3:00 PM – Alice's Bedroom
Taro (Alice's 12-year-old brother, snooping): "Ooh, what's this?" He yanked Alice's sketchbook from under her bed, flipping to Page 19—a detailed pencil sketch of Ren mid-yawn, his glasses sliding down his nose. "Who's this guy? Looks familiar…"
Alice (yelling from the shower): "TARO! Stop touching my stuff!"
Taro (grinning): "Relax! Just borrowing it!" He stuffed the sketchbook into a neon-green envelope, scribbling "URGENT ART CLUB DELIVERY" in glitter glue. "Time to spice up Sis's boring life."
The afternoon sun filtered through the cluttered windows of the Kurosawa household, casting a golden haze over Hiroko's latest culinary experiment: a "fusion curry" that smelled suspiciously like burning rubber. She hummed to herself, adjusting the blowtorch she'd repurposed as a salad tenderizer, when the doorbell rang.
"Ren! Your sparkly package arrived!" Hiroko trilled, shaking a neon-green envelope that rained glitter onto the floor.
Ren, halfway up the stairs to his room, froze. "Sparkly? I didn't order—"
But Hiroko was already tearing into the envelope, sending a sketchbook tumbling out. "Ooh, art!" She flipped to a page of cherry blossoms, then paused at a detailed sketch of a boy's hand holding a coffee cup. "Wait, this looks like…"
CRASH.
The pressure cooker on the stove erupted, spewing beef stew onto the ceiling. "MY MASTERPIECE!" Hiroko wailed, kicking the sketchbook under the couch as she lunged for the kitchen.
Across town, Alice Yamada was tearing apart the art club room, her hands trembling. "It's gone! I swear I left it here!"
Her younger brother, Taro, leaned against the doorframe, munching a melon bread with practiced innocence. "Maybe it's… uh… traveling the world?"
Alice whirled on him. "Did. You. Touch. It."
Taro's eyes darted sideways. "Nope! But hey, if I did mail it to someone, hypothetically, would that be… bad?"
Alice's scream echoed through the hallway.
Back at the Kurosawa residence, Ren's friends Kaito and Haru arrived to find Aimi, his sister, barricading the dining room with a broom. "Mom's trying to 'infuse' the bread with essential oils. Evacuate now."
Kaito sniffed the air. "Is that… lavender and gasoline?"
"It's 'aromatherapy sourdough,'" Aimi deadpanned.
Ren emerged, clutching a fire extinguisher. "Just… don't make eye contact with the food."
Dinner was a spectacle of Hiroko's delusional culinary passion. The "fusion curry" resembled a science fair volcano, complete with bubbling green sludge.
"Tastes like… regret," Kaito muttered, discreetly spitting a chunk into his napkin.
Haru poked at her plate. "Is this a fish head or a mushroom?"
"Both!" Hiroko beamed. "It's deconstructed!"
Ren, choking down a bite, glanced at the living room couch where the sketchbook lay forgotten. "Why's there glitter everywhere?"
"Tax documents!" Hiroko sang, too quickly.
Later, as the squad fled to Ren's room, Haru spotted the sketchbook peeking out from under a Dragon Ball Z DVD case. "Whoa. This artist's obsessed with… backs of heads."
Ren shrugged. "Cousin Yuki draws weird stuff. Last year it was feet."
Kaito flipped to a page of Ren asleep at his desk, sunlight dappling his face. "Dude, this guy's got your eyebrow scar."
"Coincidence," Ren said, tossing the book onto a shelf. "Half the school has this uniform."
Aimi snorted. "And the same mole behind their ear?"
Meanwhile, Alice was scaling the Kurosawas' fence at midnight, flashlight clenched between her teeth. Taro's confession—"It's on their windowsill!"—played on loop in her head.
"Just grab it and run," she whispered, hoisting herself over.
