Eriri ignored her mom and grabbed Hikaru's hand.
"Come on, Hikaru, let's go to my room. I'll show you my latest project."
She led Hikaru up to her bedroom on the second floor.
Just like his previous visits, the room's décor was relatively simple, though the walls featured a few anime posters. By the head of the bed was a work desk with a computer and a tablet on it, and against one wall stood a bookcase filled with dōjinshi and popular novels.
"Here, Hikaru—sit anywhere you like."
With that, Eriri shook her twin-tails and walked over to the computer desk, removing the cable from the tablet. She fiddled with it for a bit, then handed it to Hikaru.
"Look! I'm really proud of this new work!"
"All right, let's see."
He took the tablet. Eriri then spun her chair around, watching Hikaru's "judge-like" expression in utter concentration. Even though this wasn't her main reason for inviting him, seeing how serious he was made her feel a little nervous. After all, she had poured months of effort into these drawings, drawing on countless online references.
As he swiped through the pages with the stylus, Eriri's anxiety grew by the second. Finally, he reached the "end."
Eriri clenched her fists involuntarily:
"W-well? What do you think?"
"You've improved in terms of story flow, and the meet-cute between the leads is more dramatic, but… when it comes to the erotic content, the plot and artwork lack that real punch. It doesn't have that fresh, eye-opening feel."
She was initially happy about his praise for the first part, but quickly became disheartened by his later critique. She herself knew there were issues—just referencing images online could only take her so far.
"I know, but… I just can't visualize things enough. Oh—Hikaru, can you help me?"
She blurted this out, cheeks reddening.
"You want help? How exactly?"
"You don't need to do anything special. Just be the photographer—I'll go change."
With that, Eriri walked to her closet. She pulled out outfits that were more like scraps of cloth than actual clothes—things one would typically see only in a manga panel.
At that moment, Hikaru realized the real reason she'd asked him over. He remained seated, calmly watching Eriri's impromptu costume show.
Truth be told, Eriri had a fantastic figure. The special fabrics she'd chosen fit her perfectly. She didn't look skinny—more like an exquisite porcelain doll, her body free of flaws.
Nervousness gnawed at Eriri, but she couldn't work up the courage for the "final step." Growing increasingly flustered, she slipped into her last outfit, silently cursing Hikaru for not making the first move.
Wasn't this the point where a guy was supposed to act more assertive?
"Stop right there. That one's perfect."
Hikaru gave an approving nod. Delicate ribbons skimmed her skin, bright and sheer like the morning sun, while the fine material clung to her figure and highlighted her enticing curves.
Eriri froze for a moment at his words—so he'd been picking out a "suitable uniform" the whole time? But things had come this far. Though part of her wanted to back out, she found herself stepping toward Hikaru, eyes drawn to his face.
Click.
While Eriri's consciousness wavered, the door that had been ajar gently closed. Saeko placed a hand to her mouth, a relieved smile on her lips. It seemed her efforts in coaching Eriri these past few weeks had finally paid off.
Hikaru stayed until early evening before leaving. Right as he prepared to depart, he ran into Saeko, who had "returned from shopping." The charming lady invited him to stay, but he explained he had things to do the next day, so he had to leave.
No sooner had she seen him out than Saeko hurried upstairs in two or three brisk steps. Opening the bedroom door, she found Eriri lying in bed like a neatly wrapped dumpling. A flash of concern came over her.
…After all, her daughter wasn't exactly strong; even in gym class, Eriri's results were near the bottom. But Saeko soon noticed that Eriri's eyes were open and looking back at her. Instantly, Saeko's worries vanished:
"How are you feeling?"
Eriri's cheeks grew hot:
"What do you mean, 'How am I feeling?' We… we didn't do anything!"
~~~
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