Fool's Love

Can you go any further?

As for the comics published by the department, it was decided that I would write the screenplay when discussing with Masumi.

We have discussed the plot many times, but we still haven't decided what kind of work to draw.

Seeing the time passing by, the department began to urge the storyboard drafts, but the two only had a bunch of discarded drawings on hand.

No more doujinshi, but still struggling with deadlines.It was originally planned that Masumi would be responsible for drawing the storyboard, but if I can’t decide the content of the story, the storyboard will naturally not be able to move forward.

Later, seeing that it would never meet the deadline if it was delayed any longer, I had no choice but to find a random story by drawing lots.

Many of the original cases that have been overthrown before have only reached the stage of conception and did not go deeper, and the story is the same.

——"Miss Chocolate", this is the title of the work.The introduction is: "Beautiful, easy to process, and high-calorie—Miss Chocolate." Although it is called this name, it is actually a fighting-blooded comic.

As a departmental publication, there is no need to consider such things as foreshadowing, just to build up the world view.

The background of the story is set in an alternate world, in that world, chocolate is used as an incredible energy source.

Dark chocolate, white chocolate... different kinds of chocolate have their own incarnation.

One day, the hero was on the verge of death due to a large amount of blood loss in a battle, and when he almost lost consciousness, he suddenly felt a warm force pouring into his body to mend the defect in his body.

He gradually opened his eyes, and what came into his eyes was the black Miss Chocolate who was looking down at him with one hand clenched into a fist and stretched straight ahead. From the gap between the clenched palms, molten The chocolate poured uninterruptedly onto his wound...

As long as the original story plan is determined, the drawing of the storyboard is easy.Masumi, who has a rich reserve of comics and movies, is unable to draw exquisite pictures due to the lack of special learning of painting, but he is very familiar with how to draw storyboards.

First, Masumi draws the storyboard draft, and I will turn it into a more refined draft.Despite the tight schedule, I didn't do this kind of thing like catching up on manuscripts in class. Instead, Masumi began to come to my house frequently.

After school, the two exchanged ideas to complete their homework, and then started drawing manga.

My bedroom becomes a studio for two dedicated people rushing through drafts, only a small rustle once a comic is drawn.

"So tired!"

Masumi raised her hands above her head and stretched.A second ago, I was quietly peeping at Masumi while he was concentrating on painting.His sudden movement startled me.

"Although there will be a sense of exhilaration when it is finished, it is too difficult to draw."

"Indeed it is."

We sat side by side at desks.If it is a workbench dedicated to comics, the space will be much larger.

Now the two of them just squeezed together at this narrow table.While echoing Masumi's words, I quietly looked at his profile.His eyes, who were looking straight ahead, suddenly lit up.

"Let me read the essence of manga."

After saying these words, Masumi moved her body closer.His hair caressed my face, and the falling hair brushed gently on my arm, making people feel numb.I subconsciously leaned my body back.

"It's amazing... No matter how many times I read it, I feel like a professional. As expected of someone who has created manga before..." Masumi murmured softly.

I also want to collaborate with Masumi on manga in the future... I really think so.During the days of working with Masumi, I never had a bottleneck in the manga drawing stage.

Even though he was agitated several times because he suppressed the thought of wanting to hug Masumi rushing to the top of his head, it was better than when he was not around.

But to say that Yu Masumi has made a name for himself as a manga artist, even I find it unrealistic——

How difficult it is to make a career out of manga, especially for Masumi who is proficient in his studies, he should have a better way out.

The more I think about this kind of thing, the more sad I feel, my mind starts to become confused, and it's like there's sand in my eyes.

Subconsciously, I leaned my head on the shoulder of Masumi who was leaning over to look at Seica.He shivered abruptly, but didn't push me away.

"Yamagishi, do you feel unwell?" Facing his worried voice, I inhaled deeply the smell of the shower gel that emanated from him, and whispered, "I just feel tired."

Even with your eyes closed, you can feel the light in the room.After getting acquainted with Masumi, it became more and more unclear to me whether the distance between Masumi and Masumi became closer or further away.

——It originated from love at first sight.Because Masumi is so beautiful.Everyone's perception of beauty is different, but in my opinion, after just a glance from a distance, the sight is immediately caught——

Be it a man or a woman, before meeting Masumi, I had hardly met such a person.

Can you go further?Can you go any further?Thinking this way in my heart, I was timid but didn't dare to confess to Masumi, I just couldn't help reaching out and gently twirling Masumi's hair near the neck.

"What's wrong?" Masumi asked confused.

"You stink of sweat on your neck."

Not so.Although his body was sweating a little, there was no peculiar smell, replaced by the lonely and refreshing smell of dried flowers.

