If you like our work, please follow us on our social media, join our discord and support us on Patreon:
This love is being mangfiedPart 1:
It was after school after the closing ceremony had ended. The last school afternoon for that semester. Trying to escape the late July sun, Keiki and Shouma were sitting on a bench in the shadow of a tree and talking about whatever came to mind.
"It's finally summer vacation tomorrow~"
"Yeah~"
"Another year, another summer vacation without a girlfriend~"
"Yeah~"
"Well, Shouma has Koharu-senpai, and she's like a girlfriend. You traitor~"
"We're not officially dating yet, though."
"Being more than friends and less than lovers is the same as going out in my book. You're gonna be all lovey-dovey with her during this vacation, right? You're gonna go to the sea and gaze at her swimsuit figure, or make out behind the shrine a fireworks festival… What is this? I'm so envious!"
"Today has been really high-stress for you, huh?"
Heat and envy can make a person go crazy. For Keiki, who had once again failed to get a girlfriend, just seeing Shouma having a girlfriend (in name) like this made his envy burn fiercer than the mid-summer sun.
"It's true that Koharu-chan's cute, you know. She's small, compact, and her body is easy to hold."
"Aren't all of those the same thing?"
"But there are also enough problems to completely negate all that…"
"Did something happen?"
"Actually, just a while ago, Koharu-chan invited me to her room."
"Ah, were the walls full of pictures of you?"
"No, it was a completely normal room at first glance. But there were a lot of DVD's inside her shelves. And they were labeled 'Shoumkun documentary.' And there were over a hundred volumes…"
"……"
"Also, she had diary entries for almost every daily activity that I do."
"Uwa…"
The stalker girl was as active as always. Her body was small, but her feelings for Shouma were big enough to make up for it.
"But if we're talking about that, then what about Sayuki-senpai wearing my underwear?"
"…It seems like both of us have it hard."
"…Yeah."
Though the types of perversion were different, the problems they posed for the boys were similarly difficult to deal with.
"Damn it, even though I wanted to spend this year's summer vacation with a cute girlfriend…"
"In the end, you still couldn't figure out the identity of your Cinderella, huh?"
Keiki received a love letter from an unknown sender back in May. For the following two months, he tirelessly searched for the Cinderella who dropped her panties, to no avail. Just recently, Cinderella's panties had disappeared. Since both Sayuki and Yuika were guests at the Kiryuu household on that day, he deduced that they had the highest possibility of being the thief. If he were to find Cinderella's panties in their possession, that would be the definite proof.
"I have to go now. I've got club," Shouma said.
"Yeah, keep at it."
After sending off his friend who left for tennis practice, Keiki once more leaned back against the bench.
"…Haaah, I guess that there really wouldn't be a girl who'd actually confess to me," he muttered, reminiscing about past events.
Until now, there had never been a girl who had confessed her love for him (Not counting the confessions from the perverted girls; those didn't make him happy at all). To Keiki, that love letter in the club room had felt like a gift from the heavens above.
"—Ah, there he is. Kiryuu," A girl with reddish-brown hair and a sidetail walked towards him.
"Eh, Nanjou? What's wrong? Did you come here to gather some more material?"
"……"
Without answering, Mao just stopped in front of the bench Keiki was sitting on and pointed her finger towards him. The color of her cheeks then turned a faint pink, and she looked like she had made up her mind about something.
"Kiryuu! Become my boyfriend!"
"………Excuse me?"
For a second, Keiki was unable to grasp what Mao's words meant. The 'my' naturally referred to Mao, and boyfriend referred to… lover. Basically, Mao had just asked Keiki to become her lover—
"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?! Did I finally become popular?!"
Kiryuu Keiki, in the summer of his second year in high school. On the last day before summer vacation, he had received the first love confession of his life.
Part 2:
The next day — the first day of summer vacation — the weather was perfect for a stroll. Walking down the asphalt under a bright blue sky, towards the train station, Keiki once more thought about that day's plans.
"…To think the day would come where I would go on a date with Nanjou."
To Keiki, Mao was a classmate, a friend, and a member of the same club. Though she was in fact a BL mangaka who used Keiki and Shouma as models for her manga, she was also a very kind girl. And for some reason or another, he was going on a date with her on this very day.
While mulling over these thoughts, Keiki arrived in front of the train station. Waiting there was a girl he didn't know resting her back against the wall. She seemed to be around the same age as Keiki. She was wearing a tunic with a skirt, and her clothes really gave off a summer-like feeling. In addition, she had her hair hidden by a stylish hat. Her looks basically screamed out "I'm going on a date!"
