Always Be There

7

Puppy.

That was the only way to describe Eichi Teruma. With his bright eyes and light colored curls, he looked more adorable than sexy, like the other conquerable characters. Not to mention his energetic attitude towards life was infectious, and seeing Teruma interested in something invoked feelings of wanting to protect him. He was the kind of person that would run around for hours before cuddling up beside anyone that would have him. What truly made it difficult to compare him to a child was his intelligence. Teruma was basically Einstein, and he had a fondness for "Fun Facts". Even with a brilliant mind, Teruma would be the human version of an adorable little puppy.

After discovering she was in an otome game, Kaiya saw Teruma on her way to school. Kanpekina had gone ahead for a meeting, so Kaiya was left to walk alone. Teruma was bopping his head while walking down the street. Feeling drawn to the innocent aura, Kaiya approached Teruma with a bright smile, engaging in small talk until they got to school. They talked about dumb things like rumors going around school and the weather, but Kaiya had to admit that it was enjoyable. Really, anything with Teruma would be considered enjoyable if Teruma was all in it. That can-do attitude is what made him popular in the first place.

Kaiya wasn't avoiding Teruma, but the two had lost touch as Kaiya established and strengthened bonds with the other characters. Kaiya didn't stop being kind, however, because Kaiya found herself acting a little parental around Teruma whenever they did cross paths. When she saw him in the street, Kaiya offered him a lunchbox, warning Teruma that not eating could make him pass out. When the rain was pouring after school, Kaiya helped Teruma put his jacket on, tightening it up before patting his head affectionately. Kaiya even left encouraging messages on Teruma's desk after seeing him frown once. Anything but a smile made Kaiya's heart hurt something awful. Considering what Kaiya had been doing, she should have expected that their friendship wouldn't be normal. Kaiya was able to confirm this unique friendship a few days before the bake sale.

Kaiya was sitting at her desk, flipping through her work book with a dissatisfied expression. Kaiya tapped her pencil against the desk, the eraser bouncing off the surface before losing enough momentum to fall back down. Kaiya inwardly groaned, forehead hitting the paper as she attempted to make herself understand. Kaiya sat back up with a newly determined face. That face melted like butter when she reread the problem. Kaiya leaned back, eyes closing as she rubbed her forehead. How long has she been staring at this one page? An eternity, at least. How much progress had she made in that time? None. Kaiya considered asking Kanpekina or even Rei for help, but she didn't want to bother either of them. Kaiya knew that she would need to solve this by herself.

"Mom, Mom, Mom, do you need help?" Teruma smiled sweetly, almost distracting Kaiya from the name he called her by. Kaiya blinked in surprise. It hit her in that moment how much of a mother she had been to Teruma. Kaiya couldn't help it since she knew that Teruma had lost his own mother at a young age, the estranged relationship with his father not helping in the slightest. Teruma never had mother figure, and Kaiya accidentally filled that role when she was trying to be kind. She brought this upon herself. Kaiya was about to tell Teruma not to call her that, but his smile was warm and loving, and he was offering to help her. Kaiya took a deep breath, deciding that it was better to play mom than become an enemy that Teruma would use his big brain to slaughter later on.

"Yeah, I do. Are you offering to help me?" Teruma nodded. "Well, it's number six. I don't understand it at all. I'm not even sure where to begin." For the rest of study break, Teruma sat there with that dopey expression as he explained each problem to Kaiya. As the pages turned, Teruma was getting better at teaching Kaiya since he was able to analyze how she learned. Knowing how a person processes information is essential for teaching, and Teruma was eager to teach Kaiya the right way. After the lunch boxes and handwritten letters, Teruma owed his mother figure that much. As they got through the book, Teruma was able to ask about Kaiya. In the end, he decreed her worthy of completely trusting and loyal friendship!

"Thank you, Teruma-san! You are a life saver, indeed," Kaiya complimented Teruma as she set her workbook away in her school bag. Kaiya smiled gratefully at Teruma, giving him a thumbs up. Teruma returned the smile tenfold, his dazzling grin lighting up the room and curing the diseases of all the people in a mile long radius to Teruma. Kaiya shielded her eyes with her hands, waiting until Teruma put that weapon of mass destruction away. "Hey, Teruma-san, why don't you sign up for the bake sale? My friends are doing it with me, and our shared friend Rei-san promised he'd do it with me." One more conquerable character there? This sale was going to be a smash hit, making enough bank to purchase twenty school trips. This academy would be set for a few decades if all the hot and popular students were there. The only way to make more money was to have a kissing booth with those same characters, or find a way to sell their otome game to the people in this world.

"If Mom's doing it, I'll do it!" Teruma said cheerfully using the same nickname as before. Kaiya was too giddy to even care. As long as Kaiya remained on good terms with all five people, her life wouldn't end in tragedy and gloom. Kaiya could keep herself from drowning in this timeline. Kaiya was satisfied with all the work she had done thus far in terms of brightening the future of this world. The problem was Kanpekina befriending the conquerable characters in middle school instead of the start of the game, high school, and befriending them all at once. Right now, Kanpekina was only "hang out after school friends" with Hiroki and Naoko, but Kaiya assumed that she spent a generous amount of time with Rei since they were the president and vice president. Kanpekina hadn't interacted with Teruma yet, but it was inevitable, especially since Teruma agreed to the bake sale that Kanpekina was working on. Kaiya could only see the problem being internal affairs if all the guys fell for Kanpekina and she didn't know who to choose. Kaiya wouldn't have to worry at that point, however, since it wouldn't concern her, except comforting Kanpekina when one guy became a dick and would say "tell me you love me or not. I don't want to waste my time". Kaiya realized that she knew too much about romance stories, even though High School Angel, the world Kaiya was in, was the only otome game she had ever played.

"Alright. Thanks for participating! I'll see you later, Puppy!"