The Art of Undressing

It starts with a bang.Then a pop.Then Suzu screaming:

"WE'VE BEEN ATTACKED BY THE SPIRITS OF REPRESSION!"

But really, it's just a power outage.

The studio goes pitch-black.

Yuuto trips over a nudity-affirming stool.Rei yells, "NO ONE TOUCH ME."Haruka uses the darkness to dramatically peel an orange like a Bond villain.Nocturne blends so well into the shadows it takes five minutes to realize they haven't actually left.

Kaito calmly lights a dozen mismatched candles like a divorced wizard."Alright," he says, voice soft and oddly romantic in the glow."Looks like we're doing a blackout sketch session."

THE RULES (invented by Suzu in under 30 seconds):

You can only sketch silhouettes.

No peeking over shoulders unless you're emotionally prepared for it.

If you bump into someone, you must say "oops, intimacy!"

If you sit in someone's lap accidentally, you marry them. (Rule later revoked.)

Thirty minutes later:The studio is filled with flickering shadows and silent sketches.It's warm. Quiet. Kinda magical.

Then:

Lap collision.

Rei, trying to find her seat, sits directly on Kaito's lap with all the grace of an exhausted bird.

Time freezes.

So does Kaito.

She doesn't move.

Neither does he.

The candlelight dances.

"…This is your fault," Rei mumbles, refusing to stand.

"I wasn't moving," he replies, stunned.

"You exist too solidly. That's the problem."

"Thank you?"

"I—shut up."

Across the room, Suzu is painting with honey and yelling, "THIS IS MY FRAGRANCE ARC!"

Yuuto, now blindfolded for "emotional perspective," draws everyone as various fruits.

Nocturne, in the corner, is the only one truly still.They haven't sketched. Haven't spoken.But they're watching Kaito and Rei.

And their eyes… soften.

Just a little.

THEN: The Sketchbook Drops

Rei finally leaves Kaito's lap (after muttering a flustered apology and a barely audible "your thighs are stable and annoying") and returns to her stool.

But in the dark, her sketchbook slips.

It opens on the floor.

Right in front of Suzu.

Of course Suzu picks it up.

"Ohhhhhhh myyyyy goddess of nipples," she gasps.

Everyone turns.

She flips the sketchbook around.

It's all Kaito.

Dozens of sketches.

Some fully clothed. Some shirtless. Some sleeping. Some laughing.

One—just one—shows him looking at Nocturne.

And he's smiling.

Soft. Hopeful. Exposed.

"…Rei?" Yuuto whispers.

Rei combusts into red.

"It's reference material," she says.

"For what? A romance novel where the love interest is emotionally constipated and also perfect?" Suzu asks.

"…Yes."

Kaito picks up the sketchbook gently.

He flips to the last page.

Blank.

Then turns it one more time.

And finds a page labeled:

"For When I'm Brave Enough."

The page has only one line:

I think I'm falling. And it's not just into trouble.

He looks up.

Rei is frozen. Silent. Mortified.

Nocturne is watching from the shadows.

Kaito whispers, "Me too."

After the blackout, the lights flicker back on.

Everyone pretends nothing happened.

Except Suzu, who now insists on calling Rei "Thighs McFeelings."

Later that night, Kaito finds a charcoal sketch pinned to the back of the supply closet.

It's of him.

Again.

But this time…He's not alone.

Nocturne is there.

Beside him.

Hands interlocked.

Eyes open.

Facing the light.

The note reads:

Next time, I want you to draw me as I really am.No shadows. No mask.Just me. If you're ready.

— N

Kaito smiles.

Whispers, "I'm ready."

Whether he means for the art…

Or something else entirely…

Even he doesn't know.

End of Chapter 11