"Yuki-kun, earlier you…" Eriri began, ready to make her move, but her words were cut short.
Origami Tobiichi, who had been quiet until now, suddenly spoke up. "Yue, I drew you. Take a look and see if it's accurate."
Hearing this, Eriri swallowed the rest of her sentence. Both she and Marin turned their attention toward the usually silent, ice-cold beauty.
On Origami's easel was a portrait—clearly of Yuki.
Drawn in charcoal on white paper, the likeness was striking. Even Eriri, seeing it for the first time, was impressed. She hadn't expected Origami to be so skilled at drawing.
She could spot a few minor imperfections, but they were negligible. Overall, the work demonstrated a solid level of skill—certainly good enough to be sold as a standalone piece.
But as they looked closer, both girls realized something: the portrait was… intensely embarrassing.
The Yuki in the drawing was partially undressed, his muscular lines rendered with fluid grace—a physique reminiscent of a Greek statue, perfectly balancing power and elegance.
Unconsciously, a blush crept onto both girls' cheeks, their eyes shimmering with a mix of shyness and… something else.
Unable to contain their curiosity, the two girls' eyes kept drifting from the top of the image downward.
The portrait, however, was cut off right at the crucial part because the paper simply wasn't long enough. So, only a little more than half of Yuki's body had been drawn by Origami.
"What a shame, the paper's too short. Otherwise, I could've drawn Yuki's @#$#—!" Origami lamented, shaking her head with genuine disappointment.
Yuki, standing to the side, could only sweatdrop.
Thank goodness the paper was small. With Origami's personality, she absolutely would have drawn it!
But this girl's memory is way too good! She remembers every single detail on my body?! She could probably even remember the exact shape, length, and size of that thing!
That's terrifying! Does she have cameras for eyes?!
Yuki internally screamed a torrent of complaints.
Meanwhile, Marin Kitagawa, her face flushed with shyness, stammered out a question to Origami. "Origami... why... why would you draw this?!"
"It's... it's way too embarrassing!"
"Especially thinking about continuing it! This is..." Marin couldn't finish her sentence, her heart racing as she couldn't bring herself to look directly at Yuki.
She was afraid that if she looked too much, she'd really start superimposing the drawing onto reality... and end up wanting to explore that mysterious area of Yuki's!
Beside them, Eriri was utterly stunned.
She couldn't believe this Origami Tobiichi could utter that word with such a perfectly straight face. Not only that, but she said it so openly, right in front of all of them, without the slightest hint of shame.
Even as a professional doujinshi artist, Eriri felt her own heartbeat quicken for several seconds upon hearing it.
"But it's fine," Origami continued matter-of-factly, picking up a fresh piece of blank paper. "I can just extend it on another sheet and keep going!"
She then gave the three of them a look that clearly indicated the direction she intended to take.
Seeing this, the other two girls' faces burned even brighter.
Yet, beneath their shy, flustered gazes, there was an unmistakable, perfectly synchronized flicker of anticipation—as if they genuinely wanted Origami to keep drawing.
Hearing this, Yuki's face turned ashen, a trio of thick black lines appearing on his forehead.
He hurriedly stepped in to stop her. "Ahem, Origami... let's, uh, not do that."
"But we're supposed to be drawing according to the teacher's assignment. What you're doing doesn't meet the requirements."
"As students, it's class time, so we should naturally follow the classroom rules!"
"So?" Origami listened to Yuki's earnest, long-winded explanation, then tilted her head and asked plainly with a clear voice.
"So, you really shouldn't keep drawing that!" Yuki said slowly. "Go finish the teacher's assignment first, okay?"
"Fine."
Hearing this, Origami gave a slight nod.
She then very carefully, as if handling a treasure, folded up that portrait of Yuki, tucking it away safely to the side.
Seeing this, a flicker of disappointment and regret passed through both Eriri's and Marin's eyes simultaneously.
But they quickly averted their gazes, their expressions returning to normal.
Though they were genuinely sorry in their hearts not to witness that final, mysterious region, they knew the setting wasn't appropriate. Reason kept them from being swept away by their curiosity.
As Origami switched to a fresh sheet of paper and began sketching the centrally placed object, Marin also refocused on her own drawing.
Eriri, for her part, began offering Marin a few pointers here and there as she worked.
Still, in her heart, Eriri couldn't stop wondering: How was Origami Tobiichi able to draw every single muscle detail of Yuki's body so clearly?
Was it because she'd seen it before? Or was she just making it up?
The more she thought about it, the more a flicker of curiosity about the mysterious physique hidden beneath Yuki's clothes sparked within her.
Eriri's bewilderment was mirrored perfectly in Marin's own heart.
Yet neither of them voiced their questions to Origami. Both were thinking of finding a chance to ask Origami privately. And, if possible, they really wanted another look at that earlier portrait.
The art class drew to a close as everyone finished their work and the teacher conducted inspections and critiques.
Unsurprisingly, Yuki's piece became the focal example for the teacher's lecture this session. In the end, the teacher even expressed a desire to frame one of his sketches and display it in the art classroom.
Yuki had no objections to this. He handed one of his drawings over to the teacher.
With the ringing of the bell, the afternoon classes ended, and it was time to head home once again.
After school, Origami and Marin followed Yuki as he went to pick up his younger sister, Kotori, from the middle school section.
When Yuki arrived at Kotori's classroom, she was just about to greet him.
But someone beat her to it.
Kaede Azusagawa, brimming with excitement, hopped and skipped her way to Yuki, her face lit up with a brilliant, sweet smile as she called out, "Big Brother Yuki!"
Seeing the adorable Kaede, and behind her, Mahiru Azusagawa wearing a smile that was slightly shyer than her sister's, Yuki responded with a gentle grin.
"Hmm, Kaede, Mahiru. Class is over. You haven't gone home yet?" he asked them warmly.
"Nope! We were waiting here especially for you, Big Brother Yuki!" Kaede shook her head, still smiling.
"Since we knew you'd be coming to get Kotori, Kaede insisted on staying a bit longer," Mahiru explained from the side with a chuckle.
"Oh? Waiting just for me? Seems like there's something you two want to tell me," Yuki said with a light smile, speaking slowly.
Although he had a pretty good idea what the Azusagawa sisters wanted to discuss, he decided to let them say it themselves.
"Hehe, Big Brother Yuki is so clever!"
"It's about the tutoring thing from last time. My parents agreed!"
"They're hoping you can come over to our house this Saturday, which is tomorrow!" Kaede said, her face full of anticipation, her eyes fixed on Yuki's reflection as she gazed at him.
"Is that so? No problem!"
"Really?! You're the best, Big Brother Yuki!"
Seeing Yuki nod in agreement, Kaede was so thrilled she momentarily forgot herself and impulsively threw her arms around him in a hug.
This bold, instinctive act left Mahiru, Kotori, and all the other students in the classroom completely stunned.
The entire room fell deathly silent, the atmosphere frozen in an awkward hush.
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