Chapter 214


    And so, Mio brought up her resignation to the director of Asakura first thing in the morning. The man was understanding and also sad to see her go, as were a lot of the employees who had a chance to work with her. Though that didn''t put a pamper on the second day of Culture Day. Everyone was in higher spirits than the first.


    Last night, Mio and I drained Kana and Koga respectively so dry that neither of them were able to wake up this morning. We bought a cute little fish tank for the koi beforeing to campus, too. Fortunately for today, my hunger was a lot more sated. For the time being at least…


    I noticed Dolce, staring at me from the front of her tent. Mio was busy ying with the foster pets, so I went over to pay the fortune-teller a visit.


    "Looks like your fortune was right on the money," I said.


    "Oh?" Dolce raised a curious brow.


    "I rekindled my rtionship with a former friend with benefits thanks to my boyfriend. Both of them convinced me toe clean to my girlfriend about prostituting myself when we were struggling financially."


    Dolce was so taken aback, her expression didn''t know what the appropriate response to make was. Instead, she was stuck between confusion and appallment. It seemed like she didn''t even see thising.


    "I''m… not sure what to say. That was such a loaded exnation, I don''t know where to even begin," Dolce finally said.


    I shrugged. "Well, you read the fortune of a subus. There''s probably nothing interesting in my life aside from copious amounts of sex. So, how''s the fortune-telling? Getting a lot of people?"


    "Ah. I''ve been getting the usual. Women eager to learn about a positive love life. Men wondering if they will ever have sex. Older folks who want to know if grandchildren are in their near future. Nothing half as interesting as your fortune, I''m afraid. Perhaps… you would like to learn of your fortune again?" She shed an ominous smile.


    "No… I think I prefer my future to stay a surprise…"


    "Suit yourself." The fortune-teller giggled.


    Mio, the manga circle, and I helped around where we could until an hour past noon. <i>Help</i> being the deceptive word here. Since Mio would be leaving Asakura, she thought to y with the foster animals as much as possible.


    "Saekoooo!" Casey dropped by Therapy Floofs, no longer in her kimono but a cute crop top and skinny jeans. She looked distracted, with her eyes scanning around the immediate area.


    "No fashion show today?" I asked.


    "That was just a one day thing. Day two, the club''s auctioning off a lot of kimonos. I''m not scheduled to help today, which means I got a free day. So, uh… I was wondering… your friend Koga isn''t here today?" She twirled a lock of hair while in search of him.


    "Wait, you didn''te back to the apartmentst night?"


    We stared at each other nkly.


    "I stayed at one of my senpai''s from the Traditional Fashion Club. Why? Did hee over to the apartment? A! You should have told me!" Casey cried, shaking me by the shoulders.


    Damn it. I wanted to keep Koga for a while longer. At the same time, Casey''s a good friend, and I wanted to wingman for her.


    "I-I can give him your number if you want," I offered.


    "Really?" Casey threw her arms around me. "You''re the best roommate a girl could ask for! I want to know more about him. Oh, butter. I''m going to hang out with some friends until night. See you back home!"


    My roommate ran off to rejoin a group of mixed foreign and native Japanese people. It didn''t sound like Casey suspected Koga and I were… <i>involved</i> with each other. I''d have to break it off with him if I wanted to try and hook them up though.


    "Was that Casey? Bitch, you didn''t say hi to me!" Mio yelled.


    "Hi, Mio! Bye, Mio!" Casey waved until she vanished into the crowds with her friends.


    "It''s about time for us to take a break, too. Want to go together?" I asked Mio.


    "You''re goddamn right I do." She hooked an arm around mine, and the two of us ventured into the same crowds.


    Culture Day at Tsukiji was a st. There were no shortages of things to do. Though, apparently, Mio had be something of a gourmand. We visited a lot of food stalls and booths. It was a way to stave off her ''other hunger'' as she put it, but I knew that was the excuse. To make her feel better about quitting Asakura, I gave her permission to pig out. Culture Day was an annual asion after all. Coming back to work at Isekai Gohan would also give us leeway in expenses, too.


    "Hm? Is that Kaede?" Mio asked with a mouthful of yakisoba.


    We spotted the aspiring mangaka amid the masses of people. Kaede had a sketchbook clutched to her chest. Clubs and circles approached her with flyers as they usually do to new faces. Everytime they did, she would jump a little and awkwardly ept the papers, gradually encumbering her arms.


    "I think we better save her from being outdoors," I said.


    Showing up in front of Kaede was like watching someone travel across the desert to find an oasis at the end of it. She tossed away all of the flyers and brochures to give us a hug.


    "What are you doing here? You shoulda dropped a line!" Mio eximed.


    "Hehe. Sorry! I kind of wandered out. I''m writing a Culture Day arc, and what better way to research than toe to one myself? Although… my social battery is running low. I feel sick to my stomach. People keep trying to talk to me and handing me brochures. I just want to people-watch, but it''s so hard to avoid social interactions!" Kaedeined.


