Chapter 301: Let’s Go Out!
Chapter 301: Let’s Go Out!
“Hmm—”
Seeing Himekoji actually abandon her and run to the door to clingy with Hanjo Ayame, Mashiro puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
“Akito, go over there.”
Then, Mashiro flicked her brush, directing Himekoji to stand in the center of the Classroom.
Away from the door. Away from the mistress.
“Eh? Ah, okay!”
Relieved to have an excuse to escape Hanjo Ayame’s teasing, Himekoji hurriedly agreed the moment he heard Mashiro.
He pulled back his foot that was holding the door shut, clearing the doorway.
Hanjo Ayame saw the path was clear, her eyes lit up, and she immediately slipped out of the Classroom without hesitation.
She really was dead set on dragging Yukinoshita here to stir things up, huh…
Himekoji twitched his mouth in exasperation, then slammed the door shut loudly with a “PONG!”
He’d figured it out. That Hanjo Ayame girl wasn’t exactly playing with a full deck. Right now was class time—there was no way a model student like Yukinoshita would skip class just to mess around here.
Besides, Himekoji’s relationship with Yukinoshita was nothing like what they imagined. He completely didn’t understand why. It was just a School Trip, but after coming back, gossip like this suddenly became super popular and was spreading like wildfire. If Yukinoshita wasn’t still giving him that usual frosty, icy attitude, even Himekoji might have started to believe it!
Whatever, let that troublemaker run wild. Himekoji figured, since he’d already bolted the Art Classroom door from the inside—
Anyone who went out shouldn’t expect to just waltz back in!
…
Following Mashiro’s instruction, Himekoji took his place right in the center of the Classroom.
He’d only been standing there for a short while when he suddenly felt something was… off.
“Uh… Shiina-san? If possible… could I switch spots?”
The very center was way too conspicuous. From the moment he entered, Himekoji had noticed glances flickering his way. Now, stationed right in the spotlight, the previously sneaky looks openly stared at him.
Himekoji saw—
The other Fine Arts Class students had all stopped their own painting. They’d seemingly cleared time specifically to curiously watch his “show.”
Damn! It was just sidelong glances before, but now it was outright staring! It felt like being publicly executed, awkward enough he wanted to die of shame.
So, you guys are really that bored? Just do your own work, you slackers!
“Where to?”
Mashiro tilted her head to the side, blinking as she asked.
“Um, a corner!”
Himekoji needed to be low-key.
Showing zero inclination of listening to Himekoji’s suggestion, the absolute ruler Mashiro pointed towards the top of the teacher’s desk.
“Then, there.”
Following the direction of the girl’s pale, slender finger, Himekoji looked. When he saw the target, his face immediately went dark.
Stand on the teacher’s desk as a model?
“Forget it… I’ll just… reluctantly make do here…”
Himekoji instantly gave up any thought of negotiating with Mashiro, raising his hands in surrender.
“Alright. Um… what should I do?”
Himekoji stood at the spot Mashiro designated. After a moment, he found himself clueless, sinking into an awkward predicament.
After all, this was the first time in his life he’d ever been a model. He was completely foggy on exactly what he was supposed to do and how he should do it.
“Nothing to do.”
“No need for poses?”
“No need.”
Relieved by this definite answer, Himekoji sighed: “Oh good.”
If he’d actually had to strike some pose under all these watching eyes, he felt he’d definitely have died from sheer embarrassment and shame.
While answering Himekoji’s question, Mashiro had already laid out the canvas on her easel.
…
“Ahem, mind if I ask? How long will I be standing here?”
Ten minutes? Or twenty minutes?
There was about half an hour left before the next class started. Surely that should be enough time for Mashiro, given her speed.
Himekoji reasoned.
“One month.”
Mashiro readily provided the answer.
This answer almost gave Himekoji a heart attack.
“ONE MONTH?! Are you kidding me?!”
“Maybe, fastest case.”
That was with “fastest” as the baseline?!
“Stop it! Do you usually take this long?”
Himekoji knew better. Given Mashiro’s skill, she drew each painting quickly and perfectly. Her absolute maximum was never more than three days!
“I’m drawing seriously this time.”
Plonk!
Himekoji suddenly heard the sound of brushes hitting the floor.
Turning his head, he saw it was those Fine Arts Class students who were eavesdropping.
Their faces were filled with shock and disbelief—
All that incredibly amazing art she did… and it wasn’t serious?
Just what kind of monster was this girl?!
