Kuudere

"Megumi, I know you want to be helpful..." Homura interrupted. "But for voice acting, unless you can improve your usual tone, it might not work—wait a minute..."

He suddenly paused and was taken aback by a sudden realization.

"You can maybe voice 'Kuudere' characters or maybe 'Half-Kuudere' characters?"

"Kuudere?" Megumi furrowed her brows. "Homura-kun, explain that for me."

Homura began to give a simple explanation.

"So-called 'Kuudere' means 'no words, no heart, no expression'."

"No words, meaning being silent, not speaking unless necessary."

"No heart, meaning incapable of understanding one's own emotions, characterized by not understanding feelings and can't express them."

"No expression is self-explanatory."

Megumi pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Why does it sound a bit like Mashiro-chan?"

"The previous Mashiro indeed did fit, but now... at most, she's a half-kuudere." Homura rolled his eyes, thinking of Mashiro's recent mischievous behavior.

Who said Mashiro was kuudere? Apart from not quite grasping emotions, everything else was getting better and better.

'Yeah, seriously, she frequently asks questions and comforts people proactively, occasionally chats with everyone, and when she's being mischievous, her lips curl up. Where's any sign of being kuudere?' Homura thought inwardly and nodded his head.

Megumi also recalled Mashiro's recent actions and nodded.

"Homura-kun, are you saying that if I want to learn voice acting, this kuudere thing might suit me?"

Homura nodded.

"Yeah, even though Megumi, you've changed a lot from before, you still haven't shown much change in expressions. Occasionally, you smile, but it's seriously rare. Combined with your somewhat plain tone, maybe it's unexpectedly just right."

"Though I know what you're saying is true... it still feels a bit hurtful..." Megumi continued in her usual flat tone.

"Here." Homura handed her his phone. "Listen to your own voice, I happened to record it."

Megumi began to listen to her own voice with the volume turned down. After a while, she had to admit that her voice did indeed lack emotion.

"Actually, don't be too disheartened, and don't feel hurt."

Homura smiled and began to comfort her.

"Isn't this your own charm point? Whether you change or not or stick with the usual, it's all on you. I'm cool with whatever side you show, even if it's a bit contradictory, it's just how you are."

"If you change, you might not be the same old you, but hey, that change could be pretty cool in its own way. So, I'm not going to tell you what to do; it's your call. But just remember, in my book, you'll always be you, no matter what—the one and only Kato Megumi."

*DING! DONG!*

The class bell suddenly rang and the two stopped talking, returning to their seats.

However, Homura's words echoed deeply in Megumi's mind.

'Yes, whether to change or not, even I can't decide. But one thing is for sure—I am who I am, and that's one thing that will never change. Ahh, but I definitely need to work on my weak presence.'

Megumi nodded to herself, being constantly ignored and forgotten by others was quite vexing after all.

===

Evening, Activity Room.

"So... did your swimsuit shopping today have any impact on your writing mood and inspiration?" Homura asked the girl in front of him.

At his question, Nayuta awkwardly scratched her head, while Elf, Sagiri, and Muramasa exchanged glances.

"No?" Homura asked, looking directly at them. 'Bruh, just spit it out if there's none... What's the big deal?'

"I don't really know if there was an impact or not..." Nayuta said softly.

The girls who went to school except for Megumi were somewhat surprised when they saw this.

What was going on?

"Anoo... Give us more details, please? What happened?" Eriri chimed in.

Elf and Nayuta exchanged a glance, then Elf quickly spoke up.

"There is an effect, but it varies with different swimsuits... In simple terms, it's like... the less fabric, the better the impact..."

""...""

Everyone was speechless.

"So, you're saying... the less fabric, the better the mood?" Nanami's mouth couldn't help but twitch. 

"This condition... it sounds just like something that happened only in novels..." Utaha muttered.

"Well, it's not surprising to me. Nayu's condition is as natural as breathing." Homura nodded.

The girls couldn't help but find this situation more absurd the more they talked!

"By the way, I've heard that finding inspiration is easier when going to the bathroom. Is it similar to what Nayu-chan is doing?" Izumi suddenly chimed in, her eyes darting around.

Hearing that, everyone pondered and felt that the idea was somewhat similar.

"Wait a minute! Mashiro! What are you doing?!" Nanami suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone turned their heads and saw Mashiro undressing!

""Mashiro!""

"Hmm?" Mashiro stopped her actions and looked at everyone with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong?"

"...Mashiro, what are you doing?" Eriri paused for a moment before asking.

"I just want to try... see if it increases my drawing efficiency..." Mashiro said calmly and continued what she was doing.

The girls pounced on her, rendering her motionless.

""Don't try it here!""

The girls exclaimed in unison.

Mashiro thought for a moment and then slipped behind the curtain meant for Nayuta.

"I'll try it here then."

A mixture of frustration and disbelief washed over everyone.

*Thud* *Thud*

The girls turned their heads at the sound of footsteps and saw Homura entering the room, wearing a calm expression.

"What the heck, you were outside? We were all nervous for nothing!" Eriri said, rolling her eyes.

"Eriri, why don't you bring Mashiro her drawing tools?" Homura shrugged his shoulders.

"Eh? Why... Um, sure, I'll do that..."

Eriri was about to argue but suddenly felt something was off. She quickly grabbed Mashiro's tools and went inside the curtain.

"Mashiro, I brought your tools..."

"Eriri... Um, that's perfect. I was just about to head out to get them..." Mashiro said casually, grabbing the tools while completely naked, then began to draw.

"..." Eriri wore a speechless expression. "If I hadn't brought them to you, you would have just gone out like this?!"

She just couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, I forgot earlier." Mashiro nodded calmly.

"But Homura is outside!"

"It's okay..."

"How can it be okay?!"

Eriri was frustrated, but Mashiro didn't pay her any mind.

Watching Mashiro, who was already drawing, Eriri gritted her teeth but decided not to say anything. She turned and left, then ruffled Homura's hair into a wild hairstyle.

"..."

Homura stayed silent.

"Why are you getting so worked up?" Homura shifted position, not caring about his own messy hairstyle. "I had a feeling Mashiro would do that. That's why I asked you to help her bring her drawing tools."

"But as a girl, shouldn't she pay more attention to herself? How can she be so indifferent?" Eriri argued.

"She's been like that for over a decade. I guess Mashiro's just used to it?" Homura glanced at Mashiro's shadow cast on the curtain by the light. "Habits formed since childhood aren't easy to change, especially for someone like Mashiro."

"Yeah, you're not wrong... At least Mashiro has already made much progress..."

In the end, Eriri gave up and sighed.