But fate, ever cruel, intervened. A gust of wind whipped the sketchbook off the sill, sending it sailing into the koi pond. Alice stared in horror as pages of Ren's face—sleeping, laughing, scowling—sank beneath the murky water.
"No… no… NO!"
The next morning, Hiroko fished the soggy sketchbook out with a net, clutching it to her chest. "Aimi! Look! This mystery artist captured Ren's soul!"
Aimi squinted at the waterlogged page. "Mom. That's a koi fish eating his face."
"Symbolism!" Hiroko sobbed. "We must find this tortured genius!"
Ren, passing by, blinked at the ruined sketchbook. "Why's it covered in algae?"
"Art," Aimi said, shoving him toward the door. "Now run before she polygraphs you."
At school, Alice slumped at her desk, her head in her hands. Haru slid a melon bread toward her. "Look on the bright side! Now your art's… eco-friendly."
"Shut up."
Across the courtyard, Ren paused, watching Alice glare daggers at a flock of pigeons. "Why's she mad at birds?"
Kaito smirked. "Maybe they criticized her interior design."
And so the sketchbook—once a secret vault of Alice's heart—became a inside joke for the Kurosawa family, a cautionary tale for Taro, and a soggy relic in Hiroko's "curated chaos" scrapbook.
And so the sketchbook—once a secret vault of Alice's heart—became a inside joke for the Kurosawa family, a cautionary tale for Taro, and a soggy relic in Hiroko's "curated chaos" scrapbook.
As for Ren?
He never noticed the boy in the drawings.
But somewhere, between the burnt curry and the koi pond, Alice's silent crush began to thaw.
Well,
The Kurosawa living room still smelled faintly of burnt paprika and regret. Ren's friends sprawled across the couch, avoiding the suspicious stain left by Hiroko's "deconstructed" curry. Kaito, ever the chaos conductor, lobbed a jellybean at Haru's forehead.
Kaito (grinning): "Okay, idiots. Summer break's in two weeks. We need a masterplan."
Haru (catching the jellybean mid-air): "Beach trip! I'll finally debut my One Piece swimsuit!"
Aimi (not looking up from her phone): "You mean the one with Luffy's face… there?"
Haru (defensive): "It's art! And supportive!"
Ren (slumped in a beanbag): "Why can't we just… not?"
Kaito threw a pillow at him. "Because 'not' is for grandpas. I'm talking epic. Road trip! Camping! Sneaking into that abandoned theme park everyone says is haunted—"
Hiroko (bursting in with a platter): "SNACKS! I infused these rice crackers with CBD oil for chill vibes!"
Aimi (freezing): "Mom. What?"
Hiroko (winking): "Relax! It's legal… probably!" She dropped the platter with a clatter, sending crackers skittering under the couch. "So! Summer plans! Are we finally visiting Uncle Yoshi's alpaca farm?"
Ren (horrified): "No. Never. The last alpaca bit Kaito's—"
Kaito (interrupting): "Trauma suppressed. Moving on!"
Haru unrolled a My Hero Academia poster-turned-map onto the floor. "Okay, hear me out: Anime Pilgrimage Tour! We hit all the real-life spots from Your Lie in April and Attack on Titan!"
Aimi (dryly): "Ah yes, let's cry at a piano staircase and then get eaten by a metaphorical Titan. Balanced."
Kaito (snapping fingers): "Perfect! We'll call it 'Emotional Damage: The Vacation'!"
Ren groaned. "Why can't we just binge Demon Slayer in AC like normal people?"
Hiroko (leaning in): "I'll chaperone! I've always wanted to cosplay as Mitsuri!" She struck a pose, nearly knocking over a lamp.
Aimi (deadpan): "Mom, your 'Mitsuri' looks like a confused strawberry."
Kaito (ignoring them): "Okay, Plan B: Beach house! Bonfires! Beach volleyball!"
Haru (gasping): "Beach episode! I'll bring my Zero Two floatie!"