    What should I even say to that? Introverts sure had it tough.


    "You''re definitely in the wrong ce if you hate social interactions… By the way, Kaede. I''ve been meaning to ask… not me, okay? For someone else, since I promised to. Do you, uh… ever n to draw… futanari?" I asked reluctantly.


    "Saeko… you''re one of <i>those</i> people, aren''t you?" Kaede looked at me with disgust.


    "I just told you it was for someone else!"


    We found some shade underneath a tree to talk while Mio waited in line for cotton candy. Fallen leaves-turned orange surrounded our feet. A few knocked loose at a time when the wind picked up. But that was natural. What wasn''t natural were two girls talking about women with cocks.


    "For the longest time now, I''ve been receiving requests to draw futanari. It''s getting on my nerves! Especially since I open all of them expecting nice fan mail!" Kaedeined.


    I kept quiet about the fact that I likely knew who was sending most of them…


    "S-So, what''s keeping you from actually drawing them?" I asked.


    "It''s not that I can''t. I can! All I''d need to do is draw what I usually draw on guys, and put it on the girl instead. I just haven''t had time. Between meeting with editors, catching up on deadlines… ugh. Until I finish my current series, there''s no drawing the next. I also don''t want to introduce a futanari so far into the current one. It woulde so far out of left field!" Kaede exined.


    In other words, this was just a workload problem. I felt that in my soul. Well, as long as Kaede didn''t have time, it was looking like Emily would need to wait.


    "Actually, Saeko. I mentioned why I''m here, right? Maybe you can help me! I want to get this next volume done before the end of the week. Any ideas my subus protagonist can do? Anything is fine! You can even tell me what you did yesterday!" the excitable mangaka insisted.


    "I, uh… I… w-walked around with vibrators attached to my private bits and had lots of sex," I answered reluctantly.


    Kaede sprung to her feet so fast, it startled me. She rummaged through her backpack for a sketch pencil and artbook, then began drawing right there on the bench.


    "Ooooooh! I''ve got it! Your perverted lifestyle has my creative juices flowing more than a subus horny for sex!" Kaede eximed, ignoring the stairs and looks of revulsion cast in our direction.


    "K-Kaede! People can hear you! More importantly… should you really be drawing <i>that</i> sort of stuff in public?"


    "I''m not stopping. I have to keep going while I have the inspiration at my fingertips!" she roared like a battle cry and drew more attention.


    "Saeko! Where''s Mio? We''ve got a problem!" Mitsuki shouted, rushing up to me in haste and looking panicked.


    "What''s all the hubbub?" Mio was just now returning with a gigantic stack of cotton candy in both hands.


    "The foster animals! They escaped!" he cried.


    All of us, Kaede included, raced back to the Therapy Floofs at our club avenue. The first thing I noticed was the broken fence post where the cats and dogs were enclosed in. Most of the Asakura employees were holding back their more excitable pets, leash in hand and using treats to keep them calm.


    "What the hell happened?" Mio asked, her brows knitted with worry for the pets she had cared for.


    "Oh, thank goodness!" The director of Asakura breathed a sigh of relief. "A couple of dogs were y fighting and broke through the fence. We managed to corral most of them back, but four are still missing. Two dogs and two cats. I know you two would rather enjoy Culture Day, but can you help us find them? As subus, you can fly over the campus and get a birds'' eye view of everything."


    Four lost animals on a campus thisrge? It was going to take forever to find them. But the director had the good sense to ask us for help. I could tell by Mio''sck of devouring the cotton candy that this was tough news, especially because she had just put in her resignation today.


    "I know those pets are important to you, Mio. I don''t mind losing a day looking for them," I told her.


    "You think they''re going to be okay? What if this is my fault? Like the gods of your world are taking a shit on me because I quit Asakura…" Mio frowned.


    "Then I guess I''ll take it up with Uta and his familyter, but I doubt they had anything to do with it." I cupped her cheeks. "We''ll find them together, so don''t worry!"


    Mio sucked it up and nodded. The Asakura employees fanned out across the campus to search for the pets. Meanwhile, Mio and Iunched into the sky to search for anything out of the ordinary. Domestic animals were virtually nonexistent on campus for obvious reasons unless they were service-rted. A cat or dog running around was sure to cause somemotion.


    "Anything?" Mio asked.


    "Not yet, I…" I squinted at a group of people gathered at the base of a cherry tree. They stared up and pointed at something on the branches. I couldn''t get a good look from here because of all the petals, but it could be anything.


    "This is hopeless. I can''t find shit. What if something happens to them? Fuck, I''m so worried!" she groaned.


    "It''s too early to give up. Okay, you know the pets more than me. Did Mitsuki or the director tell you who they were? Maybe we can get an idea of where to find them by their personalities?"


    Already, the brain juices were pumping. Mio fell silently into thought. She shut her eyes, recalling the fond memories of working with animals at Asakura.


