Ruruka Ando, Ultimate Confectioner, Professional Sugar Baby

“Okay, girls! Back off!” The mysterious new woman shouted at the top of her lungs, silencing the mob of sex workers instantly. “Shuichi’s number one girl is here now, so you’re not needed! So run along now, please. My man and I would like some quality time in privacy~”

“Aww…” All the sex workers in front of Shuichi groaned in disappointment at once as they began to turn around, many of them grumbling about how their big ‘payday’ was just stolen.

“Phew… that was a close one.” The strawberry blonde girl wiped the sweat from her forehead and turned to Shuichi. “Are you okay, dear? None of those nasty women hurt you, did they?”

“N-no, I’m fine,” Shuichi answered as his heartbeat returned to normal. “Thanks for stepping in like that; I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come alone.”

“Oh, don’t mention it! It’s the least I could do to help out a handsome man in need like yourself~” the shorter woman replied flirtatiously. “But, if you want to pay me back, I suppose you could start by telling me your name~”

“It’s Shuichi. Shuichi Saihara,” Shuichi replied before pausing. “Uh, is it okay if I ask what yours is?”

“Well the boys call me Sugar, the Ultimate Confectioner, and my friends call me Ruruka Ando; but for you, you can call me Baby~” the girl replied, subtly smirking when she heard Shuichi’s name. “It seems like you’re quite the lady’s man, aren’t you, Shuichi? I’ve been working these streets for a while, but I’ve never seen anything quite like that before.”

“Me neither, honestly. I don’t know what came over them,” Shuichi said as he walked alongside Ruruka back to the street. “It seemed like they were all **** for me to pay them for some reason.”

“Hmph! What a bunch of harlots!” Ruruka scoffed. “I can’t believe that they’d hound you for your money like that and not see what an incredible man you are~”

“Incredible man?” Shuichi repeated. “I’m not sure about that… I’m just a regular guy deep down.”

“You don’t have to be so humble, you know. You’re tall, handsome, you have a striking voice and personality… I just met you, but I can already tell that any of those women would be lucky to have you; not just as a John, but as a lover too~”

“Th-thanks… that means a lot to me,” Shuichi replied, though on the inside he winced as he thought back to Kae. “Anyways, I should probably be heading home now.

“Are you sure about that?” Ruruka asked. “From what I see, you’re obviously still shaken up from what just happened a moment ago. Having all those girls hound you like that is a lot of pressure… oh, I know! How about I make things up to you?”

“Make things up to me? W-what?” Shuichi gasped, blushing as Ruruka stepped even closer to him.

“Yeah! I’d hate for you to go home on such a sour note, after all; that could ruin your entire weekend!” Ruruka explained, latching onto Shuichi’s arm again. “But luckily for you, I know all sorts of ways to get back up when you’re feeling down!” Ruruka reached into her purse and pulled out a small, blue macaron. “I can make you feel like the king of the world if you want to… all you have to do is say ‘yes’~”

“I… I don’t-mmph!” Shuichi was interrupted by Ruruka slipping the macaron into his mouth. It was small, but its taste was gigantic, overwhelming his taste buds with their sugary sweet flavor and filling Shuichi with a strange sense of contentment and ease as it did. As he felt the pastry melt into his mouth, it was almost as if all his worries and anxieties were melting away with it. “Mmm… well, I suppose I don’t have anything better to do this afternoon… and I do owe you quite a lot for helping me back there… sure, I guess I could spend some time with you.”

“Perfect! Trust me, you are not going to regret this!” Ruruka giggled and squeezed herself onto Shuichi’s arm. “So, where’s your ride? We’re not going to have any fun if we can’t get there, you know.”

“Oh, it’s parked a few blocks away in a parking garage; there just wasn’t a place for me to park on the street,” Shuichi explained. “You don’t mind riding the bus, do you?”

“Hmm… Oh, I would, but I’m afraid I don’t have any change on me today,” Ruruka lied. “Do you think you could do me a favor and just pick me up here?”

“Oh, sure! I’ll be right back!” Shuichi pulled himself out of Ruruka’s grip and got onto the next bus right as it pulled up to the stop. He then sat down in a seat and waved Ruruka goodbye as the bus headed off towards the parking garage.