She's crazy beautiful…
Keiki was sure that the lucky guy who would be going on a date with her must be a Shoumlevel ikemen. And as he was thinking that, he checked around, seeing if he could spot Mao, but to no avail.
"It seems like Nanjou isn't here yet."
Well, there's still some time before we're supposed to meet up…
For now, Keiki decided to do the same as the girl and rest his back on the wall, while waiting for Mao. As he did—
"—Hey, why're you looking away?" While saying that, someone poked Keiki's cheek with their finger.
"Eh?"
As he turned around to look at the person in question, the beauty from before was looking straight up him and pouting.
"Morning. It's pretty hot today, isn't it?" She gave a friendly greeting.
"Uhm… Have we met somewhere before?"
"Is that supposed to be a new greeting that's in recently? Or is this just a new trend of yours, Kiryuu?"
"Eh? Kiryuu…? Wait, Nanjou?!"
"Yeah, that's me. Aren't you a bit too shocked?"
"No, but, your atmosphere is so different from usual…"
The person he thought was just another stranger turned out to be the acquaintance he was waiting for. Mao had her reddish-brown hair straight down, making her look like a completely different person. That grown-up look of hers made Keiki's heart skip a beat.
"I really put a lot of effort into this, so what do you think?"
"I-It's really cute… I think."
"Hehe. Well, that should be obvious. I totally made you flustered, right?"
"I-I'm not flustered at all!"
"Your bright-red face doesn't have a lot of persuasiveness."
"Uuu…"
"I made Kiryuu's heart beat faster with my different atmosphere… Shouto's image change after cutting his hair made Keeki's heart flutter… Ahh, this might be useful for my next doujinshi. Fufu… Fufufufufufufufufu."
"Ah, it's Nanjou. This girl's clearly Nanjou."
At first glance her appearance might've changed, but deep down she was still the same pervert as before.
"Alright, I'm looking forward to today, Mr. Boyfriend."
"Yeah, well, it'll work out in the end."
"Pull yourself together, okay? Today is my important research after all."
"I know, I know."
"If I feel like you're just abusing the situation, I'll give Mizuha a copy of my doujinshi."
"Can you please stop using that BL manga to threaten me?"
There was no way that Keiki could show his beloved little sister a BL manga where he had been used as a model. Hence, he had no other choice but to accept Mao's request.
I never expected that things would turn out like this…
As he walked next to the well-dressed Mao, Keiki reminisced about the events the day prior. When that girl had approached him in the courtyard, and blatantly stated "Become my boyfriend."
"—You were scouted by an editor?"
"Yeah. Just recently, there was a doujinshi event, see, and an editor from a monthly magazine spoke up to me. They wanted me to draw a one-shot for a magazine."
"Ohh, that's amazing."
After she suddenly confessed out of the blue, Mao sat down on the bench and explained her circumstances. Apparently, an editor from a magazine spotted her work at an event, and became really interested. Setting aside the content, her drawing style was the real deal, so it wouldn't be that weird for something like this to happen.
"…No, wait a moment? You're not telling me that the 'Shouto-Keeki' series is going to be serialized in a magazine, right?"
"Though the magazine is filled with wonderful romantic developments, that's not the case. It's just a normal monthly shoujo magazine."
"Thank God, that's really reassuring."
The "Shouto-Keeki" series Keiki was talking about was a series of doujinshi drawn by Mao, and it was an R-18 BL manga with protagonists based off of Keiki and Shouma.
"But have you ever drawn a shoujo manga before, Nanjou?"
"I never have, but I thought that this might be a good chance to broaden my horizon. I don't know what I will do in the future, but I'm sure that wasting this chance would be a bad choice."
"………"
"Kiryuu?"
"Ah, sorry… I was just thinking that you're really giving this a lot of thought."
"What? That sounds really rude for some reason."
"I thought that Nanjou's head was only filled with BL manga."
"I can't really deny that. I mostly think about BL, after all."
"Figures."
Mao's enthusiasm for BL was really something to be feared. And the quality of her work was something that even a complete amateur like Keiki understood.
"But in the end, I don't know what it takes to make a shoujo manga, and I just can't get any material at all. So that's why I asked you."
"The thing about me becoming your boyfriend?"
"Yeah. I want you to become my temporary boyfriend and help me out with my research. Since I've only drawn BL manga until now, there'd be no way I'd know what having a boyfriend feels like."
"Wouldn't Shouma be more suitable for a temporary boyfriend?"
"A lolicon wouldn't be a good example."
"Ah…"
A solid reason.
"So you keep saying 'research,' but what exactly do you have in mind?"
"I want you to go on a date with me tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? That's a bit sudden."
"Please. Kiryuu is the only one I can ask for this."
