The Art of Undressing

The studio wakes up to two things:

A new rule written in glitter across the whiteboard:

"✨This Week: Non-Dominant Hand Only. Find Your Inner Chaos Muse.✨"— Love, Suzu (and probably the wind)

And a woman in heels standing at the door like she owns the moon.

She's tall.She's gorgeous.She's wearing sunglasses indoors, lipstick sharp enough to slice egos, and a designer coat that whispers, "I smell like lawsuits and Chanel No. 5."

Yuuto chokes on his granola bar.

Haruka drops a paint palette in slow motion.

Suzu, from across the room, gasps:

"OH MY GOD. IT'S HER."

"Her?" Rei whispers.

Kaito enters the studio.

Sees the woman.

Immediately walks into a stool.

She takes off her sunglasses.

Reveals cheekbones carved by vengeance.

"Hello, Kaito," she says. "Still drawing naked people instead of fashion shows?"

Rei watches him freeze like someone just whispered "your ex is here."

Because she is.

Sayaka Fujiwara.

Tokyo's former fashion darling. Now fallen from grace.Also: Kaito's ex-mentor. Ex-lover. And maybe part-time Bond villain.

Suzu mouths: "It's happening."

Yuuto mouth-screams: "WHO LET THIS DRAMA QUEEN INTO MY SAFE SPACE?!"

Sayaka strolls in like she owns the lease.

She places a red leather sketchbook on the table like it's a cursed relic.

"I'm here to audit your little... experiment," she purrs.

"Why?" Kaito says, arms crossed.

"Because," she says, smiling, "if you're going to humiliate yourself with nude people and healing metaphors, I want front-row seats."

Rei bristles. "Who invited you?"

Sayaka tilts her head.

"You must be the new muse. You look... cheaply honest."

Rei steps forward.

Kaito steps between them.

"Don't," he says. "Not here."

Sayaka raises an eyebrow.

Then turns to the class and says:

"I'll be here all week. I want to see what you see. Impress me."

Then she walks out.

Her heels click like punctuation marks on everyone's soul.

Cut to: 10 minutes later.

Suzu locks Rei and Nocturne in the supply closet.

For "emotional reasons."

"It's team bonding!" she insists through the door.

"You threw us in here," Nocturne says.

"With snacks!" Suzu replies.

"You taped it shut!" Rei yells.

"Snacks!" Suzu insists again.

Then silence.

Inside, Rei and Nocturne sit awkwardly between canvases, paint tubes, and a very judgmental mop.

The air smells like turpentine and tension.

Finally, Nocturne says, "You okay?"

Rei snorts. "Do I look okay?"

"…I don't know. You confuse me."

"Good."

Pause.

Then Nocturne smiles. "You hate her, huh?"

Rei sighs. "I don't even know her."

"She knows Kaito. The before version."

"…I don't want to be a rebound."

"You're not."

Silence again.

Then:"You're a choice."

Rei looks up.

"You think so?"

Nocturne nods. "I saw how he drew you. That wasn't a mistake."

"…Neither was how he drew you."

Their eyes meet.

Soft. Uneasy.

Understanding.

No romance. No fight.

Just… strange allies in emotional warfare.

Rei grabs a paintbrush with her left hand and says, "Let's make something ugly."

Nocturne grins. "Finally."

Meanwhile, in the main room—

Sayaka watches Kaito sketch with his non-dominant hand.

It's a mess.

A beautiful, angsty mess.

And Sayaka? She smirks.

"You used to be cleaner," she says.

Kaito shrugs. "I'm tired of clean."

"You were brilliant when you were cruel."

"I was miserable."

"But successful."

"I wanted to be seen, not consumed."

Sayaka leans close. Her voice is low, velvet-wrapped knives.

"You always needed someone to break you before you made anything great."

Kaito looks at her.

And for the first time… doesn't flinch.

"I don't need to be broken anymore," he says.

"I've got chaos muses now."

Later that day…

Rei and Nocturne emerge from the closet covered in paint, metaphor, and leftover Pocky.

Sayaka claps slowly. "Adorable."

Rei glares. "I hope your eyeliner runs."

Sayaka smirks. "I invented waterproof drama."

Suzu snaps a photo.

Caption: "Rei vs Sayaka: Deathmatch in Primary Colors. 🌈💀✨"

Kaito gathers the group.

"Tomorrow," he says, "we all draw Sayaka."

Everyone groans.

Rei: "She's terrifying."

Yuuto: "Her cheekbones haunt me."

Suzu: "Do we have enough red paint for her aura?"

Nocturne: "Can we refuse?"

Kaito:"Nope."

Then:"She wants to see what we see."

He meets Sayaka's eyes.

"And I want her to see who I am now."

That night, Rei finds a note on her easel.It's from Kaito.

You're not a placeholder.You're a mirror I don't want to look away from.–K

She doesn't cry.

Not until Fernando the plant leans toward it.

And she swears it smells like hope.

End of Chapter 15