Chapter 6: Be Careful How You Treat Girls, Because it Affects How Other People Will See you!

Daisuke didn’t regret buying that enchanting girl anpan for one second. Seeing the smile of gratitude burst across her face when he handed it to her had been all the assurance he needed that he had made the correct choice.

But good deeds wouldn’t feed a hungry stomach, and Daisuke couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a filling meal with how messed up his diet had gotten in the wake of Ueda-san’s revelations. But he supposed he would have to put on a strong face and push through it.

Then he felt a strong hand clap him on the back, and he was so startled he nearly fell forward. “Rika?!” He sputtered out a guess, turning to see if it was the abrasive tomboy whose title of “childhood friend” was in precarious straits.

But it wasn’t Rika, it was someone he didn’t recognize, a boy with hair dyed blonde like a yankee and a big grin on his face. Daisuke froze for a second and feared that he had gotten into trouble with a delinquent. The boy was taller than he was, and very handsome. He had the kind of face that reminded Daisuke of the singer posters his little sister would hang up on her bedroom wall. Definitely not the kind of person who would have any legitimate business with Daisuke, that was for sure.

“Wow, Oishi-san, you’re kind of jumpy, aren’t you?” The other boy laughed.

“Oh, um, please, excuse me,” Daisuke said, bowing to the other student, who dismissed his concerns with a wave.

“You’re fine,” the blonde assured him. He held his hand out to Daisuke, and offered him yakisoba bread wrapped in plastic. “Here.”

“Eh?!” Daisuke gasped in surprise, staring up at the other boy. He didn’t even know who this other student was, and he was just giving Daisuke food? “You’re giving this to me? Why?”

“I saw what you did just now,” the other boy said. “You bought anpan for that girl, right?”

He saw that?! Daisuke realized only now how embarrassing his actions really were. In the middle of the cafeteria he had gone to buy anpan, and immediately given it to a girl. Right in front of everyone! No wonder his forest faerie fled so fast! Daisuke felt his cheeks begin to go red. “Um, no, that… that was…”

“Hey, come on, I get it!” The boy laughed. He pushed the bread into Daisuke’s hands and wrapped his arm around his shoulders, guiding him away. “That was a real cool thing you did there, Oishi-san! I see that you’ve got it! Cuties like that deserve to be treated right, right?”

“Uh… right,” Daisuke said, not really sure what was going on. He was being rushed out of the cafeteria by some guy he barely knew. He had difficulty dealing with such aggressively forward people like Rika.

“I’m Torajirou Takeda, by the way, but all my friends call me Tora. Hey! That looks like a good spot to sit! Let’s chat for a little while!” The boy had led Daisuke out of the cafeteria into the quad, and before Daisuke could get a word in he found himself sitting on a bench with the other boy right at his side, arm still over his shoulder.

“Um, Takeda-san-“

“Nah! Come on, I told you! My friends call me Tora!” Tora insisted. Daisuke wasn’t really comfortable with addressing him like that, but he also didn’t have it in him to refuse the blonde’s earnest request, either.

“Okay, um, Tora… are you sure I can have this?” Daisuke asked, staring hungrily down at the warm bread in his hand. He really wanted to just tear right into it, but he wasn’t sure if he should or not. Tora seemed like a friendly sort of guy, but it still didn’t seem right to eat when he wasn’t eating anything himself. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“Nah, don’t worry about it!” Tora laughed. “I’m going out on a date after school lets out anyway, and I’ll fill up then. And like I said, you definitely earned it! You enjoy, Dai!” Daisuke really wasn’t happy with the nickname Tora had suddenly chosen for him either, but again he wasn’t sure if he should say anything about it.

“Um… thank you for the food, then,” Daisuke said, unwrapping his food and digging in.

“So Dai, that girl was quite a cutie, right?” Tora asked. “Mind giving me an introduction?”

Daisuke nearly choked on the bread, turning to Tora. An introduction? With who, that girl? “Mrmfh… *gulp* what?”

“That cutie with the glasses!” Tora laughed. “I thought I’d scouted out all the finest samplings, but that girl? You’ve got a good eye! From one player to another, respect!” Tora gave him a thumbs up, which just confused Daisuke even more.

