Shoko Komi's Ultimate Challenge
by Ulquiorra9000
Communication 19: black and white
Art class was always fun, but Shoko Komi never felt truly inspired in that class. Sure, she could draw things or mold clay to get an A, but wasn't art supposed to come from the heart? That's what Shoko was thinking during art class on Tuesday, sitting before her easel's blank canvas with her head cocked to the side and her arms folded defensively. Why wasn't she feeling the inspiration flowing?
"Remember, students, the subject is vegetables," the elderly teacher said from the front of the classroom. "All kinds."
Shoko made a tiny sigh and peeked at what the other students were doing. Nene Onemine was humming to herself as she colored in a ripe-looking pumpkin surrounded by peapods, while Shinobino had gone off-script and was drawing a scene from his favorite ninja manga, and Makeru Yadano was just staring at Shoko, probably waiting to see what her rival would draw so Makeru could draw it better.
Vegetables... did tomatoes count? Shoko had no idea, and Hitohito was too far away to ask. Hmmm, what about squashes? But Shoko had never even eaten one before...
Shoko squeezed her eyes shut and clapped her hands to her cheeks. New challenge! Make five real pieces of art, just sketches, and express her personal world with that miniature gallery. Could Shoko Komi summarize her life in five images, and without any color?
It sure beats drawing vegetables for an A!
Shoko drew an obligatory vegetables basket and moved on, unconcerned with how Makeru's drawing compared to hers. Finally, art was going to be fun!
*o*o*o*o*
Shoko decided to scout some topics first and narrow things down to a top five, but what to choose? She made a rough sketch of her desk from an interesting angle, drew her indoor shoes sitting in her locker after school, drew a neat-looking custom car that drove down the street as Shoko walked home, and even drew a cute tea shop she always walked past later during her walk home. Then, after homework, Shoko drew her favorite stuffed animals, her and Shosuke's acoustic guitar, and finally, her alarm clock. Those things felt like a nice snapshot of her life, and Shoko went to bed feeling content. She would start drawing for real tomorrow.
Or not!
"Are you all right, Shoko dear?" Shuko asked gently when Shoko hung her head during breakfast on Wednesday, barely picking at her fish and rice (traditional breakfast today). "You seem down."
Shoko jolted and shook her head. She would feel so embarrassed, showing her mom those preliminary sketches! But she was stuck. Shoko didn't feel really inspired to make final versions of her outline sketches. Alarm clocks and shoes weren't worth cross-hatching and shading and stuff. If this were an art manga series, Shoko would get her series axed right here and now!
Shoko trudged to school feeling no more inspired than yesterday in art class. And she didn't dare mention this to Hitohito or Najimi or anyone! It felt so personal, and Shoko had nothing good to show them anyway.
Then, at lunch, Shoko spotted her yandere friend Ren Yamai chatting happily with her friends once again, and she looked so radiant. Half the time, Ren was scary and weird, but not today, and Shoko imagined herself snapping a picture of her friend as a stock photo for a brochure or something. Ren was so expressive today.
That's it!
Shoko scrambled to get her paper and pencil, then glanced at Ren to take a mental photograph as best she could. She drew a rough sketch to get all the details in place, and even added two of Ren's friends to fill up the negative space.
And she wasn't done yet.
*o*o*o*o*
The next morning, Shoko realized she had a school library book due today, so she left for school a few minutes early and returned it to Himiko Agari, who was working the front desk at the library.
"Good morning, mistress Komi! Woof woof!" Himiko said brightly, her imaginary tail wagging. She accepted the rented poetry book from Shoko and set it aside. "How did you like that collection? It's one of my favorites."
Shoko nodded. "I enjoyed it," she said quietly. It was easier to talk when the place was nice and quiet. "Um... I'll borrow another one soon."
"Oooooh! Glad to hear it," Himiko cheered. "I must say, mistress Komi, this semester has been so much fun with you. I never thought I'd form a two-person book club like this. You can recommend a book for me anytime! I mean, I've already read most of what's out there, but still...!"
