Kaede is inspecting the new cherry blossom tree

The sight of Kaede Akamatsu in front of a spring-time cherry blossom-- albeit out of season-- would be enough to make Shuichi feel a bit flustered even under ordinary circumstances. The Ultimate Pianist was a knockout that was popular with boys and girls alike; back when she was alive, her charm had quickly endeared her to everyone. Now, she made his heart beat faster for a few new reasons. The first: he knew that the mysterious appearance of this new tree meant that she could already be bound under the effect of one of this game's settings, such as the strip club's mind-warping atmosphere or the prison's total captivity effect. There was no telling what would happen, but it was sure to play into the mastermind's desire to trap them all inside some sort of erotic playground.

On that last note, the second reason for Shuichi's elevated pulse: the way Kaede was dressed. He'd seen what happened earlier when he tried to give Kirumi a maid outfit earlier, it had ended up being a fetish version of that costume. It seemed the same applied to Kaede. Even though she was technically dressed in what could be called a school uniform, it was nothing like the elegant sweater-vest she normally wore. The skirt was still pink, but where it had been short before, it now had a length that would violate any school dress code, showing clearly the gap between her thighs and the pink cotton panties she wore, even when she was standing entirely still with her fists on her hips. With her back turned, the curves of both ass-cheeks were visible beneath the hem of the skirt. When she turned, he saw the top was no better; instead of a shirt, it was more like a bikini with a child's sailor suit design, including a big bow between the breasts. The bow didn't make it any more discrete; the girl's boobs looked ready to spill out from the top at any moment and their shape was fully pronounced, even to the point where the shape of her nipples stuck out against the fabric.

"Ka-Kaede..." Shuichi managed to squeak out, while struggling to keep his eyes focused on her face instead of the weak points in her wardrobe. The way she bounced when she saw him and pressed her hands together in a quick clap in front of her chest made it even harder not to gawk. "Did you learn something about this tree?" He asked the question, despite the feeling of his own pad buzzing inside his pocket, surely containing all the answers he needed to know.

"It's out of season," Kaede pointed out, pressing one finger to her lip thoughtfully. "But even stranger than that is that it appeared overnight. Although, maybe I should start thinking of that as normal, huh? After all, those buildings popped up just the same way," she mused. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she clapped her hands again, as though a new thought had occurred to her. "Forget about the tree, Shuichi! I'm just glad you're finally talking to me. I know I ran earlier, but I think there are a few things we ought to talk about." An uncomfortable frown slowly replaced her easy smile. It was clear she wasn't the type who liked to suspect people about things, making Shuichi feel even more awkward.

"Yeah," he agreed, although he still wasn't sure how he was going to escape this conversation without revealing details of the game. Kaede wasn't among the list of those brainwashed so that they couldn't understand details of the game-- beyond that, she'd proven herself a pretty capable detective when she needed to be. It was possible she'd sniff out his role in this from just a brief conversation. "I refuse to put her in the prison and rehabilitate her the same way I did Miu," he thought to himself... although, he thought the same thing about Miu just the day before and had ended up **** into abusing the privilege.

Dodging the conversation, he pulled out his monopad and attempted to quickly parse the new information. What awaited him was a detailed description of the large cherry blossom tree that now inhabited the courtyard:

Notifications

The Chuu~Chuu Cherry Blossom Tree is now activated! A tree like this is the perfect place to confess your love to someone. Below is a list of features you can look forward to utilizing during your time here:

There's not a lot more to say about this one in terms of its amenities. It's a tree! It's very picturesque. It's great for naps, too, but you're not going to waste your time on that, right?

Obviously, this one isn't a safe room! If you do take a nap, you can't let it go past curfew!

There are no staff members or rules inherently assigned to the tree. I can't stress this enough: it's a tree, not a building.

You're just about to throw your pad in frustration, right? Well, worry not! This tree does have a special effect! Hooray! If you tell someone you love them while standing underneath it, they'll be brainwashed into your lovey-dovey girlfriend or boyfriend for the remainder of the day. That means nobody will find it strange if the two of you do girlfriend/boyfriend stuff in public! They'll be the perfect partner: no suspicions, sexually available, and sexually open-minded too! This effect doesn't linger, so expect to be treated like an ex the next day, unless you reuse the tree. Other people might get reeeally jealous, too! Ah, the joys of being in your popular phase! Embrace youth!

Enjoy!