“Heh… looks like he took the bait,” Ruruka thought to herself with a subtle smug smile on her lips as she waved back at Shuichi. “Sorry, girls; but this fish is all mine~”

“Hey there, Ruruka!” A friendly voice suddenly called out from behind her. It belonged to Masako, who was wearing her usual work clothes of tight blue bikini bottoms that showed off the cyan rose tattoos she had along her thighs and a matching cami top that showcased a heart tattooed on her chest. “What are you doing over here? This isn’t your regular part of the street, is it?”

“It’s not; I’m just here to wait for my boyfriend, Shuichi, to come pick me up,” Ruruka replied, looking at her pink fingernails aloofly. “We’re going on a date~”

“Wait, you were serious about that? I thought you told us you were dating him as, like, a joke,” Masako replied, her voice emitting with genuine surprise.

“Oh yeah?” Ruruka gave a playful smirk as Shuichi pulled up in his convertible in front of them. “Does it look like I’m joking?”

“Oh my god! It’s him!” Masako gasped, hands over her mouth to contain the overflowing excitement. “And is that… an MTS 20XX model? They stopped making those decades ago! Those things are practically worth their weight in gold these days!”

“It’s not a big deal, really,” Shuichi told the girl bashfully. “It was just a gift from my parents.”

“Yeah - no big deal at all~” Ruruka said confidently, though even she was impressed by the gleaming car. Ruruka then hopped over the passenger-side door and sat down next to Shuichi. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have to be going; places to be, things to do. You know how it is.”

“R-right! Have a good time, you two!” Masako said awkwardly as Shuichi drove away.

“Uh… who was that just now?” Shuichi asked once they were on the road.

“Oh, just another one of your admirers; had to let her know that you were still off-limits right now,” Ruruka explained. “But let’s not focus on that; let’s focus on brightening up your day! Tell me, do you know where the main shopping district is?”

“Yeah, of course, I do,” Shuichi replied. “Why do you ask?”

“Because, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that nothing takes your mind off a bad day quite like shopping! You’d be amazed at what one new pair of shoes can do to calm your nerves.” Ruruka gestured down to her own shoes as if to prove her point.

“Really? I’ve never tried that before… and I’m not really sure that would work with me,” Shuichi replied trepidatiously.

“Well, if you’ve never tried then how can you know for sure?” Ruruka asked, placing a hand on Shuichi’s shoulder. “Trust me on this; I know what I’m doing.”

Shuichi swallowed, conscious of the fact that he was already way over his monthly budget after he met with Angel. But, at the same time, he knew he couldn’t bring himself to say no to Ruruka, and even if had the confidence to… he wasn’t sure he wanted to be alone right then.

“Okay, I suppose buying one or two things wouldn’t hurt…” Shuichi turned his car onto the road to the shopping district.

“Exactly! You made the right choice, Shuichi~” Ruruka said as she blew kisses at every woman she knew along the way. “So, since we’re hanging out together, do you mind if I ask what a man like you was doing in my neck of the woods? You don’t strike me as someone who’d have to pay for sex.”

“Hmph, well, I… was just there for one of the restaurants,” Shuichi replied with an awkward cough. “I was meeting one of my friends there; she’s a sex worker like you.”

“Friend?” Ruruka smirked and curiously placed a finger to her lips. “I noticed a distinct lack of the word ‘girl’ in that sentence~”

“Yeah, we’re just regular friends for now. I tried asking her out, but she… turned me down,” Shuichi replied, a sad smile fell upon his face.

“Ah! She turned you down?” Ruruka gasped dramatically, though, on the inside, she was cheering at the news. “Well, I say that’s her loss! I think any smart girl would have been honored to date a handsome man like you!”

“Thanks, but… things are more complicated than that sometimes.” Shuichi arrived at the shopping district a moment later and was met by the large crowds of people that flocked to its streets every day. He considered going to another parking garage, but he managed to see someone drive away just in time for him to grab the spot before anyone else. “Okay, we’re here. I usually do most of my shopping online, so I don’t know the stores around here very well. Did you have any suggestions for where we should start?”

“Hmm… for now, how about we start by doing some little window shopping first? Take our time walking together so we can get to know each other more.” Ruruka then wrapped herself around Shuichi’s arm. “And if we see anything that catches our eyes, we’ll check it out!~ Sound good to you?”

“I-I suppose so.” Shuichi did his best not to blush as he got out of the car with Ruruka, the confectioner remaining latched to his arm the whole time. Together, they began walking along the streets with everyone else, looking at all the clothes, appliances, and jewelry that they had on sale in one of the richer parts of town.