"Well, if you put it like that…"
Though it was a tremendous request, it was a hundred times better than 'making more material' for her BL manga. And since the prince had failed to find his Cinderella before summer, he didn't really have any plans. All that considered, he didn't have any reason to decline his friend's request.
Under these circumstances, the first day of summer vacation arrived, and Keiki had decided to go on the date with Mao as her temporary boyfriend.
"I think that Nanjou should apologize to me for playing with my pure heart like that."
"Huh? Did you really think I was confessing to you? There's no way, you know?"
"Okay, okay. I'm not popular. I get that."
"…………………That's not the case I think."
"Eh?"
"Nothing— Look, the train's coming."
"O-Okay."
Following Mao's leadership, the two of them entered the train station.
"But you're really amazing. To think that an editor would give you such an offer."
"It's still not decided, you know. I'll try drawing it and see how it works out."
"So basically, today's research is essential."
"Exactly. So, Kiryuu, make sure that you properly treat me like your lover, okay?"
"Lover, huh… Then should we hold hands?"
"Eh…?" As a shocked voice leaked out of Mao's mouth, her feet stopped.
And her face went as red as ripe apple.
"Nanjou is unexpectedly pure, I see."
"Wha— I-Idiot! Kiryuu, you idiot!"
Even though she writes R-18 BL manga, she's embarrassed about holding a boy's hand. Keiki still couldn't understand a fujoshi's way of thinking.
"Don't stay such weird stuff. Let's go already. We'll miss the train," Mao tried to hide her embarrassment as she once more stalked walking.
Without turning around, she wordlessly took Keiki's hand.
"So we're still holding hands in the end, huh?"
"This is just for my research. Just today, I have no other choice but to act like lovers with you, okay?"
"Okay, okay, I'll go out with you just for today~"
"What's up with that response? That kinda pisses me off."
Despite muttering under her breath, she still didn't let go of Keiki's hand. Like this, the fake, one-day couple headed towards the train track while holding hands.
The first place they headed towards was the game center. Unlike their local game center, this one was completely massive. It was the first time that the two of them had come here without Shouma.
"When you think about dates, a game center is an absolute must, right?"
"We can have fun even without being good at the games, too."
The first thing they tried was a 3D fighting game. And ten seconds after the battle started, Mao wiped the floor with Keiki.
"Nanjou really is strong, huh? What do I have to do to get to your level?"
"In these games, the muscular characters always wrestle with each other, right? I was always zoning out, just looking at them, and all of a sudden I became good without realizing it."
"What's with that training method…?"
"Really, fighting games are the best. Every time the male characters receive damage, they breathe so hard. It's so great."
"I've never played a fighting game with the viewpoint of a fujoshi."
"Oh, that's right. Today I'm supposed to be a normal girl. I have to seal away the fujoshi inside me… No BL~… No BL~…"
"It sounds like you're summoning the devil rather than sealing it…"
After suffering defeat at the fighting game, Keiki made place for the person behind him. Said person was definitely more experienced than Keiki, and a heated battle ensued between them and Mao. After that ended, Mao separated from the game with a pleased expression.
"Then let's go to the next game."
"Since I have no chance of winning, I'd like to pass on any competitive ones."
"How pitiful~ You might win against me in a racing game right? Come on, let's go," Saying that, Mao suddenly clung to Keiki's arm.
"N-Nanjou-san? Why are you clinging to my arm like that?"
"We're lovers, so something like this is completely normal, right?"
"That's true, but…"
Her certainly-not-small breasts were hitting his arm directly. There was no way that Mao wouldn't mind that.
"Aren't you embarrassed, Nanjou?"
"Idiot… As if… I wouldn't be embarrassed…" Mao pouted.
That reply was so cute that it robbed Keiki of words. Mao didn't fail to notice, and she awkwardly smiled at him as they started moving again. Even though it was extremely hard to walk like that, he still didn't separate from her. On the contrary, Keiki's heart was beating so fast that he was worried that Mao might be able to hear it. But her actual reaction was different…
"Hey, Kiryuu. That," she said as she stopped.
"Mhm? Ahh, a crane game, huh?"
Just as the name suggested, it was a game where you'd try to grab a prize with a crane. In this game center, there were countless types of crane games with different prizes, like figurines or sweets. Anyone who liked a challenge would surely appreciate this sight.
"In manga, this is usually where the boy tries to get a stuffed toy for the girl, right?"
"It's a very date-like event, so how about I try it? Nanjou, which one would you like?"
"Let me see… Ah, this one there."
What Mao pointed to was a cute-looking penguin toy. The penguin had a stern expression and thick eyebrows. Keiki guessed that the frozen fish in its hand was supposed to be a weapon, because the penguin was holding it its hands like a club, like it was ready to beat someone to a pulp. According to the paper on the machine, it's name was 'Sergeant Penguin.' Keiki wondered why they'd let someone with clearly no naming sense come up with that.