    "Snow Mitts. ck cat with white paws. Looooves climbing on the cat trees and hanging out in high ces. There''s also Mao! Orange tabby. Dumb little bugger. Has a lot of energy, but spends it all right away and hangs around like azy tub ofrd. The missing dogs are a bulldog named Sally, and a mmute named Yui-yui. Sally''s a goddamn glutton. Catches a good whiff of food and beelines right to it. Yui-yui''s an endless bundle of energy. If she wants to y fetch, she''s going to keep dropping things into your hands until you chuck it."


    Leave it to Mio to know every little thing about four random foster animals. Those four could have been an entirely different set of animals, and she would likely give me just as specific of a description to each one.


    "Wait… climbing and high ces?" I nced back at the cherry tree and directed Mio''s attention to it.


    "Worth checking out!" Mio torpedoed down.


    We descended close enough to hear the crowd, who were very clearly staring at something in the branches, chattering about a cat.


    "Oh, my god. Is that cat going to be okay?"


    "It''s a cat. This tree is probably nothing to it."


    When we followed their gazes, a ck cat with pure white paws was on a high branch.


    "Snow Mitts!" Mio eximed.


    Snow Mitts was in the middle of stalking a little bird. The ass-shaking told me it was seconds away from pouncing.


    "Mio, the cat''s going to jump!" I warned.


    Snow Mitts did just that. She lunged at the bird, but it was faster on the reflexes and flew away. The cat bumped her head on a branch and plummeted. Onlookers gasped. Mio and I shot through the branches, but she was the one who caught the cat first.


    A wave of relief washed over us. Everyone who was watching apuded and cheered as wended.


    "Snow Mitts, you stupid cat. What were you thinking?" Mio sighed.


    The would-be hunter meowed back in response and snuggled into Mio''s arms like a baby.


    "Don''t try to act cute. It''s not gonna save you from a scolding!" She wagged her tail at the cat.


    Something buzzed. We zeroed in on the sounding from Mio''s pocket. She passed Snow Mitts to me to answer her phone, and I awkwardly held the cat by the armpits.


    "Uh… Please, don''t scratch me," I begged and received a little purr as an answer.


    I never owned a pet before, but even I couldn''t deny how cute kitties could be.


    "Looks like they found Yui-yui and Mao. That leaves Sally," Mio said.


    "That''s good! You said Sally is gluttonous, right? Let''s go back to the avenue of food stands again where we found Kaede," I suggested.


    "Good thinking, Saeko! That''s my girl!" She grabbed Snow Mitts and my hand again, then flew us towards all the food stalls.


    "Shouldn''t we bring Snow Mitts back fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirst—?!"


    The scent of street food wafted up to my nose. Snow Mitts and I were immediately smitten by the savory smell. My mouth watered. Aside from sex and the cotton candy, I hadn''t eaten all morning. Tsukiji University, though not strictly a culinary school, was still a private institution that nurtured the best of the best. That included students on the path to bing a professional chef in the culinary world.


    It certainly showed. My stomach growled just being here. Even Snow Mitts wanted to jump out of Mio''s grasp to get a bite. We saw right away one of the stalls was having trouble. A couple of students stood outside where customers would be lining up, staring into their booth.


    When we got close enough to investigate, one student recognized us.


    "You guys are with the Therapy Floofs, right? Thank goodness! I think one of your dogs escaped," she said.


    "Chunky bulldog? Light brown fur? Appetite like a starved pig?" Mio asked.


    They nodded to each one.


    We entered from the front and found a male student pulling desperately on the hind legs of a chubby bulldog. The missing dog in question had his head buried in an open cooler box, gnawing on the frozen cuts of meat inside. Pieces of bone littered the floor.


    "That Sally?" I asked.


    "Yep," Mio said, stifling herughter.


    At that point, the student turned around.


    "Oh, thank god. Are you here to help? This dog has been eating our stock for the past twenty minutes!" he cried.


    Mio pushed Snow Mitts into me again, then lifted Sally up. The goofy dog had deep jowls, but also an adorable smile as she panted.


    "Who''s a good girl? Not you, after eating someone else''s food. You gotta pay for it first," Mio scolded Sally, who whimpered and tilted her head the way dogs often did.


    With both missing pets found, we brought them back to the Asakura employees at our manga circle''s booth. Everyone was beyond relieved. The director paid a visit to the affected parties to apologize, reimburse them for any damages and inconveniences, and also advertise Asakura.


    Mio group-hugged the four foster animals that went missing. Her breathing was shaky. She was genuinely worried about their safety.


    "Ahhh! I''m going to miss you all so much! Don''t cry when I''m gone, alright? If I hear one whimper, I swear to god!" Mio buried her face into their fur to wipe her tears.


    For a long time, I thought Mio had nothing going for her except for being a troublemaking sex fiend. That nothing else really interested her. Seeing this amount of passion and the hard work she demonstrated working at Asakura made me think… everything was going to be just fine.