“So, Ruruka… do you mind telling me about yourself a little?” Shuichi asked as they walked together through throngs of fashionable people.

“Well, I don’t normally like to talk about myself to men, but… I don’t think I can say ‘no’ to you!” Ruruka giggled. “Ask away!”

“Well… are you from around here, or did you move to this city?” Shuichi asked.

“I was born and raised not too far from this spot, actually,” Ruruka replied. “I was a cheerleader in high school, and a business major in college, but neither of those were that useful in actually getting a job around here. So, I started working in the red-light district four years ago, and I’ve been there ever since. It’s kind of funny, really; I remember my mom would always make me look away whenever we drove by that part of town, and now here I am on the other side of that.”

“Yeah, I suppose that is a bit ironic.” Shuichi let out a short laugh. “So, I take it you like working there?”

“Definitely! It combines my three favorite things, after all; looking good, making money, and handing out my delectable little sweets~” Ruruka took a crème brûlée -flavored macaron out of her bag and popped it into Shuichi’s mouth.

“Mmm… man, those are really good!” Shuichi said through a mouth full of food. “I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a pastry like that before! Did you bake that yourself?”

“Of course! I came up with the recipe too~” Ruruka replied proudly. “Anyways, my only real complaint about the red-light district is that it’s a pretty bad place to find men if you’re actually looking for a date. Like, I found this one guy a while ago who I thought for sure was the one, but then that loser stabbed me in the back out of nowhere and moved out of the city! Can you believe that?”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I… know how hard disappointments like that can be.” Shuichi glanced at the ground somberly. “How long ago was that?”

“Just a few days ago, actually… I’ve been telling myself that I need to forget about him and move on, but it still hurts deep down…” Ruruka sniffled and gripped Shuichi’s arm tighter for a few moments.

“Hey, it’s okay, Ruruka! Things just don’t always work out as we hoped, and… that’s okay,” Shuichi placed a hand on Ruruka’s head to comfort her. “That doesn’t mean you have to completely forget the good times you had with your boyfriend, right?”

“I know, but… I wish I could go back to making new good times already…” Ruruka sniffled a few more times. “Hey, wait a second! I think I know something that would make us both feel better; why don’t we start dating?”

“W-wait, what!?” Shuichi stammered in surprise. “You, and me!? But we only just met!”

“So? I feel like we’ve already had such a strong connection, don’t you?” Ruruka squeezed Shuichi’s arm again, and he felt her comforting warmth run through it. “And besides, dating doesn’t have to be that big of a deal, right? We don’t even have to be exclusive with each other, and it’s not like we can’t call it off at any time.”

“Well…” Shuichi put his hand to his chin and thought back to Kae’s story of her consoling her friend in high school. “I guess there’d be nothing wrong with dating a little bit, if it’s casual. You know, until we both get back on our feet romantically.”

“That is exactly what I was thinking, Shuichi! I guess great minds think alike!” Ruruka pulled Shuichi closer and gave him a loving kiss on the cheek, making sure to keep her lips on long enough for everyone passing by to see. “I can already tell that we’re going to have lots of fun together! Now, let’s keep shopping, dearie~”

“R-right, of course.” Shuichi blushed and kept walking, barely able to believe that he met his first official girlfriend out of the blue like this.

“So, have you spotted anything you want to buy yet?” Ruruka spoke to Shuichi, but she was deliberately facing her body towards the passing crowd. “Like, perhaps a diamond watch, or a necklace, or perhaps a new TV?”

“Er… I think I already have enough watches.” Shuichi felt himself sweat as he passed a watch in a window that was valued at 100 million yen. “What about you? Have you seen anything you want?”

“Oh, I wasn’t looking for myself, but now that you mention it…” Ruruka dragged Shuichi to a high-end clothing store nearby and pointed to a fluff pink, a faux-fur coat that sat on a dummy behind the front window. “Doesn’t that coat there look absolutely adorable? Everything about it looks so amazing! And it’s a designer too!”

“Yeah… though it does look pretty expensive,” Shuichi pointed out, his eyes on the price tag.

“True… and I did accidentally leave my money at home… oh, what am I supposed to do?” Ruruka squeezed Shuichi’s arm again and quivered her lower lip like she was about to cry. “I bet if I come back tomorrow, it will already be gone… what am I supposed to do?”

