Tadokoro-san

In the quiet margins of her classroom, Tadokoro spends her days sketching rather than socializing. Shy and deeply introverted, she has long since accepted the solitary rhythm of school life, finding companionship only in the lines and shades of her artwork. But her refuge is rarely peaceful. Her classmates, far from offering friendship, approach her only to mock her drawings and her plain appearance, turning each school day into a gauntlet of petty cruelty that reinforces her isolation. Across the room exists a world apart—Nikaido, the undisputed star of their grade. Blessed with striking beauty and effortless intellect, she moves through the social hierarchy with an ease that Tadokoro could never fathom. Yet beneath Nikaido's polished exterior lies a secret that would shock everyone: she is utterly, hopelessly infatuated with the very girl everyone dismisses. It began with a single glance at one of Tadokoro's sketches, a moment that sparked an all-consuming admiration for the art—and swiftly, for the artist herself. Where others see awkwardness, Nikaido sees brilliance; where others mock, she worships from afar. When Tadokoro unexpectedly offers to draw Nikaido's portrait, the proposition lands like a thunderbolt. For Nikaido, this is no mere gift; it is the opening she has desperately yearned for, a fragile thread that might finally pull her closer to the quiet creator who has stolen her heart. With her pulse racing and her composure barely intact, Nikaido seizes the chance, determined to turn a simple sketch into the beginning of something far deeper—even if her obsession threatens to overflow at any moment.