Shoko took a second to appreciate how radiant and joyful Himiko looked, like she didn't have a care in the whole world. Just like Shoko, poor Himiko had a hard time with crowds, but when she was in her element...
This was her chance. Shoko got out her paper and pencil, drew a quick sketch while Himiko kept chatting about books, then folded up the paper and stuffed it into her school bag.
"Huh? What was that paper, mistress?" Himiko wondered.
Shoko merely squeaked in alarm and bolted for the door. She didn't dare let anyone see what was on that paper...!
Then, after school, Shoko got the job done.
First, she spotted Shinobino crouching on a fence after school, surveying the place with his eagle eyes, clearly having the time of his life being a 21st-century ninja. Shoko used her own ninja skills to sketch Shinobino without being seen, then found another friend in her element: Netsuno Chika. Netsuno was totally on fire as she sprinted across the track, and the coach clicked the stopwatch.
"Wow, a new best time, Chika. Look!" The coach showed Netsuno the stopwatch's time. "Keep it up!"
"I bet I can do even better," Netsuno said boldly, wiping her brow and smiling widely. "Just give me a moment to catch my breath!"
Shoko saw that joyful passion in Netsuno's eyes and got to sketching. This was clearly Netsuno's own Olympian challenge, and Shoko was determined to immortalize that moment while she still had it. Finally, she decided to head home, only to run into another familiar face.
"Hi there, Komi," Hitohito Tadano said, all smiles as he gave Shoko a small wave. "Nice to see you. I thought you were already on your way home."
"U-um... I...!" Shoko froze up, her heart hammering, her face warming. She had thought Hitohito was also on his way home, funnily enough. But she couldn't bring herself to say it.
"I just needed a few minutes to review something with our English teacher," Hitohito explained casually. "Verb conjugations are pretty tough. But I bet your conjugations are perfect! Haha!"
He laughed an easy laugh, and Shoko wondered if her friend was going somewhere with this. Perhaps he wanted to study with her?! Shoko blushed even harder at the thought, but Hitohito didn't bring it up. Instead, he wished Shoko to have a good evening, and turned to go.
"Um...!" Shoko cried. Her friend turned around.
Shoko's mind raced for a moment before she settled on a simple "Have a good evening" to match Hitohito's.
"Sure thing. See you tomorrow." Hitohito grinned again, then headed off. Shoko watched him go, trying not to read too much into this. That was just a friendly chat, nothing more. Right? But that look in Hitohito's eyes...
Shoko didn't even need a preliminary sketch for this one. She had a perfect mental photo to work with, and raced all the way home to commit it to paper. And since Shoko didn't have much homework today, she had more time to make her final sketches, going in order. First Ren and her cheerful face at lunch yesterday, then Himiko's joyful look concerning literature, then Shinobino having fun as a cool ninja, then Netsuno thriving in the heat of setting a personal record. Then Hitohito Tadano -
Shoko's pencil froze on the paper. What if she drew him wrong? The other four sketches turned out wonderfully, but this one...
Focus! Shoko clapped her hands to her cheeks and didn't stop moving her pencil until her Hitohito Tadano sketch was complete, including all the fine details and shading to bring the subject to life. It was late when Shoko finished, and it was 100% worth it. Then she reviewed her five completed sketches and realized how silly she had been. Ordinary objects didn't inspire her muse; her friends' cheerful faces did! Maybe their joy was a meaningful reflection of Shoko's own happiness this school year, and that went double for Hitohito. Both in her memory and with this sketch, Shoko could see such radiant joy in his eyes, like he was having the best time of his life. What in the world was making him feel like that?
Oh.
Shoko squealed with embarrassment and flopped right onto her bed, hands over her face as she rolled around, her face burning hot. Of course! Hitohito had looked like that after seeing her.
Challenge complete... and Shoko decided once and for all to never show the results of her challenge to anyone. This would be her own wonderful secret, stashed away in a folder in her closet. Not all art was meant for public viewing!