“H-hey, don’t feel down!” Shuichi said, comforting Ruruka on instinct. “I’m sure we can figure something out…”

“Hmm… oh, I know! Why don’t you buy it for me, Shuichi? I mean, boyfriends buy gifts for their girlfriends all the time, after all,” Ruruka suggested, batting her eyelashes.

“W-wh-!?” Shuichi glanced back at the coat’s price tag. “Uh, I’m not sure about that… I mean, I’d love to buy for you, but-”

“Oh, I get it; you want to know what you’ll be getting out of it, right?” Ruruka interrupted. “Good relationships are give and take, after all. Well, don’t you worry about that… because I promise you, I’ll make it worth your while if you get that for me~”

“And… what do you mean by that, exactly?” Shuichi felt himself start to sweat again.

“Exactly what you think I mean, dearie~” Ruruka tip-toed forward and began to whisper sultrily in Shuichi’s ear. “There are things I can do that you wouldn’t believe! And as your girlfriend, I’m willing to do them all with you… with the right motivation~”

Ruruka winked shamelessly as Shuichi and several people around them blushed in embarrassment. Shuichi hesitated to answer, knowing just how much buying this fur coat would put a dent in his bank account, but at the same time, the thought of turning Ruruka down made his stomach do flips. Just thinking about disappointing her like that right after she went through a breakup made him feel guilty, and the faint possibility of her leaving because it made him feel even worse.

“Well, I suppose I could afford to buy you one little coat…” Shuichi replied, trying to downplay the purchase more for himself than for Ruruka.

“Yes! Thank you so much, babe!” Ruruka gave Shuichi another kiss on the cheek before pulling him into the store, where she grabbed the fur coat right off its mannequin. “I’ll be taking this, thank you~”

Shuichi reluctantly gave the clerk his credit card and waited for Ruruka to finish putting the coat on in a nearby changing room.

“Tada!” Ruruka said proudly as she walked out of the room, tying the frilly pink bows in the front of the coat that acted as the jacket’s buttons. “So, how do I look?” Ruruka twirled around in the middle of the store so Shuichi could see her from every angle.

“You look incredible, Ruruka! That jacket suits you.” Despite his **** to buy it, Shuichi couldn’t deny that it fit Ruruka almost perfectly.

“Heeheehee! Thank you so much, dear! You’re too kind to me!” Ruruka threw herself at Shuichi and peppered his face with kisses, tickling his neck with the thick fur collar of her coat in the process. “You’re already a waaaay better boyfriend than my last one already!”

“Really? Do you mean that?” Shuichi asked, a surprising pride rising in his chest.

“Of course! Only a man who truly loves his girl would get her a coat that’s so luxurious! If only every woman could be this lucky~” Ruruka made sure to raise her voice so everyone in the store could hear her talk about Shuichi’s gift. To her delight, more than a few of the women there, including the clerk, glared at her with silent jealous rage.

“L-love?!” Shuichi blushed again and scratched his face. “I think you might be getting ahead of yourself a little. I’m not sure if I love you just yet.”

“Maybe not, but you’ve still more than earned a reward for doing this~” Ruruka walked up to Shuichi and pretended to hug him, but in reality, she was reaching down to squeeze his firm rear through his pants.

“G-gah!”Shuichi gasped, trying not to squirm too much as he felt her fingers play with him.

“Ooh, you actually have a really nice butt! You work out, don’t you?~” Ruruka added, smirking whenever Shuichi let out a cute whimper.

“Y-yeah, every night,” Shuichi replied, almost failing to control himself from moaning out loud in public. “I’ve been trying to take care of my body lately.”

“Well, it’s definitely paying off! I’ll have to be careful not to load you up on too many sweets then~” Ruruka kissed Shuichi’s cheek once again and began to whisper in his ear. “I’ll let you in on a little trade secret between us girls; sometimes, when the guys we really like aren’t paying attention, we have this little game where we take a quick little peek and admire how nice their sweet buns are to try and guess how good in bed they’ll be. The firmer it is, the better! And from what I can tell, you have the best one yet! So, if you take a look behind, you’ll be able to spot a few ladies admiring your rear.”

“Y-you’re joking!” Shuichi turned around and the few women who were around them swiftly returned to pretending to look through clothes on the shelves, with a couple of them still blushing.

“Don’t worry, they can look all they want; but you can only sleep with them if they’re at least as hot as I am,” Ruruka said playfully as she finally let Shuichi go. “Now, let’s get going; we still have a lot of stores to look at, after all!”

