"What are you drawing…and who is this person? She looks kind of familiar? Wait—what is this—why isn't she wearing any clothes!!"
After buying a drawing board, Tohka immediately began making her doujin. As for Tohka's challenge, of course Nia wouldn't refuse. Refusing would mean she was afraid—especially when it was an area, she was best at. So, no matter what, Nia had no reason to back down.
That was when Miku Izayoi happened to see what Tohka had in her hands. Even though it was all in an obvious anime style, she could still vaguely recognize the character Tohka was drawing—it looked like that twin-tail commander next door. No helping it—those twin ponytails were practically a trademark. Thankfully, the most crucial areas were hidden under hair, but somehow that only made it more suggestive.
"Hehe, this is that woman. She disgusted me before—now I'm going to pay it all back, wahahaha!"
Saying this, Tohka showed a wicked smile. The contest rules between her and Nia were simply about sales numbers—whoever earned the most money would win. The loser had to grant the winner a request. Honestly, Tohka knew she couldn't match Nia in sales, so she didn't even bother trying to outdo her that way. Instead, she planned to target a few high-ranking people, which meant her work would be…surprising. Oh—since what she was doing would offend some people, Tohka had simply borrowed a whole set of printing equipment from Kotori under the pretense of "strategically conquering spirits." Anyway, that group would do almost any ridiculous thing to capture spirits, so Tohka's relatively normal request had been approved without hesitation.
In the empty room next door, the entire set of machines was still sitting there. Usually, it would take several people to move these huge devices, but Tohka had carried them all herself.
"Hehe, this is just part of it. There's still more—ugh, don't look yet!"
After glancing at a nearly finished set of pages, Tohka decided to make just that many. She was planning to do other works too, and she really didn't want Miku to see them.
"Fine, fine—you're so damn secretive. Whatever. I'm taking the Yamai sisters out. Those two are super popular lately—twin maids always hit a certain G-spot for some people."
At this, Miku couldn't help but laugh. Ever since that day, Tohka refused to perform on stage with her no matter what, while the Yamai sisters were delighted to do so. So, Miku just dragged them along—anyway, with their abilities they weren't afraid of anything; it was just for fun.
"Got it. I'll be really busy for a while. Unless it's urgent, don't come looking for me."
Hearing Miku's reply, Tohka thought it over and spoke seriously. She planned to spend the next few days locked in work, grinding out her manga nonstop. Being a spirit, her body far surpassed any normal human's—even if she didn't sleep for over a month, she'd be fine.
"You take care, okay? Geez—do you really have to push yourself so hard?"
Glancing at Tohka, who was rarely this motivated, Miku sighed and patted her cheek with some worry. But she didn't say anything else—she picked up her bag and left with the Yamai sisters.
"Whew…time to begin. Today, I'll be a grind king."
Watching them leave, Tohka casually pulled out a giant bucket of instant coffee. She scooped out a heaping spoonful, dumped it in a cup, then filled it with hot water from the dispenser. Sitting down, she stared at her blank pages.
...
Three days later, Tohka finally set her pen down.
It wasn't that she couldn't take it anymore—it was that what she was about to draw next made her face flush bright red.
No matter what, to defeat Nia, Tohka had started to abandon all restraint. She would draw anything. She'd even included people she'd never seen in person—like Shiori Itsuka.
Of course, in these pages, Shiori was a real girl. As for her partners…ahem…Tohka had chosen Shido and Origami. So, there were both normal and Yuri stories.
By now, Tohka's cheeks were burning. Even though she'd never minded reading this sort of thing, actually drawing it herself was a different story. It was like writing your own smut—and then reading it again. That feeling—yeah, you know exactly how it feels.
But that wasn't the worst part. She also planned to sell the Shiori Itsuka volumes publicly. And she'd saved a few "private, not-for-sale" copies—like the ones she'd drawn of Kotori, which were more like pinups than true doujinshi. But she still wasn't done. To beat Nia, she knew she needed something special.
So, the main character…was herself. As for the partner... she simply chose Miku Izayoi.
"Ugh…drawing doujins is humiliating enough…but making my own…ugh, my dignity…"
She whimpered for a moment, her face red and her expression reluctant. But her hands never stopped moving. Her pen flew across the pages, stroke after stroke forming her own likeness. Then she drew Miku. At first, she'd felt horribly embarrassed. But after a while…it didn't matter anymore. And soon enough—she was actually enjoying it. See—people can adapt to anything.
"Tohka, it's been days already. Stop drawing and get out of here for a bit—this will literally kill you. And what's with that expression—you look exactly like those degenerate otakus reading smut."
While Tohka was completely absorbed and couldn't pull herself out, Miku had opened the door and come in.
At first, she hadn't thought much of it—but after seeing Tohka glued to her work for days, she couldn't sit by anymore.
Seriously—this could kill someone.
So, she was trying to figure out how to drag Tohka away from her desk.
"Uh—it's nothing."
Startled, Tohka stiffened up. But she still pretended to be calm, flipping her pages facedown and looking up at Miku with a perfectly righteous expression.
"You—you're obviously drawing porn. Why does it feel like you're some kind of serious artist?"
Seeing that solemn look on Tohka's face, Miku finally couldn't help blurting it out. No one else might know—but she definitely did.
"It's nothing—it's almost done. Just need to color it. Don't worry—I'll finish it today, then I'll print everything. So, you don't need to fret."
Seeing Miku's expression, Tohka simply put a hand on her shoulder and ushered her toward the door.
Like hell she was going to let her see any of it unfinished.
"Hey—you…fine, whatever, but be careful! Even spirits need rest—hey!"
Miku's strength couldn't possibly compare to Tohka's.
So, in no time at all, she was firmly pushed outside without any chance to resist.