can defeat the humans. Maybe my way of thinking is a bit strange, but after reading the novel up to this point, I have been convinced by their logic."
The reader vote count grew by more than twenty thousand votes compared to the tenth chapter. It was now less than three thousand votes away from the total votes of the fourth ranked romance novel in the magazine, Tomorrow, I Will Say Goodbye to You.
When one considers that this novel had only around sixty thousand votes when the first chapter was serialized, and now it has reached over three hundred thousand votes, the opinions of many staff members within Kiyozawa Library toward Haruto had completely transformed.
Even the Editor-in-Chief of Kiyozawa Library chose to ignore the fact that Haruto was not a long-term contracted author. He held an emergency meeting with his subordinate editors to discuss how to carry out the subsequent promotional work for this novel.
Although Parasyte had not yet featured a sudden, explosive plot point like To the Moon or Anohana that instantly ignited the reader base, it was remarkably stable. The level of interest in the story grew steadily, the pacing was tight and efficient, there were no frustrating plot holes, and the characterization was deeply evocative.
All of these factors had fully proven the strength of Haruto as a writer. He was not merely a novelist who would fade into obscurity after becoming famous for one or two books.
Therefore, during this week, Haruto cooperated with the activities of the publishing house to promote Parasyte. He specifically went to the Kiyozawa Library offices to change into a stylish outfit and put on makeup, and a professional photography team was hired to help him take posters.
This poster would be included in the magazine two weeks later, following the serialization of the thirteenth chapter, as a special bonus for the readers of the physical magazine.
Furthermore, at a light novel author exchange convention held by Kiyozawa Library in Tokyo, Haruto was given one of only seven spots available. He was invited to go on stage and speak in front of thousands of light novel fans from across the country.
After the event, he even held a small-scale fan signing and meeting session. Haruto had never engaged in these methods of winning over the hearts of fans before, but Kiyozawa Library was very experienced in these matters. At times like this, the importance of manager like Ms. Hime was truly highlighted.
With rational time management and a schedule planned down to the minute, Haruto did not feel a heavy burden despite attending the events and promotions. Neither the writing of the subsequent chapters of Parasyte nor the production of the Madoka Magica anime was delayed.
Instead, during this week, Haruto's status as the first place winner of the Ascent of New Gods last year was heavily promoted once again in the light novel industry. Several beautiful and handsome photographs of Haruto began to circulate on the internet and within his fan groups.
For a massive corporation with a market value of tens of billions of yen like Kiyozawa Library, once they decide to promote someone, their actions are swift and the results are incredibly effective.
Even if Haruto was not a long-term contracted author, what did it matter? The fifth place ranking of the eleventh chapter of Parasyte in the magazine Azure Kiyozawa had already proven his worth. Even when including the ten serialized novels in the main Kiyozawa magazine, Haruto was now one of the top twenty most powerful authors currently active in the entire publishing house. Kiyozawa Library certainly had no grudge against making money, and they would definitely choose the path that maximized their interests.
In the middle of January, at the Manga Club, Shizuru's collaborative romance manga titled The Wind of Snow, which she worked on with a member of the Light Novel Club, finally began serialization in a small Tokyo manga magazine that only sold a few tens of thousands of copies.
However, the ranking of the first serialized issue was the very last in the magazine.
Shizuru and her partner who was experiencing magazine serialization for the first time, were now completely distracted from their regular club activities. They spent all day asking Haruto for guidance about what they needed to pay attention to when serializing a work.
To be honest, Haruto had very little interest in a failing manga magazine with a circulation of only a few tens of thousands of copies. However, Shizuru had truly helped him a lot over the past few months.
She had provided the tone-deaf Haruto with a preliminary understanding of basic music theory. For instance, regarding some of the classic tracks from the original Madoka Magica anime, Haruto could now slowly reconstruct the melodies note by note while flipping through books and attempting to play them on instruments.
Furthermore, the methods of drawing storyboard drafts that she taught him had proven to be of great use.
The text scripts he provided to the anime company for Puella Magi Madoka Magica were always somewhat dry and lacked visual detail. With his new skills, he could simply draw out those excellent storyboards and character designs from the original anime or describe the desired effects to the people in the animation production team.
Since she had helped him, Haruto naturally returned the favor. He explained his experiences of serializing in the light novel magazine to them without holding anything back.
Ultimately, however, he was not particularly optimistic about their work.
