I DON'T LIKE COFFEE [SAIKI K.]

I DON'T LIKE SEQUELS - SNIPPET

(the day has come! the sequel has been published!!!!!!!!!)

ALTHOUGH THE TITLE, for some, may be misleading, no one likes sequels.

I understand, though: if the first movie, novel or story is great, and if you are the creator, it will be difficult to stand one's ground and make something as compelling as the original. But the problem, from ancient times, has been the readers.

Oh, the readers.

They are never satisfied completely by whatever the writer brings to the table and we, narrators, communicate to them. They complain, they cry, they annoy.

They demand more.

More drama, more answers, more twists. They insist on revisiting the same characters, the same worlds, but when they get it, they scrutinize every word, every choice, every thread of what came before. And if it doesn't meet their expectations—if it doesn't feel exactly right—they'll say it was better left undone.

The truth is, sequels are a trap. A hungry, unforgiving trap, like a bear pit covered in branches, waiting for the unwary creator to fall in. But here I am, stepping into it willingly.

Not because I wanted to. No. It's because of them. The readers. They asked, they begged, and eventually, they pushed me past the point of no return.

So let me make this clear right now: I don't like sequels.

But you wouldn't be holding your phone, your laptop, your whatever in your hands if you hadn't insisted.

Because I am, too, a reader. And readers are cursed.

Cursed to want more stories, more answers, more what happens next? Cursed to poke and prod at the worlds we love until there's nothing left but questions hanging in the air.

And so, here we are. You, holding your device. Me, sitting in this peculiar space between storyteller and story. Between reluctance and necessity. Between a prologue and—God help us—the sequel.

Let me warn you: this will not be what you expect. It might not even be what you want.

But please, complain. Comment. Annoy me and the author. Don't be satisfied.

Never be satisfied. And don't ever take into account the timeline of the anime show vs this story, they are never going to match or make sense.

Demand more and more so we, narrators, don't lose our jobs.

So, thank you for being here.

And let's start with our unusual story.