“A… player?” Daisuke asked.

“Yeah! I’ve gotta say, you don’t have the look of one, though,” Tora said. His face took on a note of guilt. “Wait, I didn’t mean it like that! See, back in middle school I was sort of withdrawn too, you know?” He laughed.

Tora reached up and tugged on some of his blonde hair. “Then I had my high school debut, and all the girls just love me! But then, you know a little something about that, too, don’t you?” He asked, elbowing Daisuke in the side.

Daisuke really didn’t.

“No, I’m not quite sure… what?” Daisuke asked, wondering if Tora had gotten the wrong person.

“Hey, come on, dude,” Tora said, twisting his face into a mock-approximation of someone who was hurt, holding his hand over his chest. “You can tell me! It’s not like I’m asking for all the details, but come on! Ueda-san? Nice work!”

The yakisoba bread turned to ash in Daisuke’s mouth. He felt a chill go down his spine as he turned away from Tora, shaking. “Ue-Ueda-san? I-I don’t know what you mean,” Daisuke said, shaking his head. He knew he was probably being a horrible liar, but it wasn’t like he could just go and be honest with the other boy!

“Come on dude, you went to go eat lunch with her yesterday!” Tora laughed. “And then you were going after that short-haired hottie from 1-B, and now you’re picking up girls in the cafeteria! Three honeys in three days, even I’m not that good!”

Daisuke could not comprehend any of the words that were coming out of Tora’s mouth. “How… how did you… wait, short-haired hottie?! You mean Rika?!”

Tora looked at Daisuke in confusion, before bursting out laughing. “Wow! Man, you really don’t recognize me at all, do you?!” He asked. His look of false pain reappeared, and he let out an exaggerated groan. “It appears not even my high school debut is enough to make me noticeable! Dai, we’re in the same class!”

Daisuke blinked, taking in Tora clearly for the first time. He realized now that it had been pointed out that the blonde DID look somewhat familiar.

“Please… Please excuse me!” Daisuke said, shaking his head frantically. “I had no idea, I’m sorry!”

“Hey, come on, it’s fine,” Tora laughed, slapping him on the back so hard Daisuke nearly dropped his bread. “With the way you were staring at Ueda-san? I bet you wouldn’t recognize ANYONE in our class!”

Daisuke would have laughed with him, except he was pretty much right.

“I gotta say, I’m really envious you got with Ueda-san!” Tora continued, sighing in disappointment. “She’s definitely the hottest girl in our year! Any tips?”

Daisuke froze. He turned to look at Tora, shaking his head. “You don’t want to go after Ueda-san,” he said. “Trust me, it’s not a good idea.”

Tora nodded his head in agreement. “Okay, I get it, don’t worry dude! I’m not going to make a move on her while you’re still with her! But be careful, pure and sweet girls like that can definitely get surprisingly jealous when they find out you’re going after other girls. They have two faces, you know?”

You have no idea, Daisuke thought, shaking his head. No idea at all.

“…Yes, there are definitely parts of Ueda-san that she keeps to herself,” Daisuke agreed as neutrally as possible.

“Yeah definitely! Once you get a girl into bed, that’s when she really shows her true self,” Tora said, still nodding eagerly with what Daisuke was saying. Once again, the guy had no idea how right he was. He patted Daisuke on the back. “So, about Ueda-san-“

The bell rang before Tora could continue, and he got up as Daisuke finished off the last traces of his lunch. “Oop, we gotta get back to class! Oh, I almost forgot! Add me on Line!”

“Huh?” Daisuke asked, surprised.

“Line! You know!” Tora said, holding up his phone with a big dopey grin on his face. “You’re my first guy friend here, we can go back and forth and talk about the cuties we manage to score with!”

Daisuke didn’t really feel like doing that, but at the same time Tora’s forceful personality was just so hard to say no to. So he agreed to add the blonde.

“Awesome! I’ll let you know how tonight’s date went! Though I’ll tell you, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be satisfied, if you know what I mean,” Tora said, winking at Daisuke before running off back to class. Daisuke just watched him go, shaking his head in disbelief.