Under these circumstances, the twelfth chapter of Parasyte was successfully serialized. Although the weather was cold, the light novel market was as hot as ever. On the streets, on buses, and in the subways, one could see people everywhere reading a copy of a light novel magazine.
Kizuki had to work overtime today and finished very late. On her way home, she purchased the latest issue of Azure Kiyozawa at the bookstore downstairs from her office.
As a 25 year old single working woman, her daily hobbies were these otaku-oriented works. she was a die-hard fan of Shiori Takahashi, or more accurately, a die-hard fan of To the Moon. She never used to buy this magazine before, but since Shiori Takahashi's new work was being serialized in it, she had no choice.
With a heart full of anticipation, she turned to the pages of the twelfth chapter of Parasyte. The writing style was as familiar as ever. The story began with the dream of the supporting female character, Kana. In her dream, she was being hunted by a monster, but at the critical moment, a knight saved her, and the appearance of that knight was none other than Shinichi.
Because of this, she had harbored an admiration for Shinichi in her heart for a long time. Even though she knew of Shinichi's feelings for Satomi, she still was not prepared to give up.
Even though she knew that staying by Shinichi's side might lead to mysterious and dangerous attacks, she did not feel the slightest bit of fear.
For Kizuki, she really liked the character of Kana.
She was rational but had a moral compass, and she was both beautiful and intelligent.
On the other hand, she really could not bring herself to like a heroine like Satomi, who felt a bit too delicate and excessively saintly.
In this chapter, Shinichi repeatedly warned Kana again that if she ever felt someone was special, just like how she could sense him nearby, she must absolutely not approach them.
He even went so far as to tell her that it would be best if she did not come near him either.
However, Kana always focused her attention on Shinichi and would deliberately create scenarios where she could be alone with him. Perhaps the girl had initially paid attention to him because of the aura of Migi within his body, but by now, she had been truly attracted to Shinichi himself.
"So, why exactly is it that I cannot get close to you? Is it because of those parasite monsters that are being rumored about so wildly on the internet? Aren't those just urban legends? Aren't they fake?" Kana's eyes were filled with confusion.
"If the ones who make me sense that aura are parasites, then what about you, Shinichi? I can sense exactly where you are from hundreds of meters, thousands of meters, or even further away. Are you a parasite as well?"
"Of course not. But, if what you are sensing is an aura other than mine, you must never approach it," Shinichi could only say to her one last time with deep sincerity and concern. His school had already suffered through two massacres by parasites.
He had friends who had already died at their hands. After his own mother was killed by a parasite, he had personally ended the life of the creature that had taken over her body. Shinichi did not want this girl standing before him to lose her life because of some misplaced curiosity.
When Kizuki read this far, alarm bells began to ring in her mind.
She could understand one or two hints, but this novel had now provided five, six, seven, or eight warnings for Kana to never approach those humans with the special aura.
A normal person would surely listen, but in a novel, a normal person was a rare species.
'No way, right?' Kizuki already had a bad feeling about this.
In the subsequent plot, because he was so worried about her safety, Shinichi chose to be completely honest and told her about his right hand being taken over by a parasite. However, because Migi was in a deep sleep and could not transform to show her, she misunderstood him immediately.
"I thought that you asked me out so we could be alone together because you wanted to tell me something interesting," Kana's expression flickered with a sense of loneliness.
"The reason you are saying this is because of that girl named Satomi, isn't it? You are afraid that if I get too close to you, it will make her angry, so you used those popular internet rumors about parasites to make up a lie to scare me away."
"That is not it. Why would I ever lie about something like this?" Shinichi's expression became very serious.
"Something like this?" Kana's tone began to fluctuate with emotion.
"If you hate me, then just say it to my face! To think you would tell me such a bizarre story about parasites."
"I am telling you the truth. I have the power to distinguish you from everyone else," Kana looked back at Shinichi with a smile playing on the corners of her lips.
"If parasites really do exist, then I will definitely be able to pick you out from among those monsters. Therefore, I will not go near anyone else except for you. The only person in the entire world who can do that is me."
As Kizuki read this, her expression was one of silence. This was almost equivalent to a young girl's confession of love.
It was another evening under the setting sun.
Shinichi left the school while holding hands with Satomi, and the two of them walked down the street, talking and laughing together.
Neither Shinichi nor Satomi noticed that at the corner they had just passed, Kana was watching them with a calm face and lonely eyes. She had been waiting for Shinichi to finish school.
