"Rita, can you draw now?"
Faced with Mashiro's expectant gaze, Rita looked away.
"Now... uh... um..."
Having gone through the mysterious inner event, Rita could now pick up a brush again.
But... she absolutely didn't want to draw a lewd picture of Mashiro being eaten by him!
Guh... give her back, give my innocent Mashiro back to me!
"Right, Mashiro... do you still remember those other kids at the art studio?" Not wanting to draw lewd pictures of Mashiro, Rita somewhat stiffly changed the subject. "Originally, there were thirty kids in Grandpa's studio, but in the end, it was just the two of us."
"...I don't remember."
"Mmh... That's very Mashiro of you." Rita smiled helplessly. "Actually... I hated you, Mashiro."
"!!!"
Mashiro's eyes widened, a hint of astonishment in her gaze.
Rita wasn't spouting nonsense just to change the subject; she truly meant what she said.
However... after venting her emotions just now, Rita felt that some things were better said aloud than kept bottled up.
"Not just me, the other kids in the studio felt the same... The kids in Grandpa's studio weren't like the innocent children in a normal art class. They were kids who traveled from all over the world with the specific goal of becoming famous painters."
"Every single one of them had amazing talent. Even though they were kids, they could be considered artists."
"Every single one of them thought they were special. But reality is extremely cruel. For the first time in their lives, they encountered an opponent whose painting skills were far superior to their own."
"Grandpa's studio was that kind of place... Actually, even before you came, Mashiro, there were people who couldn't handle it and quit every year. But the remaining ones chased and pushed each other, which allowed them to bring out even stronger talent."
"But after you came, Mashiro... all they had left was despair. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't catch up. You didn't even look at them, Mashiro. Even when they all left, you didn't care."
"That's why I wished you would disappear. I hoped you would go away as quickly as possible. That's why I helped you become a manga artist, taught you how to use a computer, and helped you with the paperwork to come here."
"I hoped you would draw boring manga, be criticized as worthless, and face constant setbacks. I thought that when you were broken both physically and mentally, you would understand how we felt."
"I'm... a terrible person, aren't I?"
Listening to Rita's words, Mashiro fell silent.
She genuinely couldn't understand Rita's feelings, nor had she noticed how much pain she had caused others.
"Right..."
"You don't need to apologize. This wasn't your fault, Mashiro." Rita shifted her gaze to Rin Ito. "That's why I admire you so much... You kept looking straight at Mashiro's talent, watching her surpass you, watching her take everything from you, and yet you still like her so much."
"..."
Rin Ito hesitated to speak.
To be honest, aside from Rin Ito's mind being more mature than those kids, the most important reason was... Mashiro was simply too cute!
And it was the kind of cute that he could "eat." The desire for her body far outweighed anything Rita had just mentioned.
"Rita... why? Then why did you take such good care of me? Why did you bring me back here?"
"Originally, I wanted to draw alongside you and compete with you, Mashiro. But... I was the only one who felt that way. You didn't feel that way, Mashiro, and Grandpa also urged me to give up."
"Drawing is my everything; it's the meaning of my existence. But Grandpa told me to give up because I could never beat you, so I should give up. He said there was no point in continuing to draw."
"Grandpa, Mom, and Dad all revolved around you, Mashiro. I... I was a child who wasn't needed. I was already told I wasn't needed."
"Just like Ito-kun told me before, I... I just wanted to see your helpless, pathetic state where you can't even take care of yourself. Beyond that... only by doing that, only by doing that could I become a part of your talent, Mashiro. Only then did I have hope of catching up to you."
"In the end... I really hated you, you know. When we lived together, you always threw your clothes and underwear everywhere for me to wash, and you put the broccoli I hated the most onto my plate."
"You went out without asking and got lost, leaving your room a mess and ignoring it. You used my paints and brushes without permission... Phew, I feel much better after saying all that."
After finishing, Rita let out a complete sigh of relief. She twisted her neck and rolled her shoulders, feeling exceptionally light, as if all the shackles on her body had been removed.
"Yeah, I hated you. I really hated you, Mashiro. Did you know you were that annoying before?"
"I'm sorry, I... I didn't know." After saying that softly, Mashiro looked up. "I didn't notice, because when I was drawing beside you, Rita, I felt very happy. I never thought about anything else."
"Mashiro, you..." Rita showed a complex expression, momentarily not knowing what to say.
"In the past, I only felt like I wasn't alone when I was beside you, Rita. As long as you were there, Rita, everything was fine. So... was I the only one who was happy?"
"That's not true!" Rita blurted out quickly, as if afraid Mashiro would hate her. "Really! I wanted to keep drawing with you forever, Mashiro! But you never showed any expression on your face; you didn't look happy at all. It made me feel like I wasn't even in your eyes. I was terrified. I thought maybe I was the only one who thought we were friends, and I just couldn't stop myself."
As she spoke, Rita's voice carried a hint of a sob again, and she instinctively hugged the petite girl in front of her once more.
"I wouldn't, I would never hate you, Rita." Mashiro shook her head, her reddish-orange eyes full of anticipation. "Then... Rita, will you draw from now on?"
"Of course I will. I want to draw. I want to keep drawing forever... I want to pour everything we've done together up until now into my paintings. Because the memories of being with you, Mashiro, are the most important things to me. My paintings are all things we completed together... That's why I never wanted to give up!"
"That's great." Mashiro gently pushed Rita away and used her fingers to unbutton her uniform shirt. "Then, draw me."
"...?" Rita wanted to say something but stopped.
"Pfft..." Seeing Rita's complicated expression, Rin Ito, standing nearby, couldn't hold back his laughter. He could tell Rita had tried very hard to change the subject. To do so, she had even spoken all the shameful, embarrassing thoughts hidden deep in her heart, even making the atmosphere slightly heavy again.
In the end, she still couldn't avoid it.
"Rita, you said all your paintings were completed with Mashiro. So, wouldn't it be more meaningful for Mashiro to be the heroine of your first painting after picking up your brush again?"
"Mmh!" By the time Rin Ito finished speaking, Mashiro had already expertly taken off her uniform, leaving only her underwear. "Rita, let's draw!"
Rita was completely choked up... I said so many touching things, why haven't we moved past this yet!? All those words were wasted!!!
In the end, why do I still have to draw lewd pictures of Mashiro!