“R-right, of course.” Shuichi took Ruruka by the hand and they walked back out into the shopping district. He was quite happy to see how cheerful he’d managed to make Ruruka’s demeanor, but he couldn’t help but notice something a little off in the way she hung off his body. She was obviously very proud to be walking alongside Shuichi, but he almost felt more like an accessory than her partner.

“No... I shouldn’t think like that. You need to be more confident,” Shuichi thought to himself, pushing those feelings from his mind. “You’re here to have fun, remember? And besides, she couldn’t be doing all this if she didn’t like me, right?”

“Oooh, do you see that watch over there? The one that’s made of pink silver?” Ruruka said, pointing to another store. “That would go perfectly with my new coat, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I suppose it would,” Shuichi agreed before pausing a moment. “You… want me to buy that for you too, don’t you?”

“Maybe just a little bit~” Ruruka replied playfully. “But it’s no big deal for a boyfriend as good as you, right? And it would practically be a crime to let my outfit be incomplete!”

“Gh…” Shuichi hesitated again. “Well, it is cheaper than the coat at least…”

“Thank you! I knew you’d see it my way!” Ruruka gave Shuichi a particularly loud smooch on the cheek and dragged him into the store to buy it. “Yes! It fits even better than I thought it would! Oh, you’re the best, daddy!”

“D-daddy!?” Shuichi blushed so brightly at that word he thought he was going to catch fire.

“What? It’s just a pet name. You don’t have any problem with it, do you…” Ruruka placed one of Shuichi’s hands on her chest and let him feel her breast through her new coat. “... daddy?”

“No, it’s just… is that really an appropriate thing to call your boyfriend? And in public too?” Shuichi glanced behind Ruruka and noticed that two women were staring at them.

“Oh? And I suppose it would be better for me to say in private?” Ruruka stepped closer to Shuichi and raised her right leg so her inner thigh rested on his waistline. “After you rip these new clothes off me, toss me on the bed, and you make me scream it over and over again?”

“Um…” Shuichi stammered, unable to figure out how to reply.

“Heehee, you’re so cute when you’re flustered you know that?” Ruruka grabbed Shuichi’s arm again and proudly walked out of the store with him. “Relax; no one is going to think any less of you for that. If anything, they’re going to get jealous~”

“If you say so…” Shuichi replied, desperately hoping she was right. “So… could you tell me a little bit more about yourself? You said you grew up here in the city, right? Does that mean you’ve got family around here?”

“Actually, I don’t,” Ruruka answered, a little surprised that Shuichi was asking about something like that. “My mother moved here by herself when she was 20, and she worked in the sex industry like I am. She got knocked up a few years in and was never able to figure out who the dad was.”

“O-oh… I’m sorry to hear that,” Shuichi replied.

“Eh, it wasn’t that bad; being raised by single mothers is a pretty normal experience in this town, and at least mine knew some good cookie recipes,” Ruruka replied, dismissing Shuichi’s concern. “The old bat is pretty cool… but you’re not allowed to tell her that if you meet her.”

“Ah, so you still keep in touch? That’s good to hear at least.” Shuichi sighed in relief. “What about friends? Did you least have a lot of those growing up?”

“Totally! I was the most popular girl in my school, growing up!” Ruruka placed a prideful hand on her chest. “Most of them were just phony friends, though, so I’m not in touch with most of them anymore; except for one, that is. I’m still super popular around here, though! Everyone looks up to me for my class and grace~”

She struck an extravagant pose in the middle of a crosswalk as if to prove her point.

“So you help people like me out all the time then? That sure is nice of you,” Shuichi complimented.

“Eh?” Ruruka blinked in surprise. “I mean, yeah, of course, I do! It’s part of why I’ve gained such a following!” She then grabbed Shuichi’s arm again and pulled him towards another store. “Now, let’s go see this one! I think I saw a pair of shoes here the other day that I just have to try on!”

Shuichi grunted quietly at the thought of spending even more money, but he followed regardless. For the next hour, they continued to walk around the shopping district, chatting with each other and buying things, all of which were for Ruruka. In the process, Shuichi learned quite a bit about Ruruka; her hopes, her fears, her likes and dislikes, her dreams… despite how suddenly this date started, Shuichi felt like he was actually growing closer to her. She was opening up in a way she didn’t have to, and Shuichi appreciated that.

So, while Ruruka was trying on a new necklace, Shuichi spotted a small rack of curios and decided to show her how much that really meant to him.