The woman wore a slightly loose white long-sleeved shirt adorned with black patterns, which accentuated the extraordinary majesty of her chest and the slenderness of her waist, emphasizing the alluring curves of her form. Beneath her red skirt, her legs were long and slender, almost two-thirds of her body, a vision of graceful beauty. To exaggerate a bit, it wouldn't be an overstatement to say that everything below her neck was nothing but legs.
Her face, captivating and stunning, was framed by delicate and perfect features. The calm and gentle gaze in her eyes held a trace of indifference. A mysterious, noble aura radiated faintly from her, a perfect blend of allure and cold beauty, nobility and enigma, without a single flaw.
Her waist-length red hair swayed behind her as she walked. Below the ends of her hair, her pert buttocks, wrapped in the short skirt, appeared round and full, making it impossible for anyone not to be captivated by her form.
Up close, one could appreciate her flawless figure and the delicate fragrance she constantly exuded—a mix of shower gel and the unique scent of a girl's body.
Rias was momentarily taken aback when she emerged from the magic circle. The scene before her was starkly different from what she had expected. Apart from Hyoudou Issei, whose upper clothes were torn and who lay unconscious on the ground, the surroundings were disturbingly clean. The blood that had once splattered was mysteriously gone, leaving the place almost immaculate.
However, the cleanliness felt unnatural.
"Did something unexpected happen?" Rias's eyes narrowed slightly as she concentrated, trying to sense the remnants of the aura that lingered in the air.
"A faint trace of a fallen angel." A faint red light flickered in her hand as she probed the air. Rias found only this clue, and her expression darkened.
"But I don't recall fallen angels having the ability to steal Sacred Gears without killing the host." Her gaze shifted to Hyoudou Issei, lying motionless on the ground. Her expression grew serious. The aura of the Sacred Gear she had once sensed on him had disappeared. Once a Sacred Gear fused with a person, it became an integral part of their soul and body, making it impossible to leave unless forcibly removed.
The conclusion was inevitable: someone had taken it.
"I just don't know who did it." Rias's thoughts raced as she considered various possibilities. "Was it an angel, demon, fallen angel, or perhaps someone from the Eastern Heavenly Court? Or a human-level awakened being? An evil god from another world?"
A swirl of possibilities flashed through her mind, but she ultimately came up short. Over the years, she had never heard of a method to strip a Sacred Gear from its host without harming them.
"What a pity," she muttered, casting a brief glance at Hyoudou Issei. She had once been optimistic about him and even considered adding him to her peerage, but now it seemed hopeless. "The Sacred Gear has already been taken. Maybe it would be better for you to just live an ordinary life from now on."
Casting a simple defensive spell over him to protect him from the night's chill and any insects, Rias's figure disappeared in a flash of red light.
It was already eight o'clock in the evening when Sorata returned to the Sakura Dormitory. Shiina Mashiro and the others had already eaten, leaving a portion for him on the table covered in plastic wrap.
Meow...
As Sorata opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of seven cats, led by the white cat Hikari, who were growling warningly at Shiina Mashiro. She was sitting on the floor near his bed, oblivious to the feline hostility.
Today, she wore a white long-sleeved shirt and yellow shorts, her ivory-white legs crossed as she sat with her head lowered, engrossed in her drawing. Her soft, light yellow hair fell over her shoulders, completely ignoring the angry cats.
"Uh... Mashiro, why are you in my room?" Sorata asked, taken aback.
"Where did Sorata go?" Shiina Mashiro raised her head, her expression dazed.
"Oh, I had nothing to do during the day, so I just wandered around outside."
"Felt interesting, why didn't you call me?"
"Weren't you going to draw?"
"Next time, together."
"Next time?" Sorata hesitated, remembering the dragon he had encountered and the fallen angel responsible for a murder earlier. Despite the troubling thoughts, he nodded. Under Mashiro's calm gaze, which held a subtle hint of anticipation, he relented. "Okay, I'll call you next time I go out."
"Sorata is so kind."
"Here, take a look." After receiving his promise, Shiina Mashiro pointed to two colored illustrations lying on the bed.
"Not bad. Very good." Sorata examined the finished illustrations, surprised by how well the colors were layered and how vivid the characters appeared. It was clear someone who didn't know better might mistake them for a work of art. Most importantly, the characters in the drawing perfectly matched the descriptions from Toradora!, a testament to her skill as a world-class artistic genius.
Looking at the girl sitting on the floor, Sorata nodded in satisfaction. "You did very well, Mashiro. Tomorrow, you can give these cover and first-page illustrations to Kamimura Yuriko. With this quality, I'm sure she won't have any objections."
"Okay," Shiina Mashiro nodded calmly, as though there was never any doubt about the recognition her work deserved.
The room fell silent, with Sorata and Mashiro each absorbed in their own thoughts. After a few minutes, Sorata broke the silence, blinking as he glanced at her. "Mashiro, aren't you going to sleep yet?"
At the same time, he mentally scolded himself. I'm such an idiot. After teaching her for half a month, I thought she'd pick up on social etiquette and understand my obvious hint to see her off.
"No, I can still draw here. I want to finish the third one today."
"I want to take a shower."
"Do you want me to scrub your back?"
"Why would you think that?" Sorata was taken aback by the girl's unexpected response.
"Misaki said that you guys like women to scrub your backs," Shiina Mashiro replied blankly.
"Uh... no need." Sorata shook his head, realizing the girl's strange line of thinking. He grabbed his pajamas from the closet and headed for the shower.
Ten minutes later, when Sorata returned with his hair still damp, Shiina Mashiro was absorbed in her drawing once more. The seven kittens, likely realizing that confronting her was futile, had gone to sleep.
Sorata didn't disturb her, instead deciding not to turn on his computer to write. As for the Sacred Gear, his curiosity about it had faded for the moment.
Instead, he pulled out the manga pencils, manuscript paper, and single-handed drawing board he'd bought earlier. Sitting beside Shiina Mashiro, he leaned against the bed and began sketching, influenced by a work that had been on his mind for weeks.
Closing his eyes briefly to recall it, he opened them again and began sketching.
The two of them, one to the left, the other to the right, sat side by side, each immersed in their own creative world. For a moment, the atmosphere in the room was warm and peaceful.
Gradually, under Sorata's hand, a giant mecha began to take shape—slender, elongated, with a ferocious appearance, distinct angular joints, and plate-like chest armor. Most striking were the mecha's head and shoulders, with a single horn pointing skyward and heavy, armor-like restraints on its shoulders, exuding a sense of unrelenting violence.
Yes, Sorata was drawing EVA Unit-01.
He had been intending to draw the EVA manga for the past two weeks, but the bloodline fusion had delayed his efforts. Now, influenced by Shiina Mashiro, he finally began, letting his hand move freely as memories of the mecha came to life.
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Try Other Fics I Have
•SAO: I replaced him?
•Anime: I Want Harem
•DxD: I am Kanda Sorata
•Anime: Curse Of Immortality
•Genshin Impact: I have Broken System