"Seriously? …No, that's impossible…"
"I think that the boyfriend who overcomes any trouble to give his beloved girlfriend a stuffed toy is the coolest ever, though."
"There's a difference between being courageous and impulsive."
One attempt was 100 yen. Though judging from how difficult it looked to get that penguin, it surely would end up costing much more than that. Maybe it was because of its size, or maybe everyone had already taken the rest of the prizes, but the penguin was the sole remaining item in the case.
"Well, here goes nothing."
In a nearby money-changing machine, he converted 1000 yen into small 100 yen coins and inserted one into the machine.
But of course it wouldn't be that easy.
"This one's no good. I can't grab him at all…"
"Just what you would expect from a sergeant. He's not very easy to handle."
Even if Keiki skillfully moved the crane on top of the penguin, the big body wouldn't move at all. If he tried to pull him up by his fish weapon, the crane just slipped off.
"This is my last try. I can't use any more than this at a game center."
"Okay. Any more and I'd feel bad about Kiryuu."
It was his 10th try. After putting in his last coin and pushing the button, Keiki went into full concentration mode. But in that moment, Mao suddenly moved to his side.
"…Hey, Kiryuu?"
"What is it?!"
"Do your best."
There's no way that he could show an uncool side when a girl was cheering him on. Even Keiki had his pride.
"——————Right nowwwwwwwwwwwww!!!"
Fully energized, Keiki let go of the button.
The crane stopped, and the claw descended on the toy. But he missed it by an inch.
"Ugh… so it's no good?!"
The moment that Keiki had given up, the crane's opened arm hit the penguin on the head. Unable to withstand that impact, it lost its balance and toppled over. Just like that, the toy continued to roll down, like a golf ball, and fell into the hole.
"………"
"………"
Watching this unexpected incident, both of them were at a loss for words.
"I accidentally got it…"
"You got it…"
And shortly after, both of them let out a sigh of relief.
"Fuu. Ahahaha. What is this? It's just like a manga."
"That's just unfair. How round even is that penguin?"
After both of them had finished giggling, Keiki took out the stuffed toy and handed it to Mao.
"Here, your sergeant penguin."
"Yeah, thank you. I'll treasure it," Mao tightly hugged the stuffed toy.
Seeing her wholehearted smile, the fake boyfriend's heartbeat accelerated once more. How many times had that happened so far today?
After that, they continued their date without any problems. They went to a karaoke bar, did some window shopping, and so on. They must've looked like a genuine couple. Maybe it was because of the research, but Mao was strangely buoyant, and even though Keiki was well aware that she was acting, he couldn't stop his heart from beating faster.
Like that, the time passed 1pm, and they decided to take a break in a family restaurant. They sat down at a table facing each other, and the penguin, stuffed in a plastic bag, found its place next to Mao. The girl ordered some cheese doria and salad, while Keiki ordered omurice.
"Do you like omurice, Kiryuu?"
"Yeah, I like the fluffy eggs."
"Then how about I make some for you next time?"
"Eh, Nanjou, you can cook?"
"Kiryuu can be really rude, I see. I'm actually quite proficient when it comes to house work."
"I can't imagine Nanjou doing house work at all…"
"You know, since my mother's always busy with work, I had to learn it all for myself. Same with cooking. I also prepare my own lunch box."
"Seriously. I didn't expect that…"
"Though I have to skip doing that if my deadline's close."
"Does your mother know that you're drawing BL manga?"
"Yeah, she does. She's even supporting me. The same with that magazine. She said that she'd feel at ease, knowing that I could live off of that."
"……"
"Ah, sorry. Talking with you about this doesn't change anything, does it?"
"Nah, I think it's really great what you're doing. I really like that about you, Nanjou."
"…It's really unfair if you say stuff like that," Mao muttered as she averted her gaze.
"Uhm… ah, that's right. It seems like we still have some time before the food is ready."
"Yeah. Doria can take some time to make, after all."
"Then, if I may be so bold, I'll interview Kiryuu for a bit."
"Interview?"
"Finding out about recent trends with youngsters these days is also important data."
"Isn't that the same as just gathering data about me only?"
"It's completely different. That being said, I hope that you'll answer honestly, Kiryuu."
"It depends on the questions."
"Alright. Then, question one. What's your favorite dessert?"
"Mmm… Pudding, I think."
"Ahh, that's nice. Then, next. What's your favorite fruit?"
"Peaches, I guess."
"Not bananas?"
"Why bananas?"
"You don't like a thick, hard banana?"
