"Kotomi, we'll be leaving now."
"Bye-bye~"
After saying their goodbyes, Kotomi waved off Ruka Ishikawa and the other mbers, who believed her excuse of wanting to stay back and review her painting for possible adjustnts.
With the National Youth Art Competition's deadline looming, no one found her reasoning suspicious and promptly left the art room without further probing.
However, Kotomi had no intention of revisiting her painting. While the competition was indeed important, as it could secure her a recomndation to university, she was suprely confident in her abilities.
Staying back had nothing to do with nerves—it was solely to wait for gumi, in accordance with their promise that morning.
"She should be on her way from the library by now," Kotomi mused, glancing toward the window. From the art room, though, it wasn't possible to see the library, so she simply admired the golden hues of the setting sun to pass the ti.
She loved sunsets.
Every ti the sun painted the sky orange and the day turned to dusk, it stirred a gentle thought in her heart: It's ti to go ho.
The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted her reverie.
Kotomi turned and saw gumi quietly push the door open, a playful smile on her lips.
"Getting impatient?" gumi teased, smirking.
"I am not!" Kotomi pouted, her voice tinged with a mix of shyness and playfulness. She quickly got up and ran into gumi's open arms, surrendering to her embrace.
"'Not impatient,' huh? Then why do you look so eager?" gumi chuckled, holding Kotomi closer.
"Why are you talking so much? Are you going to kiss or not? If not, I'm leaving!" Kotomi feigned annoyance, lightly baring her teeth in a mock threat.
As she pretended to wriggle free, gumi suddenly tightened her embrace, leaving no room for escape.
"Can't you hold a bit gentler—mmph!"
Before she could finish her complaint, gumi silenced her with a kiss.
anwhile, Mashiro Shiina, who had just left the art room, was halfway down the stairs when she instinctively reached for her pocket.
Her expression shifted as she realized her keychain was gone.
"The Iriomote cat... my keychain... where is it?" Mashiro murmured, her tone tinged with worry.
She rummaged through her pockets, then her bag, but found nothing.
She was sure she'd been holding it earlier while drawing in the art room.
The art room!
Her spirits lifted at the thought.
"Kotomi should still be in the art room. I need to hurry back before the door gets locked."
Mashiro turned and ran, her steps quick and hurried. The last person to leave the art room was responsible for locking up—today, that person was Kotomi. She needed to catch her before she left.
Even if it had been her phone that went missing, Mashiro wouldn't have been this anxious. She might not have even noticed until soone pointed it out. But the keychain was different.
Despite its modest price, Mashiro adored the Iriomote cat keychain. When she bought it at the departnt store over the weekend, the salesperson ntioned it was the last one in stock.
If I lose it, it'll be hard to replace.
Kotomi said it was cute, too.
Fueled by these thoughts, Mashiro quickened her pace.
Though physically healthy, Mashiro's stamina wasn't great due to her sedentary lifestyle, spent mostly drawing. By the ti she reached the art room, she was breathing heavily.
Leaning against the wall, Mashiro bent over, hands on her knees, and took a mont to catch her breath. Once her breathing steadied, she stood up and approached the door. Hearing movent inside, her face brightened.
Kotomi hasn't left yet.
Placing her hand on the doorknob, she froze. Through the glass window on the door, she saw everything happening inside.
Mashiro would never forget what she witnessed.
Inside the art room, Kotomi and gumi stood wrapped in each other's arms.
Kotomi's eyes were half-closed, her expression dazed as if lost in the mont, while gumi gazed at her with a victorious glint in her eye.
Mashiro's breath hitched.
She covered her mouth with trembling hands, her eyes widening in shock. She should have felt anger or jealousy—should have barged in, pulled Kotomi away, and left with her.
Instead, Mashiro felt sothing entirely different: an intense, inexplicable excitent.
Kotomi was kissed by another girl.
Kotomi was kissed by gumi Kato.
Why am I not furious?
Why am I not storming in there to stop them?
Why... why am I excited?
She shivered, unable to make sense of her feelings.
Is it because gumi is doing what I've always wanted to do but never had the courage to?
Mashiro's thoughts spiraled as she sat down outside the door, her legs giving out beneath her.
Disgusting. I'm disgusting.
But I'm also... so jealous. I want to kiss Kotomi like that too.
Her orange-red eyes were wide and unblinking, her expression a mix of fascination and sha.
Back inside the art room, gumi broke the kiss and smiled.
Kotomi's cheeks were flushed, her face glistening with a fine sheen of sweat. Her lips quivered as she struggled to suppress the words on the tip of her tongue.
"Was that enough?" gumi asked teasingly, her tone soft but playful.
Kotomi pouted, clenching the hem of her skirt tightly. She looked too embarrassed to respond.
Seeing her nervous expression, gumi chuckled and lightly tapped Kotomi's nose with her finger.
"Alright, let's go. As much as I'd love to keep kissing you, if we stay here any longer, you'll probably turn so red you could boil water just by touching it. And what if soone sees us?"
gumi's eyes flicked toward the door, her expression subtly mischievous.
Kotomi hadn't noticed, but gumi had. When they were kissing, Mashiro had been watching from outside the door.
Now, Mashiro had moved out of view, likely hiding nearby.
Even knowing this, gumi wasn't flustered. If anything, it had spurred her on to kiss Kotomi more passionately, locking eyes with Mashiro through the glass as if to flaunt her victory.
Half a minute later, the door opened slowly.
Mashiro stepped into the art room.