Some people were just impossible to deal with. I wonder if I’m a doormat? He asked himself.

As Daisuke turned to follow after Tora, he noticed a scuttling movement out of the corner of his eye. Daisuke glanced over his shoulder, and saw a pair of glasses and a flash of black hair before their owner ducked out of sight with a gasp.

As cute as the doe-eyed nymph was, Daisuke was starting to get concerned about how she was hanging around.

Normally I would be thrilled to have a girl that cute interested in me. Daisuke let out a disappointed sigh as he trudged back to class. But if she keeps following me around, then Ueda-san might find out, and if that happens…

Daisuke didn’t want to think about what would happen if Ueda-san got her clutches into the delicate little elf of a girl.

…

When class let out that afternoon, Daisuke expected that he and Ueda-san would wait behind in the room so they could talk in private like she’d ordered. Which was why he was surprised to see that she got up from her desk and slung her bag over her shoulder, meeting up with Ushigome-san and Tonjirou-san.

Did the plan change? Daisuke wondered. Maybe they weren’t going to meet today after all. That was a relief, considering he hadn’t come up with his list of names to begin with. He moved to stand as well, only to be frozen in place by a sharp look from Ueda-san over her shoulder. She was headed out of the classroom and talking with her friends, but the way he eyes looked at him sent a clear order that he remain seated.

Daisuke swallowed and sat back down.

Great. Who knew how long he was going to have to stay here? In hindsight, it made sense. If they had waited together in the classroom for everyone to leave, the rumors would grow even more. Ueda-san was probably just talking with her friends to make it seem like everything was normal. Yeah, that was it.

He waited patiently for Ueda-san to return, and thankfully it wasn’t as long a wait as he’d feared. She stepped into the room with a big smile on her face, but it wasn’t the savage, hungry smile that he had grown to fear, it was one of her false smiles.

“Karaage-san! Glad to see you’re still here!” Ueda-san greeted him with a wave as she walked inside. “I have some good news!”

“Ueda-san, I was wondering, about-“

“We can talk about that later,” Ueda-san said, dismissing his concerns with a sharp look. “I brought someone who wants to meet you!”

Daisuke blinked in surprise. Someone who wanted to meet him? Who…?

Ueda-san looked over her shoulder, flashing a smile that could be called encouraging. “Come on, you don’t need to hide in the hall!” She reached out pulled someone else into the classroom with them, a familiar face that made Daisuke freeze in shock.

To the normal eye, it would appear as though two beauties stood beside one another, Ueda-san beaming like an angel down upon the flustered face of the dainty little black-haired pixie. But Daisuke saw a far different picture, that of a ravenous wolf batting around a frightened little bunny rabbit like she was playing with her meal.

Then, the sweet little thing turned those big brown eyes towards him, and her face lit up in a embarrassment and joy mixed together into such a fine concoction that Daisuke felt his own face heat up in sympathy, his heart pounding in his chest as her soothing smile filled the room with a warm glow.

Daisuke realized he’d been staring with his mouth open, and quickly scrambled out of his desk and over to the two of them. He only tripped three times, much to Ueda-san’s suppressed amusement.

“You… You’re…” Daisuke stammered.

“…!” The girl opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She closed her dainty lips into a smile and nodded.

“After classes ended, she came to me and said she wanted to meet you,” Ueda-san explained, still keeping up her facade. “Which I thought was kind of odd, considering she had already spoken to you before, and you and I aren’t exactly that close. But she was just so cute I couldn’t help myself! Don’t you think she’s cute, Karaage-san? Look at how soft she is!” Ueda-san stuck her finger out and poked the girl’s cheek, sending an adorable tremor wobbling across the pink skin.

“C-Cute…” Daisuke managed to stammer out, turning his faerie’s pink hue to a scarlet crimson as she stood up a little taller and stirred her fingers together. Her brown eyes were wide behind her glasses, and for a second Daisuke was afraid she’d run away again.

“Oh! Um, I didn’t mean it that way, I was just… just repeating what Ueda-san said!” Daisuke stammered, not wanting to seem like he was intentionally calling her cute and scaring her off. “Oh! But it’s not like I don’t think you’re cute or anything! Ueda-san is right, you’re really cute!”

