I'm talking to Yori-chan while drawing her

"K-koyori?!" I exhale sharply. The girl is standing closely behind me, her eyes fixated on the pencil lineart on my paper. It already resembles Koyori enough for her to recognize herself.

"Oh, you're drawing me!" she cheers at me upon the discovery. "Do you need me to pose for you?"

She replicates the pose I'm drawing perfectly as if she'd practiced it a thousand times before. I want to scold her but the pose is just about as adorable as I pictured it, only the girl's plain but comfy green pajama not quite fitting into the picture.

"Geez, no peeping, Yori-chan," I grumble, making a poor attempt at covering up my work before surrendering. "The pose isn't the problem, I can't decide how to dress you…"

"Make Yori-chan look cute, okay?" she twinkles at me, whirling around once before stopping at the peace sign pose again.

"Does the dress you wore today qualify?" I ask her while furrowing my brow. "I've been thinking about a dress but I'm struggling with the details."

"It's my favorite! Of course it qualifies!" Koyori marvels, explaining her choice. "Yori-chan looks so bright and happy in it, like sunshine, hehehe."

Sunshine truly describes her well, I think this works as an inspiration.

"I'll use the same palette then but make some modifications to your dress," I spontaneously decide as frills and ties begin to attach to my memory of the simple canary dress she wore earlier. Now that that's out of the way, it's time to get some revenge.

"Now show me yours."

Suddenly, Koyori quits her cutesy act, a hint of embarrassment flushing through her expression.

"N-no, Kei-kun, you mustn't see it yet!" she exclaims with sudden panic, tying her hands together in a shield-like fashion. "B-barrier!"

She's stalking me but doesn't want me to see hers? Well, maybe I can exploit this…

"You're owing me a favor then because you weren't supposed to see this either!"

Koyori sticks out her tongue at me as I scold her.

"Fine by me," she replies, back to her bubbly self. "You're only getting a favor from Yori-chan if you're not peeping though."

"Fine by me," I replicate her answer, picking up my pencil again and returning to my work. Yori-chan follows my example. After our quick exchange, I'm fairly curious about the drawing she's working on. If she's this flustered about it, she's definitely drawing something akin to her previous artwork.

Is she going to draw us holding hands again or…

I dare not finish my thought as a swarm of butterflies is stirring in my stomach. There's a reason I'm drawing her solo as opposed to drawing the two of us in interaction, romantic or not.

Gradually, the outfit comes into shape. I'm modifying the straps on her shoulder, making them thinner, less childish. Frills in a hearty orange color are added to her chest area and the bottom part of the dress. Additionally, a pink tie now contrasts the much larger orange one on her head. I'm adding knee-length, orange, and yellow striped socks to her repertoire as well, though the drawing cuts off slightly below her knees as I run out of paper.

It's a classic beginner mistake but it doesn't hurt the pose at all so I'm letting it slide. As I refine my lineart, adding more detail to Koyori's beautiful eyes and her lovely hair, I suddenly remember Mom's words.

Right, I wanted to talk to her. But how do I talk to her? I just don't know what to say… Or, rather, I don't know how to start the conversation. Ugh…

Frustration about my social disabilities brings my progress to a standstill. Once again, I turn around to observe the girl who is working feverishly on her own work.

We've talked before; we even had longer conversations already…

It's always been Koyori to lead them though. It's always been her to address me. I've been reacting but I've never been on the initiative.

Honestly, I'm a poor host. Mom told me to make her feel at home but I'm still treating her like a stranger because there's just so much I don't know. About her, about myself, about… us.

I also realize that things will never change if I remain distant and awkward like this. Nervously, I'm clearing my throat.

"Koyori, do you e-enjoy your visit?"

The girl perks up as I direct my question at her.

"Of course I do, silly," she tweets, quickly putting her drawing upside down so I wouldn't see it. Smiling at me, she enters a kneeling pose on my bed.

"After all this time, I can play with Kei-kun all I want at last. Of course I'm happy!"

The relief is calming my nerves a little which helps me to ask a more pressing question.

"How come you're visiting me now? And why are you staying over?"

I realize immediately that my tone sounds more accusatory than inquisitive. Trying to fix my blunder, I elaborate.

