Blues on the Canvas

1.4

April 21st of 2016

A certain red card that spread across the nearby Shujin academy had become a small rumour that darted around the hallways of Kosei High, like specks of dust carried by the wind.

Yusuke sat at his canvas during Fine Arts, unsuspectingly listening into conversations of his nearby classmates.

"Did you hear about that calling card?"

"The Phantom Thieves right? Damn they sound cool!"

"But are they real? It could be blackmail..."

"Who knows? At least we'll have something to talk about."

The Phantom Thieves. Yusuke couldn't help but be intrigued by the idea of phantoms, which was completely unrelated to the topic at hand. 

"A change of heart...stealing desires...such theoretical ideas, yet they are so confident in achieving them...inspirational and intriguing..." he thought to himself as he sharpened his pencils, visualising what his next work would look like.

He decided on drawing Hanae, but less obvious so no one would create rumours about him. A crowd of monochrome people, trapped in a glowing swirl of music notes abstractly drawn, the background being a splatter of fainter colours, hoping to emphasise the etherealness of the swirling notes.

Though Yusuke didn't have any idea what his piece would represent, he believed that it would at least look pleasing, and the meaning would be for anyone to interpret. 

For once, he drew quite quickly, his teacher teasing him that he was trying to impress someone at that rate. But maybe deep down, Yusuke was eager to show Hanae his materialisation on people-watching, a bit too eager that he finished the background in less than a hour. He only stopped his frenzy as he heard the conversations arise again.

"Wait Kamoshida? Isn't he an Olympic medalist?"

"Yeah, he was really popular amongst the adults a few years ago."

"Really? I don't see how good looking he is-"

"Honestly he looks a bit sketchy now that I think of it..."

With a smile on his face, Yusuke continued to paint until class ended. He took out his phone and texted Hanae.

"greetings Uchida-san, i'd like your opinion on my art, i'm currently at the 2nd classroom on the 3rd floor of the art building."

Yusuke hesitated before clicking send, but with a glance at his artwork so far, he clicked it and left his phone on the desk beside him. Seconds went by. A few minutes went by. The clock was surely ticking faster each moment.

Then the buzz came.

"ah Kitagawa-kun, sorry for replying late I lost track of time composing, I'll head on over now!"

A sigh of relief escaped Yusuke's mouth, as he started to sketch again, Hanae appeared at the doorway. But instead of her sleeveless sweater, she wore Kosei High's cardigan unbuttoned, still somehow standing out even when wearing the uniform. She scratched her head a little and made her way into the classroom with a small smile.

"Kitagawa-kun? You're quite the diligent student to be drawing after class has ended, maybe that's why your art was so lovely when I first saw it years ago!" Hanae giggled, her apple green eyes sparkled as it met Yusuke's grey ones, but something about her gaze seemed duller than usual, as if the moon was hiding behind waves of clouds.

"You compliment me too well Uchida-san, here take a look at my canvas, the concept of people-watching truly inspires me." the boy replied, rubbing his eyes out of exhaustion.

The girl turned her head towards the painting. Admiring the precise brush strokes painted on the canvas.

"It must be tiring to draw this much in 2 hours... it's wonderful really but I'm sure you'd want a break too-  why don't you take a rest at home?" she suggested, her enthusiasm slipping away as she grew drowsy herself. "I...I need to head home now, I'll see you tomorrow? Sorry... "

"No its quite alright, I shouldn't keep you too long so you may leave, I'll rest myself too, but," Yusuke hesitated, unsure whether to bring up her dullness or not. "Are you feeling well? You seem to be in a worse condition than myself."

"No I'm alright, just tired haha, I'll get going now, hope your artwork will progress well!"

The girl bowed, and left the classroom limping a little. 

Then there he saw it, a bruise on her right leg, though mostly covered by her socks, was clearly visible to be painful.

But before he could chase after her, she was already gone.