Compared to the prison's effect, this one was a lot ****... or was it? At least what he did with Miu in the prison was private from everyone else. With something like this, he'd be really be humiliating the target in full view of everyone, forcing them to act out some fantasy they didn't really believe in. "What I ought to be thinking about is the situation right here and now. Is there any way I can explain everything that's happened to Kaede that won't make her suspicious? It would be much easier to just use this tree and-"

The boy shook his head feverishly. "No! I can't keep relying on those. I can definitely smooth this over if I just talk," Shuichi reminded himself. For now, he composed himself and looked into Kaede's eyes, trying to summon up his resolution.

He was immediately surprised to see her staring back with just the same look. "You know, you're pretty interesting, Shuichi..." Kaede began. "I'd heard people were worried you were a pervert, but to me... it seems like the opposite!"

Shuichi's eyes widened. "W-Why do you say that?"

"Your eyes."

Redness began to spread across his pale face in a deep blush, as he struggled and failed to keep a calm expression.

Kaede laughed and backed up a bit towards the tree, crossing her hands behind the far-too-high hem of her schoolgirl-fetish skirt. "He he, I didn't mean to embarrass you! I'm not trying to say something cheesy like 'you have honest eyes!' What I meant is the way you're looking straight at my eyes when you talk to me. It's kind of awkward, but most people who talk to me tend to look... well, not there," she admitted, tilting her head slightly while laughing off a problem that had undoubtedly plagued her since puberty.

Shuichi smiled along with her, trying to relax her. In fact, he himself was feeling a little more relaxed. "Kaede isn't someone to fear. That's right... I've been worrying about it all this time, but even if things were to get tense between the two of us, she'd work to resolve it. She wouldn't back me into a corner and **** me to admit anything," he reminded himself, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Forgive me if I'm being a little paranoid-- it's probably just me being locked in this place-- but it's actually kind of weird that you didn't look! Honestly, people have been looking at my, um... my breasts... even more today than usual! Everything's been set up to be kind of erotic around here and you're always dashing around, unavailable. I want to trust you, but I need you to open up to me, too," Kaede spoke seriously, grabbing both of the boy's hands as though to stop him from physically escaping. When she felt him try to recoil, she squeezed more tightly. "Shuichi!"

"The truth is..." Shuichi began, feeling sweat running down from his chin to his collar.

Kaede nodded with a reassuring smile. The trust in her expression, with all of her goodwill and understanding, willing to shoulder whatever burden he was carrying along with him, inspired a feeling inside of him...

That feeling was guilt for what he had to do.

Returning her grasp, he met her eyes again out of respect. "I love you."

Kaede's eyes registered confusion, then surprise, then a different emotion he'd seen a few times before: a glass-eyed expression with a strange, blue light shining behind the pupils in rings. "Love..." Her face slowly softened into a wide smile. "What a thing to say out of the blue!"

Shuichi clenched his teeth in nervousness. Had the effect failed?

His fears were assuaged and others confirmed as she suddenly pressed her bosom against him, then tenderly caught his lips in her own for a very intimate-- "lovey-dovey" you might say-- kiss. Instead of pushing her away or returning the gesture passionately, he simply froze and allowed it, going dead fish. Holding her hands was more than he'd dared imagine; to now entwine fingers with her, feel her barely covered breasts pushing against him, and kiss her directly felt disgustingly self-indulgent. It felt wrong to resist it and also wrong to buy into it. In the way that something that feels wrong can also feel right, he realized the onset of a slowly growing erection as well, pitched awkwardly into close proximity where she'd be sure to notice the rise.

"I was just teasing you a bit, you silly! You haven't been sleeping well, have you? I can tell you're stressed."

He certainly was. Not just because he'd given in and controlled the last of the girls he'd managed to avoid putting under some kind of spell so far and also one he cared for deeply, but also, because he'd spotted someone watching out of the corner of his eye. It was someone he'd never wanted to see him in a moment of weakness like this!

Miu Iruma- Level 1 Anytime Take That! (Off)

Tsumugi Shirogane- Level 1 Anytime Dirty Talk, Level 1 Anytime Grope Forgiveness

Kirumi Tojo- Level 1 Anytime Totally Soaked

Tenko Chabashira- Level 1 Anytime Shake it, Baby

Maki Harukawa- Total Game Ignorance

Himiko Yumeno- Total Game Ignorance, Level 1 Anytime Boner Emergency!

K1-B0- Total Game Ignorance

Available to Use/Assign:

Level 3 Daily Wardrobe Change

Level 1 Anytime Headmaster Authority

Passives:

Self Virility Vitamin XXX

Self Nudisty Colony

Global Desire Multiplier

Constructs:

Strip-Club Libido Multiplier- Angie, Kirumi, Himeko

Prison Brainwashing- Miu

Cherry-Blossom Modifier- Kaede