A/N: So as you will see below, this chapter's title is not in caps. This means that it is a direct written adaptation of a specific manga chapter-in this case, Volume 1: Chapter 000 one of the manga. Enjoy!

~Chapter 1: Deadline Dinner~

"Hmm..."

Aito looked down warily at his half-finished sketch, unimpressed with the level of detail. He had been working all day on his manuscript, with breaks few and far between. The pitter-patter of a pencil could be heard from somewhere behind him, reminding the mangaka that his faithful assistant, Ashisu, had been right there with him the whole time, scribbling away in an attempt to help him complete his work.

"Ashisu-san..."

"What is it, sensei?" Ashisu asked, not once looking up from her paper.

"I'm getting hungry."

Aito waited, wondering if his assistant would bother to respond. After a brief silence, she did.

"Hmm...really."

Aito smiled. It was their first conversation in hours. He leaned back in his chair and shifted slightly to get a better view of his assistant. Her silky, black hair rolled down and covered the back of her neck, although that did nothing to diminish the effects of the maroon top she wore, exposing her tantalizingly smooth shoulders for the world to see.

In the back of Aito's mind, he wondered if Ashisu dressed like this on purpose. After all, they were usually the only two people cooped up in his apartment. Who else could she be trying to show off to?

"Yes, Ashisu-san," he said, trying to project his voice with a husky undertone. "And I'm going to eat you up!"

Ashisu continued to whittle away at her paper, but Aito knew that deep down, she was struggling to contain herself. He grinned, imagining all the possible lewd scenarios that could take place within the next few moments. Maybe he would even see what kind of panties she was wearing!

"I'm not food, you know," deadpanned Ashisu, crushing her sensei's hopes and dreams. Aito cupped his chin and sighed.

"Of course not..."

Aito returned to his work, getting lost in the contours and shapes of his manga. But despite drawing, in his estimation, perfectly executed panty shots, he still couldn't shake the thought of Ashisu from his mind. Perhaps it was because she had stayed over the past few nights, a fact that had struck Aito as quite odd. It was not unusual for couples to spend the night together, but he was a mangaka and she, his assistant. Nothing more, nothing less.

Or was it?

Aito again cupped his chin in thought. Ashisu had been working for him for a while now...maybe she had developed feelings for him? Had their relationship evolved from a working one into something more? Before he could delve deeper into those thoughts, he was awoken from his stupor by his assistant's voice.

"Um..."

"Huh? What's up?" Aito looked back over his shoulder to see Ashisu standing behind him.

"I was wondering when I might be able to go home this time..."

Startled, Aito tried to come up with an excuse, but the words would not come to him.

"Ah...we...well...that is..." He looked around the room, hoping to find something that would give him an out. As he looked back down at his desk, he realized that the answer was in front of him this whole time.

"We...kind of have some material piling up," Aito sighed dramatically. "Another couple of days...perhaps..."

Ashisu frowned, but nodded, bowing her head at her sensei.

"...I see...well do your best then, please."

Aito bowed his head in return. "Sorry about this, Ashisu-san." Inside, however, he was jumping for joy, thrilled at the prospect of spending yet another night with his assistant. As Ashisu went back to her desk, a sudden ding dong! of a doorbell was heard.

"Aito-san. How's the draft coming?" asked a stern, but feminine voice from the other side of the door. Aito panicked, recognizing the voice immediately. It belonged to his editor, Otosuna Mihari. Although Aito thought she was cute, she was known to have a fiery temper, especially when it came to supervising Aito's work-or lack of it. He quickly answered the door and, sure enough, there she was.

"Eheh, hello, Mihari-chan," he greeted, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Actually, we're falling behind on this draft..."

"Hmm...always the same, eh?" Mihari regarded Aito with a cold expression, her amber eyes boring a hole into the intimidated mangaka. Aito noticed that she was sporting her usual attire, a clean-cut business suit with matching slacks-a wardrobe that fit her personality to a tee.

"Geez, are you even working?" she asked, following him into the room.

