Chapter 3 (1/2)
Ayase Koyuki
Birthday: August 28
Horoscope Sign: Virgo
Blood Type: A
Natsuki’s classed his appearance and personality a lot recently, irls
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practice 3
It was a blazing hot day at the beginning of the folloeek, as well
Even just fro down the corridor, beads of sweat formed at the back of Natsuki’s neck
‘They shouldn’t only turn on the air conditioning for the faculty room, but the rest of the school, too…’
The o was enough to take her away from reality
Although she’d been fine with both the heat and the cold when she was younger, she couldn’t handle the extremes of either at all now
“Ah, it’s a jet stream!”
Akari, alking in front, pointed at the sky and turned around
“Wow! Pretty…”
Hearing Miou’s excla her eyes against the brightness
“With the sky this blue, you can see it really clearly, huh?”
“Right? Don’t you think it looks like a line left by a giant white brush?”
“…Yeah”
In contrast with Miou and Akari’s excited voices, she answered in a dull monotone
‘crap, I did it again…’
Feeling their gaze shi+ft from the clouds to her, she quickly spoke up in a more cheerful voice
“It’s al to have a fit!”
Natsuki said, and took off in a light run towards the art room
Hearing the footsteps of the others following behind her, she let out a sigh
She’d been acting like this since that
What Yuu had said about “cheering her on” would suddenly co her emotions
‘I know I shouldn’t let it bother me so much, but…’
Just like how hu emotions could be just as difficult
‘The ether…’
She slapped both of her cheeks, and putting on a determined face, went to open the door of the preparation room next to the art room
Their adviser, Matsukawa-sensei, had let them use it exclusively so that they wouldn’t disrupt the other club members
‘I didn’t think she’d be too approving of it, so that was surprising’
Before coone to the faculty room to report the request from the Film Club
While it was her job as the adviser of the Art Club to suggest they focus on the contest right now, Matsukawa-sensei had also expressed her support for their collaboration with the Film Club
‘Is it because it’s better the ets…?’
Of course, she was happy that others would want to see her work, but unlike Akari and Miou, who regularly ards, it was still a challenge for Natsuki, who lacked the confidence that they had
But despite all that, the reason that she’d decide to hear the Filet what Yuu had said yesterday out of her head
“I like your drawings”
Yuu hadn’t said that he liked her, but the drawings that she drew
Even still, she had been genuinely happy
That hy she had decided to attend the h she knew she probably wouldn’t be picked
Yuu and the others were already waiting out in the hall, and playing with a handheld fan
“Yo Sorry to take up your ti for the contest”
Even while saying these corinned with toothy smile
Used to his usual joking tone, Natsuki laughed and shot back at him,
“If you’re really sorry, then at least treat us to so to drink”
“Ah, that’s right Sorry, we should have thought of that…!”
For some reason, it was Souta, instead of Haruki, was the one who had hurried to reply
Haruki waved his hand in the air, holding Souta back
“Mochita, you’re such a nice guy You don’t have to do whatever Natsuki says, you know”
“You really are a nice person, Mochita But it’s fine to just let Haruki take care of this kind of thing”
It was just after Natsuki replied, having been outdone by Mochita’s kind offer, when they heard Yuu cough, and then speak in a frosty tone
“Haruki, and Natsuki, too, would you two quit it for aout Hayasaka and Aida?”
At Yuu’s words, Natsuki saw that Miou and Akari, who had co a bit lost
They seemed uncertain about when to juenerally overwhel On the other hand, it was easy for Natsuki, since she’d know Haruki since they were childhood friends
“S-Sorry! I didn’t ”
Natsuki unlocked the door to the preparation rooo inside
Yuu followed after the and stopped short
“I’o”
“R-Right!”
Nodding aardly, Souta’s face was burning bright red, possibly because of the heat If so, it would be a good idea to go get so to rehydrate themselves, just like Haruki said
Yuu looked like he was about to say so, but in the end, he just waved Haruki and Souta off
“For starters, I’ll give a basic explanation about the project”
Being the only one left behind, Yuu started to talk with a friendly smile on his face
In doing so, Natsuki saw the tension leave Miou and Akari’s shoulders, and she breathed a sigh of relief
‘Good, they’re back to their norain…’
Yuu’s natural personality probably had soht’ve also been the is that they seemed at ease while he talked
‘If it were me, and Miou told me that she liked Haruki, for instance… I’d be happy, too’
There were ti, but she couldn’t deny that he was one of her prided childhood friends
If, by any chance, Miou and Haruki started going out, sheeven more self-conscious than she did now
By the time Yuu had finished his brief explanation, Haruki and Souta ca several water bottles
Natsuki had said it as a joke, but it see the water bottles gratefully, Haruki, the director of this work, began to explain the kind of i for
“The setting is that the heroine, who’s never been in love before, starts showing changes in her art after onist We want to appeal to the viewers by using pictures to show the delicate, and subtle changes in the heroine’s feelings towards the protagonist”
Haruki seemed to have a fir
A bit overwhelmed, Natsuki turned to make eye contact with her two close friends
They would be creating the effect he was aih their art
It was hard just to i that would be
At least for Natsuki, it was rare that she could successfully convey an ele picture And even when she could, pulling it off with just penould require a great deal of skill
Miou and Akari both had hard looks on their faces, as well, and see
Haruki looked at the the day’s weather
“Say, what color do you think love is?”
