Chapter 3

Two of a Kind is the third chapter of the Time Paradox Ghostwriter manga series.

Short Summary
Itsuki Aino meets Teppei Sasaki who is appalled at hearing her name, recognizing her as the original author for White Knight afraid that she was there to exact revenge on him for stealing her series. As she shows him her draft of White Knight, Teppei sees that it is not as refined as the version published Weekly Shonen Jump in the future. As Teppei begins to stammer, Itsuki pulls out her G-pen and he panics, believing that she was going to stab him with it.

Teppei runs away but trips and falls, with Itsuki catching up to him, asking him if he had somehow snuck into her room to steal her drafts, he denies this and tells her the truth about receiving the future copies of WSJ but she does not believe him. Asking him if there is something only he can draw, Teppei says there isn't and he simply wants people to enjoy his manga. Delighted at this answer, Itsuki says that she feels the same way and comes to believe that Teppei is just like her and had the same idea. Believing she had been beaten to the punch to release the series, Itsuki is undeterred and resolves to write a story even better than White Knight and prove that she was better than Teppei. Itsuki leaves after declaring her intentinos and Teppei is left bewildered.

Long Summary
Appalled, Teppei realizes that the Itsuki standing in front of him is the same person that wrote White Knight in 2030. He tries to convince himself that perhaps she just shared a name with the author, but Itsuki pulls out her draft of White Knight and asks Teppei to read it.

Teppei reads through her storyboards and recognizes the title and setting despite the differences in writing quality between Itsuki's 2020 and 2030 versions. He utters random words out of shock which receive questioning remarks from Itsuki. Unable to answer her, Teppei internally thinks that there are no more excuses he can use for plagiarizing the 2030 White Knight and that ritual suicide was the only way out. Itsuki misinterprets his silence and pulls out a G-Pen, pointing it at Teppei.

Given the sharpness of G-Pens and their use in the manga industry, Teppei immediately assumes the worst and runs away out of fear, exclaiming that Itsuki couldn't become a murderer. She chases after him much to his dismay and he continuously yells at her that she can't kill anyone if she wants to pursue her goal of becoming a mangaka. His words fall on deaf ears as Itsuki launches herself on top of him, pointing the tip of the pen right at his eye.

Itsuki asks Teppei why he was running, but he ignores her and begs her not to kill him to avoid sacrificing her future more than he already did. Confused, Itsuki suddenly asks if he had, in fact, spied on her work to create his version of White Knight. Teppei immediately denies this and Itsuki inquires if he was saying that him writing the same White Knight was a coincidence. Teppei tries to explain the phenomenon with the microwave time machine, but Itsuki refuses to believe him and assumes he is joking, reprimanding him for trying to cover up his "genius" nature.

Itsuki goes on to explain that she was a shut-in living in the middle of nowhere so it was possible that if she and Teppei share the same ideals, they could end up writing the same story. She then asks Teppei if there was anything only he could draw, or if he was just an empty human.

The word "empty" triggers Teppei's memories of his consistent rejection and inability to write or draw anything decent. He thinks back to his process of becoming a mangaka in school, often being told he lacked originality and a unique art style, and realizes he truly is just an empty human. Itsuki probes him to answer her question, and he yells out that there is nothing only he can draw; all he wants is to make people happy with his work and people that are empty still have the potential to create a good piece. He apologizes to Itsuki for only being able to give her this answer.

To Teppei's surprise, Itsuki exclaims that she, too, had absolutely nothing and how even though she had no good qualities and was bullied to the point of being a shut-in mangaka. She wanted to create a manga that would make as many people happy as possible. Itsuki goes on to rant how manga contests would always ask for something unique when all the readers just want is to have something fun to read, a statement Teppei is forced to agree to. She then declares that she and Teppei are "two of a kind," which would be the reason why they thought of the same idea.

Finally settling the "coincidence," Itsuki asks Teppei why he ran away after she pulled out her G-Pen. He stutters and confesses he thought she would stab him. Realizing her mistake, Itsuki clarifies that she only wanted him to look closely at the pen to prove that she was serious about becoming a mangaka. She then laments over how Teppei was a pro and quickly published his work compared to her, an amateur, who couldn't even beat him. Teppei is riddled by guilt but is interrupted by Itsuki excitedly and loudly asserting that she will not lose to him and one day, she will write a manga much better than White Knight, entrusting their "shared" idea to him. Itsuki then runs away, shouting that one day she'll defeat him. A confused Teppei watches her leave with ambivalence about her words.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Teppei Sasaki
 * Itsuki Aino
 * Kikuse (memory)
 * Okano (memory)
 * Teppei's mother (memory)

Events

 * Itsuki shows Teppei her draft of White Knight.
 * Teppei tries to tell Itsuki about the time machine, but she doesn't believe him.
 * Teppei reveals to Itsuki that there is nothing only he can draw, a similarity between them.
 * Itsuki hands the White Knight story to Teppei and declares she will make something even better.
 * Teppei's White Knight begins preparation for serialization.