"I'm working better with my assistant, Ashisu-san." he replied, flashing her a thumbs-up. Mihari stopped dead in her tracks, staring at him incredulously.

"Wha...don't tell me that you're stalling on purpose so you can work late with your assistant again!"

Ashisu, noticing the presence of the editor, stood up to greet her, only to be blocked from her view by her sensei.

"Sh...shut up!" he yelled. "I admit that I sometimes call her a day ahead of the schedule, but it's so I can fully enjoy my time with her!"

"What the hell?! You...you're just abusing your position!" Mihari shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"So what if I am?!"

As the two bickered back and forth, Ashisu could do nothing but stand in the background with a confused expression.

"Um...can I go home now?" she managed to ask in a brief lull of their shouting match. Aito turned to his assistant and got on his knees.

"I'm sorry, but if I let you go home we'll definitely miss the deadline. If you can stay another night...please?" He looked up at Ashisu, whimpering.

"U-understood..." she sighed, bending down slightly to pat her sensei on the shoulder.

Mihari looked at the scene before her with contempt. She cleared her throat, drawing the attention of the two.

"You've forgotten that I've supported you as an author until now, even though you never stick to your schedule." The editor folded her arms and shrugged. "Ah, whatever. This time, if you miss the deadline...your gig is up."

"Eh?!"

Mihari walked herself to the exit. "Yep, all set. Anyway," she glanced back at Aito who was still on his knees. "You're not even very popular." Without another word, she slammed the door shut.

"No...no way..." Aito couldn't believe it. His editor had abandoned him. She had left him out to dry like a piece of meat. His heart sank, and for a moment, he wondered if this was the end of the line for him as a manga author.

"Sensei...?"

"Ashisu-san?" He looked up at his assistant, tears forming in his eyes, threatening to flow down his cheeks like a mighty waterfall. "I...If we miss the deadline, I must say goodbye to my beloved Moemi-tan and Ruriko-tan..."

"We...we'll do our best!" assured Ashisu, preventing any waterworks from starting. "Because I like sensei's manga too..."

Aito blinked, wiping away the moisture that had accumulated in his eyes.

"Ashisu-kun...maybe you like me too?" He asked, hearts practically dancing in his hopeful gaze.

"No."

A familiar silence settled between them as they continued to stare at each other. Ashisu's expression was blank and unreadable, while Aito's was one of acceptance and disappointment.

"Of course not..." Aito sighed and clambered back to his feet. "Well then...let's come to grips with this backlog!" he roared, his vigor miraculously returning. "There's only three days until the deadline!" He immediately hopped back into his chair and began scribbling. Ashisu stood for a moment, wondering where his new-found energy had come from, before following her sensei's lead and settling in at her desk.

The next several hours went by in a blur, with Aito furiously sketching and handing off work to Ashisu who completed them as fast as she could. However, fatigue was starting to catch up to the young assistant and her precision was beginning to waver. She dipped her pen in the ink bottle with the slightest of motion, but in her tired state, she failed to notice the excess droplet that had formed, dangling dangerously over the outline of the paper.

Splat!

"Ah! Oh no..." Ashisu looked down sullenly at the black smudge now covering the face of one of Aito's beloved female characters. Before she could attempt to fix the damage, Aito quickly rushed out of his seat and snatched the paper from her desk. The mangaka's hands visibly shook as he raised the tarnished artwork to his eyes.

Ashisu stood up and furiously apologized, but Aito remained mute. He ran his gaze over the blemish over and over again, as if doing so would somehow erase it and give back the half hour that was brutally stolen from him.

It remained as it were.

Aito looked up at his assistant and reached out for her, his demeanor taking on a deathly aura.

"That miss...will cost you one breast grope."

"Eh!? Wh...what are..." Ashisu shuddered, covering up her chest.

"The punishment must meet the crime."

"Uh..." Ashisu bit her lip, shifting her feet from side to side. Aito, nor his hand, moved an inch, as he waited for her response. Finally, she relented with a deep sigh.

"I..If that will get the draft finished."