Just doodling casually was enough to effortlessly defeat every one of them in the Fine Arts Class…
Watching their faces rapidly darken, Himekoji shook his head wordlessly. Mashiro’s statement had probably crushed their confidence. What a mess.
“But weren’t you also serious before? Someone like Shiina-san can’t face drawing with just a careless attitude, right?”
“Yeah.”
Seeing Mashiro nod along, the Fine Arts Class girls who had been listening intently looked slightly better. They bent down to pick up their fallen brushes.
Himekoji breathed a sigh of relief.
Anyway, when Mashiro had dragged him here to be her model without any explanation, why was he stuck dealing with the aftermath?!
…
“I’m going to draw super seriously this time.”
“Don’t say something that sounds like a stubborn elementary kid would say with such a straight face!”
“I’m a high school student.”
Mashiro corrected him.
“Stop looking so serious! Can’t you tell that’s just my sarcastic comment? And also, I can’t become an immortal! There’s no way I can stand here without moving a muscle for a whole month!”
“You can move.”
Mashiro actually said that. Could he call her considerate for it?
Himekoji felt touched and almost wanted to cry… As if!
“You can also sit down.”
There was a slight pause in his words. A moment later, Mashiro offered another suggestion that worked in Himekoji’s favor.
“Huh? A model can be this casual? Then why not just use photos?”
Himekoji had a sudden spark of inspiration and thought he’d come up with a great idea.
“Not allowed.”
But immediately, Mashiro rejected it.
“Akito must be alive.”
“Huh?”
“Living. Fresh.”
Mashiro’s additional explanation sent an inexplicable creepy feeling down Himekoji’s spine.
Alive? Fresh?
How eerie and spooky!
“Stop talking like I’m dead already!”
Mashiro: “……”
Their rapid back-and-forth banter suddenly stopped as one of them fell silent.
It felt strange. The atmosphere turned quiet all of a sudden.
“I said, please don’t just suddenly stop talking and focus all your attention on drawing. It’s totally awkward!”
Mashiro: “……”
Lost in the world of painting, Mashiro completely ignored Himekoji, fully focused on her work.
Feeling a bit ignored, there was a touch of sadness inside Himekoji. Unwilling to give up just like that, he muttered quietly to himself, “At least give me a heads-up, like ‘I’m starting to draw’ or something.”
Whatever. Forget it.
Himekoji changed his train of thought. He quickly let it go.
Why was he even bothering to argue with Mashiro?
She existed for painting. For a Mashiro like this, staying absolutely focused was actually the most normal thing.
The moment she picked up her brush, nothing and no one should distract her.
Nothing in her heart could outweigh painting.
Nothing could, and nothing should.
Himekoji still remembered when Mashiro used to draw manga in her room. No matter what he said or did then, the girl never reacted at all.
So naturally, he hadn’t held any hope for it this time either.
“I’m starting to draw.”
“Huh?”
But Mashiro, who was deep in her drawing, surprisingly broke her silence and spoke unexpectedly.
“Ah… Okay.”
Snapping out of his surprised daze, Himekoji fumbled over the awkward response.
Meanwhile, he was also shocked to feel something wrong stirring inside him—
He felt… he actually felt…
a little sneakily happy!
But what kind of emotion was happy?!
He should feel totally embarrassed instead!
Saying complaints like some kind of whiny drama queen, then being caught by the person he was talking about…
and he still had the nerve to feel happy?! Damn, what was going on? What the heck!
…
“Hey, Himekoji-kun. Are you two dating for real?”
Suddenly someone pulled closer to gossip with him.
That instantly snapped Himekoji out of the weird state he was in. Without a second thought, Himekoji gave the other person a look that should be completely obvious to anyone.
“It really is!”
But that classmate didn’t understand it at all…
She got it totally wrong!
Innocent as she was, she thought Himekoji giving her that look meant “Obviously!”
But the truth was… “Idiot!”
“Huhhh? Really? It’s not?”
Seeing the “disapproval” grow increasingly obvious in Himekoji’s eyes, the classmate suddenly wavered.
Could it be…
Had she guessed wrongly?
Of course, you guessed wrongly!
Just as Himekoji was about to end this topic with a blunt response like that, Mashiro unexpectedly spoke ahead of him.
Just a moment ago, completely immersed in her painting—only in painting—and yet suddenly at that exact moment, Mashiro lifted her face. Her gaze shifted from the canvas for the first time.
“We haven’t started dating.”
“Haven’t started?”
“Not yet.”