"Why... didn't you notice me?"
"Our fates are intertwined, aren't they?"
Kana watched the backs of the two as they walked further away, her eyes filled with sorrow as she saw Shinichi talking and laughing with Satomi.
When this inner monologue appeared, Kizuki's heart skipped a beat.
"In this world, I am the only one who can sense your presence, Shinichi. Does the girl beside you right now have that kind of power?"
"Quick, turn around."
Kana watched the two figures as they walked away, praying in her heart. She prayed that just a small fraction of Shinichi's smile could be meant for her. She prayed that just a sliver of the affection in his eyes when he looked at Satomi could be given to her.
"Please, turn around."
'If you turn around, Shinichi, you will see me standing right here behind you, watching you.' Kana closed her eyes, and in her mind, she could sense the distance between her and Shinichi.
However, Shinichi did not have that same sensation toward her.
Only Migi, the parasite on Shinichi's hand, was aware. It manifested an eye on the back of Shinichi's hand. At this moment, only Migi was looking back at Kana as she watched Shinichi.
Kizuki suddenly felt like crying.
Was Kana actually chasing after the special Shinichi, or was she chasing the Migi inside of him? Was the person she fell in love with the calm and composed Shinichi, or was it that special feeling she could perceive when she closed her eyes, which was actually the existence of Migi?
She could not tell the difference, and the readers could not tell the difference either. But seeing this, one would still feel a sense of sadness.
Her romance was destined to have no conclusion.
Shinichi's heart had been closed off since the death of his mother, and only Satomi, who had entered his heart before that tragedy, was someone he could still cherish and hold onto.
On the following day, Shinichi was still worried about her safety. As soon as Migi woke up, he immediately called her, intending to show her Migi's existence. He wanted her to understand the truth that parasites were a real species so that she would choose to protect her own life instead of curiously exploring those "humans" with special auras. However, Kana felt nothing but excitement because of this phone call from Shinichi.
The person she liked had taken the initiative to call her and ask for a meeting. She took out a single strand of Shinichi's hair that she had treasured inside her handkerchief and began to wrap it around the ring finger of her left hand, loop by loop. The call from her crush made her heart jump with joy. Her only request and her only wish was simply for her to exist within Shinichi's eyes.
"This time, I am going to show you my power. This power that no one else has, not even Satomi, the power to feel where you are."
"So, you can feel my presence as well, right?"
At that moment, the girl decided not to discuss a meeting place with Shinichi. Instead, she relied on the resonance in her mind to try and find him within the vast sea of people in the city. She began to run with a joyful heart, heading toward the center of the city. She ran through hallways, up staircases, and through the cold winter wind until finally, she sensed that special aura.
"It's here. He's going to be here any second, Shinichi."
Shinichi, who could not get in touch with Kana, learned from Migi's warning that there was the aura of a parasite being released within the city. When parasites are eating or fighting, this aura spreads out completely. Shinichi immediately thought of whether Kana would make a mistake and approach that parasite, thinking its aura belonged to him.
Kizuki felt like crying as she read this. She had a premonition of how the plot would develop from here. 'Please don't kill her, Shiori Sensei. Please let her go.'
In a deserted building, Kana walked through a dim room and turned a corner, looking into the room with a smile on her face.
"Shinichi, I felt it. You are right here."
But the being inside at that moment was not the Shinichi she was longing for. Instead, it was a monster whose head had transformed into a fleshy blade, with seven or eight mouths devouring a human corpse on the floor.
In less than a second, the monster on the ground noticed her. A lightning-fast piercing attack struck her, tearing through her arm. Blood and pain surged out instantly.
Escape. She had to escape.
In this desperate situation, a surge of courage rose within Kana. It was just like the scene from her dream.
She was being hunted by a monster, and at the critical moment, a knight saved her, and that knight was Shinichi. She turned her back to the parasite and ran toward the door. The light outside the door was everything to her, and right there in that light, a face appeared.
It was Shinichi. Just like in her dream, he had come to save her at the most crucial moment.
A smile appeared on the girl's face, but in the next second, that smile was frozen in time. A fleshy blade had pierced through her chest from behind. A massive amount of blood gushed out.
End of Chapter 12.
Kizuki's hand trembled. "Shiori Sensei, why did you have to kill her? Do you really have no heart at all? And more importantly, how could you possibly end the chapter right here?"
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