"Can you stop with the analogies?"
"Tch. Then, next question."
Mao took a deep breath and looked at Keiki with a serious expression.
"Who's the girl that Kiryuu is the most interested in right now?"
"Eh? What's with that question?"
"I'm asking about the girl you're interested in right now. Is it the president? Is it Yuika?"
"Wait wait wait wait, why did you suddenly bring up both of them?"
"They're in the same club as you, right? President is beautiful after all, and Yuika is really cute. Yuika's a half-pint, and President has those big breasts you love."
"I'm not the kind of person who judges girls by their breast size, though."
"But you like big breasts, right?"
"I love them!"
"I thought so…" Mao glared at Keiki with an ice cold gaze.
" *Cough* Putting that aside for now, I'm Nanjou's boyfriend today, so I'll only look at you."
"Eh, what's up with that? Disgusting."
"Hey?! I swallowed my embarrassment and tried to act like a boyfriend, and this is what I get?"
"Uwa… now that you put it that way, I'm also getting embarrassed," Mao put her head in her hands and sank down on the table.
However, the fact that her cheeks were burning bright red wasn't noticed by a certain boy, which made him once more unable to understand the girl's feelings. But Mao for her part certainly was happy to see that Keiki was trying his best for her. While still keeping her head down, she glanced up at Keiki.
"…Hey, Kiryuu. What would be your ideal kind of relationship?"
"Hmm? Um, I guess a normal relationship would be great. It doesn't have to have that passionate development like in a shoujo manga or anything. Just a common love is fine, and it doesn't have to be special. I think a normal love with a wonderful girl would be perfectly fine."
"So… kind of like our date today?"
"Yeah. I wouldn't mind if it was like today."
"…Is that so… I see…" Mao muttered as she slowly lifted herself up.
"But still, I wonder if we really managed to act like lovers today."
"Don't misunderstand. We're just pretending to be lovers."
"I know, I know."
"But, well… It feels like it's going to be some good data, I think."
At least Mao felt that these two close friends were doing a good job acting like a couple.
"…Though, I'm not really getting any closer to that other goal."
"There's another goal?"
"…It's nothing," Mao let out a sigh.
If Mao were able to be honest, she would tell him that she had only used this research as a means to an end, because her true intention was for Keiki to look at her more. Mao had seen Keiki getting closer with Sayuki and Yuika, but since she was so busy with her manuscript, she was unable to obstruct them as much as she wished to.
It had taken her a lot of courage to ask Keiki out on this date, even under the pretext of it being for manga research. To make sure that she had enough time, she rushed to get a lot done on her new manuscript the day prior. And there was one other, more important goal for this date. Mao wanted to close the distance between her and Keiki, even if it was just by a little bit.
That's why she held hands with him and pushed her breasts against him. However, since Keiki was under the impression that this was just for research, he didn't realize that Mao was trying to show her affection towards him.
"Really, why does this guy have to be so thick-headed…?"
Mao's frustration only continued to grow as Keiki's reaction towards her approach only continued to fall flat. In that moment, the young maiden in love decided to play another one of her cards.
"Hey, Kiryuu? So about what we're gonna do after we're done eating…"
"Hm?"
"To get some more data, I think that we have to make this date a little bit more intense."
"More intense?"
"Yup. Since we're on a date, I thought—" Mai looked at her insensitive 'boyfriend' with a provoking gaze.
With a serious face, like she had finally caught her prey, the girl opened her mouth.
"Should we do something—more like what lovers do?"
For the second half of their date, the two of them made their way to a department store after finishing their lunch.
As the two of them entered the air-conditioned store, Keiki looked around and realized that this certainly wasn't the place for a boy like him to be.
"…Um, Nanjou-san?"
"What?"
"W-What is this place?"
"A swimsuit store?"
Yes, the store that the two of them had entered was a swimsuit store for women. And of course, the store was filled with such women, which made Keiki stand out like a sore thumb.
"Why are we in a swimsuit store?"
"Because I want to buy a swimsuit?" Keiki's reddish-brown-haired classmate threw him a teasing smile. "I will have Kiryuu choose my new swimsuit."
"Don't you think that that this is a bit too intense here…?"
"There's no use complaining. I won't let you go home until you decide on a swimsuit for me."
"What kind of punishment is this…?"
"Isn't this what a boyfriend would normally do on a date like this?"
"That might be the case, but still…"
In response to Keiki's hesitation, Mao wordlessly took out her phone with a grin.
"By the way, I have some of my manga illustrations on my phone here."
"Eh…"
"If you continue to protest like this, I might just accidentally send this data here to Mizuha~"
"Please let me choose a swimsuit for Mao-sama!"