“WHAAA?!”
As soon as Mashiro said those words with their meaning hanging unsaid, the two other art students who’d been eavesdropping with pricked ears immediately jumped into their conversation with sparkling eyes.
“So, ‘not yet’ means it’s going to happen after this?”
“Yes.”
Mashiro nodded…
“Hey, why are you nodding?!”
That’ll just make those rumors get worse, won’t it! You dummy!
Mashiro: “…”
Faced with Himekoji’s anger, Mashiro turned her head away. Her focus returned completely to her painting.
It seemed she hadn’t heard what Himekoji said at all. So, she didn’t answer him.
“When will it start? When does Shiina-san plan to start going out with Himekoji-kun?”
Among the three curious art students, the fire of gossip was burning bright. Seizing the moment, they pressed for answers.
“The sooner the better.”
“Hey! Aren’t you supposed to be drawing?! Why did you suddenly answer their question!”
Mashiro: “…”
Mashiro directed her gaze back to the canvas for the nth time, ignoring Himekoji.
“Are you only filtering out what I say?”
Himekoji felt choked with frustration, like he wanted to spit blood!
‘The sooner the better?’
The three gossipers echoed Mashiro’s words in unison, almost without thinking.
They looked at Mashiro with hopeful faces, wanting to hear more wild details about this “romance.”
“Hoping… for today?”
Mashiro finally stopped deliberately ignoring Himekoji. When she said this, she was looking at him.
Her eyes, like a fawn’s, were clear and pure, so much so that they could reflect Himekoji himself back.
A sudden wave of panic washed over Himekoji.
Immediately after, he felt the gazes of the three gossipers suddenly snap onto him as well, making his panic grow even stronger.
Mashiro said no more. The trio asked no further questions.
The air grew quiet once again.
Everyone seemed to just be silently waiting for Himekoji’s answer.
What on earth is this weird atmosphere?
It feels like a confession scene…
But this absolutely is NOT a confession!
He mustn’t fall for it!
Though Mashiro had said things like “liking him,” Himekoji knew very clearly that Mashiro’s “like” wasn’t the same “like” that everyone else meant.
Mashiro only “liked” him the way she “liked” Baumkuchen.
From the moment she was born, Mashiro had poured her whole heart and soul into the world of painting. Compared to the vibrant artworks she created, her experience of feelings was pale and hollow, as naïve as a newborn’s, as blank as a sheet of paper.
Himekoji was, incredibly, the first male friend of her own age that Mashiro had ever really interacted with.
This wasn’t liking him.
Of course it wasn’t liking him!
Everyone should know, it couldn’t possibly be liking him!
There were so many different Baumkuchens at the supermarket, and Mashiro liked them all; Himekoji’s value was no different.
To Mashiro, every Baumkuchen tasted exactly the same once you ate it.
And the “like” Mashiro talked about was just an attachment to that particular taste.
Himekoji reminded himself of this. Or maybe it was more of a warning.
…
He didn’t know when it started, but Himekoji Akito, the so-called Pervert-kun who once took pride in his loneliness, found it harder and harder to control himself.
Many times, he wanted to take a step forward. He dreamed of it, literally dreamed about it, he wanted it so badly.
Luckily, the longing and wavering in his dreams would always vanish once he woke up. He remained that timid, shrinking, trembling quail, telling, tricking, hypnotizing himself into believing he was doing the bravest thing possible: burying his head in his hands, closing his eyes, pressing his lips together, and while yearning the most for what was ahead, stepping back, ever more firmly.
Even as the biting wind from the bottom of the cliff chilled his back.
He was the bravest, bravely clinging to his own cowardice.
[Everyone who took a chance on me went crazy. Everyone except you, the coward.]
“Then I’ll be the coward!”
That was the most courageous thing Himekoji had managed since becoming “Pervert-kun” a year ago.
…
“Hoping… for today?”
The quiet art classroom. The stares gathering on the center.
Everyone was waiting for Himekoji.
One second… two seconds… three seconds…
His heart pounded like heavy drums.
“I…”
Himekoji spoke. The eyes of the three gossipers suddenly sparkled. The answer they’d been waiting for was about to come.
Even Shiina Mashiro, who was always expressionless and didn’t know how to show her feelings correctly, bit her lower lip ever so slightly. It was a rare sight.
“I…”
Himekoji took a deep breath and let out a big sigh.
“I…”
Just as he was finally about to pour out his courage in one go, all of a sudden—
The school bell rang.
…
…