Naked Portrait: Rie Kanou Short Story Collection

Scum's Wish

Hanabi Yasuraoka and Mugi Awaya look like the perfect high school couple. They are attractive, popular, and seem devoted to each other, which makes them the envy of their classmates. But their relationship is a facade built on a shared secret: both are in love with other people. Hanabi has feelings for Narumi Kanai, her childhood friend and new homeroom teacher. Mugi is in love with Akane Minagawa, a young teacher who used to be his tutor. When the two objects of their affection begin to show interest in each other, Hanabi and Mugi find comfort in one another. They agree to use each other as substitutes, sharing a physical intimacy born from loneliness and unrequited desire. As they naviga

Btooom!

Ryouta Sakamoto is a 22-year-old unemployed young man who still lives with his mother. In the real world, he is a nobody, but online he is one of the top players of the combat game Btooom!, a title he has mastered to perfection. His uneventful life is blown to pieces when he wakes up on a tropical island with no memory of how he got there. He soon discovers that he has been trapped in a real-life version of his favorite game, where the bombs are no longer virtual and the only way out is to kill seven other players. Forced to fight for his life in a hellish free-for-all, Ryouta must use all his skills to survive long enough to figure out who is behind this deadly game and why he was chosen.

Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26

A young man who can play the piano meets a mermaid with a deadly secret. A boy wakes up one morning in the body of a girl and must learn to live with the change. A little girl with horns claims to be the devil's sister and carries a power that could destroy the world. Two sisters with very different talents face the pressure of expectations and the weight of family. These four short stories explore strange transformations, supernatural encounters, and the fragile line between ordinary life and the extraordinary. Each tale follows characters caught between their desires and the consequences of forces they cannot control. From mermaids and prophecies to identity and sibling rivalry, the coll

A Story About Buying a Classmate Once a Week: 5,000 Yen for an Excuse to Spend Time Together

Miyagi and Sendai are classmates who never cross paths at school. Miyagi sits at the bottom of the social hierarchy, while Sendai is at the top. Their only connection is a strange weekly ritual: Miyagi pays Sendai 5,000 yen to buy three hours of her time, a period during which Sendai must obey whatever Miyagi tells her to do. What starts as a simple transaction begins to blur the distance between them. Miyagi's orders change with her mood, and Sendai has no choice but to comply. But when Miyagi calls Sendai to her room and gives her an order she has never given before, the balance of their arrangement starts to shift in ways neither of them expected.

Dear Self-styled F rank bro' says, he's gonna rule a game-oriented school.

Shishio Academy is Japan's most prestigious school, an institution where only the elite in academics, sports, or pedigree are admitted. Its true nature, however, is a brutal hierarchy where the strong devour the weak, and every aspect of student life is decided through high-stakes games. Only the definitive winner can survive in this cutthroat environment. Guren, a legendary and invincible conqueror from the shadow world, yearns to leave his past behind and live a normal, carefree life. To this end, he deliberately fails the academy's entrance exams, earning himself the lowest possible rank: F. His plan for a quiet existence is shattered upon reuniting with his younger sister, Karen, who is

Ibitsu

Madoka is a teenage girl with a twisted side that remains hidden beneath her ordinary exterior. One day, on a crowded train, she is groped by a stranger. Instead of shrinking away, she confronts the man, unleashing a dark and unsettling part of her personality that leaves him deeply scarred. This violent encounter awakens something within Madoka, marking the start of a disturbing new chapter in her life. As she navigates her daily existence, the line between victim and perpetrator begins to blur, pulling her into a complex psychological conflict with herself and the world around her.