“What a charming gentleman!” Ueda-san gushed, shooting Daisuke a smirk when the other girl wasn’t looking.

“Th-Thank you,” the girl whispered, smiling bashfully up at him.

“Now, why don’t you make yourself comfortable, while Karaage-san and I have a quick chat?” Ueda-san asked, turning to Daisuke and taking him by the hand, pulling him out of earshot of the girl.

“Ueda-san, what are you doing?!” Daisuke hissed. “I thought we were going to meet today to go over… you know, that! Why did you bring that girl here?!”

“It’s perfect, isn’t it?!” Ueda-san whispered back, her eyes shining with excitement. “Think about it! She came to me, looking for you! Which means she thinks that we’re close! And let’s be real, I’m a top tier beauty!”

“So what?” Daisuke demanded.

“So, would a girl like that, who looks like she would crumble to dust if someone looked at her funny, come to a girl as hot as me and ask to be introduced to a guy I might be dating?” Ueda-san demanded. “No, of course not! She would probably run in the other direction if she saw me!”

Daisuke couldn’t really argue with that.

“But she did come to me, which means she’s got it BAD for you, Karaage-san!” Ueda-san continued. “Who knows, we might even have our first candidate for the breeding project!”

“Ueda-san, that’s-“ But Ueda-san didn’t give him a chance to voice his objections. She turned to the girl, a big smile on her face.

“Hey there! I was just talking to my good friend Karaage-san, and he said he’d really like to talk with you, too!” Ueda-san gushed. The adorable way the gorgeous nymph’s face lit up made it impossible for Daisuke to deny her. He smiled and gave her an awkward wave.

Ueda-san skipped over to the other girl, stepping behind her. “Go on, don’t be shy! Go, go, go!” Ueda-san pushed the girl forward until Daisuke was face to face with her again. He was still surprised by how tiny she was, she really was just like a faerie.

“He-Hello, Daisuke Oishi-san,” the girl said, lowering her head in a formal bow with only a little bit of a stutter. “My name is Hina Mochida-san. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Likewise,” Daisuke said, lowering his head to return the gesture. Hina Mochida-san… his mysterious faerie finally had a name! And what a sweet name, too, he couldn’t imagine a more fair light than that of Mochida-san’s smile…

“Now that that’s all settled, Mochi-chan, why don’t you tell us what you came here for?” Ueda-san asked.

“Oh, um… that’s… wait, Mochi-chan?” Mochida-san stammered in confusion.

“Yep! Because those cheeks of yours are squishy like mochi! Mush mush mush!” Ueda-san gushed, pinching Mochida-san’s soft little cheeks and mushed them around while Mochida-san flailed in surprise.

Daisuke had to admit that while he felt sorry for the girl, he couldn’t help but be a little envious of Ueda-san.

Ueda-san finally had mercy on the delicate girl, releasing the red-cheeked Mochida-san. She turned to Daisuke, her face hot and eyes wide.

“Um, that was…”

“So, Mochi-chan, I assume you have something to say to our Karaage-san?” Ueda-san asked.

“Karaage-san? Wha-?” Mochida-san still looked confused. Daisuke’s heart skipped a beat at how frazzled she was, she just looked so adorable when she didn’t know what was going on, he couldn’t help himself but fall for her cuteness!

“Yep! Because whenever I look at him I just sort of get the feeling like he’s a Karaage-san, you know what I mean?” Ueda-san asked.

Daisuke could tell by Mochida-san’s look of confusion that she didn’t understand what Ueda-san was talking about anymore than he did.

But she still laughed all the same, with a giggle as soft as the wind blowing through a flowerbed.

“That’s so sweet… you have a nickname for him…” Mochida-san sighed wistfully. “Just as I thought, you two make the most wonderful couple…”

Daisuke choked on his own tongue. “Couple?!” He sputtered out in surprise.

“…What?” Ueda-san muttered, her eyes losing color. She looked like she was about to throw up. “Me… a couple with… that?”

