Sakayanagi Arisu's Invitation, the Young Lady's Probe

Kushida glanced sideways at the two apes as Yuto turned away.

By now, Ike Kanji had already gotten into the water, showing off his dog paddle technique honed in the river, like a peacock fanning its tail.

Yamauchi, meanwhile, kept scanning the girls, muttering under his breath, his hands occasionally clawing at the air.

Kushida felt those two might actually confess to her, and a fresh wave of cursing rose in her mind—she figured she needed to find time to vent.

Yuto laughed: "Alright, Saintess, future shared girlfriend, now teach me how to swim."

Maybe because his instructor had switched from a burly middle-aged man to a pretty girl, Yuto's swimming technique actually improved a bit.

At least, he occasionally managed strokes that didn't look quite so much like dog paddling.

Soon, the bell for class ended rang.

Yuto leaned close to Kushida: "Remember to come to my dorm tonight. I think I just need more practice."

Kushida nodded. She needed a place to blow off steam too.

In Yuto's dorm, even though she had to be careful about noise and it wasn't quite as satisfying, at least she wouldn't get caught like before.

Maybe she could get Yuto to keep watch for her next time, so she could really let loose?

She could discuss it with him tonight.

After school.

Yuto winked at Kushida, then grabbed his bag and headed to the Manga Club.

"Yamada, look, this is the portrait I drew. How should I fix this problem?"

He pulled out last night's sketch of Kushida and handed it to Yamada.

Yamada and the other club members crowded around, staring at the abstract painting in silence for a moment.

"Yuto, looking at the body parts individually, your drawing is actually pretty good. The problem is the proportions. It seems like you don't have the habit of drawing guide lines when you sketch. Look..."

Yamada took a pen and drew a cross on the paper: "See this cross? The horizontal line determines the eye position, the vertical line sets the face's midline and symmetry..."

"And for the rest of the body, you don't need to draw it all at once. First, use guide lines to set the position and proportions of each part, then slowly fill in within those outlines..."

Yamada sketched a beautiful girl in just a few strokes: "See? Once you're done, erase the guide lines, and it's mostly formed. Just add some details..."

Yuto nodded: "Got it. First, set the positions of each part, outline the general areas with simple lines, then draw the corresponding content inside those areas."

Yamada nodded: "That's about right."

He held up Yuto's abstract drawing and pulled out a folder: "Yuto's first drawing since joining the Manga Club. Worth keeping as a memento."

Yuto looked curiously at the big folder, which held many other sheets of paper: "Club president, what's this?"

Yamada laughed: "This is our Manga Club's collection of every member's first drawing. There are people way more abstract than you. Let me show you."

He pulled out a Cthulhu-esque masterpiece of various tentacles tangled together, his face full of nostalgia: "Three years ago, young and naive, I joined the Manga Club, dreaming of becoming a great manga artist. Then, in my excitement, I drew this mecha battle scene!"

"The previous club president stared at it for a long time and said I had quite a talent for evil-path manga..."

Yuto paused for a moment: "The previous club president had a keen eye..."

All the members burst out laughing.

Yamada glanced at the sky: "Alright, everyone head home. It's getting late. Get some good rest."

The members dispersed.

Yuto hummed happily, holding the example drawing the club president had made. At this rate, he'd be able to draw portraits soon.

"Excuse me, are you Yuto Tsukishima?"

As he stepped out of the club building, a clear voice came from beside him.

Yuto turned to look. It was a handsome blond guy with a smile on his face: "You are?"

The blond stepped forward: "I'm Masayoshi Hashimoto from Class A..."

Yuto sighed: "Alright, let's go."

He tucked the club president's example drawing into his bag: "Let's get this over with quickly. I've got things to do."

A private room in a café.

Yuto looked around: "Quite a crowd."

The cane-wielding loli Sakayanagi Arisu, and a stooped, long-haired guy who might be mixed-race.

"Please, have a seat."

Masayoshi Hashimoto gestured, then stood behind Sakayanagi.

Yuto sat down, took a sip of the coffee beside him, and his face scrunched up: "Tsk... how about we add some sugar? Life's bitter enough already, no need to suffer through this kind of bitterness too."

The cane-wielding loli Sakayanagi had been sizing him up since he walked in. She chuckled softly: "These are Belgian air-shipped beans. I thought you'd prefer their original flavor."

As soon as she spoke, someone walked in and set down a box of sugar cubes.

Yuto reached over and added three: "No thanks. I've never been interested in fancy stuff. As long as food fills my stomach and water quenches my thirst, that's enough. Let's get to the point. What instructions does the young lady have for calling me here?"

Sakayanagi's voice was soft with laughter: "I just find Yuto-kun interesting. I'm curious what kind of person could make Katsuragi so distracted these past few days, even weakening his attacks on me."

Tsukishima gave her a puzzled look. "Katsuragi didn't tell you?"

Sakayanagi smiled gently. "Hearing things secondhand isn't as interesting as talking to the person directly, and the information you get is more accurate, don't you think?"

Tsukishima thought for a moment. "He didn't say much, just gave me a little lesson—if Australian kangaroos and Australians got into a fight, each Australian would have to take on over twenty kangaroos."

Sakayanagi paused, then laughed. "Tsukishima, you really are amusing. So, what do you think—if a person and a kangaroo had a boxing match, who would win?"

Tsukishima stroked his chin. "Hmm, that's hard to say. If the person could use tools, they'd definitely win. But kangaroos aren't pushovers either—one kick can break a person's ribs. And by the way, kangaroos don't fight with punches; they prefer to jump up and kick."

Sakayanagi nodded. "I see. Learned something new."

She took a sip of her coffee and said casually, "Someone who could deduce the school's rules within the first week of classes shouldn't have been placed in Class D."

Tsukishima didn't answer that question, instead asking curiously, "How did you find out it was me who figured it out? Ichinase shouldn't have said anything, right?"

Sakayanagi smiled. "Why don't you take a guess, Tsukishima?"

Tsukishima immediately thought of that glasses-wearing guy, Horikita Manabu. "Don't tell me you bought the info from the Student Council with points? Damn, back then I was too busy counting the money to be happy, I forgot to sign a confidentiality agreement with those Student Council guys."

"And since Ichinase and I went to the Student Council together, a little asking around would've revealed everything. You might not have spent a single point."

Sakayanagi nodded. "Tsukishima, you really should be more careful."