"Then don't touch it."

He seemed to be smiling a little embarrassedly, twisted his body, and I fell off his shoulder.Afterwards, Masumi, who sat upright again, wiped the back of her neck with her hand.

"Ah, really. Sweating."

"Maybe it's because the weather is starting to heat up."

We looked out the window at the same time, even though there was only darkness in the middle of the night.Afterwards, the two of them took a short rest and threw themselves into the rush of drafting again.

The draft of the department comics was finally completed against the deadline.Saying it was a celebration, I asked Masumi to have a meal at a restaurant in Umeda.

The time is set on the weekend of the next week after the submission of the manuscript.

During this period, there was an episode: a girl in Masumi's class confessed to him, and Masumi's reply at that time was to reconsider.

However, judging from the situation of the two of them afterwards, he seemed to have rejected the classmate's confession.

As far as I know, there is only one girl named Hanae Shiko who is said to be very obsessed with Masumi—this is what I heard from Morita before.

However, the girl who confessed to him this time was named Hashimoto.As Morita said, Masumi is a person who can enjoy himself no matter where he is.However, rumors that he was a playboy never seem to have been heard.

"Awaited."

On Sunday afternoon, Masumi appeared on the streets of Umeda as promised.He was wearing a British-style sweater and a camel-colored windbreaker.Below the waist are slacks with a plaid pattern.

The place to go is a Turkish restaurant. My sister took me there a few years ago, and it was delicious.

Although the price is a bit painful, fortunately, there is still a little income left from the last doujinshi, so I can afford it for the time being.

Entering the restaurant, the waiter walking towards him is a man in his twenties who speaks standard Chinese.

The interior is dominated by refreshing mint green.Chairs and sofas are mint green, and the walls are painted creamy white.

Hot air balloon-shaped decorations hang from the ceiling of the restaurant, full of exotic style.Masumi and I found a seat by the window, and after receiving the menu from the waiter, we ordered a few dishes that we thought tasted good when we ate.After that, Masumi flipped through the menu page by page.

"The rice here is different from that in Japan. It is long and thin."

I immediately answered, "Ah, I'm curious about this too. Let's order one."

The first thing to serve is the salad, which tastes similar to the salads eaten in other stores, but there is a kind of white beans in it, which looks similar to kidney beans, but the taste is very elastic, like an accessory for milk tea.

"Speaking of...Masumi, I heard something recently."

"what?"

The silver fork holding a small amount of salad stopped in the air, and Masumi looked at me with salad dressing on her lips.

"It's not a big deal. It's just... I heard that you rejected someone's confession?"

Ah, that's exactly what happened—Masumi's expression seemed to say so.He dug his fingers into the handle of the silver cup on the table, which contained mild lemonade.Masumi took a sip.

"Yes."

"Do you not like her?"

"How should I put it. Hashimoto-san...ah, it's that child—although we usually get along very well, but he never feels in love."

"But isn't Masumi very popular?"

As if she didn't understand what I was talking about, Masumi raised her eyebrows slightly.I swallowed.

"I'm sorry. But in my stereotype, there are many popular people who are just having fun and keep changing their girlfriends. Hasn't Masumi thought of this?"

When I actually said that, I realized it sounded too poignant.Not daring to look directly into Masumi's eyes, I immediately lowered my gaze.

After a while—it should have been about 2 minutes, but it felt like half an hour to me—Masumi's voice came from the opposite side.

"Mountain shore."

I dare not answer.Even if I said that just for the sake of cliche, I became more and more aware of the hurtful words, and I could only sweat coldly, my eyes focused on my thighs, and I remained motionless.

"Although I seldom reject people, I will never back down on this kind of principled issue."

"A question of principle..."

"It's like—" He paused, "Love. If you respond to the confession casually, people will have undue expectations, and it will only increase the scars in the end. I don't want this."

"Then... did Masumi ever have a first love?"

"No. If anything, nothing happened. Because I have absolutely no recollection of it."

"Have you ever kissed someone?"

I asked.After blurting it out, I realized it was a stupid question.Masumi didn't care.

He took another sip of lemonade: "No. Besides, I don't care about this kind of thing. Although I don't care, it's still a little uncomfortable to be asked by you."

The meal ended in a less pleasant atmosphere.Although the stew dipped in chickpea sauce and the dessert with crushed nuts were served one after another, there was no taste in the mouth.

I was afraid of being rejected by Masumi, so that I would not be able to make friends, so I dare not confess my love to Masumi.

I dare not take a step forward, and I am even more afraid of being preempted by others—to be honest, when I learned that Masumi rejected Hashimoto-san’s confession, I felt a little bit of despicable joy in my heart.Now, however, I'm a little overwhelmed.