Ren (muttering): "I'd rather swim with Hiroko's 'experimental' jellyfish casserole."
Meanwhile, Alice crouched behind the Kurosawas' koi pond, her shoes soaked and her dignity deader than Hiroko's sous-vide salmon. She jabbed a stick at the murky water, praying to fish gods she didn't believe in.
Alice (whispering): "Please… please let it be here…"
A soggy corner of paper floated to the surface—Page 12, Ren's coffee-stained hand now half-eaten by snails.
Alice (clutching her chest): "NO! Why?!"
Taro (popping up behind her): "Need a net?"
Alice (yelping): "TARO! I'll disown you!"
Taro (innocent): "But I'm your favorite brother!"
Alice (grabbing his collar): "You're my only brother! And why are you here?!"
Taro (grinning): "Same reason as you! Chaos!"
Back inside, the debate raged.
Haru (pleading): "Let's vote! Anime pilgrimage: Raise hands!"
Only her hand shot up.
Kaito: "Beach house!"
Aimi and Kaito raised hands.
Ren: "Staying alive."
Hiroko (bursting in with a snorkel): "ALPACAS OR BUST!"
Aimi (stealing her snorkel): "Mom, no one wants to relive the Great Alpaca Spit Incident."
Kaito (snapping): "Okay, compromise: Haunted theme park by day, beach bonfire by night! We'll film a mockumentary!"
Haru (gasping): "With cosplay!"
Ren (defeated): "Fine. But if I die, I'm haunting all of you."
Hiroko (clapping): "I'll pack ghost-repelling wasabi cupcakes!"
Alice wrung out her ruined sketchbook pages, tears mixing with pond sludge. "It's over… Sensei will expel me…"
Taro (poking a dead page): "Look on the bright side! Now it's abstract!"
Alice (sobbing): "I drew every strand of his hair! Twice!"
Taro (patting her back): "Hey, at least he'll never know!"
Alice (freezing): "Wait… he doesn't know." A manic glint lit her eyes. "I can… redraw it! Better! Before summer break!"
Taro (backing away): "Uh-oh. I've created a monster."
Alice crouched behind a bush outside Ren's window, sketchbook clutched to her chest. "Just one more reference… one more…"
Inside, Ren stretched, his shirt riding up slightly. Alice's pencil snapped.
Alice (whispering): "Why is he… shaped like that?!"
Taro (appearing with popcorn): "Sis, this is stalker behavior."
Alice (blushing): "I'm rebuilding! It's art!"
Ren (suddenly turning toward the window): "You hear something?"
Kaito (yanking him back): "Nope! Just… ghosts!"
As the squad debated packing lists ("Bring extra socks!" "But it's a beach!" "HAUNTED SOCKS!"), Hiroko unveiled her pièce de résistance: a "Survival Kit" containing a garlic braid, a kazoo, and a jar labeled "Mystery Jam (2018)."
Aimi (eyeing the jar): "Mom, this jam's sentient."
Ren (resigned): "I'll… guard the car."
Kaito (slinging an arm around him): "Nope! You're our protagonist now!"
Outside, Alice furiously redrew Page 47, her determination rivaling Hiroko's culinary audacity.
Taro (fake-solemn): "This is the most beautiful dumpster fire I've ever seen."
That night, Ren scrolled through his phone, pausing on a meme Kaito sent: "You vs. The Guy She Drew 47 Times."
Ren (muttering): "Who even is this guy?"
Across town, Alice collapsed onto her bed, her new sketchbook filled with Ren: The Redemption.
Haru (texting the group chat): "Packed my GoPro! Ready to film Paranormal Activity: Otaku Edition!"
Aimi (replying): "Mom packed a ouija board. Pray for us."
Kaito (adding): "Ren's bringing the sass! And snacks!"
Ren (ignoring them): "…"
And somewhere, Hiroko practiced her Mitsuri wiggle in the mirror, blissfully unaware of the chaos to come.