"Mashiro?"
Kotomi, who had just finished adjusting her clothes, jumped in surprise when Shiina Mashiro walked in through the door.
Could she have seen what just happened?!
Blushing, Kotomi tightly clutched the hem of her skirt, unsure of what to say. Before she could stamr out a word, gumi flashed her a reassuring look and calmly greeted Mashiro:
"Hello, Mashiro. Did you forget sothing?"
Mashiro's gaze flickered between Kotomi and gumi. Her lips pressed together hesitantly as if she had sothing to say but couldn't bring herself to voice it. Instead, she nodded slightly and softly replied:
"I forgot my keychain. I ca back after realizing I left it behind."
"Is that so? Lucky you didn't go too far, or Kotomi and I would have locked up," gumi said with a gentle laugh.
Mashiro walked to her seat in the art room and, as expected, found the Iriomote cat keychain lying on the chair where she had left it.
As Mashiro retrieved her keychain, gumi leaned close to Kotomi and whispered in her ear:
"Relax. We finished before she got here. She didn't see anything."
Relieved by gumi's words and seeing Mashiro genuinely focused on finding her keychain, Kotomi let out a quiet sigh.
Thank goodness she didn't see anything she shouldn't have. Knowing Mashiro, if she'd seen us kissing, she'd have burst in here demanding answers.
That was close! Any longer and we'd have been caught for sure.
Internally laughing bitterly at her narrow escape, Kotomi resolved to warn Mashiro again about playing with her keychain carelessly.
"Keychains are ant to stay attached to keys, which should be in your pocket or bag. Mashiro, you can't keep holding it all the ti—it's too easy to lose. Today you left it on the chair, but next ti you might lose it sowhere you can't find it."
Kotomi's tone was firm, though not scolding, as she rembered how earlier she had warned Mashiro about being careful with her keychain. If Mashiro had forgotten about the keychain, she might have stumbled upon sothing far more awkward.
Mashiro nodded obediently, her soft reply tinged with guilt:
"Got it... I'm sorry... I'll head out now. My cousin is waiting for ."
Her voice seed quieter and more forlorn than usual. She hurriedly turned to leave, her steps uncharacteristically brisk.
Watching Mashiro's retreating figure, Kotomi tilted her head in confusion. While Mashiro typically spoke softly, today she seed particularly downcast, and Kotomi could sense the change in her tone.
Did I say sothing too harsh? No, it couldn't be that. I've said much harsher things in the past—like when I critiqued her first manga draft—and she took it in stride, even improving for her second.
So, what's bothering her?
Puzzled, Kotomi crossed her arms and decided to ask Mashiro about it later. For now, she grabbed her bag, ready to head ho.
As Kotomi bent to pick up her bag, she noticed gumi standing in front of her easel, her eyes gleaming with curiosity at the painting concealed beneath a white cloth.
"So this is your entry for the art competition? Too bad it's covered up. Can I take a peek?" gumi asked, her hand inching toward the cloth.
"No! Absolutely not! At least not yet!"
Kotomi darted forward and blocked gumi, waving her hands frantically.
It wasn't that she was unwilling to show others her work; in fact, the whole purpose of Twilight Sky: Sunset was for it to be seen, to win accolades, and secure her recomndation for university.
However, Kotomi's perfectionist streak wouldn't allow her to show an unfinished piece. Even though her current progress was already superior to most students' final submissions, Kotomi still considered it incomplete and unsuitable for viewing.
Faced with Kotomi's adamant refusal, gumi reluctantly withdrew her hand. She had been dying to see if Kotomi had included her in the painting, but seeing Kotomi's determination, she decided to wait patiently for the unveiling at the competition.
I can't wait to see how Kotomi painted , gumi thought, grinning to herself.
After all, it had been her idea to include a figure in the landscape. Although she hadn't outright asked Kotomi to feature her, she had dropped plenty of hints. Surely Kotomi had picked up on them, right?
If she didn't paint , then who else would she choose?
gumi humd smugly, her anticipation growing as she thought about the day Twilight Sky: Sunset would be displayed at the exhibition.
After locking up the art room, Kotomi and gumi walked out of the school together.
gumi suggested taking a detour to the Dango Cake Shop to buy so treats.
"Oh, you don't know yet, do you? The shop's temporarily closed because Aunt Yuigahama needs a break," Kotomi explained.
"Really? That's too bad. But if it's for rest, I understand. Running a shop can be exhausting, especially when you're managing everything on your own."
Despite her disappointnt at not being able to buy cake, gumi was empathetic toward Yui's family situation. As a solo business owner, Aunt Yuigahama had to juggle running the shop, paying rent, and supporting her daughters, including the costs of Yui's younger sister's upcoming elentary school enrollnt.
Since they couldn't stop by the cake shop, the pair stuck to their usual route ho.
When they reached Kotomi's house, gumi suddenly turned to her with a mischievous glint in her eye.
"I'm so disappointed about the cake. How about you make it up to ?"
"I don't have any cake at ho! Well, maybe there's so leftover cookies, but that's it. Want those instead?"
"Not in the mood for cookies today."
"Then what do you want to do? I suppose I could co to your house and bake a cake for you?" Kotomi's voice trailed off in exasperation, though she was already ntally preparing to do just that if gumi insisted.
Her cooking skills were top-notch, and baking a cake would be a breeze. However, it was ti-consuming, and Kotomi generally preferred buying desserts over making them unless there was a special reason.
But if gumi really wanted one, Kotomi would do it.
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