Chapter Text
Kawamura Hifumi wanted to be a professional artist!
Well, that was a plan. One of many, really. But it was what gave her the push to keep drawing. That, and cute anime boys, and it being a good way to pass time despite mostly keeping to herself.
Well, it would be nice to make some friends, or even just acquaintances, but Kawamura was very aware of her shyness. She had never approached someone else first. All the few friends she made during the previous grades were initiators in their friendship, mostly approaching her after noticing her art in some way.
Good thing she was adequately sociable, and she did enjoy being in a group sharing good laughs and conversations. Imagine being both painfully shy and too awkward to be around people? Some poor soul that must be, and so Kawamura counted her blessings every day.
But life seemed to have another plan, since none of her old friends chose to attend Hoshimi, and she might have to start the social circle thing from scratch again. Thinking about it made her a wee bit exhausted, and so into the artistic distraction she shall go. Kawamura opened one of her unused notebooks and started drawing.
There was a sports anime (chess is a sport!) that just came out this season, in which the lead predictably had an intense ‘rivalry’ with another boy. But get this, the lead was taller. With darker hair! Kawamura would expect that from a fantasy genre, so this was a bit surprising. At its infancy, the online fandom were still butting heads about which of the two should be seme and uke, with the third group throwing a mysterious white-haired childhood friend of the male lead in the mix. Kawamura had not formed a concrete opinion yet, but drawing for this fandom was fun in any way so she did not pay much mind.
Maybe this time she would draw the male lead with the white-haired childhood friend? If she was being honest, she really prefers the design of the childhood friend over the other two major characters. Hm, maybe the male lead should be focusing on the chess board, and the childhood friend could be watching him! Also she was kind of sure that the chess grandmaster of the province was the silver-haired childhood friend. No absolute proof to theorycraft yet but it was her gut feeli-
“Oh, you watched that show, too?” A voice came from above. “Wowie! So you ship these two?” Another voice came from her left.
Kawamura squeaked and looked up. Two girls were looking at her almost-complete doodles. One of the girls had light brown hair in a bob, with somewhat sharper features. Another had shoulder length black hair, with a softer face. Kawamura vaguely recalled that they were her classmates.
“Kudos to you though, this is a rarepair as of now,” the softer-faced one moved over from where she was to look at the doodles proper, “but I gotta say I can kinda see the appeal.”
Kawamura’s head was still reeling, too overwhelmed to speak. The sharper-faced girl seemed to notice her awkwardness. “Oh right! Where are our manners! My name is Okuda Masako. This here,” she signaled the softer-faced girl, who looked up and nodded at Kawamura before immediately going back to indulge in her doodles, “is Kamaoka Yuuka. We were on our way to buy some snacks actually.”
“That can wait,” the softer girl - Yuuka - said, finally had her fill of ‘boyish romance’. “You really are talented!”
“U-Uh, um, thank you!” Kawamura blushed. “M-my name is K-Kawamura Hifumi. I-It is a pleasure to m-meet!”
“Whoa with all the formalities!” Masako said, smiling. “Forget the snack, let’s talk about this series! What do you think about the main couple? Or if you prefer this,” she gestured at the doodles, “then fine, too!”
“We’ve been wanting someone to talk about it for a while now!” Yuuka added. “Kinda hard to gauge whether someone I-R-L is watching or reading the same thing.”
It would be nice to make some friends, or even just acquaintances, but Kawamura was very aware of her shyness. She had never approached someone else first. All the few friends she made during the previous grades were initiators in their friendship, mostly approaching her after noticing her art in some way.
And most of the time, it was her yaoi ship art that caught the eye.
By the fantasy logic, it was like fujoshis are bound by an invisible thread, and eventually, the congregation shall eventually form despite how scattered the members are. From there, genuine friendship usually followed.
“I-I actually kinda draw whatever. The characters are very handsome!” Kawamura said. “I could say, my personal taste is usually the silver-haired one! So I think I should draw him!” She corrected her glasses shyly, “It’s just, you know? It’s way more fun to draw a guy and a guy… in some intimate setting?”
“Yes, that got the creative juice going, isn’t it?” Yuuka beamed at her. Masako nodded in agreement.
“Y-You could say that.” Kawamura replied sheepishly. Then, as if a surge of courage burst forth within her, she took a deep breath and looked up, “Anyway, about the series, I have gut feelings about this thing!”
By the way that they continued their conversation in the cafe, well after the school ended, with topics eventually branched out to other things, Kawamura was sure that she had made two new friends who were very funny! And most importantly, made her feel comfortable to be around. She took a sip of her bubble tea as she waved the two goodbye, see you tomorrow and such.
Ah, thank you so much, boys kissing.