“Hello~” Natsuki answered casually.
“Natsuki-kun!” Eriri sounded unusually flustered. “Are you free right now?”
“I am. What happened?”
“Um… I think something strange is happening…”
“Something strange?”
“Mm… I was drawing at home, but I keep feeling like someone’s watching me…”
Eriri lowered her voice as much as she could.
“There’s something outside the window… I think.”
Natsuki frowned.
“Stay inside and don’t move. I’m coming over right now.”
“Okay… Please hurry.”
He ended the call and quickened his pace.
…
Ten minutes later, he arrived at the Sawamura residence.
Eriri was sitting on the sofa with her knees pulled to her chest, her face pale.
“Natsuki-kun…”
Her voice trembled slightly.
“What exactly happened? Where are your parents?”
“They went to a diplomatic reception…” Eriri spoke quietly.
“I’m the only one home.”
“So you got scared?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“There really is something here…”
Eriri pointed toward the floor-to-ceiling window.
“A moment ago… it looked like there were eyes staring through it.”
Natsuki walked over.
Outside was a beautifully maintained garden bathed in warm sunlight. Nothing seemed out of place.
However, a faint trace of cursed energy still clung to the glass.
“A Cursed Spirit…” Natsuki narrowed his eyes.
“Have you been anywhere unusual lately?”
“Anywhere unusual…”
Eriri tried to remember.
“I went to an art museum to sketch last week… the convenience store the day before yesterday… and school yesterday…”
“Anything else?”
“Other than that, I’ve just been drawing at home…”
She suddenly remembered something.
“Oh! Last night, while I was working late on my manuscript…”
“It felt really cold.”
“Even though the heater was on…”
“I understand.”
Natsuki nodded.
Eriri regularly stayed up late.
At school, she was the refined daughter of a British diplomat, but in private, she was Kashiwagi Eri, a famous artist in the adult doujin industry.
Being a public figure came with no shortage of trouble.
Editors chasing deadlines, angry critics, hostile comments…
The accumulation of all those negative emotions could easily attract—or even create—a Cursed Spirit.
“Wait here.”
“Okay.”
Natsuki opened the glass door and stepped into the garden.
Sunlight filtered through the trees, scattering patches of light across the neatly trimmed lawn. At first glance, everything looked perfectly normal.
But then Natsuki activated his Sharingan.
His irises turned crimson as the tomoe began to rotate.
His vision changed instantly.
The Sharingan was not as specialized as the Byakugan when it came to observing the flow of chakra, but compared to ordinary eyesight, the difference was still enormous.
In one corner of the garden, a mass of darkness crouched inside the shadows.
It resembled a lizard, except it had three eyes.
A Grade 4 Cursed Spirit.
A jujutsu sorcerer could exorcise something like this with little effort, but to an ordinary person, it was the stuff of nightmares.
Weak, but revolting.
It survived by feeding on human negativity.
“Found you.”
“Trace on.”
As Natsuki approached, Kanshou and Bakuya formed in his hands.
Shhk—!
The Cursed Spirit did not even have time to react before one of the blades pinned it to the ground.
It struggled twice, then dissolved into black smoke.
Natsuki dismissed the weapon, deactivated his Sharingan, and returned to the living room.
“It’s taken care of.”
“Really?”
Eriri cautiously looked toward the window.
“That… thing is gone?”
“Yeah.”
Natsuki sat down beside her.
“You need to stop staying up so late.”
“I’ll try…”
Eriri lowered her head.
“But my deadlines…”
“Your health matters more.”
Natsuki’s expression turned serious.
“And you don’t want this happening again, do you?”
“No!”
Eriri shook her head vigorously.
That feeling had been terrifying!
“Then I’ll keep an eye on you from now on,” Natsuki said.
“Eh?”
She stared at him.
“You’ll… keep an eye on me?”
“Mm. You need to be asleep before ten every night.”
“Ten? That’s way too early!”
“Then eleven.”
“Could we make it midnight…?”
“Eleven-thirty. No later!”
“O-Okay…”
Eriri reluctantly gave in.
Still, warmth spread through her chest.
‘Natsuki-kun really is worried about me…’
“Oh, right.”
She seemed to remember something.
“Are you free today, Natsuki-kun?”
“I am. Why?”
“Um… would you come with me to buy some art supplies?”
A faint blush colored her cheeks.
“I used up the ones I bought last time…”
“And… I’m a little scared to go alone.”
“Sure.”
Natsuki agreed without hesitation.
“Want to leave now?”
“Mm!”
Eriri’s eyes lit up.
She quickly changed clothes, and the two left the Sawamura residence together.
The shopping district was crowded that weekend.
Eriri’s usual art supply store was tucked away farther down the street.
“This is the place~”
She pushed open the door.
The shop was filled with the familiar scents of paint and paper.
“Welcome, Miss Sawamura~”
The owner was a kind-looking elderly woman.
“What do you need today?”
“Watercolors, sketching paper…”
Eriri smoothly listed everything she wanted.
Natsuki watched from beside her.
She was extremely knowledgeable about art supplies and carefully inspected every color before choosing it.
“Are you interested in drawing too, young man?” the old woman asked with a smile.
“I know a little.”
“Then why not give it a try?”
She handed him a sketchbook.
“We’re running a promotion, so customers can try drawing for free~”
Natsuki looked toward Eriri.
“Give it a try~”
She gazed at him expectantly.
“…All right.”
Natsuki accepted the sketchbook and sat down.
He picked up a pencil, thought for a moment, then began to draw.
His lines flowed smoothly, and the image gradually took shape.
Eriri leaned closer to see.
Then she froze.
The page showed her profile!
Golden twin-tails, a sailor uniform, a slightly haughty look in her eyes, and the faintest smile at the corner of her lips.
“This…”
Eriri’s face turned bright red.
“Natsuki-kun… is that me?”
“Yeah.”
Natsuki put down the pencil and smiled.
“What do you think?”
“I-It’s really good…”
Her voice was barely louder than a mosquito.
Inside, however, she was screaming.
‘Natsuki-kun drew me!’
‘He actually drew me!’
‘And it looks so good!’
“You can have it.”
Natsuki tore the page out and handed it to her.
“Eh? Really?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you…”
Eriri accepted it with both hands, treating it like a treasure.
The old woman watched them with an amused smile.
“You two are very close~”
“W-We’re not like that!”
Eriri hurriedly denied it, though her bright red face gave her away.
Natsuki merely smiled and said nothing.
When it was time to pay, Eriri insisted on covering the cost herself.
“You saved me before, and now you’ve dealt with another strange thing for me. I can’t keep letting you spend money on me!”
Her expression was unusually serious.
Natsuki did not argue.
The two left the shop carrying her new supplies.
Just outside the entrance, Eriri suddenly stopped.
“Natsuki-kun…”
“Mm?”
“Could you draw one more?”
She lowered her head, twisting her fingers into the hem of her skirt.
“This time… draw both of us.”
Natsuki paused, then smiled.
“Sure.”
Sunlight spilled across the street as a gentle breeze passed between them.