Mochida-san tilted her head to the side in confusion. “Is… is that wrong?”

“We are NOT a couple!” Ueda-san insisted, nearly breaking her façade completely, much to Daisuke’s horror. “Me?! Go out with him?!”

“Oh, but… but I thought…” Mochida-san looked dreadfully fretful as she stared back and forth between the two of them, her confused expression only making her that much more captivating to Daisuke’s eyes.

Daisuke shared a look with Ueda-san.

They both said in unison: “we’re just-

“…Friends!” Daisuke finished.

“Pet and owner- err, what he said, friends!” Ueda-san quickly corrected.

“…Oh…” Mochida-san said. She looked almost disappointed by that answer, which left Daisuke completely confused.

“Mochida-san, um… why did you think that Ueda-san and I were going out together?” Daisuke asked. And why does that disappoint you? He wanted to add, but decided against it. “Just because we’ve hung out a few times recently?” And even then, only yesterday…

“Trust me, that means nothing!” Ueda-san assured her. “But that isn’t it… right?”

“Yes, that,” Mochida-san said, nodding her head vigorously, “but also, because Oishi-san is your hero, of course!”

Daisuke and Ueda-san shared another look of confusion. Ueda-san’s accusatory glare seemed to demand that Daisuke tell her what was up with this girl, but Daisuke had no answer he could give her, shaking his head. He did vaguely remember that earlier today Mochida-san had mentioned him being a hero a few times, but picking up handkerchiefs and buying anpan didn’t seem to be such major things.

“H-Hero?” Daisuke finally managed to stammer out. Glancing shakily at Mochida-san. As soon as the word left his lips, it was like Mochida-san turned into a different person.

“Yes! You were her hero!” Mochida-san cried, her soft voice surprisingly loud. Daisuke was nearly knocked over in shock.

“Um, Mochida-san, I believe you must be mistaken, I don’t recall Karaage-san ever being exceptionally heroic…” Ueda-san scrambled to keep her polite smile on as she addressed the other girl, and Daisuke had to resist the urge to laugh at how off-guard Mochida-san’s words seemed to have left her.

“It was two nights ago,” Mochida-san explained, her brown eyes shining with glee from behind her glasses.

Ueda-san froze and Daisuke felt himself grow cold. They both suddenly had a very good idea of what Mochida-san was talking about.

“I saw it all! I was walking home, and a bunch of delinquents came and were taking Ueda-san into their dirty club!” Mochida-san explained. “I was very frightened, so I took my phone out to contact the police, but that’s when I saw it!”

Oh no, Daisuke moaned internally shaking his head as he stared in horror at the look of excitement on Mochida-san’s face.

“Oishi-san ran in after her with a baseball bat! He was just like Ramen Rider-sama with his gallant figure! I was immediately captivated, seeing him so bravely charge in to rescue you, Ueda-san!” Mochida-san gushed out, fidgeting with excitement. “And then, when the two of you left, I just knew that Oishi-san was the real thing!”

She lowered her head and averted her eyes, like just looking at Daisuke was too much. “I have three little brothers, and I take them to watch the hero shows at the mall on weekends,” she explained sheepishly. “And it was always so amazing, seeing Ramen Rider-sama defeat all the evil monsters and protect people like a hero… I’ve been a fan for so many years, I always wanted to meet my own Ramen Rider-sama, a brave hero who would step in and save me if I was ever in trouble… and to think that Ueda-san, you got to have Oishi-san come in and save you, doing something so noble… it was like something out of my dreams! Oishi-san, you really are a real hero!”

Daisuke stared off numbly into space. Not only had a cute girl like Mochida-san seen him rush in like an idiot to save Ueda-san, she had no idea of the depth of what she’d just witnessed. Hero? He was more like the innocent bystander that gets eaten by the monsters before the heroes can show up! And in this case, the monster was Ueda-san!

Speaking of Ueda-san, she was clearly in a hard place. Her smile was frozen upon her face, her usually healthy complexion turning a sickly greenish-white. She needed to set the record straight and confirm it was all a misunderstanding!

…But then again, it’s not like she could exactly tell the truth, either.