"Last time, your mother was in the area for work, right? She was acting in a movie, wasn't she? She brought you along, dropped you off at that playground, and went to work and that's how we met. Is she here for work again?"

"She's not," Koyori admits, her response unusually dry.

"So that's why you're staying over?" I conclude, unfortunately failing to find the right tone which causes a slight misunderstanding.

"Kei-kun, you're saying it as if it's a bad thing," she points out, mustering me critically from her perch on my bed. "Yori-chan isn't being a bother, is she?"

Crap, this backfired badly.

Hastily, I attempt to convince her otherwise.

"Yori-chan, you're not a bother at all but, how should I put it… I've never had a friend over before…"

…who's a cute girl playing with my feelings!

Apparently, I'm able to convince her as her smile returns.

"Yay, I'm first!" she cheers before answering my question more seriously. "You know, Keiichi? I really wanted to see you again but my mother wouldn't let me go. But I'm turning 13 soon so I told her I'm a big girl who can travel by herself. After some time, I was able to convince her."

Suddenly, she does a peace sign with both hands while winking at me.

"And now Yori-chan is here, yay!"

A slight chuckle escapes me.

"How long is Yori-chan staying then?"

"Yori-chan actually doesn't know," the girl answers with a sudden hint of sadness. "Yori-chan doesn't want to leave again, you know?"

Quick as lightning, the girl leaps to her feet, crosses the short distance between us, and hugs me from behind, including the chair I'm sitting on.

"Kei-kun is so much fun. It's so boring at home so Yori-chan doesn't want to go back…"

I'm only registering parts of her message since the bees and the butterflies are fighting a battle royale inside of me. Her sudden embrace momentarily freezes me though only her arms actually reach me.

"Geez, you keep doing that huh," I mumble as she retracts her gesture.

Koyori replies with yet another peace sign pose. Was she just trying to peek at my drawing again? But she also seemed sad for a moment, what's up with that?

"Well, summer break won't last forever but I wouldn't mind spending it with you," I proclaim in the odd event that Koyori needed a mood booster. As it turns out, though, I just gave Koyori an overdose of joy.

"Oh Kei-kun, you're the best! I want to spend it all together with you too!"

Yay, that's reassuring.

Only now, I realize how sappy my words must've sounded. Thankfully, Koyori wanted to hear them. Dancing around happily, she returns to her drawing though our conversation doesn't end there.

"Say, Koyori," I speak up as I'm adding some additional lines to underline how her dress is folding. "You've told me you'd rather stay here than go back home. I'm not even that great of a host, you know?"

"Kei-kun is the best Kei-kun in the world, do not worry."

Her voice is carrying her undiluted kindness but I feel like I should dig a little deeper into her statement.

"Gee, thanks," I chuckle at her silliness. "There's only one Kei-kun though so who are you even comparing me to?"

"You're the best, Keiichi. There's nothing more you need to know," she explains with an unusual, cryptical undertone. "No one makes Yori-chan happy like you do - that makes you the best."

Interesting…

"By that definition, you're on top of my list too," I muse, though my computer would probably complain being degraded by a girl who just moved in. "But even though she's annoying me all the time, I'd still pick Mom if we're talking about the most important person in our lives."

Hardly a few lines in, I once again have to abandon the drawing as Koyori returns to my side, a slight hint of a sulk apparent on her face.

"You're not picking Yori-chan?"

I successfully manage to avoid falling for the cutesy act because I feel like I'm about to dig something up Koyori may keep hidden from me.

"Well, she's my Mom. She's family, you know?" I try to argue with the girl whose expression shifts slightly from sulking to something unreadable. "I could have murdered her for a few things she said today but, at the end of the day, she's still Mom. Family can be aggravating but they're always there. You're important to me too but… "

I don't know how to explain this, darn it.

"Let's work on our drawings some more," Koyori suddenly suggests somewhat less enthusiastically than usual. I feel like she's avoiding the discussion but I don't have enough of a lead to determine the secret Mom was speaking of earlier.

Besides, she said Yori would tell me once she trusts me enough. Or maybe she's just not in the mood for such talk? Well, either way, I hope she's not sad because I didn't pick her first.

My worries seem to be founded on nothing but empty space though. Before long, the girl is humming a song while beginning to color her drawing. I'm putting some finishing touches on my lineart as well before moving on to coloring.