Fiery Red Colours

Chapter 6 (Side Quest 1) Steak to the rescue!

Alright so I was thinking of adding "Side Quests" to my story. They're not important to the plot but just for fun. It can be about any of the other food souls [and I'm happy to do requests!!! R-rated one's too!!!]

There is a bit of nudity in this chapter. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

You woke up from your slumber with a painful groan. Wet, cold and very naked, you attempted to warm your body by rubbing your hands on your arms, only to realize that they were tied behind your back. Your surroundings were dark, but you could tell that you were moving by the slight bumps and jostles.

Am I in a box?!

You squinted your eyes to catch your bearings and made out the four corners to prove your hypothesis correct.

What the hell. Was I kidnapped??

You could faintly hear your kidnappers chatting as they carried the box that contained you.

"This is what they get for ... ... comrades..."

"... if Boss would... her..."

"Probably let Conchi... then we'll ... Conch decide."

You took a few deep breaths to calm your frantically beating heart. "By the sound of their voices, they should be a fanged snail and a puffin... and since they're taking me to their boss... it's probably Queen Conch."

Oh my god. Were the hermit crabs you killed in your mission directly tied to the Queen of Shells herself?? What shitty luck! And the mission plus this bullshit wasn't even worth the payment you got.

You winced and felt the lump in your head swell. Puffins and fanged snails are so weak, and yet you let your guard down and they were able to knock you out with a stone. Once you get back to your restaurant you really ought to get some of your food souls to train your combat skills.

On another part of the forest, Steak was hurrying after your trail. He determined the perpetrators who took his Master Attendant were probably snails since they sloppily left a mucus trail from the pond.

"Damn snails!" Steak grumbled to himself. "Good thing they're so stupid and left a trail." Steak pulled out one of his swords to slash his way through the dense vegetation.

-by the pond-

The rest of your team rejoined at the spot where you were supposedly bathing. When they didn't see you or Steak, their instincts told them something was wrong.

"Aren't these Master Attendant's clothes?" Sukiyaki prodded at the still wet material of your shirt. "Where are her undies?"

Pineapple Cake pointed at a small opening (the one Steak made) that led from the pond, anxiously "there's a mucus trail here. That's probably where the Attendant is!"

"We have no time to lose. As her butler, I will slaughter anyone who dares to hurt Master Attendant." Said Brownie in his calm, almost robotic voice.

"You are one hell of a butler..." muttered Sukiyaki.

As the leader Brownie led the remaining food souls to search for their lost companions.

•••

You sighed in frustration. Besides from cooking and running a restaurant, you lacked skill in almost every other field and it's finally proving to be a problem. You couldn't undo the knot that tied your hands back and the handkerchief that gagged your mouth tasted like sweat.

You slumped in defeat. In psychology, this phenomenon is known as 'learnt helplessness'. It's when an organism gives up on trying to escape a bad situation because they think that there's nothing they can do. Or maybe you were just trying to sound smart and convince yourself that giving up to conserve energy wasn't that bad of a choice.

You were suddenly jostled out of your mental battle with yourself. Then your box landed on the floor and knocked you around inside, loosening the poorly made gag.

Ow what the heck?? What's going on?? Wait... is that Steak??

You heard his angry battle cry - "GET AWAY FROM ME", and the squishing of dying puffins, signalling the victory of your horned food soul.

Yay!

When you were sure the battle was over, you used your feet to push yourself up in the box and bashed your head through the poorly taped wooden flaps.

"Master! Are you...!!!" Steak's sentence halted midway and he quickly turned around to shield his eyes from your naked chest. His face was as red as his hair.

Realizing that you were still in your birthday suit (or maybe you just wanted to be a tease), you immediately turned around so your back faced him.

"I'm sorry!! I'm stupid!" You exclaimed, trying to justify the amazing view you just gave your food soul.

He reached into his pocket and threw your bra at you. You would've put it on if your hands were free.

"S-Steak... one last request...? Can you untie my hands first?" You timidly asked. This situation can't possibly get anymore embarrassing!

Fuck. Steak tried to keep his eyes averted as he made his way to you and untied your hands. He couldn't help but trailed his eyes along your curves before catching himself and turning away again. Double fuck.

After putting on your under wear. You and Steak walked back the way you came from, the tense air between you two growing very uncomfortable. After a while, you decided to break the ice.

"Thanks for finding me... they were going to take me to Queen Conch and I definitely would've been killed."

"It's fine. It's my duty as a food soul to protect my Master Attendant." Steak replied.
"Hey! You didn't even need my help. You busted out of that box by yourself!" Steak grew angry. "What the hell did you get me all worried for when you could've escaped by yourself!!?"

You were taken aback by his sudden angry outburst. Truth to be told, the way you were placed sideways in the box was a bit harder to escape... but you could've still kicked around and eventually get out.

IT'S TIME FOR EXCUSES!

"I was naked! I can't just get out and run around, someone might see me!" Ha! Great rebuttal! You internally patted yourself on the back. What a little shit you are.

At the mention of 'naked', Steak was vividly reminded of the sight that had been involuntarily engraved in his mind. He bashfully looked away and mumbled something along the lines of "whatever... you're still basically naked right now..."

"Hey we found you!!" Pineapple Cake chirped, "we were so worried!"

On the way back to the restaurant, Sukiyaki nudged Steak on the arm.

"So? What were they like? How much did you see? Were they big??"

Steak decided that he didn't really like working with Sukiyaki either.

Should I make Steak a closet pervert?