Daisuke stared at Ueda-san, silently pleading her to come up with something, anything, to get them out of this. She must have noticed him staring because she turned to him…

And one of the most evil smiles he’d ever seen her wear stretched across her face.

“OOOOH! Karaage-san, my hero!” Ueda-san pressed the back of her hand against her forehead as she swooned. “I was so frightened that night, afraid that those horrid thugs would do awful things to me! But then, the gallant Karaage-san came, bat in hand, and took care of them all! Then, he took me up into his arms like a princess, and assured me that I didn’t have anything to worry about, because I was safe now!”

“I didn’t give you a princess carry!” Daisuke protested. But his words fell on deaf ears. Ueda-san’s lies were already overwriting the truth in Mochida-san’s mind, and she stared up at him with starry eyes like he was a celebrity.

“I just knew it!” Mochida-san sighed, slumping down onto a desk and resting her cheeks on her hands, staring up at Daisuke with a dreamy look in her eye.

“Ueda-san! Why are you saying stuff like this?!” Daisuke hissed. Wasn’t the point to get Mochida-san to STOP having the wrong idea about the two of them?!

“But alas, I knew... that we were not meant to be,” Ueda-san continued, shaking her head.

“No! That’s not true!” Mochida-san cried. “He’s a hero, and he saved you! When the hero saves the damsel, then, then…” Her face turned bright red and she once again turned her eyes towards the floor. “Then they hold hands and kiss, and live happily ever after…”

“Yes, that was what was supposed to happen,” Ueda-san agreed, a solemn expression crossing her filthy, lying bitch of a face. “But I knew… that a girl like me was not the one meant for a hero like Karaage-san. You see, he is looking for a girl who can truly appreciate how much of a hero he really is…”

OH. FUCK. NO. Daisuke immediately understood the meaning behind her evil smirk from earlier. She wouldn’t. She wasn’t.

“Ueda-san, wait-“

“You, Mochi-chan, I believe that you are the damsel that the hero Karaage-san is destined to be with, not me!” Ueda-san proclaimed, pointing a finger filled with determination at the black-haired girl.

Fuck. She was.

“M-Me?!” Mochida-san gasped in shock, her face turning bright red. “But… But I’m not…”

“Think about it, Mochi-chan,” Ueda-san purred, slinking over to her and lifting the girl to her feet, maneuvering her in front of Daisuke. It looked like she was a snake constricting her prey. “Karaage-san is a brave hero, certainly, but a hero needs someone who can appreciate his heroism. You said it yourself, you’ve been a fan of heroes for so long… I can’t think of aaaaaannyyone better suited to be Karaage-san’s partner than you…” She murmured, her voice slick as oil as she wormed her way into poor Mochida-san’s flustered brain.

“Th-That’s… w-well… I-I did… feel kind of… jealous of you, Ueda-san,” Mochida-san stammered. “S-So I… I wanted to see wh-what it was like to be saved by a hero, so… so I dropped my handkerchief for Oishi-san to pick up…” She admitted.

“Oh, now isn’t that adorable?” Ueda-san cooed, giving Mochida-san a backrub. “You dropped your handkerchief for him? And what did he do then?”

“Ueda-san, that wasn’t-“ Ueda-san cut Daisuke’s halfhearted protest off with a sharp glare.

“What did he do then?” She asked again, a little more insistently.

“H-H-He… he picked it up…” Mochida-san gasped out. Her cheeks were only growing redder and she began to pant as she looked at Daisuke through hazy eyes. “…A-And… he gave it back to me…”

“Ooooh, how sweet of him,” Ueda-san sighed in a silky sweet murmur. “How heroic! Your very own hero, so noble, to return your handkerchief! Was that aaallll he did?”

Mochida-san gulped, pulling on the collar of her blouse as Ueda-san moved her fingers up and began to run them across her cheeks.

“I-I-I felt so happy that… that a hero gave me back my handkerchief that I… I… hieeeee!” Ueda-san blew air past Mochida-san’s ear and she squealed in surprise, flailing around.

“What… did you do then?” Ueda-san asked, her voice so deep and throaty it was practically a moan.