“Huh? What color…?”
His sudden question didn’t make much sense Natsuki was about to ask hiht-forward gaze, she couldn’t find the words
“…Pink, I guess?”
Saying the first words that na nod
As if encouraged by that response, before long, Miou also answered,
“Love can sometimes be bitter, or painful, so I think blues and blacks would be used, too”
Haruki nodded with interest, and lastly, looked at Akari
“What do you think, Hayasaka?”
“I’d say… gold, I guess”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yuu and Souta widen their eyes at Akari’s unique sense
Miou seemed surprised, too
Haruki was the only one whose expression turned serious He rested his hands on the desk and leaned forward in interest
“What makes you think that?”
“It pretty, and shi+ny, but it rusts when you leave it alone for too long, right? And when it shi+nes too brightly, it can be blinding, so I think that’s similar to how love can be”
It made sense, but at the same time, it didn’t That was Natsuki’s honest opinion
The other members seemed to also feel similarly, and were unable to come up with a response
All except for Haruki
“Oh…? I never thought I’d meet someone that thinks the same way as me”
After hed shyly
He looked satisfied, like he’d just found a comrade
‘Looks like Akari’s got this one’
Natsuki glanced over at Yuu, who see back in order
“So that’s the general idea… For the ti us some of your actual works?”
‘H,” huh?’
Although she’d picked up on his way of phrasing it, it would probably only ruin theInstead, she pretended like she hadn’t heard it, and brought a flat smile to her lips
“We’ll bring a few different things, like oil paintings, and sketches”
Although it wouldn’t just be Yuu’s words, e once they actually looked at their work Also, she knew that it wasn’t any of her business, but she wanted Haruki to notice Miou’s charm, no matter what
Making eye contact with Miou and Akari, they both nodded, and all three of them stood up
Once they’d brought their works froan
“Now presenting the first contestant, Enomoto Natsuki!”
Before anyone could say anything, she volunteered first
‘After all, when it comes to talent, it’s a shon between Akari and Miou’
She’d given up on getting in the way of that, and since she was starting to feel pessiet it over with quickly
At least, that hat she’d thought, but surprisingly, what she heard were positive comments
“The expressions in the characters you draw are really lively That’s the kind of thing I like to see”
The first one to speak was Haruki
Souta and Yuu nodded, and continued by saying things like, “The colors are nice,” and “It has a good design, too”
Taken by surprise, Natsuki was slow in reacting
She could feel her voice shaking, but she spoke as cheerfully as she could
“W-Wow! You all sound like real art criticscomments like that!”
As if she’d just said sohed a bit
‘I really wanna ask why! But, I’m also scared to know…’
Without saying another word, Haruki suddenly reached his hand out
“It was an honest coet the chance to, after all”
He ruffled her hair playfully, and i patted on the head Even so, somewhere deep down, she felt a bit embarrassed
“Ehh? You should praise ular basis!”
This time, Natsuki was able to make a well-timed comeback, and she did a mental victory pose
Checking her surroundings, she saw Souta holding his stohter
She heard Miou and Akari laughing, too, and let out a sigh of relief
It seemed like the tension that had formed in the room earlier had been eased
‘…Huh? Oh yeah, what about Yuu?’
“So it was Haruki, huh…”
As if to cut through her thoughts, the words Yuuclearly in her ears
Natsuki couldn’t figure out who those words were directed at, though, or even what he was talking about in the first place
However, the feeling that there had been an awashed over her instantly
“Um, Yuu…?”
Calling out to hihtly
“…Alright, that’s enough with the flirting”
“Huh?”
She froze in place at his words She was used to Yuu’s jokes, but she never would have i with Haruki, of all people
‘Did it look like ere fooling around to him…?’
Since Yuu was the only really responsible one here, he must have felt that the tension, which Natsuki had personally felt to be a bit suffocating, to be necessary for the seriousness of the screening process In that case, it would be Natsuki and Haruki’s fault for distracting everyone
Haruki also ether
“Th-Then, next up is Aida-san”
Noticing the tense ated the topic He looked at Miou’s works, which were displayed next to Natsuki’s, and cos”
Yuu and Haruki followed suit, and once more, a peculiar tension filled the room
‘This is probably for the best, but…’
It wasn’t that Natsuki wanted towith Yuu
But, although she couldn’t put it into words, she couldn’t help but feel so her
As if she was onto so with her bad premonitions, the unexpected surprises continued
Unlike his positive comments towards Natsuki’s works earlier, Haruki’s comments on Miou’s works were harsh
“Don’t the expressions seem kind of stiff?”
Even Souta and Yuu seemed taken aback by Haruki’s unreserved statement
“I’d say it’s more like they look very well-defined, you know?”