Right now, Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance was just barely holding onto a spot in the top ten of the fan rankings. But that wasn't enough—not yet.
More readers were discovering the series each day, thanks to the growing word-of-mouth buzz. But it had only been a week since the first stage of the Aurora Manga Awards began. And with four weeks in total for the initial round, nothing was set in stone.
Aside from the three front-runners dominating the charts, the fan scores from fourth to tenth place were incredibly close. One surge in votes could shift the entire list.
"Do you have any ideas?" Haruki asked, tossing the question back.
The core fans who truly supported Rurouni Kenshin had already subscribed. While the series had pulled in tens of thousands of loyal readers early on through MangaStream's digital platform, most of them had found the series before this recent wave of nationwide attention.
Now, the growth wasn't coming from longtime followers. It was being driven by online readers catching up—new fans, discovering the work from all over the country.
But that wasn't unique to Rurouni Kenshin. Over a hundred entries were competing on the Aurora Awards' official site, and most had already maxed out support from their initial fanbase.
At this stage, the only way to climb higher was through raw quality—by winning over casual readers and compelling them to vote.
"I honestly don't have a strategy," Sora admitted.
"But Haruki, don't stress yourself out too much. Out of all the entries on Award site, Rurouni Kenshin has the highest average rating—9.8. That says everything about its quality. We both know that."
"Most entries have already hit their peak reach. From here on, it's about the work speaking for itself. You're sitting in tenth—not ideal, sure—but I don't see a dark horse suddenly overtaking you out of nowhere."
"That's not what worries me," Haruki murmured.
"I'm thinking... what can I do to push this story even further? If possible, I want it to rank first in this opening round."
Sora raised an eyebrow. Haruki had said that before. But even now, she couldn't imagine how Rurouni Kenshin could close the gap with Blazing Feather, which had already surpassed 400,000 fan points.
"You said it yourself," Haruki continued. "The higher you place in the first round, the more bonus points you carry into the second."
"If I'm serious about winning the Award, I can't settle for just scraping by."
"Has any series that placed tenth in the first round ever gone on to win the grand prize?" he asked.
Sora paused. Then slowly shook her head. "No… not that I know of."
"Then I have to try something."
Haruki's expression turned resolute.
"There are still three weeks left, right?"
"Yeah."
"If the timing works out, Rurouni Kenshin will be on chapter fourteen during the final week of round one."
He paused, eyes drifting slightly.
"That's the chapter where Tomoe dies in Kenshin's arms. Before she passes, she leaves the iconic scar on his cheek—completing the cross."
"Right after she calls him anata… and dies."
Even now, Haruki's chest tightened at the memory of that scene.
She wasn't his enemy anymore. Not someone seeking revenge for her fiancé. In the end, she was just his wife.
It was one of the most emotionally devastating moments in the entire story.
He remembered how silent he'd gone after reading it for the first time. He couldn't speak for a long time.
Even readers who weren't especially sensitive, he imagined, would be moved to tears.
And yet, in his mind, that wasn't even the most powerful moment.
After her death, Kenshin burns down the home they'd shared and returns to the frontlines—resuming his path as an assassin to bring about a new era.
Chapter fifteen shifts dramatically—suddenly full of combat and chaos. Kenshin seems lost again, drowning in bloodshed.
But after one particular battle, he's shown alone. His sword rests beside him... and around his neck, wrapped tightly, is Tomoe's shawl.
Then, in a quiet moment, arms gently embrace him from behind.
Tomoe.
A metaphor. A memory. A lingering presence.
Though she was gone, she remained with him—offering comfort, even in death. She was his anchor.
He had vowed to protect her.
But in the end, it was she who protected him—blocking the fatal strike, softening the heart of a man on the edge of breaking.
She made him human again.
So when that final embrace appeared—silent, wordless—it wasn't just an ending.
It was transcendence.
That, Haruki believed, was what could set Remembrance apart from every other work in the running.
"If I want Rurouni Kenshin to stand out in the Aurora Awards," he said, "I need to show readers the best part—before the first round ends."
"So, Sora… what I want to ask is—during the final week, can we release both chapters fourteen and fifteen together?"
Sora looked up. "A double release?"
"Yeah."
Rurouni Kenshin updated every Friday. Which meant new chapters would hit the Aurora Awards site early Saturday morning. Two days later—on Monday morning—the first round would end.
If they dropped both chapters on that Friday, readers would see the full arc—Tomoe's death, the scar, the farewell, and the embrace—before the cutoff.
A gamble.
But Haruki was betting everything on those two chapters.
Two days passed.
Because of the New Year holiday, Haruki hadn't submitted the drafts yet—so neither Sora nor Kotone knew what would happen in Chapters 14 and 15.
But Haruki knew.
To him, those chapters brought the story to another level. If released together three weeks from now, he was confident they'd transform the way readers saw Rurouni Kenshin.
And if that happened—if everything landed just right—there might be a real chance for the series to surge to first place before the initial round closed.
"Why release both chapters at once?" Sora asked, still a bit unsure.
"I believe in the power of those two episodes," Haruki said. "If they go live together, the emotional impact will be stronger. That might be what Rurouni Kenshin needs to climb higher in the rankings."
He didn't go into detail then.
But once the chapters were done—and once Sora read them—she would understand exactly what he meant.
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