“I told him… I told him I didn’t have money for lunch!” Mochida-san wailed, her face so red she was practically as red as the azuki bean filling of her anpan. “Hah… hah... and he… hah… he bought me… anpan…”

“Oh, yeah he did,” Ueda-san groaned, nibbling Mochida-san’s ear a little. Daisuke found himself paralyzed in a mixture of shock and horror and, to his shame… other feelings.

“He-He… he was so nice…” Mochida-san whimpered, staring up at Daisuke. Her teary eyes, flushed face, and little gasping pants brought so many thoughts to mind in Daisuke’s head that he couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable himself. “Just like… a hero… and I wished… that it… that I…”

“You wanted to be the one he saved that night, didn’t you?” Ueda-san asked, her voice a whisper just barely audible to the three of them. Mochida-san froze, still as a statue, her eyes widening into saucers as she stared at Daisuke. “…If I’m right, just nod your head…”

Mochida-san meekly nodded, her face burning with shame.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to worry anymore,” Ueda-san assured her, pinching one of Mochida-san’s cheeks. “I told you,” she whispered, “Karaage-san and I are just friends. If you want him to be your hero…”

“B-But… But I lied…” Mochida-san stammered. “I-I pretended to need his help to get close to him, a bad girl… like me… shouldn’t be with a hero… I mean! Not that I… I mean, I mean, I mean-!”

Daisuke wasn’t even sure if SHE knew what she meant.

“Oh, but sometimes heroes like the bad girls,” Ueda-san purred. Her hand snapped down to Mochida-san’s collar, and she popped the first button of her blouse. “Maybe what you need is a hero like Karaage-san to come in and save you from your bad girl ways, Mochi-chan.”

People three classrooms over could have heard Mochida-san’s gulp. Daisuke stared at the poor girl in amazement and sympathy, her eyes were practically swimming in her skull.

“I-I-I-I-I-“ Mochida-san stammered, shaking so hard it looked like she was electrocuted. She broke free of Ueda-san’s teasing fingers and ran out of the room as fast as she could “I’LL THINK ABOUT IIIIIIIITTT!” She wailed into the distance.

Ueda-san blinked, staring at the doorway. She turned back to Daisuke and straightened herself up.

“…All in all I think that went quite well, don’t you?” She asked.

“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!” Daisuke exploded.

“What?” Ueda-san griped. “You saw her! That girl has it BAD. She totally thinks that you’re a big, strong hero who saved me from some bad men! Talk about a windfall, who would have thought that little misunderstanding would bear such deliciously succulent fruit? Trust me, if it was just the two of you here right now, those slender little legs would already be-“

“ENOUGH!” Daisuke exclaimed, hiding the shame on his face with his hands. “Mochida-san is a sweet girl, don’t… don’t drag her into your games, she’s probably twisted up in confusion right now!”

“Oh, she’s twisted up in all sorts of ways but she’s definitely not confused,” Ueda-san smirked, shaking her head. “No, that girl knows what she wants and she wants you to give it to her, hero boy! Give it to her hard and fast as many times as you can. Congratulations, I think we just found our first candidate for the Daisuke Oishi Breeding Project!”

“No!” Daisuke exclaimed. “I’m not going to breed with Mochida-san!”

“Well, yeah, not immediately!” Ueda-san said, rolling her eyes. “The worst thing you can do right now is rush it. That might scare her off. No, right now she’s idolizing you a little, but that’s not good enough. What we’re going to want to do is make a plan to slowly nurture that idolization into full-blown worship. Then, once you’ve basically become her everything, that’s when you make your move. If you work a girl like her just right while building things up, then once you’re together she’ll basically be your slave! It’s an excellent first start! We’ll meet up same time tomorrow to go over the plan, sound good?”

No, it sounded horrible. It was one thing to talk about the breeding plan in the abstract, but now Ueda-san had gone and dragged an actual girl into this mess! And such a poor and helpless one like Mochida-san… Daisuke needed to take a stand! He wasn’t going to let Ueda-san have her way with that demure little faerie, he was going to keep her safe! It was the least he could do with how badly Mochida-san had been led astray!