When Juta opens the results for the newest Love Chick popularity poll he sighs a deep, contented sigh of relief that the characters of Asuka and Ryo are once again neck and neck for first place. It's not surprising, or in the least bit worrisome, that the characters seesaw back and forth each month. But if any of the other characters ever surpasses my duo… that's when I'll know I'm in trouble.

In third place, is the character based on Yamato, which isn't surprising given the nature of the volume released before the poll. In fourth is the flower-loving girl that is clearly Kitora. In fifth place… he goes through the list, one after another searching for the cute girl who loves all the boys equally, calling them all her lovers, the girl will no boyfriend, who plays no favorites, but whose good looks and lovely personality wows them all. She's never been lower than fifth place before! He begins to panic, just a little. Surely she'll beat out the tsundere rival whose goal is to become a professional makeup artist. But, she doesn't. Nor does she beat out the next, nor the next. Dead last with only four unlucky votes, is the character Juta based on himself. Maybe I'm in a different kind of trouble.

He puts aside the poll and looks at the reader comments - all of them - that he'll have to choose from to post alongside the portraits he'll draw exclusively to celebrate the poll. For now, he's unconcerned with anything except the last-place finisher, so he flips to the end of the packet.

"...unrealistic...slutty...cliché…" His heart drops. Why this hate, all of a sudden? "...in comparison to Asuka, the only thing you'll get from her is an STD."

Is that how people really see me? He's not sure when the schtick he developed to hide his secret profession started to become more than a mask, but what everyone saw all the time… Was it when the real Asuka got mad at me back then? But what can I do? Let my friends know I've been lying to them all this time? No, I can't do that. If Asuka ever finds out that I am his favorite manga-ka… it'll taint his image of Love Chick forever.

Instead of dwelling on the results of the poll, instead of picking out the reader's' quotes, he pulls out a fresh piece of paper and begins drawing the character so despised by his readers. There's three ways to go from here. He could easily continue drawing her as before. The first would ignore the reader feedback and stay true to what he'd planned for her. The second would be to redeem her. Perhaps it was time for her to settle down - or at least adopt a stray kitten during a winter storm. Of course there was the third option… use the feedback to make her even worse.

Yeah, the kitten angle just might work...