(TLC: Possible wordplay; Maou-sama = Demon Lord)
And with that, the fake couple started happily picking out swimsuits. Like she was a fish swimming through the ocean, Mao skillfully walked through the store, picked out some swimsuits that piqued her interest, and headed towards the dressing room. After a short amount of time, she opened the curtains and spoke a perfectly girlfriend-like phrase.
"How does this look?"
"Woah… isn't that a bit too revealing?"
"Really? I think it's normal."
Keiki froze up and could only stare at the impactful swimsuit.
"And what about this one??"
"I'll regret asking this… but aren't you embarrassed?"
"S-Shut it! I didn't expect it to be so revealing."
The swimsuit seemed to be made out of the least amount of material possible, which almost made Keiki's eyes explode.
"Then… what about this one?"
"Ahh…"
Keiki was completely at a loss for words after the curtains opened once more.
"Kiryuu? Uhm… how does it look?"
"Ahhh… it really suits you. You look cute."
"Ah, okay… thanks."
Indeed, it looked like that swimsuit was made for her. The orange color gave off a very lively feeling, and it really brought out Mao's already great style. Keiki was certain that this sight was of more worth than any jewel. Even though it was just as revealing as normal underwear, looking at a swimsuit wasn't considered sexual harassment.
Her bright legs, her cute navel, the slim line of her waist; a swimsuit perfectly brings out everything beautiful about a girl. This is probably why everyone always looks forward to summer, because they can enjoy this kind of sight.
"Then, I guess I'll take this one."
"Yeah, that sounds good."
As the two of them agreed to the choice, they surely looked like a normal, flirty couple. In order to change back into her normal clothes, Mao once more closed the curtains, and Keiki turned his back to the dressing room. As he did, familiar voices reached his ears.
"—I didn't expect to meet Kogsan in here."
"That's Yuika's line."
What Keiki saw as he turned towards the direction of the words were a black-haired beauty wearing short pants, and a blonde-haired girl wearing a miniskirt.
It was the hardcore masochistic molester girl Tokihara Sayuki, and the hardcore sadistic little devil Koga Yuika.
"Sayuki-senpai and Yuikchan?!"
"—Eh, really?!"
A reply came from beyond the curtains as Keiki raised his voice.
"Wait?! They're coming in this store?!"
"Kiryuu, come here!"
The curtains opened, and Mao grabbed Keiki by the arm to pull him into the dressing room.
"Ah……"
What entered his sight was his female classmate, in a rather stimulating position. Apparently, she had been about to take off her swimsuit, because the back of her bikini top was opened, and Mao was barely holding it up with her hands.
"Hey, don't look over here."
"S-Sorry!"
Keiki returned to reality, and hurriedly turned his back towards her.
"…Wait, why are we hiding in here, anyway?"
"They'll surely have a misunderstanding if they see us here, and I'd rather avoid any trouble."
"Agreed…"
Keiki carefully peeked through the curtains.
"Did you also come here to buy a swimsuit, Kogsan?"
"Yes. The one from last year doesn't fit Yuika anymore."
"Oh, are you sure that this wasn't just a miscalculation on your part? It sure doesn't look like you've grown at all. The previous swimsuit should still fit you perfectly."
"Ahaha. Yuika hopes that you'll lose your bikini top in front of other people."
As always, the two of them were hurling insults at each other. Even in a swimsuit shop, big breasts and small breasts are always engaged in fierce battle. It seemed like the two of them both had plans to buy swimsuits and coincidentally ran into each other. And they continued to spit venom at each other while they were browsed through the sortiment.
"This isn't good… it looks like they'll take some time."
"Haaah, how long are they going to look around here?"
Mao continued to hold up her bikini top with her hands as she glanced outside the curtains. As her pure white shoulders entered Keiki's view, he hurriedly averted his eyes. While trying his best to force his eyes away from her, he focused on the conversation between Sayuki and Yuika.
"I plan to bewitch Keiki-kun with a new swimsuit of mine. That way, Keiki-kun, who will finally realize my charm, will pull me to a deserted place and do with me as he pleases."
"Yuika won't let that happen. After all, he will completely fall in love with Yuika's swimsuit appearance instead. When Keiki-senpai finally becomes an obedient boy, she will ride on top of him as they walk down the beach."
Hearing that conversation, Mao's eyes narrowed in a displeased fashion.
"Kiryuu-kun seems to be really popular."
"Yup. But, for some reason, I'm really not happy about it."
"You say that, but you're actually pretty happy, right—- Huh? E-Eh?"
In that moment, Mao noticed a weird feeling on her body. To be precise, it felt like something was hitting Mao's butt. Something thick, long and hard—
"Eh… Wait a second… Is this… don't tell me… A di—?!"