Aito's eyes lit up with unapologetic fury. "Of course it will!" He charged toward Ashisu, dirty thoughts racing through his mind like wild hogs. But before he could reach the objects of his desire, he felt something hard smash against his side, sending him to the floor in a heap.

"DIE PERVERT!"

Beads of sweat rolled down Aito's forehead as he scribbled on his paper. There was only one day left before the deadline and, as of that moment, he wasn't sure if he'd meet it. It didn't help matters that one side of his body ached horribly, the result of his editor's ferocious kick the night before.

"Um...sensei?"

"..."

"...For tonight's dinner, what shall we do?"

At this, Aito dropped his pencil for a moment, swiveling around in his chair. His expression was exasperated, his voice creaky and barely audible, but still, he somehow found the energy to channel his perverted personality.

"I'll...eat...you...up."

Ashisu sweatdropped. "You've got spirit, haven't you?"

Aito turned away from her, adopting a more serious tone. "I always go straight ahead. No matter what happens. That's me, Yuuki Aito."

Ashisu blinked and turned back to her work. Aito's shoulders drooped at this reaction. He had thought it sounded much cooler in his head.

"Well then."

"Huh?"

"Once the draft is safely done, I'll let you eat."

"REALLY?!" Aito was instantly revitalized, his will to live burning stronger than the sun itself.

Ashisu didn't bother to reply with words, simply humming in response. Aito was more than satisfed with her answer, however, as he went back to his work with more intensity than he had ever had before in his life.

"Cool! Let's go then!"

"Fi...finished..."

Aito crashed to the floor with a thud, thankful that he had, by the skin of his teeth, met the deadline.

What a relief. Moemi-tan...with this...we'll always be together...

His beloved manga character was not the only thing on his mind, however. Pulling himself, he recalled the promise that a certain assistant had made to him. The mere thought of her words was enough to send a shiver down his spine. Those thoughts were about to become reality as her lovely voice cooed across the room.

"Here you go."

Aito froze. He had gone through the scenarios in his head hundreds, no thousands, no millions of times before, but he still wasn't sure if he was ready for his first time. He took a deep breath. It was now or never. He had to be confident. Women could sense fear, he thought, thinking back to all the experience he'd gained from his dating simulators.

"Well, well...now I...huh?"

The sight that greeted Aito was not what he had expected, and truthfully, it disappointed him to no end. Ashisu was standing there, not in lingerie as Aito had anticipated, presiding over a small table filled with various foodstuffs. She regarded him with a slight tilt of her head.

"Didn't I say I'd let you eat?"

"Eh...but...but...this is..."

A frown tugged at the corner of Ashisu's lips. "You don't want it? It's home made."

"I...I'm looking forward to...it." Aito's unconvincing tone didn't help allay his assistant's concern about her cooking skills, but the two sat down to eat anyway. Ashisu watched intently as her sensei took the first bite.

"How is it?"

"De...delicious."

Aito sobbed quietly. Whether it was from the food, which was actually very tasty, the rush to meet the deadline, or his lecherous fantasies ruined, he wasn't sure, but goddamnit it, Yuuki Aito had earned the right to a little cry.

Ashisu pretended not to notice this, trying some of the food for herself. She shrugged, thinking it wasn't half bad and that her sensei just had horrible taste.

Halfway through their meal, they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Hello, Mihari-san. Please come in."

"Thank you, Ashisu." Mihari followed Ashisu back into Aito's room where she was greeted by a thick stack of papers, held by none other than Aito himself.

"The draft is done!?"

"Psh, of course, I did it."

Mihari let out a sigh of relief. "Good. I knew you guys could do it." The editor noticed the food on the table. "Say, that looks delicious."

Ashisu beamed. Perhaps she would finally get someone with some culinary sense to sample her cuisine.

"I've made some for Mihari-san too!"

"Hmm...it's alright I guess."

While Aito and Mihari happily talked about the future of her sensei's manga, Ashisu was not in such a cheerful mood. After the uneventful meal, she went home. And, believing herself to be a failure at both manga and cooking, Ashisu cried herself to sleep that night, her nightmares plagued with images of Aito and panties.