Of course, what the fujoshi imagined was a man's most important place.
"H-Hey, Kiryuu?!" D-Don't push that weird thing onto me?!"
"Weird thing?"
"Don't play dumb! …Ah?! N-No, stop! Anymore than that… stop playing around with it…!!!"
The hard object kept pressing on her but, and Mao was unable to keep her voice down.
"—Ah, sorry. The fish of sergeant penguin was hitting you."
"Eh…? P-Penguin…?"
What was hitting Mao's butt was the 'weapon' that the stuffed toy was holding. And she had happened to mistake that for a man's little son.
"S-So that's what it was… Haaaah…" Realizing that it was only a misunderstanding, she let out a relieved sigh.
However, she completely forgot that she was supposed to hold onto the bikini top. With nothing to hold it back anymore, it dropped to the floor. And just like that her breasts were completely exposed and visible to the male classmate that was with her in the same room.
"Ah…"
In this small booth, Keiki's gaze seemed to be glued to Mao's chest region. Confronted with this fact, her face went red as a tomato in a matter of seconds.
"—K-Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!"
With that scream, Keiki was slapped right on the cheek and he stumbled backwards out of the booth and fell to the ground.
"Ouch…"
As he was about to push himself up, he realized that two beauties were looking down at him.
"Keiki-kun? What exactly does this mean?"
"Keiki-senpai? Can Yuika ask for an explanation?"
Their voices were as cold as ice, and their gazes were equally harsh. And then there was Mao, who was furiously blushing, trying her best to hide her breasts with tears in her eyes. Even though he hadn't done anything worthy of this treatment, he could only mutter in resignation:
"Even so, I didn't do it."
With no other choice, he was forced to answer the fierce questioning of the girls present. They decided to change location to a cafe since they didn't want to bother the other customers, and after the questioning was done, the date was declared over.
And, of course, the drinks in the cafe all were paid for by Keiki.
After they split up with Sayuki and Yuika at the train station, Keiki walked Mao home. With the setting sun at their backs, Mao looked at the boy walking next to her.
"Your cheek is still a bit red."
"You did put a lot of strength into the slap, after all."
"Sorry. I wasn't able to hold back."
"No, well, I was the one at fault…"
He had pushed the stuffed toy's weapon against her back, and happened to see her naked upper body.
"Well, I'm glad that I managed to gather a lot of material. I feel like I can draw something good with this. Though it might actually end up in a shounen magazine."
"I'm really sorry… I didn't think that the penguin was hitting you."
"Kiryuu, you pervert… Ero devil."
"I really feel bad, okay…?"
"I'm actually still mad, but let's forget about that for now. You went out of your way to help me today, after all."
"Thank you for your kind words."
It seemed like Mao had forgiven Keiki, even after all that had happened. The fake boyfriend was still holding the plastic bag with the stuffed toy in it.
"President and Yuika were really mad, weren't they?"
"Well, the two of them want to make me their master and slave respectively, after all. Though they seemed to be satisfied with our explanation when we said it was for your research."
"Are you sure that you're not secretly happy about this?"
"Then let me ask you this. Would you feel happy if the same thing happened to you, but it was two boys?"
"Ahhh, I guess I wouldn't be happy about that."
"See~?"
"It seems like you really have it hard, Kiryuu."
"If you really think so, then stop using me as a model for your BL manga."
"That's impossible."
Immediate rejection. It seemed like Keeki-kun's hell would still continue.
"—My home is here," Mao said as she stopped in front of a five storey building. "Thanks for bringing me home."
"I'm still your boyfriend for the day, after all. It's my duty to safely escort my girlfriend home, you know?"
"I really had fun today… A lot of fun…" Mao looked really lonely as she said that, and continued to gaze straight at Keiki.
A soft summer breeze gently made her hair waver, and with slightly flushed cheeks, the girl slowly opened her mouth.
"…Hey, Kiryuu…? How about we go out for serious?"
"Eh? Are you talking about another research?"
"Of course not. I'm talking about us becoming real lovers."
"……………………Eh?!"
"What a delayed response."
"But, well, you'd only do that with the person you really love, right?"
"Then, what if I said that I was actually in love with Kiryuu?"
"Nanjou loves me? H-How did it end up like that?"
"In my first year, you remember when I had bad luck at the lottery and was doomed to work in the library committee? You volunteered in my place. At that time, my heart skipped a beat because of that."
It was true that Keiki had saved her back then. After all, he couldn't just leave her alone when he saw her sitting there, close to crying.
"But… It was because of that?"
"Love works like that, right? The trigger can be the most casual occurrence."
"……"
"What about you, Kiryuu? Did you have fun today?"
"That's…"
"Say, do you not like the thought of having me as your girlfriend…?"
"I-I———"
A situation he had dreamed of for so long: A love confession. It was the first time in his life that something like this happened. And standing in front of him was a single, cute girl. With stylish clothes, a nice hairdo, a small amount of make-up… what if she had done that to get his attention today—?
Thinking that, Keiki felt his cheeks getting hot. His heart was pounding so intensely that it started to hurt, and things like that day's date and the love letter in his room started flying around inside his read, making him dizzy.
—And while he was still in shock, Mao pinched his nose and her serious expression turned into that of a teasing smile.
"—I'm just joking~" She said and giggled.
The courageous girl who just confessed was nowhere to be found anymore. The only person standing there was a female friend who liked to tease him.
"That was the continuation of my manga research. I tried to act out a confession scene. How was it? Don't you think that I can use this for my manga?"
"Ah, so it was that. A research, huh? I think that was good. Yeah."
"I'm glad. It's a shoujo manga, so a confession scene is a must."
"Yeah. A shoujo manga without a confession scene is like a hamburger without meat."
"By the way, Kiryuu?"
"What is it?"
"Did you… get flustered?"
"I-I did not?!"
"Ahhh, so you did~ That face tells me everything~ Ahahaha, Kiryuu really is an idiot."
"Okay okay, I'm an idiot," Keiki said, as sighed in relief.
But, somewhere deep inside him, he also felt a small feeling of disappointment. Of course, he kept that a secret.
"Alright, I'll go my own way now," he said as he handed her the plastic bag with the stuffed toy.
"—Ah, wait, Kuryuu."
"Mhm?"
As he was called, he turned around, and a soft sensation touched his cheek. He smelled a sweet shampoo scent. Mao's face seemed to be a bit flustered as she separated from him. The moment Keiki realized that he had been kissed on the cheek, the girl had already turned her back to him.
"N-Nanjou?!"
"Thanks for today. See you."
While Keiki was still processing what had just happened, she threw him a smile over her shoulders and escaped into her mansion.
To Mao, this date was a huge success. After all, the dull protagonist’s face was bright red, and it was obvious that his heart was about to leap out of his chest.
Part 3:
Later that day, Mao was sitting at her desk in her own room. She had a notebook and a pencil ready, and wrote down notes from the data she had collected from the date. She was wearing her glasses she only wore while being in fujoshi mode. Like this, her preparations were complete.
"Now then, I've gathered enough data for today, so let's get to it."
This was the first time she would draw something other than BL manga. However, failure wasn't an option. Unlike fan-made doujinshi, she would be drawing something for an official magazine, so if either the story or quality were not up to par, she would lose her chance. The manga industry wasn't nice to newcomers.
"Uhm, for now, the hero invites the heroine for a date, I guess…"
She built up a story based on her memories from the date.
They meet up at the train station, the girl gets praised for her choice of clothes, they hold hands, they're crossing arms, the hero wins a stuffed toy for the heroine—
She tried to draw on the feelings she had when she did these things with Keiki.
"…This feels really embarrassing for some reason…"
Though she drew BL manga with Keiki and Shouma as models all the time, this time she herself was a model as well. Thinking that she was basically laying bare her feelings for the readers made her feel really flustered.
"Uwaa… T-This isn't good. I need a break."
Though she worked hard for about an hour, she was unable to withstand her beating heart, so she laid down the pencil. While doing so, she glanced at the other end of the table, where sargeant penguin was sitting.
"This guy… every time I look at him, he reminds me of Kiryuu… But, setting that aside for now… I wonder when I'll ever have enough courage…"
Though she had confessed to him out of spite, she had hurriedly covered it up with a lie, because she was afraid of hearing his answer. She really hated herself for that. But she was happy that Keiki showed such a reaction towards her confession.
"…Kiryuu said that he wants a normal love, right…"
It was his dream to have a normal love, with a normal girl.
"…If I finished this manga, and stopped being a fujoshi… would he fall in love with me?"
As she spoke these words, she felt embarrassment, and heat in her cheeks.
"…What kind of embarrassing things am I saying… L-Let's continue!"
The thing called love really was a strange thing. It made your head go crazy, and your heart went wild as soon as you thought of the other person.
But she somehow managed to get back her focus on the manga. From the looks of it, she was getting close to completion—
However, there was a critical flaw.
"Ah, all of a sudden, the heroine turned into an ikemen…"
Now it was a story of a boy confessing to another boy. It seemed like no matter how much she tried to change, deep down she was a BL mangaka. Apparently it wasn't that easy to escape from the BL world. Minami Maho-sensei proved to be the biggest enemy of Mao when it came to drawing shoujo manga.